Continue reading »]]> Time. It controls all of our lives with unrivaled and unparalleled dictatorship. It slips away from us every moment and there’s nothing we can do about it. For all intents and purposes, time represents one of the greatest scientific challenges. Answering the question of whether or not time travel is possible at all would also answer other questions that are very fundamental to our nature and existence as such, itself. Okabe Rintaro, a self-proclaimed mad but brilliant scientist with nothing to lose, is not entirely determined to answer these questions. But when he more or less accidentally finds a way to tinker with time, he may just win the ultimate prize.

We are in 2010, and we find ourselves in the very heart of the otaku and geek center of the world - Akihabara in Tokyo. There, Okabe rents a small apartment which he proudly calls his lab. It’s not much of a scientific one, but there him and only Daru at first, conduct small, relatively meaningless experiments. It all changes when Okabe is on his way to a scientific lecture about the pros and cons of time travel. On his way, he becomes witness to a brutal murder, quickly leaves the scene, and wants to send a text message to his friends. Back in the lab, a modified microwave has a mobile phone attached. Okabe sends the message while the microwave is turned on - and suddenly the world around him has changed, people have disappeared off the streets. A few minutes later he finds the woman he just found dead to be back alive, and a strange satellite-like thing has crashed into the building he was supposed to visit.

Persistance Of Memory

No one but Rintaro has a memory of the events from before sending that fated message. It turns that the modified microphone is able to send messages back in time, possibly through EM-fields and other things happening. His friends, or lab members how he refers to them, call it a “D-Mail” - short for “DeLorean-Mail”, which in turn is a reference to the Back To The Future movies.

As Rintaro was always interested in time travel and things related to it, the urban legend of John Titor did not pass him by. In the anime as well as in the real world, the legend of John Titor is the same. He appeared mostly on the American internet around 2000 and still claims to be a time traveler who has come back from the year 2036. In both, the anime and real world, this man claims to have stopped in 2000 - but needs to proceed to 1975 to acquire a certain computer.

It doesn’t take too long for Rintaro and his friends to do some digging and to figure out that SERN (-> well, CERN in the real world) seemingly conducted a few time travel experiments on their own already through use of the Large Hadron Collider (also called that in the anime). They also find that their experiments have failed horribly, with the result of people dying at the tests. SERN however is determined to figure it out and to make time travel safe.

Urban Legend

In both, the anime and reality, John Titor claims that his mission is to recover an old computer. In the show, this is the IBN 5100 - in reality the IBM 5100. In the show, John Titor learns of Rintaro’s discovery and urges him to find that machine. It would be crucial to stop SERN from their plans.

By trying to find out more about what happened, and sending a few D-Mails to change a few things, Rintaro has gotten himself into a greater play of fate that is almost inconceivable. I’m going to leave you with this intro of the show - you can see I’m pretty excited. He’s about to find out just how cruel fate can be if you start to challenge it, and what it means to find out the inner workings of the universe. Your mind will be absolutely stunned and blown away when you have come full circle at episode 24, you really do wonder about our very existence - probably more so than ever before in your life.

The show asks fundamental questions about our very being, time, fate, and one of the worst questions there are: what if? It asks whether or not the universe we live in, can be changed… or if everything is really pre-determined and just deceiving us. Because if so, then perhaps we really don’t have any free will, powerless against the force of nature.

I can’t explain to you how excited I am about this show. It is most definitely one of the best I have seen in the last three years and that should tell you something. Get it now. You don’t have time to miss it. A perfect 10 / 10. El Psy Congroo.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLGS_rNSlKU

Steins;Gate
Directed by: Hiroshi Hamasaki, Takuya Sato
Produced by: Gaku Iwasa
Written by: Jukki Hanada
Music by: Takeshi Abo
Studio: White Fox
Licensed by: Canada, United States: Funimation Entertainment
Network: AT-X, CTC, NND, SUN-TV, Tokyo MX, TV Aichi, TVK, TVS
Original run: April 6, 2011 – September 14, 2011
Episodes: 24

John Titor

After I finished watching the show, I did do a little more thorough research on the John Titor thing (the legend the anime mostly hinges on), and I did find something a little unsettling. Now in the real world, John claims to require the IBM 5100 as it had a programming language decoder that was removed from later models - a feature IBM kept secret at the time. He claims it would be vital to solve a severe problem in his timeline - Unix operating systems will stop functioning in 2038 (the Y2K38 problem). It would affect his world completely - the solution would be in that machine.

This is an image that appeared around 2000 from the man claiming to be John Titor. According to these posts, this image shows a cutaway of the time machine John used in 2036:

Not too long ago, the administrator of JohnTitor.com (I do not believe this to be this John Titor person himself) posted this:

Patent Application US20060073976 was filed for a Method of Gravity Distortion and Time Displacement. The filing date is listed at October 1, 2004 by Marlin B. Pohlman of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The application includes the identical images posted by John Titor online, as well as the time travel theory he discussed.

It links to the patent file itself. The patent was approved in 2006. In the patent, you can see what could be interpreted as a simplified version of John’s cutaway:

Another interesting thing. This is what John claims to be the insignia of his military unit that has come to retrieve the IBM 5100:

And this is page 1 of the aforementioned patent:

It could all be coincidence. There could be something to it. I’m not saying anything, I’m not implying anything. As it stands, the anime used the urban legend as a plot device for the show. What you think of it is your thing - I’m just putting it out there.

