This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)

#51 | Back to Top02-25-2017 05:36:42 PM

Aelanie
Black Rosarian
Registered: 02-04-2009
Posts: 378

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

But it isn't successful at all. Success for him would've seen Juri stop loving Shiori and love him instead, which didn't happen. Juri is still pining painfully away for Shiori. The only thing that could possibly have changed is Shiori herself, but we are only given two cryptic and ambivalent clues that something may have shifted there, in the two moments we are shown that Shiori appears to be following Juri around at a distance.

We don't know what this means. It could mean that Shiori's mindset toward Juri has changed - or it could mean that she is more obsessively vengeful toward her than before. Either way, the events of the arc have only tangled them further together with each other, the exact opposite of what he wanted. So, as I say, a complete failure.

Just as he deserved.

Last edited by Aelanie (02-25-2017 05:43:35 PM)

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#52 | Back to Top02-25-2017 08:18:43 PM

zeedikay
Sunlit Gardener (Prelude)
Registered: 02-22-2014
Posts: 172

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Aelanie wrote:

But it isn't successful at all. Success for him would've seen Juri stop loving Shiori and love him instead, which didn't happen. Juri is still pining painfully away for Shiori. The only thing that could possibly have changed is Shiori herself, but we are only given two cryptic and ambivalent clues that something may have shifted there, in the two moments we are shown that Shiori appears to be following Juri around at a distance.

We don't know what this means. It could mean that Shiori's mindset toward Juri has changed - or it could mean that she is more obsessively vengeful toward her than before. Either way, the events of the arc have only tangled them further together with each other, the exact opposite of what he wanted. So, as I say, a complete failure.

Just as he deserved.

I think sometime near the end of the episode that he ended up changing what he counted as a victory from winning over Juri to "freeing her". It's sort of related to your point actually, that he was still aiming for a sense of success before he died forever that he was absolutely willing to alter his own definition. Ruka was so single mindedly focused on changing Juri's life, that he probably would have taken any way that could have happened. He might have failed spectacularly, but he's too far gone for you to dispute it in his face. He died a hero in his mind.

And regarding Shiori, the only other time we see her after that point at fencing practice, seeming somewhat happy. It's sort of vague, not quite sure if it was intentionally so, but even if their relationship is still strained, there's been a shift. Some progress had been made.
But seriously, Juri's arc is probably the one I was less invested in. Insert something here about me not quite getting the grip on romance at the time, even in fiction, and Juri as a character being surprisingly distant even as we got into her metaphorical mind. She's neat as a foil I must say.

EDIT: Also, ironically, Juri probably be the one in the cast I'd probably feel the most comfortable hanging out with.

Last edited by zeedikay (02-25-2017 08:23:33 PM)

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#53 | Back to Top02-25-2017 08:55:48 PM

Giovanna
Ends of the Fandom
From: Edmonton, AB
Registered: 10-12-2006
Posts: 8797
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Aelanie wrote:

I consider him as bad as Akio: a lying, manipulative and brazenly abusive man who employs a colossally unwarranted self-righteousness to justify his terrible, selfish, and destructive behavior.

Whoa there! I'm not a fan of Ruka, he strikes me as a fumbling schoolboy in the world of making shit happen the way you want it to. But he seems to me more a figure like Touga, in that he at least bothers to build some self-righteous construct around his behavior. Akio...doesn't. To put it not very delicately, maybe you're putting a greater weight on Ruka's behavior because of its target and result? You're more invested in Juri and so his actions would hit you harder, but I just can't grasp the notion that Ruka is as bad as Akio. I mean, Akio would probably have banged Juri somehow, just for the sport of it. emot-redface


Akio, you have nice turns of phrase, but your points aren't clear and you have no textual support. I can't give this a passing grade.
~ Professor Arisa Konno, Eng 1001 (Freshman Literature and Composition)

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#54 | Back to Top02-25-2017 09:07:46 PM

Decrescent Daytripper
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Registered: 04-09-2007
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

zeedikay wrote:

Also, ironically, Juri probably be the one in the cast I'd probably feel the most comfortable hanging out with.

Juri would probably make me the least comfortable. I wouldn't bother with Saionji, but then, he wouldn't bother with me. Touga? I know how to navigate guys like that. I'm not saying, as a teen, I might not have slept with him, but even then, I'd have had his number. Most of the cast, even those prone to maliciousness, probably wouldn't set off alarms for high school me, or comparable age-appropriate folks now. But, Juri would intimidate and annoy me. That imperious cynicism.


