Binbougami 7-8
So, I don't know if it's wrong for me to dislike Ichiko because I'm afraid that I'm being sexist (it's probably the first time where I'm not comfortable using "bitch" to even joke about how I feel about her, as I would with characters from
Ace wo Nerae or
Oniisama e...).
I guess because of cosmic, I can't stop thinking of
Gintama when thinking about this show, but even though Gintoki is a jerkass at times, he starts from a place that is fundamentally good. Ichiko is presumably coming from the same place, but whereas Gintoki's selfishness is likeable, her selfishness just makes her hate her even more.
I just can't stand her because she is so selfish. I don't care that she has "a past" that justifies her behaviour, the fact that she goes back to the same self-centered state at the end of every episode makes it very hard to find her sympathetic at all. They've emphasized that when shit hits the fan, she'll do the right thing, but the ease of which that she reverts to that "B-word" status is infuriating. I suppose Gintoki goes back to being a lazy, bill-dodging, degenerate reprobate the moment he's done saving the world, but with him I'm fine with that as a "mask" for his true self.
I dunno, maybe I am secretly sexist. But I suppose I should be happy that I can even try to articulate how I feel about watching this show.
I mean... I'm supposed to like Ichiko, right? That's the whole point of this manga/show, isn't it? She's the heroine/protagonist? I'm not supposed to think that she's the most vile, despicable person on the show, am I?
I suppose I should credit the show for making me experience an existential crisis anyway. lol
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Utakoi 8
Speaking of sexism, this was another one of those stories about a woman entering the court in order to break out of her limited life as a woman in old-timey Japan.
While the first one had the woman make the choice to join the court and be more than just a doormat, this one had the woman want to be sheltered, forcing the man to "sacrifice himself" in order to open her up to a bigger world suited to her intelligence and capabilities.
As I said the first time around, I do understand that women were treated like shit back then (hell, they still are now), so the types of narratives about women advancing in society are all going to be problematic and they're all going to play the same... but I really don't know how I should feel about a story where it's the guy who makes the noble sacrifice. It's almost as if the show is telling us that we should be proud of him for "doing the right thing" as opposed to celebrating the fact that this woman was able to find success at court via her own abilities.
God, who knew that two shows from this season would fuck me up so bad when it came to the representation of women. Anime.
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Jinrui 8
So, the last arc had a pseudo-
ST: TMP reference... and this time, they made a
BTTF-esque reference (ewwww lol). I'm still not convinced it's on purpose though, but who knows?
At the very least, as an episode about the Assistant and his identity issues, it was a nice way to explore his character without actually going into his past. Of course, there are the "I hate time travel" brain-hurt paradoxes that you have to ignore in order to make the story work, but since I am (supposedly) a fan of science fiction, I suppose I'm okay with that as long as it serves the story.
Come to think of it, I suppose it also explains what her grandfather was like too. lol
