The Dynast-King's Legacy

Dear Followers,

Phew. Thankfully I have last minute memory skills and remembered to return my PSEO textbook before I was charged. So clutch. As I walked out of Coffman, snow flakes slowly dancing to the ground, I couldn't shake an overwhelming feeling of emptiness. Usually the U is bustling with activity, with college kids flooding the walkways and chatter filling the air. This is one of the few holidays I have spent at home, so I guess I'm not really used to such a vacancy. I can't help but wonder if everybody went back home or if they were just tucked away in the Stadium Village restaurants. I could really go for some Cane's fried chicken right now.

Back home my PS2 waits for me, Final Fantasy XII loaded in the disk tray, ready for action. Speaking of which, Final Fantasy XII gets bashed like crazy on forums for some reason. As far as I'm concerned, Final Fantasy XII is incredibly underrated. The game is expansive. Not only does the main story run for a good 40-50 hours, but the amount of side quests, optional hunts, and unlockable secrets could easily keep you busy for 100+ hours. While many complain about the Active Dimension Battle system, I find the ability to freely roam and engage monsters without having to endure annoying load screens or battle cinematics incredibly liberating.

While many play off the Gambit system as an uninteractive way of conducting combat, the system brings, for me, a whole new level of customization to each of your characters which allows you to shape them into specific roles like never before. In addition, mixing and matching gambits in order to optimize your combat abilities involves an immense amount of planning, experimentation, and strategizing. Apart from the actual gameplay however, I find the world of Ivalice to be fascinating. The dialogue in Final Fantasy XII, playing on anachronistic speech mannerisms and folklore, is engaging and creatively unique. In addition, the mixture of characters within and outside of your party create a very functional narrative dynamic.

After a journey through the Pharos with what I consider the best party in terms of raw statistics, Basch, Asche, and Vaan, I am nearing the end of my journey, with only Vayne Solidor and Judge Gabranth between me and a beautiful ending cinematic. The only complaints I have for Final Fantasy XII are that the License Board tiles are hidden from view until adjacent tiles are unlocked, making the process of planning incredibly difficult, and that the Zodiac Spear only appears in the Necrohol of Nabudis if you don't touch four randomly picked treasure chests. Now I only have a 1/1000 chance of picking up such a powerful weapon!

Wow, I had no intention of even talking about Final Fantasy XIII when I began writing... Oh well. Happy non-religiously affiliated holidays everybody!

I Pray 'Tis Sharp Enough,
Noel

A-Music Week 7

Dear Followers,

~NUJABES Week~

With college applications out of the way I can finally update my blog. I nearly forgot my password in the time between posts, unsuccessfully slinging eight different combinations at the password box before finally gaining access. But, now that I've found my way in, I'm ready to start posting once more. This week I wanted to share with you one of my favorite artists, Japanese hip-hop producer, mixer, and DJ Jun Seba, more commonly known as Nujabes.

I first came across Nujabes, not surprisingly, while watching an anime: Samurai Champloo. With Nujabes responsible for nearly all of the background and OP/ED music, it is no wonder that Samurai Champloo is an incredibly unique animated experience, blending feudal Japan with modern hip-hop. If you haven't already seen Samurai Champloo, directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, the mind behind Cowboy Bepop, I wholly recommend you do as it is easily one of my favorite shows.

Anyway, the song which had me falling in love with Nujabes was his remix of "Beat Laments The World" with Minmi, "Song of Seasons," used as the ED song for Samurai Champloo. After a voyage across YouTube, I soon knew why Nujabes produced no ordinary sound. With his incorporation of a sampling of Jazz, natural sounds, and piano work, Nujabe produces organic sound with an unbelievably natural flow.

Unfortunately, no legend can live forever. Nujabes passed away last year in a car accident on the Shuto Expressway in Shibuya, and with him goes all of the wonderful music he was bound to create in the future. If anybody can find a link to the tracks he left behind which were supposedly released by Hydeout Productions, please hook me up. Even if Nujabes isn't physically with us, his essence lives on in the music he has created. Rest in peace friend.

1. Flowers

2. Aruarian Dance

3. Song of Seasons ft. Minmi

4. Another Reflection

5. Kujaku

6. A Day

7. Winter Lane

8. Summer Gypsy

9. Windspeaks

10. Plazma Avenue ft. Five Deez

Beat Laments The World,

Noel

A-Music Week 6

Dear Followers,

~Fall 2011 OP/ED Week~

Yeah. This blog post is way overdue. I know. My past few weekends have been spent finding every excuse I can to push off my college application essays, usually culminating in long hours spent playing 4 vs. 4 Halo or marathoning unwatched anime. I've meant to put up another A-Music for nearly four weeks now, so what you will find below may be somewhat dated. But whatever. After scouring YouTube for new OP/ED songs for shows which recently began airing, I decided on a collection of my favorites. The full versions of many of the songs below have been released which you can downl... purchase with a bit of effort. Google is your friend. Just a reminder, I don't necessarily advocate watching any of the following shows, considering I have neither finished nor even begun to watch many. Without further ado, here we go.

