Hyouge Mono 1 – the art of tea

Sasuke retrieving the skin of a roasting chestnut.

Can a man kill another man, in front of countless witnesses, for no good reason, and expect that there will be no repercussions? In modern society, this is not usually the case. Modern society, or as we like to think of it, “civilized society”, normally means that people must obey society’s laws. Sure, the wealthy and powerful will still find ways to skirt around the laws, but as they do, they acknowledge the power of those laws, by hiding their actions from those that will punish them.

Hyouge Mono brings us back to 16th Century Japan, the period of the Warring States. This is a time when the ability to kill makes it right. “The Law of the Jungle” … “a life that’s nasty brutish and short” … call it what you will, it is a condition that doesn’t lend itself to calm reflection, or principled action. Our hero, Sasuke Furuta finds himself surrounded by docile servants of the warlord Nobunaga Oda with naught on their minds, except proving that they too are bloodthirsty warriors. All the while, Sasuke thinks that there is something more. Beyond the violence, and raw show of force, Sasuke believes in the power of beautiful things.

Spring 2011 Anime – picks, predictions

Hello, and welcome to my Spring 2011 preview-like thing. Many of you will, no doubt, be expecting a full-fledged preview that covers most, if not all of the shows and movies that are expected to air during the season. Those folks will be surely disappointed, and should instead refer to the comprehensive reviews that I will reference below. Instead my M.O. is to pick out a few shows that I predict will be worth watching (hence the subtitle for this post).