Poem 2- Nicotine Demon

Poem 2- Nicotine Demon

˜”*°•.˜”*°• C₁₀H₁₄N₂

That's the formula of death

The nicotine demon

A capitalistic bullet aimed at your lungs

You inject the poison in your mouth

And feed the system built to destroy youth and minorities

Cancer has a price tag and you're buying it

What're you doing? Put it down!

Don't live in the city of fog, where the breaths you take for granted become exotic fantasies

This addiction isn't your friend

It won't save you from momentary problems

It'll lead you to a lifetime of dying every single day

Don't light it up. The fuse of your lifeline is too short to waste. •°*”˜.•°*”˜

Youthful Dystopia of Narutaru

Narutaru was beneficial enough to have been made in an era where deconstruction series was gaining traction. If it were to made now, it'd probably be labeled as edgy without any mention of the actual quality of the story. Notably, the genre being deconstructing is the Mon( Digimon, pokemon, etc) genre. Unlike magical girl and mecha shows of today, Mon anime are still generally fluffy and childish so a darker take on the genre was definitely in order.

To give a little backdrop on the creator Mohiro Kitoh, he's pretty much a nihilist that rivals gen urubuchi in cruelty. His other works include a giant robot that steals the life force of children to destroy the multiverse and a psychic teen whom mass murders anyone who drives irresponsibly. He's that type of guy.

The main appeal of the story comes from the interactions between the children and their shadow dragons, rather than actual plot progression. Shadow dragons are mysterious creatures who bond to the characters with a psychic link, sharing their pain and inner thoughts. The names of the shadow dragons are often reflective of their user's psychology. For example, Norio's dragon is Vagina dentata representing his feminine appearance and inability to become intimate with the man he loves.

Our first real look into the world of Narutaru comes in the form of Tomonori Komori. The first few chapters spend time lolly gaging and establishing a vaguely foreboding mood, but, Komori establishes how this world operates. He a textbook level sociopath. A charming young boy who is revered by those in his neighborhood. All that charm is simply a facade he puts on to hide his true sinister views. He wants a Darwinistic world where all of the educated and well to do members of society are killed off, leaving the world in a survival of the fittest state. " Those who are weak and can't fend for themselves deserve to die," he says despite having a sick mother to take care of. He's ironically killed off by hoshimaru, one of the weaker dragons.

Komori is far from the only disturbed child in the series. The children have few qualms with murder and treat it casually. What sets this mon series from those of the same genre is that it treats its children character like actual humans. They aren't saints who only use their abilities for good. They're selfish and use these dragons to suit their own needs. It seems that being psychologically damaged is a requirement for having a dragon. Even upbeat Shiina has her hang-ups about her identity. This theory of trauma giving birth to shadow dragons is more or less confirmed with Hiroko.

She's a shy girl who's constant physical and emotional abuse from her bullies and parents allow her to awaken Oni. Her parents are representative of a common problem in Asian society. They only value their daughter for her academic status and chide her for being anything less than perfect. Her bullies torment her for being too smart and standing out during class. Both parties have opposite reasons for hating Hiroko, but, they both wish to strip away her individuality and turn her into a submissive slave of society. Awakening her shadow dragon allows Hiroko to finally get revenge on her tormentors, even if it means becoming a serial killer in the process.

The manga is definitely a character-driven tale that dwells deep into the psyche of highly disturbed children. You have Akira who has depression and suicidal tendencies, Aki Honda who raped a girl with a test tube and the girl in question who snaps and goes in a killing spree. You could say that all of this bleakness is a bit too much but honestly, it felt refreshing. Mon series are generally really cheesy with bland one-note characters and a story that only exists to sell merchandise. Narutaru breaks the mold and presents characters who are multi-faceted and lifelike. Contrary to popular belief, children aren't always innocent and they can be just as cruel as adults.

One major gripe I have with the manga is the art. Mohiro sure can write but his art isn't winning any awards, that's for sure. Character designs are bland and minimalist. I admit the military paraphernalia is drawn in extensive detail and the dragons have cool designs but that's about it. Other manga artists can do sketchy manga art perfectly but Mohiro isn't one of them.

I also wasn't too particularly fond of the second half of the manga. It drops elements of deconstruction and character drama to replace it with military affairs. I understand the writer is a military nut but having chapters littered with walls of text of JSDF members reacting to the shadow dragon was just so tedious. It would've been better if the plot focused solely on the children and how their actions affect their environment. The second half of the manga lost what made Narutaru so special. It started as a character study of how immature kids react to newfound power only for the story to get Monopolized by adults. some characters like Mamiko Kuri, Norio Koga, and sudo desperately needed more screentime and character development. Mamiko is the worst offender as she only exists to be overtly cryptic until the final volumes.

