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Archive for September, 2009

Maaaaaaaaaan, Black Hanekawa is all kinds of hot. A certain someone I know would probably melt from the neko-dialect itself. Hocchan BANZAI!

On another note, this episode was almost stolen by Nadeko. Argh… so cuteeeeeeee!!!!

Sigh, I wish we have more of her ;_;.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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After a little slowdown in the subs we have episode 10, a very character and drama centric episode. The students are busy with exams after a field trip (which I’m guessing was in the manga but left out of the anime), and once back in school Mihoshi and Souma-sensei are arranging what Hime and Edogawa think is a suspicious meeting. Following them around they meet up with Saku, possibly on his way back from buying a book, possibly there to stalk as well. With only two or three episodes left the drama and character background necessarily moves quickly this episode.

That’s an odd souvenir.

Arrr, I be Souni Scruffbeard, terror of the Carolinas, scourge of the Caribbean!

Edogawa has Ferrangi hearing. I wonder if he has the lobes for business?

Jiiiii

Continuing their stalking around the city, Saku, Hime, and Edogawa follow Mihoshi and Souma on their suspicious outing. Along the way they notice Roma, who Hime had previously dismissed when he was about to tell them his plans, walking together with Oumi. While they are staring at and admiring the lovely couple, Sayo walks up to them. While seeming disapproving of their stalking, she nonetheless joins them, her curiosity evidently getting the better of her.

On their ‘date’.

Man, if I were any good at carving I’d make a stalker Saku or Hime jack-o-lantern for Halloween using those silhouettes.

Be careful, it could be that flower shop run by bishonen with crappy backstories who go on lame adventures.

My other OTP. But Roma, what are you doing with that bolo tie?

She acts like she’s above stalking, but really she can’t resist.

Continuing to follow the pair, the other members of the Astronomy Club track them across a park, taking some drastic measures to avoid detection. After following them up a set of stairs they find Mihoshi and Souma at the Akeno family grave. Though they feel really awkward for intruding, a well-time loss of balance reveals their presence. At this point we get confirmation that Mihoshi’s dad is dead, having died years ago from a car accident. Mihoshi didn’t tell Saku because she was happy that he was keeping his memory alive by mentioning him. Everyone pays their respects, but on the way home everyone is clearly unsettled, even the usually unflappable Sayo.

Where did he get that wig so quickly?

Not what her clubmates expected.

As I suspected.

Poor guy.

This revelation seems to put everyone in a funk, even if it may have happened some time ago.

Days later at school we find out from Roma that he and Oumi were attending a practice exam at a school in the area together, while Roma was murderously stared down by Oumi’s fanclub. Feeling some kind of pressure Roma has been tired out. Mihoshi meanwhile is seemingly back to normal, but things are definitely not status quo for Saku and Hime in regards to her. Hime begins to interrupt her hugging Saku like normal, then suddenly stops and runs away. Saku himself is not sure what to do now that he knows about her dad’s death.

The lovely couple after taking the practice exam. Roma’s jealous competitors have no chance.

It’s a sign of how things are different when Mihoshi glomping Saku isn’t just shrugged off.

Hime is not immune either.

Mihoshi’s situation is even making one of her rivals hesitate.

A rather confusing time for everyone.

In the Student Council room Fumie is ending another day of hard work as Queen of the school when she remembers that she has a souvenir from the trip that she meant to give to Saku. But since it’s not immediately after the break she’s starting to feel awkward about giving it to him late. This worry is compounded by her two underlings drawing her attention to how Saku is acting differently in regards to Mihoshi.

Our Queen keeps a full schedule, but some things slip through the cracks.

Giving Saku the gift a day earlier likely would have just complicated the situation with Mihoshi the next, and to no avail since Mihoshi is clearly the author’s favorite.

It really is all of a sudden. Not bitter or anything.

Seems pretty status quo from here.

They joined the literature club to write doujinshi, didn’t they?

I’m not really comfortable with pity/guilt playing such a role in Saku falling for Mihoshi, making it harder for Fumie (not to mention for Hime.)

At the end of the day Fumie runs into Saku outside at the vending machines near the baseball field. As they start to talk a foul ball heads right for them, and Saku quickly takes the hit for his Queen, knocking both of them over in the process. I guess this is the ‘flag’ for the upcoming Fumie sequences. After getting up they find that Saku’s knee broke her glasses during the fall. While she tries to head home herself, without her glasses she’s having a hard time.

For Queen and High School!

I believe this is what the erogamers call a ‘flag’ or ‘trigger’.

Unfortunately Saku had no time to shield Fumie and plan his landing.

Fumie has rather poor vision with her glasses though.

Fumie accepts Saku’s help in walking home and they head to the neighborhood where she and Mihoshi live. It turns out Saku used to live in the same area, and he’s really surprised by how it has changed, and stayed the same, since he lived there. Getting a little overenthusiastic he starts goofing off at a park along the way, while Fumie considers his attachment to the past and thus his link to Mihoshi. While she makes a generous offer to Saku to help him or listen to him as the Student Council President, internally she has a Yamada (from Honey and Clover) internal dialogue, saying that she’s glad her glasses are broken so that she can’t see the look on Saku’s face as he acts nostalgic. While there is a moment of comic relief where she tries to hand the gift to a statue, it’s a rather heavy scene for her internally.

Or the right idea.

I’m wondering why he’s so overjoyed at the kids playground too Fumie.

I guess he really does have something in common with Mihoshi.

The first point of her internal monologue.

Gracious in defeat. Not that we didn’t know Mihoshi would win out from episode 01.

His falling for the childhood friend just because she’s the childhood friend disgusts me too my Queen.

So that’s where Edogawa got the idea for the ‘strategically placed’ stars on his festival t-shirt.

