ненавижу задевать пальцем или другой частью руки по накрашенным губам. такое ощущение что я смазываю с них полугодовой запас помады. экономное направление моей души страдает

Takarazuka monthly calendars. February 2013

why am I doing this? for what? 'thas become a habit bringing no longer any joy and bearing no meaning. so boring. why am I doing this...

'Nishi no Yoki Majo' manga ~ let there be strong, normal romance!

'let there be strong, normal romance!' I cried in joy, after reading a 5-page long scene which in the anime took only 15 seconds or something like that. I mean, such 'normal' romance should be imposed on every shoujo manga and made obligatory, haha

story and characters

'Nishi no Yoki Majo' anime was good. manga was even better. it highlighted the most important moments, erased the unnecessary ones, prolonged those which supposed to last longer and made those which were supposed to be lighter really light

I can open the part with 'that very romantic moment' every day and stare at my favourite page for several minutes. however, while in the anime there were several really 'sweet' moments, in manga 'that one' stays probably the only one. the other romantic moments were non_sweet. by 'sweet' I mean moments which are obviously done for the purpose of pleasantly surprising the female reader. 'Nishi no Yoki Majo' anime was full of sweet moments which were not overly sweet but sweet nevertheless. 'Nishi no Yoki Majo' manga was full of romantic moments that were, however, more dictated by the story development itself, less explicit in terms of what exactly was portrayed (angles, frequency of capturing, number of frames etc.), and in terms of characters' lines
among the thousands of effeminate male characters Roux is one of the few - if not the only one - I like. despite his sweet girlish look (you can see him cross-dressing below) he was not your usual 'I am cute and look like a child so love me everyone but beware I am not as innocent as you may think' boy. haha, do not be mislead by the picture I provide. his image in the last chapter was something completely different! ^__^
another pleasant surprise was the last volume where a lot of secrets were uncovered and the special one which covers the events not depicted in the main flow. I liked how the author clearly explained the pre-history of the world the characters live in, and how she linked it to the modern world we live in, giving the story a rather 'green', ecological feel

graphics
you can notice easily how the artist's style was developing with every volume. this is perhaps the case where the last pictures are different from those in the beginning, but not worse. and that is wonderful
in some parts I was feeling the graphics was a bit inclining towards CLAMP-ish style, but it was not some sort of copy but a similar feeling, nothing else

conclusion
I have yet to read the ranobe - if I ever find them, but surely 'Nishi no Yoki Majo' manga has become an honourable member of my 'Top' list. one of the best manga I have ever read

p. s.
Why do I recall Ursula Le Guin?

synesthetic experience. part 2 ~ music

this is not an encyclopedia or analytical article. this is simply a list of my own experiences

1. Gymnopedies

this part of Gymnopedies is undoubtedly light violet

2. Gackt's songs

for some reason three songs of his are light green for me...

Dears

Miserable

and Saikai

'Nishi no Yoki Majo' ~ sweet? sickly sweet?

'Nishi...' is one of the rare cases when I have to criticise almost everything, and still admit I liked it very much. now that I think of it, 'Nishi...' is an anime that has broken many stereotypes and expectations of mine

plot and characters

first of all, this is not a fantasy I am used to. since this is not the achievement of the anime creators, I cannot praise them for making good characters and putting them into the brilliant, fascinating, absorbing fantasy world - this praise must go to the ranobe author, Ogiwara Noriko-sensei. however, I do not know exactly how everything was in the original, and so I judge the anime version separately, and I give it a high mark as a fantasy story, due to interesting interpretation of typical fantasy elements, for example unicorns

another genre of 'Nishi...' is 'shoujo', and for a shoujo, perhaps 'Nishi...' is one of the most tolerable works I have ever watched. it certainly plunges to the most dangerous 'shoujo' depth, but does not leave the aftertaste of disgust, not being a sickly saccharine shoujo. 'tis not common to have a Main Heroine admitting her feelings so quickly and expressing them so bluntly, even though in the end she stays within the frames of a Kind-to-Everyone-and-Wanting-to-Save-the-World type

the story, however, is so lame that I doubt it can be really called a story. most developments are so rash that the spectator cannot catch up with what is going on. in 13 episodes there are at least 3 story layers, none of them properly developed. most of crises are solved with the help of 'a piano in the bush' as we call it in Russian - contrived coincidence

former enemies turn to allies in a couple of scenes. 5 minutes before the end. a mysterious person (whose identity is not revealed and who appeared like a miracle in front of the Main Heroine only two episodes ago) says to the Magic Star

and the wish is granted, and the world is saved. however fantasy this may be, world-concerning disasters are not supposed to be overcome like this
also 'Nishi...' has humour - very strange one. it rather makes you o____O than laugh. especially young Adele who constantly tries to make a yaoi couple out of her brother and Main Heroine's beloved

and an all-female academy where...

