Anime - Do you Understannnnnnndu?

[Bartimaeus]

I was actually going to make a clip of either the SU congratulations (which, by the way, isn't that - that one's from the extended intro, the "congratulations" is from The Test in S1) or the actual Evangelion congratulations, but then I got distracted and realized I was going to have to watch the movie, which we're starting in just a few minutes here, please wish me luck...

[Bartimaeus]

Yeah...so, Utena's Bizarre Adventure anyone?

where her giant gold chain tho

Spoiler

It appears as though Nanami was only in the original show purely for comic relief, and had no legitimate purpose for the intended narrative. majestic, do you remember how you expected The End of Evangelion to double-down on the metaphysical, philosophical stuff, but then surprisingly it mostly didn't? ...Utena (unfortunately) takes a very different approach.

Spoiler

Somehow it's a bit more direct and yet still equally or maybe even more retarded.

Spoiler

Utena turns into a literal race car. No, I'm not joking.

 

Nanami was the real MVP all along. That and the shadowplay girls.

Edited July 25, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

I was actually going to make a clip of either the SU congratulations (which, by the way, isn't that - that one's from the extended intro, the "congratulations" is from The Test in S1) or the actual Evangelion congratulations, but then I got distracted and realized I was going to have to watch the movie, which we're starting in just a few minutes here, please wish me luck...

I couldn't find a decent The Test animated gif in the time I had left to post that, so I just went with the next best thing I found.

SU seemed more appropriate since Ms. Sugar apparently really liked Revolutionary Girl Utena. I guess you can't argue tastes, I mean, there are individual episodes of this show that are a riot, individual ones that I thought were fantastic (most recently Jury removing the rose on her own), but overall the last batch of episode - I'm still missing a few, they'll be up next - catapulted this from Lynchian allegory into pretentious pseudo-intellectual wanking territory.

That certainly changed my mind on wanting to watch more of Ikuhara's work. As much as I appreciated what he managed to make out of the Sailor Moon manga, it looks like it's not really a good idea to give him full creative reign. Funny how that goes. Maybe he should not aspire to collaborate with David Lynch, but say hello to George Lucas instead. Talk about the good old times when they came up with a collaborative smash hit only to squander it later.

Hey, maybe we can give Jar Jar Abrams a Sailor Moon remake. Or an Utena sequel.

[Bartimaeus]

Ikuhara is *hilarious*. I mean, seriously, the way he puts together scenes and dialogue is actually super funny, transcending even the language barrier. All of the actually intentionally humorous parts of this show are great and land so perfectly even when there's no reason they should. Him trying to do something serious, something thought-provoking has been a complete, unmitigated disaster of the highest order. And I thought Evangelion was frustrating...holy freaking crap.

[bugarup]

Wait. Waitwaitwaitwait. The dude who did Utena also did Sailor Moon?

 

 

[majestic]

10 minutes ago, bugarup said:

Wait. Waitwaitwaitwait. The dude who did Utena also did Sailor Moon?

 

 

Yes, Ikuhara was series director for the first four seasons, then left to do Utena with his newly founded creative collective Be-Papas. Two of the writers from Utena, Yoji Enokido and Ryota Yamaguchi, were also writers on Sailor Moon.

Yoji Enokido also worked on Neon Genesis Evangelion.

edit:

Sailor Moon is also the actual reason we're watching Revolutionary Girl Utena...

Edited July 25, 2021 by majestic

[majestic]

16 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Ikuhara is *hilarious*. I mean, seriously, the way he puts together scenes and dialogue is actually super funny, transcending even the language barrier. All of the actually intentionally humorous parts of this show are great and land so perfectly even when there's no reason they should. Him trying to do something serious, something thought-provoking has been a complete, unmitigated disaster of the highest order. And I thought Evangelion was frustrating...holy freaking crap.

Initially, I watched the first nine episodes and then stopped for a while, only really picked up watching after you started. I always would have completed it of course, it's just that other things kept coming in between that I found more interesting to watch. Not counting Sailor Moon Crystal, of course, or reading some of the manga volumes (boy do I look forward to completing those). However, I actually would have recommended watching the series based on the first nine episodes.

Sure there was some weirdness and some metaphor already, but oh dear, did that go places.

