Forum - View topicANNCast - From The New World
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VoidWitch
 Posts: 157 |
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*insert Max's comment about intellect here*
Wow. This is the most "western thinking" comment i have heard in my life i think. Can't disagree more :'D The need to control everything in your life including your own subconscious(or unconscious) is the complete opposite of what buddhist teachings (especially japanese zen buddhist teachings) are focusing on. And it's complete opposite of what i personally got out of the show - the fact that there are things that you can't control and things you should just let run wild. And the fact that sometimes death is much more desirable outcome than life in constant oppression, physical and emotional pain. ("Who said you should survive?") Unconscious is not an "animal brain". "Animal brain" is just a tiny part of a vast ocean that unconscious is. Some obvious parallels to Jungian theory are present in the show. Humans are locked up in small towns which is the representation of conscious and the weird,disturbing,grand world outside the barrier is unconscious. And the truth is that you can't hide or run from monsters of your other self. No matter how hard you try sooner or later they will get you and bite you in the ass. So it's better to deal with them earlier than later. I don't know what to think about all the love and sex stuff. Somehow the show manages to balance itself on the tip of a needle in terms of portrayal of different kinds of relationships. Yet it never spends even a minute to explain basics on which all these relationships based on. I expected to see it being less open to interpretation considering social norms are a big part of world building in any narrative. The kpk comment about the book was useful though. I didn't mind the info dump but this whole "4 tribes" situation didn't make any sense to me. Waste of time on useless exposition that didn't come into play in any way later on. Yes humans are violent i get it. Showing the decline of the "modern world" was enough. Can we move on please? Also, spending the whole episode just on encounter with Shun? Oh come ooooon... I honestly can't say i cared about any of the characters as much as i would like to. Saki felt realistic but i expected more change from her. She felt a little bit bland comparing to Satoru who changed drastically from an annoying ass to a tolerable human being. I didn't get why everybody was crazy about Shun and i absolutely loved Maria from start to finish. Mamoru felt like an asset and a narrative tool. It was clear that his job was just to be a "weak link in a chain" from the very start. Which is a little bit annoying because these kind of characters got the most potential to become interesting if done right. Overall there are some things i really liked and some things that i really disliked and some things that were just "meh". I can't say i was a big fan of rat moments in the beginning. Can't say i cared about fiend situation in the third arc of the anime as much as about what came after. It felt unnecessary melodramatic. I would prefer less action and more traditional "I have no mouth and i must scream" stuff spoiler[(bye bye Squealer)] and dystopian stuff. Because that what's this show was best at in my opinion. [/quote] |
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kpk
 Posts: 484 |
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About the relationships in their society...
Here how it goes: Since the adults are so afraid of children and children that are born into a bad and hostile environment since they'll have the most chances to become Aki or Goma demons they'll do anything to make sure kids will not be born too soon. They want them to be born into a "normal" and loving adult families. On the other hand they want a "free love" society so to prevent kids and teens to get pregnant they made up rules - Hetero sexual relationships are considered as Taboo (Like that they get it both ways - everyone have sex and are happy but with no risk of premature birth) untill the age of seventeen. Then they force everyone into hetero relationships with the other sex. To make sure that everyone are following these rules they do a monthly check on the girls to make sure they are still virgins. The only exception to this rule in which they allow sex between a boy and a girl is if they are in a state of danger and have good chance of losing their lives (like when Saki and Saturo were captives by the mole-rats), only then it's okay. This is why Saki and Shun never had a chance to do anything with each other even though they really wanted to. |
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VoidWitch
Posts: 157 |
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That's the problem. Author seems to want to show how f-d up this is(especially as a criticism of Japan's approach to sexuality), but it's barely visible in the anime itself. See, it would be better if Satoru didn't give up on remembering Shun so fast (and also on their relationship in general) After all he is "special" and more "free" just like other main characters. But Instead Saki was the only one special flake who kept in her memory both Shun and Maria which made it a little bit too much in terms of drama. Also i assume that you have read the book, correct? Was it ever clear if people can have sexual affairs on the side if they are married? |
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kpk
Posts: 484 |
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Hmmmm... what? Saturo never gave up on remebering Shun and both he and Saki only remebered him in the end. Both Saki and Satoru remebered Maria and Mamoru. And Satoru loved him a lot and I'm sure he would have still want to be with him. As for affairs outside of marrige, yes it's allowed. |
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VoidWitch
Posts: 157 |
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I mean... In the anime in the very end Satoru was reminded of Shun only because of Saki mentioning his name. I don't think he would have remembered Shun on his own. But i guess it doesn't matter. Anyway...
