2014-12-15, 02:49
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Link #642 | ||
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Join Date: Jul 2014
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 A very good advice, actually.
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2014-12-15, 12:16
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Link #643 |
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Senior and Demented
Join Date: May 2006
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Wow, it's been three episodes since I last posed and... wow, just wow.
I couldn't bear to post after 8 & 9 (which I was late in watching), but now I'm glad I waited until I could see them together. 10 was the perfect follow up... Ok, lots of thoughts and reactions pent up here so will dribble them out as they bubble up over several posts no doubt. Episode 8 & 9 confirmed theories of the cruelness of the system that we'd been expecting, yet they had terrific emotional punch. The slow methodical pace of the series so far, the time spent in the every day activities, really lets us explore the girl's reactions in ways that don't seem out of place. It was horrifying to meet Togo's old friend and see her condition, but more than that it was heart breaking to have the girls confirm their disabilities. I think people on the thread have already dissected what's happening with the girls better than I could, but wow... the feels, they got to 11! It all leads up the Fu's breakdown, which would have been predictable, but kept me on the edge of my seat because of the way they had Yuna's flower charging up ridiculously fast. Again a clever bit of tension building and misdirection on the writer's part because ep 10 *doesn't* have Yuna trigger Mankai again... but of course that sword is still hanging over us as we approach ep 11. Also on the kudo's for plotting side of observations, Togo was clearly hinted at moving far ahead of the other girls with her explorations of the Fairy's role and the investigation of her past, but we were distracted effectively by Fu's breakdown and the "Gift of the Magi" tearjerker side story of her sisters. On the negative side I don' object to the slow and methodical reveals, but I wish the pacing had been cut up across episodes a little differently. Having to wait a week before discovering what's really outside the barrier would have been more effective than having the question be both posed and answered in the same episode. After watching episode 8 & 9 I would have sworn that this show had decided to fall squarely in the progressive anti-war "Johnny Got His Gun" camp by focusing so unflinchingly on the terrible cost and burden placed on the girls. Episode 10 makes me wonder again (I think one of my favorite bits of this show if how it keeps me guessing). Not only has Japan become a literal floating kingdom amidst a sea of hostile forces, but it's Japan's culture and religion which is affirmed to be positively 'human' and life affirming, while other religions (and implicitly cultures) are 'anti-life'. The metaphor of Zodiac for the Vertex is confirmed to be a literal pantheon of foreign 'gods' waging war against the shinto-inspired 'tree of life'. The cross symbology incorporated into the Vertex animalcules now suddenly seem symbolically significant. If I wasn't so lazy I'd go and look at the other Vertex and look for symbols that link to other religions - (actually come to think of it, wasn't the first one - 'otome' kinda like one of those Paleolithic earth mother figurines?). Combine that with Togo explicitly referencing her interest in 'her country's history', and the concept of Japanese exceptionalism is certainly brought to the forefront. Since I don't think anybody would root for a nihilistic ending as Togo seems to be championing right now, I think that the cultural and political framework of the show demands that Yuna will create some kind of framework for "self sacrifice", and "never giving up no matter how hopeless", that either preserves the status quo (with a "it's horrible to use up people like this, but that's what true courage demands" message) or gives hope to an eventual victory ("the ends justify the means" message). Alternatively (because it is a cartoon after all), the author might go for the simple "ultimate-hero's ultimate sacrifice makes everything right" wrap up. This would take the form of something like Yuna sacrificing everything to permanently take on the roles of the guardian (effectively become one with the god-tree), in exchange for sparing her friends or other girls from future suffering. It's a softer variant of the previous two messages, but in an animated cartoon can be credible no matter how grim-dark a path we've taken to get there. Oh... more thoughts no doubt, but this will do for a first impression explosion!
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2014-12-15, 12:21
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Link #644 | ||
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Senior and Demented
Join Date: May 2006
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After seeing Fu, decide to kill Shinju-sama with a not very credible threat, we were all lulled into complacency. "That's can't possibly be the climax! Fu's calming down." Who would have expected that Togo trying to kill Shinju-sama (with a very credible Vertex invasion) would turn out to be the actual main event? Well played.
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2014-12-15, 14:17
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Link #646 | |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
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2014-12-15, 15:57
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Link #648 |
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Banned
Join Date: Jan 2009
Age: 34
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This was posted on Yuyuyu twitter but was deleted. Some fans still saved it: Probable spoilers ahead.
https://twitter.com/Lambdadelta/stat...490112/photo/1  lol BD2 cover will be Togo.  Oh, and that pic on the right is epic.  More pics. Spoiler for space:
Spoiler for Yuushas:
 
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2014-12-17, 02:38
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Link #649 | |
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Senior and Demented
Join Date: May 2006
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Yet, even though I didn't know that the writer had Japanese right-wing leanings, the show itself is set up in such a nationalistic and pro-individual sacrifice for the good of the many framework, that I don't know how else they can end despite the 'hard boiled and unflinching' look at the suffering of the girls/soldiers.
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2014-12-17, 10:15
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Link #654 | |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
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They give out the VN with the BD??
Wow, no wonder how this can happened Quote:
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2014-12-17, 20:19
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Link #655 | |
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Yuri µ'serator
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: FL, USA
Age: 36
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Spoiler for Dialogue from game:
Nor do I think Yuuna's VA would react as much as she did without any other implications  .
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2014-12-18, 00:13
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Link #658 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
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Looking at the design of Togo's Hero costume, I think the designer may have made a critical mistake. From scenes where you can see her back, like the picture a few posts above, you can see that the strips that carry her around are attached to her headpiece.
That means when she jumps, the shock of the launch goes straight to her head. Ouch. |
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2014-12-18, 02:31
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Link #659 | |
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minority spirit(?)
 Fansubber
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Hyakka Ryoran
Age: 33
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| action, fantasy, magical girl, mahou shoujo, ps vita, tragedy |
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