I realized that if I couldn't keep posting everything I wanted to post about this series on the Anime Club thread, because I'd spam the place up with it. Felt self-conscious about it and all. So here's a thread for that instead. Anyway, Houseki no Kuni has ruined my life and burned down my crops. So why should you read/watch it? First of all, there's some very literal and very plot-relevant kintsugi involved, which is fun. You'll know it when you see it. It's a contemplative work about identity, purpose, change, loss, how much it sucks to be immortal...a big stew of Buddhist elements and the Ship of Theseus in a stark, striking post-apocalyptic setting... ...It's also a show about colorful genderless rock people. Like, gem people. Beings made of and named after gems. The main character is Phosphophyllite, there's a Diamond and a Yellow Diamond and a Bort, Lapis Lazuli becomes important eventually... Rock people are fun, right? There's some really good rock-person-based body horror. Just really good. I want to stress this. The anime and manga are super pretty in completely different ways, and seeing them with your eyeballs is honestly kind of a healing experience. The visuals on display here are the kind that really stick with you for a long time. The anime's generally clearer/easier to follow than the manga, and its fight scenes get really really incredible with each successive episode. Even relatively straightforward scenes become something stunning with the music, sound design, camera work...and did I mention that the anime's almost entirely 3DCG? Like, actually really good 3DCG? Not just "good for 3DCG" good, but "prettiest anime of the season" good? It's definitely unlike anything you've watched before. Also, the ED is my favorite. The manga has more of an ambiguous, atmospheric style, and it's stunning in how much impact the individual panels within it can have. They're Art, y'know? The carefully-considered composition, the dramatic use of solid tones...for reference, here's an album comparing some scenes from the anime (early on, so relatively spoiler free) to those same scenes in the manga. ...Anyway, I'm mostly posting this right now because I wanted to link to that album comparing the manga vs. anime shots, and also gush about the body horror (I'm still not over [INSERT SPOILER FROM THE LAST SEVERAL CHAPTERS]), and I didn't want to post all that in the Anime Club thread again. So I decided to make this thread. But then I felt like I needed the first post of this thread to have a sales pitch, so I wrote a sales pitch into it. So now I'm pretty much done with what I set out to do with this post...for now. Stay tuned for when I come back here later to yell about some other Houseki no Kuni thing. Like the burgeoning new fanfic scene...............or Cinnabar............................................................................................
Actually here's a way I can yell about both Cinnabar and fanfic at once: my first fic rec of the fandom!!! (Note: fic contains manga spoilers up to Chapter 46. It probably won't make a lick of sense until you read up to there, actually.) I like the idea of fanfic exploring Cinnabar and Diamond's relationship, though...Cinnabar's such a tragic figure that any thought of them forming a meaningful connection makes me happy. Their dynamic with Diamond is great, too.
Here's a good video about the anime and what makes it so visually enjoyable: The video goes out of its way to avoid spoiling anything major, so I feel comfortable sharing this video even with people who haven't read/watched any HnK. I mean, it's kind of intended as a "why-you-should-watch-this-anime" video. As for what I got out of it, as someone who's already watched the entire anime and knows full well what I like about its visuals......................well, I appreciate the excuse to rewatch some out-of-context bits of the show again. (And like, it's a very good analysis!!) ...I'm really looking forward to the AMVs people will make of this show. I've only seen a few pop up so far, and they're already so promising.
News relevant to this thread: Anime Strike is officially dead! So you can now watch Houseki no Kuni on Amazon without having to sign up for an additional service. I mean...you still do need to be signed up for Amazon Prime...but like, you don't have to be signed up for Amazon Prime and spend an additional five bucks a month on top of that. I was kind of wondering how long the double-paywall system was gonna last... (If you don't already have Prime, though, I guess I'm unlikely to convince you to get it just to watch a single show... Save up for the Blu-rays, maybe? Consider piracy? Both?)
I enjoyed the manga and will probably watch the anime at some point, esp if it's available thru prime Honestly still not super hot on the animation style, even after watching the video. I think it could have been much more stunning with a more traditional approach.
Oh! Have you seen the promotion video for the manga from back in 2013? Because that one's the best reference I have for what a "more traditional" Houseki no Kuni might look like: Although I don't know necessarily if that was what you were imagining, yourself. Anyway, I feel like having watched the anime has unfortunately robbed me of the imagination necessary to visualize what a full 2D adaptation would have looked like. When I think of each scene featured in the anime now, I can only visualize it in the 3D I saw it in...although, now that I think about it, 2D might have offered the opportunity to stick more closely to Ichikawa's distinct style...the anime's art direction is very much its own thing. Maybe it's the kind of style you get more used to when you see it in context? Maybe not. I dunno. For what it's worth, I do think the anime's totally worth watching even if the animation doesn't do much for you. The music's great too! I just couldn't figure out a good way to gush about it. The, uhh...instruments are...powerful.
hi i just finished watching this and it was a Good Spoiler i went in knowing exactly who my favs would be just based on appearance and hell ya was i right (look... i have a type... i am Predictable) Spoiler: how predictable am i? find out under this nested spoiler! favs: bort and aculeatis do you see my type yet also there is a sphene & i have a soft spot for that gem after ancillary mercy i do also love ventricosus a lot is it worth getting the physical copies of the manga or will i be good with the kindle versions? i don't really have room for more books so i wanna get the e-vers for space saving
