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

#26 | Back to Top02-16-2017 09:25:38 PM

SaigonAlice
Tenjou Tilter
Registered: 09-13-2016
Posts: 80

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Yasha wrote:

High five, SaigonAlice. Contrary opinions 4lyfe school-devil

Eyyyyy girl. etc-love


Thân em như quả mít trên cây,
Vỏ nó sù sì, múi nó dày.
Quân tử có yêu thì đóng cọc,
Xin đừng mân mó nhựa ra tay. - Hồ Xuân Hương

Offline

 

#27 | Back to Top02-16-2017 09:48:13 PM

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

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

SaigonAlice wrote:

That's true. I think I might write it then, though keeping in mind that Utena while devoid of the presence of a Confucian / Japanese society is still fueled by a Japanese perception of vaguely Western Fairytales. If RGU was a cartoon show made by an American studio, we'd probably get more Brothers Grimm references. Don't know how that would go, Lol.

Not quite sure myself, but it's certainly something to think about, no? Probably a bit more focus on animal motifs, and there would be a Jack analogue somewhere in it, and if there was going to be a Juniper Tree section, WOW that'd be so messed up but so fascinating-
I am completely and utterly tempted to do something like this now. Thank you. Thank you so much.

SaigonAlice wrote:

That might be an unpopular opinion in and of itself, though? emot-redface He certainly embraces cultural appropriation on a truly American scale...or are we supposed to believe Akio and Anthy are Hindu?

To be fair, one of the series inspiration was apparently the student protests and general counterculture/culture of the 60s-70s. That might explain some of Akio's western influence to a degree.

SaigonAlice wrote:

-
Same Lol. Penguindrum was so decidedly heterosexual and [the one gay female character we had attempted to rape a minor... I know she was portrayed sympathetically, but why do we have to flirt with the crazy lesbian trope again? ] Then again, I only watched the first few episodes, got bored and decided to read the TV tropes page instead.

Yeah, even though I enjoyed the series, it has a good chunk of faults. (EDIT:) A few of the developments could be a bit more fleshed out (i.e. [Mario what are you even supposed to be other than a young vulnerable child? Momoka's personality definitely changed from being a flesh and blood human to being a spirit... ]
And I ended up dropping Yuri Kuma Arashi a bit before the 10 episode, though mostly due to a broadcast hiccup than anything. Not really regretting it.

Also, to add an opinion of my own on here...
I'm sort of disappointed that there wasn't a real look into what the other half of "princeliness" was. Sure it's clear that the system that propagated the role of Prince was damaging to women, forcing them into a dichotomy of Princess/Witch that is quite similar to a Madonna/ Whore complex.
But my internal SAT test-taker wants to have a solution to the "Princess is to Witch as Prince is to ____" analogue problem so much. The closest thing we have to that is Saionji's presence, but it's probably still something that won't be filled in anytime soon. At least, if the answer of Satan doesn't fit.

Last edited by zeedikay (02-16-2017 10:03:41 PM)

Offline

 

#28 | Back to Top02-16-2017 10:41:38 PM

Giovanna
Ends of the Fandom
From: Edmonton, AB
Registered: 10-12-2006
Posts: 8797
Website

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

zeedikay wrote:

"Princess is to Witch as Prince is to ____"

I think part of the scary thing about the message of the show is there is explicitly no suitable answer for this. There's no equivalent in a male dominated society for the Princess to Witch loss of innocence, and loss of value. The Madonna/Whore complex has no male equivalent because both stages appear to have value in society when it's men. Innocence of youth is loved, but so is realism and savvy, power and its pursuit. What's not only expected of men but prized and applauded is demonized for women.* It's only by merit of what he carries in his pants that makes Akio any different from the witch he stands alongside, and yet only one has to get punished. The other just gets laid.

Broad strokes of sexism have changed radically from the time this show was made. While still relevant, some of the force of the message has definitely been dulled by the progress it called for. Aggressive powerful women are beaten down in ruthless, multiple ways in Utena, and a girl coming into her own now just won't face the same challenges, at least on an equivalent scale. Even in Japan the role of the Witch is less demonized than ever before. I wonder if it makes watching such an aggressively presented message strange to younger people?

