Superpowers, Comedy, Death and the Future - The Legend of Korra, Book3: Change

I would like to talk about a lot of big issues topics that are within Korra and in fact Aang’s series too, but I feel that this would be best done after Book 4 as I am sure we will see conclusions to Korra’s feeling of inadequacy and questioning herself as the Avatar. So I will leave this topic and another bigger topic for after next year’s season but I do want to discuss some other more sudden trends that only really appeared this season, as well as what could possibly happen next year.

Nice Fanart of Team Avatar: http://www.ronchan.net/wordpress/?p=631

The first point I wanted to bring up was the seemingly overpowered villians and even heroes. Compared to Aang’s series and even the first two seasons of Korra, the heroes in this Book, Book 3, seem much more powerful and gifted than ever before. This is usually the case with Shounen anime as in order to keep the series exciting more powerful enemies are made up and eventually it gets over the top. However, unlike most Shounen anime (like DBZ) Korra’s enemies and friends don’t seem unrealistic and out of believability within the universe. There is no power level to compare them to old characters and all their “new” special powers are firmly grounded as possible. First we have P’li who has the same power as Combustion man, so not all that novel. The magma bender Ghazan is something new to the main narrative but we did see flashbacks of past avatars (albeit fire benders) who could bend lava out of a volcano. Likewise Zaheer’s ability is tied all the time to Guru Laghima. Last we have Ming Hua, whose ability to bend water, without moving her arms (as she has none) is not new at all. The only reason she is so powerful as she has learnt to rely on the water for other things (such as driving a car) so she has become more familiar with it and is thus very powerful. Thus I liked how the villians were (arguably) stronger than past villians but their powers did not defy the realms of plausibility with the universe.

The new antagonists are definitely stronger than past benders but they are not outrageously strong: http://aer-dna.deviantart.com/art/Book-3-Change-474422776

I also liked how the villians’ motives went back to being more morally ambigious that Book 2, but I shall discuss this in a later post. However, one character development I did not really care for was Bolin’s. He started off looking promising, as he started to show development with his family ties, love interests and his bending abilities (or lack thereof in not being able to metalbend). However, as the season progressed he has turned into more of a comedy relief figure than anything else, and it is a little upsetting. This was typified in the final two episodes where his development as a lava bending was overshadowed by his obsession with silly bird calls and his relationship with Opal was overshadowed by him pushing Suyin out of the way to hug her. Shounen anime usually have this sort of silly, over the top, humour only character, such as Usopp in One Piece. However the difference is all humour isn’t reliant on this one particular character. Luffy, Zoro, Sanji all have their moments. Admittedly in Korra there was an attempt at humour with Kai, Varrick and the animals but this was about it from outside Bolin. The other main members of Team Avatar show little in the way of comedy. When one character alone is left to provide all the comedy relief that character gets devalued too much. In Aang’s series, yes Sokka was the comedy bringer, but he also had growth because his character did not have to bring all the jokes, Toph was notably very funny too, as was Aang with Katara. However, Bolin has been left to man the ship alone and it is too much, it means his character is not advanced or sympathized with enough. He has become a clown, a disappointing clown.

Bolin is getting funnier and funnier but unfortunately less deep as well. http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/images/34842834/title/bolin-fanart

Another point that The Legend of Korra seems to have missed out on potentially when bringing "the feels" is death. Now The Legend of Korra is much darker than Aang’s series and death is certainly more prominent in new series. The whole struggle for Aang was how he could defeat the fire nation and the Fire Lord without killing him (taking away his bending turned out to be the answer). Korra’s enemies are much more prone to death it seems. Amon and Tarrlok both died in the first season and when Korra defeated and purified Unavaatu she killed Unalaq in the process. I have no problems with these deaths, the same as I have no problems with the deaths of P’li, Ghazan and Mung Hua in the most recent season. I have two problems. First, but least important, is how the deaths are shown. They are usually unclear, such as with Ghazan and Mung Hua, we can only assume they died and did not escape the collapsing cavern and base this on Ghazan saying he never wants to go back to prison. So too when P’li blows herself up the only way we can assume she did so is the smoke in the background and Zaheer’s reaction that allows him to fly (having let go of his last earthly tie). There is no explosion noise or anything. I am not saying we need to see the corpses but the writers could be a little clearer. The same with Amon and Tarrlok’s death/suicide, we can only assume the explosion killed them. It is hard to truly realize if these deaths happen to such extraordinarily tough enemies that can put up such a fight against the Avatar. Compare this to the fairly weak Earth Queen who is killed on camera and then proclaimed by Zaheer to have been killed numerous times.

P’li’s death was vital to Zaheer’s ascension but it was somewhat unclear from how it was told: http://mi627.deviantart.com/art/Lok-zaheer-and-p-li-474856565

The second point I want to raise about death and Book 3 of The Legend of Korra is heroic death. We have yet to see a hero die but the amount of times they are saved miraculously. We have Kai shot down by P’li and falls down to his “death", after he tries to distract her as the other airbenders try to escape. However he is caught by a branch and saved by his baby air-bison. Then we have Tenzin who gets the best of Zaheer in their one on one fight, but is injured when P’li, Ghazan and Mung Hua enter the fray. Fairly injured, with one arm out of action and bruises on his face, Tenzin says he will not give up whilst he is still breathing and is then beaten (screaming) even more by Zaheer. Like Kai, Korra’s father is left to fall to his death this time after he pushed over the side (without any water to help him) in his fight with Zaheer. However, Tonraq is caught by Kuvira (who I will talk about soon) and survives to see his daughter again. Could one of these or more have died? Kai probably should not because he is young, a love interest for Jinora and he is needed to find out where Zaheer is keeping the other airbenders. However, in contrast to this both Tenzin and Tonraq are older and the story would have gained much more emotion from having one if not both of them dying. Tenzin dying would have just brought more of Zaheer’s balance, or chaos rather, to the world. It also would have meant that Korra’s feeling of failure would have been much greater and Jinora ascension to airbending master would have been gained a new deeper meaning. So too if Tonraq died the world would have been thrown into more chaos with another world leader dying (Zaheer notably says to greet the Earth Queen for him) and it would have been hugely significant for Korra’s self-esteem if she couldn’t have saved her father. Unless these characters play a main role in the final book then I think either Tenzin and Tonraq (or both of them) should have been killed for greater meaning and a deeper emotion reaction to the final two episodes.

