Comments on: Sora no Woto: apocalypse moé

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 28 May 2010 18:27:51 +0000

It’s not even a bittersweet lament … just … wasted potential and fence sitting.

By: Sora no Woto episode 5 metablogged | The Cart Driver

Sora no Woto episode 5 metablogged | The Cart Driver — Wed, 26 May 2010 23:21:55 +0000

[...] a million tiny pieces, and that sense of vulnerability is foreboding and melancholyBatezi Anime BlogFor what plays off like a slice of life, I keep thinking Sora no Woto is going to take a much [...]

By: Joyride

Joyride — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:14:19 +0000

Sora no Woto is a mixed bag for me. There are some very nice aspects about it, but the moe aesthetic sometimes breaks my suspension of disbelief. Which is chiefly caused by Kanata and her incompetence that feels more like contrived exploitation than genuine idiosyncracy. From the beginning she has an ear for music to the point of recognizing random notes in a song, yet she couldn’t play a damn instrument? She’s in rapture for trivial stuff, nevertheless can’t notice a large dinosaur-like fossil? Sorry, but that crosses the breaking point of my suspension of disbelief.

By: kos-jin

kos-jin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:51:13 +0000

B-but the voice acting is horrible, and not to mention, so stereotypically moe!

By: KT Kore

KT Kore — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:47:21 +0000

“And I don’t care to see any more shows “parody” these clichés (a la Haruhi or Bakemonogatari), because this really strikes me as a thinly veiled attempt at “cleverly” disguising its pandering nature while … still pandering, and still being clichéd. I’m not buying it. This is what we call bad art, kids. Fandumb simply won’t understand this.”

HA! You took the words right out of my mouth. While I do enjoy a good parody every once in a while, even THAT has become a fan-pandering forced cliche these days, and I’ve stopped buying it myself. Maybe it’s not such a clever disguise after all. Then again…the fandom eats it up, and as long as that’s happening these shows will never end.

By: Anti

Anti — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:31:12 +0000

I have yet to see Baccano!, but with the sense disgust and disdain I maintain toward Elfen Lied, I must say that I’ve been quite reluctant to give this one a look, even if people are likening it to Haibane Renmei, which is one of those rare cases of the moeblob aesthetic being acceptable to me as everything else about it is simply wonderful. I do not care for the moe aesthetic myself (which is probably better described here as the “moeblob aesthetic,” as “moe” can also describe things I like, such as Gunbuster, or a character like Schierke of Berserk—the concept of “moe” and the “moeblob” blandness of character design and aesthetic prevalent in so much anime these days are apparently different things, but I digress), or “fan-pandering fluff” as Martin puts it. Or, “at its worst, moe is extremely leery and unnatural.” I’m glad that I’m not alone in feeling this way, because my proximity to fandom (being a user on sites like MAL, plus being marginally aware of 4chan’s internet-wide influence) I find myself feeling disturbingly outnumbered at times.

And I don’t care to see any more shows “parody” these clichés (a la Haruhi or Bakemonogatari), because this really strikes me as a thinly veiled attempt at “cleverly” disguising its pandering nature while … still pandering, and still being clichéd. I’m not buying it. This is what we call bad art, kids. Fandumb simply won’t understand this.

In any case, if this does actually manage to avoid falling into too much cliché or creepy pandering and instead favors a post-apocalyptic sense of nostalgia for youth or even Miyazakiesque mono no aware, then I will consider it a pleasant surprise. The post-apocalypse mixed with what looks like a sort of WWII aesthetic is enticing to me, despite the moe. Or perhaps not despite it, and this is an example of moe used well—at least thematically (it’s still a bit bland visually, and perhaps a more Ghibliesque look would suit it better, drawing away unwanted comparisons to K-ON! or Haruhi)…

By: Martin

Martin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:42:23 +0000

I know where you’re coming from with this one. I enjoyed Lucky Star and I’m also enjoying K-On!, two of the most notoriously moe shows around, which surprised me. I shouldn’t have been surprised really since I watched them for reasons other than those that make them commercially popular: Lucky Star was subversive in its humour and as for K-On!, it has the slice of life and music things but the cutesiness means the characters might as well be talking cats or something. I wouldn’t call them favourites of mine and wouldn’t go as far as recommending them to you but they still provided more on their own merits than being merely that fan pandering fluff that’s causing such a backlash.

Sora no Woto is an interesting case (the director’s worked on Elfen Lied and Baccano!). It amazes me how quickly people jumped to conclusions purely on the character designs and production – maybe I’m more immune to this because I pay less attention to studio and more to individual staff than some. KyoAni productions are so heavily loaded with preconceptions that perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that as soon as they deviate from whatever opinions fans have, inevitable nerdrage follows. The more I hear of the series’ mixed reception, the more I want to see what the fuss is about.

Just to think, I was only going to watch this because Kalafina did the op theme…

By: KT Kore

KT Kore — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:04:16 +0000

I could have sworn you’ve seen Haruhi already. I think you’d enjoy that one. Even I enjoyed that one to extent, albeit not at all as much as most people. There’s no denying it’s a uniquely-crafted show, and there’s also the parody factor. It parodies lots of concepts (such as information-overload, or the episode where nothing happens), character archetypes (such as the quiet mysterious girl, or the “moe” girl), and series (such as Evangelion, Touch, LOGH, even itself).

I would have enjoyed Haruhi a lot more if I didn’t hate most of the characters. Haruhi got on my nerves, Kyon was okay in the beginning but I just wanted him to shut the hell up after a while, and I especially hated Mikuru even though I understand that she was a character archetype parody (moe). And I have no idea what so many people like about that laughing girl.

So yeah, it’s worth a try though. If you could stand the characters then you’ll most likely enjoy it more than I did.

By: blindability

blindability — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:50:47 +0000

I think everyone judges a book by its cover – be it a good defensive mechanism or a poor judgment call. I think that’s where the thoughts of others who are similar to you (and those you respect) come in handy. If Sora no Woto had turned out to be another K-ON!, you would have DIED watching even one episode of it. Having learned that Sora no Woto is different, you’re giving it a shot to find something more in the story.

On a completely unrelated topic: I found your blog through Scamp (The Cart Driver) and I have to say that your language structure and use of vocabulary (and proper punctuation) is FANTASTIC.

By: bateszi

bateszi — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:23:36 +0000

The sheer outcry from fandom after that first episode seems surprising now, but I guess that’s just the way people can be, superficial to the core. It’s especially bad at the beginning of each season because reviewers are so anxious to get their impressions online as soon as possible, and it’s easier to just look at Sora no Woto and scream “moé” than to actually stop and think about it for a while.