ShamedSalmon's recent activity
-
Comment on The Ghost in the Shell | First promotion video in ~anime
-
Comment on The Ghost in the Shell | First promotion video in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentI think it's supposed to be reminiscent of the cover to volume 7 of GitS. Not sure, though.I think it's supposed to be reminiscent of the cover to volume 7 of GitS. Not sure, though.
-
Comment on The Ghost in the Shell | First promotion video in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentI love the faithfulness to the original style, but the one thing I hope doesn't make it off the pages of the manga is the fan service. I understand Shirow's style, and while I don't need GitS to...I love the faithfulness to the original style, but the one thing I hope doesn't make it off the pages of the manga is the fan service. I understand Shirow's style, and while I don't need GitS to only be gritty realism—it can have the comic aspects of the original manga—I would still prefer it not to be as gross or pandering as the manga was. Based on some of the poster art though, I think I might be a little bummed in that area. But we'll see! I'm trying to keep an open mind as best I can.
Excellent music, though! Brings similar hype-vibes to the Stand Alone Complex trailer.
EDIT: Does anyone remember the FMV sequences from the PSX game?
-
Comment on What's something you've moved on from? in ~talk
ShamedSalmon Link ParentDefinitely agreed! If I remember right, Fuyutsuki was a doctor aiding people in the aftermath of the Second Impact before going to work at Gehirn. He really stood out to me as sincerely sharing...Definitely agreed! If I remember right, Fuyutsuki was a doctor aiding people in the aftermath of the Second Impact before going to work at Gehirn. He really stood out to me as sincerely sharing Yui's philosophical value for human life, seeming to have total faith in her gambit with the Evas.
-
Comment on What's something you've moved on from? in ~talk
ShamedSalmon Link ParentWell, I mean, Yui entombed herself. That's the real tragedy of Gendo's romance. Don't get me wrong, Gendo did some truly deplorable things that make me like him as little as the next person, but...Well, I mean, Yui entombed herself. That's the real tragedy of Gendo's romance.
Don't get me wrong, Gendo did some truly deplorable things that make me like him as little as the next person, but the guy really did get the short end of the stick. Yui loved Gendo and she loved their son. Where this love gets all complicated is that she just plain understood the divine plan for the Eschaton better than Gendo did and she prioritized their child over him.
Yui Ikari and Kyoko Soryu gave themselves willingly to their Evas to become walking arks in protection of their respective children. Kyoko gave her mind while her body remained, and Yui dissolved entirely, as far as we know. But in so doing, they were seemingly able to affect fate and undermine SEELE by choosing the new Adam and Eve themselves. Thus, these two mothers were able to rescue their children from the end of the aeon.
By the time Gendo was wise to what Yui had done, there was little he could really do but tend to Gehirn/NERV and wait for fate to run its course, which it did. Though, he thought he could manipulate Lilith's part in blessing the new Adam and Eve by having her mitama occupy the vessels of Rei and favoring her, but it didn't work out the way he thought it would. The tricky bit is that Gendo didn't realize that this fate was set in stone before any of his own meddling. Lilith was always destined to bless the ones inside the Evas, but Rei, being a partial clone of Yui, was always going to choose Shinji over him.
So in that sense, Gendo's story is rather devastating.
A very similar tragedy plays out in the film Arrival, wherein it asks the following question of a mother: "if you knew how things were going to turn out, would you make those choices?" And ultimately she says yes, which devastates her partner but not before bringing their child to life.
-
Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentYeah, I winced too. That's such a fair criticism! Not everything from back then is nostalgic, especially the homophobia. On a less related note, one particular design element I really liked was...Yeah, I winced too. That's such a fair criticism! Not everything from back then is nostalgic, especially the homophobia.
On a less related note, one particular design element I really liked was the way the episode continues through the credits. It's like getting bonus runtime every episode, haha.
-
Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentFinally, someone else who saw Zenshū!! I needed a positive message like the one this show delivered. It's definitely one of my favs this year. Plus Natsuko's sass has made her one of my heroes,...Finally, someone else who saw Zenshū!! I needed a positive message like the one this show delivered. It's definitely one of my favs this year. Plus Natsuko's sass has made her one of my heroes, lol! I also watched Kowloon City Romance right around the same time, which seemed like the right way to go since the theme was nostalgia and a joy of anime tropes. But agreed, this is definitely one to go in blind on.
