IMHO. 'Michiko to Hatchin' ~ as if you read a good book

'There's not enough jazz anime in this world', said Shinichiro Watanabe one day and decided to make 'Michiko to Hatchin'. 'There's not enough stories about people struggling to survive in a harsh environment', added Shukou Murase. And yes, they invited Sayo Yamamoto, but I guess I know who's the boss here. I don't think you'd ever mistake an anime created by Watanabe with anything else:

or forget about Murase - look at a bookshelf from a library in 'Michiko and Hatchin':

Well, this unlikely-characters-travelling-together trope, this pursuing-a-goal-and-finding-that-the-journey-was-more-important idea, this jazz and r'n'b soundtrack are nothing new. Even inviting cinema actors instead of professional voice actors is a trick we've seen already. But when all of that is so brilliantly done, and, moreover, done in such a way that I can clearly see just how well the creators understand what they're trying to depict... I can't but admit: my hat's off.

To be honest, 'Michiko to Hatchin' is not the case when you sympathise very much with the characters or make favourites. But it's surely the case when you understand them. And it's absolutely the case when you can say, after you finish, that you gained something by watching, just like reading a good book.

IMHO. 'Ergo proxy' ~ We know too little. And therefore must think.

This long forgotten feeling of 'I don't know what's going on because I don't know where this is going on and I don't know what had been going on before this started to go on'. I had to stop myself from reading spoilers, but I ended up reading them just to realise that knowing them doesn't make it any easier.

This feeling when words aren't necessary. There is so much I could discuss... I could say how stunning the art is, or that the story is obviously done by people who have something to say, or that Kouji Yusa can be an outstanding voice actor between involvements in 150% commercial otome-audio-drama production. But I don't have to defend 'Ergo proxy'. I'd offend it by offering my advocacy. It's already beautiful.

Anime is not a genre. It's not cheap Chinese cartoons. Or Japanese animated porn. It's not child's play. Nor is it the biggest miracle of this world. It's just a way to create.

It's only up to the production committee whether an anime becomes one more money-maker filled with fan-service to the brim, or one more attempt to understand what human is, tackling the problem from all possible angles.

So I was desperately trying to understand what was going on in the world of 'Ergo proxy', but in fact... It wasn't that understanding which made me a richer person today. Even after understanding all the details, I may have come back to square one. But this journey was necessary.