The Ghibli Founders Challenge - 3/76
Start Date:01.16.2017 End Date:?
[✔][X] Watching Not Started
Hayao Miyazaki || Isao Takahata || Toshio Suzuki || Studio Ghibli
-- [X] Akage no Anne
-- [X] Ali Baba to 40-hiki no Touzoku
-- [X] Alps no Shoujo Heidi
-- [X] Anju to Zushioumaru
-- [X] Arslan Senki
-- [X] Cardcaptor Sakura
-- [X] Cello Hiki no Gauche (1982)
-- [X] Coquelicot-zaka kara
-- [X] Choujuu Giga (Airing)
-- [X] Digital Devil Monogatari Megami Tensei
-- [X] Dore Dore no Uta
-- [X] Doubutsu Takarajima
-- [X] Flanders no Inu
-- [X] Fuyu no Hi
-- [X] Gake no Ue no Ponyo
-- [X] Gedo Senki
-- [X] Ghiblies
-- [✔] Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
-- [X] Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Waga Yuku wa Hoshi no Taikai
-- [X] Gulliver no Uchuu Ryokou
-- [X] Haha wo Tazunete Sanzenri
-- [X] Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko
-- [X] Hotaru no Haka
-- [X] Howl no Ugoku Shiro
-- [X] Iblard Jikan
-- [X] Jarinko Chie
-- [X] Kaguya-hime no Monogatari
-- [X] Karigurashi no Arrietty
-- [X] Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä
-- [X] Kaze no Toori Michi
-- [X] Kaze Tachinu
-- [X] Kurenai no Buta
-- [X] Kuroi ame ni Utarete
-- [X] Lupin III
-- [X] Lupin III: Cagliostro no Shiro
-- [X] Lupin III: Part II
-- [X] Majo no Takkyuubin
-- [X] Mei to Koneko Bus
-- [X] Meitantei Holmes
-- [X] Meitantei Holmes: Aoi Ruby no Maki / Kaitei no Zaihou no Maki
-- [X] Mimi wo Sumaseba
-- [X] Mirai Shounen Conan
-- [X] Mizugumo Monmon
-- [✔] Mononoke Hime
-- [X] Nagagutsu wo Haita Neko
-- [X] Nandarou
-- [X] Neko no Ongaeshi
-- [X] Nisshin Seifun Group CM
-- [X] Omoide no Marnie
-- [X] Omoide Poroporo
-- [X] On Your Mark
-- [X] Panda Kopanda
-- [X] Pandane to Tamago-hime
-- [X] Piece
-- [X] Portable Kuukou
-- [X] Sanzoku no Musume Ronja
-- [✔] Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi
-- [X] Sengoku Majin Goushougun: Toki no Etranger
-- [X] Sora Iro no Tane
-- [X] Soratobu Yuureisen
-- [X] Sougen no Ko Tenguri
-- [X] Space Adventure Cobra
-- [X] Space Station No.9
-- [X] Street Fighter II V
-- [X] Super Doll Licca-chan
-- [X] Taiko no Tatsujin: 15 Shuunenkinen Short Animation
-- [X] Taiyou no Ouji: Horus no Daibouken
-- [X] Taneyamagahara no Yoru
-- [X] Tatsu no Ko Tarou
-- [X] Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa
-- [X] Tenshi no Tamago
-- [X] Tonari no Totoro
-- [X] Tonari no Yamada-kun
-- [X] Umi ga Kikoeru
-- [X] Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji
-- [X] Yuki no Taiyou Pilot
BONUS:
2. (hinata) this is 2nd worst less worst than asuka, that big boobs disgusting. (shame on you!)
3. (mina amane) another worst taste of mine, that stupid misa you think you're punk girl!! It look slut to me. Go to hell.
4. (juvia) oh my god, this is worst than I thought. pervert always pervert.. Booooooo!
5. (mikan sakura) another stupid girl. Annoying but still stupid. I HATE YOU!
6. (Yuki cross) YUCK!! Literally yes, I do hate her for letting zero drink her blood. How stupid she is! Plus she is pervert too.
7. (suzumiya) another annoying bitch. Going to slap her face everytime I see her on the screen.
