Chol's Animation Analysis: Love According to Summer Wars

     This blog will contain spoilers. Be sure to check out my non-spoiler review

I also apologize for any strange typos. Something is wrong with this entry code that cause strange glitches. I can't fix some things so I hope you can bare with that.

  Barely in time for Valentines Day, It's another deep analysis from yours truly. Ah, February 14th. A day that has also come to be known as "Single's Awareness Day". Oh, hey! I just noticed the abbreviation there. Heh, cute. Being a member of the single category for the majority of my life, you would think that I would hate this holiday. Well...yes. Yes I do. However I do have a bit of a romantic side. Today we are going to be looking at a great romantic anime film  from the great Mamoru Hosoda know as Summer Wars.

Okay okay so that might seem a bit odd for me to say for some. Summer Wars doesn't really have a strong focus on romance. I mean yes two main characters end up together by the end of the movie but there isn't much focus on that element in the film. It focuses more on the viral threat that is taking over the movies social network on steroids known as OZ. But there is a romance brewing underneath it all in this film with small visual touches here and there to show for it. Now whenever I watch any show where the two love birds take forever to finally get together, I tend to re-watch and determine if the romance is well written. If there is anything there that warrants one character falling for another and if they truly fit as a couple. I wasn't expecting to find much in a movie about epic digital battles against a super virus called.....Love Machine (man, the irony in this blog is like a punch in the face). But the more I looked, the more I found that shows these two teens to be quite the perfect match. [I like to point out that I'm basing some of my points of the inflection and speech from the English dub]

The Start
     Kenji is a systems moderator for OZ and is preparing for boring lonely summer in front of a computer screen working with his friend Takashi when suddenly Natsuki burst in asking if anyone of them to help her on a trip out to the country. Kenji ends up being the one to go by winning a game of rock, paper, scissors. So for the most part Kenji's involvment is by chance in this scenario. But I question if this result was not something Natsuki wanted to begin with. I say this because of how she acts around him on the trip. She informs him that they are meeting up at the estate to celebrate her great grandmother,Sakae, and her 90th birthday. She also begins to question Kenji on his involvement with the mathematics club. She seems interested in this and not just making random conversation. She's always smiling and seems to truly be enjoying his presence. I think from this we can gain that she didn't pick people at random when she stepped into that room.  

Later when they finally arrive and she drops the bombshell of introducing Kenji as her fiancee, Natsuki then takes Kenji aside, apologizes, and explains that due to her grandmother fainting a few days ago, she worries that she will pass soon and wanted to keep her promise of introducing her fiancee before she passes. Natsuki begs Kenji to play along and also mentions that they should seem lovey-dovey when seen together. Now I can't say for sure one way or the other if Natsuki had any feelings toward Kenji at the start, but from all this I can say for certain that she knew Kenji before hand and really trust him to ask him to do all this. As for Kenji, well it isn't hard to figure out about him. He randomly leaves a secure job for a trip out to the country to help this girl without even asking what he'd be doing before they get on their way. Yeah, He's totally into her. If that wasn't enough, it's driven home when he is brought to Natsuki's grandmother and she starts questioning him sternly, unsure of this new man before her.  

Sakae: "I'm asking are you man, enough for her?".

Kenji: "um...y-yes I guess" (turns away befuddled)

Sakae: "Man enough to die for her?"

Kenji quickly looks up at her bewildered by the question. But what is amazing to me that he only pauses for a second before answering yes, his eyes locked onto Sakae. He is trying to play a part here I know, but in the delivery of that answer, I think he was telling the truth. 

Love through Tragedy
     A good friend of mine years ago was talking about this married couple he knew when during the conversation he stated how he knew they would get married not long after they had  "that bad car wreck". Understandably confused I asked what he meant by that. He told me how a couple will grow closer together when they experience things together and that this bond becomes strongest when they experience a tragedy together.  They have someone who experienced it with them and they can more easily confine and console one another. I have no clue if this is a theory that he came up with himself or if this is a common theory that has been around for a while. I had it in the back of my mind while watching this movie the next few times and I think it works for this film. There are several times that Kenji and Natsuki share intimate moments but don't realize it as such because they are busy dealing with the chaos that is going on around them. 