The series doesn’t benefit from losing Kai but Tenzin and Tonraq could be killed and the emotional impact would be greater on Korra: http://rebloggy.com/post/my-art-fanart-avatar-kai-legend-of-korra-the-legend-of-korra-lok-avatar-the-lege/91765901164

As I said Tonraq is saved not by some random metalbender, but by Kuvira who then introduces herself by name to the audience and the other characters. This is strange as she only does this in the second to last episode of the season, obviously as a set-up for the next Book. This has left a lot of questions open. Who is Kuvira? She is obviously a member of the metal clan as she is seen and talks in other episodes and seems to be close to Suyin, being a high ranking guard of Zaofu and part of Suyin’s dance troupe. So will Kuvira be a villain? Perhaps. Is she part of the Red Lotus? Maybe. Notably there was Red Lotus music playing when she introduced herself. The reason I point out her connection to Suyin is how very good Suyin is. Yes Suyin showed some flaws in her family relationship, especially with her daughter Opal (and keeping her in Zaofu) and obviously with her sister Lin Beifong. However, other than this Suyin has been very good and very supporting of Korra. Compared to Tenzin and Lin, who are always looking to protect Korra from danger and restrict her even as the Avatar, Suyin is very lax about everything and even encourages Korra to go after Zaheer when Lin says they should go back to Republic City. This is not unlike Unalaq who encourages Korra to do dangerous and risky ventures to solve her problems with the spirits when her father Tonraq and Tenzin are against it and want to protect her. Is Suyin going to be the next enemy, and is she in fact part of the Red Lotus? I mean the Red Lotus already have ties to the metal clan with Aiwei. Also in discussing the Earth Queen Suyin says how the Earth Queen is so archaic and how she needs to evolve with the evolving world around her. Suyin doesn’t necessarily say a revolution needs to happen but if we look at her she abandons all the previous lifes (as Toph’s daughter, as a pirate, in the circus etc) she has had in favour for starting a family. This seems sweet unless we realize how Zaheer wanted everyone to just care about themselves and their family. Family love is good, of course, but is Suyin’s a bit too close to Zaheer’s ideal vision for the world? So for the next season it will be interesting to see how Suyin and Kuvira advance. Suyin notably removed the a metal poison from Korra, not Lin. Did she remove all of it (seeing as Korra is still crippled)? I could be totally wrong and Suyin could just be a good guy and Kuvira could just be a love interest for Mako. Who knows, but Suyin isn’t a flawed mentor like Korra’s other mentors and something is definitely suspicious about Kuvira.

Could Suyin Beifong be an antagonist next season? This picture unlikely shows a connection but maybe it does, just Zaheer is a bit too big: http://i.imgur.com/JLeZJ5j.jpg

So there we have it. My small analysis of some selected parts of Book 3 of The Legend of Korra. My thoughts overall it was a great season to watch. It definitely was better for me than Book 2 and had many twists and turns. Some points stood out for me, such as the powers of the villains, the deaths of the antagonists and how heroes were kept alive. The end also made me speculate hugely about the next season, unlike other Books which don’t introduce characters right at the end of the season. I am looking forward to Book 4, not only to see how it joins up with these open ending, but also to see how bigger topics are resolved.

A big topic that needs to be resolved is the balance of good and evil and it seems that Zaheer may have awakened Vaatu within Korra and thus achieved his goal of chaos: http://ambroise-h.deviantart.com/art/The-Original-Balance-WIP-477897316

Totoro’s Dilemma And The Value Of A Good Plot- My Beautiful Girl, Mari and My Neighbor Totoro

A few days ago I watched My Beautiful Girl Mari in my attempt to watch as much Korean anime as possible before I leave the country. Anyway it was animated quite a different way, without outlines for characters or anything really. It was like a moving painting, different indeed but perhaps not my cup of tea. The music was fine sure but overall the film was rather lacklustre and this was due to one thing: the plot, or rather the lack thereof. It suffered from what I like to call the Totoro Dilemma. This is that the story (and characters in terms of writing) are quite unmemorable. In the story of Mari there is a fantasy world, much like Totoro and just like Totoro this sort of fantasy world is set up for nothing really. There is no antagonist and no real conflict whatsoever. This does not necessarily mean a One Piece or other shounen type showdown. It means there is set up but no pay off because there is no struggle to overcome. In Chihiro there is a great conflict of self identity and Ubaba is a great antagonist. The same goes with other Ghibli films like Nausicaa, Laputa, Mononoke, Porco Rosso, Arreitty and so on. Even The Cat Returns and Pom Poko and have more memorable plotlines than Totoro.

My Beautiful Girl Mari poster.

Anyway Mari sets up this fantastical world and takes a while to sort of establish its parameters. It takes most of the movie to figure out things like how exactly to get to the world, via the lighthouse with the magical stone, and whether or not it is real or just a dream. But then the movie does very little with it. What I mean is that in the last few moments of the film they try to create this sort of drama or conflict with the storm threatening the town's fishermen, with a special emphasis on the father of the protagonist's best friend. However, this problem is set up all too quickly, there is no real feeling of threat or danger like there could be. I mean there are undertones, like the boy's real father passing away and the fact the lighthouse (or rather the portal place) is being closed down. If the set up to the problem was too quick the solution was achieved at near enough to light speed. Everything is over too quick and nothing really had any tension mainly because the characters are hard to connect to. Likewise with Totoro there is no tension. Yes we feel something for the characters but the problem itself (the girl getting lost or running away) is rather halfheartedly attempted. Again it is too quickly set up with the girl suddenly deciding she wants to give some corn to her sick mother and the community not being able to find her. Tension is not built up in this process, we know the wee girl is fine even when a sandal is found in the river. And again it is solved even faster. Totoro calls the Catbus and they find the missing sister. The majority of the film is spent setting up the parameters of Totoro and his friends. 

