UN-GO 03 — Do not Pass GO, Do not Collect $200

UN-GO,

I had low expectations for this series, but it’s starting to get pretty good!

Paper Bags

Maybe it’s just me, but I found the opening segment with the family pretty creepy.

Do those paper bags remind you of anything?

What is it with these head coverings with giant eyes? This isn’t a rhetorical question; I have no idea where it comes from and am quite curious. It does have a great effect though— very disturbing.

A Rebellious Daughter

I’m starting to really like Rie Kaishou, the chairman’s daughter. She’s an interesting character: she clearly used to dote on her father, and I don’t doubt that she still does. But she also hates the way he lies and covers things up, and runs to the Defeated Detective for help in unearthing the truth. She still maintains the same naivety as before, except she believes that her father’s lying is always wrong.

But although she’s naive, she can be quite ingenuous, as demonstrated by her use of the horse. I admit that I’ve pulled that trick before, except with a Segway in “no skateboarding / rollerblading / biking” areas.

An Unexpected Twist

The best thing about UN-GO, though, is that it actually knows how to tell a mystery. Let’s compare with some recent shows of the same ilk. First, Gosick. The mysteries in UN-GO are non-obvious. If this were Gosick, they would have had the father make beeping noises like R2-D2. What a funny human. Ahahaha. The other recent mystery show is Dantalian no Shoka. The biggest differences with UN-GO are that a) Inga is a dog in heat, Dalian is a girl with frilly dresses and a sweet tooth, and b) the detectives in UN-GO actually matter.

That brings up an interesting point, actually: do the detectives in UN-GO matter? The government always hides the truth which the Defeated Detective unearths, so in one sense his sleuthing doesn’t matter. But the Defeated Detective has an opponent who defeats him, so his actions are not pointless, even if they are ineffectual. For Huey and Dalian, no one cares what they do, so they remain undefeated. Their actions aren’t even worth covering up.

I’m quite pleased that the creators are going with a multi-episode arc, as well. A single episode is just too short for most stories. They keep revealing more tantalizing hints about the setting as they go along as well: hopefully this will begin to play a bigger role.

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The Magic of Mawaru Penguindrum

Discussion, ,

I came across this passage the other day, and had to share it:

I believe in the practice and philosophy of what we have agreed to call magic, in what I must call the evocation of spirits, though I do not know what they are, in the power of creating magical illusions, in the visions of truth in the depths of the mind when the eyes are closed; and I believe in three doctrines, which have, as I think, been handed down from early times, and been the foundations of nearly all magical practices. These doctrines are—
(1) That the borders of our minds are ever shifting, and that many minds can flow into one another, as it were, and create or reveal a single mind, a single energy.

(2) That the borders of our memories are as shifting, and that our memories are a part of one great memory, the memory of Nature herself.

(3) That this great mind and great memory can be evoked by symbols.
— William Butler Yeats, Ideas of Good and Evil

It goes without saying that Mawaru Penguindrum is chock full of symbolism. The symbols are drawn from countless sources: some from Christian myth, some from Japanese folklore, some from the works of Murakami, and others directly from the mind of Ikuhara. Regardless of their source, symbols are powerful; indeed, magical. They link us with the cosmic mind and memory, and communicate ideas we may not even be consciously aware of.

This is part of the reason I enjoy watching Mawaru Penguindrum so much. The symbols add a depth to the show which we may not even fully understand with our waking minds. Interpreting symbols is a mystic art, dependent on leaps of faith and flashes of insight.

That’s why when I write about Penguindrum, I tend not to focus on what happened in the episode, but on symbols. The symbols may actually tell us more than the words and actions of the characters.

Agree? Disagree? Have some crazy idea about what something symbolizes in Penguindrum? Then I want to hear it. Feel free to share below.

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Mirai Nikki 03 — Skeletons in the Closet

Mirai Nikki,

This is more like it. We took a step back, slowed down and fleshed out both Yukiteru and Yuno some more.

