majestic

The more accurate statement would be Princess Tutu is actually good, unlike Revolutionary Girl Utena. The disappointment, in a way, stems from my expectations based on the people involved, and that it is, in the end, a fusion of the Ugly Duckling and Swan Lake, with a gender flip (in Swan Lake it's of course the princess that needs to be saved, not the prince, even though - minor spoiler - at the end there's a princess that is saved too). Unlike Utena, it doesn't drown in thematic exploration. It's there, but in the end, it is a fairy tale. I've said that before after the Sailor Moon SuperS movie, while I like fairly tales, I've seen enough adaptations, read enough and listened to enough recordings as a child. Enough to not need Japanese reinterpretations of them. That's not something that says anything about the quality of the anime. It has a streak of mildly boring filler episodes in the second season that I don't know why they're in there, unless the studio asked for another thirteen episodes. They're not moving the plot along, they're not making any statements, and they're not really used for character development. Or, better put, perhaps not used enough for character development. Ahiru is pretty funny at times, and she's often put in embarrassing situations that are funny, but like I said, it's not really comedic outside of that. That's okay, there's nothing funny about Swan Lake, after all. What it isn't, just in case that hasn't become entirely clear from my previous posts, is a powerhouse of character interactions. What's there is pretty good, all things considered, but it certainly wasn't a focus in developing it. Ahiru and to a certain part Rue (Rue is exactly the sort of tragic figure that I really like, so hey... take that with a grain of salt and some bias) pretty much carry it on their own. I also rarely ever came across a voice actress that was better cast than Nanae Katō. She's perfect as Ahiru. There are voice actors I like more, of course, but she fits the character like a glove. If gloves had voices, and all. Nowhere, if the guy on YouTube is correct, until the ending. But we'll see. I mean, you will. On the other hand, he also thought Rebuild was pretty good, so what does he know, really. I apologize profusely for being offensive. Gomenasai! You're right that PPP looks a good deal better and had much more effort applied to it than Phineas and Ferb. Still not... not my thing, you know. I'll try to appreciate effort more in the future, really. That approach looks better than following the creative team behind Sailor Moon. Well, and Cardcaptor Sakura. That clearly didn't work out. Was Eriko on the list? What is on the list, actually? An adaptation of a yuri shonen manga published in Dengeki Daioh. Yeah, pass. I got interested for a moment, I don't mind the overdramatic dramatic drama after all, and the writer also worked on K-On!. By the way, I think that also explains why Love Live! feels like a carbon copy fanservice'd up version of K-On!. Jukki Hanada worked on K-On! and Love Live!... well, and on Bloom Into You. I almost watched Death Note once, but then I noticed it would be gone from Netflix before I could finish it, and didn't start. I watched the intro on YouTube and it looks like an era typical Madhouse show (and look at that, it really is animated by Madhouse). Really not sure based on what exactly you're getting these recommendations, that doesn't read at all like something that would be interesting to you. Mystery, supernatural thriller, shonen. Yeah... uhm...

My expectations for a new Matrix movie are tempered by the abject failures that Reloaded and Revolutions were, and how wonderful Jupiter Ascending turned out to be. At this point, the Wachowskis' track record puts them in the same league as David S. Goyer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

The Paramount+ channel for some reason really doesn't want me to watch their trailers. I really don't want to watch their new Star Trek either, so that's fair, but it's still odd. Why region block trailers, or did I find my way onto some black list by complaining too much on the Obsidian forum?

