Trivia that matter
Here are the first two measures of “Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom — Nuclear Fusion,” from the Touhou Game Subterranean Animism, as arranged by Dorian Bluet. The notes in the treble clef include C, G, G-flat, D, A, A-flat, E, F, D-flat and B. In the bass clef there are E-flat and B-flat. ZUN might not be a rigorous old-fashioned avant-garde dodecaphonist, but there are surprises in his music.
Most versions of “U.N. Owen Was Her?,” whether they be rock, techno, frenetic piano, accordion or whatever, tend to be frenzied, heavy and ominous. I took a different approach with ZUN’s tune.
It’s my computer playing, as usual, though I think this arrangement is simple enough that even I could manage it. I’m not entirely happy with it and I may revisit it someday.
The connection between Ulick and Una Owen and Flandre Scarlet is rather tenuous.
Update (July 16): I revised the arrangement and uploaded a new recording. I’m still not satisfied with it, but I’ve tinkered with it long enough.
You can see and download the score here. The mp3 is here.
I discovered this morning that as of last January, the translation of Marie & Gali 2.0 has reached episode three. That leaves just 27 more to go. I wonder if I’ll live long enough to see the rest.
One of the characteristics of Touhou music is that you almost never find a “V” chord or a “V-i” cadence. I.e., if a passage is in D# minor, there probably won’t be a A# chord. Chord roots move by seconds or thirds, rather than fourths or fifths. This gives the music an unmoored, floating sound. Tunes often don’t actually seem to go anywhere, no matter how fast and furious they are or how often they modulate. This works well for game music, where a tune might be endlessly repeated, but it can get tiresome to those who like their music to progress to destinations. In other words, ZUN is not much like Mozart or Beethoven. ((The only discussion of Touhou harmony I could find with a quick search is here. Should you be a musicologist with excess spare time, there’s a project for you.))
I was curious how a Touhou piece would sound reharmonized in a more western manner. Here is an arrangement of “The Centennial Festival for Magical Girls.”
Update: I’ve uploaded the score to MuseScore.
Compare that with the version that was my starting point, DMBN’s “easy” arrangement of the tune.
You can download DMBN’s score here if you want to follow along.
As usual, the performer is my computer. I’m not entirely happy with my arrangement, and I might revisit it sometime.
Update: Uploaded better-sounding recording.
Re-Kan — Another Shinto 101 show, like Natsume Yuujin-cho and Mokke. It reminds me of Pupipo, but here the girl who sees things that other people don’t has generally supportive classmates. While there’s no hint of fanservice, there is a cat who behaves like the reincarnation of Mr. Kimura, and that might limit its watchability. I’ll probably watch more.
Shokugeki no Soma — Three minutes into it there were tentacles. Forget it.
Houkago no Pleiades — Formulaic mahou shoujo. However, the girls have distinct personalities, and some of the events take place in a conservatory I’d like to visit. There’s also no hint of fanservice, even in the transformation scene. ((except perhaps for the excessively detailed eyecatch.)) I’ll probably continue watching.
Hibiki! Euphonium — I didn’t find the story and characters as enthralling as Ben, but I wasn’t in band when I did time in high school. I gave up about half-way through the first episode. I might give it another try sometime when I’m less preoccupied.
Update: I sampled a couple more.
Etotama — The first episode seemed like a gag manga adaptation, but apparently it’s an anime original. It was energetic and sometimes funny, but it made very little sense. I might watch another episode to see if the writers have anything in mind beyond chibified kemenomimi, but I don’t have high hopes.
Punch Line — noitaminA has given us probable classics (The Tatami Galaxy, Mononoke), curiosities (Moyashimon) and lots of pretentious drivel (pretty much everything else). And now noitaminA presents outright trash. I made it half-way through, and that’s enough.
After months of tedious waiting, there suddenly are not one but two different subtitled versions of Mouretsu Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace out. I’ve watched each once so far. As far as I can judge, WhyNot‘s is the better and more thorough translation; Doremi‘s is impressive for a fourteen-hour job. WhyNot’s 1080 fansub has a 5.1 FLAC soundtrack and is more than twice the size of the corresponding Doremi version, which might be important if you have limited disc space or a sub-optimal internet connection.
It’s an enjoyable movie. Abyss of Hyperspace is set after the end of the TV series. Hyperspace has become very turbulent, which plays havoc with businesses dependent on faster-than-light travel. Pirate captain and high school student Marika acquires a “hostage,” a blue-haired boy with a mechanical parrot and father issues, and who is pursued by swarms of mobsters. After various adventures and battles and a bit of psychodrama, all is resolved, conspiracies revealed, bad guys thwarted, and good guys rewarded. The story’s not bad, but the real pleasure of the movie, as with most of Tatsuo Sato’s better work, is spending time with the characters.
