Utawarerumono - Animal ears and ruined plots
(I have no idea what that text says, but who cares.)
This is my final post about Utawarerumono, more I watch more I hate it so I think it's better to stop while my overall impression is still decent. I don't remember last time when series has changed from good to bad at this late stage, because of the mecha disaster few episodes ago it's impossible for me to take the story seriously anymore. It's sad to see how much potential disappeared so quickly since Hakuoro was very interesting character, his past didn't really need any crazy scifi aspects. When I start watching fantasy show filled with Indian-like characters I assume that mecha is out of question there, but apparently not.
And few other issues. Please, I don't want to hear how jailbait calls a lot older guy daddy. I'm going to hurt someone if I have to watch scenes like that again, yet another example why I have avoided dating sims. I hope Mukuru eats her in the last episode. Also, the "comedy" here was failure. I wonder if there was anything funny.
Music will be probably the biggest good thing that I remember later on from all of this, both OP and ED are great and particularly the ED. One more series I watched sake of music.
Rating: 7,5
posted by Anga at 12:21 AM
27 Comments:
I agree with you. I found it very irritating, when I found out Hakuoro was someone from the 'future'. Also, I don't like the Amururineuruka character (the young empress who looks like a boy), she is just a cold murderer, acting all innocent. In the first few episodes, it was a great story. But as it developed, it was all about fighting and war, and yes, also mecha.
uhh WRONG!!! hakuro is NOT from the FUTURE. what ur seeing in the anime IS the FUTURE and also "that" is NOT mecha. i won't spoil the rest since there is tons of backstory and a very deep plot to this.
To Blogger of this site:
I'm sorry to tell u this but u fail as a blogger. throwing a series down jsut because it has so called mechs in it. -_-..
show yourself, acting all anonymous -.-
What I mean with 'future' is obvious, the whole story revolves in a world where the technology isn't really developed yet, they fight with each other with spears and bows. Suddenly, high tech appears in the form of science and Hakuoro seems to be a student from the, lets say, 22nd century.
KaMen: The fact that later half was more about fighting than story didn't bother me, action scenes were enjoyable enough to keep things interesting.
Yeah, too sudden when everything else imply otherwise.
Anon: Then what's your definition of mecha? I understood they sit inside robots and fight, that's not mecha? I fail as a blogger because I don't agree with you. Nice.
Btw, it's 'you', not 'u'.
Otaku don't like surprises, simple as that. Oh sure they moan about how many cookie cutter shows come out on a regular basis, but when a show actually does something 'unacceptable' like having an actual big plot twist on a 'planet of the apes' level, boy does the **** fly! Really if a show wants to be universally popular stay absolutely consistant, like Haruhi.
@Anonymous
Save your breath, they've already written off the show. However one has to wonder how much Anga's opinion is worth what with him saying the show was filled with 'Indian-like' characters, when the show is obviously based off of feudal Japan.
Frankly, one less blogger who doesn't get it won't hurt the then and now :)
I'm sure the readers who agree with you would look forward to your Pokemon reviews in the Fall...
GGKTHXPLZ :)
- T
I won't be changing any minds here, but I just wanted to say that even though there are some problems, I still like Utawarerumono and is looking forward to the next episode.
go play the game or actually find out more about the series before u whine. trust me, once u get it, u'll realise how infantile uve been.
mikemil828: Sigh, why people use Haruhi as a example when they disagree with me. Unlike about 95% bloggers out there I didn't even watch it. In case it's unclear to someone I say it again, I did NOT watch Haruhi. And yeah, I don't like surprises when good fantasy show turns into sucky mecha/scifi one.
You noticed those out outfits that for example Eruru wears right? Native Indians was probably more accurate term, but whatever. If those are from feudal Japan maybe I just slept in history class.
Anon: Not sure what game you meant, but if you talked about hentai one the hell freeze before that happens.
when he meant game, he meant the hgame which was barely have any hentai in it. its more rpg which focuses on heavy storyline.
funny that people think hakuoro is from the future.. since there are people who dont understand this series, let me point out the timeline.
