Top 10 Super Nintendo Games (Part 1)

On December 10, 2015December 10, 2015 By troubledproductionsIn ListLeave a comment

Welcome, welcome, welcome. It’s getting to the end of the year so it’s time for lists. But it’s not close enough to end where we can’t do a “best of the year” list, so decided on this. The title pretty much says everything I need to, if you’re still uncertain what this list is, you’re not my target audience. Only 3 rules:

They have to be on the SNES (obvious, but if I didn’t mention it….)
One from each series if direct sequels.
I have to have played them. Now this is the most restrictive one, and means I’m missing out on Zelda, Castlevania, Metroid and Final Fantasy. I know, I’m a terrible person but I wasn’t into those kind of games when I was that age and now they’re not easy to find.

10 Lemmings

lemmings_us_box_art This was the last one I put on the list. Originally I put NBA Jam to take this spot. Mainly because I forgot this game existed for a while. Even once I remembered I had this I didn’t add it to the list because I mainly associated it with PC gaming. And then I remembered exactly why I brought Lemmings 2 on PC back in the day; it was because I hired out the original for SNES from a video game shop back in the day. So it gets on the list based solely on the fact it introduced me to a whole new area of gaming. It taught me gaming isn’t about speed or reactions, it was about thinking, about looking at a complex situation and figuring out exactly what tools you needed to solve it. This path has led me to games like Portal etc so is personally a very important game for me.

9 Aladdin

I know, movie licensed game before Goldeneye made them acceptable, but hear me out. This game is actually good. Odd fact for this; this game was available on the Super Nintendo and Mega Drive, but both games were different. Virgin Games (makers of Earthworm Jim and other fine games) had the disney license for video games, but Capcom had the license for Disney video games on Nintendo consoles. Very weird situation that would be unthinkable today but it led to two different, both very good games.

8 Earthworm Jim

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See, I told you this was a fine game. Now, this game is weird, very very weird. It’s a tale as old as time itself, an earthworm finds a super suit and tries to save Princess Whats-Her-Name who is sadly crushed by a flying cow. Yeah, it’s a strange one, but it’s also fun, and actually funny.

7 Mario Is Missing

A lot of people dislike this game. And I can see why. It’s a mario game whe mario is missing re you can’t kill mushrooms by jumping on them, and it’s educational. But for some reason I like it, I have warm memories of playing this as a child. Particularly the fact that the villains plan involves melting the polar ice caps with hundreds of hair dryers. And you controlled Luigi. And I liked Luigi. For some reason I preferred sidekicks to main characters. Not just Luigi, I preferred Tails to Sonic, always found Sonic and arrogant prick, and always felt Luigi was underappreciated. Even in Super Mario World when you beat a castle with Luigi the in-game text thanked Mario. Luigi gets no respect.

6 Street Fighter 2 Turbo

street fighter I imagine most of you know this game, so I don’t need to say much about it. This is one game where multiplayer is key. Beating the computer is fun and all, but not quite as fun as slapping your friend in the face as E.Honda. And it taught
us an important lesson, whether you’re Japanese or not, all good people are white.

So, that’s that, and part 2 will be next week. In the meantime, keep watching the skies! Oh wait, that’s not my sign off. Buy me cake! That’s better.

Top 10 favorite anime part 1: 10-6

On December 7, 2015December 7, 2015 By troubledproductionsIn List, Top 10Leave a comment

Couldn’t think about what to write this week, so here’s a list!

10- Please Teacher

please teacher 01 I’ll admit this is probably a bit more of a guilty pleasure at this point. It wasn’t always, but I haven’t seen it in a while, so it’s here based mainly on my fond memories of it. So up front, the set-up is typical silly as hell anime. A very shy fifteen year old high schooler who’s really eighteen because he was in a coma for three years, has to marry his secret alien homeroom teacher to stop her from getting fired…You got that. Good. Because after that really overdone set-up, the images show turns into one of the most charming romances I’ve ever seen. The developing romance between the high schooler and his teacher (just go with it, it’s Japan) is the beating heart of the series. And fantastical funny alien shenanigans aside; it’s a surprisingly earnest and sweet, if a tad melodramatic romance, and is one of the rare anime about the hurdles of a couple being together, instead of just getting together. The development of their characters through their relationship is well paced and full of 94715 genuine moments of tender love and charm, and if you can get past the initial silliness of it all, you’ll find a show of fun diverse characters and more heart than it knows what to do with.

9- Digimon Tamers

Digimon_Tamers This is here, half for nostalgic affection for the series left over from my youth, and half as a legitimately awesome science fiction revamp of the adventure series. Digimon Tamers is an odd ball even in the Digimon shows, being outside the continuity of the others; it is instead set in a world where those shows exist as shows, and the Digitalworld in this series is a dangerous man made universe, vastly out of its creator’s control. It still follows the tried and true formula of kids get monster friends and fighting to save the world, but unlike the other shows, one, it deals with a smaller more nuanced cast of characters who feel like real kids, far outside the stereotypes of other seasons. And two, it is honestly way darker than a kids show should be. From the mind of the man who would bring us Serial Experiments Lain, and Ghost Hound (if you don’t know those shows just trust me, they are some freaky shit), his is a Digimon far removed from the happy go lucky world of its predecessors.