But I back you 110% that City: The Animation takes the crown for this year. What a fantastic show and I'm ever so hopeful for a season two! Thank you for having recommended it to me! I've been telling people left and right to watch it. Some people look it up and go, "ugh, from the creator of Nichijō?" while others go, "oooh, from the creator of Nichijō?!"
No joke, on the recommendation of a friend, I started May I Ask For One Final Thing? and it's a riot!
I didn't mind Fragrant Flower and thought it was pretty cute (and refreshingly free of fan service), but I can totally relate to the fact that it's still a show about kids, which makes it a bit harder to get into. I want a side story about Rintaro's parents running the bakery, though!
Of course, I'm also still catching up on all the big ones like Spy x Family, Frieren, and Apothecary Diaries. Plus 百妖譜 season 5 wrapped up not too long ago as well. I dunno how I'll have time for everything else coming in 2026, lol. 2025 was packed!!
Anyway, you have some great picks for this year!
EDIT: Also, as a kidding side note, I like the way this reads:
Please stop watching Isekai Generic Fantasy and watch Kowloon Generic Romance instead!
-
Comment on Skate Story | Official launch trailer in ~games
ShamedSalmon Link ParentI just saw the trailer and I didn't even realize I was looking for a game like this! Gonna download the demo asap!I just saw the trailer and I didn't even realize I was looking for a game like this! Gonna download the demo asap!
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon LinkSummer Wars I watched it over the weekend. Oh my gosh, what a fun movie! I can't believe I had missed this one. Okay, so it's basically, "what if we take War Games, replace Matthew Broderick with...Summer Wars
I watched it over the weekend. Oh my gosh, what a fun movie! I can't believe I had missed this one.
Okay, so it's basically, "what if we take War Games, replace Matthew Broderick with Michael Cera, and have Ally Sheedy's character invite him over to her family estate for some rom-com hijinks?" It's actually pretty great!
Kenji Koiso is a high school kid and math genius who got a summer job moderating in the online space of a big Amazon/Google/Facebook amalgamation company called Oz. It's rigorous but will look great on his resume. However, his friend Natsuki Shinohara has invited him to come stay with her for a week at her family's countryside estate. The twist? She wants him to pretend to be her fiancé in order to appease her old-fashioned family, especially her ailing grandmother.
Kenji reluctantly agrees to Natsuki's ruse, but things don't go according to plan. When Kenji's Oz account is hacked and used to bypass that company's security, a major internet outage occurs, leading to chaos across the country. The authorities mistakenly believe Kenji to be involved in a terrorist plot, posting his picture all over the news... which just so happens to be on in the middle of Natsuki's family's living room.
Aside from the real-world setting, there's also some tropey battle scenes within Oz's virtual world, but I honestly felt that they added to the fun, rather than detracted. It's still a really sweet film and it has such a happy ending involving everyone coming together to support each other. Definitely one of my tops!
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentFor the third point, if I had to guess, it probably has everything to do with complying with Standards and Practices on mainland China's TV and streaming networks. In a similar comedic scenario, I...For the third point, if I had to guess, it probably has everything to do with complying with Standards and Practices on mainland China's TV and streaming networks.
In a similar comedic scenario, I just watched the Toonami edit of Blue Submarine No. 6, which ran on US television twenty-five years ago this month.
Aside from the usual cell shading over exposed skin, one bit of censorship necessary for children's television was the removal of cigarettes. The main character, Hayami, is a big smoker. There's a couple scenes where he fishes into his pocket, pulls out nothing, touches his lips, and makes a weird expression. It's hilarious!
But I get the reasoning behind the edit. They wanted to get this OVA in the hands of as many viewers as they could, and that was the way to do it. Honestly, after not having seen it in a quarter century, I was surprised by how much I did remember of B-Sub 6. Its sci-fi plot and moral point about forging peace through cooperation really left a lasting impression, so the concessions made in the editing room seem perfectly acceptable to me in hindsight.
Of course, I've now strayed a little off topic, but I guess my point is that maybe the studio is just doing what they can to get their work out the door and into the homes of viewers.
(Oh, okay there's this other scene in B-Sub 6 where Hayami is leaning over a railing and he "sighs" into the wind, except his "breath" starts like two inches from his face. 🤣 Great OVA, tho!)
