Poorly sorted opinions on magical girls, magical boys, and zombie slayers

[terabient]

★ The Puella Magi Madoka Magica movies were screened in NYC a week ago and while I could have gone, it would have taken a lot of time and effort and cash that I didn't really want to use, so I didn't go. But then I made the mistake of looking up the special opening and ending theme songs, which was all I needed to make my inner fangirl instantly regret my decision to not see said movies. They're not even particularly outstanding--Luminous is pretty standard j-pop anime opening fare, though it has a tinge of wistfulness that I find incredibly appealing, and Hikari Furu is just a vocal version of a track from Episode 12 (admittedly, a track from one of the most memorable scenes). But they're more than enough to make my heart ~flutter~ and renew my adoration of the series.

★ On the subject of PMMM, I don't think I've ever explained why I like the series so much. I think PMMM treats its characters with a seriousness and compassion that few shows match. In particular, when I think of magical girl shows, I think sparkles! melodrama. Not to say that PMMM doesn't have melodramatic moments, but they're...different, somehow. I'm thinking of moments like Sayaka's confrontation with the men on the train, or Homura's confession to Madoka in Episode 11; there's a very relatable quality to the emotions expressed that I generally don't feel in magical girl shows (and anime in general). I've never been fond of the way PMMM is described as a 'realistic' take on the magical girl genre, because it's anything but realistic, but it's more understandable if I assume that people mean "the characters' emotional struggles are easy to relate to."

★ Final PMMM note: I'm not sure I agree with the general consensus of it being a deconstruction of the MG genre. I fully admit that part of this is due to my lack of understanding of what 'deconstruction' actually means; I have a vague idea, but honestly I don't know a good, simple definition of the term. THAT SAID, when I think of examples of genre deconstruction I think of Watchmen and Evangelion, and one thing that sticks out for both series is how critical they are of their respective genres. PMMM certainly takes a lot of joy in subverting viewer expectations, but it's not critical in the way Watchmen/Evangelion are. Also, that much-lauded 'twist' on the true purpose of magical girls? TOTALLY done ages ago in Magic Knight Rayearth. Why does no one else seem to notice this?

★ Speaking of stories that like to tear your heart out: Journey Into Mystery #645 is downright devastating. Not going to mention anything spoiler-worthy (although I don't think anyone on my flist has been following this particular title?) but short thoughts: WOW, way to deliver on reader fears ever since Kid Loki appeared, and also this is one of the few comic titles written in this decade that really seemed to a) have a clear ending in mind from the start and b) each issue was a necessary piece in reaching said ending. One thing that makes the ending of JiM so painful is the realization that no, there isn't any other way out of the dilemma at hand. To make an unnecessary comparison, it reminds me of the way PMMM made Madoka's eventual wish truly inevitable, something that had to be done to achieve any real change.

★ The Everything Burns JiM/Thor crossover has really highlighted the fact that Matt Fraction is kind of awful at writing Thor. Like, I understand he's trying to make Thor more like the Thor from Norse mythology in temperament, but he mostly comes off as a total bastard, and not in an endearing or interesting way. Also, his speech is kinda wince-worthy. I am also bitter because I suspect if anyone but Fraction had been writing Thor alongside Kireon Gillen writing Loki, there would have been way more adorable bro-moments between the two. Instead there's lots of.....borderline abusive Thor. I AM DISPLEASED.

★ Have a spoiler filled interview with the creators of RE6! (Because everything I post nowadays must have something to do with RE.) As they say on tumblr, THIS VIDEO GIVES ME A LOT OF FEELS. Most of them are less than charitable. A few thoughts,

-The producer seems really, really concerned with development costs, and not exceeding budgets. By this I mean it is all he talks about. I suspect this is why RE6's release date was pushed up a month, as fewer months in development means less money spent. And I will continue to jump to conclusions, and blame the shitty camera and cover system and various glitches on a lack of play testing due to cost cutting.

-The developer's description of Piers' story arc is, well, on-point. It's not original, but manages to be affecting anyway, possibly because killing a major character is always affecting if you've given them a lick of personality, and possibly because making Chris stick with the BSAA as an active agent is a total dick move after killing everyone around him again. Yes, I am very concerned about the emotional and psychological stability of a fictional character who has punched boulders.

-Absolutely every decision made regarding Ada is fucking hilarious. "First, we were going retcon Ada into a bunch of clones, and then you'd have to pick your favorite to survive, or something equally awful. But then somebody who recognized horrible ideas said 'no clones.' So we came up with an incredibly convoluted idea to create a clone-like creature so we could have a terrible clone-centric plot!" Seriously, what is in the water over at Capcom HQ? Concentrated absurdity?

★ LJ is planning another wave of site changes. One of those changes: infinite scrolling FriendsLists. Because if there's one thing people love, it's infinite scrolling. Seriously though: who thought of infinite scrolling, and does anyone actually prefer it to finite scrolling? Because I have not met a single person who likes infinite scrolling. At most, people are neutral to it--at least in my experience.

Comments

[arcanelegacy]

I had a love/hate with Piers's arc. I mean, yeah, it was effective and by the end I was really broken up by his death, but I also felt like I'd been horribly manipulated into feeling that way. Like, the story was terrible, and not just because it wasn't that original. Chris's whole personality had to be derailed just to set up the scenario within which Piers died, and that felt cheap.

....Oh god they wanted to do a bunch of clones? thank GOD they backed off from that. Maybe someone remembered that the films already did that, and it was just as terrible then?

ARGH those LJ changes. I dislike infinite scrolling. It kills my computer.

[terabient]

I'm still not sure how I feel about Chris and Piers' story. I like certain parts of it and the last chapter does cause a real visceral reaction, but it *is* pretty manipulative. And I hate how it puts Chris through a stupid amount of trauma so that when everything returns to the status quo we're supposed to find it inspiring. This seems to happen more and more often in media these days and whenever it does it strikes me as cruel. :/

According to the video someone on the staff nixed the clones because cloning technology has never been in the RE series and it would be dumb to have it suddenly become this huge, multi-game-spanning plot point. Which is sound reasoning. But somewhat undermined (Ada/Carla spoiler) by making Carla a pseudoclone.

[arcanelegacy]

I definitely like parts of it. I actually really liked seeing Piers sacrifice himself, at least from a storytelling standpoint. I liked parts of the mission. But I trip up every time, because so very little of that campaign was built around genuine ideas. Throwing Chris back into battle after his trauma? Chris NOT KNOWING WHO ADA IS just to facilitate said trauma? Chris being so downtrodden (and REALLY, what's wrong with that, given everything he went through?!) just to have Piers die to ~*~inspire~*~ Chris back into fighting the good fight, when that was basically the same concept of RE5, and RE5 handled it better?

Piers had the potential to be a really interesting character, even if he wasn't going to be recurring. But then his files contradicted what we were shown in the game itself, and up until his sacrifice I just kept yelling for him to shut up and sit down, son, you don't know jack about fighting T. Learn something before you start spouting off all this BS about staying strong. You don't know what Chris has been through.

I...well, i'll take that. It hasn't been in the games yet, and I'd prefer to keep it out, even with the....convoluted mess they ended up with.