Warner Bros. Studios, already in the process of making a live action Akira, (although there’ve been discrepancies over if the project has been scrapped), is trying to obtain the rights to create a live action adaptation of Bleach. Some have speculated that the move to make the Bleach film may be in place of Akira, after problems with directors and writing have arisen.
On top of that, The director currently attached to the project is Peter Segal, director of Get Smart and 50 First Dates.
After making it half-way through the harem/mermaid/romantic comedy known as Seto no Hanayome, I’m proud to say that I’ve become a fan of this fine comedy series!
A young boy gets saved from drowning by a mermaid but, according to mermaid law, if a human sees a mermaid’s true form, both have to be killed. The only solution to the problem is for him to marry her.
A young boy gets saved from drowning by a mermaid but, according to mermaid law, if a human sees a mermaid’s true form, either the human must be killed or the mermaid must be killed. The only solution to the problem is for him to marry her.
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Initially, I thought Seto no Hanayome would be a pretty generic and bland harem anime with mermaids, cute girls, and a perverted monkey friend. It was an anime I thought I would NEVER touch, but out of sheer boredom, and reading through the posts on the Subculture Anime Blog praising the the anime for being an excellent romantic-comedy, I decided to try it out for myself. I was immediately shocked at how good the series was! and this was a GONZO anime!?
The series did get off to a rather boring, and bland start, but maybe after….4 episodes in, the series really began to “take-off” and venture into the crazy antics of the series’ characters, which all prove to be VERY entertaining. I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of Akeno!!!
The characters in the anime start off rather annoying and unlikable (which is really bad!), but after they develop, and you learn a bit more about them, you really can grow to like them. The character designs are pretty solid as well. Not sure about Maki though…she’s still a bit annoying…Lunar/Sun are my favorite character(s).
Even though you have to adjust to liking the characters, without a doubt, the strongest point of the series is the comedy! it’s got some of the most WTF and in your face comedy I’ve seen in quite some time, which I just love! perhaps one of the funniest moments in the anime thus far is the point where Nagasumi and his father sit around watching fish porn. Actually,episode 11 all in itself was just a riot. As funny as this series may be, there are times where the humour and episode does fall a bit flat. Which can be forgiven since the next episode always proves to be even more awesome than the last! I also think that it’s worth noting that this is pretty clean for a harem anime, but some of the jokes do get a bit raunchy.
Even though this an excellent comedy series without question, it certainly has it faults… BUT good news is, that it has very few. The biggest problem is the fact that (with every long-running comedy series) the humour involved eventually runs “dry” and becomes “stale” at certain points, and in attempt to save the humor from plummeting since it’s the main point of the show. The writers just decide to re-use old gags from who knows how long ago in order to save the show. Most notably in this series is the “Masa-san~” line… it’s only funny up to a point, I personally feel as though that joke is being used a bit too much… I think that perhaps the jokes and comedy are the biggest concern for me as I continue to trek through the series. The animation or rather art, also remains a fairly weak point to the series. And this is a GONZO series!? (the Limited Edition DVD covers are VERY beautiful though) !!?well, the humor more than makes up for that!
Besides the crazy and likeable characters, and off-the-walls comedy, another merit of Seto no Hanayome is the music. I’m not talking about the BGM here, which seems non-existant(except for that weird singing music), but the best part of the music is actually (for once) the character/insert songs! Your Gravitation, Eiyuu no Uta and Rasan are amongst some of the best the series has offered! and there are tons more I have yet to listen to!
So then, in conclusion,Seto no Hanayome is a crazy and off-walls-comedy centered around mermaids. And so far I’m Loving it(…). It’s got side-splitting comedy, awesome music, likeable characters and cute girls, what more could you ask for!? GONZO should so more anime like this and STRIKE WITCHES, they really know what they’re doing when they produce comedies, let’s hope that they’ll live long enough to produce and outstanding comedy series! that’s enough to make it one of my top anime(which it currently is now~)! But FUNimation has licensed this series…I’ll buy it, but I’m a bit worried about the dub since they don’t do too solid of a job with comedy dubs…
*this was only a review of the first 13 episodes, once I’ve finished the anime, I will review episodes 14-26 and maybe even the OVAs!*
*this’ll be the layout of anime reviews here from now on!*
Black Rock Shooter, in simplest terms, is a Vocaloid sub-culture spawned from the creation of a group named Supercell. The most profound members are Ryo and Huke, who are credited with this incredible piece of work. Ryo is the composer and genius behind nearly every Supercell song. Huke is the artist who did the original work for BRS and other Hatsune Miku variants.
Black Rock Shooter originated as nothing more than a song and a piece of artwork by the original creators. However, a fan took the liberty of creating a 3D animated music video using the original song. That video gave BRS a plot. The song was originally perceived as the narrator wandering through a deserted city searching for something dear and important to her that she had lost. The version that came from the fan’s video had a different plot. The narrator’s sister, now known as Dead Master, had betrayed her and ran her through in an attempt to kill her. The narrator then spends some time tracking her down to kill her and free her spirit.
