Lately, i've been revisiting KareKano.
It starts off so good–endlessly watchable due to Anno Hideaki's artful, filmic direction. The establishing shots just swallow you up in their colors and their framing; there's so much love for city life evident in them. The power line shots used between Yukino's school life and self are a denpa horror staple here played for comedic dissonance–at first, at least. Similarly the stoplights are a reflection of Yukino's comfort/feeling of control over herself. At school, they're red with her effort, and at home, all but one are green. All but one. Her breakdown in e2 and Soichiro explaining he just wanted to be around her changing all the stoplights to green for the first time was a really cute moment, only made more personal by how weird it is to repeat those shots, to key in on such an ordinary feature of life. With so much of the same staff as Evangelion, its no surprise to see a lot of the same techniques used. In just the first few episodes we can he same spotlight motif and stylings in the journey to the center of the mind segments. splatter backgrounds, blank sketched out crowds. negative coloring.
All of these run through the same themes of disordered communication and self-worth, played for comedy (in juxtaposition with Evangelion's tragedy, if not always for laughs.) The confession in episode 4 is another example. We can see the same split screen as in "Dance Like You Want To Win", when Yukino and Soichiro are attempting to wordlessly convey their feelings as Shinji and Asuka spent that episode working towards. Its a littering of shots of empty hands at sides, panned over with no thought of synchronization. Until they hold hands. Only then does the screen unsplit. it's genuinely enrapturing to watch–i couldn't blink till my eyes stung–and an almost sublime representation of how good these two are for each other. Even before Yukino spells it out in episode 6, it's evident how perfect they are together. Both of their lives and characters are defined by massive effort in the story's very premise. There would be no story if Yukino and Soichiro weren't inclined towards trying exceptionally hard to change how they're seen. That seemingly self-centered focus is just what makes it so possible for them to love each other; it's just a matter of these variably damaged people shifting that effort towards understanding each other better. As they rediscover the true selves that "his and her (respective) circumstances" have buried, they're uniquely qualified to be depended on by each other. In the same seemingly backwards way they need to become more self-centered and farther from model students together, they each notice the other leaning on them before they realize they're both relying on the other. No small part of what made KareKano unique, especially at the time, is just how forward both parties are in confessing their feelings. But what makes it exceptional is how that's only the start of the story. It's weird how rare it is for a properly executed confession to be the inciting incident in a romance work, now that i think about it, right ? For the second post in a row i have to drop a shout-out to Whisper Me A Love Song, the only other example i can think of off the top of my head. (Even my favorite romance, Urasekai Picnic, doesn't dodge this–and it may be because Sorawo is the most autistic girl of history, but still, if it were written by anyone other than Miyazawa Iori i'd feel a little strung along.) Anyway, in KareKano, Yukino and Soichiro's apparent perfection together is a living part of every frame.
i say "apparent" because their compatibility still does not equal a relationship without conflict, obviously. It's still a story about the personal and psychological tolls of being both exceptional and deeply flawed, and moreover maintaining human connection with both conditions as a background hum. In a genre that can coast on familiar dynamics and remain emotionally effective, the ways KareKano bucks rom-com trends feels less pointed and more personal–a credit both to the original mangaka Tsuda Masami and to the team at Gainax. You can see why this manga would speak to the director of and many of the animators from Eva as their next project. However it shines most in the adaptation; the setting is visually crafted with as much romance as the love story itself. i mentioned the establishing shots before, but even past their lexical meaning the cityscapes are treated like the vehicles in something like Gunbuster or Wings of Honneamise. They're so gorgeous and the product of such clear devotion to detail that it's hard to believe they're real. It's the same otaku fetish for detail that brings out the beauty in everyday complexities. That burning feeling you (or at least i) know so well watching machinery churn like organs in older Gainax works. i feel like such a dirtbag comparing this to Eva so much, but i find that feeling comes through uniquely with the divine machinery in that show. And here the city looms in similar unreal beauty. KareKano is already an exceptional shoujo romance that stands out in my sampling of that genre and demographic combo for being about a relationship that forms pretty early on; it's hard to think of any people more prepared than the team at Gainax in the late 90's to tell a story about the beauty of successful human connection.