Shortly thereafter Fumie’s underlings run into them, apparently on the way back from buying snacks. After accompanying them a short while longer, they agree to take Fumie back home. Giving Saku his gift, Fumie departs for home. Saku then opens the envelope and finds a bookmark, an appropriate gift demonstrating her thorough understanding of Saku and why she should have won out over Mihoshi (I WILL NOT BE BITTER I WILL NOT BE BITTER I WILL NOT BE BITTER.) Then, seeing what I’m guessing is Jupiter’s light glinting off the bookmark, Saku runs after Fumie to ask her for a favor.

See they want Saku X Fumie too!

A very suitable gift, and cute too.

Depending on when this is this is either Jupiter (visible now and very bright) or perhaps a bright red star like Betelgeuse or Aldebaran (also visible now and later in the year.)

Her generosity is infinite, even now.

After a few days of Saku being absent from Astronomy Club Mihoshi starts to get depressed, and while Sayo tries to tell her to cheer up, she’s obviously worried about her. Meanwhile Fumie and Saku are preparing a plan to cheer her up, Fumie getting the necessary approvals for him. They have a chat about the idea, coming from a time when Saku and Mihoshi watched a meteor shower while on the phone, another event I’m guessing is in the manga but left out of the anime except in this mention.

It’s almost as bad as the rainy season when the skies were cloudy.

OVER 9000!

But Sayo can see through her attempt to appear upbeat.

Fumie in her spare pair of glasses, once again coming through with the paperwork.

Scene between Fumie and Saku are often set with windows as a background, and especially with yellow light.

Compare that scene with this one from episode 04.

Hime and Edogawa are once again spying, and burst in at an opportune moment, quickly subduing Fumie’s clubmates and confronting Saku about all the secrecy. But then they are let in on the plan. That night Mihoshi is still feeling down, and looking at a picture of her father when Saku arrives and tells her to come with him.

Hime: The fault, dear Fumie, lies not in our stars but in our writers. That we are rival characters. Fumie and Mihoshi growing up together: what should be in that ‘Mii-chan’? Why should that name be sounded more that yours?

Saku no baka! You’ve got two much better love interests. (I WILL NOT BE BITTER I WILL NOT BE BITTER I WILL NOT BE BITTER.)

I wonder if it was the anniversary or the letting everyone know that has put Mihoshi in such a rut.

Perhaps I see Honey and Clover in everything, but this reminds me a bit of a scene with Nomiya and Yamada. The lights in the background also remind me of some effects in Welcome to the NHK.

More stylized in a simple shapes way in SoraMani.

Another similar concept.

Taking Mihoshi to the school, Saku leads her up to the roof for a surprise meteor shower viewing. As this is the Geminids meteor shower, it should be sometime in mid-December (the shower peaks on December 14.) Everyone from the Astronomy and Literature Clubs seems to be in attendance, and they have kotatsu set up to keep everyone warm. Mihoshi then starts crying because she was lonely while all this was being set up, before she calms down and starts watching for meteors.

Mihoshi at this point still has no idea where she’s being taken.

Everyone is waiting, even Literature Club members.

Hime asks the hard questions.

Starting to watch the meteors Mihoshi gets teary eyed remembering her father, then settles in next to Saku. She takes his hand, and they exchange a moment of looking at each other before Mihoshi yells out for everyone to hold hands. The Literature Club underlings keep talking about how its love, though Hime makes a last ditch protestation of the official couple.

The meteor watching trip may have been her father’s last.

You can practically hear the Mihoshi fans squeeing.

Roma, that thrice lucky bastard! Going out with Oumi, getting to hold hands with Fumie and Hime. Edogawa is also obviously enjoying his spot.

Go out in mid-December for the Geminids, they’re supposed to be the best of the year.

It’s over Hime, despite all our cheering from the sidelines. Fumie and Hime shippers, stay strong brothers/sisters.

Sakuya-chan no korono no soko ni…Akeno Mihoshi…

Final Thoughts: - Well the official couple has now inevitably won out. It’s been fun cheering on my favorite though.

- Besides, Fumie can find a much better literature tsundere in college. High school romances rarely to never work out in the long run anyway. Sorry to those readers who may be in high school, but let’s be real.

- Heavy and quick development all around this episode. Everyone got a share of the drama to some extent.

- As I mentioned, I don’t really think Saku feeling bad for Mihoshi is a great turning point or basis for a relationship.

- IRL SoraMani: Just got a set of Plossl eyepieces and filters, and they improve the capabilities of my scope by OVER 9000 percent! Images are much clearer and I have a lot more options for magnification levels and viewing field size. Also got a camera mount, so I should be able to take better pictures. Now I just need the weather to cooperate, rain is forecast for all of the upcoming week

And now I present an ode to all the other Fumie fans.

Modified lyrics set to: Death Letter Blues by Son House

I got a letter this morning, how you reckon it read?

It said hurry, hurry the ship you love is dead.

I got a letter this morning, I say how you reckon it read?

It said hurry, hurry because the ship you love is dead.

You know I loaded up my bittorrent, started off the download,

When the torrent got there she saying it’s a gift and nothing more.

I loaded up my bittorrent and I say I started off the download.

I said when I got there, she was saying it’s a gift and nothing more.

You know she walked up close, she looked over at his face,

Said the good ole gal got to wait for a better tsundere.

I say she walked up close, I say she looked over at his face,

I said the good ole girl got to wait for a better tsundere.

You know it looked like 10,000 shippers were standing waiting for it to turn around,

We all know we love her, even when Saku let her down.

Looked like 10,000 standing waiting for it to turn around,

You know we all loved her, even when Saku let her down.

You know I didn’t feel so bad till the good ole sun went down

The writers long ago decided, there’s no way around.

I didn’t feel so bad till the good ole sun went down

I said the writers long ago decided, no way around.

You know it’s so hard to love someone don’t love you,

If you’re not the official couple he don’t care what you do.

It’s so hard to love someone that don’t love you,

You know if you’re not the writer’s couple, he don’t care what you do.

You know love’s a hard ol’ fall, make you do things you don’t want to do,

Love sometimes leaves you feelin sad and blue.

