Child Raising and Mecha Madness
Author: nova
Recently a few things have been bugging me with some series airing this season. Nothing that would blow my top and get me to register on AnimeSuki and write a few flametard threads about how everything SUXXXX!1, but a bunch of annoyances that give me these nasty irks at times.
I doubt there is a person with any beyond-naruto knowledge who wouldn’t have heard of Code Geass. Many love it, some hate it, and all for their own reasons. I liked Code Geass a lot – the first season was full of guerrilla warfare, cunning strategies and tactics that I love oh so much. Also it had a touch of realism with mechas being just simple tools of war piloted by average soldiers. However this apparently was not meant to last forever.
Don’t get me all wrong here, I do like Code Geass R2 although I no longer think it’s among the best of the season. But there is a problem. Now we are introduced with a bunch of super-hyper-über-mechas with next to invincible ace pilots who can take on an entire army by themselves. Isn’t that thrilling? No, I sure as hell think not.
The battles are now reduced into power-mashing between a handful of super-powered “experimental” machines with weapons of masswhatever and armor coating made of indestructible blahblahnium and piloted by young people with issues. The outcome of battles seem now to be more up to which side deploys more of these supersoldiers and with latest technology than have anything to do with strategic planning and clever use of the environment. Sound familiar? Yes, that’s your Generic 10-Penny Mech Series Act n^425. Code Geass retains some of its thrill in the story and characters themselves but the battles and warfare as whole has completely lost its value as smart entertainment.
On to mechas to a bit more everyday-kind of business. What’s up with Kurenai Shinkurou. Honestly, just take a look at the man. What annoys me in Kurenai is that in every damn episode where Murasaki, being your average brat who drives you up the walls, manages to screw up, Shinkurou displays the qualities thanks to which so many kids nowadays are so full of shit. When a child does something wrong, the right thing isn’t being I’m not angry ^^. That’s being nice indeed, but how is the kid supposed to realize she fucked up? Being angry and letting the kid have some verbal lashing isn’t being sinister or sadist – it’s to teach them what’s right and what’s not. I don’t mean that Shinkurou should use the good ol’ five across the face but damn man, at least try to act like you’re upset.
I also managed to finish the first Shana-novel and it sure made me realize how weak the original text is in the romance department. As such I guess I shouldn’t blame the series for the pathetic excuse of a love triangle between Shana, Yuuji and Kazumi. Though the novel is obviously aimed for the teenage audience who for the most part will find it appealing nevertheless. Guess I’ve just seen too much. But anyway, summer is here, school’s out, going to be back home in Finland a week from now. I’ll let Yuno convey my feelings.
