--- Maison Ikkoku Guidebook : Anime Movie & OVA Copyright 1995 by the Misery Loves Company (see the full copyright notice in part 1 of this guidebook) ______________________________________________________________________________ ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @kanketsuhen The Anime Movie: Kanketsuhen ("The Final Chapter") ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This article was written by Andy Johnson. (dated 93.10.03) Here is a synopsis I did for our local anime group a few years ago. A short bit of introduction to this film. This film was shown in a double theatrical bill with "Urusei Yatsura: KanKetsuHen". Since Urusei went off the air before the comics ended this was an opportunity to do the final Urusei story. Maison went off the air when the story ended, so there was no similar `final chapter' to animate. Instead, an original story was written which takes place 2 days before the wedding. It was also decided to base the film on the comics and not the TV series so the character of Nozomu Nikaido appears here, while he was not in the TV version. It should also be pointed out that this is the second Maison Ikkoku film, as a live action film was made in 1986. This live action film was very weird, and truly bombed at the box office. [ Note (from Tarigan): Yuhji Moriyama created the character designs for this anime movie. He was the char designer for the first part of the TV series, and decided to change up the designs in order to make the movie look unique. ] Synopsis: -------- It is a rainy March day in the suburbs of Tokyo in the Spring of 1987. The mailman makes his delivery to Ikkoku-kan then rides off. It continues to rain into the early evening. Akemi and Ichinose finish decorating Godai's room as Yotsuya arrives with supplies for the party. Streamers, and a large banner which reads "Congratulations" hang from the ceiling. Ichinose continues the countdown to the wedding. Only two days left. Godai returns and starts to head up to his room, then decides to see Kyoko. He resorts to his usual "Kanrinin-san" (caretaker) then uncomfortably switches to "Kyoko." Getting no response he opens the door and steps in. He sees Kyoko's wedding kimono. [ The movie title is superimposed over the kimono. ed. ] "Maison Ikkoku Kanketsuhen (the final chapter)" Godai sits, staring at the kimono and then has a loving talk with the absent Kyoko. He is shocked when he is answered... by Akemi. She, Yotsuya and Ichinose drag Godai upstairs for a drink. It is 7:35 and Kyoko is still not home. The party is on... though rather subdued at the moment. Godai isn't concerned about the wedding, nope, he isn't worried at all. Godai seeks some privacy on the floor and pretends not to listen... the others pretend he is asleep and begin talking about a mysterious letter Kyoko has been waiting for. Could it be from another man? Godai is suddenly very attentive. He doesn't really believe them... but still. The phone rings. Godai assumes it is Kyoko and heads off to answer it. He encounters some opposition along the way and only makes it to the bottom of the stairway before the ringing stops. There is a short impromptu party on the stairs until Akemi hears Souichiro barking outside. The front doors open and Ibuki Yagami steps in. Yagami was never told about the wedding--Godai assumed if he ignored his former student, she would go away, but now she has returned... with a gift. Yagami greets everyone on the landing, referring to Ichinose as "party mother", then leads everyone up to Godai's room. Yagami enters Godai's room and is confused by the banner. As Yotsuya and Ichinose distract Yagami, Akemi removes the `days left till Godai and Kyoko's wedding' sign. Yagami accepts a beer and begins to bother Godai about the banner. Yotsuya takes advantage of this momentary distraction to 'eat' some of the strawberry mouse Yagami brought for Godai. Its time for the party to get into a higher gear so the table is cleared and put away. Yotsuya decides to tell Nikaido down in room #2 about the party. He removes a section of Godai's floor, pours Nikaido a drink, then quickly replaces the section. Nikaido is soon in Godai's room. He assumes Yotsuya was responsible, but he'll stay anyway. Kyoko's father arrives, but no-one hears his call. He heads down the hall to Kyoko's room. It is 8:55 and still no Kyoko--Godai