Musings of the Obsessive Kind

Next week is going to be crazy at work, so the post volume is going to be unusually low. (Half the flist groans in relief).

But I am all about the giddy because we bought our plane tickets to Japan today!

Anyway, on to the lengthier topics of the post. Which is the fact that I finished Pretear earlier. And that I started watching Peach Girl (katranna groans), which is a good thing as I can only watch RahXephon with Husband.

Peach Girl. The plot (so far) is pretty simple. Momo is a high schooler whose tan, sun-bleached hair appearance makes people think she is a play girl. That's not true as she only used to be on the swim team and tans easily. Momo's 'friend' Sae always goes for what Momo wants, so when Sae asks who Momo likes, Momo (who likes the quiet, good-looking Touji, someone she's known for years), points her finger completely randomly at some guy in the hallway to get Sae off track. The guy she points at is Kairi, the attractive school flirt. Sae makes her move (of course) but Kairi sees right through her. And he also decides to chase Momo because hey, she likes him, right? So she should totally be easy to date, right? It's part mischief, part easy attraction (she's cute after all) but Momo is NOT interested. She thinks.

So far, I saw one ep of (let me know if you want to know where to dl) and while it won't make me rave about its artistry or complex concepts, it's girly fun. I like the animation well enough, the colors and the backgrounds, and to my relief, Momo (the heroine) while tanned , does ot have the slutty clothes and excessive make up she does in the covers. I like her, as she is strong and assertive and not a weepy useless shy mess. I am also rather giddily amused by Kairi, who has plenty of charm and is tongue-in-cheek funny and hot at the same time (and a bit too interested in sex, heh). You know those broody, Brontean heroes? Well think polar opposite. And when he teases Touji. Whoa. I do wonder who the girl in the pic is because that's one of the few times he was serious.

Re: Pretear autumnflame was right. As soon as Sasame went evil, the whole show went downhill from pervy and girly to making little character sense. In fact, this was the biggest problem with Pretear. You couldn't imagine the characters as living, breathing human beings outside the confines of the story. They were puppets pulled around by TPTB without inner consistency. This was the biggest, glaring difference between it and Fushigi Yuugi. In the good anime I've seen so far, you got the sense that what you were watching was a window into a continuing world. The world of the story and the characters had long, complicated existences before the time of the story and will continue to do so after. This was clearly not the case here. Not just because character motivation was shoddy, but because world-building was non-existent. What is Leafenia? Who lives there (surely it couldn't be just the seven knights). What did the knights do before they became knights? Do they have families? Hobbies? How come the families of the youngest ones were OK with the kids traipsing arounf fighting? Also, why did the Big Ebil come to that small town Himeno was living with as opposed to somewhere more important, like Tokyo? Etc. None of them were answered.

( More on Pretear )

I have been watching RahXephon today and it's the most surrealist, intresting, beautiful thing I've seen in a long time.

I am fascinated by the theme of clocks and time that is flowing throughout the story: the credits themselves have clocks and hourglasses and, in one very Daliesque sequence, Haruka in the credits in the field of melting clocks. I am also interested by the interplay between Mishima Reika, who is part muse, part conductor, part dream for Ayato (I know she is at least somewhat real because others see her too, otherwise I'd think she is Ayato's projection) and Haruka, who Ayato has feelings for. Not only are they intercut in the credits, but the creators keep drawing parallels between them: they both help Ayato determine the truth, and they both are the closest emotional connections Ayato has and even in the last frame of the credits they are intercut. Mishima conducts but it's Haruka's song that brings Ayato's back from the vortex. Though truth and reality is fluid. In my favorite episode so far, the one where Ayato 'goes back' to Tokyo (it reminds me strongly of Farscape's 'Won't get fooled agin' with its discordant nightmare and twisting of emotional attachments), when Reika appears as his savior, when he asks her to help him to come to the real, outside world, she tells him she doesn't know if it's real. And in the brilliant answer, Ayato tells her he doesn't care if it's real, because unlike Tokyo of the dream/reality, the outside would seems real to him. Of course, it appears Ayato himself can warp reality and I find this show's playing the notions with reality, emotional memory and self really fascinating. And of course, in the most interesting Haruka/Reika interplay so far, in that episode where 'reality' starts to break down and Reika appears on TV instead of the program, blinking in and out, the very last image, gone rather quickly, is not Reika but Haruka.

