smoothrunner Reviews

Paprika (2006)

merging reality and dreams

[8/10 · 5 March 2024]

If you look closely at the works of Satoshi Kon, the idea of merging reality and dreams can be seen in almost all the anime he created. It seems that Satoshi was obsessed with it and constantly tried to express it as fully as possible using the artistic means available to him. Of course, obsessed with such an idea, Satoshi simply could not pass by the 1993 novel "Paprika" by his compatriot Tsutsui Yasutaka, which tells about an apparatus with which psychiatrists can infiltrate into the dreams of patients and cure them of mental disorders. The idea of this novel is very reminiscent of the idea of the novel "The Dream Master" by Roger Zelazny, published back in 1966.

The audiovisual style of "Paprika" is like a dream - from the wonderful, bewitchingly strange music, to the borderline absurd, and sometimes reminiscent of feverish delirium, plot, in which the transition between sleep and reality is often not distinguishable, and to the bright and colorful picture, often ominous and frightening, like a nightmare.

As for the plot, as far as I understand, the operating principle of the DC Mini "dream analysis machine" invented by Kosaku Tokito is based on Jungian analytical psychology. The psychiatrist, with the help of a machine, infiltrates into the dream, that is, the individual unconscious of the patient, into his "shadow", trying to manifest it for the patient's consciousness. This is what Atsuka Chiba does, but not directly, but with the help of her "shadow" (alter ego). Donning a wig and applying makeup, the stern, cold and purposeful beauty Atsuko transforms into "Paprika" - a cheeky, irresponsible young woman who visits patients "at home" with her DC Mini to penetrate their dreams. She is secretly in love with the infantile genius Tokita, but represses her love into the unconscious (shadow).

Perhaps, here I should explain what these "shadows" are. These are repressed "qualities" or desires that characters are unwilling to acknowledge, let alone display publicly. The repressed qualities torment the characters because they are not acceptable for some reasons, but the characters are afraid that the "shadows" are who they really are. For example, we all have moments in our lives when we catch ourselves thinking and feeling that our thoughts and emotions are, at best, creepy, if not monstrous. But this does not mean that we are all scoundrels and monsters (although some of us are). Once we recognize the existence of such thoughts and emotions as parts of ourselves, we gain the ability to subjugate and control those parts. This is what happens with proper awareness and acceptance of the "shadow". We do not become shadows, but by acknowledging the existence of shadows, we can control them rather than being controlled by them (becoming monsters). Accepting the "shadow" is like admitting your alcohol addiction, which is a necessary step to overcome it instead of becoming an alcoholic. Admitting that you are addicted to overeating is a necessary step to control your appetite and avoid gaining weight. Having a tendency to overeat does not mean that your true self is a glutton. However, if a healthy appetite, as a part of being human, turns into an unhealthy one, and you are unwilling to recognize that appetite as unhealthy, it can completely consume you, and gluttony will define who you are. So it is with the "shadow" - its awareness and acceptance means acquiring conscious control over it, instead of the shadow controlling you through the unconscious.

But let's get back to our characters. In addition to the cold, two-faced Atsuko, we have the incredibly childish, obese genius Takito, as well as sexually obsessed by Atsuko her colleague, and another psychiatrist, a manipulative psychopath, dreaming of enslaving the world with the help of a DC Mini, and on the way to this goal practicing tentacles on Atsuko. In general, we have a whole collection of mental deviations - and all this, I note, is only among "psychiatrists." I'm not even sure who in this anime (and book) actually needs medical attention. Atsuko's patient , detective Konakawa, against the backdrop of this whole company of crazy psychiatrists, looks like a completely mentally healthy and adequate person.

The individual unconscious of all the mentioned characters is intertwined with each other and with reality, forming a kind of collective unconscious, over which one of them, the psychopath, is trying to seize control. But Detective Konakawa steps in and saves Atsuko from the tentacle monster (thus realizing his repressed movie fantasies). Atsuko finally accepts her "shadow" Paprika, merging with her inside another "shadow" - the robot Takito. Having gained integrity by merging with the "shadow," Atsuko is reborn and defeats the monster by absorbing it into herself. The latter, however, gives rise to the suspicion that the entire nightmare dream shown to us is nothing more than a figment of the imagination of Atsuko, possessed by her demons.

However, here it is worth paying attention to the oddities of double standards in Atsuko's behavior, and the whole scene of the caranival of deviations no longer speaks of individually suppressed qualities, but of social pressure in Japanese society. Therefore, in addition to the psychological, it is also worth mentioning the social context of "Paprika", developed in more detail by Satoshi Kon in "Paranoia Agent". Contextualism and repressive conformism of Japanese culture do not so much psychologically drive the qualities of individual Japanese into the unconscious (this is more characteristic of the Christian guilt culture), but rather force them to consciously hide these qualities (which is characteristic of the Asian shame culture). Suppressed by social norms, unexpressed desires and experiences under the influence of social pressure find a "path to life" through an "alter ego" that acts "against the will," a double life, a double morality. Or they are expressed directly by the body through psychosomatic disorders. There is also a socially acceptable option - immersion into the dream world.

Unexpressed desires and qualities of the "pseudo-robot" are brought to their extreme manifestations and, as a rule, are channeled through socially acceptable forms - through the "dream world" of anime and manga, with its cruelty, sadomaso pornography and "kawaii" - in general, the satisfaction of suppressed desires for every taste. However, if the throughput of socially acceptable forms is not enough, then the "sewer" can break through, releasing all the accumulated "crap" onto the streets of reality. Hence the nightmarish carnival - everything suppressed and hidden has broken through from the unconscious and suppressed into reality and is marching through the streets in an eerie march. And all this "things" was absorbed by Atsuko. In addition, she also absorbed the opposing "repressive" shadow of a man who was trying to control the world. It's hard not to assume that this is a kind of feminist manifesto (I note that the heroines of Satoshi Kon's films are women and he is close to the female worldview). The woman defeats the repressive patriarchy with her boundless tolerance and absorbs all deviations, instead of suppressing and excluding them. Inclusiveness instead of excommunication. At the same time, the fantasies of "dream masters" like Kon, their waking dreams, capable of influencing the viewer's perception of reality through cinema and television screens, often completely replacing real experience, are probably intended to help in "freeing" the viewer from his "shackles", through incorporation "liberation ideas" into dreams broadcast to the viewer (cinema, video games, anime, manga, music, etc.).

If this is the solution proposed by Kon, then it is wrong. The solution does not lie in social acceptance and tolerance of all "repressed" qualities and desires, including deviations. And, moreover, the solution does not lie in imposing a "useful" ideology on the viewer through indoctrination through "waking dreams" - the entertainment industry and the media. Awareness and acceptance of the "shadow" does not mean allowing its acceptability and submission to it. On the contrary, it means preventing the shadow from controlling consciousness and gaining control over the shadow itself. For example, Atsuko's awareness of her repressed sexuality does not mean that sexual promiscuity is acceptable. She simply should not deny and suppress her sexuality, but accept its existence and learn to control it, turning it into a morally acceptable head start - getting married and "tormenting" her husband with sexual harassment. Takito's awareness of his infantility does not mean that he should avoid all responsibility and henceforth behave like a child in everything. He should accept his infantility and channel it into creativity, into new inventions, without spreading it to other aspects of his life, where he needs to behave like an adult man.

However, at one time "Paprika" charmed me not at all with its, perhaps erroneous, moralite. You can get purely audiovisual pleasure from this anime, without really thinking about the meaning. The plot is quite dynamic and twisted, with elements of suspense and mysticism characteristic of Satoshi Kon. Well, Satoshi's directing and editing are simply amazing - on the level of the old Hollywood masters. Add here good animation, a beautiful picture, a beautiful main character (in both of her guises) and excellent music, season with a fair amount of surrealism and you get "Paprika", ready to charm and entertain you even if you are not ready to think about the plot.

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)

decadent aesthetics

[7/10 · 5 March 2024]

What would happen if Sergio Leone, in collaboration with Luis Bunuel, filmed in animation form a book by Stephen King, written by him in the mid-1980s (during the period of Stephen's severe drug intoxication), where the main character would be Zorro, fighting vampires in the Wild West? The result would be surreal trash, but decadent, aesthetic trash. It would be "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust", or something very close to it. As much as I, to put it mildly, am not close to the stories of Kikuchi Hideyuki, how secondary the plot is, how vulgar the characters are, how intellectually and morally powerless the narrative is, so much captivating the decadent aesthetics of this anime are. Just as sweetness can be found in pain, so in the destruction of ethical and aesthetic beauty, in decay, one can find decadent pleasure like "Belle De Jour". Perhaps this is what catches "Bloodlust" - the visual aesthetics here are extremely consistent with the ethics of storytelling. It has a peculiar "beauty of ruins", a borderline sadistic pleasure of destruction, the withering of goodness and beauty. It fascinates, just as a poisonous snake fascinates its victim, just as the viewer is fascinated by the animation of a bouquet of roses withering as Meier approaches to take Charlotte to the "underworld." The animation, I note, in "Bloodlust" is amazing. The references to Leone's western film aesthetic are animated masterfully, D against the backdrop of a full moon looks as good as Zorro against the setting sun, and it all comes together with a gothic design fused with art nouveau. Eclecticism? Definitely, but it works in "Bloodlust", paired well with an equally eclectic narrative. We can say that this anime is an empty shell, a pretty rotten one, but you can't deny its visual peculiarity.

Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro (2021–2023)

Light and joyful, although provocative love game

[8/10 · 20 October 2023]

It would seem that "Nagatoro" has absorbed hackneyed anime clichés: there is a shy to the point of pain, homely, fearful and weak main male character - an introvert (Senpai) and a main female character who shows an incomprehensible (and extremely unhealthy) interest in Senpai - a hyperactive girl a grade younger him, beauty and athlete (Nagatoro or "Demoness"). Nagatoro's interest in Senpai reveals in a quite unusual way - through all kinds of bullying (mainly of a moral nature, but not without assault), vulgar ridicule and bringing Senpai to tears with humiliation. However, the huge amount of time that the Demoness spends on bullying, often of a sexual nature, and her obvious outbursts of jealousy towards Senpai, indicate Nagotoro's interest in him. The latter, although he sluggishly protests against ridicule, sexual harassment and humiliation, also experiences pleasure from the constant attention from the Demoness and from her sexual provocations. It would seem that everything is clear - we have a rom-com with ecchi elements, with clichéd characters, romanticizing the codependent relationship of a couple of sexual perverts who have found each other, with an obvious abuser, Nagatoro, and the victim of her harassment, Senpai, and they show us ordinary sadomasochism, which does not cross the line of outright BDSM -pornography only due to the age restrictions of anime.

However, there is something in this anime that catches and captivates even those who do not experience a perverted attraction to sadomasochistic games. Here you should pay attention to the first episode, in which a short flashback explains the passivity and timidity of Senpai. He recalls how, from early childhood, he was constantly teased, beaten and humiliated by his peers, from which he stopped resisting and tried in every possible way to remain invisible to others. Especially for people like Nagatoro and her friends. Senpai says that Nagatoro is the same as his past tormentors, but immediately admits that he partly enjoys her bullying. Why is this so? Perhaps the mechanism of such psychological defense is similar to Stockholm syndrome. The victim of the latter, as a result of psychologically traumatic violence, begins to associate himself with the aggressor, thus trying to relieve the stress of his own helplessness and may well fall in love with the abuser. And as one of the "admirers" of this anime put it, Senpai turned out to be the winner, who made his bully fall in love with him. Isn't that what every victim of Stockholm syndrome wants?

However, it is extremely mistaken to believe that between Nagatoro and Senpai everything comes down to perverted sexual desire, Stockholm syndrome and there is no real love. Just the opposite - ridicule and teasing are an indispensable attribute of falling in love. Falling in love, like sex, is an eternal subject of jokes. It is wrong to think that ridicule is always hostile. Lovers are always making fun of each other. It turned out that the humiliation experienced by Senpai, upon meeting Nagatoro, was transformed into a love game. Humiliating jokes have become part of flirting. An abstract "bully", before whom the main character felt helpless, turned from an unclear threat into a specific sexy girl, sincerely in love with Senpai and never bringing his bullying to something that could truly harm him. On the contrary, Nagatoro protects and entertains Senpai in every possible way, trying to help him overcome his long-standing psychological trauma and adapt socially. A "bully" not only became unarmed and safe, but became dependent on Senpai and began to "serve" him.

The same applies to the hero's shyness. As Kant said, laughter is an affect that arises when tense expectation turns into nothing. All the complexes and sexual fantasies that weigh on Senpai and oppress him, Nagatoro, with her provocative jokes, pulls out, making them visible and funny and, thereby, disarming them, destroying their power over Senpai and liberating him. In the process of ridicule, in the form of a game, Nagatoro provides Senpai with everything that he secretly dreams of. The heroine persistently heals Senpai's mental wounds, exposing them and making them harmless.

So, everything that Senpai was afraid of, that traumatized and oppressed him, turned from an invincible monster, against which Senpai was powerless into an energetic and attractive girl, head over heels in love with the protagonist, who was stunned by this situation. Perhaps, for many, such a girl - a "savior", "safe", playful and emphatically sexy, but at the same time innocent and bashful (yes, contradictions to fantasies are not a hindrance), who is sincerely in love with them, who destroys their fears by ridiculing and pulls them out of the shell of lonelinessand and dullness of everyday life, is the subject of sweet dreams. Something same to a "Prince Charming" for girls. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the popularity of Nagatoro even among the public not prone to sadomasochism.

But that's not all. The author of "Nagatoro", skillfully conveying the experience of falling in love that he apparently experienced, involves the audience in the depicted love game. They, together with the heroes, engage in a light and cheerful love dance, through empathy with the heroes, overcoming their own fears, complexes and embarrassment, worrying and laughing together with Nagatoro and Senpai, and experiencing catharsis with them. Coming into contact with love through anime characters, viewers experience the lightness that accompanies it. After all, even when everything is so bad for lovers that, looking at them in real life, you cry - in poverty, in the hospital, on a prison visit - their joy amazes us and touches us in a way that few other things can. Perhaps it was this joy and lightness that captivated me most in "Nagatoro". Perhaps it was this joy and lightness that captivated me most in "Nagatoro". This is what distinguishes "Nagatoro" from other romcoms, where love coexists with melodrama and excessive sentimentalism, while lightness is often absent altogether, turning love into a "bittersweet" perversion of a genuine feeling. The undoubted skill of the manga and anime writers, as well as the Japanese voice actors, in how they successfully conveyed the fun and ease of falling in love deserves high praise.

Insomniacs After School (2023)

Pretty good representative of Seinen romantic slice of life with the original character design

[8/10 · 3 July 2023]

Despite the well-known clichés (types of the main characters, conventions of Japanese romance) and the unevenness of the narrative, "Insomnia" definitely stands out from other slice of life romances and leaves a pleasant impression. The character design is the first thing that draws attention. Makoto Ojiro managed to create her own, original style of drawing, which is very well combined with her style of narration. Like the story, Makoto's drawing is quite original, but not catchy and pretentious, but calm and pastel. Like the story, her art lacks a bit of stability and elaboration.

A pair of protagonists is quite typical - a gloomy, insecure, hyper-reflexive psychasthenic guy, exaggeratedly suffering from learned helplessness, and his girlfriend - a cheerful, active, athletic, careless sanguine girl. The only thing they have in common is that both suffer from insomnia and, by chance, become members of the astronomical club. One more thing - this couple of lovers becomes sleepy from each other, which in their case, paradoxically, is a mutual compliment ) It is obvious that Isaki (the girl) is attracted by stability and reliability of the guy, and the guy (Ganta) is attracted by Isaki's cheerfulness and liveliness. And, unfortunately, it is also obvious that, due to the conventions of Japanese romance, confessions occur only at the very end. This is such a "hackneyed" cliché that it can't even be considered a spoiler. But the secondary characters, with whom Makoto seems to have allowed herself a certain freedom from cliches, are pleasing - especially the mature and reasonable Tao and the eccentric geek girl Yui.

As for the story, it turned out to be somewhat chaotic. It seems that after starting the story, Makoto could not decide for some time what and how she wanted to tell. This shift from calm, Seinen storytelling, to melodramatically exaggerated shojo-style platitudes, to geeky meditativeness (the technical details of camera setup, shooting the night sky), may well alienate some viewers. At times, the plot is filled with reflections and experiences of the main characters about their lives and short excursions into the stories of other characters, and at times it becomes empty and simply boring. But, in its second half, the story does decide what it is (calm, meditative Seinen romantic slice of life with a contemplative protagonist, his sweet, cheerful girlfriend and a pinch of geekiness), and ends with a completely successful ending. Even a certain personal growth of the boy is shown, when he, contrary to his obedience and responsibility, decides on an act that violates the rules, a "rebellion" against someone else's will. For his girlfriend, of course.

In general, "Insomnia" is a pretty good representative of Seinen romantic slice of life. What gives it some originality, apparently, is the fact that this is a Seinen created by a woman who could not help but bring the originality of her vision to this genre. As well as her own, peculiar, drawing. Although both the narration and the art style of Makoto are still unstable and raw, they undoubtedly have their own individuality. Just for this "Insomnia" definitely deserves attention.

Reideen (2007– )

Quite niche but morals, animation and art are quite capable of bringing aesthetic pleasure

[8/10 · 1 July 2023]

"Where there is life, there is conflict. And talking doesn't always solve everything" the "fairy" Maedasaki instructs the protagonist in his dream. "Reideen" is full of conflicts. Between aliens and humans, between giant alien "robots" and Reideen, between Reideen and the army, between the army and military intelligence, between departments of military intelligence itself... But the main conflict of "Reideen" is internal. This anime is in conflict with itself, unable to finally decide what it is and what it is about. As a result, it loses the battle to itself. Those mecha lovers who are attracted to action will find "Reideen" boring and overextended. Combats are rare, Reideen's transformation animation cutscenes are frequent and lengthy, and the movements of the giant machines are slow. Fans of trash, entertaining stories and humor will not find either one or the other or the third in "Reideen", but they will find it too serious and grave. Fans of melodrama, blood and boobs will also be disappointed with "Reideen" - there are no emotional anguish, no dismemberment, no kawaii girls suffering from breast hyperplasia. Fans of romance will find only a very crumpled hint of it, hastily built into the very end of the series. Those who are interested in serious anime will be repulsed by the indestructible stupidity of the protagonist, often manifested in completely illogical (like fleeing from the alien base ship when it was defenseless and could be easily, safely and methodically shot down) and stupid actions, fragmentation of the narrative and gaping plot holes (incompleteness of separate storylines, "magic" with dressing up of the MC, which can only be attributed to sclerosis or hack-work of scriptwriters, etc.).