Continue reading »]]> It has been relatively quiet for me on the anime front recently. It has to do with the fact that my job has changed a little bit, and that I am looking at a major change in lifestyle (that’s all I can say for now), which requires most of my attention in the moment. I am also working on one of my software projects, which is time-consuming too. However I still found the time to watch another anime in its entirety! So here goes.

It all begins when Tomoya Okazaki, your typical good-for-nothing and high-school slacker spends his days. He’s obviously skipping lessons and does his own thing. However things are about to change pretty quickly when he hears the rumor of a girl being constantly in the high-school, however that girl is hospitalized. It is also then when Tomoya meets Nagisa - a quiet, reserved, but cheerful girl who seems to have an interest in Tomoya. Together they attempt to figure out what happened to the girl, who introduces herself as Fuko Ibuki. A childish girl who only talks about herself in the 3rd person, and apparently has a strong passion for starfish. They find out she really is in the hospital, maybe terminally ill, but wants people to see the wedding of her brother.

The story revolves around Nagisa Furukawa - but is told from the perspective of Tomoya Okazaki. This is somewhat reminiscent of Haruhi Suzumiya’s technique of storytelling (where the story is about Haruhi but told by Kyon) - however since it’s a completely different type of story, you won’t notice it so much. Nagisa is very fond of the Big Dango Family - a mascot of happy family life in the world of Clannad.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4k6HWcf6jM

Life outside of the high-school, at least for Tomoya, happens at the house of the Furukawas. Tomoya and his father were never really connecting - he’s an unemployed alcoholic, who does little to nothing for his son. Naturally, Tomoya seeks other, better alternatives. He eventually decides to leave his father’s house to come to live with the girl that means the most to him. Not long after that he begins to see what a real family is and what it feels like. Beginning to see real family value, he vows to make changes in his own life too. The Furukawas themselves run a little bakery outside the high-school with average success. To sustain the family, she sometimes teaches children and a variety of topics.

Another side of the story is the so-called Illusionary World. It is a world that is seemingly completely devoid of life - only a girl, and a puppet made out of junk, which however is alive, are present. The world itself is also devoid of any modern civilisation, or any civilisation, as only one house can be seen inside which the unnamed girl is often found, together with the doll. The girl keeps on expressing her longing to leave this world, and go to another, livelier place. In order to do so they would have to build some kind of machine together, and would have to do so before the cold and harsh winter sets in. How this ties into the whole story of Nagisa and Tomoya… well you better figure that out yourself

I don’t want to give away too much of it… I think by now you got the idea that I really enjoyed watching it. Basically there are two seasons - the first one primarily takes place in the high-school time of all characters. The second, and this is really unique, “~After Story~”, continues exactly where the first one ended - however the story extends over the next 10 years or so, sometimes with jumps of about 2 years between the episodes. A unique concept I have not seen in any other anime before - definitely worth it.

The soundtrack of Clannad is absolutely incredible and truly takes you away to a different state of mind. I do suggest you get the soundtrack and listen to it once in a while… you will not regret it.

Now that I have seen it all I feel like I lost a friend. I didn’t want it to be over, but nothing can last forever. That should give you a hint of what I think about the show. I’d rate it a 9.5 out of 10 - mostly for its originality, narrative, and soundtrack. I am telling you - get your hands on this, watch it at your own pace. Better do it sooner than later. Honestly. There are OVAs with stories taking place in an alternative universe, and present a “what if?” scenario. Watch those too

One more thing - “Clannad” means “Family” in Gaelic (Irish)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=siT-U2lSolY

Clannad
Directed by: Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Licensed by
Canada, United States - Sentai Filmworks
Australia, New Zealand - Siren Visual
Network: TBS, MBS, CBC, BS-i - Philippines: TV5
English network: Canada, United States: Anime Network
Original run: October 4, 2007 – March 27, 2008
Episodes: 23

Clannad - Another World: Tomoyo’s Thoughts
Directed by: Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Licensed by: Canadam United States - Sentai Filmworks
Released: July 16, 2008
Runtime: 24 minutes

Clannad ~After Story~
Directed by: Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Licensed by
Canada, United States - Sentai Filmworks
Australia, New Zealand - Siren Visual
Network: TBS, MBS, CBC, BS-i
Original run: October 3, 2008 – March 26, 2009
Episodes: 24

Clannad - Another World: Kyou’s Thoughts
Directed by: Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Licensed by: Canada, United States - Sentai Filmworks
Released: July 1, 2009
Runtime: 24 minutes

Continue reading »]]> All time anime moment #1: Elenore’s sacrifice, and confession.

Wounded terminally, she tries to save the girl she loves the most, and loses her life over it. I cried at this like no other show before, and not after - a truly stunning moment that sticks with you forever.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2tyh6I6Rl0

Madlax
Episode 24
“Devoting Hearts ~devotion~”

Continue reading »]]> #2: Speak Like A Child

When Faye Valentine gets a package with a video tape, she and her friends want to know what’s on it. Faye finds it is a message she recorded for herself, when she was 10 years old - to her future self. A very sad, touching, inspirational and moving moment in anime history - it made me cry.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlN7-eNsbCk

Cowboy Bebop
Episode 18
“Speak Like A Child”

Continue reading »]]> #4: The Tachikoma Suicide

The Tachikomas disregard a direct order from the Major, to intercept a nuclear missile that is targeted for Dejima, and to end a rebellion. They realize too late that the satellite they chose to intercept the missile, is their own AI - but still carry out their plan. They sing a children’s song of happiness, while facing death.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UEkrUVmPIc

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex
2nd Gig
Return to Patriotism – ENDLESS ∞ GIG