Part-time mobsters is back! And this week they are having a picnic on a boat before sleeping together in a corner of the room.
Uh yeah. I guess character developments everywhere. That and even the Love Arcana is tired of the otome lead of being indecisive and telling her to choose a guy already. More otome games need a supernatural being to tell you that you can't choose them all.
I have my doubts. And the two screenshot you posted are not really prime examples of good character designs - the mother looks like a doll for example.
In From the New World the music is clearly supposed to be foreboding. However, as a British person (and I don't know if my fellow citizens can back me up on this) all I can think about when I hear that tune is Ridley Scott's heart-warming advert:
It's not a good sign when the highlight of your episode is not the dramatic CG boss battle, but the comedy sequence. This suggests that something has gone awry with your production.
This Heathcliff guy seems pretty suspicious. He's basically in command of the biggest Guild and he can order around other Guilds and the main characters and he doesn't take any damage? Call me crazy, but that seems a little odd.
It was kind of funny how the commander could sit and theorize how the BETA and certain classes are formed while their battalions are under attacked and
Laser Class are destroying their Bombers
.
Enjoyable post credit scene with
The new 94 Second that looks awesome! Though I hated how the Zhar Battalion was wiped out. Did they really not survive after wiping out the laser class or did their own forces wipe them out after they did that?
Once again, this demonstrates how important the notion of childhood is to the story being told. Childhood is a time of obeying adults instructions and following their guidance, of obeying rules that perhaps you're too young to understand the full implications of. The world of this show is filled to the brim with such rules: don't stay out too late, don't cross the boundary line, don't look in the courtyard etc etc. Compliance with these rules seems very important, presumably become it limits the children's interaction with the 'outside world'. A world that the adults are trying to keep hidden and about which we, in the audience, know nothing at all.
Damn right! Saki only says she doesn't like those 'Fiend and Karma Demons' stories, so for the moment it doesn't seems they question those, and only show a general sentiment of like or dislike (but not distrust) towards what they read or are taught, not dispute what their elders 'feed them' yet. For a first episode this makes a good job in creating a base from which their curiosity will breed out from now on, as it appears to be natural.
So have you guys got any comments on theories/wild speculations that I posted during my From the New World review? Do you think I'm on track or have I drawn too many inferences from too little information? Let me know!
So have you guys got any comments on theories/wild speculations that I posted during my From the New World review? Do you think I'm on track or have I drawn too many inferences from too little information? Let me know!
that was very interesting. This was a very very well done opening, without spelling everything out they pretty much set up how the world is now and at the same time it keeps the viewer in mystery of what's actually happening. You can tell that there is a lot more happening than what these kids know yet. I quite liked the overall mood, it felt somewhat heavy to me, I'm half expecting some horrible things to happen later or maybe they want the viewer to think like that, this episode kind of reminded me of The Village (Shyamalan's film) . Really looking forward to see how this unfolds.
It does actually. Only I have a feeling that Im going to be a bit disappointed if I hold Prism Nana to the same high standards Madoka set. That show was so perfectly executed for what it was. This will no doubt be more light hearted fluff.
There's a lot to unpack here and I don't really know how far I should delve into the rabbit hole at this venture, but then again speculation is fun. Actually, considering how little the show gives you to work with, I suppose speculation is necessary.
This episode opens with a brief sequence depicting 'the world as we know it' before jumping into the distant future, where mankind has reverted into some kind of agricultural society. There's a twist, however, in that
mankind, or at least this region of it, appears to have developed psychic powers. Everyone, apparently, has to go a variety of particular schools and undergo certain rituals to be fully trained in these powers. Very little is explained about their origin in this episode, but in the sequence we see during the opening it appears that certain individuals spontaneously gained physic powers, with gruesome results.
This episode has little interest in directly filling in the backstory of what's happened in the past 1000 years, neither are we told anything about the world that the main characters inhabit. This is for a very good reason - the protagonist, Saki, and all her friends are children. We see the world through their eyes, sometimes literally, as in this shot where the adult towers above the child:
This allows the show to build up the mystery of the setting in an organic, rather than contrived manner. We get the sense that there's a lot that these children have not been told by their parents, elders, and teachers. They are used to following instructions, obeying and not directly questioning authority. We see this in a couple of sequences. Firstly, during sequence of the 'future' Saki experiences some kind of religious ceremony whose real purpose is unclear, the elders at the Temple simply instruct Saki how to act and she does so willingly. Presumably her parents of briefed her on what this entails but the whole event has a suspicious air to it. Later on in the episode one of Saki's classmates reads from a textbook that contains a tail of a child who broke the rules, specifically he broke the rule to never, ever cross the boundary line that surrounds the village because if you do some scary monster will come eat you up. Saki's classmate recites the story upon her teachers instruction and then the class move on to something else - but no one questions the veracity of the story, or how it clearly seems like something made up to ensure compliance with what appears to be a fairly arbitrary rule.
