Tower of God episode 7 revealed some fascinating lore.
Some of it is particularly interesting as a Dub viewers who’s had the gist of where they are going with Rachel’s character in episode 12 spoiled for them. “I hope it’s worth losing him” should certainly dispel any notion that it came out of nowhere.
The 8th Son episode 7 shows it’s MC isn’t really OP at all.
Well episode 7 of Hamefura has me thinking everyone is a reincarnation of someone from Katerina’s Nippon life.
Looks like there isn’t gonna be a new Railgun T this week. That’s cool, I know things are difficult right now.
Update: I'm gonna add a link to this Twitter thread I made.
https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir/status/1277071493722181636
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
I've now seen the original La Femme Nikita
The movie was good.
You can consider this post a follow up of sorts to my post on Leon: The Professional, which was kind of about the Nikita franchise as much as it was that film.
My interest begins with the film's status as a stated inspiration for Noir my favorite Anime. I do see this film's stylistic and aesthetic influence on Noir, but I feel like writing in depth on the specific homages would be easier for Leon.
As I also stated before a key difference between Noir and the Nikita franchise is that Noir is a show with no significant male characters. A theme in Nikita is definitely the titular Femme's life being controlled by powerful men, a "Patriarchy". That Theme is also relevant to Noir, but the patriarchy is at a distance, a faceless council of old white men.
Another difference is that Noir is not nearly as interested in how the main characters became such good killers.
I noticed Jean Reno in the opening credits and went "hmm an actor Besson likes to reuse it seems", but then he wound up playing basically the same character. I mean there are a few reasons you can't actually imagine a shared cinematic universe here, but I watched a couple Video Essays on Leon and none mentioned how it was basically spiritually a spin-off of this movie.
Nikita has clearly been an influence on more then just Noir. I actually deduced a certain scene would exist in this movie from the derivative media I'd seen first. The sniping someone from a hotel bathroom scene has been remade at least twice, I imagine it's also in Point of No Return. If I were to make my own remake of this scene I'd replace the Ham with Chickpeas just for the sake of a Meme only PLL fans would get.
The film is also more similar in genre to it's TV remakes then I at first assumed it would be. It's a more "realistic" style but still essentially a morally ambiguous spy movie.
Ya know I always assumed the CW's Nikita show was more just a reboot of the 97 show that probably didn't go back to the original film for inspiration at all. But I now observe that the CW's Michael looks much more like his film counterpart then the prior TV one. The old IMDB forum spent a lot of time talking about how Amanda was basically the new show's version of Madeline but I don't think anyone ever mentioned Amanda being the name of a similar character in the movie.
You can consider this post a follow up of sorts to my post on Leon: The Professional, which was kind of about the Nikita franchise as much as it was that film.
My interest begins with the film's status as a stated inspiration for Noir my favorite Anime. I do see this film's stylistic and aesthetic influence on Noir, but I feel like writing in depth on the specific homages would be easier for Leon.
As I also stated before a key difference between Noir and the Nikita franchise is that Noir is a show with no significant male characters. A theme in Nikita is definitely the titular Femme's life being controlled by powerful men, a "Patriarchy". That Theme is also relevant to Noir, but the patriarchy is at a distance, a faceless council of old white men.
Another difference is that Noir is not nearly as interested in how the main characters became such good killers.
I noticed Jean Reno in the opening credits and went "hmm an actor Besson likes to reuse it seems", but then he wound up playing basically the same character. I mean there are a few reasons you can't actually imagine a shared cinematic universe here, but I watched a couple Video Essays on Leon and none mentioned how it was basically spiritually a spin-off of this movie.
Nikita has clearly been an influence on more then just Noir. I actually deduced a certain scene would exist in this movie from the derivative media I'd seen first. The sniping someone from a hotel bathroom scene has been remade at least twice, I imagine it's also in Point of No Return. If I were to make my own remake of this scene I'd replace the Ham with Chickpeas just for the sake of a Meme only PLL fans would get.
