Konshuu Volume 59, Issue 4 by Cal Animage Alpha

Crona Souleater

Art By Cas Geiger

THIS MONTH’S FEATURED SERIES!

ANIME RECOMMENDATION

BY DEVON NGUYEN

Wolf’s Rain

Winter 2003, BONES

Directed by Tensai Okamura 26 Episodes

Kiba, a lone white wolf, is in search of the Lunar Flower, the key Paradise. As he traverses Freeze City to find it, he encounters Hige, Tsume, and Toboe, other wolves who were drawn into the area by the flower’s scent. Prepare your tissues, because you’ll need multiple boxes for this 2000’s classic.

What elements in an anime (animation, plot, etc) tend to appeal to you the most?

THE 2 ENT ORNER

For me, animation appeals to me the most.

I think the art style and plot are the most important for me--whether or not I like the art style is usually a good indicator of whether I’ll end up liking the show or not.

The elements that appeal to me the most in order are plot, soundtracks, and animation. I believe that typically an well-plotted anime will receive great soundtracks and animation.

Both animation and plot! In rare cases good animation can carry an anime (cough Oshi no Ko), but if an anime has poor animation I’ll just read the manga instead LOL

What kinds of aesthetics in anime do you tend to gravitate towards? Any preferences for a specific studio or person’s works?

I gravitate toward works with unconventional styles, like PMMM, as well as older animation (1990s stuff like NGE and RGU are nice :))

I don’t think I have a preference towards a specific studio or work, but I really tend to like the aesthetics of older (90s-00s) anime! I really love the cel-shaded look, and I think it adds a lot of character.

I tend to gravitate towards aesthetic shonen anime that features action and very detailed visuals in animation. WIT and MAPPA studios are by far my favorite.

I love very expressive anime that try new things with their animation! Examples being MP100 and Eizouken

Catherine Rha Artist

Ellya Kim Artist

Sean Adami Writer

Tatum Ekstrom Artist

TAKE IT EASY

2nd

Kekkai Sensen is a series that I find very difficult to talk about. This isn’t because it is near and dear to my heart (for indeed, it is not), or because it is simply too complicated (for indeed, it definitely is not). Rather, I find it hard to talk about Kekkai Sensen due to the anime’s focus.

What I mean by this is that Kekkai Sensen is an action anime. Most episodes of the show follow a villain-of-the-week format, with each episode climaxing during the confrontation between the main cast and the villain. As a result, the pacing of this anime is very episodic, which isn’t necessarily bad. Within each episode are periods of calm, broken up by steadily rising periods of action. It is extremely important to get a good balance of opposing tones to ensure a smooth viewing experience, and Kekkai Sensen mostly strikes this balance very well. The viewing experience is improved by high-quality animation done by Studio Bones, which makes each action sequence, whether it be a chase or fight scene, feel much more alive and impactful. However, there are points at which this focus on action draws attention away from other aspects of the anime that feel equally as important, if not even more.

What I mean by this is that Kekkai Sensen is a comedy anime. Every episode, while full of fight choreography and action sequences, is also just as full with humor. The scene I enjoy the most is actually one of the most subtle ones, where Leonardo is at his favorite fast food restaurant and orders one hamburger, one soda, and one french fry. Apart from the dialogue where he orders the food, no attention is drawn to the fact that he orders one singular french fry. The camera doesn’t focus on Leo’s

meal at all, so only those who picked up on the line will notice the absurdity in this mundanely-presented meal. Other scenes are much more bombastic in their comedy. There’s one section where the character Blitz T. Abrams is distractedly walking around during a massive fight, and due to his extreme luck, he remains untouched while the surrounding areas get destroyed. This is a great example of the action and comedy segments of Kekkai Sensen coming together to create explosively memorable moments. However, with all of the flashiness that comes from comedy and high-octane action, Kekkai Sensen often neglects one of its core thematic elements quite a bit.

What I mean by this is that Kekkai Sensen is a drama anime. Interspersed with the energetic parts of this series are moments of emotional intimacy, which are sometimes able to resonate deeply with an unexpecting audience. The technique of suddenly delivering dramatic moments in an otherwise comedic series is commonly used in nakige, and while Kekkai Sensen doesn’t really tap into the full poignancy of this storytelling method, it is still able to effectively tie together characters’ stories through drama. As stated before, drama in Kekkai Sensen tends to be neglected, which risks making these emotional scenes feel jarring or tonally dissonant. Thankfully, Kekkai Sensen handles this storytelling method relatively well, but there are certainly moments which will fall flat (but never to a painfully bad degree) to a critical audience.

