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lemonfezt · 4 years

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Thoughts for ep 11

Ugh. Kagura. Why do you have to be so precious 😭

This is the first episode post-beach arc, so we really get to see the changes from each characters. I'm gonna discuss Tohru and Kazuma first. Yup, Tohru with that serious "I won't give up" attitude is sending me. I almost forgot how the cat's burial is not on the Sohma estate rather faraway. I appreciate they didn't add that much music in the first part coz it was a really serious conversation between them. And that BIRD. That BIRD flying when they're discussing the curse. The amount of foreshadowing in this series has been too many to count so I would definitely rewatch this series again after it's done. We also get to see the outside vs inside (particularly the zodiacs) perspective towards Akito. It's great that Kazuma really pointed his view Akito as a fragile, child who's prone to screaming while the zodiacs view him as god who is to be feared and respected. It stresses as one of the reasons why they can't defy Akito. Also, Kazuma just really told Tohru to be herself and when she smiles, it gives them strength and the world seems gentler (damn right! And technically he's also correct on his advice esp given how that advice worked in the last chapters of the manga). And yes, every Tohru and Rin interaction is always acknowledged. Even just crumbs of it. I'm sure anime viewers would finally grasp that Tohru and Rin has the same goal (CAN'T WAIT FOR THEM!!)

Next, Shigure's house moments is one of my favorite scenes to watch in this series. I just find them quite heartwarming like Ayame's bit wherein he's concerned for Yuki (aaah!!)and Kyo telling Tohru he's going out but covered her ears when Shigure's just mentioned that it's a date. (CUTIEEEES!) Also, I cannot get over Yuki's face when Kyo told him that it's his job to take Tohru home. Aah that face. Never knew that reaction would eventually lead up to be the best fight between the two. Though, tbh I kinda like when their fights are just like this. Not too hostile but it's still pretty freaking hilarious.

Now on to Kagura!! I was really indifferent to her when I first read the manga. I thought she was just a side character without any heartbreaking backstories (which is quite stupid of me coz of course she's gonna have one. She's a zodiac) but when I read the confession scene. Just seeing the tremendous regret on her face was utterly devastating. I knew I would get teary-eyed when she explained her reasons for befriending him. Even if it was born out of pity, she eventually still loved him. She's flawed, she's very aware of her guilt and Kyo's pain so I applaud her for bravely speaking to him about it. I love her even more because of it. If there were more scenes about her, I'm sure she would end up becoming one of my favorites. Also, I'm not gonna end this without mentioning Kyo. He was really calm and level-headed in this ep and I'm so glad he's becoming more and more emotionally mature (tho he still has a long way to go) and not gonna lie, that hug scene got me. Seeing Kagura crying and clutching his shirt really hurts.

In addition, the backstory between them really hits me in the anime more than the manga. It's also wherein we realizes more of Kyo's life before her mother's death and how isolated he was (tho kyo looking like he waa swimming away from kagura was too adorable to look at)

If I have one comment tho, I guess the first part wherein they went home was a little too fast so some scenes for me were quite rushed and awkward but I kinda understand given how they're merging 3 chapters.

Really a tearjerker ep and they have to add those bits between them when they're playing during that hug scene was glorious. Damn this show wouldn't give me a break 😭.

Next week is Hatori and Mayu's ep. I'm just as hyped for their backstories as Kagura's. I'm also qute excited coz I get to see Hatori and Mayu interact (😍😍😍) As I said, they wouldn't really catch us a break!

Bonus: Yuki and Kyo sharing that one braincell once again will never get old

+Bonus: I have mixed feelings abt Kyo's shirt. It looks super good on him at the same time, I keep getting distracted on it everytime there's a serious moment my brain's all "maaan poor kyo/kagura" and the other half was like "he looks really dashing tho"

#fruits basket #furuba #tohru honda #kagura sohma #kazuma sohma #kyo sohma #yuki sohma #shigure sohma #ayame sohma

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b-e-h-o-l-d-e-r · 3 years

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Ghost in the Shell (2017) review

I came into this movie with an open mind. Despite every fibre of my fanboy teenage ghost rejecting this alien reincarnation. I even set aside the whitewashing criticisms to just see if the movie can achieve something significant in spite of it.

Within roughly 5 minutes, this movie assured me I was going to be treated like a lobotomised baby. I shit you not, within seconds of a beautifully rendered manufacture sequence we watch two introduced characters in a room blatantly tell us what "ghost in the shell" means in the most uninspired way imaginable.

I wish I could tell you that this was just me getting off on the wrong foot but throughout, the movie is so uncertain in how to portray the themes, symbolisms and spiritual/ religious references that make up the brain in GitS' cyberpunk action body. The script just glitches between lame exposition by talking heads and still reflection in its precise composition but the two hardly work together.

It's like the film can't find its centre and as a result is neither a compelling action sci-fi or a meditative exploration of its philosophies. If this were Aaronofsky/ Gilliam or Bay/ Snyder perhaps (for better or worse) at least this movie would have a distinct direction to go in but instead it sits in the middle and suffers at both.

Hell, I'm sure many fans would be happy if this just took the Dredd approach. If they just accepted that the fans know the backstory and the non fans don't need it and made this simply about the Section 9 anti cyber crimes team doing their job, kicking ass n taking names, it would at least have a better chance of success amongst its primary demographic.

Instead Hollywood thinks big and wants to initiate a new franchise, origin story and all, n crams so much bullshit to try and get new audiences into it that Section 9 itself gets pushed way back in the corner. Audiences spend more time getting to know the Majors mum/s than they do with any her team.

