Well, it's been a long week. A week of hell, to be more percise, but that's behind me now...no big deal. But one thing just really bugs me, it never ceases to amaze me how stupid some of our customers are...it's really amazing...Do people even think before opening their mouths these days? And why hire a professional service if you already have all the answers? *sigh* Working in the service industry has really opened my eyes to how moronic people are...
Enough about work...it's the weekend and they don't pay me to worry...
Today I'd like to talk about a couple things that have caught my attention as of late. First of all, I bought several dvd's over the past few weeks. Saiyuki volume 9, Comic Party, Somedays Dreamers, Yukikaze, and Kino's Journey, along with several manga releases and some other various novels.
Kino's Journey really stands out. Honestly, I bought it on a whim, out of sheer boredom. I'd seen the first episode and thought it only mildly interesting and had told myself I wouldn't spend the money on it. However, I ended up buying it anyway (I get bored...I shop). I sat down to watch it, starting with the second episode and was blown away. Oh, there's not a lot of fireworks or action, it's not a riveting, seat gripping type of show like Naruto or Full Metal Alchemist or Rurouni Kenshin. Instead, it's a thinking show, one that sets you back on your heels and makes you go "Oh...wow...".
It's slow paced, just like the character Kino, which really makes you feel like you're right there, traveling along side...her. I wasn't sure for a while if Kino was a guy or girl actually, since she uses the Japanese word "boku", which is a masculine way of saying "I". LOL Maybe I was just being dense, but Kino does dress and act like a young boy for a reason (you'll have to watch the show to find out though!).
Anyway, Kino is a travler, who moves from town to town, country to country on a perpetual adventure with her talking motorcadd, Hermes. In each episode they meet new people and experience different cultures, learning about the world.
Sounds boring? I thought so too, until I sat down and really started watching. We learn, the world isn't always a pleasant place. People lie, people cheat, people hurt other people for the stupidest and most selfish reasons. Every city is different, every culture has things that might seem cruel or inhuman to an outsider. Despite being human, we are merely animals in the expanse of the world, and perhaps, we are the worst kind of animal.
The first episode starts off slow and interesting enough. Kino visits a town which is managed by robots. All the humans live outside of the city, and away from each other. They never leave their homes. Never communicate with each other, and they flee at the sight of another person. Later we learn that through curiosity and greed, the people of the city drank a special elixer that allowed them to hear each other's thoughts, assuming it would bring harmony to them all. What they discovered was not peace and love for all, but thoughts of malice, deciet, and ill will. Of course, it's human nature to think poorly about someone but be kind to their face, but the people of the city were stripped of that freedom, thanks the the exlier. Now, they all live and die alone. Families driven apart, lovers torn from each other, friends alienated...no one can stand to face the ill thoughts they might hear or worse, that someone might hear from them...
At anyrate, the other episodes were a bit more disturbing, and often left me with frowning and feeling a bit bitter. Kino's Journey really brings home the disgusting side of humanity.
The show is displayed brilliantly. The world Kino travles through is beautiful, full of color and magnificent cities. It's a striking contrast to the darkness that lurks with in the series. The languid pace of each episode gives the veiwe a sense of "real time", like they are there with Kino and Hermes. The characters are interesting, Hermes is witty, the art work is beautiful, and the stories are utterly intreaguing, if you take the time to see them through.
This isn't a story about coming of age or conquering the world. It's just a story about life, humanity, and discovery. It's definitly worth a watch!
The other thing I'd like to talk about is the Semaria Novels by Sharon Shinn. It's been awhile since I found a series that intreagued me as much as these have. I think the last novel series I really got caught up in were the stories by Melanie Rawn. She wrote "The Dragon Prince" and Sunrunner stories.
Anway, Semaria is a world based on faith in God. Angels have been appointed to live among humans and watch out for them. They move the storms, call the rains, cure disease, etc., with their prayers. The humans accept them as God's messangers and the world lives in a semi-harmonious state. I say semi-harmonious because as well all know, humans wouldn't be humans if they didn't treat each other poorly somehow.
Each novel is individualistic, taking place a couple 100 years or so after the pervious. It revolves around the angels and their attempts to keep order in Semaria. The main characters are often the Archangels, which happens to be only one angel, chosen by God to be the spokesperson for the world. The Archangel communitcates with God, according to their scriptures, and God hears him/her.
Things start getting interesting as the second novel starts out. God seems not to be listening to the angels as storms ravage the land. Not even the Archangels prayers are heard, so the people begin to suspect that it is the Angels calling down the rains that are flooding their homes and killing their crops. However, it appears more to the Angels and those who are strong in their faith, that God has turned their back on them because of their violence to one another and their pollution of the world with their newfound technology. Even more surprises lay in wait, as the real reason for God's deaf ear is revealed.
I'm not a religous person. Infact, I'm hardly an advocate for organized religion in any form, but these stories are just fantastic. It's a bit of fantasy, wrapped into sci-fi, which creates this imperfect world of humans and Angels, where both races struggle to maintain thier ideals and values. Humans try to grow and evolve, while the Angel's try to direct them, but humanity has a mind of it's own, and governing an entire planet (who's rapidly losing faith in God) isn't an easy task.
Both Kino's Journey and The Semaria Novels are worth reading/watching. I couldn't be more pleased with both these purchases and am looking foward to seeing more!
On another note, there are no Zero updates this week. I was too damn tired to do any editing or translating...sorry for those who are reading it. If all goes well, there should be updates by next Sunday. My translations are shaky enough, I can't imagine what they'd turn out like if I worked on them when I was tired as hell...LOL...
Well, I am off to play my new video game...Seven Samurai...I really don't know much about it, but it looked really cool, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I'm an RPG type girl, a big fan of Final Fantasy, Xenosaga, and StarOcean (Gawd I love this game), so this new "toy" isn't really my genre, but I'm willing to give it a go! Yay! If all else fails, I can steal my son's game cube and play Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicals with him...hee hee! Till next time!
Posted by Zoso at May 16, 2004 12:42 AM