03.02.10
Posted in Fandom, Final Denouement, Video Games Tags: character analysis, Fate/Stay Night, rant, Sakura Matou, Type-Moon, タイプムーン, フェイト/ステイナイト, 間桐 桜 at 10:00 am by reversethieves
It is no secret that I love Fate/Stay Night but there is one thing that gets my goat (to say it politely without swearing like a sailor who broke his arm.) I cannot stand people in the Type-Moon fan base who call Sakura Matou a slut. I know that it has mostly grown into a joke just like the controversy with Kannagi. This means most of the people saying it now are just doing it because they think it is funny not because they honestly care. But this whole attitude comes from a seed of true belief. There are people who brand her with the label of slut and that gets on my nerves.
I will admit that of the three main heroines of Fate/Stay Night, Sakura firmly ranks third on my list. But I find her a hard character to hate. If anything Sakura might remind me a little too much of myself for me to be anything but slightly uncomfortable about her. Our positive and negative qualities are scarily similar. But she has many traits that people who love visual novels tend to look for. She is shy, sweet, hard working, and loyal. In the normal ending of Heaven’s Feel she dies patiently waiting for Shiro to come home even though she knows that day will never come. Fans usually eat that up like chocolate, bacon, and Ambrosia flavored love. Sakura is strong with the moe side of the force which earns her points as well. And the fact that she is very buxom cannot be overlooked as well.
And yet people hate Sakura despite the fact that all signs points to her being a fan favorite. They call her a whore because her moe purity is broken when you learn she has been raped. She has been sexually assaulted for years by her brother Shinji. It is made painfully clear that Shinji has an abusive and dominating hold on her and all sexual activity between them is nonconsensual. The mere concept of blaming a rape victim for the crime committed against her angers me to no end. To punish her on top of that compounds my fury one hundred fold. While Sakura might come onto Shiro very aggressively in Heaven’s Feel I still find the accusation of her being a slut uncalled for. Since she is no longer a virgin she is no longer worth affection? Because she can be aggressive she is no longer worth affection?
People are free to dislike Sakura for any number of valid reasons. But if you hate her for being a “slut” then I feel free to dislike you. It might seem odd to get worked up about a fictional character but it is not so much the hate for the character that annoys me as much as the attitude towards women and sexuality that gets under my skin. I feel it is a sign of deeper sickness and misogyny in parts of the male anime fanbase that makes me ill. As long as it exists I will continue to complain when it rears its ugly head.
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11.27.09
Posted in Anime, Manga, Novels, Ongoing Investigations Tags: Angel Notes, Detective Conan, Haruhi Suzumiya, Kaidan Restaurant, Liar Game, The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya, Type-Moon, Yumeiro Patissiere, タイプムーン, チェイサー, ライアーゲーム, 名探偵 コナン, 夢色パティシエール, 怪談レストラン, 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱, 涼宮ハルヒの溜息 at 8:46 am by reversethieves
Having never seen the second season of Haruhi I have yet to be embittered by the franchise. Therefore I have happily gone and picked up the The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya novel. It’s hardly brand spanking new territory for those who watched the TV series but it does go in depth into the creation of the movie that makes up episode 0 of the original TV series. It does shed a good deal of light on events that occur during episode 0 if you were not already aware of them such as why occasionally people are busting out powers during the filming of the movie and why Kyon’s cat talks only in episode 0. Other than that there are no major plot revelations or character development. It tells the story you already mostly know but gives you the behind the scenes details into how that movie was made. It is mostly a fun little romp with Haruhi as the Japanese Ed Wood. I think the novel is a good cure for those who still want to like the Haruhi series but were burnt out by Endless Eight.