Love hard ol’ fall, make you do things you don’t want to do,

Love sometimes leaves you feelin sad and blue.

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Oh-ho, someone made Medaka really mad.

Well, looks like Medaka’s heading straight down the road of battle-shounen manga to survive eh. All we need next now is some evil/rival organization/student council/body to complete the transition….. oh wait, I guess the Enforcers already count.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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… so he says, Shin. What say you?

…. yeah, I’m starting on Cross＋Channel and I’m already liking it. The dialogue is really original and refreshing, never failing to incite laughs on my end even when Taichi makes the most perverted jokes around.

For now, I think I’ll aim for Touko (I am such a sucker for those types) then go for Miki next. Hopefully, I won’t be disappointed at the end.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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We finally get to the long awaited and highly anticipated BIG FIGHT and so far things look pretty bad for Mazinger Z as Kouji is unable to keep up with the best team that Dr. Hell has put together. Still while Kouji struggles it seems that every one from the Masses of the Kurogane House to Venus A are off to a good start. I just loved how Pygman was using endangered species to clear minefields, I bet that must have given PETA an aneurysm. Still it was strange for Pygman not even mentioning Africa and referring to it as that land. Oddly enough it seems that Sayaka was the one full of lose this time but Yumi who was so sure that Venus A was useless he lowered his shields to let Pygman in. I guess he was partially redeemed by blowing up his own base for Great Team Killing. Ashura turns out to be quite the coward as it was all a ploy by Dr. Hell to keep Mazinger Z from blowing his army to bits. Nevertheless everyone including Boss Borot reap a fearsome toll of dead Ashura Corps though the Iron Cross Army has yet to make their air drop. Still I cannot wait to see Mazinger Z dock with the God Scrander to continue this BIG FIGHT. Also looking forward to seeing that wife beater Kenzo get stabbed.

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Empires in anime are a fairly common phenomenon, especially in science fiction series. Looking at Japan’s history with being an empire and encountering others, here’s a rather too long post about how I see history perhaps influencing anime in the portrayal of different kinds of empires. This editorial is reconstructed from the main ideas of a paper I wrote during undergrad but have since lost everything but the images from, so bear with it if it’s not as polished as it was in its original form. It’s also been cut down heavily to save space, but it’s still a pretty long post. Since it’s been heavily cut, if you’re interested in the full version just contact me and I can send it to you.

I. Japanese Historical Experiences with Empires

Japan entered the international scene at the height of the ‘golden age of empires’, after the country opened at the prompting of the Americans in the late 19th century. The Meiji Restoration which soon followed created the political change necessary to begin looking outward into the wider world. At this point in history the Japanese leadership saw two main things. One, Japan was far less advanced than the imperial powers in terms of technology and political theory. And second, they looked to their neighboring countries and saw Western colonies and encroachment. A strong state and industrialization were seen as the means to both defending Japan from foreign interference and as the path to prosperity. Following a Prussian model of a highly centralized state with the individual subservient to its will, and combined with military inspiration from the fellow island nation of Britain’s command of the seas, Japan rapidly industrialized and developed. At first seeking to secure itself against the other colonial powers, it later joined with them to make territorial gains in Asia as well as competed with them in a realist sense and on an ideological level where Japan viewed itself as a ‘protector’ of Asian peoples against the Western powers. This ideology was sincerely believed by some, and used by the less sincere to gain their support for imperial expansionism.

II. British-styled Empires in Anime

Given that the British Empire was one of the most threatening empires to Japan as it first opened to the outside world, it is not surprising then that British-styled empires in anime are often portrayed as conquering, corrupt, and ‘the bad guys.’ However, possibly due to the British Empire’s preeminence during most of the imperial age, these empires are also often shown as the most refined and sophisticated. The members of the empire may be conquerors or ruthless, but the imperial citizens live in fabulous estates, host grand ballroom gatherings, practice chivalry, and live the romanticized aristocratic lifestyle that is often associated in both Japan and the West with the golden age of empires. The setting of Hakushaku to Yousei, for example, while not overly concerned with Victorian politics and international relations, still sets up the ideal vision of Imperial Britain at its height, technologically advanced, elegant, and cultured. The Read or Die OVA features an alternate timeline where the British Empire exists to the modern day, and while adding the more modern touches to the concept, it is notable the protagonists work for a British Empire and not the modern nation-state. In R.O.D. the TV the British Empire becomes an antagonist to the main characters, changing form from cool and elegant force for good to the more common antagonistic form.

Case Study: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion – The Holy Britannian Empire

The invasion of Japan by the Holy Britannian Empire showing Britannian holdings and bases.

The premise of Code Geass is that, in an alternate reality, Great Britain remained an absolute monarchy and also never lost its colonies in North America, expanding further into at least 18 ‘Areas’ including Japan via the power of its Knightmare Frame mecha. However one day a 17 year old student become caught in a recovery attempt by Britannian forces and receives an experimental power to force others to obey his orders. This boy, Lelouch, is an illegitimate son of the current Emperor and blames his mother’s murder on him. Thus he begins to utilize this power to realize his plans of destroying the entire empire, uniting various factions of the as yet unsuccessful Japanese insurgency.

The Holy Britannian Empire represents a common portrayal of the British influenced empire in anime. It is an expansionist empire that is also in competition with other large nations, the EEC (presumably mainland Europe) and the Chinese Federation. The Britannian Empire is also discriminatory and aristocratic. Elevens, the new name for the Japanese, are discriminated against and most live outside the settlement areas, in places like the Shinjuku Ghetto. Rule by the emperor is absolute, and positions are often based on birth. Suzaku Kururugi, the son of the last prime minister of Japan, is a gifted Knightmare test pilot and Honored Britannian, but still faces discrimination. While Suzaku attempts to prove his worth and reform the system from within, his long time friend Lelouch takes on the hidden identity of Zero with the goal of bringing down the empire through “the path of carnage.” He lives in the dormitory of his private academy, a huge, mansion like building. Complete with rose garden and landscaping reminiscent of a British estate, the academy is the bright side of Britannian rule. A sense of nobility also comes across in the Britannian military, as seen in the uniforms and titles of its members. Knightmare pilots are referred to as 騎士 (‘kishi’), or knights, and a common acknowledgement of orders is “Yes, My Lord” or “Yes, Your Highness” especially when a member of the royal family is commanding in the field.