Just like with Hatsune Miku, there have been products released for Black Rock Shooter, mostly figurines. There have been clothing articles as well. Most importantly of these released products has been the pilot episode for the upcoming anime being produced and commercialized by Good Smile Company, who also released a lot of other products for BRS.
On the anime project are the directors for Lucky Star and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, so if it’s anything like those two its going to be a great show. The expected release date for the anime is sometime around August. I am yet unaware of the plot to the anime. There are also several other characters for Black Rock Shooter that aren’t as important and that I can’t remember off the top of my head.
I will include the videos of the original music video by Huke, and the pilot episode for the anime. Enjoy! (Did I also mention I’m completely obsessed with Black Rock Shooter? I did? Well now…)
Poor Durarara! You used to get your own posts, but the past few week’s you’ve had to settle for potpourri.
Rather, that’s what I initially wrote, since I intended for this to be a segment in a larger scattershot post. Then I wrote too much. Oopsie.
The problem is that Durarara! is taking a little too long to build things up. I like that we’re getting to know several characters, with the Shizuo and whatever-they-are-Dollar-kids-with-the-otaku-torture-artists episodes being the coolest so far. The series has a good sense of humor, everything that happens is genuinely interesting, and I’m anticipating each week’s episode, but a guy can only take so much “just you wait” before he gets a little antsy.
As much as I like series that withhold information and let you guess at what’s coming next, I don’t like series that do this sort of thing only to have said reveal suck. Look at Lost. They play the cocktease game well, then when shit gets revealed I’m left thinking “that’s all?” Durarara! isn’t anywhere near that level of lameness, but I’d love just a scootch of payoff sometime soon. The Celty’s head bit from the other week was anti-climatic, and this week’s “Mikado is probably in change of the Dollars” reveal just didn’t have the oomph that it deserved.
I’m chalking this up to the animators having too much time to get the job done. Baccano!, a series by the same creator, had already established more characters with the same level of detail by this point and was well on its way to a big-time climax. Baccano! did all of this by letting us get to know everyone in the middle of the action, rather than spending time with flashbacks and monologues. I prefer to see things play out that way rather than seeing someone spell it out for us in their thoughts. I’m sure that’s the way it played out in the novels, since that’s the way novels usually function, but it isn’t the ideal way for a visual and kinetic medium such as animation to work. Baccano! got that right, but Durarara! seems to be a little too true to the source material.
At least that’s what I’m assuming, and I do love to make assumptions.
Part of my “frustration” (and I use that word lightly) is that Durarara! seems to be decelerating. It started off with a frantic pace, tossing out all sorts of stuff in the first episode and setting things up so we could piece them together as we went. Unlike Baccano!, which managed to maintain that level of energy throughout the entire run, Durarara! all but slammed on the breaks after that point. It’s as if it went straight from the highway to a podunk country town that makes all of its money off of speeding tickets. Every now and then things pick up, like when we saw Shizuo’s past or when we saw that “gang” take on human trafficers, but for the most part the series is being a little too leisurely.
I have a feeling things’ll speed up now that most of the “revelations” seem to have taken place, so I’m not too concerned. Just gotta get that stuff said.
And yeah, despite all of this Durarara! is still my favorite new series of the Winter season. Cobra’s a close second, but I’m still absolutely loving Durarara! It’s just a little too ponderous when there’s no need to pause and think about what’s going on. Stuff just needs to happen more franticly. Let us pick up the severed heads later.
The world is under attack. From a galaxy far, far away, a new threat has come to conquer and destroy the planet. A small threat, a green threat…and one that does chores. And croaks.
The threat is none other than Sgt. Keroro, an amphibious alien whose attempt to invade Japan fails miserably, leaving him in the clutches of the Hinata household. Fuyuki Hinata, an occult fanatic, is fascinated by the invader. His elder sister, Natsumi, despises and distrusts the slippery alien menace and quickly becomes his biggest advisary. Their mother, Aki, is a manga editor and decides Keroro is the perfect inspiration for her latest work. He’s permitted to stay…under the condition that he does all the household chores. However, the frog has more nefarious interests…like eating junk food. And building Gundam models. And taking over the world.
Adapted from the manga of Mine Yoshizaki, the anime series is one of the craziest and funniest things ever to come out of the land of the rising sun. I had waited a long time for ADV (RIP) to release the dub (or at the very least, a decent sub) and feared the worst when that company went belly-up. However, Funimation saved the day, rescuing the frog (and several other franchises), even providing a test episode to get viewer feedback. The resulting dub replaces the japanese pop references with American ones, lampooning everything from 24 to Star Trek, although keeping most of the gags that well trained otaku would recognize. Making things even better is that the dub has been released in DVD half-season sets (meaning paying $30 for 13 episodes, as opposed to 4). Or watch it on Hulu.
The stage is set for the final battle in Railgun! And yes, Telestina is the baddie.
The episode opens with Telestina letting Haruue see Banri.
Meanwhile back at Judgement Branch, Misaka tells the other all about what happened with Kiyama and Telestina the previous night. This leads everyone to believe that the case is now closed. Uiharu also thinks that because of this, Haruue will be discharged from the MAR facility, so rushes home to prepare things to meet her. However, she decides to make a side trip to pay a visit to an old “friend”:
After talking things over with Kiyama, Uiharu convinces her to come with her to the MAR facility, where maybe the research Kiyama did can help the MAR people with their investigation.
