Mistakes of Youth: The Blog (Powered by EXCELLENCE!)

It was yesterday when kransom shot me a most curious message. The message was composed of two parts– one being a youtube link, and the other being a bit of commentary regarding said link. His thoughts on the link were short, to the point and read simply as “fffffffffffffff.” I clicked on the link, and saw it was the opening for the third Zetsubou Sensei series– Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (Prison: So Long Mr. Despair.) It was at this point that I ctrl-w’d out of the tab. Buzz was already circulating around the internet about this new OVA, and I wanted to know as little as possible until I saw the whole thing for myself.

Today, just 30 minutes after waking up, I clicked open the OVA , which I had downloaded the night before, and was once again blown away by the sheer depths of SHAFTxSHINBO’s insanity.

Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei’s opening plays out like a really good MAD movie using Zoku’s opening as its basis. I really like Zoku’s opening (especially the version used in episode 5) but my main complaint about it has been that it’s very static. I appreciate the use of images from the Kaitai Shinsho, but considering that Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei’s first fully animated opening was so good, the fact that the one in Zoku was so static disappointed me. Over the course of Zoku the opening changed a little from episode to episode, but nothing was really added to it until the final episode. Goku’s opening takes that final opening from Zoku, and mutates it like crazy.

Static portions of Zoku’s opening are replaced with insane spastic bouts of experimental cutout animation, along with choice footage from previous episodes of the series. I would normally get on any studio’s case for reusing in-episode footage, but the way it’s handled here is so genius that I just don’t care. What really makes this piece stand out is the use of cutout animation, though. The imagery depicted by these paper cutouts is gruesome, morbid, and totally nuts. The jerky and awkward movement present in these cutout segments only help to re-enforce the piece’s craziness. It truly is Art with a capital “A”, and totally one-ups the opening for the first series, which I didn’t think was possible.

The episode proper is typical Zetsubou fare, but that’s only a good thing. I watched this first OVA raw, so I could only understand it at a real basic level. However, I still found myself laughing my ass off at the series’ unique brand of cleverly written and executed humour.

Naturally, I am awaiting the next episode with bated breath.

For some reason, a lot of current OVAs don’t have good openings. All attention is put on making the show proper, so openings just tend to be an afterthought. What you usually see is just reused footage from the show matched to a song, or sometimes there simply won’t be an opening animation at all. There are rare cases where this doesn’t happen, but in my experience such things are few and far between. Negima Ala Alba’s opening animation is much like a Polish movie poster– it takes one random aspect of the show– the number 31– and just runs with it. Shaft is known for making amazing somethings out of nothing, and this opening does just that.

Like I said, it simply takes the numbers up through 31, sticks them in little circles, and has spectacularly sexy English credits bounce them around. It’s a 2D designer’s wet dream. Each and every cut of this is just so professionally composed– not mention well-timed with the hot opening theme– that I find myself watching this opening over and over… yet there’s only one real frame of character art across the whole thing!

Good on you, Shaft.

How’s that for one confused and badly designed graphic? 10 seconds in Photoshop!

Anyways, I gotta actually thank this motherfucker for bringing the mysterious “Juuhachi Minamizawa” to my attention, and specifically his work on “Unbalance.” This show really is just 30 minutes of porn with Soultaker-style shooting and colouring (NSFW), and it’s almost kind of amazing. I’m still open to the idea if it being the work of an imitator (this was made right after Soultaker) but it’s just copied so well that it may as well be Shinbo himself!

The Japanese internet has been talking about this since as late as 2005, and probably further back. I’ve found some blog entries about the two directors’ similar styles, but my Japanese has gotten far too rusty (need to practice) and there are just too many kanji! Can anyone with hot JLPT skills give me a rundown? (While you’re at it, you can take a stab at this, too)

It would be absolutely hilarious if Shinbo actually turned out to be Minamizawa, because honestly, he doesn’t hide the fact that he’s ONE OF US.