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Flowers of Evil, episodes 1 & 2
Apr. 20th, 2013 09:34 amThere's a new series that's part of the current Spring lineup called "Flowers of Evil" that's generating a fair amount of buzz.
The animators are using rotoscoping to achieve an almost disturbing level of realism. Eye movements, hair, facial expressions, etc. are very realistic. The girls in school uniforms look like actual girls.
The rusted out city reminds me exactly of the time I spent in Muroran, a city up in Hokkaido.
The series is based on an ongoing manga. The protagonist, Takao Kasuga, likes to read. Most of his classmates seem pretty normal, except for Sawa Nakamura, who calls their teacher a shitbag for shaming her in front of the entire class when she gets a 0 on a test.
Per Theron Martin's review over at ANN, "The name [Flowers of Evil] is a reference to a defining, highly innovative, and equally controversial work of poetry by 19th century French literary giant Charles Boudelaire [sic], a Japanese translation of which is being read by lead protagonist Takao Kasuga as he muddles his way through a seemingly ordinary high school life."
Kasuga has a crush on Saeki, a classmate who's pretty & sits near him in class.
The realism in this anime is new/different, but the second episode made me extremely uncomfortable. In the beginning of the episode, Kasuga steals Saeki's gym uniform & takes it home.
The rest of the episode focuses on Kasuga's inner turmoil - the class is disturbed when the teacher tells them Saeki's uniform has gone missing, & it's pretty clear that Saeki is mortified. Although some attention is given to Saeki, the emphasis is placed on Kasuga feeling ashamed about it, Kasuga laying out Saeki's uniform over his bed & feeling bad about it.
In gym class, Saeki tells her female classmates that she just had to buy a new uniform. They lament over this. Off to the side, Kasuga listens while his male classmates talk about Saeki being beautiful, & feeling angry that someone else stole their gym uniform, likely for nefarious purposes. The feel ownership over Saeki - it's awful.
In all of this, the only interesting character I see is Nakamura, the girl who called the teacher a shitbag in the first episode, and who saw Kasuga steal Saeki's uniform.
She's upfront with Kasuga about her knowledge, & tries to get him to agree to a "contract" with her, lest she tell the rest of their classmates.
She gets Saeki to meet with Kasuga, so that Kasuga can confess what he did. Kasuga is rendered mute. Nakamura shoves him forward, though, right into Saeki's chest. Unlike most anime shows, where this would be a moment of comic relief, Saeki is embarrassed and runs off, & Kasuga is mortified.
I'm filled with a lot of disgust for Kasuga. I hate watching him on the screen. I hate listening to him talk.
Continued from Martin's review: "The literary reference used here is too educated for it to simply be a casual toss-off, so expecting (or at least hoping) that the content of the series will delve into themes raised by Boudelaire [sic] is quite reasonable. Indeed, the first episode is full of such elements if one looks carefully for them. Boudelaire [sic] prominently used sound to create atmosphere, and a very ominous musical score is used here to imply that something at least a bit sinister is brewing amongst these scenes of everyday life. Boudelaire [sic] emphasized the use of urban subject matter, which explains the almost obsessive attention to detail in background art dominated by city and school settings. He also rejected the fundamental goodness of man and explored morally complex and ambiguous behavior, especially concerning vices. Given that and certain comments made amongst his friends, the emerging flower is almost certainly meant to be metaphorical for Takao's growing carnal interest despite his apparent outward wish to treat Nanako respectfully. The emphasis on showing the decay and wear of the city could even be interpreted as symbolic of declining moral values."
Other reviews I've read (all at ANN) include words like "masterpiece," etc.
I guess I don't usually turn to anime for depressing doses of realism. Realistic emotions, sure, but the rest? Meh.
I find it impossible to identify with Kasuga. I am rooting for Nakamura, but I'm assuming she's going to pull some weird shit.
The animators are using rotoscoping to achieve an almost disturbing level of realism. Eye movements, hair, facial expressions, etc. are very realistic. The girls in school uniforms look like actual girls.
The rusted out city reminds me exactly of the time I spent in Muroran, a city up in Hokkaido.
The series is based on an ongoing manga. The protagonist, Takao Kasuga, likes to read. Most of his classmates seem pretty normal, except for Sawa Nakamura, who calls their teacher a shitbag for shaming her in front of the entire class when she gets a 0 on a test.
Per Theron Martin's review over at ANN, "The name [Flowers of Evil] is a reference to a defining, highly innovative, and equally controversial work of poetry by 19th century French literary giant Charles Boudelaire [sic], a Japanese translation of which is being read by lead protagonist Takao Kasuga as he muddles his way through a seemingly ordinary high school life."
Kasuga has a crush on Saeki, a classmate who's pretty & sits near him in class.
The realism in this anime is new/different, but the second episode made me extremely uncomfortable. In the beginning of the episode, Kasuga steals Saeki's gym uniform & takes it home.
The rest of the episode focuses on Kasuga's inner turmoil - the class is disturbed when the teacher tells them Saeki's uniform has gone missing, & it's pretty clear that Saeki is mortified. Although some attention is given to Saeki, the emphasis is placed on Kasuga feeling ashamed about it, Kasuga laying out Saeki's uniform over his bed & feeling bad about it.
In gym class, Saeki tells her female classmates that she just had to buy a new uniform. They lament over this. Off to the side, Kasuga listens while his male classmates talk about Saeki being beautiful, & feeling angry that someone else stole their gym uniform, likely for nefarious purposes. The feel ownership over Saeki - it's awful.
In all of this, the only interesting character I see is Nakamura, the girl who called the teacher a shitbag in the first episode, and who saw Kasuga steal Saeki's uniform.
She's upfront with Kasuga about her knowledge, & tries to get him to agree to a "contract" with her, lest she tell the rest of their classmates.
She gets Saeki to meet with Kasuga, so that Kasuga can confess what he did. Kasuga is rendered mute. Nakamura shoves him forward, though, right into Saeki's chest. Unlike most anime shows, where this would be a moment of comic relief, Saeki is embarrassed and runs off, & Kasuga is mortified.
I'm filled with a lot of disgust for Kasuga. I hate watching him on the screen. I hate listening to him talk.
Continued from Martin's review: "The literary reference used here is too educated for it to simply be a casual toss-off, so expecting (or at least hoping) that the content of the series will delve into themes raised by Boudelaire [sic] is quite reasonable. Indeed, the first episode is full of such elements if one looks carefully for them. Boudelaire [sic] prominently used sound to create atmosphere, and a very ominous musical score is used here to imply that something at least a bit sinister is brewing amongst these scenes of everyday life. Boudelaire [sic] emphasized the use of urban subject matter, which explains the almost obsessive attention to detail in background art dominated by city and school settings. He also rejected the fundamental goodness of man and explored morally complex and ambiguous behavior, especially concerning vices. Given that and certain comments made amongst his friends, the emerging flower is almost certainly meant to be metaphorical for Takao's growing carnal interest despite his apparent outward wish to treat Nanako respectfully. The emphasis on showing the decay and wear of the city could even be interpreted as symbolic of declining moral values."
Other reviews I've read (all at ANN) include words like "masterpiece," etc.
I guess I don't usually turn to anime for depressing doses of realism. Realistic emotions, sure, but the rest? Meh.
I find it impossible to identify with Kasuga. I am rooting for Nakamura, but I'm assuming she's going to pull some weird shit.
