Interesting mix of responses here. I think it’s not a matter of copying art style though. I think it’s more to do with the death of creative labor. Especially with how labor intensive Studio Ghibli films are.

But I learned some time ago that we’re in “the age of curatorship” so maybe we’ll just continue filtering out AI stuff the same way we try to filter out “brainrot” or “slop content”. Unless of course, you actually like any of that (and I do like to watch these from time to time myself).

With the current situation, it’s also interesting that Studio Ghibli hasn’t said anything yet. Or at least I’m not aware of any legitimate statements yet. Maybe Sudio Ghibli isn’t bothered by it at all.

Anyway, I think it’s good people actively resist AI. It’s here to stay unless laws limit or prohibit it.

I watched two movies the past few weeks:

• Genius Party

This is a collection of animated short films from different directors. The two notable ones here for me were Masaaki Yuasa and Shinichirou Watanabe. Happy Machine (Masaaki) was my favorite! The little baby character (and the overall vibe of it) reminded me of Pendleton Ward’s Adventure Time.

There were other really quirky ones in the collection too. Deathtic 4 was different from the rest. It was 3DCG and I don’t know the language (it sounds European). Interestingly, there’s a scene there where the zombies said they were fighting “injustices” and it shows them trying to pick a fight with two girls wearing a US flag and USSR flag suits (it was funny). Genius Party (same title as the collection) was chaotic and fun while Limit Cycle was really (intentionally) boring (it’s about a salaryman).

The more “normal” ones were Shanghai Dragon, Doorbell, and Baby Blue (Shinichirou). Shanghai Dragon was partly in Chinese because it’s set in China. I think anyone familiar with Japan-China relations will raise eyebrows here because it portays a poor China and a technologically advanced Japan, but at the end it was the Chinese boy who saved everyone through his imagination as opposed to the technology of Japan. Doorbell reminded me of Satoshi Kon, and Baby Blue was maybe my favorite for the “normal” shorts.

• Ghost in the Shell (1995 movie)

I had this in my watchlist for a looong time (because it’s a certified classic) and I’m happy that I did not watch it earlier. I don’t think I would have appreciated this at a young age. I think this is the second Oshii Mamoru movie I watched. The first was Angel’s Egg which was pretty much the ending of GITS. There’s already a wealth of information and reviews on GITS especially by Western writers so I don’t really have to say much here.

But I noticed how spirituality or religion always ties with technology in anime. People who’ve seen Serial Experiments Lain probably know what I mean. It’s very similar to GITS. Evangelion is another example. Also, it might sound a bit odd but it reminds me a bit of the “programming” in Angel Beats too which I complete last month.

(Also Major Kusanagi is very beautiful. Holy shit.)

This week I might watch Genius Party 2 and maybe look for an older series to finish (maybe more Masaaki Yuasa stuff).

Though they couldn’t even manage to do that without sticking the bitch in the scene

I read the Scum’s Wish manga. If I recall correctly, there’s an extra chapter of her some time after the events. I think that was the very last chapter too. Now that you point it out, it does kind of seem like the story centered around her a lot.

For some reason though, I actually enjoyed this manga lol

I found this video essay interesting. The style is a bit different where narration is text on screen but I found it enjoyable without an audible narrator.

I never really thought about the trains in Hideaki Anno’s works but now I’m a lot more conscious about it.

In my opinion, the cause of “the burden of animation” is being underpaid and overworked. If there were better laws that can address these issues, we wouldn’t need to resort to AI.

But for in-betweening, I assume you’re referring to something like CACANI but that’s a bit different from generative AI I think. It behaves more like 3DCG because the lines are vectors.

The clip is from a documentary where Miyazaki works on a 3DCG short film (something completely unheard of). You can watch the documentary here. I do like the point he makes:

(Suzuki) “So, what’s your goal?”

(Guy) “Well, we would like to build a machine that can draw pictures like humans do.”

(Miyazaki) “We humans are losing faith in ourselves.”

Could you send an email to help@ani.social so I can take a look? Thanks!

Monogatari Series

Oh boy I (finally) finished Angel Beats! You know, it’s a terrible idea to watch this in the library. It’s hard to hold back those tears when there are people around.