III. German-styled Empires

German-styled empires in anime are often shown with a wider degree of variance between good and bad guys, reflecting two major perceptions of Germany from the 19^th to mid 20^th centuries. And there is as well a third strand relating to Germany’s and Japan’s shared place as defeated nations of WWII, as I will address at the end of this section. German-styled empires modeled after the Prussian and pre-Nazi German states are more often shown as strong, militaristic, but enlightened empires that protagonists often work with or alongside. Fullmetal Alchemist for example has a very Prussian state, and although problems develop involving its leadership and some of its past actions, the perception is that it is not on balance a negative force. The Reich/Empire in Legend of the Galactic Heroes also uses this model, to beautifully illustrate one of the main themes of the series, the advantages and disadvantages of dictatorship vs. imperfect, but rule-of-law oriented democracy. Given that Japan used this model to successfully industrialize, it is not surprising that it is often viewed favorably.

The other concept often used for a German-styled empire is based on elements of WWII Germany’s Nazi regime and is obviously an antagonistic state. Since they are so, at most we get protagonists who serve them out of loyalty to homeland, because they’re just caught in the middle or drafted, or because knowledge of the terrible actions committed are hidden from them. From this model though, we can find some cases of ‘sympathy for the devil’ or even downright historical revisionism. And this latter phenomenon is somewhat troubling, as it seems to be on the same wavelength as some of the historical revisionism seen in the fringe right-wing of modern Japanese politics and even among some otaku.

Case Study: Mobile Suit Gundam (U.C. 0079 through 0083) – The Principality of Zeon.

Left: Gihren Zabi giving his famous speech. Right: Oliver May striking a heroic pose at the end of the revisionist MS Igloo: Apocalypse 0079.

In that classic of anime, Mobile Suit Gundam, humans have expanded from an overcrowded Earth to orbiting space colonies. A peaceful independence movement led by Zeon Zum Daikun emerges in the colonies, but after his assassination by the Zabi family they seize power and declare the authoritarian Principality of Zeon independent. Utilizing their newly developed mobile suits, Zeon uses poison gas against several Earth-loyal and neutral colonies, dropping one dead colony on the Earth as a weapon. The Earth Federation eventually turns the tide with its own mobile suits, and with the death of the Zabis Zeon surrenders at the end of UC 0079. Remnant forces, feeling betrayed by this surrender, persist and in 0083 use a stolen, nuclear-armed Gundam prototype to destroy a large portion of the EFSF fleet and drop another colony on the Earth before being wiped out.

Connecting with Japan’s past, we have a high-minded philosophy and political movement taken over by militarists using the same language to rally support. The surrender of Zeon when it was not utterly defeated could be seen as either Germany’s position after WWI or the feelings of some in Japan after WWII was ended by nuclear blasts and surrender instead of grueling, bloody invasion of the home islands. There are also some material influences from both this era in German history and some from Japan’s experiences. The Zeon weapons are drawn to look very much, or in some cases exactly like, WWII German weapons, as are uniforms, helmets, and symbols. The EFSF symbol looks very much like that of the Japanese naval infantry anchor symbol, EFSF rank tabs are the same as Imperial Japanese ones, and the standard color scheme of the RGM-79 mobile suit is somewhat reminiscent of that of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s naval infantry uniform (red chest section on the MS with lighter colors elsewhere, subdued reddish-brown vest/jacket for the infantry with khaki for the rest.) We also get from this franchise a bit of the historical revisionism of the sort seen by right-wing extremists in Japan with the first two MS Igloo series, Hidden One Year War and Apocalypse 0079. Revisionist Zeon propaganda, these OVA series show the Zeons fighting a hopeless yet noble, mostly defensive war against the cackling, merciless EFSF forces while acting shocked when they witness the colony drop and thereafter even the worst characters like Cuspen are redeemed as being at worst fanatics in defense of their homeland.

IV. Japanese-styled and Pseudo-Japanese Empires

This type of empire in anime seems somewhat less common, but it is still noteworthy. Japan’s rise to becoming a great power was an amazing achievement. In a short amount of time the country went from a small, feudal, insular country without modern technologies to a centralized state with modern industry, new laws, and a military on par in most respects with that of the Western powers. All this in comparison to what was happening elsewhere in Asia: colonization by Western powers, the splintering of China into various warlord regions, the Unequal Treaties, and territory trading among the great powers (which later included Japan as it took control of various holdings on the Asian mainland.) It is a tantalizing prospect to imagine what might have been if Japan had continued on its initial path and/or made different choices, and some series directly play with this scenario while others seem to take inspiration from it. Sakura Taisen is an example of the former, with the protagonists part of an elite imperial corps of soldiers, agents, and mecha pilots. Set in the 1920’s in an alternate timeline, we see an idea of what the Japanese Empire could have been. Although this does ignore the expansion that had already taken place at that time (Korea was annexed in 1910 for example), it is still an idealistic picture of Imperial Japan as a benevolent force in the world. Less clearly connected, but I believe still influenced by Japan’s history, is a sort of pseudo-Japanese-styled empire. I would define the characteristics of this type as having some or all of the following: new and/or advanced technology, a monarch with a central role or influence in policy, benevolent policies in general, and a disposition towards neutrality or only reluctantly taking sides. While I wouldn’t in all instances say this is a one-for-one comparison, I think this type of empire is influenced by the Japanese perception of an ideal empire that might have been. The Abh Empire in Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars would be an example of this.

Case study: Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars – The Abh Empire

The crest of the Abh Empire.

