on recent fanning

[xparrot]

In order of viewing:

Having just rewatched the Ouran High School Host Club anime for the *mumbleth* time, I then went and reread the manga, and oh man if only they would animate the second half of the story! because it's just like the first half only ten times as good. One of my favorite shoujo, that series - the art slides some in the later volumes, but it makes up for it in story and character and comedy and just, all of it. I was initially unsure about reading the manga, because I love the anime but it ends with certain plot threads incomplete and unsettling and I wasn't sure any of them could be tied off in ways that wouldn't break my heart at least a little - and then the manga goes and deals with all of them SO SO SATISFYINGLY! The romance is silly and ridiculous, and the friendship and family stuff is adorable and affecting, and just, awww that is what I want my comedy to be like. (Also there is one chapter that made me cry both times I read it, and it's not even really that sad - there's no death or anything like that; but it just - it's the part where Kaoru tries to break away from Hikaru, so Hikaru can be happy and then in the end - Hikaru pulls big brother rank and dyes his hair and says that they're twins no matter what and so they can grow up and grow apart without ever breaking apart - and just - oh oh oh my heart...) ...And yeah, Kyouya is still my favorite because, megane-type, and that's the whole joke - the brilliant thing about Ouran is that even knowing that they are parody, that they are the ultimate classic stereotypes of moe chars - those types still work.


Then, one of my fellow wranglers forced me to watch recommended the j-drama SPEC (aka Keizoku 2: SPEC though apparently Keizoku 1 is mostly unrelated) and OMG CRAAAAAACK. Even for a j-drama. SPEC is basically Japan doing X-files-meets-Heroes. With vuvuzelas. And starring a woman who I swear is what you'd get if Nodame (from Nodame Cantabile) and Sherlock (from Sherlock) had a daughter. And then died in a tragic plane-crash so she was raised by Fox Mulder. Touma is VERY VERY VERY SPECIAL, is what I am saying. (And kind of spectacular for it; can't recall offhand any other female characters with her particular blend of weird socially maladjusted borderline-unbalanced obsessive genius.) It's also fascinating for being maybe the only show I've ever seen (Japanese, American, UK, whatever) starring twenty-something male and female leads in which the sexuality of BOTH leads is 100% up in the air. They could be straight, gay, bi, or ace - there are hints for several things but no actual confirmation in the show itself. And Touma and her partner Sebumi have this intense but bizarre bond that is entirely up for interpretive grabs.

I cannot recommend this one wholeheartedly - if you don't know Asian drama, you might want to try something else first to warm up, else you might risk spraining your brain; and if you do know it...I am totally not joking about the vuvuzelas. (Also warning that Touma and Sebumi are kind of a manzai couple so can come across as mutually abusive if you don't know your classic tsukkomi & boke play...) That being said, it's definitely an experience! And there's a movie that just came out (that maybe will finish the story?) - very interested in seeing it!

(Also there is Ninomae! +<3333PSYCHOHEARTS)


And last, what everyone's been waiting for - YES I saw Avengers, YES I loved it, YES Joss Whedon should only do superhero movies from now on, YES every word out of Tony Stark's mouth is comic gold, YES the Black Widow is awesome, and YES I love Loki way too much. A few miscellaneous possibly spoilery observations below the cut - I don't have anything in particular to say that hasn't been said before. In no particular order:

• Black Widow/Hawkeye were totally SLASHY - in the classic is-there-something-more-or-maybe-not partner way, not in the standard het UST ways, and I really want to the see a movie starring them together. Also in the movie itself they never state Natasha's age, but having looked up her char history afterwards, it seems they were implying it? And it adds an extra dimension to her relationship with Hawkeye if she's actually that much older than him. Also "You and I remember Budapest very differently!" was one of my very favorite lines for no good reason.


• The brother, it turns out, is secretly a huge Hulk fanboy - he didn't even realize it himself, I think because he'd never seen the Hulk done quite right before. But every time the big green guy was on screen the brother was practically bouncing with giddy squee in the seat next to me. XD


• Tony/Pepper is so much more fun when Pepper can bring the snark as much as Tony can!


