Yeah, I’ve been a little preoccupied over the last two weeks, which isn’t unusual. The profs wanted to get in the midterms before spring break. Seriously, they have no consideration for my anime watching schedule. How am I supposed to watch anime and study for tests at the same time? I can’t read a book and subtitles at the same time.

Back to my topic, I’ve been out of the anime blog-o-blob for almost two weeks. I stumbled upon this well after the newness rubbed off. By now, you know that Code Geass is getting a second season.

I’m not ecstatic about the whole thing to tell the truth. One of the best parts about many of the shows I really like is that they ended. I’m not saying that simply because there is going to be a second season that means it will be inferior or even that it will diminish the appeal of the show; at least I don’t believe it will in the short run. What I’m implying is that a second season means that the first season may not have the finality that I was hoping for with Code Geass.

Simply, I like when a story ends even if it doesn’t rap up all of the loose ends. That is if it accomplished the intent of the story. Did it “say” what it had intended to say would be another way to put it. Sometimes the greater meaning of a story can be had without rapping up the entirety of the plot. This is evident to me in such endings as the original 25 & 26 of NGE, I preferred that ending to the story. In some ways, Kanon episode 23 could end the story nicely with only minor modifications.

It’s all about closure. The problem is that closure isn’t always as easy as it would seem to be. Sometimes knowing that everybody “lived happily ever after” is the way to end a story. Sometimes, the meaning doesn’t lay in the actions of the characters and the resulting effect but in the meta substance of the two. Basically, the results may not be tangible in a physical sense. Nevertheless, closure can be achieved without answering all the questions.

On a side note, I don’t think that C.C. has had the screen time she deserves.

Okay, if they must have a second season here are my demands.

• More C.C.
• Lose the pizza. Try Diet Vanilla Pepsi, the stuff is like crack!
• You know what? More C.C. isn’t enough C.C., there needs to be an evil twin C.C.
• Actually, pizza and Diet Vanilla Pepsi is pretty good. . .I change my mind. They can keep the pizza.
• More Geass, Lelouch should just start geassing everybody.

All jokes aside, I’ll definitely watch the next season of CG. I was hoping for a nice wrap up. There is plenty of time from the current point in the story until the end of a standard series length to climax the plot and end the story with some nice falling action, if that was what they were looking to do with the show.

Oh well,

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Is it “Gee-ass”, “Gee-aus”, or “Gee-ss”?

Let’s look at the bright side of things. Now there actually is a chance for an evil twin C.C.

Yes, I do these things because I want to be different.

I gave up a few days ago and started actively trying to find out information about the original Kanon and the game. For the most part, everyone seems to agree that the story in the Kanon remake is headed in the direction of the original animation/game. After all, it is a “remake” and not a retelling of the story.

Still, the fact that the series has been extended from 13 to 24 episodes gives Kyoto a chance to use some artistic license. From what I’ve read on other blogs and in the various wiki articles on Kanon, it appears that they will not take the chance that has been given to them.

It would take some balls to actually change the story for two reasons. One, it would mean altering a story that has already gained great fair in the anime community. Two, in particular anime fans fanatical enough to start blogs would bitch and whine about it for the rest of the year. For that matter, there is a healthy amount of B&W’ing at the moment about the show, the story, the way things were animated, etc. Imagine if they did something the blogging community didn’t like!

There are plenty of reasons not to change the story other than the two I mentioned. Most are probably sentimental. In two of my previous Kanon post there is mention that the story could benefit from some “real loss.” Usually what I meant by this comment is that the story should forego the miracle and just let what happens, happen.

In particular, the story has been a series of meetings, story, drama, and then a miraculous event. It has been very entertaining; also, sadly it has been a bit repetitive in that respect. There hasn’t been any risk or danger to our hearts. We can feign fear that something will happen to the characters, but in reality no one thinks that something unexpected will occur.

As I implied, I did not see the original Kanon, but there is enough information on the net to simply lookup what will happen in the remake. The correlation has been consistent.

I want something different at the end of Kanon not because the I simply what a different story. I think that the story has followed a set rhythm of meeting-story-event-miracle. What that type of story has said, has already been said. When the story ends and everything is as was expected, what has the viewer (we) learned? What exactly did we take away from the Kanon story that we didn’t receive from, say, the Makoto arc?

In my previous post badger11 stated that the show had already had opportunities to express loss to the viewer. He also stated, “I suppose you can also consider Yuuichi’s lost memories part of the loss in this story.”

That, in a way, is what I was trying to express. Kanon keeps telling us the same thing over and over again. Miracles can happen, that’s all well and good, but bad things happen too. In my opinion the Kanon remake will do itself a great disservice if it ends the way everyone assumes it will end.

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As much as an Ayu fanboy that I am, I would let her be the sacrifice if it meant a better overall story.

One wish…

Two choices…

I don’t think anyone is going to die. However, as I’ve mentioned in a previous post. The story would benefit from some real loss. As Tim pointed out in my last Kanon post, this show is all about hope. A key undertone is the thought that miracles can happen.

Miracles are a rare thing by there very nature. I’ve never experienced anything “miraculous;” yet, I’m not one to say improbable things cannot happen. Still it remains that life isn’t about waiting for the good things while everything falls apart around you. Moving through the bad is how people learn to live, suffer the low points and enjoy the high. Some would say, including I, living is more about suffering the low points than hoping for the high.

I don’t say this in a vindictive manner, but one of these girls should die.

What about Shiori? She’s doing okay, don’t worry.

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The car wreck reminded me of this video. The incident is eerily similar. You’ll understand why I didn’t want to embed this video in my blog.

It’s freezing outside right now…Berrrrr…rrrr …

I just wanted to remind everyone that I didn’t have anything better to blog about today.

So, Happy Valentine’s Day. I’ll make sure to eat some chocolates for you ;)

Later,

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Heart diagram obtained from wikipedia article on the heart

My last post was a comment on something that I noticed while watching SoltyRei. I still think that Roy looks like John McClane from Die Hard. For that matter, I’m just going to start calling him John McClane and make the whole thing easier on myself. I hadn’t thought any deeper about the matter while composing that post because it was going to be a funny comment on anime influences and interpretation.

As I mentioned in my comment replies, the character seems like a generic hero. Through the course of six episodes we learn remarkably little about any of the characters, which isn’t too uncommon for an typical anime. The story gives more time to Roy (Okay, I’ll give up on the name thing) than to Solty mostly because they want to keep her mysterious.

Some my say that the development given to Roy’s character, in the first six episodes, is fuller than the others. After these episodes we know that he is emotionally withdrawn due to the loss of his child. We also know that he is not a total hard ass. Still, the show seems to spend more time fawning over Solty with her tight body suit and giant-robot ass kicking skillz.

Oh yeah, and we find out that Solty is an android. That’s about it though.