After getting to MAR however, they discover that Telestina is moving the children to another facility, along with Haruue and they are unable to see them. She then begins mocking Uiharu and smashes the research data Kiyama brought.
It is then that they learn Telestinas full name:
Telestina Kihara Lifeline.
Kiyama becomes enraged when she learns that Telestina is involved in Kiharas Level 6 experiment, and attacks her. Telestina though dispatches her with ease.
Back at the Judgement branch office, a distraught Uiharu reveals Telestinas true colors, and they begin researching her. They discover a shocking secret:
Uiharu continues to weep profusely, thinking she is unable to do anything now for Haruue and the others. Kuroko however steps in to knock her back to her senses:
It is after all the commotion stops however that everyone realizes that Misaka is gone.
Misaka has gone off to confront Telestina herself, right as she’s transporting the children to a new facility.
Misaka becomes enraged at Telestinas true colors, however when she tries to use her power, her power is canceled out. It turns out that Telestina is using a large Capacity Down system, and that she is in fact the person who invented the system and gave it to Skill-Out. Misaka tries to hold her own against Telestina, but without her powers she is helpless and eventually is beaten.
As Misaka is about to be captured by MAR, help arrives in a surprising way:
After being rescued by Kongo, Misaka is taken to the hospital, where she is awaken by Kuroko and the others. She realizes what happened, and gets up to chase after Telestina, thinking that because she’s the one who essentially led Telestina to Kiyama and let Telestina take the kids, that it’s her sole responsibility to stop Telestina. However, Saten blocks her path:
Saten tells her to not go off on her own, and rely on her friends. Saten also gets Uiharu and Kuroko to make up, and tells them all they need to work as a team to get Haruue and the children back. With everyone “reunited”, they return to the Judgement branch office to track the MAR trucks, as well as implore AntiSkill for help.
As they are tracking the trucks, they notice a certain blue Lamborghini chasing them:
With Kiyama in hot pursuit, all the girls (including Konori!) prepare for the battle ahead.
Well, that was another good episode! As I’ve been suspecting ever since her character was shown at the end of the Level Upper arc, Telestina is in fact the person pulling the strings in the background. If you read my post last week, I theorized that Telestina may have be in cohorts with Kihara and the Level 6 experiment, and that her befriending Misaka and the others was simply a ploy to get to Kiyama. I was more or less right on the money (yay me!!), however the fact that Telestina is in fact the granddaughter of Kihara, and happens to be the First Sample Kiyama was referring to, was a bit of a shock to me.
I just hope the fact that Telestina is the first experiment test subject is the reason why she went so bat-shit crazy in the second half of the episode. She did a complete 180 as far as her character, and that was unexpected for me personally. As I said (bragged) before, I knew Telestina was the baddie, I just didn’t know she was the psycho type of baddie. I have to say she did a damn good job at covering her true face. I also got a kick out of her psycho expressions in the battle with Misaka, although I’m sorry to say I don’t find her attractive anymore. Sorry, psycho chicks = NO.
As for the whole Uiharu EMO thing, I’m just glad it’s over. And although I thought Saten would be the one to do it, I’m glad Kuroko SLAPPED some sense back into Uiharu. That was seriously one of the best scenes of the episode, and I found my self going “YEAH!” when she did it. Seriously, I didn’t understand why Uiharu was so distraught anyway. Hopefully she’s back to (MOE) normal.
I loved the small battle scene we had in this episode, but it left me wanting more. Fortunately, it looks like we get the big one next week, and I’m excited for it. As much as I bemoaned the second half of the season for not being able to top the first, I have to say that this is shaping up to be a better ending over the Level Upper arc. I also like the fact that Misaka isn’t the only who’s gonna be fighting, as all the other girls were shown “suiting” up for battle as well (although I question how effective Saten with a BAT is gonna be!). Hopefully we’re treated to a grand battle, and a great ending to the series next week. At least I hope they’ll make it worth skipping the Sisters arc…………nah, no way that’s happening!
Back for a long absence ( more study time) I think the best way to come back is a little opinion essay. I have been following somehow umineko anime DVD releases. I just got the info about last note one at Rokkenjima (umineko Livejournal). if someone wonders about the bedsheets it is a Bernkastel Lambda delta one ser it here.
So daikamuras and bedsheets are my topic today. I’m not interested on it really but they are funny to see (a battler or Ronove ones must be epic lol) they put the character showing everithing in a shy style attitude. Yeah I might think that from Kanon. Even 07-san gaves us that impression. the sister opnes is also correct because you know almost of them is lust so no problem. The problem is when do you got that shy style with Jessica, Beato and now the 2 witches. Does that suits with they characters. the answer is .
Yeah I must be angry about getting my favourite Japanese related story so far that was supposed to be adapted in a serious and complicated seinen anime into something used to sell full eichi bed related things.
But do you know. I changed my mind. I might dislike that things but somehow It will help to rise DVDs sale. And maybe we will be able to get a second season.