When Love Machine breaks into OZ and the news sources point to Kenji for the blame,the truth is revealed to the family of who Kenji is and that the relationship was a fraud. As one of the family members handcuffs him to take him away, he goes to Sakae and thanks her for the hospitality and explains how with his busy family he doesn't get to have family dinners like the one they shared the night before. This little speech clearly touches the family in some way but most clearly in Natsuki. As he is driven away he looks back towards the estate. To his shock he sees Natsuki running after them. Why this is could be for a number of reasons. Maybe she wanted a chance to apologize for what she put him through or maybe she really didn't want him to be taken away because she didn't think he could be guilty for what he was blamed for. What ever the reason, It's a bit striking to see. At least to me anyway. Kinda supports the idea that she had some emotional connection to Kenji. 

Natsuki Has The Best Cry Ever
     Tragedy and chaos has stuck Natsuki's family greatly through out the rest of the film. The reveal of the lie about her and Kenji's relationship is exposed, Love-Machine is causing hysteria, and it is revealed that Wabisuke, Natsuki's most loved and cherished uncle, is the man behind Love-Machine and has run off. But tragedy hits them with one final blow with the death of Sakae. An emotional scene as they try frantically to resuscitate her while the doctor explains that it's too late. After pronouncing Sakae dead, the doctor explains that due to Love-Machinces actions, the signal that should have been sent to him when Sakae's peacemaker failed never reached his phone. The scene that follows is one of the most poetically moving scenes I've ever witnessede wu. First, the slow pan. The camera scans slowly through the room focusing on the family. It shows how each family member is dealing with the tragedy of Sakae's death. When something terrible happens, the whole world seems to stop and you are forever trapped in that moment. This slow pan displays that idea. 

 Some of you are familiar with this other anime reviewer know as That Dude In The Suede. He did a review of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time about about year ago. In it he took the time to discuss crying film. He said there are three types; The "sexy cry" which involves a character showing no emotion while a tear streams down their cheeks, The "public sob" where the emotion slowly bubbles over but is still held back, and then the third cry which he didn't give a name. It's a full on pouring out of emotion with no concerne of how the character looks. It's not made to look pretty because crying never truley is.

  "It's the kind of cry that isn't attractive because sadness isn't attractive. It's the kind of cry that make you feel guilt and embarrassed for witnessing someone breaking down in front of you".

That is why I give this section the title I have because it displays all three cries in one scene and does it amazingly. The camera pans to Natsuki and Kenji sitting alone trying to take in all that has happened. Natsuki makes a request to Kenji, one that I can say all men fear to be requested to do. "Make them stop. My tears".Every man has the same internal instinct to protect their love ones. Fight for them and shield them from harm. But when it comes to the matters of the heart we men are all hopelessly lost. We love to fix things but a broken heart tends to be the hardest thing to repair. "Hold me. Right here. Please". It's the only thing Kenji can do in this moment to help her so he grabs her pinky. The tears don't stop however, they increase. Kenji then grabs Natsuki's hand and she finally lets all her emotion out in a long howl of sorrow with her face covered in tears. Through all this Kenji says nothing. What can he say? In this moment he can do nothing. The only thing left to do is offer a shoulder to cry on. To tell someone, "let me grieve with you." 

Moral Support
     Kenji and some of the other family members make a plan to capture the viral AI during a battle with King Kazuma, an avatar of one of the family members. However it fails and the attack has made Love Machine take things to even bigger extremes by taking control of a satellite and having it hurdling toward a nuclear plant with a time limit of a little under an hour before it hits. At this point the whole family is in the same room witnessing this when Kazuma make one more made dash to try and take out Love Machine. The AI however has taken form with all the millions of avatars it has stolen and the sheer numbers are too much. The visual of Kazuma being defeated drives home to the entire family, some of which before this point were not taking it seriously enough, the threat of this AI. You can see the shock in everyone's face and Natsuki is the most visually disturbed. As they sit there in shock and clearly defeated, Kenji suddenly speaks up saying "It's not over yet". Natsuki's terror fades and  amazement falls her face. 

Here is a guy who when all the chips are down and everything seems to have failed them, with a stern face he refused to give up. Through out the rest of the film as he  continues to fight, you can see Natsuki feed of that and gain confidence in the fight. It's though him she gains the nerve to try and call Wabisuke and convince him to come back to help fight. Later when Kenji is frantically try his last efforts to defeat Love Machine, Natsuki shows support though touch by placing her hands on his back as she encourages him. 

Final Thoughts
    Kenji and Natsuki have indeed gone through a lot through this film. They have both faced trials and sadness and through the process have grown close. And we can see that this love that is forming between them is compatible. Kenji stays by Natsuki's side when she is sad and gives her hope and courage though his sheer determines to find a solution to their problems. Natsuki shows kindness and compassion towards Kenji. She Cheered him on as he fought. It's hard to see all this through the insanity that is happening around them, but how they handled things shows that they as a couple truly work.