is getting worried. Kyoko's father steps into her room and sees the kimono. The reality of his daughter's second wedding crashes down on him. Upstairs, Yagami is getting into the party spirit as she does her Lum imitation. Happily yelling Lum's "Darling, Darling wa uchi no tomoda-cha" she tackles Godai and clings to him. Yagami begins to suspect; she asks where `the widow' is. Nikaido explains to her what will happen the day after tomorrow. Yagami is shaken. She grabs a sake bottle. Godai assumes he is the target, but Yagami sits down and proceeds to empty the bottle. Even the Ikkoku-kan regulars seem impressed. She then screams out "STUPID Godai!" The Master of the Chachamaru snack bar arrives at the front door... with roses. He rehearses his proposal of marriage to Akemi. Yagami continues to down more beers then pitches three of them at Godai. One hits him and the other two strike Master who has just arrived at Godai's door. He congratulates Godai then takes Akemi into the hallway. Master gives Akemi the flowers, but she doesn't seem terribly thrilled. Yagami works her way through Nikaido's bag of Pocky and continues drinking. She takes off her coat--she plans to stay a while. Master talks with Akemi in her room. Unable to hear anything, Yotsuya and Ichinose return to Godai's room. Godai tries to stop Ichinose from provoking Yagami but Ichinose tricks Godai as Yotsuya has some fun with Yagami. Akemi puts the flowers in some water in her room as Master tries to talk to her. Room #5 is out of alcohol, so Ichinose rushes downstairs and into her room. At that moment Iioka, Godai's boss from the `Cabalet Bunny Girl', arrives with a bottle. He isn't sure he's in the right house, since he followed Sakamoto's map. He sees Kyoko's father walking down the hall and asks him about Godai. Kyoko's father doesn't want to hear about Godai and the two men struggle into Nikaido's room. Ichinose returns from her room and closes Nikaido's door for him... then heads upstairs. Master is still trying to propose when Akemi hears Souichiro again and heads out of her room. Kyoko and her cousin Ikuko enter. Kyoko apologizes for being late and asks if a letter arrived for her. Godai's suspicions are confirmed when she doesn't want to talk about it. Yagami appears at the foot of the stairs and is slightly rude. Yotsuya, Akemi and Ichinose follow suit. Yagami wants to discuss the situation with 'the widow' but Akemi and Ichinose force her back upstairs. Kyoko's father and Iioka begin to talk about Godai and drink. The alcohol is still dripping out of the ceiling so Iioka puts an empty glass under it. Ikuko drinks with Ichinose, Yagami, and Yotsuya. Nikaido reads his magazine. Godai just sits and ponders. Godai takes Yagami out into the hall for a talk. Kyoko has changed and arrives on the upper floor. Yagami goes to settle things with Kyoko but runs into Akemi coming out of her room. Akemi pushes Yagami back into #5. Godai and Kyoko soon follow. Yagami takes up position between Godai and Kyoko as Yotsuya pushes a beer/ microphone at Yagami to get her opinion. Everyone in the room toasts, but Yagami is still annoyed. She tries to get them to stop the wedding. Akemi, Ichinose and Yotsuya seem more than happy to turn the party into a cancellation party. Godai and Kyoko are upset at Yagami, but Ichinose mentions the mysterious letter and shakes them both up. Sakamoto arrives at Godai's door... with bottle in hand. As the glass slowly fills, Kyoko's father is yelling. Yagami is yelling. Both want the wedding stopped. Mr. Ichinose arrives to tell Kyoko a man is waiting at the front door. Kyoko heads off downstairs. Godai rushes down the stairs after her and sees... Mitaka, safely married Mitaka, talking to Kyoko. He has brought his wife Asuna with him as well as Salad, MacEnroe and their three new puppies: Sugar, Ginger, and Pepper. Asuna is also expecting, and Kyoko and Godai congratulate the couple. Mitaka and Asuna must leave. While Asuna and Kyoko walk out to the car, Godai starts to ask Mitaka about the letter then realizes he wouldn't have sent it. Ikuko gives Godai a quick shock, then leaves after assuring her aunt that she is old enough to get home by herself. The door has barely shut when Kuroki and Buchou arrive to give one final puppet show. The puppet show begins. Once upon a time there was a broken down