Comments on: Starry Eyes and Rose-Tinted Glasses: Putting the Magic back into Magical Girl

By: ETERNAL

ETERNAL — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:03:30 +0000

Shin isn’t usually meant to be taken seriously, but I found the post to be thought-provoking in its own, out of context way :P

As for the topic of innocence, I guess the degree to which people can’t accept it varies from person to person. It’s hard for me to understand a mindset of a person who hates shows like these, but at any rate, I’m glad you agree.

By: ETERNAL

ETERNAL — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:00:07 +0000

In other words, magic is the device and innocence is the theme? Sounds reasonable to me.

By: Shance

Shance — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:53:37 +0000

Now, this is definitely some good read. Good thing I put this site on Google Reader.

Now, as for the topic at hand, there’s a lot to consider before having to mix innocence and magic to concoct the perfect Magical Girl. Shows tend to pick basic instance of innocence, and have it expand both the concept and the character by the use of magic. This is the kind of Magical Girl we see more often: Powerful, young, nice, and innocent, which is typical for the show’s audience regardless of the watcher’s age. Though the idea of magic is taken aback due to the reason that it only motivates character development and not become a fundamental element of the show, it always strives to help the Magical Girl get her point across. And this even throws age out of the window, mind you.

By: 2DT

2DT — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:21:40 +0000

The Kobato post you linked to was thought-provoking, if a bit distasteful toward the end. There’s a certain degree to which people just can’t accept innocence, and the really interesting part, to me, is that the response is often to imagine things like this. For example, I remember someone once posited a pet theory that the entirety of Aria was the dying coma-dream of a girl (the real Akari Mizunashi) about to be taken off life support. Why? Why would anyone ever try to superimpose something like that on such a simple, life-affirming story?

I don’t know. But I enjoyed your thoughts, and I agree with them. Cheers.

By: Hyro

Hyro — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:03:50 +0000

I think this post hits the mark exactly. I enjoy a good simple show to break up the psychological intrigue and heavy emotions of other things I’m watching. It’s important for a simple show to work on many different levels. It adds the amount of dynamics it needs to be enjoyable. Kobato really captures this. You did a good job of describing what I couldn’t put into words, but could feel when watching these kinds of shows.

By: Micchi

Micchi — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:34:14 +0000

Bravo. I really liked this article and it sums up my views on a lot of similar shows. That’s why I believe that people shouldn’t just watch one or two episodes and then dismiss the characters as shallow and the plot as boring or nonexistent, and try to enjoy it ‘as is’. We sometimes think too much and are critical of what we watch. Maybe we should rewind back to when we first got into watching anime, when we were ‘innocent’, and view them as is.

Along the lines of VNs/eroge, the purity and innocence is there too. If the story is written well, you do see those little things that make you smile, just like Shaoran understanding his feelings towards Sakura. It’s still there through the progression of the relationship as they learn new things together. Of course, if the story includes more than 1 scene, then it becomes awkward, but I digress…