Once again, this demonstrates how important the notion of childhood is to the story being told. Childhood is a time of obeying adults instructions and following their guidance, of obeying rules that perhaps you're too young to understand the full implications of. The world of this show is filled to the brim with such rules: don't stay out too late, don't cross the boundary line, don't look in the courtyard etc etc. Compliance with these rules seems very important, presumably become it limits the children's interaction with the 'outside world'. A world that the adults are trying to keep hidden and about which we, in the audience, know nothing at all.
What we can detect, and what Saki has certainly has noticed, is that there's something wrong with the Academy, with her parents, with the life that they lead. There's a number of things which feel off - these instances of foreshadowing and discomfort are delivered by some really precise cinematography and editing. One technique that I'm quite fond of is the extremely quick edit they use something slightly weird is happening: such as when Saki and boy spot 'white slug', or when Saki looks skywards during the ceremony, or when Reiko's teacher pauses in his tracks. You know that you've seen something, but because they've cut away to the next scene you really can't be certain what you just saw - this makes you feel uncomfortable. It's like seeing something out of the corner of your eye that's gone before you can focus on it.
A number of other scenes feel distinctly...off, which was clearly done intentionally. When Saki has her 'dream of awakening' or whatever, Saki's mother rushes into her room far too quickly and grasps onto her child far too tightly. Of course, Saki's parents are happy she's awoken, but why is her mother so relieved? Later on in the episode
we discover that Saki had a brother or sister who was 'taken away' because she never developed any abilities. Saki's mother even uses the world 'relieved' at dinner during conversation about this topic.
.
Similarly, some quite important things are glossed over. What happened to the children at Saki's school who didn't graduate? None of Saki's friends want to know - either they know something or they don't want to face up to what really might be going behind closed doors. Only Saki seems interested in questioning what's going on around her. Just in case this wasn't enough,
the fate of one of Reiko, one of Saki's classmates speaks volumes. She seems to barely have any control over her power at all - she isn't 'fit for purpose'. The last we see of her is this brief shot below. There's some thing very off about the way the teacher freezes in his tracks as soon as Saki leaves the building.
This earlier shot seems very telling as well:
Do you notice how
the teacher appears to be behind the boundary rope? Given what we've seen earlier, the only thing that lies behind the boundary line are monsters who kill people. The shot itself is designed to look creepy, because so much of the frame is devoted to the background and not the teacher smiling innocently near the bottom of the image. The fact that they show this image just after Reiko fails her dust painting and just before she's apparently 'disappeared' can't be a coincidence.
This isn't the only thing that makes Academy that they're studying in questionable. Well, I suppose you wouldn't need many other reasons to suspect something is up but the show gives you a few. Firstly, the focus on team work and team building seems a little excessive, more like they're being trained to be a squad. Why couldn't they practice these skills on their own? It feels like they're being trained up for some ulterior purpose that may well be military in nature.
Lastly, there's a sequence where Saki is remembering a trip they all took to the farm. This allows to get a glimpse at some of the crazy creatures that inhabit this world but it also allows Saki to draw a direct comparison between the farm and the Academy. In case you didn't get it through the words, they spell it out visually:
If we are to take this literally it would suggest that these children are being fattened up and raised for some purpose.
Now, I know that I've barely touched on this visuals or the music which is a shame because the production is really excellent in these areas. Not only is the score affective but there's some good sound cues as well, such as the noise that plays when Reika fails to paint her picture. Without spending too much time on it, I'll just point out a sequence that I like. At the start it seems like a perfectly normal conversation between Saki and her parents, and it's shot fairly normally. As the conversation becomes more uncomfortable the family break apart into different frames of the image:
This is an extremely promising opening episode: if the rest of the series is up to this calibre then we're going to have a really great show on our hands.
Also, the character designs actually look perfectly fine in the show - which is what I attempted to argue for earlier! Doubters. The animation isn't too sloppy either:
This is actually an excellent breakdown of the episode, and based on what you wrote here I was surprisingly able to infer a lot of the same ideas and conclusions so far. the show is not transparent, but its fairly easy for even an ADD scatterbrained hnngaholic like myself to figure out. I guess that is a sign of pretty good writing and direction, because everything makes sense despite the audience actually being told very little. The tension and discomfort we feel is probably exactly what the creators intended, and I really cannot wait to find out more about what's going on. The music and setting really helps to give that sense of forboding and maybe even paranoia about what is going to happen and the potential tragedy of it.
So have you guys got any comments on theories/wild speculations that I posted during my From the New World review? Do you think I'm on track or have I drawn too many inferences from too little information? Let me know!
The only reason I haven't commented on what you've said is because I've read up on the novel, so I don't want to spoil anyone by accidentally revealing anything. No coy hints, no nothing.