apartment house with a poor boy tenant and a beautiful princess caretaker. The poor boy proposes to the beautiful princess, but he is not alone. The rich tennis coach has also proposed. The beautiful princess is torn. The princess and the poor boy fight. The princess' father does not approve of the marriage. The poor boy finally goes to the father of the beautiful princess and gets his permission to marry her, and they live happily ever after. Kuroki and Buchou stay for a drink. Akemi had forgotten about Master and goes to see him. Akemi wakes up Master and they talk some more. Yagami leads Kyoko up to the attic to talk, but Yagami must make a quick stop at the bathroom--too much beer. As Yagami heads back she passes Yotsuya doing his `Dai Majin' imitation (US release `Majin, the Monster of Terror' 1965). Back in the attic Yagami is getting too drunk for her own good, but she and Kyoko share a beer and talk. Yagami seems satisfied that Godai and Kyoko do love each other. Kyoko heads down as Yagami stays... thinking. Master and Akemi share some coffee in her room. Master tries to be subtle, saying he wishes he could have coffee like this everyday. Akemi says that sounds like a proposal. Master chickens out and says its time for him to leave. Master leaves and Akemi heads for the bathroom on the first floor. Kyoko shows Kuroki and Buchou out as Akemi leaves the bathroom. Akemi and Kyoko head upstairs. Yagami has fallen asleep in Akemi's room and Sakamoto has fallen asleep in Godai's room. Ichinose gives Kyoko a present--a 'Koke Koke' apron. Kyoko is very happy with the present. Nikaido finds Kyoko's missing letter stuck in his magazine. He asks why everyone looks so scared. Kyoko takes the letter and rushes out. Godai, again, follows, as Akemi, Ichinose, and Yotsuya try to explain the couple to Nikaido. Kyoko reads the letter in her room as Godai stands outside her door while night turns to dawn. Godai finally knocks and goes in. He learns that the letter did not come from another man, but from his grandmother, Yukari. It has been a long night. Ichinose sleeps amongst amongst a good selection of the world's beers. Kyoko's father and Iioka are asleep--the glass now half full. Akemi is awake in her room putting her Michael Jackson poster to good use as a dart board while Yagami sleeps in her bed. Sakamoto and Yotsuya sleep in Godai's room as Nikaido plays a game of majong. A few years ago Kyoko entered Godai's room to move some of his laundry when it started to rain. She saw Baachan's purse on Godai's desk and she couldn't resist taking a look. She opened the purse and saw a picture of Godai when he was rather young. She was startled and accidentally ripped the photo. She has always wanted to apologize to Baachan but never had the chance. After they got engaged she wrote to Yukari saying how sorry she was. Kyoko shows Godai the picture taken of him when he was 6 years old. Kyoko lets him read the letter. He begins, but soon Baachan is narrating. Baachan is not concerned about the photo, but is concerned about Godai. Now that he is getting married, Baachan can not take care of him anymore, so she asks Kyoko to take care of him. Kyoko takes the ribbon out of her hair and they turn to kiss. The door flies open. Yagami, Yotsuya, Akemi, Sakamoto, and Ichinose are there: `Good morning!' Birds fly over Ikkoku-kan on the beginning of a bright sunny day as the the next party begins. [ Tarigan: At this point, Ichinose's lines go: "Alright!! 10 day party-a-thon, for celebrating the wedding. 10th day, LET'S START!!!!!!" Now it cuts to a scene of Souichiro in front of his doghouse as he quickly turns his head to look at something to the side. The picture freezes and the credits start rolling. To the tune of "Kiss Across Glass" (which is a nice song, by the way), several brief animations of the manga play out. For those of you who have only seen the anime series, these end-scenes are slightly different because they portray the scenes very faithfully to the manga--the tv version took liberties with the visuals and some details. Finally, we see Kyoko running into Godai's room to take in the futon before it gets soaked by a sudden rain. She notices Baachan's handbag and, discovering a photo of Godai as a child, she smiles. This scene was made up for the movie and didn't happen anywhere else. ] by Andy Johnson proofread (and slightly modified) by Glenn Tarigan ** ** ** ** Discussion about the Movie: =========================== Scot Gardner (94.05.04): I just finished watching the Maison Ikkoku movie, and was kind of curious about something. The movie was based on the manga, ne? Thats why the character designs looked so strange (to me, who has not read the manga)? To be truthful (brace to be flamed) I did not like the character designs too much. Most of the reason was probably because I was not used to them, but I also thought Kyoko looked kinda "butch" sometimes. Am I alone in this thought? -------------------------- Glenn Tarigan replies (94.05.04): >I just finished watching the Maison Ikkoku movie, and was kind >of curious about something. The movie was based on the manga, ne? The movie was based on the manga, story-wise. That's why you see the animated appearance of Nikaido, who didn't appear in the TV series. I wonder in what other ways the movie was based on the manga? Well, for one thing, the ending credits shows scenes from the manga version. For instance, in the manga chapter when Godai drunkenly announced to the whole town that he was in love with Kyoko, he was standing on the middle of the street; in the TV version, he was balanced on top of the border wall. (I think I described some other differences already: in the MI Guidebook-- look up the footnotes I wrote for Andy Johnson's movie synopsis.) The movie's character designs, however, have little resemblance to the manga's. Actually, the manga char design is quite similar to the TV anime's version, as far as the latter half of the series is concerned. >To be truthful (brace to be flamed) I did not like the character >designs too much. Most of the reason was probably because I was >not used to them, but I also thought Kyoko looked kinda "butch" >sometimes. Am I alone in this thought? Hey, I'm a fanatic of Maison Ikkoku, but I also thought the anime movie was really weak. The story was kind of boring. Plus, I prefer the cartoony character designs, not the semi-realistic version used in the movie. I wonder what you'll think when you see the live-action movie... I'm glad Andy Johnson wrote some fairly long synopses for both movies. Because I don't think I'd have cared enough to bother. -------------------------- Scot Gardner (94.05.04): | The movie was based on the manga, story-wise. | That's why you see the animated appearance of Nikaido, who | didn't appear in the TV series. I quickly looked in the Maison Ikkoku guide before posting questions, otherwise I would have asked about that too ^_^. I put it off as "time passed and they got a new roomate...". BTW, what do you think of his character? Do you think he should have been in the TV series? | Well, for one thing, the ending credits shows scenes from the manga | version. Ah, well I *LIKED* the art in the ending panels. I wondered where some of that came from. | The movie's character designs, however, have little resemblance | to the manga's. Actually, the manga char design is quite similar to | the TV anime's version, as far as the latter half of the series | is concerned. Anyone know why they did this? It really put me off the movie. BTW, I ASSUME Takahashi-sama did the art. I did notice in the credits that it said "Based upon characters created by Takahashi", but I think I missed the credit for artwork. I guess I need to go back and look. | Hey, I'm a fanatic of Maison Ikkoku, but I also thought the | anime movie was really weak. The story was kind of boring. | Plus, I prefer the cartoony character designs, not the | semi-realistic version used in the movie. It seemed to me the characters were played extremes, for example I thought the "Loon Squad" was a bit more vindictive than usual. The plot was pretty lame. *sigh* I wish it had been better. | I wonder what you'll think when you see the live-action movie... Uh, I'm not sure I should. I guess I have to, being a Maison Ikkoku fan ^_^. | I'm glad Andy Johnson wrote some fairly long synopses for both | movies. Because I don't think I'd have cared enough to bother. Yea, I could see that. What is the art in the Maison Ikkoku OVA like? -------------------------- Jeff Williamson (94.05.04): > The movie was based on the manga, story-wise. > That's why you see the animated appearance of Nikaido, who > didn't appear in the TV series. > > I wonder in what