sharibet, posts by tag: flowers of evil - LiveJournal

Had a really nice day relaxing with friends at an informal anime-viewing day yesterday.

We watched a variety of stuff--several first episodes of things currently airing on Crunchyroll, plus a side-by-side viewing of the first couple of episodes of the old Rurouni Kenshin series series, followed by the live-action movie.

I admit I had pretty low expectations for the Kenshin movie, and was delighted to be proved wrong. An excellent cast, interestingly-choreographed fight sequences, and an intelligent adaptation of the early story arcs of the series made for a terrific viewing experience. And the gorgeous young man cast as Kenshin was definitely easy on the eyes.

On the first-episodes front, I was intrigued by one, Flowers of Evil, which appears to be an adaptation of the Baudelaire tale. An angsty and atmospheric character study of a sensitive, shy, literature-loving youth who is struggling with his feeling for a female classmate, the anime style was unique. It looked as if motion-capture software had been used for the characters, giving them a curiously life-like aspect despite the fairly stylized artwork. I've added this show to my viewing queue, and am interested to see where they take the story.

The standout viewing was a Mamoru Oshii feature film, The Sky Crawlers, a bleak but gorgeously-animated SF mystery set in a world where rival corporations conduct a never-ending war to entertain and unify the populaces of the European Confederation. The CG dogfight sequences were stunning, and the aerial landscapes reminiscent of Miyazaki's best work, though Oshii's work is much darker and fatalistic. A gifted young pilot working for one of the corporations slowly undergoes an existential crisis as he observes a number of things about his existence--and the existence of his fellow pilots, who are all genetically-engineered "children"--that fail to add up. Visually stunning.

We paired The Sky Crawlers with Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, which made for some interesting side-by-side comparisons since they deal with similar imagery and similar themes, but with a wholly-different approach.