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Saturday, October 30th, 2010 01:35 am
I finished watching Soukyuu no Fafner.



So yeah, watched it way too fast . . . but it was really great! I feel like it could have benefited from being longer, because they would have had more time for character development (not to mention the 200+ enemy casualties that occurred during a series time jump), and could have spent more time on certain major plot elements that whizzed past very quickly. But then, the creators are also to be saluted for fitting so much plot into such a brief period of time.

There was also a very high casualty rate in the series-- and not just random faceless NPCs, but named and somewhat developed characters-- even major characters. A lot of very human reactions to war and loss and grief. Awareness of and guilt over the fact that the adults are training and sending children into battle. Great importance placed on very normal family relationships in addition to friendship.

And I rather adore Soushi, who is made of angstmuffins and yet--

Shoulder Demon: Yeah, you like the long-haired pretty boy. Never saw that one coming.

SHUT UP SHUT UP THAT'S NOT WHY.

Shoulder Demon: Suuuuuuure it's not.

It isn't! He's all cool and stuff, clearly!

Shoulder Demon: He's also the only character with long hair in the series. Except for that old dude.

I like plenty of characters who don't have long hair!

Shoulder Demon: Yeah? Let's hear this list of yours.

Uh--

Shoulder Demon: It should be observed that of all the series you've written stories for, they have always featured a person with long hair.

Not always! I wrote one about Kero and Fujitaka!

Shoulder Demon: Your favorite character in CCS is Yue. HIS HAIR IS LONGER THAN HE IS TALL.

Kujaku! I liked Kujaku in RG Veda!

Shoulder Demon: He has wings.

Sh-- shut up!

Shoulder Demon: In fact, in the series you've been madly obsessed with for a solid four years now, JUST ABOUT EVERY CHARACTER HAS LONG HAIR.

. . . . . . . .

Shoulder Demon: So, I'm thinking of growing my hair out . . .

DIE!



Soukyuu no Fafner, or Fafner in the Azure, hereby receives a hearty recommendation from me. GO WATCH IT SO WE CAN FANGIRL TOGETHER.

Nothing good ever comes of of talking to shoulder demons.
Saturday, October 30th, 2010 12:49 am (UTC)
You had me with pretty boy with long hair.

Wait. The series kill of characters? Is he one of them?
Saturday, October 30th, 2010 10:54 am (UTC)
It's well worth watching! It has everything that makes a great mecha series-- implacable enemy, weird psychology, pilots you care about, copious explosions, and more besides!

And answering that question would count as a direct spoiler, so I can't do it here. ::coughs:: Er, but I will say that there's a movie sequel coming out in December . . .
Saturday, October 30th, 2010 02:08 am (UTC)
I'm not fond of Fafner... Despite the good story, the death toll depressed me more than anything ;;;__;;;
Saturday, October 30th, 2010 11:08 am (UTC)
Yeah . . . it's true that there's a high death toll. But in its way, I feel like it's more realistic. I mean, they are fighting a war, and people are going to die in a war. Most series just compensate for that by killing off a whole lot of "nobodies," but I think it was a brave choice on the part of the series to actually kill important characters.
Saturday, October 30th, 2010 01:49 pm (UTC)
I do agree. It was a good story (esp. it was the time when I adore Hirai Hisashi's artwork after being fascinated by s.CRY.ed), but still... ^^;;; I don't have the guts to rewatch it the second time... (yeah, I'm as chicken as that...)
Edited 2010-10-30 01:51 pm (UTC)
Monday, November 1st, 2010 11:27 am (UTC)
It's not everyone's cup of tea, 'tis true. Er, and don't watch Code Geass, either. Aside from all the NPCs who get splattered, there's also some punch-in-the-gut character death.

Both are excellent series, though, it must be said. ;-)
Monday, November 1st, 2010 04:32 pm (UTC)
I know... despite the gorgeous seiyuu line up, I didn't watch Code Geass till the end because I know (somehow) it would turn out like that...^^;;
Saturday, October 30th, 2010 03:03 am (UTC)
I still have to get around to watching it, but long hair for the win!!!

majo
Saturday, October 30th, 2010 11:11 am (UTC)
Please do! I think you'll like it, and I need someone to fangirl Soushi with. ;-)
Monday, November 1st, 2010 07:41 pm (UTC)
But Soushi does have really pretty hair! And don't your fingers itch to tear that ridiculous little hairband he wears off him?

I'm really, really thrilled you liked it! Anything in particular about Soushi you wish to fangirl? :D
Thursday, November 18th, 2010 01:44 am (UTC)
It's ridiculously pritty hair. And he's THE ONLY ONE. Everyone else on the island has a fairly normal haircut, and then wham, there's Soushi with hair down past his shoulders.

er. There's lots more for me to ramble about, but I must to bed . . . tomorrow!
Saturday, November 20th, 2010 09:11 pm (UTC)
And the hairband is rather silly, one has to wonder why he has it there to begin with. And how the heck it manages to _stay_.

Ye gods, what's not to love about Soushi, anyway? I mean, I adore the fact that he's a walking angstbucket who doesn't really brood over his angst, or make a bit deal about it. I adore the way he has a foot in both camps-- the adult command team and the teenage pilots. I am perpetually amused by his awkwardness when it comes to non-command situations (when he's in a casual situation and acts like a commander it amuses me even more. I think it's a difficulty he mainly has with kids his own age . . .). His motivations are complex and mysterious, as is what's happened to him in the past, and what he's seen in the outside world. It seems he's completely given himself over to the task of fighting off Festum, to the extent that he doesn't have a personal life outside it-- or doesn't allow himself one.

Then, too, there's how he's at the heart of the whole fight. He's the one giving the orders; the pilots have to carry them out, but Shoushi's the strategist, the commander. And although he's not in bodily danger (until the end, anyway), he still experiences everything the pilots do-- emotions, thoughts, physical pain. Yet through all that he has to not only think and strategize, but also deal with the physical pain of the pilots (activate pain blockers, etc), liaise with C&C, and somehow keep everything he's thinking and feeling from interfering with what's going on. I don't think it comes through fully just how difficult what he does is. The commanders do say "it's something only [he] can do," but they never really explains what that means or what it entails. Or whether another person could be sent up into Sigfried to replace Soushi if he died . . . the pilots can be replaced, but can Soushi?

. . . I guess we find out when the movie comes out . . .

oh, there's also the incredible realization that . . . you know all those pilots who died? He was IN THEIR MINDS when they died. I mean, what the heck does that do to someone? To experience the moment of death, to literally know exactly what the dying person was thinking and feeling, and then to have to carry that knowledge for the rest of your life? And not only that, but to relive multiple deaths over and over again?

NO WONDER HIS BATHROOM SHELF LOOKS LIKE A PHARMACY. ye gods.