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anime rec: Carole & Tuesday
Netflix has been getting in on the anime market. One irritating thing is that they dump entire seasons all at once, instead of episode-by-episode while it airs in Japan, like every other anime streaming site. They also made an Orientalist (and objectively bad) documentary about anime that seems to further confirm that some at least don't give a shit about it.
BUT. They've been releasing some good shit.
Since many people have Netflix, and more people should watch anime, I want to start recommending some good ones.
And I can't remember the last time I sat down to watch one episode and couldn't stop until I'd mainlined four episodes instead.
Carole & Tuesday is a show by Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) and Studio BONES (Wolf's Rain, Fullmetal Alchemist, Bungo Stray Dogs), and the show looks and sounds like it could be part of the Cowboy Bebop universe except that everyone's carrying around cell phones, checking Wikipedia and Instagram, ordering instant package delivery, etc. Most people have their own personal AI represented by a small animal-shaped robot. They live on Mars, but it's not really relevant to the plot.
Tuesday wears frilly Victorian dresses and runs away from home with her guitar. She meets Carole, a woman her age who lives on her own working various part-time jobs to support herself.
They both love music and decide they like making it together. Someone surreptitiously films them playing in an empty auditorium and the video goes viral.
Interwoven with Carole and Tuesday's story is a child actor-turned-singer who's working with a man who synthetically creates his music with algorithms and typically works with AIs instead of real people. Her music and her abilities are artificial. At various times, Carole and Tuesday are told that they'll have to use similar tactics to succeed, but they refuse every time.
Episodes are titled after formative American rock singles. (And I won't lie, it doesn't hurt that most of them were covered on Glee!*) Tuesday's favorite performer is Cyndi Lauper.
It's like the series NANA except instead of hanging around men who are toxic & ungrateful little shits, Carole and Tuesday make their music together.
A thing I've discovered primarily from playing more recent/current JRPGs is that English voice acting has gotten way better. And as this is a Watanabe show, Netflix did get a great cast for this show. If subtitles are difficult for you, this is one you can watch in English if you want. (The review at Anime News Network asserted that the dub is actually better than the original Japanese!)
The songs were originally performed in English, so there weren't any awful attempts to translate them or have non-singers perform them.
The show is also refreshingly diverse. Carole's black; there are people being casually queer. Both girls are asked by a woman whether they have a "boyfriend or girlfriend."
Here's the opening sequence:
The soundtrack is also available on Spotify.
Some of the music reminds me of the music (composed by Yoko Kanno) for the live-action Honey & Clover movie.
They've released 12 episodes on Netflix. In Japan, they've aired through episode 20, and there will be 24 episodes, so two cour.
*If you're new to this blog, I know that Glee is terrible. I KNOW.
BUT. They've been releasing some good shit.
Since many people have Netflix, and more people should watch anime, I want to start recommending some good ones.
And I can't remember the last time I sat down to watch one episode and couldn't stop until I'd mainlined four episodes instead.
Carole & Tuesday is a show by Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) and Studio BONES (Wolf's Rain, Fullmetal Alchemist, Bungo Stray Dogs), and the show looks and sounds like it could be part of the Cowboy Bebop universe except that everyone's carrying around cell phones, checking Wikipedia and Instagram, ordering instant package delivery, etc. Most people have their own personal AI represented by a small animal-shaped robot. They live on Mars, but it's not really relevant to the plot.
Tuesday wears frilly Victorian dresses and runs away from home with her guitar. She meets Carole, a woman her age who lives on her own working various part-time jobs to support herself.
They both love music and decide they like making it together. Someone surreptitiously films them playing in an empty auditorium and the video goes viral.
Interwoven with Carole and Tuesday's story is a child actor-turned-singer who's working with a man who synthetically creates his music with algorithms and typically works with AIs instead of real people. Her music and her abilities are artificial. At various times, Carole and Tuesday are told that they'll have to use similar tactics to succeed, but they refuse every time.
Episodes are titled after formative American rock singles. (And I won't lie, it doesn't hurt that most of them were covered on Glee!*) Tuesday's favorite performer is Cyndi Lauper.
It's like the series NANA except instead of hanging around men who are toxic & ungrateful little shits, Carole and Tuesday make their music together.
A thing I've discovered primarily from playing more recent/current JRPGs is that English voice acting has gotten way better. And as this is a Watanabe show, Netflix did get a great cast for this show. If subtitles are difficult for you, this is one you can watch in English if you want. (The review at Anime News Network asserted that the dub is actually better than the original Japanese!)
The songs were originally performed in English, so there weren't any awful attempts to translate them or have non-singers perform them.
The show is also refreshingly diverse. Carole's black; there are people being casually queer. Both girls are asked by a woman whether they have a "boyfriend or girlfriend."
Here's the opening sequence:
The soundtrack is also available on Spotify.
Some of the music reminds me of the music (composed by Yoko Kanno) for the live-action Honey & Clover movie.
They've released 12 episodes on Netflix. In Japan, they've aired through episode 20, and there will be 24 episodes, so two cour.
*If you're new to this blog, I know that Glee is terrible. I KNOW.