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Delirious in a different kind of way
An interview with Michael Ondaatje
By Gary Kamiya
November 18, 1996 10:58PM (UTC)
those who marvel at the luxurious energy of Michael Ondaatje's imagination, the muscular exuberance of his storytelling, the gem-like intelligence of his language, may not be surprised to learn that his own family history has been as fantastic as his prose. As he relates in his marvelous memoir, "Running in the Family," Ondaatje grew up in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the child of a strong-willed mother and a brilliant, maniacally eccentric father who was given, when in his superhuman cups, to pulling revolvers on trains and forcing them to run back and forth at his pleasure. As Ondaatje explores his Dutch-Ceylonese genealogy, he paints a sad, hilarious, unforgettable picture of lives lived to a surreal tropical hilt: an entire society consumed by compulsive gambling, whether on the race-track or on which crow would leave a wall first; endless affairs; bitter, witty feuds carried out in the "comments" section of hotel registers.
Ondaatje left Ceylon for England, and later moved to Canada, where he lives in Toronto and teaches at York University. Besides "Running in the Family," he is the author of three collections of poems "The Cinnamon Peeler," "Secular Love" and "There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do" and four novels: "In the Skin of a Lion," "Coming Through Slaughter," "The Collected Works of Billy the Kid" and "The English Patient," which won the 1992 Booker Prize.
Salon spoke to Ondaatje in San Francisco, where he was on tour promoting the film.
Let me ask you about the genesis of "The English Patient." I was curious how it came into being. Because it does have a narrative skeleton, but over that is a fantastically imaginative, rich overlay of words and images. What came to you first an image? Or was the entire plot present in your mind from the beginning?
No, the plot wasn't there until I finished the book, probably. I don't really begin a novel, or any kind of book, with any sure sense of what's happening or even what's going to happen. Almasy [the badly-burned "English patient" whose tragic love affair with Katherine Clifton forms the heart of the book] wasn't in the story in my head. Kip [the Indian sapper, or bomb-disposal expert, whose love affair with the English patient's nurse, Hana, offers a counterpoint to Almasy's story] wasn't in the story. Caravaggio [a shadowy thief with bandaged hands] wasn't in the story. It began with this plane crash and it went on from there. Now, why did this plane crash? What did that have to do with this guy in the plane? Who was the guy? When was it happening? Where was it happening? All those things had to be uncovered or unearthed, as opposed to being sure in my head.
Then there was a nurse and there was a patient, there was a man who was stealing back a photograph of himself. It was those three images. I did not know who they were, or how they were connected. So I sat down, I started to write and try to discover what the story was. And build from those three germs, really. I tend not to know what the plot is or the story is or even the theme. Those things come later, for me.
The film has a more straightforward plot explication. I wonder if films have to do this with narratives, whether they have to emphasize the strongest narrative thread. Especially in the case of a polyphonic story like yours, with multiple central characters. In the film they reduced the role of Kip substantially; a lot of his character's depth was removed. You were deeply involved in the creation of this film did you go in wanting to stay close to your original vision, keep all of the voices in, and then realize it wouldn't work? Or did Anthony Minghella just say, from the beginning, "It won't work in film this way, and you have to go with my directorial instincts"?
I trust his directorial instincts. And I don't know film. I do know that film is much more visceral, in terms of its effect on the reader. It's much more immediate, and because of that it seems to be limited in a specific place. If a stranger dies in a movie, it doesn't really affect us as much as someone we've followed for an hour and a half. Whereas in a book, you can invent a stranger on the last five pages of a novel, and give that enough empathy for the reader to be devastated.
I think that is one of the differences between film and books that is very interesting. In a book, you can suddenly leap to another world and bring that world into the room. So the choices made here aren't so much about the politics of the movie-makers, they're about the technical limits of film a medium that can also give us something quite devastating by saying less. Anthony, obviously, was very aware of this and he took some of the stuff that he couldn't put in and worked it into the fabric of the other characters. A lot of Almasy's stuff is drawn from other parts of the book.
Could you imagine this film with the material about Kip in it? Would that have made it too long?
Well, Anthony actually wrote all that stuff. All those things were in several drafts. The stuff he wrote about Kip's life in England was beautiful.
Yes, those were some of my favorite parts of the book.
When I heard they were going to make the movie, I thought, well, I know what's going to work is the stuff in England. Because it's like the old-fashioned movies, "Cockleshell Heroes," that we saw when we were kids. And the stuff Anthony wrote was terrific. Kip's training [as a bomb disposal expert] it was all there. Then when we looked it at later, we realized that we had written this little half-hour movie in England in the middle of this one, which the movie would never recover from. Not because it was bad or even weak; in fact it was quite wonderful. But you can't have a diversion for 20 minutes while Kip trains in England. You have so many flashbacks already to have another one in England would have been too much. I think Anthony wanted to make Kip important. He did as much as he could. I don't think he could've got all that stuff in there.
One of the themes of the book is redemption, transformation particularly with the character of Hana. In the film, she's a simpler and less damaged character, and her redemption is easier.
The healing in the book takes much longer there's a sense of history, which a book can catch, but a film almost can't.
I think your book is a little darker than the film, in that regard. The film ends with Hana riding in a truck and this lovely blurred green flashing, after that unforgettable shot of the plane over the desert. It's magnificent filmmaking. Whereas you end with Kip, in India, later you're sort of off on another planet. That's maybe a more equivocal tone than in the film.
I didn't know how they were going to end it, because I didn't know how to end the book. I end up with someone dropping a fork in Canada and somebody catching a fork in India. But I thought the stroke of genius in the film was that little girl in the back of the truck, this kid watching. Everything that Hana has been is passed to that little kid, and when she's 20 years old, she's going to remember that ride in the truck and that woman who got on the truck with her. I thought that was such a wonder, it was so brief, but that was the open door to the continuation of some kind of future. How do you do that in a book? God knows. You can't get to that doorway. That's an example of how film can do some stuff that books can't.
When you saw this finished film, did it teach you anything about your own book? By seeing this kind of simulacrum of what you've done, did it give you an objective perspective, so that you'd say, "Oh, this is something that I really like or don't like"?
Yes. It is very much like having someone who's a specialist in feet suddenly say, "Do you realize that everyone is walking backwards in your story?" And you suddenly recognize certain constant habits of yours, or something you touched on briefly that now gets emphasized in the film, is in fact quite a wondrous little moment, that you didn't really explore, but Anthony did.
Anything in particular? Any moment that stands out?
In the book the relationship with Katharine and Almasy is sort of only in the patient's mind. There is a chapter called "Katharine" that deals with that love affair, with the first part of it anyway. What Anthony improved, I think, was a scene where he says "I hate ownership." In the book she hits him, just whacks him one and that is the end of the scene. I think the way they did it in the film was better she just separated herself without touching him. Then they have a little scene with Hana and the patient, then they go back. This is where film is more subtle. You think "This is over now," and then there's an obsessive drawing back to each other.
The scene in the film when Kip pulls Hana up to look at the frescoes in the church was really majestic. The audience at the screening actually applauded. It's obviously an important scene in the book, but in the film, it seems to acquire a kind of centrality it's an epiphany of joy and hopefulness. And it seemed like a very clever idea to change it from the book, because in the book Kip lifts up is it a sergeant?
It's a classicist, actually. Get Alec Guinness up there! [laughs] When they were going to shoot this scene, and I knew it was going to be the Hana character, I yelled out,"Stop, stop, get an old historical classicist!" [laughs] But that scene is an example of how film can get delirious. To get delirious in a book, you have to do it in a different kind of way.
In the book, Hana is extremely detached and wounded. Whereas Juliette Binoche is just so eternally and wonderfully radiant. I don't think she can turn it off.
Now, you're talking about an actress who was in "Blue," who portrayed several shades of depression.
But even there, I thought she had an innocence. She was not burned out. And in this film she seemed less damaged. Was that a conscious decision?
I think that Anthony thought, basically you've got a guy in a bed who is burned, and to have as another main character a woman who is utterly shell-shocked perhaps you could have a bit more fighting back.
All of the directorial changes seemed to have an extraordinary subtlety.
Yes. Almost all of them seemed to be there for an intelligent purpose, as opposed to "Hey, let's have more sex!" or something like that.
In the scene where Almasy carries Katharine out of the cave, he is actually screaming with grief. That really stuck in my mind. It was a terribly powerful note, but a dangerous one, in a way. It's something, again, that the discreet veil of fiction can cover. You don't know what his facial expression is. You didn't write it. In a film, that can go into melodrama. What did you think about that?
I think it's a dodgy thing. Who knows? But what I like about it is that Anthony wasn't afraid of that emotion. You can look at every movie made in the West, and love or passion is ironic, or embarrassed. It works, because the guy has been so contained all the way through. He's not a lovable hero. He's a difficult man. That's the payoff; when he does that, you believe it.
Watching this film, did you sometimes just feel like a kid in a candy store? Like "I can't believe that I imagined this, and then somebody went and showed it to me." It must be a tremendous feeling.