8. (inoue orihime) another worst girl too kind makes you more stupid. That saggy boob look disgusting.
9. (miaka yuuki) rei: "ate like a pig" yes, indeed she is a real pig plus falling in love with the character that doesn't exist in her world. (IDIOT)
10. (Nami) unfortunately, she good with navigator but these bitch doesn't have any ability. Suck to be her!
My first visual novel, and the first one that I've completed 100%. I saw that it was by Key, I liked all of Key's works, so I went into this with high expectations. My expectations weren't high enough though. I had a feeling that I would like this, but I ended up being completely blown away by how much I enjoyed it. There were some parts that could've been done better, but I enjoyed every part of this VN regardless.
Common Route: I enjoyed it, it had a lot of comedy, I actually laughed out loud a few times. It didn't dive into anything serious until the end with the incident with Inoue and the forest where every route (except Lucia's) splits. There are actually interactive Mappie segments that have hidden circles that complete quests which lead to more choices and funny dialogue. Searching through every nook and cranny was well worth it though.
Kotori's Route: One of the routes you can start off with. Probably the better one to start off with too. It explains everything that's going on with the Summoners and Superhumans. This route had a lot of tear-jerking moments (example: Kotori's parents, Kotarou gets carried back, Pero).
Ranks #3 for my favorite heroine routes.
Chihaya's Route: Another starting route. First thing I have to say is that this route goes full blown Shonen. It could've been renamed the Sakuya route because of how focused it was on his relationship with Kotarou. This route had the most action and fight scenes. None of the fights were disappointing, the writing made it clear as to what happened, which I usually find hard to do using text. There wasn't nearly as much romance as ANY of the other routes though.
Ranks #4 for my favorite heroine routes.
Lucia's Route: I actually did Lucia's route last out of the routes that branch from the choices in the common route. I would like to say that I saved the best for last. This route doesn't start after everyone breaks at the forest scene in the common route, which surprised me a little. It starts off with Kotarou doing an investigation on Asahi Haruka, a cursed girl from the past. Not knowing that she was actually Lucia the whole time, this felt like a genuine horror/mystery (the fact that my cat knocked over a glass cup while I was reading this scared the living daylights out of me for a moment). This route had the best romance out of all the routes in just one date in my opinion. It also contained probably the best fight scene in the whole VN.The writing in this was phenomenal.
I don't know if you can tell, but this was my favorite out of all the heroine routes. Ranked #1.
Shizuru's Route: Stuff happens, Kotarou almost dies, Shizuru revives him but fall into a coma, she wakes up, more stuff happens, world ends, Treetarou appears! I don't know if it's just me, but I felt like this route was shorter than the rest, which is sad because she was one of my favorite character's in the common route. I really didn't feel much of an impact from reading through this route either. I still enjoyed it very much though.
Ranked #5 out of heroine routes.
Akane's Route: Darkest route here. A lot of political stuff happened too, which was different from other routes. Here, Kotarou turns into Akane's bodyguard and learns to be a killing machine. The Song of Destruction is sung and Kazamatsuri falls into chaos, people are evacuated to a stone city that won't be destroyed. Kotarou looks for Akane and finds her in the sky, beats the Earth Dragon and takes her with him to the city of stone. There, Akane's health, both mental and physical deteriorate and she is seen as evil and eventually, both of them leave to the outskirts in the city of stone.
It was really cool to see Kotarou being able to just go through and rip everything that was in his path apart. I really liked his fights with Takasago, although I was a little disappointed that he didn't get a character design/sprite. The scope of this route was on a much greater scale than the other heroine ones though.
Ranked #2 out of heroine routes.
Ok, now that the heroine routes are done, onto Moon, Terra, and OPPAI!!!!
Moon Route: Unlocked after clearing all of the heroine routes. The focus here is Kagari, also known as the Key. Who is a envoy of sorts sent from the Earth itself to determine if the Earth should be destroyed or not.
This route was definitely something else, I really liked the scene where the Occult Club gets back together and plays with the creating the Earth a little. It had been so long since I heard any cheerful music and a lighthearted scene, that was a nice change.
