The Glass Mask
Oct. 10th, 2010 09:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
polychrome_penAfter yesterday night's binge (and a few more episodes today) I finished The Glass Mask, one of the best anime series I've seen in quite some time.
The 51 episode series (available for free at Crunchy Roll) follows the career highs and lows of Maya Kitajima, a young stage actress. We meet her mentor, the aged yet formidable Chigusa Tsukigage who was a huge star before an accident on stage, and Ayumi Himekawa, another young actress and a daughter who wants to step out of the shadows of her celebrity parents. Maya and Ayumi grow to be rivals as the series progresses, though both end up being tutored by Ms. Tsukikage. The fourth really main character is Masumi Hayami, the young president of Daito Entertainment (a media company that sponsors Ayumi's acting troupe). While on the outside he seems to oppose Maya's efforts, he secretly supports her acting as the anonymous "Mr. Purple Roses" who sends his namesake to Maya after each of her performances.
I'm always drawn to series about the performing arts. Kaleido Star was a fabulous series about circus performers, while Nodame Cantabile and La Corda d'Oro plumbed the depths of classical music and what it means to us. The Glass Mask is that kind of series for acting.
Now, this isn't the first time that The Glass Mask has been brought to life with animation. There was a 1984 series, and a late 90s OAV as well (both of which I'd kind of like to track down, now). I think this series must maintain some kind of homage to the earlier ones, as the designs feel very inspired by what you might have seen in an 80s shoujo anime, but updated to feel a little more fresh.
Are there problems? Of course. Supporting characters never really feel fleshed out to the extent they should, the music can be pretty bland, and for a series about acting the animation tends to be on the stiff side (except for facial close ups, which the animators seem to have spent half the budget on). But the series really hooks you after a few episodes and never lets go. In fact, the format of different challenging plays that the cast competes in really reminded me of shounen "tournament" series, where the main character always has to figure out something new to overcome the current obstacle.
But the series really made me revisit my own love of acting - something I used to do quite often back in the day, and still something that I miss and feel nostalgic for from time to time. I know what it's like to try and memorize lines, worry about your costume, and enjoy the applause of the audience. And I think those acting experiences (even if many of them were for class), helped to create a personal connection with this series.
And now I think I'm going to go look for local plays to see. I haven't been to see live theatre since Wicked (almost two years ago!), and I miss it dearly.
The 51 episode series (available for free at Crunchy Roll) follows the career highs and lows of Maya Kitajima, a young stage actress. We meet her mentor, the aged yet formidable Chigusa Tsukigage who was a huge star before an accident on stage, and Ayumi Himekawa, another young actress and a daughter who wants to step out of the shadows of her celebrity parents. Maya and Ayumi grow to be rivals as the series progresses, though both end up being tutored by Ms. Tsukikage. The fourth really main character is Masumi Hayami, the young president of Daito Entertainment (a media company that sponsors Ayumi's acting troupe). While on the outside he seems to oppose Maya's efforts, he secretly supports her acting as the anonymous "Mr. Purple Roses" who sends his namesake to Maya after each of her performances.
I'm always drawn to series about the performing arts. Kaleido Star was a fabulous series about circus performers, while Nodame Cantabile and La Corda d'Oro plumbed the depths of classical music and what it means to us. The Glass Mask is that kind of series for acting.
Now, this isn't the first time that The Glass Mask has been brought to life with animation. There was a 1984 series, and a late 90s OAV as well (both of which I'd kind of like to track down, now). I think this series must maintain some kind of homage to the earlier ones, as the designs feel very inspired by what you might have seen in an 80s shoujo anime, but updated to feel a little more fresh.
Are there problems? Of course. Supporting characters never really feel fleshed out to the extent they should, the music can be pretty bland, and for a series about acting the animation tends to be on the stiff side (except for facial close ups, which the animators seem to have spent half the budget on). But the series really hooks you after a few episodes and never lets go. In fact, the format of different challenging plays that the cast competes in really reminded me of shounen "tournament" series, where the main character always has to figure out something new to overcome the current obstacle.
But the series really made me revisit my own love of acting - something I used to do quite often back in the day, and still something that I miss and feel nostalgic for from time to time. I know what it's like to try and memorize lines, worry about your costume, and enjoy the applause of the audience. And I think those acting experiences (even if many of them were for class), helped to create a personal connection with this series.
And now I think I'm going to go look for local plays to see. I haven't been to see live theatre since Wicked (almost two years ago!), and I miss it dearly.