My Brain is the Wakaba and Shiori Funtime Hour. With limited commercial interruption.

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#55 | Back to Top02-25-2017 09:25:18 PM

Aelanie
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Registered: 02-04-2009
Posts: 378

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

He might have failed spectacularly, but he's too far gone for you to dispute it in his face. He died a hero in his mind.

I see no basis for this, none at all. He knows his plan failed. He failed to turn Juri away from Shiori, and failed to turn her toward him. The way the final duel of the arc ended, there can be no doubt that he understands he made no difference whatsoever.

Whoa there! I'm not a fan of Ruka, he strikes me as a fumbling schoolboy in the world of making shit happen the way you want it to. But he seems to me more a figure like Touga, in that he at least bothers to build some self-righteous construct around his behavior. Akio...doesn't. To put it not very delicately, maybe you're putting a greater weight on Ruka's behavior because of its target and result? You're more invested in Juri and so his actions would hit you harder, but I just can't grasp the notion that Ruka is as bad as Akio.

I stand by what I said. Akio most certainly does justify all of his bad behavior as being necessary and desirable toward his vaguely defined goals (meaning, in effect, "whatever I want to happen is what should happen"), and I'm every bit as invested in Anthy as I am in Juri. Ruka is Akio without the power and authority, it's only a matter of scale. If we're talking raw intensity and magnitude of evil, sure, Akio is clear winner. But the nature and character of their hubris is the same.

I mean, Akio would probably have banged Juri somehow, just for the sport of it.

She would not bang him though, and did not. I've said this before, but Juri was not able to be tempted, either literally or figuratively, by Akio.

Last edited by Aelanie (02-25-2017 09:32:57 PM)

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#56 | Back to Top02-25-2017 09:28:02 PM

malna
Caretaker
From: Poland
Registered: 10-03-2011
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Gio, your protectiveness of Akio's supremacy in evil is touching.

Giovanna wrote:

Akio would probably have banged Juri somehow, just for the sport of it. emot-redface

Hmm. For one, she bites. Also, her relationship with the world that carries in itself Shiori is that of a zombie with the world that carries brains.

I think I've just managed to pinpoint the root of my unpopular SKU opinions: I don't perceive manipulation as something evil per se. I see it as a tool, a valuable one at that, but in and of itself neither good nor bad.

Last edited by malna (02-25-2017 09:28:21 PM)


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#57 | Back to Top02-25-2017 09:57:42 PM

Decrescent Daytripper
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Aelanie wrote:

I mean, Akio would probably have banged Juri somehow, just for the sport of it.

She would not bang him though, and did not. I've said this before, but Juri was not able to be tempted, either literally or figuratively, by Akio.

I'd go with raped, instead of "banged," because that's what Akio does.

But, Aelanie is right, as far as sex goes. Akio does not effectively tempt her sexually or have sex with her.

However, I can't go as far as "Juri was not able to be tempted," because her entire cynical drive in life is a desperate bid to prove something true that is entirely motivated, at its core, by Akio's manipulations. His promise of, in her case, the miracle that proves the nonexistence of miracles, is a huge temptation, an amazing lure and bait set for her to pursue.

I'm not so big on Ruka, but Akio is like an evil praying mantis who doesn't so much seduce as get you close, rip your head off, and fuck the corpse while you kinda feel it's your fault for getting so close. Ruka: not so great guy; Akio: the Devil.


My Brain is the Wakaba and Shiori Funtime Hour. With limited commercial interruption.

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#58 | Back to Top02-25-2017 10:00:15 PM

zeedikay
Sunlit Gardener (Prelude)
Registered: 02-22-2014
Posts: 172

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

malna wrote:

I think I've just managed to pinpoint the root of my unpopular SKU opinions: I don't perceive manipulation as something evil per se. I see it as a tool, a valuable one at that, but in and of itself neither good nor bad.

That's definitely something to think about. Though I probably do put more stock in knowing what's going on, I do have some respect for those who can move people to do things. In fact storytelling can be described as artful manipulation of truths. You just have to know how much of your audience can handle your twists, and be able to find some duct tape if need be.

