Alex Kerr is no stranger to Japan, his books and history demonstrate a continuing personal involvement and deep affection for the country which is hard to find in many foreigners. Perhaps best know for the seminal Lost Japan, Dogs and Demons: The Fall of Modern Japan was published eight years later in 2002 and aims to get to the heart of how Japan as a nation has been degrading since the Second World War and before. At times it is a bleak and unforgiving book that aims with ruthless precision to uncover why Japan, once sequestered, then exposed, then devastated, then superior and now, supposedly irrelevant, has become that way. By and large it succeeds and prises open a world that no other book has had the courage to touch upon - indeed Kerr expands on this at many points throughout the ~400 page book. Unfortunately though it is hamstrung by many arguments which boil down to personal opinion and though convincing, it is difficult not to see this as only one side to a very complex and pertinent argument.
acts a touchstone for a country exiting a period of stagnation and turbulence but whether anything has changed in the meantime is the biggest question
I was first introduced to the book through Joi Ito's blog which also recommended and revealed a number of other alternativebooks around Japan that are currently on my reading stack. It is the first Japan related book that I have read that doesn't take either an educational or effusive stance on the country or element of its culture which was the greatest hurdle to overcome when starting out. The writing style is clean and precise which is excellent for getting across fact but not so when dealing with opinion. As Kerr mentions, the statistics he includes are accurate to the best of his ability but thanks to the idiosyncrasies of reporting and accounting, many are hard to verify; regardless the breadth of research that went into the book is awe inspiring and although it is now becoming dated, what is surprising is not only how relevant the book still is but how relevant it is regarding the recent economic turmoil suffered by the majority of the developed world.
Watching Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei is like watching a very complex engine; there's the constant thrum as it operates - provided here by Shintaro Asanuma's staccato voice - the complex mechanisms all operating together in order to drive... something. In the first three episodes the series doesn't reveal what it is attempting to convey or even how it intends to fill the remainder of its eleven episode run, there is only the core situation, continuously augmented, with the nameless protagonist at the centre. Bolstering this Groundhog Day-esque scenario is an impossibly trendy production from Madhouse that sports a gung-ho, raucous animation style and an opening backed by Asian Kung-fu Generation. There is an infectious, breathless enthusiasm to the opening episodes but whether this will be maintained and the final twist worthwhile, will make or break the series.
Sly nods to popular culture reinforce its underlying attacks on community, creativity and personal fulfilment
The opening days of a university education are filled with promise, especially the decision on which club to join to best spend time in between lectures. The protagonist opts first for the tennis club but discovers too late the skills required to make friends and, crucially, woo partners of the opposite sex. Instead he throws his lot in with Ozu, a snide and vindictive young man with a face only a mother could love and a penchant for causing brainless mischief wherever he goes. Complicating this mix is Akashi, a cantankerous and forthright girl who seems to take a special interest in the protagonist, much to his delight. When his tennis club adventures end with him being thrown into a raging river, time reverses and he is given another chance at a club, this time choosing the film club. Events end badly once again, as too does the cycling circle; it seems that the protagonist is tied to Ozu with the "black thread of fate", or perhaps the local deity or suspect fortune teller have something to do with his continuing mishaps.
Not to be confused with the horror novel, House of Leaves, House of Five Leaves sports a visually distinctive aesthetic that mixes painterly backgrounds with spindly, dark eyed characters. More effective in motion than in stills, the opening trio of episodes are methodically paced, carefully balancing the meandering story with character development - a cast of rogues that revels in the offbeat and avoids archetypes. Dealing with a variety of social and moral grey areas, the question of who the real villains are underpins a lot of narrative but it is the well crafted protagonist which keeps this series fresh and engaging.
an idea perhaps foreign in anime that frequently features blue haired and buxom protagonists
Masanosuke Akitsu is a ronin down on his luck - unable to hold a steady job due to his perceived unreliability yet too proud to take on manual labour. His luck changes however when by chance he meets Yaichi, a mysterious and carefree man coincidentally on the lookout for a softly spoken but capable samurai to become his bodyguard. Masa's first encounter on the job however reveals an unsavoury side to Yaichi who it transpires is the head of the Five Leaves, a group which kidnaps members of rich families and demands a ransom for their return. Masa is conflicted about this turn of events and although Yaichi has a strange fascination towards him, he cannot in good conscience continue to work for them, even if they do feed him and he keeps company with their members. His unwitting hand in the kidnap of a young boy however may be enough to divorce him from the group for good.
Capturing the spirit of football and not simply throwing angry young men together is a tough ask, whether Giant Killing achieves it is a question best left for an audience more familiar with the enthusiasm the sport engenders. The first three episodes certainly capture the fury and, one presumes, the passion it stems from but whether the series can transcend its relegation to the sports genre is another matter. With only a single match and a lot of shouting in the opening episodes it has a long way to go to individuate itself from others in its league but converting an audience ambivalent or indifferent to football is perhaps too much to ask.
an uninspired and predictable series with bland characters and a penchant for mistaking enthusiasm and devotion for shouting and confrontation
East Tokyo United (ETU) isn't doing well: after years of poor performance after their star player Takeshi Tatsumi departed, they've had to turn to their last resort. A renowned manager is hired to drag the team out of their slump; the manager however is the same player who abandoned the team and caused their rapid descent down the leagues. His style is unorthodox and destructive, riling up the experienced players by claiming that the group of younger players is in the best position to make the first team. After an abrasive and revelatory training session, the team heads out to their training camp in the frigid north where the whimsical Takeshi is doing everything he can to fracture the team. Whether the techniques his time in England fostered will transfer over to ETU will define whether they'll beat their rival, Tokyo Victory, and prove they are in fact capable of giant killing.
Joining the list of shows that consider a single exclamation point inadequate to convey their delirious enthusiasm, Working!! is an unlikely comedy set in a restaurant staffed by an eclectic and offbeat selection of characters. Favouring wry humour over slapstick, the first three episodes of the series have a wide stable of jokes and though it wears its four-panel comic strip heritage on its sleeve, the pacing is solid and it stays away from wildly exaggerated scenarios, instead sticking with the ongoing tribulations of the cast's idiosyncrasies. All of the enthusiasm may come from the diminutive pixie Poplar, but the series has all the hallmarks of a supremely competent comedy ready to fill its entirety rather than expend its energy all at once.
a self-assured and capable comedy that may not aim high or burn fast, but sticks to its strengths
Poplar works at the Wagnaria family restaurant in Hokkaido and has been tasked by her surly manager to find a new employee to help with the increasing work load. After exhausting her options, she begins soliciting strangers on the street, finally asking Souta who mistakes her for a wayward middle school student. Beguiled by her size and demeanour, he accepts the job offer and is introduced to the menagerie of characters that make up Wagnaria's staff. There is the manager, Kyouko, who does little work and subsists on a diet of parfaits, most of them served by Yachiyo who, as well as carrying a sword around, has a long history with the manager. Poplar is small but sprightly and quite the opposite of Mahiru who has a ferocious phobia of men, much to the dismay of Souta who ends up on the receiving end more often than not. Souta himself isn't bereft of his quirks and despite his initial qualms, quickly settles in to the staff's continuing misadventures.
