(CR) Gen'ei o Kakeru Taiyo -Il sole penetra le illusioni-

[novalysis]

It seems that Gen'ei checked another item that made Madoka Magica what it was. It's "mascot". Of course, this remains to be seen, but I think the producers are flagging very blatantly and hard that those "animals" appear to be much more similar to a Kyubey or Vivdred Crow, then a Keero.

It remains to be seen as to which direction Gen'ei would take their mascots towards. Will they take the route of "necessary evil", or entities with alien morality systems, or outright malevolence?

[Eisdrache]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Am I the only one here who wants to see the main faction fall into despair and get broken beyond hope before dying? Can't stand white knight, holier-than-thou Inquisitions like those...

EDIT: On that note...please don't let those animals be Kyuubey clones...

We barely know anything about the organization at all, seeing that all we have seen is one branch of many.

[Master_Yoma]

Wow this is getting more messed up as it going replacing memories that just messed up

[Lord of Fire]

These girls would need massive therapy sessions after each battle, so in that sense, the memory wipe is justified. However, it seems that it's not 100% effective and it wouldn't surprise me if they eventually need to look for other ways to help the girls cope with the after-effects of the killing they do.

And I get the feeling that Star Girl has been through all this a bit too often, given her cold and distant behavior.

[ninryu]

Kind of a let down so far. This anime would be so much better if the characters acted and reacted realistically like actual people. That was the strength of Madoka, after all. It seems the creators of this anime wanted to copy the success of Madoka, but didn't understand what really made Madoka so good - the passion of the creative team, namely.

[xizro345]

Originally Posted by ninryu

Kind of a let down so far. This anime would be so much better if the characters acted and reacted realistically like actual people. That was the strength of Madoka, after all. It seems the creators of this anime wanted to copy the success of Madoka, but didn't understand what really made Madoka so good - the passion of the creative team, namely.

I think you mean "believable". Neither Madoka nor Gen'ei are "realistic" and the character reactions aren't "realistic" in both of them.
Also AFAIK, this anime was in the works before Madoka aired. It's just a matter of coincidence that it aired after. I think a small influence is obvious, but to me it seems they're getting to similar scenarios (i.e. grimdark ones) in completely different ways.

[molitar]

This on has a very dark undertone.. the Society is hiding something to the point they have to spy on Akari. I guess things will really hit the fan when she realizes the truth and that she killed and erased Funuya from existance. I don't think the society is benevolent like they want her to believe and are just as dark as the demon's themselves.

[Traece]

Originally Posted by ninryu

Kind of a let down so far. This anime would be so much better if the characters acted and reacted realistically like actual people. That was the strength of Madoka, after all. It seems the creators of this anime wanted to copy the success of Madoka, but didn't understand what really made Madoka so good - the passion of the creative team, namely.

Except what you failed to realize is that the character motivations and the situations are completely, and entirely different.

Madoka lacked any organization or society to tell them that what they're doing is right, and that what they're doing is necessary. They didn't even have the glory of seeing their successes yield world-saving results, really. That was the idea. There was no support, and no gratification for their work. That's why the characters were all "horrified" and "mental" in that series, although even that wasn't quite as perfect as it's implied to be.

Gen'ei is the opposite of that. It's not an ambiguous situation where they're being told that they're doing the right thing by some creepy animal. They have an organization of people doing the exact same thing that they've been told to do, and they've seen first hand people suffering at the hands of their enemy. Why would they be messed up, mentally, when they feel vindicated and satisfied with doing work they feel is absolutely just? That's not to say there's no trauma, as they've conveyed that there is, and there obviously would be. To impose the expectation that they should be nutcases when there's absolutely zero reason to think that they would be... It's silly, to put it best.

The situation we're being shown, Fuyuna's corruption by the forces of 'evil' and her attempt to murder the main character, is probably one of the darker ones that will exist in this anime. She's allowed to have this "crisis of faith" moment because she's been subjected to real trauma. In the fourth episode we'll see her immediately stop having this crisis as she attempts to save a family from yet more forces of 'evil' trying to murder some random innocents. And yet people think that these girls should be crazy...

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by ninryu

Kind of a let down so far. This anime would be so much better if the characters acted and reacted realistically like actual people. That was the strength of Madoka, after all. It seems the creators of this anime wanted to copy the success of Madoka, but didn't understand what really made Madoka so good - the passion of the creative team, namely.

I'm more ore less with Traece on this.

The way the Madoka girls reacted to their situation was realistic given that situation. But the situation in this anime is a fair bit different.