I find it hard to talk about Kekkai Sensen due to the anime’s focus. Its three areas of focus each vie for attention, which at times can diminish the development of these areas negatively. However, because Kekkai Sensen never takes itself too seriously, it is difficult to seriously fault any issues in the anime’s focus. In my understanding, Kekkai Sensen’s focuses don’t actually matter. Above all else, this story wants to be “fun”. It wants this above good action, comedy, or drama. And because of this, even though I could intensely scrutinize this anime, Kekkai Sensen’s successful and whimsical “fun” has allowed me to take it easy.

RAHM JETHANI

Year, English and Japanese Major Kekkai Sensen is just K-On but worse.

Writer

THE UNCOMPROMISING OPTIMISM OF SK8 THE INFINITY

DEVON NGUYEN

Third Year, Anthropology

Hey Bitches and Bros and Nonbinary Hos!

Writer

SPOILERS FOR SK8 THE INFINITY

There are certain expectations that come with watching a sports anime for the first time. Whether they be engaging storylines of overcoming the toughest of obstacles or breakneck action that accurately portrays what’s being depicted, there are tried and true formulae for a successful series. Studio Bones’ SK8 the Infinity breaks all of those expectations though, giving viewers a uniquely different premise that transcends the typical mold that’s expected with sports anime. This transcendence is none the more obvious with its message of never letting your passions dwindle in the face of insecurities and growing up.

In a world where Okinawa’s best skaters race each other every night in an abandoned mine, Reki Kyan is painfully average. He can put together a pretty darn good board from scratch and fully understand every move that goes on during these races, but when he’s on the track himself? His success rate is a little dismal. It wasn’t until he met his best friend, Langa Hasegawa, and taught him how to skate did Reki begin to realize how average he really was. Langa, who had never touched a skateboard before he moved to Okinawa, was suddenly better than him–much better than him actually. So much better that he managed to wake the sleeping beast of a skater from hibernation and become the target of his over-the-top affections.

And Reki, well, Reki doesn’t take this well. At all. He becomes reckless and reclusive, afraid of Langa leaving him behind viewing himself as someone who’s not good enough for him. It isn’t until Reki realizes that even though being super passionate

about something doesn’t always equate to talent, you can still keep that passion to continue on in what you do. Yes, it’s incredibly frustrating to not be the best at something that you love so dearly, but it’s infinitely more rewarding if you’re able to do that thing with overwhelming love and be the standard, than to be completely burnt out and at the top.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have Cherry and Joe, who remind viewers that there isn’t a limit to loving what you love. You can be a successful calligrapher or a world-class chef and still be one of the top skaters in the underground skating society you’ve been a part of since you were a teen. I really appreciate how the adults in SK8 are treated the same way that the younger characters are in terms of their love for skating. They get to be just as invested and excited about the world of skateboarding just like everyone else. Growing old doesn’t automatically mean that you have to give up everything once you finally establish a career. If anything, it makes your passion much more special in the grand scheme of the rest of your life.

And then there’s Adam and Tadashi, whose alignment with the theme is much more subtle than that of the other two duos. In the same vein of Cherry and Joe, both of them remind us that your hobbies should never stop once you reach a particular age. Adam is violent and unhinged in his quest to find meaning in skating while Tadashi tries to be unfeeling towards the thing that brought the two of them together. Suppressing your passions and hiding them away will only cause you more harm than good. They’re a way for you to be able to express yourself, to reveal who the real you is. To deny that is to deny your true self, and we can see how much pain this denial has caused these two over the course of the show, and why we’re able to feel happy for them once they finally let go and find their purpose in the final episode.

SK8 the Infinity aired during my final semester of high school, and now as a junior in college, I’ve never understood its message more. Unabashedly love what you love. You don’t have to be the best at it nor do you have to leave it behind as you grow older. What’s most important is your happiness and all the ways that you receive fulfillment from it.

“GOTCHA!”

WAI KWAN WU

Third Year, Molecular Cell Biology

chikorita is my favorite pokemon

Editor-In-Chief

The last few years have been quite something for animation in Pokemon. The ol’ reliable in the main anime had trucked on for its historical number of years before giving a great send-off as Ash finally became the best in the world, with Pokemon Horizons taking its place as a bold reinterpretation. Meanwhile, we’ve gotten a multitude of animated shorts that have managed to capture so much of the Pokemon world that we so love, whether it be Twilight Wing’s poignant beauty or Poketoons’ endless charm. It’s a testament to the adoration that Pokemon receives that we’ve seen talented people from across the industry really emerge to highlight so many great things about it. That said, it should really come as no surprise that Rie Matsumoto’s “Gotcha!” happens to stand out even amongst the past few years’ many givings, in a way that just gets the franchise like no other.