The Catbus is the solution for My Neighbor Totoro: http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/326/5/7/neko_busu_yatte_kita___tonari_no_totoro_fan_art_by_studiomuku-d4l6jxw.jpg

In these films it's not so much that conflict is absent it's that conflict and tension is not fully attempted. "Slice of life" films, like Totoro and Mari (which are essentially slice of life with fantasy elements entwined) do not require cosmic battles to create tension. But they still need conflict to be memorable. The Cat Returns is a good example of this. It is essentially the same, a real life world with a hidden fantasy world behind it. Also the consequences are not hugely substantial for humanity as a whole but there is conflict and tension. However, a problem is set up early and this is what drives the film. Such a problem not only drives the film but also allows for strong characters with vivid personalities. The playful girls of Totoro and the boys in Mari are nothing compared to the Baron. We only need to look at Mamoru Hosoda’s three films (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars and The Wolf Children) to show how conflict and struggle can drive a film beyond the fantasy (or sci-fi) world it creates and make it into a truly great film. In other words conflict or tension, something that has creates a meaningful, struggle I would argue is necessary if one hopes to create a truly memorable film.

The fantasy world of My Beautiful Girl, Mari.

I will say though that Totoro is still an enjoyable watch and worth the time. Obviously Totoro is not supposed to be filled with an evil antagonist. It is a film aimed at a young audience. Reviews give Totoro such a good score because of its humorous and touching look at life and how the girls experience everything. One reviewer said it showed how you don't need conflict to show a fun journey, just as another reviewer said it had a “vapid” plot (see the links below). It is enjoyable to watch for the way it portrays life and all its ups and downs but at the same time it does not really tell a great story. Sure this makes for an entertaining few hours at the time but it really doesn't leave you with anything memorable. Yes Totoro is remembered but for the film itself? No it is for the character design and the fantasy world created by Miyazaki, not the intriguing and interesting story, for there is none really. The music is remarkable too. On the other hand Mari will not really be remembered for its story lacks any meaningful conflict and, unlike Totoro, its fantasy world is both brief and unmemorable. The characters have a very limited interaction with the fantasy world creatures. The art is also strange compared to traditional 2D animation and overall it just doesn’t have that Ghibli magic that Totoro has, that thing that you can’t explain but it just draws you into the movie. So when I was watching it I needed some story, some plot, some conflict or struggle but in the end I was left without this from Mari too. There is some reconciliation though. My Beautiful Girl Mari does explore how Nam-woo matures through his journeys into the fantasy word in an attempt to get through how both his best friend, Jun-ho, is leaving him to study in the big city (Seoul) and his widowed mother is leaving him for the affections of a new lover. So again like Totoro there is a journey within oneself (as the sisters Satsuki and Mei must deal with their mother’s illness and father’s work) but the lack of conflict or real struggle makes the journey not so memorable. Again I would point back to Mamoru Hosoda’s films as a good example.

There are many pieces of fanart, such as this one, that look to emulate the feeling that Totoro (the film) exuded: https://studentpages.scad.edu/~thdoan20/dpwg/fanart.html

When teaching English I must obviously teach kids how to write. Along with essays and letters, I must teach kids how to write stories, not long ones but stories nonetheless. Anyway I always say the best stories are made up of 4 parts: beginning, problem, solution and ending. The longer and more detailed one can make the problem the better, because when this happens the audience (reader or viewer) becomes more invested in the characters and their situations. However, Mari and Totoro spend too long on what I would classify as the beginning. They spend too much time setting up characters and the fantasy world they live in and not enough time in the problem phase of their stories. I mean how interesting would Lord of the Rings be if over half the series was just establishing who each character was, even without thought of the ring and the need for its destruction. How interesting would Harry Potter be if the first four books were completely devoid of Voldemort and his minions, and it was just the kids playing around in a magical world? Yes creating a fantasy world is impressive but establishing a worthwhile problem is what truly makes a movie's story great. Unfortunately Totoro and Mari do create interesting fantasy worlds and explore human growth but do not produce a memorable story to give value to either of these aspects. 

Totoro creates a great image of the life of the girls but it fails to tell a great story: http://www.zerochan.net/780322#full

Links:

My Beautiful Girl, Mari

http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=1187

http://myanimelist.net/anime/2133/Mari_Iyagi

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5384

My Neighbor Totoro

http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=303

http://myanimelist.net/anime/523/Tonari_no_Totoro

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=534

The reviews:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-my-neighbor-totoro-1993

http://variety.com/1993/digital/reviews/my-neighbor-totoro-1200432299/

What’s In A Title? – Broken Blade (6 films and 2014 TV Series)

Broken Blade (or in Engrish Break Blade) was a series of 6 fifty minute films that have been adapted into 12 episode long TV Series. They are basically the same with one added scene to the TV Series and the pace generally sped up in the newest adaption too. The plot is centered around a boy named Rygart. He lives in the continent of Cruzon, where people are magically able to use quartz for whatever purpose they desire. However, he cannot do this; he is a rare one in a thousand years “un-sorcerer”. With war impending between his homeland Krisna and that of an invading nation Athens, Rygart, who has lived in seclusion because of his lack of magic, is asked to come to the capital by his old friend King Hodr to investigate an ancient golem (mech). The reason being that Rygart is unable to use quartz, however, this golem seemingly doesn’t require it and this allows him, and him alone, to pilot this piece of old yet more advanced and stronger machinery. The story then revolves around his struggles to end the war in his new golem. On the head of this golem (named Delphine) is a broken blade, hence the name of the title. This broken blade becomes a symbol for one of the messages of the film, namely that we should fight destiny.

