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Jul 31, 2021
DISCLAIMER: Hainuwele - Shuukaku no Yoru is an adult anime OVA featuring violence and sexual assault. These elements are primarily used for aiding the theme of decadence, delusion and loss of self-worth in the anime and do not put forward any ideological stances. Nevertheless, if you are uncomfortable with such depictions, you might not want to watch this anime.
Okay, having said that, I would like to introduce you, the potential viewer to Hainuwele: Shuukaku no Yoru. This anime is the brainchild of Katsuma Kanazawa along with the prolific Iijima Hiroya, who pioneered the exploration of violence and psychological themes in adult animation in the
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late 90's and early 2000's. As more visual novels started getting anime adaptations, especially adult ones that aired late night, his influence traveled to anime such as School Days which is infamous for its escapist MC who seeks comfort in sexual pleasure.
Shuukaku no Yoru is set in a city that's trapped in various vicious cycles of escapism and decadence. Although it's implicit, we come to know that the only way to leave this city is by crossing a certain bridge. The story begins on this bridge, on which Honoka, a white-haired seemingly innocent adolescent girl is sexually assaulted by some middle-aged man, presumably from the decadent part of the city. As she loses her strength and lets herself drown in the sound of the pouring rain and a passing train, she is rescued by Masato, who is later revealed to be her childhood friend. Masato essentially kills the man, throws him off the bridge.
Defloration, sex, blood and the trauma that ensues, is a central motif in the anime and also connects to the Indonesian myth of Hainuwele. Anyways, there's a time skip and we see that Masato now leads a small underground gang, which operates in the so called ura-machi, or the decadent city on the other side of the bridge. Both Masato and Honoka are seen to be trapped in this city in which numerous underground businesses, arm traders, brothels, and gangs thrive. Sexual pleasure is seen as a commodity that you can buy away. We never come to know what lies on the other side of the bridge. This is a world with precise boundaries. The anime proceeds to explore Honoka, her older sister Ryoko and the stoic Masato, who lives to protect Honoka. All three have lost hope. They no longer dare to leave the city.
The sex scenes in Shuukaku no Yoru are top notch. Sexy character designs, luscious women, scheming men, stoic men, insecure women, courageous women. Amidst scenes of rape and violence, we also have more tender erotic ones. Various motifs such as pubic hair, realistic proportions and realistic body movements during sex aid the themes I've mentioned.
Will you enjoy this? Will you be able to use this for your purposes? I can't say. Certainly if you're interested in exploring the themes I've mentioned, watching this ova is gonna be a good decision.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 24, 2020
Natsumi Souseki, in his novel Kusamakura, says:
"If you work by reason, you grow rough-edged; if you choose to dip your oar into sentiment's stream, it will sweep you away. Demanding you own way only serves to constrain you. However, you look at it, the human world is not an easy place to live.
And when its difficulties intensify, you find yourself longing to leave that world and dwell in an easier one -- and then, when you understand at last that difficulties will dog you wherever you may live, this is when poetry and art are born.
The creators of our human world are neither gods nor
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demons but simply people, those ordinary folk who happen to live right there next door. You may feel the human realm is a difficult place, but there is surely no better world to live in. You will find another only by going to the nonhuman; and the nonhuman realm would surely be a far more difficult place to inhabit than the human.
So if this best of worlds proves a hard one for you, you must simply do your best to settle in and relax as you can, and make this short life of ours, if only briefly, an easier place in which to make your home."
- Kusamakura, translated by Meredith McKinney
These are words that I have come to be able to recite from my memory with time, for their meaning and significance has been etched into my brain through experience.. And it is not entirely false when I say that these opening paras from Kusamakura entirely paraphrase "Onani Master Kurosawa"'s plot.
Our protagonist Kurosawa, is an otherwise sharp-looking middle school student who has amassed a great deal of self-consciousness and supposedly human understanding of the immediate community he lives in - his class. However, his self-consciousness and a lack of actual relationships with fellow humans have made him crooked as he resorts to alleviate his sexual stress in a girls' toilet every day, using his fellow femal classmates as fap material. In most of the "material" he fantasizes to help himself cum, Kurosawa makes sure that he dominates over the girl, not just sexually but also psychologically - he imagines them feeling helpless from having the features/mannerisms that define them, being deemed ineffective and useless before him.
yes, this is Hikigaya from oregairu in his early days but certainly more edgy and well.. interesting.
Things start changing when he ends up "responding" to the world around him for the first time. What moves him is pity for a frail, sheepish classmate, who could be mistaken for a squirrel if one's not careful. When he witnesses her being bullied by other classmates, and others putting up a facade of non-chalance, driven be a sense of middle-schooler justice, he "judges" them and hands them over the punishment they deserve - their PE clothes smeared with his cum.
