Spring 2011 Anime

[A Black Falcon]

Madoka is apparently actually going to resume (with its last two episodes) soon... we'll see.

Also, I watched this, up to ep. 12 now. I'll post what I said about the earlier eps later sometime, once I find them; this one I can post now. But I should say, this is actually a pretty good show. It's just that this part of it is really messed up.

Cardcaptor Sakura 10-11 - GAH! Yeah, I knew it was coming (I'd seen these two episodes before, just not 5-9 before them), but finally I got to the bad part, the most disturbing thing about this series that I know of -- the relationship between Sakura's parents.

I mean, honestly, who thought that this was an idea that they should go with? It's so disturbing and messed up, what in the world were they thinking...

So, when he was a beginner highschool teacher (started as a highschool teacher, then moved up to college professor? Huh, I don't think it usually works that way... maybe once in a while I guess.), her father met her mother, Nadeshiko, who was a student at the school he taught at. She was at most 16 at the time, perhaps younger. She was a ditzy airhead bad at sports (yeah, Sakura's a much better character than her mother...), and fell out of a tree onto him. He responded by hitting on her, asking if she was an angel. They started dating sometime after that. Despicable behavior there from him.

Their relationship moved quickly, and they got married when she was 16. The next year, she had her first child. I mean, she has to have. They said that she died at age 27. Sakura (currently 9 or 10) was three when she died. That means Sakura was born when her mother was 24. Her older brother is a high school junior, seven years ahead of her in school. So, he's most likely seven years older than her, and thus was born when his mother was 17. The series mentions none of this of course, though.

Somehow, the fact that marrying and then impregnating a student in your school is illegal in, as far as I know, the entire first world doesn't even come up. Sure, she may have been of legal age to marry, but not when he's her teacher... but the show makes it VERY clear that they married while she was still a highschool student and he taught in that school. They brought lunches they'd eat together, etc -- it wasn't hidden. He should have gone to jail for that... okay, so this is Japan so maybe they wouldn't (maybe they would, I don't know, could go either way; such relationships are illegal in Japan, thoug, whether or not they'd prosecute it enough.), but at least he'd have been almost certainly fired, and probably have trouble getting another higher position like his current professorship, with that kind of history (and maybe criminal record).

But in the story, so Tomoyo's mother, who was Nadeshiko's cousin, liked her cousin (very much like how Tomoyo likes Sakura, some nice parallels there), and was very angry at him for taking Nadeshiko away from her like that. There was probably then a fallingout between the couple and her family. Then she died some years later, how they have not said. On that note Tomoyo's mother isn't a great character. She acts so, so childish most of the time, it's absurd... but, when asked what Sakura's father's biggest character flaw is, what does she say?

That he's perfect, that's what. Yeah.

All the show has to say about the age and teacher/student issues is "but they loved eachother, so it's okay!" The message is that Tomoyo's mother should forgive him for what he did and accept that her sister loved him and that what they did was fine, because it was love (Oh yeah, and she probably likes him too, as the "he's too perfect, that's his only problem" line implies.). NO. That is absolutely false, couldn't be much less true considering the actual situation... Who cares if you fell in love at first sight? She's 16 or less and your student. As I said, despicable.

Overall, that's so disturbing that it's kind of hard to believe someone would actually put a plotline like that in a modern anime aimed at children... I mean, a plotline like that in a late-night, otaku-centric series would be one thing (though heck, even Onegai Teacher, as horrible as it was, has the two of them having to keep their relationship a secret...), but in a series like this? Seriously?

And I mean, it'd have been so easy to avoid, too! Just have her be a couple of years older and not still his student and presto, still somewhat problematic, but not nearly to the degree that it is.

I mean, other than the relationships it's a very good show, but why did they have to make them so messed up...