Thursday, November 30, 2000Dr MM 10:34 PM
I read a book on Hayo Miyazaki that Caroline got me for my Christmas present (from my amazon.com wishlist) today. *hugs Caroline* I love it. For the record, I'm a big Miyazaki fan. Ever since I saw Laputa at my anime club and the dub of Mononoke Hime in the theater, I've been attempting to get and see as much of his stuff as I can. The book is good, although it's focused more on his major films and less on him than I thought it would be. I should have worked on a paper I have due tommorow instead of read it . . . but it was too big of a temptation. I really want to get the manga of Naussica and see the Naussica anime now. Well, that and Castle of Cagliostro. I saw a Lupin III movie in my anime club and it was hystarical -- I can hardly imagine how Miyazaki did it.Anyway, Miyazaki is an anime god. :) The animation is supurb and the plots even more so. Watch any and all of his and Studio Ghibli's animation possible.
Wednesday, November 29, 2000Diana .. 9:30 PM
Spoiler Space
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Well I didn't mean that they all knew from the beginning but I think by the time the third arc rolled around at least most of them knew, Touga and Saionji definitely were consciously aware of their role as duellists (and as much as I love my red-haired beauty... I don't think he did it for utena right after he understood, it wasn't until he truly felt threatened by Akio as a rival suitor did he shape up on that score). And I'm pretty damn sure Anthy knew from the beginning. That's what made her change in the end I think, because Utena kept going for her while still knowing that she had been betrayed. Anthy's suicide attempt seemed to point her knowledge of the incident to me. Whether it was genuine or not doesn't matter. It still hints to me an active involvement. And it wasn't the first round of duellists you know? There was at LEAST one other with Mikage and from the way Akio suggested to Anthy that they'd just "try again" makes me think that isn't even the 2nd time they've tried to regain the revolutionary power. I mean, I can insult anthy all I want but I don't think she's *that* dim of a bulb not to realize after the first time around......... nope nope nope Caroline I will never concede ^^
Tuesday, November 28, 2000
Caroline: I love those kind of series too. That's why Utena, Evangelion and Lain are among my favorite series. You can come up with one theory, then you meet someone who sees something that's exactly opposite to what you thought. And of course, there's no way to tell if either idea is what the creator intended. It reminds me a bit of some modern fiction . . . (uh oh...run before the English major in me takes over).Diana: *spoiler space*
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I don't think any of them realized that they were Akio's pawns, at least at first. Now, I suspect as time went on they subconsiously recognized it. Saionji admitted it and I'm sure Touga did too as did Mikage right before he died. But I don't think any of the other student council members admitted it to themselves. Saionji only kept playing because he saw the power he could have and wanted it (greedy bastard to the end). Touga kept going because he wanted to save Utena (or so I think). None of the others fully recognized that they were pawns. They did want something, but I don't think they fully realized that their desires were being used by Akio. Utena only did at the end and she kept going to save Anthy.And I still think that the Anthy we saw that stabbed Utena wasn't the real Anthy. But that's just my opinion. I'd get more into why I think that but it's been a while since I've watched it. I think we'll agree to disagree, eh? :)
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Caroline 9:57 PM
WOO! Stimulating conversation and debate. A first I believe for this blog. ;)That's what I love about Utena. The end is open to so many interpretations. I both love and hate series like that. I love it because of all the different responses you can get about how it ends as well as all the different emotional responses it can bring out in you. I hate it because dammit! I need resolution. ^_^ Series like Utena, Evangelion and Lain drive me bonkers with their open endings. But I love them.
And Di, I know you'll never forgive me liking Anthy but could you at least concede that movie Anthy was better than series Anthy? Series Anthy was a little too dull but movie Anthy... yum. Loved the hair, loved the plot, loved the dance sequence... loved everything!
*rolls up her sleeves*
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eI've never been able to buy that whole pawn theory. Yes they were being used and most of them (if not all, excluding Utena) knew it. I know Saionji did. But they kept playing. Why? Because they saw something in it for them. They didn't get it in the end, but that's just a risk they took. They thought it was worth that risk. Anthy had to be the same way if she was able to walk away in the end. If she had the will to do it then, she definitely had the will to do it in the beginning. It just wasn't worth it to her in the beginning. She lied and deceived as much as Akio did because she wanted things to be back to the way they were before Akio and Dios split. The ONLY difference I see in between the two of them is that in the end Anthy gave up on Revolution and Akio didn't. I think people give akio way too much credit. He couldn't have pulled off his illusions unless people let him. It was their conscious decision to follow him and you can't place THAT blame on him. The catastrophic events of the end were EVERYONE's fault. I just hateAnthy the most for it because she wasthe closest to utena and STABBED her. And because in the end she's almost made to be the hero. It sickens me.
Monday, November 27, 2000
Ooooo, Anthy did do quite a few, um, icky things in that last arc. I shall now state my theory, leaving spoiler space in the blog and using a black font to keep others from reading something they don't want to read . . .SPOILER SPACE
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I always felt that Akio was to blame for everything Anthy did. The entire school and all the duelists were nothing more than pawns in his game to get the power of Dios back. The Anthy we saw was nothing more than a shell and was actually a psudo-Akio. The real Anthy was trapped with (or was she?) the power of Dios, giving meaning to the coffin scene in the end. . . When Utena opened the coffin at the end the true Anthy was released and no longer Akio's pawn. And in the end, Akio became a pawn in his own game. Such a lovely irony. Therefore, I despise Akio and not Anthy.
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End Spoiler SpaceOf course, I could be wrong. The end of Utena is convoluted. And it's not like I'm deeply fond of Anthy. I just don't hate her :) I do think Akio could go on my list of anime characters I hate. Unfortunatly, he's so important to the plot that we can't be rid of him and not have a series. . . .
The side image is of Kinomoto Sakura from the anime series Card Captor Sakura. Image from belldandy.net. Thanks.