Banana Fish Presentation

My Brother's Husband

Since I have already read My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness previously, I’ve decided to focus my post for this week on My Brother's Husband. Which admittedly, out of the two books resonated with me the strongest.

My Brother’s Husband is such a genuine and sweet story that I found to be very compelling. It is the one of the few manga that successfully manage to portray homosexuality in an honest light, and makes no attempt to fetishize it in any way. I love the way it presents the relationships between the characters as they all grow together. Yaichi especially is a very accurate representation of a person in today’s modern world who is not technically homophobic, but is clearly uncomfortable with homosexuality, perhaps because of it being unknown territory to him. I think it is important that we start from that point of view and see how it gradually changes since it is so common for people to think that way, whether they are conscious of it or not.

I especially like how many of the curiosities and thoughts that Yaichi has are expressed through his young daughter, almost to show how undeveloped or naïve some of those thoughts are. This creates a safe space for Mike to inform Yaichi, Kana, and the reader as well about whatever curiosities they might have. The author seems to genuinely want to educate readers of how things are like from the perspective of someone who is part of the LGBTQ community, and doesn’t talk down on those who might be ill-informed. The simplicity in which he presents some of it is a breath of fresh air and truly how it should be discussed. People are just people and should be treated no differently, no matter where their interests lie. This book has so much heart put into it and it is truly an enjoyable read. I would highly recommend it!

Hayao Miyazaki and Makoto Shinkai's work

    The last two class periods have been really enlightening when it comes to learning more about these two very influential people and what makes their work so brilliant. Both have this way of making their work almost timeless; they tell compelling stories that can be enjoyed throughout generations. But it’s not just the storytelling that makes their work stand out from the rest, but also their eye for direction and ability to perfectly capture a moment in time and make the viewer feel as though they’re truly there, living in that moment.

     It was very interesting to learn more about who Miyazaki was as a person, and how Studio Ghibli came to be. It definitively made me appreciate the movies more, and I was able to see them in a new light. Miyazaki truly set the stage and standards for people to be inspired by his work and emerge in the animation industry of Japan, such as Shinkai.

Although Shinkai is often called the “New Miyazaki” we also know that he has very distinct nuances when it comes to his stories that are different from Miyazaki. The types of narratives Shinkai goes back to, focusing more on romance and communication between two characters, is not always the concentration of Miyazaki’s stories. Even the focus on lighting in Shinkai’s films has a unique quality to them that is easily recognizable.

     Overall, I very much enjoyed both George’s and Dr. Suzuki’s presentations. I found them very informative and eye-opening. The movies I was able to watch, including the screening of Isao Takahata’s Pom Poko left me feeling inspired and able to appreciate their unique visions as storytellers and filmmakers in a new light.