I had a point with that last sentence, but I'm not quite sure what it was.

EDIT:

Decrescent Daytripper wrote:

I'm not so big on Ruka, but Akio is like an evil praying mantis who doesn't so much seduce as get you close, rip your head off, and fuck the corpse while you kinda feel it's your fault for getting so close. Ruka: not so great guy; Akio: the Devil.

Compared to Akio, most of the cast's painful antics tend to seem more like literal child's play than anything else. Oddly enough, you could easily make the argument that he also is a giant man-child who is taking the most indirect way to seem more like a functioning adult than he is.  If you take it at face value that as Dios he fought giant monsters, and comforted all the women in the world, he probably didn't really have that much of a chance to have a childhood. The life of Dios/Akio is one of compensation disguised as charisma.

Last edited by zeedikay (02-25-2017 10:08:52 PM)

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#59 | Back to Top02-25-2017 10:43:08 PM

Aelanie
Black Rosarian
Registered: 02-04-2009
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Decrescent Daytripper wrote:

However, I can't go as far as "Juri was not able to be tempted," because her entire cynical drive in life is a desperate bid to prove something true that is entirely motivated, at its core, by Akio's manipulations. His promise of, in her case, the miracle that proves the nonexistence of miracles, is a huge temptation, an amazing lure and bait set for her to pursue.

In my view though, Juri never actually believed it. Her participation in the duels is a self-aware exercise in cynical futility. She is never shown to be invested in the "end goal" or the Rose Bride - I've mentioned this before, but I believe Juri had by far the best insight into Anthy's true nature and her role in manipulating the duelists - and only really becomes motivated when she gets irritated by Utena's earnestness. But that was a personal score to settle, just as it is in Ruka's arc with Ruka himself. At no point was she interested in the duels for their own sake or their supposed "reward".

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#60 | Back to Top02-25-2017 10:50:48 PM

Decrescent Daytripper
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Registered: 04-09-2007
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Aelanie wrote:

Decrescent Daytripper wrote:

However, I can't go as far as "Juri was not able to be tempted," because her entire cynical drive in life is a desperate bid to prove something true that is entirely motivated, at its core, by Akio's manipulations. His promise of, in her case, the miracle that proves the nonexistence of miracles, is a huge temptation, an amazing lure and bait set for her to pursue.

In my view though, Juri never actually believed it. Her participation in the duels is a self-aware exercise in cynical futility. She is never shown to be invested in the "end goal" or the Rose Bride - I've mentioned this before, but I believe Juri had by far the best insight into Anthy's true nature and her role in manipulating the duelists - and only really becomes motivated when she gets irritated by Utena's earnestness. But that was a personal score to settle, just as it is in Ruka's arc with Ruka himself. At no point was she interested in the duels for their own sake or their supposed "reward".

I can appreciate that perspective, but I can't share it. Her belief that winning will prove the nonexistence of miracles, is so fervent that it is its own kind of mysticism. She does seem, to me, to be incredibly invested in that.

She's got a very practiced lack of affect, but it's practiced. When she shows off, for instance, but then claims she doesn't care... she's still showing off. She shapes herself out of the adulation of others as much as Utena does, and makes things as personal and rigidly about her worldview as Saionji does. She's just smarter than Saionji and more fashionable than Utena.


My Brain is the Wakaba and Shiori Funtime Hour. With limited commercial interruption.

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#61 | Back to Top02-25-2017 11:01:30 PM

Giovanna
Ends of the Fandom
From: Edmonton, AB
Registered: 10-12-2006
Posts: 8797
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Decrescent Daytripper wrote:

Akio is like an evil praying mantis who doesn't so much seduce as get you close, rip your head off, and fuck the corpse while you kinda feel it's your fault for getting so close.

etc-jurishlick etc-jurishlick etc-jurishlick

I'm absolutely protective of Akio's nastiness, I don't pretend otherwise. I do have an emotional investment in a character with a massive moral compass that he keeps locked up in a basement.