I’m writing for the Bones Issue, but it’s pretty important to highlight the specific people that are behind the production here. It’s definitely interesting to see the trajectory of Rie Matsumoto’s career, who got her start with the Precure franchise at Toei Animations. It is also with this franchise where Matsumoto first worked with fellow Toei animator Yuki Hayashi, whose name will continue to pop up. At Toei, Matsumoto will eventually come to direct her very own magnum opus in Kyousougiga with Hayashi behind the character designs, and it is quite easily a match made in heaven: Hayashi’s joyful sensibilities as an animator translate very well into designs that work well with Matsumoto’s eclectic direction. Matsumoto will then join Bones to direct Blood Blockade Battlefront, which happens to be her

last directed series as she seems to have now transitioned to making short music videos entirely. Matsumoto is joined by Hayashi again on Baby I Love You Daze, a short Lotte commercial, with Hayashi hinting at similar collaborations between the two in the future. This would turn out to be none other than “Gotcha!” which brings us here today.

I bring this up because Matsumoto and Hayashi’s influence on this short is felt in every corner of “Gotcha!” and more specifically, the aesthetics presented here do a wonderful job of conveying so much of the personality that is captured within this little short. Hayashi’s designs are effortlessly charming and do a great job of giving an appealing look to these characters that appear only within this short. There is a really great goofy take on the Pokemon of the main characters, whether it be the smug poker face Pikachu or the ridiculously happy Eevee. Pokemon designs are already great as they are, but the exaggeration of their features and shapes are excellent at accentuating the goofy charm of these ‘mons. The actual human characters are given a lot of charisma as well, between the strong drawings or silly fun features that they are given. Even some of the previously existing characters are highlighted with plentiful personality, such as Blue’s smugness being turned up even harder with sharpened look and shading, or Marnie giving a little pout. It’s pretty common to see comments like “THIS is what anime should be like” whenever these works come about. While it is a pretty tired take, can you really blame anyone for thinking this way when the supervision so clearly understands the appeal of these characters and executes them with this much charm?

JUST GETS IT

At its core, “Gotcha!” is very much about capturing the nostalgia of the franchise and highlighting how far it has come along in its history. The opening few seconds of the short capture this immediately, with the song coming in with the simple chimes and the guitar building in. There’s very much a “summer days” feeling that this evokes, and any fan would immediately spot how the opening shot features four men walking along railroad tracks—the very film that plays on the TV in the player character’s house in Pokemon Red, where the journey first started. The compositing of the lighting is also key for getting the nostalgic tones across, with the naturalistic approach to light as well as slight sepia tones. In general throughout the short, we see Matsumoto playing quite a bit with the compositing to capture that very sense of nostalgia. This concept is particularly at the forefront with the sections that depict the most iconic champi-

ons and battles in the series. There is a very distinctly stylized cel-like look that is applied to those segments, an aesthetic that is obviously reminiscent of older anime but taken just a little further in the approach. The result works very well, and there is a clear feeling of history that is felt right as Gold squares off against Red on the top of Mount Silver.

Nostalgia is not the only thing that “Gotcha!” has in its bag though, as it also manages to present the many sides of the Pokemon world with aplomb. Pokemon is a franchise with lots of different aspects that appeal to everyone in different ways, and “Gotcha!” does a great job of capturing those little idiosyncrasies in a way that all comes back to a sense of awe in all of it. There’s the quirkiness: the billboard segment that takes us on a tour through the different gym leaders, painted with the personalities of their respective types. There’s the mystique: silhouettes of Pokemon legends flashing across buildings, a tried-and-true aesthetic that harkens back to Digimon Tamers There’s, of course, the coolness of it all: strong effects animation and camerawork that elevates the hype of the different battles that are showcased. The storyboarding also does a great job of highlighting the cool legacy that is involved within the franchise; Matsumoto has one mode and that’s using eyes as a motif to emphasize the connection between the characters, and you have cool match cuts that accentuate how time has passed. There’s something that’s larger-than-life about this approach that really appeals to me. It’s all depicted with so much detail and grandeur that everything just works as a celebration of the franchise.