Yeah maybe umineko adaptation were not the best one but we where able to see some cool moment animated. that’s enought for me.
Start this step by drawing out the guidelines for this awesome bleach character. What I want you to do first is draw out the circle for his head and then add the facial guidelines. Next draw out the torso and then the bell shape of his skirt like clothing. You will lastly add the arm lines.
Step 2.
Now you will start sketching out the detailing in the lower part of his outfit. To do this just draw a few lines as you see here and then shape it out a bit more so that it comes inward. You will then sketch out the wavy style of his sleeves and then draw the arms and hand lines. Draw out the shape of his jaw and then the right side of his hair line.
Step 3.
Wow look how far you have come already with all your hard work! Now that you are this far into the tutorial you will start sketching out some of his detailing characteristics starting with his spiky looking hair style. Next add eye lines and then the shape of his sword blade. You will add some definition to the top part of his outfit and then give him a belt. Shape out the arms a bit more and then draw out his feet and right sleeve.
Step 4.
As you can see your Bleach character that you are learning how to draw is coming out great. What I want you to do next is start sketching out the right side of his bone and then finish the shapes of his eyes. You will detail his chest and then more crease and wrinkle lines to his clothes and feet. Color the inside of the right sleeve and put a ribbon looking string line in his left hand.
Step 5.
This is your last drawing step and as you can see you will be drawing out the detailing definition to the rest of his face. You will then detail his exposed chest and then finish drawing out the rest of this Bleach weapon as you see it here which kind of looks like a hook. Detail the belt and the some more on the clothes and then the ribbon in his hand. Erase the visible guidelines and shapes.
Step 6.
When you are your finished Bleach character should come out looking like the one you see here. All you have to do is color him in. I hope you have learned something new with this tutorial on How to Draw Hollow Ichigo or Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach step by step.
Heartbreaking anime movie set near the end of World War 2. Brother and sister – 11 year old Seita and 4 year old Setsuko lose their mother during the firebombing of Kobe by the Americans. Their father is fighting in the war so their only family, a distant aunt who lives in the country is given the responsibility of caring for them. This she does begrudgingly. She grows increasingly hateful of the pair. When both outstay their welcome at her house, they decide that it’s best to try and survive on their own on the outside with their base being an abandoned bomb shelter. Life there is harsh. Food is hard to come by and with no money in his pocket he has to try and steal some food. With his little sister getting weaker and weaker by the day, Setsuko tries his best as a big brother to gee her up saying that father will be back home soon. Can they break away from their desperate situation and find a brighter future?
A powerful evocative animated anti-war movie that will stay in your memory for a long time. Definitely one of my favourites but your emotions will be torn to shreds afterwards. I defy anybody not to cry during this movie. Very depressing with no happy ending. I urge viewers to watch a comedy or something uplifting afterwards to break the dark mood you’ll encounter having seen this movie.
Blogger/Translator’s Note: This is the long-past-due followup to the translation posted by kransom over at his blog, welcome datacomp.
As stated by kransom, the translation is based on a lecture by freelance writer Kaoru Kumi and included in a book he has written about Miyazaki. More information can be found in the introduction of part 1. For the sake of consistency and other things, all names in the essay are first name first, unlike my usual style.
Incidentally, just as we have translated his writings from Japanese into English, Kumi has translated an English book into Japanese, “Astro Boy and Anime Come to the Americas” by Fredd Ladd and Harvey Deneroff. More information about the Japanese translation can be found here, and you can purchase the original version from Amazon.
Actually, the Nausicaa manga also frequently uses these techniques to create a sense of smoothness between panels, the difference with Yotsuba&! being that the sequence from Nausicaa relies on speech, while the one in Yotsuba&! relies on sound in order to keep the flow continuous. In short, this sequence utilizes a spoken word to smooth the sensory incongruity between the two panels.
Volume 7 p.83
This is the impressive scene where Master Yupa steps in to stop the conflict between the citizens of Dorok and the remnants of the Tolmekian Army at the cost of his own life. Panel 1 and 2 show the boy witnessing the death of Yupa while being carried on monk’s back, while Panel 3 shows him rushing over to Yupa. Here, the cut between Panel 2 and Panel 3 is B’. With a B’ cut however, there should fundamentally be a continuation of the overall action, as is the case with the prior example of Shirley, which is covered by the action where the young maid quickly makes a cup of tea for her master. However, in this example, with panel 2 you have the boy sitting on the man’s shoulders without moving, and then with panel 3 he’s running. Technically, his overall action has been interrupted between these two panels.
However, you can see a line of dialogue in panel 2 where the boy says, “Put me down. I can walk.” Thanks to this line, the overall action is continued. Let’s try covering up the line, if you like (Here, the lecturer puts is hand over the projector to cover the words “Put me down. I can walk.”). Even with this, there’s nothing hindering the transition between Panels 2 and 3, but now don’t you sense something amiss? It’s like a baby stroller being pushed along and then suddenly hitting a bump in the road. But when you add in the line, “Put me down. I can walk,” (moves hand away) now it becomes smooth. The overall action of “rushing over to Yupa” continues in panels 2 and 3. In other words, B’ is established here. I think it subtly proves that Miyazaki cares a lot about having his readers enjoy Nausicaa and has a good sense of what will improve that enjoyment.