The protagonist, Junki Saiga, is also stuck somewhere between narratives - between his strong, bold and determined "prototype" from the original 1975-76 series and the ever-doubting, timid, stupid, whiny and weak modern days anime protagonists modeled after Ikari Shinji. He should be taller and more mature than his classmates, an excellent and aggressive kendo swordsman, fighting on equal terms with swords with an experienced alien warrior Roxel, controlling Reideen like an extension of his body and receiving physical damage when his "robot" is attacked, but he is actually depicted as a rather frail nerd, who at the beginning does not even try to fight, being one-sidedly beaten up by ordinary punks and is not even able to get angry at a deliberate "friendly fire" by the army. At the same time, there is no limit to the stupidity and passivity of the protagonist - most of his problems come from his own slavish obedience and revealing all Reideen's secrets to the government. Like the hero of the original series, he yells "Ruuuydin! Faido-in!", but it looks completely ridiculous with his character and in a remake that wants to be serious. Just as ridiculous is the futuristic moped in the remake in which the sportbike of the protagonist of the original series was "turned" into.

"Reideen" cannot decide what story it is trying to convey to the viewer. There are many "hinted" stories, but they are all fragmentary, loosely connected to each other and not shown properly. Starting with the detective story of the mysterious death of Junki's father, the anime soon completely "forgets" about it. Political intrigues within the army can not be taken seriously against the backdrop of the epic stupidity of the protagonist, who, like a suicidal, plays giveaway all the time, cannot distinguish enemies from friends, and only in some completely incomprehensible way (often miraculously saved at the last moment by alien enemies, performing the role of deus ex machina for the MC) manages to escape death. The title theme of Junki's "growing up" is rather vaguely illustrated and mostly only voiced by the other characters in the anime. The romance line, which is barely traceable for most of the episodes, then suddenly develops rapidly, leaving a feeling of crumpledness and understatement. The key theme of the hero's acceptance of himself and his responsibility is not sufficiently emphasized and is raised only in a couple of episodes, ending with a short comment by Midorino. In general, Midorino voices almost all the key morales in the "Reideen", which, given the small amount of screen time allotted to her (in her human form), blures the message of the anime.

And yet, I liked the remake of "Reideen". Largely due to the things which are not in it and what many will consider a disadvantage - there is no anguish of passion, blood, fan service, trash, intoxication, hurricane action, kawaii, saucer eyes, cellulite oppai, blue, green and other pink hair, stupid jokes and sentimental nonsense. The Art Nouveau 3D animation of Reideen and its transformations is quite beautiful. In general, the drawing and animation in "Reideen" is on top from the very beginning - for example, the animation of movements in the second episode in the hospital, when Junki, while fleeing from the "zombies", slips on the turn. The design of the characters is especially good - without the grotesqueness and colorfulness inherent in anime, but with a certain stylization for the Art Nouveau or even mannerism - the figures and faces of people are beautiful and slightly elongated, but not exaggerated. The anime has a pleasant opening with a city-pop song and a green-eyed beauty Midorino posing in various clothes, as well as a blue-eyed, golden Reideen shown in the ending which is made in the Art Nouveau style. Seiyuu are all good - the main and secondary characters are voiced superbly. Some of these secondary characters are also well written - especially Hoshikawa and the obsessive Shiori. Roxel is quite stereotypical, but nonetheless interesting with his imp cat. I liked the repulsive for many viewers "inhibition" of the movements of "robots", because it conveys the size and mass of gigantic machines. The same applies to the "prolonged" transformation - this is exactly how military equipment functions, which always requires time to deploy. The romance line, although rather crumpled, pleases with the lack of melodrama and, especially, how it ended for the annoying stalker Shiori, the obsessive childhood friend of the protagonist. The main character behaves with the girl he is in love with, quite believable for his temperament. At first he is gathering his bravery and looks for an opportunity to get close, some sign that she likes him, and only after that he gains the courage to speak.

Although vaguely, here can be traced the main line of the anime which is Junki's coming of age - from a kid obedient to someone else's will, avoiding responsibility, by the end of the series he transforms into a capable guy who knows what he wants from life and is able to act contrary to the opinions of others (one can only hope that growing up also helped him get rid of stupidity and he was smart enough not to tell the military about who Midorino is). In general, if you omit the fantastical assumptions like giant robots and aliens, "Reideen" is a coming of age story. In the story-dream of episode 22, everyone calls the MC only by his last name and he needs to find himself, become a person, by recognizing his name, encrypted in an anagram in the name of his "magic sword" - this is the only way he can defeat the monster and save the princess. Throughout the series, Junki gradually "finds himself", while literally (through communication) and figuratively (by symbolically fighting with the help of Reideen) interacting with Midorino. By contrast, his childhood friend Shiori doesn't "grow up" and, unlike Midorino, doesn't help Junki grow up (and deal with problems), and therefore, eventually, loses him. The contrast between Midorino and Shiori is emphasized in the episodes with Junki's "supermoped" falling - where Shiori remained indifferent, Midorino hurries to help Junki to lift the moped. While MC grows up, he learns to overcome his "limits", take responsibility, not be afraid of conflicts, but, defending himself, solve and even create them, if circumstances so require, resisting the will of others. The need for a "symbolic crutch", which was Reideen, disappears, and Junki gets his princess. Both with the moral message (albeit poorly illustrated) and with the ending, the series is all right, and the animation and art are quite capable of bringing aesthetic pleasure. The characters are written worse, especially "suffered" from the screenwriters the main character. But, nevertheless, the characters here are noticeably more interesting and behave more believably than in most other anime, especially in the "mecha" genre. So, despite the serious problems with the narrative and a very narrow niche, "Reideen" deserves the attention of connoisseurs of aesthetics, allegory and unhurried narration.

A Wind Named Amnesia (1990 Video)

A post-apocalyptic road movie full of nihilistic ideology

[6/10 · 30 May 2023]

Narratives about the journey, to which undoubtedly belongs the film-journey "The Wind Called Amnesia", in European and world art, as a rule, carry a symbolic meaning, often being philosophical parables. "Amnesia" also claims to hold symbolic meaning. The author of the story, Kikuchi Hideyuki, borrowed the idea from the American science fiction novel of the 1930s "Rebirth" by Thomas McClary and endowed there Japanese protagonist as well as some of his own ideas. Even the names are symbolic in this anime, as well as encounters during the journey and some narrative elements that Kikuchi Hideyuki later used in his other works.

The plot of the anime is rather ominous - a mysterious wind swept over the earth and took with it all the memory of mankind. This wind was so weird that it caused not only amnesia, but also deprived people of the verbal-logical, emotional and even motor memory responsible for the interaction and control of the mechanisms created by people. In a strange way it did not deprive peopleof of that part of the motor memory which is responsible for the ability to walk or to use clothes. In general, the wind named Amnesia clearly was not a simpleton and had something specifically against the achievements of human civilization, including the ability to speak. One such memoryless person is the as-yet-unnamed anime protagonist, wandering aimlessly through post-apocalyptic America. In the process of his wanderings, our hero meets a boy Johnny, incapacitated teenager who has not lost his memory and the ability to speak. As it turned out, as a result of the experiment, Johnny's brain functioned like a computer, and therefore the wind named Amnesia did not affect Johnny's memory. With the help of a learning machine, Johnny returns to the protagonist the ability to speak and the memory of human civilization, and then teaches him to drive a car (it is not clear, however, how a thirteen-year-old boy unable to walk acquired this skill himself and passed it on to the main character), shoot a pistol, "read" stars, find edible plants and other skills necessary for survival in the post-apocalyptic world. Johnny also identified the protagonist as a Japanese, gave him the name "Wataru", which can be translated as a wanderer or a vagabond, and deceived Wataru about his age. Since Johnny was a "remnant" of human civilization, which means that he was subject to "oblivion", having completed his small educational mission, he shares the fate of civilization - he dies. But before his death, he gives Wataru instruction, saying that humanity is now reduced to its true self and that Wataru has the duty to investigate this human essence in its purest form and revive humanity.

Thus begins the journey of Wataru - riding his Jeep, Wataru ends up in San Francisco, where he encounters a police robot, the operator of which has long been dead, but the machine is still wandering around the city with a skeleton in the cockpit, demanding submission from people and killing them. The mysterious white-haired beauty Sophia helps Wataru to defeat the robot using telepathy to point out the weak point of the machine. Sophia is not only beautiful, but also knows how to speak, knows what she should not know, has the ability to telepathy and looks at the world in a detached and judicious way. The name Sophia is translated from Greek as "wisdom", which is also an attribute of God in Christianity and even an independent "deity" in Gnosticism. Philosophical journey is indispensable without wisdom. Therefore, having united with Wisdom, that is, with Sophia, the Wanderer (Wataru) continues his journey in order to understand humanity.

Throughout the film, one and the same idea can be traced, repeated in different "meetings" experienced by Wataru and Sofia on their journey - the hero and people in general are opposed by the achievements of human civilization, the creations of man, who have turned into oppressors of their creators. This is a police robot that demands obedience from people and kills them, a giant excavator that sacrifices people, a supercomputer that enslaves people and turns them into their weak-willed puppets. It is the "suppression and exploitation" by the civilization of the people who created it that allegedly serves as the reason that the aliens decided to "save humanity" by depriving it of memory.