1. How To Go - School Food Punishment (UN-GO OP)

2. Harukaze - SCANDAL (Bleach OP)

3. Dilemma - Ecosystem (Gintama OP)

4. Newsong - Tacica (Naruto Shippuden OP)

5. Sky's The Limit - Shihoko Hirata (Persona 4: The Animation OP)

6. Departures ~Anata ni Okuru Ai no Uta~ - EGOIST (Guilty Crown ED)

7. Kono Te Nobashite - Hi-Fi CAMP (Fairy Tail ED)

8. Buddy - Maaya Sakamoto (~Last Exile: Fam The Silver Wing~ OP)

9. My Dearest - Supercell (Guilty Crown OP)

10. YOUTHFUL - 99RadioService (Chihayafuru OP)

Baka Ja Nai?
Noel

Clannad (A, 97.75%)

Dear Followers,

Shows like Clannad ~After Story~ serve as reminders as to why I watch anime in the first place. Anime is an artistic medium which, when masterfully crafted, can invoke unique emotional reactions and provide unforgettable experiences for viewers. Good anime is neither defined by flashy 1080p visuals nor unnecessarily complex narratives which cater to a dominant, while unrepresentative demographic. For me, while inherently escapist, good anime serves as an interpretation of reality, with the actions of individual characters serving as a model by which we may act on such an interpretation. Good anime should leave a developmental mark on viewers, for better or worse, as a product of a collective and involved experience. After finishing Clannad ~After Story~, I can't help but analyze the messages concerning family and happiness presented. The reviews I post on here serve as closure for my viewing experiences, helping me capture what meaningful impact some shows have had on me. But enough about me.

First off, Clannad ~After Story~, as the name implies, is the second season of Clannad. The original show follows the life of Okazaki Tomoya as he finishes his final year of high school. I really don't feel like providing background information for the show when Wikipedia can do a much more comprehensive job (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clannad_(visual_novel)). Basically, Clannad ~After Story~ picks off where the first season leaves off. The relationship between Clannad and Clannad ~After Story~ reminds me somewhat of the relationship between Full Metal Panic and FMP Fumoffu. Clannad, while an enjoyable series, is nowhere near as emotionally gripping or masterfully crafted as Clannad ~After Story~. And yet the second season is useless without the first, not merely because of the background information afforded by the first, but because of the investment the viewer places in each character leading up to an emotional roller coaster.

FUKO-SAN, WHY ARE YOU IN THIS SHOW!?

As far as Clannad ~After Story~ goes, the first 8 episodes, runoff from the first season are rubbish. Not only do they detract from the realism of the show by pushing believablility to its limits, but in some ways they hurt instead of help how the viewer perceives various characters. For instance, Mei drops a few rankings in my book because of her irrational older brother complex which seems to have no substantive basis apart from a few cherished memories, especially when after the episode Sunohara doesn't even change in the slightest manner. In addition, who is Yukine and why do we care? I'm not going to lie: Clannad's gimmicky joke structure had me laughing like crazy someimes. But, I honestly don't even remember anything which helped to drive the main narrative forward coming from these episodes. Because the first and second half of the show are so different, I have bestowed a somewhat inflated score to Clannad ~After Story~ because I didn't want the first half to overshadow the second.

However, from episode 9 onward, Key/KyoAni begin to work some magic. For once in an anime, the viewer is given the chance to explore what happens beyond the carefree experience of high school days, a unique experience which many animes ignore completely. The pacing of the second half of the series is wonderful, with each episode packed with just enough to advance the story yet allow the viewer to relish what they have just experienced. With each episode, Okazaki is carefully building, piece by piece, his new family as we come along for the ride. We feel the hardship Okazaki faces in making ends meet, but can't help but feel like everything is going to work out in the end. Anybody familiar with Key could probably detect the looming sense of doom as the days pass, but even inexperienced viewers can't help but feel uneasy, especially after Nagisa's pregnancy is explained to present numerous difficulties by several of the characters in the show.