*That said, the transition from one stage to the next is clearly traumatic regardless of the gender, and his growing pains always suggested to me that the Prince, Akio, and the gender they're representing can be captors but also fool enough to build the cage from the inside.


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)

Offline

 

#29 | Back to Top02-16-2017 11:06:32 PM

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

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Broad strokes of sexism have changed radically from the time this show was made. While still relevant, some of the force of the message has definitely been dulled by the progress it called for. Aggressive powerful women are beaten down in ruthless, multiple ways in Utena, and a girl coming into her own now just won't face the same challenges, at least on an equivalent scale. Even in Japan the role of the Witch is less demonized than ever before. I wonder if it makes watching such an aggressively presented message strange to younger people?

Coming from you, that's an unusually optimistic appraisal...that I can't at all agree with. I'll tell you what I see.

I was a teenager in America in the 90s - as you probably know, it was a time of great prosperity and progressive optimism. The Cold War was over, ending in victory for the United States. The economy was prospering, especially in the latter half of the decade as the dot-com boom got into full swing. It seemed clear that racism, sexism, homophobia, and other social evils were being defeated, and the internet promised a bright future of knowledge and reason available to all.

Maybe some of that was true, then. Progress was undoubtedly made. But twenty years later, as I look back, all I see is that we are backsliding. A president was just elected that, apart from his uncountable other disqualifications, has openly gloated about sexually harassing women. Many, many women voted for him, despite knowing this. The internet has betrayed our expectations, becoming instead a place that allows for extremist echo chambers, particularly in the area of misogyny, to disseminate and flourish unopposed. Feminism is vilified and scorned to a greater extent than ever (which is saying something, as it always has been to some extent.)

As for Japan, the blame for the population crisis that is looming for them has, as usual, been planted firmly on the shoulders of women for not having enough children. It is not a good time there to be any kind of woman other than a housewife, and the situation will only get worse as their demographics worsen. Already their male politicians are pronouncing a woman's life, if childless, "wasted". Needless to say, LGBT women are on a whole other level.

Things may have changed, but they haven't changed that much - and if they have, it is only in certain first world nations. Outside, women are still having acid thrown in their faces for refusing men, still being murdered for wearing the wrong clothes, still being beaten for daring to speak up.

Offline

 

#30 | Back to Top02-17-2017 12:11:40 AM

Yasha
Bitch Queen
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Registered: 10-15-2006
Posts: 6031
Website

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

I can understand your point of view, Aelanie, but I don't think what you're seeing is backsliding at all. If you remember the 90's as progressive and sexism and racism as in the process of being defeated, you're remembering something completely different from what I saw. The 90's were a time when fucking Hillary Clinton was crucified in the media for daring to wear power suits instead of a skirt. That is not sexism being defeated.

The 90's were a time when everyone said racism and sexism and such were gone because they wanted to believe it. They weren't. They were still generally condoned by society so long as you put a mask on it-- the stereotypical "I have black friends" excuses were just fine. But we made progress. We pushed past that, and the things you're seeing now are just the reactions of people who feel that something has been taken from them. It's basically an extinction burst. And they work sometimes, sometimes they return things to the previous norm. But other times it doesn't.

That's what we have to make sure of. And we do have to keep in mind that back in the 90's, Hillary was a shrill cunt because she dared to have opinions and a cause she supported as the First Lady. And now we feel like we're backsliding because she wasn't President. That's progress. That's enough progress to scare people. That's why you're seeing all of this backlash, and we need to do what we can to preserve that progress in spite of the backlash. It looks grim, yeah, but it's not backsliding. This pile of maggots was always writhing under the surface-- we just exposed it. That's all.


Hat Mafia Member: Ratchedface
Je vais mourir pour l ' a e s t h e t i q u e
Internet Atrocity Tourist             -           MY POSTS             ARE WARSHIPS

Offline

 

#31 | Back to Top02-17-2017 01:10:44 AM

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

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

I hope that you're right. My best friend sees things in a similar way to you. But when I look out there, at the evil that is so easily seen and so proudly put on display on the internet these days, I really wonder.

In any case, I was speaking of my own perceptions, rather than what was actually happening. That was how it seemed to me then, I never said it was actually the case - in fact I know it isn't.

