2012-12-13, 02:59 | Link #63 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
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I like Okabe, but I don't like Maya. Okabe is interesting to me because while she showed some selfish and "corrupt" characteristics like Maya, she is far more complex than that and has kinder sides.
Maya's character is too shallow for me to find her character interesting. So she is self-centered and spiteful... okay, is that all she has? |
2012-12-13, 03:34 | Link #64 |
Part-time misanthrope
Join Date: Mar 2007
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There is still her back story with Okabe. It's most likely something small that only matters to Maya (like getting 2nd place in a beauty contest in school) but that's perfectly fine with me. The way I see her is someone with a an outstanding (although bad) personality that still has a lot of potential. Also she's cute :3
But before this turns into an argument about taste let's just say that it needs more Takamina. |
2012-12-13, 03:43 | Link #65 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
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That hidden backstory makes me more curious about Okabe than Maya, because again, Okabe has shown that she is capable of many things, both good and bad, that the possibilies of what she could have done to Maya seem much more numerous than the possibilities of how Maya could have reacted to Okabe in the past.
One-trick ponies do not impress me, and that's all Maya is right now. |
2012-12-16, 07:44 | Link #67 |
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Author
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Philippines
Age: 47
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Using Maya as a weapon of mass destruction, he's so power-mad that bringing down the whole AKB franchise would be the greatest feat of his business, and so he'll do anything to win that goal.
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2012-12-17, 08:46 | Link #68 | |
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Join Date: Mar 2010
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Quote:
The way the "villains" are being portrayed in such a shallow and two-dimensional manner is getting ridiculous. |
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2012-12-17, 19:58 | Link #70 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
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That doesn't excuse bad writing. That's like saying the trainwreck that is Kimi no Iru Machi during the Tokyo arc is fine even though it's unrealistic in terms of character development.
Maya and her producer as a whole have been a poor group of antagonists with hardly any character depth. |
2012-12-19, 22:21 | Link #72 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
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Make them a little less shallow and mustache-twirlingly "evil" and a little bit more morally ambiguous like early Okabe Ai.
It was fine when the producer talked about money and raising Maya to be a selfish spectacle. That's his business model. It's fine when he overrules GJ's appearance on stages and shows using his monetary influence. However, when he decides to directly sabotage their performance by messing with the microphone volumes like a panicking child, my suspension of disbelief stops there. Why get so desperate to ruin a group that he believes has little funding or monetary value? Not only is it unprofessional, it doesn't fit his philosophy. Maya's antics are just repetitive. GJ loses an opportunity, Maya puts on her best smiling face in front of the TV. GJ one-ups &J, and Maya shows contempt. Throw in some internal dialogue of Maya name-calling when she's losing or some early "I win" quotes when she's winning. Unlike Okabe, there's no personal motive or characterization to elaborate on why she takes her selfish stance. We're just supposed to take it at face value and accept that's how she is and that she gets upset when the status quo is disrupted. Well, okay, acting spoiled and entitled is fine for an idol antagonist, but is there anything more to it, like why she feels entitled to fame and glory? Is it because of her past? Is it because she feels that she put more effort into it than everyone else? Is it because she enjoys the attention? Without any development on how Maya sees things, her character falls short and becomes nothing more than a forgettable stepping stone to show off Minori, Hiroko, and Okabe. If Maya is intended to be a major character that serves as a foil for what GJ represents, then she needs a more elaborate story on why she is who she is. Let's hope the upcoming chapters provide us that. |
2012-12-20, 01:53 | Link #74 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
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The fact that Maya and her producer are despicable isn't the problem. They're the antagonists - making them likable was never a requirement. The problem is that as character sin a story, they are incomplete, making them nothing more than cheap plot devices. With the producer specifically, shutting off their microphones is just simply out of character.
Think of Kanye West's infamous "Imma let you finish" interruption during Taylor Swift's VMA speech. Now imagine that instead of doing that, he takes Taylor Swift's microphone during an actual concert, runs off with it, and never apologizes. There's a level of ridiculousness that even the most corrupt professionals won't do if they're smart enough to worry about their career image. |
2012-12-21, 02:59 | Link #75 |
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2006
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The whole story is ridiculous. Minoru has been found out by the producers and a member of the A team. Several others have suspicions. He rarely acts feminine, and the art swings from "this is obviously a guy" to "there's no way this is a guy" constantly. He's left enough clues that in any serious story, he would have been outed and likely have taken Yoshinaga down with him, if not made her completely hate him. In real life, this would be a huge scandal that would tarnish the franchise.
Yeah, the "villains" are a bit silly and over the top, but ultimately this is nothing more than a feel good tale of positive virtues (minus the lying about gender - which is noted a number of times). It's clearly being setup that Minori is on a meteoric rise, which can only mean a huge fall. How far will he go before this ends? What will happen when it does? How will he recover, and how will that affect the ending? For a feel good story, even I'm moved by how the writer pours on the emotion. When the Kenkyuusei had to deal with Hiroko's problems, and battled for every ticket, that moment when Akimoto bought the last one was both predictable and an emotional release. When they were cut out of gigs by &Jewel over and over, I felt the anger and discouragement of the power of money and bad egos. And while this isn't technically a romance story, I find Minoru's devotion to Yoshinaga anything but creepy. It's very heartwarming, and I think deep inside we all wish we could find someone as devoted to our happiness. So yeah, it's sappy, and stupid, and the plot is full of cliches, tropes, and ridiculous predictable asspulls and plot armor. And yet, this is such an amazing read, with unique characters that I've grown attached to despite the size of the cast. Heck I'm not really a fan of AKB or pop idols in general, and yet somehow the writer makes me want to be a fan, and he makes it exciting to read. Really, it's like the writer is the teacher from the early chapters, giving tickets away to unconvinced people, believing that if they just took a chance on the show, they'd convert to being fans.
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2012-12-21, 03:10 | Link #76 |
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: In my room
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This I agree. I don't even know AKB aside from the anime AKB0048 but its a good read. Not a perfect one and the story probably is generic for the others but the ability of the story to hook up the reader is there and I will read it. I won't say I love it but I'm entertained and reading manga is for entertainment.
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2012-12-21, 07:28 | Link #77 | |
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Author
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Philippines
Age: 47
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Quote:
You know what makes me happy about the protags? They don't live in multi-million-dollar estates.
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