300px-Megidramon_DT35 — Digimon aren’t all cute and cuddles anymore

This is a Digiworld where people die, children’s lives are in danger, and they do not all make it out okay. Now it’s not really all as gruesome as I just made it sound, it’s still a kid’s show. There is still plenty of humor, good natured adventure, and silly Digimon antics throughout the show…..okay in the first half before the shit hits the digifan, and I understand how that would put off any new older watchers who find it too childish. But I find the contrast of how light it starts (though even when it’s light the undercurrent of darkness is still very present) and how far down it goes into the depth of our heroes hearts, as they experience pain, loss,

[Positron] Digimon Tamers 47 (Xvid-mp3).avi_snapshot_03.42_[2013.04.30_18.26.08] — You know, for kids!

and having to shoulder saving the world, worth sitting through childish stuff for. I’ve always liked stories that start sweet and childlike but are then brought in to dark realizations, like Grimm fairy-tales. Which when I put it like that, I just realized how similar it is to the next show on this list.

8- Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon_genesis_evangelion Now this is a big one. One of the bench marks of modern anime…that a lot of people really don’t like anymore. At least that’s the vibe I’ve gotten. Having only watched the show many years after getting into anime, I first heard it was the end all be all of anime… then I heard it was actually hugely overrated, way way up itself and pretentious, and the lead character was a whiny sack of shit. So going in with that much anti-hype tumblr_mo5l2017tO1r60ay5o1_500 surrounding it and my expectations low, I really ended up loving the shit out of the show. Though I can see the faults, they are nowhere near the extreme the internet seems to think they are. Shinji isn’t as annoying as people say, he’s just a teenager.
So for those who don’t know, the show is a bit of a deconstruction of mecha anime, so it’s about teenagers piloting giant robots to save the world. You know like Power Rangers. But what set it apart from the literal hundreds of other mecha anime, was how fighting life or death battles with giant monsters on almost a daily bases actually had tumblr_nxezueV1I91uz28izo1_500 ramifications on the pilots state of being. Rich with psychologically warped characters, philosophical undertones, themes of lost innocents and human existence, gorges but violent as hell fight scenes, and a butt load of abstract imagery; this is a far cry from “teenagers with attitude” who stay good natured social butterflies between bouts. Being so near death, under the stress of world saving, and on top of just being a teenager, takes its toll on everyone; mentally tearing them down fight after fight, till you completely sympathise when they have break downs, question the point of existence, and want to just run away. neon-genesis-evangelion-the-end-of-evangelion-225x318

One thing I do have against the show is its plotting near the end, where everything just seems to happen way to quick; really important new characters are introduced and given almost no time to develop before the plot uses them, and ending itself does get a bit too abstract even for me. So I recommend watching the show then watching the movie The End of Evangelion. It redoes the ending, so that not only do the character’s arcs finish (though it does take them in different directions), but the plot actually ends too. Still not a straight forward ending, but there’s at least a bit more to it.

And it has one of the best openings ever!

7- Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

anohana cd8162ccf28c4ea30b20c6d98695567c I’ve always liked stories based around old friends getting together years later, and seeing how they’ve changed. And I’ve also always liked mature looks at how people deal with hard emotions, like grief and loss. Both those things are at the core of this series. Five teenagers who grew apart after the death of their friend when they were children, slowly come back together after the washed-up leader of the group starts being haunted by her ghost, who only he can see. So as they start to work together to find a way to help the ghost pass on, they tumblr_n5hin1OKhd1r922azo1_500 begin to gradually reconnect and have to finally face their feelings of loss and grief they have for her death and each other. If that description didn’t give it away, this is a very emotional series. It may be too overly sentimental for some, but with its likeable well developed cast, and its balls not shy away from the darker, psychological ramifications of losing a loved one, it’s a tearjerker that earns every tear. On top of that it taps into that childlike wonder only animation can, and will make you ache for those nostalgic days of playing tumblr_n1tki1hlB91sq9yswo1_500 with friends you don’t see anymore. Beautifully animated and paced, and with enough laughs and charm to keep you engaged all the way through; I’ve always had a soft spot for animation that can make me cry, and AnoHana hits that spot and is razor sharp.

6- Time of Eve

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Though only a 6 episode web mini-series, Time of Eve is one of the best pieces of science fiction I’ve ever seen. In a future where robots are near perfect human replicants and everyone has one as a servant like the latest Time of Eve 01 iPad; the show is predominantly set in the titular café that does not and will not distinguish between humans and machine. Following two teenagers who start frequenting the café because of their own deep seeded issues with robots, each episode explores the boys getting to know the other patrons of the café, be them robots or humans, and in small ways they slowly discover how little that matters. Though the idea of robots with humanity and what tumblr_ml7ybr1Qb21rkdga9o1_500_zpsrlrhlzyv makes us human are not a new idea, this show finds much smaller, nuanced ways to discuss it than I’ve seen before. There’s no big revolution, no robots fighting for their rights to party (though that is kinda background plot), it’s a character driven tale, where we’re introduced and learn about these people before discovering which they are, the answer usually being as heart-breaking as it is fascinating. At its heart the show is about humanity and prejudice; how we can only be human if you choose fdsvzdxzxzx to be, and the lead characters learning to move past their fear of self-aware machines.

