Anime - Oh No! Oh My God!

[majestic]

Speaking of Mari, I think I've changed my mind on Rebuild. It's an utter failure as a Neon Genesis Evangelion reboot and as a movie series in almost every way, from looking bad, to narrative problems, to character problems and thematic issues.

However, I'm pretty sure by now that it's a 10/10 troll attempt, and most fans don't even notice that and rate it highly. Anno sure is laughing at them right now. That takes some dedication to work for 15 years and power through depression only to do a piss take.

I was angry at first because it felt like I was being trolled, but I don't think I was. The general fandumb? Oh, yeah.

Edited August 28, 2021 by majestic

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

3 minutes ago, majestic said:

Speaking of Mari, I think I've changed my mind on Rebuild. It's an utter failure as a Neon Genesis Evangelion reboot and as a movie series in almost every way, from looking bad, to narrative problems, to character problems and thematic issues.

However, I'm pretty sure by now that it's a 10/10 troll attempt, and most fans don't even notice that and rate it highly. Anno sure is laughing at them right now. That takes some dedication to work for 15 years and power through depression only to do a piss take.

I was angry at first because it felt like I was being trolled, but I don't think I was. The general fandumb? Oh, yeah.

[Bartimaeus]

33 minutes ago, majestic said:

Massive spoilers:

Suddenly, I like Asuka a lot more.

33 minutes ago, majestic said:

I'm sorry Eriko but you seem to be a little too dark to watch right after such an edgelord anime.

Eriko's not that dark! ...At least, it doesn't feel that dark, even if a lot of the ideas in concept are. You'll see what I mean if you ever watch it, .

33 minutes ago, majestic said:

I liked Carrie

One of those movies like Poltergeist where there's some neat ideas and it seems like it should be good in concept, but the execution was so wonky on multiple levels that it ended up being barely passable for me, .

33 minutes ago, majestic said:

Sure. Why don't you go ruin the mood? I really have no problems with tragic character backgrounds, but there's a time and a place for everything, and that's not it. It's as if they had some edge-quota to meet in production. Like Sailor Moon sticking to its formula. Wait you want an episode without transformations? Certainly not! Have one fight scene. Because two young people falling in love knowing it's going to kill one of them isn't edgy enough without the other one having that flashback, right?

If only X had had the forethought to actually be Sailor Moon so I would have the patience for this...

12 minutes ago, majestic said:

Speaking of Mari, I think I've changed my mind on Rebuild. It's an utter failure as a Neon Genesis Evangelion reboot and as a movie series in almost every way, from looking bad, to narrative problems, to character problems and thematic issues.

However, I'm pretty sure by now that it's a 10/10 troll attempt, and most fans don't even notice that and rate it highly. Anno sure is laughing at them right now. That takes some dedication to work for 15 years and power through depression only to do a piss take.

I was angry at first because it felt like I was being trolled, but I don't think I was. The general fandumb? Oh, yeah.

Either that, or he was just desperate to make literally anything so that it could be done and over with and he could stop getting bothered about it. He made a giant pile of crap and unfortunately majority of fans loved it. Will they continue to bother him for even more in the future?!

Edited August 28, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

37 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Suddenly, I like Asuka a lot more.

Heh. I hated the ending of Devilman Crybaby. @KP the meanie zucchini and I talked about that in the past, it's what originally landed me in his signature, that was before we moved our Sailor Moon talks to the anime thread.

37 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

One of those movies like Poltergeist where there's some neat ideas and it seems like it should be good in concept, but the execution was so wonky on multiple levels that it ended up being barely passable for me, .

Well, I was 12 when I watched it. I might find a good deal of flaws in a rewatch, but back then I found it to be pretty good. Except the ending, didn't like that too much.

37 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Either that, or he was just desperate to make literally anything so that it could be done and over with and he could stop getting bothered about it. He made a giant pile of crap and unfortunately majority of fans loved it. Will they continue to bother him for even more in the future?!

