Forum - View topicWandering Son (TV) aka Horou Musuko.
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
 Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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So I watched episode 3 of Hourou Musuko and I want to say I am enjoying it, and feel this is a very good adaptation of the manga.
Ep. 3 starts of the Cultural Festival story arc where Shu is tasked with writing his class' stage play. spoiler[However, the teacher also assigns Chiba to write a play. Shu wants to write an original story and Chiba wants to do a parody of Romeo and Juliet.] The teacher decides to have them work together and do a play that combines both of their ideas (probably due to fearing that leaving the play up to one student may negatively affect his reputation). Shu's sensitive nature and Chiba's assertive personality leads them to ultimately spoiler[focusing on the story of Romeo and Juliet, while also implementing Shu's ideas to write a story about the world having everyone's sexes reversed.] And it also creates a complicated issue of who gets to play Romeo and who gets to play Juliet? If Shu plays Juliet, the play will not reflect the idea of a boy who wants to become a girl, since Juliet is already a girl. If Shu plays Romeo, he will not get to wear a beautiful dress in front of an audience full of students and parents. Last edited by P€|\||§_|\/|ast@ on Sat Jan 29, 2011 1:40 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Player No. 3
 Posts: 209 Location: San Antonio, Texas |
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I really like the emotional gravity this series has. I think the opening when the teammates tell Takatsukispoiler[ that she needs to start wearing a bra] was my favorite. Just the way the camera moves, and the subtle action of her dropping the basketball really drove it home for me. However, I think it went into melodrama when she spoiler[collapsed though.] And is Mako spoiler[gay]? Or - at least - has spoiler[an attraction to males]? I'm probably missing something really obvious.
Anyways, I'm really excited to see how the kids handle the play. Tied so far with Level E as my favorite of the season. |
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Thunderstorm
Posts: 14 |
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Player No. 3, from what I've seen, spoiler[Mako is gay. In episode two, he asked Shuichi about liking boys and he seems to have a crush on Seya. There's more evidence in the manga. ]
It's the little things that help drive home the emotional impact of the series. I loved how spoiler[Maho thought Seya had a cold]. I got goosebumps when spoiler[Takatsuki was told to wear a bra and when she decided she couldn't wear the guy's uniform]. Really grounded moments. I'm amazed this is Asami Seto and Kosuke Hatakeyama's (almost) first performance outing. The two are pulling off Takatsuki and Shuichi incredibly well, delivering a powerful emotional performance. Another brilliant episode and looking forward to more. Last edited by Thunderstorm on Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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But Mako is also spoiler[transgendered like his friend Shu. I think they both provide good contrast in terms of different sexualities and the author's deep understanding of gender disphoria and sexual orientation. It could also be said that Shu is gay (and not Mako) since he identifies as female and is interested in other girls.] |
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Player No. 3
Posts: 209 Location: San Antonio, Texas |
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So it would be safer to say spoiler[Mako is attracted to guys and Shu to girls, gender notwithstanding.] This is actually quite deep for an anime series. I'm glad at they way they're handling it.
I actually got a bit misty-eyed there. |
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Thunderstorm
Posts: 14 |
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The series' exploration of sexuality is complex and handelled very well. There's no one quick answer to all of it. But Player No. 3, from what I've read, that's what I would conclude. I also got misty-eyed, that scene compounded with the end scene. Gah, I feel embarrassed. I meant a grounded scene, not a ground scene. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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I too am liking how understated this series is. It isn't in your face, it handles the subject matter sensitively and without prejudicing or championing a particular viewpoint. It isn't melodramatic, nor is it played for laughs like so many Anime and Manga before it with their caricatures. In fact it doesn't deign to dwell on the whole gender issue, but instead focuses on the characters, many of whom just happen to be transgendered.