Yes. And to have five hundred guys building a road in a desert! All these people!
Oh yes, the "Saul Zaentz Imperial Highway." [The name -- after the film's producer -- bestowed upon a road the crew widened on location in Tunisia.]
Everybody who was there wanted to have a road named after themselves. Anthony wanted the Minghella Road, I wanted the Ondaatje Road. (laughs) The road that leads nowhere.
This is an element that has nothing to do with the film, it's only in the book. I had some questions about Kip's radical change after the A-Bomb was dropped, when he becomes enraged and breaks with everyone. It made sense intellectually, but it seemed a little deus ex machina-like to me.
Okay. That's interesting. If ever there was a deus ex machina of our generation it was The Bomb. So how do you evoke that in a book? I thought about this a lot, actually. I thought about it a lot since I wrote it, because a lot of people have real problems with that scene. Some people think it's the essential scene, some people can say it's not. I was trying to convey that a public act like this does fuck up people utterly. It is what happens to Almasy as well. So, in a way, it's a kind of parallel story about fate.
When I realized that that was where something was going to happen, when I went back and rewrote the book, I tried to somehow prepare the reader for it, with the arguments with his brother, the stuff in Naples, in a city that's been blown up, references to words like "nuclear," buried bombs, all those things, because I couldn't say, "We know this is going to come in August." It was a very odd thing. It was like preparing for Othello without anyone talking about him before he comes onstage. Usually you have 18 people talking about what a wonderful guy he was, and so it was a real problem how to do it. And I am not sure I did it right. I just think it is a thing where it suddenly happens like that [snaps fingers] and it is a complete deus ex machina. I don't know. Maybe I didn't prepare it enough, but when I wrote it, I couldn't prepare it any more than I did. Because, you couldn't tip your hand on that. I don't know how it can work, I don't know how to make it work better.
What other films made from books have you liked?
Hmm. Well, "The Leopard" [from the di Lampedusa novel]. I can tell you a book I love that was made into a terrible film. That was "Endless Love" by Scott Spencer. Everyone knows the movie because of this notoriously bad film that was made by Zefferelli. If you ever see it, pick it up. It's a great book.
Did you ever see the movie of "Death In Venice"?
I did. I don't think I got fully into it. Actually, there's a funny story. I was in Sri Lanka recently and somebody told me "Death in Venice" had played there. Very quickly it came and left, and everyone was so surprised. It turned out the distributors thought it was a western! (Laughs)
Gary Kamiya
Gary Kamiya is a Salon contributing writer.
MORE FROM Gary Kamiya


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Written by Jordan Tomlinson
I, like all west ham fans, was hurting after Saturday. I thought the late goal was harsh on us, as despite our defensive shortcomings for more or less the whole game I thought we looked decent in attack and looked like we could've stolen it at the end. But it's important to take positives from these games. I thought Ayew looked sharp when he came on and Byram showed beginnings of his potential with that excellent assist. But the question does ponder, is it Bilic' fault that we are in this kind of situation to begin with?
If you rewind to the end of last season, to that magical evening against United, I doubt you would find one West Ham fan calling for Bilic' head. I for one, know that me and my dad were both amazed to find out this season that Bilic' contract hadn't already been extended, given how the board are so keen for new contracts. However, about a quarter of the way in the situation had changed, drastically. I believe Watford was the first sign of fans turn that I saw. Again, I was there, and that is probably still the most painful loss I can recall this season. From the manor in which we dominated the game, to the way in which we utterly capitulated, was heartbreaking. And frankly, not that it wasn't already obvious, that revealed the underlying problems we have had all season.
Fast forward to another painful game against Middlesbrough, and it was at this point that it became clear to me that our summer signings were not only lacking quality, but lacking passion, awareness and frankly did not play in the right position. Anyone at the game would remember the first, and to my knowledge, only use of the golf buggy to carry away an injured Sam Byram. Whilst amusing at the time, this then led to the substitution of Arbeloa, which was much less amusing. To this day he is possibly one of the worst right backs I have seen don a west ham shirt. It was at this point apparent how badly our summer signings had gone. The uselessness of Tore was beyond apparent at this point, Zaza was still to net a goal for us, Calleri was absent and Feghouli still stuck on the bench. We drew the game from a piece of magic from Payet (just saying his name still leaves a bad taste in my mouth) but this was again a turning point for many fans. I myself began to question Bilic. Not just because of the results, but I felt his signings had simply been woeful. It was his call to bring in Tore, and I believe he played a large part in Zaza also, both flopped majorly.
Then came a solid run of results, which saw us climb out of the relegation zone, rise to 9th, before falling back to our current position. A lot happened in that time, namely the Payet saga. I believe that looking back at the situation retrospectively Bilic handled the situation perfectly. He tried to cover it up for as long as possibly and to change Payets mind, but to no avail. We knew something was wrong at the city game and it was simply too blindingly obvious to cover up any longer. I think everything Bilic did was right and he handled the situation near perfectly.
So here comes the deciding bit. Am I Bilic out, or Bilic in? Personally I don't know. What I do know, is that there are credible arguments on both sides. I do know, for example, that Bilic is stubborn. For me, this is his biggest downfall, second to none. Whether it's arrogance, ignorance I don't know. But something about Bilic seems to prevent the blindingly obvious being apparent to him. The Antonio situation was obviously the most prominent at the start of the season. However we are over that, but now seem to have come full loop, this time with Kouyate. Frankly, I was outraged when we didn't sign another right back in the window. This is not due to Byrams ability, as I believe he could easily start for us. The problem with Byram is his injury record. He is frankly, our least reliable player at the moment, even more so than Carroll. So for Bilic to then turn down the chance to sign a rightback in January was borderline insane, I simply cannot understand what he was thinking. This is the first problem. But then, for Byram to now be fit, and for Bilic to then sacrifice the core of our midfield and play him out of position instead of Byram, is simply illogical. There is nothing more to it. His stubbornness also reflects in games, in his unwillingness to make subs early enough, change the system, it is a HUGE downfall of Bilic.
His tactics also must be questioned at times. His five at the back system for example. I will admit that I was actually a fan of this at first, I thought the three centre backs gave excellent cover for crosses and it suited Cresswell perfectly. However huge problems with this system soon came apparent. Firstly was the midfield. Due to Bilic not signing another centre back Kouyate had to drop back into defence, leaving Noble and Obiang in the centre of the park. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with these players, at CDM. But for those two to be the only centre mids in the team was disastrous. There was no creativity and just a huge hole where the midfield used to be. Furthermore, Lanzini was never a left midfielder to start with, let alone a left forward playing off of Carroll. This is a quick pacey centre forwards position, not that of a playmaker. The same was true for Payet, and the result was a very isolated front three and no midfield. Not to mention that this never suited Byram either. The problem is that I could recognise these major problems after two or three games. It took Bilic about ten to change the system, and you can't be that slow in the premier league, every aspect of the game, from the play through to the management has to be quick, decisive and accurate, I'm afraid Bilic is not.
However, I am not in the view that Bilic should leave, despite this, and I think this is to do with last season. Last season was the best I've ever seen as a hammer, and I'm sure most will agree. Despite finishing 7th, this didn't reflect he true brilliance of the season, shown as we were only four points of 4th, and if it weren't for despicable refereeing we would have finished 4th. This was with the horrific injury crisis we were hit with. In that season Bilic showed every aspect that a premier league manager needs to. The team was well-drilled, played fantastic football, played with desire and commitment, but what made last season was the signings. The prolific front four which worked so well was Sakho, Payet, Lanzini and Antonio. Three of those four were signed that summer. Summer signings are absolutely crucial in terms of deciding where a team finishes and it's no surprise we are meandering in mid-table after a woeful summer of poor signings co-ordinated by Bilic and penny pinching from the board. So I would argue that Bilic needs another summer. But it cannot be like this summer. Deals have to be made quickly and decisively, whilst deadline day transfers are exiting they are pricey and usually flop. Last summer all our signings were tied up very early and we reaped the benefits, if Bilic is showing signs of a repeat of this summer he would need to go.
Another factor is the risk. Arsenal are in the same boat. Many fans want Wenger gone, but many worry about the risk. Only a quick glance at United, a shadow of what they used to be, needs to be taken to know that sacking a manager can be dangerous. And whilst Bilic hasn't been long serving, he has been revolutionary. Mark my words we are no longer the West Ham of old. It is actually quite remarkable in some ways, for us to be having what any fan would consider a poor season, yet we are hovering mid-table, implying this club is moving on to bigger and better things. But I worry, like others do I know, that sacking Bilic could send us into freefall. If another poor summer were had, combined with a poor manager, things could go disastrously wrong. To use Payet's words, I don't want our club to 'regress' but there is simply no way of knowing what the right option is. And so for these reasons I wouldn't back sacking Bilic, but at the same time I wouldn't oppose it. I think I will wait for future results to speak for themselves…
Thanks for reading, as this was my first article, please tweet me with any views you have and whether you agree or disagree with me, and thanks to the West Ham Way for letting me write, all the best!