Sources
-That Dude In The Suede "The girl who leapt through time review" 
-Image from His and Her Circumstances
-All screen shots and title card taken and edited by me.

Chol's Animation Analysis: Ralph and Venellope (Wreck-It Ralph)

  

WARNING this blog is "Wrecked" with spoilers.

I'm not going to try and make this blog into some fancy essay style writing like my last one. I'm just gonna bring up some scenes from this film that stuck out to me and why it solidified itself as not just a good film but a great, moving film that became my favorite from 2012.

What I wanted to talk about was the relationship that forms between Ralph and Vanellope. They meet and have a clash of personalities right off the bat. They form a relationship that starts off as a necessity.  She needs him to get herself a cart so she can race and he needs her to win to get the medal she stole from him back. However after seeing Vanellope's living condition and how it reflects of his in his own game, he feels a connection with her and his determination to help her succeed grows. There are three points where this is shown the strongest to me.

The Destruction of Vanellope's Cart.
Now at this point of the film, Ralph was just told that if Vanellope is allowed to race and gets in the line up of characters that the players can choose, that because she glitches out they will think the game is broken which could lead to the game getting unplugged. Because she's a glitch, she would not be able to escape the game before it gets unplugged and would evidently die. This news is very troubling to Ralph. He has formed such a strong bond to Vanellope that he can't bare the thought of losing her forever. So what action does he take? Something that most would find shocking, he destroys the cart that he himself helped her build.

 Now a few people I talked to said it wasn't that shocking because they knew he would do it. Some might find this point of the movie stupid or irritating cause it seems to be such an irrational move on Ralph's part. I will argue however that this action though hasty, was justified in the execution. When Ralph first tries to suggest to Vanellope not to race she does not listen to him no matter how much he begs. It's this that leads to his drastic action. And the way he did it struck me so hard that I was fighting back tears. He restrained Vanellope and broke her cart right in front of her, the frail cries of "NO!" escaping frantically from her lips as he destroyed her hopes. I could't stand that sound and it was so painful to watch. And I still say this moment was justified. Why? Because it shows how desperate Ralph was to protect her. He wanted to make sure that she wouldn't try to race even if he destroyed it while she wasn't looking. He was willing to hurt her to save her.

The intended self-sacrifice
Towards the climax of the film, "Sugar Rush" has been infested with insect like creatures from the other game "Hero's Duty".

"pfft"

Oh hush you!

The image of Ralph trying with all his might to desperately get Vanellope through the portal to escape the game was another example of good scene work. I know some people are the kind who want to see people smart enough to catch on quickly that if it didn't work the first time the character shouldn't try it over and over again, but here is another example of why that idea just doesn't work. From his constant efforts to pull her through with no result, we see just how attached to her he's become. He's so desperate to keep her alive he can't face the fact that with all his strength he still can't get her through. This determination continues later on.  To rid the bugs so the race can continue, Ralph races to the coke, mentos ... mountain thingy to create a beacon to draw the insects away. But King Candy is there to try and stop him. In the struggle, Ralph realizes that the only way to win here, is to dive past Candy and launch himself headfirst into the mentos which would have him fall helplessly into the mountain's coke lava (or whatever). Being a Disney movie which in the past has a knack of killing of people without hesitation, I was beginning to think that Ralph was really done for. The visuals and music in this moment left me moved and awaiting the worst. But of course Vanellope comes to save the day.

Ralph's New Motive in Life
At the end of the film Ralph gives an epilogue of what became of everyone after the events at Sugar Rush. It's a nice happy ending showing the sprites of Ralph's game becoming more friendly and how some of the sprites of unplugged games found homes. Ralph explains how he has become happy with his job as the bad guy. His reasoning, I'm going to be completely honest, was so touching and amazing to me that I was fighting back tears hard.

"..Because when I'm defeated and they hoist me up to throw me off the building night after night, I get a perfect view of Sugar Rush and Vanellope when she crosses that finish line" [paraphrased]

I think that sums up Ralph and Vanellope's relationship perfectly. It's like the bond between a father and daughter. It makes the scene of him destroying her cart make a bit more sense. How often do we see fathers do something like that. They worry about their little girls getting hurt and will take drastic measures to keep them alive even if they end up having their daughters hating them for what they do. He is no longer focused on his own success and glamor. He learned to take pride and inspiration from this little girl and her success. It's one of the most powerful forms of love I've seen displayed on screen in a while.