I also love Ayato, the protagonist. He is actually pretty unusual as far as protagonists for shows go: he is a quiet, self-contained, honest and very very decent person. He is rather reserved and his hurts and uncertainties (and he has plenty. He is as much of an outsider as it is possible to be) are controlled by a steadiness. Also, even though he hates fighting, he does what he percieves is his duty uncomplainingly and rather steadfastly. He is the opposite of flamoboyant or moody but he isn't boring in the least. And of course, I love the notion of his being a painter, because it also loops back into the theme of creation: he creats 'reality' in his paintings, painted people, painted worlds. Which is similar to his altering constraints of reality through fighting in RahXephon.

I am also pleasantly shocked by the clear fact of Ayato (17) and Haruka (29) having feelings for each other. Not that they are going to jump into bed but I have to say, as a mid-20s woman myself, Haruka's feelings do make sense beause Ayato is very mature. Also, of course, there seem to be strong indications that Haruka loved Ayato at some point in the past and because he ended up being in Tokyo, due to the time-dilation she aged faster than he did. That would explain the extremity of her reaction to him (her despair when he is supposed lost, the almost shy manner she has around him). There is the fact that the Doctor (who I loathe as he is annoying, cold and nasty. He has no care for his 'experiments' as people), who is Haruka's ex, tells her that her time stoppes in 2012 and that he knew he was always a substitute and that 'he' hasn't changed (when they can see Ayato in the room). There is the fact that Haruka's sister mentions that Haruka used to be madly in love with someone and she still has some present she's kept for years to give to that guy and then she sees Haruka give that present to Ayato. But why does Ayato not remember if that is the case (don't spoil me)? He does say that he's been told his memories aren't real, so maybe his memories of Haruka have been erased. I do love the little ways that indicate he likes her. She likes to add sugar to her dishes, so (because her sister is mocking her) he adds it to his and says it tastes good (and latr, after he sees obnoxious doctor kiss her, when she does something else idiosyncratic with the food, he does not follow suit and the sister is surprised).

But yes, I have a lot of questions and it's delightful to try to puzzle them together. I love this.

Also, I finished Pretear which joins 'bad and amusing' category and will do one last post on it later.

I have been watching RahXephon today and it's the most surrealist, intresting, beautiful thing I've seen in a long time.

I am fascinated by the theme of clocks and time that is flowing throughout the story: the credits themselves have clocks and hourglasses and, in one very Daliesque sequence, Haruka in the credits in the field of melting clocks. I am also interested by the interplay between Mishima Reika, who is part muse, part conductor, part dream for Ayato (I know she is at least somewhat real because others see her too, otherwise I'd think she is Ayato's projection) and Haruka, who Ayato has feelings for. Not only are they intercut in the credits, but the creators keep drawing parallels between them: they both help Ayato determine the truth, and they both are the closest emotional connections Ayato has and even in the last frame of the credits they are intercut. Mishima conducts but it's Haruka's song that brings Ayato's back from the vortex. Though truth and reality is fluid. In my favorite episode so far, the one where Ayato 'goes back' to Tokyo (it reminds me strongly of Farscape's 'Won't get fooled agin' with its discordant nightmare and twisting of emotional attachments), when Reika appears as his savior, when he asks her to help him to come to the real, outside world, she tells him she doesn't know if it's real. And in the brilliant answer, Ayato tells her he doesn't care if it's real, because unlike Tokyo of the dream/reality, the outside would seems real to him. Of course, it appears Ayato himself can warp reality and I find this show's playing the notions with reality, emotional memory and self really fascinating. And of course, in the most interesting Haruka/Reika interplay so far, in that episode where 'reality' starts to break down and Reika appears on TV instead of the program, blinking in and out, the very last image, gone rather quickly, is not Reika but Haruka.

I also love Ayato, the protagonist. He is actually pretty unusual as far as protagonists for shows go: he is a quiet, self-contained, honest and very very decent person. He is rather reserved and his hurts and uncertainties (and he has plenty. He is as much of an outsider as it is possible to be) are controlled by a steadiness. Also, even though he hates fighting, he does what he percieves is his duty uncomplainingly and rather steadfastly. He is the opposite of flamoboyant or moody but he isn't boring in the least. And of course, I love the notion of his being a painter, because it also loops back into the theme of creation: he creats 'reality' in his paintings, painted people, painted worlds. Which is similar to his altering constraints of reality through fighting in RahXephon.