The latest Detective Conan Movie, the 13th one to be exact, titled The Raven Chaser was a really enjoyable addition to the Conan library. This one involves a rather clever serial killer who leaves Mahjong tiles at the scenes of his victims and that is only the beginning of the string of clues our boy detective must unravel! This movie did plenty of things right while keeping it just grounded enough. You can follow Conan’s logic even if you can’t figure things out a head of time, which is a plus. Also this story throws in a lot of favorite characters including Heiji and Kazuha, plus the addition of the Black Organization makes the movie a well plotted trip. The final confrontation is a high adrenaline sequence involving Tokyo Tower that isn’t to be missed. Also no surprise but the movie looks great. Highly recommended!
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11.06.09
Posted in Anime, Live Action, Ongoing Investigations, Video Games Tags: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Fate/Tiger Colosseum, Fate/Unlimited Codes, Hausu, Kimi ni Todoke, Professor Layton, Type-Moon, クライシス コア -ファイナルファンタジーVII-, タイプムーン, フェイト/タイガーころしあむ, レイトン教授と悪魔の箱, 君に届け at 8:08 am by reversethieves
Recently I had the good fortune to buy a rather inexpensive PSP opening a whole new avenue of portable gaming. The seller also threw in a copy of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII which I had been meaning to try out. Crisis Core takes place before Final Fantasy VII and stars Zack Fair who was a minor but important character in Final Fantasy VII. We get to see how exactly Zack became a Solider 1st Class as he deals with defectors from the Shinra Electric Power Company aka the most militant electric company ever. We also learn how Zack met certain flower girls, beloved blond men, and silver haired yaoi bait. Zack is pretty likable so I am sure that Narutaki would give this game his seal of approval on that front. It is action RPG based although the level up system is based on a slot machine which is odd to say the least. The most interesting is the fact that they seem to be taking time to make Sephiroth more human. I wonder how much does this have to do with them wanting to flesh him out as more and how much this has to do with his enormous popularity? It reminded me of why I liked Final Fantasy VII even though the game has sort of become the mark of a poser.
I went to see the Japanese horror movie House (also known as Hausu) during Halloween. I say horror movie but what I really mean is 1970’s b-movie hilariously badly wonderful horror movie. Oh, did I mention the director let his 11-year-old daughter write the story? As you can imagine, things for the most part aren’t very scary at all. The basic premise is about 7 high school girls (are you ready for these names? Gorgeous, Fantasy, Melody, Sweet, Mac, Professor, and Kung-Fu) who visit a house in the country, but the house is evil! And one by one the house eats them up. There is also an evil cat(s?), a crazy aunt who is only randomly disabled, and a most spectacular array of bad special effects. As a person who doesn’t like horror movies, I highly recommend this one. It will leave you laughing!
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02.20.09
Posted in Anime, Fandom, Manga, Ongoing Investigations Tags: Blade of the Immortal, Hitohira, Kara no Kyōkai, Pluto, Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro, Tengu-Jin, Type-Moon, ひとひら, タイプムーン, プルートウ, 天狗神, 棺担ぎのクロ。～懐中旅話～, 無限の住人, 空の境界 at 7:51 am by reversethieves
Got the books 18-20 of Blade of the Immortal in a recent Dark Horse sale, which makes them mildly affordable. We are at the end of the prison arc and I couldn’t be happier. I found it to be mostly boring, but it did do one very important thing. Rin has come into her own more, she is brave and decently strong. She also is thinking on her feet. Rin has just plain matured and it is very nice. Though at moments she is still a bit deer-in-the-headlights. If we didn’t know how Rin felt about Manji before (which you would be stupid not to), we certainly do now with her daring rescue attempt. Also Manji fights dudes while being chained to a wall. You have no idea how happy I am to see that man back in action. There was not enough bad-assery with him in jail. Though Doa is proving herself to be one crazy, deadly woman. Looking forward to the conclusion of this arc in 21 and then we are on the alleged home stretch.