-
Comment on Request for info: Is "Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro" respectful of it's child characters? in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentI just looked it up on a manga scan site, and after flipping through a few chapters, it definitely has lots of nudity and fan-servicey stuff. You know, towels slipping off accidentally, girls in...I just looked it up on a manga scan site, and after flipping through a few chapters, it definitely has lots of nudity and fan-servicey stuff. You know, towels slipping off accidentally, girls in bunny outfits, Three's Company-style mixups at the bathhouse where only hair is in the way of what is otherwise completely on display, girls getting locked out of the changing room and thus walking around naked to figure out what to do. That sort of stuff.
It's definitely not for me. But then, if I'm going to read a romance, I'm more into josei type mangas.
-
Comment on What are some of your personal misheard lyrics? in ~music
ShamedSalmon LinkDo incomprehensible songs count, or is that cheating? The Black Crowes - Hard To HandleDo incomprehensible songs count, or is that cheating?
The Black Crowes - Hard To Handle
Poison things that come out the desert,
I ain't got a foot - touchdown, bruvHey little thing, lemme latch a candle
'Cuz a momma, I'm
Showa d'henna-naaw, mess aroundAww, d'henna-naaw (???)
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon LinkI started watching City: The Animation!!! @chocobean, you were so right about this wholesome show. It's like a big hug!I started watching City: The Animation!!! @chocobean, you were so right about this wholesome show. It's like a big hug!
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentThanks for the warning about the violence! I'll definitely check it out in the near future, though! Ooh, you know, I have not heard of Nine Sols. I'm pretty behind on the current world of video...Thanks for the warning about the violence! I'll definitely check it out in the near future, though!
Ooh, you know, I have not heard of Nine Sols. I'm pretty behind on the current world of video games as well, hahaha! Looks like quite the romp from the Heavens to the Yellow Springs. I'll be sure to give it a good look!!
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentI think the show's been rather thoroughly analyzed, and pretty much everything I've shared has been typed up by people before me, if not on the English internet, then certainly in the Japanese...I think the show's been rather thoroughly analyzed, and pretty much everything I've shared has been typed up by people before me, if not on the English internet, then certainly in the Japanese spheres.
More Spoilers (Akira and some yadda-yadda-yadda):
Well, I can't find any direct statements from the producers on what animes they referenced, but there's a few different forum posts over the last two decades that point it out. But at a most basic level, Lain's trope of a shadowy agency experimenting on kids, and its themes of post/extra-human identity, maturity and agency in young adulthood, and the body-horror of change are all shared with Akira.
Some of the standout references come in episode 11, when Lain emulates the Navi within her mind. We're given a depiction of the fiery black core of digital enlightenment that's eerily familiar to Akira's physical awakening. After Alice's confrontation with the alien Lain, time skips to the next day. As Alice contemplates what is and isn't real about her situation, we hear the slow beat and long reverb of a taiko drum, which also reminds of Akira. In reality, Akira's soundtrack in meant to remind the cultural viewer of a Noh play (Ghost in the Shell is doing the same thing with Bunraku). (Also, Noh is an important aspect of understanding a similar psychological individuation piece, Perfect Blue. Alongside Utena, the pair of anime pieces manages to cover a lot of what Lain did a year before it came out. ) (Also-also, the flute track in Akira: the lyrics are Buddhist chants. There's a whole rabbit hole to go down with Akira's nationalist and Buddhist ideas, especially with its visual exploration of the conceptual city as a collection of organs that form a macro-organism. Back to Lain, though!)
The writer mentions an another blog post that in episode 12, Eiri's reincarnate form was, at least on paper, supposed to be reminiscent of Cronenberg, but once animated, people inevitably drew allusions to Akira, even though, as he points out, the meanings of the respective scenes are opposite (Tetsuo losing control, Eiri exerting it).
I have not seen Blade of the Immortal, but I can tell you right off the bat that the life-giving "bloodworms" are probably a mirror-flip of the Sānchóng. Also, in Japanese folklore, Yao Bikuni (八百 比丘尼, lit. "Eight-hundred [year old] bǐqiūní/bhikṣuṇī/'Buddhist nun'") was a woman who ate
ningyo, sorry, ningyo flesh and gained earthly immortality. Anyway, it sounds really interesting! I'll put this on my need-to-watch list!
