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Fafner in the Azure re-watch, episodes 1-3
It has arrived! This means it's time for some anime-watching!
- the first time one watches these episodes, Soushi's just some guy who for some reason arrives on a boat and wastes screentime standing around in front of old trees or solemnly staring at the island - but the second time around, when you realize that he's just now going through what Kazuki will experience halfway through the series? Suddenly I wish we'd get more of those quiet moments and determined "This is paradise"s and and and-
- tying to that, the monologues which were at first sort of horribly pretentious suddenly carry a different meaning (TO MAKE THIS PLACE A PARADISE ONCE MOAR)
- only whereas the pilots later in the series have each other, Soushi's seriously alone. He doesn't have the warmest relationship with his father, his sister he talks with about the top secret stuff but they're not emotionally the closest (MINASHIRO-KUN for chrissakes), his other sister is an idea he's loyal to rather than a real person in his life (on top being in a TANK), Kazuki's a PROBLEM, the other adults are civil but distant, his schoolmates are people he has a facade to keep up with and were not really that close anyway
- ...and he truly thinks he's OK with this
- seriously, Soushi's adoptive sister calls him "Minashiro-kun", how sad is that?
- GUYS GUYS THE MANGA HAS ARRIVED \o/ (Mamoru I LOVE YOU. I CAN RELATE TO YOUR VALUES)
- both times Soushi is (un)knowingly questioned about the real state of the world, there's this half-a-second-cut to Kuramae very pointedly not reacting unnaturally (first episode Yumi's question in the OVA)
- and while all the other children are confused about the sudden warning lights, in the background Kuramae quietly stands up and calmly starts walking to the nearest Alvis entrance (all the adults are panicking too hey! Pilot training? She goes slowly because she's wary for her immediate future?)
- Kuramae could have been used more. Maybe she could have come back as a Festum of some kind? ...She could have taken the place of that random blond guy for whom there was really never any explanation (other than "we needed a human-shaped but still very OTHER-like enemy, and Akane wouldn't do" I guess)
- god, hearing these people slip up from the formal talk and adress each other familiarly ("Routes all clear. ...Be careful, love.") is heartbreaking
- which really is one of the amazing points about Fafner: there's no such thing as cannon fodder. Everyone is a father, a mother, a sister or brother or child, a cousin, grandparent, neighbour, childhood friend, family friend, best friend, workmate, schoolmate, teacher or doctor, that news anchor with the weird haircut, that nice but oddly strict old lady across the street, that janitor who you always greet when you pass by, that shopkeeper who gives you discount if you're just a little short on money, and the list never ends. Everyone counts
- hey, Fafner actually has a legitimate reason for the mecha being humanoid in shape!
- Soushi... reacts very minimally to his father's death. He's been resigned to the Minashiro family being necessary sacrifices all along?
- oh wow Shouko's actually pretty rude to Kouyou ("ARE YOU OKAY? I MEAN, IT'S NOT LIKE I SPENT THE LAST THREE HOURS SEARCHING FOR YOU OR ANYTHING-" "Is Kazuki-kun all right? :(("). How about one small "thank you"? ;_;
- Kouyou's puppy-inna-box ;3;
- SOUSHI GOES TO KAZUKI FIRST. The very first evening after the very first Festum attack, and he tries to explain things and gauge Kazuki's reactions and feelings - he's not very good at it (oh lol UNDERSTATEMENTS), long time since they've (tried to have) real conversations and Soushi's just a social disaster anyway, but he's the one trying to reach for Kazuki first
- ...omg
Soushi: This place is paradise.
Kazuki: ...
Soushi: ...
