Anime Movie Review: The Anthem of the Heart

Naruse has moe down pat.

This blogpost has me talking about a film that released late last year, a fun watch that left the warm fuzzies in my heart at the end.

Kokosake (The Anthem of the Heart -- 心が叫びたがってるんだ。) is a coming of age story following four high schoolers; Sakagami Takumi (VA: Uchiyama Kouki), Naruse Jun (VA: Minase Inori), Tasaki Daiki (VA: Hosoya Yoshimasa), and Nitou Natsuki (VA: Amamiya Sora). The story begins with Naruse Jun, and how she is made to believe that because of her cheerful talkativeness, she breaks apart her family and is literally the worst thing ever. This changes the poor girl, making her a mute for all intents and purposes.

We then move to the present day, where a music teacher (voiced by the amazing Fujiwara Keiji) at the local high school assigns the four to be the executive producers for their class' annual community outreach show. I won't get into the minutiae of the story -- essentially the film explores how they each come out of their collective shells as well as open up to one another and the world around them.

Crazy Egg Fairy musketeer ruins all QT grilles in anime.

Eggs are a major leitmotiv in the film. Near the beginning of the film, Sakagami hears the story of a small shrine for a local kami who loved talking. The kami fancied eggs "filled" with the thoughts and wishes of worshippers. Naruse is cursed by a magical Egg Fairy in a cavalier hat, sealing her voice away (see above).

Naruse spoke to her friends via text message for a good portion of the film. I found this way of communication rather neato.

A-1 Pictures is always known for quality in their projects, and they didn't disappoint with this film. At times one can see where the budget ran thin, but those times are few and far between. The best part of the film was the climax scene, where the class is putting on a musical. Naruse is nowhere to be found, and Sakagami has to find her. Things happen, and she triumphantly enters, saving the production.

Probably one of the best scenes in the film.

Outside of the fascination with eggs, the film is like a lighter Koe no Katachi (which I hear has a film under production, either with A-1 Pictures or Kyoto Animation heading the project) with less psychological abuse and more slice of life. I give the film a good 7.5/10 -- good, but no masterpiece.

In Closing

It's a little late coming, but I've started putting up content at Pecuniary Ruminations. I'm due to write a short State of My Securities post tomorrow, while I watch my money light on fire. Check it out! Also expect another anime film review in the coming days -- it was by request that I did this one, and I have another one to do as well.

Anime Movie Review Double Feature: Windaria and The Borrowers Arietty

Arietty's Family: Me. The Racoon: all those bills I need to pay.

Today's blogpost is a little different, in that I'm going to review a couple of anime films that I've watched recently. I've taken film classes back when I was in college, and I actually enjoyed the task of reviewing films. As such, when asked to do a short review on a couple of movies I saw just last week, I took up my pen and brushed the rust flakes off this old blog.

The two films are definitely spanning the decades, the first being the 1986 film Windaria and the more recent Ghibli film The Borrowers Arietty from 2010.

Windaria

Windaria (Windaria: Tales of Fabulous Battle - 童話めいた戦史ウインダリア) is the tale of two city states that have lived in peace for a long while. One day, an incident involving an attempted sabotage of an above-water city wall starts tensions between the city states of Itha, a matriarchal society who lives in a city similar to New Orleans, and Paro, a militaristic patriarchal society with a desire to go to war with their neighbor. The plot is a convoluted mess that surrounds the main character Izu, a guy who lives in the Village of Blossoms located somewhere between the two cities. The movie ends with the destruction of Itha, and the loss of everything Izu holds dear through his own foolishness. The characters feel like PCs from a tabletop game where the players have just learned what roleplay is, and as such are very mechanical, very unfeeling.

I found what Shirou was doing before his work on Fate/stay night.

The movie is dated, having been released in 1986, and to be honest, the techniques used in the film are among the high points I give. You definitely get an idea of 80's anime, especially if you haven't seen films like Terra e, or the great 80's epic Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu. It's a great film for studying the techniques and artistic styles of that time period.

That being said, I couldn't stand the pacing choices within the film, the most flagrant of issues being throwing an insert song in a place with zero movement. I understand your need to illustrate the "romance" between Parovian Prince Jill and Ithan Princess Ahnas, but that insert song felt forced and was very jarring. 

That wasn't the only thing that was jarring about their relationship.

