Poladroid-ing my life

Here you have a peek into my life with the help of my handy Blackberry and Poladroid. Love it.

New haircut, I’m digging it.

Revolutionary Girl Madoka

(NOTE: Before you begin reading, you gotta know that this entry contains HUGE SPOILERS on both Shoujo Kakumei Utena and Maho Shojo Madoka Magica. Consider yourself warned :))

Maho Shojo Kakumei Madoka

Lately, mi inner anime girl is a bit on the loose, so I decided to watch new stories. I finished watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica about 15 minutes ago, and I am psyched. To be honest with you I expected something a bit darker and more violent, yet I am not disappointed by what I watched. It was perfect in a weird way, but mainly because it reminded me of my favorite anime: Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Almost as I started watching I noticed the evident (yet, somehow subtle) parallelisms between both of these animes, a feeling that grew deeper as I continued to watch the story. For those of you who are familiar with only one of them, let me explain:

Asides from the Pink haired protagonist, both of the stories deconstruct their genres in their own way: Utena challenging the typical boundaries of hyper-shoujo animes while messing with the character stereotypes of the Prince, the Princess and the Witch; Madoka doing pretty much the same with the magical girl archetypes such as the transformation, the Purity of the characters, the nature of the villains and (in the case of both Utena and Madoka) the happy ending.

Is there really a happy ending for these stories? The two stories end, without really ending anything, Akio still has plans to find new duelists to bring the Revolution to the world, the Magical Girls still fight against new demons, instead of witches and both of the characters end up falling victims of their destiny, sacrificing themselves for a greater good and the freedom of their fellow protector/protegé, being pretty much erased from almost everyone’s memory yet not really gone and still existing somewhere.

Both of the stories deal with existentialism, and the characters doubts about their place and the role they should play in the stories, tormented by their own desires, wanting to free all the other characters’ from their pain, and (for most of the story) completely unaware of the real meaning each duel/fight.

Funnily enough, both stories have blue haired characters sharing the name "Miki"

I don’t want to go detail by detail on how both of them have similar religious plots, and the way they play with the fairy tale archetypes, cause these are easily spotted. Also I am well aware of the differences between these two animes, I wouldn’t dare calling one a rip off of the other, but there are things, even small little details about the way the stories are presented that could draw some parallelisms:

1. The visual motifs.
   Utena is known for her early 90’s use of surrealism, Art Nouveau and strong references to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, while Madoka borrows from Art Deco, modern takes of surrealism, and Jan Lenica‘s art.
2. Shadow/Non talking characters
   Remember those scenes where you could only see Utena’s character’s shadow and even though their lips were not moving, you knew they were talking? Well, constantly you can see Madoka and the other magic girls communicating without moving their lips.Besides there’s a scene which I suspect to be a direct reference to Utena, since you can only see on frame Homura and Madoka’s shadow  projected in the floor with color, patterns and not moving their lips in the same fashion of Utena’s Shadow Girls.
   
3. The Dueling Arena
   Utena’s always-changing dueling arena, only available for those who possess a dueling ring, is mirrored by the Witches barrier, both of them changing depending of the opponent’s wish (the duelist, in the case of Utena, and the witches/puella magi in the case of Madoka)
4. The rose.
   This may be something insignificant, however, roses are a huge motif on Utena hinting the subtle sexuality of the story, playing a huge role during duels. In Madoka, you don’t really get to see any roses until the very end, when she decides to become a magical girl, her weapon of choice is an arch with a blooming rose on top.
   
   
5. Glasses
   This is pretty much ridiculous, but, asides from the fact Utena and Madoka have pink hair, did you notice how Anthy and Homura wear glasses, which they take off as their true conflicted personality emerges? Same goes with their hair. These changes emphasize of the sacrifices they are making for the sake of their destiny.

If there's ever a Madoka movie, I really hope she's not turned into a car.

For the most of it, I enjoyed it. Maybe not as much as I enjoyed watching Utena, but it was good. And in case you’re wondering. Yes, Madoka, does bring revolution to her world.

Want to read more about it?

Aimless Anime compares the symbolism on both stories.