other ways the movie was based on the manga? There is no "Ten-Day-Party-A-Thon" in the manga. Nikkaido really served no useful purpose in the movie, much like his stint in the manga. > Well, for one thing, the ending credits shows scenes from the manga > version. There are also some *very* nice "movie-quality" short scenes in the end credits, redone from the TV series. One of these is the scene at ChaChaMaru where Akemi crosses her leg in front of the door to prevent Kyoko from leaving. [... deletia ...] > Hey, I'm a fanatic of Maison Ikkoku, but I also thought the > anime movie was really weak. The story was kind of boring. > Plus, I prefer the cartoony character designs, not the > semi-realistic version used in the movie. First, the designs: I liked the designs; they fit the tone of the movie better. My favorites are Godai and Yagami. Second, the story: Again, I sort of liked it. Very low key, and a subtle "character" story. Let's do a little analysis... To make a movie for Maison Ikkoku, there are really only two choices: rehash and chop up already existing stories, or write something almost completely original and hope for the best. And face it, the only part of Maison Ikkoku that would really "carry" a movie is something to do with the wedding. While a nice 90-minute movie retelling episode 96, and adding scenes, would have been nice, it's not what we got. That out of the way, let's discuss the existing product. So, the writers came up with "Kanketsuhen", a story which relates a single night in Ikkoku-kan before the wedding of Kyoko and Godai. This is a nice literary device, almost making it seem like a real-time account of The Way Things Happened. This slow pace, combined with the complete absence of a single coherent plot, is probably what turns most people off about the film, though I suggest looking at it again in the context of an Ikkoku-kan home movie: someone with a camcorder recorded the long party night, and this is the result. Some big strikes against the film: (1) Nikkaido. He was useless in the manga; why include him in an animated version after he was sliced out of the TV series to begin with? (2) The poor excuse for a plot. The whole photo thingy was a pretty flimsy device, and hanging the whole movie on it was a mistake. It was a nice story, but not sufficient to make it the point of the movie. (3) Other unnecessary characters. There was really no point in having Iioka or Kyoko's father show up. At all. And in the worst bit of plot ignorance and bad characterization, there was Mitaka and Asuna's appearance. Mitaka appearing to "show off" Asuna was essentially a "pre-cap" of events in episode 96 (at the reception). ["Pre-cap" = recap, with the later (real-time) events taking place before the later (anime-time) events.] They dropped by, stayed for only a moment, then left. Feh. In addition, I consider Mitaka's laughing friendliness towards Godai to be an ill-thought-out reversal of the hostility he displayed in their last meeting (episode 85), and much prefer the neutral tolerance Mitaka showed at the wedding reception. On the other hand, some GOOD things about the film: (1) Nice "camera angles" and overall animation. (2) GOOD character appearances. Sayoko Kuroki and Saotome, putting on one final puppet show. Ikuko-chan, "sorry to have missed Ken-chan". And Yagami, who put in the best performance in the film. One of the most extraneous characters in the series, Yagami is actually given some depth in the film. Never *really* having given up on Godai-sensei, she shows up at precisely the wrong moment to try and win him back, oblivious to the facts. Her slow burn over the course of the evening, as she watches Kyoko and Godai, no longer quite so afraid of each other, is perfectly in character. And her conversation in the attic with Kyoko is possibly one of my favorite Yagami scenes of all time. "I'll have an affair with him." "Well, then, I'll just have to watch out for that sort of thing, won't I?" As we all know, Yagami did not give up on Godai (see episode 96's epilogue), but it was nice to see her have to acknowledge that Kyoko had gotten past her cowardice. Oh yes, and poor Master, trying frantically to get a message to Akemi, who is deliberately not taking the hint... a nice setup for the proposal in the last TV episode. (3) The "little things". My favorite throwaway scene