Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts

Some Thoughts on the Lastest Developments in Ouran 77

    Don't get me wrong, I like "Ouran High School Host Club" very much, but I think the dramatic turn it has taken lately is throwing a lot of people for a loop.  I, myself, feel a little duped because it started out a classic screw-ball comedy that I liked for story's and the character's irreverence.  Now, I feel like I'm being forced to ride an emotional roller coaster.

    For me the change in Ouran occured when the twins got serious about Haruhi and then went about establishing separate identities for themselves.  Sure it was heartwarming, but, at the same time, it was very dramatic and not very funny.  For a while I tuned out from Ouran because it was missing too much humor.  Eventually, I came back once the twin drama had been resolved and I could read the whole story arc in one setting.  Then I really got back into it once Tamaki and Haruhi started to get a clue about how they felt about each other, only to have that story arc swatted down by Tamaki's issue with his grandmother and now in chapter 77, an additional issue with his father with some corporate intrigue tacked on.  This was supposed to be a screw ball romance about a happy-go-lucky rich buffoon and smart  =_=  poor girl in the setting of a ridiculous host club!  I feel like I'm reading two stories.  Mind you the two stories are great, but it's two stories, nonetheless.

    I think the thing that is most frustrating to me with the latest chapter is the demands the author is making upon the readers.  My understanding is most readers of this manga genre are in their teens, yet the author expects these readers to understand a bunch of medical jargon and have working knowledge of corporate power structures.  Honestly, how many readers out there really understand how it is that Shizue can be ousted by Yuzuru?  Well, here's a short explainer (as far as I understand it from working at a company where one of the CEO/Presidents was famously ousted recently):

    1.  The Executive Staff (President, CEO, COO, CFO...etc...) works for the company's Board of Directors
    2.  A company's board of Directors works on behalf of the shareholders.  The Board of Directors are, in fact, elected by the shareholders in a democratic process.
    3.  The President, CEO, CFO, and on-and-on can be fired if a majority of the Board of Directors agrees the person should  go.
    4. A company's Board of Directors can be changed by the will of the shareholders.  The will of the shareholders can be changed forcefully if some entity buys up enough shares in the company to vote in their own board members (I suspect that something like this will happen as it did in the anime).
    5. The Chairman of the Board (that is Yuzuru's title), leads the Board of Directors. He or she sets the Board's meeting agenda and acts as the Board's host.

    Anyhow ... I would not expect that to be common knowledge amongst teen readers and some international readers who are not exposed to corporations.  The same thing goes with the how the drug research ties into the corporate stuff.  Besides keeping it from Shizue, there are other reasons drug companies are mum about what they are up to and it mainly has to do with "intellectual property."  But why should I even have to get into any of that to explain what's going on in Ouran?  And why should Yuzuru's resentment towards his mother, Shizue, be explained in a corporate coup?

    Anyhow, I feel with the latest technical complications and a loss of focus on the romance between Haruhi and Tamaki, Ouran will lose most of it's target audience.  It all feels like pretentious flowery dressing to me that neglects the heart of matters -- how Tamaki's screwed up family is keeping him away from Haruhi.  Now, if this were aimed at adults, I would feel differently about matters, but seeing as how the main characters are kids, there really is nothing they can do about the corporate stuff except watch a bunch of adults thwop each other over the head via various corporate power plays.

    What are your thoughts?Source URL: http://aminefairy.blogspot.com/search/label/drama
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Manga Review: Tramps Like Us (Kimi wa Petto)

    "Tramps Like Us" finally wrapped up. The last volume covers Sumire's introduction to Takeshi's family, an event Takeshi dreads. The rest of the volume wraps up the Hasumi side story, wraps up the Rumi sidestory, does a flashback of the friendship between Sumire and Yuri, and finally covers the last few hours before Sumire's and Takeshi wedding. It's all very sweet. Sumire finally experiences "love" as she and Takeshi become a family.

    This manga series is most definitely for adults. I really don't recommend it to anyone under 16, not because of the nudity and sex scenes, but because it takes some life experience to truly appreciate this manga. At the beginning of this series, Sumire is truly in a bad state and in a word, "crazy." Takeshi isn't all together himself, either. It really takes some "special" thinking to take a man in, literally, as a pet. But you have to understand, that Sumire is so broken, that this is the level of emotional attachment she can handle. This is also reflected in her strained relationship with Hatsumi. She seems to admire him, but she never opens up to him to show her real self and she is never able to gain intimacy as a result of having sex with him. Also Hatsumi has some problems too. He created an idealistic vision of Sumire rather than make the effort to get to know her.