Though all the episodes have been edited into a feature length film, I still recommend watching it as a series, as the pacing works much better that way.

Come again next week for my 5-1 and some Honourable mentions.

Why We Love…The Wanderers

On December 4, 2015December 4, 2015 By troubledproductionsIn Why we loveLeave a comment

This is an odd choice of film for me to write about; it’s not a famous one, it’s not even one that’s talked about by a lot of pretentious media studies types. In fact, I’ve yet to meet anybody outside of my family who knows about this film, I’ve met people who think they know it, but they actually mean The Warrior’s, which I still haven’t actually seen.

This is probably the first film I remember watching at home. My family owned it on video, I say “my family” because I’m not entirely sure to whom it belonged, but I suspect it belonged to my brother, who went through a phrase of watching american gang films such as this, Boyz N The Hood etc.

So why do I love this? It’s odd, as unlike a lot of films from that era there’s not many “hey it’s that guy” moments. In fact the biggest name in this is probably Karen Allen, who most of you will know from Indiana Jones but I know from the infinitely superior Scrooged. That doesn’t mean the performances aren’t good though, John Friedrich as Joey in particular has a certain something which makes his character likeable despite being a bit of a dick.

I do worry that a small part of my love this is based around the music though. This has one of the most perfect soundtracks I’ve ever seen/heard. A good collection of classic 60’s tunes guaranteed to raise a smile (including a song you may recognise from the new Fallout advert). Which brings me onto the next point: this film portrays a definitive change in culture, from the somewhat innocent nature of the 60’s, through to the violence of the 70’s. One of the plot points shows this perfectly: what starts as a bunch of racial slurs in the class room means they organise a gang fight for later in the month, with them agreeing “no guns or knives”, which then gets turned into a football game. It then becomes a lot darker as this game breaks out into the most violent gang fight of the film. The fight at the end is almost the film equivalent of the Rolling Stones at Altamont. Optimism and peace are replaced by violence and despair. At first this sudden darkness seems to have come out of nowhere, and then you realise the undercurrents have been there all along: one of the main character’s has died, JFK has been assassinated, one of the other characters is clearly being beaten by his dad, you just haven’t noticed because of the bright colours and wonderful music. Although it does end with a nice sing song, although it’s taking place at the engagement party of a shotgun wedding so…..

Recasting….The Saga Of Darren Shan (a.k.a: Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant)

On December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 By troubledproductionsIn Recasting...Leave a comment

Vampires_assistant Welcome, welcome, welcome. We’ve been doing this for a while now and thought we’d try a new series: Recasting. In this we’ll both be looking at established franchises and casting our ideal movie versions. Throughout the series we’ll be looking at franchises such as Batman, Justice League, Artemis Fowl etc. But we’ll start with The Saga Of Darren Shan, a literary franchise which isn’t well known, but is well regarded. Now, this has already had a film adaptation (to stretch the definition): Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant. But our casting for this will probably be different. In fact, I’ll be surprised if we had any cast members at all from the film. So, let’s begin.

NOTE: We will be using pictures from the Darren Shan manga (yes there is one, and it’s awesome) for comparisons, as its a WAY better adaption of the books.

Darren Shan

Played in the film by: Chris Massoglia

Asa Butterfield as Darren Shan

asa-butterfield-jacob-porter-miss-peregrines

Darren

Though at this point 18, with his timid and youthful look he could easily pass for around 13-15 (as young as he’s played before). That is still older than the 11 year old Darren at the start of the series, but this is Hollywood so having him start a bit older I think is fine, as long as they don’t make him seventeen or something (¬_¬ looking at you thoa who shall not be named). Having already led films like Hugo (amazing), Enders Game (decent), and X+Y (pretty good), he’s already proved himself as a capable leading man with a talent for heart and action. And his natural timid deminer I think would suit Darren, who’s always been shyer and would give him room to grow into the badass he becomes later in the series.

c977213066ca47b4191dd9c41aee4108 This was actually the hardest one for me. I had to find a young enough actor who would age well with the series. One who could have both the youthful naivety of the first few books, with the fight of the last few. So in the end I decided to go with: Nicholas Hoult. When you watch About A Boy you just see the look of innocence on his face. Someone who still has hope and joy, then you watch Mad Max: Fury Road years later and you realise he will cut a bitch

Larten Crepsley

Played in the film by: John C Reilly

Peter Capaldi as Larten Crepsley

tumblr_n40lqncAB41qk2h4go5_1280 sleepy_mr__crepsley_by_bleach_red_abyss3-d4b5kd3

Because who fucking else. If his run as the Doctor has proven anything, it’s that he can be dark and brooding when he needs, but also light, funny, and heartfelt. He has the look, he has the presents, he is Larten Crepsley. And no one else could possibly do better.