While I am happy that the technology and art have not dated too badly, and are actually pretty good, the convoluted pacing within the plot and unbelievably poor choices made by the characters make it hard for me to rate it higher than a 4/10. Watch it for the techniques used, not for the story or the characters.

The Borrowers Arietty

Absolutely gorgeous scenes, masterfully done.

The Borrowers Arietty (The Borrower Arietty - 借りぐらしのアリエッティ) is a coming of age film about the realities of change, based on the Mary Norton novel "The Borrowers". The story revolves around Sho, a boy whose imminent heart surgery has him just about bedridden in his Great Aunt's old house, as well as Arietty, a pixie-like tomboy who is a "Borrower" (借りぐらし) as she calls her species. When Sho sees Arietty on her first borrowing, it causes a chain reaction that involve the kidnapping and rescue of her mother, the moving of Arietty's family, and the coming together of two unlikely beings. The ending is bittersweet, with Sho making friends with Arietty, but the two are forced to part -- it's the Borrower way, to move when seen by the "human beans", which is the term the Borrowers have called humans in general.

The scale of how large the human world is for the Borrowers is immediately apparent.

Ghibli has always been a quality movie studio, and this specimen is no different. The bright, colorful backgrounds are reminiscent of Makoto Shinkai's recent films (actually, I suppose Shinkai's recent films are more Ghibli like if I really think about it), with vibrant greens alongside muted browns and greys. The background music is light and airy, reminiscent of the Borrowers' freedom and lifestyle. The animation technique is stunning, with detail given to little things like wind moving within the plant life that grows on the house of Sho's Great Aunt.

Again, another fantastic shot that juxtaposes the gargantuan boy against the tiny Borrower girl.

All in all, it's a light film with the ability to tug at the heartstrings at the end. While it's no Place Promised or 5cm/Sec, it's still a great film to watch with friends and family. My favorite portion was when Arietty went with her father on her first Borrowing. The work involved to illustrate the amount of adventure found inside the walls and floorboards of a house is quite impressive. 8/10 -- A great film. 

In Closing

Well, that was enjoyable. I'm still getting my initial data together for the first real content post over at my new personal finance blog -- check that out closer to the end of the week.

Until next time.

MTG Decklists: Sen-I-Soshitsu

For Your Listening Pleasure

Artist's Rendition of the Author preparing for Game Day

I recently had the distinct pleasure experience of playing in my local FLGS Khans of Tarkir Game Day, and, as I'm wont to do, I brought a decklist that was definitely not meta for the small town of Hilo, Hawaii. Or really much of anything for that matter.

Story Time

The plan to run this deck was birthed with a passing joke when my friend Blankato threw the following decklist at me on Khans release weekend.

Source

I looked it over, took a sip of whatever magical alcohol Blankato had served that night, and jokingly said that I should run it for Game Day. At the time, I was brewing an Izzet deck that ran Ornithopter/Darksteel Citadel/Ensoul Artifact, Scuttling Doom Engine, and other shenanigans, like Shrapnel Blast. The deck wasn't really doing what I wanted it to do, and I had most of the cards that were worth something. It would have been little effort to pick up the cheap rares and commons -- I had just cracked something like 28 Khans of Tarkir packs at the time, and had plenty of commons and most of the rares from that set needed for this deck.

So, I started making my usual secret trade for bad cards thing I do prior to an event, while showing off my ideas for post-rotation Minotaurs in order to throw off potential snipers and other information gatherers. As an aside, I seriously hate that when asking/trading for cards over facebook -- almost instantly one's super sekret awesome deck plan is found out and everyone prepares for it. That's why I do most of my random rare trading offline, to give the illusion of spontaneity.

Long, terrible story short, I placed 5th at my FLGS, going 3-1-1 and scrubbing out in the quarter finals. Not bad, considering most times I play Standard Constructed, I usually go 1-3 and wonder why I even bother playing the format (and in fits of cold rage, Magic as a game) at all.

The Deck

Holy crap this thing is hilarious, due to the fact that it's so goddamn fragile, yet if an opponent isn't ready, you can dunk them by turn 6 at the latest. Let's take a peek at a few of the card choices Takahashi Naoya took when putting this list together:

One of many sleeper hits for this deck.

Tomb of the Spirit Dragon is a card I wouldn't normally bat an eyelid over, but after playing it at Game Day, I might actually throw one in my Sharuum Commander Deck. Being able to gain an impressive 6 life a turn with two of these out, all open land due to convoking Ornithopter shenanigans makes for a hilarious turn of events against aggro. Also, the look on your opponent's face when you drop this turn one makes it worth it.

