(L) Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by duckroll

Head is only interested in stretching on his bed and listening to Fishy's stories about Sam Fisher vs Squid Girl. He's the best villain ever.

& only Akira Ishida could make such a character that awesome.

[klare]

btw what is his relationship with Fish-chan?

the show seems to be villain-of-the-week type, i dont mind as long as they maintain the quality

[Nightengale]

Fish Girl is obviously the first maiden whose seal was broken.

As for why she's now ditsy and seemingly almost a willing prisoner with no resistance... who knows? Maybe it's a side-effect of having one's maidenly seal broken.

[Jarmel]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

Fish Girl is obviously the first maiden whose seal was broken.

As for why she's now ditsy and seemingly almost a willing prisoner with no resistance... who knows? Maybe it's a side-effect of having one's maidenly seal broken.

I lol'd at this. This series is the ultimate show about maintaining purity.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Well the director expressed his intent to make a show in the mecha genre as a sort of personal challenge during one of the interviews he conducted for the promotion of Star Driver so I think it's safe to say that's what he's going for with it.

That sounds to me like the creators are just experimenting. While Utena featured stuff like swordfighting and shoujo stylizations, these were used as framing devices - to give some context to viewers without having to create things whole cloth. If Ikuhara had wanted to exchange them with other framing devices, then it wouldn't have changed much. The only motifs that were so central as to be irreplaceable were the school setting and the ideas behind fairy tales, and that's because those were the themes that the story was meant to explore. The Melody of Oblivion went for slightly different themes, and so it ditched those elements. The only thing that Star Driver is missing from being in the same category is that it doesn't have any obvious overlying themes yet. Then again, Utena's themes weren't all that apparent three episodes in either.

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

The comparisons to Utena people keep making (and I wouldn't know because I've never watched that show ) seem like what's going to make the show more kosher for non-mecha fans though.

The big reason why there are so many comparisons to Utena are because Star Driver uses similar motifs. For example, stuff like the Zero Time, wierd fanservice, drawing swords from chests can all be found in Utena. The scene with the Vice-Principal running away from the alligator is almost a continuation of Chu-chu and his gator friend.

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Of one thing I think there's no doubt, and that's that Star Driver is trying to target more than just the average lay mecha fan. Kind of goes with the strategy that forerunners in the mecha genre have been attempting in the last several years. Whether it's been working as well as they had intended though is hard to say.

I can't argue with that - although I wonder if the creators might be trying to rope in mecha fans by putting in mecha action. Personally, I don't think that it's as calculated as all that; and it's just a case of them trying out new ideas.

Originally Posted by Nightengale

I can't help but feel that Head is purposely manipulating things so that the Crux is heading a path of self-destruction, or at the very least, detract any attention towards Takuto, and make the focus of it only defeating Taubarn.

Twice now, he distracts the meeting with the bait and lure of 'whoever defeats Taubarn becomes the Leader' which, for all accounts, means that which division's lackey wins would make that division head the de-facto true leader. In the end, the focus of the Crux became to defeat him, ignoring other matters like how he came to be among other things.

It depends on whether Tauburn has some sort of intrinsic significance or if it exists only to obstruct the Glittering Star Cross' goals. I think that if it didn't have some sort of importance, someone would have suggesting taking Takuto out. Moreover, unless the other division leaders were supposed to be dense, they wouldn't fall for such an obvious ploy. The show itself hasn't tackled this in any depth, but it does seem that there's some sort of reward for beating Tauburn fair and square.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Speaking of Shoujo....whatever happened to it? I might just be blind but I can't think of anything that's come out this decade that I would call strictly Shoujo oriented. I actually used to like some of the classic shoujo series for their progressive themes.

[7Th]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Speaking of Shoujo....whatever happened to it? I might just be blind but I can't think of anything that's come out this decade that I would call strictly Shoujo oriented. I actually used to like some of the classic shoujo series for their progressive themes.

Heartcatch Precure? LilPri? Kaicho wa Maid-sama? Jewelpet?

