Category: Cartooning

America at a Crossroads

PBS has a series called America at a Crossroads, hosted by Robert MacNeil. [Link] One of the shows is Frontline’s Gangs of Iraq, which I’ve watched online and recommend highly.

Tonight, one of the local PBS stations re-ran Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime, a collection of stories told by soldiers who have been fighting in Iraq. A variety of storytelling techniques are used in the show, including one that is best described as a video comic book. Not quite a comic book, and not quite a cartoon, this packs a lot of punch, don’t you think? Here it is. The drawings were done by an artist named Christopher Koelle. [Link]
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/AmericaCrossroads.flv 400 300]

Eric’s Anime Pick — Paniponi Dash

Paniponi Dash! is a little of this, and a little of that, with some obvious inspiration from Azumanga Daioh. The video includes the DVD menu (because the music is fun), then the lead-in with the opening credits, the closing credits, and a trademark false preview that has nothing whatsoever to do with the next episode.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/PaniponiDash.flv 425 240]

Eric’s non-Anime Pick — Train Man (Densha Otoko)

A highly-popular recent manga/movie/TV series in Japan is Train Man or, as it’s known there, Densha Otoko. It’s a romantic comedy that is supposed to be based on a true Internet bulletin board thread about an ultra-nerd who helps a girl that is accosted by a drunk on a subway.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/TrainMan.flv 425 240]

This movie is all heart, with none of the mean-spirited macho posturing tone that afflicts The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Another nod to honorable Eric from his humble parents!

Swooning-Crooning Again

A fairly recent, now lost, post was the Warner Brothers cartoon Swooner Crooner…
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/MAY07/SwoonerCrooner.flv 400 300]

Oh, right! Don’t want to forget that I highlighted Raymond Scott’s “Powerhouse” that’s featured in the cartoon.

Raymond Scott

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/MAY07/Powerhouse.mp3]

Kamichu, the Girl-Child God

Eric had written a special guest blog entry for Kamichu, an Anime series about a girl who somehow becomes a god. Not a great god, but a good one. The text was lost in the Great Database Debacle, but here’s the video…

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/MAY07/KamiChu.flv 425 240]

As Eric pointed out, this sequence is atypical for the show, which is mostly slice-of-life vignettes, sometimes featuring little spirit creatures.