COYI
Paul 13th March 2017
Good article. I agree with most of the points. SB just seems to be missing that killer instinct that top managers have. I suspect his appeal in the squad is that he's a mate to all the players. Thats why he's blind to the big decisions. He simply cant bring himself to drop Nobes. Who could. Of course, he doesn't have to throw Noble out, just put him on the subs bench and manage him.
At the moment, the entire squad is dis-jointed. This one decision is affecting many other players, Kouyate who we desparately need in midfield, Lanzini out of position and Antonio, playing everywhere except his natural position. My only reservation is the formmof Byram who don't forget, was beingvskinned regularly at the begining of the season. Watford walked through him like hevwas our u16 right back.
I hope domebody in the club has a chst with SB and just helps him move forward as a manager. Too early to talk about sackings but something has to change. SBs backbone now that he's flexed his muscles with a well-handled Payet situation.
Jeff hymas 13th March 2017
Spot on, my thoughts exactly. But I am swinging to Bilic out I'm afraid..
Mr Peter Tricker 13th March 2017
If Mancini turned up and brought Ageuro and Joe Hart with him,then in todays harsh world Id say thanks Slav.Or would I ? West Ham,we give our managers time.I think we give him this season.If he learns ,fine but another one like this and thanks Slav.
Mark oliver 14th March 2017
Good read mate. Agree with you on most points. Right back has been a huge problem, also tho Cresswell has been poor, nowhere near the form of last season.
Ian Gravett 14th March 2017
Jeremy 15th March 2017
An excellent first article.
My memories of previous teams go back to the early '70's and have seen similar up and down seasons.My thoughts go back to the last few games of last season when I saw the cracks start to appear and what began and could have been a fantastic year only for it to slide away.
This year has been disappointing and began like that and despite all the various issues that have dogged the club,this year looks like another one of those downward seasons.
Renewing Slavens contract mmm…I'm not sure!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Karen Ann Strong-Hearth (ur. 23 września 1953 w Toronto) – kanadyjska kolarka torowa i szosowa, dwukrotna medalistka torowych mistrzostw świata.

Kariera
Pierwszy sukces w karierze Karen Strong osiągnęła w 1975 roku, kiedy została mistrzynią kraju w szosowym wyścigu ze startu wspólnego. Sukces ten powtórzyła w latach 1976 i 1981. Na rozgrywanych w 1977 roku torowych mistrzostwach świata w San Cristóbal Strong wywalczyła brązowy medal w indywidualnym wyścigu na dochodzenie, ulegając jedynie Wierze Kuzniecowej z ZSRR i Annie Riemersma z Holandii. W tej samej konkurencji zdobyła ponadto srebrny medal podczas mistrzostw świata w Besançon w 1980 roku, gdzie przegrała tylko z radziecką kolarką Nadieżdą Kibardiną. W 1984 roku Karen wystąpiła na igrzyskach olimpijskich w Los Angeles, zajmując 27. pozycję w wyścigu ze startu wspólnego.

Bibliografia
 Profil na cyclingarchives.com

Kanadyjscy kolarze szosowi
Kanadyjscy kolarze torowi
Kanadyjscy olimpijczycy
Urodzeni w 1953

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Tag Archives: The Observation Deck
The Observation Deck: Spy x Family
January 29, 2023 Jack Scheibelein Leave a comment
"huh, I never thought I'd get this far" -Plankton
Well, it has been less than a month, and I have already covered or started covering most of the stuff I wanted to since coming back. On top of that, being four-plus weeks late on seasonal stuff means now is as good a time as any to go through some of the stuff I wasn't able to talk about in 2022. With that being said, Spy x Family…
The show's first cour was a lot of fun, and there really was not a ton to complain about outside of Yor feeling a bit less developed as a character than Loid or Anya. On that front…well, actually, Idk. Yor definitely did get some moments in the season's second half, but it felt like a lot of those moments were connected to Loid or Anya as opposed to the fact that she is an assassin, a fact that feels continually lost outside of some recurring bits or an occasional laugh.
My expectation, maybe wrongfully placed, was that her assassin job would start to come into conflict with the family dynamic, even if only as a minor plot point in an episode or two. However, that simply is not the case, and it makes Yor feel a bit more like a supporting character than one of the main ones. This is not to her screen time is unenjoyable, only that she feels a bit forgotten about.
The Goodest of Boys
Granted, a lot of the reason for Yor's lack of focus probably has to do with the introduction of Bondman, Anya's adopted pet whose introduction takes up three episodes. Again, not complaining, since he feels right at home (literally and metaphorically) with the rest of the family.
His ability to predict the future due to the numerous scientific experiments performed on him by the government gives the series an interesting new dynamic, one that even saves Yor's life due to Anya's having read his mind. Bondman is also just goofy and funny in a way that adds a lot to the show's comedic bits.
Romantic Rivalry
One more important introduction during this season is Fiona, another spy from Loid's agency who also just happens to be madly in love with him. This is so much the case that she attempts to take Yor's place in the mission to contact Desmond, which fails miserably and hilariously multiple times.
The two also go on a mission towards the end of the season to recover an important piece of art and the whole time she is just fawning over him, barely paying attention to the mission. It was the biggest example of the "does he know" meme but in an anime, which, again, contributed to the comedic elements of the series.
The Climax
Spy x Family ends the season with Loid's first interaction with Desmond, brought about by Damian's desire to see him after being stuck in school for the whole year. Of course, the risk of being found out as a spy by a member of the Ostanian government makes the who situation feel as tense as it probably should.
The series spends a lot of time building up Desmond as this monster who cannot be stopped. Thus, when Loid interacts with him in person, there is a sense of who he really is, a stuffy, rich government official who feels as suffocating as the evil he represents.
Most of my feelings about part one carry over here: The show is well-animated with beautiful action scenes, the music still slaps (including the new opening and ending), and the show has a great balance between comedy and serious moments that don't feel the need to constantly overtake one another. Thus, my comments here are fairly limited. For those who have yet to watch one of the most hyped-up shows of the last few years, give it a chance, because it does live up.
How do you all feel about Spy x Family? Let me know in the comments below.
As always, special thanks to Jenn for the support on Patreon.
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The Observation Deck: Bocchi the Rock
What? you're telling me they remade K-ON? oh boy, can't wait to review i- oh, wait, never mind.
Actually, that intro is kind of insulting to Bocchi the Rock, since K-ON is definitely worse in like every way, but I will save that conversation for a Feeding the Flames post (whenever that comes out).
Bocchi was a show that was not at all on my radar until the beginning of this year, and considering the amount of backlog I have from just 2022, I was skeptical about giving it a chance. However, after watching anitwitter go crazy for it week after week, I caved and ultimately gave in to my own curiosity.
For those unaware, Bocchi the Rock is adapted from a four-panel manga of the same name, detailing the adventures of Hitori Gotoh, a high school first year who spent the last three years of her life learning guitar and making solo covers of popular songs in her closet and uploading them to YouTube under the name Guitarhero. Her dream, however, is to overcome her extreme social ineptitude, make friends, and form a band where she can become famous, and it seems as though she might finally get that chance.
Bocchi is…Cool
Any show that focuses heavily on one character is, of course, going to live or die depending on how that character is perceived. It is unlikely that a show like Naruto would be as well-liked by fans if the character was poorly written and hard to root for.
Though I certainly would not call Bocchi poorly written, by any means, she…well, has a pretty abrasively introverted personality. For her, even thinking about archetypical high school summer romances or bonding with friends is enough to send her into a spiral, mostly because she then has to think about how she can't enjoy any of that.
Granted, none of this is inherently a bad thing. The socially incompetent loner trope is one that anime is all too familiar with, especially given the audience that anime as a medium tends to attract. That said, Bocchi's character does ride a pretty fine line when it comes to enacting that personality, and sometimes it can be a bit grating.
I do understand that its source material and the format thereof do kind of limit the possible character development since four-panel manga are made for quick witty punchlines. However, given the fact that the anime does set up her desire to grow as a person, having her overreact in literally every situation can get a tad annoying.
Band Life, Baby!
Luckily, though, the show also has a great supporting cast to balance out the semi-repetitive bits that pop up around Bocchi. This includes Nijika, the band's drummer and usually the one with her head on straight, as well as Ryou, the bassist who can be generally dubbed the "weird one," and then Kita, the band's vocalist and second guitarist whose outgoing, extroverted attitudes often clashes with the other three in admittedly hilarious ways.
There are a number of others as well, all of whom are also generally likable and fun to see on screen, most notable of which are Nijika's sister Seika, who is the manager and owner of Starry, the club where they often perform, along with Bocchi's family. A lot of the humor in the show usually derives from one or more of the supporting cast contrasting their relatively normal personalities against Bocchi's often insane delusions about where her life will be and her relationship with performing
Though this can be somewhat grating as previously mentioned, enough of the bits are focused on other characters so that it does always feel like Bocchi is the center of attention, even though she is supposed to be.
