tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post3528347257221714848..comments2023-03-21T05:49:21.694-04:00Comments on Seeking Avalon: Watching The Story In Your Head / BYOSAvalon's Willowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07539301720154191607noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-82405381878103308672008-10-12T13:43:00.000-04:002008-10-12T13:43:00.000-04:00I also recently discovered that a series I'd liked...<I>I also recently discovered that a series I'd liked now five years later did a season two. I've only seen one episode (not even the whole thing) and I'm not sure I like it. But that doesn't at all change the fact that I liked the first season; it had a ending and there's nothing uncomfortable with the thought that my interest could end there.</I><BR/><BR/>This is exactly why I pretend <I>Alien 3</I> doesn't exist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-90854771231870962142008-10-12T01:26:00.000-04:002008-10-12T01:26:00.000-04:00I used to have a dream story for X-Men, then Grant...I used to have a dream story for X-Men, then Grant Morrison went ahead and did it himself. That sweet wonderful man!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-21337439757183065392008-09-04T09:54:00.000-04:002008-09-04T09:54:00.000-04:00This is why I follow writers instead of characters...This is why I follow writers instead of characters. It's also why I like finite, creator-owned series like <I>Y: The Last Man</I> because, even though there are low points and high points, there's a single, overarching creative vision to it all. <BR/><BR/>I've been wondering lately why I even bother getting attached to characters like Wonder Woman or Supergirl. The good point is that Gail Simone is the type of writer who can be relied upon to have a long, solid run that feels like its own self-contained story. The bad point is, Wonder Woman is (and Supergirl is becoming) too high-profile to <I>have</I> a neat, self-contained, character-driven story. She's always going to show up elsewhere, and it's always going to be different from the way GS is writing her. And now that I've started reading her title and getting invested, I'm going to <I>care</I>. <BR/><BR/>I guess that's what really bothers me. <BR/><BR/>Never mind, I have a cool version of both inside my head that I can always retreat to.Leahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14031483782907671332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-25624517384730759352008-09-03T11:31:00.000-04:002008-09-03T11:31:00.000-04:00No, Kishimoto is just being lazy at this point- he...No, Kishimoto is just being lazy at this point- he's got his fanbase, now all he has to do is crap out a fight of the week and occassionally drop a "clue" to keep folks strung along.<BR/><BR/>It's like George Lucas - include one white boy Jedi, one spaceship, and Yoda, have them all sit in a room= instant money.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-74086598392773709822008-09-03T03:14:00.000-04:002008-09-03T03:14:00.000-04:00Bankuei:With Naruto - and all of that disappears w...Bankuei:<BR/><BR/>With Naruto - <BR/><BR/><EM>and all of that disappears when the Akatsuki enter the picture.</EM><BR/><BR/>This. Yes.<BR/><BR/>Saske's brother was the only one I gave a damn about - <EM>because</EM> of Saske. I was initially very curious as to where the story would go after Saske does end up leaving, because of how he ends up leaving. From anti-hero to hero to anti-hero with doubts, I was excited about him possibly realizing that he was growing up and his world view was changing.<BR/><BR/>I was looking forward to comparing that to how Naruto would have grown in the interim and I wondered about concepts of family and clan building (possibly as other aspects of power).<BR/><BR/>Didn't get that. I so didn't get that.<BR/><BR/><EM>(Not to mention, women characters being sidelined regardless of how awesome they are)</EM><BR/><BR/>One of the moments that says with me, is Sakura's blonde friend watching Sakura cut her hair in order to escape and continue to defend her team. I also loved the backstory between them and thought that this was a moment to show their rivalry as a <EM>different kind of female friendship</EM> and that seemed reinforced later when they had to fight against one another.<BR/><BR/>But then nothing.<BR/><BR/>*sighs*<BR/><BR/>If it didn't feel so complicated/complex/confusing, I'd so want to do my own version of do it right. Not fanfiction, but something to be published that would explore all the things I'd originally found so interesting.<BR/><BR/>They held out this concept of team dynamics and how these unlikely teams and the interactions between them might be forming unconscious or unacknowledged bonds of alliance that would then be utilized against some common foe. That's what I originally thought Orochimaru represented; acknowledgement that those insular minded and alienated were being bound together through greed for power under one man and intended to take and own by force the current system.<BR/><BR/>And then poof, bam gone. <BR/><BR/>For a while I seriously wondered if this was just a reflection of an aspect of Japanese culture I was just never going to understand; that I was just missing the reasons for cultural cross purposes why the story I wanted couldn't be told.Avalon's Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07539301720154191607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-46433884986208838452008-09-03T02:11:00.000-04:002008-09-03T02:11:00.000-04:00I think manga's strongest point is that it is very...I think manga's strongest point is that it is very much writer/artist studio owned- there's a creative vision that isn't being stepped on as much as the US (there's certainly pressure from magazine editors, but, at least seeing the person making money, they give more leeway as opposed to transferring them onto a dying title hoping to revive it.)<BR/><BR/>As far as Naruto I figured out what made it boring- the story starts off with tons of characters you care about- who all have reasons and motivations beyond, "Gar! I am evil!" and all of that disappears when the Akatsuki enter the picture. At that point, all the cool backstory, tough choices, and friendship stuff falls away to usual power masturbation. (Not to mention, women characters being sidelined regardless of how awesome they are).