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calypsolemon · 8 months

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okay let’s try and analyze anthy’s reactions during duels and why she sometimes is just completely still and other times she’s like “utena watch out!!” and other times she’s full on interfering. also how her relationship with utena and vice versa changes during the whole season

Lune you had no clue how much you were asking for when you sent this partway thru our watchthru lmaooo

I think the easiest question to answer here is "why she is completely still sometimes" and well it's that... most of the time she doesn't need to do anything. Anthy has been acting as the rose bride for what is clearly a looong time, and her "job" (her real job, as commanded by Akio, not what she presents to the duelists) essentially amounts to subtly manipulating people into projecting their desires onto her, so they will fight to own her. Usually, by the time they are at the arena clashing swords, Anthy has already done everything she needs to - the pawns are in place so to speak, she only needs to watch them play out their parts.

Beyond that, Anthy is generally emotionally disconnected from what goes on in the duels, despite the fact that they influence who she is going to have to live with. Though some duelists may, on a surface-level, treat Anthy better than others, and that might lead her to attempt to subtly push duels in her favor when she can, she ultimately sees her abuse at the hands of duelists as an inevitability, just another Thursday in the life of the Rose Bride. Therefore, apathy is the default Anthy emotion for any given duel.

So lets talk about the times when she is Very Much Not Apathetic

From the very first duel, she actually does express shock at Utena winning the duel with just a wooden sword. I will be honest, I dont actually put much weight onto this moment. I think its just sort of a natural reaction to someone so uninvested in either Anthy or the power she represents, winning the duel in such a dramatic way. I'm not even sure at this point she's clued in to Utena embodying Dios.

More notably, we have Miki's duel, which is the first true sign of mid-duel intervention by Anthy. By this point Utena has had an actual moment of "Dios coming down from the castle to possess her," which... depending on your reading means either Anthy, Akio, or both see some sort of potential in Utena. So she blatantly throws the duel for Miki by directly contrasting the idea of protecting her she's purposefully built up till this point.

The most notable reaction from the first arc, though, would be in the second duel against Touga.

This is after we get one of the only direct confirmations in this arc that Anthy is actually beginning to care for Utena; the scene where she is sitting alone, imagining Utena across from her at the table. In this moment, when Utena is fighting for her princely ideals despite the risk of actual death, Anthy is (for lack of a better term) triggered into recalling when Dios was gravely injured and still attempting to act as prince. And whether it is through the protective instincts of those memories, or just straight up being pulled out of concentration of what she's doing, it causes her to accidentally throw the duel for Touga, by rescinding her power from his sword.

So, we basically have two precedents set for Anthy reacting during duels: She sometimes consciously interferes as a strategic move, and she sometimes has a genuine emotional reaction, usually in relation to her memories of Dios being triggered and/or potential care for Utena. I don't actually think these two things are mutually exclusive, however, and they become muddled as we move into the Black Rose Arc.

Anthy definitely begins to be a lot more lively during these duels, from interacting with the objects on the tables, to giving Utena's sword the blessing, to yelling for her as she catches her mid-air. Is this because she genuinely cares for or is concerned about Utena? Is projecting Dios onto her? Or is it just because Utena winning is what is necessary for the duels to function? Maybe some combo of all? Who knows

The most notable Black Rose Duel reaction, to me personally, is when Anthy downright demands Utena pull the sword from her against Wakaba. Its very uncharacteristic of her, and I believe its because, despite the Black Rose Duels being something she has a hand in, she may genuinely be concerned for her own life here, as she has built up Wakaba to be actually, murderously jealous of her personally, and Utena is actively refusing to fight.

As we move into the final arcs of the show, we get one of the most blatant Anthy duel disruptions to date:

The sword of Dios disappears mid-battle, and instead of remembering Dios in the face of fighting against impossible odds, it is now Utena's words of friendship that spur her to jump in front of her, and draw her own sword from her chest. I really think this is one of the most significant mid-duel actions Anthy takes besides the final duel. It shows that Anthy's emotions are no longer being spurred on by simple relation back to Dios, but rather by the genuine care that Utena is showing her. Even if their relationship is about to be mired in turmoil thanks to Akio's interference, it was starting to become something real, and it was also starting to break down Anthy's carefully built walls.

I'm getting eepy and also this is getting long, so I'm going to stop the analysis train there. I could get into the final duel but quite frankly I think thats an essay in and of itself. Anthy's reactions during duels is really a fascinating topic and you could probably go on forever talking about it (just like everything else in this show)

#rgu #revolutionary girl utena #anthy himemiya #girl this is loooong lolllll #i hope you're happy lune #sorry if i didn't really answer everything but it was a lot to put in one ask

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silvermoon424 · 9 days

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Disclaimer that I've never watched Utena because I've looked up the trigger warnings and it would be too much for me to handle and most of my knowledge of the series comes through osmosis but... I feel like one of the main reasons people think Utena is this cutesy wutesy sapphic anime is because some of its more romantic moments between Anthy and Utena have been referenced in other material devoid of its original context. The referencing in and of itself is not an inherently bad thing (I strongly believe creators should be allowed to wear their influences on their sleeve) but with a combination of Utena becoming more obscure through the passage of time and fandom playing telephone with references, a lot of the original context of Anthy and Utena's relationship and the show in general is much less known than when it was first published/aired. There was a comic I recently read which I realised very early on was basically RGU but the races of the couple were switched which lead to some... unfortunate implications and just made me think the creator only saw Anthy and Utena as this uwu sapphic couple to be 100% unironically emulated with no conflict outside of paint-by-numbers mutual pining.