in order to maintain peaceful coexistence with other countries
and, of course, I did not expect Main Hero to come there as...

or The-Prince-on-the-White-Horse saving not the Main Heroine, but her crossdressing boyfriend...

graphics
is one of the main points to judge when you watch fantasy. the world may be described in words as beautiful and gorgeous, but it depends on the designers and artists to make it happen. are amulets decorated with ornaments? are castles' architecture striking one's fancy enough? are dresses frilled? do they give the impression of some magic being worked? the answer is yes

however, concerning objects of smaller scale, as much as I was fascinated with 'Aria', the same disappointed I was with 'Nishi...'. even though some close-ups look good

more frequently they do not...

also, beware of lots of fanservice

seiyuus
here, again, I had just the opposite of what I expected. Orikasa, unfortunately, spoiled the whole role. her Firiel was so positive and energetic that when she obviously needed to be sad she failed to sound as such. when Firiel was crying or angry, her voice hardly ever shook. other seiyuus who were not bad but failed to leave any impression were Ishida Akira, Saitou Chiwa and Fujimura Ayumi. they seem to have lost their own voice tone and timbre to the extent I did not even recognise them. maybe those was their true voices, but I like it better when they have those special 'overtones' which made them so distinguished for me in roles of Ayuzawa/Cecily, Aika or Chrno
instead I discover Hirata Hiromi as one more female seiyuu voicing male characters (they are my soft spot...), who brilliantly made Rune (I wonder who decided to spell his name as Roux???) into a living person, hear Saiga-sama voicing a female character, which was truly interesting, and finally get to know how Tanaka Rie's low voice sounds

music
I may sound heretical, since I love Masumi Ito/Nanase Hikaru, but I totally understand why people are not very happy with the ED. before watching 'kanata' performed by Mariaria - which consists of Hikaru Nanase herself and Saneyoshi Isako - one should better be prepared by having listened to at lease a couple of other Nanase's works. however for me, with an experience of 'Haibane Remmei', the song was no surprise. the same no surprise was 'starry waltz' by kukui, as Shimotsuki Haruka's music style and vocals are an unforgettable phenomenon. I might be a little less fascinated with the background music here than I was in other fantasy anime series, but I believe that the OST is also pretty well done - by Nanase-sensei again

conclusion
after some animes with sad ending I cry and feel devastated. after some animes with supposedly good ending I do that too, because I am frustrated with how it ended, like in case of 'Princess Tutu'. after 'Nishi...' I feel almost elevated. I am so satisfied with it that I find myself smiling silently. a strange feeling I cannot get very often, but it literally feeds me
'Nishi...' is one of the examples why anime can become a 'raison d'etre'

'Princess Tutu' ~ 中途半端

I was not the first among my friends who watched 'Princess Tutu'. 2 or 3 years ago they were already engaged in discussions of Fakir's hotness and general greatness of 'Princess Tutu'. I could not understand why they were enjoying it so much, as I thought it to be a shoujo for younger girls. seeing them, nevertheless, so fascinated, I thought that maybe, 'Princess Tutu' is an anime for a wider audience. unfortunately, I was wrong

plot and characters

some things in 'Princess Tutu' are be taken for granted. such as the fact that the reality and the stories are mixed in the city where the characters live

or the past of the characters being told only in small portions, with their feelings and motives never explained, which especially arrests my attention in case with the main characters

with time, the story only kept growing more and more complicated, with more and more characters, more and more problems, and more and more riddles. none of them were solved until the end, or at least some crucial moment
another weird thing is the distribution of roles. a typical shoujo Main Heroine is present, but the role of Main Hero with

is shifted from the Main Hero to the Second Hero. moreover, from the very beginning those two are bound by a relationship that only young innocent children will see as natural, unlike me, who instantly started to doubt whether they were not dictated by the wish to please the audience

the first episodes were a little strange, but gradually I was getting used to them. however, season 2 broke everything. the most distorted is the ending. everyone who was turned into a human-animal returns to his true form and is 'happy', such as my favourite character, Cat Teacher

and others

those who were not turned into anyone, but had some problems that Ahiru helped to solve, live 'happily'

this is supposed to be a happy ending, and Ahiru's happiness consists in her friends forgetting her existence...

