2015-10-05, 08:36 | Link #481 | ||
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2015-11-23, 03:51 | Link #483 |
Black Steel Knight
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Guess what, people? We have actual harem in Okada’s Gundam. And by “harem” I mean real harem that’s taken seriously with one Casanova with plenty of wives and kids, not a bunch of highschool girls having a crush on one lame boy. You can also call it polygamy or polygyny.
Frankly, this is the first time polygyny being applied to one of the alpha male “good guys” in Gundam series where he treated his wives well and respects them, and the (badass) wives themselves love him back and being very friendly with each other (to the point of taking care of other wives’ babies). Usually, this kind of “gimmick” is only applied to antagonist characters which usually fit the “rich old fat bastard”-stereotype (I remember Gundam ZZ has such an antagonist which is practically an evil version of Hugh Hefner ). So yeah, I just want to post this interesting turns of events here which is part of Okada’s writing for the latest Gundam series. And thanks to that, some female (and few males) reviewers and audiences have a bit of a mixed feelings on the episode when a polygamy/polygyny is portrayed as a good and working family unit (although the characters who practice it are pretty special cases themselves).
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2015-11-26, 16:32 | Link #486 |
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I moved 35 posts to the Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread. Don't discuss the show's plot, character, and details here just because she's the author. If it's a discussion about the show, do it in a thread about the show.
If other people start these sorts of off-topic tangents then 1) report it, and 2) don't continue it.
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2016-05-22, 09:18 | Link #487 |
さっく♥ゆうきゃん♥ほそやん
Join Date: Nov 2009
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Not entirely sure if this is the best idea, but oh well, let's find out.
Over the last two weeks, I've been translating Okada Mari's Bandai Creator's Selection interview, which was posted online on March 25 of this year. In the first half, she talks about working with Director Nagai Tatsuyuki on Gundam: IBO. And in the second half, she talks about her heroes, her MO, and the two series she's working on this season. I'm not sure how many people are still interested in finding out exactly what Okada and other screenwriters do--to be honest, I don't think it's possible to find out from just one interview, no matter how comprehensive the Bandai Creator's Selection ones are. But here's another glimpse, at least.
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2016-05-22, 09:28 | Link #488 | |
Black Steel Knight
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2016-05-26, 22:26 | Link #489 | |
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Reading what she had to say on Kiznaiver and Mayoiga sheds a lot of light on both shows. It might not soothe the critics of either or both shows, but it definitely goes a long way to explaining why they're the way they are. In the case of Mayoiga, this interview definitely makes it sound like the Director is tightly and very thoroughly controlling the show. So Mayoiga's Director should probably get the lion's share of the credit/blame for how well/poorly this show does. What Okada had to say about Kawamori was probably the most interesting section of Part 2 of this interview. I wasn't entirely happy with Aquarion EVOL, but it was a very fun ride with lots of charm and vibrancy. And I'm thoroughly enjoying Macross Delta right now. Kawamori really does seem to be a creative genius, at least in some ways.
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2016-05-27, 03:18 | Link #490 |
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Yeah, thanks for sharing, Karice. I also was mostly interested in the second part. I read the first one to see if there was something about who or how they dealt with the characters, since apart from their set up I didn't feel Okada's hand at all, but couldn't conclude much. Apart a little chuckle about the Ohana part, that implies it doesn't seem Okada's fault either.
About Kiznaiver and Mayoiga my personal impression matched more or less with what I read. Sure Mayoiga seems to suffer of an overload of info to be handled in such a short time on a very large cast of characters. and it's reflecting on the show I think. Sure I generally didn't feel Okada hand here either. And apparently it's true. Instead I see hers in Kiznaiver, that I'm enjoying quite a bit so far, and coincidentally she is writing all the scripts. I hoped to see some bit of info or her thoughts about my favorite shows but I got the impression she tried to stay away form commenting on her major or recent titles. ps. I guess there's a typo about Angel Tales's year, that is 2001 not 1991.