Another Point to be Made

While doing some image searching, I checked a few post on tumblr on the movie. This image caught my eye. 

 

That right there sums up this movie beautifully. That image of the girl in the arcade doing that is the prime example of how this movie gets gamers. I can honestly say I've had that connection to characters in games I've played before. You and that character work together and take on everything the game dishes out and at the victory you not only feel accomplished for yourself but you see the game sprite as real and your friend who you've grown with and bonded with. A connection that is so strong that even though you've just been sitting on a couch for hours, or driver seat at the arcade, the fact that the character you've been playing with has won you take pride in seeing them succeed and that you had some part in making that a reality. Sums up Ralph perfectly as well when you think about it. 

-title card made by me.

Anime Review: Yobi the Five-Tailed Fox

Yobi The Five-Tailed Fox is a Korean animated movie directed by Lee Seong-kang and was originally released in South Korea by CJ Entertainment in 2007. It follows the tale of Yobi, a magical fox with the unique ability to transform into just about anything but mostly chooses the form of a little girl. She lives with these aliens who have crashed onto earth and have slowly been working on their ship to leave. But as they try to leave one of the aliens runs away and gets discovered by a group of kids who live in a independently ran school of sorts and Yobi decides to start going to this school to try and get the alien back. Yobi lives with the children and forms bonds that she finds difficult to break. She must deal with the issue of growing attached to the kids when she can not truely live among as a human until she takes a soul.  

The plot is easier to follow written down than watching it first hand though. The movie pretty much starts and just slowly reveals itself through dialogue and visuals. It wasn't till close to the middle of the movie I started to understand what was all going on . The movie also relies on you hearing a plot point once and remembering it later. Other movies show you something about three or more times to make sure you remember it but rarely is any fact repeated in this movie. This can be to the movies credit or downfall depending on how you look at it. When it comes to the technicalities, legends or the myths in this movie I was mostly in the dark and I felt confused most of the time. What was also confusing was the school itself. It seemed at first that these kids were taking gym class with a coach, but then we see them sleeping at the school which befuddled me. Later the head of the school explains through dialogue that is was a school for kids for some reason can't go to regular school. So....is this a legal program? I mean can he take these random kids in? And it's obvious that these kids are not orphans so...yeah I'm not sure what that is all about.  Random note, I think one of the kids has a mustache.

Yobi was a difficult character to get into at first. She seemed almost like some sort of evil villain with her scary smile and random laughing. But as the movie progressed I grew to like her. She fancies her self to be better than the humans laughing at the odd things they do but she also takes a great interest in them with such fascination. I also realized that she is not human and therefore her oddness was just the result of her as this magical animal trying to blend in with the humans. One of my favorite scenes was when she is sitting in the office with the man who runs the school (I don't think the term "principal" is correct here) while he is trying to ask her about something. The way she sit there kicking her legs while swaying back and fort with that quaint smile was some how mesmerizing. She does become alot of fun just to watch as she interacts with the world around her. 

There is one thing I have yet to mention about this film. The one thing that I think makes everything work in this film. I may have said something like this before for movies like Summer Wars or any Studio Ghibli film, but I truly mean it here;This is by far the absolute most beautifuly animated film I have ever seen. I mean...WOW! Every movement, every detail, every frame is gorgeous.  The lighting of the scenery, the movement of air through the forest, the ripple of water, the simple way a person's expression changes; It's all perfection. This is also the best uses of 3D CGI imagery in a 2D film I've ever witnessed. There were times that I didn't realize part of the scene was CGI. Everything blends together. Even if this movie had been given a poor story line, terrible voices acting, or bad editing, I would recomend watching this on the visuals alone. If you have ever had an interest in animated movies and making them, this is absolute must-watch.

The ending, which I will not spoil, was a bit predictable but the way it gets there is so sudden and memorable that it makes up for it. I really felt for what Yobi was going through and was moved by what she did to solve the dilemma in the end.  It was a sad but hopeful ending that I think worked well. Yobi, The Five-Tailed Fox has it's faults but it makes up for them with heart and illustration.It may not present it's plot clearly but you'll enjoy the story none the less.

Animation Analysis: Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon

     Beware! Beyond this point, There be Spoilers!