Terra: Oh boy, this is by far, the best, and longest route hands down, it's main focus is on Kotarou, the protagonist. They shift to having text fill up the whole screen instead of what they did in the other routes, and for good reason. There was so much to say. I want to see someone make just this route into a book just to see how many pages it turns out to be. This had the biggest impact and covers so much. I never got bored or tired of reading through this. There was a consistent stream of those tear-jerking moments that Key is known for (Louie in the field, Esaka, etc.). The writing here is amazing. It really goes past the point of being a romance VN now, sure, there's still a little, but in no way does it overpower everything else in this route.
One thing that this route made me think of was Earth, the idea of making a new planet, or even the moon a livable place could extend the lifespan of the human race by a ton. Sure, the sun won't dry up for a while, but I took one look at how much stuff is starting to decline on Earth and I thought, "Do I really want to live in a world that continues like this"? My answer was of course, NO! Simply recycling, keeping pollution in check, and creating eco-friendly devices is not enough just as Kagari pointed out (in a way).
By far my favorite route.
Oppai ending:You get this for completing the game 100%, I had to literally stop reading just to laugh out loud from time to time. I want to know what they were thinking when writing this ending.
Last words: I think that this is gonna remain my favorite visual novel for as long as I read them. I loved every part of this, from the art style, to the voice actors, to the interactive sections and choices, and of course, the writing in the routes.
Common route: It was funny, the battle system and baseball practice was really enjoyable too. My favorite scene was when they tried to get Kyousuke out of his room.
Kud's route: Funny story with this one, I was trying to do Mio's route first, but ended up in Kud's. The first part was not as heavy or serious as the second part where she goes to Tebwa. I wish they would've shown more of Kud's perspective when she got to Tebwa though. Kinda pulled a deus ex machina at the end with the teleporting gear and whatnot.
Mio's route: I don't know if it's just me, but Riki's thoughts felt a little more poetic in this route, which fit the character of Mio. I really don't know what to say about the rest, in childhood, she has a friend Midori who no one can see and she ends up being sent to a doctor who forces Midori to be forgotten.
Komari's route: At this point, I started to see a pattern in the routes: first half is more light, second half is serious as all hell. I personally didn't like the first half up until the cat died and Komari broke. After that, it got better, not much to say.
Haruka's route: The whole childhood of Haruka and Kanata being compared reminded me of my own in a lot of ways. I was always compared to other people and could never hold up to expectations. I did get punished when I did something wrong, but not as bad as Haruka did, nor did I ever throw tantrums. I hated how Haruka was basically being targeted by the Disciplinary comittee and how Kanata was tricking Riki by trying to be Haruka. At times, I really just wanted to punch Kanata. I don't blame Haruka for being mad(to say the least) and attacking/throwing a fit. At the same time, I can't say anything about Kanata after they revealed her side of the story.
At the end, I was surprised when the question they were searching for was never answered, was a nice surprise. Also, the very second the first note to Faraway started to play, it sent a chill through my whole body.
The second I finished her route, I wanted to write about it, so I did. I think I can safely say that this is my favorite character route. Ranked #1.
Kurugaya's route: I loved the fun little antics in Kyousuke's mission to get Riki and Kurugaya together. For some reason, I thought Kurugaya was gonna break down when they shot the firework. It just seemed "Key" like.
Rin's Route: The part with Miles at the beginning of the second playthrough was pretty sad. That contest between Kyousuke and Kengo was... I don't know how to explain it, it was intense. The first thing I thought when they ran away was Riki's narcolepsy and it was definitely a problem. I wonder what happened to Rin afterwards though, if she got sent back to the sister school or something.
Refrain: Seeing the perspective and thoughts of the other members was a great idea on their part. Especially Kyousuke's side. The scene where they all left was pretty touching. The secret of the world, was not expecting that to be it. When they went back to the "real world" the first time, I thought that the right choice was to save them.
The ending felt wrong, but then he returned to save them. I loved how they bring back all the characters and show an epilogue after they recovered.
Last Words: The characters in Little Busters are unforgettable. The CG's were very well created and in my opinion, tons better than the CG's in Rewrite. Another thing that I like is how they made the male characters more than just comedic relief and actually gave them some (a lot) of depth. The theme of friendship was very well presented throughout the whole VN, although there was a lot of romance in the heroine routes which was to be expected. Overall, Little Busters has the best cast of characters I've ever seen.