The film is also more similar in genre to it's TV remakes then I at first assumed it would be. It's a more "realistic" style but still essentially a morally ambiguous spy movie.
Ya know I always assumed the CW's Nikita show was more just a reboot of the 97 show that probably didn't go back to the original film for inspiration at all. But I now observe that the CW's Michael looks much more like his film counterpart then the prior TV one. The old IMDB forum spent a lot of time talking about how Amanda was basically the new show's version of Madeline but I don't think anyone ever mentioned Amanda being the name of a similar character in the movie.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Summer Solstice Anime 2020 update
Follow my Anime viewing in real time at these links..
https://myanimelist.net/profile/JaredMithrandir
https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir
Also here is the introductory post for this series.
https://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2020/01/anime-2020.html
Tower of God episode 6 was great, things are getting intense now.
Railgun T episode 11 was great, things are starting to come together. I hope the second half of the season has another Anime original arc, those were vital to my enjoyment of season 1 and S.
The 8th Son episode 6 was interesting. I’m amused by the notion that the Kingdom would only feel obligated to give land to a noble who already had land. But the best news is we officially have another non Monogamous Harem resolution. I do still prefer the set up for it on Smartphone with it beginning as the girls talking it out amongst each other. But since it becomes official sooner here hopefully we’ll get to see more exploration of it.
Hamefura episode 6 was good. I think Maria is Hatsu.
https://myanimelist.net/profile/JaredMithrandir
https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir
Also here is the introductory post for this series.
https://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2020/01/anime-2020.html
Tower of God episode 6 was great, things are getting intense now.
Railgun T episode 11 was great, things are starting to come together. I hope the second half of the season has another Anime original arc, those were vital to my enjoyment of season 1 and S.
The 8th Son episode 6 was interesting. I’m amused by the notion that the Kingdom would only feel obligated to give land to a noble who already had land. But the best news is we officially have another non Monogamous Harem resolution. I do still prefer the set up for it on Smartphone with it beginning as the girls talking it out amongst each other. But since it becomes official sooner here hopefully we’ll get to see more exploration of it.
Hamefura episode 6 was good. I think Maria is Hatsu.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Sailor Scout really is the best English Translation of Sailor Senshi
That's my Magical Girl Hot Take for June 2020.
First of all the choice I dislike the most is Sailor Guardian which has now been forced upon us as the official translation because older Naoko Takeuchi now has control over the localizations and simply used Google Translate to determine the most "literal" translation.
Here is the thing about translating art that a lot of people don't understand, the aesthetic aspects of art can include word choice, and in the early 90s she did not choose the word Senshi over other Japanese words she could have used solely for what it literally meant, how it sounds and on paper looks was also important. And I don't think how alliterative it is paired with "Sailor" was ever a coincidence. I'm sure Digi-nee understands that with the Lexical vs Lateral dichotomy she's developed.
As a Millennial who's been at least peripherally a Sailor Moon fan for as long as any American could have been, I grew up in a climate where those rejecting the DiC choice of Sailor Scouts preferred to say Sailor Soldiers, that was the partial name of a number of old role-play forums and Yahoo Groups. But my reason for preferring Scouts to Soldiers is that on paper Soldiers is a much larger word then Senshi while Scouts is the exact same number of letters.
There are also the mega-weebs who go "don't translate it at all, just use Senshi even in English". And that is my position on a lot of key Japanese terms especially when Dubbing explicitly Otaku oriented works. That's how I feel about Miko and all the Honorifics and Sibling terminology and the Deres and Otokonoko and even Baka at this point. I also more or less feel the same about Kami, it does not in fact perfectly equate to god/God.
But Sailor Moon isn't an Otaku Anime, it's a kid's show first and foremost, and so we ought to make it as easy for kids to understand as possible, but without engaging in the Queer erasure the DiC dub was guilty of, or the deorientilization of old 4Kids dubs. So for that reason translating Senshi to some kind of equivalent English term is necessary. But my position on Miko doesn't change when it's used in Sailor Moon, I feel like that one will prove self explanatory in a way Senshi won't, or rather you don't necessarily need to know exactly what it means for what Rei is at the shrine to make sense.
