The Boy and the Beast

   The Boy and the Beast is Mamoru Hosoda's latest film (I have previously written about Wolf Children in a past module) that was released on July 11th 2015. The subbed and dubbed versions were however released around early March, which finally gave me the opportunity to watch it after our previous submission for research and development. Having purchased the art book and storyboard book sometime last year, it has since been one of my main influences and inspirations for this project when it comes to its characters designs, animation quality, background designs, and even storyboards.

   An action adventure fantasy (Like his past films), the story follows Ren who has recently lost his mother. Not knowing the whereabouts of his father and not wanting to live with his legal guardians, the nine year old flees into the streets of Shibuya, resenting life and everything else that came with it. Moving onto the more interesting bit, the Lord of the magical Beast Kingdom has decided that he will return in order to reincarnate as a deity and names two potential successors, with one of them being one of the main protagonists of this film, Kumatetsu, the powerful but unfortunately lone and lazy bear-like beast. Ren and Kumatetsu eventually cross paths one another, and while they are off to an incredibly rocky start, begin a very close master and disciple relationship as the story progresses...

   It is interesting to note that the characters of Mamoru Hosoda's films are always flatly colours WITHOUT a single layer of shading (With a few very rare exceptions) regardless of how dark or brightly lit their surroundings happen to be (Which should result in some very drastic shading or lighting depending on what sort of setting it is). Again, this most probably results in numerous colour palettes created for a bulk of the film's cast, especially for Ren and Kumatetsu. 

   This still keeps the task of colouring simpler when one thinks about it, because even if shading was to be added to these characters, surely their entire colour palette needs to still be changed, when they are placed in a setting with dramatically different lighting. But in all, I do indeed find this style of plain colour to be appealing, I just find it amazing how it can be effectively done especially one needs to carefully consider what colour palettes should be used, no matter how subtle the differences are.

   To further add to this, the film's beautifully painted backgrounds are somehow able to go so well with the flatly coloured characters, neither stands out too much with one another and somehow blends so naturally with one another (But then again many animated works from both the west and east have proven that more detailed backgrounds can indeed go well with characters that are designed and coloured in a far simpler style, it could also be said that the animation style might have a part to play in this as well).

   It has always been a challenge effectively blending CGI and traditional 2D animation (And quite frankly, there aren't too many examples-- or have I yet to find that many that are able to do so). While it definitely is much easier to use CGI, especially for crowd scenes. This film really does try its absolute best to make it work, by blurring the backgrounds and its characters, you unfortunately can still make out the unnaturally fluid movements of the CGI characters in the back. Still, it isn't necessarily as awful as some other examples and doesn't deter too much from the overall beauty of this film (The pros most definitely outweigh the cons). So long as they aren't just lazily throwing CGI in there without even attempting to blend it in properly (It kinda worked for the Animatrix, but not here, no). 

   There is a lot and I mean A LOT of fighting that actually takes place in this animation, but what I found absolutely interesting about that is the fact that it feels and looks really different to the usual dynamic, over-the-top fighting you see in other japanese animations. And no, this isn't even about the quality and intricacy of the animation (Obviously since japanese anime films will of course have a higher animation budget than most television series) itself... I still can't quite put my finger on it but I suppose it is the slightly more realistic look it is given in comparison, even during the crazier fight scenes. This might be a bit of a criticism however, that I feel like the fight scenes still lack the impacts seen in so many other animations? It is clean, detailed and pretty realistic (Much like Satoshi Kon's own works), but there is something lacking, even during what should be the most brutal of fights... eh, who knows, I should probably rewatch it again someday to see if I actually missed out on something.

Sengoku Basara (Production I.G.)

   While Sengoku Basara was originally a video game series by Capcom (Known for being a "crowd-fighting" action game in the vein of Koei's similarly themed Samurai Warriors series), it is here where we will talk about the anime TV series adaptation to brought it to its current level of popularity. It is also in this post that we will be focusing on the series that was produced by Production I.G. (Season 3 would instead be animated by Telecom Animation Film and in my opinion is very underrated when compared to Production I.G's own version... and so I might consider writing about them as well in the future).

Pirate Lord that surfs on his giant anchor weapon
whilst leaving a blazing trail behind him,

   Sengoku Basara's story is very loosely based on real events of the titular Sengoku era in the history of feudal Japan... and I mean: Very. Loosely. And quite frankly, I am not that all surprised, seeing as Capcom was also behind the Onimusha series, another Sengoku era themed game done in a similar style to the Resident Evil series that featured interdimensional demons bent on controlling the famous Sengoku Lords of Japan and taking over the world).