I am also pleasantly shocked by the clear fact of Ayato (17) and Haruka (29) having feelings for each other. Not that they are going to jump into bed but I have to say, as a mid-20s woman myself, Haruka's feelings do make sense beause Ayato is very mature. Also, of course, there seem to be strong indications that Haruka loved Ayato at some point in the past and because he ended up being in Tokyo, due to the time-dilation she aged faster than he did. That would explain the extremity of her reaction to him (her despair when he is supposed lost, the almost shy manner she has around him). There is the fact that the Doctor (who I loathe as he is annoying, cold and nasty. He has no care for his 'experiments' as people), who is Haruka's ex, tells her that her time stoppes in 2012 and that he knew he was always a substitute and that 'he' hasn't changed (when they can see Ayato in the room). There is the fact that Haruka's sister mentions that Haruka used to be madly in love with someone and she still has some present she's kept for years to give to that guy and then she sees Haruka give that present to Ayato. But why does Ayato not remember if that is the case (don't spoil me)? He does say that he's been told his memories aren't real, so maybe his memories of Haruka have been erased. I do love the little ways that indicate he likes her. She likes to add sugar to her dishes, so (because her sister is mocking her) he adds it to his and says it tastes good (and latr, after he sees obnoxious doctor kiss her, when she does something else idiosyncratic with the food, he does not follow suit and the sister is surprised).

But yes, I have a lot of questions and it's delightful to try to puzzle them together. I love this.

Also, I finished Pretear which joins 'bad and amusing' category and will do one last post on it later.

OK, the climactic confrontation between the Princess of Disaster, the two Knights and the new Pretear goes something like this:

Takako: Hayate! Now I shall wreak my vengeance on you for your hideous desertion.
Himeno: How is it your fault again, Hayate? Just because you were nice to her but not in love with her, she decided to burn her Ani DeFranco tapes, paint her nails black and oh yeah, take on the world. According to this logic I should fall for Sasame and go mad when he doesn’t return my love.
Sasame: You must have been reading some of the fanfic on ff.net.
Takako: Bwahahahaha, Himeno! You think you are so special, but believe me, Hayate will use you and discard you just as he did me.
Hayate: Is now the time to say something suitably melodramatic? Ahem…”here is a place where my sin sleeps.”
Himeno: What does that even mean?
Hayate: Well, I am the only male with long dark hair. I simply have to be Byronic.
Takako: Sure, explain the abstract concepts to the girl who doesn’t even notice there is a roofing tile on her head for half a day.
Himeno: Shut it. I am still trying to figure out how old my crush is. If he was old enough to fight and hook up 16 years ago, he is old enough to be my father. I know I was watching too much Buffy! I have an angst-ridden senior citizen on my hands. Should I just nickname him ‘Angel’ and be done with it?
Hayate: Woe. I’d answer but I am too busy perfecting the brooding pose.
Himeno: So, am I macking on a cradle-robber? Anyone, anyone? Bueller?
Three youngest knights: we are here to look cute, so don’t expect us to say anything useful.
Kei: You have metaphysical sex with multiple men daily, and you are fighting against a strip club escapee, and your date’s age is your biggest problem? You are even dumber than I thought, especially since you are crushing on him over me.
Takako: Hey, don’t ignore meeeeeeee! Anyhow, why is she so special? My bust is bigger than hers! Heck, it’s even bigger than Hayate’s martyr complex.
Hayate: That’s impossible. Nothing is bigger than that.
Takako: That's what you think. I am even bustier than I was when I was good. Evil gave me implants.
Sasame: All of a sudden I am in love.
Takako: Hayate, Hayate, Hayate. He was always ‘let’s practice preting some more. Purely to hone your skills.’ But when I started talking commitment, he was all ‘why buy the cow when you can pret for free?’
Sasame: What is this, a soap opera? Oh wait, I am in love with Takako who was in love with Hayate, who is in love with Himeno. I guess it is.
Animators: Five minutes without nudity? It won’t do. Everyone pret!
Sasame: Screw it. I am going evil. At least than I won’t have to share. And she has good dental.

Or at least this is how it should have gone.

Because that totally should be the show's subtitle.

OK, Himeno just 'did it' with a 7 year old. And later a 10 year old. I am sorry, even the heroine treats 'preting' as sex, as when she smacks Hayate because she thinks he wants to do it. Ick. Well, far from ick with Hayate (I am next in line) but ick with Mr. "I am 7 years old." Yeah, yeah, purely spiritual and metaphorical fusing of powers. Only not the way they draw it! Seriously, what on earth were they on?

Leaving that aside, the show is a lot of fun. I love the cheery unflappable weirdo Mr. Tanaka, the servant (forget great doomed love that Himeno's friend tries to concoct for him. He is just a cheerful nut). And that annoying but deeply ineffective step-sister of Himeno, that first tries to lure Hayate in and then Go and thinks it's an honor for them to be her servant. Of course, Hayate ditches her brusquely and Go more politely but I love how her self-love is impervious.