They ditch the cerebral plot of the '95 anime whereby Major Motoko Kusanagi working within Section 9 are tracking a hacker who turns out not only to be an AI secretly created by the government to assassinate political targets but has become sentient, claims asylum and ends up merging consciousness with Major Kusanagi by the end.

Here we get Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9, pissed that many innocent people were murdered in experiments to create her and super shitty that her entire identity was a lie and she's actually a bratty anti establishment punk.

After all is said and done, what we get is Robocop-Lite (and thats the reboot mind you). All the nuance, intrigue and head scratching ideology that we got in the shorter length '95 anime is reduced here to identity theft and yet another unremarkable corporate business villain to cover it up. We've seen this shit SO often. I'm beginning to think Hollywood just doesn't know how to do it any other way. They weren't all bad mind you, Robocop, Total Recall, The Matrix, these are all great films but GitS in its initial reception really broke the mould and here to see it put back in the cage of "been here, done that" is so incredibly disappointing.

As far as anime/manga Hollywood adaptations are concerned, the bar is INCREDIBLY low. I'd argue the only good one amongst them is Edge of Tomorrow/ Live Die Repeat. Aside from that, every otaku since the 90's is used to being made fun of in the result of America trying to morph them into something that works amongst their style of cinema. Japan has made some great adaptations partly because they don't feel the need to repackage the story.

This GitS remake tries desperately to be on the fans side by copying much of the '95 movies look (with varying degrees of success, some scenes are very accurate in their reproduction but the hair in this film is more reminiscent of X-men (2000) and seems cosplay-ish at times).

There are few scenes lifted from the original but most get twisted to accommodate the new storyline, at which point I ask why bother? Half measures don't tend to turn many heads and whilst paying homage by really making the effort to be exact duplications in some ways is applaudable, you're giving yourself less room to do your version of it. At least then, whether the film turns out to be shit or not, I'll respect that you tried to do your own thing.

ok, casting. this argument has already been done to death and I've just about run outta energy already on the whole Scarlett Johanson thing but a few things that never seem to come up: first of all, acting wise, I gotta say it's all much of a fucking muchness isn't it? Kusanagi does not outwardly express much so its mostly a headgame for an actress with the chance to throw in some subtleties in the voice acting.

I don't really like Scarlet Johansson's performances but that its preposterous for anyone to come to the conclusion that her resume would land her this gig is a bit of a stretch. Do people realise how rare it is to find an A-list celebrity that has an extensive list of both highly demanding physical action blockbusters and subtle minimalist detail performances? Of course they are going to cast her. Before anyone throws ME personally into somehow being against ethnic minorities in blockbuster films (which would be absurd for anyone who knows me) '95 GitS director Mamoru Oshii also gave his stamp of approval.

They really tried with the marketing to dodge the bullet by just not bringing it up but it's really not dealt with well in the film and leads to some pretty fucking awkward moments for a racial debate charged audience to watch.

I would have preferred the role to go to a Japanese actress but remember, this is Hollywood and if a studio is gonna push bringing THIS film out, you bet your bottom dollar that they're going with someone that is a household name in America.

The only internationally known Japanese name out there right now is Rinko Kikuchi (who to date has 2 American films out there, both not big successes). I love most of her films and there ARE a few other Japanese actresses I would love to see in the role but Hollywood studios are not gonna bank on the success of Japanese films. Hell, the fact that they put Takeshi Kitano in bit part in this movie is as far as they are willing go to get in on that market. Few seem to point at his casting as some kind of justification and I laugh quite hard. Seriously, you're gonna give this guy (who's acted AND directed in over 20 brilliant films) a few minutes of screen time and applaud that as some kind of cultural milestone?

Which brings me to the big casting shame that NO ONE is fucking talking about because they're so caught up with the Johansson shit. Aside from Kusanagi, there are 6 Japanese members of the Section 9 taskforce. How many are Japanese? Kitano, yes. Who else? Saito. Did you remember him? He's the guy that snipes the helicopter at the very end of the film. You see his face for like 10 seconds. Pretty big step in casting mulitculturally, right? Don't get me wrong, the cast IS incredibly multicultural. We got actors from all over the world pretending to be Japanese:

A Danish guy as Batou A Chinese guy as Togusa An Australian as Ishikawa A Zimbabwean as Borma

Why keep the names?! Just call them whatever, it doesn't matter. You don't give them anything important to do anyway. Have a mulit-ethnic team but when they're all speaking clearly in their national accents and supposed to be portraying Japanese characters, THAT'S what should really piss people off because THESE roles could have gone out to Japanese people and it would not have even been a risk for the studio.

Ultimately, the one real positive thing I have to say is a great job for the WETA production team on some fantastic animatronics and moulds...that's pretty much it. Shame it couldn't be in a better film.

- dug out from the depths of https://letterboxd.com/Do_oM/

#ghostintheshell #gits #moviereview #movies #anime adaptation #hollywood

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thecrazyanimegirl · 6 years

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Spring anime 2018

And here is our review of the Spring season ^^

This is not everything we watched, but mostly things we would recommend or had something to comment. We also didn’t include some anime that had second, third etc season airing. If we missed an anime you think should be here, write it in the comments and help us complete the list ~

Remember, this is just our opinion, we never meant to offend anyone and we hope we made your decisions about what to watch next a bit easier ^^

Winter 17/18

3D Kanojo

K: I liked it at first, the main character is sometimes really relatable, an outcast otaku who is just trying to survive. And it has some very funny moments. But somehow too much drama got involved and I stopped following it on a weekly basis, but I’ll definitely binge watch it during summer too see the end ~

Neko: I like how characters are relatable and it was nice until drama came. It is still good though.