Still, even when the show is not trying to be funny, it does land quite a bit with its more thoughtful and reflective moments. Music is clearly a passion for the characters it affects, and Bocchi's story of overcoming social anxiety and making friends, when not being played up to the extreme, is genuinely heartwarming. The passion the bandmates share for their work is something that feels real, and it is much appreciated.
Visual Humor
There are two comedy anime in the last year that have actually made me laugh out loud multiple times: Kaguya-sama: Love is War and Bocchi the Rock and the reason why is actually pretty similar between the two. I talked about visual humor a lot over the course of my reviews of Kaguya-sama, and one of the things that made it work, especially in later seasons, is its ability to execute jokes really well, playing up each character's defining personality traits or central conflicts with visually stimulating elements.
Though, there is definitely a difference in approach stylistically. Whereas Kaguya-sama often opts to play into ideas surrounding high school romance and uses its visual humor to express how characters are feeling about the social ideas, Bocchi leans way more into an absurdist style of humor, with a healthy dose of anime, internet, and musical references mixed in for good measure.
Part of this simply comes from it being a four-panel manga originally. From what I understand, other adaptations like Azumanga Daioh approach their stories with similar humor. However, Bocchi brings its own unique flare, always coming back to the aforementioned absurdism influenced heavily by what would more accurately be described as "gen z" or "chronically online" humor.
Looks Good, Feels Good
In that regard, the anime also just looks really solid. Cloverworks as a studio has been on the come-up recently (outside of The Promised Neverland season two but we can just ignore that for now). Even so, more of the credit should probably be going towards director Keiichirou Saitou and animation director/character designer Kiyoki Rikuta, because a lot of this show just would not work if it were not for how amazing it looks, especially during its visual gags.
Oh Right, It's a Music Anime
Somehow I almost forgot to talk about the music in this BAND anime. Whoopsie. The music is…well, a lot better than I expected, especially the songs directly related to the girls as a band. Sonically it sounds like normal J-rock that I would hear turning on any Japanese Spotify playlist. However, I do appreciate the lyrical segments of the songs and how they feel like a combination of everyone's more eclectic personalities.
The soundtrack was also pretty solid if maybe a little bit more on the unremarkable side. However, I suppose in a way it kind of works, since the show is focusing more on the girls' early period as a band. So, yeah, not bad.
I actually ended up watching a fair bit more in 2022 than expected, but even so, Bocchi definitely ranks toward my top end. It certainly is not making any grand artistic statements about society or the universe, but what it does have to say in combination with its well-executed humor and only slightly obnoxious main character hits where it needs to. Definitely something worth checking out.
How did you feel about Bocchi the Rock? Let me know down in the comments.
As always, special thanks to Jenn for supporting us on Patreon.
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The Observation Deck: Chainsaw Man (Anime)
January 8, 2023 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment
While I did not get to talk about it at all during its run, anyone with even surface-level knowledge of the medium could have told you that 2022 was expected to be the year of Chainsaw Man. Indeed, even other notable manga adaptations like Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer did not drive nearly as much conversation (mostly because of how bad it was but that is a different post entirely).
To be clear, the hype around the series has been there since early 2021, when the manga was starting to pick up steam. Still, in light of, and maybe also because of, the aforementioned disappointment that was Biscuit Hammer, there were some questions about whether Chainsaw Man's anime debut would live up to the expectations of die-hard fans. Then again, MAPPA as a studio has been on the relative upswing in terms of what they chose to adapt recently, and even a lesser adaptation could probably be carried by just how fucking awesome the material is.
So, did Tatsuki Fujimoto's smash hit get the adaptation it deserved? Well…yeah, it feels fair to say it absolutely did. And no, this is not one of those weird twists where I talk about how actually Chainsaw Man is bad therefore a mediocre adaptation would be fitting. No, MAPPA's approach not only fit the material well but actively innovated and made the series something worth watching rather than just reading.
(Since this is a relatively high-profile series I did try my best to avoid talking about anything manga related, so there shouldn't be any spoilers for anyone who is only planning on watching the anime).
Good Use of 3D Animation
For a reason I will never be able to fathom, Chainsaw Man's first episode was marred in controversy for its use of 3D CGI during its first major fight. Now, if there is one thing that irks me in anime more than anything, it is poorly produced 3D shows and portions thereof. Hell, forget poorly produced, I just am not partial to it period. Therefore, I can understand if people say they do not like 3D in general.
However, people trying to argue that MAPPA's use of it in the show is somehow particularly egregious have clearly never watched actual bad CGI like EX-Arm. Sure, there were some portions that did not transition as smoothly between 2D and 3D as they could have, and though I did not notice it myself, the claims about frame rate drops are probably true.
Still, even the technical imperfections, I would argue, actually benefit the show artistically. After all, what would transforming into a devil with a chainsaw on their head and arms even entail? What sense of balance and fighting ability comes with that? Though the 3D scenes do ultimately feel sluggish, they seem to unintentionally convey the immediate experience of having that newfound power.
Now, as the series goes on, this becomes less convincing. Denji does learn how to wield his abilities pretty effectively, so safe to say that does not really fit. However, it is also the case, at least for myself, that the 3D elements blend a lot better with the 2D environments as it goes on. By the time they get the hotel arc, I forget there is even a difference in animation, to begin with. Normally I would stick to more thematically related topics, but in a way, the show's use of 3D is thematically related, as it often helps to create an initial distinction between Denji and the rest of the world. Speaking of…
Thematic Translation
In Chainsaw Man (2022), Denji's made-up song about unions from the source material was turned into an instrumental because of the lyrics' reference to workers' rights from TVDetails
At the core of Chainsaw Man is really a story about what it means to be human, and also what sorts of dignity and respect should come with that label, but also how easy it is to blur that line when devils with awesome power come into the mix. I say this in case the last section somehow confused anyone into thinking I was some sort of MAPPA fanboy because now is the time where, surprising no one, we talk about the dirty word-
What? No, not boobs: politics.
Chainsaw Man actually had a number of small controversies throughout its seasonal airing, which makes sense given just how unprecedented the anticipation was. One that was maybe worth the outrage was a scene from episode two, where Denji takes a warm bath for the first time in forever. The same scene in the manga shows Denji singing about being in a union and getting benefits, but the anime notably took this part out in favor of some mild humming.
Now, in most cases, stuff like this is not really worth getting boggled down in because it could have very easily been an oversight, a missed conversation between scriptwriters, etc, etc. However, given the studio's pretty atrocious record with worker's rights and overworking employees, along with most of the anime industry for that matter, I cannot imagine there not have been at least some mention of this during production.
It would be one thing if the scene did not make sense in the context of the manga so they took it out in order to make the series flow a bit better in an episode format. Yet, that is not what happened. The fulfillment of basic human needs, including economic ones, is what makes Denji's character so unique. His existence subverts typical shonen/action protagonist motivations of seeking justice, truth, and friendship by laying out the selfish, though ultimately relatable, human desires and having that be enough.
In case this sounds like a reach, a lot of my research for my last semester of undergrad this past fall involved looking at the decline in union coverage among western newspapers and why tonally it became decidedly more negative. At the risk of dumbing it down too much, a not-insignificant part of the equation is that newspapers are, at the end of the day, also businesses (Mostly, assuming we are not talking about the BBC, NPR, etc, that gets a little more complicated). Thus, reporting on unions would inevitably draw attention to their own legal struggles.
This is not to say MAPPA neutered the series completely. A lot of those ideas still shine through in subtext and through various conversations between characters. Still, it does actively hurt the storytelling when the message being shared is averse to the interests of the entity making it.
That's it, that's the section.
In all seriousness, though, while I do think the soundtrack was handled fairly well, utilizing a lot of distorted noise and heavy guitars to create a fantastic atmosphere, I do not have much to say about it beyond that. Like, yeah, it is a great soundtrack, go listen to it.
However, the opening for the series, as analyzed to death as it is already, does have some of the craziest art direction of any opening in recent memory. It manages to pack in a stupid amount of references, both in and out of series, while also still being enjoyable to watch.
I have enjoyed plenty of j-rock throughout my anime journey, but the song "Kick Back" by Kenshi Yonezu is a banger among bangers. It perfectly encapsulates a lot of the chaotic energy of the show, and then on top of that interpolates the lyrics of a random pop song from the 90s, which translates as "Striving, future, a beautiful star," which when sung by Yonezu's distorted vocals not only sounds awesome but alludes to the darker elements of the story left to come.
While I would not call it one of the best adaptations or even necessarily my favorite, the Chainsaw Man anime is still great, at least for now. There are some other changes that I did not explore the implications that also might affect how a manga reader views the series, but as far as being a viewing experience for newcomers, it brings enough unique flare without compromising too much of the work's original intent to still be worth it.
