The Confessions of a Certain Scientific Aniblogger

Posted: December 16, 2011 | Author: flomu | Filed under: Nichijou, personals |8 Comments »

appreciate my MS paint skills

Yesterday, I watched Confessions.  It’s Higurashi-meets-Onani Master Kurosawa, where instead of Onaning, Kurosawa kills somebody and doesn’t ever see redemption.  It’s sick, twisted, gory, and depressing.  Just my style.

I spent much of this past summer looking for the sickest, strangest anime of them all.   I browsed the internet, and people recommended shows like Narutaru:

I will say that episode 12 is easily THE MOST MESSED UP EPISODE I have *ever* seen, out of any series or movie, including real movies. There are actually two really horrible scenes in this episode. Prior to watching this, I remember when episode 12 was viewed by the general public, and everyone kept freaking out about how shocking it was. When I watched it, I saw the first of the two things (which is horrible as it is), and thought “oh wow, that’s what they were talking about”. Little did I know that there was a second and absolutely horrifying event that had yet to happen!

– sothis

Needless to say, my old shock-site viewing self was getting all excited.  I wanted to see this amazing episode that caused sothis, Anime Grandmaster, to post such a crazy review.  It turned out to be a big disappointment.  Sticking large pointy things in inappropriate places is certainly strange, and Narutaru as a whole was pretty disturbing, but I was falling asleep way too much.  I needed more thrill, more pizzazz, more pizzas.

and your tung is out and your ugly

And I thought I’d found it in Shiki.  But I was wrong, so wrong.  While Shiki disturbed me enough to squeeze out a post, this non-animated (!!!) Japanese movie Confessions has convinced me to write this post in order to overrule my previous Shiki post.  It’s just that good.  And that disturbing.  In fact, it was so disturbing that somebody in the back threw up near the end of the movie.

Actually, that was some guy who had too much to drink.  He came in and threw up all over the carpet in the back of the room.  But the point is, something about the room we were in made him come in and hurl chunky bits of brownish meat next to a garbage can.  And that something could only be the disturbing movie we were watching.  It was so disturbing that once a single photon from the screen traveled out of the room and hit the staggering drunkard outside, the drunkform collapsed and the probability that he would enter any other room dropped to zero.

I named my character Yuuko Aioi

My roommate recommended Confessions, saying that our young, female Japanese teacher recommended it.  I have to stress the young and female because this isn’t exactly what your average young female would watch.  Or at least what I think a young female would watch.  They’re all into metrosexual fantasy guys and chick flicks, right?

I think Confessions really shows what Eastern media (including anime) is capable of.  One of my friends compared this film to Law Abiding Citizen, but the only thing the two films have in common is the revenge theme.  Hollywood films are all about feel-good script-reusing blockbusters, and Law Abiding Citizen is no exception.  Why do good and evil have to be so clear-cut?  Clyde gradually turns more and more evil as the movie progresses, until we all feel good that he and the entire multi-million dollar jail complex is blown to itsy bitsy bits.  I wonder who footed that bill?

Confessions is more subtle.  While the main character may turn eviler and eviler, not once is the audience forced to choose sides.  Imagine if Nick killed Clyde’s family and Clyde killed Nick’s family.  And then Nick tortures Clyde.  Who’s right, then?  Am I supposed to pity Clyde for getting tortured?  No, no, no.  This kind of THOUGHT-based film is never present in the West.  Instead, we’re given stupid junk like Transformers that rots our brains.  Have we degenerated into tall-Brit-loving apes?

This is one of the reasons why I watch anime.  While there will always be Transformers-tier anime, the entire system is built around a different psychology.  Depressing, hopeless films like Confessions are accepted here, and receive the praise of young females.  While it may not be better than Western media, it is a change of pace from all the bullshit I put up with when I watch a movie like In Time.  99 Seconds store?  Really?  That movie was just one big terrible pun after another.  I didn’t even have the time to groan.

P.S.: 12 Days of Anime: #10 to #1 are all Nichijou.  Now I don’t have to spam my own blog.

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