Yeah, there's absolutely a huge disconnect between "Utena: The Actual Show" and "Utena: Pop Culture Version." It's iconic as a sapphic series and Utena and Anthy are one of the most well-known lesbian couples in all of anime, but the series itself is very messy and uncomfortable a lot of the time.

Also, a lot of people who haven't seen the series play the whole "Prince Utena" thing straight when in reality Utena's fixation on being a prince prevents her from truly connecting with and understanding Anthy. Only after Utena comes to the realization that she's been using Anthy just like everyone else is she finally able to save her.

#asks #Anonymous #utena #revolutionary girl utena

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rabarbarzcukrem · 4 months

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So... I've finally watched the first Utena musical

The whole cast singing the lines of the prince in masks without him appearing himself...do you get it... he's an idea...he doesn't exist... He's just a concept from a fairytale repeated by everyone...

Utena's deep voice <333

"What's so special about this letter?" said to Wakaba...

Saionji is so dramatic I love it

I don't like the fact that Utena's uniform clearly has a different shape to the shape of the ones worn by guys. It was like that in the anime too, but in real life it looks weird, like it's too small for the actress. Otherwise the costumes are amazing tho

Zettai unmei mokushiroku was used so well... Compared to the first few songs it's very sudden and intense, very fitting for the first scene in which Utena enters the dueling arena

The way everyone moves is so in character, Anthy picking up her dress when she walks (like a princess), Touga constantly with hands in his pockets (laid-back and indifferent), Juri with arms crossed (shielding herself), Utena's strong butch energy

I love how they did the sword of Dios thing

Wtf is this disco song??? It's so random and out of nowhere...Wait. Is it this musical's equivalent of the anime intro?? That's so smart...

The song slaps actually

OF COURSE the EGG SPEECH is a SONG

Anthy's voice is so pretty I'm gonna cry

Utena immediately calling Anthy her friend, even though she doesn't know her...she is so full of love to give and so starved for close human connection.... (how very middle school of her too). I can't look at this scene without thinking about what's to come.. "you showed me a taste of true friendship"...

"Are you (anthy and touga) close?" Oooh boy

Nanami is perfect...Her song with Miki on the keys lmao. Wakaba constantly in the background... foreshadowing??

There are like. 5 different scenes happening at once

Utena and Wakaba's friendship contrasted with Touga and Saionji's broken one...damn...

"I measure the time I spend hating the student council" LMAOOO

Anthy's creepy laugh... Actually this is a good visual way to show how weird she appears to the other characters and make sure the audience associates this uneasy feeling with her

Juri standing on the chair lol. The humor in this version makes it so clear that those are highschool students

And I adore the meta jokes about weird shit going on in the background during the council meetings and no one really knowing what the stop watch does

I noticed that Juri touches her hair whenever she's vulnerable. Nice detail

Juri angst...ouch...

Why is the sword of Dios so big tho

"The sword Juri sent flying through the air came down to shatter her own rose...was the floor of the arena the only thing it pierced?" OW OW OW

THIS SCENE BROKE ME

Saionji calling Touga "motherfucker" I'm dead

Different girls playing Utena in the coffin, covering their faces with the doll...

AND THEN DUELISTS JOINING TO SING UTENA'S LINES THAT SHE WILL NEVER LEAVE THE COFFIN. WITH ANTHY AT THE END. GENIUS

The cooking song is so cute and catchy

UTENA SPITTING AT SAIONJI I'M LOVING THIS

Saionji joining the shadow girls...this is hilarious

I love the desperate song of Wakaba inspiring Utena to take back who she was. And her being the only one to say that the girl's outfit doesn't suit Utena... But as soon as her role of inspiring the main character is fulfilled, the curtain falls and only Utena is left on stage.

...Surely....

The ending was amazing..

All in all I'm convinced that a stage play of Utena is the best type of adaptation that could ever be made. The anime already had allusions to theatre and stages so it works perfectly.

#I can't wait to watch the second one #revolutionary girl utena #rgu #moje

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mostlymilkwood · 1 year

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I’ve always wondered what it must have been like to watch Utena as it was airing and now thanks to G Witch I have my answer: absolute agony!

#witch from mercury #g witch spoilers #it's suuuuch a good show it makes me to sink my teeth into a door frame

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ammoniteflesh · 3 months

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Femslash February 4 - 'Doomed by the Narrative'

Utenanthy!!! Man, writing Anthy POV is a fun challenge.

Rating: T Word Count: 440 Content Warnings: Dissociation, animal death, a bit of body horror.