What did you think of Chainsaw Man's anime adaptation? Let me know down in the comments. Also, if you are someone who did read the manga, I did a review of part one about a year ago when I finished it, so feel free to check that out as well.
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The Observation Deck: Odd Taxi
July 15, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 5 Comments
I will be honest, after reading Goodbye, Eri earlier this year, there was little doubt in my mind that it would remain the most compelling thing I consumed in 2022. Little did I know, however, that a certain show about an anthropomorphic walrus taxi driver would come into my life and give it a serious run for its money.
Last year's critical darling Odd Taxi tells the story of Hiroshi Odokawa, a seemingly normal middle-aged taxi driver who spends his days listening to manzai comedy on the radio. Yet, for as much as he likely wishes to live out the rest of his boring days in peace, all of that is swiftly interrupted by his connection to the case of a missing 18-year girl. He soon becomes caught up in a web of crime that involves friends, foes, and passengers alike.
A Story Like No Other
Odd Taxi is the sort of once-in-a-decade show where everything about it lines up perfectly or near-so. It is a story that starts and ends around its central premise: a dude driving a Taxi, but what it does with that time in between is so mind-blowingly brilliant that dissecting it all in full could easily take up a two-hour YouTube essay. Unfortunately, I am not looking to make said video, so I will try my best in a more condensed context.
For starters, Odokawa. Not only is he the conduit through which all of the characters are introduced, but each and every interaction that he has with them is also relevant in some way to the overall plot. This leaves the story and dialogue oozing with attention to detail. A conversation that happened in episode two likely has some bearing on how a person views episode seven, for example.
One might assume then since the focus is often the people he drives around in his taxi that Odokawa's character suffers because of it, but this is not true. In fact, despite the passive nature of his job, Odokawa often challenges the ideas of his passengers, both as a way of calling out the dumb things that they say, but also as a way of understanding the world around him.
Then, there is everyone else. I am not exaggerating when I say that it is almost irresponsible of me to talk about any individual side character for too long because nearly all of them contribute to the plot in some equally important way.
Among some of the more important ones though are Goriko and Shirakawa, Odokawa's doctor and nurse respectively, and Dobu, one of the criminals who force Odokawa to help him over the course of the show. The three of them tend to show up most often, especially in the later episodes, and often dictate events in a way that is most relevant to Odokawa himself.
As far as the actual quality of the characters themselves, there is not much to say other than that they are fantastically written. Apart from their functionality in the story, despite being presented as animals, everyone in the story feels like uniquely real, often morally flawed human beings. Furthermore, it is often these flaws that generate conflict, both internally and externally and make each scene that much more compelling.
Initial Results: Naoki Urasawa's Monster
Decisions and Thrills: Welcome Back, Alice Vol. 2
Two Words: Good Pacing
It is one thing to have a set of compelling and unique characters whose stories have intertwined in a way that makes sense. It is another thing entirely to be able to tell that story in a window of time which makes it feel not too convoluted but also not too slow and neverending. Odd Taxi again pulls off an incredible feat by finding the perfect slight left-of-center pacing.
One example of how it pulls this off is by using its often dense dialogue. I mentioned before how important a two-minute conversation can be in the grand scheme of things, and I was not joking. However, none of this ever feels like it is being pulled out of nowhere. The speed at which plot points move is certainly above average, but not so much so that some of the bigger reveals towards the later third are nonsensical.
There is also a lot of visual delivery when it comes to major elements of the story. Now, that might sound incredibly stupid since I am talking about an anime, but let me explain. Odd Taxi likes to use a good amount of switching between scenes, even when a conversation is ongoing, as a way of making sure to check if the audience is paying attention. Important details are often delivered in the final moments of an episode, making it necessary to watch the screen at all times. Now, for those who are not as accustomed to reading subtitles quickly (i.e. newer anime fans or people who do not watch with subtitles as much) this can create a small barrier to entry, but it is nothing that would ruin the experience entirely.
Simple is Good Sometimes
Those who have seen any trailers for the series may have noticed something about the show's animation: it is decidedly less complex than a lot of other series. This is not to say that the animation is bad, far from it. There are a ton of stand-out moments where the animation picks up as needed.
What I mean to say, rather, is that a lot of Odd Taxi's worldview is reflected in the way it draws its characters. Sure, they are all anthropomorphic humans, but even in their designs, there is a lot of personality. Without going into spoiler territory, Odokawa is again a useful example. Yes, he is most certainly a Walrus, there is no denying that. The plainness of his eyes, the heaviness around his nose and mouth which almost look like a five-o-clock shadow, and his tendency for simple button-ups portray a lot more about his personality than a crazy sakuga moment ever will.
Now, someone could just respond and say "that's called character design," and based on what I have said they would be one-hundred percent correct. Still, this simplicity does not just exist within its characters, as it extends to the show's backgrounds as well. There is significantly less stylization when it comes to the color schemes and a much more gritty reality. Pretty much all of this has to do with Odokawa himself, but again, that would be spoiler territory, and this show is still relatively new.
It was honestly harder to find negative things to say about this series than positive ones. If I were really nitpicking, I would say that the comedy duo could have been involved in the main plot more, or that Yano's whole rap shtick got kinda old by the end. Really, though, that would just be delaying the fact that this is the best thing I have watched this year, and finding more competition is going to be hard, to say the least. It goes without saying, though I will say it anyway just to be sure, that those who have not watched Odd Taxi should absolutely watch it.
How do you feel about Odd Taxi? Let me know down in the comments.
As always, special thanks to Jenn for supporting us on Patreon
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The Observation Deck: Goodbye, Eri
April 20, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 2 Comments
At times, it can feel as though there is no logic to the world in which we inhabit. There is innate cruelty that taxes our very existence. Sometimes that tax is physically far enough that we can go on mostly unaffected, other times, it happens right in front of our face, maybe even behind the lens of a camera…
I won't bother giving much of a plot description here since the story in question is only one volume. Honestly, the short and sweet of it is that it has my thorough recommendation, but the long version is going to be entering big spoiler territory, so I will give a warning now. Basically, the story consists of a middle school-aged boy named Yuta who confronts personal tragedy by making films.
Goodbye, Eri is much about narrative as it is about tragedy. In most cases, the audience experiences the world not directly from Yuta's perspective but filtered through the camera on his phone. Even the first panel in which he is scene comes from the camera recording him during his birthday party. Additionally, Yuta is encouraged both by his mother and later by Eri, to record them, and thus the world of Goodbye, Eri is always one degree removed.
This becomes a factor pretty much immediately, as having all of this footage of his later deceased mother becomes the motivation for his filmmaking. The reason narrative becomes so important is that later on, it is revealed just how horrible Yuta's mother actually is, constantly degrading him for not capturing her perfectly. Despite this abuse, Yuta decides to make the film anyway, with a twist: Yuta is unable to record his mother's death despite asking her to, and so the final moments of his film involve him running away, the hospital exploding behind him. This eventually leads to his classmates making fun of him and his principal reprimanding him for the directorial choice.
Eri, though shown to be significantly nicer than Yuta's mother, ultimately makes the same request, and thus Yuta experiences her most directly through his camera. What's more, the fact that Eri meets a similar fate to his mother makes the continued filming of Eri emotionally difficult.
What makes Goodbye, Eri so compelling is the way Fujimoto Juxtaposes the need to remember somebody fondly with the power to control their narrative. It would have been just as easy for Yuta to make a film that was honest about his mother's behavior, and yet the entirety of the opening act is filled with nothing but positive, save for Yuta's indecisiveness at the end.
Fantasy vs Reality
The ability to control the narrative as a thematic concept is explored even during moments when the camera turns off. We find out in the final moments of the manga that, much like in Yuta's hastily thrown together screenplay, Eri is actually a vampire. Despite witnessing her death firsthand, Eri returns without her memory. Except, she writes a letter to herself as a reminder of her identity. The resident filmmaker experiences this during another time of immense personal tragedy, after waking up in the hospital to find out his entire family is dead.
Again the question of perspective throughout the manga invites the questioning of this dynamic in such a brilliant way. Before this moment near the end, Yuta had primarily experienced Eri through a camera lens, and even during the moments when she is off-camera, the two of them are alone. Now, is it necessary to read Eri as completely imaginary on the part of Yuta as a way of coping with his mother's death? No, but it is a conversation certainly worth having.
After all, the abandoned building where the two spent hours watching films just explodes in the final panel after Yuta decides suicide is not worth it. Even in the most bitter and hopeless moments of his life, he is still in control, whether or not he wants to be.
I have already talked about how perspective plays a huge role in determining Goodbye, Eri's thematic and narrative elements. However, Fujimoto also uses his art to help support this as well.
For starters, his character designs lend nicely to the grittier realities he tends to portray. A manga with this framework would not work nearly as well with lighter, fluffier character designs that tend to support a more relaxed atmosphere, as this story is anything but relaxed. This is not to pass judgment on said art styles, but I somehow doubt this one-shot would have had nearly the same emotional resonance in another artist's hands.
