K
Kamaduck
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Other forum members should be warned that this whole post contains SPOILERS for Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica. Maybe some for Attack on Titan, too.
It’s not terribly deep, no, but questions are raised and answers are explored.
It’s honestly something that reminds me of what a high schooler might go through, metaphorically, while choosing a career. Is this what one really wants, or is it just what we think of as an “acceptable” path (like asking for healing rather than love)? And will we be able to take on the million responsibilities of adult life, things we’re not even told about until we’re there?
It’s extreme, yeah. But I was depressed when I watched it, and the fact that Madoka managed to force a tie with the witches, and with despair in general, made me pretty happy. So I don’t think one can say that it didn’t have anything other than shock value, because I and a ton of other people got a lot more than that out of it.
I dunno. I feel like it gets some points for semi-realistic psychology and discussion of the costs of warfare, even when the war is completely justified.
And no, you certainly don’t have to see depth where I see it, nor do you have to think something is a good work of fiction just because it has a minimal amount of depth. But there IS depth in this medium, and you don’t have to go back ten years to find it. Though I might have to go back ten years to find anything comparable to what you’d normally study in a literature or analysis class. Kino’s Journey might fit the bill. I think Princess Tutu and Planetes are worthy of analysis, too.
Steins;Gate is the weakest contender, imo, and it didn’t need as much gore or fanservice as it had. But time travel is not merely a plot device- it is the plot, and while the discussion of it is hardly scientific, it plays out similar to what I’ve seen in some hard SF. The really interesting thing is how time travel affects different people. Some want to use it to “fix” things about themselves, or about the world. Okabe becomes obsessed with going back and finding a version in which his friend isn’t killed. Some want to use the power for their own nefarious purposes.
It’s not terribly deep, no, but questions are raised and answers are explored.
I disagree. Certainly it’s not a good thing to want little girls to go throught that, but I don’t think one can argue that Madoka doesn’t have themes. You seem to be equating violence with a lack of depth, but the two are independent of one another. Madoka is a story about overcoming impossible odds, and about people learning the hard way what they want out of life. The girls all make wishes, but none of them (bar Madoka and arguably Homura) wish for the thing they want directly. Sayaka doesn’t wish for her friend to love her, she wishes for him to be healed, and feels betrayed when he falls for Hitomi. Kyoko tries to fix her family’s problems, but ends up making them worse. Mami wants a family and friends to be with, but she is forced to use her wish just to live, instead. As soon as they make their wishes, they are forced into a position of unfair responsibility, without being told what they signed up for (becoming a stone, anyone?).
It’s honestly something that reminds me of what a high schooler might go through, metaphorically, while choosing a career. Is this what one really wants, or is it just what we think of as an “acceptable” path (like asking for healing rather than love)? And will we be able to take on the million responsibilities of adult life, things we’re not even told about until we’re there?
It’s extreme, yeah. But I was depressed when I watched it, and the fact that Madoka managed to force a tie with the witches, and with despair in general, made me pretty happy. So I don’t think one can say that it didn’t have anything other than shock value, because I and a ton of other people got a lot more than that out of it.
I wouldn’t exactly say it has the depth of a classic, but the characterization and mysteries were solid. I wish it were licensed.
Attack on Titan is primarily an action/thriller show, and a good one at that. But where it really impresses me is portraying how people respond to an impossible, life-or-death struggle. You’ve got Jean, who just wanted to live as long as he could, and only made the decision to join the survey corps after his friend was killed. You’ve got Mikasa, who only wanted to protect Eren and happened to be really good at being a soldier, but then gives up too easily. You’ve got Armin, who has zero confidence but is completely willing to give everything he has. You’ve got Eren, who is so far above the normal action that he feels guilty, because so many people are dying to protect him. And you’ve got the adults in the Survey Corps, who have all found ways of dealing with the death they have to face every day- but even after all of that, most of them are still terrified when they face the titans. The fear never really goes away, but they’re doing what they feel needs to be done. The deaths are not pointless, they’re central to the messages about war. It’s a terrible thing that sometimes has to be done, so do it well and don’t let the sacrifice be for nothing. That’s far more sensible than what you find in a lot of shonen, which often have a similar message without bothering to count the cost.
I dunno. I feel like it gets some points for semi-realistic psychology and discussion of the costs of warfare, even when the war is completely justified.
I sort of realized it was hyperbole, but I wasn’t sure. 90-95% is my actual estimate. People say the number of books with any real depth is one in ten, so I don’t think one in twenty is so terrible.
And no, you certainly don’t have to see depth where I see it, nor do you have to think something is a good work of fiction just because it has a minimal amount of depth. But there IS depth in this medium, and you don’t have to go back ten years to find it. Though I might have to go back ten years to find anything comparable to what you’d normally study in a literature or analysis class. Kino’s Journey might fit the bill. I think Princess Tutu and Planetes are worthy of analysis, too.
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