Okay. From the New World has surpassed itself yet again. I thought that as the start of a new arc would be quiet and moderately uneventful. However, the character development in this episode was already amazing, but what really impressed me were the things around it.
First of all, how this series expanded upon the setting. It was already hinted that the characters in this series would become sexually active, but the way in which they did it came with a bunch of big surprises. Most of all, how differently the society looks at homosexual relationships, to the point where all relationships are just between people of the same gender. And it’s not like straight romances are a complete taboo either: a few episodes ago we saw the beginnings of Saki and Satoru trying to mess with each other.
Also, the way in which these relationships were portrayed. Talk about different. Both in the small details (people looking at each other, subtle hints of people having huge crushes like buying the same necklace, trying to instill jealousy) to just cutting all the crap and just showing people, in a relationship, cuddling and playing with each other. Screw the awkward and forced fanservice you see everywhere. This was so much better.
And then there was the animation of this episode. As usual it did not shine though its consistency or fluidity, but there was this creativity in how the characers moved, and how they were drawn that really caught my attention. The way in which people moved their body, or changed their facial expressions was really imaginative. The creators were obviously on a tight budget this episode, and I’m quite impressed with how expressive they managed to make this episode look.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)
Despite the fact that I thoroughly enjoy this series, this particular episode made me feel like I had missed one. So much so I had to check.
I thought it was said that ‘most’ of them got their powers back, but here we see all of them being able to use their cantus (translation error?).
Also, what’s up with the sudden change in relationships? Are we supposed to believe that ALL of them decided to go from hetero to homosexual during the two year time skip? Just because?
Sorry, but I deem this the weaker episode this series had so far.
Yes you did miss something. At the end of the last episode it was stated that they all got their power back when they returned to the village as the others had written down their mantra’s at home.
And yes … 2 years for an adolescent is a long time. Relationships don’t last that long at that age
I must have misread then, because I was certain it was said that ‘most’ of them got their powers back. Well, I’ll see it again and check.
Sorry, but not long enough for it to be believable, not without any explanation whatsoever.
Anyways. thanks a lot for clearing things up 🙂
They didn’t “decide to go from hetero to homosexual”. Only now their sexuality is truly beginning to blossom, and, in a society which encourages generalized promiscuity as means to relieve stress, it’s not hard to see why the adults would recommend homosexual intercourse during the teenage years (tip: birth control).
Also, the ones who clearly manifested love interest in the opposite sex before the time skip STILL manifest the same interest, so it’s not like they suddenly decided to love only people of the same gender.
Sorry, but no.
‘the ones who clearly manifested love interest in the opposite sex before the time skip STILL manifest the same interest’
Yes, they just chose to ignore the feelings they had (and still have, if you watch the last scenes of this episode) and, with no character development whatsoever, jumped headfirst into homosexual relationships.
Not the best storytelling there, If I may say so.
And mind you, I would be content with a simple narration explaining this was the norm, part of their indoctrination or something like that.
Yep, saw episode 7 again, but from another group, and you were right. I probably misread it.
Thanks again 🙂
However, it HAS been said that promiscuity is a norm and part of their indoctrination back in episode 4. I don’t see any reason why repeating this is necessary when that screentime can be used for something more useful here.
Also, I wanted to say that there were some heterosexual relationships shown, you just gotta look for them.
I think your intuition was right.
The homo scenes came out of the blue and jarred with the hetero feelings shown in the episode.
No, it’s just shock value. They had nothing nasty to show for this episode, so they just added that.
this, it was pretyt much for shock value, as the hetero stuff was there too. just not highlighted as much as the home stuff was. Since I was expecting it and the setting of the story (bonobo like society) explains it, I wasn’t as turned off by it as say I was with #6 (some old BL anime lol) Its nothign to drop this series over, although I wish they didnt have to put it all in yoru face to *shock* viewrs with. . .I’ve never been fan of gimmicks like that, no matter the subject. I don’t think it was neccessary to have as much subtlety as GodZilla knocking down Tokyo Sky Tree. Otherwise though, I enjoyed the episode. It is a lot better than the human vs goblin arc that seemed to drag on waay too long >_<
Frankly I don’t know what is so “shocking” about this in a modern society in 2012 or especially the future like the anime. There have already been studies done measuring peoples “reactions” to images & it shows that most women are actually bisexual (respond equally to male & female images). Kinsey studied this & believed most people fall somewhere on a scale, somewhere in between homo & hetero (bi). So yes it is possible for people to go back and forth, and bonobo society is also bi & have similarities to humans (not saying everyone is, just that it’s possible many people are), The people who are getting all worked up are probably just used to seeing only boy/girl relationships all the time and never any gay people so they think it’s wrong, but I live in a liberal urban area and “shock” gay relationships exist and people don’t even bat an eye, i mean geez- decades ago we didn’t have computers and it used to be illegal for women and black people to vote so um, yea, stuff changes, people shouldn’t act like it’s so strange that homosexual ones could be considered normal as every other relationship in the future (or that some teenagers would be “curious”, and yea, birth control is +)
shut up you fucking faggot.
