Anna Finally Finishes Fate/Zero

(or: Anna Tries To Go See Pacific Rim But Fails Due To Bad Weather)

I actually finished S1 (the first 13 episodes) of Fate/Zero in mid-June.
Yeah. Mid. June. And after that, I didn't have the chunk of time to binge on the last 12 episodes.
The plan for Friday (yesterday) was to go see Pacific Rim with a friend. So we bought tickets, went to a diner to kill time before the movie, and then a thunderstorm came. Well, it wasn't so bad, but I was a bit worried of the off chance that it did get bad (Toronto got hit with a really bad storm just last week and that was still fresh in everyone's minds), so we got our tickets refunded and went home. So I had no plans for the night.
Why not finish Fate/Zero?

...I'm not going to spoil it, but holy crackers, it was good. The series was recommended very strongly by my writing teacher, and I am very glad that she introduced it to me. Because it's so darn good.
Why it was so darn good: The writing was definitely awesome, and each episode was really intense. There was no scene or action wasted, everything was thought-out and had a purpose. Plus, the characters were all fascinating. It was hard not to get invested in everyone, even the 'bad' characters, because they were all developed so well, with such distinct voices. Everyone had their story, their purpose, their throughline, and it all worked together so well.

Conclusion: I feel like I've burned myself out, it was so intense. But now I want to re-watch the entire thing and cry over it again.

From one to the other

As a part of the Children's Entertainment program I'm in, there's a course on children's books. I'm writing (well, writing samples of) a middle-grade fiction book, and it's really hard. Since I'm basing the story in Japan (that's no surprise), there are obviously many things like specific words and jargon and turn-of-phrases that I want to use to express something in particular. 

Today's theme is something about translation and expression.

I'm no writer, so I knew this was going to be hard, but not this hard. Whenever I write a sentence, I have to make sure I'm explaining things clearly when I could easily explain that in a single word (with all the specific nuances) if it were in Japanese. For instance, how a wall looks. "Plaster" or "stucco" just doesn't feel right for me, even when it's a direct (and correct) translation of shikkui.

This sort of "knowing what it is in one language but not the other" really makes it hard to succinctly express whatever I want to say or convey. Recently I've been lucky to have several one-off translating/interpreting gigs, but with every job it really hits me that languages and their subtleties are so different, and some things just don't translate well. I'm aware that I don't have the kind of mastery of a true native-speaker with either language (English/Japanese), so even when I see translations that don't correlate with the original text, I'm incapable of making a decent fix.

Well, this turned out kinda downer-y.

But I guess what I want to say is (a) translation is hard and (b) utmost respect to the professional translators out there because language is such a subtle and sensitive subject.

NATSU-BATE

Natsu - Summer
Bate - (rhymes with latte) a short-from of the colloquial verb 'bateru', to be tired and worn out

'Natsu-bate' - my current situation.

I've been worn down by the heat. I know it sounds like an excuse...
Since I grew up in Japan, people often point out that Japan is more humid and hot than Toronto "so summer here (in Toronto) shouldn't be that bad".
Wrong. Maybe it's because I was born in the winter-time, maybe it's not. But the thing is that I've had a tough time during summers in Japan, and Canadian summers are no different.

Natsu-bate is the phrase that sums up the general bleargh feeling and lethargy and mild unwellness that stems from the heat during the summer.

But there are things I'm liking about summer in Toronto, this year.
I went to the Gay Pride Parade (it was a great day, though I could barely see the actual parade from behind the huge crowd), I'm loving the sweetened iced teas, I love the long days, and my eyes have been opened to how awesome a sangria tastes in the outdoor patio (with a giant plate of nachos, please and thank you).

So yeah. Conflicting emotions about summer. But I hope my body will get out of the sick natsu-bate-ness anyway. I have a busy week coming up...

There's something about Jazz

Things have been a bit busy lately.

So this seems completely unrelated but I used to play the alto sax for 8 years, starting that fateful day in 5th grade all the way until I graduated high school.
(I haven't even touched my alto sax since then I want to cry)

Jump forward to yesterday, I was looking for some background music to work to on youtube and I came across this gem:

Yup, it's a jazz interpretation of my favorite Rurouni Kenshin op song "1/2".
A. JAZZ. INTERPRETATION.
I was blown away. It was such an unexpected kind of interpretation, and yet it worked so well. SO. GOOD. I was listening to that all day as I worked on stuff.

And it brought me back to the good ol' days (not really) of my sax-playing years. I was in band, but I was also in jazz band for about a little over half that time, and so I love the feeling of small groups, lots of brass, smooth and kick-butt awesome. But when I think about it, I played in jazz band for a good several years, but I haven't listened to much jazz (I'm more of a mindless Jpop and endless anime song type of person). The only jazz fever I had consciously listened to was back in middle grade when I for some strange reason I can't remember went all over Chet Baker (I still have my cds back home).

Anyway. I can't really put a finger on it, but there's something about jazz that makes me feel all good and happy. Maybe it's simply nostalgia, maybe I just really love brass. If I had to admit, jazz isn't my favorite genre and I don't listen to it a lot even today (I love it, but I have other stuff up in that list I gotta prioritize). But every now and then, I like to pull myself out of my current 'everyday' and let myself roll around in vague memories and smooth brass.

There's no real beginning middle or end to this post. I just felt like rambling.

Anna Watches 3 TV Shows In One Night: A Summary

So for various reasons I watched an episode each of Orphan Black, Lost Girl, and Alias.