***BEGIN SPOILER***
Maybe I'm just weird, but I couldn't help but notice a complete lack of intimacy between Nagisa and Tomoya during Clannad ~After Story~. I mean, even after becoming married, I don't remember Nagisa nor Tomoya even so much as hugging. And then, out of the blue, apparently Nagisa is pregnant? While in the later episodes of the series, the artificial flashbacks show moments of intimacy, such moments are missed in the linear narrative presented to the viewer. But hey, whatever. As I was saying, each of the hints Clannad ~After Story~ lays out for the viewer concerning the impending doom awaiting Nagisa creates a growing sense of uneasiness and powerlessness to change the coming course of events. The scene in which Nagisa passes is beautifully crafted. Against a backdrop of pure white, Tomoya, holding Ushio in one hand, Nagisa's hand in another, watches as Nagisa's consciousness slowly fades. He can only pretend what is happening before his eyes is a dream as the backdrop would suggest. A montage of memories of Nagisa flash across the screen as she passes driving home the weight of the loss. We, not only Tomoya, have lost Nagisa as well.

Nagis'as death is so integral in Clannad ~After Story~ because it does not serve as an end-all. Tomoya is faced with the sobering experience of dealing with loss and we have to join him on the ride. Tomoya falls into a pit of despair, casting off all of the redeemable qualities we had seen him slowly build up during Clannad. When Tomoya emerges, he is noting short of what I like to call a classic d-bag. I wanted to slap Tomoya in the face, especially after seeing how he carries himself in front of his daughter, cursing her very existence as the source of his degrading emotional state. How can you feel any feeling of hatred whatsoever towards Ushio? Herein, however, lies one of anime's most dramatic and fleshed out cases of character development to date. As a reluctant Tomoya accompanies Ushio on a vacation, we finally recieve an answer to the major loose end from Clannad regarding the relationship between Tomoya and his father. The symbolism and cinematography here work wonders, perfectly capturing the essence of the show within a few lines of dialogue. Here is the scene in question if you so please.

With Tomoya resolving to dedicate himself to protecting and raising his daughter Ushio, his life becomes switched up, allowing the viewer to almost rest easy for a few episodes before well... Ushio dies. I know many people will disagree with me, but I feel like Ushio's death is completely unnecessary. Even if the directors' wanted to capture the emotional suffering of Tomoya, Ushio's death is crossing the line and in addition, her death receives none of the treatment given to Nagisa's. Not only is the scene repetitively executed, but we are given no indication of the impact of her death on Tomoya or anybody for that matter. Instead of facing the consequences of killing off a beloved 5-year old girl by explaining of the event fits into the main narrative, Key has decided to take the easy way out and simply extend the narrative of the girl and robot in the desolate world as a means of bringing everybody back to life. This is not to say I do not enjoy an ending where everybody is happy, but I really wanted something more from Clannad ~After Story~. What exactly, I can't really say.

***END SPOILER***

Looks like this review is useless unless you have seen the show. Oh well. This is what happens when I write reviews at 1 in the morning.

As far as animation goes, Clannad ~After Story~, as with any Kyoto Animation production, contains fluid and dynamic character animations and does not fail to disappoint. I am somebody who really loves when an animation studio goes the extra mile to pay attention to detail, and the dozens of intricate character costumes, expansive background pieces, and expressive emotions displayed in Clannad ~After Story~ are very satisfying. This may be a product of anime itself, but I had a hard time seeing noticeable changes in age for many of the characters in the show, especially Okazaki. In addition, the over-exaggerated, kawaii artistic style used for many of the characters in the show may not be your cup of tea. But, I never found myself complaining with the animation or feeling like the artistic style detracted away from the main push of the show itself. As with the animation, the music, while repetitive, is wonderfully done in Clannad ~After Story~ with the various versions of "Dango Daikazoku" serving as a unifying melody, the nostalgia of which gets me every time.

Perhaps what made Clannad ~After Story~ so memorable and valuable for me was how the show has some relevance, while limited, of my own position. Like the main characters, I am a senior in high school who will soon become a member of society. The powerful message of the importance of family and finding your own happiness portrayed in the show will soon be very important to me as I seek to find my own place in the world. But, once again, enough about me. Clannad ~After Story~ is a remarkable piece of work. You would be a fool to pass up what, in my mind, is one of the best slice-of-life animes around. While Clannad and the first episodes of Clannad ~After Story~ may leave you unsatisfied, the last collection of episodes are powerful enough to justify the initial journey. I whole heartedly recommend Clannad and Clannad ~After Story~, especially with Winter Break just around the corner.

Dango Daikazoku,
Noel

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (A, 98.75%)

Dear Followers,

After a long, a fulfilling Thanksgiving Break, I am not looking forward to facing all of the assignments I let pile up over the past few days. As I explained to Ishmam Ahmed yesterday, right now I feel as if I have come back home after a prolonged vacation in a foreign land and now I am consolidating the experience in order to relish every last moment. This Thanksgiving Break, I didn't finish any college applications or finish the work I missed last week like I told myself I would. No, instead, I sat down and played one of the best Wii games ever created: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

I remember when I first saw SS in action at E3 2010 I was disappointed. The colorful, exaggerated character designs and minimalist artistic style which featured a middle ground between Twilight Princess and Wind Waker was extremely frustrating for me to behold. I had very much enjoyed the dark visuals and neutral palette of Twilight Princess as an indication of the maturation of the series, and I felt that the new visuals represented a reversion back into childishness. After a major wireless connection problem during the Nintendo game play demonstration, I had close to no reasons to consider purchasing SS.

