Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Schwarzes Marken
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ryanvamp
Posts: 421 |
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I like this series so far. I disagree 100% with a previous comment about this show making Gundam IBO nuanced. I watch both shows and IBO is as dumb and mainstream as you can get, with only Mika & Biscuit showing glimpses of a more interesting conflict. I think Schwarzesmarken is much more interesting with the whole east germany backdrop and even with its clear flaws (production values) it's much more engaging than IBO and its constant repetition of the subjects it attempts to cover.
I should say I am what you could consider a Gundam fan, but since every entry in the franchise is done by a different staff my enjoyment of each series greatly varies. |
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jirg1901
Posts: 150 |
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Although I haven't seen his name in the anime credits they had a Japanese speaking German work with them on the game version. |
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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Too right. They should have been more transparent and had the nipple contours as well. |
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invalidname
 Contributor Posts: 2496 Location: Grand Rapids, MI |
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Sadly true Muv-Luv fact: that's actually the rationale behind the cadets' fortified suits in Muv-Luv Unlimited. |
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hurafloyd
 Posts: 79 |
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Oh crap, this last episode with Lise, they put up some heavy Nazi psychological manipulation in there, the Stasi with the soviets just perfected their methods. Watching this anime made me remember some books I've read about Gestapo interrogation methods and the Stasi style of spying.
I really hope this doesnt end as nasty as I think it will... [Spoiler?] spoiler[I want the team to spoil Lise's manipulation methods... the issue is how will it end for her if she fails.] |
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invalidname
Contributor Posts: 2496 Location: Grand Rapids, MI |
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A few news nuggets from around the web:
This is long, so I'll try to keep my own comments on episode 4 brief. I loved the joke about "can you eat a BETA", and how it perfectly established camaraderie among the German pilots. Also, we finally saw Destroyer-class BETA (the hard-shelled type) in large numbers; had Schwarzesmarken showed them at all to this point? It was also a relief to see the beachhead attack carefully planned out (with a period-appropriate overhead projector!). Something that was noticeably missing from Total Eclipse was these sorts of briefings (the last arc is a confusing mash of "let's go here, no wait, let's go there"), as they are a cornerstone of the military tactics in the Muv-Luv VNs. Strategies like the escape route during spoiler[the 12/5 incident], and the attack plans for spoiler[Operation 21] and spoiler[Operation Cherry Blossom] are visually presented to the characters, and thus the reader/viewer, and serve the purpose of teaching the viewer how to follow the material they're about to see. I remember watching a Siskel & Ebert show decades ago where they pointed out that Kurosawa did this a lot in his films, using a diagram to teach the viewer how to parse a battle sequence later in the film, and once you know the trick, you can never not see it again (for example, Doc Brown's model of the town in Back to the Future helps viewers understand that film's very busy final reel and the spatial relationships of the various set pieces). |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18567 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Wait, what? Having seen Rumbling Hearts, I'm not seeing the connection at all. Can you elaborate? |
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invalidname
Contributor Posts: 2496 Location: Grand Rapids, MI |
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The original Muv-Luv VN is set at the same school a few months after the main story of Rumbling Hearts (or Kimi ga Nozomu Eien), and features the younger sister Akane as a crossover character. Everything about Muv-Luv's packaging presents itself as a lightweight, comedy harem romp -- to some, it was almost acting as an apology for the angst and misery of Rumbling Hearts. But, of course, that was just a front. Completing the main two routes of the harem comedy reveals that what you've played is "Muv-Luv Extra", only the first part of the larger story. This unlocks "Muv-Luv Unlimited", in which the main character wakes up in the parallel reality in which humanity is 28 years into its losing war with the BETA. The later sequel "Muv-Luv Alternative" is also set in the "BETA-verse", and brings in alternate-universe versions of not only Akane, but also Rumbling Hearts' heroines Haruka and Mitsuki, members of a TSF squadron alongside the player-character, Takeru. Today's Rumbling Hearts fandom (myself included) lives somewhat as a distinct entity within the larger Muv-Luv fandom -- one of the top Muv-Luv bloggers goes by the Twitter handle @kiminozoguy, and one of the translators working on the Muv-Luv translation for âge/Degica, @enjoievan, is also working on finally translating the Kiminozo / Rumbling Hearts VN, which has never been fully translated into English. The connection of Rumbling Hearts to Schwarzesmarken (or Total Eclipse, for that matter) is impossible to see via anime, because the switch from Extra-verse to BETA-verse has never been animated. The closest we got was a crazy OVA called Akane Maniax, also directed by Tatsuya Watanabe, a direct sequel to Rumbling Hearts which also features the only anime appearances of Muv-Luv lead characters Takeru, Sumika, and Meiya, and ends the day before Muv-Luv Extra begins (it even uses the main Muv-Luv theme song for its end credits) |
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Vaisaga
 Posts: 13243 |
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The special missiles belong to the American Jolly Rogers Squad.