That kind of... sucks. Apparently, it'll also get really racist soon. Or has, already, I don't know when those episodes happen. I just know that from a Rebuild review I watched. Watched two more episodes of K-On!! that I now wish I hadn't seen. Not because they were bad. They girls have summer holidays, visit a music festival, go to a public pool and a summer festival and generally have fun. Which is really depressing to see. Where can I sign up to have two or three months of summer vacation again? Instead I'm looking forward to *best Warcraft peon voice* work, work. Which tomorrow will once again bring me joy in form of this fun little project that feels like banging my head against a wall. Never thought I'd be the one to say that, but TGIF, really. K-On!! continues to be pretty strong. It's not as well written as Cardcaptor Sakura is, mostly because this season really is only having a faint overall storyline (more of a hint and half a theme, actually) insofar as the junior member is worrying about how life will go on without the seniors once they've graduated, but otherwise it's going from one episode to the next, which leaves a lot of room for fun stuff to happen, but sort of puts a damper on an overall development of something. For all its other flaws, that wasn't one in the first season. They always had their school festival to work towards, and obstalcles to overcome along the way. Unlike in Sailor Moon, where most of the filler only had a cursory relation to the mostly useless overall story arc of the season (although there really are people who watched Sailor Moon for the story bits, I have no idea why people would do this, but there are those who did, and they make videos and podcasts on it, what a world we're living in...) and it still worked simply because the characters, including some of the villains - especially in Sailor Moon S, or Nephrite in the first season - were strong enough, K-On!(!)'s girls are, while fun, not quite there. There sure are times when a red line connecting the episodes would help move the characters along a bit. That's me doing what we call jammern auf hohem Niveau (lit. "whinging on a high level"), being unreasonably picky and complaining because something that's really good could be a bit better yet. I mean, maybe there's a magical anime* out there that combines the strength of Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura into something unimaginably perfect with none of either's flaws - of which the one's of Cardcaptor Sakura are more academic and thematic for me than actual flaws, mind - but that's probably only a theoretical possibility. Like being able to quantum tunnel through a wall. It's not impossible, just near enough to make no difference on any given timeframe that is not infinite. *I'd also take a TV show or western animation, as long as it doesn't look like the Power Puff Girls or Phineas and Ferb.

You're sick and should look for help.

Finished Princess Tutu now. Most of the planned tragedy of the ending was averted, however... The final handful of episodes were much like reading a fairy tale, a lot of narration by both Fakir and Drosselmeyer, which wasn't bad because it fit the setting and intent. A little useless tension added at the end with no explanation for one of the Jawas, but thankfully they otherwise more or less stopped being in the series until the very end. Some unsettling scenes were there too. Took a book out of Disney's page, huh? Wait, no, that's the other way around... All in all, it was okay. More than that, I guess, there were parts of this, especially both season endings, that were absolutely wonderful. Still... even though there are lighthearted moments and Ahiru is a riot every now and then, it's not really a fun adventure or a silly romp. Much better paced than Utena, even if the second season occasionally feels like running on a treadmill in the middle. Pretty good music, overall, provided one likes classical music. As expected, it has a whole lot of classical compositions, from ballet music to waltzes. Pretty much recommended if one likes fairy tales with a twang of tragedy. The anime called its ending happy, but it's not entirely.

That says a lot about the studio if that list is "nothing too crazy" compared to other stuff. Sounds interesting, let's see how big of a nosedive the show really takes, but 39 episodes aren't that long. Sure sounds better than Utena. So the main character is Anno himself, again? Is that true for all the other characters too?

Go back a couple of pages and look up the George Carlin quote he posted, it's exactly the same, just with more visuals.

So did any other stuff show up? Like, I don't know, giant naked depictions of mythological figures? Any Liliths, Adams, Eves or something? My milage would vary, but it can't.

Well... That's pretty neat as far as depictions of eldritch horrors go. Simple, yet really effective. Much like the rest of the animation in Princess Tutu.

I will, I will. I'm quite looking forward to seeing DIO in action, I'm expecting great things here. edit: Just haven't really been in the mood for JoJo's, 's hard to explain properly. Well, but school has started, so I can have the TV back, that should help. Obligatory Princess Tutu picture: Somehow Princess Tutu does everything better than Revolutionary Girl Utena. That's the demonic Raven, by the way, just in case the imagery is too obscure.

I watched the first couple of minutes of Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop. If I weren't me, I'd probably never go back, no matter how much I might end up liking the story, or the characters, because watching the film isn't just like: But more like: And then: Plus some very serious uncanny valley flashes in the attempt to give the animation depth, especially in the opening shots. Yikes. It burns my precious, it burnsssssss. Nasty elven rope animation. That said, I'll now make an effort to finish Princess Tutu to cross an item off my list and free up some space. I'd much rather contnue K-On!! at this point, which should not be seen as a comment on Princess Tutu's quality (even if the second season isn't as good as the first), but it's much more what I would like to watch right now, based on my mood and frame of mind. On the other hand, I'm halfway through K-On!! and I kind of don't want it to end so quickly.

Joke of the century, good sir, you win at the internet. Bigly.

