Forum - View topicREVIEW: The Melody of Oblivion DVD 1
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CorneredAngel
 Posts: 854 Location: New York, NY |
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All I'll say is that, however unfortunate it is, Melody of Oblivion is *not* something you can really review well off just one DVD. Most of the 'plot' doesn't really fall into place until at least episode 16 or so, and really, there are quite a few things that never *are* explained quite as much as the viewer may expect them to be. Much as with Utena, really, the best way to go about dealing with this series is to just accept everything, and go along for the ride.
While we're at it, though, my personal grade for this volume would be at least a B+ for both story (especially, for the highly *atypical* characterization of Bocca is as one of the very few teenage anime characters out there who are utterly uninterested in sex...this - the relationship between physical intimacy and the meaning or definition of adulthood of course becomes a major theme, if not *the* major theme of this series) and animation (for things like the opening sequence, with the Melody dancing up against a background of artillery fire, and then, for all the times the animators take great care to actually *compose* their shots and use the screen itself to reiterate some of the things they are trying to say.) Finally, regarding the comment that </i>The series gives the viewer every opportunity to get an eyeful of its female characters’ breasts and figures, too, although nowhere in this volume is there any actual frontal nudity.</i> This is true...to an extent. But, as with several other recent Gainax series, the *way* fanservice of this kind is presented, you end up feeling guilty *for* noticing, precisely because the animators themselves treat it as nothing out of the ordinary. |
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takachsh
 Posts: 43 |
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I still don't understand what this means ^^? |
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darkchibi07
 Posts: 5514 |
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Yea, isn't that just GAINAX being their usual fu***ed up selves? 
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Joe Mello
 Posts: 2311 Location: Online Terminal |
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As someonbe who's watched this series through, I can safely say yes.
Maybe I should buy the box. I like cheesecake ^__^ |
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Advent_Nebula
Posts: 932 Location: Colorado |
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The dub should have a F grade, that dub New Gen gave Melody is horable.
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darkchibi07
Posts: 5514 |
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And isn't the series done by a couple who also worked with another J.C. Staff series Utena? I just took all that "choppy editting" as a form of abstract symbolism GAINAX wants to convey about the new world (of course, it's been awhile since I've seen it so I forgot what it represented  ).
...with strawberries on top of that! 
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I thought I was being pretty clear on this, but maybe not. What I am referring to here is the bad habit the series has of suddenly cutting from one scene to another without any kind of transition or indication that the scene was over. Some of these sudden cuts leave the feeling that something is missing in the middle. This happens several times in the first volume. And no, this isn't normal GAINAX tricks that I'm talking about. They have never before used such jarring jumps between scenes, and trying to pass it off as "abstract symbolism" just sounds like making excuses. (Abstract symbolism does comes up in other ways, however.) The editing is so amateurish that I was shocked to see GAINAX was involved, as they are normally very good at putting a series together. Cornered Angel: you may be right about this not being a series that can be evaluated properly just on one volume. That's why I so carefully qualified my comments in the last paragraph, though. And about your fan service comments: I can't buy that argument. GAINAX has done other series where nudity and fan service could be legitimately passed off as an ordinary part of the particular scene, but this isn't one of those. This one goes out of its way to focus shots on female character's breasts rather than just having peeks at them be a natural part of scene flow. |
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cubs2084
 Posts: 206 |
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Like was said before, the series really can't be judged on the first volume alone. The first couple episodes are a rather choppy and rushed as far as an introduction into a series goes. But the series really does pick up later. Bocca becomes stronger and far more interesting, we find out much more about the Aibar machines and what they can do, other Melos Warriors come about, they dig deeper into the mystery that is the Monsters and the Melody.....You may not have been sold with this volume, but you see the potential in the series to get better, and I really don't think it will disappoint you.
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Joe Mello
Posts: 2311 Location: Online Terminal |
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For an example of this, watch a few episodes of KonoMini. It's gratuitous (in spades) but it makes "sense" Speaking of sense, I think it's sad to say it, but I think I understand FLCL more than I did MoO, so that's saying something for the level of GAINAXness.
Yecch! Cherries all the way. (Or chocolate) Sorry to disappoint your avatar, nyow. =^__^=m |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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Someone needs to hurry up and license KonoMini. I can't understand why it still isn't licensed. We get crap like Girls Bravo and Burst Angel, but not KonoMini? What's up with that? Anyway, Melody of Oblivion looks like an interesting series. |
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Beruda
Posts: 114 |
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MILD SPOILER
 I saw the first three episodes of this series (sub) at a convention recently and it was the worst anime that I've seen in a long, long time. I could've watched more but it sucked so badly my friend and I couldn't stand it another minute.
The story is stupid and uninteresting and the characters seem like a mish mash of several other characters from other series. The main character dosen't have a personality at all. When the villain rides into town on a truck with horns and hooves lilke a steer, how can I take this story seriously. It was laughable to the extreme. You say the music is good, well I wouldn't know about that because it didn't stand out at all to me. A series that takes 16 episodes to get it together is not a good series. A creator(s) should be able to tell a story and keep your interest within the first episode but I'm willing to wait till the third. Perhaps I'm being harsh but I was amazed that the reviewer even gave it a C+. This series gets a F all the way. I hope I placed the spoiler thing correctly, I rarely give any part of a story away, but this time I couldn't help it. |
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Advent_Nebula
Posts: 932 Location: Colorado |
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Melody of Oblivion is best watched in one sittng.
Ok to the person that called Burst Angel crap, Burst Angel is a title that is an aquired taste, just like most GONZO titles. |
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Verdoozle
 Posts: 22 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota |
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I gotta say The Melody of Oblivion isn't for the weak minded. You actually have to do some thinking when you watch it. The animation is suppose to be very surreal because the storyline its self is very surreal. I must agree with the idea that it is best watched in one sitting.
P.S. - The Melody of Oblivion ROCKS!!! |
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Advent_Nebula
Posts: 932 Location: Colorado |
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That it dose, that it dose. |
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cubs2084
Posts: 206 |
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Way to judge a show by the first couple episodes, Beruda. Ever stop and think that maybe a series gets better?
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