   This series has admittedly been a guilty pleasure of mine since last year, and while it is obviously not a piece of Shakespearean masterpiece, that certainly does not mean that no love was put into it (Far from it). I could go on really, but I don't want to get any more personal than I am already being about this series.

That's right, you flip that horse good, Yukimura.

   The easiest way to summarize this series is how incredibly over the top it was, and the sheer insanity and ridiculousness it was as an anime adaptation (Though, it really isn't to say that the game series is a lot tamer). Sure, another obvious reason as to why it became an even bigger media franchise than the game series it was based on was the fact that it featured a cast of nothing but eye candy and fan service (Which to me is reason why so many were unfortunately turned off by the third season, considering the slightly less appealing art style that was used, despite the fact that the studio were far more faithful to the characters' original designs from the game).

   With works like Seirei no Moribito and Ghost in the Shell, it is no surprise that Production I.G. is one of the better-known studios (If not one of top five) for its quality animation, and Sengoku Basara was thankfully not the exception. As mentioned before, in all of its over-the-top if not incredibly silly moments, the series also had some of the most well-animated fight scenes in any anime series. Whilst taking advantage of the fact that these samurai could defy gravity in this universe (Quite a far cry from Seirei no Moribito's far more realistic fighting animation), animators went all out in choreographing the craziest fight sequences (Refer to previous gif) while still somehow making it believable and of course enjoyable enough for its viewers. Aside from really nicely done weapon animation, there are lots of fun if not dynamic camera shots used in a lot of these sequences (There really is never a fight scene that is done in a flat shot). I do believe that there was one scene in one of the earlier episodes when it a completely different art and animation style was used simply to enhance the frenzy and blood thirst that was experienced between the two characters as they dueled with one another.

   And I can most certainly ALWAYS appreciate the animation of characters that are dressed in considerably detailed if not complicated clothing and/or armor. Yes, the character designs may have been simplified from its original source (The only way they could animate a character with detailed chainmail while keeping their sanity intact is to use a texture and static screen it, to be honest... and that would certainly not go with the rest of the art direction for this adaptation). I will always appreciate how shading and lighting is done in animations (Because I know how much time that takes along with coloring each frame), and this series does it absolutely beautifully without making it stand out far too much, especially when it comes to their armor pieces.

   To end it off, while this adaptation of Sengoku Basara might be questionable in terms of its story and character development (Again, this is why Season 3 has its own merits, to be honest), do watch it for its sleek character designs, amazing animation and over-the-top scenes between some of the most ridiculous samurai characters you will ever see... Also, do try to watch it in Japanese, the seiyuus did the most amazing job. This version of Date Masamune wouldn't have become so memorable if it hadn't been for all the Engrish that is thrown in there by Kazuya Nakai.

Oh. God. How could I forget about the dancing samurai...?

Samurai Champloo

   Samurai Champloo was one of my first few inspirations from the get go when it came to this project, and honestly, I am actually surprised I haven't done a write up for it until now (Or did I...? Oh well). This was just one of those anime series that broke out of all those stereotypical anime tropes during that period, making it one of my biggest influence for works that might be considered 'anime' to many when it is so much more than that.
   
    An Action Adventure Chanbara Comedy Japanese anime series developed by Manglobe (Also later known for Ergo Proxy), Samurai Champloo featured a production team lead by now renowned Shinichiro Watanabe, character designer Kazuto Nakazawa (Known for his anime sequence in Kill Bill Volume , The Animatrix's "Kid's Story" and Linkin Park's "Breaking the Habit") and mechanical designer Mahiro Maede (One of the most prominent Japanese anime creators working today, having contributed to such works as Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo and Neon Genesis Evangelion). Samurai Champloo would also be Watanabe's first directorial effort for an animation television series after the critically acclaimed Cowboy Bebop.

   Shinichiro Watanabe is known for incorporating multiple genres into his anime creations. In Cowboy Bebop for example, Watanabe blends classic cowboy western with 1960s/1970s New York City film noir, jazz/blues music, Hong Kong action movies, and sets the entire series in space. And in Samurai Champloo itself, Watanabe unites the cultures of Okinawa, hip-hop, modern-day Japan, and chanbara. With such a unique blending of genres, this has led to some referring him as the "Quentine Tarantino of anime", and to this day remains among Japan's best animation directors.