The golem that has the broken blade on its head: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Black-Golem-285754774

The Broken Blade is very symbolic of both Rygart and the golem he pilots. Both are underestimated for their abilities or rather lack thereof. Just as a broken blade is considered non-functional anymore (or at least inferior) so too Rygart and Delphine are considered inferior to the point of nonfunctional in their surroundings. Rygart is underestimated because he un-sorcerer and thus cannot active any normal machinery, like the normal golems or the other forms of transportation. He cannot even fire a gun. Likewise Delphine is also underestimated because of the fact it is such an ancient piece of machine. It is thought of as obsolete as it is an ancient machine, being over 1000 years old and known as the Under-Golem. It requires long cool-down times after it is used for a certain time and like Rygart cannot use weapons like pressure-guns. However, when it is examined further its true strength becomes apparent. Most notably when its armor is examined by Queen Sigyn an inscription is found and this says to “resist your fate”, which can of course be phrased in many ways. In fact this idea becomes very important to the message and is displayed in many ways throughout the films (or TV Series).   

The inscription that gives the film its message.

First and foremost this is applied to Rygart and his golem, the broken blades themselves. At the same time as being dysfunctional they are unique and this uniqueness allows them to arise above their obstacles. Rygart’s uniqueness allows him to be recognized as human by Delphine, and not as some unspecified living thing (like quartz users). Rygart is underestimated by his allies who learn of his origins by all the enemies he fights because of his fighting style. However, both his allies and enemies come to realize that he is really a force to be reckoned with because he is willing to resist his fate. He trains hard and impresses his kinsmen. The enemies that thought he was useless at fighting realize his strength too. Notably the general of Athens, Borcuse, mocks Rygart for his fighting style at first but then in the final battle he realises there is something more, something unique and unpredictable about the pilot, and that this leads to his victory. Of course Rygart wins and he thus conquers his fate. Likewise Delphine is at first underestimated. Its exterior armor is said to be very poor, when examined by Sigyn. However, when she looks at its inner frame she realises how truly strong and advanced it is, saying they cannot dissemble it but only destroy it if they tried. Also despite its thin figure it can carry the heaviest armour and weapons of every golem and jump higher than any other golem. It’s frame tells us how we should not be judged by our exterior but our interior should be measured. If that interior is willing to challenge destiny then you are strong.

Rygart and Delphine both represent the Broken Blade. http://www.zerochan.net/1362086#full

The polar opposite of this is Girghe, the near mad son of General Baldr. He has all the natural ability in the world when it comes to fighting. He easily mastered the extremely tricky Artemis very quickly and then uses it to pick off enemies at will. However, unlike Rygart, he doesn’t seem to try hard at all. When he fights Rygart in the fifth movie, he sees all weak people as useless and disposable, saying they deserve to die. He is cocky and overconfident and all because he is so naturally talented. In their final showdown Rygart confronts him on this issue, saying it’s sickening how Girghe doesn’t try. Rygart makes a bet if he beats Girghe in a fight he doesn’t want him to die or capture Sigyn for him, Rygart wanted Girghe to apply himself, to be a general and surpass his father. The two skirmish and after Girghe is knocked down he takes the words to heart. He saves Rygart from Nike, the officer who has a very powerful mech she used to kill General True, and kills her. Added to the TV series (but not in the films) Girghe then takes on the Athenian General Bades and his elite Spartan squad. He dispatches the squad, taking a lot of damage in the process and then kills General Bades, living up to his potential of General. However, he is then gunned down by reinforcements. Girghe showed that in order to fight our fate we must act, we cannot be lazy and overconfident. 

Another opposite is Zess himself. Zess can only see the reality in front of him. He can’t really see the possibility of fighting your destiny. In a flashback Zess says that Rygart should not help the baby Gram to overcome his predator, the cat, because it is the natural order of things, it is destiny in other words. Zess is always described as a very rational and calculating individual. However, it seems Rygart changed him too, whilst they were in school, as Zess does want to fight against the possibility of war (which I will look at later). Zess on the other hand shows us that we cannot fight destiny if we accept things for what they are, we must act to change them. 

The three opinions; Girghe, Rygart and Zess. http://www.deviantart.com/art/broken-blade-322958403

This idea of resisting destiny is not only applied to characters and their personal struggles, it is of course applied to bigger things. The first of these is the whole war effort of the nation of Krisna and how they are trying to survive. This is explicit when Hodr and his war room wonder if they can resist their fate in the last movie. We are told it is a soldier’s job to die fro his king and country, however, they are trying to fight their destiny. King Hodr often muses whether or not he should surrender and give into his fate. He wonders if his nation can avoid the dark cloud, the dark fate that threatens to engulf his beloved country and its inhabitants. We are constantly told of Athens’ large numbers, over 200 golems, and how General Borcuse is a master of war. The whole reason Zess invaded because he wanted to have Hodr and Krisna to avoid their inevitable defeat and death if General Borcuse invaded. Everyone was sure Krisna would fall, but they fought successfully to challenge their fate. After the many deaths they suffered the army of Athens retreated after Borcuse’s death.

Rygart the Heavy Knight defeated Borcuse and saved his country: http://www.zerochan.net/1245905

Even more than this fighting one’s fate even applies to wanting to follow one’s ideals and not giving into the reality of the situation. More than just winning the war, Rygart wants to stop the war before it happens. He wants to persuade Zess to stop the invasion before anything bad happens, just as Zess wants to get Hodr to surrender before Borcuse gets involved. Likewise Rygart wants to save everyone, even his enemies, from death. He wants to apply his ideals over the reality he is facing. We are told by Baldr how it takes three times the effort and three times the risk to do this. We are shown a flashback of him in the second movie of how he resists fighting back against a group of bullies because no one needed to die. He is said to be the one that could always stop a fight. This comes to a head when he stops Dan (a soldier from Krisna sent to rescue Rygart) killing Lee (part of Zess’ unit). However, this ultimately fails despite Rygart’s efforts as he cannot avoid the death of Lee as she commits suicide, but not before she actually kills Dan. Rygart blames himself for both deaths and wants to quit but does come back. However, now he seems changed, he realises he cannot change the reality of the situation, he cannot turn war into a peaceful struggle, he can only fight the destiny that is defeat, not the reality of war. He immediately turns into a murdering machine as when he next encounters Zess’ unit he kills Argas almost instantly. Moments later he is able to take down Zess but stops his swing before killing him. He then (in the fourth film) convinces himself to become a killer, saying he must do it. This all culminates when Rygart defeats Borcuse who steps out of his golem, much like Girghe. Rygart has the choice, to let him live or kill him. Rygart chooses the latter demolishing him with his large swinging weapon. He cannot escape the reality that he must kill in war. Likewise Cleo who doesn’t want to kill either, but she too loses her temper and would have shot Rygart if her gun had bullets.