The main objection I keep hearing to using Scout is that it's somehow derogatory or demeaning. I feel like that attitude is bound to be offensive to actual soldiers who served as scouts in real world militaries, like my dad who was a US Cavalry Scout. Scouts are typically those actually on the front lines, which makes it a pretty decent analogy to the function Magical Girl Warriors are usually serving in all the Monster of the Week driven shows. Also my dad was stationed on the Iron Curtain in Bavaria during the Cold War, so he was a Scout quite literally serving as a Guardian patrolling a border. But I think a major reason that's the word DiC choose in 1995 was because it would be relatable to kids via things like Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts, and that relevance still exists.
My Nostalgia for the aspects of the old Dub that aren't completely horrific are certainly an influence on my preference here. But I have provided a legitimate justification for it. And so I will continue to use Sailor Scout and Sailor Scouts without hesitation going forward, though probably still using Senshi a lot too.
First of all the choice I dislike the most is Sailor Guardian which has now been forced upon us as the official translation because older Naoko Takeuchi now has control over the localizations and simply used Google Translate to determine the most "literal" translation.
Here is the thing about translating art that a lot of people don't understand, the aesthetic aspects of art can include word choice, and in the early 90s she did not choose the word Senshi over other Japanese words she could have used solely for what it literally meant, how it sounds and on paper looks was also important. And I don't think how alliterative it is paired with "Sailor" was ever a coincidence. I'm sure Digi-nee understands that with the Lexical vs Lateral dichotomy she's developed.
As a Millennial who's been at least peripherally a Sailor Moon fan for as long as any American could have been, I grew up in a climate where those rejecting the DiC choice of Sailor Scouts preferred to say Sailor Soldiers, that was the partial name of a number of old role-play forums and Yahoo Groups. But my reason for preferring Scouts to Soldiers is that on paper Soldiers is a much larger word then Senshi while Scouts is the exact same number of letters.
There are also the mega-weebs who go "don't translate it at all, just use Senshi even in English". And that is my position on a lot of key Japanese terms especially when Dubbing explicitly Otaku oriented works. That's how I feel about Miko and all the Honorifics and Sibling terminology and the Deres and Otokonoko and even Baka at this point. I also more or less feel the same about Kami, it does not in fact perfectly equate to god/God.
But Sailor Moon isn't an Otaku Anime, it's a kid's show first and foremost, and so we ought to make it as easy for kids to understand as possible, but without engaging in the Queer erasure the DiC dub was guilty of, or the deorientilization of old 4Kids dubs. So for that reason translating Senshi to some kind of equivalent English term is necessary. But my position on Miko doesn't change when it's used in Sailor Moon, I feel like that one will prove self explanatory in a way Senshi won't, or rather you don't necessarily need to know exactly what it means for what Rei is at the shrine to make sense.
The main objection I keep hearing to using Scout is that it's somehow derogatory or demeaning. I feel like that attitude is bound to be offensive to actual soldiers who served as scouts in real world militaries, like my dad who was a US Cavalry Scout. Scouts are typically those actually on the front lines, which makes it a pretty decent analogy to the function Magical Girl Warriors are usually serving in all the Monster of the Week driven shows. Also my dad was stationed on the Iron Curtain in Bavaria during the Cold War, so he was a Scout quite literally serving as a Guardian patrolling a border. But I think a major reason that's the word DiC choose in 1995 was because it would be relatable to kids via things like Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts, and that relevance still exists.
My Nostalgia for the aspects of the old Dub that aren't completely horrific are certainly an influence on my preference here. But I have provided a legitimate justification for it. And so I will continue to use Sailor Scout and Sailor Scouts without hesitation going forward, though probably still using Senshi a lot too.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Saturday, June 13, 2020
More Anime 2020 progress
Follow my Anime viewing in real time at these links..
https://myanimelist.net/profile/JaredMithrandir
https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir
Also here is the introductory post for this series.
https://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2020/01/anime-2020.html
Tower of God episode 5 was again very good.
