#wields enough power over her partner to trap him in an abusive relationship

[illeity]

The Best of Spring Anime 2018!

Spring has come.

Overall Best

Golden Kamuy

"Immortal" Sugimoto Saichi is a veteran of the Russo-Japanese war. Before his closest friend died, he promised to provide for his friend's wife, and believes he can do so by uncovering a story of hidden Ainu (Japanese minority) gold hidden somewhere in Hokkaido. Alongside Asirpa, an Ainu girl out for justice, they seek the treasure, survive out the wilderness, and make good food off their fresh hunts.

The series is at once exciting and brutal as Sugimoto and Asirpa rush to recover pieces of the map. Each map owner is a minor story arc unto themselves as they are all broken, bizarre, and violent people, driven by their desires and finding the frozen forests of Hokkaido the perfect place for its expression. Sugimoto and Asirpa are roughed up in terrible ways, especially the former, as each stabbing, bludgeoning, and torture bring home the point that the people we're rooting for are not superhumans and that they  tend to find themselves in over their heads.

In addition, the story is excellent representation of the Ainu people, their culture intertwining with the story and themes. As Sugimoto and Asirpa run around the island, Asirpa becomes the link between Ainu culture and the encroachment of modern Japan. It's an adventure story, assuredly, but it's also a living memory to a people fast disappearing due to time and modernity. Highly recommended.

Best Drama

Gurazeni (Money Pitch)

The series examines the merciless world of data-driven Baseball from the viewpoint of Natsunosuke Bonda, a left-handed relief pitcher for the Jingu Spiders. The entire work is low-key drama, because the undercurrent of anxiety is very subtle and runs through every episode as Bonda and the pros around him realize they could very well be forced out of the profession they worked long and hard to get in.

It's a fascinating sports anime in that it doesn't rely on high emotions and heroic plays for its drama. Instead, it shows what it takes to be a professional and growing into maturity and the humility and hard work needed for the work at hand. Some may argue that Aggretsuko and Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii are supposedly accurate depictions of growing up and taking responsibility, but compared to those, the struggles present here are far more varied and focus more on the job and personal growth than relationships: Joy, sadness, and worry are expressed within timespans as short as baseball games and triumphs replaced by losses within the span of an inning.

Best Comedy

Hinamatsuri

Yoshifumi Nitta is a yakuza for the Ashikawa-gumi, dealing in real estate. Everything was going well for him until a large silver egg dropped on him from out of nowhere. The egg held a girl named Hina who has powerful telekinetic powers. She decides to stay on and mooch off Nitta, much to his dismay and resentment.

The fantastic thing about this comedy is that the world of Nitta was already weird before Hina came into the picture. This is a world where school-age girls become bartenders serving up drinks better than the best bartenders of Ginza, where the yakuza get their lawyer to write up a speech for a student council election and where everyone yells the same words with the same squeaky intonation when they're hurt. It's cleverly written because the stories rarely ever depend on Hina's telekinesis; it plays on the contrasting expectations people have of each other when they interact and the escalation that happens as they go along with the flow of the story, too freaked out to have the wherewithal to clarify and too curious to stop now.

Honorable Mention

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

Kohiruimaki Karen dislikes the fact that she's abnormally tall for a girl. On the suggestion of a friend, she decides to deal with this issue by joining an online virtual reality game called Gun Gale Online. There, she gets to play an avatar with her ideal body form: a short, petite girl wielding a short, petite, weapon, the FN P90. She expresses a unique affinity for the game, being well known in the community for being a skillful player-killer.

Except for a few episodes which act as cool-down between action set-pieces, the bulk is exceptionally entertaining tactical action. The characters ascertain the distance of hostiles and weapon type by their sound, they plan and adapt depending on their location and remaining resources, and they intelligently use and abuse the rules set by the game to get ahead of the competition. Victory isn't achieved by cutesy platitudes and super-cool moves, but by cleverness, thoughtfulness, and a bloodthirsty desire to win.

As divisive as Sword Art Online is, you can dive right in without any knowledge of the original series. Whereas SAO was epic(relatively speaking) in its scope of trying to survive alongside 10,000 other people trapped in a game world, the story here is much more personal, which starts with Karen working out her height issues and ends with her trying to save one single life.