is Ichinose handing Kyoko her "diploma": the "Koke Koke" apron. A nice symbolic graduation. Godai walking in on Kyoko's wedding kimono. The scene in the closing credits, with Kyoko's wonderful "reaction shot" as she finds the "kawaii" picture of Godai in Baachan's purse. The movie is a fairly mixed bag, but there are enough merits for pieces of it to be included as Maison Ikkoku "canon". They could have chopped some stuff and turned it into a long OVA, but the deed is done. Any other thoughts? It's been a few weeks since I've seen it, but I think this post says everything that I wanted to say about the movie. --Jeff -------------------------- Glenn Tarigan (94.05.05): Scot Gardner wrote: > | The movie was based on the manga, story-wise. > | That's why you see the animated appearance of Nikaido, who > | didn't appear in the TV series. > > BTW, what do you think of his character? Do you think he should have > been in the TV series? [Note: As Jeff Williamson said yesterday, the movie's story was NOT an adaptation of any manga chapter. What I had meant to say was that the movie's *setting* was based on the manga. ] I'm in a poor position to judge Nikaido. Anyway, I don't really know if he was a bad character or not. I can't read enough Japanese to figure out those chapters that feature Nikaido's first few weeks at Ikkoku-kan. Just by looking at the pictures, he doesn't seem like a bad fellow. -------------------------- Sylvain Rheault (94.05.05): > Anyway, I don't really know if he was a bad character or not. > I can't read enough Japanese to figure out those chapters > that feature Nikaido's first few weeks at Ikkoku-kan. > Just by looking at the pictures, he doesn't seem like a bad fellow. IMHO, I think Nikaido was introduced in the Manga for 2 purposes: - To become an opponent to Yotsuya and cause more disasters. - He's also quite clueless about the relation between Godai and Kyoko, even in front of the obvious, and always ask for explanation. He's sometimes funny, but obviously not essential to the story. -------------------------- Jeff Williamson (94.05.05): > Anyway, I don't really know if he was a bad character or not. > I can't read enough Japanese to figure out those chapters > that feature Nikaido's first few weeks at Ikkoku-kan. > Just by looking at the pictures, he doesn't seem like a bad fellow. I never said he was bad, just pointless. He's comedy relief, kind of like Hatta and Komatsu in KOR: serving no useful function to the plot, and really just there to take up space. Considering how little Takahashi-sensei actually used the character in the ending books of the manga, I think she must have felt the same way. The whole story could exist with or without Nik(k)aido, which is my main objection to his presence in the first place. Ja ne! --Jeff -------------------------- C Sue Shambaugh (94.05.05): Hi - The neat thing about the MI movie is that it is directed like a play; there are definite acts, and the whole thing takes place in one place, in one definite period of time. Hey, there's a project - Make a "Les Miz"- like rotating set, with one side being the outside of MI, and the other being cutaway version of the rooms! Envision it - Our own live-action stage version!! ;-) Hmm, maybe not; it moves kind of slow. Also very play-like :-) - Sue -------------------------- Yutaka Sasagawa 94.05.06: > The whole story could exist with or without Nikaido, which is my > main objection to his presence in the first place. I agree with this. Although, like I've said before, I've only read the series once (I want the WIDEBAN compilations ;_;), he seemed to be a 'come-and go' character. Jaa-matane! <.6. .8.> From: Samuel Lysinger Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 16:26:50 -0500 (EST) I have a cultural question regarding the MI movie. What is it with Yagami pulling her lower eyelid down and sticking her tongue out. I've seen this in other anime and it looks funny, but other than that it escapes me. Is there a hidden meaning, or is that it? Jeff Williamson replies: Usually with sound effect: "Beeeeeeee!" or "Beeee-da!" This gesture is similar to giving someone the finger, or saying "Nuts to you!". Basically, a gesture of contempt and/or defiance. Note from the editor: Please refer to the glossary under AKANBE for a complete description. Sam Lysinger: BTW: I like Godai's T-shirt. After