Years ago I read the book “Brave New World” where the childrem of a future society plays sex games as a natural activity. It seem that “From the New World” was inspired by this book. It’s not homosexual relationship as we know, but a kind of behavior control, genetic alteration or someting like this.
Please, guys. Don’t drop it, try to think a little bit more and enjoy this fantastic serie.
Before the confusion ensues, I will clear up a couple of things. Please note that I have not read the novels but I did pay close attention to the anime.
Firstly, what everyone all over the net is dropping the series over; the homosexual relationships. It was clearly explained that human society has taken on bonobo-like characteristics with regard to social interactions and sexuality. Note as well that the show is portraying a society one thousand years in the future. Many social revolutions could have taken place during that time. Look at the past 40 years of our own society and the numerous changes that have taken place during that time. From, what I like to call, the Hippie Era to the Age of Information (Internet Age). Advances in technology and communications have changed our societies, regardless of geography and culture. It is not unimaginable that the advent of Psychics and the tumultuous events that ensued, including the war and genetic modifications caused human society to undergo immense change.
Secondly, the outcry over the sexually explicit actions of our young main characters. This is also related to the first point and the changes that society would have underwent as a result of past events. In addition, the interactions may not be strictly romantic but a form of seeking comfort as with the scene between Saki and Maria. This was also explained in an earlier episode and a quote from that episode was recounted in this one. It is not incredible that such interactions occur at such a young age; just look at what’s happening in our societies today!
Thirdly, the commenters expressing incredulity that the children were not punished for their actions in the past couple episodes. If you pay attention to the end of the last episode, it was noted that they did not “get away with it” but the adults were planning something, the beginnings of which could be seen in the second half of this episode. Shun is being sent into “rehabilitation” and warns Saki that the adults are perfectly aware of what took place and that retribution would take place in due time. Is parting words were for her to warn the others, giving the impression that we may not see him again.
The way I see it, you are right on all counts.
But that is not the problem. The problem is this change came out of nowhere.
We were never shown anything similar to that behavior, be it from their peers, be it from their parents. It just ‘happened’.
Concerning your comment that the changes came out of nowhere: so does puberty. I’ve got younger relatives that were innocent as ever but as soon as they hit 12, “out of nowhere” they underwent drastic psychological changes and their preferences in friends, attire, food and entertainment changed in all sorts of unpredictable ways. In the previous episodes, we can assume that our main characters were on the verge of puberty and only just beginning to experience certain changes as a result of the genetic and social modifications that humans underwent in the preceding centuries.
But then we can assume a lot of things, can’t we?
This is the nagging point.
Proper story development is lacking, leaving us to assume this or that 🙂
I’m not trying to bash this anime, actually, I rather like it.
Also, you have good points, but still, the development came out of nowhere, leaving us to assume.
One thing is to leave minor plot points aside, trusting the backstory will be able to cover for them if one is willing to think hard enough.
Another is to impinge such a major change without any clear explanation or development.
And remember, our heroes were shown to be privy and somewhat impervious to the sexual conditioning they were suffering, so this comes as a much greater surprise.
That may be where our tastes vary, but to me, what you propose is exactly an example of bad storytelling: explaining every single thing that happens instead of showing them and leaving the viewer to join the pieces by himself.
Honestly, the very first sentence of the episode plus the previous infodumping are more than enough to allow you to understand what happened.
Sexuality just “happens” when your hormones begin to rush at 14. Bonobo’s just “happen” to have sex with any gender. As stated in the anime (twice I believe) society has taken on the ‘Bonobo way’ of sexuality. I think we didn’t see any homosexual relationships up to this point because A) The characters were a bit too young (maybe…), B) The previous arc had Saki and Sotaru in a VERY stressful situation unlike anything they’ve experienced before so both decided to engage in sexual activity at that very moment of high tension to relieve stress, Maria/Saki probably would have done the same if they were stuck together, C) As the opening monologue states, A LOT changes for an adolescent in 2 years. Especially the jump from 12 to 14. D) It was an awesome plot twist! Not everything needs to be overtly foreshadowed. (Even though it subtly was when it was already mentioned beforehand that society began to sexually behave like Bonobos.)