Nausicaa also has a clever use of Pattern B”. Let’s see the beginning of the old edition of New Treasure Island once more. If you compare the two, you will find that the two use the same Pattern B”. Here, Nausicaa and Chikuku are returning to a Dorok airship via air. In New Treasure Island the vehicle runs along hastily, while in this scene from Nausicaa, Nausicaa, Chikuku, and the monk are in a rush. That’s right, they both fall into Pattern B”.
Volume 5 p.62
“You’ve come back, too!?” “Chikuku won’t run away!” “A map! I’ve traced the movement of the mold.” “This way!” [CL1] These three panels look perfectly continuous since their dialogue goes on, in spite of the discontinuity in physical action in these panels. It’s the same technique as the one in the three-legged race I referred to earlier.[1]
Speaking of Pattern B”, I know there is another example in Nausicaa.
Volume 5 p. 87
The world of humans is on the verge of destruction, and with Teto in tow Nausicaa goes on a solitary flight. She lands on high ground and decides to wait for the army of Ohmu, who know the key to the situation at hand. The action in these six panels is not continuous, and so one might determine these panels to be an A” sequence[2]. And yet, you can follow these panels smoothly, as if you were watching a movie, in spite of the lack of speech or sound to give you a sense of continuity. Actually, while these panels do not follow Nausicaa’s actions continuously, including how she lands on the ground and how she shoulders her kite, you can still follow those actions smoothly because the overall action of ‘her swooping down from the sky and landing near some high ground and then walking towards it’ remains continuous, or is uninterrupted. And so you sense that they are still continuous. This is Pattern B”.
Let’s look at another example of B”.
Emma Volume 5 (Mori Kaoru/Enterbrain) p.76-77
This is Emma. I’m impressed with this author, who takes a total of four pages just to draw Emma changing into her maid uniform. However, when you look at it, the omissions in the actions that happen from panel to panel are assuredly there. If the sequence were to be drawn in its entirety, a mere four pages would not have sufficed. When you read it, however, it looks perfectly continuous. The overall action of “changing from plain clothes into maid clothes” is done consistently, and the small actions which are not drawn instead take place in your head and complement the action. This is a typical example of Pattern B”[3].
By the way, recall that earlier I explained how the Pattern B you see in movies theoretically cannot be replicated in manga, and that in order to do so you would need some way of falsely approximating the process. Actually, it is not impossible. Here, the monk points his gun at the sky and fires. Then, the subordinates up in the sky make their presence known.
Volume 4 p.124
The sequence from Panel 2 to Panel 3 is key here. If you were to put this into a movie, in panel 2 the bullet would appear to be flying OUT of the screen, and then a cut would happen. Then, in panel 3 you would suddenly see the bullet flying, or, to put it differently, you would see the bullet flying IN when the officers in the sky riding the flying turtle are startled by it. That’s the exemplary editing it would need if it were put into cinema. Simply put, this is a Pattern B sequence. Pattern B may be theoretically not replicable in manga, but take a good look at Panel 3. The trajectory of the bullet is shown by the smoke trail. “Wha… What kind of bullet was that?!” [CL2] exclaims the astonished monk. Indeed, it’s a little more like a rocket. Thanks to this however, you can now tell with just one look that Panel 3 is an IN shot. Wow, this is definitely like a B sequence from a movie!
Incidentally, this kind of smoke is associated with the “action lines” which you might remember from Zipang, where it is used in aerial battles. Contrasting with the physically impossible and fanciful assemblage of lines, the smoke in Nausicaa has a physical existence. It does not feel insubstantial, but rather actually quite real and natural. If we analyze the transitions in those five panels, they are A’ B’ D’ A’; in other words, they are all single-dash (‘) sequences and not double-dash (”) ones.
Miyazaki’s composition of these panels is so awfully sophisticated that I’m terrified, but the examples I’ve drawn upon so far have been from when Miyazaki’s manga had been serialized for a while and he was establishing his own form of manga syntax, and not at the point when he first began serialization, back when his refinement was still lacking. Take a look here at the first page from Volume 1.
Volume 1 p. 9
I touched on it just before, but the second image here is unusual for Nausicaa in that the rectangular panel does not have a border. Actually, when it was published in Animage originally, the title logo for Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was inserted here. When it was being collected together for the tankobon, Nausicaa flying with the glider was drawn in, and so the edit from panel 1 to panel 2[4] is not B” so much as it is B”-. It’s the same as the beginning of the revised edition of “New Treasure Island.”
Now what’s a good way to explain the transition from Panel 2 to the giant skull in Panel 3? In a movie it would be a B. You’d think then that it would be a B’ sequence, but when you compare it to the way the bullet was handled in the panel I mentioned earlier, I must say it looks less sophisticated than a typical B’ scene.