    Overall, this is an excellent drama with some very comedic moments. I highly recommend it. There is also a 10-episode live action version of this manga out there in the ether called "Kimi wa Petto." Check them both out! 5/5Source URL: http://aminefairy.blogspot.com/search/label/drama
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New Manga (to the US): A. I. Revolution

    This manga came out in Japan 13 years ago, so you will have to forgive the clothing and the absence of the Internet ;p. Despite the age, this simply is not a very good manga. Basically it's a bunch of loosely tied stories about a teenage girl, Sui, and the two robots her father created for her. One robot she names "Vermilion" is a mother robot put into the body of a handsome male y that looks like her father's dead friend. The other is a very beautiful male robot with a gay narcissist personality. The stories are pretty shallow, mainly involving Sui and her friends getting into a dire situation and Vermilion coming to their rescue. I found it rather bizarre that the robots have female personalities paired with a male body. I'm not sure what the point is with this. Perhaps it would have been interesting to experiment with a Mom-robot in a female body.

    There's better robot/A.I. shoujo manga out there -- "Chobits" (for the 18+ crowd), "Zettai Kareshi" ("Absolute Boyfriend") (for the 16+ crowd), and "Planet Ladder" come to mind as manga I enjoyed. Ken Akamatsu's "A.I. Love You" didn't appeal to me, but many readers enjoy this manga too.

    Anyhow, I will not be buying volume 2 of this series because I found the first volume too benign to be interesting.Source URL: http://aminefairy.blogspot.com/search/label/drama
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Anime Review: Sokou no Strain

    My husband and I watched all 13 episodes of this series over the course of two days. I have mixed feelings about this show. I think the basic story was compelling, but the execution was poor. The story takes place in an alternate universe in which mankind is split into 2 factions -- the Union and the Deague. It's never really explained what the main difference between the two factions is -- which is sad, because it could have been used as a red herring in the story. Anyhow, the story begins with the parting of Sara Warrick from her beloved older brother Ralph. Ralph joins the military to battle the Deague and Sara promises to join the military too so she can be with him. Stuff happens and while Sara is in training, her brother comes back as a traitor in league with the Deague and destroys the military academy and kills all of her friends while retrieving a mysterious little girl. And so the story begins with Sara confused about her brother's intention and her quest to find her brother and to figure out what the hell is going on.

    For some reason Sara's personality is reset such that she's a haughty asshole that does not "do" teamwork and acts like a crazed recluse. There's lots of bitch-craft involved in this story which, while being typical, nonetheless, still pissed me and my husband off to see played out. There's gundam battles a plenty, a little romance, two goth-lolis, and yuriness. The "yuri" episode is quite funny, but also precipitates the end of this tragic, but fractured tale. There are a lot of story threads that are started, but forgotten, like the impending battle-to-end-all-battles between the Union and the Deague, the nonsense about the Emilys, and why any of this was going on in the first place. I give this 3/5 for a OK anime series.Source URL: http://aminefairy.blogspot.com/search/label/drama
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Clannad: Episodes 7 -12

    So I'm still watching "Clannad." Finally at episode 7, stuff started to happen around the story of spirit of Fuko. I guess I won't give it away since something actually happened. Anyhow, I have to admit I had a lump in my throat and I was fighting back the tears by the end of the Fuko story. I was so pissed at myself for falling under the spell of this low-keyed show.

    After the Fuko stuff was resolved, they moved onto the genius megane chick, Kotomi, who hangs out in the reject library. She's socially inept and worries that everyone is going to bully her. One episode is spent with Tomoya teaching her how to properly introduce herself. And then Kotomi has a very interesting violin recital. I was mildly entertained. By the end of episode 12 things get rather messed up and interesting with her and Tomoya. I am eagerly awaiting episode 13. Personally, I would like to see Tomoya hook up with Kotomi more than Nagisa. Kyou also would be better than Nagisa. Heck, anybody but Nagisa! oh, except for Fuko -- she's an airhead too.Source URL: http://aminefairy.blogspot.com/search/label/drama
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