While watching Kanon, I've realized something about the way people watch anime.
There are two ways people tend to watch anime:
1) Following the series on TV or following the series on torrents, hence always waiting close to one week inbetween episodes.
2) Borrowing/getting the series in one complete chunk and spam watching it in one fell swoop.
In certain cases, manga follows a similar trend. (Comics do not because there are so many that any person, even if they took huge stacks at once, would eventually end up following it one by one XD)
All my favourite anime (discluding the RK OVA which was 2 hour's worth of sheer beauty) are all series that I follow one by one: Last Exile on Arts Central, Cowboy Bebop on Arts Central, and Kanon Remake on torrents. Now why is this?
There are two major differences between anime and cartoons (No, I shan't be elitist and say 'quality'): Target audience and length. Anime caters to a larger target audience whereas cartoons are mostly catered more towards children and/or family (Not insinuating that it shouldn't or can't be watched by those outside the target audience). As a result they have a tendency to be longer than anime (Let's compare Simpsons to any anime. About the only anime I know that can even begin to compare would be Pokemon, the ever-dear 10+ year old franchise. And who's that catered to? Kids.) and tend to be - dare I say it - shallower. (Note that I do not include comics here. Western graphic novels are as good as they come, though infinitesimal amounts of interpretations to the same character does get confusing)
What about anime, then? Any anime that attempts to have any thematic value to it is less than 50 episodes (Hint bleach hint naruto hint one piece. Manga not included). And sometimes, the kind of underlying issues shown in anime are astoundingly deep. To take examples, Serial Experiments Lain: A simple 13-episode series that explores reality, life and existence in an extremely radical way, so much that the creator of the series even attempted to craft the series in such a way that the Western and Eastern cultures would collide in their interpretations of Lain. Irregardless of the fact that ultimately both cultures came to similar conclusions on the series, Lain is a very thought-provoking and philosophical series that sparked much analysis and debate with a mere 13 episodes.
Death Note is definitely far longer than that, but its exploration of ethics is interesting in the way that there is no protagonist. While certainly that sounds absolutely normal in modern writing, it is far rarer to have a cold-blooded murderer to be treated on the same level as a genius working with the police to catch him. A simple foundation that led to a story that has sparked large amounts of debate in Japan about the actions of Kira - whether they were right or wrong, and it is a far more difficult question to tackle than is expected.
I would talk about love stories too, but nevermind on that. I dislike talking about Kanon because I can't convince people to watch such a series, no matter how beautiful and touching it really is.
So how does this tie in?
Any anime that has value in it should be watched in moderation. If one tries to watch it all at once, he cannot fully appreciate the value of everything. A day to appreciate a day's worth of value is far better than a day to appreciate a week's worth. Which is one reason I like following a given series on torrents rather than on TV -- you can rewatch it. I have no idea how many times I rewatch episodes of Kanon each week - probably what should have been just 20-25 minutes of Kanon has been multiplied by 3 to 4 times. And why not? It is impossible to fully appreciate the beauty of anything in just one runthrough (Assuming that said object/thing/wadeva is actually beautiful, hence rewatching episodes of Musashi Gundou will not actually make the series any better) . What is there to rewatch anyway? Dialogue, animation, simple and small things that make Kanon very beautiful.
It is also because of this reason that no matter how much I like Lain, Death Note, Haibane Renmei, Air and other surprisingly wonderful series, I cannot place them among my favourites -- There isn't that special connection, that extra effort that makes me go 'Wow, that was a wonderful series'. And sadly, there's a very good chance that it's because I only watched it once in one fell swoop. "Why not just rewatch it now, then?" some ask. It's simple. I'm too busy rewatching Kanon. >_>
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Innocia and Empath
Innocia: Empath, why do you look so sad? Is schooltime so depressing that you must cry?
Empath: Innocia, you won't understand. These tears, this pain and sadness, none of it is mine.
Innocia: Whose is it, then?
Empath: These are the tears, the pains and sadness of the many people I have met. Friends, acquaintances, and colleagues; I have felt all their emotions and now they are with me. I can control emotions. I can move emotions between people. I can transfer your joy into your best friend. I can siphon your anger into my mind. I can take away your sorrow… or fill you with fear. I cannot “feel” the reason you are experiencing that emotion, but I can sense it, and transfer it.
Innocia: I don't get it. Why're you crying, then?
Empath: Every mind I touch is a maelstrom of fear, happiness, disgust, surprise, anger and sadness. But the one I am most experienced in is pain.
Innocia: I still don't get it...
Empath: I told you already, but nevermind. These are the tears, the pains and sadness of the people I have engaged with. They are now with me. I have taken their pain and relinquished it upon myself, and now I cry their tears.
Innocia: Why do you do that, then?