I agree, this is a pacing issue plain and simple, imo the anime has had horrible pacing issues since ep 4, and even though I knew what was coming, the way they were introduced in the anime was annoying, and confusing. . .even in this episode there were some glaring issues, even though they stayed pretty faithful to the source material (for the most part) but yeah. . .”show don’t tell” was somethin gthey failed at,
they “told” through the info dump, then in combination with the bad pacing, “showed” (sp?) through this episode in a manner that was just too much and for obvious shock value. . .
Even if puberty “comes out of nowhere” <—-doing that in literature, and music is BAD period. many may not want to admit that their favorite show has flaws, but that doesnt mean that those flaws will all of asudden go away if you passive aggressively bash people with their own opinions a lot. If you have to reference thigns that arent in the story (i.e. " there may have been revolutions social changes blah blah blah") the the writters are doing it wrong.
that being said, this still is my favorite show of the season (and by the looks of it. . .next season as well) I hope they really get their heads on straight with the pacing in future episodes.
Yep definitely found this episode disgusting. All of this came out of left field. Dropped.
The narration at the beginning of the episode quite clearly sets up the notion that things have changed in two years. No doubt, kids do change between twelve and fourteen. The series brought up bonobos multiple times already and then flashed back to that again this episode. For that matter, when the false minoshiro was info dumping in episode 4 about bonobos (also about this applying to adolescents and members of the same sex), one of the images that gets played is of 12-year-old Maria hugging Saki.
Change comes out of nowhere for kids growing up. Isn’t that the point? Can’t it be good to have a narrative structure that doesn’t go through every banality and hold your hands through all the transitions?
If anything, I thought they were too heavy-handed on the references, at least for someone who’s been watching every episode.
From Wikipedia: “The bonobo is popularly known for its high levels of sexual behavior. Sex functions in conflict appeasement, affection, social status, excitement, and stress reduction. It occurs in virtually all partner combinations and in a variety of positions. This is a factor in the lower levels of aggression seen in the bonobo when compared to the common chimpanzee and other apes”
The key thing I would like to note here is the part abour lower levels of aggression which is precisely the point, isn’t it? They’re trying to prevent violence in society through genetic and social changes to the human person. I think people are too obssessed or caught off guard by the sexual aspect that they are not seeing the bigger picture.
Speaking strictly from my point of view, the display of homosexuality is not the problem.
The use of sex to appease tensions is not the problem.
The problem is that, suddenly, every single major character (except the, literally, odd one out) is engaged in, not just sex, but a homosexual relationship.
And mind you, they were under no shown stress and they were not having sex with both males and females.
Which means they were emotionally engaged as well. Fickle as teenage relationships may be, still it is different than just sex for relaxation purposes.
Explainable as this may be, it wasn’t foreshadowed in any way.
Ok, if we went to wikipedia we could find out this or that, but you guys surely have to agree that, at the very least, that It took everyone off guard for no reason whatsoever. I defy anyone to come and say: No, I predicted that in this episode all of them would turn gay. Come on…
And this is exactly my point: It was a development badly implemented.
Anyways, I’ll leave it at that and here is to hoping that we all enjoy the next episodes better 🙂
No I wasn’t expecting it and I had absolutely no problems with seeing it. At first it seems random, but then remembering everything we’ve seen these last few eps, it loses a lot of its surprise. They become sexually active to comfort themselves. At that age I think it is probably safe to say most kids feel most comfortable with people of the same sex. It’s not that hard to figure out.
The hints were surely there that sexuality was handled (and scientifically manipulated) for societal purposes. However, I think if we had seen same sex couple of those who were older–not even EXPLAINED–just show the fourteen year olds on the school grounds holding hands in ONLY same sex patterns, then that would have been a hint of things to come.
I think the creators WANTED the shock value, hence they hinted, but did not SHOW the school reality that would occur when puberty bloomed. We saw hetero affections, then boom, everyone’s going for same-sex. IT does have shock value (which is I’m sure what they wanted, a statement of the changes society imposed genetically).