Pre-Mutation Period: - In the beginning, there was Uitsuarunemitea, our god. We assume he has existed for as long as the planet has been.
- Uitsuarunemitea is sealed inside the planet.
- Two humans stumble upon the seal of Uitsuarunemitea. The great god's power is transfered between the two, each "representing opposite personalities and facets", good and evil.
- One individual is sealed in ice after the confrontation with Uitsuarunemitea. The other escapes. Whereabouts become unknown.
- "Nuclear incident" occurs. Humanity begins to mutate and the planet slowly becomes incompatible to human physiology.
Post-Mutation Period: - An underground labratory is built to shield themselves from the radiation fallout. Studies to cure the mutation begins.
- Digging through the crust, a man is found wearing a mask and encased in ice. He is named "Iceman" and taken to the labratory for study. - Subject 3150, Mikoto, and Iceman fall in love and have a child.
- Desiring to live out a normal life, Mikoto and Iceman attempt to flee (with the help of one sympathetic scientist). They are caught and returned to the lab.- The remaining labratory subjects scatter and populate the entire continent.
- Humanity becomes extinct.
The Reemergence of Civilization: - Most of the population assemble alongside those with visually similar characteristics. Rabbit ears, wings, fox-ear and tails. Each "ethnicity" occupies a particular region of the continent.- City-states become empires, certain regions enter an Iron Age-like period of technological prowess. One region advances further to mass-produce manlike giant armored vehicles. Another, known as the Onkamiyamukai, studies the realm of magic and psychokenesis. They occupy a region above where the human labratory once existed.- At some point, when Eruruu is at the age of 14-20, a gigantic earthquake shakes the continent. Her sister, Aruruu, falls from a tree in a forest and is mortally wounded.
- Iceman manifests himself as Uitsuarunemitea and appears before Eruruu. In exchange for saving Aruruu's life, Eruruu will devote herself to care for Iceman.- Aruruu is saved, and Iceman appears as an injured man with a mask. He collapses onto the ground. Eruruu takes the man to her home in the village of Yamayura to be treated. Whether Eruruu knows the man to be the one she made the oath to or not is uncertain.
- Iceman is treated, but recalls nothing about his past, not Mikoto, not the labratory, not even knowing himself to be a shard of Uitsuarunemitea, not even his own name Iceman.
Ok thats only half of what i gave out, the rest u find on ur own by watching the series. =P
Anga:
I choose Haruhi as an example because some of it's popularity comes from the fact the show does not twist at all once it got going, the 'Seinfield' of anime, so to speak. However if you really want I could use other examples of popular consistant shows like Dragon Ball, Pokemon, etc. etc.
So, you admit to never seeing a kimono before, sure Eruru/Aruru clothing looks vaugely like the native american photos you've seen in the past, but seriously it's just your typical kimono folks, abeit with a smaller obi and a unusual design, otherwise it's feudal japan all the way, from clothing, titles (Benauwi as the Samurai General), archetiture, weapons (they have katanas for crying out loud! Did the Native Americans have katanas?), cultural norms, political system and so on. To say the character's are 'Indian-like' with this much Japanese influence should get you shunned, in fact I will *shuns Anga*
Anon: Well, that was long and good explanation. But still, they should explain those in anime _before_ showing things that don't fit to current plot. It's like creators assume everyone have played the game.
impz: Exactly. =)
mikemil828: I'm not expert of Native Indian clothes or neither kimonos so maybe you are right (excuse me for living neither continent where those cultures influence). It was bit generalizing, but some characters didn't feel Japanese at all.
mikemil828
You said: 'I choose Haruhi as an example because some of it's popularity comes from the fact the show does not twist at all once it got going, the 'Seinfield' of anime, so to speak.'
Do you even know what a 'fact' is?
Good grief.
