Another year in the books, another freshman class to grace Cornell, and another year of CJAS providing quality entertainment to the campus and its student population. This year should be a year of intense action and thrilling moments. We have a full slate of shows, starting with the late Satoshi Kon’s most recent film, and ending with one of the newest entries in the Gundam franchise.
Click after the jump for a more detailed listing of our showing schedule.
We will begin our showing year not with a regular opening, but with a commemoration of the late Satoshi Kon. It was nearly one year ago today that the world lost this great director to pancreatic cancer as he was working on his latest film. To honor him, we will be showing Paprika, a film many years in the making, and probably the most recognizable of his films. This psychological thrill ride is sure to please everyone, though not recommended due to its R rating.
In terms of anime series, we are showing a number of well known series from the past ten years, including one of the fan favorites from last year. For nearly every week after our opening week, we begin with the high action series Black Lagoon. Borrowing heavily from American action movies, this movie will shoot you in the face and spout vulgar language the entire time. Following this is another heavily western influenced series, this time though influenced by crime dramas like The Godfather, Gungrave. If you enjoy character dramas with a heavy helping of fake-Marlon Brando, you should enjoy it.
Switching gears from the heavy Western influence, we head into a duo of series animated by the controversial studio Gonzo. While known to be very hit or miss with each series, we are showing likely the two best series from the studio, Basilisk and Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. Basilisk is the series Shakespeare would have written if he thought Romeo and Juliet needed a ninja bounty list. Gankutsuou is a rewrite of the famous novel The Count of Monte Cristo set in a futuristic world, borrowing heavily in sci-fi elements and impressive visual flair.
Following our showing break, we will drift from showing Western series to showing series that are are more typical of what most people consider “anime.” Our lead-off show post-break is the otaku darling hit of 2010 Angel Beats!, a supernatural high school drama without any of the high schooling. Following this is a double helping of a horror series that premiered on the noitaminA block, and received acclaim as it was airing in Japan, Shiki. This brightly colored horror series will please those fond of frights, vampires, goth fashion, and brightly colored hair.
![You've got mail! [I bet that's the first time you've heard that since 2002]](http://www.cjas.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/shigofumi2020042020largdo5.jpg "You've got mail! [I bet that's the first time you've heard that since 2002]")
Our last two series as well borrow heavily from horror trends, and show it in design. Shigofumi: Letters of the Departed focuses on how one can deal with the heavy losses stemming from the death of a close one, and letting the pain come and go. A heartfelt series, this is one to watch, appreciate and discuss with others post showing. Our end cap of a series is another high octane series popular in Japan as it was airing, Soul Eater. Again taking influence from horror elements and death, it is a fashionable and energetic shonen action series.
Our last showing week replaces Shiki with a something different. Instead of horror, we will show a new entry into the most famous robot series. Gundam Unicorn is a new entry into the dense and storied Universal Century timeline, but provides a good starting point for anyone looking to get into the UC timeline.
Our schedule is sure to please fans of nearly all genres, and provide a welcome schedule to all people looking for a friendly viewing environment.