    How to Train Your Dragon surprised many people when it came out. It was one of Dreamworks Animation Studios more serious works abandoning the days of Shrek where parodies and puns were over saturating every film. It was even said by some to be a 3D movie that outdid Avatar's 3D visuals. As someone who has a somewhat small obsession with dragons, I was excited for this film and it did not disappoint me. But like with a lot of things I like, one trip to a website forum can depress the heck out of you. I noticed people complaining about this movie calling it generic and simple. But what surprised me the most was most of the hate was directed to one character; Astrid. I remember seeing one artists' work on deviantart.com, where they drew themselves talking smugly to Astrid saying "So you fell in love after a simple flight around your village? Geez, how deep." This comment on Astrid's character was to me so ignorant that it angered me. It's one of the things that lead me to write this blog. I will in try to explain why I think Astrid is a deeper and more complex character than people give her credit for. 

Astrid in the Beginning
     In the first scene with Astrid, Hiccup watches in awe as she calmly walks away from an explosion. A "lonely island" skit comes to mind here. Right off we can see that Astrid to Hiccup, and possibly everyone else, is seen as this tough,strong, and independent lass who doesn't take crap from anyone. That is what most take from this opening scene.

Look #1

But what most miss is what happens later in the scene after Stoick the Vast, Hiccups dad, criticizes him for running around where he shouldn't be. As he is sent away and walks by the other teens who are mocking him, we see Astrid sitting down with a sort of somber look on her face. She seems to be in deep thought about something. When she looks up as Hiccup passes by, Her look has more sadness to it if ever so slightly. The other teens look at Hiccup with discontented glances, but she doesn't. Also interesting to note that as Gobber slams down one of the teens playfully, Astrid withdraws a bit as if it startled her. It's here that I noticed that there might be something hidden in her personality that isn't reveled yet. Something is bothering her and we are left to wonder what that might be. I have a theory for what is going on here but I'll save that for later.
    Later on, the teenagers enroll in dragon training as their parents ship off in search for the dragons nest. As Astrid and the others work hard and hone their skills, Hiccup is building his relationship with the nightfury he caught, Toothless. In doing so he ends up being late for the dragon training meetings and screwing up during the battles with dragons. On one of his first times being late, he gets a second look from Astrid.

look  #2

At first it seems that she shows some interest in him arriving but then her expression changes to loathing. It's clear that she is getting turned off by his lack of effort in dragon training. It still seems odd though giving that she had such a kinder expression in that first look earlier when he was causing a mess in the dragons' raid. The reason is revealed later in their training with the Deadly Nadder. In Hiccups clumsiness, the Deadly Nadder almost harms both him and Astrid if not for Astrid's quick thinking. After defeating the dragon, Astrid turns to Hiccup in anger and yells at him. "Do you think this a game? Our parents' war is about to become are own. Find out what side you're on." It is here we learn about what has been driving Astrid this whole time. Astrid realizes the burden that are beginning to be place upon her. As their parents go off to fight the dragons in some distant land, she has to carry the burdens of the village and the fights with the dragons along the rest of the teens . That is, in my theory, why she had that sober look to her in that first scene. The pressure was starting to show and she was obviously scared of the struggles she would soon face. I think that as the training took it's course, her steady progression had helped built her confidence some and seeing Hiccup now she feels angry that he isn't taking his responsibility seriously.

The Idea of the Complex.
     In the second half of the film, Hiccup has learned a lot about dragons while working with Toothless. He then uses this knowledge to improve in his dragon training and out perform everyone including Astrid. He gains attention and respect among the teens and becomes a prodigy in the village. As this happens, Astrids look has changed once again. She now looks at Hiccup with extreme loathing. You can look at this two ways. One is the simple premise of jealously seeing how the attention has gone from her to Hiccup very rapidly. The other way is to look at this is the idea of the complex. I first learned of this idea from the anime His and Her Circumstances. In this show, the discussion of the main character's dislike for another comes up. The theory is presented that the character didn't truly hate the other but merely had a complex about them. They said that a complex was nothing more than misplaced admiration and that the hatred came from seeing this person following the same goal of perfection but doing it with more noble causes instead of some attempt at fame. I feel that something similar is going on here with Astrid. She can't understand how someone like Hiccup is overshadowing her since he doesn't act like your typical Viking. She sees there is something different about how he is doing things but can't understand it so it results in hatred and bitterness.

