I hope I didn't come across as anti-SP. I don't draw fanart or make GIFs or intend to buy a DVD of a series that I didn't enjoy. I'd defend liking it, if needed.
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Originally Posted by yononaka
I wouldn't make comparisons with Haibane Renmei. To put it as Kaoru Chujo did (in his case about SP, not HR): "to compare it with Simoun is laughable", albeit with the reasons reversed.
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On comparing Strawberry Panic to Simoun to Haibane Renmei: I don't think comparing
any two shows is laughable. Really, every show has at least one thing in common: the desire to hold the viewers attention. For the latter two, I think Simoun would have suffered from being confined to the earthly tones of Haibane Renmei. The vibrancy mixed with the serious subjects created a unique atmosphere for me. The similarities have nothing to do with aesthetics and everything to do with themes. For better or worse, we lose things...we have to let them go and move on. It is a mistake if we try to hold on, striving to achieve the impossible task of staying the same.
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Originally Posted by yononaka
And indeed, if you do swallow the bait, you will very likely end up defending Simoun, because you will have invested yourself into sorting out its mixed bag. Me, I don't like to be manipulated like that.
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Welcome to the world of fiction--manipulation.
Anyway, Simoun worked for me because characters are my number one priority in fiction. The plot that initially seemed to be overwhelmingly complex, was merely a backdrop. I may have started out thinking I was holding an extremely "mixed" bag, but that's not what I ended up with.
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Originally Posted by yononaka
For all the supposedly "overt yuri" in SP, I actually found it a lot harder to ignore the sexual aspect in Simoun than in SP. The uniforms in SP are pretty subdued, whereas in Simoun the sibyllas' clothing is anything but.
.....
Apparently some of you were able to ignore all that
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Sexualization in Strawberry Panic and Simoun:
Spoiler:
I've grown up in a society that says nudity is a bad bad thing, sex (NC-17 or X) is worse than violence (R), and nudity inherently implies sex.
Then again, I've read tons of American comics radiating a much more blatant type of this sort of "sexualization" [that you accuse Simoun of]. Maybe I am desensitized...maybe it is due to being unconsciously asexual most of my life; only in the past few years have I been doing reevaluation on sexuality and then gender. It's just that seeing someone nude or in revealing clothes doesn't make them sexualized to me...it is the additude and the situation.
I can take a character seriously who has an organic weapon covering strategic parts of her body (Witchblade). The prayer (flight) clothes in Simoun are 'kiddy' stuff. I never had any problems with these outfits; it was just part of accepting this completely alien world. As to practicality, it helps that the clothes in question are ceremonial outfits, traditionally only used in prayer to the sky, not fighting. If commoners were wearing these outfits everyday to work, it would be a different story.
The real sexualized moments to me in both series were the heat of the moment kissing/groping sessions. Two so-called more "explicit" moments I recall from Strawberry Panic... 1) The manipulators of Spica were tainted by the fact that it was a just a "use" situation at that point... 2) The certain moment in episode 25 just had a pleasant morning after feel...implications, aye. The actual scene, no.
Is sexualization the main selling point of Simoun? The advertisers have certainly tried to make it that way. That you believed them and were subsequently unable to enjoy the show is a little bit of proof to me that they made a mistake in making that their sole focus. Simoun could really use some promotional images (and posters, please!) that show the depth and beauty of this new world...something the OP does a pretty good job of.
One cool thing about this show is how it takes something we associate with love or sex--kissing--and manages to maintain it and refute it at the same time. Much like it still uses traditional gender roles to a certain extent and yet completely questions them.
I guess it just seems strange to me to get hung up about whether the creators were trying to get you to be attracted (sexually or otherwise) to a character with said character's design. Every show strives for attractive characters, even if the targets are incredibly different in shows from Kodomo no Omocha to Hokuto no Ken to Joshi Kousei.
Speaking on the last one...Joshi Kousei is a dumb show, but it is unabashedly a dumb show. The fanservice moments are bad parody. I see where people would interpret the "sexualization" in Joshi Kousei and Simoun. However for both shows, it's not that I'm ignoring it...it doesn't really exist to me. {OMFG, look at the two shows I just compared...burn me! *laughs*}
P.S. Even though we don't agree, thanks for making me think about Simoun some more.
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Well, I was afraid that Aaeru was going to be like Arika from Mai-Otome (a character whom I hate with a passion) and she ended as one of my favourite anime characters ever so I guess she has suprised pleasantly quite a lot of viewers.
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Yes! Arika is a much better example than the character that first sprung to mind (I-learned-Bankai-in-three-days Ichigo). As to Amuria, I didn't see enough of her to make any judgements.
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Originally Posted by wowo
Lol, this week's Simoun radio is hilarious, check it out if you can understand Japanese.
Guest this week was
:drumroll:
Director Nishimura Junji!
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Hehe, always nice to hear from people who don't take themselves so seriously.
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Simon: Thank you for the info; I already see some interesting auctions on YJ.
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fignae: I was wondering what that disc was about since I keep seeing it pop up...