Anime Girls get dressed

I decided to make Polyvore sets inspired on my favorite Anime Girls (some of them are missing :(). I am too old to cosplay (which, to be honest won’t stop me from doing it) but I wanted to show how Anime likeness can be incorporated into a regular wardrobe, and still look like a normal person.

Sailor moon inspired. I think this is a nautical yet very Sailor Moon look anyone can pull off any day and get away with it. I love the Balenciaga Boots, very fitting. I would wear it to lunch on summer.

Utena Inspired. I find this a bit tomboyish, just like Utena herself, and very equestrian. I love the little sword earrings, what a great way to add fencing into your wardrobe without having to carry a huge sword all the way! And the rose shows you’re ready to start dueling. I would wear this to work.

Chii (Chobits) inspired outfit. I hate to think that this is only inspired on Freya, but, hey, I’m not big on the whole sweet lolita thing. I would wear this to a fancy dinner with the boyfriend, and maybe to the theatre.

Ashita No Nadja. The sweetest of them all. This is a very Picnic outfit, yet cool enough to hang out and run errands. I love the Art in the streets book, very Dandelion, and the heart brooch is a nice replacement of the actual brooch.

When it comes to Girls trying to find her destiny, Candy Candy is my girl. This is a very chilled outfit, good for spending time with friends on a summer afternoon.

And what am I wearing today? A Naru Narusegawa inspired piece. I hate the picture, cause it doesn’t really show the side of Naru I am trying to portray, but if you’ve seen the anime, you know what I mean. Laid back, super comfty yet very lovely clothes.

Love,

As I go to bed…

I’m getting ready. I go, wash my face, brush my teeth and then strip off of any vestige of the day that is ending.

I put on my yellow Golden Girls T-shirt, the one that says “Stay Golden” and my red pajama pants and climb into bed. I start thinking. I don’t know much what I think, but I think and it all starts merging.

I  am a double-u are e cee kay  :). A feverish one.

Good night.

Sexthings…

I found this on HelloGiggles and thought of sharing since it touches a very sensitive fiber in my heart.

When I see things like this, I always feel a close-minded society tries to say “Hey, we told you not to express yourself sexually, see what happens when you do? It’s all your fault!” when the real damage is not caused by the actual sex implied, but the people turning it into something to be ashamed of.

Loving to see this perspective reflected here. I always think the whole “don’t take naked pictures of yourself, don’t make a home porn video” premise is incorrectly addressed.

Instead of bashing someone for capturing an intimate moment on camera, trying to live a healthy sex life by expressing their desires and sharing their fantasies with their lovers, people should bash the ones who maliciously inflict damage.

This whole “Naked on film” (any film) is something that makes me feel really upset, as I’ve done some art modeling in the past and even though I am in no way ashamed of it, it’s something that bit me in the ass about a year ago when it reached my family and I (sadly) discovered they didn’t share my views on it and even tried to guilt-trip me into feeling ashamed of myself, my actions and my sexuality. I am not, but I had a hard time dealing and coping.

I get really mad when I hear about Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Wena Naty (sorry but I’m not really up for googling her real name) and other girls going through the same experience. Why is people always saying “Oh, they shouldn’t have done it?!” when they are not the ones inflicting any damage? People should really think about who and what is the real bad in these scenarios, instead of simply making the girls the guilty ones cause they had sex and took record of it. That is the very definition of Slut-shaming, and it’s a sad, judgemental and unfair double-standard society loves to play.

When something like this happens to you, you are the victim, you are the one whose trust has been betrayed, yet you have to stand up and take the blame everyone’s putting on you. Not cool.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying “Go, send pictures of yourself to your boyfriend cause that is the healthy thing to do in a relationship. Trust no matter what!” . Don’t. Be judicious about it, if you are sure it’s something you want to do and you feel can trust the recipient, go ahead and rock it with confidence, but as I said: use your judgement.

But remember, nothing is fail-proof and it may come back and hurt you, but if it does, take it easy, don’t forget one simple action does not define you as a person, don’t go too hard on yourself, cause you’re the one whose confidence was betrayed, I promise eventually it all will go away.

This is kind of the unpopular opinion, yet, my two cents.