What follows is a chain of events that makes Kurosawa realise the what the cubicle in the girls' toilet meant for him, the place he had in his surroundings and most importantly, the desire to have feelings.
Onani Master Kurosawa has a very realistic plot and given its length of 31 chapters, it relies on displaying "response" each time. What I mean is that whenever someone does something in this manga, there is always a response - and it's there for a good reason. The authors have made it clear to get across a message, loud and clear.
However, if there is anything that is unrealistic in this manga, then it is the fact that it does not show how a community could be totally irresponsive to stimuli. Even if you try to change or do sth unusual or great, it is quite possible that nothing happens.
We are the protagonists of our world, but this world is born only when we realize that we are not alone. Wallowing is self-pleasure, self-loath, injury, etc - all of do this. But the moment we stop thinking about the world we live in, stop actively engaging with it, we grow detached from it. And yes, while there might be clear advantages of doing so - you might end up discovering a new result, cook up a crazy idea for a novel or partake in pleasure by looking down people around you. But nevertheless, eventually if you end up getting detached from the world around you and drown in a non-human world you've created for yourself - then you cease to be a social animal, you lose many things - things that might end up driving you crazy. The authors call forth the need to have a strong heart and sense of pride in oneself, to live the individual you want to be, to keep an eye out for the present and to not loose sight of opportunities dangling right before your eyes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 18, 2020
I have always been wanting to read something like this, nay, I have been THIRSTY for this content! And god damn it! I have found it!
We all know how female body-parts have been fetish-ized over and over again in the AV-doujinshi industry. Y'all like kyonyuu on a kyashaa i.e. petit frame? No you say you also want her to be tall and kinda goth? It's at times revolting and blatantly horrendous how people, yes we who make up this world, have continued to seek the ultimate object of pleasure - and since this quest is never-ending, we have imposed our tastes, our fears, our grievances
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onto sth - and we have derived pleasure from them. Where is all this going to lead us? Hopefully not the utilitarian dystopia that Ghost in the Shell: Innocence showed us?!
The MC in this manga is PaPiCo - a 24 year old AV joyuu, who, as I described in the previous para, is gorgeous, to the extent that she is a symbol of quite a few modern day fetishes. She has a co-dependent partner, who is a NEET, good for nothing who resorts to abuse her when he feels she's hiding something from him. PaPiCo's family relies on whatever pay she receives from her AV satsue, and feels that she should stop doing the "shameful, disgusting" work she's doing. Yet, of course, they don't shy away from sponging off her. This situation, is an astonishingly accurate description of many AV joyuu's circumstances in the JAV industry.
Hiroyuki takes this MC, puts her in a staple yet fascinating impending doom situation and "conceptually resuces" this character. The symbol of our fetishes learns of her desire to protect someone dear, she learns what it feels like to want someone's company, to love someone perhaps. She is promoted to the status of a saviour in this world.
And let's not forget the super realistic art in this manga. Pretty much everything seems "rotoscoped" here. Although I'm abusing the term here, what I mean is that it's almost as if every frame in the manga is a real-life photograph that has been drawn over at places. This technique works realy well with the sci-fi, erotic content in the manga and the contrast between the realistic art and the outrageous plot parallels the clash in the "societal" role of PaPiCo and the role she assumes in this manga.
People, I tell you, reading Gigant is like watching a movie - yes, that's how good the composition is. Think Chi no Wadachi for example. That's almost how good it is. And it's not surprising that the other MC in the manga is an high schooler aspiring to become a film director.
This is a preliminary review. I'll return to write more about this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 22, 2020
What do you usually look for when you pick up a romance anime? Intimacy? Introspection? Decadence? Catharsis? While I'm sure there are many more romances out there, chances are high that you probably haven't run into anime that chooses to do "realistic" romance. This is not surprising, as the medium ends up wanting to satisfy younger audiences with dramatic stories and relatable yet inspiring characters. There are few who would like to be amazed at the incompetence of Ikari Shinji or the likes. We would rather prefer reading an Adachi Mitsuru work or watching Hachimitsu to Clover.
The charm of "Yesterday wo Uttate" could be encapsulated
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in saying that it is an anime that chooses to strongly ground itself in real-life characters with the purpose of exploring adolescent ennui, the resulting incompetence all in the context of understanding male-female relationships.
With a stellar voice-acting cast and some remarkable animators who were willing to produce an anime by giving it the right amount of time, introspection and love, "Yesterday wo Uttate" is an excellent example of a good production.