I find myself agreeing on the language transcending the language barrier. You can hear how well the dialogue flows at times, regardless of not understanding much of it. The voice cast in general is also doing a fantastic job, and I actually like the soundtrack of Utena too. Maybe except for the jazzy pieces during the car rides.

Kinda have to wonder now if the sole blame for Sailor Moon's serious mode episodes solely rests on the material they had to adapt. It sure played a big part, but is it really a coincidence that the best story arc of the show happened directly after Ikuhara left?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

@majesticI didn't forget the OVA, but I was doing cardio and didn't want to search for it. I'm going to watch it soon and pretend it actually occurs between 5 and 6.

[majestic]

13 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

@majesticI didn't forget the OVA, but I was doing cardio and didn't want to search for it. I'm going to watch it soon and pretend it actually occurs between 5 and 6.

That won't work (you'll see why), but it's okay. It was made after the main series anyway.

edit:

If you're watching on Netflix, it has both OVAs.

Edited July 25, 2021 by majestic

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

15 minutes ago, majestic said:

That won't work (you'll see why), but it's okay. It was made after the main series anyway.

edit:

If you're watching on Netflix, it has both OVAs.

I'll make it work. Lali-ho!

[majestic]

9 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

I'll make it work. Lali-ho!

Let me know how that worked out for you.

I'm kind of curious what you'll think going forward. Next episode (slight spoiler):

Spoiler

Ends with Violet smiling. For real, not by pulling her cheeks.

Any thoughts on the animation so far?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

16 minutes ago, majestic said:

Any thoughts on the animation so far?

I laughed loudly when the Princess asks Violet to be more expressive. So far the animation hasn't made me want to kill myself, so I guess that's a plus.

....have you met Death 13 yet?

[Bartimaeus]

1 hour ago, majestic said:

Initially, I watched the first nine episodes and then stopped for a while, only really picked up watching after you started. I always would have completed it of course, it's just that other things kept coming in between that I found more interesting to watch. Not counting Sailor Moon Crystal, of course, or reading some of the manga volumes (boy do I look forward to completing those). However, I actually would have recommended watching the series based on the first nine episodes.

Sure there was some weirdness and some metaphor already, but oh dear, did that go places.

I find myself agreeing on the language transcending the language barrier. You can hear how well the dialogue flows at times, regardless of not understanding much of it. The voice cast in general is also doing a fantastic job, and I actually like the soundtrack of Utena too. Maybe except for the jazzy pieces during the car rides.

Kinda have to wonder now if the sole blame for Sailor Moon's serious mode episodes solely rests on the material they had to adapt. It sure played a big part, but is it really a coincidence that the best story arc of the show happened directly after Ikuhara left?

Yeah, I thought the first arc was goofy, weird, but enjoyable. It also mostly made sense even if it was weird. The second arc really started to go to some uncomfortable and inexplicable places...but mostly stayed sane and the same show as the first season. And then the third arc is really where the show fell off into the abyss...and it never really came back. Sort of like being hit with the entire CONGRATULATIONS sequence (both the surrealist lead-up to it and that particular scene itself) over and over and over.

After Utena, it *does* kind of feel like I can feel his incredibly messed up influence on the whole Chibi-Usa/Helios saga...

Edited July 25, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

19 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

I laughed loudly when the Princess asks Violet to be more expressive. So far the animation hasn't made me want to kill myself, so I guess that's a plus.

It's not that bad. I actually liked most of it. Closeups of Violet can get a little awkward at times.

20 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

....have you met Death 13 yet?

No. The last thing I watched was a never setting sun making fried camel. Been trying to get Utena done, and the rest of the week was worky hell.

20 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

After Utena, it *does* kind of feel like I can feel his incredibly messed up influence on the whole Chibi-Usa/Helios saga...

Hmhm. Developed from a discared SuperS script. I'm kinda glad that never happened, even though I can say that Utena is more enjoyable than SuperS.

21 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Yeah, I thought the first arc was goofy, weird, but enjoyable. It also mostly made sense even if it was weird. The second arc really started to go to some uncomfortable and inexplicable places...but mostly stayed sane and the same show as the first season. And then the third arc is really where the show fell off into the abyss...and it never really came back. Sort of like being hit with the entire CONGRATULATIONS sequence (both the surrealist lead-up to it and that particular scene itself) over and over and over.