Such ideas about civilization as an evil that suppresses humanity are old and uncomplicated. Of course, we are not talking about some kind of "evil / good" aliens who are supposed to "save" humanity, relieving it from the "burden" of civilization. It's about the people themselves. It was not in vain that I quoted lines from the Internationale above. There was once such a utopian socialist Léger-Marie Deschamps, who wrote that "the state of laws for us, people in a civil state, is undeniably worse than in a state of savagery ... Evil in a person takes place only thanks to the existing civil state, which infinitely contrary to his nature. There was no such evil in man in the herd state." In order to get rid of the evils of civilization and bring people to a "blissful state", according to Deschamps, not only the fine arts - poetry, painting or architecture, but also science and technology, literacy and writing, must disappear, all books must be burned, and man must be brought down to the state of livestock (after all, you can't argue that a cow peacefully chewing grass on the lawn, not knowing its fate, is happier in its own way than a person burdened with many worries and fears?).

Deschamps is echoed by the pervert old man Freud, who built his concept of the layers of the human psyche by analogy with the Maxist theory of the division and oppression of some social classes by others. He argued that layers of the psyche created under the influence of civilization suppress and exploit the "wild" layer of the psyche, which boils down to sexuality and the "principle of pleasure", and thus civilization deprives humanity of "happiness". Apparently, that's why Sophia "gives" Wataru, who has abandoned civilization, sex with her, as "the highest gift of mankind." To the music of Bach and with the background depicting Madonna with the baby Jesus, Wataru sucks the nipples of naked Sophia. Apparently, in such a simple way, imbibing "wisdom" from her breasts. This is how our Wanderer "fell in love" with Wisdom (Sophia), that is, he literally became philo (to love)-sopher (wisdom), a Wisdom Lover. And the task of the philosopher, as you know, is "anamnanesis" - the return to people of the wisdom they have forgotten, which is what our newborn Wisdom Lover is called to do. The background on which the copulation takes place, depicting the Madonna with the Christ child, apparently also should symbolize that the new "Virgin Mary" (Sophia) gives birth to the one who is called to renew humanity (Wataru). Kikuchi Hideyuki later develops this "theme" in the "Wicked City", where the culmination is the copulation of the heroes in the church, under the statue of the Virgin Mary. Just as in "Amnesia", a man here copulates with a non-human woman (a demoness), and their child is called to "save the world." At the same time, there Kikuchi goes even further, opposing the new "Madonna" - the demoness to the Virgin Mary. If Mary is immaculate, then the demoness is the embodiment of depravity - in the course of the plot, she is raped by everyone except by the lazy, and in the most perverted ways. And judging by what was shown she did enjoy it. It is from the statue of the Virgin Mary, declared an "enemy" by the old man, that a monster breaks out, attacking the protagonists. Well, the child of the demon, according to Christianity, is the Antichrist - so the viewer should not be misled by the Christian symbolism depicted in both cases - it is here desacralized and abolished with all the socialist passion of theomachism, with the proposal of new images of "salvation of mankind". The socialist ideas of Deschamps, Marx and Freud develop within the framework of neo-Freudianism and neo-Marxism. Marcuse, for example, proposes the "liberation" of the libido by getting rid of the control of the "repressive mind" and the destruction of social institutions. In contemporary art, these ideas are expressed in the fight against "repressive" and "suffocating" culture by creating anti-aesthetic things, images of garbage and excrement, designed to overcome the "discrimination" of the disgusting, liberation of the "suppressed instincts." And in "Amnesia" we have computers and machines that oppress and enslave humanity.

In general, it is not the insidious aliens that should be feared, but the representatives of humanity prone to nihilism. Well, the anime itself should be renamed "The Wind Called Nihilism". In addition to the primitive ideological content, "Amnesia" is also a rather long and boring anime. Pleasant except that the drawing of the "old school" of the 1980s and the musical accompaniment. And for once, the Japanese decently portrayed the young woman's breasts (Sofia), which in itself is close to uniqueness. The narrative itself, as noted above, is rather lengthy, but fans of road movies and parable films may find it meditative. And the very attempt to make anime filled with meaning (not simply imitating it), albeit with controversial, if not insane ideas, is a rather rare phenomenon now. So with all the caveats, Amnesia deserves an above-average rating.

The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes (2022)

Great visual, dull storytelling

[6/10 · 26 May 2023]

A schoolboy meets a schoolgirl on the railway station and gives her umbrella. You're right if you immidiately thought about love story, because that's how romances begin in recent anime. The "The Tunnel to Summer" is full of such cliches and you shold be ready for them while watching this anime like you are ready to the fact that there are little to no differences between fast foods' menus. The boy is your stereotypical male lead from modern anime: average in all aspects possible, anxious, whiny, hyper-reflective, impulsive, obsessive, self-absorbed, lacking common sense, intellectually and emotionally dull. In other words he is typical psychasthenic. The girl also matches current tropes - she is determined, rational and brave. Overall that's your another modern cliche with gender roles inversion. How refreshing indeed. The boy and the girl are in some way alike because both of them have problems with their parents and struggling to find a way out of their current situation. To cope the boy clinged to the past and the girl clinges to her dream of becoming mangaka.

That's where fantastic element comes into action. The boy finds a mysterious tunnel where you can find something that you lost in the past. The tunnel has a different time flow with hours there being years in the real world. So the boy and the girl begin to explore the tunnel in order to gain their wishes from it. The boy wants to ressurect his deceased sister while the girl wants to find in the tunnel a talent for manga that she thinks she is lacking (no logic here, since you can't find there something you didn't have - yet another clumsy sacrifice for the plot progression). In the process they fell in love with each other but since it's an anime they are unwilling to admit and reveal their feelings untill it's almost too late. The moral here is that you should not cling to the past but look into future. End of story. There are many plotholes and dumb acts in the process but overall that's it because this boring and tedious anime indeed ends abruptly.

The name "The Tunnel to Summer" is most probably a refference to Heinlein's "The Door into Summer" where the protagonist is trying to find a way out of the disastrous situation he stucked in. Heinlein's novel is also dealing with time shifts and a love which survives through years. But where in "The Door into Summer" the main character is actively searching for his "door into summer", putting all his efforts and ingenuity into this, the protagonist of "The Tunnel to Summer" is passively wasting his life and endagering his love by obsessively clinging to his past. Giving the tendency of anime protagonists to became more and more dumb and mentally disordered it's a good thing he realizes his problem after all. But really, he is not the best example to follow for the young adults. Heinlein's protagonist is much better suited for this role. Not to mention that "The Door into Summer" is a much more enthralling and imaginative read.

But "The Tunnel to Summer" has its pros. First of all it has great visual both in terms of drawing style and the animation. The main characters are aesthetically appealing and likable despite their density. Also this anime has positive moral message and happy ending, which is a great feat in the times of hypersentimental and decadent storytelling.

Green Days (2010)

immersive retro atmosphere

[7/10 · 25 April 2023]

First of all, "Green Days" catches the eye with animation and style, realistic drawing of people and backgrounds. This is especially important for conveying the atmosphere of a small Korean town of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The backgrounds are very detailed - right down to the cracks in the old wood frames, peeling plaster and stains on the walls. The visual baton is complemented by sound - Korean music of the late 1970s (I guess the ballad 'Blue Days' performed by Kim Man Su), picked up by references to films popular with Korean teenage girls of those times (snotty 'Love Story' for the rustic main character and aesthetically decadent 'Elvira Madigan' for her vainly pompous beauty friend) and series featuring pop references like Linda Carter's Wonder Woman's spin-transformation. The narration, in its pursuit of realism, echoes the art - the film is full of everyday mini-scenes, reviving the era of South Korea, when it was just on the verge of its technological ascension. Authors of this ascension are depicted as a friend of the heroine and his uncle - enthusiastic techies stubbornly moving towards their goal ("... there are no special mountains under the sky. Any one can be conquered, climbing step by step"). The heroine herself, reciting this verse, does not believe in it and is in search of herself, striving to find a place in life where she can leave her mark (like that imaginary dinosaur to which the name deceptively refers). She prefers Robert Frost - she stepped on "The Road Not Taken", with its eternal doubts, regrets about any choice and missed opportunities. The "idea" of the film is reminiscent of Kondo Yoshifumi's "Whisper of the Heart" (there is even a reference to gems that can be found in the rock), but the narrative itself is as prosaic as possible and devoid of fairy-tale elements, however filled with a variety of cultural references and an immersive retro atmosphere that is hardly whether the cinema could achieve.

Neo Tokyo (1987)

Surrealistic and creepy

[7/10 · 22 March 2023]

"Labyrinth Tales" is a very peculiar art-house "mini-collection" of three short stories, one of which, perhaps, has become a classic. I won't say that this is the most pleasant and fascinating spectacle, but definitely quite original, not constrained by the clichés of the anime industry. The plot opens with a story in the atmosphere of "Something wicked this way comes" by Ray Bradbury about a girl and her cat who do not listen her mother and fall into an ominous carnival through the mirror. There they are shown two more stories, the first of which, "The Running Man", has taken on a life of its own.

