If there’s one pet peeve I have about anime, it’s the identity crisis. Now I have nothing against identity crises in principle. It’s the anime take on identity crises that I hate. It’s almost always the exact same drivel.
“You are who you are!”
“Wow, thanks so much, Ka’el! Now I understand! So, when’s the wedding?”
Come on guys. Do I have to explain how fucking stupid this is. Somebody recites a tautology and then all your problems are magically resolved. Right…
Aside from this does of stupidity, not much happens. Camping at the beach. Ka’el and Claire get some alone time in the woods and things get steamy. We learn that Imouto likes big muscles. Oh and somebody or other shoots down a couple planes. Not sure how they intend to stop a floating continent with their tiny aeroplanes but whatevs. Wished they’d spent some time on the politics angle rather than adding this pointless angst to Ka’el’s and Claire’s relationship which is just going to backtrack to square one over and over again until Ka’el figures out that Claire is Nina.
Also why is this guy in both Toaru Hikuushi and Log Horizon? It’s confusing.
When I started watching episode one and watched a massive dogfight with machine guns and burning planes everywhere, I was not expecting to find a beach episode four episodes down the line. At least some dudes got wasted this time. I’m wondering when Kal-El will do the anime thing where he freaks out when he realizes that the guns and war machines he and his friends are training with are actually meant to kill people.
Ignacio reminds me of these terrible fan fic characters I’d invent way back when I first watched anime. I’d mentally insert them into the plot and have them just sort of sit around and act cool and mysterious until an action scene started and then they’d do something awesome and relevant. The bit where that one guy got dissed for being completely irrelevant was pretty funny, since that pertains to about 70% of the cast.
Seriously. How did it go from dog-fighting, destruction and riots to a beach episode.
Haha, yeah, Ignacio is just sitting around acting cool at the moment. Well, “cool” in the eyes of a middle schooler at least, he just seems socially incompetent to me…
“You are who you are.”
“But what am I?”
“I SAID… You ARE what YOU are.”
“But I still don’t know who I am. I don’t know what am I supposed to be. And you dictating that my current identity situation is pretty much useless because you simply say that you’d rather not let me wonder from time to time on what I think makes me feel happy because god forbid I might actually develop and the audience will hate it because being clueless and somewhat ignorant sells to the audience.”
I just really hate Anime’s take on that type of scenario. I get if they can just change some words and state that it’s perfectly find to enjoy what you have right now and finding yourself is perfectly normal and all. I get. But just flat out saying “You are what you are” as a permanent solution to all your identity crisis is… well… there are reasons why Modern Anime ain’t doing much on the characterization development.
“You are what you are” is probably the most cliched answer I have ever received on an identity crisis. And I have a hatred for it. Even the whole “If it’s you, it’s okay.”
Exactly. There’s nothing I hate more than this. It doesn’t make sense on any level. Why would this ever make anyone feel better? If someone told me this I’d punch them in the face, “Well, you’re you too, but with a broken nose!” Why would you even think to tell this to someone who is clearly suffering?
Just when I thought this show might be done pulling out anime cliches, it does the “you’re you, you!” line.
*bangs head repeatedly against wall*
*bangs own head against wall*
That’s not the only character from another anime, there’s Eru-Erufu and Annie from attac on titan as the blonde teacher.
Oh yes, how could I forget them! Maybe at the end it’ll turn out that this was all just one big crossover project.