Ok that makes sense. |
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KitsuneBella
Posts: 16 Location: Philadelphia, PA USA |
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Nice podcast, guys- Thanks, Jacob, Zac and Max
In fact right after listening I only had time to watch one episode today but I wanted to try and give it a shot anyway. Not sure I'll be going back to it. I wasn't all that impressed with it. Perhaps it's my 50-something anime brain saying that I've seen dystopian sci-fi before (and told far better), etc so why waste my time with this. I didn't find the first scene all that shocking to tell you the truth (again, I've seen far more explicit scenes in series/movies). Akira was far more explicit than this. Granted Akira was a movie and this was the first episode geared for Japanese tv...but still. Maybe I'll come back to this one after a bit, but I just finished one awesome series (Ah-hem...Psycho-Pass!!!) and it could be I wasn't ready for another dark-themed show. Usually I know after the first episode whether or not I'm going to be continuing with this one or not. In the case of this one--when I have nothing else on my plate or when I'm in the mood for it I'll go back to it. |
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Galap
Moderator
 Posts: 2354 |
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Western thinking, huh? I don't really see that. To be clear though, I'm not talking about that 'taming nature' kind of thing. And I'm not saying that you're supposed to repress or deny your emotions. The unconscious is vast and a lot of it is very useful and important, but some of it does not serve us well. I guess the best way to describe what I'm talking about is it's the source of Saki's strength. She doesn't deny the pain, the grief, the anger, etc. that she feels. She knows they are a part of her, but she also knows that it is her willpower that is at the wheel when it comes to her attitudes and actions. Sure, there are a lot of things you can't control, and trying to do so would be silly, but it is your own choice how to respond to them. Your life is only ruined by what you let it be. Likewise humanity is only ruined by what it lets its instincts do to it. |
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VoidWitch
Posts: 157 |
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Everything you said makes sense but
I get it now. It's your choosing of word that makes the difference. I can see how animal instincts can be damaging in personal life or on a bigger scale, but using the word "ruin" implies reference to certain standards in context of which someone's life seen as "ruined" when in fact it's just a matter of perspective. You can allow something to rule over your life, but not ultimately "ruin" i don't think. It's an ideology problem and i'm just cherry-picking at this point. I understand what are you trying to say now 
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ChibiKangaroo
 Posts: 2941 |
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I've been talking this show up every chance I get since it first ran. Yes, it is one of the all time great anime and for me top 5 minimum.
A couple things I wanted to comment on from the podcast. You guys mentioned old Sci fi but I am surprised you didn't make the direct comparison to the movie that I think this show shares so much with, Forbidden Planet (monsters from the Id!). Also, the theme that I think is most important from this show is not the freedom theme, although it is there. The more important theme is the warning theme similar to that from Forbidden Planet. Galap mentioned that fear was an important part, which is true but fear of what? The show does a fantastic job of contrasting fear in their society with fear in our society, and I think explaining to us where our true fears should be. In our society, fear of "other" is predominant. In the society of this show, fear of "self" is predominant. (Either from an individual our community perspective.) As I said, this theme tracks very closely to Forbidden Planet, where the most terrifying monster is that from within US. There are so many other ways this show follows that theme, often touching on technological advancement of humanity as a threat (again similar to Forbidden Planet). When humans gain powers, they are literally analogies to nuclear weapons within the story. They say each member of mankind has the destructive power of a nuke. So again, fear of what comes from within humanity. I think the message is one of self reflection and self realization. Even in the end, this is reinforced by Saki forgiving squealer and letting him die rather than suffer eternal punishment. This was the ultimate act of humility gained through self reflection, as she realized that humanity was just as unclean as he was. The ending was powerful. It was one of the few anime that could bring me to tears, especially with that final reminisce of the characters we saw grow up through the story tied in with the beautiful music from the opening scene. They told a fantastic story, with an intelligent message, and stuck the landing. |
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gwdone
 Posts: 272 |
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"Zac and Jacob didn't know going in that From The New World would become one of the best anime they've ever seen, but it sure was a nice surprise."
When I saw this line from the ANNcast splash page I was thinking.....Oh Yeah!!!! Can't wait to get this as it was on sale for super cheap. Well I'm not going to say much here, but I will say that I thought the anime No.6 was pretty great until the two stars of the anime, both boys, started kissing with passion just out of the blue. Same with this From The New World. I never got the vibe that it would be the "greatest" of anime, but I'm fine with that and was doing just fine with the story, then like "suddenly salad" here we go again... Two guy kids start throwing down animated with tongues tied and the whole nine and the thing just took a madhouse turn for the gay. Even two girls had to start kissing and breast grabbing on the beach. I'm fine with freedom of whatever floats peoples boats sexually, but it reminds me of Broke Back Mountain aka Broke Dick Mountain when it came out from Hollybore, CA. Even a western movie at that.... Next thing you know, two rawhide cowboys are necking like it's no big deal. And again,, if that's peoples thing,, fine, but put some sort of WARNING on the freaking title please!! For my taste it's just not a tolerable subject matter to just casually throw in anywhere it seems to fit. Even when it obviously doesn't fit the situation at all. I was going to put No.6 on ebay as fast as I could, but decided instead of the warning on my listing, I would just use it in my fireplace. I'll try to get through this From The New World, but if I see another gay scene it's going to the fireplace as well. It's only fair to be warned about the topic in advance of that type of subject matter. I spend tons of my money on anime, and this just won't cut it. Even for an on sale item. |
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raich8
Posts: 17 |
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No, a warning isn't "just fair". Not everyone has the near-pathological fear of homosexuality that you seem to, and creators aren't obligated to cater to your hangups. |
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gwdone
Posts: 272 |
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Then put it in the adult section of anime titles. Problem solved. |
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kpk
Posts: 484 |
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Oh wow. Not even sure what to say. But I can't remeber the last time I've read such idiotic, hateful words. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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I can't tell if you're serious or not but regardless all I can do is laugh, man.
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ChibiKangaroo
Posts: 2941 |
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I noticed some more comments in this thread and was like, "Hmmm, I wonder what additional insightful things people had to say?" So I saunter on back into the thread and walk smack into "Yea, I have nothing against homosexuality but... here's all the reasons I hate gay stuff!"
That's a few minutes of my life I'll never get back ;0. But I donno, maybe everything about the greatness of the show has already been discussed so all that's left is the crud at the bottom of the barrel. |
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