I'm getting the feeling that Princess Tutu's Jawas are up to no good: Utini! I was wrong, by the way, random one-off character from the last episode showed up in this one too. He accidentially runs into Rue, it's possible that the two start bonding over being the sad rejects in this story. That would be something.

The strange thing about this is that Revolutionary Girl Utena was made by a good deal of people who worked on Sailor Moon, and the original NGE. The same people that directed and wrote Sailor Moon S, and large parts of Stars. It's baffling how weak the characters in Utena are considering that it was made by people who know how to write characters. But hey, I've complained about that before.

I've edited the post above like a hundred times, pls reload this page!

No, it happened. Mikage/Nemuro just left the academy, that's all. People who leave the academy slowly fade from the memories of everyone still inside. Like Wakaba's friend the Onion Knight. And some blue haired random guy from the upcoming arc who used to be Juri's mentor. Nemuro just left a long time ago, which is why he never rebuilt the original Seminar into the Memorial Hall. That was what the funny flashbacks were for. To show that Boy!Anthy died a long time ago, Tokiko is older than Nemuro by a good deal of years even though they should be of the same age, and all that stuff. Don't worry, the show's going to double and triple down on the metaphysical before its over, and the movie just ups it. edit: The real question here is, who or what is Tokiko? Because she defies everything in the setting and show, coming and going willy nilly as she pleases. I'm really not sure about that one, to be honest.

I'm keeping these things as vague as possible anyway. I have to admit, I don't really know where this is going, but so far the first season (the first 13 episodes) was a good deal better. This one took a page out of Sailor Moon to come up with something five episodes before the end of the season (and show, in Tutu's case). It's not entirely out of the blue, there were hints and bits and pieces that Fakir is... Good job, scriptwriters. If the only function a new character serves it a late-season plot point reveal, then maybe you need to put some revisions in. The setup was there, but the way the reveal went was pretty unsatisfying. Who knows, maybe there's some secret energy being behind the Raven. Like CHAOS or PHARAO 90! Just as long as it isn't DEATH PHANTOM. But... but... I like fun random trash. Heh.

Okay, so Princess Tutu just introduced Jawas: They're not really interested in capturing R2-D2, salvage or junk trading, but seem to be some sort of clandestine organisation doing something that's been vexing Fakir for a while. Not sure how I feel about introducing a new plot element in episode 21 of 26, even if some of what happened throughout the second season can be traced back to them. Seems to be related to Drosselmeyer's part in the story. Not sure how that ties into the prince and raven story, if at all. Not going to lie, not really thrilled about this devlopment. The episode is also seemingly - so far, at least - a break in a streak of stronger ones. It's weird, random, weird and overall not as good as the ones before. edit: The character in the picture is most likely a one-off, and his only function is to explain something to Fakir, who then proceeds to set out on the path of his "destiny" or whatever it is. Good grief, that took a page out of the Sailor Moon manga book, Ms. Itō, that wasn't the best of ideas, really. Looks like it could be fun, but I'm already pressed for time and drowning in stuff to watch. Yikes...

Well, you might end up wanting DIO to go back to his room eventually. I liked the Black Rose duels more than the upcoming car rides, but your mileage may vary. Ho ho ho, car pun. I'm so funney. You're almost through, by the way. Next episode is Nanami focused insanity, then there's a very helpful flashback episode that takes great pains explaining all the visual cues you've most likely missed and the resolution of the arc, which gives you a first hint at what's going on. Or maybe not. Anyway, I'll give you a nice heads up since you seem to lose more and more, uhm, motivation to continue. Press me if you want to see the Rose Bride's true form (beware of spoilers, pain and seizures):

When I say something is important in Utena or not really skippable that just means if you want to find out what's going on, by yourself. You could just watch the whole thing and ask me afterwards, that's fine too, but in the spirit of the show, skipping the path means you won't reach your destination.

@Keyrock are you going to put an image of Neil Breen's ball sack in your signature at some point?

Yui imagines her future work life when the girls talk about carreer choices in the wake of submitting their vocational orientation form. She's like "I could work at an office, and come too late!" then imagines herself barging into an office, apologizing profusely for being tardy, when someone gets up and tells her: "You work at the office next door!" That's it, K-On!! officially won, even if this devolves into pure fanservice from this point forward, that was just absolutely hilarious. Right, forgot to reply. It is filler, but filler of the unskippable variety, mostly because...