Comments for Omohide.com

Comment on Colorful (2010) Review by Theowne

Theowne — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:03:26 +0000

A film does not need to be melodramatic to be powerful or moving in its content. There are many examples on this very site.

Comment on Colorful (2010) Review by BornIn1142

BornIn1142 — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:17:16 +0000

I for one was quite thankful that the movie WASN’T more “powerful.” I enjoyed it precisely because it was underplayed and realistic, instead of devolving into ridiculous theatrics with wailing and screaming like many other anime dramas. I had just recently finished AnoHana when I watched this, and the contrast with its horrible, horrible melodrama was nothing but a relief to me.

Comment on Natsume Yuujinchou Sheet Music (Natsu Yuuzora) by Hind

Hind — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:11:51 +0000

すごくきれい。。。凄いリズムで !!
やっと見付けた !!どうもありがとうございます!! \^_^/ !! <3 <3 <3 <3

Comment on Elfen Lied Review by Theowne

Theowne — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:43:03 +0000

Kiba, I appreciate that you didn’t use the same rude tone the other commenters here have. But I think I am essentially repeating myself at that point.

It is naturally true that there is such a thing as powerful, emotional, and legitimate use of explicit content to drive home a message. At the same time, there is no one on Earth who believes that every use of explicit material in media is an honest effort to communicate a message. Often times it is mere shock value.

Each of us has our own standard, and Elfen Lied does not meet my standard. I find its use of nudity and violence to be shallow and typical of anime tropes, emphasized by the fairly pedestrian way it carries out the story and the numerous cliches and nonsensical parts of it. This does not mean that you or the other fans of the show have to agree with me. This is, after all, my personal review page, and the only guarantee I provide is that readers who tend to like my other reviews will probably agree with me. No more, no less. If you actually strongly believe Elfen Lied explores its themes in a deep or satisfying way, the fact that I personally disagree with you should not be such an issue.

Comment on Elfen Lied Review by Kiba

Kiba — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:47:50 +0000

First off , I am a girl. Second, if you have ever watched many serious war movies or history movies, you can see ties between twisted innocence and nudity and depravity. Lucy grows up in a world were she is given no clothes, little food, no love, and tortured constantly. She is tested and trained to kill. What’s the point of clothes when she has been naked for years and tortured by men? She doesn’t understand society! She doesn’t understand modesty, or love, shE knows betrayal and pain and is psychologically imbalanced. The point of the nudity when she is Nyu is to express her childishness. Her other side is stil like a little kid. When I was 5 I didn’t understand being naked was wrong. I took my clothes off when I was too hot or when I wanted to play in water. Nyu doesn’t understand. And as Lucy she just doesn’t care. She is a rebel and she knows her life is short lived. They tortured her naked and she will destroy them not with respect as a human fights a human but like the animal they trained her to be. What more has she known in life? The music, the art, the atmosphere, the characters… They compare and contrast with each other in a surreal way. The point this gets across abou the world isn’t that it’s evil, but that it’s good that evil has scarred. Just as Lucy herself started as a cute little girl, just as all the girls that are cute and innocent pink hair and all… The whole point of this is to show what happens to innocence in such a broken world, and it also shows how even in the brokenness people can live. People can heal. People can make friends with their worst enenmies and find peace and love and learn to live

Comment on Elfen Lied Review by Theowne

Theowne — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:18:06 +0000

Anti-Flag, it’s quite simple. I do not consider Elfen Lied’s relatively simplistic plot to have the level of sophistication that you do, and I do not give it the level of respect that you do. Your argument, that Elfen Lied’s violence is in honest service of its story, does not affect me, as I find the story execution and characters rather weak – apart from a promising premise and a few effective scenes.

And similarly, I do not believe in a deeper reason why Elfen Lied’s female cast is almost entirely composed of adorably-drawn pink-haired girls except to appeal to young male viewers. Nor do I believe in a deeper reason as to why the mute female lead “accidentally” removes her clothes at common intervals in the first few episodes. These are all tools to attract a certain kind of fanbase used by many anime, and Elfen Lied is no better, except that the premise has a lot more potential than the usual fare. It is unfortunate that this premise is squandered with such a degree of “fanservice”. That is how I feel about this series.

Comment on Elfen Lied Review by Anti-Flag

Anti-Flag — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:47:03 +0000

All of you miss the point of the nudity and gore.

THE SHOW IS BEAUTIFUL IN ITS BRUTALITY. By exposing the disgusting reality of violence and hatred exposed in the show it makes the importance of goodness that much more important. If the nature of the way Lucy killed people was not that violent in nature, wouldn’t have reduced the conflicting nature of the whole evil/good duality that’s the center piece of the show?

I’m sick of censorship and beating around the Bush. I know this might sound unrelated but in the Sandusky case, the coacing assisstant that actually walked in on him anally raping a 10 year old boy he left and complained to his boss 3 days later saying that he was “horsing around” in the shower with the kid. This squeamish held towards reality, like those who don’t like Elfen Lied, exposes the person for not being open and understanding of the brutal reality associated with biological life. Elfen Lied is violent because the world is violent. If you think a cartoon is disgustingly violent I can think of a LOT worse, truly exploitative violence in anime.

Violence Jack
Genocyber
Ninja Resurrection
Golgo 13
Wicked City

Come on now, if you don’t see the art in brutality, then what about Francisco De Goya’s gory, “exploitative” piece El Tris De Mayo? Same point he’s making. So what’s the difference if the content is the same? You just want to sound intellectual and condescending, which is why you had to start out by defending yourself because you know you’re just being a prick.

If something can truly affect you emotionally, that is true art. Not a bunch of paint flicks on canvas.

Comment on Figure 17 Review by A made up name

A made up name — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:38:21 +0000

I would give the slice-of-life parts a 5/5. I regret not having watched this ten years ago. The ending is so bittersweet that I don’t know what to rate it. I was also left an emotional mush. I really like the way it ends but I also think it could have been happier. The action parts were repetitive and I often felt like skipping them. They were just a monster attacks, it’s stronger than the last one, the good guys win, the story returns to the real drama. I recommend watching the series again except for the final episode. It’s really good, but the ending is sad.

Comment on Further Reflection on Millenium Actress by Michael

Michael — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:10:34 +0000

To me, this film’s great success is the elegant and accurate depiction of deep meanings, in such simple terms. My point of view is that the film is not about the actress. It’s more about the interviewer’s journey in her life if you ask me, but anyway I think its not about characters at all. Its about simple truths that apply to each and every one of us. Maybe what made some people uncomfortable was the punch in the face: Love is just your personal fantasy, it has nothing to do with reality, and that’s really ok! That is how I interpret the final line. The words chosen could have been better I guess, but the meaning is clear. The fact that put tears in my eyes was not that the old lady died and it had nothing to do with the line itself. It’s because she didn’t have the time to finish it, but there was a person who knew the rest of it anyway. Its such a simple and straightforward demonstration of “living on in people’s hearts”. This is the kind of superstition free magic that good films ought to offer.

Comment on Review: Mai Mai Shinko to Sennen no Mahou (Mai Mai Miracle) by leonbloy

leonbloy — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:27:40 +0000

Very nice movie. Thanks for pointing this out.
Funny coincidente (I’m not not an anime fan, almost exclusively Ghibli-addict ; I came here from your mention at http://www.onlineghibli.com) that I saw this just after seeing the last from Makoto Shinkai you mention in the previous post. Another coincidence: I also make musical arrangaments for anime (well, Ghibli only) music. And I also had the sad experience of having my Youtube channel shutdown recently. Cheers.