The Hobbit Hole VIII - Still round the corner we may meet...

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[RMDupree]

Oh no!! HAHAHAHAHHAAAA!!!

[Fedora]

It was very different than any other Python movie I've seen. Good adaptation but not at all trying to be satirical like other Python stuff. Toad ended up being pretty hilarious :)

[Fedora]

Thanks a whooooole lot....

Aw, shucks, it was nothing! :)

[JenB]

Absolutely!

One idea in Kenshin is... they're living ten years after a major civil war. It seems to have been very confusing. But there isn't a definite good side and a definitely bad side. The Imperialists did bad things, and the Shogunate did bad things.

Most of the people Kenshin opposed in the past show up and say something about "we all were fighting for a new era, I don't hold a grudge against you." Or they want to kill him because he's the best.

It's really fascinating, like you say, to see how the concepts are handled...

[JenB]

It's not just you. It actually looks a little like Gollum's face.

[RMDupree]

I'll be in Texas for about an hour on June 17th when I stop over on the way to Seattle! *smile*

[Fedora]

Yes :) He also drew other parts of Gollum's cave like the rocks were alive, which was kinda interesting. I haven't noticed if he does that in his other stuff. I definitely spot the distinctive "Simonson" way of detailing things in that picture. I loved his issues of Thor.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Yep... which flight is that, by the way?

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Yes, his run on Thor was a classic!

[Fedora]

It's not just you. It actually looks a little like Gollum's face.

Oh, wow, I didn't notice that was Gollum's face--that makes sense! Cool :)

One thing that's neat about this book is it includes scenes from the original that weren't in the Rankin-Bass. Among other things Simonson drew Beorn and the scene where Beorn hangs the Goblin King and Chief Worg's heads on a gate.

[JenB]

I hate the animation in the Rankin-Bass, so I don't want to see the book. Too many nightmares.

[Fedora]

That's interesting how they portrayed a war without presenting either side as the good guy. Don't think I've seen too much fiction do that.

I also like the way Asian stories often extrapolate from historical settings into the totally fantastic--it's like a combination of historical fiction and fantasy/SF.

[RMDupree]

YIKES! You caught me unprepared!

I have the flight info in a folder at work. WN and I made sure we had the same flight out of DFW so we can fly to WA together. I'll FReepmail you the flight number tomorrow. :-)

[Fedora]

Sounds like I'm gonna have to burn you a Rankin-Bass cookie. . . :)

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

That'll be fine!

We are toying with the notion of flying to WA, since driving will just take too long... and we thought it would be neat to be on the same flight as y'all.

[JenB]

Yeah, it's a weird blend. None of that in Kenshin, though. It's all historical.

Comparing the setting of RK to, say, the aftermath of our Civil War is interesting. Most people I know who care about the Civil War pick one side or another as the good guys. Kenshin doesn't make that sort of judgement for us.

And it's inspired me to find out a lot more about that history.

[Fedora]

Yes, his run on Thor was a classic!

I especially liked the way he brought Thor back to his roots in Norse myth. Beta-Ray Bill was also fun :)

[Fedora]

So what year is it set in? I'd like to read up on that myself.

[JenB]

NOOOOO!!!! No Rankin-Bass. Definitely, definitely, definitely no Bakshi. I saw those at Entmoot.

[JenB]

I'm not entirely sure - it's ten years after the Meiji Restoration. 1870s, maybe.