Khun is one of a particular kind of male Anime character that I am sexually attracted to, but I don’t think I can claim to be Queer over that because I don’t think any flesh and blood human being of any gender could actually recreate their appeal in real life. Other similar looking characters would include Near on Death Note, Akise from Future Diary, and I guess Kowaru would be the original.
Episode 5 of The 8th Son has me pretty hopeful we’ll be getting another non Monogamous arrangement like we had in Smartphone.
Episode 5 of Hamefura brought some more drama into the show. It seems like this rumored to be a Bastard plot point isn’t one our MC was aware of from the game.
I’m unsure what to expect from the current release schedule of Railgun T.
I became fans of two Yuri Manga series in the meantime. Her Elder Sister has a crush on her, but she doesn’t mind. And Between Philia and Eros which is currently lacking a page on MAL. I also enjoyed a one off called Yutori Senpen which is not quite as great a Yuri NTR as Your Fault but was pretty good.
https://myanimelist.net/profile/JaredMithrandir
https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir
Also here is the introductory post for this series.
https://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2020/01/anime-2020.html
Tower of God episode 5 was again very good.
Khun is one of a particular kind of male Anime character that I am sexually attracted to, but I don’t think I can claim to be Queer over that because I don’t think any flesh and blood human being of any gender could actually recreate their appeal in real life. Other similar looking characters would include Near on Death Note, Akise from Future Diary, and I guess Kowaru would be the original.
Episode 5 of The 8th Son has me pretty hopeful we’ll be getting another non Monogamous arrangement like we had in Smartphone.
Episode 5 of Hamefura brought some more drama into the show. It seems like this rumored to be a Bastard plot point isn’t one our MC was aware of from the game.
I’m unsure what to expect from the current release schedule of Railgun T.
I became fans of two Yuri Manga series in the meantime. Her Elder Sister has a crush on her, but she doesn’t mind. And Between Philia and Eros which is currently lacking a page on MAL. I also enjoyed a one off called Yutori Senpen which is not quite as great a Yuri NTR as Your Fault but was pretty good.
Thursday, June 11, 2020
I have now seen Luc Besson's Leon: The Professional
Notorious Anituber Digi-nee has said in a few places that when you’re a fan of a certain artist or work of art you should also check out what prior art influenced them. Rick Worley I’m sure would agree, his frustration with most Star Wars fans is partly their lack of interest in actually watching the older films that were an influence on George Lucas in making the 6 Star Wars films, especially the more obscure ones.
I agree on principle, but it can be difficult when the older work you’re aware of that has influenced what you like is more obscure.
La Femme Nikita and Leon: The Professional are two Luc Besson films that are frequently cited as the principal inspirations for my absolute favorite Anime, Noir. So I’ve been meaning to try and watch them for a while and finally got around to getting started.
I decided to watch Leon first partly because it’s the one that’s in English, and because I like Jean Reno via Godzilla 98 and Natalie Portman as one of the internet’s most vocal Prequel Stans. And Gary Oldman is the real best performance of The Dark Knight trilogy so I also expected him to be good.
However it also turned out to be the one that was a lot easier to find. I had wanted see both movies the same day and do one blog post for both of them, but that didn't work out. So I'm writing this having at this time still only seen Leon.
It turns out this particular genre of film isn’t all Luc Besson has done and there are in fact two Besson films I’d already seen, The Messenger and much of The Fifth Element. I’m really not a fan of The Messenger.
I saw this movie's influence on Noir quite a bit, which is exciting since I was/am kind of expecting it to be the less significant influence of the two. I saw it in the general style, in many of the tactics of the titular assassin, but I also saw specific details that I think Noir was homaging in pretty meaningful ways. I even think the movie’s music was a little bit of an influence on what Yuki Kajura did, it’s still very different Yuki totally did her own thing, but I do think she also watched this movie.
