Blandin- Botchan, Student Days, and My Own Outlook

Image Taken from us.entertainmentfield.net

An anime based on a classic Japanese novel rather than a manga, Botchan. This film is a parody of the education in Japan of which I know is highly disciplined and rigorous in studies. Back in 8^th grade I did a research paper on the Japanese education system which was more so about the modern system, not so much the older one. Trust me when I say it is rigorous, but it just shows that the Japanese are serious about their studies which the short film Student Days presents a great visual of. This short film shows what it is really like in the Japanese education system unlike the parody that Botchan portrays. Botchan is more of a humorous film regarding the education system. It portrays corruption in the school administration, disrespect in the classroom, arrogance, and friendship.

As I watched this anime, corruption was ridiculously obvious. Certain teachers (Red Shirt and Buffoon) do various things that people in their position should not do. For example, Red Shirt is seeing a geisha which is apparently a forbidden thing. Plus incredibly evil seeing as “Weakling” was engaged to her at some point but the engagement fell through due to some complications. They go to meet geishas late at night at the inn. They also tried pitting Hotta and Botchan against each other with lies regarding the student pranks. I noticed this in JROTC, none of my instructors seemed to agree with the other on anything. They all had their own thing to say about the program and how to do things and so on… it could easily leave a student confused as what was the proper way of doing things to get a good grade.

Image taken from wattention.com

Along with the corruption of school administration is the disrespect for Botchan that the students display. If you go the stereotypical route, most boys would try to pull pranks on the new teacher to try and piss him off for however long it takes till the teacher just snaps and quits the job.  It is quite obvious that Botchan has a short temper because he “blows a fuse” quite often, most of which are comical moments in the film… but in Japan the students must show their teacher respect, not play pranks. Such an act is usually given an adequate punishment, though in this film it doesn’t seem to happen since Red Shirt is pulling all the strings. I’ve experienced such a mild outburst myself… not directly toward me, but the class I was a part of, though JROTC is supposed to be serious business, but if you get stuck in a class with about half the cadets not caring the slightest, you do end up with a “colorful” choice of words from the instructor. Made me feel disgraced to be a part of that class, honestly.

I mention arrogance because Botchan shows a lot of it along with impatience when it comes to him adjusting to this new town. He refers to it as a “hick town” and thinks his students are a bunch of “dolts” (or idiots if you prefer to say that). He seems to be quite the “know-it-all” as well. Just because he’s from Tokyo doesn’t mean he has to be a jerk about intelligence. I will say I’ve encountered my fair share of people like that in high school… all of which completely agitated me to the fullest extent. I made the same grades as them (or better sometimes) yet I didn’t rub it in their faces like they would amongst everyone else. Usually people like that tend to alienate themselves which could possibly be why Botchan never felt like he fits in with the town.

Image taken from MyAnimeShelf.com

 This last bit is not a negative thing, surprisingly, but I wanted to mention it because it’s always nice to have a friend, which was something Botchan really needed being new to the town. It is obvious he and Hotta are good friends in the film, despite how Red Shirt and Buffoon tried to muck it up. They still ended up apologizing to each other and patching up their friendship again…. And of course in the end, they gave quite a nice beating to those wicked fools. In high school, I always had my best friends with me to make the experience better even when I felt like high school was going to eat me alive. If it wasn’t for them, I probably would not have been as successful in school as I have been because when you are absolutely alone, things feel 100x worse than it really is in actuality. Having people there to back you up and assist you along the way can help increase your endurance and willpower toward the situation. When Botchan and Hotta did things together, they seemed unstoppable. They went back to their homes at the end of the film, but I’m pretty sure neither one will forget the other.

Blandin - Ninja Scroll

Image Taken from Animehere.com

This week in anime class we discussed supernatural and cultural aspects of anime. Most anime reflect some, if not all, aspects of the Shinto religion. It is quite apparent regarding the supernatural qualities of Ninja Scroll. Though not entirely detailed, it still gets the point across about oni and other odd phenomenon in the feudal era of Japan. Usually when that era is discussed it makes me think of InuYasha. The first anime I ever watched that was based in feudal Japan. That series is all about demons and power corrupted humans. Making them believe they wish to be demons just to gain a considerable amount of power. It also shows the other side of things when it comes to the good in people… even oni or half youkai. The movie did make me think of InuYasha because of the setting, oni, and other strange qualities of the film. Ninja Scroll is a great deal more violent and only a 90-minute film so you can only fit so much into that time frame regarding explanations, character backgrounds and so forth… Though I’m pretty sure if you look into the Ninja Scroll anime series and the comic books, they may provide more details for those wishing to learn more about the story because they are technically considered a continuation in a way.