On top of that, there are many frames that are drawn more roughly, with less line work in order to simulate the effect of blurriness in a camera. While probably not a complicated endeavor from an art standpoint, it does add a lot to the narrative and thematic elements, as it reminds the audience that Yuta is constantly behind a camera rather than viewing things for himself.
While a story of this nature likely could have worked in a multi-volume setting, the decision to make this a one-shot was a brilliant one, as the brevity of a single volume lends it a power that not many stories in its lane are able to match. If for some reason there are people at the end of this post who have yet to read Goodbye, Eri, 1. I did warn you for spoilers, and 2. read it anyway. Easily one of the best stories to come out this year, and I would not be surprised to see it win a ton of awards.
Have some thoughts on Fujimoto's latest work? Let me know down in the comments.
As always, shoutouts to Jenn for supporting us on Patreon.
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The Observation Deck: My Dress-Up Darling
March 30, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment
Valentine's Day may be long past at this point, but there is still plenty of love in the air…or, maybe more like pent-up sexual frustration? or, no love? We'll go with love.
Nerds come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds. Some of them like to watch anime, play video games, collect figures, read comics, and…make Japanese Hina dolls? Sure, why not. The story of My Dress-Up Darling focuses on two such nerds, albeit of very different social standing. Gojo is a loner who has literally zero friends, and Marin is the high school hottie who everyone loves and adores. However, after the two have a chance meeting after school, Gojo finds out that Marin wants nothing more than to cosplay her favorite characters. Attracted to her endearing personality (and general good looks), Gojo agrees to help, and so the two begin their cosplay journey.
Is It Horny In Here, or Is It Just Me?
It is not much of a secret that a lot of high school romances in anime tend to be on the…ecchi side of things. Whether one considers that a good or bad thing, that is the reality. This is not to say that is the case for all of them, but a decent portion.
"Yeah, yeah, get to the point!"
…the point is that, I do not mind that much when a character expresses their sexuality openly. In fact, in a lot of contexts, it is more than justified. However, when it comes to a romance show My Dress-Up Darling, some of that should, at the very least, feel earned. Character development should come from more than just how many weird angles a series can shove into one episode, and plot should mean, ya know, plot.
My expectations of this show were pretty low, to begin with, just based on what I had heard about the manga, and for the first two episodes, I was a bit torn. How the series managed to spend an entire episode on measuring Marin's proportions I will only ever view through the lens of extreme horniness.
Still, what lies past those first two episodes is actually a genuinely entertaining series about
Cosplay? Cosplay!
Well, mostly. There is of course the blossoming romance between the main characters, but when they are not obsessing over each other there attention is focused on making cosplay for Marin. Given Gojo's skills in designing dresses for Hina dolls, Cosplay comes pretty naturally to him, and Marin (being a literal model as we come to find out later) wears his cosplay effortlessly.
This dynamic between the two of them is arguably what feels most enjoyable in the series. Marin tells him about one of her favorite characters, Gojo spends hours on research and coming up with a near perfect design, and then the two of them geek out over it when he finishes it. Of course there is a little more to it then that, but overall it feels incredibly wholesome and fun.
While dynamic female characters are definitely becoming more prominent in the medium, and despite my introduction focusing on the more pronounced sexual elements, it is worth noting that most of the show cast Marin in a light which hones in on her enjoyment of Cosplay. The romance, meanwhile, develops as a result of this, as opposed to be assumed from the beginning.
Pretty Colors!
Being the big, dumb stupid idiot who is easily impressed/entertained, I appreciate the shift towards brighter color palettes. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with drearier color schemes. it of course makes sense that this will changed depending on the tone and subject matter of the series attached to it. I guess what I really mean to say is that it is nice to see a shift in color to match the happier, more popcorn-y direction of slice of life/romance type shows.
With My Dress-Up Darling, in particular, the pinks and oranges stand out in a way that feels really pleasant to look at, especially against the background of Gojo's house and the various cosplay locations they visit throughout the show. It reminds me a lot of Lovely Complex, in this way, which is certainly not a complaint.
I could speak more about the various problematic elements of the show, but honestly, for a series that is otherwise fairly light-hearted and enjoyable, it feels like wasted breath. It is not a masterpiece by any means, but it is, at the end of the day, fun. I cannot say this is going to be a series that everyone enjoys, but certainly a lot of people will.
How did you feel about My Dress-Up Darling? Let me know in the comments.
As always, thanks to our patron Jenn for being amazing.
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The Observation Deck: Chainsaw Man Part 1
January 2, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 2 Comments
While I did not list it as one of my goals for the year, I would like to read more manga in 2022, if for nothing else than to gain a bit more perspective on upcoming releases and get ahead of the curb in discussing them. Though this series finished in late 2020, it is still making waves both for how popular its manga is and because its anime adaptation is on the horizon.
During a trip to visit my grandmother over the holidays, I decided, "eh why not?" I paid my $2 a month for Viz and binged most of Chainsaw Man in a few days. I returned home shortly afterward, only to finish the series the following evening. So, what does Chainsaw Man's manga have to say for itself?
What in the Everloving Fu-
Chainsaw Man, for the uninitiated, focuses on an orphan boy named Denji, who, after losing his family, befriended a chainsaw devil named Pochita. Fast forward a few years, and Denji is working for the yakuza killing other devils for money. Just as he is starting to feel content with the world, he is tricked, and the Yakuza figure he worked for is now himself a demon set out on destroying the young boy. Denji, on the brink of death, is given a new heart in the form of Pochita, and gains strange new powers. He is now Chainsaw Man.
If that was not enough, it gets even crazier, as Denji eventually meets Makima, one of the heads of the Public Safety Bureau, along with some of the other Bureau members, such as Aki, Power, Kobeni, and Himeno. The initial chapters move at a fairly brisk pace as far as advancing the overall story. Fast enough, in fact, that even Denji as a character is having a hard time really absorbing everything that is going on. In a matter of days, he goes from living in poverty to having what seems like a middle-class job in which he makes real money.
Btw, if it was not made clear already, this show is about devils. Hunting devils, becoming devils, and often working alongside as well as making contracts with them. Denji, armed with the abilities of the chainsaw devil, has gained the attention of Makima (and later many others). Thus, she takes good care to keep an eye on him. The way the series just throws the audience into Denji's world without much explanation feels fairly emblematic of its overall storytelling philosophy.
Yes, There is a lot of Blood
Though Chainsaw Man certainly has a lot of fast-paced, 1v1 fight scenes that are typical of actions series, its approach to violence and the depiction thereof is decidedly more horror. If the literal devils did not tip people off, the show has no problem giving a ton of unhealthy reminders. In this manga, it could be argued that the gore involved in each fight is as much a storytelling device as it is an aesthetic choice.
Part of this is fairly direct, as it is noted early on that demons need to drink blood to replenish their strength. A good example comes during one of the earlier fights in the series, where Denji, having been betrayed by Power as food for a bat devil, is now forced to rescue them from his stomach. Thus, the only thing he can do is cut open his stomach using his unique powers.
Part of this, at least, is mitigated by the black and white nature coloring of traditional manga, which is to say nothing of mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto's extreme eye for detail in a lot of panels. In many of Chainsaw Man's fight scenes, Fujimoto takes great care to make sure that the people reading can remember individual demons based on their…insides.
Sex! That's it, That's the Joke.
In much the same way as violence and gore, sex often becomes a core aesthetic and thematic part of what makes this story work. Denji, a 16-year-old with a healthy libido, is constantly thinking about sex. At first, he merely wanted to touch a pair of boobs, but after feeling up Power and realizing that there was something special missing from his experience, Denji realizes that he also wants a sense of intimacy with Makima.
By the same token, many of the women in Chainsaw Man use sex as a means of controlling Denji. Again, this is primarily the case with Makima, but Power and Rize do engage in this behavior as well. In Power's case, it happens when she tricks Denji into saving her cat, and in Rize's, she simply wants his literal, and for a period metaphorical, heart. Denji is thus both the end and a means to an end at the same time, both himself and also Chainsaw Man. He is continually confronted with the idea that these two people are, in fact, different people.
The Point, Please?
I am getting there, jeez. Ok, so Denji is a half human/devil hybrid who is hired by a secretly very shady organization to help kill rogue devils and whose members occasionally make contracts with devils which the humans then use to help kill more rogue devils and-yeah ok I have lost myself. So, does it mean anything?
As Esoteric as a task it is to try and find meaning in a gore-filled nonsense-fest like Chainsaw Man, I do think it can be done. Regardless of the arc, the primary focus of the series never ceases to be Denji, the one who uses the heart of a devil. He goes from just a homeless kid barely scraping by with pocket change to having not only money and food but friends who genuinely care about his well-being. When we consider this change in ascent, along with Denji's character, the focus of the manga becomes apparent.
