| Subject: Re: Scrapped Princess |
Author:
chiisai_nezumi
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Date Posted: 14:26:32 09/01/03 Mon
In reply to:
D0SBoots
's message, "Re: Scrapped Princess" on 15:53:42 08/31/03 Sun
>First of all, BIG SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!!!!! You
>should be more careful about spoiling things when you
>critique (or praise) a series, because you might
>accidentally ruin it for others. I'll probably spoil
>even more things, so reader beware!
Oops, sorry about that...didn't think about spoilers at the time.
>Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. A lot
>of people at JAC liked Saiyuki, and I thought it fell
>in the average-bad range. To each their own.
Fair enough :)
>First of all, I disagree that Pacifica is a "simple"
>character. The scriptwriters could have made her a
>stereotypical annoying-brat-princess or a
>stereotypical bouncy-happy-CCS-Sakura-clone, but they
>did neither. Although those are both aspects of her
>character, we often see her quiet, almost fatalistic
>inner side. Her character is multi-layered and
>three-dimensional, and as complex (or more) than a lot
>of real-life people I've met.
>We also never see her true "reaction" to being the
>Scrapped Princess. The series starts after she has
>already found this out. I guess my question to you is,
>what would you rather have as her reaction? I think a
>LOT of people would get very depressed and melancholy
>if they found out they were supposed to destroy the
>world, but that wouldn't be very interesting to watch.
>An airhead might shake it off and continue living from
>day to day without caring about the next, but that
>would be boring, too. I think her quiet struggle to
>accept what she is while maintaining a cheerful, happy
>outlook most of the time is very engaging.
When I say "simple," I don't mean cardboard-cutout stereotype...I mean that she approaches things from an uncomplicated, simplistic point of view. By the time we meet her in the series, she's already a set, non-dynamic character. She suspects she's the Scrapped Princess, she's reacted to it, and the changes that it's made to her personality are beyond our view. I'll grant you that all the things you said about her personality are true - but the fact that she changes so little during the course of the show bugs me. Oh, she reacts to situations, she becomes slightly more confident or distressed when more information is presented to her, but the fundamental tone of her outlook stays the same. Moreover, when she changes a little, she grows in a predictable pattern. If you take her tone into consideration, then it is possible to predict many of her reactions to situations, which really took out a lot of the enjoyment of the series for me.
>It's supposed to be thin - Pacifica says as much when
>she snaps him out of it. "How can you go and get
>brainwashed so easily? Idiot!" The brainwashing was
>playing off of a pre-existing urge to protect his
>sister, and Natalie just made that urge strong enough
>to overrule his urge to protect other people. If you
>already find the series of, I can see how it would
>bother you, but it made sense to me.
Hmm...I hadn't thought of that. Nice perspective.
>As for them not being siblings, I can only speak with
>so much authority, being an only child, but it seemed
>authentic to me. Sakura and Touya from have a very
>similar little-sister-picks-on-big-brother surface
>relationship, but Pacifica and Shannon's relationship
>goes deeper. (Largely because Pacifica isn't in 5th
>grade.) There is also the fact that not only is
>Pacifica much younger than them, (I'd guess about
>eight years younger,) but she is also adopted. As
>Shannon says, "She's a little sister that suddenly
>appeared out of nowhere." Still, they fight, make up,
>comfort, tease, and pretty much act like siblings do.
>What jarred you into feeling that they weren't related?
Well put. Call my reaction personal quirk.
>I'm just having real difficulties understanding your
>point of view, because I think Scrapped Princess has
>the best character interaction of any series I've
>seen. What series has a five in your book? Every other
>anime I've watched has at least one point where the
>characters feel flat and/or unrealistic, even those
>that are truly great. (Escaflowne, Grave of the
>Fireflies, and the first Rurouni Kenshin OVA, to name
>a few.) It feels like everyone in Scrapped Princess
>has a motivation, and they don't act counter to their
>motivations like so many anime characters do. (The bad
>guy going, "I will tell you my evil plan first" and
>the uber-annoying Miaka's "I love you but I can't stay
>with you" are two prime examples of this.)
>About the soundtrack - sure, it isn't Cowboy Bebop or
>.Hack//Sign, but it's very solid and enjoyable, and
>works very well as a background. I guess I'm just
>really curious as to what you consider a "good" series
>with a "good" soundtrack and "good" character
>interactions.
Works that I would give a 5 for artistry overall: Hoshi no Koe (masterwork). Cowboy Bebop.
Works I would give a 4-5 overall: Jin-Roh. Wings of Honnemaise. Azumanga Daioh (wonderful soundtrack), first Rurouni Kenshin OAV
Personal favorites (I recognize that there are flaws in them, but I really liked them anyway...these probably get 4.0s or 4.5s): Kiddy Grade (once you're past ep 8 :p), KareKano, Scryed, Crest of the Stars.
Currently watching: Green Green TV, Da Capo, Divergence Eve, Onegai Twins (3.0 - 4.0 range so far)
Those are all that come to mind right now...
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