I immediately read Hitohira book three as soon as I got my hands on it. We see the results of Mugi’s first stage performance. It uses the old manga trope of the play that is a metaphor for the main plot. It is a well done trope and quite enjoyable. We then see the the result of a bet made in book two and the fall out for all the characters. Bittersweet triumph and heartbreaking disappointment are the watchwords for this volume but that is not all there is. All in all I like this series more and more because I really see myself in Mugi. Her low self-esteem might easily turn away some readers but it is a very realistic portrayal of it. I am eagerly awaiting the next story. I am curious to see what happens now that a good deal of the relationships between the characters have changed. The art remains average but cute without veering into saccharine. I should really sit down and see if the anime adaption is any good. You can read a preview for volume three, too.
Got the second Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro at Yen Press’s booth at NYCC 2009. Thanks! This book continues the melancholy, traveling adventures. But as an added bonus we learn a lot about Kuro’s past and her travels when she was much younger. We also learn a little more about Sen (the bat), who I am very curious about. One traveler Kuro meets looks like he has stepped out of Sherlock Hound. As I was pondering if this was a reference or a coincidence, I see the manga-ka’s little comment in the back. He makes another Sherlock Hound reference so I knew it was on purpose. This is so rare so he gets extra bonus points for doing so. As with the first book, there are many beautiful color pages to enjoy throughout. Looking forward to the next one!
Tengu-Jin by Sumomo Yumeka is the story of a Japan that has been divided into two separate antagonistic nations due to a cataclysm. It centers around two brothers named, Mozuku and Shinonome. Shinonome has become a bit of an oddity at his school because anyone who pray to him has their wish granted. It turns out that Shinonome is a very important tengu that represents Eastern Japan. When a marriage between the tengu of the East and West seems to be the only way to stop a war between their respective countries how will this effect the brothers’ relationship? The first half is mostly comedy with a bit of drama. The last half is a flash back to a previous life that switches the formula with mostly drama with a bit of comedy. The art is nice with plenty of pretty boys being the majority of the cast. Once again like the Manzai Comics I get very light BL. There is nothing more than a little cheek kissing and a few longing glances. I can’t say that I really had any strong feelings on the story. Nothing in it was particularly objectionable nor did anything compel me to continue reading. I definitely enjoyed the comedy aspects more than the drama which I think is why it came off as so fulfilling. You can read a preview here.
Read the first book of Pluto which is coming out in VIZ’s newly revamped Signature line. The printing quality is a bit better, there are some color pages, and the book even has French folds (flaps). The story seems to pull influences from everywhere but maintains it’s ability to tell its own story. The mystery has already got me hooked! Are the deaths of these robots and humans related? No human traces at the crime scene, but robots aren’t supposed to be able to kill humans! It is a detective story so of course it gets extra bonus points from me. The only thing I found strange and maybe it is explained more later on, but the name Pluto is what they are calling the killer. In the story two characters are talking the deaths. They start going through all the names for the God of death in different cultures when they reach Pluto, they for some reason think that one is better than all the others! Uh. . . okay. I also really like the international setting of the series. Can’t wait for the next one!
Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral kicks up the length of the Garden of Sinners movies by being twice as long. It was interesting that we hardly see Mikiya but in his place for most of the movie is the proto-Shiro otherwise known as Tomoe Enjo. Shiki saves Tomoe from a pack of thugs and learns that he thinks he killed his family but it appears that his family is still alive. Tomoe is clearly troubled but what truly happened in Tomoe’s bizarre apartment complex? Has it been tied into everything else that has been happening to Shiki? Once again ufotable studio creates another beautiful movie. They continue to put a good amount of artistic flair to everything from the fight scenes to the conversations. The fight scene in the apartment complex balcony is worth the price of admission alone. You have to sit down and clear your mind before starting this movie more than the other four because they tell the story in a non-linear fashion. The parallels between Soren Araya and Kirei Kotomine are obviously lampshaded by the creators by them having the same seiyuu. Writing this review has totally reminded me that I forgot to ask for a release date for the first book from Del Rey when I was at New York Comic Con.
In honor of my Blade of the Immortal mini-marathon, this is the pic of the week:
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