A Date

I liked how the creators used the trip to the amusement park. They took time to slow down and flesh out the two leads. Here are some things we learned about them:

  • Yukiteru isn’t quite as innocent as he appears. In his monologue at the beginning, while waiting for Yuno to come back with ice cream, he imagines all the people on the ride falling to the ground and going “splat.”
  • He is pretty cowardly though. Afraid of roller coasters and haunted houses. He’s even afraid to go out with his swimsuit on.
  • But he does have a sense of adventure. When Four says that he has a mission for them, Yuki says “A mission?! Cool!” enthusiastically. Of course his excitement wears thins when he discovers what the mission is, and gets dragged around unwillingly by Yuno, but still…
  • His inexperience dealing with people leaves him quite awkward, for example when he told Yuno in the pool “lots of people pee in places like this!”
  • We already knew this, but Yuno is trying to seduce him quite actively. Losing her swimsuit, clinging to him in the haunted house, and more.

We also have some idea of why Yuno is interested in Yukiteru (although as Yuno says, this isn’t the whole story). I can’t believe Yukiteru actually agreed to marry her though. Bad decision.

Into the Closet

This was where the shit really hit the fan in the manga too, and the animated version didn’t disappoint. We spent half the episode making Yuno appear all innocent and girly, so when Yuki opens the closet it’s even more shocking. The chase back home is exhilarating, and it looks like he’s lost Yuno. But when that mail slot opens… that was well done, I jumped even though I knew it was coming.

Minene’s Troubles

Again, this was pretty creepy. The eyeball was gross, even though fortunately they didn’t show the worst part. I never want to get a dart thrown in my eye.  Or have my eyeballs removed from their sockets.

The way they revealed Minene’s drug induced state was nice as well. 1, 2, 3 and a snap of the fingers, and her cellphone transforms into a piece of wood.

Anyway, this episode did well at building up the atmosphere: the more innocent scenes at the amusement park, although with an undercurrent of something being horribly wrong, juxtaposed with sheer terror.

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Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing 02 — Moons of Mass Destruction

Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing,

Now this is more like it! It seems that the fears of excessive fanservice were misplaced.

Fam Fan Fan

I’m starting to really like her. She’s earnest and straightforward, and just a little bit full of herself. I like this scene in particular, where they are talking about the older sister and how she chose Fam to go to the capital:

Ya’ think so? I love how Fam says it with such a straight face, as if she’s complimenting the princess and not herself.

You can see more of this with how she decides to rename the captured ship after herself. I agree with Milia though: Fam Fan Fan is a terrible name.

Even though she’s a tad full of herself, Fam isn’t self-centered by any means. She relies and trusts Giselle completely, and is willing to go out of her way to help Milia. So quite a likable character, with a flaw, but not a crippling one.

Epic Battles

The battle this episode was a lot of fun. I love the animation, how they make the ships only in CG, like they did with the original Last Exile. Coupled with the clouds, lighting effects and animated characters, the animation is stunning.

It’s not like the battles have brilliant strategies or anything, but there’s just a little bit of planning that you can tell went into it. All the beam spam and explosions are fun as well. I liked how the plan failed, because of a single person who massacred the entire flagship’s crew from the inside. How’d he do that? I feel like I should remember from the original Last Exile, but it’s been a long time since I watched it.

I liked the flight into the belly of the ship as well. Fam and Giselle are putting Luke Skywalker to shame.

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Fate / Zero 04 — Arrival of the King

Fate / Zero,

This sure looks pretty.

 

Plotting

So let me get this straight. The heroic spirit Assassin, who is pretending to be dead, is sent to observe the battle. And he is spotted by a human, without a disguise or anything. To make things even better, Assassin doesn’t spot the other human watching from the roof below him.

I think this goes to show that a) the spirit of the future Kiritsugu should enter the Holy Grail War as the heroic spirit Assassin, and b) Kirei’s servant is grossly incompetent. Their entire trick was blown before the first battle even started? This is not what I would consider a legendary quality of assassin.

Rider

I complained before about Rider and Waver, but really, they’ve been carrying the show for two weeks now. Rider is worried about his opponents losing because he wants to face them himself? He stops right in the middle of the battle with his chariot, and announces his true name to everyone.  Normally a character as pathetic as Waver would be annoying, but it works quite well when he’s paired with someone as outlandish as Rider. Him getting dragged along on top of the bridge was the icing on the cake.

The Battle

The battle between Saber and Lancer really was gorgeous. This is probably one of the nicest looking TV anime I’ve ever seen. I love how they handle the lighting.

The true identity of Lancer was revealed, as Diarmuid of the love spot.

One thing that’s kind of odd about Fate / zero is how the characters talk about things like it’s an RPG. Saber has “all A-level abilities”, Lancer has the “charm ability”, and so on. I can’t really think of why they’d want to do that. For me, at least, it breaks the atmosphere.

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