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,

5 things I’d give a year of my life for (day 3)

Thank you everyone for those awesome Facebook messages, texts and e-mails saying ‘happy birthday’ to me. I am now a 25 years old, with a lot of goals and projects, You’ll see, very soon you’ll see.

Now, let’s get to it, 5 things I’d give a year of my life for, day number 3 of this list. Lately a very nice girl has been asking me some questions on Formspring.me, one of which got me thinking, what would I really, really love to do/get/live through if I could, even if it would cost me a year of my life? Here’s the list.

1. I would travel the world. I still have a lot of places to visit, and I’d always wanted to do it with a red suitcase. I’m still looking for that red suitcase to start with, If you happen to have one in good conditions  let me know!
2. I would defeat my fear to drive. This is something I am actually working on, and I hope to be totally ready in a month.
3. I would meet either Gala Darling or Chloe Rice, both amazing and super inspiring women I look up to. I would have so many questions for both of them.
4. I would live in a different country. Alone. Scary? Hell yeah. On my list of plans? Of course! If I could pick right now, I think my first choice would be San Francisco, simply because I love the place,
5. I would get my grandma back, even just for a few hours. I normally don’t get too sentimental or too personal in here, but I’ll make an exception right now: About 2 months before I started this journal, my grandma passed away, which pretty much triggered my need to find reasons to be happy about and eventually led me to all that “Letting sequins into my life” and of course, this blog. I loved my grandma more than life, and she knew it, I am not one of those people filled with regret because ‘I did not say what I had to’, I actually did, PLENTY of times, but still, I would give pretty much anything just to give her one more hug, touch her face one more time and tell her I love her. She rocked.

Here I am with my grandma 2 yrs. ago on the last vacation we took together. We're on a ferry under the Golden Gate. We both loved that city.

So that’s it. A list of 5 things I’d love to go through, get or do.

Anyway, last night I celebrated my birthday with my boyfriend and it was pretty amazing, he cooked for me, we watched Halo Legends (he’s a big fan) talked a lot, hugged my cat, and watch Utena. Tomorrow I am celebrating with my mom, and all I know is that I want strawberry Ice cream, and on Sunday it’ll be my boyfriend’s birthday (Scorpio love, I know) I won’t be meeting him until thursday, then we will celebrate again! I just wish I didn’t have all these tests pending. 😦

Love,

5 silly things i’ve done right before turning 25… (day 2)

…which mainly consists on the last day, since my birthday is tomorrow (yeeppi!) So let’s see.

1. I got my last picture as a 24 yr. old: Yes I have a damn bloody eye, it’s because all this stress.
   
2. I watched Candyman, and I do have a strong opinion about it. I found it interesting, but I’ll talk about very soon,
3. I spent a few hours hugging my normally un-huggable cat. She’s so awesome, I also decided that if I do get a new cat, I’ll name Nanami, after Utena’s character Nanami, here you have her with Touga, her brother and my favorite character.
   
4. I *finally* got my  RFC. (You may not get this if you’re not from Mexico)
5. I got a new savings account. ❤ (i know, I am so lame that I get excited about things like this)

That’s it, I guess this is just me documenting my last day as a 24 yr. old, now let’s just wait for that quarter of life crisis to come. I guess this list got really self-centered, but hey… it’s just to remind me life is good, huh?

Love,