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Cool commercials that you may or may not have seen.
I like to think there’s a little bit of OCD in all of us (some more than others).
I could look it up, and do actual research, to find out the medical or psychological explanation for Obsessive Compulsive Disorders and what causes them, but that would be too politically correct and diligent. Instead, let’s do the Weekly World News/Cosmo survey/Cracker Jack toy, style of medical investigation that you’d be more likely to find in paid advertising on late night TV, to diagnose ourselves. It’s much easier that way, and saves me a lot of typing and hyperlinking to Wikipedia.
We all have patterns we follow throughout the day as we live our lives. Society practically forces it upon ourselves to develop these patterns. Some people depend on their routines to get them through the day. I absolutely must enter through the same door at home every day after after work, put my shoes in the same place I got them from, drop my keys, wallet, watch, and change in the same tray, and hang my coat in the same closet, every night if I ever expect to function the next morning. I think we can all agree that’s fairly normal. A lot of people have their morning rituals. It’s an efficiency thing. All humans develop it from a deep seated, primal urge, to sleep in as long as possible and still get to work on time.
My Reader’s Digest understanding of Psychology tells me that’s different than OCD. To me, OCD is a habit you develop out of a desire for order and control rather than, for instance, efficiency. OCD is the poster-child for anti-efficiency. Basically, I look at it as a habit that you have to do for no real rhyme or reason, and if you don’t do it, it will bother you until it gets fixed (that last part being the most important).
Like I said, I think it has to do with having things in order or being in control of something. I don’t think it has anything to do superstition, you know, like watching baseball players go through their set of rituals (that’s a whole other thing).
So here are mine (and these are really tame, mind you):
1) When changing the volume on a TV, if it has a numerical display, I always have to leave it on an even number.
2) You know those bubble gum packs with the plastic bubbles and foil backing? I always take two at a time, and the pattern that remains has to be symmetrical.
Now, if someone else mucks about with the volume on the TV, or I offer up some gum to someone, it doesn’t bother me so much, but I will “correct” it next time I use them.
3) I can’t walk by something that’s only slightly closed without making sure it’s fully closed. So that’s things like closet doors, drawers, container lids, etc…
How ’bout you?
If you liked the first Grudge movie, you might like The Grudge 2. I did like the first one, but I didn’t like this one. Yeah, it was creepy, much like the first, although I think the first pulled it off better (probably because it was still fresh). It was rated PG-13, and that’s about how it felt. I’d even go so far as to say it felt like a PG movie. I just didn’t find it scary, or suspenseful even. There were several of those “music builds-up, then silence, then a loud noise” moments that are meant to make you jump, but I found them pretty easy to spot before they started (i.e. where the girl is supposed to appear). The coolest one was probably in the journalist’s dark room.
I didn’t find the characters interesting at all either. They didn’t really do anything you wouldn’t have expected them to do. Again, I think the journalist was probably the most interesting.
Fans of the original will like it because they’ll get some loose ends tied up near the end of the movie. There’ll be a CSI-esque flashback ending that might answer a few questions.
I guess I just wasn’t in the right mood. I might be unfairly comparing it to the original Japanese movie, which received and R rating and was far better, in my opinion. It’s been a while since I’ve seen those.
This will undoubtedly bring back a flood of memories for some of you. I’m going to try and list as many of the first Japanese anime series and movies as possible that I can remember watching as a kid.
Astro Boy
What more can I say? It’s frickin’ Astro Boy, man. Soaring high in the sky… small, but only in size… you know, the whole deal. So far, up to that point in my life, all I had watched were cartoons like Spider-Man, The Mighty Hercules, Rocket Robin Hood, the Flintstones, Looney Tunes, and the Smurfs. All great shows in their own right, but either not known as masterpieces for their production value or not really pushing the envelope in terms of story. Keep in mind, I was only six or seven years old at that point. Production value and a story line weren’t exactly top priorities for a kid that age, but there was something refreshing and different about Astro Boy. You got a sense that everything was being animated and the they weren’t taking shortcuts. They used a real 3D perspective instead of an isometric one, and the closer a part of an object was to the “camera” the larger it was. Hell, it was just cool!
Actually, what I remember most about Astro Boy, and what is my fondest memory, are the two-part episodes entitled “The Greatest Robot in the World” where a giant robot, named Pluto, was created with the sole purpose of destroying all the other powerful robots in the world. I like that we got to see a handful of other really cool robots that were mostly all heroic and vigilant in nature. That’s something I’ve always admired. In Japanese culture, robots are generally seen as being good natured and designed to help humankind, whereas in western culture robots are usually portrayed as being evil monsters running amok, causing wanton destruction, and needing to be destroyed.
Dark Horse Comics started releasing the original manga in trade format back in 2002. There’s a compilation album from Japan that collects theme songs from the various TV shows involving Astro Boy, or rather, Tetsuwan Atomu. The theme didn’t change much from the 60′s one, albeit this one’s in English. There’s still a chorus of what sounds to be kids, but the 60′s intro sounds a little more like the intro for Howdy Doody. Also, a few years ago, I made a desktop picture that you can feel free to use (I’m a fan of the clean and minimalist look).