Striving for realistic aesthetics in anime is a tough thing to do. "Yesterday wo Uttate" does this by developing unique mannerisms for each character and pairing it up with seiyuu's, hand-picked for emulating just the right mood and emotions. What are we talking about here? Imagine something as simple as one's countenance or speaking habits - the way in which we nod gently while listening to someone speak, or how we might hunch over a little a stroke our hair while waiting for someone. All this and so much more! The human world is full of an intricate system of movements. "Yesterday wo Uttate" gives a special attention to these movements - animates them with the right frames and pacing.
This gives the anime a very slick visual feeling - neatly drawn water-colour like backgrounds on which some extremely realistic characters and movement is juxtaposed. Yesterday is not alone in this respect - Tsuki ga Kirei, Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai, Just Because, Koe no Katachi come to mind.
Pretty much every thing in this show has been given a appropriate time and thought - the ending songs by yourness and Sayuri - lyrics and accompanying animation, voice actors, photography, panelling and even the camera angles - from close-ups to shaky pov's to smooth pans and some excellent body shots. (Ah Shinako's finger movements!!!)
Kobayashi Chikahiro's work in Beastars and Yesterday have been exceptional. The way in which he incorporates natural pauses and deliberation into his accent is an excellent fit for your typical self introspecting seinen MC who finds themselves brooding over stuff. And I can't begin to describe why HanaKana was THE choice for Shinako! The insecurities of an otherwise alluring late twenties female who is confused about her interpersonal relationships couldn't have possible received a better voice than hers!!
Having said all that, let's come back to what this anime is about - confusion, procrastination and the illusion of love. What do I want to do in my life? Why should I work hard? How do I make a satisfactory living for myself? Why do I want to fall in love? Why do I like someone? Why does someone like me?
Yesterday takes the above mass of questions (and many others) and implements the above techniques to explore emotions that all of us have but are in fact scared to admit to. As a consequence, we look at characters who aren't very inspiring, but they are very real and beautiful. Yesterday does not mean to preach HOW YOU SHOULD LIVE, it's about just another set of humans struggling to make sense of life.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 15, 2020
DISCLAIMER: Let us stop being immature and call sth trash irrationally. Let's look at DomeKano from a new perspective.
I hope that you, the potential viewer, who hasn’t written DomeKano off as trash, who hasn’t let the appalling state of MAL reviews affect you, will take some time to read what I have to say.
Before we know it, it becomes evident for us that as humans, we better find ourselves in love with another, traditionally from the “opposite” gender. This love is supposed to be qualitatively different from all other kinds of love that we either receive, give, or partake in. For instance, this love cannot
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be an infatuation, cannot be driven solely by lust, and hopefully(?) must have to do with a connection, of the ethereal kind. And when you do find yourself engaged in such a “romantic” relationship, do not hesitate to tie the knot and create a new family. But hey, how is this love different from the one between you and your parents/siblings/relatives? And why is it different? Why were you searching for a different love in the first place? Wait, do you even love anyone?
At its core, DomeKano is an anime that brings to light, the status of human relationships today by aggressively challenging the many social norms that most of us have come to accept as “natural”. But note that DomeKano does not intend to be a seinen anime that one-sidedly uses itself to make a case for its ideology. DomeKano is very visibly, a romance-drama, very much like KimiKiss and Y.
Natsuo in as aspiring novelist who has had feelings for Tachibana Hina, who is a teacher at his school. Offhand, his countenance belies his meek and empathetic demeanor. Telling himself that his longings will never be reciprocated, Natsuo ends up having sex with the intriguing and socially awkward Tachibana Rui, after a mixer. So he is genuinely surprised when his father tells him that he’s about to marry Tachibana Tsukiko, who happens to be the mother of Hina and Rui! With time, we see that Natsuo is a very sensitive character who is not afraid to support others and that the socially awkward Rui is adorably sincere in her ways and has a strong sense of agency that leads her to assert her emotions proactively.
The characters in DomeKano do not shy away from communicating via physical contact - something that generic romance anime seem to decorate as a trophy, to be received at the culmination of invisible exchanges, strenuous inter-personal issues and maybe a couple of heartbreaks. There is however, NO fanservice in DomeKano.
With a stellar voice-acting cast and a gorgeous OP, the production team displays its sincere attitude towards the material by valuing character animation and composition. Do not expect something of “Yesterday wo Utatte” level here. But nevertheless, Ide Naomi, together with Ihata Shouta, has done a splendid job with the opening and character design. Maho Takahashi is responsible for the intricately detailed backgrounds and the general maroonish-pink shades that give DomeKano its mood - erotic, dramatic, melancholic and inviting coming of age.