And I noticed that Kei's office is full of pictures of himself. I see he mastered the greatest love. Fully.

I am totally all about Hayate and Himeno. They continue to insult each other (he calls her 'tulip head' heeee) but she also really cares about what he thinks (and practices to win his good opinion) and he watches over her, even taking a job with her father to keep an eye on her, and sitting on the roof of her building at night to see she is OK. Guuuuh. Cute OTP.

And then there is hugging!!!! She has a nightmare and he is there because she is flipping and she hugs him, still half-asleep and he is so thrown off-balance and then she wakes up and smacks him and is 'why are you here?' And he is all "It's not what you think" and she is "what is it" and he kinda stutters. OMG. Such cuteness should spontaneously produce puppies and kittens on spot.

And the cuteness intensifies as he continues to follow her around for "no reason." Heeee. And she actually makes him smile. But of course he is protecting her from eeeeebil Princess of Disaster and she realizes that and wants to apologize and cute angst is cute. Cuuuuute. Especially when he shields her and he says it's because she is Pretear but we all know it's because there is wwwwwwwuuuuuuuuv. Yeah. Also, Princess of Disaster might be evil and soul-sucking, but she sure has a good taste in men. Yeah, kiss him, girl! Also, it appears they know each other. And why does he call her 'Takako'? I thought her name was Fenrir. Hmmmm, with this show I wouldn't be surprised if that's his pet name for her in bed. Except for the Himeno/Hayate OTP of course.

The father and stepmother continue to amuse. But I still can't get over "she saves the world through lots and lots of orgasms" concept. Actually, forget the world. Basically, she protects plants. Through sex with a lot of people. This is like a hippie dream.

Because that totally should be the show's subtitle.

OK, Himeno just 'did it' with a 7 year old. And later a 10 year old. I am sorry, even the heroine treats 'preting' as sex, as when she smacks Hayate because she thinks he wants to do it. Ick. Well, far from ick with Hayate (I am next in line) but ick with Mr. "I am 7 years old." Yeah, yeah, purely spiritual and metaphorical fusing of powers. Only not the way they draw it! Seriously, what on earth were they on?

Leaving that aside, the show is a lot of fun. I love the cheery unflappable weirdo Mr. Tanaka, the servant (forget great doomed love that Himeno's friend tries to concoct for him. He is just a cheerful nut). And that annoying but deeply ineffective step-sister of Himeno, that first tries to lure Hayate in and then Go and thinks it's an honor for them to be her servant. Of course, Hayate ditches her brusquely and Go more politely but I love how her self-love is impervious.

And I noticed that Kei's office is full of pictures of himself. I see he mastered the greatest love. Fully.

I am totally all about Hayate and Himeno. They continue to insult each other (he calls her 'tulip head' heeee) but she also really cares about what he thinks (and practices to win his good opinion) and he watches over her, even taking a job with her father to keep an eye on her, and sitting on the roof of her building at night to see she is OK. Guuuuh. Cute OTP.

And then there is hugging!!!! She has a nightmare and he is there because she is flipping and she hugs him, still half-asleep and he is so thrown off-balance and then she wakes up and smacks him and is 'why are you here?' And he is all "It's not what you think" and she is "what is it" and he kinda stutters. OMG. Such cuteness should spontaneously produce puppies and kittens on spot.

And the cuteness intensifies as he continues to follow her around for "no reason." Heeee. And she actually makes him smile. But of course he is protecting her from eeeeebil Princess of Disaster and she realizes that and wants to apologize and cute angst is cute. Cuuuuute. Especially when he shields her and he says it's because she is Pretear but we all know it's because there is wwwwwwwuuuuuuuuv. Yeah. Also, Princess of Disaster might be evil and soul-sucking, but she sure has a good taste in men. Yeah, kiss him, girl! Also, it appears they know each other. And why does he call her 'Takako'? I thought her name was Fenrir. Hmmmm, with this show I wouldn't be surprised if that's his pet name for her in bed. Except for the Himeno/Hayate OTP of course.

The father and stepmother continue to amuse. But I still can't get over "she saves the world through lots and lots of orgasms" concept. Actually, forget the world. Basically, she protects plants. Through sex with a lot of people. This is like a hippie dream.

Because I can’t watch RahXephon without Husband who wants to see it as well, I started watching Pretear, which someone on f-list recommended. I can’t remember who it was, but thank you, because I am two episodes in and I am having a hilarious, great time. No, Trigun is safe as my favorite anime. And Fushigi Yuugi is still my favorite shoujo anime. But Pretear is delicious, giggly fun, though not necessarily in the way TPTB intended.