I'm kind of joking when I say Akio would fuck Juri. I know that presents rather a lot of major hurdles, and in any serious effort to do so he'd almost definitely fail. I said it to illustrate something about Akio that does distinguish him from Ruka and anyone else, and it's the part I am protective of, I admit, but I don't think it's a viewpoint that has no rationale behind it. Simply put, Akio has a sadistic sense of whimsy. The closest comparison is Hannibal as he's portrayed on the television show--he'll do things if they cost him nothing, simply to see how it pans out. It would be in the spirit of that 'Hey whatever, I run shit anyway' mentality that he'd try to fuck Juri. I mean, if he really cared enough to, he could probably switch genders and his entire personality, a la Mamiya, but that would be less fun. But DD is right, it wouldn't necessarily be sex appeal, but that Akio could play very well to that cynicism she tries to frame the world in.

Thanks for expanding on the point, Aelanie! It sounds like you're attributing to both of them the same characteristic 'maleness' that the show criticizes, to put it in grossly broad terms. In that I definitely agree with you. Neither really considers the reactions and emotions of the people around them as anything but part of the game. It's just that one is a total amateur.

zeedikay wrote:

The life of Dios/Akio is one of compensation disguised as charisma.

So you've basically covered all ground in this sentence and I no longer have anything of value to add to the conversation. Can I steal this?


Akio, you have nice turns of phrase, but your points aren't clear and you have no textual support. I can't give this a passing grade.
~ Professor Arisa Konno, Eng 1001 (Freshman Literature and Composition)

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#62 | Back to Top02-25-2017 11:25:40 PM

Aelanie
Black Rosarian
Registered: 02-04-2009
Posts: 378

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Giovanna wrote:

It sounds like you're attributing to both of them the same characteristic 'maleness' that the show criticizes, to put it in grossly broad terms.

I didn't want to characterize it in such a blatant way, but essentially yes. Saionji also fits on this continuum of behavior, although obviously in terms of premeditation and execution he is a non-entity compared to the other two. That doesn't stop him from doing damage though, and the underlying impetus of self-justification is in fact the same.

Touga is a slightly different animal because, as has been pointed out, he alone of the four is well aware of the fact he is a terrible person. Of course, one could argue that makes him the most reprehensible in intention, even if not in execution, since he persists in his behavior while having zero delusions about their motivation and impact. He knows, he just doesn't let it stop him.

Last edited by Aelanie (02-25-2017 11:32:35 PM)

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#63 | Back to Top02-25-2017 11:42:21 PM

zeedikay
Sunlit Gardener (Prelude)
Registered: 02-22-2014
Posts: 172

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Giovanna wrote:

zeedikay wrote:

The life of Dios/Akio is one of compensation disguised as charisma.

So you've basically covered all ground in this sentence and I no longer have anything of value to add to the conversation. Can I steal this?

Go ahead! I'd be happy to let you have it. I have like eight in the shed.
In opinion news, the scariest characters in the show have to be Suzuki, Yamada, and Tanaka, aka those three guys who after the sixth episode mutate into an uncanny barbershop trio. I know they're supposed to be comic relief, and be sort of unremarkable and indistinguishable from each other (I had to look up their names) but they sort of tipped over towards creepy after they introduced themselves.

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#64 | Back to Top02-26-2017 02:59:25 PM

itavin
Sunlit Gardener (Finale)
From: is-real
Registered: 10-21-2016
Posts: 193

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Not really an  unpopular opinion, but I dont have anywhere else to write it. I think that Star vs the forces of evil is a far better spiritual successor to utena then Steven Universe. There, I said it, Fight me.

Last edited by itavin (02-26-2017 02:59:49 PM)


If you ever feel like wanting to ruin your life... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_(mind_game)

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#65 | Back to Top02-26-2017 06:11:52 PM

Giovanna
Ends of the Fandom
From: Edmonton, AB
Registered: 10-12-2006
Posts: 8797
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Aelanie wrote:

I didn't want to characterize it in such a blatant way, but essentially yes.

I'm nothing if not very blatant. emot-smile

If premeditation is something not entirely on the scale, than I would say Touga's awareness doesn't get him any real exception, either. Self-awareness appears to have no impact whatsoever on where someone appears on the scale, after all, though I guess that's the headiest indictment of 'ALL MEN' in the show. These characters are all insanely toxic regardless of how premeditated they are.