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-70254645905719112692008-09-02T22:04:00.000-04:002008-09-02T22:04:00.000-04:00Bankuei:This exact topic came up in the first conv...Bankuei:<BR/><BR/>This <EM>exact</EM> topic came up in the first conversation in my private journal. And I mentioned that one of the things I have been enjoying about Anime and Manga is the finality.<BR/><BR/>I also recently discovered that a series I'd liked now five years later did a season two. I've only seen one episode (not even the whole thing) and I'm not sure I like it. But that doesn't at all change the fact that I liked the first season; it had a ending and there's nothing uncomfortable with the thought that my interest could end there.<BR/><BR/>I think what I've also enjoyed is the fact that there can be many similar manga series all with similar enough plots but one can choose a favourite due to how things are explored.<BR/><BR/>It's as if someone said '<EM>Yeah, but what if that didn't happen. I'm going to do my manga series with that possibility.</EM>' So you can have an original series you like, that ended and then you can have a similar series (similar themes, similar characters, sometimes even similar character descriptions) that you like or don't like.<BR/><BR/>Instead of handing over the characters and the world to a new writer who'll interpret things differently or raise up <EM>their</EM> favourite character it could be a similar series in-house or a similar series at a different manga house exploring the same thing.<BR/><BR/>That's how I discovered I can actually -like- harem shows. Some of it is incredibly well done story that caught my attention so much only belatedly did I realize "Hey... that was a ..."<BR/><BR/>And I've also been enjoying how the anime of a manga can sometimes go in a different direction thus giving an AU.<BR/><BR/>When I think about X-Men through a manga filter, all the retcons etc could be so many OTHER series. There could be the Jean Grey as Phoenix Series. The Teenage Mutant Highschool Series. The government conspiracy against the world saving group series. The alien invasion with mutant saviors series.<BR/><BR/>Everyone gets a chance to have <EM>their</EM> story told somehow. And what's surprised me is that with it separated like that, I've found myself caught up in stories that I usually resent because they're taking time away from what I want to see; by themselves they've been pretty damn enjoyable.<BR/><BR/>Do note I'm not calling Manga the unblemished virgin mother of sequential art story-telling. But it has offered me the chance to get excited about the art of telling the tale via pictures and of telling <EM>specific</EM> kinds of tales. It hasn't taken all that much to see certain groups of characters AS [ insert your favourite type of group here ]. Heck, everytime I read or watch Naruto I'm struck all over again with wondering what that world would be like if Xavier's school had existed and all those damaged children with amazing powers had found their way there or been sent.<BR/><BR/>Speaking of Naruto; Naruto and Bleach are the only two manga/anime series where I've gotten bored precisely because they're so long. In Naruto's case I just stopped giving a damn, when the story I was interested in "<STRONG>Unlikely young men form fast friendship and then ego attacks</STRONG>" got halted and changed. In BLEACH's case, I don't enjoy the filler arcs (unless they're ones focusing on Ichigo's family or life in the town.) There's only so much of a damn I can give for the world of the Shinigami.Avalon's Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07539301720154191607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-61478001445522631072008-09-02T11:20:00.000-04:002008-09-02T11:20:00.000-04:00The big issue with comics (at least US supers) is ...The big issue with comics (at least US supers) is that they're treated as franchises- never ending. <BR/><BR/>It's not a closed story where we can stop and either be happy or unhappy with the story and move on- they keep going back, keep ret-conning, reimagining, revising. We have to selectively pick which story arcs "fit" the story in our head and disregard the rest (on top of all the other stuff with comics).<BR/><BR/>Like for me? Iron Man is 80's Iron Man, Tony Stark as someone constantly destroying his own life, and his friends trying to pull him out/acting as enablers until he burns them too far. X-men is early 80's X-men- Mutant Massacre, dividing up into X-Factor to work with the government etc.<BR/><BR/>When it comes to Japanese, Euro, and US indie comics, at least the stories end- they're not passed on to a new set of writers, and a new set of artists all the time, with the desperate hope to pump up sales. We can safely fall in love or not, with any given story and not have to worry 6 months from now that they'll destroy everything that made you fall in love with the story in the first place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-48868475265361573022008-09-02T03:30:00.000-04:002008-09-02T03:30:00.000-04:00Bankuei:I have found I enjoyed comics (the big two...Bankuei:<BR/><BR/>I have found I enjoyed comics (the big two specifically) more when I was rping. Then I could do all sorts of AU's where people's races changed or their genders got switched around or I could help explore the depths of some aspect of one story or another and reinterpret.<BR/><BR/>Moving away from rping in comicdom may very well have added a straw to my dissatisfaction. Then again being involved in rping and seeing how easy it was to create more (instead of more of the same) might have done that as well.Avalon's Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07539301720154191607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-7475730049065813922008-09-02T02:33:00.000-04:002008-09-02T02:33:00.000-04:00Oh god, yes. This is part of why I got into rolep...Oh god, yes. <BR/><BR/>This is part of why I got into roleplaying- we spent so long either writing the story in our heads (only to see it shattered) or just not being represented at all, that my friends and I generally found it easier and more entertaining to create our own stories or alternate stories with us represented.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com