Kitsune: Watched the first episode but didn’t get hoooked on it :/

Butlers x Battlers

K: Yes, this has such typical and predictable plot. Like you know it right off the bat. But yes, I still love it (≧∇≦) The side characters are more capable than the main guy, but I like their interactions and it’s somehow really good.

Neko: The plot is really predictable, but that gives it charm, I guess? I don’t watch it for the plot anyway. I watch it because of the characters.

Kitsune: If you like good looking guys than this will be satisfying for you although the animation gets kinda weird at some points (mostly during the fighting scenes).

Caligula

K: This is definitely one of my favorites this season! I know it’s not for everyone, it’s confusing most of the time, but I like how every character has depth and they are all very interesting. The story is also very unique, I love it. Oh yea, the soundtrack is Amazing™️ ^^ (I guess I should mention it’s not for everyone because it has a lot of trauma, suicide mention, bullying...)

Neko: I love the plot and the thought behind this anime. It was really interesting and I got hooked really fast. It is confusing sometimes but I still love it!

Kitsune: Beautiful music and great plot! The characters are well developed and it makes you like even “bad” guys. Definitely worth the try!

Comic girls

Neko: I watched this anime because I totally relate with Kaos-chan. If you like slice of life with manga artists and yuri then you probably will like this.

Crossing time

Neko: I was actually skeptical about this one, I thought it will be bad, but in the end I quite liked it. It last only few minutes which is great for when you don’t have time and it is made up from different stories every episode so it doesn’t get boring. It’s great for short relaxing pause.

Dances with the Dragons

K: The story is very complex, so sometimes it’s hard to follow what’s happening because a lot of politics are involved. But beside that, the interactions between characters are amazing, it has some humor and a lot of fighting scenes. Less dragons then I though it will though. Even so, I liked it ^^

Neko: I have a feeling this story is great and really detailed, but it is really hard to follow. I think that if you read novel it is better? I think it would be really good, but unfortunately I really have hard time understanding what is happening

Kitsune: God help me with all those names and titles they use xD Also I think I tried much too hard to understand the politics in this universe than in the real world lol. I hope that the novel gets and English translation so that I will get to see more of these two’s interactions ;)

Devils Line

K: A really good romance, great fighting scenes, has some a bit more gore-y, nswf-ish scenes, but it really fit well with the theme. One of the more popular this seasons and it deserves it ^^ I love the characters. (and Miyano Mamoru’s voice in the ending song is a blessing *-*)

Neko: It has really good story and a bit of everything: romance, fighting, supernatural... It shows two people from different worlds (even different species?) overcoming all the obstacles to be together and also a lot of blood.

Kitsune: At some times I kinda felt a little bit annoyed with Tsukasa because of her actions BUT the whole anime is really good and I would recommend it to anyone who likes the combination of romance and action. The plot is deep and well explained so it’s a real treat to watch it.

Dorei-ku The Animation

K: Not the biggest fan, but the plot is interesting enough to make me want to watch more.

Neko: It’s intersting. It shows a lot of sides one person can have and how easy it is to change when you gain some power. I only wanted for the dog to get his revenge though XD

Kitsune: The idea of this anime is really interesting but I kinda felt disappointed for not seeing the complete dark and twisted possibilities that the device they use offers. Maybe the manga goes deeper into that points as the story goes on.

Dragon pilot: Hisone to Masotan

K: A really interesting idea, has dragons, amusing characters and a great ending song ^^

Neko: I really like this anime. Idea is great and it really surprised me because I really didn’t think it will be deep anime because it was really fun but it is and it is great. And it has dragons!

Kitsune: Really cute and different style of animations that made me fall in love with this anime from the start! I like it how the characters are developing through the story and cope with their problems.

Golden Kamuy

K: Even though it has a lot of killing and maybe gruesome scene, the plot is intriguing and always made me wait for the new episode with anticipation. I can’t wait for the next season ^^

Neko: I love this anime. It has a serious plot but it’s still funny. Story is really interesting and characters are really loveable! I should mention it has a lot of fighting and killing. It is one of my favorites this season.

Kitsune: Many praises to this one, it has everything that a good anime has to offer! (except for the bear in the first episode lol, poor thing looked like it came from an other dimension)

Hina festival

Neko: It’s cute and funny and sarcastic. It’s about an overpowered girl who doesn’t really know anything about life living with her adoptive father with shady business and people around them

Jikken-kin Kazoku

K: This is amazing! It really needs more popularity. I love their soft interactions. A weird but loving family ^^

Neko: I love it! it is heartwarming and beautiful.

Kitsune: A cute story about a weird family that tries to find their place in the society :)

Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits

K: A really good romance, food, cute and heartwarming stories, a bunch of hot guys, actually capable and most of the time useful main girl, what more can you ask for! I love it.

Neko: This is also one of my favorites. It has similar style as kamisama hajimemashita and other slow burn romances. Characters are loveable and the story is interesting!