There's a basis for my thoughts. Rebuild* is everything that NGE was, except with all the subtlety and complexity taken out of most of the characters. Only Shinji is as he always was, and Shinji was as much a personification of a part of Anno (technically, in the original, Rei and Asuka were as well - Shinji is his fear of rejection, Asuka his need for validation, and Rei his need for human connection and emotional ties - arguably Misato his need for physical connections, the beauty of the setup being that it works even without viewing any of them as author avatars) as he was an anime otaku stand-in, something Anno probably considered himself to be as well. Before... well, before the death threats over the original NGE ending, and the ridiculous demands, although given the original ending, I can understand some of the anger. Not the death threats. The original NGE ending was a nice thematic ending for the series, but it was a narrative non-starter, obviously - to bring that tired old topic back out, that's a bit like Lost where the characters get a thematic resolution, and absolutely none of the long running plot threads are resolved.

That's why Mari is nothing but fanservice, especially in light of the fans DEMANDING her to show up earlier than planned. That's why there are these huge, useless action scenes that were all curiously missing from NGE and End of Evangelion. Sure there was action, but it was always meaningful and carried weight. That nonsense in Rebuild? Yeah, no, and also the reason why the fanservice in the original had meaning beyond Anno apparently really being the type of person who loves looking at butts, while we get Asuka wearing nothing and doing nothing in the character piece of Thrice Upon A Time, tossing around trying to sleep.

She really is the jerk off fantasy that Shinji used her for in End of Evangelion. The action is what NGE fans wanted. The fanservice is only that, and Mari, who everyone wanted to show up early, is totally useless, but still gets Shinji. The only thing meant seriously is Shinji's talk to his father, and the anti-universe stuff, as an actual, final ending to Evangelion. That was Anno not being able to help himself, I guess.

It culminates with Shinji ending Evangelion by erasing all EVAs, and running off with Mari, who is neither Rei nor Asuka. #notyourship

I mean, sure, it could also have been a blatant least effort possible cashgrab, but working on something for that long seems to indicate otherwise.

Might as well not be any of that. I mean, I'm fairly certain that my assessment of the original NGE as talked about back when I watched it is pretty correct. It certainly is applicable, even if it wasn't totally intentional. I'm not sure Rebuild really was a trolling attempt. I'd sure like to ask Mr. Anno, but I doubt he'd reply to my questions.

Oh, by the way, how far along with Nadia are you? Apparently Anno stepped down as series director around episode 23 and that really went to hell in a handbasket afterwards.

*Except the first one, perhaps. He might have still been serious about it with that one. 2.0, nope.

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by majestic

[InsaneCommander]

Steins;Gate 1-6:

I'm really enjoying it. There are many funny interactions between the main characters. The protagonist is hilariously paranoid and

(minor spoilers)
 

Spoiler

thinks CERN (yes, the one with the Large Hadron Collider) is an evil organization that controls the world. And a self proclaimed time traveler says on the internet that in 2036 CERN will turn the world into a dystopia and institute communism.

Since it is about time travel, it's inevitable that someone could be a time traveler. One particular character seems obviously as such.

Bigger spoiler:

Spoiler

In a later episode they confirm part of the suspicions about CERN.

 

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

1 hour ago, majestic said:

I talked about that in the past, it's what originally landed me in his signature, that was before we moved our Sailor Moon talks to the anime thread.

While it is funny taken out of context, the 10 page Sailor moon essay is more on brand.

Anyways..... thread theme 

 

[majestic]

@Bartimaeus could you run K-On! through your heuristics please, by all acounts that looks to be an "Usagi joins a band" kind of anime. Love Live! without the fanservice, or at least a lot less (there is, of course, the obligatory beach episode in there somwhere). Well, and a band, not an idol group. Same difference insofar as that's not any more interesting as a premise.

Can't help how it looks, but eh... I'm a bit past caring right now. It's not like Love Live! was ever pretty to look at, and going over the episode summeries here and there, Love Live! copied K-On! something fierce.

Thanks!

Watched some more Princess Tutu:
 

Spoiler

The preview of the next episode told me that Fakir is a distant relative of Drosselmeyer, and in the current episode we've found out that he has limited reality warping powers which he decided to never use again after he tried and accidentially got his parents killed. Yeah, that seems like a decent reason to never try again.

The episodes have been consistently stronger now.

Krähe and Mytho are still working on getting Hotaru a Heart Crystal. I mean, her father a pure heart to unshackle him, or whatever their goal is there. To do that Mytho makes people fall in love with him so they sacrifice themselves voluntarily, and Tutu interferes every time. I wonder though, Rue/Krähe has been very vocal about her love for Mytho for the entire time. Her heart certainly isn't pure, but her love for Mytho certainly is, so maybe she'll end up being the sacrifice at some point.

