Juuni Kokki notes (ep.14-18)

[petronia]

Watched more Juuni Kokki last night. I experienced a certain amount of discomfort during the Taiki's Education flashback, because I literally had to turn off most of my adult self in order to appreciate it as I think it was meant to be appreciated. Realised later that this wasn't even directly due to the vaunted "girlyness" of the series (My Little Pony and Cabbage Patch Kids? sez Erin. Yes, and Maple Town animals - it's China as 1980s Toyland) but because every narrative instinct belonging to my adult self was screaming that what I was seeing was one big pr0n set-up. XD;;;;; A damning indictment of my historical choices in reading matter both on and offline, I think. (That and it SO IS A FATIMA IMPRESSION CEREMONY DAMMIT. While FSS is not what you might call a pr0n set-up, it does this particular trope multiple times, usually with overtones of heterosexual romance.)

But I did manage to shut down the part of my brain that insisted Taiki was going to be sold off to glorified sexual slavery, and enjoy the actual anime. Keiki, omg Keiki. How can incarnations of mercy be emotionally retarded? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

Also: fandoms that make you learn kanji readings are good for you. Fandoms that make you learn kanji readings are good for you. Fandoms...

Comments

[canis-m.livejournal.com]

But what's wrong with glorified sexual slavery? When it's divinely ordained!

Uh, perhaps you should avoid my Tai fic after all.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Fic is one thing. It's my own hapless real-time misreading of canon that's disturbing. XD;;

What does it say about me that when Gyousou showed up my first thought was OH YES SWEET SWEET VIOLENCE THANK GOD?

[canis-m.livejournal.com]

That you're a victim of shounen conditioning? ^^; There'll, er, be more violence when you get back to Youko full-time.

And who's to say it's a misreading of canon ahaha I mean really.

[lisa-bee.livejournal.com]

Keiki, omg Keiki. How can incarnations of mercy be emotionally retarded? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

*dies* Yes, so, so true. Keiki and Taiki, together they're a functional kirin! You know, one has all the emotional-overflowing-bubblyness, the other has all the staid respectability.

I have to say, seeing Keiki try to interact with Taiki (and how the sages saw it as 'educating' him in his interactions with crazy-girl...are they serious? It's like they were setting him up to fail!)

The Taiki-Gyousou dynamic is potentially very disturbing. I keep reminding myself that Taiki isn't done growing up yet, so he won't be stuck as a small child forever, *cough*Unlike Enki*cough*