 ...silent swimming in the pond...

...and no normal life at all
in other words, Ahiru has to throw away
1. her life as a human girl - with ballet school, chatting with friends, everyday joyous life - turning into a duck again, simply because this is a premise of the story
2. her love, because the Prince suddenly realises he is in love with another girl for a reason far from convincing
3. her chances of having any normal relationship, as the only possible love interest for her in the end of the story is a man who says to her - let us return to our true form, because even when you are a duck I will be with you
......excuse me?

music

the background music consists of a number of most famous classical pieces, such as parts of 'Pictures at an Exhibition', 'Flight of the Bumblebee', 'Aquarium' from 'The Carnival of the Animals', and 'Gymnopedies', to say nothing of 'Swan Lake' itself. for me, who is fed up with listening to them, they were nothing special. OPEDs were so boring that I only listened to them in the very 1st episode and skipped them all the rest

seiyuus
were good, but I cannot say they were memorable. they fulfilled their types, that is what I can say

graphics
for 2002, this is not bad. outlines are simple, but in general everything is beautifully done

the only thing that puzzled me was the constant greyish and slightly dark colouring of everything. it looked to me as if most episodes took place either at twilight, or on cloudy days, if not at night at all

conclusion
under-appreciated masterpiece! 10 out of 10! are you kidding?

in order to fully appreciate this 'no doubt' story one must be as a child, able to perceive everything unconditionally, believing that if the characters does this or that, or suddenly undoes this or that, then this or that is only natural
meseems I am slightly beyond the age type allowing to enjoy a story like this. I demand a full explanation and responsibility from people of art for what they present. I demand meaning and reason in what people do - both those who create, and those whom they create. if I am left with an expression like this o___O, if I am left with a bunch of mis/non-understandings, then I see an artwork as a fail. I wonder is this is the director's, Koumoto Shougo's, fault

中途半端 - one of my favourite Japanese words. 'half-made', 'incomplete' - according to the dictionary. 'lame' - my own way of interpreting. this is what I would call 'Princess Tutu'. the first season was so-so, the second made me absolutely bored 
what really makes me sad is not that 'Princess Tutu' ended like that, or that it turned to be worse than I expected, but the fact that it seemed to me an anime with high standards, the anti-mainstream one, praised by so many people who are far from seeking cheap entertainment, and being done by HAL, which is responsible for many good anime series. 'tis truly not a popular thing for wide masses, but it did not reach the other shore, either. it makes me sad, not angry, as usual

p. s.
to think that I hoped to add 'Princess Tutu' to the list of recommendations for my young pupil...

One Off ~ one off...

while watching I had several ideas how to start my post. I could start it like this...

plot and characters

variant #1

if you want to ask me what are the main points of this anime. here they are! 1. Sato-sama as the director, 2. young student as the main heroine, and 3. mopeds - the three key elements of 'One Off' which only combined together produce a wonderful effect like this

variant #2

this OVA goes slightly overboard with ads, does it not?

however, I do not particularly care!

variant #3

this is a very short piece, and thus it cannot discover an America for us in an hour. however it manages to reaffirm one important idea

variant #4

being a typical TYO creation with an obvious school-everyday-slice-of-life air, 'One Off' can only describe a few relationship, but this does not mean those relationship were not worthy of attention

graphics

variant #5

extremely beautiful small town in the mountains. this anime stroke me with its beauty from the very beginning

and I just could not tear myself from admiring the views again and again, mesmerised

seiyuus

music

variant #6

since I am lazy, and there is nothing special to describe, I would name these two aspects as 'good'. however, this 'good' is not 'satisfactory', 'tis closer to 'really good, with a special atmosphere'. it could not be otherwise, huh? a company of 4 cute girls, including KitaEri, plus Kobayashi Yuu with her very special timbre. OPEDs are so in style that I recognised at once the special mood of Round Table and Nino's cute vocals. naisu waaku! ~ or so Cynthia would say

conclusion

fans of Tamayura would probably enjoy it the most. I enjoyed it, too, but on the other hand, I cannot exaggerate One Off's impression on me. 'twas nice. that's all