EDIT: It's also worth mentioning that Lain's story writer, Chiaki Konaka, also co-wrote Armitage III, an OVA that came out in the same year as GitS the film. It leaned heavily on cyberpunk tropes, but its iconic scene of androids being burned alive in a mass pile has been referenced by later works such as The Animatrix and GitS 2: Innocence. A III is also a major influence on the 2023 French animated film Mars Express.
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentOoooookay, I'm convinced! City just moved to the top of my list. This looks so heartwarming, I'm gonna explode!Ooooookay, I'm convinced! City just moved to the top of my list. This looks so heartwarming, I'm gonna explode!
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentGahhh!! Realmedia?! That takes me back! That's how my sister and I watched the last season of Sailor Moon, way back when. Oh gosh, hahaha. Yeah, feel free to discuss when you get around to it!...Gahhh!! Realmedia?! That takes me back! That's how my sister and I watched the last season of Sailor Moon, way back when. Oh gosh, hahaha.
Yeah, feel free to discuss when you get around to it! It's a bit dark and rather grim at some points, but it ends on a happy and hopeful note and it has such a positive theme of compassion.
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentIt's a tricky show, but that's what makes it so delightfully interesting. If you'd rather the process of self-discovery on your rewatch, don't read the spoilers below. But if you want some further...It's a tricky show, but that's what makes it so delightfully interesting.
If you'd rather the process of self-discovery on your rewatch, don't read the spoilers below. But if you want some further takes (with massive plot spoilers), then feel free to read on.
More Spoilers:
Beyond the Alice in Wonderland theme which is brought together at the end, we have a story of the timelessly difficult transition from girlhood into young-adulthood. On the one hand, Lain is Alice grappling with her own maturation. On the other, Lain is wonderland-Chisa's spirit (or rather, a construct of everyone's memories of her), after her suicide in the first episode. In that sense, Lain's family represents Chisa's family, slowly crumbling after their loss.
Back to the transition from girlhood, we are presented with events that many young girls face in both Japanese society and abroad, such as the pressure to participate in more adult activities like the Cyberia club, to the drugs that are quietly sold there, to judgements over the kinds of clothes they wear, to even the dicey interactions of invasive internet social circles. It's 1998 and these girls are already texting in class, and the rumor mill is already spearheaded online.
The idea of Lain as an aspect of the Buddha is something that the series writer actually mentions in a blog post. But, it's also completely on display in the end credits of each episode, where we see the fetal-positioned Lain, sleeping at the center of the artificial universe. It's a representation of tathāgatagarbha, the cosmic womb or innate nature of a person. 2001: A Space Odyssey is probably a more well-known depiction of this.
On the subject of Lain as the bodhisattva Guānyīn ("Kannon" in Japanese), I mention the Jade Girl 玉女 as it's actually an epithet in Buddhist and Dàoist esoterism for the originally enlightened self at the center of a woman. What's interesting about Lain's name in Kanji is it's meaning; 玲音 is "the sound of clinking jade," which ties into Guānyīn's role as the one who "perceives the sounds/cries of the world." The Lain seen radiating through the parted clouds is also another cultural depiction of Guānyīn.
But let's set the subject of enlightened womanhood aside for a sec and talk about Eiri Masami. He's not just the Tetsuo to Lain's Akira. In a Buddhist sense, he represents a deva that has fallen for the allure of the heavenly realms, rather than continuing onward to buddahood. When the series brings Jungianism into the mix by introducing concepts such as the Collective Unconscious, they are also opening the door to comparing Eiri Masami's godhood to that of the Gnostic Demiurge, the false god over the lower realm of physical existence who, like a prideful deva, is ignorant of the higher workings above him.
Eiri Masami also provides a good transition to the series' socio-political commentary. Not only do tech companies like Tachibana General Labs represent the troubles of highly accelerating capitalist innovations, they also play a role in representing some of the negative influences of Western culture, a notion that Serial Experiments Lain was meant to portray a sort of resistance to, according to to the series' producers.
