Dear Akari-sama: even undines get the blues

by dm00

Aqua as a dream seen from the alleys of Dystopia (source: http://paricross.sakura.ne.jp/aria/ariatop.html)

Recently I stumbled across mention of Dear Akari-sama, a doujinshi re-imagining of Aria that starts off grim, gets yet grimmer, then brightens in a way that brought tears to my eyes.

The artist does a wonderful job of translating Kozue Amano’s art to the pestilential alleyways of Manhome, before the clouds part and the light shines in — from the depths of despair to, well, Aria. It’s brilliant.

Google will help you find translations, if you can’t read the Japanese version. Go. Read.

Look for this image to find "Dear Akari-sama"

Cardcaptor Sakura 9 & 10

by dm00

Tomoyovision

Cardcaptor Sakura Tuesdays continue with this week bringing us two new cards: Sword, and Flower.

Last week, Li showed up and spent an entire episode scowling and griping at Sakura. This week, the scowls and the gripes continue and are taking their toll — Sakura suffers a crisis of confidence.

Sakura's observant friends can tell something is up, though only Tomoyo knows the reason for Sakura's blues. Tomoyo arranges an outing which turns into an encounter with the Sword card, who possesses Rika. Li arrives, and is willing to injure Rika if that's what it takes to get the card. Sakura has a better idea.

Episode ten is all Li man-crush on Yukito while the Flower card celebrates the school athletic festival. Trust Yukito to talk about making jam from all the flower-petals.

More discussion here.

Episodes 7 & 8 (which I was too busy to talk about last week) are discussed here.

Sengoku Witches: Oda Nobunaga’s strike witch

by dm00

The word for today is "fundoshi"

What if Mori Ranmaru, Oda Nobunaga’s page, was the Sengoku Period’s equivalent of a strike witch?

Book Girl and the Captive Fool

by dm00

Let the book fairy be your guide

This weekend I read the third Book Girl novel: Book Girl and the Captive Fool.

In this book, Tohko discovers that someone is cutting pages out of library books. This offends her (despite her own habits where books are concerned), because the person is taking some of the best parts — like taking the strawberry off the top of a cake — and leaving the rest.

She drags Konoha into an investigation, and they catch the culprit, red-handed. As penance, the culprit must take part in the play the Book Club is putting on for the cultural festival — a tale of love, friendship, and betrayal. Soon, it becomes clear that the play and the situation of some of their classmates is similar….

My gosh, these things are dark: suicide, murder, assault, childhood trauma producing warped psyches. And throughout, charming book-fairy Tohko flits among the bloodshed and misery.

Another badass reason to wear a long white coat, and other things…

Soooooooo…

It’s been a while.

I’m a doctor in name now, and I’m currently plunging into the strenuous world of residency. So much so that it’s a little hard to do things like watch anime (which I do in spurts), or write about it. But I’m starting to get into the pace of hospital work better, so hopefully there shouldn’t be a three-month writing layoff again as there has been here.  After getting a long white coat, you sort of get an idea of what it takes to keep one, which I hope Hakase and Hououin Okabe Rintarou learn throughout their goals as scientists.

The dynamic duo. Picture by shinako (laeseperanza): http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=18866656

Cardcaptor Sakura 5&6

by dm00

Sakura expression of the week

The forums are were down, but that doesn’t stop being charmed weekly by watching Cardcaptor Sakura.

In episode five Sakura catches Kero-chan chatting up a plush-toy cat (see above) while looking for the plush toy that’s inhabited by the Jump card in a newly-opened shop near Sakura’s school. Meanwhile, Tomoyo is distracting the owner of the shop with a long monologue on video technology (including something of a poke at the fourth wall: after singing the praises of digital technology and its ability to make perfect copies, Tomoyo frets about copyright concerns).

Episode six tells us a bit more about Sakura’s mother, who died when Sakura was very young. A Clow Card haunts a wood near Sakura’s school. There, it gives people visions derived from their desires (hungry Tomoyo sees a giant meat-bun). For Sakura, it takes the form of her mother, and lures her over the edge of a cliff.

Fortunately, Sakura seems to receive some ghostly help to ease her down to the base of the cliff (where Yukito is conveniently walking by).

Sakura is afraid of ghosts, but probably not this one

Steins;gate 20: Grave of the dragonflies: a visual haiku

by dm00

Sometimes, though very rarely, anime gets it right. I’ve tried to be careful not to include any spoilers below (and so am leaving out some things I’d include otherwise), but this sequence from Steins;gate episode 20 is one of those times when sound design, direction, editing and imagery combine to a perfect dramatic moment.

A visual haiku.

Well played, White Fox.

(Update: Title changed to “Grave of the Dragonflies” (Tomb of the Tombos?) — old associations have a tendency to leak out my fingers when I’m in thrall to enthusiasm for something I’ve just seen.)

Cardcaptor Sakura 3&4

It's a good thing she's a little girl, or that leer would be creepy

After ineffectively pounding on the glass, showing “Pengi-san! Pengi-san!” Sakura turns an overheard mention of the aquarium food-storage deep-freeze into a solution for the Watery card, something that had left Kero-chan stumped. Bravery and resourcefulness.

Then in episode four, Tomoyo is unflappable as she opens the door to find her friend menaced by wooden tentacles.

More discussion starting here.