Her father, assuming he really is that, doesn't give half a rat's ass about her.

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by majestic

[Bartimaeus]

19 minutes ago, majestic said:

K-On!

First warning sign is that I don't like the name. I don't even know what that name is supposed to be, that's not a real name. You look at other names from decent shows...Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Legendary Idol Eriko, Vampire Princess Miyu, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water...all those are very distinctive and evocative of at least something, even if you may not have a clear idea exactly what at first. What the heck is "K-On!" supposed to be? Sounds like it's some music or idol-based crap...

Okay, it was actually music-based, but not idol? Hmm. Well...at a quick glance, it looks like it shares some similarities to Live Laugh Love, but seemingly a less embarrassing, less inexplicable, more grounded and possibly more character-focused (i.e. less idol-y nonsense and action) version of it. Like, the version of this thing that I might watch if I were truly desperate for something lighthearted and silly with music. If it was made twenty years earlier, I might even have genuine interest in it. ...That's what the heuristic say after a few minutes of looking at it, anyways!

19 minutes ago, majestic said:

The episodes have been consistently stronger now.

Good, because I'm going to be tortured with this show sooner or later, .

@Nadia: 17. Guess I'll be watching out for that switch and seeing what effect it has...

@Evangelion: It's been funny looking at some of the minority "didn't like it" comments re: Rebuild. I've even seen a couple of other people compare it to the Star Wars prequels. Ouch!

Edited August 28, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Rewatch of DEIBURMAN 6-10: OH MY GOD!

Well that was a blast. Gets a lot less horny. Pretty much takes a hard left turn here and rams through a wall because **** it. Animation is very rough in spots but when it's on point it's on point.

[majestic]

22 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Okay, it was actually music-based, but not idol? Hmm. Well...at a quick glance, it looks like it shares some similarities to Live Laugh Love, but seemingly a less embarrassing, less inexplicable, more grounded and possibly more character-focused (i.e. less idol-y nonsense and action) version of it. Like, the version of this thing that I might watch if I were truly desperate for something lighthearted and silly with music. If it was made twenty years earlier, I might even have genuine interest in it. ...That's what the heuristic say after a few minutes of looking at it, anyways!

Good enough for me, I figure if I feed my brain enough new stuff I won't have to go back and finish Magic User's Club, because even only a total of 19 episodes seems like a lot after that first one. Poor Erica might be your point of ire as far as character archetypes go, but otaku-level pathetic magical boys accidentially summoning underwear on their face and grinning like idiots is mine. That's not funny and I feel deeply ashamed by being associated with these people. I kind of wish I could excise them from nerd-dom. Shoo, off you go, can you join the incels maybe?

The name, yeah, sure. I'm currently watching "X", K-On! is at least a couple more letters.

22 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Good, because I'm going to be tortured with this show sooner or later, .

I wonder if that will end up being a net positive. It's less inexplicable than Revolutionary Girl Utena, but the story, setup and episode references borrow heavily from fairly tales I'm familiar with. I wonder how that will work out for you. Regardless, it's easier to digest, and Ahiru is, unlike Utena - or anyone else in the anime - a likeable, if a bit ducky character. Ms. Itoh sometimes overdoes it with putting her in situations where she gets transformed back into a girl and has to scramble for her clothes after she accidentially ducks herself.

It's like that narrow alley joke from Sailor Moon, only played a bit too often.

22 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

@Evangelion: It's been funny looking at some of the minority "didn't like it" comments re: Rebuild. I've even seen a couple of other people compare it to the Star Wars prequels. Ouch!

I'm not sure that's correct, it's more like The Last Jedi than any of the prequels. At least The Last Jedi left me with the same feeling of being trolled by director. I couldn't even offhandedly tell you which of the two I found worse. Although, I already hated TFA, and most people were happy with that, including the fandumb, so the falling distance for Rebuild coming from End of Evangelion was a lot higher (longer?). Meh.

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by majestic

[majestic]

4 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

Rewatch of DEIBURMAN 6-10: OH MY GOD!

Well that was a blast. Gets a lot less horny. Pretty much takes a hard left turn here and rams through a wall because **** it. Animation is very rough in spots but when it's on point it's on point.