With that, we get to episode 6. No intro this time. Let's get straight into it.
We start with a cute scene of Ui waking up Yui, who was sleeping with Geeta again. Yui wakes up at first and says that her arm is asleep, but she goes to hug Geeta and ends up falling back asleep. It's funny and that's it.
After this we immediately get a really nice detail, as the shot of Yui's guitar case has the backstage pass she got in the live house special from season 1. It's a fantastic and small detail which I appreciate greatly. Anyway, Yui and Ui are on their way to school and it is raining. Yui puts Geeta on in front of her so that her umbrella can shield it from the rain. In standard but hilarious fashion, Yui is not going to be keeping both her and Geeta dry, and Yui is soaked due to various hilarious reasons. Thankfully, Geeta is dry, which makes Yui happy.
Yui gets to the classroom but is totally soaked to everyone's dismay. As Yui puts her guitar down, some side character classmates comment on how much love they feel from Yui to her guitar. I like this short exchange, as it makes it seem like the entire class has gotten a lot closer and not just the girls. Anyway, Mugi is prepared with a towel and she dries of Yui with it while pretending to be a hairdresser. It's adorable, and hilarious when Yui calls Mugi her "curly hair buddy" and we get a comparison between the huge difference of their hair. Yui sneezes and the girls go to help Yui warm up and change. Before we get to the clubroom, we get a shot of the turtle on the stairs.
In the clubroom, the seniors help to get Yui warm. Mugi heats up some water for Yui to dunk her feet in and they all dry her. When Yui is finally warmed up, she takes off her shirt and Mugi pretends to be the wife and says "Welcome home, dear." Yui plays along and acts like a husband. Yui is then covered in a black cloak and turns Geeta to face the wall so "he doesn't see me like this" as said by Yui. Ritsu jabs at Yui who is disappointed when she isn't taken seriously.
I'll be honest, when watching this scene to write this, I got sucked into the experience so much that I had to remember I was writing an analysis. It's just such a cute and endearing interaction between characters who are all clearly close friends. I was sucked into it, and that's ultimately a mark of great writing to me. I didn't realize I was watching an anime because it felt like I was watching actual close friends interact and like I was part of it.
Anyway, the girls need to find new clothes for Yui to wear, and Ritsu suggests Sawa-chan's costumes (the LMC's tragic past as she calls it). Even though the girls returned the animal costumes, it turns out that Yui kept the Keion-buta pig because she liked it. Then we get a cute scene where Nodoka walks in and can immediately tell that it's Yui under the costume. They ask how she knew it was Yui, and she says "I just did, I guess," which makes sense for close childhood friends. It's played off in much of the same way as when Ritsu knew it was Mio just be her footsteps back in episode 11 of season 1. Nodoka says that Yui should find different clothes, and when class starts we get to see what Yui chose. Picture is below and it's hilarious.
God dammit Yui I love you so much. You're so adorably idiotic but sweet and lovable. I know I said that Azusa was my favorite before but while rewatching for this analysis Yui is making a strong case with her being funnier than Azusa and me connecting and relating to her almost as much. I'll make this a side note, but there isn't a character in this show who I could argue against being best girl. Any of the main 5, Sawa-chan, Ui, Jun, and Nodoka all make strong cases as best girl, not just in this series but in anime. Each is lovable and relatable in their own way, and who you connect to the most will vary from person to person. I really do believe that K-ON has the best cast of characters in any anime I've seen up to this point.
Back to the show itself, Sawa-chan asks Yui to change out of her maid outfit and Yui doesn't want to. Ritsu chimes in and is about to say that it shouldn't matter because Sawa made the costume, but not wanting her true self to be revealed Sawa shuts Ritsu up quickly and scares Yui into changing when Nodoka brings in gym clothes from a friend. Next we get a short scene where Azusa, Jun, and Ui go to the music room and are shocked to see random clothes drying there. Ui knows they are Yui's but doesn't want to tell them.
