Gatcha, Update!

After having provided an actual blog post – written while I was out of town, no less! – I think I will fall back into that trend of update writings in place of actual content.  The past couple of weeks have been strange, sometimes unstructured, sometimes hurried. But at the very least, the stage should be set for future endeavors on this blog. Today, I’d like to focus on a few things.

Firstly, at Toastmasters last week, I acted as the Table Topics master. This role required creating prompts for 1-2 minute impromptu speeches. Seeking to be different, my response was to do a situational approach, with loose thematic similarities linking the prompts. Many of these were blatantly ripped off various works of art and then summarized down to provide an opportunity for a response. For this activity, I wanted emotional, personal responses that reflect a person’s inner being. But ultimately, many of the speakers went for an impersonal, bland approach – specifically, two of the speakers opted to not include their own personality inside their responses. Maybe it’s because some (if not all) prompts felt too narrow or foreign. I may need to think of how to force people into new situations, without using unfamiliar language, and give personal responses. Another possibility is that many people are conditioned to avoid the personal, and that may be problematic.

Today at Toastmasters, I will be an evaluator – meaning that I will give feedback on a prepared speech orally. This will require excellent note-taking, so maybe this won’t be my best role. But everything takes practice, right?

The d(n_blog)/dt has been rather slow as of late. More posts will be coming, especially analytical posts as I return to completing shows rapidly. To get better at this, I hope to write about shows as I see them, rather than waiting a long time – this way, the shows will be more lucid in my mind. Furthermore, expect to see updates from my short story as I slowly make progress.

As mentioned, I have been watching a high volume of anime. It is fascinating how so many shows can blend together despite being so different on the surface – voice actors and themes in particular act to tie them together. I can’t tell you how many shows I’ve seen with Ryota Osaka lately, for example. Apparently, Zrucore strongly favors “trippy” or very colorful aesthetics, such as those featured in Gatchaman Crowds.

Have a nice day, and, as always (if always is today), Gatcha!
- Zeldaru

And Now For Something Completely Different (In other words, another one episode review)

Cardcaptor Sakura: Fuwa Fuwa Express, Episode 1

Today I embarked on a magical journey, filled with adventure, and color, glorious glorious color. To bring this tale into context, Sakura Tange is a minor character in Gatchaman Crowds and a major character in Girl Friend BETA. In the latter, she deftly plays Chloe Lemaire, a role requiring speaking Japanese with a distinctly non-Japanese accent; furthermore, Chloe is French, so she speaks French occasionally, though it tends to be limited to "oui" ou "non". Sakura's immense talent in this voice led me to take an interest in her role as Sakura Kinomoto, the titular character of Cardcaptor Sakura. Starting the show, I was blown away by Sakura Tange's convincing and powerful performance as Sakura; many young girl characters in art tend to be one-dimensional or given little relevance in the story, but here we can see an empowering character. Sakura Kinomoto is veritably awesome, greatly elevated by her voice actor.

Directed by Morio Asaka, Cardcaptor Sakura (CCS) is a dynamic, fun adventure. Let's start with him. He performed directorial duties on some shows but most familiar to me are Gunslinger Girl and Ore Monogatari. To my knowledge, I felt that both relied on directing to bolster some of the jokes or action(that's not to say that they were not funny, but rather that the directing strengthened them more). So I had at least some expectation that a show by this guy would be good.

Though the show follows Sakura Kinomoto in her daily life, which may seem quite inaccessible by anyone who is not a 10 year old girl,  it uses changes in perspective to flesh out her personality. Really, the plot, if described blandly, probably would stop most people short from watching the show. (Unless you're a sicko like FireFlinger who's into that kind of thing.) For example, the show, towards the beginning of the episode, uses a wide-panning shot to portray Sakura, facing the night in her outfit, setting her up for an epic clash with the forces of darkness; she's also showered in light from buildings, suggesting her as the needed hero. Facial expressions also seem to be hilariously used to plainly express emotions. Through these visual techniques, CCS episode 1 becomes a rather remarkable work of art. Rather than speak in generalities, I would like to hone in one particular scene, depicted below. Here Sakura grows suspicious of some unknown presence in her house's library. So she goes to investigate, baton in hand.

Figure 1. Sakura Kinomoto holding a baton while peering into a bookshelf in her house's library.

By focusing the perspective from behind the bookshelf, it draws the viewer's attention, but serves a greater purpose: highlighting Sakura's curiosity as universal and powerful.  Furthermore, this image highlights the show's clever use of light-dark dynamics, allowing us to distinguish the serious from the lighthearted - it also literally displays her movement away from what is known, and into new territory. To her surprise, she discovers a mysterious book (depicted below) - the show follows up on its intellectual promise of growth.

Figure 2. Depiction of the Clow Book which is supposed to contain the Clow Cards.

 (Rather than explaining the plot details, I'll cut to the chase.) Opening this book leads to Sakura discovering the Windy card, which she accidentally activates; it then leads to her meeting Keroberos, the guardian of the Clow cards. Despite his serious demeanor, he looks rather silly, so he has to fight for Sakura's attention (which is rather funny, to be honest, even if that sounds cruel). Keroberos (Kero-chan, below) "threatens" Sakura with a spoon, with a cake-thing right next to him.