The concept has been designed by pervs. Or people on crack. Or pervs on crack. The good kind. Freud could spend happy months analyzing the set-up. Leafe Knights protect “leafe” (aka life force of all beings). Now there is Princess of Disaster who is trying to destroy all leafe and end the world. Leafe Knights (“leafe” makes them sound like pretentious California yuppies) are strong but they can’t win without a girl knight, a Chosen One (down, Buffy!) This teenage girl (whose title is Pretear) fights the bad eco monsters by ‘preting’ with her Leafe Knights (all male, ranging from grown-up hotties to children and one borderline toddler). What is ‘preting?’ Well, here is where the fun is. To fight, Pretear and a Knight become one. Yes. Indeed. And in a Karmic way, this happened right after I told Husband, this is the one anime I could see showing kids. No, it turns out, it was't. Oh boy, how it wasn't.

( Wherein I detail the extent of the perviness that amuses me )

( Wherein I discuss more legitimate reasons for liking this )

( Pictorial goodness )

Why is Pretear called Pretear? Are the characters in that stage right before crying? I want to have a show called "Prehiccups." I did not just purchase the freaking thing on ebay.

Is anyone else excited to have Veronica Mars back? Finally. I am beginning to forget what they look like. Logan is that short African American basketball player, right? The one who always hangs out with the lead, Victoria?

Also, I realized I like samurai anime. Recs? Because I still have over 50 eps of Kenshin to go *watches as massive defriending happens* but I need to plan ahead. I like hot men (even if animated) and fighting. Which makes it no different than my taste in live action. Is that so wrong? Fighting=angst. And violence.

Shantaram is being made into a movie. Except that they would have to condence 900+ pages into two hours. And the fact that I adore Johnny Depp but he is totally wrong. Russell Crowe I can see. Johnny Depp? Not so much. I adore the man but he looks like he'll keel over if you give him a surprise punch, as opposed to someone who escaped out of maximum security prison and feels justifiably confident he can take on a guy with a sword when he has nothing but fists. He played a mob guy in Blow but that was kinda peaceable drug dealing, not gun-running into Afganistan. Though I get to see him tortured, which is always yay (see above point about angst). Also, I am wondering who'd they cast as all the Indian characters, as most of them are Indian. Somehow I doubt Bollywood is about to be emptied of its actors. Though I can so see Rajpal Yadav as Prabakar. And Amitabh as Khader Khan. Add in John Abraham as Abdullah and we are set. But I doubt they'd do that, so what do we have? I know Naveen Andrews is the default Indian the way Ken Watanabe is the default Japanese (heck, default anything Asian) but he can't be cloned...

I should not post after having a huge cup of Starbucks coffee. Too much shaky finger motion. Not to mention scattered thoughts

Why is Pretear called Pretear? Are the characters in that stage right before crying? I want to have a show called "Prehiccups." I did not just purchase the freaking thing on ebay.

Is anyone else excited to have Veronica Mars back? Finally. I am beginning to forget what they look like. Logan is that short African American basketball player, right? The one who always hangs out with the lead, Victoria?

Also, I realized I like samurai anime. Recs? Because I still have over 50 eps of Kenshin to go *watches as massive defriending happens* but I need to plan ahead. I like hot men (even if animated) and fighting. Which makes it no different than my taste in live action. Is that so wrong? Fighting=angst. And violence.

Shantaram is being made into a movie. Except that they would have to condence 900+ pages into two hours. And the fact that I adore Johnny Depp but he is totally wrong. Russell Crowe I can see. Johnny Depp? Not so much. I adore the man but he looks like he'll keel over if you give him a surprise punch, as opposed to someone who escaped out of maximum security prison and feels justifiably confident he can take on a guy with a sword when he has nothing but fists. He played a mob guy in Blow but that was kinda peaceable drug dealing, not gun-running into Afganistan. Though I get to see him tortured, which is always yay (see above point about angst). Also, I am wondering who'd they cast as all the Indian characters, as most of them are Indian. Somehow I doubt Bollywood is about to be emptied of its actors. Though I can so see Rajpal Yadav as Prabakar. And Amitabh as Khader Khan. Add in John Abraham as Abdullah and we are set. But I doubt they'd do that, so what do we have? I know Naveen Andrews is the default Indian the way Ken Watanabe is the default Japanese (heck, default anything Asian) but he can't be cloned...

I should not post after having a huge cup of Starbucks coffee. Too much shaky finger motion. Not to mention scattered thoughts