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Forum - View topicREVIEW: Pumpkin Scissors DVD 1
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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It's good to see AIC putting out some good decent work and getting away from all the harem fanservice, and moe. I hope this means a change in production strategy.
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11449 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Hm.. well, the fanservice thing isn't completely true, at least in the case of PS. Granted, Alice is the only notable female within the entire series, but towards the end, she where's this very low-cut noble's dress that really.. accentuates her chest a bit. Not that it was a pointless scene (actually the best part of the series in terms of story and character, in my opinion), but it's hard not to notice after seeing her in a military uniform for about 95% of the rest of the series, and then *bam* a surprising amount of cleavage from the seventeen year-old, dagger-wielding commander of Unit III
 .
Anyway, great review. The first eight episodes will feel a bit filler-ish, but once you get past them, there's actually a good deal of political and social commentary written throughout the various missions they do. Not to mention a few cool plot twists within their military operations just for fun. I particularly like Alice's character. She's naive, yet strong-headed in her ideals. As the series progresses (and especially at the end), she's actually quite convincing and easy to cheer for, in my opinion. Her mentality sort of reminds me of Saber from Fate/stay night (whom I also like a lot), though it's a strange coincidence that PS co-stars Kana Ueda (Tohsaka), who played opposite of Ayako Kawasumi in F/s n as well. Maybe Ueda is good person to cast opposite another female seiyuu to make for great lead roles  .
And also, I'd like to make mention of the musical score. Out of all the Kou Ohtani scores I've heard, this is probably my favorite one to date. It's sooo well-balanced between action, comedy, and drama pieces with a great blend of orchestral and electronic sounds. It also has a lot of European flare to it, though it's a shame Ohtani couldn't get the Warsaw Philharmonic to play in this one like he did for Gundam Wing, that would've been awesome  .
Well, stay tuned. This is a Very Good series and highly underrated, in my opinion. Here's hoping future reviews and my own comments can help to spread the word a little more. |
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Cowboy Cadenza
Posts: 243 Location: Poughkeepsie, NY |
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As awkward as the series title is, it does get explained at some point.
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11449 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Yeah, the series has absolutely nothing to do with pumpkins or scissors. It's just a metaphor, as will eventually be explained by Alice.
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Goodpenguin
Posts: 457 Location: Hunt Valley, MD |
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I think the issue with this one, like a lot of similar social/political/war filtered shows, is going to be 'who's the audience'? The theme would seem to be attractive to an older teen+ viewership, but from the 8-9 episodes I've seen the show falls victim to the anime writing habit of presenting what could be expected to be complex, subtle material as heavy-handed/demagogic and simplistic. There's some interesting concepts here, but the execution (again, at least from what I've seen early) is awfully preachy and comes across as a bit sophomoric in scope, though maybe an english dub smooths out the melodrama a bit. On the other side I don't now if there's enough 'zip' to hold a younger audiences interest. Not that 'Pumpkin Scissors' seems a bad show, but I wonder if the writing level is on par to hold a big portion of the older audience, and if there's enough action to keep a big portion of the younger set. Side point- A portion of the Japanese seem to really dig the Prussian political value system. A metric ton of social/political anime on one hand seem to espouse democratic ideals, yet on the other really celebrate aristocracy, with the primary criticism being when aristocracy doesn't live up to it's responsibilities, not that having an aristocratic class is the antithesis to democratic virtues. (IE-I always have a chuckle when the protagonist of a series fights the proverbial 'wicked all-powerful ruler' only to defeat him and not end the aristocratic/monarch system; they just become the 'good all-powerful ruler'.) I'll follow 'Pumpkin Scissors' just to see if it ends on a democratic ideal, or if it follows the 'Aristocracy, heal thyself' mode. |
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maus
 Posts: 84 Location: The Netherlands |
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Well you'll be disappointed, because spoiler[ in the end nothing really changes... Alice preaches about how a good noble should act and the nobles apologize to the commoners, while the whole mysterious 'behind the scenes corporation' which supplies the bad guys with state of the art weapons stays unfought]
And I agree with the reviewer that this is a very stupid name... What's wrong with the Amazing Meathooks? Or the Terrifying Chainsaws? Or better still the Lovely Lovely Cupcake Daisy Fluffy Bunny War Relief Squad? 