Going to keep this short, and keep it simple. As this is the one where I feel we may have chosen the same actor. Peter Capaldi, from The Thick Of It, Neverwhere, and a small indie low budget show called Doctor Who. It’s got to the point now where I don’t even have to think a bout it, if I read Crepsley, I read it in Capaldi’s voice. It just works so well, not only in dialogue but in the clothes and actions too.

Steve Leonard

Played in the film by: Josh Hutcherson

Logan_lerman

Logan Lerman as Steve Leonard

Though typically known for his more timid troubled characters, like in Perks of being a wallflower (best film of 2012) and Fury (damn good flick), it’s that same bitter darkness I believe could lend well to Steve’s cha steve racter, as he is so messed up and troubled. He also has a much broader physical presents than Asa Butterfield, and his ability to come across sweet and caring as well as intense as fuck (again Perks of being a wallflower) I can definitely see him in a strong opposition to Butterfield.

misfits_s2_iwan_rheon_002_FULL

Ok, this was hard, I needed someone who could appear friendly but also have an undercurrent of psychopathic killer. As such I settled on Iwan Rheon, better known from Misfits. He played a nice character in that, but I feel he could pull off angry psychopath quite well.

Mr. Tiny

Played in the film by: Michael Cerveris

Jim Broadbent as Mr. Tiny

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Again I have to agree with my writing colleague; Jim Broadbent has that perfect mix of charmingly harmless but with this clear dark undercurrent to him that would lend perfectly to Mr Tiny. Because Mr Tiny needs to have an off charm and humour to him, he can entertain you while also being able to make you shit yourself. And that’s Jim Broadbent in a nut-shell.

This was actually quite difficult as well. As he has to be someone who has all the capabilities of being charming and lovely, but also just pure evil at the same time. As such, in the end I went with Jim Broadbent, Horace Slughorn from Harry Potter, and Slater from Only Fools And Horses. This is an actor who looks like everybody’s favourite uncle, albeit an uncle you’re fairly certain keeps dead bodies in his basement. Actually, now I think of it, he’d pretty much just be bringing back his performance from Hot Fuzz.

Others

Gary Oldman as Mr. Tall

Sir-Gary-Oldman-gary-oldman-30389354-397-600

An odd choice, but a good one. Mr Tall has 78422 always been an ambiguous character, the leader of Cirque du freak and possibly so much more, he needs to loom confidantes with a tinge of menace, but also be a kind soul who can sympathies with his many freak comrades. So of cause Mr Oldman not only has the acting range to pull off all of the above, but he has the stoic look and presents to match.

Some of the others I felt would work:

index

Kurda Smahlt: Chris Addison. Also from The Thick Of It. I feel he could pull off the huh nervous and manipulative nature nature of the character quite well.

reynolds_horrorx-large

Vancha March: Ryan Reynolds. Specifically: Bearded Ryan Reynolds. A slightly sarcastic loudmouth vampire fighter. I feel he’d do well.

Why we love…Explosions in the Sky

On November 30, 2015 By troubledproductionsIn Why we loveLeave a comment

For those of you who don’t know, Explosions in the Sky are one of the forefathers of Post-rock, a genre of rock that uses “guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures” and are really the first purely instrumental band I’ve really gotten into. For those who know me (so clearly everyone who reads this…) when it comes to my music I’m all about the content.

I appreciate and enjoy good music, but I can put a lot aside if I like the voice and lyrics; so your Bruce Springsteen’s, Bob Dylan’s, Gaslight Anthem’s, Tom Waits’, have always been a favorite; Explosions in the Sky has changed that.

I’ll really just be talking about the band as whole over a specific album, as like all great things, I didn’t get into them one by one but all at once and all together.

albums — They have a pretty good oeuvre of album covers

I guess what sets them apart from other progressive bands, (Dream Theater and Transatlantic come to mind because of my shallow understanding of the genre), is one, length, with most songs only ten minutes or less and not up to twenty or more. And two, their pure use of progression, as they have a much deeper use of building melody, instead of just building rhythm like I’ve commonly heard in the genre. Melodies that actually build into a climax and end, not just peter out or climax and then have a warm down fuck.

Take the first song from their first album, A song for our Fathers, from How Strange, Innocents, or the first song from their fifth album, The Birth and Death of the Day, from All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone. Their songs never sound like they’re just showing off their technical skills like a lot of instrumental songs I’ve heard, and there’s still always this sense of structure and meaning behind the music.

Even if the words aren’t there you can still feel the meaning, the story, what’s going on behind the sound and why it was worth making at all. It’s music that can build from burying your head in the dirt, to screaming from a thousand different rooftops.

But what really helped get me into this band is how excellent it is to read and write to. As a semi-professional reader and writer I can say it’s impossible to do either with music that involve lyrics, as unsurprisingly having someone else’s words and voice in your head when you’re trying to think is pretty distracting.

But don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Explosions in the Sky are good because they just make good background sound, they go beyond just filling in a sound gap, and actually help stimulate the mind. Helping you to focus and generate content (I’m listening to them as I write this) as their sweeping melodies soar and crash into distorted haze, and you write the best work you’ve ever put to paper, or read the best book you’ve ever held.