What's your's is mine, what's mine is also mine.

Daring Thief is just a great card when built properly around. With Springleaf Drum and useless permanents such as Ensoul Artifacts and Singing Bell Strikes that are already enchanting stuff, you can use those $15 Courser of Kruphixs that you traded away after the Born of the Gods Prerelease! On top of that, they don't even have to be yours! Or trade that Ornithopter with their piece of absurdist bullshit Siege Rhino!

Die in a fire, activated abilities.

Chump blocking. That's cute.

When faced with the hated Sylvan Caryatid or the annoying Hornet Nest, you must be able to get around it, and shut it down. Also, locking down their creature that has Singing Bell Strike enchanted to it is great. General planeswalker neutralization is good too.

TeeHee™

Not only did I almost single-handedly demolish a dude with my Bident in a game, but being able to draw free cards off my weenies is great. Having them swing with their (bad) blockers is even better.

Observations

Upon playing the deck for a time, I did discover some interesting things about it as well as the format:

• With only 20 land, including 12 islands, the potential for mana screw is rather high. I recall one particluar game against Abzan where I had to literally run off of a Tomb of the Spirit Dragon, a Darksteel Citadel, and Ornithopters/Springleaf Drums in order to cast my colored permanents, most of them promptly removed by the Abzan player. That leaves me to my next point:
• I'm about 90% sure that this deck loses straight up against spot removal.dec. In games against Abzan, Mardu and Jeskai, the player with the removal would merely burn/remove the offending artifact creature as I attempt to cast Ensoul Artifact upon them. In Abzan and Mardu's case, having access to Utter End (and to an extent, Crackling Doom) makes things like getting rid of Doom Engines much easier. Jeskai has access to blue, which can start counter-wars or other blue shenanigans. Abzan has its charm, which, much like its Rhino, is the "I win" button against your win conditions. End Hostilities also throws huge wrenches into your plans.
• If you can't match the speed of the Rabblemaster, don't even bother. I can understand why he's so sought after in Standard nowadays. If he isn't dealt with (or summarily countered), he will rekt you, since it's likely the Rabblemaster player is clearing the way with removal galore.
• I feel like I need practice with sample hands and mulliganing. There are many times where I feel that I have a good hand that works fine only to be blown out by a single Thoughtseize. Of course, there were times where I didn't know what lands looked like, and other times where I drew 10/12 Islands in the deck.
• Dig Through Time is a great card that I almost want to throw a copy into the deck for more "send help" options. Either that, or Treasure Cruise, because that's also a pretty good card, and it's not like I have ways to return cards from my graveyard back to the field in this format.
• Wingmate Roc is a dirty totally balanced and fair card. That second ability is fantastic, by the way.

Some Final Thoughts

Artist's rendition of the Author 2-1ing people left and right.

Everything about this deck screams potential value at high risk, and that's what makes it fun. Much like my Minotrolls deck during RTR-THS standard, or even prior to that, the famed StuffyDoll™ deck from ISD-RTR standard, I go for wacky, silly things that amuse me, although in this case I did netdeck this. I hate netdecking, so I felt particularly dirty playing it. But whatever.

Unfortunately, as with most great plans, I may scrap it due to the ever changing meta. Who knows? Maybe I'll throw in some Clever Impersonators and Stubborn Denials in the board to help me out.

The Year is Dead, Long Live the Year!

Happy New Year!

Yes, we didn't die this year. Rejoice.

My goodness, it's another year. From multiple reports of the end of the world being nigh, to the controversial presidential election, to me being unable to do anything with online video games except for World of Tanks and Dota 2, I'll go ahead and say it was a good year, albeit rough. A new year brings a new set of resolutions that will most likely be broken before January is over. In an attempt to abide by my "do more blagspot blagging and not that tumboor/faecbook trash", as well as attempt to do a better job than last year, here is  "Best of 2012" blagpost. Enjoy.

Best of 2012 - Gaming

[haha noep]

As I said earlier, this year was rather rough for me regarding video gaming. Hell, I couldn't even sit through this year's Call of Duty, and I always find time to play that piece of garbage. I'll most definitely try to finish it, so I can ramble about it in a future blagpost. World of Tanks continues to enthrall me, and while I've been tempted to throw down cash for some gold/premium tanks, I still have yet to do some. Yay for FTP games, I guess.