Offline

 

#32 | Back to Top02-17-2017 01:51:49 AM

Yasha
Bitch Queen
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Registered: 10-15-2006
Posts: 6031
Website

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

That's fair. Perception is what we base all our judgments on. I do get your point of view-- pretty thoroughly, actually. Somehow I managed to miss out on almost every single aspect of racism, by virtue of growing up in a small, all-white town and not having much media access. Not saying it wasn't there, I just wasn't exposed to it. To me, by the 90's, it seemed very antiquated and odd, and when I finally realized it was still happening it blew my fucking mind. Sexism, however, I managed to internalize pretty fucking deeply, and it caused a lot of problems for me. My perceptions during the 90's were about the same as yours, I think, but looking back I feel like the fish that didn't know what water was.

Looking at the hate groups on the internet is pretty awful, I agree. I said in another thread, I think, that I was an Internet Atrocity Tourist-- I've been keeping an eye on those groups for years. White supremacists write some of the worst poetry I've ever heard. They're motivated now because they feel like they're losing control. It's a crackdown. And basically, what needs to happen is that people need to actually speak up and reject their ideals and ideologies. The Women's March is a pretty good fucking start, I think-- biggest protest in the states, ever. Maybe the world too, I can't remember. Join things like that. Call your representatives and give them a piece of your mind. Speak up. We could take a lesson from the French on this one-- the moment their government does something they don't like, the people basically shut down the whole system with protests until they get their way.

...and we're getting pretty off topic here. Do you want to start a thread for this in General?


Hat Mafia Member: Ratchedface
Je vais mourir pour l ' a e s t h e t i q u e
Internet Atrocity Tourist             -           MY POSTS             ARE WARSHIPS

Offline

 

#33 | Back to Top02-17-2017 04:48:06 AM

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

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

No need. There is already a politics thread there, and as you may note, it is not a thread I post in. It's not a topic I usually address in public spaces, the conversation here just happened to veer in that direction.

Offline

 

#34 | Back to Top02-17-2017 05:13:40 AM

Yasha
Bitch Queen
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Registered: 10-15-2006
Posts: 6031
Website

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Your call. I think the internet's influence on this election is fascinating and by volume of potential discussion points it probably deserves its own thread, but it's a bit esoteric and I'm not sure it would get much participation.

Okay, back to unpopular opinions...

- I don't think Anthy would have stayed with Akio if there was never any love there. The thing that people miss about abusers is that they often do care for their victims. It just doesn't stop them from being abusers. And what makes it hard to leave an abuser is that they'll be just loving enough to keep you enduring the abuse for the sake of the affection that comes afterward. I simply cannot picture Akio and Anthy's relationship never following that typical cycle, although that's clearly over by the start of the series.


Hat Mafia Member: Ratchedface
Je vais mourir pour l ' a e s t h e t i q u e
Internet Atrocity Tourist             -           MY POSTS             ARE WARSHIPS

Offline

 

#35 | Back to Top02-17-2017 06:26:19 AM

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

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

How about a general Internet and Politics thread? Those two have and probably will remain important to each others development now. You probably could set something up, and see where it goes. I might post there sometimes if I get the chance.

Yasha wrote:

- I don't think Anthy would have stayed with Akio if there was never any love there. The thing that people miss about abusers is that they often do care for their victims. It just doesn't stop them from being abusers. And what makes it hard to leave an abuser is that they'll be just loving enough to keep you enduring the abuse for the sake of the affection that comes afterward. I simply cannot picture Akio and Anthy's relationship never following that typical cycle, although that's clearly over by the start of the series.

If you interpret Anthy's sacrifice being motivated by a desire to be Dios, (you know, her brother who apparently spent all his time fighting giant monsters and going on dates with 'princesses' to the point where it almost killed him...) having time to be with him would be reward enough. Though she's 8-10 years old presumably, and this is a reasonable request, even if it lead up to her practically being made into a dark martyr of insidious darkness by most of the world. You could say that Akio's entire plan, being the unconscious establishment of a frozen hierarchy to recreate his glory days, is just him making up lost time for his little sister, which eventually sort of... escalated. I honestly tried not to make that sound too creepy, but with the subject, it's hard.