An overcast sky. A bullet that catches a bird in the wing, sending it careening from the air. Plants that die beneath your stamping feet.

There had been a time when Akio had taken Anthy hunting. This was before, of course, when knives had been for other creatures’ flesh.

She does not think of these trips very often. She has found that this distracts her. There are moments, though, when she watches Utena duel, when she finds she has no choice.

Something in the briskness of the motion, the resolve in the face. The unmistakable signs of body made weapon, with a target in its sights. Something in the way a smile would dart onto Utena’s face as she pressed forward, putting her opponent on the defensive.

Anthy wonders if Utena would smile like that if she knew how each blow felt. The blade of Dios is a part of her, after all - she feels it like a body part. Feels the jarring vibration of metal on metal as if it’s in her bones. Feels the motion like nausea. Feels the sure but sweaty hold of Utena’s palm.

It is decidedly unpleasant. The trick to withstanding such feelings - one that Anthy has had ample opportunity to hone - is to let your mind wander.

It’s easy, really. You do not want to be here; neither does your mind. Stiffly, deliberately, Anthy takes a breath. Her vision swims. She lets herself be anywhere but here.

The frantic flapping of wings. The blood staining the down. Her brother’s face as he had cocked the gun. It wasn’t mercy, it never could be, with him. It was simply what came next. Her own small body at his side, leaning towards him in the cold. Akio’s body always ran hot.

Well. ‘Anywhere but here’ is not always pleasant, either, but these things cannot be helped.

There are moments when Anthy looks at Utena and catches a glimpse of something she cannot understand. Usually when Utena is not looking at her - when she is still asleep, drool collecting on her pillow, and Anthy has woken early to clean. Or when she is laughing with Wakaba, the two of them sprawled out on fresh-mown grass. Or when - or when - or when -

It has happened so often, yet Anthy cannot describe what she sees. The feeling of drifting off to sleep while ill. The feeling of an icepack on a sprain. The possibility, however dim or distant, of relief.

Utena parries Juri’s blow. Tension. Tremors down her spine. Anthy flinches, though she hardly moves.

Once the hunter has seen you, Anthy knows, the bird is all but doomed.

#faust writes #rgu #minifemslashfeb2024 #femslash february #utenanthy #revolutionary girl utena #rgu fic

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nerdy-arty · 2 months

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the blunt post was the last straw for to watch (and later read) the funny magical girls series and i wanna just say that i am EXTREMELY mad at you for making me genuinely care about what should by all means just be'how close can we get to airing actual porn on tv'. anyway who's your favorite, i really like sulfur and her (non-sexual) bloodlust as well as utena with her world ending levels of silliness

I STG I SAW THIS ASK AND IMMEDIATELY FREAKED OUT LIKE "oh shit this is where I get anon hate for liking and making weird morally questionable silly shit" BUT NAH YOU GET IT!!!

The series has no right being as high quality as it is, and I am very pro breaking the stereotype that all Yuri has to be fluffy feel good content. Messy horny lesbians exist and I am one of them. It's been a while since a piece of media had me bursting out laughing like every 2 mins

My faves Are Utena, Kiwi, And Kaoruko btw!!

#ask box #mahoako

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opinions-about-tiaras · 2 years

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Ten Years

Today is the 10th anniversary of the series premiere of Alex Hirsch’s Gravity Falls on the Disney Channel.

Gravity Falls was a harbinger; it was Disney shaking itself out of its post-Kim Possible doldrums and staking out a bold vision of creator-driven all-ages animated TV series. Legend of Korra was airing at the same time over on Nickelodeon (yeah, Korra is also ten years old; it premiered a couple months prior) but Disney, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon had all seriously ebbed back from their mid-aughts creative peaks and were sort of coasting on cheap, lousy, live-action programming, or shows that could be charming and were huge moneymakers, but made NO demands of their audience, such as Teen Titans Go! It’s not that they had nothing going on (Phineas and Ferb was airing) but it was slim pickings.

Gravity Falls would change that. In two seasons over four years it established itself as a critical, cultural, and financial sensation. Disney would follow this up with the flawed-but-still great Star vs. the Forces of Evil, the thoroughly entertaining Wander Over Yonder, the complete tour-de-force of Amphibia, and the tragically cut-short The Owl House.

All of those shows with the possible exception of Wander Over Yonder are loosely serialized creator-helmed YA shows that are invested and dripping with passion and relevance.

Gravity Falls is simultaneously a cryptid-of-the-week show about a zany sideshow attraction AND a show about the uplifting nature of even a flawed family.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil begins as a show about a magical princess from another dimension going to high school and getting into fights with the head cheerleader; it ends with an all-out civil war between people seeking to abolish a corrupt authoritarian order and fascist racists who object to all the race-mixing going on these days. A major plot point is that there’s a grand conspiracy to overthrow and erase from history an entire branch of the ruling family because the Queen boned someone from the wrong race and had a halfie kid, and the powers that be can’t have that.

Wander Over Yonder brought the same joy and whimsy we got from the Powerpuff Girls or Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends to a sci-fit setting straight out of Duck Dodgers in the 24th and a Half Century, brought to life by Jack McBrayers superb voice acting.