Explosions in the Sky are the soundtrack of the heart and soul. (And Saturday Night Lights)

Why We Love…Fahrenheit 451

On November 27, 2015November 27, 2015 By troubledproductionsIn Why we loveLeave a comment

I picked this book up from a shop in Portsmouth a few years ago and it was on my christmas reading list; then I changed my mind and decided to read Garfield and Horrible Histories instead (don’t judge me) and finally got round to reading it about a year later. I remember I started it at 9pm Thursday night and finished it 7am Friday morning. Now it’s not unusual for me to stay up through the night; but it’s never to finish a book (it’s usually for noodles or to try and figure out what went wrong at various stages of my life).

journal — “May 15th, 2005, turned down a free burger”

For those unfamiliar with this book the plot is this: in the not-to-distant future books have been made illegal and fireman go around burning them and arresting anybody who possesses them. No matter how bleak this book got though it couldn’t make me feel worse than it did in the first few chapters. You’re introduced to this character called Clarise who is just simply awesome. She reminded me so much of this girl I used to go to college with. So I was sitting there getting used to this simply adorable character, then she dies. Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury? No, Fuck you!

But maybe the fact I thought that was a good thing. It showed the emotional depth the book had; it stopped you thinking of these people as characters and it seemed more like a journal; the events were actually happening and everything had consequences (as opposed to poorly written books where you’re constantly aware that they are books, so the characters don’t effect you that much as you don’t see them as people; more cliche’s of people).

This book also is related to some brilliant mistakes. First off; the title. It’s called Fahrenheit 451 as that’s the temperature which books burn at. Well it’s supposed to be; but it’s not. The temperature at which paper combusts is actually 450 Celsius. The other mistake was not one made by the author but by the audience. For years people said it was about censorship, but it’s actually about interest in books dwindling because of television. It’s got to the point now where people go up to the author and tell him he’s wrong about his own book and it really is about censorship. Proving that just because you can read a book doesn’t make you intelligent; in fact it can make you think you’re smarter which actually makes you dumber as you can’t be taught.

trump — On the subject of dumb people thinking they’re smart….

Anyway I’m rambling; so yeah in summary a rather awesome book which contained one of my favourite lines in a book:

“why waste your final hours running around your cage denying you’re a squirrel?”

Seems so boosh-like. Oh, and I also LOVE this paragraph;

“Go home and think of your first husband divorced and your second husband blowing his brains out, go home and think of the dozen abortions you’re had, go home and think of that and your damn Caesarian sections, too, and your children who hate your guts! Go home and think how it all happened and what did you ever do to stop it?”

One of the harshest sentences I’ve ever read; yet also one of the most beautiful

Why we love…Daria

On November 23, 2015 By troubledproductionsIn Why we loveLeave a comment

Right upfront this will probably be a bit more rambling than a few of my other posts, as I found it’s hard to talk clearly about something you’ve loved for so long. There will also be some spoilers, so be warned.

Daria, for those who don’t know, is an animated TV show from the 90s, about the day to day life of social outsider Daria and the eccentric mesh of people in her life. And it is one of the best sitcom-Coming-of-Age, comedy drama thingys ever; or a teen-angst cartoon, as some call it.

hqdefault — Thank Christ we never saw them in the show! And that they changed the animation.

A spin-off of a character of the far inferior Beavis and Butthead (a show I have never understood the appeal), who thank god never have a cameo. Now what set Daria apart from other shows about people on the outside of the norm, was that Daria was there by choice. She didn’t have overly strange interests, nor had one incident that left her unpopular.

She was just too smart to care what people thought, and didn’t care letting people know what she thought; leading to one of the sharpest wits in television.

It got what I felt a lot of teen shows didn’t, that some people didn’t have heaps of friends because the general populares found them too strange, but because they didn’t want the general populares as friends.

But Daria wasn’t friendless; enter Jane Lane, the spunky artist who can match wits with Daria without being as openly antisocial. And it’s there we have the heart of the show, something woefully lacking in fiction, a straight-up great female friendship- a hoemance if you will.

This isn’t Mean Girls, this isn’t Clueless, there’s no vindictive undertone to them; they are great friends who get each other, through the lows and the highs and the many many middles. And they teach us the lesson that anything can be solved by pizza.

Daria also got high school (or secondary school as us Brits call it), well it got middle class suburban high school. It was depicted as dull, but not without its moments of great fun. It was a breeding ground of hormones and terror, but not without those moments of maturing clarity. But what really made it different was how it dealt with teenage issues.

Having a sarcastic lead that could always bring the chuckles no matter the situation, the show didn’t try to throw them into overly wacky situations (well not all the time), instead dealing with more mature stories in funny ways. Like the death of an asshole student and how people should feel about his death, dealing with your parent’s morality, working out your future, coming to terms with your past mistakes, all that good stuff. And it’s in those moments that Daria isn’t just funny, but offers startling insight into growing up and becoming comfortable with yourself.

