Miscellany

A “zombie brand” is “a dead or dormant brand that have been revived or trotted out for second or third chances.” Anime has its share. I recently watched a soporific new Ah! My Goddess OVA, and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last Tenchi Muyo spinoff. What are other zombie anime?

*****

Yet another volcano in Kyushu is acting up. The Nakadake crater in the Aso caldera has been producing small plumes of ash and steam, and incandescence is visible on some webcams at night. Aso is the third volcano on the island to erupt this year. Shinmoedake/Kirishima put on quite a show back in January, and Sakura-jima has been puffing away since 1955. There are webcams here and here. Aso is currently tenth from the bottom in the box at right at the latter link. (Starting at the bottom and counting up by twos will give you a tour of some of the more active volcanoes in the south of Japan: Suwanose-jima, Satsuma-iwo-jima, Sakura-jima, Kirishima, Aso.)

Today, by the way, is the 31st anniversary of the VEI 5 blast at the American Fujiyama.

*****

Here’s a different, practical approach to cosplay: superhero styles as everyday street wear. (Via Project Rooftop.)

*****

Hobbes and Bacon.

(Via Pixy.)

*****

Time travel is not merely impossible. In China, it’s illegal.

*****

Romance novel covers, improved.

Call for heroes

We’ve established through impeccable scientific means that Shinji Ikari is the most annoying character in anime and Light Yagami is the best villain. Current studies indicate that Lucy/Nyuu is probably the scariest girl. It’s time for a more inspirational poll. Who is the most heroic character in anime? Please post your nominations in a comment to this post. You can nominate more than one character, but don’t get carried away. Update: please mention the show the character is from; there’s a lot I haven’t seen, and I probably won’t recognize every name.

Note that “hero” and “jackass” are not mutually-exclusive terms. Few fictional characters exhibit such manly strength as Kamina, and fewer still are such damned fools.

Notes, mostly musical

One of the 19th-century piano virtuoso’s stocks in trade was the operatic paraphrase, in which he took themes from a popular opera and assembled a fantasia with them, often highly elaborate. The practice fell out of favor in the twentieth century. However, if you substitue anime for opera, it is alive and well in otakudom. Here is a piece using themes from Yuki Kajiura’s OST for Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica:

Here’s a novel treatment of a theme from Madoka:

(Via Anime Instrumentality.)

I wonder if might be possible to make an opera out of Madoka. Perhaps not; it would take considerable ingenuity to condense the story to two or three hours and still have it make sense, and there are no significant roles for adult male singers — you could cast Kyubey as a tenor, but he would be cuter and creepier as a boy soprano. While a clever designer can probably think of a way to present the witches, the events of the last episode are another matter entirely.

Nevertheless, if it could be done, and done well, it would potentially be overwhelming. The composer would not necessarily have to be Yuki Kajiura, though I would be curious to hear if she’s capable of something as complex as an opera.

*****

Not anime-related, but noteworthy: an arrangement of a Lady Gaga tune that bears listening:

(Via Darwin Catholic.)

*****

Susumu Hirasawa, guitarist and singer of P-Model and composer of soundtracks for Satoshi Kon, has made a number of his pieces available for free download. I particularly recommend “The Girl in Byakkoya,” the ending theme of Paprika.

*****

What is the greatest problem with the American legal system? Perhaps it’s that judges have lousy taste in music.

*****

A problem with Windows computers you might not be aware of:

Many problems with Windows computers can be traced to spiritual infestations. Windows is notoriously vulnerable to attacks from the other side, and spirits may take over your computer in an attempt to break their old Pac-Man records. They may be very disappointed if they cannot find Pac-Man installed on your computer, and may use up most of your processing power looking for it. The obvious solution is to install whatever vintage computer games your spiritual guests desire to play. Alternatively, you may wish to abandon Windows altogether in favor of a more secure operating system, such as an abacus.

Sicilian fireworks

Viewing hasn’t been good for Sakurajima and its neighbors lately, and with a tropical storm passing by, it isn’t likely to improve in the immediate future. However, visibility is considerably better in Sicily, where Mt. Etna is currently displaying “modest” but pretty Strombolian activity. There’s a good chance we might see some nice lava fountains tonight as the eruption intensifies. You can watch the show here.

Update: a couple more cameras with good views: here (camera #6) and here.

Update II: The show’s over for now. Here’s a video of the eruption.

Update III: Another video:

Sicilian fireworks

Etna is doing its thing again. Watch the show here.

We might see some nice lava fountains tonight. According to vulcanologist Boris Behncke about 40 minutes ago, “It’s still quite modest Strombolian activity as of now, and might still take a few hours to reach its culmination – however, the increase in volcanic tremor amplitude is accelerating.”

Update: The show’s over for now. Here’s a video of the eruption.

Update II: Here’s another video:

There were six

Three months ago I was following six new shows, the most ever at one time. So, how did the winter season pan out?

Gosick — Victorique and Kujo both annoyed me in different ways, and the first few mysteries weren’t that interesting. It takes more than a blonde Leningrad Cowboys haircut to sustain my interest. Dropped.

Fractale — Even mediocre Miyazaki beats pretentious, incoherent imitations. Dropped.

Yumekui Merry — I dropped it when it was licensed. I’ll probably pick up the boxed set in a year or two. It’s not high priority. I skimmed ahead in the manga; there’s possibly a good story there, but I doubt that it could be wrapped up neatly in 26 episodes, let alone 13.

Kore wa Zombie desu ka — Any show that makes a guy in a frilly pink dress a exemplar of manliness deserves recognition. Still, it felt like a small fragment of a much larger story, and at the same time, it seemed that the writers had no particular goal in mind but were making it up as they went along. I almost made it all the way through the series, quitting ten minutes into the last, irrelevant episode. It’s a possible buy if it’s licensed for DVD, but it would be low priority.

Level E — The oddest show I’ve seen in a while. The central character, a hyperintelligent alien bishie prince and a complete jerk, torments and plays practical jokes on his staff and on earthlings unfortunate enough to catch his attention. Surprisingly, it’s watchable and sometimes even fun. It gives Takehito Koyasu a chance to chew the scenery as the prince’s much-put-upon assistant. If it’s licensed, it might be worth buying when the boxed set is on sale. The opening theme is my favorite from the winter season.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka?Magica — The last two episodes were more than worth the wait. The show has had me thinking of Divergence Eve/Misaki Chronicles; the last episode strongly reminded me of Serial Experiments Lain as well. Every episode surprised me; even when I had some notion of what was coming, Shinbo and Urobuchi consistently exceeded my expectations. I don’t declare anything a “classic” until it is at least ten years old, but I think that in 2021 Madoka will join Cardcaptor Sakura, Lain and Shingu on my very short list of true anime classic series. ((Haibane Renmei (2002) and Dennou Coil (2007) are also probable classics.))

Dueling villains

To pass the time until the ending of Madoka is subtitled, here’s a little poll. (Light won the earlier “best villain” poll.)