Kitsune: Weeee more food in animes! Also, we finally get to see some other world experience other than getting sucked into video games xD

Last hope

K: I didn’t have much of an opinion about it at first, but I got hooked with each episode even more and started liking the characters. The mecha/animal combinations are interesting and even though the villain is a bit typical so far, its a good anime. I love it more and more with each episode ^^

Neko: At the begining it was just weird, but after a while it got a bit easier to understand. I think that you need patience for this anime? I like characters so it was good enough for me

Kitsune: Have you ever wondered what would it look like if a whale merged with a bulldozer? Then this is the right place for you xD An awesome mecha anime with tons of good-looking guys is waiting just for you!

Layton’s Mystery Detective Agency

Neko: I like this anime. At forst I thought it was made for the children, but the clues are really hard to get and the cases are really original and interesting so I think it is for everyone who likes detective anime with bright character ^^

Legend of the Galactic Heroes

K: I heard a lot of bad things about it before I started watching it, but I really like it! The story is interesting, I love the battles, the characters are complex and the animation is amazing! So this is one of my favorites ^^

Neko: I am not really fan of it, but not because it is bad it’s just not my type. I don’t like when I have to use my brain too much so listening to their war plans is really hard for me XD I do love the characters and I think it is great anime if you are into this genre ^^

Kitsune: Although many had their doubts about this remake of the old anime version, I must say that I can’t see anything that could be considered “bad”. The new art style brings joy to the eyes and the story is marvelous!

Lost song

Neko: I love the story even though it is confusing at the end. It’s really beautiful and emotional ^^

Magical Girl Ore

K: Ummm, is there anything to say? Boy love, girl love, straight couples and none of the above, lots of humor, sometimes makes no sense, but is always entertaining. Sometimes I found a bit too much, but in the end, it’s a great laugh and an interesting idea for a plot.

Neko: I honestly don’t know how i feel about this anime. It is funny and weird. Sometimes it feels like a parody and sometime it looks like it has an actual plot. I really don’t know.

Kitsune: Weird. At first xD but at the same time interesting and funny. Some might call it cringey but if you get over some things this anime warps, you get an interesting story that makes you smile each time you see a girl transform into a guy xD

Magical Girl Site

K: Definitely not what I expected, but I ended up really liking the story ^^ It has a lot of blood, bullying, suicide and other thing so it’s not for everybody, but the plot is worth it all. Don’t give up after the first episode, it’s really interesting.

Neko: I like dark magical girls anime because they usually have a deeper meaning. I was really shocked at the first episode, it is really brutal, but story is really great! It has a lot of nasty stuff so I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone.

Kitsune: We all thought that there is no anime that can shock us anymore but this one definitely proved us wrong. “Cute” animations and a tad bit of yuri say that this anime isn’t your everyday shoujo story.

My Sweet Tyrant

K: Extremely cute, funny, lasts 3 minutes. Cuties (❀◦‿◦)

Neko: It is really cute and short ^^

Kitsune: very sweet short story :3

Persona 5 The Animation

K: Another of the favorites! Amazing story, characters, animation and music *-* The soundtrack is constantly playing while I’m studying. Oh, yea, you can watch it regardless of the previous seasons, but it could make you want to watch everything and play all the games, so beware ;)

Neko: This anime is one of my favorites this season ^^ I like the animation and plot. I love it!

Kitsune: Still daydreaming about seeing the game to come on the PC!

Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori

K: The best thing when you need something warm, calming and full of feelings. They are all so cute! And I really want to try their coffee... and tea and sweets *-*

Neko: I love how therapeutic their shop is! Characters are cute and they all deal with everyday struggles and eat delicious food. It is great and relaxing anime ^^

Kitsune: Food, coffee, tea and beautiful guys? I wish there would be a similar cafe in my place xD

Space Battleship Tiramisu

K: I have no words 😂 I died laughing. The humor can get too much, but it’s still hilarious.

Neko: I guess it is funny just not my type of funny. It lasts a few minutes and is made to make you laugh. I guess people will either like it or not.

Kitsune: I don’t think there was even one episode that made sense to me but the main guy is funny xD you can literary watch each episode separately because the plot in them is not that connected

SAO Alternative: GGO

K: You can watch it even without previously watching sao ^^ It’s filled with action, a lot of battles and strategies, the plot stays the same throughout most of the episodes, but it still keeps you interested so I liked it a lot.

Neko: I guess everyone who watches SAO will like this. It is in the same style only with a different story and characters. Plot and characters are really interesting

Tada Never Falls in Love

K: Amazing romance story, it has a lot of feels and interesting characters, I didn’t think I’d like a romance anime this much, but it’s really really good ^^ It also has a lot of funny and cute moments.

Neko: I think this is great romace anime. I really love characters and their interactions :)

Kitsune: A lovely and romantic story for relaxing and bring a smile upon your face. Also has a lot of cats!

The Scales of Nil Admirari

K: Since I’m an otome lover, I’ll always watch these anime and not feel bad about it, so for me, this is good! The characters are really cute and good-looking! As the episodes go on, the plot gets more ridiculous, especially the last few, but it did make me laugh (even when it probably shouldn’t) but I liked it ~

Neko: Sometimes I feel the plot doesn’t make sense, but that actually makes me laugh so I quite like this anime. I guess that people who like anime versions of otome will like it just like me.

Kitsune: A classic otome-turned-into-anime. Lovable characters and an interesting plot.