Touga's acute awareness of himself definitely makes him some other animal...I would argue he is probably the least healthy person to be involved with. Saionji is toxic and bad for the evenness of skin tone on your face, but there's room to try to 'understand' and help him, and the presumption (though it's not necessarily true) is that if you do everything right, Saionji will have no reason to hurt you. Akio is also obviously not the best friend to have, and is far worse for that he is aware he is doing terrible things, but Akio is no more aware of the human cost of his actions on a relateable level than a child is able to relate to the pain a lizard who just lost its tail feels. He has no frame of reference of his own for the little traumas and sufferings he inflicts, and while I am the last person on earth to give him a pass on that, it is its own kind of almost Saionji-like cluelessness.

Touga, however, is aware he is a terrible person, even when he isn't doing terrible things. One could argue he is doing Saionji a favor kicking him out of the school, and I think he would be the first to do so, and yet he knows the horrible way he chose to do so is no kindness in itself. That he could have probably accomplished the same thing with less trauma no doubt occurs to him...but he doesn't care. Touga is able to relate to the pain he causes, and that fact doesn't seem to even give him pause when he has the opportunity to step it up to Akio's level. The degree of hubris this takes is alarming--he believes he knows best for himself, everyone around him, and everything in general, such that the cost of his actions is not relevant when the result is considered. If this doesn't change he is going to be an obscenely evil, totally awful adult, but as a child he is still too unsure of his own goals, truly, to make a real success of that kind of ruthlessness.

Obviously I just plain haven't considered Ruka so much, but he does seem to draw heavily from the Touga school of thought in that he knows best and that is more important than how he goes about it. He could arguably be tempered by having spent so long outside the school, and he does seem to have an adult-like narrowing of vision. His goal is clearer, and his methods consider a very short timeline. Whether he fails or not really depends on the interpretation, I suppose, but he does play the game aware of his own, literal, mortality. Adults often do, and children don't. In fact he's the only person in the show doing anything that factors in his own mortality--his actions are meant to be a legacy. The concept of a legacy is utterly alien to Akio, who presumably hasn't even had children despite depositing baby juice in like half the school population, and Touga hasn't gotten to that stage of maturity yet--he's young, and legacies are that thing his father no doubt harps on between phases of gross sexual abuse.

At the end of the day, as my wife is fond of saying, Touga is the most garbage person.

... etc-saiowank


Akio, you have nice turns of phrase, but your points aren't clear and you have no textual support. I can't give this a passing grade.
~ Professor Arisa Konno, Eng 1001 (Freshman Literature and Composition)

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#66 | Back to Top02-26-2017 06:15:09 PM

Raven Nightshade
Someday Shiner
From: Louisiana
Registered: 12-17-2006
Posts: 2925

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Giovanna wrote:

I do have an emotional investment in a character with a massive moral compass that he keeps locked up in a basement.

So, Akio is Dorian Gray?


Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever gonna make it home again.
It's so far and out of sight.
I really need someone to talk to and nobody else
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#67 | Back to Top02-27-2017 12:06:57 AM

Aelanie
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Registered: 02-04-2009
Posts: 378

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Akio is also obviously not the best friend to have, and is far worse for that he is aware he is doing terrible things, but Akio is no more aware of the human cost of his actions on a relateable level than a child is able to relate to the pain a lizard who just lost its tail feels. He has no frame of reference of his own for the little traumas and sufferings he inflicts

Here we differ though. The end result  is certainly the same, but my conception of Akio is that he more than anyone is actually blind to his own evil through the sheer totality of his hubris, as I alluded to earlier:

Akio most certainly does justify all of his bad behavior as being necessary and desirable toward his vaguely defined goals (meaning, in effect, "whatever I want to happen is what should happen")

Akio is so far off the scale of human relatability, that if he could even be described as having a "code of ethics", it can be summed up just like that. "Everything I do is right and good, because it originated in me and services me. Anyone who says otherwise simply doesn't understand the perfection of my ideals," which again those ideals are "I'm great and everything I think and want is how the universe should be." Even Anthy's suffering is couched in his own mind as a consequence of the world not conforming to his wishes, and is thus cruel and imperfect. To him, I'm sure, in the final confrontation Utena is the one being "evil" for resisting his wishes and attempting to deny him what he wants.

As said, this not a human mindset. It's the mindset of, if you will, a "fallen angel" who doesn't realize/accept they have fallen. (The show's own invocation of Lucifer could be said to suggest this as well.) I really think that Akio believes he is actually a far better and more perfect being than Dios. This is why Anthy's lingering love and preference for Dios "torments" him, because he really cannot understand how he is not better in every way. Even his tears toward Anthy in the final episode are born of self-pity for her not loving him as much as he thinks he deserves.