Empath: Isn't it rude to be so inquisitive? I can't bear to see them cry. They can't store their own emotions well enough, so they cry out of sadness. I take their sadness and pain so they don't cry so much, but sometimes I take in more than I can store as well. So I experience their pain. Every moment of agony, every minute of torment. I don’t just feel your pain. I live it.
Innocia: What about other emotions? Shouldn't you be taking them as well?
Empath: Why should I take their happiness away from them? It makes no sense. Would you take your friend's happiness away from him or her? I doubt you would either.
Innocia: I guess... hey, Empath, isn't that your friend? If you took away his pain and sadness, why is he still so sad?
Empath: ...I'm not so sure myself.
Innocia: Don't you know? You said the reason yourself. You cannot feel the reason why he's feeling that way. You can only sense it. You can't understand a person's reason for feeling that way, you can only sense his feeling that way. That pain isn't truly his, it's just your interpretation of his pain, replicated on your own self. Your pain has been robbed of meaning, for it has no reason for its existence. There is a reason why his pain must exist with him, and you can't take that reason away, nor can you replicate it.
Empath: ...but he was smiling when I took his sadness away. Shouldn't he have continued to cry?
Innocia: I'll ask you then. What is the emotion you experience the most?
Empath: ...pain.
Innocia: Why do you experience that the most?
Empath: Because it's the most prominent feeling I get from others.
Innocia: And that's not their fault. Do you understand why he smiles when you are near and cries when you leave? You are there to share his sadness, but by the point of time he has recovered, he can no longer share his happiness with you, for you have moved on to another sad person in need of your company. And when that second person is happy, you'd have moved on to the third already. You have never stopped and stayed with the same person all the way through, constantly moving between sad person to sad person. Sadness and pain have never sought for you; you have been the one seeking for the sadness and pain of others. Is it any wonder that you should cry unnecessary, or even crocodile tears? Stand up. Look over there. Do you see those people? They're smiling, without you.
Empath: ...they are. But why?
Innocia: Because they're together. When one is sad, the other cheers him up. When one is happy, the other celebrates. When one is annoyed, the other either calms him down or pouts with him. Isn't that such a simple logic? You, on the other hand, sit here alone with the sadness of everyone. Have you even considered for a moment that if you actually stayed with people longer before moving on, sadness wouldn't be the only emotion you face? Look around. It's a world of laughter but also a world of tears; a world of hope but also a world of fears. There are as many sad children out there as there are happy children. You have just decided to take one bunch and ignore the other. Life isn't so imbalanced, there are as many ups as there are downs, but if you walk the underground route you never get to see the light of day until you decide to go out through the end of the tunnel.
Empath: ...
Innocia: Oh, just stand up already. The sunlight exists to brighten up people's day, so get out there and smile a bit instead of lying in this cold room singing elegies to yourself.
Empath: Innocia, you won't understand. These tears, this pain and sadness, none of it is mine.
Innocia: Whose is it, then?
Empath: These are the tears, the pains and sadness of the many people I have met. Friends, acquaintances, and colleagues; I have felt all their emotions and now they are with me. I can control emotions. I can move emotions between people. I can transfer your joy into your best friend. I can siphon your anger into my mind. I can take away your sorrow… or fill you with fear. I cannot “feel” the reason you are experiencing that emotion, but I can sense it, and transfer it.
Innocia: I don't get it. Why're you crying, then?
Empath: Every mind I touch is a maelstrom of fear, happiness, disgust, surprise, anger and sadness. But the one I am most experienced in is pain.
Innocia: I still don't get it...
Empath: I told you already, but nevermind. These are the tears, the pains and sadness of the people I have engaged with. They are now with me. I have taken their pain and relinquished it upon myself, and now I cry their tears.
Innocia: Why do you do that, then?
Empath: Isn't it rude to be so inquisitive? I can't bear to see them cry. They can't store their own emotions well enough, so they cry out of sadness. I take their sadness and pain so they don't cry so much, but sometimes I take in more than I can store as well. So I experience their pain. Every moment of agony, every minute of torment. I don’t just feel your pain. I live it.
Innocia: What about other emotions? Shouldn't you be taking them as well?
Empath: Why should I take their happiness away from them? It makes no sense. Would you take your friend's happiness away from him or her? I doubt you would either.
Innocia: I guess... hey, Empath, isn't that your friend? If you took away his pain and sadness, why is he still so sad?
Empath: ...I'm not so sure myself.
Innocia: Don't you know? You said the reason yourself. You cannot feel the reason why he's feeling that way. You can only sense it. You can't understand a person's reason for feeling that way, you can only sense his feeling that way. That pain isn't truly his, it's just your interpretation of his pain, replicated on your own self. Your pain has been robbed of meaning, for it has no reason for its existence. There is a reason why his pain must exist with him, and you can't take that reason away, nor can you replicate it.