Amphibia and the Owl House are isekais (the anime term for “trapped in another word” series) that take what has become the most played-out genre in Japan and rebuilds it with all the strengths, all the verve, of western animators who grew up looking at the tropes and decided “I can marry this to an American sensibility and then do it better. Both shows utterly thrive on building a huge cast of interlinked characters and exploring the interiority of their lives en route to some pretty massive cosmic shit.

These are not shows you plop kids in front of to get them out of the way; these are the very definition of shows you watch and enjoy as a family. And they all had that “created by” note in their opening credits; Alex Hirsch, Daron Nefcy, Craig McCracken, Matt Braly, and Dana Terrace. One could argue that this era of shows is directly or indirectly responsible for spurring Netflix’ own forays into this kind of animation; Voltron: Legendary Defender and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power are cut from the same cloth.

This era may, sadly, be coming to an end. The Owl House is being cut down in its prime because Disney is pivoting away from serialized content of this nature; they want more “fun, bite-sized school hijinks” and less “adorable lesbians fight the evil empire.“ They don’t want a show people get into shipping wars on twitter over; they want Baymax.

This past decade and these shows will create and inspire a whole new generation of animators. Just as the people making these shows all came up under late-90s, early-aughts classic anime and cartoon series (Teen Titans, Reboot, Gargoyles, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Kim Possible, that sort of thing) the work they’ve done will launch into the future the great animated series of the 2030s. Somewhere an twelve-year-old boy is watching The Owl House; in 2035 he will be given a contract for his own show by a producer who in 2012 was a ten-year-old girl watching Gravity Falls.

So happy anniversary, Gravity Falls. You’ve made a lot of folks very happy.

#gravity falls #disney #disney channel

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lavender-rosa · 10 months

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Rgu Characters+ Customer Service

Touga: When he thinks a customer is stupid or annoying he starts talking slower and starts using smaller words in such an infuriatingly condescending way, but with plausible deniability of "he was just being helpfu!" so that he can never actually get in trouble for it. But they both know he was being the asshole!!!

Juri: She would be good at it and i think working customer service would actually be beneficial to her. Definitely would employ Touga's plausibly deniable tactics of condescencion on rude customers even though she has a lot more patience for people than Touga does.

Nanami: Would kill herself before that ever happened.

Saionji: Okay well I see him as a tea server and the reviews are mixed. I think the thing about Saionji is that if he's in a good mood he is a delight to have around and if he's in a bad mood he's a monster whose rancid vibes ruin every room he's in. So his proficiency at customer service is entirely dependent on how he's feeling at any given moment. I think he'd be happy serving tea when he's an adult and not so much when he's an angry teen.

Miki: When it comes to interacting with people, even the worst rudest customers he's very friendly. Even as a thirteen year old he's very patient and understanding (except when he thinks you're keeping him apart from a loved one, then watch out!)

Anthy: She pretends to be stupid on purpose with customers she doesn't like and when they try to complain to her manager she's like "I'm the manager" and when they question how she's still allowed to work despite being so incompetent everyone else vouches for her they are like "she's literally our best employee"

Utena: She needs to tell it like it is every five minutes or else she'll die. It's literally a source of air for her. She would have a tier ranking of all the regular customers in her head and she would treat them accordingly. I think Utena working at a coffee shop or smth is plausible and she would be very good at it.

#rgu #revolutionary girl utena #shoujo kakumei utena #utena tenjou #anthy himemiya #nanami kiryuu #saionji kyouichi #touga kiryuu #juri arisugawa #miki kaoru #rgu headcanons

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floatingcatacombs · 5 months

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Bandai Taketh Away

12 Days of Aniblogging 2023, Day 1

Last year I wrote a post extolling the virtues of Birdie Wing, 2022’s breakthrough “how the fuck did this get made” mafia golf campfest. It’s the little show that could, animated on a shoestring budget to an audience of maybe two dozen extremely online yuri fans who tried their hardest to get literally anyone else to watch it.

It was almost certainly a financial failure for Bandai Namco, whose hopes for kicking off a VR-focused franchise fizzled in real time during season 1. But the resulting anime was a blast, a shoujo sports melodrama where literally anything could happen.

Birdie Wing took a few seasons off between its cours, during which Bandai Namco’s second lesbian anime of the year began airing: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. My jaw dropped as I watched the first episode recreate Utena’s setup beat for beat, including the female main character taking another girl as her fiancé. It’s a gutsy move which set my expectations high. G-Witch was my introduction to Gundam, and the highs of the first season were amazing. Even if I had some occasional complaints with the pacing, the cliffhanger ending and narrative ambition left me very excited for more.

Season 2 of Birdie Wing was set to fill the gap between cours of G-Witch, but ~something~ happened behind the scenes. It ended up being delayed to Spring 2023, where the two shows would air together. Great! That means double the lesbians. Or…zero?

Fair warning: From here on out I will be both a hater, and a spoiler.