Now, onwards to Utena!

Honestly, that makes NGE look sane by comparison. Really...

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

1 minute ago, majestic said:

Now, onwards to Utena!

Honestly, that makes NGE look sane by comparison. Really...

The first time I watched it I knew nothing about it. Went in completely blind with the first episode I thought it's going to be a regular action series, but more horny and edgy. Then after episode 6 ends I was confused by what I saw because it was such a departure being sexual predator photographers and SIRYEEEEEN!!!!!!!, and every subsequent episode was even more OH MY GOD!!!! until

GOD shows up to holy nuke Earth and by then I just knew this **** will be bizarre.

[majestic]

I watched Devilman Crybaby because LC posted in the streaming thread that it's too trippy for her. So, obviously, I also had no idea what I was getting into. It was a pretty wild ride, but like I said, I felt kind of cheated by the ending. At least Akira didn't find a magical silver crystal and restore the entire Earth with it, so there's that. Not much to go on, being better than Crystal.

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

@majestic

That's pretty much the manga ending except 

Instead of being in emotional turmoil from being unable to accept emotions, they're angry with themselves for being just like God for the way they wiped out humanity. Then they die as the earth remade.

Maybe we can get a Devilman Lady series that is the sequel because 

Satan breaks out of jail and splits their male and female halves into separate beings who **** each other to resurrect Akira who then teams up reconstituted Satan to fight the archangel Michael. Then there another sequel which is like the first one and robots and Devilman not only defeats God but travel into the multiverse to **** up God in other realities.

I don't recommended the manga to you.

[majestic]

6 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

@majestic

That's pretty much the manga ending except 

 

  Hide contents

Instead of being in emotional turmoil from being unable to accept emotions, they're angry with themselves for being just like God for the way they wiped out humanity. Then they die as the earth remade.

Maybe we can get a Devilman Lady series that is the sequel because 

 

  Hide contents

Satan breaks out of jail and splits their male and female halves into separate beings who **** each other to resurrect Akira who then teams up reconstituted Satan to fight the archangel Michael. Then there another sequel which is like the first one and robots and Devilman not only defeats God but travel into the multiverse to **** up God in other realities.

I don't recommended the manga to you.

 

Actually that sequel sounds pretty awesome, and the manga ending seems to be a bit less problematic, or rather, a bit more poignant. I don't really mean to imply that I hated Devilman Crybaby, far from it, it was just the last couple of minutes of the last episode that left a lasting and somewhat bad impression.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Utena episode 1. Sword of DIO? DIO himself as a student council president? End of the World? Is this a very long JoJo reference? 

It looks very 90's, kind of like a Sailor Moon if the girls were a few years older. I'm sure Wakaba will end up Naru as time goes on. Other than that, I'm really not sure what's going on here.

@majestic

Spoiler

The translation is rough and in Devilman Lady there is near constant ass and tiddies along with ton of rape, and that may be an understatement. So much it almost makes Crybaby look tame. Like

Spoiler

The first chapter shows over 20 panels of the protagonist's boobs and she transforms into a Devilman while a gang of martial artists turned into demons rapes her and a bunch of schoolgirls. This is pretty much what you get throughout.

The second sequel is a lot more tame and in line with the original Devilman manga. Lots of nudity and some sex but not near as much and comparatively little rape so far next to Devilman Lady.

Spoiler

A gang of Demon soldiers try to rape Silene's human alter ego and she just kills them.

If you're interested go for it but it's pretty extreme.

 

Edited August 29, 2021 by KP the meanie zucchini

[majestic]

3 hours ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

Other than that, I'm really not sure what's going on here.

Utena got engaged to Anthy.

The first episodes are introductions, mostly, plus some filler insanity you'll soon come across. Surfing elephants, boxing kangaroos, inexplicably loose horses, body switching and exploding curry await you. Enjoy it while it lasts, because it goes off the deep end really quickly.