The film is good, in addition to being an influence on future Anime I also see how it is both similar to and distinguishes itself from the general trends of 90s crime fiction, like the works of Tarantino. If you like those kinds of movies you’ll probably also see something in this one.
Part of the reason La Femme Nikita is so hard to find is that in general popculture that movie has been eclipsed by it’s TV reboots. But those TV shows while having technically the same starting premise are barely the same genre. If you’re a fan of those shows and want a similar Anime I’m more inclined to recommend Witch Hunter Robin. Of those two shows I've watched the first season and a half of the CW's Nikita and the pilot of the late 90s Canadian show. Going off that both shows have their strong suits.
I do already know enough about that premise to say that Gunslinger Girl might actually be the Anime with a more similar premise then Noir given its emphasis on the older male handlers. I like Noir partly for its lack of any significant male characters.
So while I was working on trying to find that movie I decided to watch another more recent piece of East Asian media that cites Nikita as it’s inspiration, a South Korean movie called The Villainess. It was… interesting. I don't think I'll be writing anything about it but it was interesting.
I agree on principle, but it can be difficult when the older work you’re aware of that has influenced what you like is more obscure.
La Femme Nikita and Leon: The Professional are two Luc Besson films that are frequently cited as the principal inspirations for my absolute favorite Anime, Noir. So I’ve been meaning to try and watch them for a while and finally got around to getting started.
I decided to watch Leon first partly because it’s the one that’s in English, and because I like Jean Reno via Godzilla 98 and Natalie Portman as one of the internet’s most vocal Prequel Stans. And Gary Oldman is the real best performance of The Dark Knight trilogy so I also expected him to be good.
However it also turned out to be the one that was a lot easier to find. I had wanted see both movies the same day and do one blog post for both of them, but that didn't work out. So I'm writing this having at this time still only seen Leon.
It turns out this particular genre of film isn’t all Luc Besson has done and there are in fact two Besson films I’d already seen, The Messenger and much of The Fifth Element. I’m really not a fan of The Messenger.
I saw this movie's influence on Noir quite a bit, which is exciting since I was/am kind of expecting it to be the less significant influence of the two. I saw it in the general style, in many of the tactics of the titular assassin, but I also saw specific details that I think Noir was homaging in pretty meaningful ways. I even think the movie’s music was a little bit of an influence on what Yuki Kajura did, it’s still very different Yuki totally did her own thing, but I do think she also watched this movie.
The film is good, in addition to being an influence on future Anime I also see how it is both similar to and distinguishes itself from the general trends of 90s crime fiction, like the works of Tarantino. If you like those kinds of movies you’ll probably also see something in this one.
Part of the reason La Femme Nikita is so hard to find is that in general popculture that movie has been eclipsed by it’s TV reboots. But those TV shows while having technically the same starting premise are barely the same genre. If you’re a fan of those shows and want a similar Anime I’m more inclined to recommend Witch Hunter Robin. Of those two shows I've watched the first season and a half of the CW's Nikita and the pilot of the late 90s Canadian show. Going off that both shows have their strong suits.
I do already know enough about that premise to say that Gunslinger Girl might actually be the Anime with a more similar premise then Noir given its emphasis on the older male handlers. I like Noir partly for its lack of any significant male characters.
So while I was working on trying to find that movie I decided to watch another more recent piece of East Asian media that cites Nikita as it’s inspiration, a South Korean movie called The Villainess. It was… interesting. I don't think I'll be writing anything about it but it was interesting.
Sunday, June 7, 2020
Juneime 2020
Tower of God episode 4 was quite an unexpected turn of events.
Episode 4 of 8th Son was pretty eventful.
Here’s the Twitter thread of my Yu-No: A Girl Who Chants Love At The Bound Of This World rewatch.
https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir/status/1269053998000193536
In summery it's still a show I highly recommend.
Episode 10 of Railgun T was fantastic, this season is going to be awesome.
Hamefura episode 4 has an interesting casting decision, the protagonist now sounds like she’s the one who should be a stereotypical stuck up rich girl.