This story, at one time, was rated as the weakest, but it is still looks the most impressive. First of all, due to its naturalistic cruelty, combined with static and meditativeness. But I would note psychology. The story is sustained in a gloomy cyberpunk style. The unbeaten champion of racing, having lost his former grip, is no longer able to withstand competitors. He is exhausted by the constant tension of the competition. But ambitions doe not let him go - these are all that is left of him. Therefore, he decides to win the losing race at any cost - by simply blowing up the cars of rivals with telekinesis. However, even left alone on the track, he cannot escape from the slavery of his ambitions. He is locked in a labyrinth of his own passions. It begins to seem to him that he is still being overtaken - by the younger ghost of himself. Monitor shows that his heart has stopped and the driver of the car is dead, but the dead man is the first (and only) to cross the finish line, continuing the race with his own ghost to complete self-destruction. The dead racer is driven only by his ambitions, which first made him to "remove the obstacles" to the goal - to murder other pilots - and then murdered him too.

The second story (Construction Cancellation Order) is more like an ironically absurd story by Robert Sheckley. A Japanese company employee arrives at a flood-damaged, jungle besieged automated construction site in a third world country to investigate what happened to the former site manager and decide to cancell construction or not. However, AI-controlled construction develops according to its own laws. It seems that the machines must withstand the chaos of the jungle advancing from all sides, but they only multiply the chaos themselves, going crazy in an attempt to realize a meaningless task. Ultimately, the new manager has to fight not so much with the life-affirming chaos of nature, but with the meaningless, self-destructive chaos of pseudo-intelligent machines, looking for the central computer in the labyrinth of mechanisms.

As for the girl and her cat, they themselves become part of the carnival chaos, seemingly never getting out of their labyrinth.

Dark Messiah: Might and Magic (2006 Video Game)

One of the best games ever

[9/10 · 5 January 2023]

One of the best games ever. You can replay it numerous time due to variable combat mechanics which almost doesn't restrict you in your ways to achive your goal. Only a decade later BotW introduced arguably better mechanics.

The game has perfectly balanced "atmosphere" which is achieved by wonderful sound design, realistic physics of protagonist's movements and proper mixture of dark and light levels. I just adore orcs island aestethics with all its cliffs, caves, sea and the blue skies. Hovewer outdated graphics is but game design easily overcomes any such shortcomings.

Aside from mechanics the game actually has involving and dynamic story with a major plot twist and choices of romantic interest as well as final decision.

The main characters are also quite interestingly written. The anthagonist is very intelligent and civil, if not charismatic. The girls are written in kind of a smrt and misleading way. I like that majority of the gamers hate Leanna and fall for Xana ignoring the in-game hints about the consequences of such choice. I mean it should be so since Xana is an experienced Succubi and players by default should fall for her sedduction. Also it can be quite challanging to protect Leanna in some missions and she may behave preachy which might lead to consider her annoying and useless compared to Xana. But if you closely pay attention to the small details in the game - rad the books abot in-game entities, carefully listen to the dialogues - you'll know what choice is right and what choice will lead to destruction of the protagonist.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

mythological symbolism

[10/10 · 11 November 2022]

"My dear Lucy... girls grow quicker than books... you are already too old for fairy tales... but some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again" wrote C. S. Lewis in the foreword to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Apparently, a similar growing up overtook me. I had a strange attitude towards Miyazaki - on the one hand, I've watched and highly appreciate almost all of Ghibli's movies, which were not filmed by Miyazaki, but on the other hand, this were his movies, except for "The Wind Rises", which I did not ever bother watch completely. The same applies to the "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Spirited Away", which I began to watch several times, and was utterly bored somewhere in the middle. It's funny, but something unlikely brought me back to both films - the mythological symbolism in the pattern of interaction between masculine and feminine principles and proper representation of a female archetype in Miyazaki's movies. Indeed, what Miyazaki was filming are true fairy tales with the structure and symbolism of myths. Both "Castle" and "Spirited Away" tell about becoming feminine, about the transformation of girls into young women, their interaction with "monsters" - a male archetype embodied in one case in a shapeshifter-wizard, gradually forgetting himself and losing his humanity; in another case, in a shapeshifting river dragon, who has forgotten his name. Both beauties must first find their femininity in order to free the "monsters" (from the deal with the demon / evil sorceress), return them to normal from the borderline, awaken them as men. The heroines of these Miyazaki movies are the embodiment of femininity. They find their true strength and splendor through acceptance of their femininity, rather then through denial of femininity and imitation of men. They self-actualize through acceptance of their nature and following the greater good, not through self-denial and mimesis of men like Rene Girard would probably say and as it is customary to portray lately through the trope of a "strong independent woman", which is in the essence is epitome of self-denial and radical form of misogyny. Such self-denial and mimesis could only lead to conflict, scapegoating and destruction. Not so in the "Castle". The masculine and feminine are embodied here in a proper way, acquire completeness and integrity, creating harmony and the feeling of a fairy tale. Traditionally for Ghibli, the story is implemented through gorgeous animation and beautiful music, woven into the atmosphere of this fairy tale, which can absorb and hold your attention for two hours if you are still young enough or already old enough to love fairy tales.

Tatami Time Machine Blues (2022)

Classical SF story in an unusual form

[8/10 · 5 November 2022]

Cute and original (peculiar drawing style and presentation) anime with good SF roots. Despite the comedy and surrealism of the narrative, "Tatami Time Machine Blues" clearly shows the optimism of classic 1950s science fiction. It is seems to be by influenced by both Young's "The Dandelion Girl" and Heinlein's "The Door into Summer" which are some of the most popular SF stories in Japan. Tomihiko Morimi's attitude to the "paradox of time" is the same as that of Young and Heinlein. Or, if you like, the same as that of Boethius. However, the tone differs both from the lyrical "The Dandelion Girl" and from the melodramatic adventure "The Door Into Summer". The slightly absurd "Blues" is not as serious, but much more cheerful and "light" than its literary inspirations. Immersing the protagonist (and a viewer) into an openly meaningless, comically absurd world, the author carefully leads him past the ridiculous monsters inhabiting chaos, gradually streamlining the surrounding reality and leading to a romantic and optimistic ending that triumphs over chaos and absurdity. The seemingly disparate cacophony of sounds is woven into a blues improvisation. A wonderful work that clearly stands out from the gray background of the rest of the anime.

Ocean Waves (1993 TV Movie)

light and bright romantic comedy

[8/10 · 5 November 2022]

A love story in a high school. Trite? So, but not so. Those who are waiting for gasps and a melodrama are better off passing by. In general, the main character (Taku) does not particularly bother with his love affairs. Firstly, Taku, though a smart, faithful and principled person, is a little slow-witted or, better to say, not particularly fond of changes, including in relationships. Therefore, when his friend (Yutaka) falls in love with the clever and beautiful new girl Rikako, Taku begins to be a little jealous. It seems to him that the metropolitan beauty will take his friend away and ruin such a comfortable friendship.

So, a little resigned to the inevitable evil in the form of the kidnapper of the heart of his friend, Taku receives a new blow - Rikako asks him for a loan. And all because the talkative fool in love Yutaka blabbed to the object of his sighs about Taku's earnings. Reluctantly having parted with the hard-earned nth sum of money, the hero suspects that they will never be returned to him. Rikako cheater, having stolen a Taku's friend, now also took his precious savings. What love is there - some frustrations. And now, after a long time of complete ignore on the part of Rikako, she calls from an airport...

It is easy to guess that Taku has a long way to go through various troubles, tests of fidelity to his comrade and righteous anger at Rikako, until he understands his feelings. And this, I must say, happens not only to him retroactively - when he comes to a belated understanding and really wants to fix it, but it's impossible, it's too late. So Taku has already graduated from high school and, a year later, as a student at the University of Tokyo is going to a graduate meeting. It is clear that the clever Rikako has long outlined a "prey" for herself, but will she have the patience and desire to wait until fundamentaly slowpoke Taku understood what's what?

A wonderful, light and bright romantic comedy from Tomomi Mochizuki, which does not try to pretend to be something big, but honestly tells the real story of quite real, albeit drawn, people.

Tolkien (2019)

Grotesque caricature

[3/10 · 5 November 2022]

The main problem with this flick is that despite its title it is not about Tolkien at all. This movie takes some actual facts from Tolkien's biography (like his name or name of his wife) and connects them into the new story in the way that this story has nothing in common with the actual Tolkien, his views and writings. When facts of Tolkien's life aren't feet into the movie's narrative it simply ignores them and invents new "facts". You don't have to be Tolkien's scholar or read his complete autobiography to notice this disconnection. It would be enough to read some Tolkien's letters and to be briefly accustomed with Tolkien's life and activities to see that this flick only uses Tolkien's name as a vehicle of propaganda of views and ideas completely alien to the protagonist of the story. So if you want to learn something about Tolkien's life or views you should stay away of this flick as its title is misleading and the story is about someone else - flat and one-demensional character, like all fictional characters in poorly written stories are.

The flick itself, though not about Tolkien, at least could have been interesting in its own fictional narrative. But the movie fails here as well. It is boring and unimaginative, the characters are flat and dull. The movie tells about some triggered emasculated boy, "rebelling against the system", while being separated from the "strong independent woman" (his love) by the "evil priest" (it is quite funny if you actually know that Tolkien was a dedicated Catholic, who, as he wrote to his son, did never regret his decision to "drop" the love-affair until 21 and married Edith only after she converted to Catholicism from Protestantism, moreover, he was a conservative and convinced monarchist who volunteered to participate in the Great War). The storytelling is melodramatic and pretentious to the extent that you should know nothing about actual Tolkien and should really be into the same ideological pattern with the creators of this flick to enjoy this caricature.

