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This Week in Anime - Randy Randy Fairy Ranmaru




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Kirki



Joined: 11 Jun 2019
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2021 4:15 am Reply with quote
I am so glad that the weekly reviews got me into watching this show. It had completely escaped my radar and it definitely needs more recognition. It gets into cyber bullying, power abuse in the workplace, bondage fetish, childhood emotional trauma, suppressed sexuality and restrictive relationships, a take in masculinity, using sexual favors to climb the ranks in entertainment industry, sex work for survival, and we're still only at episode 5!!! The aesthetics and the artistic value of this is also off the charts. I have seen people even comparing them to Jojo's. And hey, if I can watch a half-naked muscular man battling moe and Van Gogh's Sunflowers, I will, why shouldn't I.

As to why it hasn't gotten the recognition it deserves, it is answered in this column: It is targeted at women. And as it was also said, women can't even complain about not having enough shows targeted at them without facing backlash. Imagine getting this unapologetically beef-cakey show, which takes it an extra mile and actually uses its "fanservice" not just for viewer titillation but as part of its commentary. The comment about No Game No Life as an example is also on point: male-targeted series, no matter their questionable content, usually get a much more lenient treatment and popularity than the female-targeted ones. We can only hope this will change in the future.
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MagicPolly



Joined: 26 Nov 2020
Posts: 1566
PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2021 11:08 am Reply with quote
I honestly haven't had much interest in this show (mainly because the guys weren't really that attractive to me, I'm shallow like that yeah) but honestly this really makes me want to watch it. Something that finally criticizes male targeted shows is so refreshing, especially now. I personally wasn't a big fan of Boeibu but I feel like I'd enjoy this a lot more solely because of the social commentary angle.

I mean hell, the show's already being pushed into obscurity (it's currently the second lowest rated show this season on MAL). It's so disappointing that as soon as people seem to catch a whiff of female demographic in a show or automatically becomes trash.
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Guile



Joined: 18 Jun 2013
Posts: 595
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 4:45 am Reply with quote
MagicPolly wrote:
I mean hell, the show's already being pushed into obscurity (it's currently the second lowest rated show this season on MAL). It's so disappointing that as soon as people seem to catch a whiff of female demographic in a show or automatically becomes trash.


You make it sound like there's a conspiracy against the show rather than people simply not being interested.
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MagicPolly



Joined: 26 Nov 2020
Posts: 1566
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 10:18 am Reply with quote
Guile wrote:
MagicPolly wrote:
I mean hell, the show's already being pushed into obscurity (it's currently the second lowest rated show this season on MAL). It's so disappointing that as soon as people seem to catch a whiff of female demographic in a show or automatically becomes trash.


You make it sound like there's a conspiracy against the show rather than people simply not being interested.


I'm not implying there's any sort of conspiracy but it's quite literally the lowest scored show this season (5.28, only higher than Battle Athletes) and two out of the three reviews it has right now are a 3/10 talking about how it's "so bad that I want to stick around just to see what happens next while hating myself in the process"
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Horsefellow



Joined: 01 Jan 2020
Posts: 262
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 12:13 pm Reply with quote
MagicPolly wrote:
I'm not implying there's any sort of conspiracy but it's quite literally the lowest scored show this season (5.28, only higher than Battle Athletes) and two out of the three reviews it has right now are a 3/10 talking about how it's "so bad that I want to stick around just to see what happens next while hating myself in the process"


To be fair, that's in line with the reception in Japan as well where the bottom 3 performing anime of the season last time I checked Stalker were Joran, Megalobox 2, and Fairy Ranmaru. It just isn't something that appeals to most anime fans from the looks of it.
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babaca



Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 14
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 12:30 pm Reply with quote
I saw the first episode when it first aired and thought, "WTF"? But reading this review may make me try and give it a second chance. Maybe.
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SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
Posts: 1752
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 1:12 pm Reply with quote
Horsefellow wrote:
MagicPolly wrote:
I'm not implying there's any sort of conspiracy but it's quite literally the lowest scored show this season (5.28, only higher than Battle Athletes) and two out of the three reviews it has right now are a 3/10 talking about how it's "so bad that I want to stick around just to see what happens next while hating myself in the process"


To be fair, that's in line with the reception in Japan as well where the bottom 3 performing anime of the season last time I checked Stalker were Joran, Megalobox 2, and Fairy Ranmaru. It just isn't something that appeals to most anime fans from the looks of it.

I don't think the two are the same, though. This is a very niche show, I wouldn't expect it to be popular at all, and it makes sense that it doesn't perform well. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's crap.

People just give it low ratings because way too many anime fans are dudes who are apparently too insecure in their masculinity to just shrug and scroll along when they see a show with female-targeted fanservice that doesn't appeal to them. No, they must soothe their anxieties by going "I find the existence of this show offensive, I must downvote it to hell."
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Stretch2424



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 165
PostPosted: Fri May 14, 2021 8:23 am Reply with quote
My understanding is that it's a fairy having a heterosexual relationship with a human that is forbidden.
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Mew Berry



Joined: 02 Apr 2016
Posts: 186
PostPosted: Fri May 14, 2021 12:26 pm Reply with quote
I’ve been enjoying this show and yeah, I do find it kind of suspect that so many people are declaring it the weirdest and worst thing ever when the most over the top thing about it is really just the fanservice. I mean, even as a women who likes men, I’m not watching it for the fanservice, but I genuinely like it as an example of the magical genre. A lot of people seem to be assuming that it’s parody based solely on one element that doesn’t even have much to do with the actual story.

Edit: Okay, the fanservice isn’t the only over the top element, but since when is strange and artistic content unheard of in anime?
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