Madoka and friends were led around by one mysterious "magical girl familiar" who played everything very close to his vest. They also suffered a lot of divisions - There was never a point in Madoka where your had 4 magical girls operating in good accord with each other like what you have here.

The magical girls in this show have a much better organizational and support structure around them than any of the Madoka girls did. It doesn't mean this show isn't dark, but it means that utter horror and panic has less place here than it did in Madoka Magica.

Really, this show is closer to Psycho-Pass than Madoka Magica in some ways. Akira is like Psycho-Pass' Akane in that she's stepping into a somewhat shady and traumatic but also clearly important/necessary role. Like Akane, she has numerous allies/colleagues/co-workers right off the bat.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I'm more ore less with Traece on this.

The way the Madoka girls reacted to their situation was realistic given that situation. But the situation in this anime is a fair bit different.

Madoka and friends were led around by one mysterious "magical girl familiar" who played everything very close to his vest. They also suffered a lot of divisions - There was never a point in Madoka where your had 4 magical girls operating in good accord with each other like what you have here.

The magical girls in this show have a much better organizational and support structure around them than any of the Madoka girls did. It doesn't mean this show isn't dark, but it means that utter horror and panic has less place here than it did in Madoka Magica.

Really, this show is closer to Psycho-Pass than Madoka Magica in some ways. Akira is like Psycho-Pass' Akane in that she's stepping into a somewhat shady and traumatic but also clearly important/necessary role. Like Akane, she has numerous allies/colleagues/co-workers right off the bat.

Psycho-Pass also had its share of defections, and all the characters had their own history despite being on the same team.

We'll see how this show progresses, but currently the introduction of Akari's school and teammates were fairly generic.

I still have no idea how ice powers have anything to do with The Star tarot. It makes me wonder whether these magical girls were designed with the plot in mind at all, or if the studio designed these magical girls with only the basic elements in mind, then tacked on the tarot later.

[novalysis]

Originally Posted by Traece

Madoka lacked any organization or society to tell them that what they're doing is right, and that what they're doing is necessary. They didn't even have the glory of seeing their successes yield world-saving results, really. That was the idea. There was no support, and no gratification for their work. That's why the characters were all "horrified" and "mental" in that series, although even that wasn't quite as perfect as it's implied to be.

Gen'ei is the opposite of that. It's not an ambiguous situation where they're being told that they're doing the right thing by some creepy animal. They have an organization of people doing the exact same thing that they've been told to do, and they've seen first hand people suffering at the hands of their enemy. Why would they be messed up, mentally, when they feel vindicated and satisfied with doing work they feel is absolutely just? That's not to say there's no trauma, as they've conveyed that there is, and there obviously would be. To impose the expectation that they should be nutcases when there's absolutely zero reason to think that they would be... It's silly, to put it best.

I disagree, and agree.

One of the earlier Pre Episode 3 themes of Madoka Magica was the emphasis that the career of a Magical Girl is literally an endless cycle of fighting till your death. This was exemplified by Mami Tomoe in the first two episodes. (The other theme was loneliness, but that's another Madoka Magica issue Gen'ei does not have).

The anarchy and lawlessness of the Puella Magi world is a theme that kicks into play even more after Episode 4, and explored even further in Kazumi and Oriko Magica. In that respect, Gen'ei differs from Madoka - I fully agree with you on this. Gen'ei girls at least (as far as we know) need not fear from their kind.

In Gen'ei, the theme of eternal fighting is well and very alive. I wouldn't go so far as to say that there's zero reason to think that they would end up nutcases. There is certainly less reason to think so - the system is apparently less merciless and not out to screw the Magical Girls of this show actively, unlike Madoka Magica.

I differ though on this: the strains of fighting, the continual and real possibility of death and the continual taking lives means that essentially, Gen'ei Magical Girls are child soldiers fighting a continuous war with no end in sight, with it's attendant possible psychological implications. And I think it's this aspect that Gen'ei is being compared to here. Even with an organization behind your back, being a child soldier in an endless war is bound to take some sort of mental toll on those girls. In that respect, Gen'ei resembles Madoka.

Spoiler for Spoilers for the end of Madoka Magica:

In-fact, had Post Ultimate-Madoka Puella Magis consolidated into a global organization too (as fanfics like To the Stars proposed and explored), I think it'll be closer to Gen'ei in how dark it could potentially be.

Of course, those girls might not be that much more likely to go Postal than a modern soldier serving in multiple conflicts. But the potential is still there. I wouldn't go to the extreme of saying it's zero.