The Abh Empire in Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars is a bit different in that they aren’t exactly normal humans, though they do readily accept normal humans from vassal planets into their ranks if of important birth or political standing such as Jinto Lin. This empire is technologically advanced, tries to remain neutral, generally treats its subjects well, and has a strong role for its royal family. The three other spacefaring powers in CotS/BotS all make demands of the Abh Empire, though they clearly plan from the beginning to militarily make territorial gains at the Abh Empire’s expense. This can be viewed in two ways. The idea of ‘foreign pressure’ (外圧 ‘gaiatsu’) is very common in Japanese politics and popular perception to the present day, often used by politicians in relation to Japan’s post-WWII relations with America in particular, by saying that they have no choice due to pressure from their US ally. The argument is also made by some as to how Japan became involved in the Pacific War (WWII) against America, that it had no choice due to resource embargoes in retaliation over Japan’s invasion of China. The other way to read this is that the human powers, seeming either devious or clumsy (and whose clothes look rather Western whereas the Abh wear futuristic garb. And the ambassador from the United Mankind looked like Mikhail Gorbachev for crying out loud) are a way of presenting Japan’s feelings of being surrounded by other, older empires who were ethnically different from Japan. In the ideals of the early Japanese Empire, Japan was as strong as the Western empires but a benevolent protector of other Asian countries (a common propaganda phrase was “Asia for Asians”.). One of the ambassadors specifically refers to the Abh Empire as “the professed protectors of [the regions in dispute].” Perhaps these historical ideas have influenced in some ways the construction of the Abh Empire and its society.

V. Other Points of Interest and Conclusion

What of other empires, such as the Roman, Persian, Russian, Chinese, or others throughout history as models of fictional empires? Or an American Empire, if you want to get all Andrew Bacevich (though given the modern predominance of US power, this would take us into a more modern concept of empire than the traditional ones I’ve mostly discussed. Perhaps Union from Gundam 00 would fit this concept.) One could argue (and I would) that the East Europan Empire in Valkyria Chronicles is as much Imperial Russian as German both by geography and organization. We have a bit of a Chinese empire in Code Geass R2, but in the scope of the story it is rather insignificant.

In sum, anime is a product of its culture, as is all fiction. I hope that I have presented here the points of my argument that the portrayal of empires in anime is linked to Japan’s history with them and with being one, and that there are three predominant forms of portrayal. As this is not an academic paper I haven’t included citations (digging up all those old citations would have been much more work than I’m willing to do for fun), though I am drawing from various courses, readings, documentaries, and personal perceptions over the years in writing this. I welcome your own insights and interpretations on this topic (if you’ve managed to read this whole damn thing.)

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Well, that took a lot longer than I expected to finish, but here I am, Alliance of the Golden Witch finally read through.

Doing it Twitter-style again, albeit, it’s quite long LOL.

>>I’M NOT FALLING FOR THE SAME DERE-DERE BEATO TRICK AGAIN. SCREW YOU WITCH.

>>Whoa, “don’t do it again” huh Battler. Damn right we won’t fall for that same trick again. BITCH.

>>’sup Ange! Yeah give that witch a nice FALCON PUNCHHHHHHHH

>>Ange’s life…. BAWWWWWWWWWWWWW

>>Oh Maria…. ;_;. Don’t you just hate that stupid rule, no, certainty of school life? Especially when you’re the kid bullied? Sigh…

>>Amakusa’s profile sure makes his sound like he’s Kurz.

>>Great, first red text, and now we have blue text as well?!

>>Kyrie is a scary woman. A really, really scary woman…. considering that even scarier younger sister she has, I guess it must run in the family.

>>I hadn’t realised it, but the Seven Stakes were really just one-use summons? That’s so sad. Go go Ange, gotta summon ‘em all!

>>Whoah, Lambda’s shooting things really directly to Ange. Well, Bern can be really shrewd too…..

>>Are all witches this evil? Lambda really scares me to a degree that’s almost the same but different than Beato.

>>Rosa is such a QUALITY mother.

>>To deny the existence of witches and magic yet accepting the existence of magic and witches…. sure is contradictory, but as Devil’s Proof goes, you can’t prove a negative fact.

>>Oh fuck, it’s Kinzo Goldsmith.

>>He isn’t seriously planning to….

>>OH SHIT HE IS! THREE SIESTAS SUMMONED!!!!1111

>>First to die, poor Natsuhi.

>>Next up, Rudolf. Well I guess this means no fancy gun action this round, eh.

>>Ah poor Hideyoshi. Always getting the short end of the stick.

>>Good night, Genji-san.

>>Ah the bitch dies as well. (read: Eva)

>>And final of the first six is QUALITY mom Rosa.

>>Hey wtf Ronove’s here too?! And Virgillia too!

>>Ooh! New character. Gaap has some really bold fashion sense.

>>I’ll repeat this again, Rosa is such a QUALITY mom. Still terrible to see Maria doing that to her though… sigh, this is what you get when you betray a child’s innocent trust. （￣へ￣）

>>Ahaha, flustered Virgillia. Gaap sure knows how to tease.

>>Three choices huh. Jessica’s answer reflects her nobility while George’s answer reflects his love. Still, didn’t expect that from George.

>>WHOA JESSICA FALCON-PUNCHING RONOVE.

>>Whoa, Taichichuan. George vs Gaap fight is filled with GAR.

>>Virgillia is hillariously clumsy in this episode isn’t she?

>>Whoa, Kanon and Shannon fighting for serious for the first time. Let’s see what their real power is…

>>LOL WTF Shannon bombed the Siestas with a magic EMP pulse?!

>>Oh shi…! Virgillia opened her eyes!

>>LOOOOOOOOOOL sure sounds like the Siesta’s are using some messed up form of Windows. Adminstrator Privilages, IME’s and what not. Ahahahahaha.

>>loooooooooooooooooooooooooool the goats are sure stupid. “Virgillia-sama is trying to steal the prize.” AHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAHAA

>>Hahah, episode 24. Breaking the fourth wall a bit here aren’t we, ryukishi?

