What I got was a main character who did nothing but whine for the rest of the show about how her best friend that she knew for all of a week died and how she wished that there was something she could do, EXCEPT THERE WAS SOMETHING TO DO. YOU HAVE A MAGICAL EVIL ALIEN OIL TYCOON THAT WILL GRANT YOU ANY WISH YOU WANT. YOU CAN USE IT TO WISH BACK YOUR FRIEND AND THEN YOU WILL ALSO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL OF BEING A FUCKING MAGICAL GIRL AND THE SHOW CAN ACTUALLY MOVE ON AND THINGS CAN START HAPPENING. But no, she just sits there and whines for 8 more episodes until she makes the most bullshit, deus ex machina wish ever and the show ends with me feeling extremely let down and needing to find a way to justify the fact that I just watched an entire show that I really did not like in the slightest.
Regarding this particular point this is where it's up to the viewer to suspend disbelief and accept that while you watched Madoka be passive for eight episodes, in reality she had - at every prior conflict in untold numbers of prior iterations of the plot - faced down these problems and made the wish. She wasn't "actually" a passive protagonist character. She was willing to make the active choice an untold number of times. It's what gives a bit more depth to her character and explains why Homura does what she's doing as well. Madoka is the willing self-sacrificing hero every time, it seems. And admittedly, if this doesn't resonate with someone or they are disinclined towards that suspension of disbelief, it doesn't work - but this is what they were going for I think.
Oh, I guess I was totally wrong about Li_Akahi, eh?
Wrong about what? My views on Madoka are not exactly hidden. I've talked about the fact that I don't like it on the forums before (and most likely within this thread).
Seriously, why do all of the characters look like chameleons?
Are you blind? That chameleon has a nose.
Also, all you forumites, for fuck's sake stop overhyping Madoka. You lot are basically cumming at the mention of it. It's as great as Bakemonogatari, and most you fucks haven't even watched that.
Basically I'm judging you if you skipped this one.
(Especially if you are planning on doing an Utena retrospective.)
Less never skipped, than I have no idea what it is. I've never encountered it before, except by name. I might check it out, if someone tells me what it is.
What I dislike the most about viewers is the "what I would have done" statement. Viewers should be protagonists, because they always think of the right thing to do, no sweat. It's just amazing!
I know of Bakemonogatari and Penguindrum, of course, but I'm not in the habit of buying DVDs. Honestly, I think it'll be years before I actually sit down and watch it. There's so much stuff I can watch for free that it's quite a pile.
Oh, going through Black Lagoon, speaking of awesome anime since GiTS:SAC.
You call it Project K? That would be better for googling purposes than the actual name.
I know it's going to be ridiculous, but K's so damn pretty. I think they've basically told us the secret behind their murder mystery already, 3 episodes in.
Yeah it is ridiculous. I'm hoping the series leans more heavily on the psychic gang war fights than the goofy comedy. The swordsman putting off his vendetta to the kill the albino kid so they could break for breakfast was pretty dumb. Naked cat girl need to just stay as a cute little cat also.
I'm wondering about what the other gangs do. I don't think that's a spoiler to say that there are other gangs.
I can't stop thinking about the whole Rainbow Lantern Corps, because each color group in K represents a different emotion, basically. Stereotypically, the red is violence, people quick to anger. I'm guessing the blues are supposed to be cold, the more calculated and orderly group.
Since Rym & Scott are soon going to post videos, I'll give Utena a third try. Last time I managed to get up to eps 13, before getting distracted by other shows. Lets see how far can I get this time. I know that supposedly there is a lot of hidden meaning through out the show, specially when roses are concern, but beside kinda interpreting what the songs play during the fight mean, I haven't manage to decipher much. Should I not concern myself with that, and just enjoy the ride?
Just try to figure out what the fuck's going on. Why are they dueling? What is this all about? What's the deal with the Rose Bride?
Try to figure out the literal reality of the world in Utena on your first watching. Don't worry so much about the allegory.
Best advice. Don't think about the non-literal things in the first go. Just worry about the weird literal things. How the fuck is there a castle hanging upside down in the sky?
The second arc (eps 14-26ish) will give you a lot to think about in terms of the duels. You get to see flashbacks to old duelists from past days... Try to figure out what's going on and why they're fighting.
I think I've said this before, but this won't be first time on these forums when I repeat myself.
One side about Utena I really like is how it can be watched with different focuses. One can focus on all the symbolism, or the questions like what is the castle, or "the end of the world". I tend to prefer character centric view on things so that's how I tend to watch Utena. I focus on the characters, why each of them wants to duel, what does the duel and the possible victory or loss mean to them? What they feel about other characters and why.
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Nonetheless, Madoka is a great anime.
(Especially if you are planning on doing an Utena retrospective.)
I know of Bakemonogatari and Penguindrum, of course, but I'm not in the habit of buying DVDs. Honestly, I think it'll be years before I actually sit down and watch it. There's so much stuff I can watch for free that it's quite a pile.
Oh, going through Black Lagoon, speaking of awesome anime since GiTS:SAC.
I know it's going to be ridiculous, but K's so damn pretty. I think they've basically told us the secret behind their murder mystery already, 3 episodes in.
I can't stop thinking about the whole Rainbow Lantern Corps, because each color group in K represents a different emotion, basically. Stereotypically, the red is violence, people quick to anger. I'm guessing the blues are supposed to be cold, the more calculated and orderly group.
I know that supposedly there is a lot of hidden meaning through out the show, specially when roses are concern, but beside kinda interpreting what the songs play during the fight mean, I haven't manage to decipher much. Should I not concern myself with that, and just enjoy the ride?
Listen: watch the show, THEN puzzle over it, read analysis of it, etc.
Try to figure out the literal reality of the world in Utena on your first watching. Don't worry so much about the allegory.
The second arc (eps 14-26ish) will give you a lot to think about in terms of the duels. You get to see flashbacks to old duelists from past days... Try to figure out what's going on and why they're fighting.
One side about Utena I really like is how it can be watched with different focuses. One can focus on all the symbolism, or the questions like what is the castle, or "the end of the world". I tend to prefer character centric view on things so that's how I tend to watch Utena. I focus on the characters, why each of them wants to duel, what does the duel and the possible victory or loss mean to them? What they feel about other characters and why.