It's not Native American. The anime has strong similiarites with Ainu culture. Ainu is similar to Native American culture. Go here to learn more about the Ainu people: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainu_people
Also, I enjoy this anime. I enjoy fantasy and mecha alike, and I was amazed at the plot twist involving the mecha suits. I didn't see that coming!
Ah, I didn't know people like that live in Japan. Thanks for posting the link.
Saying you fail as a blogger is rather too much but honestly I thought you were rather hasty in your judgement. I just finished catching ep 25 and it's a real fine ride. If they can justify their premise at the end of the series, I would think it's unfair to write them off just because they dropped a seemingly deus ex machina a few eps before closure.
I'm always hasty when judging anime. =) But really, I have tried 'one more episode and it will be better'-trick far too many times already, with poor results. And especially when almost whole premise now just screams 'hate me'.
I thought the story was really enjoyable. ^^ However, I have to admit that I cheated just a bit. I read some background information on wikipedia before watching, so the twist was no surprise. Still, very interesting plot, something you wouldn't expect at first glace! One of the better anime out there.
this seems like quite an interesting topic, i wonder what type of anime you have or haven't seen, to not know what a kimono looks like, also doesn't watching anime make you interested about where it came from ect? im not digging at anyone it is merely a question. i say this because i went to amecon 2007 and learned a great deal about japan, japanese culture. i also must say i like utawarerumono, but i know that it's not everyones cup of tea. i have to say, the only person on here i can see failing as a blogger is mister anonymous, to say someone fails because some one doesn't agree with you is crazy, either that or you are a teenager. blogging is all about voicing your own opinion on something, not being told you are wrong. just so im not anonymous, i am speed7 29 hampshire uk
Ah, this one. I'm still amazed what kind of reaction I got.
Not really, I rarely searched background information beyond the usual AniDB article. I didn't think it was worth it to do regularly.
I have a question, does Utawarerumono have alot of suggestive/sexual scenes? You see, I'm picky about my anime and I don't really like watching smut so I would like for someone to please tell me if it's that kind of anime or not. (I saw that it originated as adult based so I was just wondering...)
You guys who put down the series know nothing. If you had half a brain and could put 2 & 2 together, you would have figured out that his memories are from the PAST, and NOT the future. Look at the damn wikipedia article for the backstory, for God's sake, since you obviously don't have your facts straight.
And it wasn't mecha. It was the embodiment of a god called Witsuarunemitea, who took over the body of the dying scientist who was shot when his blood got on him. Again, that was far in the PAST, a time before technology was apparently lost. Again, the entire reason for the dog ears/eagle wings/etc is because they were originally test subjects who escaped. Eruruu and Aruruu are descendants of Mikoro and her kin.
I agree with the anonymous person from an earlier comment, and say that you fail completely and utterly as a blogger. Pathetic...I'm utterly disgusted by this poor excuse for a blog.
P.S. Utawarerumono kicks ass!
I watched the whole series in one sitting (Yey me) and found it quite enjoyable. The mecha things could have been better designed, i would agree, but being a fan of mechas I'm fine with it. Has much less brainhurt than some other anime to figure out what's going on.
I still like the series and would watch it again anytime.
The story seemed very nice, yet sad.
Also, mecha would not be 100%correct. You see, they were more sorta controllable creatures in armor than steel robots. And Hakuoro was a demon. That's all.
just like crzymn246 said but it is not a god but an alien
Heyheyhey! Now, just because it appears feudal and then has mecha, doesn't mean it's bad! I love mecha anime, and besides, what about Escaflowne? Hm? And besides, the scifi just makes it cooler imo. The music is epic though. The fact that Hakuoro is god made me do a double take during the anime, but then again, he was a living god anyway. Besides, the mecha are more like the Evangelion. Living weapons with pilots. They BLEED don't they?
Lol, i never completed the series till now but i absolutely loved it. It had many great characters and i reckon the story was great.
For the blogger, i don't get why the 'mecha' should be a surprise when they were even shown in the opening theme...LOL
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