The final battle.

Thus underneath all this challenging of fate, however, there still is the idea that we can’t truly beat it, we can’t really escape reality. In the end someone had to die, either the soldiers in war or Hodr and Sigyn in surrendering. So too Rygart and his father challenged their fate and were ultimately unsuccessful, despite fighting valiantly. Throughout their flashbacks of school Rygart is depicted fighting his destiny. He helps the owl, Gram, as a baby fight its fate by stopping a cat picking on it, despite Zess saying its only natural because a cat is its predator. The whole reason Rygart was at school was because he and his initially disappointed father were trying to fight the fact that Rygart was an un-sorcerer. Hodr mentions that he found this struggle very admirable when they have their reunion. However, at the same time they could not escape their fate. Rygart had to drop out of school much to the distress of his friends. Despite this we admire those who try with some success. Even if we even if we cannot escape our reality we should admire those who try. Rygart is somewhat successful in overcoming all those who fight him, but even though he cannot escape his emotions, we still like him. Sigyn cannot escape the reality she is weak (she is easily overpowered by Cleo) but she fights her destiny by applying her mental strength to the war effort and she is very admirable. Hodr admires Rygart and his father and so should we. In the fifth movie we get a flashback of Rygart and Hodr trying to enter the girls dormitory. Although they fail they do give what is a very nice message. This is that men creates legends. Real men climb the mountain, not for glory, but because it is there. We should admirably fight fate just because we can. 

Rygart himself could not truly resist his fate.

In conclusion, the title Broken Blade is a symbol, a symbol for challenging your fate. It stands for doing your best and not succumbing to the situation around you. It symbolizes both Rygart and his golem and how they fight their perception of uselessness. It also represents messages for both winning war and stopping war. However, at the same time it still shows that reality and fate cannot ultimately be stopped. A broken blade can kill someone with a long sword, it can overcome its obstacles, however, it cannot escape the fact it was made for killing, made for fighting. The films tell us how we can overcome many obstacles but we shouldn’t be disappointed if we can’t overcome the reality we live within, it is admirable for trying.   

Rygart represents the broken blade and the message it holds. http://www.zerochan.net/1245909#full

The Twists Of Love - Hal (Haru)

Like any of my posts, this is an analysis, not a review. I would thus recommend that you watch the animation before you read this post, because it will have spoilers galore.

Hal is a recently released movie that, like Time of Eve and Chobits, deals with robotic and human love, however it is a bit different. A robot named Q01 is asked to be transformed into a boy named Hal after the real Hal died in a plane crash. The robot is asked to do so in order to coax Kurumi, Hal's now ex-girlfriend, out her depression where she would not eat or even cry. The film starts off with robot Hal just trying to get Kurumi out of her solitude through fulfilling her wishes she had left behind on a Rubik's cube. As the robot Hal does this he is able to get closer and closer to Kurumi and she opens up more and more with Hal about what happened between her and the real Hal before the aeroplane accident. Just as things are getting better they also get more complicated as robot Hal runs into one of Hal's old friends, Ryu, who seemingly is oblivious to the fact he died. The robot also starts to assume Hal's place as Kurumi's lover, blurring the line between itself and the original Hal. Consquently the robot Hal tried to find out more about the past Hal and his relationship with Kurumi. It finds out about how Hal was forced in a gang, along with Ryu, and this made his personality overly pragmatic when it came to money and valuing things. This all comes to a head when the robot Hal invites Kurumi to a festival dressed in the dead Hal's kimono. Kurumi shares her memories and the two apologise to each other, and thus reconcile. Kurumi goes to the festival and two seem like a typical couple. However after the festival Ryu shows up again telling Hal he is still part of the group and talking as if he has made some arrangements with the group before even meeting Kurumi. Hal and Kurumi thus run away and manage to evade Ryu and his gang until a stair breaks under Kurumi and she falls into a stream. Hal goes to rescue her and is tackled by Ryu who confronts him on the whole situation. He reveals it was in fact Kurumi who died on the plane, that Hal was the one who went into a zombie like state and thought he was a robot, and that this Kurumi is not real. Bleeding Hal looks over to Kurumi, whose wounds show she is a robot, for confirmation. She manages to jump into the river below and is soon followed by Hal where he learns to accept all that has been revealed to him. We get a flashback of the doctor telling Q01 he needs to save Hal. He makes peace with this and says how he would not change a thing because his relationship was so good it was worth the heartache the accident caused him. 

The robot Hal used the old rubik’s cubes to get Kurumi out of her shell: http://yue-ki.deviantart.com/art/loved-ones-456055461

When I finished the movie I asked myself one question. What makes this or any twist in a movie successful? Obviously this twist is great because it creates a total role reversal. Hal is no longer the robot; he is the depressed one who must come out of some zombie like state. Not only that but we thought we knew about Kurumi and her motivations. But what creates a successful twist? I think it has to do with perspective and what we assume to be real with the premise of the film. This film totally films the first premise, that Kurumi is the one in need of treatment. Also, in terms of perspective, the main character (Hal in this case) must also believe and accept the premise and work on this basis. Hal assumes he is the robot helping the reclusive patient and he works off of this premise to help her. He often asks question to the doctor, who supposedly turned Q01 into Hal, about his task, about what it is like to love (as he is an “emotionless” robot), and about the old Hal. It shows he believes the shows premise and that we as an audience should do so too. Furthermore, Kurumi (who is really the robot, but whose thoughts we never really hear) refers to Hal as a robot, both in speech and in notes. So does the doctor who helps Hal with his task, but is really the one who came up with the idea of the treatment. Having the main character believe and act a way that assumes the premise of the film is right, when it will turn out to be wrong is how to set up a twist properly it seems.

