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elfsSo, I stayed up last night after the kids went to bed to watch the latest episode of Mai HiME, and I've been thinking about it. Shiho turns out to be a HiME (no surprise), and the fight between Mai and Shiho simply sucks. Both of them love Tate; no matter who wins the battle, Tate dies. So far, the writers have managed to take Takumi, Tate, Alyssa, Yukiko, and even Mikoto away from her, this is a woman who's heavily traumatized. As he died, Tate delivered what might be moral heart of the film: that Mai has always been sacrificing herself for other people, she has never done what she wanted to do, and that is what she must do to win. I can't decide yet if I'm annoyed by it or not, because it goes beyond the "to thine own self be true" theme to a full-blown "will to power" theme. It's probably necessary in the context of story, but the implication now is that Mai is excused from whatever horrors she may commit next because she wants to do them with her whole heart and is not held back by the restraints of responsibility. There is an ugly assumption that nobody would ever really want to be responsible, that responsibility is never part of one's "own self being true".
In lighter faire, I watched the first three episodes of Steel Angel Kurumi. This is a very silly series. It's about a young man who explores an abandoned and repudiatedly haunted house where, unknown to him, a world-famous roboticist is hiding from the military police. He activates a robot, a pink-haired buxom beauty (think Little Snow Fairy Sugar all grown up) who immediately calls him "master"!
The roboticist is angry because the robot doesn't recognize him for what he expects-- as her master. Madcap hilarity ensues, with a beautiful evil mad scientist after them, a very pushy "give me orders or I have nothing to do!" robot, a priestly older brother to the hero who keeps making comments about how "growing up is hard, right?" and a frustrated roboticst who keeps saying, "I made you, you could at least remember my name!"
This is entirely ecchi (light smutty comedy fare) video. The old general in charge of the military keeps getting caught looking at the nude photos of these "killer combat robots" on his computer, and Kurumi naturally has no clue why every man's eyes start at her chest first. Light-hearted and cute, it's easy to put down, and easy to pick up again. Braincandy.
In a completely different vein, I watched the first half of Elfen Lied. This is a dark, depressing, violent series, and is completely unrepentant about it. If it uses nudity, it's only to provide a contrast between the prettiness of a character's facade with the ugliness within. The storyline is about a large, faceless organization breeding telekinetics who, unfortunately, are mostly violently psychopathic. One, "Lucy", escapes, but not before a bullet grazes her skull. The escape is one of the bloodiest things I've ever seen filmed; Lucy dismembers the assault squads after her with an ease that would make Palpitane envious.
Dazed and slightly brain-damaged, Lucy awakes on the beach and is taken in by a young man, Kouta, who lives alone in a vast, abandoned hotel. His parents were killed and he's living off an accident settlement, but his intention is to re-open the hotel after he finishes college. Lucy can't remember who she is; she can barely speak.
An assault team comes to get her, and Lucy remembers who she is long enough to slaughter them all. Kouta and his friend Yuka befriend a homeless girl name Mayu, who ran away from home because her stepfather sexually abused her. Lucy's innocent and kind-hearted if somewhat self-destructive sister, Nana, is sent to bring her back, and Lucy and Nana have a battle that ends with Nana's dismemberment. Somewhere along the way we learn that Kouta and Lucy may have known each other around the time of Kouta's parents' death, but what relationship she has with him is mysterious.
All of this is shown graphically and explicitly. It's ugly beyond words, reaching a depth of horror and catharsis that most writers can't reach and most filmmakers wouldn't dare touch. I can't say that I enjoyed watching it, but it is compelling, and I'll probably finish it.
In lighter faire, I watched the first three episodes of Steel Angel Kurumi. This is a very silly series. It's about a young man who explores an abandoned and repudiatedly haunted house where, unknown to him, a world-famous roboticist is hiding from the military police. He activates a robot, a pink-haired buxom beauty (think Little Snow Fairy Sugar all grown up) who immediately calls him "master"!
The roboticist is angry because the robot doesn't recognize him for what he expects-- as her master. Madcap hilarity ensues, with a beautiful evil mad scientist after them, a very pushy "give me orders or I have nothing to do!" robot, a priestly older brother to the hero who keeps making comments about how "growing up is hard, right?" and a frustrated roboticst who keeps saying, "I made you, you could at least remember my name!"
This is entirely ecchi (light smutty comedy fare) video. The old general in charge of the military keeps getting caught looking at the nude photos of these "killer combat robots" on his computer, and Kurumi naturally has no clue why every man's eyes start at her chest first. Light-hearted and cute, it's easy to put down, and easy to pick up again. Braincandy.
In a completely different vein, I watched the first half of Elfen Lied. This is a dark, depressing, violent series, and is completely unrepentant about it. If it uses nudity, it's only to provide a contrast between the prettiness of a character's facade with the ugliness within. The storyline is about a large, faceless organization breeding telekinetics who, unfortunately, are mostly violently psychopathic. One, "Lucy", escapes, but not before a bullet grazes her skull. The escape is one of the bloodiest things I've ever seen filmed; Lucy dismembers the assault squads after her with an ease that would make Palpitane envious.
Dazed and slightly brain-damaged, Lucy awakes on the beach and is taken in by a young man, Kouta, who lives alone in a vast, abandoned hotel. His parents were killed and he's living off an accident settlement, but his intention is to re-open the hotel after he finishes college. Lucy can't remember who she is; she can barely speak.
An assault team comes to get her, and Lucy remembers who she is long enough to slaughter them all. Kouta and his friend Yuka befriend a homeless girl name Mayu, who ran away from home because her stepfather sexually abused her. Lucy's innocent and kind-hearted if somewhat self-destructive sister, Nana, is sent to bring her back, and Lucy and Nana have a battle that ends with Nana's dismemberment. Somewhere along the way we learn that Kouta and Lucy may have known each other around the time of Kouta's parents' death, but what relationship she has with him is mysterious.
All of this is shown graphically and explicitly. It's ugly beyond words, reaching a depth of horror and catharsis that most writers can't reach and most filmmakers wouldn't dare touch. I can't say that I enjoyed watching it, but it is compelling, and I'll probably finish it.