I do like your visual analysis of the show, though - a lot of it is stuff I hadn't really considered (particularly the shot at the "boundary").
We wait several months for this and 19 of the 24 minutes is basically nostalgia flasbacks and recap of season 1 Kind of disappointing in that regard, but at least everything else made up for it.
Opening theme and ending theme are good, and pleasant and the post credits scenes are back. So cheesy yet good.
Well, I'm totally on board. Excellent first episode. The mood and tone seems kind of like a cross between a darker Dennou Coil and a less stupid Elfen Lied, and the premise and setup is an immediate hook.
The character designs look far better in motion too.
So have you guys got any comments on theories/wild speculations that I posted during my From the New World review? Do you think I'm on track or have I drawn too many inferences from too little information? Let me know!
I should be the one thanking you for such posts! So "on track" I think there is little to object or reply for, except to express appreciation for your efforts.
Yeah the CG mecha are really jarring to watch but at least it's pretty fluid. This seems like it had a decent budget behind it. Dunno if they can continue that throughout the series.
Fabulous CLAMP designs galore.
Will keep watching.
edit: Whoops. Forgot this was an OVA. Guess the "continue throughout" comment is redundant.
I think this wins the award for "Best Art in a TV Episode" this year. Whoever did this deserves to have their work shown in a gallery exhibition. The talent at Studio Pablo is incredible.
I tell myself that if I survive this I'm never, ever posting outside of AnimeGAF ever again. The thread wasn't graveyard status when I made my post--only after that when a couple of posters began to downplay the OP's racist remarks. I'm not looking forward to being collateral damage over a harmless statement that was actually lampooning the OP's naivete.
Deleting my avatar can't change the content of my post, but at least now bish's judgment of my post can't be tainted by the negative association with an anime avatar. Yes, I'm desperate. Getting banned right as Fall season is beginning is the AnimeGAF equivalent of getting banned right before E3.
I tell myself that if I survive this I'm never, ever posting outside of AnimeGAF ever again. The thread wasn't graveyard status when I made my post--only after that when a couple of posters began to downplay the OP's racist remarks. I'm not looking forward to being collateral damage over a harmless statement that was actually lampooning the OP's naivete.
Deleting my avatar can't change the content of my post, but at least now bish's judgment of my post can't be tainted by the negative association with an anime avatar. Yes, I'm desperate. Getting banned right as Fall season is beginning is the AnimeGAF equivalent of getting banned right before E3.
I tell myself that if I survive this I'm never, ever posting outside of AnimeGAF ever again. The thread wasn't graveyard status when I made my post--only after that when a couple of posters began to downplay the OP's racist remarks. I'm not looking forward to being collateral damage over a harmless statement that was actually lampooning the OP's naivete.
Deleting my avatar can't change the content of my post, but at least now bish's judgment of my post can't be tainted by the negative association with an anime avatar. Yes, I'm desperate. Getting banned right as Fall season is beginning is the AnimeGAF equivalent of getting banned right before E3.
I dont think you will be one of the ones banned for a simple sarcastic comment like that. Seems fairly harmless.
Others in that thread deserve it far more.
But Bish is definitely going to go on a rampage so who knows.
As Jexhius has already elaborated at length about this, I'll just say that I absolutely loved it. The production is sharp in every aspect and the atmosphere is incredibly strong; I was glued to my seat for the entire episode. Mesmerizing. I've seen someone elsewhere say this is the moodiest show since Casshern Sins, and they could very well be right.
I do want to comment briefly on the structure of the episode. There's a certain amount of leaping around in time the episode does, but it keeps the viewer from getting confused through one simple technique - linking the time skips through one character, usually Saki, recalling an earlier experience relevant to what she's currently going through. So there's no random cuts for the sake of it; everything is logically and carefully laid out for us - which is a vital thing to do when you're trying to introduce a complicated fictional world like this one.
And while the visuals overall were quite impressive, Shingo Yamashita's "Demon Story" sequence deserves special mention.
I tell myself that if I survive this I'm never, ever posting outside of AnimeGAF ever again. The thread wasn't graveyard status when I made my post--only after that when a couple of posters began to downplay the OP's racist remarks. I'm not looking forward to being collateral damage over a harmless statement that was actually lampooning the OP's naivete.
Deleting my avatar can't change the content of my post, but at least now bish's judgment of my post can't be tainted by the negative association with an anime avatar. Yes, I'm desperate. Getting banned right as Fall season is beginning is the AnimeGAF equivalent of getting banned right before E3.
I dont think you will be one of the ones banned for a simple sarcastic comment like that. Seems fairly harmless.
Others in that thread deserve it far more.
But Bish is definitely going to go on a rampage so who knows.
Kind of disappointing in that regard, but at least everything else made up for it. 
