Overheard Fourteen

Town Hall Station
50s Female Canvasser - What's wrong? We're not telemarketers. We're not telemarketers! It's free!

In Hospital Waiting Room
Wife [touches husband's arm while waiting to go into surgery] - Look at you, my big, strong, dependable man.
Husband [smiles]

On Darlinghurst Rd
Policeman - We're gonna place you under arrest orright?!

最終兵器彼女 - She; The Ultimate Weapon

The most involving thing about this anime, which I think the creators knew when they made it, is the setting and characters. It was my first glimpse into regional Japan and one I didn't fully understand, but which still colours my opinion of anime. I don't really know much about Hokkaido apart from that it's cold and you eat seafood there, and this insular story, while expanding across the world with Chise's (the ultimate weapon of the title) continued battles, shows a region similar to the rest of Japan, but isolated, somewhat how I imagine Okinawa to be.

Similarly, it is in the tiny moments of pain that the supporting cast feel that the beauty of the story can really be seen. I recall one episode in which an army attacks the town Chise is from and as she defends against it in the sky, destruction rains down on the city, resulting in the death of one of her friends, Atsushi, and the devastation of her other friend who was in love with him. This humanity offset against Chise's doggedness to destroy the enemy illustrate the horror of her situation more than any rendering of her mechanical insides could ever do.



Chise's weaponry is possibly the most jarring aspect of the piece. It's hard to reconcile its destructive power and size with Chise's tiny frame and seeming consideration of herself as insignificant. In the live-action film, her weaponry is much more realized than in the anime, which grounds it a little more, however, in terms of the anime, it actually is more effective that it is this oddly ephemeral presence in their lives.


Heartbreaking. The subtitle to the series being 'the last love song on this little planet' sets it up for angst, but it delivers so much more than that, with a poignant, quietly horrific end that, upon reflection is utterly unavoidable.

Hair Britney

Hair Britney, originally uploaded by shadowadrik.

ちょびっツ - Chobits

So my dogma failed for the first time today, when every photo was basically the same photo for Chobits. I have decided to expand it to include any variations on the name of the anime, as long as the images are on the first page still.

Underpants. Underpants. Underpants. When I first watched Chobits, I had painstakingly downloaded each episode individually over Limewire and subsequently watched some episodes in Japanese and some in *shudder* English. One of those was a marvelous one in which Chi goes out to buy underpants and learns the word underpants, and ONLY the word underpants. I suspect this, coupled with the fact that her 'on' button was her vag-wah-wah, was my first glimpse into the somewhat seamier side of Japanese animation (something recently hammered home in Kiddy girl-and with an adult male character named 'Peddy' interested in a six year old girl). I can still hear Chi's dubbed voice singing out 'underpants, underpants' and 'take care of yourself' and other misguided translations of distinctly Japanese things.


First of all, I have no idea who Ivan is, or when his birthday is, but I loved this about Chobits. The ancient televisions and computer systems that they used were completely at odds with the sophisticated cyborgs that everyone seemed to have. I was disappointed with the 'dead-eye' animation, particularly when they log on or recharge, but in hindsight, it was somewhat comforting. I found the whole series quite homely and safe, even with the introduction of spies and evil 'dark' versions of Chi, it retained a very innocent core which I suppose was the point of the whole thing, it could be seen from an individual basis regarding Chi, or as an allegory for Japan or even (far-fetched) the world.


I finally purchased the damn thing on pirated DVDs from Chinatown or eBay, I can't recall which, when Limewire crashed completely. And this was the cover. All frills and hair (which was never as beautiful in the actual anime) and sitting on a telegraph pole. When I look out my window now, all I can see are the tops of trees and rooftops, but in Japan, there are telegraph poles and more wires than you can imagine, so retrospectively, as I watched this prior to moving to Japan, this reminds me very strongly of Japan.

十二国記 - Twelve Kingdoms

I wanted to use this picture because I crushed heavily on En-Ou but I thought it might be inappropriate and all I can really say about that picture is that while I appreciate (very much) the sentiment, it really looks nothing like Shouryuu.

So here goes.

Suzu was the character I related to the most. Obviously, not the 100 years worth of servitude to an evil immortal woman (the immortal, Sen-nin factor bothered me a little, I mean, there were so many useless Sen-nin, perhaps that was one of the points it was trying to make), but in her struggle to mature into a person who doesn't live their life feeling sorry for herself, and stops putting herself in situations where she can be pitied and seen as the victim. Of course, Shoukei and Youko are pivotal (to a point) in proving this to her, but it is her own strength of will that inspires her to live her life instead of wallowing in the pain of the past.

Every Japanese schoolgirl's dream is to become a great warrior. At least, if anime is to be believed, and I think it is. Conveniently being transported to a different world where your body changes to mimic the popular styles of Japan at the time, Youko embodies a lot of what people hate about themselves. Initially, she's pathetic, running and giving up at every turn, but over (a long) time, she sees the worst of the world, she's forced to become, no, to embrace being a monster in a lot of ways, but comes out as a ruler among rulers, and someone worthy of having watched the series for. She resonates strength and gives hope to her people, and the people who see their worst in her, that there is a future for them similarly worth fighting for.

