Anime Friday: Cowboy Bebop
Pizza Cats with a different story
Anime Friday: Supa Roboto!
Anime Friday: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Haruhi: It's a rule that in stories with strange things going on, you have to have one Moe character...After that, Haruhi proceeds to grab Mikuru's breasts and rave about how awesome it is that she's completely out of proportion: tiny body, huge tits. Add shyness to that and you've got Moe. The above is why Haruhi works as an anime for me. It's a smirking, postmodern approach to what is essentially a long procession of cliche. Once again, it seems the best of the genre comes from a mind that has more than a little contempt for it. Comprehension: 10/10- The weirdness here is right out in front. Maybe I'm just getting used to it, but nothing really confused me here. Enjoyment: 8/10- It was still a high school plot and it was still very anime-ish, but the punky genre references rescued Haruhi for me. Improvement of Understanding: 10/10- More than its willingness to make fun of otaku and modern anime conventions, I loved the solid narrative. It made me realize what I feel has been missing in so many other anime series and movies. A strong voice with more than a rudimentary understanding of words is required to make a decent story. Tanigawa's literary bent sets Haruhi apart from the crowd. Next Week: Because it must be done... Three animes about giant robots.
Unintentional foreign entertainment
Is it a sad day in television history when people scan the news in hope for an embarrassing news gaffe? Perhaps it is. I must confess, it is quite entertaining to come across a blooper. Maybe it is because of the 'don't smile principle'. You know what I mean, those serious, career-building situations where you must not, cannot, should not laugh or blurt out something horrific. And when someone does, it just makes it funny.
And thus, in my mindless wandering, I came across some superb BBC bloopers. Some of them are absolutely brilliant; some are funny but harmless gaffes; and others are just terrible.
1. The famous 'technical' glitch
This became such a popular news clip that everyone must have heard of it by now. Let me recap. BBC was supposed to interview someone in the know about an Apple-related legal battle. It was meant to be one of those “Is the court case making your teeth grind”? sort of Q-and-A sessions. Except for the fact that something went horribly wrong. There was a major hiccup along the way, because, instead of ushering in the IT expert, someone brought in the wrong man. Incidentally this man was there for a job interview. Watch the clip and catch his expression at the beginning of the interview. It must be said that the gentleman, Goma, carried himself rather well given the awkward circumstance.
Click here to watch the Guy Goma Clip
2. Awkward blunders
This is a medley of bloopers from past BBC shows. Most of them are harmless gaffes ... yes, even the one about a politician's 'erection' expense. Sometimes it is not their fault. If I had to sit there and talk about the increase of tea cozy accidents, I would have trouble looking somber and serious too.
Click here to watch the BBC blunders clip
3. Pee Protest
I wonder if the poor news reader had other thoughts on his mind. After announcing that some folks walked out over something related to pee, he corrects himself without flinching. It was quite a 007-worthy save, if not for the fact that he covered his face just at the end.
Click here to watch the pee protest clip
4. Walk-outs
Speaking of people dodging an interview, here are some classic examples of people walking away from the presenter. To his credit, I must admit that a younger looking Micheal Douglas looked immensely apologetic.
5. Behind the scenes
The real gem in this medley video is the cut scene to “James in Downing Street”. I would call it the unintentional depiction of a spoof comedy moment. All you needed, right then and there, to complete the moment was Rowan Atkinson in the studio and perhaps some thunder sound effects. I suppose it could have been worse; he might have been groping around his shirt.
6. Itchy and Scratchy Show
I spoke too soon. Here you come across Jane Hill adjusting her attire and poking around a bit whilst reporting a power cut. It's probably a technical glitch ... I meant the fact that this video was broadcast, not the groping around in an embarrassing manner.
Anime Friday: Akikan
Kakeru: What are you doing? Yurika (with an intense, scary background): An experiment to see if a human is able to live solely on supplementsMake no mistake, Akikan is epically terrible. The animation is cheap and full of recycled sequences, the voices are silly and the premise is downright worthless. Still, when something is this bad, one wonders whether or not the badness was intentional. Imagine going to a restaurant with a date. Your date receives an overcooked, under-seasoned piece of chicken. That's bad, but it's really just the result of incompetence. You, on the other hand, order a steak and the chef decides to serve you a hunk of clay covered in tartar sauce and skewered with lit sparklers. That's bad in an entirely different, much more insane way. That's what Akikan is. Comprehension: 4/10- I don't even think Riku Ranjo knew what was going on when he wrote this story, so I don't feel so bad being at a loss. I'm just going to have to accept that a Japanese upbringing allows for a lot more suspension of disbelief than an American one. Enjoyment: It's a spectrum beginning at 2, jolting up to 10 then settling somewhere around 6. I began absolutely hating Akikan for all the right reasons, then slowly grew to love it for all the wrong ones. Improvement of Understanding: 8/10- I now have a solid foundation for how bad anime can get. I found that metric I referenced at the beginning of this post. No matter what I see in any future anime, I can ask myself, "Is this more or less absurd than a sentient soda can that moans when you put a straw into it?" Next Week: Haruhi
L'Origine de la Tendresse and Other Stories
Anime Friday: Blue Submarine No. 6
Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off ... a bit much
Imagine a milk carton that is distributed exclusively in travel-based circles. If missing kids or warning notices take pride of place on ordinary cartons, then an unflattering mug shot of Giles Wemmbley-Hogg will grace the other milk container. To what purpose, you ask? It might be a sad “Last seen in Munich” sort of notice or it could just be a fervent “Keep away from him at all costs” kind of warning; that sort of question could take months of debate.
Point is, Giles Wemmbley-Hogg, two M's, two G's, is the bane of the tourism industry. Perhaps I should retrace my steps and introduce the topic properly. The aforementioned gentleman is the main character in this fantastically funny BBC show called Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off. Made for radio, this quirky show follows the adventures, or rather mishaps, of this upper-class simpleton. You'll cringe, shake your head, laugh out loud and, in the worst of cases, cover your face just in case you end up imagining that scenario! By the way, the show lasted 5 series so there's plenty of crazy adventures to go through.
GWH Goes Off ... what is the most fitting way to elaborate about this show? Well, have you ever come across a politically correct traveler who has the best of intentions (why some of my best friends are elves, he seems to say) and yet, he blurts out the most inappropriate comments at the worst possible times (just pick some of the more colorful comments by Prince Philip)? GWH is an exaggeration of this archetype. To this effect, I recall a somewhat misguided comparison between a biltong and a belt. On that note, I must admit that this show does the best Afrikaans accent this side of the equator.
For those interested in experiencing a bit of Wemmbley-Hogg fiasco's, check out Series 2 of GWH Goes Off on BBC Radio 7.