tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post3740679368158198403..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: STUDIO GHIBLI: THE OCEAN WAVES (MOCHIZUKI, 1993)Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-23814415601948421242010-05-20T19:34:13.986-05:002010-05-20T19:34:13.986-05:00I just caught this from the recent Optimum release...I just caught this from the recent Optimum release in Ireland. The banality of the visuals is something of an issue like you mentioned. Animation should never feel limited to the fantastic or the overly lush, but the sheer expense and labor involved in the process sometimes makes me question the sanity of aesthetic decisions like this. <br /><br />The story didn't really arrest me either, except for the interesting amount of independence Taku shows in deciding, as a high school student, to just head off on a flight to Tokyo for a few days without really communicating with his family. For some reason that was interesting to see, if slightly implausible.<br /><br />As for the framerate, from what I could tell this, like a lot of Ghibli work, was mostly animated on 3's (one drawing for every 3 frames, most Western animation is animated on 2's, and Disney are one of the few that do everything on 1's), 3's are very typical for Japanese animation, but what makes Ghibli different is their refusal to hold too long on still images or to cut corners with a slow, nuanced gesture or action. <br /><br />All in all this is one of the weakest non-Miyazaki Ghibli films in my opinion, not without its own charms and merits though. My favorite, while dealing with similar (albeit way more romanticized) motifs of schoolyard romance, has to be Whisper of the Heart. One of the most effective feel-good films they have produced, and a rather daring one to essentially say that creative kids should put school on the back-burner to pursue their artistic goals first, and for fourteen year olds committing to marry. Really something.<br /><br />Great review though, and I loved the Nathan Rabin Manic Pixie Dream Girl nodDaniel Philip Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065611527627233269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-46072860007229802402010-05-19T22:29:23.022-05:002010-05-19T22:29:23.022-05:00You make a good case, but I'm still not really...You make a good case, but I'm still not really sold on this one. I like the general ambiance, and I really WANT to like it a lot more than I do, but there is a thing, and the thing is this: Rikako is a complete basket case. Would Taku fall for her? Sure, probably: as you note, love just sort of happens, and sometimes it takes us in hugely ill-advised directions. But the fact remains, him getting romantically involved with her? Terrible, terrible idea that the film does not acknowledge as such. I mean, I know that Japanese art is often elliptical, making you sort of read between the lines, but if there are supposed to be hidden depths that would make their projected romance a not-bad idea, the film did not sell me on them. I'm not at all convinced that they're actually there.GeoX, one of the GeoX boys.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14658452994152399308noreply@blogger.com