being such a loser all those years, he finally gets a personal victory. Jeff Williamson: Refresh my memory. ^_^ Sam Lysinger: Godai wears a T-shirt that says victory From: Yutaka Sasagawa Date: Sun, 19 Feb 1995 00:35:57 -0600 (CST) Subject: =MI= Final Movie and OAV Sorry, this post isn't an awesome MI ASCII art ^_^;; BTW Glenn, I totally loved the "foursome" art, like most everyone else, I bet. It was so good, I was *instantly* able to place where the original had come from. (Love how you kept the numerology in there as well, too ^_-) Anyway, I wanted to ask what people on the ML what they thought about the Movie and the OAV. I finally saw the OAV today, and really liked it. (That means now I've read/watched all MI stuff except for about 94 TV episodes.... ^_^;;;;) Besides for the extra beginning and the ending that wasn't in the original manga, the dialogue and scenes came almost directly from the manga. They seemed so simiar, I got the manga and followed the whole thing while glancing at the manga to check. It seems like they kept over 90% of the original dialogue and scenes. Even the clothes everyone was wearing were exactly the same, *except* for Kyoko-san, who wore a one-piece swimsuit in the OAV instead of the bikini she wore in the manga (Image reasons, I guess, since she seems to be a more "pure" and "idealistic" character in the anime than in the original manga, whatever that means). The movie, on the other hand, which I saw some months ago, I really didn't like. I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but I thought the movie just outright...... sucked. Personally, I thought it lacked the usual Takahashi humor, but worst of all was the style of art!! It looks too weird, IMHO. It had a semi-realistic-but-nothing-like-the-original look. Worst of all was Yagami's hairstyle (I'm probably the only one to complain about this ^_^). But that's not the movie people's fault, since that's how she looked the last time she's seen in the manga. The story also seemed a bit odd, something that someone just came up with to create a setting to show "the final movie". I don't consider myself a purist or anything. However, I guess it seems like I am, since I mainly like the OAV for its close similarity (almost exact) to the manga episode, and dislike the movie for its dissimilarity. What do all of you think about the OAV and movie? ---Yutaka From: Ch Yung Date: Mon, 20 Feb 1995 00:14:19 +0800 (HKT) On Sun, 19 Feb 1995, Yutaka Sasagawa wrote: > The movie, on the other hand, which I saw some months ago, I really didn't > like. I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but I thought the movie just > outright...... sucked. Personally, I thought it lacked the usual > Takahashi humor, but worst of all was the style of art!! It looks too > weird, IMHO. It had a semi-realistic-but-nothing-like-the-original look. > Worst of all was Yagami's hairstyle (I'm probably the only one to complain > about this ^_^). But that's not the movie people's fault, since that's > how she looked the last time she's seen in the manga. The story also > seemed a bit odd, something that someone just came up with to create a > setting to show "the final movie". > Agree, agree, and agree. I cannot accept the character design of this movie. However, I still bought this LD (box set one) because of completeness of the collection and because the box set includes the TV Titles (for UY and Ranma it was sold seperately). > I don't consider myself a purist or anything. However, I guess it seems > like I am, since I mainly like the OAV for its close similarity (almost > exact) to the manga episode, and dislike the movie for its dissimilarity. > Agree also. --- CuSO4 From: Samuel Lysinger Date: Sun, 19 Feb 1995 23:39:38 -0500 (EST) > From owner-maison-ikkoku@sfu.ca Sun Feb 19 13:36:52 1995 > Date: Mon, 20 Feb 1995 00:14:19 +0800 (HKT) > From: Ch Yung > > > On Sun, 19 Feb 1995, Yutaka Sasagawa wrote: > > > The movie, on the other hand, which I saw some months ago, I really didn't > > like. I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but I thought the movie just > > outright...... sucked. Personally, I thought it lacked the usual > > Takahashi humor, but worst of all was the style of art!! It looks too > > weird, IMHO. It had a semi-realistic-but-nothing-like-the-original look. > > Worst of all was Yagami's