Ghost Hound
Filed Under Anime
Ghost Hound is our current bedtime viewing. It’s started using J-horror tropes effectively; I don’t think I’ve seen that before in anime. (Which is not to say it hasn’t been done. Or even that I’m surprised not to’ve encountered it: I watch a fair bit of anime, but not that much.) While some of the tropes are the same, the techniques diverge a bit, to generally good effect. “Creepy” is difficult to capture in animation, I think, but there have been moments when Ghost Hound hits creepy.
And holds it. When watching live action horror, I’m trained to anticipate certain tricks: abrupt cuts, sudden unnatural movement within or into the frame, stuff like that. And, of course, part of the creepiness comes from the anticipation. But the same sort of tricks wouldn’t really work in anime. The scenes are unnaturally still anyway, so a lot of the “you are there” cues just aren’t present. But part of my brain is still primed for the camera to cut away. The fact that it doesn’t is doubly effective. First, the live action ghost or monster or whatever is often primarily scary because of the rapidity of the cut (plus the minor key music); flashing from one sparsely-animated scene to another sparsely-animated scene wouldn’t have the same punch. (And, well, it’s easier to dismiss an obviously drawn monster as not very scary than an expensive CG or makeup job; at least it is for me.) But more importantly, there’s no quick release of tension. In horror movies, once we see the monster it’s all downhill. (Or down the gullet, for some of the less fortunate characters.)
Because Ghost Hound doesn’t go for the jump, there’s no post-jump relief. The creepiness gradually fades, but it doesn’t end. I like that.
Pants
Filed Under Anime
I am unreasonably pleased that some of the girls in Gunslinger Girl wear pants. Literally, not just metaphorically. There’s nothing wrong with skirts, but all skirts, all the time, for all female characters, always looks off.
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Non-review round-up
Filed Under Books, Movies, Comics, TV, Anime
I used to try to write reviews regularly. I hated it. Nonfiction takes forever, even when it’s a review rather than criticism. (Yes, there’s a difference. No, I’ve never written anything I consider to be criticism.) But a quick opinion, and maybe a random tangent? I can manage that. Welcome to Web 2.0.
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