Revolutionary Girl Utena is split into four chapters:

Student Council: Episode 01 <- You're currently on this floor. 
Student Council: Episode 02
Student Council: Episode 03
Student Council: Episode 04
Student Council: Episode 05
Student Council: Episode 06
Student Council: Episode 07
Student Council: Episode 08
Student Council: Episode 09
Student Council: Episode 10
Student Council: Episode 11
Student Council: Episode 12
Student Council: Episode 13
Black Rose:      Episode 14
Black Rose:      Episode 15
Black Rose:      Episode 16
Black Rose:      Episode 17
Black Rose:      Episode 18
Black Rose:      Episode 19
Black Rose:      Episode 20
Black Rose:      Episode 21
Black Rose:      Episode 22 
Black Rose:      Episode 23
Akio Ohtori:     Episode 24
Akio Ohtori:     Episode 25
Akio Ohtori:     Episode 26
Akio Ohtori:     Episode 27
Akio Ohtori:     Episode 28
Akio Ohtori:     Episode 29
Akio Ohtori:     Episode 30
Akio Ohtori:     Episode 31
Akio Ohtori:     Episode 32
Akio Ohtori:     Episode 33
Apocalypse:      Episode 34 
Apocalypse:      Episode 35
Apocalypse:      Episode 36
Apocalypse:      Episode 37
Apocalypse:      Episode 38
Apocalypse:      Episode 39

The elevator reference will start making sense - or not - really soon. As always, remember to go deeper, and hope that the Seminar does not reject your application.

Don't forget the movie, it really is essential to understanding what is going on.

3 hours ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

It looks very 90's, kind of like a Sailor Moon if the girls were a few years older. I'm sure Wakaba will end up Naru as time goes on.

The artwork took some time to get used to for me. The backgrounds are impressive in their artistic direction and the sort of dreamlike feel they're evoking, but the character models are a stark contrast to what you usually would see in anime of the time. Kind of like a 70ies throwback, with the angular features. I didn't post the Natsu e no Tobira screenshots and say "looks like Utena" for nothing, because the setting and artstyle of Utena seems to have been heavily inspired by that.

4 hours ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

 

  Hide contents

The translation is rough and in Devilman Lady there is near constant ass and tiddies along with ton of rape, and that may be an understatement. So much it almost makes Crybaby look tame. Like

  Hide contents

The first chapter shows over 20 panels of the protagonist's boobs and she transforms into a Devilman while a gang of martial artists turned into demons rapes her and a bunch of schoolgirls. This is pretty much what you get throughout.

The second sequel is a lot more tame and in line with the original Devilman manga. Lots of nudity and some sex but not near as much and comparatively little rape so far next to Devilman Lady.

  Hide contents

A gang of Demon soldiers try to rape Silene's human alter ego and she just kills them.

If you're interested go for it but it's pretty extreme.

See, my posts here make it look like I dislike any sexual content, but that's not true. It entirely depends on the framing, and some fanservice is all right with me.

Point in case, I've watched a couple of episodes of K-On! because hey, why not. It didn't look terrible and @Bartimaeus agreed. It opens with Usagi oversleeping and running out of the house, but not before falling on her behind. That scene could be seen as a bit of fanservice, she's falling on her ass after all, but it's just framed to immediately establish that Usagi really is Usagi (well, her name is Yui, but it seems like all of these shows have an Usagi-like character ever since Sailor Moon). Unlike it's Love Live! counterpart where Love Live!'s Usagi falls on her behind, only to stick it out and rub it for the benefit of the male audience.

Oh, by the way, the name is just the pronunciation for a Japanese word, because @Bartimaeus wondered what is going on. Keiongaku, or keion for short, is the Japanese word for "light music" in the Japanese sense of the word, i.e. lighthearted and fun entertainment music, not a reference to the German concept of leichte Musik.

The director of the anime, who is a woman, by the way, seems to have a thing for animated legs, so there's lots of shots of the girls just walking, but that's just the girls walking.

The biggest moment so far in terms of fanservice was the beach episode, which really happened early.

Mio, the band's bassist, is generally more reserved than the other girls. She has long, black hair and is otherwise a bit more serious (just like Umi in Love Live!, and yeah, really just like, a 1:1 copy of the character), and while she likes playing the bass, she's not all too comfortable with being the focus of attention. She also hates the sight of blood, or any mention of blood, which leads to hilarity because Yui begins as the band's guitarrist and - true to form - cuts her fingers on the guitar strings.

When she shows up on the beach in a black bikini that accentuates her, uhm, assets*, there's a short focus shot on them, going from the other girls' eyes to her bikini top. Maybe unnecessary, but it's fine within its framing. It makes sense that the others would stare for a moment. I mean, Yui and Tsumugi do, Ritsu has been friends with Mio a bit longer (they all meet in school) and is less surprised.