Kazuki: ....... *changes the subject*
Soushi: (goddammit, I'm trying to rely important values and ideals here, which I think you should also share because you're KAZUKI Q_Q)
- not that Kazuki's... limited receptiveness is in any way hard to understand. The weight of their history nonwithstanding, YOUR ISLAND IS SUDDENLY A FORTRESS, HOW'S THAT GOING FOR YOU. YEAH EVERYONE KNEW WHY ARE YOU ASKING. ALSO MANY PEOPLE DIED, AS DID YOU, ALMOST. FUCK YOUR LIFE
- KAZUKI YOU ALSO HAVE SOME PROBLEMS WITH INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION: Fumihiko: my only child almost died in an alien fight today, lemme just look at you for a moment
Kazuki: stop looking at meeeee
- Fumihiko doesn't REALLY know how to speak to Kazuki, either, so he tries to get his meaning across by cooking (bad) food. A-aww
- ...how come I didn't remember that Fumihiko and Kazuki's communication problems were this bad
- speaking of Fumihiko and Kazuki's strained but deeply loving relationship I NEED GONE/ARRIVE LIKE, NOW
- first real look at how on Tatsumiyajima people (dead or otherwise) might be gone, but never forgotten. Maya searching for her father's camera, Fumihiko looking through old photos, everyone attending the funerals of Kuramae & the adult pilots & civilians lost in the attack
- people react differently when trying to come to terms with loss. Sakura is never in denial, and we never see her breaking down (though she probably did). She's almost contemplative. She tries to make herself worthy of her father's sacrifice, I think. (Soushi doesn't really react to Kuramae's death either! ....Now that I think on it, neither does he on anyone's later in the series... he became desensitized after RoL?)
- episode three spends as much time on the parent as on the children ♥
- ...and where'd Maya and Yumiko's hair colour come from, anyway?
General comments on the boxset: LOL @ treating Right of Left people and the main cast as equally important (it's half & half in the rest of the box as well, not only in the cover). The OVA was beautiful, informative and its general quality was certainly better than that of the TV series, but it was still an just extra.
...Haaaaa.
"Wait... If it just comes back--"
"Don't say [defeating Sin] isn't worth it... Because it is. Even for a little while... people can sleep in their beds without being afraid. That kind of time is worth anything."
~Tidus and Yuna, Final Fantasy X
"It was only peaceful for half a year. Does this mean that the battles our friends went through only had a small significance?"
"[--] Even if it were only a day of peace, I would be grateful for its value."
~Kuramae Karin and Minashiro Soushi, Fafner in the Azure: Right of Left
Speaking of before-unnoticed similarities between FFX and Fafner, how about hordes of pretty blue water, pretty blue water everywhere! (it only makes your suffering shine brighter)? Or BOYFRIENDS THAT FADE OUT OF EXISTENCE JUST BEFORE THE FINAL END CREDITS??
- the first time one watches these episodes, Soushi's just some guy who for some reason arrives on a boat and wastes screentime standing around in front of old trees or solemnly staring at the island - but the second time around, when you realize that he's just now going through what Kazuki will experience halfway through the series? Suddenly I wish we'd get more of those quiet moments and determined "This is paradise"s and and and-
- tying to that, the monologues which were at first sort of horribly pretentious suddenly carry a different meaning (TO MAKE THIS PLACE A PARADISE ONCE MOAR)
- only whereas the pilots later in the series have each other, Soushi's seriously alone. He doesn't have the warmest relationship with his father, his sister he talks with about the top secret stuff but they're not emotionally the closest (MINASHIRO-KUN for chrissakes), his other sister is an idea he's loyal to rather than a real person in his life (on top being in a TANK), Kazuki's a PROBLEM, the other adults are civil but distant, his schoolmates are people he has a facade to keep up with and were not really that close anyway
- ...and he truly thinks he's OK with this
- seriously, Soushi's adoptive sister calls him "Minashiro-kun", how sad is that?
- GUYS GUYS THE MANGA HAS ARRIVED \o/ (Mamoru I LOVE YOU. I CAN RELATE TO YOUR VALUES)
- both times Soushi is (un)knowingly questioned about the real state of the world, there's this half-a-second-cut to Kuramae very pointedly not reacting unnaturally (first episode Yumi's question in the OVA)
- and while all the other children are confused about the sudden warning lights, in the background Kuramae quietly stands up and calmly starts walking to the nearest Alvis entrance (all the adults are panicking too hey! Pilot training? She goes slowly because she's wary for her immediate future?)
