It’s Monday again. That means that the weekend is over. However, it also means that there is a new general discussion thread. So, it isn’t all bad! As always, feel free to use this thread for questions, comments, recommendations, etc.
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I have only one more movie left to watch from Satoshi Kon. I’ve seen all of his other works. The most recent one being Tokyo Godfathers which steered a bit away from what we normally see from Kon. This one is probably the most “normal” of his works but I guess the charm of it comes from its characters (a runaway child, an alcoholic man, a transgender woman) all of whom are homeless appearing to be like a nuclear family. It’s pretty rare to see such characters in a more grounded Tokyo in the anime medium but they aren’t accurate depictions of homelessness either, nor did that seem to be the point of the movie. I also liked how pieces of Paranoia Agent are visible here (or the other way around).
I’m excited to watch Paprika later today or this week. That should wrap up my Satoshi Kon viewing experience. After that, I’m not sure if I should also complete the works of other anime directors. Maybe Hideaki Anno next?
I think it is interesting to go through a single director’s work like that. After watching Spirited Away this weekend, I was talking with my wife about our favorite Ghibli movies, and looking them up it made us realize that Grave of the Fireflies and Tale of the Princess Kaguya were both made by the same director, Isao Takahata. Those two movies are so emotionally heavy that they will absolutely wreck me any time I watch them. So, it made me curious to check out some of their other work…when I feel like I need a good cry.
As for Anno, I just looked them up on AniList to refresh my memory on their full list of works (it is a lot). However, I didn’t realize that he actually has a couple voice acting roles in addition to his huge body of animation/directorial work. Most notably, he voices the main character of The Wind Rises.