I had ignored SS for more than a year. And then, the reviews came flooding in. From Famitsu to IGN to Wired, SS was receiving critical acclaim left and right in the weeks before its official release, being heralded as a masterpiece. Needless to say, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and made the decision to return my copy of CoD: MW 3 for a copy of SS. In the process, my dad found a deal at Target for a Wii, New Super Mario Bros., and LoZ: SS for only $100. Now, I am the proud owner of multiple Wiis, PS3s, and Xbox 360s which reside in my standing reserve, waiting to be played by nobody.

After playing the game for a few hours, I realized the reviews were right. SS is one of the best, if not the best Wii games ever created. It only took Nintendo a few years of meddling with motion controls and forcing players to buy the Wii Motion Plus addition before they could finally begin to make some magic with the Wii. SS is the first game I have purchased for the Wii which actually feels like it was made for the system. Many of my previous games, Twilight Princess included, felt much more natural with a Game Cube controller, the motion controls simply serving the purpose of occasional gimmicks.

Simply put, SS would not be the same game without motion controls. From having Link's sword slashes perfectly match your own to seamlessly switching between items in the middle of a fight, the integrated motion controls in SS are unbelievably responsive and effective. In SS, the timing of your sword swipe isn't all that counts as you have to swing at just the right angle to break through your enemies' defenses. Figuring out your enemies' weaknesses is one of the most difficult yet rewarding processes in the game, and slicing Bokoblins like butter when you nab the Master Sword never felt so good.

However, SS lacks graphical pizzazz. I understand Miyamoto, you made the game blurry on purpose in consideration of the Wii's hardware limitations and in order to capture the essence of a hazy painting. But honestly, at some points in the game when I was looking at haphazardly arranged tree branches or background detailing, I had to ask myself if Wind Waker was more graphically advanced. This isn't to say SS is complete garbage in the graphical department. Some of the landscapes are breathtaking to behold and character animations are fluid. But I was expecting a bit... more.

Regardless, once I got used to the unique visual elements, the overall game experience quickly made up for any qualms I had about SS. While SS, in continuing the series tradition of leaving the player to construct voices for the dialogue between characters save for a few grunts and catchphrases, features no voice acting. I understand you don't want to commit to a voice for Link and Zelda Miyamoto, but come on. Ash Ketchum is the exception, not the rule. However, SS features fully orchestrated musical pieces, a first for the series. Hearing wonderful pieces of music such as Zelda's Lullaby and The Legend of Zelda Main Theme during the credits was simply amazing with the power of a full orchestra.

Nintendo has a habit of nondisclosure when it comes to helping the player organize the narrative which is The Legend of Zelda. Go ahead and Google "Legend of Zelda Timeline" to see the confusion Miyamoto has unleashed on the world in terms of constructing a comprehensive and coherent narrative while bridging together very, very distinct Zelda games. Thankfully, Miyamoto has confirmed for us all that SS takes place before the events of Ocarina of Time which helps clear a few misconceptions up... well, kind of. I was glad to see a genuine romantic relationship between Link and Zelda is SS. Finally, Link is actually questing to save Zelda instead of another random blonde-haired girl.

All in all, SS was an amazingly fun game to play. While occasionally I found myself rage quitting when the connection got messy with my Wii-Mote leading to an unfortunate death, the motion controls were spot on for the most part. While more detached from the main narrative than in previous Zelda games, the characters were unique and enjoyable... for the most part (Fun Fun Island guy, burn in hell). If you own a Wii, I wholeheartedly recommend dusting off your Wii-Mote and picking up a copy of SS, even more so if you are a fan of the series. Saving the world is all in a weekend's work after all.

Thank You Master Link, May We Meet Again In Another Life,
Noel

Casablanca: A Microcosm Of A War-Torn World

Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca, which originally was never expected to be any more than an ordinary film, is now heralded as one of the greatest films in history. The film focuses on Rick Blaine, the cynical owner of “Rick’s Café Américain.” However, Rick soon ends up in a quagmire when he acquires two valuable exit-visas and runs into Ilsa Lund, the woman who broke his heart in Paris, and her husband Victor Lazlo who are seeking passage to America. The Moroccan city of Casablanca provides an appropriate backdrop for the film, helping flesh out each of the characters in the film and establishing a ripe atmosphere for the film’s conflict and eventual resolution.