Best Fantasy/ Sci-Fi

Hisone to Masotan

Amakasu Hisone had sleepwalked through most of her life, hoping to someday be able to do something that nobody else can. She ends up in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force with a desk job until one day, she becomes chosen to become a dragon's pilot.

In terms of story and tone, it has a definite point where it can be halved. The change isn't jarring, but you're left to wonder why things weren't foreshadowed well enough. The first half is told as slice of life and magical realism, as Amakasu opens up to her destiny and the daily work of becoming closer to her dragon, Masotan, dealing with people with a stake in the fulfillment of her duties, and her tendency to speak without tact which tends to offend people.

The second half kicks it up a gear and a half as it moves on to folklore, mysticism, and spirituality, as the purpose of the dragons is revealed, tragedy is met, and Amakasu is forced to wake up in service to her future self and the future of Japan. It's not very exciting action-wise (except until the last episodes), but it is very moving, as Amakasu shows a willingness to change, but with a tendency to be ignorant about what to change in the first place. She is groggy, stumbling to growth, challenge, and finally, love.

Best Cute Girl Anime

Comic Girls

Kaoruko Moeta is in a creative slump. Her editor sees potential in this 4-panel comic artist, so she sends Moeta to a dormitory in the company of other Manga artists in the hopes of honing her storytelling and helping her overcome her shyness.

As with most Cute Girls Doing Cute Things (CGDCT) anime, the tone is cozy, the conflicts light and minor and the plotting is thin, so most of the weight is carried by the strength of the characters and the little idiosyncrasies they exhibit that prevent them from becoming too stereotypical.

Is this case, what the characters write and draw often reflects their character. One creates a serialized shonen manga, so she is driven, masculine, and unable to get into girlish things. Another creates teens love manga and erotica so she is elegant, the straight man, and deeply embarrassed for herself. The third writes shonen manga so she fashionable, energetic, and drawn to strong feelings. Moeta writes comedy, and is often the punchline for the episode's plots: Her story pitches keep getting rejected, she is shy and deeply self-deprecating and for some reason, enjoys being doted on by older, mature women.

As someone who draws and writes, I may be a little biased, but I do appreciate anime that explores the lives of creatives (Barakamon and Sore ga Seiyuu! come to mind) and the anime does a decent job of exploring the madness of creation with a dash of cuteness. There is even a layer of bittersweetness via a second set of characters that used to create manga but had to leave it because of real life. A professional manga career may be out of the question, but they're living lives driven by creating and creativity as a little reward for their daring.

Best Girl

Asirpa, Golden Kamuy

Born of the Ainu, and experienced in the hunt, Asirpa is Sugimoto's partner as they run around Hokkaido collecting the maps to a secret hoard of gold that was stolen from the Ainu. Growing up with her father in the wilderness, she never stayed with her family, preferring to stay out for long swathes of time, hunting animals, and providing for her tribe in her own way.

The cruelty of the wilderness and nature hardened her by having her aware of the constant possibility of losing the people and things she cares about. She puts up a front when she needs to, but drops it when Sugimoto and family offer their hand in kindness.

With a fine hunt, knowledge that she is loved, and good food, the deep part of her soul bubbles out and rounds out a strong and compelling character.

Best OP

Rie Murakawa – Distance, Hinamatsuri

TV size - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St2HefvqnxY

Full size - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riX7EKXSoBQ

If you've ever seen the intro to Puella Magi Magoka Magica, you can tell how extremely deceptive it was by using bright colors, quirkiness, and a cheerful song to hide an anime that explores magical girls as torment and psychological horror. The opening to Hinamtusuri is also extremely deceptive, however, with the intent of comedy, because as straight-faced as the opening song is about yearning and memories, the drama is never as serious the opening makes it out to be. Sure, you'd see the characters staring out with uncertainty and three consecutive scenes of characters crying, but the stories these scenes talk place are played out for laughs. The opening gains even more potency a few episodes in as you get a taste for the series' style and you begin to realize how effective the opening is at being utterly ridiculous.

Best ED

D-Pai – Le Temps de la Rentrée (cover of France Gall's original), Hisone to Masotan

D-Pai version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgKs3F2NB9w

France Gall original - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBi_Dr_QdaI

The visuals are very simple on this one, which are counted to three:

The female leads of Hisone to Masotan dancing about as if they were still in High School and things were still awkward with the opposite sex.

