Worth Reading – 2/26/2018

These links have been collecting on my virtual desk for a couple of weeks, so it’s probably time to get another issue of Worth Reading out.  I know I said this would be an irregular features, but on the other hand I don’t want to let them stack up.

(I’ve been building a collection of images I use for similar posts, haven’t been able to find one I like for Worth Reading…)

All that being said, hit the jump and let’s dive in!

Two interesting pieces from Scott at Mech Anime Reviews

• Time Dilation in Anime – how time dilation, compression, and skips can be used (or misused) for dramatic effect.

I just rewatched Aokana – Four Rhythm Across the Blue, and I was thinking about just this… It’s one of those things that, done wrong, can really be annoying.  Aokana made good use of both dilation and compression to keep plot flowing, the matches interesting,  while also presenting the POV of both the participants and the spectators.

I think skips bother me more than anything else.  Often, they’re unheralded and without significant exposition they can leave the viewer muddled and confused while they try to work out just what-in-the-h*ll is going on.  Confusing the viewer is rarely a good thing.  Erased made good use of this confusion though, matching the main character’s confusion to that of the audience.

• How did I forget Nana? (Please get a license for it again, Netflix)

Aahh…  Nana.  High up on my list of favorites for many of the same reasons Scott discusses in his review.  It sat in our Netflix queue for months because at 47 eps it seemed daunting to commit to.  But once we started it, we ended up marathoning it across a couple of weeks.

It’s also one of the very few times I’ve seen an anime featuring musicians and music that wasn’t the bouncy saccharine pop of idol groups.

Jon at Jon Spencer Reviews asks: Viewing Anime Alone & With Others – How do You Watch Anime?

Lots and lots of interesting discussion down in the comments, feel free to respond here or there!

For the record, my response:

When I watch anime alone, it’s generally during the day and I’m way less forgiving. After my housework is done, daytime is my time… and I have way, way too many interests to spend it on anime I’m not enjoying. Though I do find that since I started blogging I’m less likely to drop shows, and I need to work on that.

Usually I go to bed way later than my wife, so I don’t watch anime in bed unless I’ve gone to bed early. (Because I’m sick or unusually tired.) When I do, that watching is virtually always re-watching favorite eps or series because I’m just killing time as I wind down. Other than that, I rarely watch in the evening, that’s my reading and gaming time. Plus our TV is either too soft or too loud, and we have an absolute *sshole living downstairs.

When I watch with my wife… I don’t mind interruptions/discussions/whatever. It’s all part of the experience of watching the show. (I loathe the term consuming.) We do have to consciously avoid “Gift of the Magi” type experiences though. More than once we’ve caught ourselves sticking with a series because we (incorrectly) thought the other was enjoying it.

We watch anime on a Roku connected to our TV. Sometimes I watch something on the computer, but I just don’t find that as comfortable.

Also, one of the responses there made me think of this old classic (once again showing my age):

A World of Blue presents Just for Fun: The Kyubey Translator, a darkly funny look at Kyubey’s dialog in Madoka Magica.

(A tip o’ the hat to The Animanga Spellbook for the link.)

Humble Ace posts Showing Some Character: Ohana Matsumae, a nicely done perspective on the lead character from the outstanding Hanasaku Iroha.  Just by sad coincidence, it was announced this week that the Shidekaku Inn (which inspired one of the inns in the anime) will close its doors next month after over a millenia in business.

I never know quite what to feel in such cases.  I can console myself that “all things must pass”…  On the other, there’s a certain sadness that something that has weathered so many changes and storms across centuries will no longer be.

Irina of I Drink And Watch Anime posted The Joys and Struggles of Episodic Reviews late last week…  A very interesting read, and one I’m still processing the contents of and comments on.

Last but not least, my response to a tweet from @senpainotes:

In all honesty though, you could shuffle those five into almost any order and come up with a list I’d agree with.  I think the only constant would be that Alice & Zoroku would end up in the bottom half…  Given the nature of the company, that’s actually not a bad place to be.  What would your top five be for 2017?

Thanks for reading!  Drop me a comment if care to and if you enjoy any of the links be sure and let the original authors know on their posts too!