Also really hilarious how much Love Live! blatantly stole from K-On! and apparently not only got away with it, but also surpassed it in popularity. It's... really everything. The basic core group is the same in terms of characterization, the plot beats are sometimes stolen almost verbatim. Yui fails an exam and gets banned from club activities, meaning the group is in trouble until she takes the make up test, and the other girls help her study (in an absolutely hilarious episode). In Love Live! meanwhile they threaten to ban the girls from singing if they flunk any exams, so they study together.

There are lots of little details like that where it's noticable just how blatantly Love Live! borrowed from what appears to be the superior show anyway.

*Normally, if I wouldn't know people like that in real life, I'd argue that Mio probably wouldn't wear a bikini like that, but we were all pretty surprised during a work outing when our reserved, conservative colleague suddenly showed up wearing the skimpiest beach outfit you can imagine. Well, maybe not the skimpiest, but it didn't leave much to the imagination. Fun fact, the other women that came along stared much harder and much longer than the men. Insofar that shot makes perfect sense.

[majestic]

The teacher overseeing the keion club organized some outfits for the band's first live performance at the school festival (in Love Live! it was a school presentation of club activities), and Mio freaks out because she really doesn't want to wear hers. Mio also wrote the lyrics for the song they'll be performing.

Love Live!'s Umi isn't just a blatant ripoff of Mio, she's a carbon copy. Seriously, how did they get away with that?

Love Live! is, however, a bit different in some respects. The characters are used much more for fanservice, of course, but they're also a little more, say, not as... much in total hilarity overdrive mode. The girls from K-On! are much more expressive and more, erm, anime*, but otherwise so far it is the answer to the question of "What would happen if Minako and Usagi started a band?" and it's pretty funny.

Yui and Ritsu aren't Usagi and Minako, obviously, but they're goofing off of each other in a somewhat similar manner. I also read the second season gets a bit more serious and has more character drama than straight up goofy comedy bits. I'll see soon enough, it's not like there's a lot of episodes.

Oh, and I also tried the English dub for a (very) short while. Yui is voiced by Usagi, and Mio by Rei, and I turned it off almost immediately. Nope, that doesn't work, at all.

*This is where it is really noticable that K-On! was based on a 4 panel gag manga, i.e. the Japanese equivalent of silly newspaper comic strips. 

@Bartimaeus  (not actual spoilers):

Spoiler

I think that might be too much, the combination of either dubs and the way the characters are presented, talk and behave in certain scenes. Feel free to try whenever you're looking for something silly and lighthearted, give the first two episodes a shake, but it's not really a recommendation. For the first six episodes, the actual band playing is really in the background. They do spend three months eating cake and drinking tea in their club meetings instead of practicing before even playing together the first time.

Let me know if you for some reason try K-On! and absolutely love it, then I... would really need to readjust my brain (or it might break entirely). At least there's no Erica in there, even if Yui has, uhm, trouble talking to her club members in the first episode. It's over really quickly and never comes up again. Not sure what that should have been. Tried something that didn't work out early on? *shrug*

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Utena episode 2. Fighting duels doesn't seem to be a good way to decide engagements, but what do I know? Anthy doesn't seem to do anything but get slapped and act servile to her current fiance. I wonder what Student Council DIO and End of the World are up to, but I guess it will be completely insane.

5 hours ago, majestic said:

Don't forget the movie, it really is essential to understanding what is going on.

Wait so there's a movie too? What did I jump in to?

5 hours ago, majestic said:

See, my posts here make it look like I dislike any sexual content, but that's not true. It entirely depends on the framing, and some fanservice is all right with me.

Devilman Lady is a few steps behind the Overfiend. If you can deal with it then it's ok, I just don't want you to feel like I tricked you into reading hentai.

Hol Horse and Boingo in the cab.

Edited August 29, 2021 by KP the meanie zucchini

[majestic]

19 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

Utena episode 2. Fighting duels doesn't seem to be a good way to decide engagements, but what do I know? Anthy doesn't seem to do anything but get slapped and act servile to her current fiance. I wonder what Student Council DIO and End of the World are up to, but I guess it will be completely insane.

