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REVIEW: Red Data Girl DVD


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zztop



Joined: 28 Aug 2014
Posts: 642
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 12:56 pm Reply with quote
Apparently the Red Data Girl anime only covers the first 5 volumes of Ogiwara Noriko's source novel series. The 6th and final volume was not adapted.

Readers say the final volume is quite crucial as it fully reveals the mystery and origins of the Goddess/Himegami and provides a more conclusive ending to the relationship between Izumiko and Miyuki.spoiler[(She returns to the mountains, he follows her there. Very Happy )]

Basically, the Himegami is spoiler[the spirit of an alternate-timeline Izumiko. In the 1st timeline, many people desired her for her high spiritual powers. Unable to control the powers, Izumiko ended up destroying herself and all humankind. However, her soul was thrown back thousands of years into the past, where she resolved to subtly influence historical events to prevent her future descendant from suffering the same fate as her. Manifesting as a spiritual oracle throughout the ages, she came to be known as the Himegami amongst the mountain monk order.

In the 2nd timeline, she was able to influence events so the 2nd Izumiko became a World Heritage person, for better protection. However that failed when the 2nd Izumiko was dissected(as the Himegami mentions to Miyuki), and the world still came to an end.

The current Izumiko is the 3rd timeline version. The Himegami's influence clearly was more effective in this timeline, since here, Yukimasa, his mountain monk network, and Izumiko's mother, were all working together to prevent the 3rd apocalypse. Events such as the sealing hair braids, the founding of the magic school, and even Miyuki's birth were all deliberately planned to change history and ensure humankind's survival. The Himegami notices how these events never took place in the previous 2 timelines.

Finally, the Himegami has been losing her sense of self as Izumiko after 2 consecutive time jumps, and fears she may cease to exist if another jump happens.]


Hope this helps. Smile
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 2:14 pm Reply with quote
zztop wrote:
Hope this helps. Smile


Oh, it does indeed. Thank you. Your post makes more sense than the anime ever did.
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Aquasakura



Joined: 01 Jan 2014
Posts: 700
Location: Chesterfield, Virginia, U.S.A
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 2:27 pm Reply with quote
zztop wrote:
Apparently the Red Data Girl anime only covers the first 5 volumes of Ogiwara Noriko's source novel series. The 6th and final volume was not adapted.


But it's quite sad. I was looking forward to watching the whole anime after seeing the first episode, but to learn that the entire story hasn't been fully adapted it disappointing. I don't know why they couldn't just adapt the 6th volume... unless it was to get people to read the final volume (if not the whole novel series) which I don't like because what would that lead us who can't read it. Plus its an adaptation so anyone shouldn't have to read the original source after watching it. Although for me personally I would like to read the novels (if I could just read Japanese).
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Kougeru



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 5521
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 3:39 pm Reply with quote
I just want this on bluray...really made no sense to me that the most beautiful anime of that season was on dvd-only...
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getchman
Space Cowboy



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 9117
Location: Bedford, NH
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 4:01 pm Reply with quote
well, Kadokawa, that's why
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 5:40 pm Reply with quote
Aquasakura wrote:
zztop wrote:
Apparently the Red Data Girl anime only covers the first 5 volumes of Ogiwara Noriko's source novel series. The 6th and final volume was not adapted.


But it's quite sad. I was looking forward to watching the whole anime after seeing the first episode, but to learn that the entire story hasn't been fully adapted it disappointing. I don't know why they couldn't just adapt the 6th volume... unless it was to get people to read the final volume (if not the whole novel series) which I don't like because what would that lead us who can't read it. Plus its an adaptation so anyone shouldn't have to read the original source after watching it. Although for me personally I would like to read the novels (if I could just read Japanese).

Most adaptations are made for Japanese audiences and it's to get them to buy the source material and/or related merchandise. Overseas licensing is just an added bonus. Incomplete series and cliffhanger endings are very frustrating, but are the norm in adaptations unfortunately.
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NottJim



Joined: 04 Apr 2013
Posts: 36
Location: Edinburgh, UK
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 6:22 pm Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
I just want this on bluray...really made no sense to me that the most beautiful anime of that season was on dvd-only...


I just want to echo this, a series like this deserves a blu ray release.

RDG had it's flaws but it was a really beautiful anime. The whole fan dance sequence and the closing where just wonderful.
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Aquasakura



Joined: 01 Jan 2014
Posts: 700
Location: Chesterfield, Virginia, U.S.A
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 6:41 pm Reply with quote
configspace wrote:

Most adaptations are made for Japanese audiences and it's to get them to buy the source material and/or related merchandise. Overseas licensing is just an added bonus. Incomplete series and cliffhanger endings are very frustrating, but are the norm in adaptations unfortunately.