This is a good approach, because to emotionally invest ourselves into a story we must first care about the characters. They are our link. If we can empathise with the characters then we can understand and care about the things they are going through, even though they are not happening (and may never happen) to us. If the gender identity disorder theme was to take precedence, then it might as well be a staid documentary. Establishing the characters, and giving sufficient quantities of screentime to even those that are not directly related to the gender themes, is vital. And that's what has happened, barring perhaps the way the Anime started (what feels like) halfway through the story. As for the central issue and theme, Wandering Son isn't preaching to us, it isn't force-feeding us on a particular stance. Rather, it is letting us make our own decisions and re-evaluating our own opinions, and it does this simply by showing us the characters, their dreams and their problems. That's all it needs to do; it is then up to us to decide what we make of it. Speaking from a personal perspective, I am finding that I'm becoming a lot more accepting and understanding of transgenderism, which used to be this weird concept that I didn't have much of a grasp of. A finely crafted and emotionally touching show that quietly prods me to re-evaluate my opinions? I do believe that this is the best series this season. |
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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Just started wtaching- by the end of the episode I had a general idea of who was who. It gets a bit confusing (I think I was not the only oneo be confused) specially at the beginnning it is hard to figure out who is the girl who wants to be a boy and who is a boy who wants to be a girl. I got it when they showed both of them discussing at the very end.
Seems like an excellent series, Il definitely stick to it, I really like the art and the story convinces me so far. |
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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Melodrama? It went into comedy, not melodrama. Rather blatant comedy, in fact. Take a look at this: 
Look at the basketballs. That's about as blatant as it gets. - abunai |
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Player No. 3
Posts: 209 Location: San Antonio, Texas |
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I went back and watched that scene. I must of missed it the first time, but I do see what you mean. I was in a different state of mind when I first went through the episode. |
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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That scene was totally not meant to imply anything ecchi. How else would you hold 2 balls?
Oh wait, nevermind I said that... |
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abunai
Old Regular
Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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Firmly. - abunai |
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SethMosrite
 Posts: 173 Location: Boston, MA |
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For me, Hourou Musuko really hits it's stride with episode 4. In almost every scene very raw emotions are being held back just below the surface. When that emotion does break through you have some very powerful and moving material. That emotional tension had been captured in previous episodes but here it is taken to another level. Too many good scenes to mention - I'm going to go watch it again. Ok, if I had to pick a favorite it would be Chiba and Mako when Shu leaves the room and their walk home afterwards.
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Brent Allison
 Posts: 2444 Location: Athens-Clarke County, GA, USA |
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Anyone else notice how both Shu (the bath) and Yoshino (the pool) used submersing themselves in water as a way of dealing with their reactions to the situations they face in ep 4? Interesting how it's a form of avoidance (and perhaps introspection), and yet the play is about as public a way of working through those issues as can be too. Very interesting.
Am I missing something or is Chiba a little too perceptive for a middle-schooler? Would people of that age ordinarily be able to spoiler[deduce that Shu wants to be a girl AND date Yoshino-as-Romeo just from a play they wrote]? Maybe I'm bad at early adolescent psychology. |
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Juhachi
 Posts: 228 |
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You are missing something: the first four volumes of the manga. The anime starts at the beginning of volume 5, so much of the context from the early series is lost, leaving anyone who hasn't read the manga pretty confused, I'm sure, which is a shame. For the anime adaptation, coming from the viewpoint of someone who reads the manga, I can say I'm fairly disappointed in the story structure. Starting the anime at volume 5 was a bad move IMO, even if the majority of the series takes place with them in middle school. Now, I can understand them removing certain scenes for time constraints, and changing locations of where dialogue takes place (such as in episode 4 when Shuu and Yoshino are spoiler[in the nurse's office and Yoshino asks Shuu is he wants to wear a bra. In the manga, that took place at Shuu's house).] And I can even kind of understand anime-original scenes and dialogue, such as many of the scenes in episode 1, including spoiler[the bridge scene at the end of the episode.] But what I cannot understand is why the anime staff specifically alters certain scenes that were in the manga. This really irked me in episode 4 when spoiler[Saori tells Shuu to come over to her house, and that she promises not to do anything weird. In the anime, even though Saori coaxes Shuu to cross-dress, he refuses.] But in the manga, spoiler[Shuu is shown to have agreed to it, and wears her school uniform. Then Saori tries to take a picture of him. The scene is much cuter and lighthearted in the manga, but in the anime they made it all depressing and awkward.] Things like this really take the enjoyment out of watching the anime for me, which sucks since I was really anticipating the anime, but oh well. The art and music are still top-notch. The animation's pretty good, though the voice acting is good for some, but largely not to my liking. I don't like Makoto's voice at all, and I wish they had chosen a more experienced actor for Shuu. |
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