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EP. REVIEW: Moriarty the Patriot


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SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:57 am Reply with quote
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Many people have mentioned the ikemen-style beauty of young Professor Moriarty in this series, citing that as a concern. I see it as a spin on Victorian notions of angelic beauty, a Dorian Gray-style refutation of the belief that outer beauty equals inner goodness.

Or... it's just a kind of fanservice, because the manga and the show know their target demographics.

I mean, really, come on. Very Happy
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Key
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 12:22 pm Reply with quote
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Whether Albert was expecting this or was hoping, in the way of Victorian novels, that doing the good deed of taking the boys in would soften the hearts of his biological family is unclear. . .

Albert was already clearly disgusted with the behavior of his family but didn't think he could do anything about it, and the scenes in episode 3 where his visions of nobles deteriorated to black suggest the he already saw them as blights. I was certain he chose the brothers with at least the vague hope that some methods for ridding himself of his corrupt family might result from it. (That's certainly how young Moriarty interpreted it, anyway.) Hence the "going to live with a more virtuous relative in the country" option mentioned by another poster would have defeated the purpose.
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lhernan02



Joined: 12 Jun 2005
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:21 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Hence the "going to live with a more virtuous relative in the country" option mentioned by another poster would have defeated the purpose.


To clarify, I only listed that to show the laziness of the writing. In Ep 1, we know why the tailor murders the pedophile, and we can all agree that there is at least some justice in the act. But in Eps 2&3 the family (and the innocent upstairs staff, apparently) have to die because the plot requires it. There are many options for Albert other than murdering his family, thus the two examples I gave. His choice is capricious and unnecessary. What are the crimes involved? His dad is an a*****e and his mom is a b***h, but only his younger brother has committed any actual crimes (2 counts of battery with bodily harm), none of this is anywhere near worthy of a death sentence.

A better written story would have involved the public murder of the younger brother (being caught in a fire works) in a way that it appears the orphans injured themselves trying to save him, thus the parent's lesser crimes can be used against them: regardless of how they feel, to "keep up appearances" they will now have to bring the two heroes into the family.
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Key
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:54 pm Reply with quote
^
It wouldn't be a "better-written story;" it would be a different story entirely.

The first episode established pretty clearly that Moriarty is not interested in roundabout methods of justice or operating through the legal system. He's into direct and personal justice, where people take ownership of the judgments they deliver. Sure, he set up the situation for the tailor, but the tailor is the one who did the deed. Same here with Albert; if Albert is serious about getting rid of his blight of a family, then he's going to have to initiate the process himself. As for blowing the mansion up? Albert already saw the butler as part of the classist problem, and taking the manor out as well was a clear symbolic gesture, especially given the emphasis on showing the painting burn up. How "right" any of this was is another story, but I don't see Albert being portrayed as wholly righteous here.

You do, I think, I have a much stronger case on some of the fine details, but I don't see any problems with the writing beyond that. The follow-through so far has been consistent.
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blahmoomoo



Joined: 27 Jan 2020
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:56 pm Reply with quote
lhernan02 wrote:
But in Eps 2&3 the family (and the innocent upstairs staff, apparently) have to die because the plot requires it. There are many options for Albert other than murdering his family, thus the two examples I gave. His choice is capricious and unnecessary. What are the crimes involved? His dad is an a*****e and his mom is a b***h, but only his younger brother has committed any actual crimes (2 counts of battery with bodily harm), none of this is anywhere near worthy of a death sentence.


There were several changes between the first chapter of the manga (which is available for free via Viz's Shonen Jump service) and this adaptation that I think are a bit better written.

  • The mom whipped Orphan!William (it seems nobody stated his name) in response to William spilling tea (on himself, not the rug).
  • The mom was in on the plan to frame the orphans of stealing, and was present (and choked) when William was stabbed.
  • There's nothing additional about the dad, but Albert's seen his dad doing plenty of things out of self interest, and he only cares about the orphans as long as it makes him look good. His wife and son make it clear they're thinking about framing the orphans, but he has no comment.
  • Even the maids were looking down at the orphans by making them polish 548 candle sconces in the evening while they headed to bed. While not nobles themselves, they are so adjacent that they have their same attitude toward lower class people.
  • Side note: the mansion's lighting was candles, not gas lanterns. Instead of a gas explosion, they added water to the candle pans so when the candles burned down, they would sputter and cause burning wax to fall onto the carpets below.


I wouldn't say these extra details justify murder, but these three are not heroes. Also, only murdering William would mean they are still anchored to the parents, which would get in the way of their grander plan to upend the current model of society. Albert is already a known noble and he'd get his parents remaining assets, so he'll have the power and resources to see the orphan's plans through without his parents. So I don't think your alternative plot suggestion makes sense. (EDIT: Key sniped me with a more well-written response to this part)

I do wonder why they changed some things though, considering it couldn't have been for pacing (the first chapter was split over two episodes, and the second chapter, being adapted in the next episode, is the same number of pages). I can see the idea of a gas explosion being more exciting than a candle fire, but not the rest.
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aaa1e2r3



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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:41 pm Reply with quote
blahmoomoo wrote:

[*]Side note: the mansion's lighting was candles, not gas lanterns. Instead of a gas explosion, they added water to the candle pans so when the candles burned down, they would sputter and cause burning wax to fall onto the carpets below.
[/list]


That makes a lot more sense to me. When I had seen the episode, the fact that this was a fully gas lit house just seemd to be anachronistic. I might be mixing up my times in my head but wouldn't that be more of a thing you'd find in the late 1800s/ early 1900s if anything, yet we're at 1866 here in the story.
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Key
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:48 pm Reply with quote
aaa1e2r3 wrote:
That makes a lot more sense to me. When I had seen the episode, the fact that this was a fully gas lit house just seemd to be anachronistic. I might be mixing up my times in my head but wouldn't that be more of a thing you'd find in the late 1800s/ early 1900s if anything, yet we're at 1866 here in the story.