I highly recommend anyone curious to please read the manga. It's ultimately a story of children thrown into an adult world of violence with little room to grow up. It's a thought-provoking social commentary on the nature of humans and how far their cruelty can go. There's an anime adaptation that isn't as good but is still a fun watch. Even if it's unlikely I'd to see the anime get a remake with a bigger budget and completely adapt the manga. If it did get a remake, here's whom I'd want to work on it:

Studio Mappa/ Geno studio- They seem more willing than other studios to work on nontraditional anime. They also tend to have high production values, something the Narutaru anime desperately needed. Producer twin engine would probably need to be involved

Sadyuki Murai(scriptwriter)- His work on boogiepop Phantom and Juuni Taisen has shown he excels at character drama and psychological thrillers. His style would work perfectly with the narrative and maybe even give the side characters some much-needed development. Taku Kishimoto would be my second choice

Takahiro Kishida( Character designer)- He has a sketchy and rough art style that can perfectly encapsulate the feel of the manga. I'm sure he'd improve on the demure character designs and make them more dynamite.

Takahiro Omari( Director)- He directed Durarara and Baccano which tells me he knows how to work with an ensemble cast. He also directed Hell girl, which had heavy social commentary poised at Japanese society, something Kitoh would love.

Yugo Kanno(Composer)- This guy knows how to how to Composer dark and suspenseful tracks that can amplify the intensity of the manga.

Be sure to check out these two other blogs that went far more in-depth than I ever could.

https://hanagasaitayo.wordpress.com/2019/08/05/analysis-narutaru-mukuro-naru-hoshi-tama-taru-ko/

https://manymanytoes.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/narutaru-shadow-star/

Ninja Slayer slays my heart with disappointment.

Domo, it is I, pop culture Rhapsody. Watching Ninja Slayer was one of the most bittersweet experiences I've had yet. On one hand, I was totally disappointed in the limited animation that mostly consisted of character cut-outs sliding across the screen. On the other, the story, setting, characters, and music captivated me to the point I had to watch every episode.

The problem with Ninja Slayer is that it wants to have its cake and eat it too. It wants to be a cheesy parody of 90's ninja media that goes for a " so bad it's good" angle and yet, there are several moments of drama and tension that are meant to be taken seriously. The anime never quite gets a proper handle on its tone and shifts back and forth without any style.

The experimental style wouldn't have been so bad had it been an original anime. A lot of people forget that ninja Slayer is based on a series of light novels. This makes Ninja Slayer one of the worst adaptions for its animation alone. I'm sure the staff at studio trigger thought the direction style would mesh well with the cheesy tongue in cheek tone of the novel, but, it sounds more like an excuse to be lazy. People need to realize that so bad it's good only works if it's done unintentionally. When you actually put effort into being so bad it's good, you're just going to be bad and probably end up using " I wasn't trying to be good" as a deflection of criticism.

This show could've of been amazing if it focused more on either being a straight-up comedy or being a serious ninja series with a few jokes sprinkled here and there. I would've preferred the later choice. I found myself enthralled by our hero Fujikido Kenji and his plight to slay all evil ninja. He's the kind of manly badass hero we don't see much of anymore. A rugged warrior who's brutal when he needs to be and isn't overtly edgy with a set of morals he abides by. He's the kind of guy I can root for and wish him a happy ending.

The ninja Slayer mangas are far better than the anime but be warned as they are incomplete. The manga adaption by Yugo Yuki has more or less been dropped by vertical and Tokyo otaku mode gave up on translating the novels years ago. It seems unlikely if ninja Slayer will ever see a definitive conclusion for English speakers. So long, you ninja Slayer.

Check out my review of ichi the killer episode zero. A low budget dementia anime that just might disturb you.

Haiku# 1-  Know the Enemy

Nature loves us all

Yet you pollute it freely

Know the enemy

Gantz: O Movie Review

Within the first few minutes, it becomes apparent that this movie has a hard time determining its audience. Fans of the manga will be peeved by the various edits done resulting in potential favorite scenes being cut out. Viewers who haven't read the manga will feel confused by the fast pacing and lack of explanations. At the end of the day, this movie is an exhilarating thrill ride from start to finish.

How much you enjoy the story is dependant on your familiarity with the manga. As a standalone peice, this movie is the tale of a brave teen who finds himself trapped within a horrific survival game. Manga readers may see this as a rushed and clumsy adaptation of a fan favorite arc. It would've been much better Gantz: O was instead a cinematic miniseries akin to Digimon Tri with more time to flesh out the plot.

The film begins with manga protagonist Kei Kurono being killed off by a huge yokai alien before the scene switches to Kato getting killed by a knife-wielding maniac in the subway. This is the most noticeable change since Kato in this continuity is unfamiliar with the Gantz game while in the manga he had experienced prior to this arc.

The characterization is a bit messy due to the compressed nature of the movie but the core personality traits are still there. Nishi is still a complete sociopath, Kato is a noble hero and the Osaka team are careless hedonists. Reika has weaker characterization than the other due to her spending a lot of time reminiscing over the dead Kurono. This is mostly Hiroya Oku's sexist writing because even in the manga, Reika's personality mainly revolved around Kurono.

The action scenes are the definitive highlight of Gantz O. Every scene is backed up by gorgeous cg animation courtesy of Keiichi Satou. The man is no stranger to cg animation and even worked on the saint Seiya legend of the sanctuary movie prior to Gantz. The character models are expressive and fluid throughout the film which makes them feel like real people. Fight scenes are depicted with all the gore and brutality of the original manga. Bodies are crushed to bloody pulps and limbs are sent flying. Battle junkies everywhere should be able to enjoy this movie.