2012-08-27, 09:10 | Link #581 | |
minority spirit(?)
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2012-08-27, 09:19 | Link #582 | ||
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Join Date: Jan 2007
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http://catastrophemap.com/easter.html The direct inspiration for this episode is most likely Easter island. Their civilization flourished, but they cut down all trees, the land eroded, crops wouldn't grow, and they all died horribly. Sound similar? Mankind has failed quite a few time before. Like every others episode so far, Jinrui is pointing mankind's self-destructive behavior. In this case, I think it's exactly what we saw: overpopulation+over consumption. If nobody worry about exponential growth like this before it's too late, you can always hit a point of no return, and that's what happened. The example is striking for a small island, but many forget that the our Earth is also limited in size and resources, and we could reach that point easily if we let thing continue they way they do. There might have been a jab at GMO in there as well, but it's hard to tell with fairies crazy technologies. Quote:
Jinrui has been incredibly clever so far, and trying to figure everything out for fun is plenty of fun. That's more than enough for me to watch for these "hints", even if most viewers only cares about the cute girl and fairies doing funny things. Not to say I don't enjoy that as well >_>. Last edited by Kaylia; 2012-08-27 at 11:54. |
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2012-08-27, 09:40 | Link #583 |
Franco's Phalanx is next!
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Little England, Europe and Asia
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The episode was great and all, but compared to the rest was the less mystifying and required the least effort to understand it... also the subs are still over-localizing, I really do not understand why they translated "banzaix3" as "god save the queen"
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2012-08-27, 12:44 | Link #584 |
Guess what time it is?
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Age: 38
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I used to assume that the Human Monument project was intended to represent vaporware on a massive scale, just something being thrown around to demonstrate how ineffectual humans were at getting anything done, but this episode makes me wonder if it's meant more as an impending death-knell for civilization, Easter Island style. Many people pointed out the comparisons, and I notice that approximations of the Moai were among the fairies ill-conceived efforts.
This show is relentlessly satirical. The fairies of course provide microcosms of the subject matter being lambasted, but Watashi's so biting, cynical, and occasionally amoral that she completely earns her top billing. |
2012-08-27, 13:35 | Link #585 | |
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Join Date: Jan 2007
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My interpretation of Jinrui has a whole is that humanity never thinks of the consequences of their actions, they never show any sign of curiosity (beside Watashi), and they consumes recklessly everything they find. They are smart, but they aren't trying to understand their surrounding. The Human Monument Project is ultimately a glorification of what caused the previous downfall, yet, they are embracing the newly discovered without thinking "what the hell happened to the people before us". Ultimately, whatever the old civilization did wrong, they are repeating it through the Human Monument Project. Last edited by Kaylia; 2012-08-27 at 13:50. |
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2012-08-28, 10:09 | Link #589 |
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2006
Age: 38
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I wanted to say the same thing. Basically, every species with a drive for growth and expansion will be the one to rule its habitat. Humans scaled down because a stronger species stepped in. I wonder if this was a natural occurence or humans actually reflected on their tendencies and started restraining themselves.
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2012-08-28, 21:56 | Link #591 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
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Them fairies are sooo cute... LOL
BTW, the above might be right. The fairies duplicate themselves when they feel like they accomplished something (or having fun) And the fairies are all of same age and size, not to mention they all seem to have massive intelligence once they're "born?". The knowledge they have is probably more than the highest IQ in human history. The fairies do not need to "learn" to do anything... unlike humans have to attend school or learn how to do stuff, Fairies just... Know... LOL The stuff fairies invent or build in 1 day probably will take humans 10 years to do... (I mean... fairies that never visited or saw human monuments before... suddenly can make all of them... and extremely fast too) |
2012-08-28, 22:02 | Link #592 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
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Last edited by Utsuro no Hako; 2012-08-28 at 22:12. |
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2012-08-28, 22:31 | Link #594 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
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I'm not sure if I should use spoilers for literary books, but I see this as a Japanese take on The Time Machine with a more satirical voice on our culture.
Spoiler for The Time Machine plot:
I'm not sure if making chibi humans is a common troupe for deconstructing humanity, but I thought it would be nice to share this. It seems to me that both authors had something to say about the state of humankind and that a hyperbole was the vehicle that both took. EDIT: Oh ya, if I'm not mistaken, the protagonist isn't named in The Time Machine. Quite the coincidence huh : p
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2012-08-31, 19:21 | Link #598 |
Romanticist
Join Date: Aug 2009
Age: 33
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A bit late from me, but these last two arcs have been some of the most impressive we've seen so far. This latest episode could probably be renamed as "The History of Humanity: The Abridged Version". That's what it was and I loved every bit of it.
All I can say is that the ultimate outcome of civilization as alluded to in the episode is an inevitability as long as human society exists. As long as society strives for the sustenance of the race, population increase will naturally occur, bringing along with it a pressing need for expansion and consumption. As such, I didn't really see the episode as a critique of anything. Rather, it was saying that human society is doomed to ruin by the very fact of its existence. As long we aim for survival as a race, all the destruction and over-consumption are certain to happen. If anything, let's just blame it on our abnormally high adaptive capabilities as a population. Let's face it, we're like the intrusive, immortal cockroaches in nature's grand scheme. Oh, right. The sharp jab at religion back there was pretty nice too.
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Last edited by Qilin; 2012-08-31 at 19:51. |
2012-09-02, 10:59 | Link #599 |
Last Engage
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Florida
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End of the World Party 10/01 - A Girl Who Brought Down a City
"When someone asks you if you're a god, you say yes!" is the apocryphal advice, and perhaps something that Mai should've followed. Back to the very beginning, before Assistant or anyone else entered the picture. I am fascinated by the idea of Mai's school days, but I can't imagine them to have been very cheery, given the atmosphere. The naming discussion with the Fairies casts light on why it's maybe a good thing that nobody in this show has a proper name. The fairies come and go at such a quick rate that naming any of them would require them to become main characters, and therefore stick around - something they're clearly not willing to do. Even if they do have the city of New New York in miniature and a fairy version of Mazinger Z to defend them. (There's a very good reason Mazinger's pool was not located at the top of a building.) Like last episode, an abbreviated version of the rise and fall of a city, but now with the added touch of "playing God" added to it. The series is still holding my attention, so I'm curious what sort of note it's going to go out on. |
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fantasy, shounen |
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