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very interesting views on banner of stars
I think the show looks that way because it's from the abh POV and specifically lafiel and jinto, the show knows how cruel and basically monster-like the abh are and jinto is thrown in malestrom, he's not some revolutionary, he's just a guy working for abh.
you have fair points though, great analysis.

Hi, sorry for the late reply. Biggest reason for me is that I have a hard time quantifying shows against each other. I have a list of favorite shows, but am challenged in saying which one is best. I kind of apply that across the board to most anime I watch. I can clearly say what anime I felt was good vs. bad, but saying one show deserves a 7 versus another show deserving an 8 is difficult, when by doing so you are definitively saying one show is superior to another. Also I am one who can admit that several of my favorite shows have flaws to them but that doesn't mean they're not a favorite of mine for some reason. Do I give such a show a 10, even though it is clearly flawed? Its a challenge. So I decided a while back that with very rare exception I wouldn't rate things anymore.

I see.

As far as direction is concerned, Kakushigoto is pretty conventional. From what I've seen, this show doesn't offer much in the way of animation techniques. I'd still recommend it all the same.

In terms of personal preference, I'd have to go with Sayonara. Its morbid sense of humor and brutally honest commentary are features that very much appeal to me. However, in terms of overall quality, Kakushigoto is just as great as Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.

It's a charming, heartwarming anime that cares about its main characters and their struggles. Kakushigoto offers a lot of amusing hijinks but it also tells a story of relationship issues (the father's attempts at hiding his true identity and the daughter's efforts to learn more about her dad) that you can really sympathize with.

Kakushigoto is my favorite anime of the season and I think it's something you might enjoy, too.

No worries, my reason for asking was because my dvd players have long since stopped working (newer computers do not come with disc trays) and I've had diminishing incentives each year to replace it. I assumed that you purchase them as dvds with translated subtitles?

I believe my take on the mangaka's intentions probably should be revised if Jinto's intentions indeed were primarily driven by his desire to become a unblemished heir in the Abh governor system of incorporated territories. And as I recall Jinto was not a careful cautious personality (wears-one's-heart-on-their-sleeve) who was prone to lying to others about his inner beliefs/intentions.

Have you seen Castlevania by any chance? The physical and mental relationship dynamic between Lafiel and Jinto is similar to that between an immortal vampire and a human. Though the conflict as you so succinctly mentioned between the dominant and the subservient was much better explored in Castlevania, and in the context of challenging and accepting domination between 'master' and servant. Or even learning to love or hate the other species depending on their interactions.

Thanks for the lengthy response and friend request.

You’re too kind. I’ll keep a look out for Kagemusha and watch it when I get the chance.

I finally got around to watching Rikyu (1989). Despite the idiosyncratic comic touches, there were surprisingly and pleasantly many parallels with Hyouge Mono at its core. I for one was doubly appreciative having watched Hyouge Mono first so that I could properly understand and appreciate the character’s intentions in the Rikyu film. Their sincerity, particularly Rikyu’s pure intentions, deeply moved me. One of which was Rikyu’s ardent opposition to the invasion of China and wanting to bring to bring the tea ceremony back to it’s spiritual roots

I completely agree with your comment. The actor’s performances especially Yamazaki Tsutomu were excellent, as was the politicking bureaucrat Ishida Mitsunara (Bando Mitsugoro X).

If you don’t mind me asking, where do you procure these classic japanese films? Is there for example a video streaming service that has these classic films on server?

Thank-you!! That was very nice of you to remember me. It seems that in the same year another Rikyu film was also released called 'Death of a Teamaster' (1989). So thanks to you I have another potential film to add to a watch list.

That PS: comment was hilarious. I completely agree .Though it is not always the case, I always tend to shunn any films that just enlist popular celebrities with no acting chops. Films that come to mind are comedy movies that just enlist popular comedians working with terrible scripts and hoping that their names are enough to fill seats in cinemas.

I admit I am not too knowledgeable about Japanese history in general. Yes, I think an overly positive portrayal of Ishida Mitsunari is unwarranted; however if I were to interpret Japanese historiography in the same manner as Chinese and Korean historiography then I am naturally inclined to consider whether Mitsunari has been negatively portrayed by later traditional academic scholars on the basis that he had lost and Tokugawa had won. Or in the opposite case, Mitsunari's allegiance and then death in the service of Hideyoshi could be lionised in instances like the oath of the peach garden.

Of course that is not to say that scholars living in Tokugawa era would irrationally portray certain historical figures on the losing side as overwhelmingly negative. I am also aware that Japan was still operated by a much more decentralised feudalistic system (clan priority in the Taiho code, preference of blood over meritocracy) that might allow for a wider differing amount of opinions and records from different authors compared to the centralised stateworks of Korea or China.