Maho is up there with the best of "side characters whose arcs go way harder than they needed to". Yukino's right, that kind of shunning is completely detestable. Her fall from influence is so melodramatic, but it really brings into focus how abnormal her behavior was. It reminded me of something like Gundam or Rose of Versailles (or even more to the point, Revolutionary Girl Utena)–and yeah, this kind of story isn't uncommon to shoujo school dramas but the contrast makes it even more effective in a rom-com like KareKano. And because i'm me the lesbian "subtext" didn't escape me. "My eyes locked onto her of their own accord, as if they were in love with her." It just makes Maho's story even more tragic. It would have been so easy to write her as some one-dimensional psycho bitch trying to ruin this perfect couple, or to just leave her miserable after having come to the realization she can't win against Yukino. The completeness of that arc as a closed circle could have felt right enough, but that's not the kind of story this is.
This is sorta tangential, but, kne of my favorite things about shoujo manga is the care given to each character. More than what's "right" or "justified" it's about letting characters be full emotional portraits and earn happiness in their own ways. Obviously this isn't exclusive to one demographic in manga publishing (i see it a lot in seinen–Berserk's later arcs and at least in adjacency to the main theme of Vinland Saga) but it's something i notice a lot in shoujo in particular. Cardcaptor Sakura honestly changed my life in the way Sakura embodied this idea. in contrast with Syaoran's prioritization of his family duties, she was more aware of the feelings of the cards she was catching along with the people that would be in danger if she didn't capture said card. That kindness and care really spoke to me as a measure of true strength. Even when Syaoran caught the card, Sakura stayed true to herself. Since then she was always the kind of person i wanted to be more like.
To not only unrelatedly re-realize that purpose on par with justice while watching KareKano, but to have Maho's ultimate resolution be to care for Yukino, even if by all rights the two shouldn't speak, hits hard. Even more so is the way she does it, what Maho says to her. Its all about how people make themselves and its never too late to start and, most importantly to me, that Maho wants to become herself too. This from a girl who was just trying to ruin Yukino's life an episode prior ? It might be too quick a turnaround to feel "earned," but its not about earning the right to be there for people. Putting all "ought to" aside–if you care enough to notice someone's hurting that should be all there is to it, right ? why is consideration something you have to earn ? i like when stories don't get so hung up on "justice" for their characters that they forget to care for them.
i also watched Chobits this past week. it was very nice as always, but i think it cemented my preference for the manga. It's by no means a bad adaptation; it'd be hard for so many of the same creatives involved in the adaptation of Cardcaptor Sakura to fully fumble. But comparing it with that earlier, longer work, it doesn't quite measure up, i feel like. It's not as constantly sugary-beautiful as that show, which is fine as they're playing to completely different time slots and demographics, but it still makes these 26 episodes drag in a way that, i'm sorry, Cardcaptor Sakura's 70+ never really do for me. That's the meanest i can be.
While Chobits is definitely less consistent, its good episodes and plots are absolute gut punches. The themes about connection and isolation via technology ring very true to present day and inform a lot of them. Some people find the companionship they desperately crave with Persocoms, while others worry their artificial perfection will limit humanity's ability to relate to each other in the future. At first glance it looks like a pretty simple morality tale about progressing "too far" and forgetting an intangible part of humanity. In the end, though, no one needs to be taught better than how they feel–excited or afraid. That nonjudgmental care for all the story's characters is really important for a love story like this. If the narrative comes down on either side i would say it leans towards "progress," as in, Chii doesn't know anything, but still can make choices, and chooses to do things that make Hideki happy. She as one of the titular Chobits series exist as a refutation to the idea that companionship with a Persocom will always be missing something, or rather that such a vague "something" being missing doesn't matter when both people are clearly making each other happy. (This is why i compared defending HatsuSaki with "taking the CLAMP pill"–no matter what Hatsune believes she is missing, her emptiness doesn't deter Saki from wanting her lifelong devotion. And though that may seem like Hatsune's missing out in that relationship, it makes her happy, makes her whole.) This is the price you pay for me deleting my "Soichiro is Hatsune, Yukino is Saki" ramble. Anyway, i was deeply moved by a CLAMP adaptation, so it must be a day ending in Y.