And then, doesn’t the edit from Panel 3 to Panel 4 feel abrupt? First, some of her actions seem omitted. 1) The glider lands -> 2) Nausicaa pulls the gun from the glider -> 3) Nausicaa carries it on her shoulder -> 4) Nausicaa faces the Sea of Corruption and walks (Here, the lecturer demonstrates the way in which Nausicaa walks). That is how Nausicaa is supposed to act in this sequence, but three out of four of her actions have been removed. Moreover, while in Panel 3 she was gliding very close to the skull, in Panel 4 the scene is set at ground level, and so they cannot be A, B, or D. So, is it supposed to be C? No, because Pattern C is a scene change, which usually does not have the continuous presence of the same subject.
So then, what exactly is the sequence in these panels? If I had to explain it, I might venture to say that it’s like the old version of “New Treasure Island.” That is to say, it can be categorized as B”. However, there we have the consistent action of a moving vehicle. In this page of Nausicaa, the glider vehicle’s action is interrupted. Perhaps, if Panel 4 illustrated the glider flying towards the Sea of Corruption, it would be a smoother sequence, although Nausicaa would crash right into the tree trunks! (laughter) …even if it would be a smoother sequence.
Here’s the same scene from the movie version. Here, it is incredibly smooth.
1
2, 2’, 2’’
3, 3’
4
5
6
Nausicaa sweeps over the giant skull (1) -> Nausicaa prepares to land very close to the Sea of Corruption (2)~(2)” -> Nausicaa makes a soft landing below onto the sandy surface (3)~(3)’ -> Nausicaa pulls the gun from the glider (4) -> Nausicaa hangs it over her shoulder (5) -> Nausicaa walks towards the Sea of Corruption (6). They are edited in quite a normal fashion. But when you see this and then look at the same scene from the manga, you find that the sequence from the manga has less elegance to it in comparison. It suggests that Miyazaki was unsure of how to transfer and convert movie syntax onto paper when he began drawing the first chapter[6]. Also, the first chapter was 18 pages. With only so many pages, the complicated sequences where Nausicaa appears, wanders through the Sea of Corruption, reunites with Yupa, and then flies to the Valley of the Wind—a sequence which in the movie takes 15 minutes—has to be drawn, then the panel sequences would inevitably feel crammed and rushed.
If you were to again look over this first serialized chapter, you’d wonder why, despite the fact that the drawings are made to be dense, does the comic look so stark-white? Really, why? After thinking about it, I realized the answer: there are no screen tones being used. Do you understand? I brought some with me today. Can those sitting in the back see this? It’s a somewhat thin, net-like sheet. There are dozens of varieties of these, and they’re used by nearly every manga artist, cutting and pasting them onto their manga in order to create effects such as shadows and clothing patterns[7]. But in the first chapter of Nausicaa, all shadows are hand-drawn.
Volume 1, p.19 (with close-up)
With that, it’s pretty white. But actually, in the comic a bit of screen tone does get used.
Volume 1 p.26 (with close-up)
This is a close-up of Yupa’s face. Notice the shaded area. On top of the thin lines drawn here, a layer of screen tone is pasted onto it. This is the last page in the serialized chapter 1.
There are other instances of Miyazaki’s process of trial and error showing up in his drawings.
Volume 1 p.23
Nausicaa here is running with a big smile on her face. This same scene is also in the movie, but in the manga the scene has more of a slow-motion feel to it, and gives the impression of being a slowed-down moment. This is the weakness of B”-. Here, Nausicaa is sticking out of the panel, and is quite possibly Miyazaki’s deliberate attempt to reduce the slow feeling here. This technique, called “off the panel,” is incredibly common in Japanese manga, but this is the only instance[8] of its use in Nausicaa. “How should I draw a manga?” Miyazaki probably asked himself as he was holding a variety of manga magazines in his hand, and tried his hand at making something “off the panel.” Miyazaki had most likely not yet developed his own methodology as of chapter one.
Such is also the case with this panel, where if you look at it after you’ve come to know Nausicaa it seems unpolished.
Volume 1, p.24
First, the use of the “hyuu” sound effect and the streamline seem rather forced. Second, the scene composition gives the impression of unsophistication. For a genius layout man like Miyazaki, the scene is too loose and incomplete. Why is that the case? Well, it’s because too many words, or should I say “speech balloons,” have been crammed into the scene. Later on, Miyazaki would use a multitude of panels to handle such a scene, but I think here Miyazaki decided to depict their conversation only for one panel because Nausicaa and Yupa are holding still. There are many speech bubbles in the panel, so the scene feels relaxed.
And so on and so forth. In chapter 1, examples of Miyazaki’s trial and error are everywhere. “There’s a lot I want to talk about, a lot I want to convey, but I am not trained enough to put what I really want to tell into manga. This is so frustrating!” thought Miyazaki, I suppose. However, the second chapter is much more stable. And listen, ladies and gentlemen, he finished the second chapter not in pen, but in pencil! When the first manuscript for Nausicaa was handed over, the Sherlock Holmes (aka Sherlock Hound) project was given the go-ahead, and so Miyazaki no longer had any time to draw manga. However, Animage persuaded him to continue the series, with Miyazaki finally agreeing to do so, on the condition that he could draw the Nausicaa manga in pencil because it enabled him to finish it more quickly. Nausicaa, as a result, became the first commercial manga ever drawn in pencil.