Expelled from Paradise (2014)

atypical thinking, pleasant, adequate characters and rationality

[9/10 · 3 November 2022]

Nice anime. Not that it shines with art, music or a twisted plot. All these are of high quality, but not at all at an outstanding level. What makes "Rakuen Tsuihou" special is the presence of common sense in both the characters' behavior and the development of the plot. It may not be possible to agree with all the ideas, but intellectually, this anime will not keep you gritting your teeth waiting for the end of the story. What also pleases are adequate, adult heroes who have reasonable motivations and behavior appropriate to situations. The "incarnated" heroine experiences all the unexpected effects of having a body, including fatigue, illness, and the inability to cope with the three goons in the real world. Of course, it was not without exaggeration of her naivety, honesty, kawaii and the abuse of curvy forms with oppai swaying, but these exaggerations, perhaps, were designed to compensate for her negative features, outweighing them and arousing sympathy for the heroine, because otherwise she a self-centered careerist with views that would flinch even National Socialists. The hero, on the other hand, is quite a mature, calm and perceptive man, not a hysterical teenager. In general, the characters are quite sympathetic and cause empathy, the intimate narrative focuses on the development of their relationships and meaningful, not at all stupid dialogues. In terms of the plot, there are a couple of unexpected turns and an intrigue that does not disappear almost until the very end - what will the main heroine choose?

As for the moral message of the anime, the raised issues, perhaps the problems of "humanization" and "dehumanization" are considered superficially in the Rakuen Tsuihou, but clearly deeper and more insightful than in other works with a similar theme. Even in a seemingly "ideal world" where there can be no problems with food, housing, money and other material goods, people still found something to envy and on that basis to destroy other people ("archive" them). It shows a great deal of a fundamental, incorrigible flaw in human nature ("original sin", as Christianity calls it) - no matter how ideal society you build, how you'd avoid competition for resources, there will always be such a resource (anything - strength, power, money, popularity, health, beauty, intelligence, space, skin color, tall height, short, big breasts, small, long legs, short, virtual avatar, or allocated memory), which will cause envy, competition, conflicts and, ultimately, poverty (in relation to this resource), oppression and deprivation of life of the "unworthy". Neither world peace, nor communism, nor capitalism, nor "virtual heaven" will help - by virtue of human nature, all the same problems will flourish, and most likely, they will multiply the more the more they are denied...

Although this is not emphasized in the rather light narrative of the anime, "Rakuen Tsuihou" is a dystopia, where the "virtual heaven" became a hell ruled by self-proclaimed "gods" (in the form of which the elite of the pseudo-heaven is depicted) who established totalitarian control over the population of their world and turned it into slaves obsessed with competition for the resource of computing power. Correctly noticing the fatal flaw of humanity (original sin), the ineradicable incompleteness of human existence, the screenwriter, unfortunately, draws false conclusions from this, placing his hopes on artificial intelligence as a kind of perfect "child of humanity". However, for a non-Christian, the screenwriter is already perspicacious enough and unable to go further, except for creating an idol, but no longer from a man, but from an "intelligent" machine. To a Christian it should be clear that the only solution to the problem of mimetic desire, to use the terminology of Rene Girard, or original sin, is to look not to another person or object (idols), but to the one whose resources are not limited, like Him himself, to the one who possesses the fullness of being - to God. But, again, one cannot demand such philosophical and theological depth from Japanese anime. What is already depicted does not cause intellectual rejection and does not sin against common sense (except for the idealization of AI, of course).

There are a couple of plot flaws, such as why it was necessary to go to battle, if it was possible to simply hack and turn off the enemy's machines (here logic suffers for the sake of entertainment), or what feelings digitized "people" may have if organs of these senses (not gauges of abstract units) are missing? I'm not even talking about ignoring the problem of copying (not sending "consciousness" - but in this case all "humanization" of digitized "people" and empathy for the heroine would have disappear because of her countless copies) and interference in the "consciousness" of virtual "people". Ultimately, I believe, all "consciousnesses" would be "hacked" and "dehumanized" by the ruling elite to the level of machines, obedient performers - for the sake of the "common good", of course, the eradication of deviations and so on, but in fact - because it would be easier to rule and there would be no obstacles to this, like physical bodies. Or most likely the elite would begin to self-copy uncontrollably, gathering all the computing power for their copies and cutting out the rest of the "programs" so that they would not take up space until "there will be only one left" with an army of controlled copies. But in that case, there would be no one to make this anime about, which, for its atypical for Japanese thinking, pleasant, adequate characters and rationality.

Edge of Eternity (2021 Video Game)

A rare exemplar of a good story-driven RPG

[8/10 · 3 November 2022]

Gamers with a good memory and wide experience might remember 'Septerra Core', the so-called 'JRPG' made by US based Valkyrie Studios. That brilliant game featured anime-like characters and complex and original turn-based combat system that combined physical attacks with magical "cards" with various combinations. In many aspects 'Edge of Eternity' is a spiritual successor of 'Septerra Core'. The same 'anime aesthetics' made by Western developer, the same involving story, simultaneously dark and light, the same interesting characters and involving turn-based system, though not such as complex and original. Considering that 'Septerra Core' is in top-five games of all times in my list it was not a chance that I could resist to 'Edge of Eternity' charm.

Among the positive sides of the 'Edge of Eternity' I'd mention involving story - for our days it is a rare exemplar of a story-driven RPG featuring complex characters with very different motivations and addictive turn-based combat system. The latter includes characters movements, physical and magical attacks, as well as opponents strengths and weaknesses against some attacks. The dialogues might not be on the high literature level, but they are ok - sometimes silly, but most of the time relevant and meaningful (at least in the main story). World's art design is wonderful, reminding of a fairy-tale (though sometimes it is very dark, like a horror). The world is weirdly beautiful and the lighting system is very good, making the world shine in its best. The main characters' art design is mostly good - at least female characters are beautiful and quite different. Selene's 3d model is without a doubt my favorite - her breasts animation is mesmerizing. At the same time while attractive, Selene's model is not at all vulgar like it often happens in Japanese or Western games - the art designer achieved right balance here. The voice acting is decent and the music (piano) is matched with good taste. The world is big enough and gives the gamer freedom to roam around without engaging into combats if he don't want to or to fight every enemy on the map. There are puzzles with decent rewards and there is crafting system allowing you to made weapons, armor, potions, etc. While you'd need at least 20+ hours to complete the main story, thorough gameplay (completing side quests, riddles and various activities) would take about 60 hours and you could easily spend more than 100 hours in the game collecting different materials and crafting. Did I mention Selene's breasts animation already? Anyway this positive aspect of the game deserves to be mentioned twice.

The shortcomings are following: Though game has a third person view your character is unable to jump which could be quite annoying in some places. Camera control in combats is a bit clunky and lucks of intuitive WSADQE control. Dialogues while ok are mostly mediocre and you would probably want to skip them. Another minus is that the world, while beautiful, is not at all interactive - it's rather some kind of decorations. There are neither player controlled choices or dialogues between character and nor loyalty system in the game. Relationships between Daryon and Selene are quite weird for my taste, rather reminding not brother and sister relations but relationships between lovers. Myrna's and Fallon's 3d models are not as 'well-turned' as Selene's model an a bit vulgar. Daryon's (main hero) art and 3d model is in no way reminds a soldier. Rather he looks like some anime version of K-Pop 'idol' - slim, short, effeminate and dystrophic soy boy. His character is also repulsive - hysterical, unreasonably stubborn and dumb. Fallon's character is simply unreliable - she is some poorly written tsundere. The ending of the game is pretty weak and involves some ridiculous melodramatic scenes which are in no way could invoke sympathy in the gamer since he simply won't be able to develop emotional connection with the characters whose "ill fate" these scenes depict. The political agenda with all that left-liberal "diversity" propaganda is also spoiling the game but surprisingly it is quite tolerable here.

"Midgar Studio" is a small French developer and it was quite surprising for me to discover their gem of a games. I've bought it on a very early access stage in 2019 and almost two years since purchase I can say it was totally worth the money that I've paid. Overall 'Edge of Eternity' is a decent game for those who love turn-based combat, attractive aesthetics in anime style, involving story and are tired of typical and soulless games which are mass-produced now by 'effective managers'.

Sagrada Reset (2017)

A deep, subtle, intelligent and beautiful anime

[10/10 · 2 November 2022]

Perhaps this is the rare case when an anime should be watched at least twice. "Sagrada/Sakurada Reset" is a real puzzle within a puzzle. There is an "outer puzzle" - story and confrontation brought to the surface, and there is also a hidden intricacies of motivations and ideals of characters, which are even more difficult to keep track of than the "external" rules of interaction of abilities and battles of wits. All the episodes in the "Sakurada Reset" are intertwined. The actions, dialogues, and reflections of the heroes demonstrated in some episodes are often continuations or keys to understanding the actions, dialogues and reflections of the heroes in other episodes. This is the main feature as well complexity for understanding of the "Sakurada" - it is holistic, all the series are connected, although formally they can demonstrate different stories. But what happens to the characters during these different stories affects them and determines their development and behavior. In order for the mosaic to take shape as a whole, all these seemingly disparate episodes, dialogues, events and stories must be carefully listened to, examined, pondered and connected with each other. In order, for example, to understand the reasons for Kei's behavior in the fourth episode, when he comes to "pour out his soul" to Seika, but hides his difficulties from Misora, you need to carefully watch the first two episodes, listen to Sumire's opinion about him and Misora, and also watch Episodes 20 and 24. You can understand Misora only by reviewing the same first episodes, her childhood memories, listening to Sumire's statements, Kei's comments, watching a series dedicated exclusively to Misora, listening to her dialogue with herself in the episode with a dream, dialogue with Seika and the ending of the anime.