Hal and Kurumi were completely reversed with the twist: http://www.zerochan.net/1703630#full

There are points (or maybe hints) at which a twist could be guessed at, but it is easy enough to explain them away. The first of these is when Ryu, one of Hal’s old friends turns up and says they should catch up, before running off from the police. Why doesn’t Ryu know Hal is dead? Maybe he just never found out. It creates an interesting dilemma for the premise of the story, and testing the foundations of the film creates the mystery and suspense to keep the audience engaged. A film must also have these sort of hints because this hint (or rather character) should return and be used as the vehicle to overturn the wrong premises. So when Ryu returns the conflict that will reveal the twist starts. Ryu talks as if he and Hal have some understanding beyond the knowledge of Kurumi about their past life. He talks as if Hal got into a relationship in the first place for some notorious reason planned by Ryu. This conversation is beyond both Hal and the audience until the twist is revealed at last, when Hal is truly confronted by Ryu (bleeding rather than breaking like a machine) and then realises and makes peace with the fact that Kurumi is dead and her part has been played by Q01. The twist is wonderfully executed.

Ryu was the cause of the twist and this actually caused the perception of his character to change too.

Not only is the twist of the film implemented very well but the consequences it has on parts other than the story itself is what make it truly great. Hal started of as a look into the human mind from an outside perspective. The “robot” Hal did not know what priceless was meant and after learning about it apologises for the mistakes the past Hal made about the buttons (and how they were priceless). In particular it explores the idea of what love is and how to love someone. The robot asks the doctor about love and what part empathy plays in it, feeling if he cannot feel it he cannot get Kurumi out of her shell. The robot Hal uses the wishes on the Rubik’s cubes to show his “love”. However, this whole robotic love intensifies as the robot Hal rather easily assumes the role of Hal, whilst at the same time thinking he is not Hal. Does he not realize this person died or something? It seems very much in bad taste but on the other hand he is a robot who perhaps doesn’t know about human thought (he didn’t know about priceless precious things) and maybe he sees this as a way to get Kurumi to come out. This is most vividly done when he wears Hal’s kimono and instead of understandably freaking out Kurumi it encourages her to open up to the fight she and Hal had before the accident. Of course this leads into apologies from both Hal and Kurumi over their button fight and the “robot” Hal is very comforting to her. They then to go to the Gion Festival together and it seems as though both are human. The audiences assumes they will reach a conclusion about love and what it will really mean for the robot after he successfully completes his task.

After the festival I thought we would get some conclusion on how to love someone or on robotic love: http://www.zerochan.net/1703629#full

However, the twist not only changes the characters and the story it also changes the message of love the film portrays. We do not leave with a conclusion about robotic love. Instead we get a message of how worthwhile love is. Hal, in reconciling with Kurumi (or rather the robot Q01), thinks over the position he now finds himself in and what he has experienced both after the accident and before it. He accepts Kurumi is gone and cannot bring her back. However, he does not relapse into his old state that he assumed after the accident happened. The robotic therapy worked. He acknowledges the loss and hurt he has suffered and in making peace with he says that he would not change anything. He would not take back the love he had with Kurumi in order to stop his heartache, as the good undeniable outweighed the bad. He basically comes to the same conclusion Tennyson: “tis better to have loved and los than never to have loved at all”. We cannot make assumptions about robotic love as Hal was never truly a robot. The way he felt about Kurumi and expressed it in the events that surround and follow their apologies could just be because his actions towards Kurumi, who is really a robot but he doesn’t know this, are just part of his human, emotion-based decision making rather than some robotic calculation-based. Likewise we can’t make any conclusions about Kurumi as she never has dialogue (that we see) with anyone other than Hal and never seemingly muses about feeling love. She, for all we could know, just be playing the role as a brilliant actor. Everything Kurumi has done in the film becomes a mystery with the character reversal and thus we can’t really use her to expound any ideas or messages. I mean yes it still does question what constitutes real love. It provides the answer that working towards understanding one another is key but everything in Hal’s journey to find this out is a little undermined when we learn the one he is seducing is just a robot, not a real human.mthe message changes from discovery to memory in a nice paradox. 

Hal and Kurumi were a good couple and Hal cherished her despite his loss:http://www.zerochan.net/1478893#full

I started off this film interested by the premise, looking how androids would be portrayed and how robotic love would be tackled by the creators of this film. It started off this way but the twist changed this into a message about the value of love, and the loss of love. I thought the story was pretty interesting and the twist in particular, was well done. It used the main characters’ ignorance to support the premise and supporting characters’ roles as therapists to further affirm the premise to the main character and the audience as well. As a result I thought it was interesting to analyse this film around this plot twist and I hope you have enjoyed the read.

 A nice sketch of Hal and Kurumi: http://jtmaster13.deviantart.com/art/Hal-469274325

Links:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=14970

http://myanimelist.net/anime/16528/Hal

http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=9557

The Film That Sank A Studio – Titan AE, The Borrower Arrietty and When Marnie Was There

A few nights ago I watched a movie that is now a cult film: Titan AE. This is a sci-fi animated film from 2000 directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. It was about Humans invent some new revolution technology called the Titan Project and out of fear a race named the Drej attack Earth, destroying it. The story is one of a now grown boy, the son of the man who created the Titan Project, must now find his father’s lost invention in order to reunited and save humanity from extinction. However, what is really notable about this film is how it made a massive loss at the box office and was thus blamed for sinking an entire animation studio. After their hit Anastasia Fox Animation Studios looked to rival Disney animations. Anastasia was in essence a film very similar to many of the Disney princess movies and did well both commercially and critically. However, in 2000 the studio released its next feature film (Titan AE) and based on its box office failure compared to its budget the studio closed. This was after laying off 300 of the 380 staff (in order to cut expenses and make cheaper films) before the film’s release.

