Oh wow…
I mean, I’ve waited long enough for the show to grab me, to bite me, or to tell me “you don’t like me? Bite me.” Finally, the emotional intricacy is played out. The bitter consequences, which may remind some people about a certain mecha show and the bitter consequences of being a pilot in that show (No, I’m definitely NOT talking about Eva), really hit where it hurts. Though, I still have some reservations. For me, the childish drawings of the characters really detracts from the experience, when in fact, it’s suppose to add to it.
That said, man, these two episodes really packed an one-two punch. Anyone else out there think Qubei is THE DEVIL? To all of us, it’s now obvious Qubei is NOT even remotely the good guy here. Shimuzu Ai’s Qubei is innocent, cute, deceitfully harmless, but its apparent lack of any sympathy for the human condition really sends awful chills up my spine.
Once again, I totally missed what the beautiful images of this show conveys. It’s my loss. But for me, the acting and the trickery plus the hubris (ha ha, misusing a big word) make up for the experience.
But you know, the little girl inside me screams: “Mommy! Mommy! I want Sailor Moon back!”
Where is the pure belief in love and justice? Where have all the Sailor Soliders gone?
I mean, the zeigeist indicates bitterness, distrust and misplaced loyalties, as well as deceit and lies. But man, even the purest of the pure genres has now fallen under this negativity and distrust. It does make a great show, but it makes an old guy from the 80’s and 90’s sad.
The show did pick up for me, and that’s all that matters. The soundtrack remains perfect. My bottomline? Only now, it’s starting to be a worthy watch.
Not even remotely the good guy? I wonder if it will be that cliched, or if Shinbo et al are just playing it that way so we want him dead, only to get a slap in the face for our prejudice. It could happen, since so far there’s been no definitive sign that he’s anything more than an alien or robot of some sort, incapable of grasping basic human emotion and thus having no problem coercing little girls into fighting horrors-from-the-beyond. Frankly I don’t have any more emotional attachment or empathy for these girls than I do for Kyubei, so I’ll reserve my judgement.
@ Hogart – You know I have to say that I also still feel detached from the characters themselves, despite great performances. It’s not that I care about the each character, it’s more like the circumstances get to me. However, these characters slowly grows on me.
Perhaps I was too rash with my comment. I’m waiting for more Shinboisms and surprises that do work out well.
>even the purest of the pure genres has now fallen under this negativity and distrust. It does make a great show, but it makes an old guy from the 80′s and 90′s sad.
Hee! I love this comment. Growing up with magical girl shows in the 90s and watching them well into the 2000s, I have to totally agree. Might I suggest the Precure series, if you’re looking for some old-fashioned, straight-forward magical girls? Deep it is not, but it’s honest, innocent and fun (if a bit heavy on merchandising.)
@Kaei
I will give that a shot then. I think Nana-chan (Mizuki) is one of the characters, is she not? I love Nana-chan and if Precure series isn’t too sugary, I’ll definitely try them out.
Yes, the drawing is very primitive, especially the witches. They don’t look tough enough, not worth fighting. I’m not used to this cute artistic style paired with tragedy. Rosen maidens have to kill each other, but they are dolls, not humans, and its artistic style matches seriousness of the show. I thought I would quit watching Madoka, it’s too heavy for me. I only want happiness from 2-D, especially moetic romantic comedy. But after all, I keep watching it, since it’s a good show.
@ Monsieur LaMoe
I can’t really say how good it is because sometimes I don’t feel so attached to it. But I’ll admit that people do have a point – it’s s powerful show. I hope everything keeps up and MAYBE MADOKA WILL ACTUALLY ACT LIKE THE TITLE’s SAKE???
Yeah, but no.
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I think kaei has it, though I’d tweak the emphasis. The truth is that friendship and justice haven’t gone out of fashion at all: Pretty Cure is a monstrously successful franchise. It doesn’t get discussed much because bloggers like to make themselves feel that they’re grown up by discussing late-night, small-audience stuff like Madoka, and because there’s a limit to what you can say about PreCure as, like Sailor Moon and unlike Madoka, children are its primary audience.
@IKnight
I get turned off by the drawing of Precure because they look like elementary school girls and the feel is yeah, it’s for children. Also, by the time I heard about the show, there’s already like, 500 episodes? XD So, I haven’t watched it yet.
All I’m going to say here is that Kyubei is probably my favorite character. He acts completely rationally, surrounded by girls who spend the entire episodes flipping out and having a canary. I’m just about tired of listening to Madoka tearfully beg Sayuka to calm down or think about this or whatever the hell else. Madoka needs to put up or shut up. Or just drop Goku into this thing and let him just beat the shit out of all the witches everywhere forever and no one will have to be angsty anymore. GRAAAAA!!!
@ Ehrgheiz
Damn them Shinji power up girls. Madoka just wouldn’t get into the Magical Girl suit, would she? I guess that’s the emotional intricacy of the entire show. It’s the influence of the times, where even heros and heroines are absolutely unsure about anything. Man, at least Shinji went berserk! This show would even drive the old Anno crazy!
That said, the emotional dorama is played very well and the consequences are harsh. But yes, for some of us, it gets tiring.