Actually, gas lighting first started to appear in London during the 1810s and was in widespread use across the country by the late 1850s. A wealthy home having gaslights would probably even be expected by 1866. So gaslights rather than candles is probably actually more historically accurate.
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Princess_Irene
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 4:04 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
A wealthy home having gaslights would probably even be expected by 1866. So gaslights rather than candles is probably actually more historically accurate.


Yes, I had meant to mention it in the review - it is more accurate to have gaslights in a nobleman's home at this point in history. We have a gas chandelier in the museum I docent in from about 1869 that hung in a store. Another local museum has a record of a rigged musket from significantly earlier, so the whole thing was apropos to the time. Thus far the details that are standing out as obviously wrong are the women's clothing (they should be wearing hoops in the 1860s and comparatively small bustles in the 1880s) and the ragged school housing orphans; orphanages and ragged schools tended to be separate institutions.

The hierarchy with the servants really could have been done better in the anime, but the butler looking down on the orphans, who are being treated as lower servants by everyone who isn't Albert, isn't out of the realm of possibility.
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lhernan02



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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 4:09 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
It wouldn't be a "better-written story;" it would be a different story entirely.


You are correct, but it would be the type of story that would keep me watching. Remember, in my post, I was not criticizing the show for what it was (it is completely passable), I was stating why it is not a show for me after my required three episodes. Twelve hours of life is too much to spend on something that doesn't grab you and this show would have to grab me with it's schemes and two of the three were "YA" level stuff. It was a strictly personal judgement based on what I expected from the show. If "Akudama Drive" was anywhere near as smart as this show, I would have also dropped it, because I wanted stupid supercharged gonzo fun out of that one, and it met my expectations.
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aaa1e2r3



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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 4:26 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
aaa1e2r3 wrote:
That makes a lot more sense to me. When I had seen the episode, the fact that this was a fully gas lit house just seemd to be anachronistic. I might be mixing up my times in my head but wouldn't that be more of a thing you'd find in the late 1800s/ early 1900s if anything, yet we're at 1866 here in the story.

Actually, gas lighting first started to appear in London during the 1810s and was in widespread use across the country by the late 1850s. A wealthy home having gaslights would probably even be expected by 1866. So gaslights rather than candles is probably actually more historically accurate.


My mistake
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BBally



Joined: 17 Dec 2016
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 7:32 pm Reply with quote
lhernan02 wrote:

1. The Cast: The Moriarty family is straight out of villain casting 101 with no redeemable traits except for the saintly Albert.


Sorry if this comes across as presumptuous or pretentious or if I come across as a jerk for saying this, but I feel the constant use of "villains with dimensions" in media, with anime being a notable example recently might have spoiled us as viewers as any villain who is less dimensional seems to be now seen as a negative.

Personally, the Moriarty family's portrayal in the episode (and the chapter from the manga its based on) works just fine for the story being told as I don't see the point of giving them "redeemable traits" plus the concept of a noble class being cruel to lower classes isn't out of the ordinary in stories set in old periods like Victorian England.
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yuna49



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PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2020 10:25 am Reply with quote
I wondered what the state of arson forensics might have been at the time. I suppose the fire's rage might have obliterated any trace of the gun setup, but there's always a chance some little clue might remain, like charred thread wound around the gun's trigger. I know nothing about Victorian arson investigations, but I bet a modern arson squad would be able to reconstruct the events that led to the fire.

The three "brothers" being the only survivors should have also raised a few eyebrows.
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Princess_Irene
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2020 10:50 am Reply with quote
yuna49 wrote:
I wondered what the state of arson forensics might have been at the time.


Probably not great - as far as I know, toxicology was the first major branch of forensics to get widespread use (1773, for arsenic), with most other fields being pretty strictly in the "non-burning murder" category. Ballistics was first used in 1835, for example, and there was a long stretch of "anthropometry," which involved measuring various features on the body like much less useful and more complicated fingerprinting. The gas wouldn't have caused a whole lot of questioning at the time - there're two whole chapters on it in Deborah Blum's The Poisoner's Handbook (which is a good read on early forensics). As the new lord, Albert could have thrown money around to quash anyone asking too many questions, too. (Which would be ironic, wouldn't it?)
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Yuvelir



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2020 7:25 pm Reply with quote
TarsTarkas wrote:
I looked up the meaning for 'ikemen-style' since I have never heard of it before. It doesn't seem to be a bad thing, unless the sub-text is, that all kids have to look like dirty little ruffians , lest the adult viewers become evil for thinking they are pretty or beautiful.

You got quite ahead of yourself there. It was a concern simply because the protagonist being a generic pretty boy planted the suspicion that this could be a generic anime about pretty boys.

lhernan02 wrote:
This one I also put to lazy research on Victorian mansion staffing structure (although who has not seen "Upstairs, Downstairs", "You Rang M'Lord", or any of the other 12 million British period dramas/comedies/satires).

I can say with absolute certainty that I have never in my life watched any British period show. And I'm European, not Japanese.
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Yuvelir



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PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2020 12:50 pm Reply with quote
I've been wondering for a while - why are all three brothers called James Moriarty?
Even if they are all complicit in Moriarty's crimes, William and only him is very evidently the James Moriarty of Holmes' novels. At least for now, because I guess having three different James Moriarties woud be useful for running a crime syndicate.
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