The False Pretense of the "magic carpet Dragon Ride"
     This next part is the thing that really gets under my skin when discussions of Astrid come up. People love to talk about how "Astrid had such a quick change of heart simply from seeing her village from the clouds" or "She fell in love and kissed Hiccup after a generic carpet ride". I can't understand how so many misunderstand the purpose of this scene. It deals not with Astrid and Hiccup but with her and Toothless. You notice how when Astrid and Toothless first encounter each other, a stand still occurs where both are weary of each other and it's only Hiccup that prevents a battle from happening. This is because Toothless sees Astrid as nothing more than another violent viking and Astrid only sees toothless as a vicious dragon. When Hiccup tries to change Astrid's view of Toothless by taking her on a ride, Toothless tears violently through the sky messing with Astrid. But in the chaos, Astrid eventually breaks down holding tight to Hiccup closing her eyes screaming "I'm sorry I'm sorry, Just make it stop". At this point she is at her lowest and has dropped her tough viking persona That's when Toothless calms down. When Astrid opens her eyes again she sees the wondrous beauty in the clouds above and the world below. This "magic carpet ride" as some try to compare it to was not a change or heart for Astrid towards Hiccup but towards Toothless.

The True Change of Heart For Astrid to Hiccup.
     In this dragon ride, Hiccup and Astrid discover the dragons nest and the truth of why the dragons would raid their village for food; to feed their queen of monstrous size. When arriving back to the cove, Astrid is hyped up about the discovery and says they should tell the village about the nest. Hiccup immediately does not like the idea for fear they will harm Toothless. Astrid is confused by Hiccups refusal to tell the village. "We just discovered the dragons nest. It's the very thing everyone has ever dreamed of when our viking ancestors first sailed here." Notice she still has the mind set of a viking. She thinks of conquering of her foes, the war against the dragons for centuries, the same thing that every other viking she ever met has been raised on. "And you want to throw all that away to protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?" Hiccup responds in a way Astrid does not see coming. He simply turns to her and says "Yes". Then we get the final look from Asrtid.

For as long as Astrid has known Hiccup, all she has ever seen him do is fail. He's always stumbled on his words, made a fool of himself, and shied away when his opinions were confronted. But Hiccup did something here Astrid has never seen him do before. He looked her straight in the eyes, without hesitation and without a stuttering word, he calmly made a stand for what he believes in. And the amazement in clearly displayed in Astrid's face. If you have to pinpoint when Astrid starts to fall for Hiccup or have a change of heart, THAT right there is it. When she saw in him real strength. Also many point to Astrid kissing Hiccup on the cheek as making her "too easy", But really since when is a kiss on the cheek an immediate sign for falling madly in love with someone? Astrid just didn't know how to properly apologize for things or to comfort him at the time so she simply kissed him on the cheek as a sign of trust.

Everything comes full circle. 

     The last scene worth noting is when Astrid talks with Hiccup after the truth is found out by the village, Toothless is captured, and the vikings leave for the dragons nest. This scene is my favorite for the dialogue and what it means in the whole point to not only Hiccups character but what it reveals when you look closer at it. 

Hiccup: Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods?

It would have been better for everyone.

Astrid: Yep! The rest of us would have done it. So why didn't you?

(turns to Hiccup intently)

Why didn't you?

Hiccup: I don't know. I couldn't

Astrid: That's not an answer.

Hiccup: Why is this so important to you all the sudden?

Astrid: Cause I want to remember what you say...right now

Hiccup: For the love of...

I was a coward. I was weak. I wouldn't kill a dragon.

Astrid: You said "wouldn't" that time.

Hiccup: Whatever! I wouldn't. Three hundred years and I'm the first

viking who wouldn't kill a dragon.

(Pause)

Astrid: First to ride one though.

...

so?

Hiccup: I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was. 

I looked at him and I saw myself.

Remember how earlier I had a theory to the first look we see Astrid give Hiccup as he walked by in that first scene? I think the same thing that Hiccup mentions here was happening. Astrid was scared by the burdens that would soon be placed on her, and when she looked at Hiccup she saw he was scared too. She saw herself. I also feel this is what happened with Toothless when Astrid got scared while he was flying her around in a wild fashion. He saw she was just as scared.

Final Thoughts. 

     I feel Astrid's character was truly created as a reflection of Hiccup's character. They have different views on the viking culture and were taking two separate paths, but they were both scared teenagers with a lot of pressure upon them. Through Astrid, the animators tried to give characterization through actions and facial expressions instead of dialogue. I feel they did it wonderfully with Astrid. She is a much deeper character than most give her credit for. They say you can't take things at face value but with Astrid it is the very thing that expresses her. You can find such depth there, you just have to learn to look for it.

sources used
-screencaps taken from How To Train Your Dragon by me.
-His and Her Circumstances Vol 1 DVD