Robotech
I’ve already gone into quite a lot of detail with what I liked about Robotech in an earlier post. I’ll just reiterate that it was a very cool show. School let out at 3:30 and we all rushed home to catch Robotech start at 4:00. Every episode involved another space battle. People were getting killed all over the place. It truly was an epic story. Surprising, given it was based on three completely separate and unrelated japanese shows. Might be one of the reasons I like the new Battlestar Galactica so much.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz / Oz no Mahōtsukai
If I remember correctly, this used to air weekday mornings before school started, and came on after Teddy Ruxpin, or replaced it altogether. It was the first anime I can remember watching that had an ongoing plot from episode to episode (not unlike the aforementioned Teddy Ruxpin). I think I even faked being sick on a couple of occasions just so I wouldn’t miss the end of an episode. When I first started coming up with material for this post, I didn’t recall this show being an anime, or having anything to do with Japan whatsoever. The reason for that might be because, according to its Wikipedia entry, the English version which was dubbed by the Canadian production company, Cinar Films, apparently “attempted to completely occlude the show’s Japanese origins, going so far as to remove all Japanese names and studios from the credits.” Take that, Harmony Gold!
Robot Carnival
I don’t remember much of this one, but I think it’s the first feature length anime I’ve ever seen, and I saw it late at night on TV while I was doing home work for high school. I haven’t seen it since, either. All I can remember was thinking at the time that it was very weird and strange. I definitely need to check this one out again.
Speed Racer
I actually never saw Speed Racer until I was much older and in high school. By that point, I could distinguish between a western cartoon and a Japanese cartoon, but still hadn’t learnt the term “anime.” As I recall, the show was pretty hokey, but it had a kickin’ theme. Make sure to check out Sponge’s tribute version on the CD Saturday Morning Cartoons Greatest Hits, which also includes the awesome version of the Spider-Man theme by the Ramones.
Akira
I’ve talked about this one before, as well. It just gets better and better every time I watch it. It wasn’t my first exposure to anime, nor was it my first feature length anime, but it single-handedly kick-started my interest in anime that I’ve had ever since. It oozes with cool. It’s bathed in rich pools of coolness. It’s über-cool.
Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs
Touched on this one already, too. Again, yadda yadda yadda… cool.
Samurai Pizza Cats
My first exposure to an anime whose main genre is comedy. Another great theme. I love the characters names: Speedy Cerviche (a play on the words “service” and “ceviche”), Polly Esther (an obvious play on “polyester”), and Guide Anchovy (well, OK, nothing really clever about that one).
Sailor Moon
Another one of those continuation plots. This one became enormously popular. It spawned all sorts of toys and sequels. It got so popular that I started to get embarrassed that I watched it. I’ll admit though, the story wasn’t the reason I watched it. I just started high school, hormones are raging, and here comes a cartoon with cute girls in short skirts. You do the math.
My first exposure to an anime with long, boring, repetitive, drawn-out transformation sequences. Where I come from, we call that “filler.” If I had to pick one, and only one, it would definitely be Sailor Mars. *Rrrreow*
Dragon Ball
I’m pretty sure this is the version I watched a few times. Based on the Wikipedia entry, it’s the only one whose timeline makes sense. Might explain why it felt like there were so few episodes, if they only did 13 of them. I didn’t watch Dragon Ball Zed when it came out. Bulma wasn’t cute anymore, and the little annoying monkey boy grew up into an an even more annoying monkey man. Yeah, I don’t really have anything good to say about this show’s later incarnations and sequels. It’s really just here for completeness.
Ranma 1/2
I first saw this in my second last year of high school. We had a girl from China staying with us while she went to school here, and she was always bringing home odd and interesting videos that would get passed around amongst the youths of our city’s Chinese community. One was this cartoon of a boy that would turn into a girl when splashed with cold water. I think it was only the one episode, and it was all in Japanese with Chinese subtitles, so I understood none of it and was relying on this girl herself to translate into English for me. I don’t remember any of her explanation, but I do remember the scene in the bathroom where the boy turned into a hot naked chick. In retrospect, I’m surprised I didn’t try harder to get the name of the show for future reference. It took me at least another ten years before I stumbled upon it again. I’ve since watched the complete series and the OVAs, and only have one movie left I think. It’s a lot like Three’s Company, only if Jack Tripper turned into a hot chick when splashed with cold water.
My Neighbour Totoro / Tonari no Totoro
If Akira is über-cool, then Totoro is über-lovable. My first Ghibli/Miyazaki anime. This was another one of those videos that my Chinese friend brought home one day. Not really a lot of explanation is required. Basically, it’s Harry and the Hendersons, except replace John Lithgow with a cartoon of a four year old Japanese girl. Oh, and instead of a station wagon, there’s a Nekobasu (Cat bus). It has a superb soundtrack, too.
That’s it! 
Sometime, I’ll write a post about my all-time favourite anime shows. But seeing as I have no idea when I’ll get around to it, here’s a teaser:
Best. Soundtrack. Ever. The prize of my collection…
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Free audio plugins
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I remember playing tag on my school playground which was just a giant asphalt slab. Taking a header and getting a good “pebble grind” on your face is what developed our motor skills.