   

   Having been a huge fan of Cowboy Bebop (It was especially one of my biggest influences when I was studying Illustration back in my last art school), Samurai Champloo was admittedly... not one of my absolute favorites the first time I had watched it (And I suppose this is due to the fact that Mugen came off as a much weaker and less charming protagonist when compared to someone like Spike Spiegel... Yeah, I really wasn't the most open minded person at that time). 

   I can't necessarily remember when it was exactly that I decided to give it another chance, but once I did, I do say that it is now an even bigger influence on my work than Cowboy Bebop ever was. It's funny really, as I really can't imagine it never being a part of my life now. It has after all influenced some of my most favorite shows, particularly The Boondocks. To this day, I found myself rewatching this series far more than I have Cowboy Bebop (It is not to say that one is better than the other, because I absolutely love both these series with all my heart... and quite honestly, I am planning to rewatch Cowboy Bebop once I do get the chance to).

   

   When comparing it to Cowboy Bebop (Yes, I am going to be doing that a lot during this post if you haven't already guessed), the animation style and art direction is notably looser if not rougher when compared to Cowboy Bebop's more... traditionally animated look (In my opinion at least, that series just has a more old school sort of look to it when compared to this series), especially when it came to its main characters' designs and animation. 

   As mentioned in my last post about sacrificing a character's appearance when animating certain scenes, there are many instances when details might be sacrificed by the animators when animating certain scenes (And I feel that Mugen especially falls victim to this numerous times throughout the series). This could perhaps come off as somwhat lazy, especially when this series has been regarded for most of its quality fight sequences. And in fact, it certainly still deserves that reputation, presenting some of the most dynamic and uniquely choreographed fight scenes seen in any anime series. How often would you see a vagabond use aspects of break dancing during a sword fight with another samurai?

   

   While there were certainly a lot of modern genres and influences in it, I also enjoyed the fact that it was nicely balanced out with more traditional ones. Jin especially takes on the role of the traditional ronin in both personality and fighting style, which creates this really nice contrast between him and Mugen. This odd couple can be enjoyed whether they are dueling one another or fighting alongside one another throughout the entire duration of the series.

   Samurai Champloo was most certainly also memorable for its amazing soundtrack (One which I have continued listening to to this very day). Produced by Watanabe's longtime friend DJ Tsutchie and Japanese hip hop duo Forces of Nature, others that were involved were R&B songstress Kazami, rap artist Shing02, R&B singer Minmi, American MC/producer Fat Jon, and perhaps most notably, Japanese DJ/producer Nujabes, who had sadly died in a traffic accident on February 26th 2010. Samurai Champloo's ambient soundtrack has since received very high critical acclaim and is ranked among the Top Ten Anime Themes and Soundtracks of All Time, with it being listed at #10 and Cowboy Bebop taking the #1 spot.

   I wouldn't say that Samurai Champloo is perfect (After all, I have chanced upon quite a few folks that have expressed their dislike for it), but it certainly remains one of my biggest influence and will perhaps continue to be for years to come, and in the most positive manner possible. It is a series with a surprisingly effective blend of very different genres with incredibly entertaining and well animated fight sequences, along with the most amazing soundtrack to nicely wrap it all up. And quite frankly, it has a pretty entertaining story and colorful cast of characters (Fuu will probably grow on you overtime, if you give her a chance, I think), while that is certainly not the award winning bit to the series,  it is not something to be looked over either.

Seirei no Moribito

   Seirei no Moribito or Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (2007) is an anime series based on Nahako Uehashi's first novel of the same name. The series was animated by Production I.G. (Known for Ghost in the Shell, Sengoku Basara, the animated sequence in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 1, and many more) and directed by Kenji Kamiyama and premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

   The story takes place in a fictional universe where Balsa, a wandering spear wielder. vows to atone for eight deaths in her past by saving an equivalent number of lives during her journey. She eventually rescues a Prince, and is tasked with becoming his bodyguard (With his father, the emperor having ordered for his assassination). The two begin a perilous journey to ensure the prince's survival. And in the midst of complications such as Balsa's own past coming to light as well the rising of a legendary water spirit that has the power to destroy the ki-- whoops! ... Anyway, in the midst of all that, Balsa and the Prince also begin to bond throughout it all...

   Production I.G was founded on December 15th, 1987 by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. Aside from various anime television series, OVAs and theatrical films, the studio is also involved in video game design and development, particularly being know for developing intros, cut-scenes and artwork for games (Such as Tales of Symphonia). Not only that, the studio has also been known for music publishing and management. Needless to the say, Production I.G. is one of Japan's most prominent studios.