Both seasons start without a hitch. G-Witch finally pops the safety bubble of its setting, with a terrorist attack on the academy followed up by an episode from the viewpoint of Dawn of Fold soldiers trying to survive a retaliatory crackdown from the Spacians. It pulled no punches with its violence and war orphans and trauma, a good sign for the struggles that awaited the main cast. Meanwhile, Birdie Wing continued to pay tribute to old-school Class S after its boarding school arc by involving its cast in a nightmare incest soap opera concerning Eve and Aoi’s parentage and the sins of the previous generation. Both are great developments for their respective shows, suggesting plenty of good stuff ahead.

Unfortunately, this is when both of these shows begin to fall apart. Eve and Aoi manage to beat the incest allegations, but afterwards their relationship just…stops. Their chemistry all but dissipates, the homoerotic rivalry giving way to their personal relationships with golf instead of with each other. The plot keeps the two of them apart as much as possible, devoid of the angsty longing from season 1, as the girls each succumb to a different form of golf cancer (even without the gay-baiting, at least Birdie Wing is still insane).

For G-Witch, a much more ambitious anime, this decline manifests as a creeping realization that they’re simply going to drop most of the open plot threads. The show takes its sweet time, even as it becomes clear that it’s barreling towards a finale at 24 episodes. The long-awaited plot twists are handled fine, I guess. But any sense that the show is aiming for greatness fades away, as it simply tries to drag itself to the finish line, buckling under its own weight. What we see on screen is what we get, and you’ll have to fill in the blanks yourself to really be happy. The Earthian-Spacian conflict ends up as mere set-dressing, and characters who clearly had intertwined backstories never even get the chance to interact. The obvious examples are the man who killed Suletta’s dad in the prologue resurfacing and that never really coming up, and everything to do with Chuchu and Nika’s backstories. I’m not here to nitpick, but it’s a shame that everyone’s characterization is left so thin. G-Witch really feels like it was meant to be a full 50-episode series, and I’m led to believe that this trimming down happened during production, as there’s just no other reason to set so much up without resolving it.

At last we reach each show's conclusion. Birdie Wing is saddled with a final arc full of professional tournaments, which is always going to be weaker than the dirty mafia golf on a conceptual level. The timeline begins to rapidly accelerate and suddenly we’re skipping ahead months, and then entire years. We don’t get to see most of Eve and Aoi’s final game, or even the period of time where they reconcile. An enduring friendship and rivalry is implied at the end, but it’s nowhere near the mutual obsession that the prior season depicted. Not an ounce of queerbait remains, even for the terminally yurigoggled such as myself.

Meanwhile, G-Witch dedicates some of its precious final minutes to a fight with Lauda (Jesus Christ is the Schwartzette is wasted on him), and just like Birdie Wing the two girls at the heart of the show barely get any time together as the end draws near. They ultimately opt for a Macross-Symphogear ending in which Suletta pilots a Gundam that shoots gay rainbow lasers and defeats her mom with the power of love and friendship. That’s fine! But that’s the ending for a show that didn’t happen! In its last act G-Witch retreats into its shell, unable to commit to the moral weight of the world it had built up. Laughably, the epilogue time-skips to a neoliberal utopia where Miorine solves the earth-space conflict through her sheer girlboss acumen. Suletta and Miorine’s gay wedding is implied at best, and an after-credits message states that this is the conclusion of The Witch from Mercury as a story, prematurely killing any potential follow-up.

The rest is history. Kadokawa redacts an interview to remove references to Suletta and Miorine being married, Bandai releases a statement that their status at the end of the show should be left up to interpretation, and everyone is mad forever.

What happened? Both of these shows fell apart at the same time, and both in a manner that defused their implicit queerness. Birdie Wing was always a bit of a trainwreck even at its best, so in a vacuum I would have just concluded that the production ran out of steam, unable to live up to its earlier writing. But the timing of Season 2’s delay, combined with the corporate meddling that affected G-Witch, makes me downright conspiratorial. Something went down at Bandai Namco, and it led to them ordering their productions be revised halfway through to scrub out all the gay shit and play things safe. I wouldn’t be surprised if this occurred at the same time as G-Witch was trimmed down from its initial 50 to 24 episodes with no chance of a continuation. It’s also not too much of a stretch to imagine Birdie Wing receiving a “stick to sports" mandate and Yosuke Kuroda subsequently phoning it in. I don't know how else to say it: there's no reason to do an incest fakeout if you're not even going to follow up on it afterwards once you've gone through the difficult work of exonerating them.

Witch from Mercury was a commercial success (it sold a shitton of gunpla, at least!) so it seems like a surprise that Bandai Namco would clamp down creatively in such a destructive way. Or maybe not. This may be the first female-led Gundam, but in a lot of other ways it’s fairly restrained as far as Gundams go. Perhaps BN decided that G-Witch had to be a balancing act to please everyone, preventing the creative staff from truly swinging for the fences in the end. Of course, that backfired horribly and they ended up pissing off himejoshis and regular mecha fans alike. I know it’s something of a fool’s errand to expect undeniable LGBT representation from anime, but when you begin with an explicit Utena homage, I expect better.

