If my monsters are imagined, why do they trigger the motion sensor lights?
Most people outside this fandom don’t even know that it is based on a manga, yet even people who don’t usually watch anime know the movie. It’s iconic and, alongside Bladerunner, defined the look and tone of countless other works in the general “cyberpunk” genre.
The aerial combat scenes are sick.
There is one cut that was especially great, where they are fighting inside the clouds and Tanya’s computational orb and the fighter’s tracer rounds are lighting up the clouds around her from the inside. Some of the best compositing I’ve seen in a long time.
The hollywood “adaptation” shits all over GitS
I hate that one as well.
It’s not for you. But its hardly offensive to the franchise.
That depends on what you define as “the franchise”. If you define it as “the manga”, this might well be true. But if you see the franchise as “the old anime movie and series”, then it’s a different discussion. The themes in GitS exist in a lot of works that aren’t GitS. What defines the franchise is not its themes alone but a combination of all the aspects it’s made of. The underlying themes are just one of those. And I would argue that the tone and art style are a lot more defining in this particular series than some esoteric plot points. The art style and tone of the 1995 GitS movie, as well as Bladerunner, have been a defining feature of the entire cyberpunk genre. So, from my point of view, this is definitely offensive to the franchise. It’s like turning John Wick into a pastel colored show about a petting zoo and saying that it’s still the same because the theme of him liking dogs is still intact.
Also, just to reiterate, even if it weren’t GitS I wouldn’t like it. It’s not “uhh, it doesn’t look like the movie, so I don’t like it”. It’s “I don’t like it because everything about it is shit AND on top of that, it doesn’t even share the aesthetics of the movie”. I honestly can’t understand how someone could like this first episode. Exposition, plot, pacing, narration, animation, score, cinematography, editing. It was all over the place. It’s just not a good episode. And it’s an even worse GitS episode.
I love those behind the scenes shots.
They skipped over the explanation in the anime, but there are special skills that are ultra rare (the king is king because of one of those) and she kept her Grimoire skill hidden. I think the explanation was that as the future queen consort she should not overshadow her fiancé, which she automatically would if anyone knew about her unique skill. As far as anyone outside her inner circle knows, she has just inherited her family’s ice magic.
As to why she lets everyone walk over her: she was raised to be that way. The question should be rather why does she switch so fast to the revenge side. The light novel makes that transition more gradual during her time in the cell and having her inner monologue helps that transition as well. The anime makes it look like all it took was that little speech fro her maid and she flipped a switch. But I’m okay with this to get the setup out of the way as fast as possible. In the end it doesn’t really matter why she is on the war path, the interesting part is what she does on it.
The only thing about it that I consider positive was the opening song. I dislike everything else, from character designs, art style, pacing, cinematography, color palette, character expressions, choreography, plot structure, exposition, score, to animation, and whatever else there is.
And before someone uhmakschually me, I am aware that this is based on the manga, but the anime movie is a lot more iconic than the manga, and to me GitS is the 1995 movie. This version here, I hate, and no “Uhm, but the manga…” does change that.
And just to be extra clear, even if this wasn’t an existing iconic IP, I would still criticize all the same points. Being so different from the iconic movie just gives it that extra push from “Not for me; I don’t care” to “This shits all over something that I like; I hate it”.
What do you expect? The Woobie was told to stay in the carriage, so she stays in the carriage. Otherwise, how else could Prince Perfect rescue the oblivious saint of convenient plot devices?
One of those extra slow characters.
she could also just derail everything by just saying something after being rescued:
“Oh hey, by the way, that fugly bitch over there? Yeah, she wants to kill me and my lifeblood to curse some princes or whatnot that are in the line to the throne before her little bastard son. Would be swell if y’all could stop her. thankies.”
But, noooo. Better stay silent and be upset that the guy who rescued her spoke a lie about her virginity.
Also, get a better executioner for Christ’s sake. What type of axe can be knocked of course so much by a stupid goblet?
Yep. I hate this exactly as much as I expected I would hate it. Maybe a little bit more.
SEIZON SENRYAKU!
This is burned into my brain like Chitanda Eru’s “Watashi kininarimasu!”. I mean it’s been 15 years and the first thing my mind does when reading “mawaru penguindrum” is screaming the catchphrase.
Good first episode. Seems quite faithful so far.
Don’t worry. It’s very different apart from that tropey setup.
Hmm. No-pan Kimono Azusa. Great start to the season.
This gives me deja vu, but I’ve checked and I haven’t read the light novel. But I swear I’ve seen the character design of the lizard girl before and the patrol of rescue adventurers as well.
In the words of the late Sean Lock: “That’s a challenging wank”
Saw that coming, but MC is likable.
The exposition is a bit hamfisted and everything feels rushed for such a slow paced story, but I feel like it could be a lot worse (Bookworm PTSD).
Look at it this way: Why start with something divisive like this adaptation instead of something universally beloved like the 1995 movie? I also highly doubt that anyone not familiar with the setting would be able to follow what’s happening (at least in this first episode).