When you'll finally delve into and understand what is happening, when you'll have a holistic picture and the "keys" that reveal the meaning of actions and dialogues by the protagonist in different episodes will be used, then the narration won't let you go. The plot, characters and their interactions are quite complex and deep. The main characters, Kei and Misora, as well as the minor characters, are very far from the stereotypical anime characters. They are introverted and not at all expressive, have complex motivations. A storm of emotions and thoughts, their principles and ideals are hidden under a detached appearance and only occasionally, but with restraint, are breaking through to the surface in seemingly "abstract" dialogues, statements and actions. Along with the principles and ideals, each of the characters has their own weaknesses and their own "dark side", to which it is even more difficult to "get". Watching the heroes, their interaction in a fantastic environment, you seem to be solving a rebus inside a rebus. There are small external detective episodes associated with certain characters and their stories. There is the main detective story, the main battle "on the surface". It occurs between, on the one hand, Kei, who seeks to protect the place which is "sacred" for him and Misora - Sagrada / Sakurada, a place where miracles happen that can overcome the "sad rules" of the "outside" world, devoid of miracles, and, on the other hand, Masamune, who hid personal grievances and desires behind the idea of "happiness and equality for all" by destroying miracles. But behind each little detective story is hidden unfolding of the story and personality of its main characters, behind the confrontation with Masamune is hidden unfolding of his story and personality, of the stories and personalities of his friends, Kei's ideas and principles, Sumire's motivations. And behind all this hiding unfolding of personalities of Kei and Misora themselves - a puzzle, the elements of which will fully assemble only in the last episode (provided that you have already assembled and correctly folded the previous elements, which is very unlikely without re-viewing).

This is a deep, subtle, intelligent and beautiful anime for those who will watch it not so much to have fun and relax, but to enjoy, in a good way, "intellectual provocation" with a complex and fascinating story, interesting and deep characters that develop and unfold in the course of the narrative, not even through numerous dialogues, as through actions and relationships with other characters. "Sagrada/Sakurada Reset" is a holistic mosaic of meaningful dialogues, deep relationships, thought experiments, philosophy, psychology, moral dilemmas and intellectual games. With a little effort of putting together this mosaic, the audience will get pleasure incomparable with the pleasure of watching other anime. If anything this anime is a vibrant proof that ratings mean little when it comes to choosing something of value to watch. Ratings may be good for entertaining things that could please wide audience but for something more special and original, something out of the ordinary, ratings are just hindrance. For me "Sakurada Reset" is without a doubt one of the best anime ever.

Groundhog Day (1993)

A pilgrim's progress

[9/10 · 2 November 2022]

It would seem like a pointless exercise - writing a review of a popular film, which has been released almost 30 years ago. Everything has long been written, criticized, rewritten, forgotten and written again. But when you revisit Groundhog Day again with a different baggage of experience than before, you begin to notice those aspects and perspectives that was not previously understood and perceived, even if someone noticed it. I will refrain from briefly describing the plot and praising the witty lines and acting of the ironic-cynical Bill Murray, as well as the charming Andie MacDowell, and focus on the main things.

What would you like from your life if everything was allowed (and without any consequences)? I think a lot of people, at least me, will think about their old, unfulfilled dreams, about desires that they did not realize because of saving money, time or fear of consequences. The hero of the film, Phil, received such an opportunity - to become "a god" of a small world, the town of Punxsutawney. Having mastered his newfound power, Phil goes through mortal sins, starting with gluttony (a scene of gluttony in a cafe), fornication (seducing local beauties), greed (robbery of collectors), vanity (flaunting a Mercedes bought for stolen money with a young curvy blonde) and ending with anger and sloth (various suicide attempts and apathy). Satisfaction of all desires, as is clear from the sloth in which the hero fell, does not bring him joy. Satisfied desires become the same mindless routine that Phil suffered from before, but now there was nothing to strive for.

A new goal is given to him by communication with Rita, with whom Phil is in love (and whom he could not seduce). "Princess" Rita, who studied for 12 years in a Catholic school and studied French poetry in college - the embodiment of impracticality, according to Phil, - also embodies in Groundhog Day the moral purity (kindness and beauty) that Phil strives for, but cannot achieve, admitting that he is not worthy of Rita. For the hero, she becomes a reference point and Phil tries to direct his capabilities not to the endless satisfaction of his desires, but to helping others and self-development. He begins to read a lot, learns to play the piano, carves sculptures out of ice, tries to get to know people and their problems. Phil does this "out of fullness", like God who has everything and tries to share the abundance with others, which gives him joy. Phil begins to feel joy, helping all the residents of the town day after day. However, he is still not omnipotent and realizes this, trying to help an old homeless man who, however, still dies at the end of the day, no matter how hard Phil tries. Looking at the sky Phil realizes that he is not "omnipotent", cannot raise the dead, but can imitate God, doing good deeds to the extent of his capabilities. This is also indicated by the final lines of Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees", which Phil reads to Rita: "Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree". Phil transforms, sincerely loving neighbors as himself and helping them: he saves a boy who has fallen from a tree, the mayor who choked, helps the collector Felix to cure his back, helps the bride with wedding, gives a wedding gift and even buys unnecessary insurances from the annoying insurance agent. Rita notices Phil's transformation and falls in love with him. When the transformation and mutual love bring Phil the long-awaited tomorrow, he decides to stay with Rita in his beloved town, which he no longer considers a deaf and dull province inhabited by "morons who like blood sausages." Whether intentionally or accidentally, Groundhog Day depicts the Christian's journey of love, repentance, death, and transformation. Only then does he find his way to "tomorrow" through the "gates to Heaven", like the heroes of the film, passing into their future through the hotel gate with the camera plan shifting to the sky.

Li'l Spider Girl (2012 TV Movie)

An ironic parable about rescuing which is required by "rescuers" themselves

[9/10 · 2 November 2022]

I have not received such pleasure from a short film for a long time. And it's not just because of good animation and tricky story. The plot is not complicated - a young bouquiniste tells a schoolgirl an old legend about a battle with a giant spider, defeating which, the hero saves the life of one of her baby spiders. The schoolgirl is not interested in old books and stories, like in everything "unfashionable" - she is a practical girl who needs money for rent, and also, it seems, she is fascinated by a "good-natured" bouquiniste. She accidentally rips off the seal from an old book, freeing a spider-little girl from a story told by the bouquiniste. It seems to the schoolgirl that the bouquiniste is bewitched by this little spider, behind whose "kawaii" appearance there is a cannibal monster who has chosen the bouquiniste as its victim. She offers to get rid of the spider and the couple go for an advice to an old bouquiniste, who, after listening to a younger colleague and a schoolgirl, says that the situation cannot be left to chance and gives advice on "getting rid of". But to whom and from whom?

"Forget-me-not spider" is, first of all, an ironic parable, rethinking and developing the "Let Me In" story. The parable about those and for those who hasten to save "innocent victims" from monsters. It may well turn out that "innocent victims" are not at all so innocent as it seems from the outside, and it is not by chance that they are fascinated by monsters. And rescuing is actually required by the "rescuers" themselves in order to run away from the "rescued." Perhaps the monsters themselves were created by their "victims" in order to get rid of the annoying "uninitiated" who pocks into other people's affairs and, moreover, intend to "correct and rescue" them? Or interfering with other people's hobbies, because you never know what a philatelist is capable of, if you force him to throw out his stamp collection) The final scene with a dialogue between two bouquinistes who understand each other and each of whom has his own "forget-me-not" is simply magnificent!

Greyhound (2020)

Just a commander doing what he must and a team whose lives depend on his decisions

[9/10 · 2 November 2022]

By far the best movie of 2020 and one of the best "war movies". The "Greyhound" is as free as possible from Hollywood clichés, from vulgar melodramatic "characters development", fake moralizing and grotesque action scenes. And this is paradoxical, since the entire film is a continuous action that "grabs" and does not let you to the end. This is because the "Greyhound" strives for maximum truthfulness, does not speculate with pretentious phrases, does not seek to "squeeze a tear" from an audience with melodramatic scenes and does not moralize. We see a sea convoy across the Atlantic through the eyes of a destroyer captain during an attack on the convoy by a "wolf pack" of German submarines. We witness the burden and loneliness of power experienced by the commander when making decisions - is it worth to save the crew of a sunken ship, or to leave them to certain death in cold waters and rush to protect other ships from the enemy? How to dodge torpedoes? Should the radio silence be broken? How to outmaneuver a submarine? Sleepless days, lack of air support, feet trampled in boots to blood, numerous small and important decisions that entail consequences, including lost of human lives, put pressure on the captain, burdening him with a load that he cannot and should not share with anyone. At the same time, the captain of the "Greyhound" does not hate the enemy, he is a Christian who overcomes his fear and burden of loneliness in power by entrusting himself to God, relying on Him. Captain of the "Greyhound" is a "good shepherd", a shepherd dog, protecting his "herd" of ships from a "wolf pack" of submarines. The film is attentive to details and very realistic, it is devoid of sentimentalism, but at the same time, it is extremely emotional, seeking to influence the audience not by dialogues, but by what is happening on the screen, small details without words. No propaganda or false moralizing, just a commander doing what he must and a team whose lives depend on his decisions.