But the show isn’t constantly heavy with its plots; it has plenty of lighter episodes, like Daria and her family getting lost in the woods, the derogatory camping trip, Jane becoming an art forger, The X-files, the musical episode and many sillier things. But the show never loses its voice of the under spoken, unheard teen.

Daria Fashion Club - Stacy, Tiffany, Sandi, Quinn — From left to right: the actual good person who just needs better friends, the really dumb one, the bitch queen, and Quinn

Another thing that made it different from almost every other high school set…well anything, there was no real antagonist. No anti-Daria trying to make her life miserable or out to get her. Yeah, the fashion club and Daria’s sister Quinn can be bitches, but they rarely take focus.

And the so-and-so popular kids who always seem to fall into the villain slot are anything but here. They’re dumb but there is not a vindictive bone in their bodies; they’re just lovable. The ditsy cheerleader Britney is one of my favorites of the show, who behind her genuine airhead demeanor is surprisingly scheming, if only towards her on and off again BF Kevin.

folks — The more you know the more you see it.

Beyond Daria and Jane, the rest of the cast are well defined too, with the next most focus falling to Daria’s family. From her parents, the hapless father and hard working mother (who I’ve realized were stolen for Rick and Morty), who desperately just try to work out their eldest daughter. To her bitch Sister Quinn who has one of the best arcs of the series, growing beyond a shallow hub of well moisturized skin to a real person, though that doesn’t really kick in till season 4.

ccc165c38063da8a0c740e9181489d25 — And they all get at least three or four episodes of focus and development

Then there’s Jane’s slacker elder brother, the perpetually jobless musician Trent, and then….you know what, it has a sodding big cast so I’m not going to go much further, I’ll just say all characters are well put together and even the smaller ones get their time to shine; so go watch it.

But I will talk about….Tom, who a lot of fans hate, but I honestly I liked; he’s like a male Daria but less cynical. Introduced at the start of season 4 as Jane’s new boyfriend, that season follows the gradual break down of that romance, and the build of one between him and Daria, ending the season with them cheating on Jane behind her back. And for something that a lot of people didn’t like and could have really been done badly, I kind of love it (though I do have a taste for teen bullshit).

daria-and-tom-kiss — The moment that split the fandom!

Yes it’s falling back into more typical teen drama tropes, but after four seasons of building up these characters as anything but typical, seeing them have to deal with these problems I was completely behind, and as I said they did it well. A lesser show would have done the whole arc in 2-4 episodes or less, but Daria took a whole season to develop Tom and Daria’s romance out.

a6181ab1dbd39c33546a24f1b6f0d755 — I always thought they just kind of got each other. If you can be sarcastic together then you know it’s true love.

It’s always there in the background; Daria and Tom getting closer while he and Jane drift apart. It then of course leads to Daria having a boyfriend throughout the final season (5), and I refer back to what I just said, a typical story can work when done with none typical characters.

Actually, that’s not a bad description of the show as a whole, so I’ll end it there. If my rambled thoughts have sold you on the show, then go watch it (where ever you can 😉 ) and if this hasn’t, GO FUCKING watch it anyway, it’s great!

Anyway, next week I’ll try to cover something none animated (but promise nothing).

Why We Love…..Amelie

On November 20, 2015November 27, 2015 By troubledproductionsIn Uncategorized, Why we loveLeave a comment

It’s coming up to a week since the terrible attacks in Paris and the world is still struggling in the confusing aftermath, uncertain of what to say or do. This tragedy is a bit unlike 7/7 and 9/11 though. Maybe it’s because unlike the other two events, this one happened in front of us. It seemed to unfold, not just on national news, but on social media. As it happened people were tweeting about it, facebooking about it etc, letting the world know what was going on as it happened. The world became spectators to a game that they never wanted to see in the first place. Also different are the reactions. Outside of a few people most of the messages are ones of hope. Messages that France, and the world, will get through this. Twitter was overloaded with messages of support, not just for the victims and their families, but also for any innocent Muslims who might end up getting attacked as a reaction to this. The general feeling of this attack isn’t “kill all Muslims” (apart from Trump, who said they should be made to wear identifying badges, in a move that makes it hard not invoke Nazi analogies), instead, the feeling is “Fuck ISIS”. It’s progress. So why is this? I have a theory:

One of the explosions occurred during a internationally televised football match, and if it wasn’t for the actions of a security guard at the gates of the stadium, it would have been a lot worse. But through doing this, he denied the Assholes an important opportunity (side note: editorial guidelines for this blog dictate we don’t call them “terrorists” as that gives them power over our fear, they don’t deserve that, instead we will just continue to refer to them in whichever capitalised insult springs to mind. We are a media blog, so I doubt this will happen that often). Through this man doing this, it meant there wasn’t a defining image of the attacks. 9/11 had the smouldering towers as well as the man jumping from them, 7/7 had the masked woman being led away from the blast. These images fuelled a lot of intense arguments and hatred, and the Paris attacks lacked that visceral image. In years to come the images we will associate with these attacks will be national landmarks draped in the colours of the French flag. Never deny the important of an image.