   The studio is one of the forerunners of digital animation techniques, and while they are not exclusive in their usage of computer technology, they are given praise for their advances in digital compositing, digital effects, digital image/storyboarding, and digital color grading. The film Ghost in the Shell (1995) marker the first ever overlay of computer generated visuals onto a hand drawn background. Surprisingly, however, many of the digital looking effects in the film were laboriously hand produced.

   BUT, back to the series itself. It is pretty apparent that many quality series have come about from this studio (Sure, there's bound to be a few failures every now and then, but so far, nothing that really stands out when it comes to Production I.G) and Seirei no Moribito is a prime example of that. A deeply underrated series, it is not just one of the most beautifully animated series that came out in 2007, but also one of the most well written (This credit obviously goes to Nahako Uehashi, but we will definitely have to thank director Kenji Kamiyama as well for being able to properly translate into a decently paced anime series).

   It is always a pleasure to see a strong female character like Balsa (Again, hat's off to you Madam Uehashi), who is just so well rounded from the very beginning (Especially when it came to her backstory) and STILL continues to develop as the series progresses. She is strong, independent, brave, stubborn... and this is sort of where a well written male character comes into play, and while the Prince turns out to be an amazing character as well, he is not who I am talking about. While it could be said that Balsa's childhood friend is simply written in to be a love interest for Balsa, I find him to be just as well written as Balsa, and plays a much more important role than simply harboring a crush on her. Being a seemingly mild-mannered but still sharp witted herbalist, his relationship with the Balsa the ferocious warrior is played beautifully off one another. And do not get me started on Balsa's mentor... If I end up talking about all of these characters, this post is going to turn into a novel.

   So, much like the Sword of the Stranger (2007... they both came out in the same year, what are the chances of that?), let us once again get down to the fight sequences in the animation. 

   I am probably the only idiot here that had initially thought that the story took place in a real-world setting and not a fictional one (Ah, I can still remember the look my friend game me when I admitted this to her...). But truth be told, you have to give me a break here when I say that the characters and settings are just so believable that it is able to briefly fool idiots like me into thinking that this took place during some obscure part of Japan history... until we read the summary that is (And how many times do I need to apologise for making this mistake?). 

   As the title suggests, there is of course a more mystical side that is shown later on as the story progresses, but honestly, I will always remember this series for its amazingly crafted world, one that I believe could have taken place in the real world... an alternate side to Ancient Japan (Or some other Asian country, but it's pretty obvious that this series has a lot of Japanese influence to it) history. None of these human characters possess super human powers (Even the ninja-esque characters still come off incredibly realistic as compared to so many examples seen in the past), they are just all so... real, so human. They are strong and skilled simply because they trained themselves to be since birth, and that is something I absolutely love about all these characters.

   Not that I have gone all out to look for them, but I don't think there are many anime series that featured spear wielding characters, let along ones that are given such incredibly detailed animation sequences once they do start dishing out the thrusts and stabs. There is just so much thought put into every fight scene, they strike, they block, they parry, they distract, they do everything that has to be done to survive in a real death match. Each character has such a different fighting style to one another as well. Even if they happen to be wielding the same weapon, there is notably more grace in one character as compared to the other (The little things, people, the little things). There aren't many anime series that would go that far when it comes to the choreography of their fight scenes.

   I am really hoping that the other novels will be animated one day, especially as I have heard from my friend about how interesting the story gets. But yes, if you haven't checked out the series yet, do take the time to binge watch it. Beautiful animation, well-written characters and a decent storyline, what more could you ask for?

Wolf Children

Warning: Oodles of spoilers that will make you want to punch the wall next to you.

Wolf Children (Alternatively titled Wolf Children Ame and Yuki) is a 2012 Japanese animated film directed and co-written by Mamoru Hosoda (Perhaps best known for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars, this would be his sixth work to be theatrically released) and animated by Studio Chizu (Which was established upon the production of this film) and and good ol' Madhouse.

The film tells the story of a young woman named Hana who falls in love with a Wolf Man named Ookami (Hehehe…), who is revealed to be the only surviving descendant of the extinct Japanese wolf. And while this may all already seem pretty cliche (Especially when she so easily accepts and embraces his secret), this werewolf is thankfully not a complete dullard of a character and so a rather heartwarming development of their relationship is shown for the first part of the film.

Ohohohohohoho~

Buuut… as the title of the film suggests, the story actually focuses on these two little cuties.