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

K: I love this! The interactions between the characters are cute and interesting and they can be very relatable. If you don’t mind fujoshi’s, a lot of cosplays, weird, but somehow perfect relationships, this is amazing for you ^^

Neko: I like this kind of anime so I can only praise it. If you are like anime that are everyday life romance between weird people you should watch it and if not you will not like it ┐(︶▽︶)┌

Kitsune: I have no idea what to say anymore other than what Neko and Kurohime already said xD It is good, watch it if you like romace xD

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robin-blogs · 3 years

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09.02.2021 - Project Meeting Week Two

This week I had the second Project Meeting for this semester. Compared to last week, I felt like I had a much clearer idea in mind when thinking about my practice. Leading on from the ideas I explored in last weeks blog, I ended up doing a merged digital piece. In the mind map I created last week I spoke about and listed my comforts, such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild, Studio Ghibli films; such as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away along with a range of others such as my cat Oslo who has practically made this lockdown bearable for me. As a result of this, I decided to merge all these things into one to see what would happen; especially because this is how everything has felt to me during lockdown. I started with a base idea of wanting to re-draw a poster I have hanging in my room of Princess Mononoke; one of my favourite Studio Ghibli films. Here is what the poster looks like:

Using this as a base, I then decided to start sketching. Although, it wasn’t as straight forward as this when I was starting. When I first had the idea, I decided to re-watch Princess Mononoke as I was drawing so I would have a clear idea of the art-style in a range of different views, lighting and perspective in case I go further with this idea in the future. I assumed I would have been able to comfortably watch this film while I sketched, but I suppose I underestimated my ability to focus on two things at once. I have found throughout lockdown that I can’t focus on two things at once, especially if they are both auditory and visual. I found the same also goes with talking, my brain blocks out both voices// conversations if to people are talking to me at the same time, or if someone’s trying to talk to me and there’s noise in the background. Although, this is something I’ve tried to work on improving for the past few weeks. For example, as I’m writing this, I’m listening to one-hour loops of the same Animal Crossing: New Leaf themes, as I have an extension on my browser that changes the theme each hour. I have been doing this for the past few blog sessions to see if I can still concentrate if I know it’s the same sound at the same volume for a long amount of time. It seems as if my brain tunes out the sound after a while so I can ‘unconsciously’ still listen to it but also be able to focus on what I’m writing too. But! I got side-tracked there, this didn’t really have much to do with my piece, I just felt like it was an interesting side note. So, after realising I couldn’t focus on the film and drawing at the same time, I decided I’d instead just focus on the film and relax watching it. This then gave me more of a reason to study how they draw out each scene and seeing how they merge a detailed still background to a more simplified cell-shaded foreground that’s animated. After I had finished watching Princess Mononoke I decided to then fully concentrate on my sketch and ideas behind it.

I started off my sketch by briefly considering what I wanted to change about the poster. For example, I knew I wanted to change San ((The girl to the left of the poster)) to me, and then change Moro ((The wolf to the right of the poster)) to my cat, Oslo. I started to roughly sketch up this idea by keeping the same composition of the poster along with keeping the strong sense of lighting and shade. I then generated this rough sketch:

After a while of changing proportions around, I found myself being pleased with this sketch. I decided to add some aspects of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild to it as well to add yet another aspect of my comforts. I decided to incorporate this by having me hold both the Master Sword and Hylian Shield from Breath of The Wild. After I was satisfied with the sketch, I then decided to develop the sketch into a line art to emulate the clean, thin lines seen in Studio Ghibli films. I then produced this line art:

At this point I had been working on the piece all day and I found myself getting tired, but I still wanted to see what it would look like with colour and shading. I decided as a last step that I would add rough colour and shading to the piece by quickly adding and changing around the colours from the original poster to match my one. I did this so I could keep the same sense of colour and shading you get from the original poster. Although, after adding the rough colour and shading I realized something. In the original poster Moro is fully white, and as a result, she contrasts the background well, so she is clear to see, even when mostly in shade. However, I came to this realization after I had shown the piece in the meeting. If I work on this piece more in the future I would change some aspects of the background for example, I would lighten up the background colour to contrast the darkness of Oslo’s fur. Additionally I could give myself lighter coloured clothing similar to San to add a contrast between me and Oslo to make the piece feel more balanced all together. Furthermore, after the meeting I started thinking about if I ever decided to develop this piece more in the future. I was talking to my girlfriend about when we are moving out and how I was exited to get frames for the posters to hang them up, and it made me wonder if I could try and finish this poster to the same clean an detailed extent to that of the Studio Ghibli poster so I could print out my own and hang it up too.

Overall, as a finishing point, I found an idea Rick said in the meeting interesting. He mentioned how it could be interesting to see a kind of comic or storyboard in this style to reflect my experiences and thoughts during lockdown as a response to the project brief. I found this idea to be intriguing as I have always had an interest in making my own storyboard or comic, especially since getting into horror manga’s and seeing the clean drawings of artists such as Junji Ito; one of my favourite manga artists. I would love to develop this idea further when thinking about my project work. Overall, I found this project meeting to be very helpful in the development of m ideas and practice; especially considering how I was worried about having no ideas at all when considering last week’s meeting.

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gracefeehan · 7 years

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Reviews: Ghost in the Shell (2017)

The first of our official proper-serious-like blog posts! Whilst I’ve written a few personal posts already, I haven’t actually put up anything meaningful; now, we have a great opportunity to get started properly, since Adam and I went to watch Ghost last Friday. We saw it with an old friend of his (who seemed to have a pretty positive experience of it) and - speaking for myself here - kept our expectations pretty low.

First of all, this won’t be a long review. Mainly because I’ve already found a perfect review by Cassandra Khaw at Ars Technica that expresses most of what I felt the film got wrong. Also, I’d like to clarify that whilst I’m a big fan of the original film (and some of the manga), I haven’t seen the sequel anime series’ nor researched the world in-depth.

