If the licensing of Utena was a big deal for American fans, then how about its long-absent director, Be-Papas main man Kunihiko Ikuhara, coming back to anime to make a new TV series? Well, that’s a big deal to fans the world over, and thankfully the guy brought his whole bag of tricks. Cryptic symbols, repeating visual elements, red herrings — a large amount of what you may have liked from Utena was there, even without Yoji Enokido sharing the pen.
I’m hanging on to every subsequent moment in Mawaru Penguindrum’s run, and will be until the end. Now I’m just waiting for some of those equally cryptic interviews to get translated.
Ikuhara always has the best pants.
Please. Best pants are white, plain white. Though these are nice too.
I couldn’t agree more with Shinmaru!
Plain white pants?
Sailor pants?
was that the ill-fated and short lived character Ikuhara tried to introduce that got him removed from Sailor Moon? SAILOR PANTS! :3
THIS.
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/jibaro1.jpg
Style incarnate.
sorry, that does not say “I am an auteur.”
Well, I’ll give you that.. I belong to the school of those who believe that the greatest auteurs speak through their oeuvre and do not need pants to speak for them.
Of course, if Ikuhara disappears from anime for another decade then I’ll just be pissed as hell. It’ll give me time to try to decode that beautiful mess that is Penguindrum, though.
God, that’s like one of my greatest fears now.
See you all in 2024!