DeathBecomesDavid

@DeathBecomesDavid

I saved your best friend’s life

Work in a set lighting warehouse. ADHD man. All about B movies, media crit, and the odd video game. Active on Letterboxd

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posts from @DeathBecomesDavid tagged #hideaki anno

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DeathBecomesDavid
@DeathBecomesDavid

I still stand by this

Shin Kamen Rider Review

Depressives who see the light and become proselytizers for living better are up there with born again Christians and MLM recruiters as the exact type of person I can’t make peace with. Anno is this guy as well as a endlessly celebrated (and accomplished) artist who can’t help but put his treatise on finding purpose, getting in touch with your feelings, and the struggle to just get out of bed in the morning in everything he touches. 

Problem is, I’m not his therapist and this is a fanboy passion project for a 50 year old Tokusatsu TV series about a motorcycling grasshopper-man powered by the wind. Here he’s got nothing to prove, a colossal business (Toei) looming behind him, and no partner to grab the wheel when he slips into reverie. Good news then that Anno’s on his best behavior, delivering a tokusatsu blockbuster of staggering beauty and flair. I LOVE the hyper coverage captured from an army of GoPros, sunny/dreary industrial locations, and surrender to full animation that evokes action more than it shows. Coming in with distain for the auteur helped me appreciate the staid drama as camp with every ounce of the didactic lines like a child, just 63 years of age, presenting his first self insert fan fiction. 

It’s cute and refuses to be taken seriously in any regard. In that sense it’s a better superhero film than any I’ve seen in years.

DeathBecomesDavid
@DeathBecomesDavid
thaliarchus
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thaliarchus
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In 2023, one can only watch Evangelion as a series of surfaces.

I am watching some of Evangelion for the first time in eighteen years. I think the problem is that by the time I was sufficiently depressed to enjoy Evangelion, I wasn't young enough to enjoy Evangelion.

I refuse to think about the plot, characters, or themes, because those are epiphenomena and have been talked to death. I don't mean that I find the show superficial. But the plot, characters, and themes form its superficial bits.

To sum up my seat-of-the-pants re-impressions so far: Evangelion does not stand out for its animation; its shot composition is not unique, though strong; but its shot timing ('editing', montage) is exceptional.

Other notes:

  • The show's script is very blunt.
  • I laugh whenever 007 takes the Lektor.
  • Both the amount and the quality of the for-sickos background technology stand beyond criticism.
  • Remember when they dumped the show on Netflix and it got a day's social media attention for the translation of one line and then sank without trace?
  • Hand-drawn Evas look less like tokusatsu than 3DCG models, but far more successfully feel like the intended effect of tokusatsu's guy-in-a-suit than a three dimensional model ever could.
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Shin Kamen Rider Review

Depressives who see the light and become proselytizers for living better are up there with born again Christians and MLM recruiters as the exact type of person I can’t make peace with. Anno is this guy as well as a endlessly celebrated (and accomplished) artist who can’t help but put his treatise on finding purpose, getting in touch with your feelings, and the struggle to just get out of bed in the morning in everything he touches. 

Problem is, I’m not his therapist and this is a fanboy passion project for a 50 year old Tokusatsu TV series about a motorcycling grasshopper-man powered by the wind. Here he’s got nothing to prove, a colossal business (Toei) looming behind him, and no partner to grab the wheel when he slips into reverie. Good news then that Anno’s on his best behavior, delivering a tokusatsu blockbuster of staggering beauty and flair. I LOVE the hyper coverage captured from an army of GoPros, sunny/dreary industrial locations, and surrender to full animation that evokes action more than it shows. Coming in with distain for the auteur helped me appreciate the staid drama as camp with every once of the didactic lines like a child, just 63 years of age, presenting his first self insert fan fiction. 

It’s cute and refuses to be taken seriously in any regard. In that sense it’s a better superhero film than any I’ve seen in years.