>>Loser flags? WTF?!!

>>LOL WTF they’re counting power levels now? Krauss’s power is OVER9000!!!!!!!

>>Is it just me, or is Gaap’s power was inspired from Portal?

>>…… so Ronove and Gaap were both trolling from the start? WTFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!! GOD DAMN IT BEATOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

>>Oh noes, Krauss and the others! Virgillia must’ve been acting the whole time too!

>>So this is how you’re gonna do it this time huh, Beato? “Believe in magic for the sake of our deaths.”? That’s bullcrap, Battler, and you know it!

>>13 down and it’s not even the second day yet. This arc was long, but fast.

>>Beato finally makes her appearance. And she’s half-drunk this time, lol. Awesome BGM btw.

>>Six years ago? Another time-jump flashback coming up?

>>Eh? Two Beatos? WTF is this shit?!

>>Huh? Beato’s leaving the game? Wouldn’t that make Lambda a bit…. mad?

>>Oh dear, she did piss off everyone else with that irresponsible running away. What happened to you, Beato?

>>WHAT! Battler’s mother isn’t Asumu?! Wait.

>>Oh no… Battler was erased?

>>Back to 1998. Ah man, poor Ange. Amakusa, please make yourself useful soon….

>>Oh there wasn’t any need for him. The Seven Ass-neechans saved the day… for now.

>>Huh? Beato and Maria created their own Reality Marble and ran there.

>>I don’t get it, but Ange tore apart the Reality Marble and forced Beato back in to the game. But really what is Beato’s true face?

>>Ah, Ange revealed her true identity to Battler. With the red truth too.

>>Oh shit, trollface Beato!!

>>Oh no, ANGE sacrificed herself to wake up Battler.

>>WTF I saved the game for dinner just one line right before the ending? LOL.

>>Wow, that was… unexpected of the ending. So Beato actually is suffering from something that we don’t know yet and she is asking Battler to kill her. Possibly connected to the sin Battler supposedly committed in 1980?

>>Tea Party Time: Back to Rokkenjima, Day 2. Looks like Battler and Maria are the only ones left this time.

>>Tea Party Time: … or not. Maria died too. Committed suicide?

>>Tea Party Time: Is Battler going to end up being the lone survivor of Rokkenjima this time?

>>Tea Party Time: Ah, Beato appears!

>>Tea Party Time: Blue vs Red eh.

>>Tea Party Time: Beato… your acting is really top-notch this time. B…b..b..but I won’t fall for it anymore! For Ange’s sake!

>>Tea Party Time: Disturbing final question from Beato, “Who am I?”

>>???? Time: Wow Kakera #. Bern wasn’t kidding when she said “billions” in the truest sense. Best to see it as infinite.

>>???? Time: WTF. Bern and Lambda were in it together all the time?! Poor Ange.

>>???? Time: Looking back at it…. definitely no one was on Beato’s side fully all this while. I guess the game is a bit one-sided when you look back at it. Poor Beato.

Yeah, that was truly a looooooooong read. Episode 4 is so heavy, I no longer doubt that a proper anime adaptation won’t be made of it.

One really does start off this arc with a weird mindset, having been tricked by Beato throughly in the previous episode, I started off swearing not to believe any more of her tricks.

Then Ange and friends really took this arc through a long sidetrip both in to the future and in to the past, revealing details about Maria and Beato’s relationships, Ange’s past, the situation after the Rokkenjima murders and so on, to finally culminate in an important turning point at the end of the VN. But the ???? section really did rub a lot of salt in to that wound. Now I’m really viewing both Lambda and Bern truly as non-human existences, far beyond human understanding.

This episode also had quite a lot of action, with the highlights being George and Jessica squaring off with Gaap and Ronove respectively, and also the hillarious triple counter punch by Krauss. Seriously, LOL.

But in the end, that’s a really big cliffhanger left there at the end of the Tea Party by Beato…. I really can’t wait for End of the Golden Witch to be translated.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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KITAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s have a butt load of screencaps then my impressions, kay?

I wouldn’t have minded a bit more Iincho screentime. It’s never boring with her around.

Sayaka Ohara fits well as Donnet. But I can’t forget her cackles yet ( *=‿=*)

Ahahaha~ Negi and Nekane finally reunite. Miyuki Sawashiro as Nekane is okay, but feels underutilized.

On the other hand, Akira Ishida as Fate is sooooo fitting. That menacingly condescending tone is so nicely pulled off by him.

“Take that!” Ah Negi-kun’s legend of GAR-ness unfolds another new chapter here.

Wait, WTF! WHY IS THERE A HENSHIN SCENE FOR ADEAT?!! I THOUGHT WE WOULDN’T BE SEEING THIS SHIT IN THE OAD!!!! FFFFFFFFFFFFFF (╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)

Ahh~ Secchan is so kakkoii~~ ヽ(´௰｀ )ﾉ

Sica Shishikuro in action for the first time!

COUNTER-PUNCH. Fate is a man that truly believes in paying back his debts.

Whoa… Yue, what is that mizugi I DON’T EVEN

First thoughts first, things are cut out quite a bit, but unavoidable anyways considering the limited budget. At least most of the important plot/character building bits got cameo appearances.

Best part of this OAD is definitely the action scenes. Despite my initial displeasure, I did quite enjoy the action parts well enough. I do wish they animated it more smoothly, which brings me to my next point…

Admit it, the animation quality is terrible. It’s not unwatchable, but for a direct-to-DVD release, the animation quality I expected from it is terrible. Maybe the upscaled raw contributed a bit to my negative impressions, but it still feels terrible when compared to the animation quality in the Ala Alba OAD. I heard SHAFT is in terrible need for more manpower, and now I think I highly agree with that. Anyways, I hope conditions improve for the next few OAD’s and the upcoming movie.

Nothing to say about the new OP and ED. Negima music really isn’t my cup of tea most of the times, despite all the star-power they put in there. Might as well just get Hocchan to compose her songs for it rather.

