issue 06 // volume 42

Animesque: Spicy dreams

» ‘Paprika’ review

Adam Tatelman
Staff Writer

S0000

here are those who
consider Paprika to be the

Japanese version of Christopher
Nolan’s Inception. However,
the anime predates the film
by a good four years, and the
novel began its release in 1991.
Paprika also proves one of my
most deeply held beliefs about
animation: if you want to
portray a story about the mad
logic of surreal dreams, there’s
no better medium for it than
good old pen and paper.

Paprika’s plot is similar
to Inception’s. In the near
future, a scanner called the DC
Mini allows people to share
dreams. Dr. Chiba, a therapist,
uses this device to help her
patients. While navigating
their nonsensical mind-worlds,
she takes on the kinetic and
unpredictable persona of
Paprika. While she’s working
with Konakawa, a detective
suffering from recurring
nightmares, a DC Mini goes
missing. One by one, Chiba’s
colleagues are pulled into an
ever-maddening dream from
which there is no escape.

 

As plots go, it’s pretty

vague, even when the action
; takes place in the real world.

: There's some typical science-
: gone-wrong debate about
: the ethical limits of scientific
: experimentation. Unlike

: creepy dream-anime Paranoia

: Agent, Paprika is a vibrant and

: high-energy affair, especially

: when the title character is

: on screen throwing herself

: into the pantomime roles

: within the dream. The dreams

: themselves are bustling parades
: of colourful surreal imagery,

: interconnected yet entirely

: unique from one another. Often
: the film is dreamlike, and

: sometimes the dreams are like

: films,

Paprika’s visual creativity

: always serves the character

: development. Each character

: has two faces: the one they show
: in public and the one they keep
: to themselves. Chiba/Paprika

: is the most literal example of

: this theme, but every detail in

: every dream tells us something
: about the other characters, be

: it Detective Konakawa’s love of
: movies changing the images of
: his dreams, or the introverted

: genius Tokita revealing his

: childish-yet-innocent inner self.

As the film goes on, the

: transition between reality and
: dreams becomes more subtle—

: it’s a perfect way to show the

: worlds merging without telling
: us that the lines are becoming

: blurred. The upbeat tone is

: accentuated by the Vocaloid

: synthesizer soundtrack, and the
: fairly realistic character designs
: help lend emotional weight to

: what might otherwise be just

: another crazy dream cartoon.

: There is a little disturbing

: content within the dreams, but
: it feels built up to rather than

: thrown in for shock value. It is

: merely the natural progression

: from dream to nightmare.

Although it has an

: admittedly thin story, I give

: Paprika a perfect score. This

: is a film that embraces the

: ideas and themes of dreams in
: a wholehearted way, creating

: a distinctive visual identity

: in the process. In reducing

: the complexities of the plot,

: the film allows itself to create
: and follow the expressionistic
: logic of the dream to a natural
: resolution. The characters all
: reach satisfying resolutions as
: well, so it’s not that the story

: is lacking. It just took a more

: experimental and imaginative
: path.

Paprika is not the Japanese

: version of Inception. It is the
: film Inception wishes it could
: be.

 

arts // no. 9

 

Comic Corner: Scary fairy tales fit for a vampire

» ‘Vampirella: Feary Tales’ review

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor
Ae lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

OOOSS.

ontinuing with our

Halloween theme for the
month of October, this week I
decided to check out a classic—
actually, more a revision of a
classic: Vampirella: Feary Tales.
Overseen and written by Nancy
A. Collins, this book has some
big name cameos, including
Gail Simone and Devin Grayson
as Collins’ co-writers. Despite
that, it still remains true to the
original pulp fiction Vampirella
roots, but in doing so it runs the
risk of being too niche.

Done in honor of
Vampirella’s 45th anniversary,
Feary Tales has our heroine
trapped inside a storybook
filled with familiar yet slightly
twisted tales that parody
classics such as The Little
Mermaid. Her only way out is
to play through all the stories
to gain her freedom. Each
story is handled by a team of
all-star writers and artists, but

    
 

F

: the overall impression of the
: book is cohesive and the art is
: ; amazing.

I was slightly put off by the
: concept of the graphic novel
: when I picked it up. I find the
idea of “dark” or horror-based

: revisions of fairy tales to be a

: little cliché. However, I enjoyed
: Feary Tales, probably for the

: same reason I enjoy Fables—it

: was funny. Vampirella is not

: a character who lends herself

: to be taken seriously, and this

: book is more than aware of

: that. It’s campy, dark, and filled
: with sexual innuendo.

So here’s my problem. At

: no point in this novel is there

: any reference to the character’s
: history, so all that camp and

: humour is only apparent if

: you've read the old Warren

: Magazine issues, or are at least
: aware of them. Newcomers

: to Vampirella run the risk of

: misunderstanding the context
: this new novel is written in.

Overall, I enjoyed this

: book, but I can probably only

: recommend it to those obsessed
: with or interested in pulp

: fiction from the ’6os.

 

MY ASS? BECALISE
TLL NEVER