Having said all that, DomeKano is not without its faults! The drama it uses is often outlandish and leads to developments that are fairly easily anticipated. Not much attention is given to supporting characters and the whole idea of following the pursuits of an aspiring artist is nothing new when at the end of the day, it is only used minimally to emulate mixed feelings at the coexistence of sorrow and creative processes.
Yet, the anime makes you ask, what is a family? Why is something socially forbidden? And through the anarchy of its characters, we realize how many things around us are not just social constructs, but also serve the bizarre purpose of controlling individuals and their desires.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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May 4, 2020
Unlike traditional reviews, I would like to use this space to answer some basic questions that might be bothering a potential viewer and clarify certain assertions made in other reviews I found under the MAL entry for Tamako Market.
What is Tamako Market about?
Tamako market is set in a shoutengai area, called Usagiyama. Shoutengai is essentially a region comprised of lines of shops selling daily necessities and other items to those living in the neighborhood. Every ethnic group in the world has had similar places emerge naturally, and not surprisingly, these have often served as centers for cultural activities. The anime is about Tamako, the eldest
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daughter of a wagashi-ya (a shop selling traditional confectionaries), named Tamaya. We get to see the livelihoods of people living in the shoutengai, who are brought together by the charm and earnestness of Tamako. Of course, the story is focalized onto Tamako, her friends, and a talking bird - with whom, Tamako ends up meeting in the first episode and who also serves as an eloquent narrator cum observer in this anime.
What does the anime have in store for you?
Tamako Market is a slice of life anime and quite appropriately, it engages the viewer in various narratives that make the viewer feel a part of the livelihoods of people living in Usagiyama. Tamako, in particular, is a girl of a lovable and charming demeanor, that fits in well with her inherent simplicity. This makes her a natural sponge for love, for both the characters in the anime and the lucky viewer. Thus Tamako Market promises you a nice serving of ordinary happiness - neither too sweet nor laced with complications of romance - only whiffs of the same, here and there. Being a KyoAni production, pretty much each episode is a technical masterpiece! WATCH OUT for insanely realistic body movements and detailed facial expressions! Hats off to Yamada Naoko and Horiguchi Yukiko!
Of course there's much more!
Who is this not for?
If you are looking for shoujo-esque romance. this is not for you. However, if you like romance a lot and also dig slice of life (you liked stuff like Hanasaku Iroha/Shirobako/Sakura Quest/Minami-ke/Sangatsu...) then do try watching it, after all, there's a follow-up movie - Tamako Love Story, which is a must-watch! If you consider yourself to be a viewer who is looking for plot developments in every episode, I'm not sure if you should watch this. With Tamako Market, you've got to be able to appreciate CHARACTER development and not PLOT development.
I hope this helps you decide if you want to watch Tamako Market or not. Have a nice day!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 27, 2020
A quick read through the plot summaries available for the anime on the internet would probably make one think that "Air Gear" is yet another shounen anime about a bunch of kids discovering values through some sport. While "Air Gear" is indeed a shounen anime, I think it is one of it's kind.
A key aspect of "Air gear" that makes it stand out among other shounen anime is its seemingly "underground" aesthetic. The AT is essentially roller skates with some very novel upgrades, to the effect that, depending one one's training and skills, skating up buildings, jumping across rooftops and who knows what else, become
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possible. Perhaps fittingly, riding the AT is a somewhat discreet affair and most activities involving the AT, such as turf wars, are "underground". The AT world can be accessed only on the internet. Getting hold of an AT, learning tricks, upgrading your device, etc: - all is very DIY in spirit. Have we seen anything like this before? - Yes. Last Exile, for instance.
One could even make a cyberpunk anime out of this! But we have a shounen, which means that we have a protagonist who is a polar opposite of Ikari Shinji but perhaps refreshingly, not like Naruto. If anything, our protagonist is like Kurosaki Ichigo. We do have a nice set of characters in this show. You've got women with all sorts of personalities and brazen youths who want to find their freedom in the AT world.
The ecchi in this show plays really well with this aesthetic. It is used often in a provocative manner and makes the show very "punk" in nature. Having said all that, perhaps the largest driving force behind maintaining this aesthetic is the music. Coupled with slick hip-hop BGM and rap rock OP/ED, the music in the show sets in the right mood each time.
Alas, with so much potential, what we have is a shounen. So there are unnecessary exaggerations and forced values but nevertheless, "Air Gear" is an extremely enjoyable watch. There are some issues with the pace and animation of the show, but I think one can safely ignore them.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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