So yeah, that's my conception of Akio. You talk of "a life of compensation", and while it certainly is from our outside perspective, to my mind he himself is not aware of its being so.

Last edited by Aelanie (02-27-2017 12:23:01 AM)

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#68 | Back to Top02-27-2017 07:16:10 PM

Decrescent Daytripper
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Posts: 2791

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

I'd have to rewatch relevant issues of the show again, to check, but MAkio certainly feels and therefore understands shame and guilt. And, I'm not sure that he could be as functional as he is without understanding how they work in others, regardless of how little he feels that compares to his own feelings.

And, certainly, his sister - who presumably is of the same general level, the same sort of lifeforms, can and does understand and feel these things.

A little kid who gets sent to their room as punishment and in the room kicks the family dog repeatedly doesn't do so because it just needs a physical release. Hurting something they can is, while immature and shortsighted maybe, part of the point.

Akio and Anthy are, I think, rigidly confined dog-kickers. At least, they are except, potentially, for tv Akio, who I'd have to go back and re-study.


My Brain is the Wakaba and Shiori Funtime Hour. With limited commercial interruption.

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#69 | Back to Top02-28-2017 02:05:04 AM

Giovanna
Ends of the Fandom
From: Edmonton, AB
Registered: 10-12-2006
Posts: 8797
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Aelanie wrote:

The end result  is certainly the same, but my conception of Akio is that he more than anyone is actually blind to his own evil through the sheer totality of his hubris

I think we agree more than not!

DD, I definitely got a dog kicker mentality from like most of the movie cast? There was an overall more open air of aggression from everyone, which seemed to work well for portraying similar emotional conflicts in brief. I don't think it transfers well to the series, but then I admit a certain totally unmanageable bias against the movie, so what lines are there to draw I'll refuse to spite them, probably. emot-redface

MAkio is very much a creature of shame and guilt, and he's impotent with it. Series Akio is uh...probably not impotent, and I don't think I saw anything I'd interpret as shame or guilt, either. Even when he responds directly to Anthy's pain it's just to throw the blame out on others.


Akio, you have nice turns of phrase, but your points aren't clear and you have no textual support. I can't give this a passing grade.
~ Professor Arisa Konno, Eng 1001 (Freshman Literature and Composition)

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#70 | Back to Top03-12-2017 06:41:51 AM

Decrescent Daytripper
Best Disney Princess
Registered: 04-09-2007
Posts: 2791

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

itavin wrote:

Not really an  unpopular opinion, but I dont have anywhere else to write it. I think that Star vs the forces of evil is a far better spiritual successor to utena then Steven Universe. There, I said it, Fight me.

Bunheads is the real successor to Utena, and I'll give generally lazy thought to fighting anyone who says different!

Giovanna wrote:

DD, I definitely got a dog kicker mentality from like most of the movie cast? There was an overall more open air of aggression from everyone, which seemed to work well for portraying similar emotional conflicts in brief. I don't think it transfers well to the series, but then I admit a certain totally unmanageable bias against the movie, so what lines are there to draw I'll refuse to spite them, probably. emot-redface

I get it from most of the tv cast, really, though I admit, I'm assuming a lot with Akio. He doesn't really stick with me (this is sad, this is my shame).

I didn't mean that Akio was feeling shame and guilt so much as he understands them enough to know other people feel he's guilty and shameful. I'm not sure he could put something quite so complex together if he didn't at least register the feelings in subtle ways.

But, Shiori or Juri? Definite dog-kickers.

(I'm tempted to respond to future "Nanami killed a cat" references with, "Juri kicked a dog! (Probably.)")


My Brain is the Wakaba and Shiori Funtime Hour. With limited commercial interruption.

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#71 | Back to Top03-12-2017 07:34:31 AM

crystalwren
Dark Whisperer
From: Brisbane
Registered: 04-21-2009
Posts: 1172
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

I don't like "the Sunlit Garden". I think it's trite and over simplistic. It makes for pretty backing music, but I'd never pay it much mind if there weren't an entire plot placed on it, and with that emphasi, I've come to find it annoying. Okay, it's a piece written by child prodigy Miki so it can't necessarily be expected to have any depths, but given that it's played on a constant loop for a number of different episodes you'd expect it to have a lot more impact than it actually does. I'm not saying it's bad, but the more I hear it, the more I'm convinced that it's a synthesiser away from being elevator music.

