Godzilla, Gamera, What the Heck Do I Know!?

Shoot! I might go see this one!

                               Godzilla, Gamera, What the Heck Do I Know!?

                                                                  by

                                                                     Jay Agan

      Or care. Actually I do ..... some.

      I'm not big on either of those franchises. After the ones made fifties-early sixties, those Japanese giant rubber monster flicks look pretty much the same to me. I have a few english dub, public domain Gamera copies in the Treeline/Millcreek 50 packs.

      So I'm manning a check-out at this mid-west would be Wal Mart (It paid the bills.). A customer comes through & plunks down this multi-movie DVD with three Gamera flicks on it. I make a comment or two about what fun little time wasters they are. She replies in kind & that she grew up on them. Then she makes a statement about both the Godzilla & Gamera franchises being made by the same studio.

      On my mentioning they were made by two different companies (Godzilla/Gojira, Toho. Gamera, Daiei.), She got rather indignant & redeclared her statement. AUDIBLY so.

      Woah!

      As it wasn't a point worth arguing (Or losing ones' job over.) I let it & her slide out the door.

           
      The drawback with working in a place with a pharmacy is you're the target for all sorts of the over/under medicated. Especially if the company shirt is Star Trek red.

      But then, what the heck did I know? I was just a check-out clerk. Part of the backdrop & wearing the uniform of whatever conspiracy the delusional/powerless imagine is keeping them down. Working with the public, you can't help but wonder if the whole world is one big laughing house.



And all this time I thought it was to Haruhi Suzumiya
or Rei Ayanami!

      
      Keep whatever thoughts you have about anything to yourself. Reading about your hobby, or even the credits on the screen could mark your as "different". Beware.

      Got a new hat today ..... Where's the tin foil?

Article copyright © 10-28-2011 Jay Agan

Links to a couple of real Japanese giant rubber monster fans here & here.

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Upcoming Animes. Well, Not Really. Pt. 1

                                          
                                          Upcoming Animes. Well, Not Really. Pt. 1
                                                                          
                                                                       by
                      
                                                                         Jay Agan


  1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Hirohito- She didn't mean to set the world on fire but that's the way it turned out. As usual, Hideki Kyon gets the blame.

  2. Surreal Experiments Lain- Just gets weirder & weirder.

  3. Cowboy Boogie- Young Jack Spiegle is on the run from organized crime & hasn't a clue as to why  they want him dead. Hiding on Earth at his his great uncle Doohans' salvage yard, he gets in contact with a husband & wife private investigation team on Mars. The two former bounty hunters (Personal friends of a deceased uncle Jack never met.), throw in & help with his problem.
    
     Along the way, Jack falls head over heels (Sometimes literally!) for a singular, loopy, red haired, data tech genius/entrepreneur. And what's up with that strange little dog of hers?

  4. Outlaw Superstar- Melfina has disappeared under more than mysterious circumstances. Gene, Jim, & Gilliam set out to find her. A certain beast babe, & an even more certain asassin for hire, join in with their own agendas for locating her.

     Fred breaks down & marries Reiko, finding out how "the other half" lives.

  5. FLCLSMFT- Alien babe on a Vespa, looking for a lost "boyfriend", whacking folks over the head with a bass guitar. And she's a heavy smoker.

  6. The Place Promised In Our Early Days But the Politicians/Economy Blew That to Heck & Gone- Title pretty much says it all.

  7. The Angel Beats of Haruhi Suzumiya- The fate of not just the planet, but of the entire universe lies in the hands of the mentally bonked leader of the SOS Brigade. Yuri Nakamura, leader of a rival school "club", & still having it in for God, takes matters into her own hands. Chaos ensues..... more so than usual.

  8. Paranoia Insurance Agent- Pay him but he will hit you anyway.

  9. 5 Centimeters Per Hour- The real long version. You know. The "directors' cut".