Starship Operators (2005)

Heinlein could easily be an author of this unique juvenile SF gem

[9/10 · 1 November 2022]

An example of how deceiving poster can be. What kind of admirer of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, especially Heinlein's juvenile science fiction novels, would suspect in an anime hiding behind a poster with kawaii girls a plot worthy of Robert himself? If you look at the poster you'd probably suspect that it's another miserable harem in the space opera genre (which is certainly not) with swaying "oppai", lusciously slobbering pseudo-romance, giant humanoid mecha, extremely imbecile behavior and stupid motivation of characters, as well as close combat within line of sight (sic!) in outer space. However "Starship Operators" (I just wanted to write "Starship Troopers"), minus the kawaii girls, is genuine early Heinlein - here you also have space cadets - young geniuses who are growing from boys to ..., or rather, from girls to women, very believable political intrigues and realistic battles in space (perhaps, minus the latter, which turned out to be too "epic"). Battles here are not conducted by meaningless giant humanoid robots and not even in the line of sight, not to mention the crazy massive frontal assaults, but through tactics and maneuvers, radars and sensors, calculation and timing, with the study of the enemy's weaknesses, to each of which an individual approach is applied (it seems that the author of the original used real naval battles of the Second World War as inspiration) and, of course, luck - everything is like in Heinlein's stories, where the heroes prevail by the means of reason and calculation. It's really interesting to watch the battles here. However, even the actual matriarchy with kawaii girls is suspiciously reminiscent of the matriarchy of Free Traders from the "Citizen of the Galaxy" of "early Heinlein ", while "late Heinlein" even more so was a great admirer of matriarchy.

The plot here is without fillers and sagging - as it fascinates from the very beginning, from the moment when the ship was "seized" by cadets inspired by a small group of conspirators (through its ransom through a sponsor) in protest against the surrender of their home planet, and keeps in suspense throughout the journey of this team through battles, political intrigue and betrayal, attempts to find allies and simply a port in order to replenish supplies and repair the ship. The enemy acts not only by military means, but also through psychological and political manipulations, trying to undermine the morale and deprive the "pirates" of any outside support. The heroes, with a few exceptions, are not at all perfect, but not repulsive either - including the captain who panicked from time to time in battle, but who at the same time is a good and responsible administrator who forces himself to behave with dignity and uses his inherent caution to identify weaknesses in "constructions"of his brilliant executive officer; his beloved cold-blooded and manipulative politician girl, whose fears and real feelings only rarely give out through involuntary tears; a good man - the chief engineer, nevertheless committing stupidity (I suspect that in this scene the genre of "mecha" with its "humanoid giant robots" and "heroically" hysterical attacks is subtly ridiculed), apparently out of a desire to show off in front of Sinon (it's worth notion that the enemies are shown to be quite humane - they were retreating and did not even want to shoot at the "heroic" engineers, having done so only when absolutely necessary). Even a cynical and sneaky TV show producer turns out to be capable of an heroic act at the end (however, hardly out of philanthropy). Basically, the characters are revealed qualitatively - through their actions rather than through words.

Political intrigues here do not cause irritation by absurdity, as well as heroes by being stereotypical. Perhaps there are no unequivocally positive and negative characters and "forces", but the ship's crew is written "nicely" enough to arouse the viewer's empathy. And, yes, some favorite heroes die, most often as a result of "heroism" (sometimes unreasonable) - there is no place for victories with hysterical screams of mentally retarded "heroes" that flooded modern anime. But there are no senseless "murders for the sake of murders" of characters, as well as stupid self-sacrifices (except for one, quite expected). Of the characters only Sinon sometimes causes irritation as she is too unnaturally ideal and ingenious - but for the virtual "embodiment of Amaterasu" it is perhaps forgivable ) So you certainly shouldn't judge this anime by the cover. I would even say that the cover is simply deceiving the viewer by mis-positioning Starship Operators. Those who admire serious, thoughtful anime with a good storyline, may be turned of by the cover, as it at first turned me of. For the admirers of "kawaii" and actual space opera genre like Star Wars, this anime simply might be a disappointment. This is for such incorrect positioning I will lower the score - after all, girls will be uninterested in the Starship Operators as well as those boys at which the positioning is aimed at, while the target audience may pass by deceived by such a poster. But, perhaps, there is no other reason to lower the assessment.

Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator (1999 Video Game)

One of the greatest

[10/10 · 1 November 2022]

I've played many great games, but this one is easily one of the best ever. Its story and mythology (based on Sumerian mythology) are deep and involving, turn-based fighting mechanics is pretty interesting and characters are all different and well-written, with different motivations and attitudes towards each other (up to the romance between some of them or fights between hostile members when they are put together into your party) and NPCs. NPCs are also react differently to each member of your group and sometimes you'd have to put right character into your group to advance farther. But mostly you may just enjoy their various conversations. I, for example, had fun by puting Selene into my party with her stuck-up attitude towards NPCs. Also this game has original aesthetics and it is visually enjoyable even today. As for the shortcomings, you'd have to put a lot of time and efforts to finish it and at some point gameplay could appear quite repetitive. Nevertheless it's a one of kind game - nothing like it exists and I fear nothing like it will be created again.

Hutsulka Ksenya (2019)

Aesthetically appealing meaningful movie with wonderful music

[9/10 · 1 November 2022]

There is a good side of genuine Ukrainian movies and culture - genuine aesthetic, innate sense of beauty, good music, hidden symbolic depth behind the external lightness of Ukrainian baroque and stunning heroism. "Hutsulka Ksenya" have all of these - it is aesthetically appealing, including picture, various small details, colors, clothing and actors (how can you resist from falling in love with beautiful Varvara Lushchyk whose picking to perform Ksenia's role was somewhat unorthodox yet excellent decision) as well as wonderful experimental Ukrainian music performed by Dakh Daughters and DakhaBrakha.

The story is seemingly sentimental, romantic and comedic, but in the core it is tragic considering time-frame circumstances (Polish occupation followed by Russian occupation) yet nonetheless it is somewhat life-affirming and devoted, even heroic, giving motivation of Ksenia and the professor to remain and to do what is right and meaningful, reminding of what present-days Ukrainian volunteers are doing in times of modern war with Russia.

Only Yesterday (1991)

Beautiful and thought-provoking

[10/10 · 1 November 2022]

The main character - Taeko - goes back in time to her school years to rethink them and to comprehend what to do with her life. Or rather, she goes on a trip to rural area, on vacation, and takes with her ten-year-old herself, imposing childhood memories on her present life.

It looks like Takahata Isao made an anime about downshifting before it even got into fashion. In a sense, Taeko really turned on the lower gear - she slowed down her life, because she realized that she was going the wrong way. The old Toshio's car, slow and stalling now and then, but nevertheless loved and preferred to newer cars, is a kind of metaphor for the main message of the "Only Yesterday". Another metaphor voiced by Taeko herself is the caterpillar, which needs to become a chrysalis in order to turn into a butterfly and to fly away.

And why did Taeko take ten-year-old herself on vacation? It's strange even to her - it's not because of bright memories about her youth in the 60s, not because of hairstyles, boyfriends, "Beatles" and miniskirts, like in her sisters memories. Not at all. Those are little girl's memory on the verge of growing up - school and home. Taeko tells to herself - it was then the chrysalis for the first time decided to become butterfly. She "swallowed nonsense about fractions" and chose work, career, success. At first it seemed to her that she was flying, but in reality she was only flapping her wings without moving. Because two thirds of an apple didn't want to be divided by one quarter, and the exotic pineapple turned out to be much worse than usual banana.

It is time for grown up Taeko to become "chrysalis" in order to try to fly for real. And who knows, perhaps, along this path - traveling in space and time - she will find kindred spirit and meaning in her life?

Metro Exodus (2019 Video Game)

Game for thoughtful gamers

[10/10 · 1 November 2022]

In terms of aesthetics, which was achieved, inclusively, by using the latest technology, the game is impressive. For example, ray tracing, used in Metro Exodus is the first full application of this technology. This gives the game both realism (it turns out that light plays a leading role not only in the physical architecture, but also in the virtual one) and beauty. The change of day and night, sunrise and sunset, the change of seasons - winter-spring-summer-autumn, blizzards, rain and sandstorms, the smoke of a locomotive - the visual effects are of extremely high quality.

The visual aesthetics of the game is accompanied with the beautiful music by Oleksiy Omelchuk ("Race Against Fate", sounding in one of the scenes in Novosibirsk, as well as guitar solos will definitely be remembered by fans of good music), the developers' attention to the small details and the general atmosphere.

The gameplay is slow, but fascinating and requires concentration. The game has a lot of text and dialogue, the disclosure of characters occurs through long monologues, actions and descriptions in the diary. The romantic line is not realized through the "classic" stereotypical "conquer the girl" nonsense, which is so fed up both in the movies and in games, but through showing main character's married life, his relationship with his wife Anna. Something similar to what Lewis described as "family romance" in English literature of the Victorian era.

Among the shortcomings are imperfect face animation as well as the fact that the game is rather short and does not have a gameplay "after-play".

In general, Metro Exodus is one of the few games that deserve attention. It has interesting gameplay, story, characters, semantic load and meaning layers, as well as aesthetics - visual and musical.