Run, Melos

[lucathia]

Konomi-sensei mentioned that there was talk about how Melos from Run, Melos looked like Kenya. (Or was Kenya the one who looked too much like Melos? I don't know which one he designed first) Melos doesn't look all that much like Kenya in the Aoi Bungaku rendition of Run, Melos since Konomi-sensei is just the original character designer for that, but man, the novel cover really does look a lot like Kenya.

Aoi Bungaku version:


Novel cover:

So I guess people who run have to look like this? XD;

BTW, here's Kenya:

I probably should have found a pic of him when he's not making such a weird expression. XD

And so I ended up watching the two episodes of Run, Melos in Aoi Bungaku (episode 9 and 10) after Melos piqued my curiosity. It was more touching than depressing, thankfully. Surprisingly, the story wasn't about Run, Melos but rather borrowed from that short story to relate to the author's life. The original character designer was Konomi Takeshi and the director was Nakamura Ryosuke for these two episodes.


Here we have the main character of these two episodes. He's a writer who has trouble writing his latest play Run, Melos because the play is too similar to his own life and what happened between him and his friend.


Here's the main character's friend who the main character thinks is gifted. He's talented at acting.


One more pic of him because he looked cool. |D


Melos, the main character of the play. He leaves behind his friend as a hostage and promises to return for him within 3 days.


...I capped this only because the extra character in the back reminded me of Samurai Nanjiro.


Melos and his friend, Selinuntius. I wouldn't have minded if the Aoi Bungaku version had focused on the actual short story.


The pair of friends above and the pair of friends here are kind of juxtaposed with each other.


...because deep bonds of friendship surely mean you practice reciting Romeo and Juliet together and get in each other's faces. XD; I'm pretty sure a bunch of people capped this scene, so I won't omit it either. =P

I enjoyed seeing Konomi-sensei's style with the characters. It's a bit strange seeing his character designs in such a dark anime (the mood is so different from Tenipuri. Tenipuri has such brighter scenes), but it's kind of cool too~. The animation was smooth, with some epic writing with a pen.

Comments

[just1kinkybitch.livejournal.com]

YES! At first I wasn't interested in the anime series but Kuro told me to watch this specific episode from it cause it was gay and I did and it was <3.

Then I decided to watch the other series... Not very good and so confusing... But I really like Run Melos~

Too bad the guy got married... I don't even get it. If he knew he was an uncurable illness and let his friend go to Tokyo and didn't go himself afraid that he might hold him back or something why would he even get married? Apparently his wife grief isn't as important as his friend I suppose (hehehe).

[lucathia]

I've actually only watched episode 1 and these two episodes. I liked these two episodes more than the first one because of the slightly more lighthearted mood and the strong bond of friendship between the two.

Hehe, so these two episodes were the first ones you watched? XD

...I don't know what he was thinking with marriage, really. And I'm worried for his kid with all the hereditary heart problems in the family...but I hope things turned out all right. The original story Run, Melos is based on seems to have a sort-of happy ending after all.

[just1kinkybitch.livejournal.com]

Yup I watch it first... The other series were all so morbid (and terribly hetero).

The first one was so... idk... it was boring and the themes of it was so eww

The second one animation styled changed a lot. It was trying to infuse comedic art but the whole thing was so morbid so it didn't work well...

The third one was equally as morbid and hetero so it was boring as well...

And I forgot what was the final one after run melos.

Well anyways run melos was <3 (the guy who played Melos is hottttt~~~)

[lucathia]

The first one was very morbid, so I didn't feel like watching the ones after that. They make me feel too depressed. =/ How was Kokoro, if you remember? It's the only novel I actually read out of all of the ones this anime's based on.

I like how Melos looked in this. XD

[just1kinkybitch.livejournal.com]

Which one was kokoro again? I don't remember the titles lol.

[lucathia]

It's the one where the narrator talks about his Sensei, and his Sensei has problems with his friend K and his wife and uncle. Not sure what the anime version does with all that!

[apathymoon.livejournal.com]

Hmm.. That animé looks promising and sensei's character designs were excellent. I love the way they were drawn, too. :)

[lucathia]

This anime is based off of 6 different Japanese novels, with different directors and character designers for each. Konomi-sensei only designs Run, Melos. Obata Takeshi and Kubo Tite do the character designs for the other adaptions. I really like how the characters in this one looked! :3

[lucathia]

The series on a whole is too depressing for me, but yeah, I enjoy the character designs. The directing is great too...even with the confusing material. This is certainly not a series I can marathon!

[(Anonymous)]

True about them being depressing, but they are in a smart manner (unlike TokyoMag, which with that end part just heaped it on just for the sake to make you upset). I'm greatly enjoying Dazai's Road to Tsugara atm, kind of like his sense of humor, and I'll be certainly checking out a lot more Japanese literature cause of this series. I hope it was/is popular, there's a lot of great team ups of stories/mangaka they can still do, and with the great directing I'm sure they'd come up with more AAA pairs.

Confusing material? Mind telling me what you find confusing? Perhaps I could help sort it out, though it would be easier if I'd already read the source material.

I'd find it hard to marathon to... but even with my favorite series it's hard for me to watch more than a few anime episodes a day (that is even if I had the time to watch more then a few). Confuses me when some people swear marathoning an anime/manga makes it far more enjoyable.

[lucathia]

I need to be in the right mood for series like these. Konomi-sensei also drew the cover for the novel version of Run, Melos, so that might be why he designed the characters for the anime too. I don't know which came first though. The other mangaka seemed to have drawn covers for the novel versions too.

Thanks for the offer, but it's not that I'm unclear with the story. I just have issues with the presentation and how reality runs together. It's all a bit too metaphorical for me to enjoy in anime format.

Heh, marathoning depends on the series, really. Some series are okay, but some have a larger impact if you have to wait for the next one. I find that I remember series I watch over a longer period much better than series I marathon. Just that, time rarely allows me to follow a series while it's still airing, and I end up playing catch up during off days.

[naily-n.livejournal.com]

Is it weird that I find other episodes in this series were boring? I watched the first one after Melos and stop three minutes after -_-

And why Konomi-sensei, of all episodes of the series chose Melos which have strong shonen-ai hints XDDD

[lucathia]

Not too weird...all the stories are pretty different. :3