Forum - View topicJust finished SaiKano.
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11446 Location: Frisco, TX |
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I remember making a request about a year ago for depressing anime and that SaiKano was my most curious choice. After recieving the box set as an early Christmas present and marathoning it today, I can say this show did exactly what I had hoped for.
This series is just damn depressing to no degree. I couldn't bring myself to laugh or smile even once. Heck, I nearly cried during a few scenes. The romance felt extremely pessimistic at times, and it didn't help that spoiler[ so many characters died in such emotionally regretable ways ] either. And with that, I'm left to wonder, who in the world would write something so melancholy? Um, other than that, though, I feel it was an Excellent title. I can't quite put it into words, but for such a bleak overall tone, I still think the series did its job of telling a touchy, yet complex, love story. The great seiyuu cast and somber music really helped a lot. Ugh, my thoughts and emotions are so jumbled right now. I guess I'll just ask for any opinions and try to absorb it all in the meantime. I probably won't rewatch this series for a looong time... |
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DKL
 Posts: 1962 Location: California, USA |
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I thought it was a good watch too... some things rubbed me the wrong way, but, whatever right? My stuff might be off though since I've only watched once.
I'm kind of wondering though, did they ever explain how CHISE got her powers? Was she born with them? Or did the government come up with it? I have a feeling that they didn't really go into that though so that it wouldn't detract from the love story, but at one point, Chise began to say that she was being punished (or she was questioning the nature of what was wrong with her... something like that) ... So, I'm under the impression that she was either born like that, or that she agreed to do it, but was now regretting it. Can't really remember though. So yeah, enlighten me. This isn't a series I studied comprehensively enough to come up with polished commentary. The ending was pretty cool, but for a moment there, I thought that they were gonna screw us over (only for a moment though). But it was, if anything, symbolic. So yeah, what does everyone else think? (maybe I'll be able to rattle out some commentary too as we go along) Last edited by DKL on Mon Dec 19, 2005 12:13 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Bruce Lee
 Posts: 715 Location: Seattle, Washington |
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I fully agree - this was an excellent series.
For me it was almost like a train wreck. You have an idea of what's going to happen, and you watch it all come together, but no matter how horrible things get, you just can't turn away. When you're ready to get back into it, check out the 2 OVA episodes if you get a chance. They're also very well done, and had the same effect on me. |
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pure3nergy
Posts: 11 |
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Man that series was so depressing. Whenever i think back on how many people died, my heart feels like its empty. I get depressed. People, dont watch it unless your into this tradegy ending animes.
You have been forwarned. |
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Pleroma
 Posts: 443 Location: Eromanga island |
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Saikano Is in my opinion one of those rare masterpieces that stay with you for a lifetime, hopefully someday the story will get a proper movie treatment (The JP version seems a bit too much on the cheap side and the casting is way off.)
To answer the question about Chise, she was not born with anything. For some reason (I imagine something fairly coincidental like bloodtype or medical history) she was chosen to be turned into what she was allthough in the end that went much further than expected. Also, while invariably depresseing, its message about the ovewhelming human will to live carries through with the punch it does precisely because of the situation. spoiler[Personally the scenes with the students celebrating that one last culture-fest as the is something that hit me like nothing an any anime before.] I know some people were unable to get into it due to some technical details of the concept, but if one can get past that this is a story everyone should experience. |
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Arkard
 Posts: 677 Location: Poland |
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aaa.. Good to see you Tony in the noble rank of the SaiKano drama club
 It was over-do. Yes, SaiKano is an incredibly depressing piece, and now you can understand why I have watched it only 3 times in about 3 years. While I consider a fourth, I am fairly certain there wont be a fifth. I am such a big softie  I brake down with SaiKano, and unlike you, I DO cry at a few scenes. I think this would be my first purchase after I come to the states (but that wont happen in like 2 years). Anyways, kudos on acquainting yourself with the Ultimate Weapon Girlfriend
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Welcome to the club, Tony. Please keep moving forward by 1) reading SaiKano manga and 2) watching Now and Then, Here and There, the ultimate achievement of melancholic animation.
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angel_lover
 Posts: 645 Location: UK |
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For me, SaiKano is one of the all-time great animes. Like Kafka's masterpiece Metamorphosis, it takes a truly bizarre premise and sticks with it, working it through to its heart-rending conclusion.
I think the OAV goes into a lot more detail about how it happened. |
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Iemander
 Posts: 443 |
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I hate to break the fanclub bubble but unlike DKL there were alot of things that rubbed me the wrong way in Saikano. The biggest offender was the pure hilarity of the backstory spoiler[an every day school girl born in present times from the last city on earth gets cyborged to extreme measures however still capable of looking/acting/etc human]. I would not have a problem with this if everthing was a little more "compatible" with each other, spoiler[a world more in the veign of Battle Angel for example where people don't say "let's hope the peace negotiations end peacefully" before blowing up a city].