Episode 4 of 8th Son was pretty eventful.
Here’s the Twitter thread of my Yu-No: A Girl Who Chants Love At The Bound Of This World rewatch.
https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir/status/1269053998000193536
In summery it's still a show I highly recommend.
Episode 10 of Railgun T was fantastic, this season is going to be awesome.
Hamefura episode 4 has an interesting casting decision, the protagonist now sounds like she’s the one who should be a stereotypical stuck up rich girl.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Raiders of The Lost Ark as a religious movie
It can be easy to write off all the Indiana Jones movies as films where the sacred relic of the film is just a magical McGuffin and not at all about the religion the relic is supposed to be sacred to.
But when comparing Raiders to the others, it is apparent how the Jewish director of these films has far more actual reverence for the Ark's God then any others. And this may be a factor in why this movie is still considered the best of the series.
Spielberg is also a fan of Cecil B Demille's The Ten Commandments, I've seen him refer to the parting of the Red Sea as the greatest special effect in film history. Before it had it's own sequels I think Raiders was meant to kind of work as in continuity with that movie, it's approach to depicting the presence of YHWH is kind of similar.
What's also interesting is how our protagonist is the only character in the film who has no belief in the supernatural (this becomes a continuity issue later with Temple of Doom being supposedly a Prequel). Even the villains believe in it in some capacity, the Nazis have no respect for the actual religion the Ark represents but still expect it to be a super-weapon for them.
This makes Raiders oddly similar to a lot of Evangelical Christian films, like the turn of the century End Times movies I've seen way too many of. They tend to be movies where the main protagonist is a non believer for most of the narrative, but still nominally a good guy even in this Fundamentalist universe because they don't approve of the totalitarian dictatorship.
The difference is Indiana Jones at the end does not say the sinner's prayer or repent of any sins or dedicate his life to YHWH, he doesn't even really show any actual Faith, he still doesn't believe until he actually sees stuff happening. He and Marion are spared the Wrath of YWHW because they're not guilty of the sins of the Nazis.
My soterology is no longer the same as most American Evangelicals. I believe Salvation is ultimately universal, and what Judgments God does carry out are not something you can get out of simply by believing in Him, in fact in many cases His Judgment will be harshest on Believers.
So Raiders of The Lost Ark manages to be quite unintentionally what these Evangelical non-believer finds God narratives should be.
But when comparing Raiders to the others, it is apparent how the Jewish director of these films has far more actual reverence for the Ark's God then any others. And this may be a factor in why this movie is still considered the best of the series.
Spielberg is also a fan of Cecil B Demille's The Ten Commandments, I've seen him refer to the parting of the Red Sea as the greatest special effect in film history. Before it had it's own sequels I think Raiders was meant to kind of work as in continuity with that movie, it's approach to depicting the presence of YHWH is kind of similar.
What's also interesting is how our protagonist is the only character in the film who has no belief in the supernatural (this becomes a continuity issue later with Temple of Doom being supposedly a Prequel). Even the villains believe in it in some capacity, the Nazis have no respect for the actual religion the Ark represents but still expect it to be a super-weapon for them.
This makes Raiders oddly similar to a lot of Evangelical Christian films, like the turn of the century End Times movies I've seen way too many of. They tend to be movies where the main protagonist is a non believer for most of the narrative, but still nominally a good guy even in this Fundamentalist universe because they don't approve of the totalitarian dictatorship.
The difference is Indiana Jones at the end does not say the sinner's prayer or repent of any sins or dedicate his life to YHWH, he doesn't even really show any actual Faith, he still doesn't believe until he actually sees stuff happening. He and Marion are spared the Wrath of YWHW because they're not guilty of the sins of the Nazis.
My soterology is no longer the same as most American Evangelicals. I believe Salvation is ultimately universal, and what Judgments God does carry out are not something you can get out of simply by believing in Him, in fact in many cases His Judgment will be harshest on Believers.
So Raiders of The Lost Ark manages to be quite unintentionally what these Evangelical non-believer finds God narratives should be.
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