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