Denji is not only playing himself but is rather a symbol of those affected by cruel and unyielding social, economic and political systems. This central idea is further reinforced in other parts of the manga. In one scene where Denji is talking to Rize, she emphasizes that Denji having never been to public school, along with his current arrangement at the public safety bureau, is both out of the ordinary and also incredibly "messed up."
While it is true that the primary reason Rize says this is because she wants to lour Denji away from the other devil hunters, her underlying shock is totally justified. After all, while fighting devils may still be a reality for many people in this universe, that does not excuse the moral dilemma of not having a basic K-12 education.
Chainsaw Man, in a lot of ways, is just an excuse to be transgressive around the amount of physical violence people are willing to accept in their storytelling. More than that, though, it is a story about the human experience, one which tells us that, no matter how evil an act, it can be no more evil than the worst immorality of all: taking away someone's human element. In that way, it is a phenomenally entertaining series that it feels fair to say many will enjoy.
Have you read Chainsaw Man? What are your thoughts on the series? Let me know in the comments below.
Special shoutout to our Patron Jenn for the continued support!
Animated ObservationsAnimeChainsaw ManFeatureMangaSeininShounenThe Observation Deck
The Observation Deck: Beastars Season 2
"Finally…my suffering is over…I can be free again…"
"omg what happened?"
"I watched "Beastars" season 2…"
"Beastars" is a show that continues to exist, and will continue into the future since it has already been confirmed for a third season by Studio Orange. Joy. Now, you as the reader may be asking, "Jack, if you did not like the show that much, why continue to watch it?" Well, unfortunately I like to dabble in a bit of masochism every now and again, and when I saw that the second season would be on Netflix this month, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity.
However, now that the second season is done, so too is the masochism, and now I can get down to brass tacks. Aside from the masochism there is really only one reason I would watch the series again: to talk about how aggressively awful it continues to be.
The Dub
While I did not talk about it last time, I actually watched both seasons in their English dub. The first season is because at the time I just felt like watching a dubbed anime, and the second season is because I do not like switching languages once I start an anime. Sub versus dub discourse aside, I actually find the English voices to be one of the more tolerable elements of the show.
Almost everyone was cast really well, from the smooth voice of Legoshi, voiced by Jonah Hill, to the rougher, more grizzly voices of both Gouhin and Ritz. Even the nasal tone of Haru works a lot better than it probably should. In all honestly, the only voice that didn't absolutely blow me away was Lauren Landa playing Juno, and even then she did not do a bad job by any means.
Seriously, What is this Story?
Shameless plug, but for those who have not read my review of season one, I recommend checking that out as well, if you feel like reading the same opinions twice.
I had an argument with someone on that post who basically said that the story makes more sense if I wait for next arc, and so I did. Now, I cannot really be angry, since I was planning on watching the next season when it came out anyway, but I do feel a bit lied to, and by a bit I mean a lot, because this was ABSOLUTELY NOT better than the first season.
Man, where do I begin. I probably should have been taking notes while I was watching cause there are just so many things that do not make sense, and have continued to not make sense. First of all, why does this show insist on introducing things at the beginning of the season only to not touch on them again at all the same season. Like, the anime literally introduces a giant snake security guard that convinces Legoshi to pursue Tem's killer only to just disappear completely by episode three. Like, ???
Second, if "Beastars" was trying to make some grand social commentary in the first season, it almost completely abandons that idea in the second. Again, the anime is trying to split the difference between "Twilight" and "Zootopia" and thus far as inherited the strengths of neither, basically relying on the viewer to just not think about it to much and buy into all of the carnivorous brooding of its main characters. Speaking of,
Jesus Christ, These Characters…
Honest question: am I supposed to like any of these people? Do not misunderstand me, of course I want there to be more complex characters, and having defined heroes and villains is not always better for a story, especially one which is relying on the straining relationships of its cast. However, while its important for their to be conflict between characters, at the end of the day, they do need to be at least a little bit likeable, or even just interesting for me to care about them.
Sadly, a pretty large percentage of the cast falls into neither of those categories. I talked about how Legoshi's entire persona is basically just a fedora wearing nice guy, but like, the others are pretty bad too. Louis comes off as an asshole for most of the series until suddenly he and Legoshi are on good terms? Haru never even really felt like a character to me, probably because the show plays way to hard into Legoshi's fantasy of protecting thy fair maiden. In fact, the only reason the two have a relationship in the first place is because Haru decided to go down on him as thanks for helping her club.
As much as I wanted to like these characters, (mainly because I have now sunk a collective 10+ hours into this series), I just cannot give them any credit. They feel both underwritten and overwritten at the same time, and because of the anime's terrible worldbuilding and story, none of them come off as well done characters.
The Music and CG are Still Good, at Least
Apart from the dub, "Beastars" has two other solid qualities: Its soundtrack and its animation. As far as its music goes, the series does a great job supporting its abyssmal writing with some genuinely engaging jazz tracks. From its instrumental pieces produced by Satoru Kosaki, to the talented vocalists who appear scattered throughout, it is a genuinely nice distraction while watching.
Studio Orange also continues their great work in the realm of 3D animation. There is genuinely not a bad looking scene in the entire second season, and the fusion of 2D elements and backgrounds with the largely 3D characters is genuinely impressive. While I still have yet to warm up to the use of 3D in anime as a whole, I certainly have hope for what Studio Orange can do in the future.
To tell the truth, as a critic, I am relatively easy to please. Just give me an interesting enough premise with a passable execution in the writing, along with some good visuals and ok music, and I will generally be happy. I mean, that is what happened with "Gleipnir" and I will still defend that show as being kind of underrated. "Beastars" cannot even manage that, with its terrible world, sometimes cringe and sometimes boring characters, and ham-fisted attempt at "societal" commentary. There is only so much one person can do pretty up a garbage can.
How do you all feel about "Beastars?" Let me know in the comments below.
Animated ObservationsAnimeBeastarsFeatureHaruJack ScheibeleinLegoshiMangaThe Observation Deck


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News, Events, Jobs & More
About Daily Manchester
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Most women remember hand jobs as acts of sexual charity -- we'd pump our fist robotically and think of something else until our college boyfriend finished up and dozed off. If you want her to polish your knob with passion, give her a challenge. Suggest a "hands-only" night--no kissing or coitus allowed. Explore her body from head to toe with your digits, spending 20 minutes or more on her vaginal area. Then let her have a turn. Just be sure to anoint your tool with lube -- slipperiness will help her hands flow smoother and faster.


Raazi lives up to its expectations!
I had the pleasure of watching Alia Bhatt's latest release Raazi and really had an amazing experience! Raazi is a spy thriller that is well directed, edited, performed and leaves you with a lot of patriotic emotion!
This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. You want to know what's going to happen next. Alia Bhatt's performance is so good that it felt natural through and through as if she actually lived this life. I am not sure how she pulls off such engrossing performance every time but it is a treat to watch her in this one for sure! Another actor that stood out for me was Jaideep Ahlawat who plays his character to perfection! Rest of the cast including Vicky Kaushal has done a great job as well and supports the protagonist extremely well.
There aren't many songs since it is a thriller. A couple of songs that exist are sensibly placed and take the narrative forward. 'Ae Watan' gives you goosebumps and 'Dibaro' is quite emotional.
Raazi is a must-see experience for just about everyone. A story filled with patriotic emotion and bravery, to say the least!
This entry was posted in Entertainment and tagged bollywood movies, movie review, raazi on May 12, 2018 by Aditi Chopra.


Rodney Ewing's drawings, installations, and mixed media works focus on his need to intersect body and place, memory, and fact to re-examine human histories, cultural conditions, and events. He is pursuing a narrative that requires us to be present and intimate. During his Bemis residency, Ewing plans to create a series of paintings and drawings titled Longitude and Latitude, exploring the geographic and mnemonic landscapes of historical and social events. The process will employ researching both recognized and marginalized occurrences to create compositions that summarize complex information to a scale that is more intimate and nuanced than the accounts we are usually exposed to. Rather than relying on realistic representations of people or places, this project is about establishing a narrative of impressions that encapsulate a specific moment in time.


The PCCHNS program is an exciting option for undergraduate nursing students! It is a four year program designed to educate and prepare undergraduate nursing students for a career promoting access to healthcare for the underserved in a primary care setting.
It is the care that people need to stay healthy or to manage chronic conditions. It is offered outside of hospitals in community clinics, ambulatory care centers, physicians' offices, mobile vans, and in patient's homes.
Primary care nurses work as part of an inter-professional team to develop sustained partnership with patients and families. They provide both direct nursing care and coordinate care for patients across multiple settings.
Many primary care nurses go on to graduate school to become nurse practitioners, which is another type of primary care provider.
How will the PCCHNS program prepare students for Primary Care beyond the standard BSN program?
Students in the PCCHNS program will have primary care experiences in community health centers, clinics, and sites serving underserved populations, as well as hospitals. The goal is to promote wellness and to care for the sick in a variety of settings that care for underserved.