So, Amelie? Why did I pick this to talk about? Mainly, it’s because it is French, and this is my simple way of showing solidarity with a country in turmoil right now. Films and media are important. When people think of Japan they don’t think of the mountains, they don’t think of Karoshi, they think of the food, they think of the films, they think of the music. People associate media with the parent culture. A lot of people’s first interaction with foreign cultures is through their films and it can help define them.

ameliee — I feel we also need to mention the awesomeness and inherent loveability of Audrey Tautou

But why this film specifically? Why not Two Days, One Night? Why not the absolute sublime Belleville Rendez-vous, especially in light of Chomet’s brilliant couch gag for The Simpsons. The reason is simple: this film is simply beautiful. Watching this film is like eating a box of Guylian chocolate and feeling it melt in your mouth. It’s not just a story, it’s an experience. It’s something that makes you feel warm inside. But that may just be the whimsical nature of it. It’s one of the most hopeful films you could hope to see, about decency, about the positive side of human nature, about convincing someone to travel by stealing their gnome and getting people to take pictures of it all around the world.

It’s this sort of whimsy and loveliness that we need to showcase right now. Just as the characters of Amelie needed her, we need this film. We need, well, I think Maximilien Robespierre said it best:

Liberté, égalité, fraternité

Why we love…BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad

On November 16, 2015November 16, 2015 By troubledproductionsIn Why we love1 Comment

BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad is one of those rare feats of fiction that gets music. It’s not just about music or musicians, it doesn’t just feature great music; it gets music. The power it has; the power to move people, the power to bring them together, and inspire you to take over the world (not literally). It’s like an anime Almost Famous.

The anime (and Manga but I’ll get to that) follows 14 year old Koyuki over the years, as he learns to play guitar, makes real friends, starts a band, and discovers who he really is…(it’s a coming of age anime, what do you expect). And unlike most shows/films about bands, this isn’t about them making it; for the majority of the show all they play in are dive bars and night clubs. The shows about the struggle, the struggle to learn, and to keep going against the odds, and about the bond Koyuki forms with the people he plays music with. It’s about the expression music can give you, as a global translator to reach everyone and anyone from any walk of life.

Beyond Koyuki and his life, the show also follows Ryusuke, the lead guitarist and leader of the titular band BECK, who is the other heart of the show. He’s Koyuki’s main inspiration to grow and become more comfortable with himself, to mature to a teenager with a clear goal in his life. While Ryusuke tries to go beyond that, developing from a teenager with a goal to an adult with an outcome, and dealing with those good or bad. The bad mainly resolving around a mafia subplot…go figure.

beck-anime-9-anime-wallpaper-show-anime-wallpaper-anime-picture-1024x768 — From left to right. Maho, Chiba (rapper), Saku (drummer), Koyuki (singer/rhythm guitar) , Flea I mean Taira (bass), and Ryusuke (lead guitar)

Outside of them, and with the exception of Koyuki’s love interest and Ryusuke’s sister, the passive aggressive badass Maho, the rest of the band don’t get much development. They’re presented to us as whole beings and they stay that way for the remainder of the anime (the mange is a different story, but I’ll get to that), hell the prototypical bully characters (it’s high school, they have to be there) gets some of the best development in the series. I wouldn’t call this so much a fault as just an occurrence, theres only so much time, so the focus needs to be where it needs to be. Nothing gained but nothing lost.

BECK is also one of those rare cases in anime that is….What’s the old saying? 40% of anime is better subbed, 30% it doesn’t matter either way, and only 10% of anime is better dubbed. BECK joins the ranks of Cowboy Bebop, Baccano, and Black Lagoon, which are just better dubbed, way better. This is thanks to a dubbing team who really gave a damn, and it clearly wasn’t a, ‘this is popular let’s put it in English’, it was a passion project for all involved, and it shows.

It shows most clearly in the amazing music and genuinely awesome songs. Most English dubs of anime about music, dub everything but the music, like K-on and NANA (another pretty good music anime), as its hard work to get new singers in, and translate the songs beyond awkward engrish, but BECK did. And it needed to really, as the songs aren’t just window dressing between the melodrama. Like real music the songs are character driven, and reflect a lot of the later themes and messages of the series. And the music’s just plane awesome. I own the soundtrack.

The band sound like the love child of Rage Against the Machine and Oasis, with Flea on bass. This is because they have two vocalists, the awesome and funny Chiba as the rapper, and our protagonist Koyuki as the singer. His singing voice being one of the main pushes of the series. It’s not just that the songs sound good, they work perfectly in the plot too, representing what they need, be it the progression of the character, a relationship, or the band itself. The climactic song ‘Slip Out’ not only works beautifully as a representation of Koyuki’s development from hapless teenager to musician, but it also sounds like a classic song, like a Smells Like Teen Spirit or Wonderwall, a song that could define a generation.