I'm not sure why you jumped to that conclusion. At no point is she shown developing any sort of interest in him. Unless you're just assuming because she's a distinctly designed female character she's automatically a harem candidate. |
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ryanvamp
Posts: 421 |
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I've been quite satisfied with SchwarzesMarken so far, it's a damn shame the budget is tiny. I hope that the show sells decent and they manage to fix at least some of that quality.
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invalidname
Contributor Posts: 2496 Location: Grand Rapids, MI |
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A few things rang false for me in episode 5… weird, I know, because usually harping on stuff like this means you're not fully bought in to the story, and as Theron said, that was just fine this week. Still:
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18567 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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You have. She's Marai, the right-hand woman to Major Hannibal, who was given a hint about what to look into by Major Hannibal should he meet an untimely death. She was shown using the password she figured out to look into secret files last episode, and apparently she tripped an alarm in the process. Her being taken out means that the 666 Squadron no longer has anyone watching their backs when it comes to the Stasi, so that's definitely a major complication, one which they don't even know about yet. |
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Scherzo
 Posts: 149 |
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I think stuff like his is just because it's being shown to a mass Japanese audience; specifically having the tropes of the waifish moeblob.
If I remember correctly, that was before she secured the NATO Fire support. I really liked that it showed the operation as a joint effort, which makes the military fetishism much more pleasant than when it's delivered with frothing xenophobia like say GATE. [quote][*] Katia rallying the West German TSF pilots to help… they're awfully trusting of someone who just defected to East Germany a few weeks back, right?[/quoute] I kinda doubt a random Bundeswehr detachment would recognize she was formerly a West German pilot by voice. Even if she could, she could've been press-ganged for all they know. The GDR is in need of pilots after all.
I'm pretty sure it's Gdansk since they return to Germany the next episode. The reporters were probably attached to the USN or RN, since the article is in English. spoiler[Would've been better for them to say US Navy or Military instead of Army though...] |
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hurafloyd
Posts: 79 |
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Damn I love these political and psychological stuff, I need to write down these thoughts and see what you guys think about it. If you haven't seen the latest (6th) episode then watch it first before reading. I'll divide my reasonings in two groups, with all the points I give in the first part, there is one in the second that makes me doubt:
1) Liese is willingly a spy because... - On a previous episode from the very beginning a silhouette was shown that appeared to be her behind Brehme and Axmann. Probably to instill a prejudice on us? - Her sudden appearance when not even Theodor knew about her whereabouts to fill an empty slot in the squadron. Convenient? - How she saved Katia from the BETA. Another convenience to get closer to the squadron? - Why play ignorant that she did not know Axmann since she was with him in the middle of a purge with Brehme? (based on the first one). - Trying to garner doubt on herself on purpose to instill pity and consequently deflect doubts on herself. As said in the anime. - Why did she have Katia's pendant? When did she lose it? Did she even lose it? Why being so thorough to check and open a pendant that is not hers? (it is typical of socialists to take something that isn't theirs for their own convenience  ).
- Why inquire about the captain and Theodor and suggest a hypothetical protection if Katia tells her about their plans? Actually, how did she even know there are plans? And even worse, protect them from whom? Does she even have the influence or power to protect them from anyone? Her? A "simple" soldier? - As a last resort, she went to the brother and tried to seduce him?, trying to garner more pity since she failed with the other team members?, is it to give a feeling of weakness so he can give her support? - Historically (and with glimpses of this shown in the anime), Stasi members were masters on psychological/emotional manipulation, sabotage and torture. Being Theodor the poor bastard victim of these measures. 2) Liese is not willingly a spy... or I don't know anymore, while writing this made me process the information better: - She appers to be doing it unwillingly. Related to how she looks when accused. - She is being coerced because her brother is related. This one is my supposition. - She is playing the spy mask since her brother might be targeted if she does not comply. Another supposition. But... if it this were true, why not seek help? - Why did she tell Katia about the contents on the pendant? Wouldn't that be sufficient evidence to delate her since the contents related to the man in the picture were censored for some reason? This one made me doubt but... now I think that it was done to get definite information regarding the Captain's plans as intelligence. The issue is, which one? The one regarding Katia or the one related to the supposed Stasi split that for me it looks more than a way to hunt down dissidents for a purge? (socialists love purges). I believe Liese is a spy 99,99% (the remaining 0,01% being the "visual proof") but I don't know why I think that she is doing it because of her brother. Probably proof of her espionage will come next episode. Still, I insist, is she doing it willingly? |
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Scherzo
Posts: 149 |
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I think the most likely option is she is programmed 'Manchurian Candidate' spy; she isn't consciously aware of being a Stasi sleeper agent.
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