And on another note, I probably wouldn't argue if I suddenly had Saionji's hair, color and all. It seems luxurious enough, and I'm pretty sure I could pull off seaweed green.

Offline

 

#36 | Back to Top02-19-2017 03:19:11 PM

HeadCannon
Wakaba Wrangler
From: North Carolina, USA
Registered: 02-19-2017
Posts: 16

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Unpopular opinions huh?  Can I join in?

-I feel nothing but sympathy and pity for Saionji. Sure, he was an asshole, but by the four episode I just felt bad for him. And Those feelings only increased at episode nine (which is one of my favorite episodes, and I think the best out of the first arc.)

-I think Miki's storyarc is the least interesting in the show. I know a lot of people dislike Juri's arc for various reasons, but at least it's interesting :\.

I'll probably think up more later.

Offline

 

#37 | Back to Top02-19-2017 06:13:37 PM

crystalwren
Dark Whisperer
From: Brisbane
Registered: 04-21-2009
Posts: 1172
Website

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Mitsuru Tsuwabuki isn't cute. At the very least he's a budding domestic abuser. At worst, he's going to be a serial killer hunting down women in Nanami's likeness for rejecting him.

Offline

 

#38 | Back to Top02-19-2017 07:01:53 PM

malna
Caretaker
From: Poland
Registered: 10-03-2011
Posts: 209

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

In my headcanon, Touga had never formed any real connection with his adoptive parents and since the girl-in-the-coffin day (or probably even before) Akio had been way more of a role model to him. Which puts an interesting spin on Kiryuu siblings dynamics. I do believe this background to be a major factor in them mirroring Akio-Anthy relationship so much. I suppose Touga learned a lot about means and joys of wrapping an adoring little sister around his finger but at the same time I wonder if his cruelty towards her was completely deliberate, exercised so that ultimately they would dodge the completion of Anthy's fate.
My unpopular opinion is that Touga is by no means the one dimensional character I often see him made out to be. He's still a manipulative asshole, though.

Oh, this one will be near blasphemous! But really, I don't see any of the alleged Akio's sex appeal. Or well, appeal of any kind. No matter how I look at him. Just, nope.

Last edited by malna (02-19-2017 07:07:08 PM)


a lot of hope in one man tent

Offline

 

#39 | Back to Top02-20-2017 03:52:55 AM

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

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

malna wrote:

My unpopular opinion is that Touga is by no means the one dimensional character I often see him made out to be. He's still a manipulative asshole, though.

Really? I think the popular opinion of Touga is precisely that he's a morally ambiguous character of clashing motivations and actions, but one that ultimately can't be defended as either a sympathetic character or an ally of Utena's.

At least, Series Touga. I would rather say that it is Movie Touga who usually gets a pass as a noble and tragic prince figure when in fact, even in death, he is manipulating Utena heavily to turn her against Anthy and toward his own possessive goals for her, even if that means keeping her chained to painful long-past memories. (For details, see my Touga examination linked in my first post in this thread.)

So I guess I can add that to my unpopular opinions. "If you really look at him, Movie Touga is the same complex and contradictory, but ultimately indefensible and antagonistic character that he is in the series."

Last edited by Aelanie (02-24-2017 02:02:44 AM)

Offline

 

#40 | Back to Top02-23-2017 05:53:05 PM

Giovanna
Ends of the Fandom
From: Edmonton, AB
Registered: 10-12-2006
Posts: 8797
Website

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Aelanie wrote:

So I guess I can add that to my unpopular opinions. "If you really look at him, Movie Touga is the same complex and contradictory, but ultimately indefensible and antagonistic character that he is in the series."

This would drastically improve my opinion of movie Touga if I could look at it that way.

The 'Princes' in the movie seem to me like they're accidentally assholes by nature of their given role. He's manipulative but it seems like a consequence of existing, like the sway someone cannot help if one of their legs is shorter.  Touga and Akio in the series are uh, very aware of their behavior. The world is full of people that are accidentally assholes, so in that respect movie Touga probably represents a larger group, but I find him so much less compelling for it.


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)

Offline

 

#41 | Back to Top02-23-2017 10:03:45 PM

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

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Gio, you should read my exam on Movie Touga if you haven't. (Along with all the others. school-eng101) In brief, my conclusions are that he is extremely aware of his behavior, but choosing to take the course he is taking anyway, because he believes not only that it is the best thing for Utena, but that Utena wants him to.