Having a TV again has been great. i didn't realize how much i missed my ps4 over the last year and a half, nor just how impressive a game Blooodborne really is until i returned to it. It had always been one of my favorites for its atmosphere and art direction alone, and those were still a standout. Yarnham's skyline reminds me of nothing so much as Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust in terms of sheerly awesome Gothic structures. In the infernal glow of the sunset, it's almost hard to comprehend the fact something looks like this. And the monster designs all look so pained, from the uncanny wielders of torches and pitchforks to the emaciated Blood-Starved Beast–each is a dramatic portait of misery. On this replay i'm struck by just how well i remember it–i know Souls fans will always talk about this quality, but it's another thing entierly to experience these dreamlike labyrinths as if through the veil of déjà vu. And–i couldn't tell you how it happened, but somehow the Soulslite-flavored AssCreed games helped me to understand the combat in Bloodborne better, and with it the game as a whole. In Yarnham's narrow streets it's hard to dodge a lot of the time, so you really have to take a windup as a cue to move forward. There really is no way to progress without "frenzying" a little bit as a player, like the all-powerful eldritch corruption in the story can't be contained to fiction almost like The King In Yellow. Really cool stuff ! i doubt i'm saying anything new, this game has been talked to death.
As for music, i recently switched to youtube music so i could play my playlists from my tv while i write, and i'm proud to report it's made me happier with what i listen to. A LOT of Love Live music–mostly old favorites that i've talked about before, but not all. My biggest discovery has probably been Uehara Ayumu's Break The System, a delightfully hard-edged and unabashedly edgy-up-to-eleven track about smashing the cycles of discontent in everyday life. The emotional intensity makes so much sense, given the subject matter and the character's yearning nature. Moreover this aggressive sound is a real insight into Ayumu's character; beyond her study of cute things is overwhelming, genuine emotion that can only be expressed properly in this kind of intense music. Many of Ayumu's best scenes center on her stumbling from the sheer force of her emotions. i'm thinking specifically of the part where she lays on top of Yu out of fear that she'll abandon her, but also her relationship with Setsuna is centered around two such vulnerable moments for this girl who lives in performance. In a very real way, it could be said this song is about the same traits of Ayumu's which in large part make Nijigasaki so special to me.
L!L!L! is just generally an album i'd overlooked. Aside from one of my new favorite Love Live tracks from one of my top oshi, Shizuku's Eieisa is incredibly catchy in the same way as many of my favorite old toku and anime themes, Toy Doll is probably my favorite Mia Taylor song, and Silent Blaze is another unexpected hard rock banger from sleepy Kanata. i love how her coolness gets to shine through here, because she really is a very dependable person. Kanata may be the sleepy one, but she's only so tired because she stretches herself so thin for all those she loves. This expression of the strength in her care for others moves me deeply, just as much as i felt the catharsis of Ayumu's heavier song this record. Finally, Yuki Setsuna's Yada! sounds like the opening to Onimai or Oreimo–it's cute and bouncy and so catchy. the chiptune intro makes me think of Setsuna's smile and i'm so glad the club's token otaku got to lean into this side of moe as well as their very gap-coolness.
Thank you very much for reading my silly little rambles week after week. This year i've set out to write a blog post every seven days; so far, despite a very busy start to the year, i've stuck to that pace, and i'm very proud of myself.