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Originally Posted by the one you don't see
It somewhat reminds me of Code Geass... it will do :(
I like that female news anchor too, Mmm.. mmm.. Ne.. Ne! :3
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It already strikes me as much, much better than Code Geass.
Note: Before (read: if) you bother to go ahead and read the rest of my post, note that I'm not trying to create an argument or debate or anything on which is better, you just sort of got me comparing and contrasting the two shows, in my mind. I think the following is way too long winded for me to expect nearly anyone to read it, though. So also note, I'm expecting all the "tl;dl"s already and Iunderstand why that would be. I probably wouldn't bother to read all of it, either...
Not to say I that I didn't like Code Geass. I did like it, and it was pretty entertaining, but as soon as you put the plot or anything under a microscope you realize, storytelling wise, it's actually kind of shit. I honestly think I could have written a much better story, and I don't really mean that in an arrogant way. I fancy myself a writer, and am most obviously nothing but an amateur, and IMO it really isn't that hard to go above and beyond what was provided by Code Geass, if they otherwise take storytelling quite seriously.
Code Geass didn't have enough of a resonance of 'truth'... but just struck me as an entertaining diversion that never really bothered to delve beyond surface qualities and features it provided. Still better than most anime, but definately nothing I could consider a 'masterpiece' or something. Perhaps entertaining fluff that aspires towards some psychological elements and depth, etc, but that ultimately falls short of what it seems to want to deliver, IMO. The plot is way too much of a mess. I'm getting the impression that Tytania might get very close to approaching the level of 'masterpiece'. At least, more so than Code Geass approaches the level of being a masterpiece.
I mean, things seemed to just happen in order to just complicate the plot or to have more things happen, or to otherwise throw a wrench in your expectations. It was decent, but it never gave the vibe of being one of those carefully woven stories where everything just wraps together elegantly and naturally. There was no reward for reading more deeply into the plot. and trying to find some more meaningful subtext. or whatever. The viewer didn't need to dig deep at all in order to begin 'scraping the bottom' of what was offered... and it seemed highlu lacking in the sort of stuff greater writers seem to weave subtly throughout their plots, for the more thoughtful or considerate viewer to pick up on.
Not to say it sucked. Just one I'm so far able to take a bit more 'seriously' than the other... and as a more serious minded perso, I tend to appreciate serious or sober plots more than the purely entertaining/ philosophically insubstantial ones.
It also seemed to be highly lacking any sort of coherent theme, or deeper human truth... and typically that's what I enjoy most about fiction. It had themes, but they were just handled clumsily and without any real sense of importance within the plot. Themes were there, they just never amounted to much of importance. Or if they did, arguably in a pretty hackneyed way...
I like fiction as a window of insight into reality, or whatever. Not saying I like my plots to be 'realstic'. I love crazy sci-fi/fantasy shit. It just has to have some resonance of 'truth' or 'realism', even if the context is entirely un-real... Rather than just pandering to the cliches and superficial expectations, and gratuitously giving us what we expect...
New 'life' can be breathed into something (a theme, a premise, a plot, whatever) by reframing it all in a way that's unexpected, evocative, and thoughtful.
While this is all speculation on my part, I can already see this Tytania show amounting to quite a fair bit more, in the end, than Code Geass. Code Geass had a pretty good ending, by most anime standards... but that isn't saying much at all. Most anime have shitty endings as I'm sure you know, so I would essentially consider Code Geass' ending a 'non-failure' rather than a 'victory.'
So much of what makes a story seem great is how self-contained it is. How it navigates and balances all the different pieces and wholes... how artistically an author is able to weave together all the threads (everything the story invests it's focus in.) Every lose thread being wrapped up meaningfully, and with ample room being left for ambiguity so a person can infer their own personal meaning, etc. That sort of thing. Code geass is definately not that story. There are so many lose threads it's clear the writers really didn't care that much.
Code Geass just seemed fluff. Less concerned with it's story as a meaningful window into life or human nature, and more an entertaining context where a bunch of random seemingly deus ex machina stuff just seems to happen for no reason other than to entertain. Stuff happened and resolved themselves semi-rewardingly, as far as drama goes, but it never really seemed to be their top priority to weave one of the next great fictions of our time.
Then again I suppose not that many writers care enough about stuff like that to really go above expectations in that way.
I guess Tytania is based on a series of novels, and that probably has something to do with it. So far everything just seems a bit more... premeditated, though out, considered. I don't think it's perfect or anything, but for being only 4 episodes into the series, I'm already getting a very strong sense of foreshadowing of some epic shit in the future, to say the least. It probably sounds a bit silly for me to be saying so much so early into the plot, but it seems obvious the writer has a very good understanding of what he (she?) is trying to do with his/her story, which IMO is one of the most important things in writing a story: having a sort of clear, definable 'vision', which allows the whole story to come together meaningfully as a whole.
So, to wrap up an overly lengthy post, thanks OP, I'm really enjoying this series!
I like Space Operas, but I normally don't like the whole Space Empire stuff... but this actually seems to be doing something interesting with the concept. I get the impression it's going to end up highly allegorical to the whole human ambition/power thing... but refreshingly enough, Tytania isn't really protrayed as some evil, dark empire. There's no clear good guy or bad guy... Just people looking out for their own interests... Which is really the sort of careful consideration a story like this needs.
For instance, culturally we're now entering an era of globalization. How we treat our fellow human beings, establish pecking orders/heirarchies, and how we view or allies and enemies will have so much to say about where humanity goes from here. We're entering a time not fraught by xenophobia and ignorance, as we have tended to be in the darker ages of our history, regarding other cultures and political powers, etc. We've reached the point, culturally, where power and heirarchies can be examined from a much more... egalitarian perspective.
Tytania, along those lines, seems like a very sober gaze at the whole imperialist phenomenon... which I think is refreshing, because all too often Impersialism and Power balances/struggles are not treated very soberly at all... Things often simplified (or dramatized) in order to paint a clearer or more melodramatic picture, rather than leaving all the meaningful ambiguities and 'grey-areas' intact, as they should be.
Wow, very longwinded. Excuse my verbosity, I just sometimes like writing overly lengthy posts like this, for some reason.
I see what you mean about the similarities between the two (seem to have similar themes, etc.) I just see Tytania handling said themes so much better, already. And considering the sheer volume of both (ie: 2 seasons of Code Geass vs., what, about 5 episodes of Tytania?) and it already strikes me as much more 'substantial.'
2008-11-12, 03:45
Tytania...