gather round all you children who love stories....

[bitterfig]

During the winter when I can’t exercise outside I watch DVD’s of television shows and anime while I work out inside.  I find things like the fixed scene length (for the purpose of commercials) and the repetition of the theme song and closing credits very reassuring.

So far this year since I put my bike away in November I’ve worked my way through

Comments

[etrangere]

You make lots of interesting points about Roses of Versailles which I had never paid attention to at the time, because I was a 9 year old there for the melodrama and ass kicking female crossdresser ^_^ I remember being rather annoyed with Marie Antoinette. The while issue of the revolution is interesting, because I think the depiction of the revolutionaries fitted what I was being taught (well, not St Just in a mask swinging to ropes...). By which I mean we saw the revolution as a good thing globaly, but very bloody and revolutionaries as very flawed people who did manage to murder / get executed most of each others until Napoleon rose to power and that was the end of the revolutionary ideal as such. It did take 80 years and three revolutions before France got its stable democracy ^_^

Princess Tutu is awesome! It's an extremely clever storytelling thing, I'm glad you're watching it. I can't wait to see some of your reaction so far. What's your reaction to characters so far? What do you think of the Utena comparison (mukashi, mukashi)

[bitterfig]

I just finished watching Princess Tutu, really amazing series. I liked the way it explored the dark side of all the characters. At various points during the series Fakir, Rue and Mythos all did really bad things but these were part of a more complicated whole, none of them were shown as purely evil. Ahiru didn't seem to have a dark side so much as a weak side, one that surrendered to despair which I can identify with as I'm more likely to give up on things and get depressed than I am to hurt other people. The whole meta-narrative thing was pretty sophisticated and complex, I really liked the metaphor of the story as a clockwork machine and Fakir's emerging powers as an author. In a lot of ways it touched on some things I've always struggled with about the responsibility and cruelty of writers. I was also fascinated by Edel's transformation to Uzura-- a mannequin who only mouths her creators words developing feelings being reborn as a deranged chibi... Mythos really reminded me of Dios from Utena in a lot of ways, the passive,

[sakru909]

I'm really interested in the French Revolution so Roses of Versailles sounds interesting even though I'm more interested in the philosopers like Voltair and Rosseau than the nobles

[lookfar]

I think I'll look up Rose of Versailles. The other one sounds a bit too confusing. At the moment we are watching IGPX, which Tristan borrowed from a friend. It's okay -- I like the racing scenes -- but only okay.

[bitterfig]

Rose of Versailles is really a good series, visually beautiful and really interesting story telling. Tutu isn't quite as complicated as it sounds on paper-- when you enter into the world it's not difficult to follow. I'd recommend both.

[tekalynn]

Rose of Versailles does an excellent job of mixing fictional and historical elements. Marie Antoinette and le beau Fersen did have a torrid long-term relationship in real life (though he's better looking in his anime incarnation, IMHO). I thought the whole "meet at a masked ball" thing was ridiculously cliched when I first saw--but that's actually how they met! She was also rumored to be in sexual relationships with her girlfriends, which she denied in letters to her mother--but then again, who in their right mind would come out to Maria Theresa? *grin*

Oscar is wonderful and has such a marvelous character arc, especially in the second half of the show. I can never decide whether she or Andre is my favorite character. Those last episodes...oh my.

[bitterfig]

I really like the way Rose of Versailles shows Oscar's growing awareness of the problems and inequalities in France and the struggle between her sense of duty and desire for justice. Also her efforts to deny her femininity and capacity for love which she sees as weakness are very poignant. It was a pretty amazing series all in all.

I've read that as the French Revolution was building rumors about Marie Antoinette having lesbian affairs were spread to tarnish her reputation. Apparently there were pornographic pamphlets about her and Madame de Polignac. I've always found this interesting, and ambiguous. On the one hand it was motivated by homophobia, accusations of lesbianism being used to show decadence but it a way it almost seems like those pamplets, like Tijuana bibles are sort of proof that ordinary people have always had the impulse to read about and create erotic stories based on the lives and stories of popular characters which is one of my arguments for the legitimacy (and possiably literary merit) of fan fiction...