During a break, the seniors all help with Yui's clothes. The character animation is really something else here, letting us easily tell what each character is thinking with very little dialogue. Yui is trying to iron her shirt, and is messing up here and there. Mugi seems fascinated and calm, but Mio is clearly nervous and on edge. After Yui burns her finger, Mugi asks to take over, and Mio is visibly a lot calmer than before. No dialogue was spoken about her worrying here, and while this may seem like a basic detail most anime don't do it to the same extent as K-ON does, or make the acting as believable. There is nothing over-exaggerated about the way Mio acts here, and I myself have been similarly fidgety when worried about something. Meanwhile, Ritsu has sewed one of Yui's buttons back on to her shirt. Yui is surprised, but Mio doesn't seem to be. This seems to further confirm my belief that Ritsu isn't from a particularly well-off family and she may have had to learn to sew in order to avoid buying new clothes. Yui is happy at how good Ritsu did and Ritsu is happy to get that praise.
And now, we get to what is arguably the funniest scene in the show, and another reason for my arguing that Yui may be best girl. The girls head back to class but are stopped by Sawa-chan. Yui has her gym pants under her skirt, and Ritsu has her shirt out of her skirt. Sawa asks them to change that, and the girls question why she suddenly cares about that now. We quickly find out the reason is because Sawa thinks the other teachers don't think she's serious. We find this out not through dialogue, but Sawa's reaction when the other teacher from the senior trip walks by. Both girls refuse and then the part where I lose it. As Sawa-chan tries to forcefully make Yui change, Yui enacts something truly amazing. It's just a few simple words: "No! Sawa-chan, you mustn't. Please! Stop!" Everyone in the hallway stares at them and Sawa knows what's going on as she says "Th-That sounds like I'm molesting you!" This all basically left me laughing like a madman for the next few minutes, as the (hilarious and not totally unreasonable based on her costumes)thought of Sawa-chan molesting Yui would not leave my head. Comedy gold right there.
Even after all of that though, Yui is forced to change, and the class is disappointed that Yui wasn't dressed interestingly for the rest of the day. We end this first half with Yui thinking of how to make sure Geeta doesn't get wet on the way home.
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At the clubroom after school, Azusa finally realizes what the clothes she and her friends found were, and Azusa praises Yui for sacrificing herself for her guitar. She then brags about some stuff she bought online, like her plastic guitar cover, finger stretcher, CD, and guitar mount. Mio makes her embarrassed to realize that she doesn't actually use those things, and she quickly changes the subject. Yui has some rust on her guitar strings and decides to change them. What I like about this is that we get an idea of how differently Yui takes care of her guitar. It was fairly recently when Yui had to get the shop to fix her guitar because she wasn't taking care of it. Yui confirms here that she changes the strings on her guitar when necessary, and that she carries around some extra string with her just in case. She even knows how to change the strings without help from Azusa or Mio. Even though it's funny when Yui forgets to loosen the pegs before cutting the strings, causing her guitar to "attack" her, we still understand that Yui is a lot more serious about her guitar now and she takes much better care of it.
All of this leads to a hilarious scene where Azusa questions why Yui talks to her guitar, and Yui asks if Azusa is jealous. The other girls play along, calling it a love triangle, which hilariously makes Azusa blush. The joke continues for a bit, but the rain finally stops and Yui decides to take this chance to go home and make sure her guitar doesn't get wet.
At home, Yui is sitting with her guitar, and Ui is worried that Yui ate some moldy dumplings (and relieved when she didn't eat it). Ui then claims that Yui has been happier ever since she started playing guitar. Of course by extension, this means that Yui has been happier ever since she met her friends. While the next set of lines seem to be about her guitar, they can and should be applied to the whole LMC. Yui says she is worried that she isn't playing well enough, and that she hopes they can be happy together no matter what they go through. When thinking about this in context of Yui talking about her guitar it's kind of funny, but in context of her friends it's a bit emotional. Yui then starts to sing a song about the rain and a happy Ui joins in. The connection that Yui's statement may have been about her relationship with her friends is strengthened here, as the camera focuses on each of the other girls while Yui and Ui sing before ending on a shot of the whole city. I'll admit that I'm a little choked up at this adorable and heartwarming scene.
