Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Atom The Beginning
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SHD
Posts: 1752 |
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And here's where I scratch my head again at the conclusions Rebecca jumps to. All signs?  Like... that he caught her when she fell, I guess?
In the meantime the only reason Motoko is frequenting Lab 7 in the first place is because she wants to hang out with Hiroshi; in the previous episode she was grumpy because she wanted to show off her new home to Hiroshi (and note that she said "Hiroshi", not "Hiroshi and the others"); the only reason she was making all that effort in this episode was because she wanted to help Hiroshi; and she even said she was jealous of Umatarou! |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 2606 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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It might help if you consider that I've studied the romance genre as an academic subject. Classically speaking, the signs are there - she loudly says she hates him, they don't get along, etc. Those are are standard indicators, backed up by (yes) him catching her and the fact that she's in the front seat with him in the opening theme. She also hasn't been clear (to my mind) that she really honestly likes Hiroshi - she keeps phrasing it like he's just another notch in her lipstick case, another target.
That's where I'm coming from. (I recommend Dangerous Men, Adventurous Women if you want to get a basic overview of romance as a genre.) I'd seriously love to be wrong about this, though. 
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belvadeer
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I think the point of this episode was to show us the bond between Hiroshi and Umataro. They can argue as much as they want, but in the end their scientific geniuses do complement each other. It's interesting to think the two of them will grow apart once Astro enters their lives in the future (and considering the way Umataro is in his youth, I'm impressed he ended up having a son).
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SHD
Posts: 1752 |
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No, I'm familiar enough with these "signs" but to be honest I think you're trying too hard to apply them in this case. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and bickering is just bickering. They barely had any scenes together so far (I think this episode had almost all of their total interactions as of now), never mind an actual conversation; even in the previous episode Umatarou was 100% more interested in yelling at her brother than actually sparing her a glance. It's Hiroshi who is getting all the hints and advances, and it's with him that the "girl pursues pure and oblivious boy, starts out as a game, turns into true love" trope seems to be playing out. (Although while he's definitely oblivious he's also interested in her, as we saw in the previous episode.) And sure, she might not be sure yet whether she's serious about Hiroshi, but we've got second-hand confirmation by the old housekeeper. (As for the car, I think it's just because if Hiroshi was driving Umatarou would have to share the spotlight with him in that shot, even though he's clearly supposed to be the focus there, to the point where Motoko even gets blocked by light eventually. The focus in the video starts with Six, shifts to Umatarou, and only then do we get Motoko who is sharing her spot with Hiroshi!) |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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I've been really enjoying the show, and Ran is a great character. I'm reading her as on the spectrum, and I like that she's not interested in boys/romance and is vocal about it (I wish the show and Matoko would respect that, though). Next week seems to be focused on her school's robot competition, which should be fun.
I've been looking at the romance geometry from a few different angles. I can see the beginning of a love/hate relationship forming between Tenma and Motoko, which would be the more interesting, contentious relationship. I could also see Motoko softening up as she falls for the sweeter, more emotionally connected Hiroshi (I didn't catch that the biggest reason she's probably even pursuing him now is to mess with her brother, at least subconsciously, because she seems so outwardly respectful towards her brother, but it makes sense). And I could see a straight up love triangle forming a wedge between the labmates... The problem with shipping Tenma is that it would be a lot more fun without the incredibly depressing fore knowledge that whoever he ends up with, they'll lose a son in the future. 
Meanwhile, what is Motoko's major? She confirmed she's a second year undergrad in the engineering program at their school, but I get the distinct impression she's not specializing in robotics (but she should definitely realize that trash heaps aren't stable). |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15457 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I quite liked the Ran focused episode with the competition. She is the character I am most interested in. I did not really consider the autistic spectrum earlier, but as a fellow also on it, maybe says something for why I personally like her, and how people interact with her.
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11340 |
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It would've been nice to see how Teru-hime negotiated whatever traps they threw at her, as we saw with the other robots. As it was, it seemed like she just breezed in, located the person, and then had to overcome the obstacle of her own design. Like, could she have climbed up that water obstacle that defeated the wormbot? Since she was having so much trouble with simple forward motion on flat ground, it doesn't seem like it.