• After viewing I developed a theory that one of the reasons Whedon got his rep as a feminist is because he's an ass man, not a boobs man - meaning as a director he passes over the super-obvious cleavage shots, and as he's pleasantly equal opportunity with the genders of the shapely rears he shoots, he gets a lot of easy cred...


• Loki omg Loki~~~~ - only thing better than a woobie supervillain is a woobie supervillain who's also a smartass, and just crazy-evil enough that you can enjoy him getting trounced, even if most of the time you think he really just needs a hug.


• --okay, the thing better than THAT is a semi-redemption story with a smartass kid reincarnation. I am hardcore adoring the recent run of Journey into Mystery comics...


• Yesssss, the Avengers movie has got me reading Marvel comics for, um, maybe the first time ever, for serious? (I tried getting into X-men multiple times but never found a good entry point.) Right now I'm mostly reading Thor and related, but if I can find a good run of Avengers (and maybe the Young Avengers, because I read one issue and omg superheroic gay teen boyfriends = dead from cute) I am probably there. (anyone got recs of collections to buy?


• (though from the little I've read I like movie!Tony way more than comics!Tony, who I keep wanting to smack for self-centered angstiness. >.< This makes me sad because as my bro told me back before the first Iron Man came out and I was wondering who he was (the Avengers are the team of superheroes I knew the least, of the major imprints) - Tony Stark is pretty much David Xanatos. Or rather David Xanatos is totally Tony-Stark-as-supervillain(+ a Machiavelli overdose), down to the beard and the red flying exo-suit. And come on, Xanatos!)

Comments

[immicolia.livejournal.com]

Man I really need to get around to reading the manga for Ouran. I started then kept getting distracted by other things and never got back to it. I really should try again because the anime was fabulous.


Due to my general dislike of movie theaters I haven't seen Avengers yet and probably won't until I can watch it from the comfort of my own home. But I finally got around to watching Thor last night (there's an indication of how far behind on movies I am) since it's on Netflix and man... man do I have a lot of feelings about Loki. My taste in favourites continues to be utterly predictable because I spent about 80% of that movie cooing over how wonderful he is. (the other 20% was spent laughing at Thor being a dumbass)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I always feel odd about reccing shoujo because the stuff I love tends to hit me so square in the id that I can't be objective at all? So yeah, I can't say if the Ouran manga is actually that great, but I love it more than the anime (and I really freaking love the anime!)

I didn't see Thor until February (to prepare for Avengers) - and then yes Loki kind of staked out a nice little plot for himself in my fangirl soul. He is not quiiiite as woobie in the Avengers movie but enough (and funnier to boot!)(and now I am kind of crushing on the actor oh god how did that happen ._.;) And then I got recced the comics (specifically the recent kid!Loki comics) and OMG THE LOVE. Being comics I expect that sooner or later they will break my heart into tiny ugly pieces, but for now I'm enjoying the ride (and hoping I'll have moved onto something else by the time the inevitable happens :P)

[airairo.livejournal.com]

GOD I ABSOLUTELY LOVE AND ADORE SPEC XD

Have you watched the Ouran drama? It's not perfect by any means but it's cute. XD

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I am still not sure HOW I feel about SPEC. OMG so SPECIAL ^^;;;;

I have been curious about the Ouran drama! A lot of the high-school dramas just...aren't very good, in my experience. But I'm wondering what they adapted, and if their Haruhi is in character...might have to check it out!

[bluepard.livejournal.com]

The original Young Avengers run was only 12 issues I think, so you can buy it in just 2 volumes and see if you like it:
http://www.amazon.com/Young-Avengers-Vol-1-Sidekicks/dp/B003YCQCSK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1337261170&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/Young-Avengers-Volume-Matters-Graphic/dp/0785117547/ref=pd_sim_b_4

The Avengers in the movies have some Ultimates (alternate universe) mixed in with them and are younger characters so yeah, they're going to be different. Especially since the Avengers team has included/not included a lot of different people. Jumping into that is harder.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I will have to check out the Young Avengers!