Lain's airing came only three years after the Tokyo subway sarin gas attacks that were perpetrated by Buddhist/Christian Fundamentalist eclectic cult Aum Shinrikyo. It's leader, Shōkō Asahara, declared himself to be the Christ and advocated that in order to save others from both the immanent end of the world and from further accumulating their bad karma, members of Aum had to kill and liberate people from their bodies. It's this then-recent cultural backdrop in which we the viewers are introduced to Eiri Masami, a false god of The Wired who is encouraging children to give up their bodies through suicide in order to join him there.
Attributing the statuses of "supreme god" to Masami and "buddha" to Lain is also a way of exploring the idea of (implicitly Christianized) American might being at odds with the (folkic/Buddhist) Japanese culture, especially in the post-reconstruction era. Sidenote: whereas Lain is looking at Western social and market imperialism, the fear of political imperialism from within at the height of post-reconstruction is a theme at the heart of the aforementioned Akira. With Lain's subtle occasional references to Akira, what the show's also doing is building further on ideas of near-future anxieties in the advancing society of Japan.
Hopefully that provides some more food for thought.
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )LinkSerial Experiments Lain A Jade Girl is jaded. Summary (spoilers): Hylic Layer: The Outer Lain ("Childish 玲音") In a twilight world where the reckless creations of tech companies are alienating our...Serial Experiments Lain
A Jade Girl is jaded.
Summary (spoilers):
Hylic Layer: The Outer Lain ("Childish 玲音")
In a twilight world where the reckless creations of tech companies are alienating our youth, Lain Iwakura must decide whether she is merely their product or her own person.
Psychic Layer: The Inner Lain ("Advanced レイン")
A young woman, Alice Mizuki, is walking along with her fiancé when she spots a girl who reminds her of a dream she once had, a glimpse through the looking glass that prompted her to connect with and befriend her withdrawn schoolmate, Chisa Yomoda, back in 8th grade.
Pneumatic Layer: The Secret Lain ("Cunning Lain")
When we lose someone, be it a dying friend or even our childhood self, a person-shaped hole is left in the fabric of our reality. Lain is the fear and compassion that comes about when we fill that gap with our memories, our grief, and our coping mechanisms in a life that inevitably continues on. Lain is the pieces of ourselves that we see in others. Lain is the uncertainty and anxiety we experience in reconciling those oft disparate parts. She is no one, she is everyone, and she is only herself.
Lain is Guānyīn.
Lain is Love.
Lain is Lain.Let's all love Lain.
-
Comment on A day in the life of @Akir in ~life
ShamedSalmon LinkWhat I got from it is that you're a thoughtful, self-introspective person. You're a whole universe of thoughts and emotions, hopes and ambitions, just like the rest of us. One of the most...What I got from it is that you're a thoughtful, self-introspective person. You're a whole universe of thoughts and emotions, hopes and ambitions, just like the rest of us. One of the most wonderful things about being human is our ability to share our inner-world with others, even if it's only a glimpse.
Though it's being pitted against self-doubt, your routine and your drive really shines through in your honesty here. Some people adorn themselves with hook-ups, but real sensitivity borne through personal development is the mark of a progressing and maturing person like you.
So hang in there; you're doing a great job!
(PS: Sorry about the CPAP mask! Hope you get a new one soon.)
My personal recommendation for a watch order is:
This captures the philosophical reflections of events in the mangas, albeit in a cyclical order, starting with the gospel of Kusanagi's ascension, followed by the legendary tales of her mortal actions, followed by more tales of her mortal actions, followed by her first divine acts.
What Oshii expresses in his films is precisely what Shirow presents in both series of his manga, albeit in his own manner: Motoko Kusanagi ascends into digital godhood. What is difficult to understand is Shirow's opaque, meandering story-telling style.
Man-Machine Interface, the canonical sequel to The Ghost in the Shell is meant as a connecting piece between The Ghost in the Shell and Shirow's other famous manga, Appleseed. Man-Machine Interface sets up the notion that the mainframe shrines in Appleseed serve as an evolution of the dwellings of the net-goddess Kusanagi.
In Shirow's world and timeline for GitS, Dominion: Tank Police, and Appleseed, Kusanagi/2501 is presumably the origin of the supercomputer Gaia, as well as the AIs Yoshino and Athena, within the shared universe.
Oshii's take is more personal, looking at humankind's ascension to godhood as similar to that of Māzǔ merging with Guānshìyīn. For more on the religious implications of GitS's story, especially Oshii's take, see this thread from last summer.