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11449 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Eh.. do note that the manga is still ongoing. I was planning to give as best an explanation as I could without actually spoiling the end, but I don't want to delete/edit your post without letting you know beforehand. Anyway, I don't see the ending as cut and dry as you've stated. I think it's the buildup within the series past episode 8 up until the end that is so gripping. Throughout, you see Alice evolve as a result of her experiences with her team. And in the end, she sort of comes to a realization and sets to carry things out in a new light. That experience she gained and the potential she has to make great things happen, plus her overall stalwartness and mentality are characteristics that make her a very endearing character to me (great performance by the seiyuu, too). I also don't feel her ideals are all that preachy, either. Concerning Goodpenguin's inquiry, I would have to say the series disguises these ideals and presents itself as very much of a shounen series more than anything else. Depending on how you want to interpret said themes, it's possible for the moralization and political/social commentary to come off like a Mamoru Oshii film. But given the characters, art style, music, and writing elements, I feel for me, personally, it's a very good balance in that you get that kind of shounen action, but not quite psycho-babble or philosophical ramblings of a Dai Satou or whoever. I mean, don't most shounen series do something like this on the individual level, anyway? I just found it particularly unique within this series that they would even address much more wide-standing issues such as poverty, the effects of warfare, and that sort of thing. |
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teferi
 Posts: 400 |
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Didn't the last episode have a little splash screen with something vaguely hinting at the possibility of another season? Because honestly the series begs for one =|
Of course her ideals aren't preachy; Alice herself is preachy O_o She's idealistic, sheltered, and more or less oblivious to her surroundings on many levels. It's a pretty typical representation of the newbie officer you see in so many war movies who runs off to save the world for democracy or some such load. Just Alice is trying to uphold her own idealized version of the social contract between the nobility and the lower class, and she rants, and rants, and rants. It's not that bad, but barring a box set (or a confirmed second season) I'm not buying. Especially when Oland in the dub sounds like John Goodman =| |
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Goodpenguin
Posts: 457 Location: Hunt Valley, MD |
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I'll say this for 'Pumpkin Scissors', it's brand of heavy-handed but earnest (well, at least in a Japanese way) attempts at commentary is greatly favored over: 1. Creepy ultra-national fervor that drives a lot of 'Otaku' shows (especially in the mecha vein) such as 'Code Geass' or 'Gasaraki' -or- 2. Shows that have a premise based on fun T&A, but someone thought it would be gangbusters to flood it with sophomoric polemics. (009-1 I'm looking at you. With angry, squinty eyes.) But again, I'm not really picking on 'Pumpkin Scissors' themes, just wondering if it's going to get caught in audience limbo. It's certainly worth a rent for military/political genre fans to see if it floats the proverbial boat. |
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Sam Murai
 Posts: 1051 |
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It won't be the last time you'll probably feel that way. Pumpkin Scissors was good for the most part, providing for some intriguing concepts and ideas and a few good instances of post-war and social politics and unflinching brutality. However, there are a lot times where machinations are revealed but never really delved into. There is also an unfortunate air of shonen-esque sensibility, especially in the last arc. There is a simplicity in people's emotions and plans that betrays the more realistic good and commentary that the show makes that ruins it nearly completely in the end. The plot and, more notably, the dialouge seemed like it was written in a run-of-the-mill shonen way--just wrong for what PS is apparently aspiring to be. The show as a whole isn't comparable to something like Oshii's or Satou's work in a sense of the differences in commentary stylings, but the execution is more disjointed and somes just lacking in PS. I'm not saying it needs to be Philosophy 501, but it does need to be competantly told well enough to warrent everything it tells as worthwhile in the end. Personally though, I really like the name "Pumpkin Scissors." It stands out and is not terribly different from other oddball brigade monikers. As for fanservice, spoiler[aside from the aforemention Alice, there are references and situations involving the more bigger-breasted females (one leading to a rather ludicrous plan in getting refuges to move), and there's always Oland (think..."bottle breaker")  .]
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Goodpenguin
Posts: 457 Location: Hunt Valley, MD |
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Sam Murai wrote:
That's a good take, and the 'interesting concept that runs out of gas quickly' has been pretty endemic to anime for as long as I've been around the material. I will say in 'Pumpkin Scissors' defense the 'high concept that writing can't back up' can be a double edged sword. The pantheon of mature, complex writing intensive shows is pretty small (to be fair it's a field targeted to young/mid teenagers in a culture not steeped in social commentary), and a lot of times a writer/director will push through material long after interesting commentary has dried up, leaving a garbled mess that comes off as preachy,pretentious and lightweight. In that light, backing off social themes after the well has dried and steering into shonen may be disappointing, but perhaps the lesser of two evils. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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I gave up on this series after 16 episodes. It kept looking like the little hints of a bigger plot where about to amount to something but it never did. And it sounds like I made the right choice. Everything I hear suggests that the series never really deals with what it hints at let alone resolves anything.
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11449 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Definitely. I'm actually thinking of picking up the manga. I've no clue how far it is past the end of "season one," but until Gonzo or whoever decides to make a continuation, the events at the end (spoiler[ Alice's "awakening," Invisible Nine, and Silver Wheel]) leave a HUGE amount of potential stories and themes to explore. I don't really mind if it turns out taking the shounen route in terms of writing and presentation, but the end still left me with plenty of fervor.
Well, I find that aspect to be very forthcoming of her. I feel this is where a lot of the shounen aspect comes in with her having these ideals, not doing much about it (at first), then finally emerging and taking charge. On top of that, you don't see a whole lot of female characters that develop in this manner. To me, it's more so an admiration of her spirit in finding herself, the way life comes at her and how she handles it, then (as mentioned above) the potential on how a "new" Alice might take on future challenges. I don't want to make predictions and say "what if.." until I actually read the manga or see some kind of anime continuation, but for what is was worth, I found the mix of story elements and characters to be a lot of fun. Although, maybe that's just the shounen fan in me speaking.
Haha, I completely forgot about that joke until you mentioned it. Although, the thing with Oland is that I'd probably call it more ecchi humor, rather than fanservice. Unless members of the female audience somehow consider that characteristic.. "noteworthy" ...
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lhernan02
Posts: 196 |
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While I will agree with most posters that the series does not end well (spoiler[the party siege arc becomes almost unbearable halfway through its 50 episode lenght (I know it was only 2-4 eps long, but it felt much longer)]), you cannot tell that based on the first volume that is reviewed here (I know ANN makes a point to not spoil the series and only stick to the volume in question) and in PS's defense, before the downfall, there are some great episodes (spoiler[e.g. the prostitute episode was as hardcore an episode as I have seen since NTHT, it was realistic, unforgiving, unflinching, and finally hopefull]).
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nargun
Posts: 930 |
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And this is shown to be to her disadvantage, too: Alice is not good at politics and things are made harder for her because of this. Which is a big change from the usual "Pure heart triumphs over all" you get from shounen action stuff. It's an interesting little show, quite good, but it could have been so much better. [2x13 ep seasons would have worked better, I think] |
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