114. Covid & Anime
29 March 2021
i started watching my first anime last year, prolly during covid19 lockdown. i've not watched any manga-looking anime film or read a manga comic book since Candy Candy or Xiao Tian Tian 小甜甜! omg omg omg... that's in the 1970's!! Lol
after going WOW over "my neighbour totoro", "spirited away", "kiki's delivery service" and "princess kaguya", i discovered "garden of words" and "5 centimetres per second" - totally won over by the beautiful drawings and more so for their storytelling and themes. i don't like every film that's made by miyazaki or studio ghibli but i really like makoto shinkai's reflection of our world and how people live in there in the 2 anime films i mentioned earlier - "garden of words" and "5cm per sec".
after going WOW over "my neighbour totoro", "spirited away", "kiki's delivery service" and "princess kaguya", i discovered "garden of words" and "5 centimetres per second" - totally won over by the beautiful drawings and more so for their storytelling and themes. i don't like every film that's made by miyazaki or studio ghibli but i really like makoto shinkai's reflection of our world and how people live in there in the 2 anime films i mentioned earlier - "garden of words" and "5cm per sec".
what i watched in 2020 & 2021 so far
- assassination classroom
- one punch man
Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli
- my neighbour totoro
- spirited away
- kiki's delivery service
- ponyo
- princess kaguya
- princess mononoke
- and more...
- bleach movie & anime s1, s2, s3 (63 eps total)
Makoto Shinkai
- garden of words
- 5 centimetres per second
Anime Short Films Watched this week:
i watched these short Anime films recently and love the stories!
i think these are the types of stories i really really want to tell.
Garden of Words
(Anime), 46min, Japan, 2013, Makoto Shinkai
(writer, director, Storyboard, Art director, Color design)
5 Centimetres per Second
(Anime), 1hr 2min, Japan, 2007, Makoto Shinkai
(writer, director, Photography, Color design, Editing)
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Some references:
1. Max Shen, MIT Ph.D. Student, An Analysis of Makoto Shinkai’s The Garden of Words, 1 Nov 2016
2. Shraddha Dhodi, 10 things about “ The Garden of Words ” that you may have missed, Nov 7, 2017
3. Interview - Cult anime director Makoto Shinkai on love, Tokyo and "The Garden of Words"
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Garden of Words
here are my fav scenes and why i love these moments...
Garden of Words
in this scene or sequence, the 15 year old boy is measuring her feet to learn how to make shoes for women.
rain & shoes
rain = alienation, difficulties, renewal, wash away
shoes, feet, shoemaker = learn to walk again
"I was practicing how to walk, too.
I believe that now.
One day, when I can walk much further on my own,
I will go see her."
when it rains, they come here, a little shelter at the park, feeling yuck, needing to escape. they meet every time it rains in the morning when they feel bad - one doesn't want to go to school and the other not wanting to go to work. but they end up sharing moments when they don't have to feel alone.
(reply)
“A faint clap of thunder
Even if rain comes or not
I will stay here,
Together with you”
"you saved me" (Climax)
in this scene, he tells her how he struggles and wishes for her to share her struggles too. and she finally manages to tell him - along with a hug, a shout/scream, sobbing. makes me cry every time i see this scene. this is when friendship is honest and free and safe to be vulnerable.
and yes, this scene is often misunderstood - i can see it's not romance.
it's a strong bond and connection they share.
it's time to be painfully honest, face reality -
honest - more to oneself than to anyone else.
Tanka
なるかみの, すこしとよみて,
A faint clap of thunder,
さしくもり,
Clouded skies,
あめもふらぬか,
Perhaps rain will come.
きみをとどめむ?
If so, will you stay here with me?
なるかみの, すこしとよみて,
A faint clap of thunder,
ふらずとも,
Even if rain comes or not,
わはとどまらむ,
I will stay here,
いもしとどめば。
Together with you.
- Man'yōshū vol. 11, verse 2514 - 2513,
from the movie The Garden of Words -
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5 Centimetres per Second
here are my fav scenes and why i love these moments...
“Hey… They say it’s five centimetres per second. The speed at which the sakura blossom petals fall… Five centimetres per second.” – Akari Shinohara
“And bit by bit, you’ll keep changing.”
“At what speed must I live to be able to see you again?” – Takaki Toono
below: 5 centimetre per second,
ep1 - childhood
Lol that's how fast or slow the cherry blossom flowers fall from the tree.
"It is the speed by which a cherry blossom get separated from its tree.”
below: 5 centimetre per second,
ep2 - rocket
- it doesn't see or reach anywhere close
it shoots forward, seeing and focussed on reaching a destination far far away
desperately reaching the sky,
that massive object shooting up,
looking into the far distance and beyond.
i understood why Takaki was different from the rest of us
i realized that he was always looking at something far away
he can't even see me
below: 5 centimetre per second,
ep3 - if she turns around...
let's watch the cherry blossoms fall, together, again...
Garden of Words - Music Track
5 Centimetres per Second - Theme Song "One More Time, One More Chance"
Garden of Words - Rain
7 July 2021
below my sketches for The Garden of Words
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