hairstyle (I'm probably the only one to complain > > about this ^_^). But that's not the movie people's fault, since that's > > how she looked the last time she's seen in the manga. The story also > > seemed a bit odd, something that someone just came up with to create a > > setting to show "the final movie". > > > Agree, agree, and agree. I cannot accept the character design of this movie. > I liked the character designs myself. They were better than the ones used in any of Takahashi's other anime series' or movies (that I've seen) with the exception of the Mermaid's Scar (I bought a cell, I liked it so much). Of course I won't deny that they were very different from the manga's and I like all the Takahashi manga art above the Anime's. I think that it would be very hard to capture her style and color it. It has a certain magic. IMHO, the final movie was slow. On the other hand, I've never seen an anime capture everyday life like it. People used the bathroom, acted like slobs, and looked normal. I also liked after reading Viz issues and the ML translations, seeing a mature Godai (at my stage of reading, this looks impossible). He was actually kind and unintimidated by Mitaka. All the years of being angered by him made Godai try to better himself even harder than just his love for Kyoko and desire to win her affection by acting grown up. (of course this happens in the manga too, but I won't find out for a while ^_^) > > --- CuSO4 Ick, writing this in VI is hard ^_^ -- Sam Lysinger smeg@umd.umich.edu http://www.umd.umich.edu/~smeg/ ______________________________________________________________________________ ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MI OAV -- Through the Passing Seasons: ------------------------------------- John Jones on 95.01.16: Maison Ikkoku-Through the Passing Seasons is an overview of the growing love between Godai and Kyoko. It's been assembled from portions of various episodes that show the most interesting developments in their romance. It contains the scenes from the first few eps. where the main characters are introduced, then skips from Kozue's intro to Yagami Ibuki's (makes one wonder, doesn't it? ^_^). It condenses 96 episodes into about an hour and 15 minutes of the most emotionally striking scenes from the series. Serious spoiler warnings to those who haven't seen the entire series (like me ^_^). It's got a lot of emotional impact, though, especially if you've only seen the first half of the series and don't know exactly how serious it gets (personal experience). Definitely a must-see if you haven't seen the entire series in a while and want to relive everything or if you don't have the patience to sit through the whole series (or at least the AA subs). Steven Miale on 95.01.20: I sat down to watch this tonight. First, it tried to focus more on the Godai-Kyoko relationship, a little on Mitaka (but only with respect to his relationship with Kyoko); Kozue's almost a non-entity. While it included some of the nicer moments - the first meeting, the argument and confession in 92, the kiss in 93, the goodbye in 96 - it also left out some of my favorite moments. For instance, we don't see the first grave visit (though we see the second and last), Kyoko and Godai's first kiss, Mitaka and Asuna's talk in 88, Kyoko running after Godai in 31, etc. True, they didn't have a lot of time, but still... *sigh* It's called 'seasons' because they split it into five segments (from spring to spring.) NT is distributing this along with the MI Karaoke. The entire song (not the chopped-up version used for the OP/EDs) is played along with accompanying animation from that part of the series. Most of the animation used has a common theme - Cinema is set to Kyoko's memories of Souichiro and Fantasy has a lot of footage from the 'rock' episodes. There are some fairly bad choices - who decided to put the footage of Kyoko walking into Souichiro's hospital room to "Suki Sa"? They don't use the O'Sullivan songs or the last two EDs ("Sayonara no dessin" and "Begin the Night".) Anyway, just thought I should let you know. And I finally received my MI postcards - KAWAII!!!! Kinko's might be able to enlarge one... anyone up for a life-size Kyoko poster? ______________________________________________________________________________ ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------