Titan AE poster, which looks like an action packed Sci-Fi. http://www.deviantart.com/art/Titan-A-E-344682317

 

Having watched the movie I thought it was not that bad. It had some moments of promise like the part of the ships in the ice ring that created a mirror room like place. It also had some clichéd moments, such as the young adult given the wheel and when he is driving he is followed by dolphin like creatures. The characters were likewise archetypal, or clichéd, with the reluctant at first hero, the girl who hates him initially and then loves him after a troubling experience together, and the backstabbing comrade who redeems himself at the end. However, admittedly the characterizations are done too quickly and changes aren’t given enough depth. The universe it created was though rather interesting and well made, with most parts of it having a purpose to the story. It had perhaps an interesting message about something that is really important to humans: the earth and all the wildlife and how this cannot be replicated once it is lost. It’s visuals are maybe not as good as Pixar’s Toy Story, released a few years earlier and its soundtrack is a polarizing rock based score. It wasn’t necessarily a bad film but it wasn’t as good as say Treasure Planet, the Disney Sci-Fi animated adventure released two years later. However, these two are really on the only two western Sci-Fi animated adventure films around this time.  

 

Treasure Planet poster, where we can see more kid friendly elements, like the typical non-verbal small companion. http://movie.southlinkbd.com/images/Treasure%20Planet.jpg

 

The directors were experienced (Don Bluth and Gary Goldman had worked for Disney and had made things like The Secret of NIMH and The Land Before Time previously) and the cast were pretty star-studded, with Matt Damon taking the lead role of Cale. So why did the studio go shut down if the movie was not that bad? Surely such good directors and good cast could bring in crowds. Why did people not see it if it was such a unique film? Well precisely because it was so special and novel a film for the western market. Western films are usually about princesses (Disney), about some non-human that goes through an adventure (Pixar) or competing with the localized Ghibli fantasy movies. There is little room for a sci-fi adventure. However, because it is so unique and different it became hard for the studio to market it. The main reason given for the movie’s failure was the marketing and failing to aim for a target audience. It was not as child friendly as other movies like the Disney, Pixar and Ghibli films. At the end of the film, without giving too much a way, there is a scene where a man breaks a humanoid alien’s neck in full focus of the shot. A bug alien is shot and vaporized is one thing, a twisting neck snap is another. On the other hand it was supposedly not marketed for the sci-fi Star Wars type audience. Because no one audience was targeted, no one went, the film flopped and the studio ended up closing.

 

Preed was the character that had his neck snapped. Even though he wasn’t a human his death is definitely to mature for a child’s animation. http://www.deviantart.com/art/Preed-About-To-Leave-217739180

 

The reason I brought this all up is because recently news has surfaced of rumours and interviews suggesting Ghibli will practically close if When Marnie Was There fails. It will stop making movies, because it is not making money this way, but it will just keep on a few employees to manage their copyrights and trademarks. I can imagine that this would be quite profitable seeing as how much merchandise Ghibli sells of characters like Totoro, Jiji (Kiki’s cat) and Ponyo or just books, posters, calendars, puzzles etc of its most famous films. There are various museum exhibits people would pay to see that it could make. Not to mention that last year Princess Mononoke was adapted for stage and I could imagine Chihiro and Howl getting the same treatment. In other words, it seems unless Ghibli can keep making decent money on its new projects, it will stop trying so and just focus on making money more efficiently through its old ones. 

 

Ghibli certainly has a lot of merchandise.

 

But why is Ghibli not making money on its projects? Are its films not that good anymore? First, its visuals are as good as they have been and they still make the most beautiful 2D animations around (soon maybe the only 2D animated features around). Likewise the stories, characters, soundtracks are still very solid and are in fact good. So why are they failing. Well I think its sort of the same reason as Titan AE failed, failure to target a market audience or rather, in Ghibli’s case because it has got its own audience, a failure to deliver on the film genre it is most famous for. Just as Titan AE delivered a Sci-Fi adventure, not really for kids, Ghibli has been producing (and it seems When Marnie Was There is the same way) historical drama/romance films, that aren’t really for kids and aren’t the fantasy adventures of old. We should establish what Ghibli’s genre is. Nausicaa, Totoro, Porco Rosso and Kiki established the Ghibli genre of an adventure through a sort of (but not necessarily entirely) fantasy world in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Ghibli movies then usually followed in these footsteps. Admittedly this is more Miyazaki than Ghibli, as he then made Mononoke, Chihiro, Howl and Ponyo and Takahato did not really follow this making his own things, from Grave of the Fireflies to my Neighbours the Yamadas, from Pom Poko to A Whisper of the Heart. However, Miyazaki made a few more films than Takahata and other films still followed Miyazaki’s concepts. The Cat Returns and Tales from Earthsea both looked to create fantasy adventures. These two films were not made by Miyazaki or Takahata, but by potentially the new generation of Ghibli

 

Studio Ghibli established really itself in the fantasy genre. http://www.deviantart.com/art/Ghibli-398165032

 

