Mar. 27th, 2011 02:02 pm
Damsel in distress and smart girls
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savvyliterateLast night, I did what I jokingly called "The great Twitter Slayers rewatch" because I directed ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
snapdragon76 to where all of the dub could be streamed via Netflix now, and she started rewatching it and we tweeted our impressions to each other along with mercy_angel_09, who was rewatching Sailor Moon. Ironically, I had a hankering to rewatch as well since I last really sat down and watched the beginning of the series 2-3 years ago. Gee, has it been that long? Guess so. ickaimp and I had a big rewatch in 2008, and I think I started one in 2009 and never finished. I tend to go for Next or Revo/Evo-R when I want a Slayers fix.
earthstar_moon posted a video review about Slayers the other day, and I thought it was a good review. The guy was overall positive about the series, but the one criticism he levied was that he felt he didn't know where the first series was going. I kind of agreed with this, and Jo and I talked about how if they really did want to meet Amelia earlier in the anime, then after the first arc they could have adapted some of the standalone Araizumi Lina/Gourry pieces (such as the "Black Fox" episode, which was awesome), have Lina and Gourry meet Phil and Randy on their own, go to Saillune with them and meet Amelia there. Insert rest of the series as follows.
But, I did notice a particular habit about the first series for me - from when Lina is kidnapped by Zelgadiss to when she's reunited with Gourry a few episodes later, I don't pay much attention to what's going on except for certain scenes such as the underwater battle with Noonsa, Gourry's attempts to figure out what happened to Lina (really, you can't blame the guy for not figuring out she was kidnapped right away. He'd known her what ... two days by the time that happened), and Zel's flashbacks. While Zelgadiss was fighting Dilgear, it finally hit me why that part of the series tends to go over my head -- Lina's not doing anything.
When Gourry is fighting for Lina in episode 1, she's only playacts the role of damsel in distress. She knows it, the audience knows it, and it's hilarious because she's overexaggerating so damn much. It's when I fell for Lina myself and knew I'd love this series. But during the Dilgear battle, Zelgadiss is doing the fighting for her because it's that time of month. You have these scenes of Lina being an actual damsel in distress, and it doesn't work for me.
Lina is anything but a damsel in distress, and I can see why the whole "that time of month" thing is avoided after this part of the series. Lina's at her best when she's a fighter. She doesn't need saving, she can save herself, thank you very much. Even against Noonsa and when Zel first kidnaps her, she does what she can with the limited resources she has. Even though Lina is saved by Gourry in other parts of the series, she's not standing there doing nothing. She's either fighting herself, or is incapacitated to the point she can't fight (such as when she cast the Ragna Blade against Seigram and Gourry and Zel defend her from Gaav.)
Speaking of Revo/Evo-R, there's a DA thread and the hate for Revolution/Evolution-R makes me a sad puppy. Yes, it has its faults, but I think a lot of the good is overlooked and that definitely outweighs the bad for me.
And in family news, my dad broke his leg yesterday. How did I find this out? Through Facebook. *headdesk* Thankfully, Dad called both me and my oldest brother when he saw we'd seen it and were just a tad bit worried. My middle brother is currently MIA, surprise, surprise. Dad was in Georgia helping my stepbrother out and twisted his leg when he stood up. He snapped the small bone down near his ankle, and they think the bigger bone has been affected as well. He's going to see an orthopedic surgeon on Monday to see if it requires surgery.
The biggest frustration to him is that he can't drive, and my stepmother still works full-time. He can't get to doctor's appointments, plus there's picking my niece and nephew up from school. They live too close to Dad's to take the bus. I've offered to use a week's vacation to go down there and help out if need be, but I know they won't take me up on it. It makes me feel better that I offered.
And next time, Dad? Tell your kids before you tell Facebook.
And, finally, I have made an In Death icon. It comes from "Promises in Death" where toward the end of the book, the entire female cast is in Eve's office figuring out the mystery. "We're the smart girls. Let's go solve some crime!" Nadine announces, and I've wanted an icon ever since I heard that. I didn't put Cher Rio in there because while she was in the smart girls scene, I consider these six the main female cast. Though, to be honest, I might wind up doing a version with Rio at some point.