Spoilers below the image!

Honestly? I didn’t hate this film. I did feel, however, that it sucked most of the life out of the material it was trying to remake (ironic for a film about ghosts in shells); the plot was almost entirely different. As Khaw analyses (and Adam can quote me on this, I said the exact same thing as we walked out the cinema), it’s so Americanised; the shift of focus to the Major’s backstory (even though she was played as having little emotion in the first half, and only slightly more depth in the second) and the use of Japanese culture merely as an additional motif (rather than a grounding force as it is in the original) evaporate what was already there. It became another boring Hollywood action-cyberpunk movie, instead of a conceptual, philosophical thinkpiece scattered with good action scenes and a sense of building tension. In fact, the loss of tension was what cut it for me. Where was the fear that people can be hacked? Bits of them replaced like code on our computers? Sure, it was discussed in the film and used as plot devices - but it wasn’t the bedrock of what the film was questioning. It briefly flickered over what the original broke into.

The most interesting parts of the original story certainly centre around the cyberization of society - the fact that many people now have the capacity to neutrally interface with networks at will. Brain-hacking is a thing (and is a primary threat in the original film, with less focus in the remake) and being a complete cyborg is a thing - such as the Major is (this thankfully at least comes primary to the new film). In the remake however, the nuances of this and the sheer devastation that just isn’t followed through on - the key scene with the garbage truck driver is far too short and his later reaction to his false memories just isn’t impactful at all. Little details like this mean that the technological ethics questions from the old (including merging with AI) are so watered down in the new it feels boring. (I’ll highlight the term americanisation again, for emphasis).

There were also times when the film’s philosophy contradicted itself. Now, I understand that this happens in plenty pieces of media - and isn’t necessarily a crime in itself when used correctly or for irony etc. However, this telling of Ghost revolved around the concept of ‘your memories do not make you who you are, it is your deeds that do that’. Then, throughout the film, demonstrates the complete opposite - Major searches for her lost memories, and when she regains them these lead to her changes in behaviour. In fact, the whole film revolves around who she is as a person, not what she does. It’s shallow and doesn’t even seem to be doing it ironically.

The visuals were stunning - that I can say with a positive note. I was very impressed with the world they’d built up, and I honestly wanted to give a big round of applause to whoever was the art director on the project. The stylisation was well executed and the soundtrack (despite glaringly missing some great pieces of music from the original) was pretty okay to compliment. ScarJo got better as the film progressed, but was playing (intentionally or unintentionally, I know not which) Kusanagi* as if she were a robot.

Even in the first few pages of the manga, we see plenty of evidence that Mokoto isn’t lifeless. Then again, the manga looks more at Section 9 as a whole in their goal of fighting crime and cyberthreats - which is a different kettle of fish to the films.

Now, Kusanagi in the original film and in the manga I’ll admit are different - but even so, they both have more character than she seemed to have in the 2017 adaptation. This is a huge, huge shame. Perhaps it’s down to lack of time - it’s only an hour and a half film, and they can’t get everything in there. In fact, they probably should have had less in it. Does anyone find a backstory film that interesting these days? I watched Doctor Strange shortly after that for the first time also, and that was even more of a disappointment (again, despite fantastic visuals). Don’t get me started on that one too.

All in all, the only way I could excuse the film by the end of it (in the usual, intense post-observation analysis Adam and I share) was that it surely must be a prequel movie. Though they had taken shots and scenes and face-lifted them from the animated film into this one, it ended in such a way that the story of the animated film must follow on from this one. Which...potentially justifies it a little? I can’ t decide whether to be easier on it than I have been here, but hopefully I wasn’t entirely negative about it. Because, at least to a degree, it was very watchable - and if you want more discourse on it, the review I linked earlier is pretty great in my opinion. I’ll insert Adam’s comments too (if he wants to make any) under here at a later point.

*don’t even get me started on the poor excuses they gave in the narrative to whitewash this film.

#ghost in the shell #ghost #major kusanagi #mokoto kusanagi #film review #2017 movies #2017 films #tech #technology #cyberpunk #review #reviews #sci-fi #sci-fi film #cyberpunk film #culture #anime #japanese #seifely

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feministhypocrite · 7 years

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Porn

I once knew a man named Matt. He started with regular porn. And one day, Matt began to sexualize toddlers.

I once knew a man named Brian. He started with regular porn. And one day, Brian got caught with a collection of child porn.

I once knew a man named Ricky. He started with regular porn. And one day, Ricky cried when an underage girl wouldn’t let him touch her breasts.

I once knew a man named Scott. He started with regular porn. And one day, Scott sexually abused prostituted women.

I once knew a man named Gonzales. He started with regular porn. And one day, the sister he molested killed herself.

I once knew a man named Kevin. He started with regular porn. And one day, Kevin sexually abused and murdered my ten-year-old friend.

Today I read about a study that proves how “normal,” everyday guys become sexual predators. No, they’re not pedophiles. The gateway to entry is always porn. Always.

Stop watching porn.

I don’t rail against pornography because I get a kick out of losing friends. I am challenging it because I have evidenced its violent ramifications via molestation, suicide, and murder firsthand.

Stop playing devil’s advocate for porn.

I don’t just want you to stop consuming porn. I want you to entrench the degradation and suffering of its victims so deeply into your heart that you are compelled to fight against it for the rest of your life.