...and the most interesting thing is, he may be right. In fact, one possible reading of Movie Touga is that he's being directly influenced, in every way from his personality, to his looks, to his behavior and goals, by Utena's past and present conception of him. As I point out in the exam, Movie Touga died as a little boy, NOT the tall, elegant, cynically manipulative man that we see in the movie. How did one become the other? This version of him may have sprung directly from Utena's bitter and ambivalent feelings toward her memories of him.

This raises all kinds of interesting questions about just how much of an independent being he is. Even if her mental conception of him is what gave birth to his current existence, he still has his own childhood memories, something Utena could not know about him. Clearly he is not totally a creation of her mind, but he may be being irresistably influenced to do what he does, by Utena's mindset. As said, to me it's crystal clear that he knows his behavior is underhanded and reprehensible. But whose desire is it that is driving him on? His? Utena's? Both?

Anyway, it's all in there. I'll say this: as someone who as a rule does not have much interest in male characters, I consider him probably the most interesting part of the movie, because of the many questions about what he is, and how he came to be what he is. He is a great and interesting foil for Anthy in their shadowy battle for Utena's heart.

Last edited by Aelanie (02-23-2017 10:13:26 PM)

Offline

 

#42 | Back to Top02-24-2017 02:36:07 AM

SaigonAlice
Tenjou Tilter
Registered: 09-13-2016
Posts: 80

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

zeedikay wrote:

I am completely and utterly tempted to do something like this now. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Aww you are welcome sweet heart! etc-love

Aelanie wrote:

Gio, you should read my exam on Movie Touga if you haven't. (Along with all the others. school-eng101)

I can vouch for Aelanie's examinations. They're an amazing read. Have they been added to the catalogue yet?

Also one more unpopular opinion: I read Tsuwabuki as a gay boy struggling with heteronomartivity and toxic masculinity (more specifically, the patriarchal expectations of men as protectors and providers of Women). Might be tempted to make a thread about it some time actually.

Last edited by SaigonAlice (02-24-2017 02:39:09 AM)


Thân em như quả mít trên cây,
Vỏ nó sù sì, múi nó dày.
Quân tử có yêu thì đóng cọc,
Xin đừng mân mó nhựa ra tay. - Hồ Xuân Hương

Offline

 

#43 | Back to Top02-24-2017 05:18:12 AM

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

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

SaigonAlice wrote:

Also one more unpopular opinion: I read Tsuwabuki as a gay boy struggling with heteronomartivity and toxic masculinity (more specifically, the patriarchal expectations of men as protectors and providers of Women). Might be tempted to make a thread about it some time actually.

I'm sort of hesitantly curious about this, and would like to see that thread. I think I have a grasp on what you're saying, but it'd probably be better if you explained your points more in-depth. Though I'd like to say here that if it was the case, it's interesting that it would be connected the youngest member of the 'main' cast.

As another unpopular opinion, I'd like to say that there is no real difference between the end of Ruka's arc and this Simpsons clip:


EDIT: I wanted to say that there probably was a better way to resolve Juri's main arc, or at least one that got across the Deus ex Diablo a bit more smoothly. But without Ruka, I wouldn't be able to make this joke. So... eh?

Last edited by zeedikay (02-24-2017 05:22:26 AM)

Offline

 

#44 | Back to Top02-24-2017 06:43:54 AM

Yasha
Bitch Queen
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Registered: 10-15-2006
Posts: 6031
Website

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

zeedikay wrote:

As another unpopular opinion, I'd like to say that there is no real difference between the end of Ruka's arc and this Simpsons clip:

Ahahaha emot-roflemot-roflemot-rofl you're so right etc-love


Hat Mafia Member: Ratchedface
Je vais mourir pour l ' a e s t h e t i q u e
Internet Atrocity Tourist             -           MY POSTS             ARE WARSHIPS

Offline

 

#45 | Back to Top02-24-2017 11:00:29 AM

Razara
Marionette Mistress
From: Wuzzy Happy Akio Town (What?)
Registered: 10-17-2006
Posts: 4694

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

zeedikay wrote:

SaigonAlice wrote:

Also one more unpopular opinion: I read Tsuwabuki as a gay boy struggling with heteronomartivity and toxic masculinity (more specifically, the patriarchal expectations of men as protectors and providers of Women). Might be tempted to make a thread about it some time actually.