This has all been a bit of a downer, so I wanted to end things by sharing the anime I watched this year that actually gave me what I wanted out of those two shows.

Watching through the original Mobile Suit Gundam made me realize just how conservative G-Witch is in a lot of its storytelling. 0079 is a deeply radical show for its time, and still would be if you made it today. The unhesitating depiction of war and death through the aesthetics of a 70’s children’s show is particularly bold, and even the parts of the anime notorious for being overlong successfully reinforce the overall mood of the work. Amuro’s transformation from innocent child to unrelenting psychic soldier is as inevitable and upsetting as it should be, and even with all the “filler” the script feels much tighter than the G-Witch, which ambles around with side stories that don’t resolve and characters that don’t go anywhere. Imminently watchable. I love that the mommy issues in Gundam go all the way back, and I'm also starting to understand why you fuckers have been arguing about Char Aznable for 40 years.

you.

I also watched Kakegurui this year, which served as a great alternative to Birdie Wing. It doubles down on the best parts of that show – mostly-female cast, high stakes gambling, dubious lesbian rep – with an all-consuming sleaze to it. Grab some friends who aren't easily scandalized and try not to worry too hard about gaze or the intended audience, and it will be a hoot. The production values are great, even if most of it inevitably goes to girls making upsetting faces. The first opening in particular is an animation highlight. Of course, this is a MAPPA production, so they’re far too busy flaying their workers alive in the pits of hell to ever get around to another season. May their company unionize or perish.

#12 days of anime #gundam #birdie wing #gundam the witch from mercury #kakegurui

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nerves-nebula · 1 year

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Shrek the Third:

——

Raph learned after Mikey.

He was out with Casey. Not, like, out out. Just out. Not that he really wanted to be out out with Casey. Haha. Whaaaat? That would be weird.

“Dude, five bucks I can shove this whole thing down my throat.” Casey beamed, holding up the enormous hot dog he’d just bought from a street vendor.

“You lubed it up with enough ketchup and mustard to drown most humans.” Raph gestured to the thing, dripping as it was, “I’m not taking that. You just want me to watch you choke on some long meat.”

Casey snorted with laughter, jabbing his elbow into Raph’s arm. He still decided to try to swallow the whole thing down, looking like one of those weird birds at the park while he did.

The theme song to Revolutionary Girl Utena chimed through the air and Raph pulled out his phone, answering Mikey’s call.

“Bro, what-“

“Raph, you have to get to the hospital. I tried calling Leo but he’s not answering.”

“Whoa, slow down, bud, what’s going on?” He immediately got to his feet, turning his back to Casey.

“It’s Donnie. Donnie, he- he…” Mikey broke down crying, unable to finish his statement.

Raph’s heart shattered. Donnie was hurt and Mikey was crying. He hated not being close by to comfort his brother, and being able to still hear him sobbing only made it hurt worse. His instincts told him to grab Mikey, to hold him close and shield him against anything and everything, but he couldn’t, not when Mikey was so far…

“What hospital?”

Mikey’s voice cracked a few times before he managed to speak up again, “M-ma’am, what’s the name of this hospital?” His sniffled loud, directly into the microphone, “Hidden City Main Hospital. Go through the Emergency gate. I- I can’t get ahold of Leo, Raph. She doesn’t know, she- she was shopping today. You know she ignores her phone.”

“I’ll get ahold of Leo. You call April. They probably won’t let her or Casey in but it’s better to keep everyone informed.”

“Y-yeah.”

“Mikey. Take a deep breath. I need you to tell me what happened.”

He heard Mikey follow his instructions.

“Did Donnie text you?”

“A little while ago. He said he left something for me in my room, but I’m up top with Casey.”

“It’s a suicide note, Raph. At least, I think it is. He had one here with him, too. He drank something, I don’t know what it was but the doctor said it wasn’t good.” Mikey’s voice was breaking again, “It was addressed to whoever found him. He’s been planning this, Raphie. He had all of our numbers written down and April’s and Casey’s. Fuck, he even had Splinter’s old number on there, he was just gonna- he- if I hadn’t turned around, he would be-“

“Mikey!” Raph snapped, “Mikey, focus, okay? The doctors will do what they can, but we need to be together. Call Leo and April. I’ll get there as soon as I can.” He turned, looking at Casey, who had since bitten and swallowed his hot dog. He mimed the words ‘Text Leo’ to him, which he immediately pulled out his phone to do. “Look, buddy, I’m up near Time Square so it’ll be a bit before I can get there. Focus on getting Leo and April, okay?”

“O-okay.”

“I’m gonna hang up and try getting Leo’s attention too, okay? He has to answer one of us.”

“Okay.”

Raph hung up and turned to Casey. Casey just nodded. He didn’t need Raph to explain, he could hear the worry in his friend’s tone, the fear in his posture. Casey didn’t care what the problem was, just how he could help. He followed Raph without question, getting them on his bike to find the nearest entrance to the Hidden City. Raph filled him in on the way, in clipped sentences that only provided what he knew.