Quick close up rotations of the various airplanes that the dragons take shape.

Extreme closeups of each female lead during the bridges of the song.

Otherwise I'm picking this one because of the voice actor's perfect rendition of Le Temps de la Rentrée by France Gall. It's unique joy to hear a French song in an anime. It sets them apart from the rest, especially if it is as jazzy and ebullient as this one.

#golden kamuy #gurazeni #hinamatsuri #sword art online alternative: gun gale online #hisone to masotan #anime awards #my recommendations

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Kelly Clarkson's Retro, Uplifting Dream of Unity

New Post has been published on http://usnewsaggregator.com/kelly-clarksons-retro-uplifting-dream-of-unity/

Kelly Clarkson's Retro, Uplifting Dream of Unity

Hillary Clinton’s recent memoir What Happened opens with a quote: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” It’s attributed to “Friedrich Nietzsche (and Kelly Clarkson).” When she learned of this citation, Clarkson, a Clinton supporter in the 2016 election, responded online with a “Yaaaasssss!,” a string of emojis, and a new hashtag: #philosophergoals.

Clarkson is one of many pop belters in a mutual-admiration society with the first female presidential nominee for a major party. But from some angles—or perhaps from the vantage point of Clarkson’s breakout year, 2002—it’s odd that such an entertainer would be so publicly tied with a partisan figure. The first American Idol winner once represented the belief that the nation is, well, one nation: united in Tuesday night TV viewing and an appreciation for Etta James’s “At Last,” if nothing else. Listening to her new album, Meaning of Life, raises the question of what’s changed—Clarkson and artists like her, or the country?

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When American Idol wrapped last year, critics mourned both it and the “monoculture” it represented. Though the oft-cited notion that it attracted more votes than the presidential election is a bit of a myth, the series held the No. 1 spot in TV rankings for more years than any other show in history. A Texan and former waitress with a big voice, Clarkson has been branded with the assumption-laden, racially blinkered, but still-potent label of “everywoman.” She even turned out to have a bipartisan sensibility: In the years since her victory, you could find her supporting not only Clinton and Barack Obama but, in 2012, also Ron Paul.

Idol’s slowly cratering ratings over the years were attributed to viewer burnout and competition from other competitions, but also the general atomization of the viewing public in the age of infinite content. With YouTube and Netflix and presidential tweets competing for attention, it’ll be rare to see any non-sports program again reach the 38.1 million people that the Season 2 finale did. As time went on, the show revealed a preference for southern and male performers, and surveys found that American Idol’s viewership skewed Republican.

Clarkson’s 15-year career has been defined both by monster hits and by a public struggle with the media-manipulation industry that Idol represented. She chafed under the direction of the record exec Clive Davis. She swore off Dr. Luke, the hitmaker and accused abuser. She fired back at body-shamers on social media. And she now isn’t mincing words about reaching the end of the record contract she signed with RCA through Idol. Meaning of Life, being released on Atlantic Records, she has said, represents the conclusion of an “arranged marriage.”

The most obvious way to read her narrative—as she has presented it, time and again in song—is as one of resilience and individuality. Who can’t relate? But through other lenses, you see a feminist struggle. You see a fight against corporate control. You see a battle against bullies. You see a mascot for decency. Is that unifying in 2017?

***

Meaning of Life’s final song, “Go High,” lifts from Michelle Obama’s speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention for its chorus: “when you go low / I go high.” It’s the only news-referencing moment on the album, and the sound of the song is also the album’s most au courant. Over a door-rattling electronic bass pulse and dreamy finger snaps, the chorus sees vocal manipulation stretching the word “high” past the upper edges of Clarkson’s considerable range, as if she’s huffing helium. Clarkson wields the former First Lady’s slogan as neutrally as possible, singing only of being strong, taking the high road, and standing for something. Which is a familiar pop maneuver: See Fifth Harmony’s recent album closer, with its call to build “bridges, not walls” in a strictly inspirational sense.