And of course, there's still the "morality" of the organization, that hasn't yet been explored. In other words, we still don't know whether the equivalent of the Magical Girl mascot in Gen'ei is malicious or immoral, or more towards the benevolent end instead. And we don't know whether there are more horrifying revelations about Gen'ei Mahou Shojou system, that has yet to be revealed. Remember, the full details of Madoka Magica's system took two thirds of the season to be fully revealed.

So far, Gen'ei is not Madoka Magica. It does explore some of the same issues and exercises the same subversion of the genre that Madoka Magica had, and this is the source of the perception of similarity between Gen'ei and Madoka Magica held by some. And perhaps, Gen'ei might subvert other genre conventions that Madoka Magica didn't touch, down the line.

[MisaoFan]

Spoiler for Episode 3:

Things get a lot harsh this episode. Akari, after having an argument against her teammates concerning a new battle taking place at the boat, is taken into custody by the academy. She spends the entire day doing nothing, and it was nice to see learning more about Luna. Too bad Seira will likely starts as Akari's rival, and whenever Akari tries to defeat a Daemonia, she always remember about Fuyuna's death, and it's impossible for her not to overcome it. Ariel is very much a strict woman but it's very hard for me to dislike her because of her beautiful appearance. In contrast, Etia is very nice and I do sympathize her interactions with Akari. I cannot imagine how darker it will get in the future episodes, but I'll leave some expectations in order to discover the mysterious things that surrounds the show.

[EroKing]

Crow calling Akari a wonderful guinea pig. Confirmed for hiding something big about the organization.

[elior]

i have a bad feeling about those 2 talking animals it seems like they not so good by what they said at the end of the episode

[Shadow5YA]

With all the close up shots of the wrapped up bodysuit hanging by a rope, did it really not occur to Akari that the human host might have been there? Why not try cutting the rope and removing that small body from the ship to see what happens?

[novalysis]

I've noticed a character pattern emerging within the team.

We have the Zealot, the Mercenary who fights for money, the Conscript who fights out of having no choice but to fight, and the Protagonist, who finds her own reason to fight.

It also seems that Gen'ei is about to touch on another subversion of the Mahou Shojo genre : mascot figures who have hidden agendas of their own, and who might be either amoral or outright malicious to the Magical Girl.

[Traece]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

With all the close up shots of the wrapped up bodysuit hanging by a rope, did it really not occur to Akari that the human host might have been there? Why not try cutting the rope and removing that small body from the ship to see what happens?

I suspect nothing since that would be rather silly. I suspect that the hanged man was more symbolic than functional. He has a special attachment to naval vessels because his son was killed on one, and presumably they shared a love of them. He was a hanged man on a ship because of this. If there was intended to be any functional reason behind that then it would have been utilized. More or less, it wasn't important to them so it's not important.

This series is managing to become increasingly more interesting. The way they revolved the "crisis of faith" for Akari wasn't what I expected, frankly. Instead of the typical methods they went with something more unique. Moments like these are why I'm enjoying Gen'ei, because even though it follows a somewhat typical magical girl setup it's still displaying some material of its own.

Edit: Oh, and because of that random cameo I'm now predicting a student revolt in Gen'ei.

[Sageblink]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

With all the close up shots of the wrapped up bodysuit hanging by a rope, did it really not occur to Akari that the human host might have been there? Why not try cutting the rope and removing that small body from the ship to see what happens?

Well, the guy did say he killed children. It was impossible for him to cope with a death of his son and make up for the thing he did.
Death sentence was his choice and Akari respected that, burdening herself with the memorie of this person.

Originally Posted by novalysis

It also seems that Gen'ei is about to touch on another subversion of the Mahou Shojo genre : mascot figures who have hidden agendas of their own, and who might be either amoral or outright malicious to the Magical Girl.

Well, that just leads where pretty much everyone is at this point : Madoka Magica/Vivid Red vibes, everyone ?

[Mizuno]

omg Ginka's room is sooooo... I love that room!

[backbone]

Man, the way Akari can hear things that other people can't seems like a cruel revelations to me. In the end, just like Madoka, her naivety got crushed by the inevitable, terrible truth. And what impressed me the most is how she could build her courage and put aside her naivety to finish things off in a short amount of time, and it's very refreshing change of pace as i got tired by typical hero who needs 4++ eps to deal with her own feelings.

Just one pet peeve of mine : The fighting scene was too boring to watch; OMG, finishing a huge daemonia off with a single slash of sword? Nay, nay, nay.