|
Post by Eric Bergeron on Nov 11, 2023 3:53:25 GMT
Has anyone seen this yet? I thought it was a pretty good series, watched all 8 episodes, has some nice forging of swords done the most accurate way I've seen in a long time on screen.
|
|
|
Post by kung on Nov 11, 2023 7:51:30 GMT
binged the whole thing, thought it was well done, enjoyed the adult themes and actions, definitely worth checking out.
|
|
rschuch
Member
Sharp blades are good to have, if Shire-folk go walking, east, south, far away into dark and danger.
Posts: 806
|
Post by rschuch on Nov 14, 2023 14:27:05 GMT
First episode is impressive!
|
|
|
Post by mrstabby on Nov 16, 2023 17:50:27 GMT
Cool show. Watched it before I saw the thread. I get the gist, that the japanese people see the protagonists facial features as foreign, but is it just about the blue eyes? Would blue eyes have been such a big deal in Japan back then?
|
|
|
Post by takitam on Nov 16, 2023 23:36:12 GMT
I'm not a great anime fan, never have been. But I watched some classics in my adulthood, not that long ago, and I enjoyed them. I tried to watch this...but I couldn't. I watched for several minutes and I felt the level of embarrassment/cringe rising. Then fast forwarded a few times. From the overall visual style, through animation and fight scenes, everything feels cheap and kind of, wrong? I know it's not enough to properly judge a product, but it's enough to rant and we seem to have mostly covered all of sword related topics It might be that I'm getting old, it might be that western pop-culture of XX/XXI century is long past its golden age. It might be that it's better to wait for time itself to sift through the good and bad art that each decade produces. I feel that pop culture was an interesting phenomenon that came to be because people of varying cultural backgrounds mixed, mostly in that big melting pot we call USA, and were fascinated by what their curiosity helped them discover in others. West met East, Old met New, writers collaborated with filmmakers, singers and musicians discovered new musical styles and instruments, creators consumed all kinds of media (but still had mostly literary influences) which gave them unprecedented breadth and depth of material to work with, and last but not least, I was younger and more impressionable Everyone in the creative arts was fascinated by something or someone new and exotic, and these new influences combined with some age old themes, modern technology, and the background of Western rationalism, greed, drive for discovery and embracement of other cultures, produced creative art of never before seen qualities. There was no stagnation, only constant progress and discoveries throughout the XX century. In film, music, visual arts etc. When I watched this and some other modern movies e.g. Marvel, I could not last more than 15 minutes. I have an impression that this is made by a generation of plastic people born in the world of 'sameness', who are not truly curious and fascinated by anything in art or politics or culture or philosophy. They are simply a boring product of pop culture themselves and they have never even tried to understand what made pop culture so unique and interesting. Or maybe they are unable to because of the times they grew up in. What they seem to be doing is simply copy and paste, this and that, with little understanding of what made some of the old art special and their creators innovative. In some of the worst cases of using original IP, the best word to describe this sort of work is vandalism. And they seem to somehow feel special because of it There are also the brilliant greedy producers, who on the other hand are better at their business than anyone before them. I have a feeling that some producers of old were fascinated by visual arts and that is why they wanted to make money off of it. They admired the creators. They wanted to dominate them and make money of them but they also secretly admired them. Modern producers seem no longer fascinated by these arts, they just want to maximize profits. And they are successful - modern incarnations of ancient Midas, who can turn semprini into gold. This is respectable, even if disgusting at the same time. TL, DR: When I watch this and other similar movies/series I have a feeling that I'm watching a product made for mentally challenged people, made by mentally challenged people. I know that it sounds mean, sorry.
|
|
tera
Moderator
Posts: 1,658
|
Post by tera on Nov 17, 2023 4:55:21 GMT
Takitam, based on your review I became curious and watched the first episode. I might recommend you give it another try. I was surprised to find some cultural elements scattered throughout.
1) A reasonable description of traditional sword making methods, citing the impurities of tamahagane as the cause.
2) The xenophobia and taboo of anything foreign when Japan closed its borders (again).
3) Stylized representations of different sword disciplines, treated as disciplines, and the reality that many know but few have walked: no one style masters all, mastering all means a victory with no style (Bruce Lee, MMA, 3-Gun comoetitors, etc.).
4) Both a portrayal of a sexist and classist society, as well as an acknowledgement that there were exceptions. Won't drop the (should be obvious) spoilers.
5) More subtle cultural references such as to Bunraku, yokai such as tengu, etc. They are present but not overplayed. I felt they added some nice atmosphere.
Now, that said, there are many "ah ha, you've activated my trap card" moments for drama. But, that's precisely what this is, a drama. Even Kabuki is exaggerated for entertainment.
And let us not forget that Kabuki, as well as Shakespeare, were both "pop culture" in their temporal contexts.
Is it perfect? No, but I was pleasantly surprised.
|
|
|
Post by pellius on Dec 20, 2023 22:30:13 GMT
The Drinker recommends it.
Maybe I’ll check it out after all.
|
|