2009-12-27, 01:43 | Link #441 |
Math Ninja
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Well, it's all over but the subbing...
Spoiler for Episode 50 w/o subs:
Two questions - First, it was good to see Kirik at the end, but what was he doing? And second, what was that promo for at the end of the episode? Some kind of recap episode coming up in a couple of weeks? One more thing - I've loved the "native mythological art work" that we've seen throughout the series, and I thought it was especially great during the final credits, where we see that Erin's deeds have been woven into the kingdom's legends. And lastly, a question about the apple symbolism that has appeared throughout the series. They said that Erin's name means "wild apple." However, in Western mythology, the apple represents "forbidden knowledge" - as in the Garden of Eden and all that. Would a Japanese audience see it that way, too? |
2009-12-27, 05:30 | Link #442 |
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For someone that has read the books, does Erin have a child in the last two books? Or did they do a time skip and show her with her son to end the series?
Also could someone translate this please or give a summary of whats its saying, thx. http://www.nhk.or.jp/anime-blog/0040/32584.html#more Last edited by Darkonus; 2009-12-27 at 07:42. |
2009-12-28, 18:44 | Link #444 | ||
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I'd expect apples to be associated with "love, beauty, luck, health, comfort, pleasure, wisdom, temptation, sensuality, sexuality, virility and fertility", in japan or anywhere else. Spoiler for 50:
It was nice sometimes, but in the end a really forgettable show for me: slow, with flashbacks en masse and censorship through abstraction whenever there was a tiny bit of gore -_-. Then again, I knew it wouldn't be my cup of tea after the first two episodes so I really can't complain Last edited by Fimbulvetr; 2009-12-28 at 18:57. |
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2009-12-28, 19:44 | Link #445 | ||
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Wow, it's over ;_; Atleast for the time being.. But considering that we're still waiting for the contiunuation of Moribito, I'm not holding my breath.
The ending was quite epic and I'm glad that we also have an answer to the question of what Damiya would have done if Erin hadn't shown up; his plan was to play out Shunan against his brother all along. It adds much needed solidity to the plot and thanks to that Erin-chan is not a deus ex machina Still, there are a number of strange plot choices and a few times where characters act in unforseen ways that don't agree with their persona; I've posted about them before. The flaws are relatively minor and the show would easily have been 9/10 for me, almost on par with Moribito, if not for the two comic relief characters. As is I have to agree with Gooral and give 8/10 objectively. That's not to say that the show isn't absoltely brilliant. I'll repeat what I said before: despite the flaws, the show has an amazing emotional flow and a huge number of brilliant dramatically cathartic and melancholic episodes, and is definately the best show of the year, perhaps even the best show since Moribito. So what's next? Nobody is scanlating the manga adaptation. I read German and French so I supose I could grab the first novel, but somehow I'm weary of translations of Uehashi-sensei's work. I mean, Moribito is one of the most mature anime I've ever seen, but the books win all these children's literature awards. Even the English translation won one. Can't help but feel that something must have been lost in translation ("dumbed down"). Or perhaps the anime was more mature than the novels? Then again, there is this weird disconnect in this show between all the plotting, intrigue and the two retarded comic relief characters. I can't imagine what target ages are young enough not to be annoyed by them but old enough to be capable of grasping all the intrigue and emotional content. I'm aware that they were added for the anime and aren't in any of the books, but they aren't making it any easier to pin down the exact nature of Uehashi's works.. Does anyone have a link to a (preferably exhaustive) summary of what happens in books 3 and 4? They came out in August, someone must have written a spoiler-laden review :P Quote:
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And "censorship"? Never heard of stylized violence? There are a few scenes with blood, f.ex. see the scene when Shunan brings the two wounded soldiers to the palace after the queen's death.
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2009-12-28, 21:13 | Link #446 | ||
Math Ninja
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Scenes of little Erin with her mother, up to and including the point where her mother was taken away. That's what made me think it was some kind of recap. If I've correctly learned to recognize the way you write dates in Japanese, it's supposed to run on January 9. |
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2009-12-28, 21:49 | Link #447 | |
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About the apple thing, I vaguely remember reading a pretty large discussion somewhere about the over-representation of apples in anime and in Japanese culture.. I can't find it now though, maybe in the Spice&Wolf forum |
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2009-12-29, 12:31 | Link #448 | ||||
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Not a bad ending. I liked how Erin's actions ended up being shown as a story. I think that extra scene at the end they put in was done deliberately to try and get the viewers to buy the last two novels ^^;
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Quick translation... Quote:
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I think the apple can be referred to as the "forbidden fruit" as in losing your innocence and becoming aware of "good and evil" because towards the end of the blog entry Uehashi mentions... Quote:
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2009-12-29, 15:10 | Link #449 | |
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2009-12-29, 17:31 | Link #450 | |
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Well I finished the series and I'm fairly happy with it overall, I'll give it an 8 out of 10 like others have been doing. Some of the pacing was not so good (for the love of cake, please stop reusing a certain scene!) but I loved how the series focused on Erin and her journey to discover the best way to live with the beasts, not just a story of political intrigue.
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Spoiler for novel spoilers:
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2009-12-29, 19:53 | Link #451 |
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Unlike psgels, I did not find the ending to be a major letdown, although towards the end it was very much rushed and the "what happened afterwards" was cut down to two or three small scenes. It would have been better if the stuff before the eyecatch happened in ep 49 and if 50 was expanded to elaborate on what happens in the second half and afterwards instead. It's kind of weird that they messed up on the timing towards the end when they had a whole 50 episodes to play with, even if we take into account all the flashbacks (of which there are quite a few).