  10. Needless- Yes, I know. It's already an anime. An apt title for just about 90% of anime, don't you think?
                                              
                                                 Article copyright © Jay Agan

Upcoming Animes. Well Not Really. Pt. 2

Upcoming Animes. Well Not Really. Pt. 3

Go to MAIN PAGE.
                                                   
                                                 Article copyright © Jay Agan

The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya, Pt. 1

The "gang of five" in the school clubroom.. L-R Kyon, Whack Goddess of
the Universe Haruhi Suzumiya, Mikuru Asahina, Itsuke Koizume, & Yuki
Nagato. Credit: Kyoto Animation

                                                                              
                                     The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya, Pt. 1

                                                               by

                                                                  Jay Agan

      When The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya first came out, I paid no mind. On the surface it looked like another of those countless moe/schoolgirl shows giving anime a bad name. I'm not into this type of sub-genre & the only Moe I'm a fan of is a one Mr. Howard of an ancient comedy trio you young-uns hardly know about. Not caring for any of that rule 34/jailbait fodder, I gave it a pass (I like my women real & of legal age. Some of you folks make me wonder.)

  

      I figured it was also a Scooby Doo rip-off: Out of control little control freak forms an after school club investigating psychic phenomena & weird happenings. Ho-hum. Later, in passing, I read that three of the four she "dragoons" into the club, are the very people she's looking for. An esper, a time traveler, & an alien. A Scooby Doo rip-off with a twist. More ho-hum.

   

      Leafing through a copy of Anime Rough Guide, I read a more concise brief about this show on p.227. Seems the title character is (unknowingly)......GOD! Oh? And it's up to her four "friends"    to see she doesn't get bored &/or disturbed overmuch. Otherwise existance gets wiped & replaced with something else. Attention Deficit Disorder was also mentioned. O....K....

  

      As an ex-divinity student (I'm not a people person.), I got interested. If a story has a subject I find intrigueing I'm willing to let some things slide. I filed the show in the back of my mind & went my rollicking way.

  

      A few weeks later found me at the VGMX on Smokey Row in Columbus stoogeing around for flix (They actually had some Mexican horror films!) In the anime section I found the ep 00-03 disc of the first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. 9.95 used, I snapped it up. (Episode guide.)

  

      On viewing, I was pleasantly surprised to find not only is it a satire on theology & metaphysics, but also a multilevel elbow jab at:

      1. Anime in general.

      2. Various types of anime sub-genres/fans/"fetishes".

      3. Itself. (It is an anime, after all.)

  

     A review of the principal "cast" pretty much sums up the plot as much as anything else:

  

      Irritating, laid back esper, Itsuke Koizume: His organisation believes the title character to be God, or at least someone with god-like powers. Main task is to undo/prevent some of the "damage" when Haruhi goes off the deep end.

  

      Dead pan alien, Yuki Nagato: Humanoid interface/physical extension of the Integrated Data Entity observing this galaxy. Powers similar to Haruhis' but can only manipulate data/reality already existant (Haruhi can create it out of nothing.). Believes Haruhi to be possible key to her/its own "evolution". Also does "damage control". Lots of it!

  

      Nervous time traveler, Traci Lords......er, uh,..... Mikuru Asahina: Sent by her group to find out why they can't go beyond a point three years in the past. Believe Haruhi to be the cause.

  

      Put-upon Kyon: The poor slob who pays & pays for the mistake of putting a bug in Haruhis' ear about her getting more pro-active in her life. And unfortunately, his & everyone elses'.

  

      Oblivious diety, Haruhi Suzumiya, (aka Goddess Dingbat): Literal center of the universe. Doesn't know she's God, but thats' never stopped her.

     I would like to conclude this first part, with a caveat. Some scenes in eps 01-03 are inappropriate for children. Wether Haruhi swings both ways or is just testing Kyon (He intervenes.), sexual harrassment, no matter who does it & why, is not a laughing matter. At first, I thought I was going to have to toss this. As not much is shown & Kyon mans up & steps in, I let this slide. In later eps. the title character just seems to regard Mikuru as a very unwilling dress-up doll. (Then again what's up with that ear bite in ep. 07? Some wranglers do that to control horses.)

  

      Concluding installment will be a listing of the little "head trips" I found in this series. "See" you then......

Article copyright 10-1-2010 © Jay Agan

The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 2

The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 3

Go to MAIN PAGE.

      
                                                        
DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This article may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.