New additions to the cast are fitting to their characters, but I hear Kamiya Hiroshi is voicing adult Negi. I can’t say I quite agree with that, but Kamiya’s voice has a surprising flexibility when it comes down to doing it, so it might not be too bad. Well, we’ll see in the next OAD.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Evaaaaaaaaaaaa~~~!!! It’s been a while!!!!

And now, back to the main plot.

Hmm, three companions huh.

Nodoka & Asakura I understand but why Chisame…..

OH LOL WHAT! “I just want you by my side all the time.” Wait… when… what?!!

Finally…. the true culprit of that day is…?

Oh dear… goddamned politics.

UPPERCUT OF RAGEEEEEEEEE!

Heh, straight off the one week break and Akamatsu directly throws us this. He sure is good at picking the pace up.

At this point, I don’t think the revelation of the true culprit behind the attack on Negi’s village is surprising anymore considering all the hints we’ve been given earlier. So I guess there a real good reason why the real world and the magic world don’t seem to get along very well with each other, and considering the politics and stuff… hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Fate turns out to be the good guy!

Can’t wait to hear the details next chapter. And on what side is Godel truly on?

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Now that the Macross is out of immediate physical danger, the crew and refugees’ attention turns to other things. The ship’s engineers have managed to project a fake sky on the ceiling of the town area to provide a sense of normalcy and a Macross Broadcast System is established to provide a venue for entertainment and news. The first broadcast of MBS is a planned ‘Miss Macross’ competition where a variety of candidates will be judged and the final winner selected by audience vote. Meanwhile the Zentradi have dropped their jamming and are beginning to pick up some of the MBS signals. Curious, Commander Britai hatches a dastardly plan to steal the Macross’s cable and get their premium channels.

A little early to be hitting the whiskey, isn’t it Minmay?

Max, a genius and a poet. Even the other pilots are getting excited for the competition.

In Lo-def where available.

The Zentradi military is too cheap to spring for more than basic cable.

We’ll install the splitter on their cable line and run the wire back to our ship.

After much anticipation the Miss Macross competition takes place in an amphitheater in the residential section of the ship and broadcast on MBS. To narrow down the large field of contestants, several judges are chosen to form a panel, Captain Global among them. Then the prize is announced, a custom built stunt plane similar to Hikaru’s old one, which is an odd choice considering that most girls who would participate in a beauty contest wouldn’t have a clue how to pilot it. As the show begins, everyone on board seems to be watching it, even the bridge crew while they’re on duty. Claudia even remarks to Misa that she should have entered, but the Lieutenant has much more important things to do.

The Macross’s team of elite UN AV special forces.

There can be only one.

Even the bridge bunnies have tuned in.

Could you imagine other sci-fi captains having to judge something like this?

No, I didn’t think so either.

But as things are getting underway with the competition the Zentradi recon craft comes into range of the Macross’s sensors, alerting the bridge crew. The standby flight is called to intercept, which would be Hikaru if he hadn’t left to go watch Minmay at the competition and given his subordinates the night off as well. The bridge crew tries to contact Hikaru while backstage at the show Minmay meets Jamis Merin, a famous singer who happened to be on South Ataria Island when the Macross lifted off. A big fan of hers, Minmay asks for an autograph, but Jamis walks away while her manager, predecessor to the similarly unkind Grace O’Connor, tells her to line up for an autograph like everyone else. Just as Minmay goes out onto the stage, Hikaru is called up over the ship-wide PA system, ordering him to contact the bridge immediately. Misa reprimands him for not being ready to launch while on duty, and Roy teases him a bit as Hikaru dashes off for the nearest taxi. Entering the hangar, Hikaru launches to intercept the recon craft.

Cue to straight from Gundam sound effects. Like, EXACTLY the same. While I can’t pinpoint the times in the show it played, the same sound is played right as you launch your mobile suit in Encounters in Space for the PS2.

Have fun watching MBS from the brig Hikaru, right after Misa and Claudia give you some Bright Slaps for not being at his post.

When I was still young, one day riding the green bike I always used to ride, I thought “how far can I go without GETTING BUSTED FOR DERELICTION OF DUTY?”

No Sheryl and Grace, that’s for sure.

Minmay’s debut.

Hikaru-kun, denwa…

Launching in a new model, up-armored VF-1 (that wasn’t approved for this mission), Hikaru heads out to confront the snooping Zentradi craft. But while flying he keeps tuning into the Miss Macross competition and tunes Misa out, claiming interference. At the same time the Zentradi AV Club onboard their recon craft are both puzzled and engrossed by the broadcast they’re intercepting. Analyzing and debating the broadcast, the three Zentradi otaku are most surprised when Hikaru almost rams their ship, he also being distracted by the swimsuit competition.

Pretty sweet looking.

Shortly afterwards Hikaru was pulled over and arrested for piloting under the influence of hormones.

I prefer the Misa Channel myself.

Tivo: engaged!

Hikaru after almost crashing into the Zentradi.

You obviously haven’t watched enough anime.

The fat otaku Zentradi is getting all doki-doki.

Snapping back to their senses, the Hikaru and the Zentradi begin to engage each other. At first Hikaru launches a large amount of missiles from the up-armored VF-1, which deal little damage to the Zentradi craft. After taking fire from the ship, he jettisons the outer armor and weapons pieces and engages the craft with his main guns. Doing significantly more damage this time around, the Zentradi craft is crippled and the crew rushes to the escape pod. Hikaru then punches a hole through the hull to investigate, but by this time the crew had already evacuated the ship and all he notices before it explodes and nearly takes him with it is that the Zentradi where monitoring the MBS.

Cool looking, but ineffective against this target.

Removable armor over most of the body. This predates the RX-78 NT1, though it doesn’t include the sweet wrist-box mounted machine guns.

Run, the cable company’s on to us!

Not the greatest idea to enter a ship you just thoroughly shot into.