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2016-05-27, 07:57 | Link #491 | |||||
さっく♥ゆうきゃん♥ほそやん
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That said, I can't say that everything in my translations is 'from her', so-to-speak. There are a few translators who’ve said something along the lines of ‘when you read a translation, 95% of the time, you’re reading me’. Whilst the percentage probably isn’t as high, that applies to creator interviews too. I do try to capture the impression they give me in a way that makes sense in English, but that does involve changing/adapting some of what they say. And I can’t definitely say that I’ve always interpreted a particular personality accurately… Quote:
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Admittedly, I’ve been brushing up on Macross by reading interviews and listening to all of Macrossworld’s SpeakerPodcast, so it didn’t surprise me at all. ^^ Quote:
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And thanks for that. That was actually from the original interview (>_>), though I should have noticed since I did link the wikipedia page. In any case, you're both very welcome. Glad you find it useful.
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2016-05-28, 15:22 | Link #492 | |||
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While people instead tend to accuse her to be overdramatic and unsubtle. And here's where my divide came from. She can be overdramatic and unsubtle or vice-versa depends on what she is asked to write. And the former is what amuses her and for this reason she can go overboard easily. And whatever it is true or not I don't find this kind of writing particularly defining. Instead her ability in being subtle and expanding her characters through details is where I think she is more passionate and where I think I can feel it (her hand). Of course is just my feeling, strongly related on my tastes. But then I read this piece of your translation the other day that in some ways seems to match with it: Quote:
Basically here she implied a similar distinction of mine. (Of course it could be meaningless, still this surely reinforced this impression I have of her writing no matter what ). This piece seems to imply another part of my take, the most obvious, when she said her way of writing didn't match with the industry and so she had to adjust to fit. This kinda goes along with the idea of her "being asked to write" this or that more than being, say, some personal quirks she wants to put into her stories.
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2016-05-30, 19:23 | Link #493 |
さっく♥ゆうきゃん♥ほそやん
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Thanks for that, Arya. I really appreciate how you've elaborated on what you said in that earlier post.
I am still hoping that other people will reply, though, because I'm mostly on a 'fact-finding' mission at the moment. I've seen a lot of people commenting (mostly negatively) about Okada's work over the last few years, but usually with just vague references to what they mean, so I'm just trying to clarify what everyone's saying. Well, except when it comes to adaptations, where it's clear that some people blame her for ruining them. And there, what I've read so far implies that she wasn't the one making the key decisions in those cases, not even for Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji, where she was apparently given quite a loose rein with Claude and Alois's characters...
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2016-05-31, 22:34 | Link #494 | |
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Here are some things that some anime viewers tend to associate with Mari Okada: 1. Heavy duty romance drama 2. Theatrical melodrama in general 3. Strong female leads 4. Weak or emasculated male characters I've come to the conclusion that the 4th one on this list has been exaggerated, and is overly based on one lone show - Hanasaku Iroha. I also think the 4th one on this list is due to a mutual bleed-over between Okada's reputation and PA Works' reputation in general. Between True Tears and HSI, Okada was a leading figure in PAW's early days, and I think this resulted in an unusual case of a particular anime writer being associated with a particular anime studio in the minds of some anime fans. Now PAW's male leads often do leave a lot to be desired. But then, most PAW shows are not wrote by Okada. And, ironically, I would consider True Tears' Shinichiro to be one of PAW's stronger male leads, and Okada wrote True Tears. So, again, I really do think HSI looms a bit larger than it probably should in the minds of some anime fans when it comes to evaluating Okada as a writer. Now, the first three on this list - I think Okada has mostly earned her reputation there, but it's obviously not all bad ("strong female leads" is certainly something Okada can take pride in). So we're left with heavy duty romance drama and theatrical melodrama (and it should be noted that even these aren't necessarily negative, they're just negative for some viewers). For Heavy Duty Romance Drama - There's True Tears, Aquarion EVOL, and Anohana to some extent. If we were to boil it down further, Okada does seem to have a certain attachment to major female characters that endure unrequited love. True Tears and Aquarion EVOL deals pretty heavily with this, and so does the very recent Okada-wrote movie The Anthem of the Heart. "Major female character endures a lot of unrequited love" has shown up enough in Okada's works that it really does seem to be something she has a strong personal interest in. My suspicion is that it likely reflects her own personal life, but I'm not sure how much I want to delve into that suspicion. For Theatrical Melodrama - All of the anime listed for "Heavy Duty Romance Drama" count here as well. Anohana has characters crying in literally every episode. Black Rock Shooter's TV series has some of the most ridiculously psychotic characters I've ever seen in anime. WIXOSS' antagonists are like a more refined (and hence fun!) version of what BRS TV has. I think that sums things up decently well. I'm certainly open to changing my mind on Okada, and I think her current reputation is probably harsher than it deserves to be. Her strengths as a writer currently isn't getting as much attention as they deserve, in my view.
