Quote:
Originally Posted by Thess
Hmm, I mean the conclusion of the TV series. After episode 21, Ranka was put in a bus, with occasional cameo and given the damsel in distress ball in a very crippling way (the brainwashed and mind controlled). Alto was still solving his issues. He did seem to lead a conclusion about his feelings even if he didn't articulate them, but in terms of plot... he was waffling constantly. Sheryl was the one who took the reins.
Movie balanced their roles better in the conclusion.
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Yes.
But, I'll say it once again, there was
too much Sheryl in the movies (and I don't mean character appearance but rather focus). I understand the plot is tied to her (of course, they
had to attach it to her in the movies because the series failed to prove a plot for
why Sheryl was attached to the Vajra or 117 beyond Mao being her grandmother
), but for most of movie 1 and 2, they focus on Sheryl instead of focusing even momentarily on character growth of others. They even ruled out Alto's growth from being unstable with his role as the protagonist to "I'm ready" in less than 20secs to the end. They focused too much on Sheryl and left out the important bits:
like, for instance, how did Ozma and Catherine get back together? I never saw any indication in the 1st movie that they were even near that stage. And from what I can understand (unless the novels say otherwise), they never talked in-between movies.
They failed to actually get rid of Ranka's flaws that Kawamori seemed to find. Her series personality, at times, blended with her movie personality in both movies and made her seem like she had split-personality disorder. I really disliked that. Once you change a character, you can't just go back.
You know, they focused so much on Sheryl that they left out Alto's progression as a character. He seemed more tied to Sheryl like a boy to his mother, depending on her for reasons unknown, and even opted to quit after Sheryl's arrest. If not for Ozma talking him back into fighting, I would've called him a "mama's boy" with Sheryl for letting her arrest hurt him that bad. He made the same exact implies from the series of being upset with Sheryl's betrayal (just like Ranka) and looked at artifacts that reminded him of said girl. I felt series Alto shine through right then.
And actually, Alto didn't really get a chance to say "Sheryl is the enemy, so I must kill her" because the government already had her on treason and the death penalty. She was to die anyway. So let's drop that, okay?
I liked a bit that Ranka chose to become Minmei of her own volition in movie 2 and see it out to the end unlike in the series where she chose to become Misa halfway through the ride. I found the qualities of her character in this movie to be endearing and it showed what series!Ranka failed to get a chance to show.
I actually disliked Sheryl's fall in character towards weakness, and I'll possibly get yelled at for saying that, but Kawamori stated he had nothing he wanted to change about Sheryl; but he did. He made her more clingy to Alto and Ranka for power whereas the series!Sheryl needed neither, just the inspiration of those around her in peril for her to realize she had to sing again (Shinkuu Diamond Crevasse in Ep.20). She also lacked self-esteem in the movie, I felt; because when she's arrested, she actually loses all faith, whereas the Sheryl from the series let herself fall for an instant before she forced herself to move forward, even if it meant death. I found series!Sheryl a little more to my liking.
And, to let you all know, I never said I hated Sheryl as a character, just that I hate her with Alto. Otherwise, she's a character I'd see as becoming Minmei because her songs are her life; but not Ranka, because her songs are more for Alto than anything else, and we all know that Minmei sang just for the sake of her songs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sa547
Anyway, that rat-fink bastard got it coming for him.
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That was one of my favorite parts. I went "yeah!!" We failed to see what happened to him in the series, but that was just gorgeous. (A little gross for blood and stuff, but gorgeous!)
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