Depeche Mode "Playing the Angel"

I like this album a lot - the album before this, Exciter, was SO dull. Slow with no catchy songs, Depeche Mode lost the dark and brooding tones they'd run with from Music for the Masses to Ultra. But with this album we're seeing a kind of return to form.

Playing the Angel sounds familiar, a kind of neo-retro Depeche Mode (yeah, of themselves) the way a lot of new bands are doing neo-80's - but it sounds new at the same time.

Favorite songs on this album are:
Precious
Lillian
A Pain That I'm Used To
John the Revelator
Suffer Well

"Precious" is probably the most familiar in terms of sounding how you'd expect Depeche Mode to evolve, but with that obvious neo-80's/neo-DM sound. ;) 'Tis my favorite of the bunch. All in all this album has songs that will be on my playlists for a long time to come.

Abandoned Things and Post-Apocalyptic Genre

Abandoned things and places explained

I wonder if my taste for dark/broody/industrial sorts of music is related to my penchant for abandoned structures/objects. Somehow they seem to go together well and if I'm painting something abandoned, this is the sort of music that goes with it best. Hard to tell since I've only done two abandoned paintings but the mood of the two things, the physical things and the music, are similar for me. They all work under the umbrella of "post-apocalyptic", and most of you know how much I love post-apocalyptic stories. Games, movies, books...

I think that's why I love the post-apocalypse genre... or maybe not WHY, but what I like about it. Particularly post-nuclear/war type apocalypse. Because things have been damaged, abandoned, left behind. Often its things that were perfectly FINE when they were abandoned and it's only time that has worn them down -- which is my favorite type of abandoned thing: old mines, and mining equiptment were all working fine when they were just LEFT there. A post-apocalyptic landscape would be chock full of these things.

And it's not WHY they're now abandoned that matters so much, it's the stories behind them before they were abandoned. It's crazy that there are these things laying around and no one seems to know why. The Colluseum - we know what it's for, who built it, etc. Ancient artifacts all have scads of scientists pouring over them and what they were for. But more modern items, though way easier to decypher the stories for, no one cares about. One day, everyone who remembers will be gone, and that day isn't too far off. I found that generator/compressor thing up there on the mountainside and no one seems to know what it was for. I mean, I can GUESS, but what's better is wondering who bought it, who dragged it up there, how long did it operate for, was it working when they left it? A human or group of humans were THERE and they were busy and productive and here's sign of their story and what makes it seem almost supernatural is the fact that it was left there not long ago.

If you believe in the energies of places and things, then you might get this. When I was in Rome and was in all these old buildings and in the catacombs... they were SO old and though we know the stories of these things, they had no energy to them at all. It was like becuase so many hundreds of thousands of people had been there since they were abandoned that the energy was worn away like an old coat of paint. Ancient places that are hard to get to might still have this energy but obviously it would be very difficult for me to get to them to find out. So I have things like mines and wrecked trains that not so many people have been to, that haven't been there for so long, so the energy is still there.

And bringing it full circle -- a post-apocalyptic landscape would be chock-FULL of these sorts of things and places. Ta-da. I'd never thought to link all this together before. :)

Photos copyright©Kara Stenberg

The Adolescence of Utena [manga]

Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena
This is a manga version of the anime film of the same name. The overall plot is the same but with much more explanations into the motivations of Utena and Anthy. It roots Utena's story firmly into that of Touga having been her lover in a past that Utena is now trying to escape. The manga has very little surreal elements so this is a perfect guide for those who just watched the movie and whose heads are spinning with "WTF?"

In comparison to the series/movie... I wasn't too keen on the whole Utena/Touga story (though better than Utena/Akio) and Anthy seemed a bit shallow because the manga doesn't give much time for character development. I'm amazed they were able to trim it down so much but I guess it's not too hard - the majority of the duels were pretty pointless in the grand scheme of the overall story in the anime other than to proove Utena's worth as a prince but I can definetly see that element being proved in a much shorter span of time.

As far as yuri goes, the vibes between Utena and Anthy were barely there, particularly with Utena appearing shocked and in distaste of the kisses. Ugh. Also, I don't think there are many ways they could top the drawing of the Sword of Dios from Anthy's chest the way it was done in the anime. O_O; Kiss or no kiss. I mean, the way Utena draws the sword in this manga, she's very reluctant and it's about the sword, not the connection between the two characters.

All in all, its entertaining enough for $9 and very re-readable when the Utena mood strikes me. It's also surreal enough in structure to make you have to think about the characters motivations in why they each block out the past and re-create their realities, so there's still fodder for brain excercise, which I like.

Revolutionary Girl Utena [anime]

This review is built out of three reviews from my LiveJournal, so it's a bit choppy.

The Yuri content of Revolutionary Girl Utena (RGU), for me, so far ranks third behind MariMite and Kannazuki no Miko, but not by far. Although with the opening sequence alone, it possibly ranks first. Oh, and if this doesn't convince you, Utena drawing the magical sword of Dios out of Anthy's chest in nearly every single episode is the sexiest scene I've EVER seen in anime. ^_^; I know, I'm a sucker.

RGU is very obviously 90's. Which is obvious once you hit the music. I'm not overly keen on any of the music, particularly the duel music. The "Truth" ending theme wasn't too horrible and the opening theme slowly grew on me, though I wouldn't go too out of my way to listen to it - it's catchier than a lot of other series. "Virtual Star Hasseigaku" is by far the best ending theme/song in the series, accompanied by the best closing sequence animation.

Superficially, the series is structured in one of those typical fight/arena series, where each episode cumulates in the protagonist having a showdown with some other character, and right before the fight you get the same song with the same animation with it every single time. Utena has to duel everyone three times in three arcs of the series (one arc for each 13 episodes). Though there was an evolution to these arcs, it was very obvious to me the second time I watched RGU that the entire series could of been condensed into 13 episodes and saved us all time.