As far as Traditional Games go, Magic The Gathering's Return to Ravnica block was a return to the "fun" in what I felt was becoming a very stale Standard environment. Now, all we need is Thragtusk to go away, and I might start playing Standard again. Maybe. On the board game front, I bought Munchkin, which is awesome, as well as some other board games. Talisman caught my eye, and is an amazing addition to anyone's collection of board games.

Best of 2012 - Music

A selection from my notes.txt file that I do all this in.

A challenge that I personally undertook this year was to actually list albums that I listened to that were released this year. This (I hoped) was to assist in my "Best of Year X" posts that I now do. Without further ado, here is my top 5 for music for 2012. All of these albums are 5/5 stars for me, and are honestly ranked by my personal preference. I would recommend any and all of them to anyone willing to try them out. The link in the header is a link to the entire album in YouTube, while the links at the end of each section are selections from the album, also in YouTube.

5. Paradise Lost - Tragic Idol

Badass album art? Check.

Paradise Lost's thirteenth release, released in April, showed that after thirteen albums, the British doom group still has the ability to make an album that is enjoyable. Excellent solos, great lyrics and vocals. An all around great album. Highlights: Crucify, In This We Dwell, Tragic Idol, Worth Fighting For

 4. Antimatter - Fear of A Unique Identity

Embracing a lie/Got stuck on rewind/Requiem in constant replay

We continue our tour of the UK with Antimatter's fifth debut album, released in November. Singer/songwriter Mick Moss describes the album as "a concept album that explores the mimics in society that would rather blend in with the masses rather than stand as a unique entity for fear of being singled out. This becomes a problem if the masses themselves are actually on the wrong path spiritually and ideologically." Personally, I haven't enjoyed an Antimatter album since Planetary Confinement, and this had the same ambiance about it, just.... darker. And that's why this makes my top five. Highlights: Fear of A Unique Identity, Here Come the Men, Uniformed & Black

3.  Syven - Corpus Christi

36:26. In one track. Wish it was longer.

My love for the kantele brings me to the newest release by the Finnish duo Syven. Inspired by an old English carol, Syven creates a symphony of sorts, blending their unique shamanistic music with what they felt was a proper interpretation of Medieval-era choral music. Personally, I think it's genius. The piece is loosely broken up into four movements, one of them being the actual Corpus Christi carol. The song also comes with a sweet video which is meant to be viewed as you listen to the track (this is included in the YouTube link listed above). Highlight: Movement II - Corpus Christi (6:50 -13:20)

2. Sabaton - Carolus Rex (SWE)

To the skiiiies, see Carolus rise!

As is customary when dealing with unadulterated manliness like the 2012 Sabaton album, you need to understand something that made this release different from the others: they did the entire album in their native Swedish as well. And it's better than the English version. It's an excellent telling of the story of King Karl XII, better known as Carolus Rex. As such, I put both complete versions of selections above and below for you to listen/compare. Highlights: The Lion From the North (Lejonet från Norden), A Lifetime of War (En Livstid I Krig), Carolus Rex (Carolus Rex), Poltava (Poltava) 

Album of the Year 2012: Woods of Ypres - Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light

One of the best swansongs I've ever heard.

To be perfectly honest, I had a very difficult time choosing my Album of the Year. Even now, I'm still thinking about whether or not I made the correct decision in declaring Woods of Ypres' final album to be my AotY 2012. This album was -as most WoY albums are- full of emotions. Walls of emotions even. The band died when David Gold was killed in a tragic car accident in November of 2011, and the album was released in Feburary of 2012. As I would go through other albums, and even when Carolus Rex was released, I would find myself coming back to this album. Strange, yes. I guess this ability to draw one back to it is the tipping point that would put Woods V over Carolus Rex for Album of the Year. Highlights: Lighting & Snow, Keeper of the Ledger, Travelling Alone, Silver, Career Suicide (Is Not Real Suicide)

Honorable Mentions:

Comus - Out of the Coma
Kamelot - Silverthorn

Arjen Anthony Lucassen - Lost in the New Real

What Next?

Next post will feature another Top Five list from 2012. A medium that I haven't really covered at all on this blag before, but I figure why not? So I will have a Top Five list covering what I feel to be the Top 5 Anime from 2012. Yes, I'm expanding my topic coverage because I'm awesome.