(Oh and I also watched a lot of Japan Channel and a bit of Food Network over the weekend and I loooooooved it)

It was quite an eye-opener. Sci-fi and hardcore action and supernatural are around, sure, but not the most popular when it comes to primetime dramas in Japan (exceptions include shows such as Kaibutsu-kun). Sci-fi elements are often limited to the everyday (ie. esp/psychic powers), and less about other worlds/aliens/outer space etc. Don't get me wrong, yohkai (domestic demons/spirits/etc) and stuff are popular, but the 'hardcore scifi' seems rare. Action scenes are also somewhat toned down or pretty much nonexistent. Probably because of budget and TV culture reasons.

What I'm trying to say is primetime drama culture is obviously different. And I've been forgetting that recently.
So yeah. Orphan Black, Lost Girl, and Alias. They all had interesting female leads and that was definitely a pleasant surprise. Never can have enough strong female leads. But what struck me was how 'broken' they had to be in order to be these kickbutt leading ladies. (same goes to many Japanese dramas too)
I know the dramas and conflicts and stories come from those dilemmas, but sometimes it was too much. It's exhausting in an emotional way, biting your nails and going "omfg what's gonna happen to herrrrrrrr". These action/scifi shows were very much like a movie.
Lost Girl was the easiest to watch because it was more lighthearted than the other two shows (at least with the episode I watched). As much as I love dark, gritty stories (bring on the angst!), I know I'm going to invest a lot in it and get emotionally worn out so I tend to stay away from it until I have the time to binge. I've been getting many recommendations for Orphan Black from my friends, so I'll probably plow through it soon.


On a completely unrelated note, my favorite 'North American' drama growing up was ER (long story), and as an adult it's been Criminal Minds (though I haven't seen past S4).

Teen Books

I spent a bit of time over the weekend at the middle-grade fiction and YA section of the bookstore, where I was mistaken for a 12 year old.
Other than that mildly embarrassing incident, it was really interesting to see what was, y'know, popular. In demand.

So today here's a bit of rambling about teen (YA) books.

I often think about (and promptly forget) how there isn't a real big 'teen fiction' market in Japan. Don't get me wrong, teens still read stuff in Japan. Just that a separate prose fiction market hasn't really developed, in my opinion.
I guess the abundance of manga for all ages (ie. older end of shonen/shojo manga are most applicable for teens) is a factor.
Another is the cheapness of paperbacks. Well, they have dust jackets and are called 'bunkobon'. They can range from the niche to paperback editions of popular hardcovers, classical lit to mass entertainment, and the cheapest one is about 5 dollars.
Then there's the 'light novels', which are character-driven, really really entertainment-focused novels that are almost like manga in prose. Those are really fun, but not necessarily for teens - it's probably "for teen and up".

So when I looked at the YA section the other day, it was really interesting to have in front of you all the 'teen stuff' laid out. It's nice to have a section dedicated to the teen market.
I gotta say, sometimes a good vampire, zombie, fallen angel, dead boyfriends, and all that jazz, aren't exactly a bad thing even if you're over the age of 17. Plus, the over-abundance of romance (and often vampires) doesn't negate the fact that a lot of the stories deal with so many things (identity, family relationships, social acceptance...) that are relevant to teens.

As much as I'd love to start reading my multiple YA novels (and one middle-grade book), I feel like I don't have the time... Plus, I'm on my 6th round of Liou (forever my favorite book), so I gotta prioritize that.
I've been in a Japanese kind of mood lately.

Comics and Categories

I'm a manga fanatic, but I also consider myself a reasonably invested North American superhero comic enthusiast.

It must have been some time in 200...3? 4? I went to a bookstore in North America during a family vacation (honestly forgot where we went), and came across some superhero comics. Marvel comics.
Jean-Paul Beaubier stole my heart and has a special seat there forever.
I clearly remember that when school started (this was in middle school), I brought my newly acquired Uncanny X-Men TPB and went "lookie here, friends, this is awesome!" and no one really understood me.

What is really intriguing about comics from North America is that there is a slight gap between the comic world and 'mass entertainment'.
It's such a nebulous and difficult thing to put down in words, but I feel North American comics are very... I don't know. Niche?

Japan has its extensive categorization system according to age and gender lines (shonen/boys, shojo/girls, ippan/seinen/general audience (male)...), and each category reflects a slightly different social reality. Of course there is stigma to breach those lines (especially the gender categories), but there is such a wide variety, and people acknowledge there are 'comics for girls' and 'comics for boys', despite how problematic those gender-bound concepts are. What I'm trying to get at is that, sure there are a bunch of problems (often sexist), but the public is aware and understanding of "comics as a mass entertainment medium for everyone".

In North America, I feel comics are more ambivalent. When I was first exposed to them, I was very surprised to find a gay character (Jean-Paul) in a major role in UXM, as well as how X-Men as a concept dealt with issues like discrimination and oppression. But still, the preconceived 'audience' is staunchly male (hence those weirdly sex-oriented female figures - which I learned was the 'male gaze' several years down the line), and comic-readers in general are considered, y'know, 'geeks'. Sure, superhero comic-based movies are doing fantastic and all that, but the original comics seem to be still a 'niche' thing.
I feel it is hard to categorize yourself as a 'casual reader of comics' in North America. Well, there's that with superhero comics, and then there's graphic novels, which is another interesting and very potent medium.

So after this long and rambly rant, I think what I wanted to say was that North American comics (and graphic novels) - mediums that are not solely reliant on words - is complex and nebulous and I wish there was an easier way for people like me to be exposed to them? Because really, aside from the big names like all the DC and Marvel, it's been hard for me to even find out what I want to read.

I am starting to confuse myself, and therefore I will stop.


((PS: This turned out rather a downer rant in retrospect. I know it's hard to find out what you want to read in the sea of Japanese comics as well, so I guess it's a matter of luck and knowing the language enough to be able to pick and choose and articulate your preferences.))