The backdrop in Casablanca, created and shot almost entirely on studio sets, effectively portrays an exotic vision of Casablanca while enhancing the film’s plot. The success in Cutiz’s set work is due to his use of layers when framing each scene. From “Rick’s Café” to busy road-side bazaars, every scene in Casablanca is covered with people, objects, and action. However, there is nothing remarkable about the sets themselves in Casablanca. What is remarkable is the interplay between backdrop and plot. The backdrops seamlessly blend a combination of public and underground activity, presenting audiences with an exotic and fabricated, yet entirely plausible, vision of Casablanca.

Casablanca serves as a microcosm of a war-torn world in the midst of World War II. “Rick’s Café” produces a dramatic binary, drawing in a diverse clientele including Nazi, Italian, and Vichy French officials, representative of legal authority, and refugees desperately seeking aid from exploitive visa dealers, representative of illegal commerce. Poor refugees, having escaped the horrors of war, are now at the mercy of corrupt Vichy bureaucrats, mere puppets of Nazi officials as a consequence of occupation. Daily fights over exit visas to Libson, rigged behind-the-scenes gambling matches, and rampant pick-pocketing define the city. Just as the world has been thrown into chaos, Casablanca exists in eternal, yet underground chaos.

Finally, Casablanca serves as a representative parallel to Rick Blaine’s character development during the film. In many ways, “Rick’s Café” in Casablanca serves as a metaphorical low point for Rick. After Ilsa left him in Paris, Rick has reached a nadir of cynicism and turned his back on his virtuism of old, indicated by participation in the Spanish Civil War and Ethiopia. Casablanca is effectively an upscale prison for Rick’s repressed inner character, preventing him from once again grasping virtuism. The backdrop in Casablanca drives such a metaphor home by Curtiz’s use of lighting in the film. For example, the dinner spotlight in “Rick’s Café” and airport landing light both functionally resemble prison search lights, emphasizing an inescapable feeling of entrapment.

Despite a frantic production schedule which left the actors unsure of what to expect with each passing day, Casablanca manages to create a comprehensive narrative. However, only against a backdrop of corruption does Casablanca genuinely shine as a production. The semblance of legal authority subsumed by commonplace illegal activity, the exoticness of a foreign, African nation, the diverse collection of memorable characters, the everyday struggle for survival and exit-visas. These are what make Casablanca such an unforgettable film. Even apart from simply an aesthetic level, the film would simply not be the same were it to take place anywhere other than the city for which it is named.

A-Music Week 6

Dear Followers,

Today. I uploaded my new anime schedule for Fall/Winter 2011. Fall 2011 was kind of a let down for anime, but Winter 2011/2012 looks to be providing some really interesting shows such as Kyousogiga which looks to be a FLCL/Studio Ghibli/Summer Wars/Natsume Yuujinchou hybrid and of course a new season of Bakemonogatari, now labeled Nisemonogatari, and serving as what I understand to be a prequel to the main series. The PV for Kyousogiga rocks by the way and can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In4YoCWTKiM.

This weekend I marathoned Kanagatari, a 12-episode show, hard. Each episode is 50 minutes long, and I felt like a real hikikomori as I spent my Saturday in my room with the lights off, covered in blankets, watching Kanagatari and even refusing to answer the door when the doorbell rang. The art in Kanagatari is nothing short of amazing. One look at the opening sequences is a giveaway. The story, while heavily episodic, felt nicely paced especially given the 50-minute episode length and while I'm a sucker for samurai adventure narratives, Kanagatari was especially captivating.

The main character in Kanagatari, Shichika Yasuri reminds me a lot of Goku from Dragon Ball Z because of his upbringing outside of society, general cluelessness, and ability to never really sustain any serious injury. However, Goku is sadly more complex and enjoyable. Shichika remains, as he so often says, a sword or inanimate object throughout the series. He really only develops as a character against the backdrop of his flamboyant opponents, from the animal-themed Maniwa Corps to the eccentric owners of the Shikizaki blades. Honestly, how can you be in hot spring with a woman so casually?

While the fight sequences have a somewhat shounen-flair, action is definitely not a core part of Kanagatari. Don't let the cute character designs fool you as well. Kanagatari abhors violence as much as it vindicates it, with characters dying in bloody, brutal ways. One of the best qualities of Katanagari is how the show keeps you guessing. There is really no direct divide between good and evil in any sense in this show which is probably one of its most powerful points. Even the relationship between Togame and Shichika is never made clear, even by the end of the series. Either way, Kanagatari is definitely a show worth your while. Check it out for Thanksgiving Break.

Now for some A-Music!

