The Anime Paradox: Anime and the traditions of Noh and Kabuki

by dm00

Slow, fast, faster: Sengoku Collection will ensnare even the most jaded.

If you are interested in Japanese history, you should check out The Samurai Archives, particularly if you are interested in the Sengoku era.

(Not so) Recently, they hosted Stevie Suan, talking not enough about his forthcoming book, The anime paradox, in which he examines anime through the lens of traditional Japanese theater.

Part one. This episode is mostly about the idea of viewing anime through the precepts of Japanese dramaturgy, in particular, the idea of Jo-ha-kyu, “beginning, break, rapid”, or “slow, fast, faster” — a fifteenth-century framework for Noh that has been inherited by kabuki, and plausibly applies to anime as well. Sadly, they just touch on the thesis and evidence for it, but they certainly make the book sound interesting (I haven’t looked to see if there is any discussion of the podcast in the Samurai Archives Forum). Stevie Suan sounds like he knows his anime, and is on to something in comparing anime to traditonal Japanese drama.

(Amusing aside: one of the podcasters, a military historian known for his disdain of anime, spends a bit of time marvelling at the way he’s been sucked into Sengoku Collection — and how Sengoku Collection illustrates part of Suan’s jo-ha-kyu framing.)

Part two. This episode is mostly about anime as a gateway drug for Japanese cultural studies, and the general trend in the humanities of cross-fertilization (e.g., 16th-century Japanese politics through the lens of modern political theory).

The book is forthcoming enough that Amazon doesn’t yet have it up for pre-order, but keep your eyes out for it.

And check out the Samurai Archives podcast. I spent many happy hours last year going through their archives. There’s some great stuff in there, especially if you’re interested in the Sengoku era.

Update: Here’s the publisher’s prospectus for the book. Eek, $133. Maybe a university library near you will get it.

Not the greatest song in the world, and is this even a tribute?

You’ve seen this video before on the blog, but it was one of the first things I remembered when I first heard of the news yesterday. For better or for worse (better in my opinion):

I’m not sure many people on earth now are as influential as Michael Jackson was. Or if not that, I’m not sure there’s someone else who could somehow bridge various gaps between different groups of people like he could with his music, despite all of the other eccentricities and controversies surrounding the man. I mean, lol anime even. Life goes on. Rest in peace Michael Jackson. 😦

By TheBigN

Seeing as I don’t have anything good to post about, why not…

…repost a pic.

If you get the joke (pic’s from here, BTW), as well as the joke within the joke, more power to you. :3

Kino’s Journey: The Myth-like Beautiful World

As a change of pace (depending on your opinion of course), and as something I remembered from reading and commenting here, I’m posting an essay that I wrote two years ago on Kino’s Journey in my Junior year of college. It was from a course on anime (of course lol) and new media, and I haven’t rechecked the sources here, so it could be a little confusing to read. I did edit stuff that didn’t make sense to me after a two year break, so you might be able to tell the differences between my writing style back then and now. I think it’s nice take a look back sometimes, though it’s a first look for many of you here. Have fun with it, and critiques are always welcome, though I might have to bone up on the sources to make sense of them again. :3

Destination is a state of mind…

 

On anime endings and things…

So a couple of months ago, I finished watching Scrapped Princess, which was a good show, but not a great one. The ending was interesting, though cheesy/cliche (sort of), and many people I talked to said that the ending was good, but more could have been done, and I totally agree. The setup for an awesome finale was there, but they went (in my opinion) the safer route, and it was still good. Good, but not great. Others felt the same way, and some people even disliked the ending, and thus felt the show ended badly or even that the whole series was ruined for them because there was so much potential that didn’t get filled. If the ending was done right or better, how should it have been done? I can’t answer that because I don’t know that answer, and because if I did have one, it would probably be solely created for my enjoyment.