Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Izetta: The Last Witch
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11689 |
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It's not even just cloning a human being that's problematic tech for this society to possess at the level they've otherwise been shown to be up til now. They also need to have perfected both an artificial womb and some unknown technique to rapidly grow a person to adulthood, unless they've had this tech for 20 years. All that is still science fiction even in our day.
Without magic it's implausible, regardless of whether this is an alternate Earth or whatever fantasy universe it occupies, because for them to have secretly perfected cloning and artificial wombs, it indicates that their little handful of bioengineers are all super geniuses far above and beyond the level of all the other scientists and engineers in every other field their world over. If you're going to have one single area of technology decades if not centuries ahead of everything else, you've got some explaining to do, because that's just not how technologies advance. As Newton said, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." The giants are awol in this story, i.e., no where else in the series is there any evidence of the kind of scientific foundation necessary to support such advanced technology. On a different tangent, we've now gotten confirmation that they had vials and vials of Izetta's blood, so the kiss at the party makes no sense unless she needed the good stuff straight from the source, but if so, then Izetta herself not activating the crystal makes no sense. Either her circulating blood is more powerful than the bottled stuff or it's not. |
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killjoy_the
 Posts: 2503 |
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Refrigerated food loses all its nutrients, yo, of course Sophie needed a fix directly from the source. Maybe the crystal is particularly hers, though, and that blood wasn't actually Izetta's, but Sophie's.
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11689 |
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If unawakened Sophie blood could activate it, she wouldn't have needed Izetta juice to kickstart herself.
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24469 |
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It seems I have a larger capacity for pursuing pointless arguments than I originally thought. First, I've seen two people use the term "thematic inconsistency" with reference to the question of whether cloning would be a plausible technological advance in the world of Izetta. Regardless of which side of the issue you come down on, it is not a question of "thematic" consistency. If the theme of a show is "absolute power corrupts absolutely" yet at the end of the day the absolute ruler remains uncorruptible, THAT is a thematic inconsistency.
Second, there are two fudge factors that make it a bit senseless to call the show on technological credibility. First, of course, is that it is a different world. Second is the presence of magic in that world. We have no way of knowing if the use of magic in the past of this world advanced knowledge of human engineering there. We were given no direct indication of what the state of human engineering is in this world at the beginning of the show. That's why the cell phone example doesn't hold up. We were shown what the level of communication technology was in this world, so yes, a smart phone suddenly being whipped out would be an internal technological inconsistency. Finally, if you are going to criticize a show you should do it in a mind set that is appropriate to what it is. You could, if you wanted to, go on a rant about how James Bond movies consistently break rules of reality. If you find that a useful and productive use of your time, go at it. It's not appropriate to use the same yardstick to assess a Bond movie as it is a gritty, realistic spy story. Note this has nothing to do with "quality" it has to do with the parameters that the show itself sets. Given that this is an alternate history, given that magic has been a factor in this alternate history's past, given that the state of human engineering was not demonstrated earlier and given that this show is not trying to pretend to be super serious examination of what life on another planet might be like where magic exists, I don't see that there is any point in getting peeved over the existence of cloning here other than if you actually are The Comic Book guy from The Simpsons. |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5530 Location: Mexico |
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^Hey, how about not belittling people for being bothered by an admittedly questionable aspect of the show, even if it's something that doesn't bother you personally. Just a crazy thought I had
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24469 |
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Well, if it's any consolation, out of deference to the board's rules about polite and respectful communication, I have dialed my withering contempt WAY back from the degree that I would actually like to express it. Work with me, here.
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3768 |
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It takes some real chutzpah to insist people work with you when you refuse to do the same for them out of sheer contempt, especially in response to someone asking you to do that.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24469 |
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I'm glad you took my comment to "work with me, here" as the 100% totally serious statement I intended it to be.
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3768 |
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It is eminently clear that any further discussion of the issue would be pointless, given that you refuse to do anything but belittle those with whom you disagree and cannot fathom merely agreeing to disagree. I will not disguise my contempt for such an attitude.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24469 |
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Wow, how will I find the strength to go on living? But yes, this topic - at least as far as my contribution is concerned - is played out.
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18570 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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If you don't see it as a problem, Blood-, then more power to you. I, for one, don't excuse a show from internal logic issues (really the term I should have been using instead of "thematic consistency," which I'll admit was poorly-chosen) just because it has magic or super-powers. And we've seen no indication that magic was a pervasive enough presence in the past for it to have deep effects on technological development in the current setting of the story.
Actually, this all brings up another inconsistency which just occurred to me: since magic is so lacking in prevalence that most people don't believe in it until they see it or have first-hand accounts, how did the people who felt bad about how the witch was treated seal that underground chamber with magic? Since her fellow witches seemed to regard the White Witch as a traitor, certainly they wouldn't have done it. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24469 |
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But regardless of how other witches felt about the White Witch, presumably they would want the secret it contains kept hidden, right? Since knowledge of the secret would affect them, as well.
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Valhern
 Posts: 916 |
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We may not agree to what theme is, to me what you said is core message (didn't get that in the seven episodes I've watched), but let's change theme for setting if that makes it clearer. I didn't question the plausibility, perhaps it is, I question the presentation and the writing. Nowhere, except that this is not exactly Earth (which is just extremely ambiguous), does this show seemed to imply that bioengineering (with magic or not) was possible.
You mean the magic of witches that has been either a huge rumour/legend, and said witches are hated by all and one way or another ended up extinct except for Izetta and her grandmother and finally only Izetta? I could say that maybe Germania investigated witches and magic given the emperor's interest, but he himself wanted to make sure whether Izetta was real or not. I mean, yeah, they could have been secretly investigating magic and came up with bioengineering but we just never knew beforehand, writing it up later is not a "twist" of your preconception, it's just simple bad writing. |
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Mikasa_su_casa
Posts: 120 |
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All expectations of 'realism' should have gone out the window once magic powers were displayed in episode one. Nazi super science is an old trope, and I'm certainly not bothered this trope shows up in a show with a witch as the main character.
Honestly, I'm still kinda disappointed the 'secret aircraft' they gave that pilot in episode 6 wasn't a flying saucer. What's significant is that Sophie's introduction provides an opponent equal to or stronger than Izetta, which creates adversity to be overcome. This is, in theory, better than having Izetta be overpowered against the enemy all the time. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11689 |
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^ It's obvious why they did it, it's just the how that's problematic. It would have gone down sooo much more easily if the other witches had sealed Sophie away in suspended animation off in some obscure location (while also sealing the secret room in the castle) and the not-Nazis had stumbled upon her and found a way to break the seal (or if their simply unearthing her had been disruptive enough to do it). That would have required no suspension of disbelief beyond what the series expects from the start.
It would also have made the ludicrous scene at the masquerade unnecessary. |
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