[drobertbaker]

I rewatched the series followed by both movies. What an ordeal!

But I got so much more out of it! Not only did it restore to me the flow of the story and the movies place in it, but I picked up so many more details and things that I just didn't see the 1st time.

This really reinforced to me that changing the original 2nd season to this delayed movie format was the "artistic" kiss of death for this story. Even OVAs with shorter intervals would have been better. Why would they do that? Financial motivations? Once you get their money and herd them into the theatre, who cares the impression they take away?

About half of the 2nd season material was cut out to fit the movies format. That's why we didn't get to see #7 or #8. (My hawkish rewatch actually picked up a #8 cameo right at the end when everybody gets their memory wiped. And the Juiz girls cruising along the highway in their little pink Juizmobile.) That's why the #6 movie maker guy material seemed so out of place and extraneous to the story.

So much subtle stuff. The King Lear material (his cell phone during his speech is even resting on a copy of King Lear), the Home Ministry references, the various government agencies, the opening graphics between the icons, the speeches and references of Takizawa, Mononobe, and Ato, Takizawa's mom's deal, the Juiz girls.

I had to stop many times, do research, go back to other scenes, mull things over. But how many people are going to do that? It's hard work! A common comment on the net is "I really should go back and rewatch... but I'm too lazy."

By the way Meo, now that I understand better what the discussion between Mononobe and Takizawa was actually about, I think the source of our difference of opinion is that I actually agree more with the experienced cynical pragmatism of Mononobe than with the naive grass roots idealism of you and Takizawa!

Again, what a shame that such an amazing, powerful, and unique story had to die such an ignominious death on the cutting room floor.