I'm sort of hesitantly curious about this, and would like to see that thread. I think I have a grasp on what you're saying, but it'd probably be better if you explained your points more in-depth. Though I'd like to say here that if it was the case, it's interesting that it would be connected the youngest member of the 'main' cast.

As another unpopular opinion, I'd like to say that there is no real difference between the end of Ruka's arc and this Simpsons clip:


EDIT: I wanted to say that there probably was a better way to resolve Juri's main arc, or at least one that got across the Deus ex Diablo a bit more smoothly. But without Ruka, I wouldn't be able to make this joke. So... eh?

I remember that episode, and OMG your comment is awesome! emot-rofletc-lovepoptart

Offline

 

#46 | Back to Top02-24-2017 11:48:54 AM

malna
Caretaker
From: Poland
Registered: 10-03-2011
Posts: 209

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

I'm starting to think I'm the only Ruka fan around here! *takes Ruka all for herself*


a lot of hope in one man tent

Offline

 

#47 | Back to Top02-24-2017 03:53:03 PM

Yasha
Bitch Queen
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Registered: 10-15-2006
Posts: 6031
Website

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Well, I'm not a fan per se, but I do like Ruka. Which is an unpopular opinion all on its own, I suppose! But as far as Gio and I are concerned, we show our love by ripping on our favorite characters. If we're shit-talking a character, it probably means we like them, so the Simpsons clip fits right in with how we express our affection emot-keke


Hat Mafia Member: Ratchedface
Je vais mourir pour l ' a e s t h e t i q u e
Internet Atrocity Tourist             -           MY POSTS             ARE WARSHIPS

Offline

 

#48 | Back to Top02-24-2017 07:09:16 PM

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

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

malna wrote:

I'm starting to think I'm the only Ruka fan around here! *takes Ruka all for herself*

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. Happily he died alone and forgotten, his plan a complete failure, just as he deserved, so no one will ever have to deal with him in the future.

Thinking like is actually the more unpopular opinion in my experience. All too many people are willing to let Ruka off the hook. His supposedly altruistic schemes are nothing but a self-indulgent and unsought meddling in Juri's life, born of a baseless sense of ownership of her that, needless to say, she never granted, looked for, or agreed to.

Last edited by Aelanie (02-24-2017 07:11:39 PM)

Offline

 

#49 | Back to Top02-25-2017 12:07:06 AM

malna
Caretaker
From: Poland
Registered: 10-03-2011
Posts: 209

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

Woah. Alright, that does it. I sealed him away where you can never touch him again! school-devil


a lot of hope in one man tent

Offline

 

#50 | Back to Top02-25-2017 02:05:11 PM

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

Re: Confess Your Unpopular SKU Opinions Here!

To be honest, the closest opinion I have on Ruka himself is that as a character, he seems like the type who'd be the closest to the ideal shoujo love interest out of the male cast. But being the show that it is, his dark side comes with the extra baggage that he honestly feels like his manipulation is the right thing to do, even if it is one of the more insidious and successful(!) schemes in the series. I feel like his likable traits are also what make him dislikable. His intelligence feeds into his Machiavellian actions. I've once read that he feels like somebody's self-insert, designed to fix a perceived fault in the show, in this case Juri and Shiori's dysfunctional relationship. His involvement did end up breaking their cycle, but it played out more like invasive surgery that requires massive amounts of recovery afterwards than a lead into a happy romance. And yes, that was an intentional metaphor.

Another slightly related unpopular opinion is that sometimes during my first watch of the show, I compared the drama to a soap opera, especially during Juri's episodes. I never really enjoyed watching soap operas as a kid (other than during the summer to see what sort of strange, supernatural twists they would come up with. Days of our Lives had an alien plot line that sometimes pop up in my head now and then...) but I was fascinated by how SKU presented it all.

Offline

 

Board footer

Powered by PunBB 1.2.23
© Copyright 2002–2008 PunBB
Forum styled and maintained by Giovanna and Yasha
Return to Empty Movement