Yeah, I know. It's just one of the pet peeves I have with how they do animated shows over there. I am just going to have to import the novels and wait until the day I can understand Japanese to read them. That is unless some publisher here decides to license and publish the novels and/or manga. Speaking of manga, I notice that while some anime adaptions have the tendency to either end on cliff hangers or just end incompletely with manga adaptations the artists would actually adapt the whole series usually. I wonder what's up with that.
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grooven



Joined: 16 Aug 2006
Posts: 1424
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 9:39 pm Reply with quote
dtm42 wrote:
zztop wrote:
Hope this helps. Smile


Oh, it does indeed. Thank you. Your post makes more sense than the anime ever did.
Word! No kidding that anime was a MESS plot wise. I'm surprised the review doesn't give the story a C or lower. I had Touka Gettan vibes, you know the whole backwards thing. Such a waste on story potential and animation on this.
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DJStarstryker



Joined: 16 Jan 2010
Posts: 140
PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 12:58 am Reply with quote
This review is disappointing. Not the review itself, but I just added Red Data Girl on my list of anime that I want to watch soon. I've seen several anime recently that had a lot of good potential with the world and the basic plot set up, but they just fell flat. This sounds like another.

Argh... I'll at least watch the first 4 or 5 episodes anyway to see what I think.
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Zalis116
Moderator


Joined: 31 Mar 2005
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Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 1:47 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Apparently the Red Data Girl anime only covers the first 5 volumes of Ogiwara Noriko's source novel series. The 6th and final volume was not adapted.
At least that's a better ratio than most of these 1-cour adaptations cover; it's usually more like "the anime adapts 4 volumes out of 25 and counting..."
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puppy1843e



Joined: 06 Feb 2011
Posts: 101
PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 1:57 am Reply with quote
I really enjoyed RDG while it was airing. That being said, it's really obvious that they were cramming a 24 episode show into 12 episodes. So many details that would help you understand the plot more are glanced over and the ending is not conclusive at all. But the main romance is done pretty well and the animation is gorgeous, so it's a guilty pleasure for me, even with all it's confusing elements.
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Ali07



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 3333
Location: Victoria, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 1:59 am Reply with quote
zztop wrote:
Hope this helps. Smile

Thanks for taking the time, appreciated! A lot more makes sense for me now.

Still, I feel pretty disappointed with RDG. I loved it, for the most part, but did feel a little lost in parts. Thing is, the ending just falls so flat...that it's sad knowing that they adapted all but 1 volume. Would be nice if they went back and just did some OVAs to wrap things up, though I've no idea if sales for the novels/anime would've warranted anything further.

DJStarstryker wrote:
This review is disappointing. Not the review itself, but I just added Red Data Girl on my list of anime that I want to watch soon. I've seen several anime recently that had a lot of good potential with the world and the basic plot set up, but they just fell flat. This sounds like another.

Argh... I'll at least watch the first 4 or 5 episodes anyway to see what I think.

If you've got a lit of stuff you want to watch, knock this one down a peg or two. It's great to look at, the plot can get a bit messy, and the ending just leaves so much hanging.
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Niyari



Joined: 02 Apr 2011
Posts: 341
PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 6:31 am Reply with quote
pretty much exactly how i felt about the series. the ending in particular was very disappointing
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zensunni



Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 1291
PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 9:07 am Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
I just want this on bluray...really made no sense to me that the most beautiful anime of that season was on dvd-only...

Here here! This is the ONLY reason I have not bought the DVDs. If it had come out on BluRay, I would have preordered it as soon as it was available.

I would rate the dub higher than the review, if only for the fact that it freed my eyes to fully enjoy the gorgeous artwork. I am a scenery porn addict, so shows like this are right in my strike zone.

Actually, watching the dub, on Funimation's Roku app, pushed the show into my top 15 list when it had just missed cracking the list when it was broadcast. Just watching the first two episodes reminded me of the way that RDG makes my spine tingle while watching it. It is special to me for some reason, despite the fact that I recognize its inherent flaws. If only it had been given two cours and they were able to actually complete the story! But, even with the way it turned out, I love that show.

I have never had any problem with the plotting or level of detail in the show as it exists. I love a show that doesn't spoon feed you and makes you think. When each little revelation shines a light on something that was puzzling from an earlier episode it makes the show much more fun to watch.

The only thing holding RDG back is the incompleteness. I have no problem with the way the show ended other than the fact that it screamed "To be continued" with every pixel. If there were a movie, set of OVAs, or a second season in the offing, it would be golden. Instead, it is maddening. I literally screamed at the injustice of it all when I finished watching the dub. Luckily no one else was home at the time... That would have been embarrassing...

I will eventually buy the DVD, but not until I have picked up a few other things that have higher priority.
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