A-Z Challenge – A

Hi, this is the first day of the A-Z Challenge! (It’s my first time doing it, but was nudged along by Jamie Lyn Weigt 😄) So, without further ado…

A is for “Anime”

I often say, “I’m not a huge anime fan…” but when I do watch, I usually enjoy it. Of course it depends on the story. For instance, I don’t like sci-fi/mecha anime too much, but I do like adventure and slice-of-life types of stories.

Just recently I finished a great 13-part anime series titled “The Pilot’s Love Song” which takes place in an alternate reality, but a lot of the tech is similar. For instance, the story revolves around flying, and the planes they use are all prop-type, and they use conventional guns, but there is also some supernatural components as well. And of course, their world is a series of stepped discs, suspended in the air, with floating islands and a rainbow barrier surrounding them all.

I thought the artwork and the air combat was pretty cool. The story is interesting, although predictable, and thankfully the opening theme song (video below) and closing song are good. That’s important because they take up so much of each episode (I don’t skip forward)!

“The Pilot’s Love Song” ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, but I don’t think a second season is in the works. I hope they make one, because it was fun and I need to know how the adventure continues! You can watch the first season at Crunchyroll.

So now I am looking for more anime to watch. If you have any suggestions (especially if they are on Netflix or Crunchyroll) let me know!

– B Barron Fujimoto

#atozchallenge

From Up on Poppy Hill / コクリコ坂から (2011) – Movie Review

Poppy Hill

I’m not sure how I missed watching “From Up on Poppy Hill” when it was showing here, but I corrected that mistake by ordering the blu-ray version and watching it last week. After seeing some high ratings, I was expecting a great film and I was not disappointed; I loved it! It had everything going for it: beautiful artwork, and interesting setting, likable characters, and great songs and soundtrack.

To me, the story’s setting was so cool. Early ’60s Yokohama is depicted as a busy and hopeful town, and I just loved the small details, like the old posters on the walls. My favorite scene was when Shun was taking Umi to the shopping area on his bicycle, and they were speeding down the hill. That was excellent! I just love slice-of-life stories, and From Up on Poppy Hill was one of the best so far. There wasn’t anything supernatural about it; the only thing that came close was Umi’s dream sequence. But the characters and story really didn’t need any of that. To me, the story was great; my only complaint is that the ending is too abrupt. I wanted the story to develop a little bit more. Is it too much wishful thinking that there will be a follow-up movie? Maybe now that Hayao Miyazaki is retired, it’s a possibility.

Below is the trailer for the US release. I prefer it over the Japanese trailer, although I did watch the Japanese-language version of the film. If you haven’t seen it yet, waste no time!

My rating: 8/10