I think I already linked what DIO is up to a while back. He's a feminist! Heh.

edit:

Before I forget, no, the series doesn't feature a duel in every episode. I wondered about that for the first couple of episodes. There are only 8 duels in the first 13 episodes, but one doesn't count. Try to figure out which one before the show tells you.

19 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

Wait so there's a movie too? What did I jump in to?

Yes, it is set after the series and is called "The Adolescence of Utena", and the movie explains a lot of the things that go on in the series that might not have entirely gotten the first time around. Don't let it fool you into believing it is just an abridged retelling of the show. That's just the surface level.

I'm actually completely serious about this. The movie really is a huge help in making sense of the series, however, it's about as readily understandable as the series itself. To give an analogy, perhaps, imagine you get a gadget with a machine translated manual that you cannot really make sense of, but you can get the gadget to work in some form, but you're uncertain if you fully understand what it does, or what it can do.

The film is then a second, separate manual with an equally bad translation that you can use to cross-reference what you found out from the first manual and experimentation with the gadget to get a more complete overview of it and what it does.

Have fun!

Edited August 29, 2021 by majestic

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Revolutionary Girl Utena 3-5

Does Anthy get slapped every episode? Pretty much keeps up the status quo, except DIO's sister is a bitch and DIO ****s a guys sister on a piano.

2 hours ago, majestic said:

I think I already linked what DIO is up to a while back. He's a feminist! Heh.

"Your sister is as cute as you are"

2 hours ago, majestic said:

Yes, it is set after the series and is called "The Adolescence of Utena", and the movie explains a lot of the things that go on in the series that might not have entirely gotten the first time around. Don't let it fool you into believing it is just an abridged retelling of the show. That's just the surface level.

I'm actually completely serious about this. The movie really is a huge help in making sense of the series, however, it's about as readily understandable as the series itself. To give an analogy, perhaps, imagine you get a gadget with a machine translated manual that you cannot really make sense of, but you can get the gadget to work in some form, but you're uncertain if you fully understand what it does, or what it can do.

The film is then a second, separate manual with an equally bad translation that you can use to cross-reference what you found out from the first manual and experimentation with the gadget to get a more complete overview of it and what it does.

So it's like The End of Evangelion. 

[majestic]

1 hour ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

Does Anthy get slapped every episode?

No, it gets worse.

1 hour ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

Pretty much keeps up the status quo, except DIO's sister is a bitch and DIO ****s a guys sister on a piano.

Miki's sister. The guy with the stopwatch. Good luck finding out what the stopwatch is supposed to mean.

1 hour ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

So it's like The End of Evangelion. 

Yes and no. Both at once, yet none.

The biggest difference between the Utena movie and End of Evangelion is that EoE was narrative in addition to thematic closue for Neon Genesis Evangelion, while the original series only offered a thematic closure in the form of Shinji working through his problems and breaking out of the little world he's enclosed himself in. Revolutonary Girl Utena's ending doesn't have that problem, it serves as a thematic closure as well as a narrative one, assuming one can actually find the narrative. It's not unsatisfying without the film, it just works much better with the film.

More talk about EoE:

EoE, interestingly enough, contains the same thematic closure as the series, it's just less readily apparent, and fans have called that film "angry" and leaving the franchise going out on a hateful note.

I don't think that's necessarily true, NGE spends a lot of its runtime showing us that Shinji isn't a likeable character. EoE does that - again - except in appropriately compressed feature film length by having him **** to an unconscious Asuka, and later attempt to choke her when she calls him out on it when they have their alternate reality childhood friendship, although in the context of the series itself Asuka can blame herself for that just as well. Shinji masturbating to her is more or less what she wanted to have, validation that she's attractive (something she did not get from Kaji when she tried) and desirable as a person beyond her ability to pilot an EVA, it's just her wish being granted in the vilest of ways.

Yet, at the end, when Asuka reaches for Shinji's cheek, he just stops, and at that moment, essentially, goes through the original ending (kind of). Convinced until that point that nobody will ever like him, he realizes that Asuka accepts him, in her own, damaged way. Asuka on the other hand gets her validation, because who cold you possibly get so worked up if you didn't feel passionately about that person?