Donnie had made a suicide attempt.

Mikey found him.

He was in the hospital.

Leo wasn’t answering.

—

Casey got them to the hospital quick. Given that he didn’t actually have a license, human or yokai, he didn’t actually care to much about breaking traffic laws. Two officers stopped them when they finally parked, but Casey let Raph hurry inside and while he dealt with the cops.

Mikey was in the waiting room.

“Leo still isn’t answering, but April is on her way. She said she’d stop by the apartment to get him.” Mikey grabbed Raph’s hands, tear tracks staining his face, “I haven’t seen any of the doctors that took Donnie since they brought him to the back.”

“You did good, Mikey.” Raph pulled him in close, squeezing him tight, “You did such a good job, you did everything right. I’ve got you, Mike. Raph is here. Raph has you.”

Mikey broke down again in his arms. Raph cried with him. Partway through he registered a human hand resting on his shell, soothingly tracing the pattern of his scutes in the way Casey liked to do.

When Mikey finally settled, they all got to work texting and calling Leo.

——

Damn, Donnie, your depression interrupted Raph’s gay thoughts. RIP.

-Monster Anon

you're really savin my ass with this today. i am having a BAD ONE. also goddamn if you aren't on a roll. i posited this idea last night at like 2 AM and you've already written 3 whole whatchamacallits.

im swirling this shit around in a glass like its wine. hell yeah.

also i had to look up what a scute was lol.

#nnstuff #ask #asks are sweethearts #teenage mutant neglected turtles #neglected fic #tmnt raph #tmnt donnie #suicide tw

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animebw · 2 years

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There are still a couple more shows on my PTW list for this season that haven’t aired yet.

Why the fuck do I do this to myself.

Akiba Maid War: Watch this show I am begging you on my knees

Bibliophile Princess: The cinematic equivalent of crusty molasses. Dropped.

Blue Lock: Whoever came up with “Edgy death game but it’s actually a shonen sports anime“ is a goddamn genius.

Bocchi the Rock: Has the potential to be the best cute girls band show since K-On.

Chainsaw Man: I’m officially aboard this hype train let’s GOOOOOOOOOOO

Do It Yourself: It’s a damn good season for cute girls, what can I say?

I’m the Villainness, So I’m Taming the Final Boss: I feel like otome isekai genre is rapidly growing just as stale as its male counterpart, but this one might have some life to it.

Mob Psycho 100 Season 3: ONE AND ONLY OOOOOOONE

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury: GUNDAM UTENA GUNDAM UTENA GUNDAM UTENA GUNDAM UTENA GUNDAM UTENA

My Hero Academia Season 6: The fact there’s no movie announced this time gives me hope this season will rise to the top again. Fingers crossed!

My Master Has No Tail: Feels like the weakest parts of Eccentric Family and Rakugo Shinju combined. This one is next on the chopping block if it doesn’t pick up soon.

Pop Team Epic Season 2: I still don’t get the double voice actor gimmick tbh

Raven of the Inner Palace: Historical fantasy josei with courtroom politics and social commentary? You better believe I’m here for that.

Reincarnated as a Sword: Yeah, it’s the obligatory isekai, what do you want from me?

Spy x Family: Are you ready for more Anya faces? Because I sure am!

Urusei Yatsura: Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum

Yama no Susume Season 4: Okay, but... this season isn’t gonna be all recap, right?

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himitsusentaiblog · 1 year

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Japanese Media that Helped Me Come Out

Hey, I wanted to make a post about the shows and movies from Japan that really helped me come to terms with my identity and made me more comfortable with coming out (even if I had a few early aborted comings out before I had real support). Before I begin, a special shoutout has to be given to Ranma 1/2, the first anime I ever saw that involved gender changing content.

I think one of the first foundationally important bits of media for me was Sailor Moon, the original animated series. Or more specifically season 5, Bishouji Senshi Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. This is a series I watched shortly after the episodes aired in four episode blocks at a time on rented VHS tapes from a local Japanese Electronics Store in Dallas, Texas. (R.I.P. Orbit Electronics).

For those not familiar with the series, this season introduces three major new heroic characters, the Sailor Starlights. In their civilian identities they are a boys idol group called The Three Lights and go by the names Seiya, Yaten and Taiki but in their heroic identities they are three women named Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Healer and Sailor Star Maker.

The idea of three women hiding themselves in the guise of men was so fascinating to me and spoke to something deep down inside of me. This may be the reason why Sailor Stars is the series I decided to purchase on Laserdisc back when it was coming out.

The second major anime series from this time that was foundational for my exploration of who I am was 1997's Shoujo Kakumei Utena.

This is a series all about defying societal expectations especially of gender roles and sexuality. It's an amazing if sometimes very couched in metaphor and symbolism coming of age story about a young woman who refuses to conform to her expected role and seeks to become a Prince to defend others. It also contains dialogue like this:

Which, if you are familiar with Trans terminology just holds so much extra meaning. For those who do not know, trans people who have not come out yet are often referred to as eggs, as in they have not come out of their shell yet. Lastly is probably both the most obvious and most ridiculous entry here. the 1999 Rock and Roll, Zombie, Alien Invasion film Wild Zero. This is a movie about the rock band Guitar Wolf, their biggest fan Ace and a zombie apocalypse started by aliens (think Plan 9 from Outer Space but somehow even more wild and ridiculous and with an amazing soundtrack). In the movie, Ace meets and falls in love with a beautiful girl named Tobio.