Despite being a children's show, this was a very enjoyable journey and not inferior to the many other great shows this year (I dare say 2009 was a good year for anime). It started off rather average but became interesting once Erin grew up a bit (ie the whole Kazalm arc). The political side was weak but since it's a children's story it's understandable. |
2009-12-29, 20:01 | Link #452 |
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That was my main dislike in the series, they had so much time, quiet a bit to work with (even if the last two novels weren't published until it was over half way made), yet they flash backed like no tomorrow and then the last bit of 50 did feel a bit rushed. Over on heysayanime a few people there are complaining that we didn't get a Ialu and Erin ending shot and I wish we had one of those as well. Really felt like they were toying with the fans there.
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2009-12-29, 20:21 | Link #453 | |||
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I remember the Moomin series of books ended up quite popular with adults too because of Moomin Papa's journal. And if you can count Harry Potter... They later re-published the books with "adult covers". Quote:
Spoiler for Novels volume three and four:
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2009-12-29, 22:24 | Link #454 |
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I remember that being said before and am glad to see that I wasn't going crazy there. XD Once you get them could you post/link to a blog post so the rest of us can have some closure on the series as well?
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2009-12-29, 22:37 | Link #455 |
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I hope you do find the books and see what really happens, because I have issues with the supposed spoilers that have come out.
However, in order to avoid the wrath of the moderators, I'll speak in terms of this story, and how I think everyone's fear of repeating "the great crime" wouldn't have necessarily had to come true. Damiya wasn't very smart, so he wouldn't have thought outside the box, but I think Erin could have thought of something if she really had to. For example, she figured out how to modify a harp so that it imitated the noise beast-lords make when they want to be friendly to other beast-lords. With a little thought, effort and experimentation, could she have figured out how to imitate the noise beast-lords make to paralyze the touda? If you'll recall, that noise even works on wild touda who still have their ear-flaps. Or alternately, you wouldn't really even need an "army" of trained beast-lords to fight an army of touda. All you have to do is take a bunch of beast-lords to some point where you could intercept the approaching touda army out in the open and away from the civilian population. When the touda arrive, you just turn the beast-lords loose and let them have at it. Killing touda isn't something you have to teach a beast-lord to do. They do it instinctively. So I have issues with the idea that repeating "the great crime" is inevitable. It made for good drama in this particular situation, but it doesn't have to be that way every single time. |
2009-12-29, 23:10 | Link #456 |
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I got the impression in the show however, that Beast Lords and Toudas don't live in the same natural habitat, hence why this doesn't occur too frequently in the wild. It seemed that the Beast Lords lived more in the mountains and the Touda's lived in the lowlands, so Jeh may have been the first person to discover what happens when the two mix. Plus that would explain why it's a great crime, it actually goes against how the creatures have developed and stayed separate in the wild.
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2009-12-30, 13:21 | Link #458 | ||
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Also, I don't think they can build something big enough to calm down an entire army of Toudahs. Even Erin's harp only has a certain range after all. The Soundless Whistles are only loud enough for a single creature. Then again I suppose you could try building one of those giant war horns if they're at that point in time but even if you manage to stop the beasts, it's going to be hard to prevent human intervention when they're plotting in the dark and by then, the beasts can still be used. Damiya could easily have replaced all the Soundless Whistles or whatever they come up with against the Toudahs as easily as he did removing the former Zezans. Then the Great Sin still would have occurred. I think the Great Sin will always be inevitable as long as people are using these beasts while trying to get the upperhand over others. You could see it as the government trying to lay down tougher laws on guns, knives and other weapons in the real world. This is why Erin went against the tribe's closed thinking and questioned if the beasts should be controlled when it is humans that are at fault while innocent creatures are being dragged away from their habitats into it all. I think that's the bigger theme Uehashi has going - It is people that have to change for true peace amongst all living things. Whether that message gets across to her young readers and viewers is another matter though ^^; I haven't read the last two volumes yet but it will be interesting to see if she manages to change the tribe's thinking or something happens to set things straight again... Or at least for another century before all hell breaks loose again. Quote:
So in an effort to stop it happening again, the tribe wants to prevent people from breeding them and using the creatures for war. That's why Jeh, being the one who brought the King Beasts over the mountain into Ryoza and being exiled from her tribe, did her part to lay down the laws in looking after King Beasts while people like Soyon secretly poison the Toudahs at the villages to keep the numbers down and let them defend themselves against invaders at the same time. It's probably the best they can do really because in the end, they can't watch over the entire kingdom. They can only do something to make one kind of the beasts appear weak so no one would even want to waste their time raising the beasts. Erin on the other hand, continues to believe there is a way to keep the balance while allowing all beasts such as Lilan to be free. At the end of the show, we can't see if she managed to achieve it or not but at the very least, one of the other King Beasts seemed to be getting along with her son just fine without the whistle. Erin didn't have one any more either.
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Last edited by Xcomp; 2009-12-30 at 13:43. Reason: Added analogy. |
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2009-12-30, 14:28 | Link #459 | ||
Math Ninja
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I also think the beast-lord he was hanging out with was Aru, Lilan's child. |
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