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by 7Th

Heartcatch Precure? LilPri? Kaicho wa Maid-sama? Jewelpet?

Hmmm, see I would classify Jewelpet as "kids" and Precure is in that weird zone where it appeals to girls and older men.... intended or not. I've never heard of LilPri and assume it's an acronym for something. Maid-Sama seems to fit the bill though.

[Darkman.exe213]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

The only thing that Star Driver is missing from being in the same category is that it doesn't have any obvious overlying themes yet. Then again, Utena's themes weren't all that apparent three episodes in either.

Really? I actually thought that purity/virginity has been pretty prominent theme in the series so far, and hints at love and how different people approach it. It might be tackled in a rather awkward and somewhat humorous way, but I'm really getting that kind of vibe throughout the series.

Spoiler for episode 1:

The whole "First kiss" and "Does mouth-to-mouth count?" thing, especially since the series starts with Wako with Sugata, and her giving mouth-to-mouth to Takuto, and the brief conversation about Wako's relationship with Sugata.

Spoiler for episode 2:

All those virgin jokes. Not sure ifi t would be connected to all those jokes about virgins, but we also get to hear fish girl's story about Sam and the fish planet.

Spoiler for episode 3:

This episode kind of focuses on Kanako, clearly a loose woman, and her estranged relationship with her husband. Despite her strong personality, her mild mannerisms seem to show some kind of sadness with her present situation.

Then again, I might just be over-analyzing. Though, the small nuances in the conversations really seem to give the idea that there's more to the characters than what we see on-screen. Even if these aren't the main theme of the series though, there certainly does seem to be a wide variety of relationships and sexual tension between the characters, whether played for comedic effect or not.

[duckroll]

Hmmmm.... it seems Animate Online has made a boo-boo which might have leaked a pretty substantial plot point. Do not click on the spoiler if you do not want to potentially spoil Head's real name, and some plot elements related to that.

Spoiler:

The Animate Online pre-order site for Star Driver products lists a few character names and descriptions. Among which is one which has not appeared anywhere else.

Miyabi Reiji - A boy who loves to draw. He has a mysterious air around him. In reality...

So who is this Reiji character? In a blog for a radio program, they mentioned Ishida's current role in Star Driver and said he was voicing a character named Miyabi Reiji. This pretty much confirms that Miyabi Reiji is Head's real name.

More things to ponder: 2ch netizens have noticed the connection between the description and name with various other plot elements. The painting by Takuto's father has the initial R on it. Reiji is said to love drawing. Furthermore, the name Reiji could be written as 零時 in Japanese. What does that mean literally? Zero Time.

Sources:
http://www.animate-onlineshop.jp/spe...tardriver.html
http://blog.jorf.co.jp/spoon/2010/10/post-bc2e.html

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Maid-Sama seems to fit the bill though.

& so does Kimi ni Todoke.

Originally Posted by duckroll

Hmmmm.... it seems Animate Online has made a boo-boo which might have leaked a pretty substantial plot point. Do not click on the spoiler if you do not want to potentially spoil Head's real name, and some plot elements related to that.

Well that's a pretty big boo boo of them right there, though i don't find it much of a spoiler, so i don't mind reading it.

That 2chan theory is very interesting though.

[Grim_Reaper]

Spoiler for about Head&Takuto:

I anticipate "I am your father" scene.
Looking forward to it

[ttdestroy]

Originally Posted by Grim_Reaper

Spoiler for about Head&Takuto:

I anticipate "I am your father" scene.
Looking forward to it

I hope not that's a littl too predictable now that I think about it, I'd be disappointed.

[wandering-dreamer]

Originally Posted by duckroll

Hmmmm.... it seems Animate Online has made a boo-boo which might have leaked a pretty substantial plot point. Do not click on the spoiler if you do not want to potentially spoil Head's real name, and some plot elements related to that.

Spoiler:

The Animate Online pre-order site for Star Driver products lists a few character names and descriptions. Among which is one which has not appeared anywhere else.

Miyabi Reiji - A boy who loves to draw. He has a mysterious air around him. In reality...