1. San Francisco - Midicronica

Samurai Champloo ED26 Version

2. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight - Beat Crusaders

Bleach OP Version

3. Sea-Through Communication - School Food Punishment

4. Pride - SCANDAL

5. Tsukiakari no Michishirube - Stereopony

Darker Than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini OP Version

6. Tip Taps Tip - HALCALI

Eureka seveN ED Version

7. Loner - Outsider

8. Shinkokyuu - Super Beaver

Naruto Shippuden ED Version

9. Crazy Sunshine - The Pillows

10. じぶんROCK - ONEOKROCK

By That Time, You'll Already Be Torn To Pieces,
Noel

Unforgiven: Debunking The American Western

The American Western continues to be a Hollywood mainstay because of its connections to America’s cultural identity. However, Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, released in 1992, has served to disturb the formulaic American Western by challenging the validity of its classic legendary narrative. Various elements in Unforigven, including its memorable characters and cinematography, seamlessly combine in order to achieve such an aim.

Unforgiven critically examines the issue of violence in modern society. By showcasing the destructive power of violence, Eastwood successfully captures the horror of killing a man in Unforgiven. When Davey Bunting is shot in the side, his death is not swift and painless, but protracted and miserable. Davey is completely helpless, only able to drag his dusty body behind a rock and beg for a drink of water before he dies. Ned Logan’s inability to fire the rifle coupled with Munny’s mercy in allowing Quick Mike to give Davey a drink emphasize the humanity of Davey’s death for the audience. Even when Munny guns down Dagget and his men during Unforgiven’s violent climax for the sake of Ned Logan, the result is merely a massacre. There are no cheering crowds, no smiling faces. Only the sound of falling rain can be heard as Munny rides out of town.

The character development of the Schofield Kid is representative of the dichotomy between what the West ought to have been and what the West really was in Unforgiven. Throughout the first half of the film, the Kid clings onto a glorified view of violence, epitomized by his eagerness to begin his gunslinging career. The Kid naively believes that killing a man can only bring him fame and riches. Like a child asking for a bedtime story, the Kid begs Munny to describe how he narrowly avoided capture in Jacksonville by single-handedly killing two men during one of the pivotal scenes in Unforgiven. This skewed perception of reality is further emphasized in Unforgiven by the Kid’s poor eyesight, representative of the distortive lens employed by previous film directors when portraying the West. Only when confronted with the stark reality of violence does the Kid begin to realize how far off from reality the legends he grew up with are.

However, Unforgiven is not a wholesale repudiation of the American Western. Within the film, Bill Daggett assumes the role of the metaphorical iconoclast. Daggett is a man who values order and civilization, and harbors a powerful disdain for the mythic spirit of the West. Dagget’s physical assault on English Bob and verbal diatribe of Beauchamp’s biography, “The Duke Of Death,” indicate a belief that Western values hold no place in modern society. The grandiose narrative describing how English Bob valiantly overcame “Two-Gun” Corkey in a draw is whittled down to reveal how a heavily intoxicated Bob only killed Corkey because his Walker Colt malfunctioned. However, when Munny guns down Dagget and his men with heroic finesse during the film’s climax, Unforgiven illustrates how we cannot simply forget the majestic, if flawed, heroes of old. Unforgiven’s final scenes serve as a vindication of the American Western.

Eastwood’s Unforgiven is genuinely a prototype for the new American Western. However, by breaking away from the glorification of violence and mysticism inherent in the old American Western, Unforgiven does not seek to forever discard the genre into the dust bin. Instead, Unforgiven serves as a critical reevaluation of Western values in order to produce a narrative more compatible with the values of modern society. By applying a revisionist lens in its evaluation of the American Western, Unforgiven has forever changed the genre by laying down a value system which has found its way into nearly every American Western produced since.

Alien: Analyzing What Makes Us Jump

Alien, released in 1979, is an unprecedented synthesis of science fiction and horror whose product is one of film’s finest creations. Directed by Ripley Scott, Alien is a rather straightforward narrative describing a commercial spaceship which picks up an uninvited visitor in the form of an extraterrestrial life form which seeks to murder the crew in its entirety. Ever since it was first shown, Alien has elicited fright from various audiences with its combination of visually repulsive imagery and heart-thumping suspense scenes. However, while both elements are integral to the film as a whole, Alien’s use of psychological horror is the driving force of fear within the film.

By successfully exploiting a human fear of the unknown, Alien elicits a unique and personal feeling of horror from each individual viewer. Alien does not provide its audience with a consistent identity for its antagonist, calling on the audience to project personal fears in imagining what the Alien looks like. In doing so, the Alien becomes an entity much more frightening than any amount of visual effects, especially during the 1970s, could ever hope to produce. Aboard the ship, the Alien is constantly developing, emerging from Kane’s chest as a bloody mass and only being slowly revealed afterwards as a developed life form. The first instance in which the audience confronts the developed Alien is when Brett is searching for Jones, an orange cat, in the bowels of the ship. As Brett makes his way past hanging chains and dripping machines, he comes across a massive shedding of skin. The audience cannot help but panic as Brett continues searching, scanning every frame of film for a sign of the Alien perceived to be lurking in the shadows. Even when Brett, as well as every other crew member, is killed, the audience is left to its own devices, handed a few scraps of sounds and shadow in order to conceive a mechanism of death.