One thing I like about RGU is the lack of outright stereotypes. Once you think you've found one, you discover they've put a twist on it. Also, I really appreciate the theme of "Normal is what normal is for YOU" - epitomized by Utena herself.

The shadow puppet things are really annoying and some episodes (like the cowbell one) seem absolutely pointless. But as a whole, so far I'm having an easier time following along than, say, Yamibou or Kannazuki no Miko.

Solid storyline, if a bit tedious at moments with pointless bizarreness at times, good character development with realism and honor paid to all the characters (at least, for the main characters), and the entire thing was wrapped up well without any loose threads, as long as you aren't opposed to endings that make you think for yourself. As for yuri content, there was more of that in the opening and ending sequences (second version of the ending) than in the entire series, all three seasons but I think that's mostly if you're measuring by fan-service. ;) RGU addresses gender roles in an obvious way without making it a main point, which I really liked - it is just worked into "that's how life is" and any f/f relationships are treated pretty much the same. In that respect, I rank it second only to Maria-sama ga Miteru in terms of queer awareness in anime I have seen personally.

I have watched all of RGU twice and after the second time I felt I'd wasted my time and felt more than ever that this series could of done with some hefty condensing of the entire thing into way fewer episodes. The repetitiousness drives me crazy, boring me to the point that I no longer cared to try and decypher all the fun surrealness. I can see how everyone benefited from the creators creating the film Adolescence of Utena - which basically condenses not only the characters, duels, and Anthy and Utena's relationship but also condenses all the surreal elements into a single 90 minute film. Perfect.

Myst, Riven, Exile in brief

Lately, Kaisa has been playing "Myst III: Exile" on her new iMac. We're both big Myst fans, starting back when Myst was new. I loved that game! We got Riven when it was new, too, only our computer wasnt' fast enough to run it properly so if I hadn't looked it up, I NEVER would of figured out how to open those domes around the islands because the video would freeze the computer. :\ Despite that, Riven is my very favorite of them all (so far) for its detailed luciousness and mysteriousness and plot. I even have an actual Moiety knife which I use as a letter opener. :D

Anyway, so I was chatting to Eric about Myst a bit and he said there was a fifth one out. We didn't even have the fourth! I needed to check the mail today, so Kais and I both went, and then went to Fred Meyers afterward, where they had both Myst IV and V. We just bought IV: Revalations, since it was only $20, and headed home.

Unfortunately, Kaisa has first dibs on it since she's already nearly done replaying Exile. Once she's done, I'm going to replay Exile, too, while she tackles the latest Myst incarnation. I'm muchly excited as Cyan is once again onboard for this game and it got better reviews than Exile (my least favorite of them all).

Besides the strange texture to everything due to the 3-D-ness of Exile, I think the lack of cultures is what makes it feel... empty. The only age that got me excited was the last one because people LIVED there, and you can't even explore it! Grr. I know Myst had no big civilizations, either, but you KNOW people lived there and that it had history. And it was new. The four main ages of Exile are just training grounds for learning how to write an Age. Or write TO one, I should say.

South of Nowhere, first episode

Watched the premiere of "South of Nowhere" and was glad to see the promise of young lesbians on tv. yay! I could actually relate to the main characters because I'm from a small town and I feel exactly like the three siblings do when I'm around big-city folk. I don't do any fancy handshake stuff - I just do a simple handshake. I don't do popularity contests and I don't do the dating/dance thing. I also don't do the beat up someone for looking at me weird/looking at my gf too much thing. And the parent saying anti-gay things around me when I think I might be gay is also a home-run hitter as well. I look forward to the next episode.

Noir

Assuming you are all good at looking things up in Wikipedia, I will skip to my review of the series:

I've read it all over the 'net and I agree - I am amazed anyone continues to watch Noir after the first five episodes. They repeat so many scenes over and over, like a blacksmith pounding an anville, I just want to shout, "Enough already!" I suppose it might not of been so bad if I were watching it weekly as it aired on TV but that is not the case with watching it on DVD. Luckily I was prepared with the knowlege that the first eps were like this and so persevered, much to my delight.

The first few episodes are pretty standard as far as story goes. There is some mystery but it's mostly confusing - repetitious flashbacks and the usual Japanese storytelling element of just throwing the audience into the story and making the viewer figure stuff out over time. The story is kind of slow, developmentally, until the third main character, Chloe, shows up. Then the series really takes off: the action sequences are more interesting, the plot becomes more direct, and the characters are now a part of a giant story arc that takes them to the last episode, rather than living more episodically.

As of the first half of the series, I was thinking Noir was okay but not my favorite. After that last half Noir became one of my favorite anime. The limited animation is eased over with good music by Yuki Kajiura (some of the music, like that damn watch song and the opening theme I really don't like), and like Wikipedia says, the lack of blood kind of adds to the stylistic air of it all. I think if there HAD been blood, it might of felt too much like a gore-fest with plot and characters being secondary. Although it pissed me off when OUR characters got hurt and unrealistically nothing came of it except maybe some bandages or a hole in the shirt.

Noir seems pretty unique to me in the world of anime. It's definetly done in a film noir style - in framing, in dialogue, in story, and in action. It's amazing how much can be conveyed in the flinch of an eye rather than giant stretches of dialogue. Noir made me appreciate the subleties that can be achieved on a small budget with anime. Noir even holds up in re-watching and I find that when compared to other gunfighting anime, I like Noir the best - even beyond higher budgeted series like Ghost in the Shell. Noir excells in its simplicity.

I've seen a lot of anime since I originally watched Noir and this is still one of my favorites.