Am also checking out the Ultimates - that's the version my bro is more familiar with and enjoys, and it seems easier to jump into. The main series, yeah...the fact that there are like a million different Avengers titles, all with different teams, makes it extremely confusing! Right now I might just be content to stick with kid!Loki, as long as that lasts...

[bluepard.livejournal.com]

I warn you that the Ultimates supposedly gets very weird after a certain point, which is when you get the canon incest, etc. There's also cannibalism, domestic abuse ... stuff they maybe didn't want in the main books.

I have a bunch of Marvel Adventures Avengers under my bed so apparently I liked that, although it's aimed for younger audiences than the mainstream stuff.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've seen some reviews of later Ultimates, enough that I figure I might just stop after the first collection and leave it at that!

[trystings.livejournal.com]

I can't comment on the manga, but yay Avengers. *waves a tiny flag for Hawkeye's butt* I went in without any expectations (saw Iron Man 1 years ago and Thor was a laugh fest for me) but this? This was awesome. And Mark Ruffalo totally won me over. His voice puts me to sleep normally but he really nailed the Hulk. And RDJ.. aah, RDJ, what can one say. :)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Avengers was just so much fun! A perfect balance of characters, witty lines between the action, just, everything one would want out of a superhero movie. (including the nice butts! ^^)

[alessandriana.livejournal.com]

Just drive by commenting to second the Young Avengers rec-- the first few volumes, especially, are fantastic. (I don't really agree with how the most recent run, Children's Crusade, dealt with some characters, but on the whole it's pretty decent as well.)

(Also worth checking out is Runaways, which is another, less traditional teen-superhero series. The first few volumes are still some of the best storytelling in comics, IMHO. Also it crosses over with Young Avengers at least two or three times, so it helps to read them both.) (I'd link you to the collections, but all I can find are the paperbacks and I'm not sure how the story is broken up in those. Issues 1-24 are the Brian K. Vaughan run, anywho.)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I'll definitely have to check both out! At least the runs you mentioned (...ahhh that's one of my problems with American comic books, is how most of them go foreeeeeever and change writers and artists - so it's difficult to have a series you actually just *like*, it's always, 'well, I like this story and that one but not that one'...so confusing!)

[alessandriana.livejournal.com]

Ugh, totally agree with you there. YA and Runaways were my first two ventures into comic books, actually, and it was quite a shock how widely the quality of Runaways varies in the later issues. (YA didn't even get a full run after the first few volumes, just a series of one-shots here and there-- although I think that has kept the quality higher.)

As much as I love long, involved sagas, there is definitely something to be said for stories that have a definitive ending point.

[snarkydame.livejournal.com]

I have only read the first 9 English volumes of Ouran High School Host Club -- I think my bookstore stopped carrying them regularly, or I ran out of manga money, or something. I should try to catch up on that!

(also AVEEEENGERRRS. Yes. ♥)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

The second half is just so much fun~!

And Avengers is all <333! (so want to see it again~!)

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Journey into Mystery is badass, especially the first hardcover volume - I am madly in love with how it gets even better and more layered if you've read various Norse texts and know the stuff it references, and it's a great redemption story because you don't 100 % know if Loki will find redemption at the end, given that half the time he's forced to employ seriously questionable methods.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I just got the hardcovers (I was reading the scans, but I wanted to support the actual comic because it's worth it) - the one thing that disappoints me is that they left out most of the 'previously' pages, which were some of my favorite parts!

And yeah, between the working in of Norse mythology (which I'm not familiar enough with to get all of, but some, and I'm thinking I really ought to brush up - I loved it when I was little but always found the names harder to remember than Greek myth so it didn't stick as well!) and the is-it-really-a-redemption-story aspect, it's quickly become one of my favorite comics ever.

(There's also an interview with the writer in which he said his plan was for it to be about 40-50 issues, leading to a clear end - which on the one hand, yay! one of the things that disappoints me with most superhero comics is the lack of story resolution - and on the other hand, I fear kid!Loki is not going to make it out of this intact. The Marvel!verse needs one of its primary supervillains - and I already love him too much to want to lose him!)

(also heeee to your icon, oh Lady Loki you were so smirkily spectacular...)