I wonder if later historian works post-Tokugawa lended a more sympathetic perspective on Mitsunari in the same way that Cao Cao was given a much less negative depiction and Liu Bei a much more scrutinising light by scholars from, say, the Qing dynasty. But on a more critical light I think these biases do tend to creep in.

Haha I guess I wouldn't mind a loosely historical fictional work(though it is not preferred) so long as it is riveting. Though from the sounds of it, it sounded like the director was obssessed with Mitsunari to the point of disbelief in the film. I don't know how the director thought that Mitsunari was a high-minded idealist. Where the heck did that come from?

I also had the chance of reading through some of your reviews. One of particular interest was the Crest of the Stars and the sequel.
I watched them such a long time ago I can barely remember the details of the series. On the otherhand my initial feelings after watching the series was in the same vein that LotGH was narrated from a historical type of perspective. Though in the case of crest of the stars from a biased historically revisionist point of view.

I have not done any research about the mangaka's personal beliefs or political leanings but I thought the story was quite frustratingly sad.
(The Abh origins themselves are the product of east-asian ultranationalists who genetically engineered slaves for deep space exploration with a sort of founding victim complex to their history.)

I thought the story was clearly showcasing the viewpoint of an overwhelmingly powerful coloniser. I never considered the idea that the mangaka was actually being un-ironic in his positive depictions of the Abh.

Jinto the main character and most prominent Terran in the series is typically sent as a hostage to the Abh capital (or military) to learn the ways of the Abh so that he would be a sympathetic puppet for the Abh empire. I found it very relatable compared to human history [Mali (Songhai princes), Ottomans (European princes), Oda/Tokugawa (daimyo families in the capital), India (Arthashastra), China (Warring States princes), Rome (subjugated peoples and client states, Arminius) etc.] Especially the Ottoman case where Ottoman princes might grow up alongside the hostage sons of European monarchs.

Jinto would eventually become so integrated into Abh culture and it's military institutions to the point that he could not even think to try to rebel against the Abh empire such as the case was for Germania, Songhai and Wallachia.

Furthermore it was frustrating that Jinto would feel so helpless that his moral compass eventually settled into appeasement and settling to his future role as a subservient Abh puppet administrator charged with keeping Terrans below the rank of the 'superior' Abh for the sake of preventing genocide against Terrans.

Again, I must emphasise that it had been such a long time since I have watched Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars.
And again thanks for the recommendation mate.

Lmao, I'm glad you enjoyed the review. It seemed like the director of Texhnobahbblze was trying to prove a point, or even troll the audience with how moody some of those scenes were, which is unfortunate because it had some pretty smart ideas, but they were buried under heaps of uneventful bullshit. Regardless, despite how angry it made me (I forced myself to finish it; I wouldn't do that today), I tried to give it a fair rating. It's not quite the worst thing I've seen.

saw ur comment on aikaflip comaplaining about his review ........ ye that review was probally written in like in a minute, doubt the person actually watched the show with their eyes. Just a bunch of complaints from his review

Thanks for your reviews on the Seikai no Senki series, it summed up my opinion perfectly. I wish I read you reviews before I spent so much time on the show holding out hope that the Abh's deep rooted flaws would be brought up and make the protagonist question their loyalty, but instead I got 3 seasons of pro-Abh propaganda.

Also, Gunsmith Cats is my #1 favorite manga, so right on!

That is quite a probability right there lol, maybe I really am a witch. But I think it'd have been so much more impressive if we had a good rough thousand titles to spare between us, as 3,000 is too wide of a gap XD. The shared titles are quite interesting, though. Didn't think I'd run into someone else who had seen Capricorn, for one thing--and with the same score, to boot.

Yeah Welles has been one of my favorite directors for a while now. His connection to anime is pretty thin of course but the fact that I can list him on MAL amuses me lol.

That recommendation was mostly superficial I think. I made it after watching like one or two episodes so while my description at that point wasn't technically wrong, yeah, the tone can be very different between the two. Though from what I can remember, Black Heaven still seemed sort of wish-fulfillment-y to me, especially with the way it ends. On some level it is like M7 for old guys who are dissatisfied with their everyday lives, but I could be remembering wrong due to my own biases against some of the stuff in it that I didn't like. At least I can't say that your impressions are incorrect. But the anime wasn't super memorable to me tbh.

If it's a really misleading rec I could always delete it.

Recently rewatched all of the extra M7 stuff. I'd say they're definitely worth watching lol

Yeah. At first, I was underwhelmed with Eva and its monotonous, monster-of-the-week format but its second half pretty much won me over. Like I mentioned before, the final two episodes (and how they shove aside the entire supporting cast) crumble under any sort of scrutiny but the stretch from episodes 16 to 24 was among the best I've seen in some time.