Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: The Ancient Magus' Bride
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Coup d'État
 Posts: 179 |
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It's a direct reference, too. 'Cartaphilus' is an often-cited name for the wandering Jew specifically, so he's not just "any random undying dude". |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23781 |
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Given the way the Cartiphilus/Joseph character has been handled in TAMB, I feel no anti-Semitic sentiment, myself. The show has a track record of basing its magical creatures/beings on actual myths and folklore and the use of the Wandering Jew myth (which is never referred to by that name) is of a piece with that. If you are looking for a doomed figure eternally cursed to never die then using Cartiphilus makes a ton of sense. My take on TAMB's Cartiphilus character is that he has been driven insane by the curse of immortality and that is the source of his malevolence... nothing to do with being Jewish. |
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BodaciousSpacePirate
 Subscriber Posts: 3017 |
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Probably my biggest pet peeve with Episode 22 is that it eliminated a single plot twist from the material it's adapting that would have almost completely re-contextualized this issue. I guess you could argue that it makes sense to push this particular revelation to Episode 23, but it still leaves the audience with a whole extra week of misunderstanding. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11365 |
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What is it with Japan and swapping eyeballs?
 The Uchiha passed eyes around like gumballs, and now this. I don't think I've ever seen this trope in Western media. At least Spike's artificial eye was implanted by an actual surgical procedure, not just popping it out of one person and popping it into another one. 
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3767 |
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To be fair, there was almost certainly magic involved here, though making it a little more clear that there was could have helped a bit. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11365 |
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I know, but that wasn't my point. It's not a question of practicality (i.e., does your setting have magic or jutsu or high tech), but rather why it's a recurring thing.
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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Anne, that was a great review! I really liked the focus on the soundtrack and the use of the show's motifs, like Chise's crystal flowers. This was a very difficult episode to watch, and I really appreciate the gravity with which Chise's most traumatic memory was treated. I would argue that Chise has not been suffering from self-deception at all--her mother *did* try to kill her. She just needed to appreciate the context in which it happened to see that it wasn't her own fault, and that that one awful moment doesn't negate everything happy in her childhood, including her mother's actions in better times. The moment Chise's mother heard the fairy voices telling her to kill Chise and tried to resist them was the most chilling moment in the episode for me, it's reality hitting me harder than the strangely bloodless eye exchange. Chise may never be able to forgive her mother for giving in to the voices, but she can stop punishing herself for it and appreciate the good parts of her life, past and present.
I'm very curious about Cartaphilius' background. I'd also like to quell my own misgivings about the use of "The Wandering Jew" as the villain in this story (for the record, Elias used that phrase in the show and the manga when Cartaphilius first showed himself). |
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13558 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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It depends on the depiction. One of the profane depictions of Christianity I have seen was with "Seikon no Qwaser". |
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whitesox123
Posts: 42 |
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People trying to make this seem like the show is preaching anti-semitic values. Its a fantasy ffs, chill out.
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BodaciousSpacePirate
Subscriber Posts: 3017 |
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Whether or not this show is anti-semitic (it's not, and assuming it more or less follows the remaining bits of the manga, that should become clear in about an episode) it's reactions like this that have allowed fantasy authors to get away with crap for years. Roahl Dahl publicly claimed in the 80s that Hitler had a "good reason" for killing the Jews. HP Lovecraft wrote half a dozen stories that even his contemporaries in the 30s thought were pretty racist. But no one cares, because they were good authors and "it's just fantasy". Whatever. |
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Merida
 Posts: 1945 |
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I had hoped that Chise would be seperated from Elias (and Ruth) for a bit longer since i rather enjoyed the show focussing on her alone for once, but since we're close to the end, i guess there's no time for that...and unlike Anne, this episode really made me feel for Joseph/Cartaphilius without disregarding his deeds which is largely thanks to his seiyyu who's doing an amazing job.
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9844 Location: Virginia |
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It is from Greek mythology. Graeae |
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AholePony
 Posts: 330 Location: Arizona |
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I thought it was a little unfortunate that Joseph's back story was fairly similar to Onigumo in Inuyasha. It pulled me right out of the episode like a once you see it you can't unsee it thing
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Agent355
Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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^
His backstory reminded me of Onigumo in Inuyasha, too! Thinking about it now, it's as if Onigumo from Inuyasha was nursed by Dante from the first Full Metal Alchemist anime series instead of Kikyo and then they combined. I agree with the reviewer, it's hard to sympathize with him when he is so lacking in empathy himself. The series makes it clear, however, that he won't be "defeated" until someone is able to empathize with him, and that's to the series' credit. It makes sense that Chise, who understands what it's like to be rejected, would be the one to do it. Also to the series credit: Elias rejecting Titania's offer and standing up to try to fix his relationship like a human, not entrap Chise like a fae. Did Titania's breast reduction bother anyone else? Or does she look like that because she re-birthed herself? |
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3767 |
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I believe she referred to them as her “branches” so they are more smaller extensions of her rather than herself, both in that regard and overall as far as I could tell. Honestly I kind of preferred it.
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