Feel free to yank, just give me credit, please. I still want to do one with the full quote, and a couple others as well.
snapdragon76 to where all of the dub could be streamed via Netflix now, and she started rewatching it and we tweeted our impressions to each other along with mercy_angel_09, who was rewatching Sailor Moon. Ironically, I had a hankering to rewatch as well since I last really sat down and watched the beginning of the series 2-3 years ago. Gee, has it been that long? Guess so. ickaimp and I had a big rewatch in 2008, and I think I started one in 2009 and never finished. I tend to go for Next or Revo/Evo-R when I want a Slayers fix. earthstar_moon posted a video review about Slayers the other day, and I thought it was a good review. The guy was overall positive about the series, but the one criticism he levied was that he felt he didn't know where the first series was going. I kind of agreed with this, and Jo and I talked about how if they really did want to meet Amelia earlier in the anime, then after the first arc they could have adapted some of the standalone Araizumi Lina/Gourry pieces (such as the "Black Fox" episode, which was awesome), have Lina and Gourry meet Phil and Randy on their own, go to Saillune with them and meet Amelia there. Insert rest of the series as follows. But, I did notice a particular habit about the first series for me - from when Lina is kidnapped by Zelgadiss to when she's reunited with Gourry a few episodes later, I don't pay much attention to what's going on except for certain scenes such as the underwater battle with Noonsa, Gourry's attempts to figure out what happened to Lina (really, you can't blame the guy for not figuring out she was kidnapped right away. He'd known her what ... two days by the time that happened), and Zel's flashbacks. While Zelgadiss was fighting Dilgear, it finally hit me why that part of the series tends to go over my head -- Lina's not doing anything.
When Gourry is fighting for Lina in episode 1, she's only playacts the role of damsel in distress. She knows it, the audience knows it, and it's hilarious because she's overexaggerating so damn much. It's when I fell for Lina myself and knew I'd love this series. But during the Dilgear battle, Zelgadiss is doing the fighting for her because it's that time of month. You have these scenes of Lina being an actual damsel in distress, and it doesn't work for me.
Lina is anything but a damsel in distress, and I can see why the whole "that time of month" thing is avoided after this part of the series. Lina's at her best when she's a fighter. She doesn't need saving, she can save herself, thank you very much. Even against Noonsa and when Zel first kidnaps her, she does what she can with the limited resources she has. Even though Lina is saved by Gourry in other parts of the series, she's not standing there doing nothing. She's either fighting herself, or is incapacitated to the point she can't fight (such as when she cast the Ragna Blade against Seigram and Gourry and Zel defend her from Gaav.)
Speaking of Revo/Evo-R, there's a DA thread and the hate for Revolution/Evolution-R makes me a sad puppy. Yes, it has its faults, but I think a lot of the good is overlooked and that definitely outweighs the bad for me.
And in family news, my dad broke his leg yesterday. How did I find this out? Through Facebook. *headdesk* Thankfully, Dad called both me and my oldest brother when he saw we'd seen it and were just a tad bit worried. My middle brother is currently MIA, surprise, surprise. Dad was in Georgia helping my stepbrother out and twisted his leg when he stood up. He snapped the small bone down near his ankle, and they think the bigger bone has been affected as well. He's going to see an orthopedic surgeon on Monday to see if it requires surgery.
The biggest frustration to him is that he can't drive, and my stepmother still works full-time. He can't get to doctor's appointments, plus there's picking my niece and nephew up from school. They live too close to Dad's to take the bus. I've offered to use a week's vacation to go down there and help out if need be, but I know they won't take me up on it. It makes me feel better that I offered.
And next time, Dad? Tell your kids before you tell Facebook.
And, finally, I have made an In Death icon. It comes from "Promises in Death" where toward the end of the book, the entire female cast is in Eve's office figuring out the mystery. "We're the smart girls. Let's go solve some crime!" Nadine announces, and I've wanted an icon ever since I heard that. I didn't put Cher Rio in there because while she was in the smart girls scene, I consider these six the main female cast. Though, to be honest, I might wind up doing a version with Rio at some point.
Feel free to yank, just give me credit, please. I still want to do one with the full quote, and a couple others as well.