Chobits

 

 

 

Chobits touches on several interesting topics, from growing up and trying to become a good adult to the relationship between humans and technology, and although many, if not all of the topics this series touches here and there could easily be the focus of this story, Chobits chooses to be a love story, or rather, several of them, all dealing with the impact technology has on human relationships, in between ourselves and with our machines. This came out when the internet was really just starting out but its consequences could already be felt in society at large. CLAMP knew this and Chobits is their response to this dilemma, if you will.

We have a wife who is abandoned by her husband, who fell in love for his pasocon and is on an emotional quest to find her self-worth again. A baker marries his computer and tries to give her the best life he possibly can. A boy builds an android with the appearance and personality of his deceased sister. Chi, the main character, tries to understand what love is, when she begins to realize her own emotions towards Hideki, the man who found her in the street, deactived. Personal tragedies and how each character deals with it is really what this series is all about and it's never disappointing or condescending, there's a lot of sensitivity and warmth in all of those stories and each one is very enjoyable.

The real mystery in Chobits is where exactly being just a machine ends and being human begins. Computers in this universe seem to be machines with human souls and the people living within it, just like us, are not sure where to draw the line. Is it just a machine? Are all those android emotions just programming? Should they be taken seriously? The main characters, each and in their own way end up finding out that in the end those questions are not as important as making sure to approach every situation that happens in life with the uttermost compassion and understanding.

Corpse Party - Tortured Souls

 

A vengeful ghost slasher story in anime form. That's it. It lives up to its title thanks to a cast of highly disposable characters. Nobody will be spared, this is a corpse party, after all. We need corpses. Lots of it. It's suppose to be horror but there really isn't enough tension for any horror to happen. The violence is too upfront about itself and you soon find the plot gives no expectations about anyone surviving. Everybody is so obviously doomed from the get go.

The good part of it is the story behind the curse, or rather, the place created by it. The idea of having a school stuck in some Beyond forsaken part of hell where you can end up by complete accident is a pretty interesting idea and not enough time is dedicated to explaining or exposing the concept further. The slasher party get the upper hand here every time. You get some exposition here and there but it never feels enough. Maybe curses are better left unexplained?

Another

 

The atmosphere was the thing that I liked the most about this one. The curse looming over the students in Yomiyama North Middle School and their families affect everything, including the colors, the rain and the doll shop, my favorite spot in town. Misaki also has an interesting character design and appeal to her. No wonder she's on the cover.

There wasn't much to try to follow here, as far as a mystery goes. The culprit could be anyone, as everybody in this has its own red herring going to keep us guessing. Except that you quickly realize this and stop guessing right the way. There's no point. Then people start dying. A lot. There's quite a body count here. I wasn't expecting this. Many of those deaths are quite nasty too. I felt there wasn't much of a transition from mystery part to the body horror part. Once the curse is sufficiently explained to us people start dying and there's no stop to it.

Except Misaki could have stopped before anyone got killed. It's hard to understand why she didn't do anything earlier, give she has quite an advantage when it comes to identify spirts and things "that suppose to remain hidden." It's alright though, you don't want the whole show to last only 10 minutes, do you? Eitherway, I felt sorry for the characters, that curse really meant business.

The most interesting part of Another for me was when I woke up next day after finishing watching it and my mind was under the impression to be close to some outlandish sadness or melancholy that didn't seem to affect me directly, but still looming over like I had taken too large of other world glum the day before without realizing it.

Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!

 

I'm writing this as I listen to the ending song on a loop. As I followed Tomoko around, the whole situation went from funny, to concerning, to nervously saddening. The way her delusions are again and again cause of self-sabotage are stomach churning. Her vast experience in fantasizing situations up have a tendency to give Tomoko surreal expectations of how real life works and her disappointment is depressing to watch. You have to keep remembering that at least she has a decent family and at least one friend, Yuu-san, who really deserves all merits for putting up with Tomoko. I'm really glad that she does.

 

Tomoko wants to be popular, but as the show progresses, she just want her existence to be acknowledged. Her best shot at that is obliterating a cockroach during class, causing an adverse impression on her classmates. Meanwhile she makes up a past where she has friends and everybody looks up to her, have an imaginary club with imaginery friends, an imaginary boyfriend, taking all fantasies too far, often leading to disaster or a mental breakdown. Apparently it's really hard for her to stop or learn her lesson.

She has serious issues and is one of the biggest sour grapes persona out there, but in the end I really like her and kept hoping things to improve, which I suppose they do in the manga. I've seen the cover of the last issues and apparently she has more friends now. I should check that out. It seems even the author feels like he had enough of punishing poor and silly Tomoko. It's all good from here!

 

Lovely show, it really explores the character and leads it to interesting, sad and happy situations. Tomoko has her moments of deep insight and the show offer very sensitive, even poetical moments in almost every episode. I'm really glad I picked this one.

Himouto! Umaru-chan

I never watched anime but now that I’m mostly burned out from manga and games I decided to put my Japanese to some other use and anime is pretty much what’s left for me as far as escapism goes. I’m going pretty much blind here and the first title I picked up more or less at random is Himouto! Umaru-chan. I managed to watch the whole thing through so it wasn’t a bad pick, I think. I like the episodic nature of it. You can enjoy a whole story in 10 minutes or less.

The main character, Umaru is the perfect student and athlete, excelling in everything at life without even trying. At home she’s an otaku, fast food junkie and an annoyance to her brother, Taihei. Most of the show is made of jokes on her double identity, sort of. To be honest I didn’t find it funny, more like amusing. It’s an easy, relaxing watch. The important thing is to take it for what it is, light hearted stories about characters that really care for each other.

What I liked the most about it though is the actual hero in all of this, Umaru’s brother, Taihei. I liked his wholesome personality, always trying to do the right thing, clearly trying to become a good adult. He’s a decent cook and manages to keep order in his house, despite Umaru’s being a toy hoarder and never cleaning after herself. Again, this is all setup for the jokes, but I enjoyed Taihei’s character beyond that. I also enjoyed the episodes around Kirie a lot, as she progresses from being basically mute to being able to make and maintain friends. I would like to see her finally coming into terms with her brother.

All in all, all problems those people have are superficial, it’s either there for a joke or to be easily overcome. Everyone has a kind heart and everything works out in the end. Good escapism, and a good start. Let’s see what I’ll stumble upon next.