Anyway, this week I’m watching Genius Party and Ghost in the Shell.

It’s always nice to see these two together

Why would they put Persona spoilers in the middle of the article? 🫠

People should really read Patrick W. Galbraith. I’ve been reading his publications on moe (The Moe Manifesto) and it’s really insightful. Related to this article would be Lolicon: The reality of ‘virtual child pornography’ in Japan which explains the complexity of the issue. Skip to the sections “Risk and pre-emptive discipline”, “Juridification of the imagination”, “Moral panic”, and “The reality of fiction” (or read the entire thing!).

Excerpt from the conclusion:

Because there is no actual crime committed, it ultimately ends up an issue of how one interprets images, of a person’s private thoughts, and this is not something that can or should be regulated. All forms of imagination, regardless of how repugnant some may find them, are legal up to and until they present a real danger to self or others. The evidence suggests that those producing and consuming lolicon images pose no such danger. They have a nuanced understanding of the relationship between fiction and reality, and desire shōjo characters precisely because they are unreal.

Sexual violence against women and children is an unfortunate social reality, and censoring fictional depictions does not reduce it (Shigematsu 1999: 147). It does, however, make it taboo to even imagine sexual violence and denies a space to represent and respond to it. It positions women and children as “pure,” objectifying them every bit as much as the “Lolita effect” (Durham 2009: 12). […] To the fear that images of sexualized children, even fictional ones, naturalize “cognitive distortions,” the response must be that learning is a social process. This is precisely why the lifeworlds of fans, including lolicon fans, should not be “juridified” out of existence (McLelland forthcoming). It is in these communities, in interaction with one another, that meanings are negotiated. Universal standards will not prevent someone, somewhere from getting the wrong idea, and limiting public interaction may in even encourage it.

It goes much deeper than this though, so I recommend just reading through it.

But I have to clarify that ani.social does have a policy on this which has similar wording, but I personally would not ban or remove discourse surrounding the topic.

Isshiki actually turned out to be a great character (easily my favorite in the entire series)

Yeah, she’s also my favorite. She’s really cute lol

(I can’t find the ping pong gif)

I always thought Oregairu had a misleading title because much of the comedy ended in Season 1 and Season 2+3 felt quite serious for the most part.

I’m so close to finishing Angel Beats. I find it more comedic than dramatic but I actually teared up from one of the scenes in episode __*. Only two episodes left and I’m not sure how it’s going to end. I have some free time between my classes tomorrow so maybe I’ll watch the last two episodes in the library or something.

Some that haven’t been mentioned yet (I think):

• Kuuchuu Buranko: This one uses rotoscope animation. It’s a “trippy” anime that deals with various mental health problems (mostly OCD). I think this is one of those anime that almost nobody really knows about. It’s very obscure.

• Aku no Hana: This also uses rotoscope animation. I actually never watched the anime and only read the manga. It’s one of those psychological types but it’s well-grounded in reality. The animation itself is weird however. Probably because rotoscoping at this level is uncommon in anime.

• Monogatari Series: The notoriously “immoral” anime series (and one of my all-time favorites). Generally speaking, anything by SHAFT have really unique visual storytelling which includes Madoka Magica and Sangatsu no Lion.

Not quite the same thing but I remember someone linking https://animethemes.moe/ in this comm. It’s just a huge collection of anime OP/ED themes with a music player. Not really like a radio station.

edit: @wjs018 commented first while I was looking for the website lol

I mean, that’s a choice if you want to hate life for a while.

Now I’m really curious. I’m going in completely blind then. I think I’ll start the first episode tomorrow morning.

Stay safe!

I didn’t really get to watch anything last week as I’ve been studying for exams. I’m thinking of watching Angel Beats for this week though because my friend said it was the only anime that made him cry.

I finished The Tatami Galaxy last week. It’s timely as I’m graduating next year and I have some regrets with my university life. Tatami Galaxy is a great show to cope with that. Masaaki Yuasa’s style is incredible by the way. Maybe at some point I’ll watch all of his works. If anyone here is a fan of DAN DA DAN, you should watch Yuasa.

Interestingly, NHK ni Youkoso is about moe, or at least it’s a major point of the show (otaku and moe). I hope you enjoy it. It’s one of my favorite anime.