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#72 | Back to Top03-12-2017 07:39:43 AM

zeedikay
Sunlit Gardener (Prelude)
Registered: 02-22-2014
Posts: 172

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Decrescent Daytripper wrote:

But, Shiori or Juri? Definite dog-kickers.

(I'm tempted to respond to future "Nanami killed a cat" references with, "Juri kicked a dog! (Probably.)")

Juri always seemed more to be the type to me that'd stare at a dog, hoping that no one notices that she's mentally calling it dumb. Her negative moods tend to lean towards the "wallow in misery" than anything else, series wise.

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#73 | Back to Top03-12-2017 07:59:43 AM

Decrescent Daytripper
Best Disney Princess
Registered: 04-09-2007
Posts: 2791

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

zeedikay wrote:

Decrescent Daytripper wrote:

But, Shiori or Juri? Definite dog-kickers.

(I'm tempted to respond to future "Nanami killed a cat" references with, "Juri kicked a dog! (Probably.)")

Juri always seemed more to be the type to me that'd stare at a dog, hoping that no one notices that she's mentally calling it dumb. Her negative moods tend to lean towards the "wallow in misery" than anything else, series wise.

She was enough of a bully to Utena and angry when she thought she could get away with it.


My Brain is the Wakaba and Shiori Funtime Hour. With limited commercial interruption.

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#74 | Back to Top04-26-2017 12:43:01 PM

LadyButterflyNebula
Ballgoer
From: Arkansas
Registered: 03-23-2017
Posts: 148
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Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

My first foray into Utena was the movie... and I still pretty much hate it.  I feel like they threw away a chance to either further the story, like what comes after revolution, or maybe give us a story that more closely matched the manga.

And I want an Utena 20th anniversary new anime.  I want it to go the route of a lot of the anniversary anime series in that it should follow the manga (because let's face it, we couldn't recreate the Utena we experienced in the first anime if we tried and I don't think we'd want to).

I love the series. LOVE IT.  But even after reading all the manga, watching the whole series... I still hate the movie.  It has moments that I like, such as Anthy trying to get into Utena's pants (literally), the super openness about "YES THEY ARE GAY FOR EACHOTHER", and of course there's the dance....  Which btw, the dance feels so fucking out of place.  Sooooo, so out of place.  But it's so pretty how can I resist it? (I can't).

I also feel like Saionji and Nanami are superfluous characters.  Saionji introduced us to the world, showed us how shitty he could be, and never really was redeemed.  He could have been rolled into Touga's character (I know that would really alter Touga's character) or at least aspects of his character, or Saionji should have exited the series after he lost to Utena a second time.

Saionji's time with Wakaba accomplishes nothing and I literally don't remember anything redeeming about him except that he made a clippie for Wakaba... yay?  But Wakaba ends up with her Onion prince, making Saionji once again pointless and he was shitty to Wakaba even after that (if I'm remembering correctly).

As for Nanami...  She wants to bang her brother until she doesn't, which you think would be what I hate her for, but no.  I hate her because she murdered a kitten.  And I realize she feels fucked up about it after, and for a long time (her duel song is actually one of my favorites from the series)  but it made and makes me feel so sick I just can't stand her.  Beyond that, most of her episodes are filler (like framing Anthy as a weirdo, her Egg episode, and the cowbell).

So yeah...  Those are my feelings.  I don't want feed back on it 'cause I don't want to fight about it.  I just wanted to get them out.  Please don't jump me for it.

But for those of you that love Nanami, here is an interesting blog about her character http://markwatches.net/reviews/2014/06/ … pisode-31/

Last edited by LadyButterflyNebula (04-27-2017 02:32:55 PM)


Usubeni midarete manatsu no yo no yume yume
Tobitatsu kagerou koi kogarerou
Anata wo omoeba yume ni yume ni yume miru
Afureru yorokobi towa ni towa ni

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#75 | Back to Top04-28-2017 08:23:53 PM

onsenmark
Spambane
From: The eastern U.S.... someplace.
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 548
Website

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

I still don't like canon!Shiori.

baaaaaaaaa. emot-wink


watch me whine: onsenmark.livejournal.com

Saa, omae no tsumi o kazoero!

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