Stop tolerating porn.

I don’t need you to feel bad for the individuals in porn who have had “bad experiences.” I need you to feel furious about how an entire class of people - women - are subjugated as a whole.

Stop masturbating to porn.

I don’t want you to do this for the sheer fact that porn rewires your brain via the limbic system to associate degradation and humiliation with orgasms and pleasure. I want you to do this because you were humane enough to stop being a mindless masturbating drone and took the time to read about the pornography industry, about its sexist, racist, misogynistic, anti-woman, pro-masculinity, pro-trafficking, pro-rape history and recognized that all women deserve better than pornography and prostitution has to offer.

Offline. With a book. I want you to read. Read. Learn. Read and learn all about how there is a wide spectrum of pornography that begins with softcore and ends in the rape and murder of people on camera. Do you know why I insist on reminding you that it’s a spectrum, as opposed to two entirely separate things? Because the very same people who profit from your consumption of “regular” porn are the same ones who traffic children and murder women. Don’t believe me? You do the research and read and learn yourself. Offline. With a book. I want you to read. Read. Learn.

I am telling you now. If you consume porn, you are complicit in the sexual abuse and rape of children; you are complicit in a world that hates women; you are complicit for the entire spectrum of harm that cascades outwardly from pornography.

“The sexual abuse and rape of children will keep escalating if nothing is done to stop it.” - Diana E.H. Russel

I am going to read and tell you what I learned. I will use bullet points.

What I read on 11/30/2016:

BIG PORN INC by Melinda Tankard Reist and Abigail Bray, pages 181-194; “Russell’s Theory: Exposure to Child Pornography as a Cause of Child Sexual Victimization” by Diana E.H. Russell

• This study, which comes from three decades of engaged research, outlines how the road to child pornography can happen to any man, and if a few conditions are in place, the likelihood of molesting a child increases dramatically.

WHAT DID I LEARN?

• Exposing men to child pornography increases the likelihood of their sexually abusing, provided three causal factors are met (which “do not have to occur in any particular order”).

• Perpetrators of child sexual abuse and pedophiles are not necessarily the same person. Often, porn will drive “normal” men to become sexually interested in children. For instance, there is a “sizable legal market in pseudo-child pornography in which adult women are made to look like young teens.” This market is driven largely by non-pedophiles.

• “92% of child sexual abuse offenders were in possession of images of minors that emphasized their sexuality or portrayed them as involved in explicit sexual activities.”

• Child porn cultivates, normalizes, and legitimizes male sexual interest in children.

• “CAUSAL FACTOR 1A: Viewing child pornography predisposes some males, not previously so disposed, to sexually desire children.”

• There are four primary ways in which “exposure to child pornography can cause sexual arousal” towards children.

• Child porn directly sexualizes children by having them “engage in masturbation or sexual intercourse by imitating women so engaged in adult pornography.” On using little girls for porn, one pornographer says, “Girls, say between the ages of 8 and 13, are the very salable objects… young girls without and preferably with little or no pubic hair on their body.” Additionally, the pornification of childhood in culture (high heels for girls, pole dancing for teens) directly dehumanizes girls and leads viewers / consumers “to equate them with sexual objects.”

• Pseudo-child pornography “merges sexual images of girls and women, thereby confounding the distinctions between them.” This includes childification of adults (dressing adults up like children) and adultification of children (depicts girls acting as “mini-adults with the use of makeup, seductive clothes, sexy adult-like poses, and/or accompanying text.”

• Learning by association. For instance, “male subjects can learn to become sexually aroused by seeing a picture of a woman’s boot after repeatedly seeing women’s boots in association with sexually arousing slides of nude females.” Masturbating to this imagery - or “masturbatory conditioning” - reinforces the association. Even when men are initially disgusted by child porn, association can gradually diminish their disgust, especially in the context of masturbation.

• “Males who have become habituated to adult pornography and who seek out more extreme forms of pornography.” In other words, softcore leads to hardcore, hardcore to gonzo, gonzo to even more exploitative forms of pornography.

• “CAUSAL FACTOR 1B: Viewing child pornography intensifies the desire of some males who are already sexually aroused by children.”

• Males who already have a sexual interest in children use child porn to satiate their desire. This, in turn, intensifies their desires. It begins with masturbation and ends with sexually abusing children.

• Child porn “provides new ideas for sexually abusing children.”

• Most child porn depicts the victims as enjoying their abuse, which “undermines any guilt the viewers may feel.” This, in turn, teaches men that the sexual acts are not abusive.

• Sadistic men are “more aroused by pictures of terrified, crying, or traumatized child victims,” for which there is also a market.

• Men who watched child porn wanted to re-enact it.

• There is now “widespread use of live web cams on the Internet to provide made-to-order child sexual abuse.”

• “Habituation is an intrinsic feature in the escalation described by child pornography viewers, resulting in the desire to see more callous and sadistic images showing children upset, traumatized, or tortured.”

• On the comparatively sadistic end of the spectrum, sites such as “russianrape.com” (now offline) directly states that the consumer can “see the poor young girls swallow what they don’t want, but have to do… see the horror in the eyes of the young girls and see them wild scream in brutally rape and pain!” And rapedasians (now offline) had “the very best collection of very young Asian girls brutally raped.”

• “CAUSAL FACTOR 2: Viewing child pornography undermines some males’ internal inhibitions against sexually victimizing children.”

• Outlined are seven components which contribute to lack of inhibitions towards sexually abusing children.