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2016-06-01, 01:17 | Link #495 |
さっく♥ゆうきゃん♥ほそやん
Join Date: Nov 2009
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Thanks, Triple_R. That big picture summary and the examples you've provide do help me understand a little more what the discussion has been about.
(Though of course, I'd be more than happy to see more of the other posters who were active here in the past chip in with their own thoughts. So please do, if you're still around!) Admittedly, I've only seen one of the works you've named (AnoHana), and have seen only about one third of the series that she done series composition for... I am planning to watch Anthem of the Heart and NagiAsu, though... ). That's probably one of the reasons I find it difficult to follow any Okada discussion unless people give specific and detailed examples. I'm working on a post about Okada's involvement in some of those controversial works. I was thinking of starting with 'spin-off' type original works (True Tears, Black Butler, Aquarion, Gundam, even the Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc), but based on what you've pointed out, perhaps something specifically on what she's done with P.A.Works might be useful...
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2016-06-01, 23:22 | Link #496 |
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One small thought is that I wonder if there is a difference between someone's "style" and what becomes their "calling card". For example, a number of interviews have mentioned that True Tears was a work that caused Okada to be noticed as a writer, and it had a certain style. She commented herself that a lot of the plot decisions in that show were influenced by the director and the other writers, but nevertheless it became a sort of "calling card". So when she's called upon by other production committees, particularly for other original work, they may say "I really liked what you did in True Tears; give me more like that". Obviously there's some of herself in everything she does, but it could be not so different than an actor who gets "typecast" into a certain role. But it may be worth considering the possible difference between "the sorts of works she often writes" and "the style of writing" (which may have more to do with the way she writes dialog, the way she develops characters, and so on).
Just a thought anyway. Personally, I've always thought the attention she got as a writer was always a bit out of balance (and, in the case of some people, a bit unhealthy), but romantic drama/melodrama tend to attract a fairly passionate niche audience, and in those circles, some of her works are the most famous and well-regarded (if sometimes controversial).
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2016-06-02, 02:17 | Link #497 |
さっく♥ゆうきゃん♥ほそやん
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^
Thanks for that. I'll refrain from commenting here at present because I'm trying to get an overview of what posters in this thread have talked about in the past, rather than trying to change the way that anyone thinks about Okada and her past projects. I did come across something on AKB0048 that I'm a bit curious about though. On pages 4-5, people started referring to complaints by staff working on the show about Okada's work/attitude. I haven't seen the show, and a brief google search didn't net me anything, so could someone please tell me what that was about?
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2016-06-03, 07:57 | Link #498 | |
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Instead I'm quite curious about Kizanvier since it seems to be a sort of experimentation (yeah, yeah, it feels a bit redundant if you know what the show is about) since it's taking an odd route, so I'd be interested into what she may have to say about this show in the future. It's like she is trying to blend the two approaches I was speaking earlier into one. And well, for unrequited love, I can say that, at least so far, it is a checked box into the Kizavier settings list.
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2016-06-03, 08:19 | Link #499 | |
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However, like you said, NnA is also a strong counterargument against the idea that Okada's male characters are weak or emasculated. Hikari is brash, fiery, confident, and aggressive - A very masculine character. Kaname and Tsumugu are smooth and surefooted. Akari's husband is likeable and tends to handle things pretty well, from what I can recall. Yes, they all have flaws, but they all have good screen-presence and good moments and don't come across as weak. I'd honestly say that NnA's male characters are stronger than its female characters.
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2016-06-13, 21:27 | Link #500 | |
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Thanks Karice to translating all of this.
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O: What kind of female character do you want? S: Someone like Ohana O: What kind of male characaters do you want? S: I think you should start from scratch. Hey weren't you involved with FSN? Kudelia though seems to have gone a different route, though I suppose we also have idealism shattered much like in someone else's "OH YOU HAZ IDEALS LOL" work. Though Okada is pretty adept at this. Not a bad idea, though I really have had to start on IBO again. She seems pretty good when it comes to Gundam female protagonists which usually I find pretty weak. Maybe I just haven't watched enough Gundam, but it just seems like all the interesting female characters are evil? (Well, Cecily and Audrey were decent...)
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