Volume 1, p.35 (with close-up)
One of the unique characteristics of the manga version of Nausicaa is how the shadows are rendered by drawing a series of thin lines. This is influenced by the French comic artist Moebius[9]. Look at the right image. You can see that these shadow lines are chipped subtly. That’s because it’s drawn in pencil (laughter). For your information, Miyazaki seems to have used a variety of pencil types, including a B and an H.
But then around the second half of the second volume, the comic goes back to being in pen. Now I might have this wrong, but I get the feeling that even after that it occasionally goes back to being in pencil. Here, for example.
Volume 3, p.41 (left) Volume 3, p.42 (right)
For the sake of the Nausicaa movie, the manga’s serialization was put on hiatus. The image on the left is a panel from the final page before Nausicaa was put on hiatus, and the image on the right is from the page right after serialization resumed. In the collected volume (tankobon), they’re printed on the same piece of paper, one on the front and the other on the back, but in reality there was a 13-month gap. Now if we were to magnify the dangling ends of the gas mask…
Do you see? The lines in the image on the right are more chipped. This means it’s a pencil drawing. You might know that in animation key frames are drawn in pencil, and so while making the Nausicaa movie, Miyazaki became more attuned to using pencil. I guess after the manga resumed, he was unable to draw with a pen the way he wanted to, and so after the manga started up again, the first new chapter was done in pencil. But then in the next chapter, the comic goes back to being in pen. Incidentally, when he resumed the Nausicaa manga after having completed the movie Kiki’s Delivery Service, the lines look a little chipped. I think that it was also drawn in pencil. Then, it returned to pen.
Now we’re going back to analyzing what it means to be “cinematic.” Having the background be out of focus is a technique frequently used in live action film, or should I say, photography. Suppose there were many little flowers blossoming and you attempted to use your camera to shoot one of them very closely. However hard you tried, the shot would get crowded by the other flowers. For that reason, you have the camera focus on just the one flower and leave all of the other flowers out of focus (Lecturer projects it on the screen). This is a terrible example though, granted (laughter).
The “out of focus” method is also in Nausicaa.
Volume 2, p.116
This scene is the duel between Yupa and Asbel. It’s an action scene, and yet it’s more akin to stopped motion. In my opinion though, I wouldn’t call it stopped motion so much as the removal of sound.
Look at this scene from the Nausicaa movie (DVD playback). A giant transport vehicle crashes into the Valley of the Wind. By the window is a girl who looks the same age as Nausicaa. The sound disappears in this cut. Movement in this scene hasn’t stopped, and yet doesn’t it seem like time has stopped for an instant? The panel in question, the one with Yupa and Asbel, achieves the same result on paper, although this scene was drawn before Nausicaa was ever turned into a movie. It is said that Takahata, who joined the production of Nausicaa the movie as a studio manager, worked as the sound supervisor as well and removed all the sound in this cut. His sound removal method must have impressed Miyazaki, as Miyazaki applied it to the Nausicaa manga in a more refined way later.
Volume 3, p.139
Here, Nausicaa is fleeing from a Dorok cavalry. Of the guards who are desperately covering Nausicaa with their bodies, one of them gets hit and falls over. It’s quite exciting. At the same time, the lack of a rendered background emphasizes her psychological shock and as a result gives off a sense of stillness, a sense of stopped motion [10].
The overlap technique seen in films is also used. It’s not used that often, but if you take a look here:
Volume 5 p.75
For some reason, the monk has a worried look on his face, and Nausicaa appears behind him flying. Drawing an image like this on paper is a little too bold, but in actuality the image does not feel out of place. In other words, it reminds us just how heavily we have adapted ourselves to the scene dissolves that occur in movies and television.
Speaking of which, this is a manga which faithfully uses rectangular panels. There are, however, exceptions, like here.
Volume 3 p.13
This image brings back some memories from when I was in elementary school, especially the illustrated encyclopedias that would be available in the school library. Boys who are into science or technology like illustrated encyclopedias, and a young Miyazaki would be included among them. (laughter). Now have a look.
Volume 7 p.105
Oh! Here we have Nausicaa relaxing with a silly look on her face (laughter). She’s forgotten her usual self-denial and self-restraint, feeling quite relaxed and refreshed, with the image of the garden bleeding past the edges of the page as if to reflect the calm in her mind[11]. The author wanted Nausicaa to relax for a short while. After this, she would be sacrificed to a journey filled with despair…
…Which is my own humble analysis of Nausicaa. Seeing this manga, I’m impressed that almost all of the panels are rectangular, something quite unusual for modern manga, while each of those panels is packed with the passion and energy of such an extraordinarily talented creator. This gives off the impression that Miyazaki was holding back. As he was most likely extremely conscious of how the movie’s sequences and transitions would be edited, the activity in the actions from panel to panel, in other words A”, are united with the context of words and dialogue. In short, Nausicaa is the manga which blends cinematic methods exquisitely into classical manga syntax.