 Regardless of the time frame, the movie does get across this “battle” between good and evil. Some characters may seem kinda shady in categorizing them, like the old man Dakuan. Others are obvious in which side they belong. Jubei and Kagero are the heroes, while Genma and his crew are the villains. Jubei is the main hero of course with his supernatural abilities and powerful morals. He fights for those in need and treats women with great respect. Like when he helped a poor village for little pay, or decided not to use Kagero to cure himself of the poison that Dakuan used to force him into helping the old man. Genma is just an all over villain with the ability to reincarnate himself and chasing after gold. He does whatever he can to conceal its location. All that trouble and he ends up sinking with gold fused to his body. At least we can say, despite the death of Kagero, good prevailed and taught us all a lesson about the loyalty of a “samurai” even though the movie claims Jubei is a swordsman/ninja… I personally believe he is a samurai because he displays the qualities of the pure ones.

Aside from that, I believe, despite its simplicity, that Ninja Scroll was an artistically pleasant movie in design. It doesn’t compare to the quality of movement and scenery in Akira but it still does some justice. After all it was a low budget movie in comparison. I would recommend this movie to diehard anime fans and people who love violence, as for myself… I’d rather take a gander at something else content wise. I can’t stomach much with decapitations and whatnot.

Blandin - Thoughts on Akira

Image taken from animereview2.freewebspace.com

I have never watched the movie Akira until recently. I must say that movie was rather belligerent and confusing. It was not until after the class discussion did I began to realize what the story was about. A dystopian Neo-Tokyo that is brutally government regulated. Brutal is probably just touching the tip of the iceberg. The government is rather “gun happy” if you think about it, killing peaceful protesters. They also do genetic experimentation on “special” children against their will to gain more power. The government basically controls everything about the society from new broadcasting to shopping at the mall.

Image taken from thelostclassics.com

Aside from that mini overview of Akira, I would like to point out something I’ve noticed from the little I could infer from the movie and what I garnered from our class discussion. In this movie, adolescents are controlled through every aspect. They try to rebel against the government in an attempt to gain free will. I don’t blame them for rebelling, especially since the society they live in brands the youth as garbage. In school, they get punched in the face and scolded about discipline. In protests, they are shot down as if they are worthless. In some cases, adolescents are abducted for experimentation as if they were lab rats (I personally do not approve of testing on animals, it was just an example of cruelty). Every aspect of their lives is under strict control of which they wish to break free from. They are the future of that society, so why mercilessly kill them? Since the outrageous disaster Tetsuo caused, maybe Neo-Tokyo will turn a new leaf, but the government may still be stubborn and continue with such projects that result in destructive “super mutants” while oppressing their citizens.

Overall, the movie gets the point across in probably the most violent method I have ever witnessed in an anime. It has a nice style to it considering it was made back in the late 80’s. It conveys a very important message as well, it just takes some time after watching the movie to figure it out. Though if I wasn’t such a hemophobic, anxiety stricken, weak stomached anime lover… then maybe I would have been able to focus on all the little details of the movie rather than cringing at almost every scene.

My MiniBio

My name is Britneé!

I'm a college student pursuing a Graphic Design major. My main interest is cartooning and I am quite talented with it at that, but I wanted to find a way to utilize my ability in a career.
Professionalism aside, I am a rather quirky person. I love wearing neckties, crafting charms, drawing anime, playing video games, reading manga, and wearing apparel with added appendages (example: hoodie with wolf ears and a tail).
My favorite food... would have to be Chinese cuisine. I aboslutely love the noodle dishes. But I do eat a variety of foods as well like nachos, pizza, hamburgers, pancakes, etc.
Favorite places to shop: HotTopic and Gamestop
 I tend to be shy, but I am willing to speak so feel free to ask me about anything.
Cannot forget my most awesome person ever that you all should meet too since he and I are always together around school. My boyfriend. He's so much like me in so many ways so I'm sure you'd love to chill out with us both. To sum it all, he's the Hamtaro to my Bijou!

If you don't know those two, here's a photo to help you get an idea.

Image taken from Glogster.com

And that's about it folks. Have a nice day!