It is after this really strange and heartbreaking death scene where the real story begins.

It seems that Hana has one problem after another to deal with once Yuki and Ame comes into her life, seeing that they are definitely not going to be normal little kids, many precautions had to be taken in raising them properly (And seeing that they are practically freaks of nature of most of the human race, she obviously couldn't give birth to them at the hospital when she was pregnant with them, or take them for their shots or vaccinations).

It's worse than taking care of a litter of puppies on your own.

After having to deal with annoyed neighbors and pushy social workers, Hana soon enough decides to move to the countryside with her children, purchasing an abandoned house that is rent free but requires tons of work (And once again she is more than willing to do it all on her own). While Hana no longer needs to worry about her kids disturbing the neighbors with their howling and crying or social workers suddenly dropping by unexpectedly, other problems soon come into play, particularly the raising of her children…

… Sorry if I made it sound like these three are suffering all their lives, because they are clearly not, like any normal family, despite the struggles they face, they still have their moments, and clearly, they deeply love one another.

I say Hana wins mother of the year.

While this is definitely no fairytale, the struggles we see Hana go through for the sake of her children is heartwarming and all the same inspiring, from such a young age, she really was able to deal with an awful lot on her own (And again I feel contradicted since it also makes her a tad unrealistic). Never throughout the entire film did I actually see Hana ever blow up at anyone, not even her kids when they got out of line…

I always found the main character of the story of be a rather curious individual. While I do like her, for one who has to deal with so much in her life, she is an amazingly strong person who never breaks down no matter how hopeless the situation seems, especially once she is left on her own to deal with everything, which I find almost unrealistic in a way. 

Another humorous aspect pointed out by someone is the fact that Hana is a nineteen-year-old university student with a good part-time job and has a nice apartment all to herself, which might seem unrealistic to a lot of us.

 

This is definitely a pretty unique take on the human falls in love with what is considered a mythological creature formula, there are just so many realistic elements put into the story that it makes one believe that this could all really take place in real life if werewolves secretly existed among us. While they are gifted with the ability to transform into wolves, they behave very much like humans, they don't try to act like these higher-than-thou outcasts that are seen in so many awful fantasy-romance novels these days.

Anime fans may find themselves familiar with the style used for this film, seeing as Mamoru Hosoda is also known for the first two Digimon Adventure films (That clearly use a very similar art style for its characters), and while I do like the characters designs… sometimes… however… at certain angles...

… those eyes and...

… those muppet mouths bug me… but oh hey look at that gorgeous background.

I mean, I don't think I saw such weird features designs from Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

Anyway, the background designs are nothing short of stunning, as seen above, the same designs can be effectively reused for the change of the seasons without having to draw that detailed house all over again (It's alright, really). The colors used are absolutely wonderful, with the right amount of vibrancy to still makes it all seem believable.

The recurring scene of Hana resting in a glowing field of flowers whenever she dreams (Though I think she was knocked out during one incident…) in my opinion remains one of the most beautiful and emotional moments in the film (It was perhaps her own brief form of escapism for when she needed some time to further strengthen herself before going back to deal with all the heart wrenching problems she faces in the real world).

If you hadn't noticed by now, this film seems to specialize in more nature/country-related environment designs (I mean the city designs are really nice too but… look, look at these).

It's obvious that most Japanese animated films these days are of the utmost quality, but its only right to still share with you all parts that especially caught my attention. Some of the best bits of animation in this film were its fluid if not discreet transformation sequences, their wolf  transformations never truly do come off as dramatic as they should, even during Ookami's big revelation to Hana (It was more… romantic?).

And not only that, seeing as I am one to appreciate the little things, the animations for smaller details definitely did not escape me, I adore how delicately done their movements seem to be, they are never truly exaggerated and actually seem quite realistic. I especially like the way Hana's hair moves in the wind.

Even if there isn't any wind around, there's still some bounce seen in her hair!

That wind blown hair is just… perfection. I tend to go all over the place when it comes to animating moving hair or clothing, so someday I hope to animate such details with extreme care in manner simile to this.

That transition...

All I can say is that this film is absolutely beautiful, from start to finish, with absolutely stunning art direction, a heartwarming plot (That has apparently made many cry, from what I have learnt over the past few days researching into it… not me though, I suppose it was just one of those days...) with endearing and rather relatable characters, it is perhaps Hosoda's best work to date, it is no surprise why he has been considered the next Hayao Miyazaki, a must see, even for those that aren't big fans of anime.