Empath: ...but he was smiling when I took his sadness away. Shouldn't he have continued to cry?
Innocia: I'll ask you then. What is the emotion you experience the most?
Empath: ...pain.
Innocia: Why do you experience that the most?
Empath: Because it's the most prominent feeling I get from others.
Innocia: And that's not their fault. Do you understand why he smiles when you are near and cries when you leave? You are there to share his sadness, but by the point of time he has recovered, he can no longer share his happiness with you, for you have moved on to another sad person in need of your company. And when that second person is happy, you'd have moved on to the third already. You have never stopped and stayed with the same person all the way through, constantly moving between sad person to sad person. Sadness and pain have never sought for you; you have been the one seeking for the sadness and pain of others. Is it any wonder that you should cry unnecessary, or even crocodile tears? Stand up. Look over there. Do you see those people? They're smiling, without you.
Empath: ...they are. But why?
Innocia: Because they're together. When one is sad, the other cheers him up. When one is happy, the other celebrates. When one is annoyed, the other either calms him down or pouts with him. Isn't that such a simple logic? You, on the other hand, sit here alone with the sadness of everyone. Have you even considered for a moment that if you actually stayed with people longer before moving on, sadness wouldn't be the only emotion you face? Look around. It's a world of laughter but also a world of tears; a world of hope but also a world of fears. There are as many sad children out there as there are happy children. You have just decided to take one bunch and ignore the other. Life isn't so imbalanced, there are as many ups as there are downs, but if you walk the underground route you never get to see the light of day until you decide to go out through the end of the tunnel.
Empath: ...
Innocia: Oh, just stand up already. The sunlight exists to brighten up people's day, so get out there and smile a bit instead of lying in this cold room singing elegies to yourself.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
The First Week
To God be the Glory, great things he hath done,
Two thousand and seven has finally come!
A new year that marks us as one twenty one,
So go and donate to the school building fund!
Or not.
Week one has passed by rather peacefully, with uh, interesting new teachers teaching the last purely-GEP class of 4.9 Elijah and 4.10 Samuel. It is, however, of certain woe that we don't have the wonderful teachers of yesteryear, and that HCL is no longer 4.9/4.10 but rather 4.10/4.8 and who knows if 4.9 will be paired with any class. But nevermind, life goes on anyway.
A few things to note as of the first week:
We must all be shining bright students.
To be shining bright students, you must do all your work without arguing.
You must do all your work without complaining.
You must do all your work well.
To be a beacon of truth and light, we must first be smart and intellectual because the truth and light aspect is nullified if one doesn't have enough influence, and in that is not a beacon, more of a candle of truth and light among a bunch of neon signs, lampposts and such.
PoD is about questioning, never assuming, et cetera. I can't remember much of Mr. Wong Ping Loong's lecture because he was talking so much about John Locke and Lost.
Approximately half of the Secondary 3 and 4 levels are Pre-IB. I dunno the statistics for Sec 2 and 1. This half is the group that, for the most of it, has somewhat guaranteed placings into the ACSI IB Programme.
In short:
>_>
I would comment on the rather amusing musings of various teachers that we have encountered thus far, but I suppose more prominent and random members of Elijah will talk about it anyway, so why save myself the trouble?
Two thousand and seven has finally come!
A new year that marks us as one twenty one,
So go and donate to the school building fund!
Or not.
Week one has passed by rather peacefully, with uh, interesting new teachers teaching the last purely-GEP class of 4.9 Elijah and 4.10 Samuel. It is, however, of certain woe that we don't have the wonderful teachers of yesteryear, and that HCL is no longer 4.9/4.10 but rather 4.10/4.8 and who knows if 4.9 will be paired with any class. But nevermind, life goes on anyway.
A few things to note as of the first week:
We must all be shining bright students.
To be shining bright students, you must do all your work without arguing.
You must do all your work without complaining.
You must do all your work well.
To be a beacon of truth and light, we must first be smart and intellectual because the truth and light aspect is nullified if one doesn't have enough influence, and in that is not a beacon, more of a candle of truth and light among a bunch of neon signs, lampposts and such.
PoD is about questioning, never assuming, et cetera. I can't remember much of Mr. Wong Ping Loong's lecture because he was talking so much about John Locke and Lost.
Approximately half of the Secondary 3 and 4 levels are Pre-IB. I dunno the statistics for Sec 2 and 1. This half is the group that, for the most of it, has somewhat guaranteed placings into the ACSI IB Programme.
In short:
>_>
I would comment on the rather amusing musings of various teachers that we have encountered thus far, but I suppose more prominent and random members of Elijah will talk about it anyway, so why save myself the trouble?
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