Figure 3. Kero-chan, the jerk, threatens Sakura with a spoon.

Like, look at him - he looks like a stuffed animal. Nobody who isn't plot-important would know that he's a magical creature. I can see why Sakura looks so dubious in the picture; can't you?

One strongly appealing element of the show is its excellent use of color, in addition to light-dark dynamics, as shown above. Sakura's brilliant green eyes are a prominent feature that highlight her mood. But furthermore, Kero-chan is depicted as yellow, providing a partial contrast to Sakura. Really, I am not sure how to explain the use of color. But CCS is a gorgeous work of art, especially considering the fact that it came out at the turn of the century. Sakura's character design is also rather on-point.

Now, anyone who knows me is wondering "why hasn't he mentioned the music yet?" Well, this is for you punks. Often orchestral in nature, the music is rather soothing and melodic and in love with woodwind instruments. In short, it sounds like fairy tale music, and convincingly interjects in the show, allowing for greater sonic enjoyment. Naturally, the voice acting intersects well with the music. No such situation where you think the music contradicts the visuals or the characters. The opening and ending themes work within this cohesiveness while adding a pop element - so these musical themes work well with the music and the general atmosphere of the show. (For an example where I think an opening or ending theme doesn't fit the feel of a show, look to AGE's opening theme 1 by Galileo Galilei.)

Having read the manga, I have noticed, at least so far, that comparatively little was adapted in this episode. That is not necessarily a bad thing, though I find the manga slow. However, these reasons are more down to personal preference than quality - rather, this is material that I seem to enjoy even more when animated. So I was rather surprised that they chose to cover a specific amount from the manga - this show is not rushed in the slightest. In my view, the visual components, along with the voice acting especially in Sakura's case, lifts this show, at least so far, over the manga.

Ultimately, this show is the sort of thing a weeb like FF would really enjoy. The visuals are stunning, Sakura Tanga makes an excellent Sakura Kinomoto, and the directing keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. Even though I found the same segment somewhat slow in the manga, I found myself giving rapt attention to the show. Admittedly, the seventy-episode length is rather daunting, but considering what a strong first episode that was, I think I can manage. Kudos, Madhouse.

Rating: 93/100
Rating: 53/100 (FF will call my bluff and STILL be triggered)

Some Resolutions, and some Speeches

I will blame one particular friend for this post. He wanted to evaluate his progress on  resolutions, so I'll evaluate mine.

1) W.r.t my friend: I have just been mulling it over.
2) Blogwriting: I have fallen behind in slightly, but I'm still posting, which is good. (Hi, I exist.)
3. I have completed 252 anime, which leaves only 48 left. My ratio is around 64.7%, which is good, but I need to watch more shows to balance it out. Currently, I only have two Kara no Kyoukai movies left and one special episode.
4. I have seen little progress with VNs. However, I hope to read Analogue a Hate Story and Clannad to improve my progress here.
5. The story is around 10 pages, which is about a third of the way there, so I should still be able to meet this resolution. Annoying Justin is still going excellently.
6. Toastmasters: Today I will meet my requirement of "3 meetings a month" and I will deliver my first prepared speech. Progress is good.
7. Graduate School: In progress. We'll see.
8. I have not touched Infinite Jest but I did read Spice and Wolf LN2. So just reading LN3 will bump me up to this goal, so maybe it needs revision.
9. Manga: Some progress.

The at-least-40 completion club: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, My Little Monster
The under-40 completion club: A Girl on the Shore

I hope that Orange (30ish chapters), Cardcaptor Sakura (50ish chapters), and some others can help me round out my manga goals. Of course, Hotarubi no Mori e (10ish chapters) should help too.
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But I wanted to go above and beyond just looking at my resolutions. Today I am presenting an Icebreaker speech for Toastmasters, which I hope will allow me to connect both sides of my being: the scientific side, and the artistic side. One concern is that I cannot delve into how my family has influenced me, or how I really have such dorky interests. Nowhere in this speech can ClariS be clearly mentioned, for example, or perhaps discussing how Oreimo influenced me.

 At this point, practice and maintaining confidence are likely the most important components. I just wish I could just sail through any minor blunders and give the best presentation possible. But overthinking is my mantra, and it guides even my public speaking.

But I have also been helping my dad with his paper for a peer-reviewed conference, which has helped me awaken the sleeping technical writing skills. Using just a few articles, I was able to piece together a page of writing, which hopefully was helpful. The paper is due tonight, which is cause for concern given how little time he has left. Hopefully it can be done by the deadline, and hopefully I can also do well on my speech. Tonight will be a comparatively easy night to rest.

Secondly, there's a couple of blog ideas worth pursuing. One, I imagine, will touch on poverty; the second is not so much an idea as a vague concept that I should begin writing a post about my favorite show this season (ERASED, that is).