The Alien is not merely an unknown presence, but an unconquerable one. Alien, as a vindication and rejection of science, portrays advanced weaponry and devices as unable to lay even a scratch on the primitive Alien whose cells rapidly repair and whose blood is highly acidic. The crew’s misplaced confidence in human logic is broken to bits when it’s highest ranking officer, Dallas, is killed when carrying out the crew’s plan to confine the Alien in the ship’s air ducts, magnifying an overwhelming feeling of vulnerability. The crew is functionally defenseless in what Alien portrays as a fight for survival. This is why the mere presence of the Alien, instead of the Alien’s physical features, is so suspenseful for the audience. The musical scores and set design in Alien help drive home such feelings of vulnerability. The Nostromo during the self-destruction sequence successfully captures the essence of Ripley’s vulnerability, replete with ominous shadows, flashing lights, and compact walkways. The score, composed by Jerry Goldsmith, allows for silence. Periodically interrupted by barely audible mechanical sounds, such silence emphasizes the overwhelming emptiness of space, and making real Alien’s poster line, “nobody can hear you scream in space.”

While scenes such as when the Alien jumps out of its slimy egg onto Kane’s face or bursts out of Kane’s chest with a powerful splash of blood are no doubt important examples of visual horror within Alien, such scenes are only memorable because of the preceding psychological buildup. When the Alien is finally revealed in full during the film’s climactic ending sequence, much of the audience’s fabricated fear simply dissolves. The dynamic of vulnerability has become completely flipped as an unsuspecting Alien slumbers aboard Ripley’s escape ship, making Ripley’s victory so believable for the audience and allowing for the film’s resolution. Indeed, Alien’s closing sequences continue to remind us that what we had feared was merely fear itself.

A-Music Week 5

Dear Followers,

Screw the introduction.

1. Buddy - Maaya Sakamoto

Last Exile ~Fam, The Silver Wing~ OP Version

2. Stay Beautiful - Diggy-Mo

3. Days - Flow

Eureka seveN OP Version

4. Day By Day - SNSD

5. Sayonara Memories - SUPERCELL

6. ผู้ชาย (Gent) - Slur

7. Hito To No Kyori No Hakari Kata- Plenty

8. Song Of The Seasons - Mimi

9. Thousand Enemies - Girls Dead Monster

10. O2 - Orange Range

Code Geass R2 OP Version

Brings Back Memories,
Noel

Care Packages A La Mode

Dear Followers,

I couldn't handle having warning signs all over my blog anymore, so I decided to install a new template. As always, the instructions provided by the internet were insufficient in effectively guiding me through the reconstruction process, and much of what you see is the result of a schizophrenic guess-and-check process with HTML. After playing around for around an hour or so, I finally have created a blog design that I am comfortable with.

I really shouldn't be blogging today, but once I start something I have a really hard time stopping. So, here's an onslaught of posts for anybody who's interested. The substance of the post you are reading right now is basically a conglomeration of individual posts I mean to write but never got around to. Man, a lot of the information I have on my computer should have been posted a long time ago. Anyways (come on Amy, you know you want to call me out), let's get started.

First, here a few scans which I felt needed to be posted. During the summer, I felt kind of lonely with some of my best buds living outside of Minnesota for extended periods of time. I reasoned that if I was missing them, they would probably be missing some of their friends in Minnesota as well. So, I decided to put together a couple of "care packages" to send to them to give them something to remember home by.

I could have sent some freshly-baked food items like cookies or whatever, but I wanted to send them something they would remember. So,  I wrote a couple of letters by hand, smacked on some Asian females, and applied some fresh postage stamps. There's no better pick-me-up than your own personal harem which can cheer you on. I understand that most of this Japanese is incorrect and illogical. I just wanted to practice my Hiragana at the time. The school girl in the bottom left looks kind of like Sophie Zhou.

Second, for Cosette Haugen's birthday this year, I recognized that I would probably be giving her the last, if not one of the last, presents of mine ever. So, I toiled for 4 hours on a drawing she could remember me by. Unfortunately, I was unable to make her actual birthday party because she decided to post the information at midnight the night before when I was already fast asleep. Whatever. Happy belated birthday Cozy-Katz! Keep dreaming!

That's all for now. I am prioritizing posting a new A-Music over posting more random pieces of information. Let me know what you all think of the new template if you get a chance.

