(no subject)
Yes, I'm still alive, I'm just lazy and never post anything. Someday I'll post something worth reading again, I swear. Until then I'm just gonna squee a little about Puella Magi Madoka Magica, because it is the awesome magical girl show from hell and I loves it.
So as of episode 9, cute magical girl show with pastel character designs and an upbeat opening full of smiling girls is currently at a body count of three, which is pretty brutal considering the relatively small size of the cast. Not to mention at this point almost every other episode is practically a Wham Episode. I'm actually actively avoiding spoiling myself for eps before I watch them, so I can be surprised, and I pretty much never do that.
So Kyube is apparently an alien trying to save the universe from entropy by giving little girls their hearts' desires and then waiting patiently for their dreams to be crushed like ants. Or as someone on tvtropes neatly put it, the universe "runs on the broken dreams of little girls." On the one hand, I suppose you can see where Kyube (or "the Kyubes" I guess) sees it as a small sacrifice: just a handful of girls -- and it really is only a handful in Kyube's eyes, compared to the world's population -- get turned into witches and it will help save the universe. Kyube even notes that he's saving the universe for humans too, since he notes that one day humans will go out into space and gee, wouldn't it suck if there was only a dead universe.
That's assuming he's telling the truth, anyway, and I'm not so sure about that. Kyube's shown a remarkable willingness to omit important info if it suits his purposes. For all his talking with Madoka about how his race doesn't understand human emotions, he's certainly good at manipulating them. And I think that's why, even if he really is trying to stop the death of the universe, he's still an evil little bastard. He tells Madoka that he's being kind because he gives girls the choice to contract with him, but he's not really giving them much of a choice: from what we saw of Mami's situation, he presumably showed up when she was in a horrific car accident and her "choice" was probably "make a contract with Kyube or die." And he's certainly not taking no for an answer with Madoka, seeing as how he specifically manipulated Kyoko to her death just so Homura would have no one to help her against the Walpurgis. He's not in any way upfront with what he's really asking these girls to do and even when he meets a girl who knows exactly what making a contract with him means, which Madoka clearly knows now, he's still not letting her go. Evillest. Mascot. Ever.
Meanwhile, taking bets on whether Madoka ever actually will become a magical girl. I was originally guessing final ep, but I think it might be earlier now - with Kyoko and Sayaka out of the picture I'm not sure how much story the show can wring out of Madoka continuing to waver and Homura continuing to tell her not to make the contract. I actually really like Madoka as a heroine; she's not confident in herself or her choices but she tries hard and I think it's really easy to forget just how damn brave she really is. Even after seeing what a witch did to Mami she still goes with Sayaka, knowing that if Sayaka is defeated she's toast. Her willingness to walk into danger for her friend's sake is definitely one of her strongest traits, even though that's the one Kyube's clearly counting on. I've seen some people complain that Madoka is "too whiny" and not proactive enough, but really, what more do they want from her, considering all the shit going down around her? It would be nice to see her fight, but to fight with the other characters she'd have to become a magical girl and the entire show thus far has been an exercise in "why Madoka should not become a magical girl ever, no, really, Madoka, don't do it."
Quick rundown of other things I'm watching:
Level E: Alien prince trolls the universe. Didn't much like the most recent ep, but, in general: comedy gold.
Yumekui Merry: Decent enough diversion with neat character designs and some cool characters in general (needs moar Chaser).
Gosick: Again, decent enough. Like Victorique a lot, but it'd be nice if Kujo could be a slightly...smarter Watson to her Holmes.
Fractale: Oh, Fractale. So much potential not being lived up to. Most recent ep was quite good, but I think it might be too little, too late.
Digimon Xros Wars: Still not Adventure, 02 or Tamers, but not bad either. Continuing the long and proud Digimon tradition of making the lead and his angsty rival incredibly slashable.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: IT IS LIKE CRACK. Shiny rainbow crack.
So as of episode 9, cute magical girl show with pastel character designs and an upbeat opening full of smiling girls is currently at a body count of three, which is pretty brutal considering the relatively small size of the cast. Not to mention at this point almost every other episode is practically a Wham Episode. I'm actually actively avoiding spoiling myself for eps before I watch them, so I can be surprised, and I pretty much never do that.
So Kyube is apparently an alien trying to save the universe from entropy by giving little girls their hearts' desires and then waiting patiently for their dreams to be crushed like ants. Or as someone on tvtropes neatly put it, the universe "runs on the broken dreams of little girls." On the one hand, I suppose you can see where Kyube (or "the Kyubes" I guess) sees it as a small sacrifice: just a handful of girls -- and it really is only a handful in Kyube's eyes, compared to the world's population -- get turned into witches and it will help save the universe. Kyube even notes that he's saving the universe for humans too, since he notes that one day humans will go out into space and gee, wouldn't it suck if there was only a dead universe.
That's assuming he's telling the truth, anyway, and I'm not so sure about that. Kyube's shown a remarkable willingness to omit important info if it suits his purposes. For all his talking with Madoka about how his race doesn't understand human emotions, he's certainly good at manipulating them. And I think that's why, even if he really is trying to stop the death of the universe, he's still an evil little bastard. He tells Madoka that he's being kind because he gives girls the choice to contract with him, but he's not really giving them much of a choice: from what we saw of Mami's situation, he presumably showed up when she was in a horrific car accident and her "choice" was probably "make a contract with Kyube or die." And he's certainly not taking no for an answer with Madoka, seeing as how he specifically manipulated Kyoko to her death just so Homura would have no one to help her against the Walpurgis. He's not in any way upfront with what he's really asking these girls to do and even when he meets a girl who knows exactly what making a contract with him means, which Madoka clearly knows now, he's still not letting her go. Evillest. Mascot. Ever.
Meanwhile, taking bets on whether Madoka ever actually will become a magical girl. I was originally guessing final ep, but I think it might be earlier now - with Kyoko and Sayaka out of the picture I'm not sure how much story the show can wring out of Madoka continuing to waver and Homura continuing to tell her not to make the contract. I actually really like Madoka as a heroine; she's not confident in herself or her choices but she tries hard and I think it's really easy to forget just how damn brave she really is. Even after seeing what a witch did to Mami she still goes with Sayaka, knowing that if Sayaka is defeated she's toast. Her willingness to walk into danger for her friend's sake is definitely one of her strongest traits, even though that's the one Kyube's clearly counting on. I've seen some people complain that Madoka is "too whiny" and not proactive enough, but really, what more do they want from her, considering all the shit going down around her? It would be nice to see her fight, but to fight with the other characters she'd have to become a magical girl and the entire show thus far has been an exercise in "why Madoka should not become a magical girl ever, no, really, Madoka, don't do it."
Quick rundown of other things I'm watching:
Level E: Alien prince trolls the universe. Didn't much like the most recent ep, but, in general: comedy gold.
Yumekui Merry: Decent enough diversion with neat character designs and some cool characters in general (needs moar Chaser).
Gosick: Again, decent enough. Like Victorique a lot, but it'd be nice if Kujo could be a slightly...smarter Watson to her Holmes.
Fractale: Oh, Fractale. So much potential not being lived up to. Most recent ep was quite good, but I think it might be too little, too late.
Digimon Xros Wars: Still not Adventure, 02 or Tamers, but not bad either. Continuing the long and proud Digimon tradition of making the lead and his angsty rival incredibly slashable.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: IT IS LIKE CRACK. Shiny rainbow crack.