The recon ship destroyed, everyone on the bridge immediately switches back to the Miss Macross competition, putting Hikaru’s lack of contact down to him watching the competition. While Hikaru’s VF-1 floats in space badly torn up from the exploding Zentradi recon craft, the competition has eliminated all but the final contestants and the audience voting is about to begin. Roy observes to Max and Kakizaki that the whole thing was a set up to increase Jamis Merin’s popularity. But as the final voting is up to the audience, Minmay is picked as the winner, her strategically timed ‘accidental’ fall on stage having helped to win them over via sympathy. Hikaru regains consciousness just in time to watch Minmay being crowned over his MBS feed in the cockpit of his Valkyrie.

Short attention spans.

If you act irresponsible people will assume you are…

…when in fact you’re floating helplessly in space.

Wow that guy looks creepy.

They just didn’t have time for her to change out of the swimsuit. Honest!

A few days later the Macross has given up on trying to shake the Zentradi and so decides to open communications with Earth. While the channel is not secure, UN HQ intimates that help in some form is on the way, but that the Macross will have to buy them a little more time. They also apparently overestimated the threat posed by the Zentradi, because while powerful, they weren’t expecting UN forces to stand up to them as well as they have. Another skirmish occurs, with Hikaru and Max downing a Zentradi each and Kakizaki once again having bad luck and getting hit. Hikaru wants to return to base to have his wingman’s Valkyrie repaired, though Misa is reluctant to let them return. After berating her for not understanding the risks they’re taking, Roy intervenes and orders Hikaru and his wingmen to RTB. The Zentradi are planning another attempt on the Macross, this time with the objective of taking prisoners for information, while Kamjim Kravshera makes plans of a different sort. During the warning shot that Britai plans, Kravshera’s ship will ‘miss’ and hit the Macross directly.

Proto-Gendo pose.

Chalk up another one for Max ‘the Blue Baron’ Jenius.

Better get that checked out, you never know when a small hit might ruin your day. Just ask Lt. Burning.

Bang.

Between attacks Hikaru has a date with Minmay and waits for her in a park. He wonders why she’s so late, when three of the bridge bunnies show up to mess with him. First they tease him about being stood up, then Shammy asks if the girl he’s waiting for is pretty, then if she’s prettier than they are. Hikaru dodges that trap by saying she’s about even with them, and then notices a robotic phone going around with a message for him. The bridge bunnies get behind him to watch the videophone conversation with Minmay, expecting something good. She’s at singing lessons, which I assume is foreshadowing the Macross singing scenes of legend, and won’t be able to make their date this time.

A better love interest than Minamy. At least that’s what I’m waiting for.

Vanessa sees where this is going.

Hikaru wisely sidestepped that one. With some more training he might make a good White House Press Secretary.

“Come on Shammy, this will be good.”

It might seem frivolous, but this is the Macross universe so that singing lesson will probably prove militarily useful later.

The Zentradi warning shot goes off as planned for the first volley, nearly hitting the Macross but causing no damage. But during the second volley Kravshera moves his ship forward and fires its main cannon at the Macross’s conning tower, burning through the pinpoint shields and shooting straight through to the other side. Several sensor and communication antenna are destroyed, and the radar room and its crew are no more. Compounding this, an asteroid was destroyed by the Zentradi fire sending fragments into the side of the Macross. Following the attack the Zentradi send a demand to surrender to the Macross, having learned enough of their language to speak to the humans. Captain Global wants a Cats Eye launched to make up for the lost sensors, but Misa at first hesitates remembering Hikaru’s words to her earlier. Then she volunteers to fly the mission herself, with Hikaru, Max, and Kakizaki as an escort.

A couple hundred shots across their bow.

Kravshera has a different concept of a warning shot however.

Misa is now reluctant to send others out on the recon mission, realizing the risks they face.

“Nutz!” would also be an appropriate response.

The recon flight launches to scout out the area around the Macross, playing into the Zentradi’s plan to obtain prisoners. After a Regult makes a few passes at the recon flight, Misa authorizes the Valkyries to engage despite Hikaru’s misgivings. While they leave formation to engage, Misa’s Cats Eye is attacked by several Regults and a recon craft, and is damaged heavily by an asteroid in an attempt to escape. The pilot is dead and Misa unconscious as the Cats Eyes is brought aboard. Hikaru then notices this and leads his team towards the ship, blasting their way into and through the ship.

Scouting out the debris field.

Or a plot device.

Stay on target.

To the rescue.

After securing Misa, Hikaru and his team end up in melee combat with Commander Britai, who is surprisingly and admirably good at fighting his own battles. Max eventually grabs a hold of him and restrains him, and has Kakizaki fire missiles to punch a hole in the hull. Then, in an act of badassery that is one of the things that’s quickly making Max a favorite character of mine, he FLIES BRITAI UP AND THROWS HIM INTO SPACE!!! If the Zentradi were as vulnerable to the vacuum as humans he would have just killed the commander of their fleet! Unfortunately for the pilots Britai manages to climb pack inside the ship. The three Valkyries take turns using their lasers to cut through a door, though why they didn’t just use the hole Kakizaki’s missiles made is beyond me (maybe they want to go deeper into the ship?) Then, as Kakizaki is cutting, Britain again flies down from above, landing a heavy blow to the top of the Valkyrie. We’re then left with the first real cliffhanger ending of the show.

Britai can fight his own battles it seems.

THIS. IS. MACROSS!

Too bad for the humans the Zentradi seem to have either evolved or been engineered to function in the vacuum for short periods.

Final Thoughts: – Britai just became a much cooler character in my eyes. I’m also generally impressed with how competent the antagonists are compared to many shows.

- That up-armored VF-1 was quite a nice design. I look forward to seeing more of it and other variants.

- While I like Roy, Max is getting so much screentime being awesome that he’s winning the race for coolest pilot.

- Episode 09 was just so goofy it was great. While I always enjoy the srs bsns episodes more, something fun like that is nice once in a while.

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