It would have been nice if it eased off of the Gainaxing at least when it was funny, but even Nanami episodes turned full weird near the end.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

23 minutes ago, majestic said:

The last thing I watched was a never setting sun making fried camel.

 

[majestic]

You do have one for every episode, huh?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

24 minutes ago, majestic said:

You do have one for every episode, huh?

There's at least one meme in every episode yeah. I think Death 13 is next after THE SUN so uhh......have fun.

[majestic]

There's something I forgot to mention. It's not just DIO that is in Utena, but Mr. Screws-His-Sister is JoJo Junior from Stardust Crusaders.

It's a bit weird when the two are talking to each other during their car rides.

[majestic]

The two are currently engaged in a photo shooting where DIO takes pictures of an almost gym god like Akio sprawled out with a bare chest on a tower of cars.

Edit: Now he's eating a Rose. Presumably that Rose is Utena. Sure... really, why not.

Want to take a guess? It's as good as mine, it is.

Edited July 25, 2021 by majestic

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

6 minutes ago, majestic said:

There's something I forgot to mention. It's not just DIO that is in Utena, but Mr. Screws-His-Sister is JoJo Junior from Stardust Crusaders.

It's a bit weird when the two are talking to each other during their car rides.

Huh, I guess Utena's Bizarre Adventure isn't too far off. I bet those car rides end better than the actual car ride DIO takes.

Just now, majestic said:

The two are currently engaged in a photo shooting where DIO takes pictures of an almost gym god like Akio sprawled out with a bare chest on a tower of cars, then a camera change and we're back to just one car.

Want to take a guess? It's as good as mine, it is.

Eh, not as weird as what happens in JoJo.

[majestic]

Right, I forgot the part where he's actually bare chested:

Yay.

  

8 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

Eh, not as weird as what happens in JoJo.

No, it's not. It's also really different from the weird that weirds in JoJo's.

DIO gives Utena a pair of earrings and suddenly has a GIANT CARROT in his hand. I don't even WANT to know if that is supposed to mean what it maybe is supposed to mean.

Now he holds the carrot to his head, like Chibi-Usa did with the horse. And there's an actual horse galloping around. Sure show!

Edited July 25, 2021 by majestic

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I am torn between watching this show or not.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Violet Evergarden Special: The gang goes to the opera.

Pretty good, I liked the library scenes and the way it showed Violet trying to research how to write the right love letter. It didn't blow me away though and I think it could have passed for a regular episode and fooled everyone. 

[majestic]

9 hours ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

I am torn between watching this show or not.

I figured you would be, but there's no clear cut answer. The first, say, 23 episodes are worth it, and after that point you might as well finish.

It does get frustrating. "Occasionally".

5 hours ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

Violet Evergarden Special: The gang goes to the opera.

Pretty good, I liked the library scenes and the way it showed Violet trying to research how to write the right love letter. It didn't blow me away though and I think it could have passed for a regular episode and fooled everyone. 

 

Spoiler

Now you know why I said you can't pretend this happened after 5, beause in 5 Violet already knows how to write love letters. She might not know exactly what they are about yet, but she knows how. It also has more of her co-workers and Roland. Roland is always awesome, I love the old Santa mailman. 

The OVA gives some more information that's been missing from the original series. The entire scope of the conflict becomes clear when you see the sheer amount of dead letters in this region alone. 

It might work better... or actually, it might mean more if you already know the characters more in-depth when you watch it after the series proper, but I think the information and interactions within are too important to not use the OVA as a bridge between the episodes where you'd otherwise have to fill in the gaps of the timeskip between 4 and 5 on your own. Not that this is impossible, it's just more... complete this way.

Otherwise yes, this is "just" a 10 minutes longer episode. 

Edited July 26, 2021 by majestic

[majestic]

On a whim* I rewatched episode nine of Violet Evergarden. It's probably the bleakest the anime ever gets, but also the most hopeful. It also forgoes both the regular opening and ending credits to maximize content.

I've tried to come up with posts for three times now, but I always end up deleting them. 

So, no spoilers here. Yet, maybe. *sigh*

 

*Not exactly a whim, was clicking through clips on YouTube after all.