Another way the Dub is smart is in its copyright, as unlike in a the Japanese production, the English couldn’t name drop all the bands and use all of the music it once did, so the Sex Pistols become Love Gun, Anarchy in the UK becoming Anarchy Britannia. And a kinda random but awesome I’ve Got a feeling cover becomes an original song by the anime’s Nirvana- esque stand in The Dying Breed, the band that inspired Koyuki to pick up the guitar. It’s a smart, character driven dub.

animtion — The quality ranging from simply pretty, to….that.

If I have to speak of some weakness for BECK, it’s slow to start. It takes its time introducing the characters, setting up the band, following Koyuki’s development as a guitar player, ect. All good stuff, but when I re-watch the series (and of course I don’t recommend this for new viewers) I skip the first 5ish episodes, just to jump into the build-up to Koyuki joining the band and the main plot getting underway. The animation is also pretty cheap a lot of the time but it was a cheap show, it’s rarely scene breaking, but for Anime fans used to their Madhouses, Studio Ghiblis, and what not, it may be a bit jarring.

Now the manga is slightly different. As I said the Anime isn’t about the band making it, it’s more about them doing it. And the manga is about that too, but it’s just a hell of a lot longer and follows all the ups and downs as the band…make it…and they do by no easy means. If you can find it I highly recommend the manga, it lacks the audio aspect obviously (which to a music based story is important) but it keeps going with the great characters, ideas and story much further than in the anime.

Leading to a lot more character development all around, Chiba (the rapper) especially gets focus as Koyuki writes more and more songs for his own voice, causing Chiba to have an existential crises about his place in the band, prompting an 8 Mile like arc of becoming an underground rapper.

There is also a whole host of fun new characters, mainly in the form of other bands they meet along their way to the big leagues, who help redefine how BECK see themselves, and expands the size and reach of the BECK world.

AND there’s even a live action film, and it’s a Japanese one luckily, so their history of anime to live action adaption is a lot cleaner than most. But even so the prospect of condensing a 26 episode anime into a two and a half hour film is daunting. But I’m pleased to say they did it pretty well, far from my favorite telling of the BECK story, but they make some smart choices to condense it and its worth a watch if you’re a fan and want to see a different take on it.

BECK isn’t just my favorite anime; it’s one of my favorite shows of any kind. And it could be yours too. So in the immortal words of Chiba… turn up that fucking guitar and keep on rocking!

Why We Love…The Allusionist

On November 13, 2015 By troubledproductionsIn Why we loveLeave a comment

As anybody who has ever read any of my scripts would know: I can be a bit wordy. Some would say “super super pretentious”. My method for writing a lot of things is basically: monologues first, everything else, after. On the upside this means that it’s piss-easy to find pieces suitable for audition as can just send one of the auditions over and it’s easy for them to record on their own. On the downside it does occasionally make it seem like all my characters have suddenly appeared from a Diablo Cody film (side note: watched God Bless America yesterday and it had a brilliant line: “fuck Diablo Cody, she’s the only stripper with too much self esteem”).

The other downside is that it can occasionally provide slip-ups for actors. I’ve rejected people’s auditions based solely on a mispronunciation of a film title. And at least once per film I have to explain what a word is. My favourite was when I put the word “defenestration” in a script, actor didn’t know what it meant so in the next draft I put the complete etymology of the word in the script. See what I mean about me being pretentious?

So why am I saying all this? Simple, because of my predilection towards pretentious monologues and obscure words, I’m interested in language. I like finding out how words work and interact with each other. How changing one word can effect the whole flow of a sentence. Sadly most people don’t agree with this so the chances of there being a long running series about language on BBC2 is slim (ok, there was the Stephen Fry show but that was a while ago). As such you have to go to other sources. Enter, the world of podcasting.

The Allusionist is a podcast about language (as you can probably guess from my self-celebratory rant above). Hosted by Helen Zaltzman, (perhaps better known from the Answer Me This podcast), it’s a joyful ride through the history of words you know, the truth behind words you think you know, and the definitions of words you probably don’t. It describes itself as “small adventures in language” which is pretty accurate. Zaltzman has a genuine love for the subject and a warm wit that shines throughout, whether she’s talking about werewolves, baby talk or penis’s, she never wavers and you end up leaving each episode entertained as well as educated. Let’s face it, language can be a tricky subject to make interesting, but she makes it fascinating so you’re never bored whilst listening. For example, my new favourite fact is that “Tory” comes from the Irish for robber/bandit. I’m sure you’ve already made a joke about that in your head. The average episode is about 13 minutes long so you get through them remarkably quickly.

So yeah, that’s that, The Allusionist is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher and TuneIn. Listen, I doubt you’ll regret it. Or just go to the website and read the transcripts here: http://www.theallusionist.org/transcripts/

Where To Start:

Episode 1: not only is the first episode always a good place to start, this episode is specifically about puns, so you can see why it had a special place in my heart.
Episode 4: Lots of swearing, lots of laughs.

Also Listen To

Answer Me This. Helens other podcast, her and Olly Mann (alongside Martin The Soundman) answer user-requested questions. A lot funnier than I’m making it sound.
Skeptics With A K. The Merseyside Skeptic Society discuss everything in the world of skepticism. Very funny, very interesting, and very useful for telling people exactly why homeopathy is balls.

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Author: troubledproductions