However, as Ace discovers, Tobio has a penis. This causes him to have a bit of a crisis until his idol, Guitar Wolf appears before him in a bathroom to bestow these words of wisdom upon him.

So yeah, this movie helped me in some very strange ways when it came to accepting who I really am, even if it took YEARS for me to finally crack my shell for real and come out publicly. So, thanks for reading this and thanks for all of your support.

#Coming Out #Japanese Media #Anime #Horror #Rock n Roll #Ranma 1/2 #Sailor Moon Sailor Stars #shoujo kakumei utena #Wild Zero #Trans #Transgender #Guitar Wolf

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horse-girl-anthy · 9 months

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Hyperreality and Ikuhara: Art for the Postmodern Age

hyperreality, a term coined by Jean Baudrillard, describes the state of people living in postmodernity, where we are so inundated by signs, symbols, and representations that we have lost touch with the real. I was born in 1997. since I was a baby, I have seen advertisements every day of my life. I was watching TV before I understood what TV was. under these conditions, simulations begin to feel more real than reality.

for those trying to make art, hyperreality has been a challenge. this video uses the American cartoon The Simpsons as an example; the show had a subversive edge when it was first created, but capitalist forces pulled it away from that direction. there is the contradiction that any TV show must face: it needs to be produced and then be aired by a TV station, and it has to make a profit. the more money The Simpsons made, the less meaning there was to the story.

the video discusses how under hyperreality, the "code" is substituted for the "reference." in the case of Homer Simpson, his characterization originally had ties to reality. his character was a subversion of the typical sitcom father, and he was portrayed as lazy, ignorant, and incompetent to make a point about American culture. however, as the show became iconic, it was increasingly self-referential, and thus Homer's traits grew to be mere symptoms of who he was rather than satire.

referentiality was the death knell of parody. as the video discusses, the media landscape of the 21st century has collapsed in on itself. when The Simpsons began, there was a clear cultural script it was parodying, as well as a sociopolitical hegemony it was subverting. the world of today is too confused for that; there is no norm to imitate, as everything is already an imitation. thus, there is an infinite regress of self-referential media, a black hole of meaning.

perhaps this is why Ikuhara was so worried about RGU being seen as parody. he didn't want it to be written off, easily categorized, meaningless and part of the status quo. at first, he tried to make the work "like nothing you've ever seen." this, however, wasn't easy, nor was it what he actually wanted. he decided instead to try to "round up all the animated stories made with girls as the main characters up till then into one story." This meant that the visuals of RGU "must be parodies."

to keep his story from being subsumed into the hyperreal, Ikuhara created his own style, one which turns referentiality against itself. all Ikuhara works are metatextual and heightened. rather than portraying a "reality" to the viewer, they communicate directly by playing on recognizable scripts, symbols, and signs. consider this brief exerpt from a Be-Papas interview:

Interviewer: Are you being playful with the visuals using Chu Chu? He seems like a relaxing distraction. Ikuhara: I didn't put much thought into it. I figured it's an anime so there'd be a mascot.

Chu-Chu has no explanation in the "reality" of the story, no origin. he is there because of the medium of anime. as in, Chu-Chu exists because he is the kind of character that appears in these kinds of stories.

that artificiality is absolutely everywhere in Ikuhara works. many events are conveyed through canned representations, signifiers which communicate by rote. for instance, in Yurikuma, domination is expressed by a girl putting her leg in between the legs of another girl. this is a recognizable action which communicates both the plot and affect of the scene. however, the action itself is determined by the work's genre. in Utena, the scene would look more like Touga pushing Utena up against a tree and getting into her personal space, which is what would happen in a shoujo. the act itself has no meaning outside of being a referential symbol.

without this style, I don't think Ikuhara works would be as subversive. firstly, by making a point of their own artificiality, they can break through hyperreality. secondly, there are moments when the artificiality shatters. even in those moments, his style is still there. for instance, in Penguindrum, the "child broiler" scenes are communicating to the audience through recognizable signs; there is no diegetic level. but the most pivotal, emotional moments in Ikuhara works do not follow cultural scripts. the "it's that way because it is that way" mentality falls away.

Ikuhara characters follow the opposite tragectory of hyperreal characters. they start out as floating signifiers, characters who are parodies of themselves. Anthy is the shy, quirky girl who must be protected. Himari is the cute, innocent little sister. the fact that his characters are meant to be walking tropes is self-evident--it's blatant, a constant in-joke. but then, the stories broaden, developing the characters and complicating their narratives. this cuts against the grain of hyperreality, forcing the audience to consider how they may have let their lives be scripted for them, how they may be living in artificiality, "dying without ever being born."

#ikuhara #commentary

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