Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms
How were the ordinary people's lives under the bombing in HIROSHIMA? How were they completely destroyed and changed by 'one new bomb'? In what way does its still keep affecting the people physically and mentally even till today?
This manga clearly describes these sad facts, not in a hysterical way but in an incredibly calm and beautiful way. But all the more for so, the pain of the people sticks to the readers' soul even deeper. Definitely a masterpiece. Must be read by lots and lots of people in all nations.
終戦記念スペシャルドラマ この世界の片隅に [DVD]
原作がとてつもないまでの丁寧且つ、秀作だったせいか、ドラマ化は不安でした… 北川景子がどれだけ主人公すずを熱演するか、若しくは作品にマッチしているか…
リアルタイムでドラマを観ました。
北川景子で良かったんだな(泣)すずになってたなぁ…
見終わった途端、堪えきれなかった涙が一気に溢れました。
りょうの小姑っぷりや元カノを演じた優香もガッチリと嵌まった演技でありました。
北川景子は立派な女優になって欲しい。 加えて、この作品に出逢えた事を誇りに、これからも演技に 磨きを掛けて欲しい。
先の期待を見据えつつ☆5つに しました。
この世界の片隅に 中 (アクションコミックス)
「この世界の片隅に 上 (1) (アクションコミックス)」に続く第2巻中編。
昭和19年7月から20年4月の広島に暮らす すずたちの生活が描かれます。
婚家でつつましく健気に生きるすずは、ふとしたきっかけで遊郭の女リンと知り合うことになります。そのリンとすずは出逢う前から縁浅からぬつながりがあったことが見えてきます。
そしてまた、幼馴染で今は海軍に身を置く水原哲が久しぶりに彼女のもとへやってきます。哲とすずとの間にも複雑な感情の往来が生まれます。
“あの日”までわずか4ヶ月というところまでやってきた すずたち登場人物の生活はこんな風にわずかに波を立てることになります。その静かな波立ちの描き方が実に見事です。
水原哲がすずを評してこう語るくだりが心に残りました。
「あーあー普通じゃのう。当たり前の事で怒って当たり前の事で謝りよる。
すず お前はほんまに普通の人じゃ」
「この世界の片隅に」静かに当たり前に生きるすずたち。夫婦のちょっとしたすれ違いや、家族の仲たがい、そうした当たり前であることがなにものにもかえがたいシアワセであるあの時代の空気とにおいをこの作品は現実感を伴ってみせてくれます。
さて、第3巻・最終編の出版は来年初めのころでしょうか。
楽しみでもあり、おそれてもいる自分が今ここにいます。
美少女戦士セーラームーン Super Special DVD-BOX
Every episode and special of the live action drama, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (PGSM) collected in one awesome box set for the very first time!
Box, Covers and Disks
While fans had been given two DVD boxes before, these were empty boxes that could be used to store all of the individual PGSM DVDs (half of the series in each) and even then didn't have enough space for the Kirari Super Live DVD so in many ways weren't real "box sets" and definitely weren't series / season box sets.
This release, just in time for Sailor Moon's 20th Anniversary in 2012, includes every episode and special (including Super Live) packaged all in one hard sturdy cardboard box that is actually thinner than one of the previously mentioned half season boxes.
Included in the box is four regular sized DVD cases, three of which carry four individual DVDs and the fourth carrying two. The cases are very well designed so that it's easy to remove the disks and while 13 of the 14 disks feature the same content as the individual releases (the regular episode DVDs and the Super Live DVD) the 14th disk is unique to this set and includes all the content from the two separate Special Act and Act Zero DVDs on one disk.
Despite the newly designed 14th disk, this isn't a simple re-boxing of the first 13 as was done with the Sailor Moon Anime 20th Anniversary DVD Box Sets. All of the disks have a new uniform label design with slight colour variations depending on the case they're packaged in.
Overall I'm very happy with the physical presentation of this release.
Menus
The first 13 disks are pretty much exactly the same as the previously released individual DVDs with fast loading menus with some very nicely designed graphics and animated intros. There is the annoying feature that autoplays the main feature when you put in the DVD instead of going to the menu as is normal on Western DVDs but this is quite normal for a Japanese DVD release so it's not something that is particular with just this release.
The 14th disk which features the, up until now separate releases of the Special Act and Act Zero features a new main menu for it's disk which is a combination of the individual menus. It loads quickly and looks great though it is a bit strange there they excluded the chapter menu for both the main Act Zero episode and the Special Act.
Special Features
Thankfully this release includes all of the special features that came with the previous releases. This includes the fun and insightful interviews with the actors and staff as well as location tours to the places used for filming the series, bloopers, tearful farewell speeches as well as some short episodes that focus on Tuxedo Mask and Hina.
All up there's well over 2 hours of behind the scenes bonus material which is pretty amazing when you think about it. The only thing missing I think fans wanted was the rare Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Dance Lesson special though I'm not surprised it's missing due to the fact that it was a super rare VHS mail away promo made for a magazine in Japan and wasn't produced for sale.
A nice bonus, exclusive to this box is an included booklet that features interviews with the producer and writer of the show. This interview was conducted for this release which is very cool and offers some awesome insight into the creation of the series that I absolutely loved!
Episodes & Specials
A live action Sailor Moon fan really couldn't ask for more with this release that includes every episode of the main series, the special prequel Act Zero and sequel Special Act, the Hina and Tuxedo Mask mini episodes as well as the awesome Kirari Super Live concert.
This is the ultimate release for any fan of the series or those interested in watching it for the first time. While there are no English subtitles, it honestly didn't detract from my viewing of the series in raw Japanese before I knew anything about the language. The story is fairly easy to understand and if you have any trouble you can use my episode guide to help you out.
This box set (the only official box set made) is also fantastic value. Here's a price breakdown:
Individual PGSM DVDs 6090 yen each x 15 = 91,350 yen (US$1,131.72)
New Box Set: 31,500 yen (US$390.26)
New Box Set with Amazon.jp discount: 23,098 yen (US$286.15)
That's a $845.57 saving! Even with the US$70 shipping fee (which is offset by the discount anyway) that's still an unbelievable value!
There is very little chance of this series ever being release outside of Japan which makes this box set highly recommended for every Sailor Moon fan everywhere.
A must buy!
この世界の片隅に 下 (アクションコミックス)
この人の作品がすごいのは、どんなものを書いても根本的にはあたたかいことだと思います。
戦争ものといえば、辛くて怖くて血だらけで、もう二度と読み返せないものしか知りませんでした。
悲しくなるばかりだと思っていたから、敬遠していました。
だけどこの作品は、ちょっと違う。
出て来る人達皆、あったかいんです。
それぞれが胸のよじれるような辛い現実に直面しても、尚。
もちろん戦争の残酷さは描かれていますが、だからこそ、人々のあたたかさが際立つのです。
本当に本気で、こういうものを守らなければいけないんだな、と強く思いました。
涙がしばらくとまりませんでした。
何度も読み返したい、大切な作品になりました。