- Kuramae could have been used more. Maybe she could have come back as a Festum of some kind? ...She could have taken the place of that random blond guy for whom there was really never any explanation (other than "we needed a human-shaped but still very OTHER-like enemy, and Akane wouldn't do" I guess)
- god, hearing these people slip up from the formal talk and adress each other familiarly ("Routes all clear. ...Be careful, love.") is heartbreaking
- which really is one of the amazing points about Fafner: there's no such thing as cannon fodder. Everyone is a father, a mother, a sister or brother or child, a cousin, grandparent, neighbour, childhood friend, family friend, best friend, workmate, schoolmate, teacher or doctor, that news anchor with the weird haircut, that nice but oddly strict old lady across the street, that janitor who you always greet when you pass by, that shopkeeper who gives you discount if you're just a little short on money, and the list never ends. Everyone counts
- hey, Fafner actually has a legitimate reason for the mecha being humanoid in shape!
- Soushi... reacts very minimally to his father's death. He's been resigned to the Minashiro family being necessary sacrifices all along?
- oh wow Shouko's actually pretty rude to Kouyou ("ARE YOU OKAY? I MEAN, IT'S NOT LIKE I SPENT THE LAST THREE HOURS SEARCHING FOR YOU OR ANYTHING-" "Is Kazuki-kun all right? :(("). How about one small "thank you"? ;_;
- Kouyou's puppy-inna-box ;3;
- SOUSHI GOES TO KAZUKI FIRST. The very first evening after the very first Festum attack, and he tries to explain things and gauge Kazuki's reactions and feelings - he's not very good at it (oh lol UNDERSTATEMENTS), long time since they've (tried to have) real conversations and Soushi's just a social disaster anyway, but he's the one trying to reach for Kazuki first
- ...omg
Soushi: This place is paradise.
Kazuki: ...
Soushi: ...
Kazuki: ....... *changes the subject*
Soushi: (goddammit, I'm trying to rely important values and ideals here, which I think you should also share because you're KAZUKI Q_Q)
- not that Kazuki's... limited receptiveness is in any way hard to understand. The weight of their history nonwithstanding, YOUR ISLAND IS SUDDENLY A FORTRESS, HOW'S THAT GOING FOR YOU. YEAH EVERYONE KNEW WHY ARE YOU ASKING. ALSO MANY PEOPLE DIED, AS DID YOU, ALMOST. FUCK YOUR LIFE
- KAZUKI YOU ALSO HAVE SOME PROBLEMS WITH INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION: Fumihiko: my only child almost died in an alien fight today, lemme just look at you for a moment
Kazuki: stop looking at meeeee
- Fumihiko doesn't REALLY know how to speak to Kazuki, either, so he tries to get his meaning across by cooking (bad) food. A-aww
- ...how come I didn't remember that Fumihiko and Kazuki's communication problems were this bad
- speaking of Fumihiko and Kazuki's strained but deeply loving relationship I NEED GONE/ARRIVE LIKE, NOW
- first real look at how on Tatsumiyajima people (dead or otherwise) might be gone, but never forgotten. Maya searching for her father's camera, Fumihiko looking through old photos, everyone attending the funerals of Kuramae & the adult pilots & civilians lost in the attack
- people react differently when trying to come to terms with loss. Sakura is never in denial, and we never see her breaking down (though she probably did). She's almost contemplative. She tries to make herself worthy of her father's sacrifice, I think. (Soushi doesn't really react to Kuramae's death either! ....Now that I think on it, neither does he on anyone's later in the series... he became desensitized after RoL?)
- episode three spends as much time on the parent as on the children ♥
- ...and where'd Maya and Yumiko's hair colour come from, anyway?
General comments on the boxset: LOL @ treating Right of Left people and the main cast as equally important (it's half & half in the rest of the box as well, not only in the cover). The OVA was beautiful, informative and its general quality was certainly better than that of the TV series, but it was still an just extra.
...Haaaaa.
"Wait... If it just comes back--"
"Don't say [defeating Sin] isn't worth it... Because it is. Even for a little while... people can sleep in their beds without being afraid. That kind of time is worth anything."
~Tidus and Yuna, Final Fantasy X
"It was only peaceful for half a year. Does this mean that the battles our friends went through only had a small significance?"
"[--] Even if it were only a day of peace, I would be grateful for its value."
~Kuramae Karin and Minashiro Soushi, Fafner in the Azure: Right of Left
Speaking of before-unnoticed similarities between FFX and Fafner, how about hordes of pretty blue water, pretty blue water everywhere! (it only makes your suffering shine brighter)? Or BOYFRIENDS THAT FADE OUT OF EXISTENCE JUST BEFORE THE FINAL END CREDITS??