Everything in Saikano was so incredible, impossible and plain old weird that I was completely incapable of feeling what exactly the characters must be going through. Make no mistake, I love fantasy stories for their imposibilities and whatnot, but this forcing thing into an everyday atmosphere bugged me to no end. On a more positive note, spoiler[Akemi's death scene was just great, must be one of the best I've ever seen]. |
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angel_lover
Posts: 645 Location: UK |
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Well, I did describe the premise as "truly bizarre". |
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freshkazuki
 Posts: 235 Location: Texas |
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I didn't think the ending of Saikano was completely tragic. spoiler[After all, they were still together and in love. ]
One thing I was a little unclear on was spoiler[were Chise and shuji living in an artificially constructed environment, a la The Matrix at the end of the show? That's what it sounded like to me. But it looked like they were going to school. What are they going to do for eternity? Go to school, wander around the city with no other inhabitants? ] Has anyone seen the movie Solaris? Now that I think about it Saikano has a lot in common with that movie. Especially the endings. And the whole "is this person I love REALLY the person I love?" Who's to say Chise was the real Chise? Because you see someone as human, does that make an alien or a ultimate weapon a "human" or are they something we can never understand? To me, spoiler[Chise has basically become a goddess by the end of the show, with the power to will into being almost anything. I don't understand why she didn't have the power to end the war? Maybe she didn't really want to?] As for Now and Then, Here and There, it makes Saikano look like a Southpark episode in terms of tragedy. It was much more depressing. But it does have some bright spots if you look for them. Its message was to always fight through the tough times, because eventually things will get better. To me, it gives you the same feeling as when you watch Schindler's List. Horror that humans can inflict such evil, but also admiration that people lived through such horror and survived. |
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3dmk
 Posts: 18 |
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same. it was still mad depressing though. spoiler[You could tell she had always wanted ot be with him, and to die like that was horrible. The audio when she was being pulled up made my skin crawl.] One of the lowest points in the movie, right there with spoiler[Atsushi dying while at war, i mean, wtf. The kid just self destructed durring that whole situation, i was like, bleh. emotional.] I never fully realized the full nature of this anime till this thread, time to watch it over. |
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Pleroma
Posts: 443 Location: Eromanga island |
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As much as I love Now and Then, I think its quite a different animal than Saikano and It did not afect me as much because of the much more removed setting than the latter. As far as the premise of Saikano being too ridiculous or bizzare, I dunno, but it never seemed to me that way. While more of an explanation would have been nice an average person being turned into a very power cyborg is really nothing new to to the genre. The realism of everything else and the complexity of the relationships complement that wonderfully and make it even easier to accept in my opinion.
The OVA goes into a bit more detail of the working of the war, but even without it the point remains that violence cannot stop violence. spoiler[As a weapon Chise has no means to do anything but survive by fighting. The ending is as inevitable as it is because everyone is fighting desperately to live and by the end the "other side" doesn't even have a home to go back to, so they can do nothing but carry on forward.] |
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DKL
Posts: 1962 Location: California, USA |
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... you seem to also be forgetting the fact of spoiler[how passable the government is… I was thinking that they would be a lot more strict with the relationship, but it ended up that they kind of had a heart and were considerate…] Which was weird, but… like I said, whatever. The actual plot seems to be really loose, but if I focus on the love story, it’s at least entertaining. … even how spoiler[ Akemi died ] was kind of weird (and predictable because of how they dragged stuff out)… forced, but when we get there, it’s pretty cool.
… Actually, if they went that way, I would’ve not liked the ending since it would’ve been forced. What I think is that: spoiler[ Well… everyone is dead. Plain and simple. Chise was also dead. I think she died trying to give Shuji a chance at life since he had such a strong desire to live (like everyone else did). Chise kind of gave up to despair in the end, but Shuji kept clinging on to life, so she spared him even though she intended to just kill everyone to stop the suffering. Not that it would help though. Anyway, the reason why we see them both portrayed in the ending the way they were is that Shuji’s memories were so full of his world and Chise that he was able to create a world in his head in which they both co-exist. It was supposed to be symbolic, and it’s a little abstract for me to explain. Umm… he was so attached to his happiness that he was able to imagine it as if nothing had happened… does that work? In any case, he asks “Chise” if everyone is dead… and they are, but it was most likely him telling himself that. It’s kind of bittersweet, but then I was more focused on the fact that everyone was shafted. ] That’s what I walked away with anyway… unless the OAV is about what happens after, then I stand corrected. |
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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The technical and philosophical details of SaiKano have been discussed before, in this thread.
- abunai |
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