It’s not necessary to have seen the television series to enjoy the movie, but those who’ve met Chiaki-chan before will get more out of it. There’s nothing objectionable, and the movie is suitable for anyone old enough to follow a moderately complicated story.
There are more screencaps below the fold.
It seems like I’ve been waiting forever for the promised fansub of Mouretsu Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace, which has been almost done for several months now. Another circle noticed a day or two ago that the movie was still not available in English and did the subtitles in fourteen hours. Steven has the link. I won’t have time to watch the whole thing until I get home this evening, but what I’ve seen so far has been worth the wait.
For further glimpses of everyday life in Japan, see the Brickmuppet.
From the previews for episode 18 of Wagaya no Oinari-sama, or Our Home’s Fox Deity. The duckies in the preview did not appear in the episode itself.
Hayao Miyazaki's – On Your Mark by gamer3000x
One of the two greatest AMVs ever made. (The other is Interstella 5555.) The song is not particularly interesting, but the animation is Miyazaki at his best.
The superior should rule and guide the world’s development.
Who said that? Was it a) a member of the president’s cabinet, or b) a bad guy in a very silly anime? The answer is below the fold.
Crunchyroll is now streaming Kenji Nakamura‘s Mononoke, one of the very best shows ever broadcast, and in higher quality than either the old fansub or the recent DVD release. If you are interested at all in animation as art, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Now when do we see Dennou Coil?
Gee, thank you so much. Is the anime industry deliberately trying to force me to torrent everything again?
I recently got a blu-ray drive for my computer. For the first movie to watch at 1080p, I picked Redline. It was a good choice. Although there are plenty of digital effects employed in the 2009 movie, all the characters, all the cars — everything — are hand-drawn, and it shows. The last half-hour is the most spectacular anime I’ve seen since the end of Akira, and the whole movie is gorgeous. The screencaps here are all from the first twelve minutes.
Redline opens and closes with wild road races. In between, there is a romance, interference from the mafia, and a repressive government up to No Good, but the story doesn’t get in the way. The movie is pure eye candy.
One, and only one, of the characters above from the Heroic Botch of Arslan is a girl. Can you tell which one?
[poll id=”3″]
Update: The answer is below the fold.
I can’t make a top ten list of anime for 2014 because I didn’t watch ten series all the way through. Here’s a quick look at what I finished.
The best
Pupipo. It’s unlikely ever to be licensed, so you’ll have to track it down through irregular channels. It’s worth an hour of your life.
Pretty good
Hozuki no Reitetsu. Life in Japanese hell. The most successful comedy of the year. To fully appreciate the eighth episode, watch a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu video first. (You don’t have to watch the video all the way through. One minute will be plenty.)
Kill la Kill, part two. Over the top and beyond. ((I’d like to see a sequel to this — not more bizarre action with the fate of the world at stake, but rather an account of how Satsuki adapts to ordinary life and ordinary clothes. It will be a much greater challenge for her than anything she faced in the show.))
The rest
Amagi Brilliant Park. It’s the first Kyoto Animation series I’ve watched beginning to end since the first season of Suzumiya Haruhi, which is something. Still, I was too irritated with the principals to enjoy the humor.
Madan no Ou to Vanadis. The greatest disappointment of the year. Tatsuo Sato is more comfortable with spaceships than with swords and magic. Tigre is too much a straight arrow, and the war maidens are often too silly to take seriously. The show felt rushed. It needs at least 26 more episodes, but I’d rather Sato start a new project that suits his vision better than waste more time in Brune.
Ore Twintails ni Narimasu. The fourth episode is great. After that, it goes downhill fast. There are way too many double-entendres throughout, and the premise is just a bit squicky.
Sabagebu. Sometimes funny, sometimes tasteless. Still, it’s a good antidote for the Stella C3 catastrophe.
Sekai Seifuku —Bouryaku no Zvezda—. Sometimes funny, sometimes merely weird.
Witch Craft Works. I know I watched this, but I can barely remember it.
And a couple of other things
Girls und Panzer: Kore ga Hontou no Anzio-sen Desu! OVA. A particularly enjoyable affair with Miho’s girls and their tanks.
Mouretsu Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace. Excellent, as far as I can judge from the raw, but I’ll have to withhold final judgement until it’s subtitled.