Miyazaki learned Disney-style full animation at Toei Animation, and then left the studio where he and his comrades ended up falling in labor union activities. He and Takahata joined the TV cartoon industry, trying to achieve maximum “cinematic” efforts using lower budgets and fewer animated drawings. In his autobiography, veteran animator enthusiastically writes about how Miyazaki had been living his vision.
This is Miyazaki’s storyboard from the 1971 Lupin III[12]. Otsuka compares Miyazaki’s storyboard with one done by a different animator. If we look at this other storyboard done by someone we’ll call “Mr. X…”
The Animator Clawing His Way (Sakuga Ase-Mamire),
Revised and Expanded Edition by Yasuo Otsuka, published by Tokuma Shoten Publishing, p.149
…there’s an A cut. However, with Pattern A, the action must be continuous, which makes drawing the images for it labor-intensive. Miyazaki’s storyboard on the other hand is entirely D edits. If the action isn’t continuous, then the drawings become easier to do, all the while Miyazaki remains perfectly faithful to the principles of film editing.
Looking at the Nausicaa manga more closely, not only can you see that the D’ sequences are well-done, but that there are a lot of A’ sequences (with actual A sequences being impossible). When A sequences appear in TV anime, a character’s actions must be singular, and it must be a simple action—like an arm extending—to shorten the amount of labor put into the drawing. Manga, however, is by nature a series of still images, so with Pattern A’ or even Pattern A”, the readers will conceive the movements in their heads. Showcasing clever uses of this mental mechanism is the air battle scene I showed you earlier. In Panel 8, the gunship is depicted flipping like a springboard diver jumping backwards into water. If you were to actually try to animate it, the process would have been laborious and would have required many frames of animation to be drawn. However, because it is manga, the complementary actions are envisioned mentally by the reader, where less labor is needed than in drawing animation frames, and so it becomes an easier task.
Thus, what you have here are the patient efforts of Japanese animators over dozens of years to make TV cartoon shows as fully cinematic as possible in spite of difficult circumstances in production, as well as the brilliant efforts of Japanese manga artists over dozens of years to achieve cinematic style on-paper in spite of the fact that manga is just composed of still images. One of the most brilliant fruits of their labor is the subtle and bold fusion of the two sides that is Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. That is my conclusion. (Applause) What? Why are you all clapping here? (Big laughter, huge applause) I’m grateful! Oh, don’t you think NHK will have to invite me as a guest commentator whenever they have their “Manga Night Talks” show about Tezuka’s New Treasure Island? (laughter).” Not that Tezuka Productions would ever give the OK on it, even though this is the 80th anniversary of Osamu Tezuka’s birth[13] (laughter).
Next week, we’ll continue to discuss Nausicaa. This time we discussed technique in depth, but next time we’ll be analyzing and getting at the core of its story and themes. I hope to see you all in this classroom next week. Class dismissed.
Footnotes:
[1] It goes without saying that the three-legged race I mentioned earlier is A”. However, the two girls’ swing of conversation fills cinematic gaps among the three panels.
[2] Notice how in panels 1~5 there are no speech balloons, sounds, or entire figures. On the other hand, you have Footnote 9, or “Osaka splitting her chopsticks apart,” where sound and figures make it easier to follow the panels smoothly, as if it were cinematic.
[3] In an interview, Mori mentions liking this sort of panel sequence.
[4] For the sake of convenience I called this “panel 2,” despite it having no actual borders.
[5] Actually there’s another solution here. If one were to insert a panel of Nausicaa preparing to land in between panels 3 and 4, it would become B”.
[6] I also referenced Yukihiro Abeno, who said, “Miyazaki is the ultimate and most fortunate amateur manga author.” (Seidosha Publishing, Eureka Special “World of Hayao Miyazaki” Issue)
[7] The first time this was used in a manga was by Miyomaru Nagata. Around 1955 or so.
[8] An omission.
[9] Moebius, born on May 8th, 1938. He is famous for having influenced the styles of Katsuhiro Otomo and Hayao Miyazaki, and apparently Moebius style had an influence on Tezuka’s Hidamari no Ki, the samurai drama featuring Tezuka’s ancestors. As an aside, Moebius named his own daughter “Nausicaa.”
[10] In Nausicaa, when an action scene occurs the closing line in the panel becomes diagonal.
[11] I believe this technique of piling fragment-like panels on a larger, non-bordered image was first used in Japan by Shotaro Ishinomori (January 25, 1938 – January 28, 1998).
[12] At first Satoshi Dezaki drew the storyboard for the sequence, but Miyazaki rejected it and drew this afterwards. Though keep in mind that Dezaki was not “Mr. X.” In fact, the second storyboard on this page was drawn by a younger animator whom Otsuka got to draw it years after the production of the first Lupin.
[13] The old New Treasure Island was finally re-released on February, 2009.
Black Rock Shooter, in simplest terms, is a Vocaloid sub-culture spawned from the creation of a group named Supercell. The most profound members are Ryo and Huke, who are credited with this incredible piece of work. Ryo is the composer and genius behind nearly every Supercell song. Huke is the artist who did the original work for BRS and other Hatsune Miku variants.
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