• Depersonalizing, sexualizing, objectifying girls or depicting them in sexually provocative poses convinces men that “children want or enjoy sex with adult males.” Additionally, depicting the children smiling or editing in scenes depicting the children as happy undermines inhibition towards sexualizing the children.

• Child porn undermines societal and lawful prohibitions against having sex with children. As per Japan, Hiromasa Nakai, a spokesman for the Japan Committee for Unicef, says, “It has become socially accepted to lust over young girls.” In other words, the prevalent sexualized manga and anime in Japan directly contributes to male interest in molesting children. Additionally, the lengths to which we go to protect free speech and subcultural communities online enables these behaviors towards children.

• Child porn “minimizes or trivializes the harm of adult-child sex by masking the pain and trauma of child victims.” Stewart, a pedophile photographer, says, “They had to show happiness or love… To get that look, I’d give them something, from tricycles to stereos. It depended on what they wanted.”

• False-belief systems, such that “the feelings and desires [men] have towards children are not wrong,” is very harmful. These distorted cognitive beliefs lead men to “justify their sexual behavior with children by claiming that children ‘consented to the actions’ or directly sought sexual contact with their perpetrators.” These attitudes allow these sexual predators to claim denial or injury, “since the sexual activity is seen as rewarding and even educational for the child,” even if the child is three or five years old.

• Desensitization of children themselves, having been exposed to pornography, and particularly pseudo-child pornography, leads children to “perceive the acting out of sex acts as acceptable.”

• “The legitimizing and normalizing of adults’ sexual victimization of children in child pornography are among the most frequently cited ways in which this material undermines inhibitions.” Basically, pedophiles and child sexual abusers want to feel reassured that it’s okay to feel the way they do, so when they watch child porn, this lowers their inhibitions and validates their feelings. One woman, who had been groomed for porn as a child, had been told: “See, it’s okay to do because it’s published in magazines.”

• Child porn literally offers “instructions on how to sexually victimize a child.” Men who are anxious about their desires and don’t know where to begin can (and do) use child porn as a how-to guide.

• Amazon used to sell “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure.” At the time of removal, it was rated #96 on Amazon’s Top 100 list.

• “CAUSAL FACTOR 3: Viewing child pornography undermines some males’ social inhibitions against acting out their desires to sexually victimize children.”

• Here are three ways in which child porn consumption “undermines viewers’ social inhibitions against sexually victimizing children in several ways.”

• Fear of disapproval diminishes. The proliferation of child porn websites, DVDs, and forums validates the feeling of these men and lets them know that their are safe spaces for them to visit with like-minds. “The knowledge that they have a support group of like-minded colleagues also contributes to undermining the fear of disapproval for sexually victimizing children.”

• While “fear of legal and social sanctions is the most important factor in inhibiting potential and active child molesters from sexually abusing children,” watching child porn “communicates that those who sexually violate children are in no danger of being apprehended or of facing other negative consequences.” As it stands, no media that sexually exploits children depicts consequences for the offenders.

• The mere existence of child porn embeds the idea that not only is it permissible, but even more money is made in child porn than in adult porn, hence it is lucrative, hence it is worthwhile to exploit children for profit. “Frequent exposure to child pornography on the Internet promotes the perception that many child pornography producers are ‘getting away with it’ and profiting from it.”

• “CONTRIBUTORY FACTOR 4: Viewing pornography undermines some children’s abilities to avoid, resist, or escape sexual victimization.”

• While some perpetrators are physically forceful with children (rendering them incapable of resistance), many others expose children directly to pornography to groom them. This happens in four ways.

• Child porn is used to provoke curiosity in kids (showing porn to kids is a regular strategy for child abuse). In fact, many “pedophiles posing as young teenagers in Internet teen chat groups often send pornographic pictures or email messages containing pornographic language to child participants in order to arouse their curiosity and to manipulate them into meeting in person.” Studies show that in childhood, females typically become upset by pornographic images, whereas males become “sexually aroused by pornographic pictures.” Consequently, it is much easier to use this method to subjugate young boys than girls.

• Showing child porn to children “legitimizes and/or normalizes child sexual abuse in the eyes of victims.” This is used to convinced them that if other kids are doing it, it’s okay for them too, as well. It’s common for sexual abusers to show porn to children to convince them “that other children are sexually active.”

• Consuming child porn as a child desensitizes and disinhibits them to being sexually abused. “He moves from befriending a child, to touching her or him, to introducing her or him to an X-rated video, slowly showing more of it ‘until the child is able to sit and watch the videos without becoming too uncomfortable.’”

• Exposing children to child porn “can create feelings of guilt and complicity for child victims, thereby silencing them. Children exposed to pornography often feel guilty.”

• “One of the 5 major ways which pedophiles use pornography is to “ensure the secrecy of any sexual activity with a child who has already been seduced [sexually abused]. Child molesters can often silence their victims by telling them that their parents would be very upset to learn that they had watched pornography. Children who are sexually abused following the exposure may feel complicit in the abuse and thus become even more motivated to remain silent. This reduces the likelihood that abused children will disclose the sexual abuse to their parents or report it to others.”

• “The sexual abuse and rape of children will keep escalating if nothing is done to stop it.”

That is all for today. I hope that by reading the bulletin points you’ve taken something away or feel challenged inward or you feel like challenging outward.

If you found this at all valuable, please consider picking up a copy of Big Porn Inc or reach out to like-minds that recognize the importance in fighting against porn.

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Porn-Inc-Exposing-Pornography/dp/1876756896

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