The rest of Meaning of Life has Clarkson returning to the same theme that’s powered hits like “Miss Independent,” “Because of You,” “Since U Been Gone,” and “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).” Over and over, she kisses off some power-imbalanced relationship and searches for a more satisfying connection. Often, she’s trying to coax a less-than-enthusiastic partner into doing better. “Remember not long ago you called me hysterical?” she asks on the stuttering highlight “Didn’t I.” “I finally figured us out my fire was hot enough to burn on for the both of us.”

But musically, there is a slight shift. Her eighth studio album is her first since leaving RCA, and she has said it’s the album she’s always wanted to make: one that answers the question, as she put it to The New York Times, “What if Aretha was born now and made a record today?” The majesty implied by such a comparison isn’t here, but you do hear what she and her team were going for: plinking piano and swaying horns (from Earth, Wind, & Fire themselves on two songs); electronic percussion and some structural features drawn from hip-hop; and plenty of big, dramatic bridges for Clarkson to make like she’s serenading Paula Abdul in 2002.

This retro-filtered peppiness and passion isn’t quite the profitable fad in pop lately. But it is a sound that female stars have adopted to a surprising extent lately, whether by enlisting the Dap-Kings (Kesha) or Mark Ronson (Lady Gaga). Demi Lovato’s new album is much in the vein of Meaning of Life, too, but with slightly more radio savvy. The swerve back to soul for these women comes off as both an aesthetic and ideological reply to a charts landscape ruled by heavily processed, rap-inflected male voices. For Clarkson in particular, it makes sense: “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” was always her perfect mission statement, simultaneously defiant and traditional. And nothing courts a mass adult audience like reminders of the classics.

Songs like “Whole Lotta Woman,” a Tina Turner–referencing stompalong, do verge on the edge of feeling like costume play—but Clarkson connects the revival-church sound to her biography, playing up her Texan bona fides. The outro is fascinating, mutating into a trap breakdown but with women singing that style’s “hey” rhythm like doo-wop. On the lead single “Love So Soft,” she similarly rotates between shimmy-worthy verses from the Amy Winehouse school and a robotic, pop-and-lock chorus. It’s an odd brew, and nothing sticks with the force of Clarkson’s greatest hits, but her diehards should be charmed.

Yet is there still a presumed casual listener, an American Idol arena, for Clarkson to court? Her album sales have fallen (from 1.1 million units for 2011’s Stronger to less than 300,000 for 2015’s Piece by Piece)—but that’s not at all shocking in the context of the decline of album sales in general. As much-discussed, this year’s pop charts seem newly indifferent to big female voices like hers, and the notion of an entertainer who can cross the country’s cultural divides is ever-more elusive. At a time when the president is calling on followers to boycott plays, TV networks, and professional sports for protesting him, Clarkson’s dabbling with the Democrats may be disqualifying for some. Online and in interviews, she’s made clear she’s unconcerned with alienating listeners with her opinions.

Some big-tent pop attempts from Clarkson’s contemporaries, like Katy Perry, have flopped—possibly for some of the reasons mentioned above, or possibly just because they aren’t making the caliber of music they used to. The onetime unifier Taylor Swift seems set on dividing her potential listenership into camps of friends and rivals with her barbed new material. Beyonce’s output has gotten ever-more daring and ever-more controversial. One exception is Pink, the hitmaking stalwart with a surprising amount in common with Clarkson—including in her balancing of outspoken persona with crowdpleasing songs. Her new record, Beautiful Trauma, just debuted with the highest sales numbers since the last album by Drake, who’s the exemplar of the kind of artist edging out radio-owning divas.

Clarkson hasn’t generated any big hits off her new material yet, but there’s still potential. Take the schmaltzy standout “Move You,” which calmly and methodically insists on being added to the canon of newlywed first-dance tracks. Over clean organ lines, Clarkson strings together lump-in-the-throat phrases: She wants to move you “like the first time that you listen to your favorite singer live” or “like the home that you were raised in.” In the third verse, the arrangement falls out for an acoustic-guitar interlude, and Clarkson describes “a soldier who is fallin’ as he holds his country’s flag and he fights for freedom’s callin’.” At a moment when arguments over what constitutes “respecting the troops” are newly tense, the line might read as a sop to the red states. But Clarkson’s salute, like her call to  “go high,” is only politically fraught if the listener makes it so. Pop’s great dream of uplift for everyone is still alive—if anyone wants it.

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#clarkson #dream #kelly #retro #unity #uplifting