But now we get to a point where these rumors surfaced for the first time it seemed. Before the studio released Arrietty it said it would close if the film did poorly. Miyazaki said that if Arrietty did well he had plans for a Porco Rosso sequel (many speculate this became As The Wind Rises). However, he said that if the movie failed that Suzuki, who was the general manager had a dissolution plan and would just focus on trademarks and copyrights. That being said Arrietty did very well in the box office, making $145million US and thus the studio continued to make movies. Who knows why exactly they would stop making movies, especially when Ponyo did well at the box office, as did Tales from Earthsea before it. One rumour I read was that they were not necessarily talking about doing well financially, but doing well critically. Miyazaki and Takahata were old and they had already failed n their plans of succession with Yoshifumi Kondō, as he died in 1998 from a stress related illness (this caused Miyazaki to think of retiring or at least work at a more relaxed pace). Arrietty was well received critically as well, however, it was probably a tester because this was Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s directorial debut. He along with Hayao Miyazaki’s son, Goro Miyazaki, were to become the new generation of Ghibli, the new Miyazaki and Takahata it seems. Unfortunately, Goro’s first film, Tales from Earthsea, did not do well critically. It was not as well received as other Ghibli films. At the same time as being nominated for good awards, it won Raspberry awards, for both worst film of the year and worst director. Maybe Ghibli executives were scared the new generation would run the Studio name through the mud if they let it go on too far. I mean these are the same executives who stopped Mamoru Hosoda directing the Howl’s Moving Castle because they did not like the direction. Mamoru Hosoda has subsequently gone onto direct The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars and The Wolf Children. He is definitely talented but maybe the old guard was scared of change. This fear could have been confirmed when Goro Miyazaki’s film was obviously not well received when the board gave him the project instead of waiting for Hayao Miyazaki to finish Howl. If Hiromasa Yonebayashi failed the test as well the board probably would have realized that it might be best to just shut up shop.

 

The Borrower Arrietty did very well for Ghibli, both commercially and critically. http://www.deviantart.com/art/Arrietty-199686380

 

Anyway now the same situation is happening. Studio Ghibli’s future productions lie in the hands of Hiromasa Yonebayashi; the outcome of his film When Marnie Was There is to be the production that decides the fate of the studio. If it fails then the studio would stop making new films and focus on capitalizing on its old projects. Many, however, are surer that this is not critically based but a financially based decision. I suppose we should ask why Ghibli films are so expensive. This is because unlike other studios that outsource a lot of their animation to other parts of the world, like South Korea, where it is cheaper, Studio Ghibli has a full time team of animators in Japan. Supposedly, according to Kotaku, now Ghibli films need to make $100million US to turn a profit. Anything less would obviously be a loss. Who knows how much this has to do with the financial crisis caused by the economic collapse in 2008 and then the impact from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. I am no economist but I all I can see that it seems that Ghibli films cost a lot more and need to make money now, more so than the past. But then why aren’t the films making money? Surely, Miyazaki’s and Takahata’s films made a fair buck, right? Their films are still top quality, why aren’t people seeing them. Well the same reason people didn’t see Titan AE. Quality and directorial names sometimes aren’t enough. Sometimes, total uniqueness isn’t what audiences want, they want the same but different.

 

The Legend of Korra is an example of a high-quality animation that was exported to South Korea.

 

As I said before, Ghibli established itself as a studio that made films within a partial or totally fantasy world and usually its stories were about adventure and growth. Arrietty followed in these footsteps and it paid dividends. However, the films that have followed have not been so wise. From Up On Poppy Hill was Goro Miyazaki’s next film and although it was good, it felt too much like an underdeveloped romantic drama that belonged on TV if it had more filler. It was a historical romantic drama that had none of the fantasy elements Ghibli is beloved for. Likewise Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film is also devoid of any fantasy elements as it too is squarely in the romance/drama sections of movies. I said with Disney and Pixar, people go to these films expecting something and come out disappointed if it doesn’t reach the target audience. Maybe the same is for Ghibli films now, that they (like Titan AE) are not necessarily hitting a target audience, in that they are maybe too mature with not enough fantasy for kids (their target audience), but don’t push the drama and emotional boundaries for the new audience that they could bring in. The other film within this is Takahata’s Tale of the Bamboo Cutter which has been a box office flop it seems, losing all (and maybe more) that Miyazaki’s film brought in and realistically the only reason Miyazaki’s film made money is that it was riding the reports that he would be retiring (for real). Takahata’s films, to be honest, are just too unique and different to be box office hits really. This is especially the case for his latest film.

 

The animals Ghibli has produced only show how fantastical their worlds are. http://www.deviantart.com/art/Ghibli-Naptime-463250108

 

So again it’s all up to Yonebayashi. It seems as if he made a film good enough for critics last year, lets see if he can make one good enough for the box office this year. The signs don’t look so far with it failing to do half as good as Arrietty in its first week according to Crunchroll. Having had a look at trailers it’s no surprise why this is happening. Although it has that Ghibli look it is again missing that Ghibli touch of fantasy, that thing that sparks a child’s imagination and makes them want their parents to take them to it. Again however, it is getting good reviews but it, like Ghibli’s other latest films, seems to be failing to captivate a target audience, or rather the established audience. It's not just Arrietty that did better than the newest Ghibli film, the Pokemon movies also did very well. Again maybe because they have a target audience and they stick to that audience. Their films aren't as good as Ghibli films but they sell because of their audience. I hope When Marnie Was There does well however. I hope the rumours are untrue and Ghibli continues to make quality films, no matter the subject matter, but for the sake of continuing maybe they just have to stick to fantasy.

 

When Marnie Was There just looks (from its poster that is meant to sell it to audiences) like a romantic drama again. 

                                                                  

 

Links:

 

About Fox Animation Studios shutting down.

 

http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/06/27/fox-animation-studios-closes-its-doors

 

http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jun/29/business/fi-45965

 

Earthsea’s “Worst of” Awards

 

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-01-25/earthsea-wins-rasperry-award

 

Ghibli “closing” in 2010 and Arrietty’s box office total.

 

http://www.themarysue.com/studio-ghibli-closing/

 

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=arrietty.htm

 

Ghibli “closing” in 2014 and how When Marnie Was There is doing poorly:

 

http://kotaku.com/studio-ghibli-might-quit-making-feature-films-says-rep-1608198259

 

http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2014/07/22-1/studio-ghiblis-latest-film-marnie-earns-less-than-half-of-arrietty-in-1st-weekend

http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/pokemon-defeats-ghibli-at-japan-box-office