The biggest problem with Juuni Kokuki is that it remains unfinished. And that, due to being a relatively old series, seems set to stay that way. Taiki's arc is testament to that. While it does conclude, there is a great deal of scope, and indeed set-up for continuation. It merges the stories of Yuka and Taiki and past and present, yet doesn't pay off to a satisfying degree. So much rides on the back of the black Kirin, legends of good fortune, the Kingdom of Tai which is falling into ruins in his absence and the missing King, however all we are given is a vague idea that something happened to put things this way.

As a side note, his nyokai, Sanshi is a monster. She is terrifying and nurturing and one of the most alien aspects of the new world. She encapsulates the complete foreign-ness of it and accentuates the feeling of the Kaikyaku in a land in which they do not belong and cannot escape from. The Kaikyaku remind me of being a gaijin in Japan. You can't speak the language, people look down on you and sometimes treat you as less than a human being and generally, life is relatively harder than for a Japanese person. I imagine this is the same anywhere you move where the circumstances are similar, however I found it intriguing that this sort of story came from a monoculture such as Japan.

新世紀エヴァンゲリオン - Neon Genesis Evangelion

I'm nervous writing this.

I want to write about Neon Genesis Evangelion. I want to talk educatedly about how it began and offer some sort of insight into its ongoing popularity all over the world. I want to break down each character and explain why I personally respond to each and every one of them. But I already know all that. And if you care, you can check out the wiki, cause all the boring stuff is already done.

Instead, I'm going to go to Google to type in the anime of choice, then I'm going to select three pictures, post them here and explain what they mean to me and the anime*.

The cast, in cosplay. Rei in centre stage, as the constantly cloned, constantly replaced figurehead of the Evangelion project, she is profoundly damaged and for some reason the poster-girl for the series. Is being a clone really as bad as complete abandonment by your family, suicidal tendencies, depression, conscription, becoming a public figure of hate as a teenager? Are the trials gone through by Asuka and Shinji lesser than Rei's because she's not treated as a human being? Or am I more sympathetic because I can't relate to being a clone, but I can relate to Shinji riding the train in a loop, incapable of moving from where he's fallen? Or Asuka starving and abandoned, without reason to go on? Or the fact that they both fight so hard for what they want, for what they feel is noble, and both get shot down again and again and keep getting back up? Or is it that ultimately, some of us are destined to fail, no matter how hard we try, but Rei gets to try again and again and again?

Robot/Angel battles. Epic.

Asuka. Fan art is so naked. Asuka unravelling into curls and butterflies? Yes, she falls apart. Yes, it's touching, it's painful, it's you fucking better hope you never go through anything like it, but it is not curls and butterflies. And she is worth more than this casual rendering of her pain.

*Dogma

Overheard Thirteen

At St Andrews Cathedral Square

40ish Businessman On Phone* - I was like, fine, sell it, give her half and she can fuckin' put it in trust. See what the fuckin' little bitch has to fuckin' say about that.

40ish Businessman On Phone* - I'm fuckin' strong man, like 80 kay gees, or 120 kay gees. Man, that guy can deadlift 190 kay gees, bends the bar. He's built like me but I reckon he's on the juice.

40ish Businessman On Phone* - She's 20 man, she's madly in love with me, I mean, she wants to have kids you know. She's been like 'cum in me, cum in me' all the time.

*same man, same conversation

Watermelon Jack-O-Lantern

Watermelon Jack-O-Lantern, originally uploaded by shadowadrik.

New Directions

I ‘publish’ work in various places on this Internet. I have my secrets, which arguably are no longer secrets. I have a shared blog with the lovely Kyrani in which we voice our frustration at the world. I have also split this blog into a number of sub-blogs if you will, about my life and how ‘fantastic’ it is, about eavesdropping on my fellow human beings, and about travel.

It’s confusing and messy, but with a vague order that I, at least, understand. And I’ve decided to add another facet to it. You see, I watch anime. A lot of anime. And no-one else I know watches the same amount as me, nor is as passionate (read:otaku) about it as me. Therefore I will be reviewing it retrospectively at first, and then as I watch, in order that my views will be somewhere (though arguably the Internet is ‘nowhere’) and anyone who feels the same burning desperation to discuss them can do so with me.

And yes, that's a Glee reference.

Overheard Twelve

On Elizabeth St
Drunk Man 1 - I wanna urinate! I wanna urinate!
Drunk Man 2 - Urinate on me dickhead!
Both [laugh]

On The Bus
American Girl 1 - I didn't gain any weight in freshman year.
American Girl 2 - I haven't gained any weight either.
American Girl 1 - I think it's all the grad parties.

Outside The Beauchamp
Girl - That's hectic. [pause] That's heaps hectic.