Forum - View topicNEWS: New Anime from Gainax
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CorneredAngel
 Posts: 854 Location: New York, NY |
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::twitch::twitch:: were this not so random, I'd have bet you were simply trying to fanboy-bait me. But in any case, here goes. If there is one thing Gainax is known for, it is taking the same old - storylines, characters, images - and completely redefining them. To a degree, Mahoromatic is that: taking the cliches of the maid genre, and treating them more seriously than anyone else dared to. But much more importantly, to understand what Mahoromatic sets out to accomplish, you need to consider that Gainax treats their entire output, from Daicon III to Puchi Puri Yucie, as a coherent whole. Therefore, we get Daicon references in FLCL and Evangelion music popping up in Abenobashi. Likewise, Mahoromatic is first and foremost a commentary on the themes and characters Gainax first approached in Evangelion. The relationship between Mahoro and Cmdr. Misato is a development of that between Rei and Gendou - and a different sort of elaboration on the nature of (self)sacrifice, that presents an entirely different set of answers from those in Eva; the character of Ms. Shikijo is, in my opinion, a direct development of the archetypes represented by Asuka and Misato, but taken out of the context that allows those two to be heroic (and tragic). Sure, the fan service is sometime extremely self-indulgent (as in episode 15; twenty-four minutes of animation to set up a half-minute sight gag...), but the context is much deeper and more elaborate than the content would lead one who only takes the time to take it at face value to believe. And in that, incidentally, lies Gainax' great strength - they are never constrained by the first two or three levels of depth, and the true brilliance of their titles comes only after rewatching - and rethinking just what it is they are trying to say. - Mikhail Koulikov Mahoromatic Love!: A Mahoromatic Fansite Last edited by CorneredAngel on Thu Sep 11, 2003 9:06 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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CorneredAngel
Posts: 854 Location: New York, NY |
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Don't forget Abenobashi Magical Shopping District (the best meta-anime out there!) and Puchi Puri Yucie, which is still sadly being ignored by most American fans... |
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Emerje
 Posts: 7338 Location: Maine |
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Not me! I'll never forget the first time I had seen Ebichu, it was at Otakon 2002 on the big screen. NEVER miss the opportunity to see Ebichu in a large group setting, I was in tears laughing. Anyway, my point (which I now realize I made an awful job of making) is that Gainex will try anything atleast once and they'll do it well. Just look at the list that JJS put together, each one of those titles are very different from the next; you've got space exploration, giant robots, period fantasy, scifi comedy, and even a "documentary". Even the titles not on the list can be seen as different forms of anime from the next. I wouldn't so much call Mahoromatic a new trend as I would just another title to round they're variety. Something I will stick by however is my comment on that they wanted to do Mahoromatic. I never used the word passion nor did I imply that they were in love with the story. I was simply saying that they did it because they wanted to, not because someone sat a bag of money on their front door step and told them to get to work. If they did it as an experiment to appeal to a certain demographic then that actually supports my comment because it gives the reason why the wanted to do it. Simply put, they weren't forced to do it, they had a reason. Emerje |
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king_micah
 Posts: 994 Location: OSU |
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What I really want is a new original Anno production. He has made some good live action stuff as well as adaptations, but nothing really original since EoE. Dang it, Gunbuster 2 and Eva season two sound good, but something NEW from his mind is what I want. (Well that and a Peter Jackson Produced, Anno directed Live Action Eva with a classic mix of Komm Süsser Tod. And before any one gets started, Eva season two is possible in the alternate dimension of episode 26 (like the dating games) or a prequel or even a retelling. I for one, would love Gendo's version.) Anno seems bent on being a Live action director now, so I should just give up and import a copy of Love and Pop. That and track down his sketches from Macross. I want to be the Okatu King!
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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Before we get all misty-eyed about the Pure Gainax of Yesterday, let's remember that between, say, Gunbuster and Eva they were doing computer games and doing animation for stuff like Ranma and Madox-01. They used to grind out the sausage for other companies, but now they grind out the sausage under their own imprint. They've always ground out sausage in between servings of more substantial fare.
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J.J. Sonick
Posts: 4 |
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Wow. Well, that certainly defines part of what I love Gainax for and the kind of of experience I was hoping to get from Mahoromatic. I was expecting them to take the maid genre and turn it on its ear. But most of the impression I got was that they simply tweaked the wish-fullfillment and ecchi components of the genre to a higher pitch and threw in some other random elements in, instead of transforming or subverting the genre in any essential way. But Mahoromatic as a re-evaluation of the relationships in Eva....well, I admit, that is very interesting, maybe I will have to slog through it more to see if that interpretation resonates for me.
Okay, good point. And again, I have nothing against them taking on the maid genre as part of their continual exploration of different genres, I just expected them to do more with it. But maybe there is a depth to it as Cornered Angel suggests that I'm just not getting yet, or maybe, as Aaron White suggests, it's sausage they're grinding out between more substantial titles. Perhaps I need more patience in either case. 
Ah yes, I meant to put Abenobashi in the list. That's a great, fun genre romp (the sci-fi episode 3 always has me in stitches.) I haven't seen Puchi Puri Yucie yet, I'm very curious about that one. I agree king_micah, I'd love to see a new original from Anno. He's apparently been doing bits of animation work for Gainax's recent shows, so it's becoming more and more likely. 
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