coloring

Not a particularly good picture, but I felt like coloring something while I watched Armitage III (which was awesome, btw). I think I'm regressing. 

Barefoot Gen

**Warning, contains some links to unsettling images**

Last night I watched Barefoot Gen, (1983 movie) which is the story of a young boy's experiences in Hiroshima during the latter part of the war, including, and following the atomic bombing.

Barefoot Gen is based (loosely) on the real life experiences of the original manga's original author, Keiji Nakazawa, and it manages to be both unflinching, heartfelt, and retain a sort of hopeful innocence that was totally unexpected, for me. That's not to say that Barefoot Gen sugarcoats the war, or the horrors of the atomic bombing. Far from it. 80's styled animation or no, there were some scenes that made me feel a little queasy, like the group of half-dead radiation victims stumbling blindly in search of help, one mother with a charred baby on her back.

However, even as the movie reminds us of the horrors of war, and the terrible pains human beings can inflict on one another, it staunchly refuses to point fingers. Americans are not demonized, nor are the Japanese or anyone else. The only place where blame is laid is with those on both sides who are hungry for bloodshed for its own sake.

Despite the movie's dark gruesomeness, as we watch half of Gen's family killed, watch the people of Hiroshima suffer through extreme burns, radiation sickness, and malnutrition, it manages to end on a note of hope, and of love, as Gen resolves to strive for a better future in the memory of those he has lost.

However, just to keep myself from getting too upbeat about it, I also spent an hour looking at actual images of victims of the bombings. I know that might sound a little twisted, and maybe it is, but for me I find that if I look at this kind of horror and really think about it hard at least once a year, it really puts things into perspective. My own physical, mental, and emotional problems seem so small in comparison to the suffering gone through by the real life counterparts of Gen and his family, that I really reinforce my own desire to become a better, more understanding, less sensitive, and less self-pitying individual.

Is using the suffering of others in this way self serving? Maybe. But hey, if I'm going to be self-serving, I might as well do it to the good.

Japan day?

So, apart from kicking around with homework, I spent the day indulging in two of my old vices: Japanese literature, and anime.

Reread some Mishima. This was a book we took in one of my upper year Asian cultural history classes, which was taught by my favourite history professor of all time.

If you can get your hands on this collection of short stories, I'd highly suggest it. Mishima can be a little slow at times, but what he lacks in fast paced action, he makes up for in the unspoken depths of his characters, and in his minute attention to detail. Where Mishima is truly strong, is in his creation of a setting, the way he paints an image, which comes through with vivid clarity even in an English translation.

As for the anime, I imbibed in a rather confusing little number, a series made up of eight "movies" called Kara no Kyoukai. As with most anime I watch these days (yeah, I'm getting too old for it, but I'm also too old for The Princess Bride and I watch that on a biyearly basis, so bite me) I am of mixed feelings. 

Production quality seems high enough. The musical score is quite good, though at times a little disjointed in a way that reflects the plot. The story is told in reverse order, with a series of flashbacks working up to where we began in the first episode.

When I say the plot is disjointed, I am not pointing out a flaw. It is intentionally confusing. The main character is a schizophrenic sociopath with a split personality disorder, and the only people keeping her grounded are a chainsmoking "sorceress" and a very sweet young man named Kokuto. 

I think my biggest bone is with the main character, Shiki, herself. She has an unfortunate habit of wearing a red leather jacket over top of a traditional kimono, and although she is constantly dubbed "beautiful" by the other characters, I'm just not seeing it. She mostly just seems kind of bitchy, especially to poor Kokuto, who is so enamoured with being rejected by her that he came every day for two years to visit her when she was in a coma (all the better to ignore him, I suppose).

Am I being cynical? Probably

(but seriously? you can't tell me that that doesn't look a little dumb)