Students selected for the PCCHNS program will have opportunities to apply for a summer fellowship, will be eligible for special field trips, and primary care educational experiences.
Students who work with veterans in ambulatory settings will get a head start in the Veterans Administration (VA) health system.
PCCHNS students will join a cohort of students and faculty who will meet regularly and support each other throughout the BSN program.
Best of all, there is no additional cost to students who qualify for this program!
*There are student expenses for an optional Alternative Spring Break Immersion program at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.


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Tag Archives: roadside bomb
Home of the Brave (2006)
A sadly far-too-common sight during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
(2006) War Drama (MGM) Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Christina Ricci, Brian Presley, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Chad Michael Murray, Victoria Rowell, Jeff Nordling, Vyto Ruginis, Sam Jones III, James MacDonald, Sandra Nelson, Ginger Ewing, Jack Serino, Brendan Wayne, Mohamed Zinathiah, Richard De Mayo, Kiara Johnson, Joyce M. Cameron. Directed by Irwin Winkler
For three soldiers serving in Iraq, the word has come down; they're shipping back home in two weeks. When in Hollywood, that's a sure sign that something Bad is about to happen.
And so it does. Dr. Will Marsh (Jackson), Vanessa Price (Biel), Tommy Yates (Presley) and Jamal Aiken (50 Cent) are part of an Army National Guard humanitarian convoy bringing medical supplies and personnel to a small Iraqi village when they are ambushed by insurgents. The firefight is sudden and brutal, with the soldiers taking on well-armed adversaries. None of them get out without some kind of wound; Vanessa loses her hand in a roadside bomb explosion, Jamal accidentally shoots an unarmed civilian, Tommy takes a minor wound to his leg and as a result is unable to help when his best friend is killed. As for Marsh, he's supposed to stitch them all together.
Once they recover from their physical wounds, they're all shipped home and essentially left to fend for themselves. The VA bureaucracy is bewildering for some, while others fail to take advantage of the programs that are available to help them cope. Vanessa is having problems dealing with her mutilation; not only is she having physical problems adjusting to the prosthetic, her emotional issues are threatening to overwhelm her and alienate her from her family. Jamal is angry and frustrated; his former girlfriend Keisha (Ewing) refuses to have anything to do with him and he can't seem to navigate the paperwork that will help him get the treatment he needs for his injured back. Tommy is aimless and drifting, unable to handle the guilt of failing his friend; on top of that, he finds himself attracted to his dead buddy's girlfriend (Ricci), but neither of them seem able to help the other cope with their grief.
Dr. Marsh seems to have the most complex issues. His teenage son (Jones) is angry (what teenage son isn't?) and takes it out on his father, who struggles to understand him. His wife (Rowell) in turn wants to help him with his pain, but can't find any sort of common ground to begin with, even if he was willing to let her in which he isn't. Instead, he turns to the bottle to ease his suffering, with predictable results.
The turmoil of soldiers placed into extremely stressful situations returning into a normal life is daunting. Not many go through the process unscathed but which of these returning vets will break and which, if any, will overcome?
Outside of Jackson, Biel and Ricci, few of the cast were really name actors at the time this was made. Jackson is, as always, terrific as the tormented medic while Ricci has only a couple of scenes in which to display her grief, which to her credit doesn't seem to be a product of Acting Out Grief 101. Most of the rest of the cast is solid, although 50 Cent at times has difficulty enunciating in one of his first screen roles – his third, to be exact. As for the rest of the cast, most resist the urge to denigrate drama into melodrama but some succumb to the temptation.
The battle sequences are pulse-pounding and realistic, although it reminded me a little bit of the ambush sequence in Clear and Present Danger. Winkler is a veteran director and does a solid job of moving the story along. While the script is extremely flawed in terms of its characterization of the emotional state of the majority of our veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, the elements that work do so extremely well.
I'll pretty much see Samuel L. Jackson in just about anything. Yeah, he can be over-the-top but he's never boring. Winkler manages to make each soldier's story gripping and you wind up caring about the characters and being interested in their individual journeys but the movie doesn't really add anything to the overall conversation. In a lot of ways, the topic is and has been better explored in documentaries about the subject. I was disappointed that the script portrayed all of the returning veterans as psychotic, which is not true of the majority of returning war veterans. Yes, there are plenty of Iraq War vets who have problems returning to normal life, but there are plenty who are able to adjust without falling apart. I'm not saying that they all come through unscathed and adjust easily to civilian life, but most don't have the extreme reactions these vets did. I would have hoped for more realistic portrayals of vets adjusting to their return to normal life. In short, this is no Best Days of Our Lives.
While this seems to be a modern take on The Best Years of Our Lives, there is at least enough about it that give it some resonance. However, the 1946 movie about returning WWII vets is still the best movie ever produced on the subject and let's face it, Jessica Biel is no Harold Russell. There is some resonance here however, particularly given the recent VA scandal and the difficulties veterans are encountering getting the assistance they need. Overall I have to say that I found myself interested in the lives of these soldiers and if you get me to that point, that's half the battle.
WHY RENT THIS: Jackson is always interesting. Opening ambush sequence very powerful.
WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: Heavy-handed. Doesn't really cover any new ground.
FAMILY MATTERS: The subject matter is difficult for less mature audience members to latch onto, and the ambush sequence is fairly realistic, particularly when the roadside bomb does its work. The language is salty throughout; definitely not for younger and more sensitive types.
TRIVIAL PURSUITS: The closing credits song, "Try Not to Remember" performed by Sheryl Crow was nominated for a Golden Globe.
NOTABLE HOME VIDEO FEATURES: There is a trivia track on the Blu-Ray edition; the DVD edition has the usual audio commentary and deleted scene.
BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE: $499,620 on a $12M production budget.
SITES TO SEE: Netflix (DVD/Blu-Ray rental only), Amazon (buy/rent), Vudu (buy/rent), iTunes (buy/rent), Flixster (unavailable), Target Ticket (unavailable)
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Stop-Loss
NEXT: Deli Man
Posted in DVD Review	| Tagged 50 Cent, alcoholism, ambush, Army National Guard, bureaucracy, Chad Michael Murray, Christina Ricci, cinema, Curtis Jackson, DVD Reviews, Films, Home of the Brave, humanitarian aid, Iraq, Jessica Biel, MGM, movies, prosthetic, roadside bomb, Samuel L. Jackson, surgeon, VA, veterans, Veterans Administration, war drama	| 1 Reply


"I am a frequent guest at the Weetwood Hall Hotel and appreciate the personal service I receive; it starts from the ease of booking through to a warm welcome at the reception. The rooms are spacious and I always get a good night's sleep. Since the recent refurbishment of the Brasserie and Breakfast area, the food available and the choice is of a very high standard. We have also had some corporate entertainment evenings in the Weetwood and it's our choice of accommodation for colleagues as well as for clients. Thank you to the entire Team."
"Weetwood Hall have been providing pre match facilities for both our league and union teams, it is a great space for our players to get together and in to the right mind set ready for a match at Emerald Headingley Stadium. Additionally, the team have been kind enough to provide brilliant accommodation for our new players, staff and client whilst they are in the Leeds area. The staff are always professional and friendly, making our experience better than we could have ever imagined. We are looking forward to continuing and further building our relationship with Weetwood Hall through the Leeds Rhinos Foundation."
"We're really grateful to be working with a great hotel like Weetwood, it's a fantastic setting that will enhance the Mantality retreat program and the team there really do share our belief in what we're aiming to achieve. If this first retreat is successful, we'd love to potentially look to hold them quarterly, which is exciting."
"Working with Weetwood Hall Estate has been a massive pleasure in developing Mantality outside of my rugby career. I've made some great friends at the hotel and I feel like it's been an incredible venue for us to meet clients and make progress. There seems to be a great sense of community amongst the staff and it's always a good experience when I visit. They have been a massive supporter of Mantality and share the same goal in making a difference. To have this instilled in the staff, I think is quite special"
"We have used the Weetwood Hall Hotel now for many years for annual event for a very large group and also smaller events for our clients. The hotel staff are always professional, courteous and quick to respond to any of my requirements. We have no need to look around the area for an alternative venue for our annual event or indeed our regular bookings as the hotel is perfectly situated for us and suits all our requirements.
We have run our Executive MBA Programme at Weetwood Hall for some years now, we are always assured of a comfortable and welcoming modern venue, with excellent facilities and exceptional 'on the day' support. Large spacious rooms with well-equipped breakout areas, plentiful parking and good food make for an ideal learning environment for our students. The staff at Weetwood Hall are professional, extremely helpful and always accommodating to our needs.


Simple and straightforward instructions on how to prepare yourself and your home for using these activities.
16 Fun and simple music therapy activities for you and your child to share.
Personal access to me so I can help you get the most out of this program.
A handy glossary of musical terms, instruments and more.
Information and resources that you can use as a parent to make this experience more powerful and educational.
A cross reference that shows you exactly which activities are best for each of the skill areas that you want to address with your child.