Okuribito ("Departures")

Masahiro Motoki (as Daigo Kobayashi)
Ryouko Hirosue (as Mika Kobayashi, Daigo's wife)
Tsutomu Yamazaki (as Shouei Sasaki, Daigo's boss)
Kumiko Yo (as Yuriko Uemura, staff of Shouei)

I recently got to watch the Japanese movie 'Okuribito'. Its a movie, partly narrated on a first person perspective of the main protagonist Daigo Kobayashi, about his life as an 'encoffiner' (or 'Nookanjin'). Originally a cellist for an orchestra, he returns to his mother's house in the province after the group doesn't get much ticket sales for their performances and was forced to be disbanded. Answering to a vague ad in the newspaper, Daigo ends up as an 'encoffiner' in his hometown.

In watching Japanese drama or movies, you not only get entertained, but you also get to learn something new. In the Japanese movie 'Okuribito', you get an insight into Japanese burial customs and traditions, in which the 'encoffiner', with a short dignified ceremony, cleanses the body and changes them to their burial clothes before they are transferred to the coffin for their last rites. It is said that this practice is often done by family members, but recent trends increased the need for a professional encoffiner.

Even though that he is despised for his line of work, for not having a 'normal', 'dignified' job, Daigo doesn't quit.

In providing the transitional service, their clients find themselves in a epiphany about their lives, their relationships, and their bond with the deceased. Helping the bereaved find closure and start the healing process for them to carry on. This, in turn, gives Daigo a sense of fullfillment of what he does for the people.

Little does he know that the same sense of fullfillment he gives to his clients will ultimately lead to his own salvation and rediscover his roots as he applies his skill as an 'encoffiner' to the father he barely knew.

After seeing this movie, I searched the web for more info about it. I was surprised to see the sheer number of awards it attained in various award giving bodies around the world. It even bagged the 'Best Foreign Film' from the 81st Academy Awards. Although the movie was a success, the director was worried because discussing death in a family is considered taboo. I also read in wikipedia that this film took 10 years to make as Motoki took the time to learn about encoffining and playing the cello. The director also attended several funeral ceremonies to understand the setting, the mood, and the feelings of the ones left behind.

(Daigo and Mika at the riverbanks)

While I was drawn in with the story and Masahiro Motoki's acting, I also can't get my eyes off the character played by Ryouko Hirosue.

Its a very good movie to watch. Even those who are not fans of Japanese movies or dramas will get something out of watching this.

Gunslinger Girl (Il Teatrino)

I've been waiting so long for the complete second season of Yu Aida's 'Gunslinger Girl' that I already forgot about it. Seeing its episodes on the web rekindled my desire to see what happens next to out cute, gun-totting, melancholic heroines as they strive to figure out their place in life whilst battling groups that want to destabilize and tear apart the nation.

To those new to the series, Gunslinger Girl is about a Social Welfare Agency which, in reality, experiments with little girls with traumatic pasts and turns them into cybernetic assassins that eliminates those who oppose the goverment. To make the girls obedient to their handlers, they are 'conditioned' to make them loyal. This in turn confuses the young minds of the girls because this intense loyalty is interpreted as infatuation or, in some cases, love.

First off, the art and animation of the second season is different from the soft, subtle lines and dramatic images coupled with fast paced gunplay seamed together in great harmony, to which I associate with the first season. This time around, they went with a more defined and serious character design, that went well with the overall theme of the series which focuses less on the feelings of the cast and more on the plot of the story. The series also dive into the personal lives of the main handlers to give you a background into why their joined the Agency,

And, unlike the first season which focuses on the main heroine, Henrietta, the other girls are given the spotlight, especially the kick-ass Triela. Here I also see a new girl, Beatrice, who I didn't get to see in the manga.

The story follows the 'Pinnochio' arc of the manga, where the girls and their handlers are tested to the limits of their wit and skill against the bomb makers Franco and Franca, along with the hardened teenage assassin known as Pinnochio.

The series also delves into the personal story of Angelica's handler, Marco, which is also a part of the manga. What's new is the personal insight into Rico's enigmatic and strong handler, Jean, which I didn't see in the manga (then again, I've read only until book 5).

I don't think first time viewers of the series won't be able to appreciate the entire scope of the story without seeing the first season. The second season is not solid enough to create a self-standing series away from the first in terms of character development and explaiing the root of the story.