So who is this Reiji character? In a blog for a radio program, they mentioned Ishida's current role in Star Driver and said he was voicing a character named Miyabi Reiji. This pretty much confirms that Miyabi Reiji is Head's real name.

More things to ponder: 2ch netizens have noticed the connection between the description and name with various other plot elements. The painting by Takuto's father has the initial R on it. Reiji is said to love drawing. Furthermore, the name Reiji could be written as 零時 in Japanese. What does that mean literally? Zero Time.

I remember reading something like that before actually, it was an extra detail or two about the character on the website that vanished from the website a few days before the show's launch. I wouldn't call it a major boo-boo, since anything beyond those details is still speculation, but that is probably going to take the surprise out of an episode or two.

[7Th]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Hmmm, see I would classify Jewelpet as "kids" and Precure is in that weird zone where it appeals to girls and older men.... intended or not. I've never heard of LilPri and assume it's an acronym for something. Maid-Sama seems to fit the bill though.

When it comes to demographic classifications, only the intention matters. Jewelpet and Precure are shoujo because their official manga adaptations are serialized in shoujo magazines. That's all there is to it.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by 7Th

When it comes to demographic classifications, only the intention matters. Jewelpet and Precure are shoujo because their official manga adaptations are serialized in shoujo magazines. That's all there is to it.

Yep, like how Saint Seiya was shonen despite the huge female fanbase I didn't even know existed. As a little boy I didn't think girls would be interested in a show with nearly no females and the guys beating the crap out of each other. How wrong I was.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Darkman.exe213

Really? I actually thought that purity/virginity has been pretty prominent theme in the series so far, and hints at love and how different people approach it. It might be tackled in a rather awkward and somewhat humorous way, but I'm really getting that kind of vibe throughout the series.

If it's just a matter of hints, then it's not exactly obvious (at least not yet). For example, one of the main themes of Revolutionary Girl Utena is revolution (it's right there in the name), but it isn't clear what this means until well into the show. And so, while the idea is played with early on, it doesn't really become a prominent theme until that point.

In general, sexuality and purity aren't themes in and of themselves. Usually, they're used as devices for developing other themes - childhood vs. adulthood being one of the more common ones. The scenes you point out in Star Driver haven't been all that unusual so far, and they're far less prominent than the sexual elements in Melody of Oblivion. They may become more of a consistent theme later on by developing a coherent message, but that's a ways off yet.

Originally Posted by Darkman.exe213

Then again, I might just be over-analyzing. Though, the small nuances in the conversations really seem to give the idea that there's more to the characters than what we see on-screen. Even if these aren't the main theme of the series though, there certainly does seem to be a wide variety of relationships and sexual tension between the characters, whether played for comedic effect or not.

I find those little nuances to be a bit of a double-edged sword. They hold the promise of greater things in terms of theme and plot and characterization, but at the same time, its a device that's also often led to disappointment in other shows. I do hope though that the promise of greater things pans out.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Star Driver and some of the other Bones anime are getting the Crusade Trading Card Game treatment next year to join the likes of Sunrise, Macross, Super Robot Wars OG and Dynamic (Super Robot Series like Mazinger and Getter) Crusades. Check it out.

As I commented on the forum over there at ANN, now people can have their Star Driver/Code Geass dream match up to see who is most fabulous.

[PositronCannon]

I dropped this after episode 3. My body couldn't handle the FABULOUS.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by PositronCannon

I dropped this after episode 3. My body couldn't handle the FABULOUS.

Errr...are you sure you don't mean your brain?

Also really? Episode 3? Quite possibly the least gay episode to date. What with all of the glamour shots of High School wife satisfying just about every possible fetish a man could have regarding a woman's body? ....Alright whatever? I don't even know with you people sometimes I tell ya.

Anyway if you ask me the only part of the show that's really gay are the mecha fights and transformation sequences with Takuto. The rest of the show is pretty much aggressively hyper sexualized and heterosexual with it's women in skimpy outfits and what not.