Shameful Otaku Secret!

Brought to you by CCY, the 12 Moments of Anime 2009, and a lot of staples.

Whether you look at the online response or the crushing domestic sales of the DVDs, Bakemonogatari is not only one of the biggest shows of the year, it’s a huge win for SHAFT and Akiyuki Shinbo, the love-him-or-hate-him iconoclast director. Personally I think it’s one of his best works, and when you think about it, an adaptation seemingly custom made for him. And a big part of that success at large comes from the popularity of its lead haremette, Hitagi Senjougahara.

Now, whether you believe in her authenticity is up to you (thanks ghostlightning). And whether you believe in Shinbo’s version of protagonist Ararararararararagi as a vicious indictment of the viewer, well that’s up to you too. Personally, you can’t discount thinking about either angle. They make this scene that much more delicious. What is she getting at? Is it a giant joke? Why English? To emphasize the joke? Or is Senjougahara, underneath her scary stapler-wielding exterior, so uncomfortable expressing such a sentiment that she has to switch off to another language just to get it out?

Much of this was never quite answered, although Senjougahara finally showed more than just a hint of very real sincerity that gives us plenty of hints. In the end, she really was a girl, and a lovely one at that. And though that final episode was the crowning achievement in the whole surreal ball of wax, this bizarro world confession remains a standout moment that will probably stick in my head longer than most of this list.

Part of the 12 Moments in Anime 2009, and probably the only one of mine that gets this personal.

Solanin covers the same post-college years as Honey & Clover II that I sometimes get nostalgic for (I call them the “adulthood isn’t really gonna be so bad after all” years). It’s the time when you’re unburdened of the responsibility of school, and the current burdens of work-life don’t seem so bad yet. Doesn’t take long for that to change. But I digress.

Solanin is an empowering, uplifting story that makes following your dreams seem like a realistic and manageable proposition. A small chunk of your dream is still your dream, after all. It’s a feel-good story with lovably flawed characters, and a live performance scene that really makes you feel like you’re in a club watching a band give it their all (which, let’s face it, many bands don’t always do).

But there is a moment. it’s the moment when drummer Billy decides that playing a show is the right thing to do. It’s a mixed bag because he’s also come to the realization that he’s done. The “dream” is over, he’s become that guy who gave up on it. And his only choice left is to reclaim that tiny slice.

This moment haunts me. Dead serious. As a musician, I’ve never planned for huge success — in fact, the types of music I’ve played have never enjoyed widespread notoriety at all — but I always hoped I could get some albums out on real labels, travel around in a van playing music, and hopefully meet some people in other places who’d heard me and were into the same kinds of things. I still don’t know if I’ve given up on that. But that one page of Solanin made me realize that I was Billy too.

I suppose if I lived in a manga it’d be easy to claim that slice of a dream, but my band (who play the most accessible, potentially-successful music I’ve ever done) lives the reality of the situation weekly. We’re no longer the bums that Solanin’s characters are, and jobs, spouses, children, and other commitments threaten at every turn to strike even that small chump-change dream down. But in those moments, I suppose I can always think of Meiko, Katou, and Billy living their moment.

Part of the 12 Moments in Anime 2009, which walks like a duck and talks like a duck, and thus must be CCY’s fault.

In terms of quality — animation, writing, characters — as well as that pure glued-to-the-screen factor, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 stands out in a (mostly) unimpressive field of competitors this year.

But I think what will stand out in most people’s minds is the moment when they realized… it.

When exactly it happened is something that some viewers had to go back and establish. But for many, this handy infographic sums it up.

Legend:

A: Oh my. This is bad. I wonder if…
B: Oh, it’s really true. And the denial… it’s so heart-wrenching.
C: How, uh… how long are they gonna keep this up?
D: argaaargrgrgashflakjsdasdfklhja

Now the question is, did that slight overemphasis lessen the impact? I suppose it did, but the feeling of disappointment passed. That’s partially due to the strong final episode, which I know left my household all dewey-eyed, and partially due to the simple fact that the series as a whole was great. I haven’t seen that level of emotional intensity, whether it be the very real sense of fear and danger early on or the tragedy of later episodes, in a long time. So regardless of how you feel about “the thing” and its corresponding moment, at least there’s a strong series to go with it.