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Agent355
Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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Tenma hasn't been interested in a woman all season, and the first woman he's attracted to his Ojou-sama Hair?! Seriously? Sure, she's as pretty as a porcelain doll, but she has a snobby air about her and from our perspective, is obviously at least a bit villainous. Also, he doesn't strike me as the type to notice looks before brains and we haven't seen her robotic engineering skills yet! Tenma (uh, writers of Tenma's character), I am disappointed!
I loved how Ran is treated with understanding and respect by her peers. I kept bracing myself for a bully (especially when I noticed that one of her friends had Ojou-sama corkscrew curls herself!), but was delightfully surprised. No bullying, or classmates quitting the club because she tends to direct things or because they think she thinks that she's smarter than them, or anything like that. The "worst" thing they did was make adjustments without her input, which actually showed that although she's considered the robotics genius, they are as smart and capable as she is.
I agree, and was actually confused at the end, because I thought the structure falling apart was an intentional obstacle and Six would be chewed out for barging in and disqualifying Princess Teru. I agree with Ran's team: they didn't face any obstacles and they got an assist at the end. This show continues to be fun, but this episode was a bit too slow and plot-lite, especially after a week off. I think Tenma's crush on Vaguely Villainous Corkscrew Curls will put another wedge in his relationship with Ochanomizu next week. Should be interesting! |
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WatcherZer
Posts: 273 |
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Ojou-sama Hair, did she sound like a bloke or was it just me?
Is it wheelchair guy in drag?
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belvadeer
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During the robo wrestling battles, I felt like I was seeing spoiler[signs of what will eventually be the attitude Astro adopts in battle, trying to go for a clever and nonviolent way of stopping his opponents after closely analyzing the situation]. Of course, the major differences between Hiroshi and Umataro are as clear as day at this point and are definitely pointing to spoiler[why they will grow apart as both friends and fellow robot scientists in the future].
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15457 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I am expecting that the Six being broken is that that he does not want to hurt anyone, even other robots that barely have any intelligence themselves. From the first episode with the eye catches we always saw whatever Six was looking at the time, and that is we have kind of got into his head, which is to say that his program has him think and cares about others, which will be the basis of Astro's character. He is not just a weapon that can do superhero powerful acts, but someone who might even hold back at times because they want to focus on the "hero" part of helping others.
I actually came into the series worried that it would be too much on robots being strong, but the part that has made me come around is it more about what robots can mean to people emotionally. That the compassion and thinking might be more important for thinking someone is cool, and a hero to look up to. |
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evareigoki
Posts: 18 |
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...to be fair, Dr Lolo was named in her spoiler[his? its?] first appearance in ep1.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 2606 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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^ Damn, missed that, and I keep a list of characters' names too. Names are not, as you may have guessed, my strong suit, which is how I went through an entire season of Haikyu calling one guy "Tire Tracks." (It was his hair.)
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Agent355
Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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That was certainly professional wrestling! Loved when Mohican's trainer threw off her fancy pink coat to reveal her battle bikini, seems they got the culture down!
Would love to see Six's "defect" turn out to be a moral objection he can't quite articulate, and Ran figuring it out first. Tenma will not be happy, though. (Probably). |
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belvadeer
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The tension between Umataro and Hiroshi is building more and more. I wonder at what point they'll eventually stop being colleagues and friends all together, and whether or not this show will display that divide at some point (or it could just be something that happens in some unspecified span of time we don't ever see).
As for Dr. Lolo's voice, the VA is Mitsuki Saiga, who is famous for voicing young boys with a distinctly deep voice for a woman (Joshua Bright from Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is a solid example of this). I wonder if the casting was done that way on purpose, as some have stated they didn't realize Saiga is female when they hear her voice a male character). Maybe because she's become renown for voicing males, it's leading us to think Lolo might be a guy in disguise. It would be crazy if it turned out to be true simply because of the choice of VA. |
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