We could assume that Shinji in EoE gets a compressed, utterly unsympathetic arc because he serves as more of an audience stand-in in EoE and reflects on Anno's bad experiences following the ending of the original series, with the vandalization of Gainax properties, the waves of insults and the death threats - all that before social media made sh*tstorms a thing. If you assume that, then yes, it becomes angrier than the actual series. If that bothers a viewer, though, then perhaps they're actually part of the problem, right?

Or the viewer is a shipper and annoyed that EoE doesn't support either #teamrei or #teamasuka. That would be a little strange, given the almost universal love for having him run off with anime fanservice **** and ass character in Rebuild.

If that doesn't reflect badly on the fandom, then what does?

[majestic]

I see we're back to censoring mastur-bate. @Amentep can you perhaps find out why the powers that be waffle around on that word so much? It was definitely not censored earlier this week. It's not really that problematic a word, and really, there's a whole host of things that aren't censored and probably should be, but nobody cares whether or not the Greatjon wants to shove a sword up Lord Tywin's bunghole or someone has a good wank, jacking off to pictures of Mari.

Much like **** is censored, but arsehole isn't, asshat isn't either, curiously enough. Bloody bollocks, all of it, really.

I mean, just look at that sentence the way it stands now:

16 minutes ago, majestic said:

EoE does that - again - except in appropriately compressed feature film length by having him **** to an unconscious Asuka, and later attempt to choke her when she calls him out on it when they have their alternate reality childhood friendship, although in the context of the series itself Asuka can blame herself for that just as well.

I could change it to:

16 minutes ago, majestic said:

EoE does that - again - except in appropriately compressed feature film length by having him jack off to an unconscious Asuka, and later attempt to choke her when she calls him out on it when they have their alternate reality childhood friendship, although in the context of the series itself Asuka can blame herself for that just as well.

Or:

16 minutes ago, majestic said:

EoE does that - again - except in appropriately compressed feature film length by having him wank to an unconscious Asuka, and later attempt to choke her when she calls him out on it when they have their alternate reality childhood friendship, although in the context of the series itself Asuka can blame herself for that just as well.

Or maybe we could use some ridiculous metaphor:

16 minutes ago, majestic said:

EoE does that - again - except in appropriately compressed feature film length by having him wring his one-eyed trouser snake to an unconscious Asuka, and later attempt to choke her when she calls him out on it when they have their alternate reality childhood friendship, although in the context of the series itself Asuka can blame herself for that just as well.

Or simply leave it censored:

16 minutes ago, majestic said:

EoE does that - again - except in appropriately compressed feature film length by having him **** to an unconscious Asuka, and later attempt to choke her when she calls him out on it when they have their alternate reality childhood friendship, although in the context of the series itself Asuka can blame herself for that just as well.

None of those are not what I wanted to express there. The metaphors are ridiculous, jacking off and wanking have a connotation that I don't want in there, and the asterisk replacement of the actual word evokes the idea of a connotation that I don't want this to have either. It's all around worse than what is meant.

 

Edited August 29, 2021 by majestic

[Amentep]

@majestic 

@Fionavar is probably the best person to approach; I'm assuming (which may be wrong) that the censor filter is Obsidian admin's area of control

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

21 minutes ago, majestic said:

No, it gets worse.

OH GOD!!!!

21 minutes ago, majestic said:

Miki's sister. The guy with the stopwatch. Good luck finding out what the stopwatch is supposed to mean.

That's three Mikis in a week. Let's hope stopwatch Miki comes out better.

Anyways episode 6 happened. There seems to be a high number of animals who get loose at that school. DIO's sister is still a bitch. I have no idea what the purpose of the stopwatch is. I dislike Anthy at the moment.

Iggy and Petshop in the sewer.

30 minutes ago, majestic said:

Yes and no. Both at once, yet none.

The biggest difference between the Utena movie and End of Evangelion is that EoE was narrative in addition to thematic closue for Neon Genesis Evangelion, while the original series only offered a thematic closure in the form of Shinji working through his problems and breaking out of the little world he's enclosed himself in. Revolutonary Girl Utena's ending doesn't have that problem, it serves as a thematic closure as well as a narrative one, assuming one can actually find the narrative. It's not unsatisfying without the film, it just works much better with the film

Now I'm just more confused.

Anyways....I actually preferred the CONGRATULATIONS ending to EoE. Lmao. I have no idea why, maybe I'm just a contrarian.