Moe Moe Omelette,
Noel

A-Music Week 4

Dear Followers,

Yesterday I prematurely submitted my Common Application, assuming I was supposed to hand in everything pertaining to the application 10 school days before the deadline. Facepalm. While I am somewhat relieved to not have to worry about it anymore, I can’t help but shake feeling like I have done myself a disservice in denying myself the ability to go back and edit some of my information. Oh well. As far as anime news goes, I have recently finished two shows which were both much more satisfying than I initially anticipated.

First, which I believe I mentioned a few weeks ago, is “Mawaru Penguindrum.” I was genuinely surprised at how complex and philosophical the dialogue became in the last few episodes. Even after scanning a few fan forums for an explanation of the first season’s ending left me feeling like I was reading a passage by Slavoj Zizek. “Mawaru Penguindrum” even managed to masterfully craft a reasonable justification for one of anime’s most hated clichés. I’m more than ready for a second season, especially as I wait for “Persona 4” to become marathonable.

Second is “Arakawa Under The Bridge.” I really have no idea why I came across this show. If I remember correctly I was on MyAnimeList looking for recommendations based on Bakemonogatari when I passed over a review. Finding shows like “Arakawa Under The Bridge” make me feel incredibly blessed to be an impulsive YouTube user. After watching a fan-made collection of some of the show's funniest clips, I had more than enough reason to check it out in its entirety. What I found was a show which questions preconceived notions of normality, social hierarchy, and what it means to find happiness.

And, here are some new songs!

1. Sakasama Bridge - Suneohair

2. E - Spangle Call Lilli Line

3. Together - Monkey Majik

4. Namikaze Satellite - Snorkel

5. Gravity 0 - Aqua Timez

6. Distance (M-Flo Remix) - Utada Hikaru

7. After Dark - Asian Kung-Fu Generation

8. Fly Away - Izawa Asami

9. Akaneiroga Moerutoki - Scoobie Do

10. Ma Boy - Sistar19

You Parasitic Life Form,
Noel

A-Music Week 3

Dear Followers,

Yeah... I know I missed a few weeks in between. I was busy whittling down my human character into a standardized test score.

Between my last blog post I had come across a few new items of otaku interest. First, when scanning around on Star Crossed Anime Blog, which by the way writes some handy reviews, when I came across Mawaru Penguindrum. While I wasn't a fan of the character design, a combination of high ratings and supposed plot complexity drew me in. Before I knew it, I was marathoning. The plot is simple. A terminally ill girl named Himari is saved by an otherworldly being who decides to extend her life on the condition that her two brothers must acquire an item known as the Penguin Drum. So far, I have yet to be wowed, but I sense a great deal of potential for this show.

In terms of manga, I came across Ga-Rei on my handy iPhone app. I had heard of an animated version of the prologue, Ga-Rei: Zero, was infamous for its notable first episode in which nearly every one of the main characters die. Being the curious cat I am, I decided to check out a few pages and found something worth reading. Once again, we have a rather simple plot involving the classic Japanese version of boy meets girls against a supernatural backdrop. The art is decent, and the plot is nothing spectacular. I just find the characters likable and am particularly interested in Japanese demonology.

Here we go.

1. Nexus - ClariS

2. DEAR FUTURE - Coaltar Of The Deepers (YOUTUBE ONLY HAS THE REMIX)

3. アルクアラウンド - Sakanaction

4. สุดเขต (เธอGETก็OK) - The Jukks

5. 뷹은 노을 - Big Bang

6. New World - TWILL

7. Orion Wo Nazoru - Unison Square Garden

8. Take-Off - 2PM

9. Core Pride - UVERworld

10. RPG - Food School Punishment

Survival Strategy,
Noel

A-Music Week 2

Dear Follower,

After a crazy week I am back with your weekly dose of Asian music. Today, with some extra free time, I had a chance to explore the interwebs. During the Northwestern Debate Institute, I came across a blog run by Danny Choo. I don't remember what I was looking for when I found it. Anyways, his article, How Discovering Japan Changed My Life, really struck a chord with me for obvious reasons. Reading about how Danny, a young boy from London, came to love Japanese culture, learned the language, moved to Japan, and started his own business has become a source of inspiration for me. If you ever have some spare time, I highly recommend watching his show, Culture Japan. That is, if you are interested in Japanese culture like myself. Anyways, here we go!

1. Change - Yoshida Brothers X Monkey Majik

2. It's Okay - Untouchable ft. Hwayobi

3. Sakurane - Piko

4. Kaze no Gotoku - Inoue Joe

5. Kira Kira - Domino

6. DisPLZ Me - Nassun ft. Monday Kiz

7. Sen To Rei - Sakanaction

8. 待ち合わせの途中 - Plenty

9. Twinkle Twinkle - (걸스데이) Girl's Day

10. Aoi Shiori - Galileo Galilei

Today's A Good Day,

Noel