wao
2007-03-15, 03:43
Before I talk about Nasu 2, first there was the movie Nasu ~Summer of Andalusia~. The first Japanese anime to be selected for Cannes!
To copy off Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasu:_Summer_in_Andalusia), here's a summary:
Nasu: Summer in Andalusia follows the story of a professional Spanish cyclist, Pepe Benengeli, as he competes in a road bicycle race, similar to the Tour de France, through his home town in the Iberian region of Andalusia. As the story progresses, Pepe is faced with frustrating consequences, with him facing pressure from his sponsors and the wedding of his former girlfriend, Carmen, to his elder brother, Angel, coinciding on the same day of the penultimate stage of the bicycle race, and strives to gain the respect of his team and family.It was adapted from a short 3-volume manga called Nasu, serialised in the wonderful Afternoon magazine. And that manga was by Iou Kuroda, who I think is also known for his critically acclaimed manga Sexy Voice and Robo.
The director was the talented Kitarou Kousaka, who's a Ghibli mainstay and that should say enough as it is.
I've heard this in many places - that Hayao Miyazaki himself picked up the manga, and remarked it was great and would make a good anime. And so it got passed onto Kousaka, who teamed up with Madhouse to create this anime.
Since there is, very sadly, no thread on this anime except maybe this (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=10164), I might as well add my own $0.02 on what I think was a pretty good movie. It may have seemed very plain and understated, but I think that's what I liked about it.
Most of all I really loved how we got to feel the sort of festive and supportive nature of Pepe's family - and yet feel his own subtle alienation from them. This, combined with him being looked down as a mere support cyclist in the team, is what spurred him to decide: heck care what the rest of the world thinks I should be, I'm going to prove to them who I am.
This sentiment is explored a lot in many various anime, but I am particularly impressed by the way it was done in Nasu. It never felt contrived or overdone for a second (althoguh it's been some time since I watched it, but that's what I felt back then). And by the end of the movie you're literally on Pepe's side cheering for him from your heart, hoping he inches just ahead of his competitors in the exciting finale.
Yet though I say exciting it's not like it really pumps it up overmuch. One thing about the show is that it was largely quite matter-of-fact. As far as I remember there wasn't much obvious effort to make the settings or characters particularly charming - yet somehow I ended up liking it on a personal level because it felt so "homey". If you've watched the movie, one of my favourite parts is in the beginning with the cat, the pickled eggplants, the TV etc.
Interested in watching it? Well guess what, there's a sub of it on Animesuki! (http://animesuki.com/series.php/826.html)
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And now, the same team is back - with Nasu 2! There was talk of this floating around quite some time back around the time Black Lagoon premiered, I think, and it's nice to see it's come true.
I don't know much about the new Nasu, except that it's having the same director and it'll be Madhouse again - and they're also getting in Kenichi Yoshida, apparently. Also known as the character designer for shows like King Gainer and Eureka 7, Kenichi Yoshida is an ex-employee of Ghibli and has a pretty solid following I believe.
Ah, but the biggest difference is that this time it will be about Pepe and the Japan Cup. Yup, it'll be in Japan. It's kind of sad for me because to put it in the words of someone I was talking to about this, "Andalusia was the most important character in the original movie, so I imagine it'll definitely have a different flavor".
There's a trailer for Nasu 2 available here, at any rate. http://www.cyclingtime.com/modules/movie/index.php?nasu2.html
As usual it's quite clear that they're really aiming for realism and accuracy for the cycling scenes, but there's something about the trailer that worries. It's like they haven't really improved on the animation much since the last time, and also why is it still called 茄子2 (仮称)? Haven't they decided on the title yet?
If you watch it though, spot the character that looks TOTALLY yanked out of a Ghibli movie :)
To copy off Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasu:_Summer_in_Andalusia), here's a summary:
Nasu: Summer in Andalusia follows the story of a professional Spanish cyclist, Pepe Benengeli, as he competes in a road bicycle race, similar to the Tour de France, through his home town in the Iberian region of Andalusia. As the story progresses, Pepe is faced with frustrating consequences, with him facing pressure from his sponsors and the wedding of his former girlfriend, Carmen, to his elder brother, Angel, coinciding on the same day of the penultimate stage of the bicycle race, and strives to gain the respect of his team and family.It was adapted from a short 3-volume manga called Nasu, serialised in the wonderful Afternoon magazine. And that manga was by Iou Kuroda, who I think is also known for his critically acclaimed manga Sexy Voice and Robo.
The director was the talented Kitarou Kousaka, who's a Ghibli mainstay and that should say enough as it is.
I've heard this in many places - that Hayao Miyazaki himself picked up the manga, and remarked it was great and would make a good anime. And so it got passed onto Kousaka, who teamed up with Madhouse to create this anime.
Since there is, very sadly, no thread on this anime except maybe this (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=10164), I might as well add my own $0.02 on what I think was a pretty good movie. It may have seemed very plain and understated, but I think that's what I liked about it.
Most of all I really loved how we got to feel the sort of festive and supportive nature of Pepe's family - and yet feel his own subtle alienation from them. This, combined with him being looked down as a mere support cyclist in the team, is what spurred him to decide: heck care what the rest of the world thinks I should be, I'm going to prove to them who I am.
This sentiment is explored a lot in many various anime, but I am particularly impressed by the way it was done in Nasu. It never felt contrived or overdone for a second (althoguh it's been some time since I watched it, but that's what I felt back then). And by the end of the movie you're literally on Pepe's side cheering for him from your heart, hoping he inches just ahead of his competitors in the exciting finale.
Yet though I say exciting it's not like it really pumps it up overmuch. One thing about the show is that it was largely quite matter-of-fact. As far as I remember there wasn't much obvious effort to make the settings or characters particularly charming - yet somehow I ended up liking it on a personal level because it felt so "homey". If you've watched the movie, one of my favourite parts is in the beginning with the cat, the pickled eggplants, the TV etc.
Interested in watching it? Well guess what, there's a sub of it on Animesuki! (http://animesuki.com/series.php/826.html)
------
And now, the same team is back - with Nasu 2! There was talk of this floating around quite some time back around the time Black Lagoon premiered, I think, and it's nice to see it's come true.
I don't know much about the new Nasu, except that it's having the same director and it'll be Madhouse again - and they're also getting in Kenichi Yoshida, apparently. Also known as the character designer for shows like King Gainer and Eureka 7, Kenichi Yoshida is an ex-employee of Ghibli and has a pretty solid following I believe.
Ah, but the biggest difference is that this time it will be about Pepe and the Japan Cup. Yup, it'll be in Japan. It's kind of sad for me because to put it in the words of someone I was talking to about this, "Andalusia was the most important character in the original movie, so I imagine it'll definitely have a different flavor".
There's a trailer for Nasu 2 available here, at any rate. http://www.cyclingtime.com/modules/movie/index.php?nasu2.html
As usual it's quite clear that they're really aiming for realism and accuracy for the cycling scenes, but there's something about the trailer that worries. It's like they haven't really improved on the animation much since the last time, and also why is it still called 茄子2 (仮称)? Haven't they decided on the title yet?
If you watch it though, spot the character that looks TOTALLY yanked out of a Ghibli movie :)