It's raining again the next day, and Yui is prepared this time when she wrapped her guitar in tape and plastic. Unfortunately, it ends up being very hard to peel off as Yui finds out. As the girls talk about how bad Japan's climate is for instruments, Azusa says that she can check if the neck is warped by tuning octaves. Yui actually knows what octaves are this time, and we once again see her savant side come out. When she tunes her octaves, she claims that they are a half of a half of a half (or 1/8) off. They then use a tuner and are shocked when Yui is exactly right. Either way, it seems Yui forgot how to adjust her instruments tuning and Azusa has to show her again.
Mugi points out that the rain won't let up and it's forecast to rain again the next day, so Mio decides to leave her bass in the music room. Notice and appreciate the live house back-stage pass on her bass like on Yui's guitar. Yui thinks it's cruel for Mio to leave her bass alone in the club room, and she even names it Elizabeth when talking to it (Elizabass is the translation which is a clever name imo). Mio gets mad that Yui is talking to her bass and naming it, and they suggest that Yui leave her guitar there too, especially since the plastic wrap she used in the morning is ripped apart now. Yui talks to Geeta and Elizabeth now which Mio is still mad about. Azusa understands Yui's naming choice and decides to name her Mustang guitar "Muttan". When Yui got her guitar fixed and named it Geeta at the store, Azusa didn't understand why Yui would name it, but now she thinks its a good idea. She's really been assimilated into the group now, and her personality and tastes have blended with the other girls, which is pretty realistic for a close friendship.
The girls go home, and Yui can't walk straight and gets soaked, even without her guitar. Mio comments to Ritsu that Yui takes good care of her guitar now, and how she overreacted a bit to leaving it behind for a day. Ritsu then tells us that Mio shouldn't be talking because she overreacted similarly when her bass got a tiny scratch once. It's interesting and a bit cute to see that Mio empathizes with Yui's reaction and understands it instead of writing it off as stupid. I'll continue to say this many times over the course of this analysis, but man do the girls friendship seem genuine, intimate, and personal to the girls and to the viewer. I'm totally invested in their friendship now and you should be too.
At home, Ui hears strange noises and runs to make sure Yui is ok. It turns out that Yui is scratching the wall because she is bored and worried without her guitar. Ui notes that Yui has been practicing religiously every day since she got the guitar, and it connects this thought to her friends with where the camera is focused. If you remember, the very first shot of the entire series was of Yui's bulletin board, which contained some pictures of Yui and Nodoka in middle school. As Ui comments on how much Yui has changed since getting her guitar and, by extension, meeting the other girls, we get shot panning that same bulletin board, but this time all the pictures are from the Light Music Club. It brings home the idea that Yui has become happier and more fulfilled because of joining that club and becoming friends with those girls.
Finally, we end off on a funny note. Yui is at school and is visibly happy to be with her guitar again. So much so that she brought it with her to class and Sawa-chan sensei is asking her to put it away. This makes Mio worried, and after class she runs to make sure her bass is ok. She is relieved to see that it is, and she takes it out, hugs it, and calls it by the name Yui gave it: Elizabeth. Of course, it turns out that the others were watching the whole time and Mio gets embarrassed.
Some may label this episode boring, but I found it to be fantastic. It was more laid back in its comedy and more realistic in its approach of portraying a few days of the characters lives. As I've been saying, it makes these characters more believable and genuine, which is important in getting me to care about how they feel. If it wasn't clear already, K-ON succeeds at this immensely. At this early point in season 2 I am already fully invested in these girls and their special friendship. The show only continues to get me more attached, and then proceeds to tear away at my heart as the realization that this friendship may not last forever slowly dawns on the group. We aren't at the heartbreak yet though, and instead we are at episode 7, which is a fan favorite and contains some great character development for Mio.
Until then though, I must leave for the comparatively boring world of college. If it takes me a bit to write new posts, it would be because I'm back in school and don't have time, while I started this project on break and had almost every day available to me. I'll still try my best to make new posts for the few people actually reading this. To you people, please give me some feedback and spread this blog to anyone who might benefit from it. Thank you very much and I'll see you later.