Now, if they had shown couples of all orientations, then we’d just assume, “Oh, the guys just like each other.” But looking at Shun, he was majorly dissatisfied in some way–not engaged as much as Satoru. Saki is also not really into Maria, but Maria is her friend and her go-to relief partner.
I think if you get genetically rejiggered or socially forced to only do same-sex for sexual relief when the big sex urges come on, then it makes sense you move towards a friend with whom you already have emo-bonds, adventure-bonds, secret-bonds, and trust.
However, the fact that most folks were WTF? tells me the world-building purposely shielded what was going on at the older levels in the school for SHOCK value.
as I said before, if this many people are feelign like “Wtf this shit is coming out of nowhere” There are MANY people saying/feeling this. Then obviously the author has done something horribly wrong. It doesnt matter if the author may be mirroring childhood or whatever (I suspect it was just the director trying to use the any publicity is good publicity shock episode) You cant just jump around and show a whole bunch of stuff in peoples face, especially if they may be averse to it (homosexuality) and still expect people to countinue to
1)take the piece of work seriously and/or
2)continue to read/watch the work
Yes, we live in a world where many people are not fond of graphic homosexual relationships. The director knows that (especially being in Japan. which is a lot worse than the states, or Europe in regards to homosexual issues) and really should have known better, that and he needs to fix his damn pacing.
I think people would have been fine with the eventual homosexual relationships if he hadn’t put it up in everyone’s face and make it seem like the WHOLE WORLD was having gay relationships (which is definately NOT the case here) When I saw the ep, I kinda knew that the whoel internet would be like “wtf”
Hell, I’d like to try to keep some people from dropping it, but when the direction has been as silly as its been that past few episodes, its kinda hard. . .(this show gets REALLY good. . .really)
and really, if any work of art, show is making you look up stuff on wikipedia to prove a point, the creator is doing it wrong.
The thing is, “just because people may not be comfortable with it so the author should have realized it” is not a reason NOT to show or discuss something. There are lots of things we get uncomfortable with but must face for our own knowledge or advancement. It used to be severely frowned upon for people too have sex out of marriage or even to have interracial relationships. But now most people don’t “wait till marriage” and most teenagers actually are sexually active and interracial relationships are considered normal too. It also doesn’t mean just because parents may be “uncomfortable” about it that they ignore it and don’t do the whole “use protection-birds&bees talk” and most schools have sex-ed classes now too. People don’t like seeing images of war or hunger or illness, but we show it in movies, shows and in art because for many people that’s reality and ignoring stuff because it’s uncomfortable is just silly. [and yes, many people already pointed out that this was not really out of the blue: reference to bonobo society, society advances, teenagers change a lot during puberty, etc. etc.] Honestly I think it’s just that people are uncomfortable with the whole gay thing and were raised to think it’s gross or bad or something, and they have a right to think that because it’s a free country. But I can tell you I live in fairly liberal urban area, we have gay politicians and business owners and teachers and people do not care because they consider it normal just like regular people with jobs and houses like everyone else (and frankly there’s more important stuff to worry about than what gay people do, like education, the economy, illness stuff like that).
It’s more pathetic that people allow themselves to be so bothered by such things. The author can put whatever he/she wants in their story. If people don’t like it, then they can avoid it. Otherwise they have no right to attack the author for making them uncomfortable.
I think people are just freaking out because they’re not comfortable with the portrayal of an openly sexual culture. There has been more than enough foreshadowing and hinting that this is how their society works.
People can handle all of the violence, borderline-incest, misogyny, and all the other ridiculous aspects that pervade modern anime….but OH NO, ANYTHING BUT OPENLY PORTRAYED HOMOSEXUALITY.
Furthermore, it’s not even like sexuality in the way we understand it in our societies today. I’m not even sure if “sexuality” is the right word to use. There is some sexual element, but the physical intimacy can be used in other or more multi-faceted ways, like it is today. But different, since it’s 1000 years in the future and people are genetically-engineered psychics.
It’s a new normal for social interaction.
That’s an interesting theory. I hadn’t thought about it to that extent. Looking at it like that, it may be taken in the same context that we see friends of either sex embrace each other when they meet or part ways, or how female friends may hold hands when walking. It could simply mean that friendly interactions among humans have expanded to include sexual contact as a norm. Of course, I get the impression that Saki and Maria are very close friends (but not lovers as would be the view of people in our time). It could also be that adolescent children are allowed to experiment more freely with their sexuality than they are today. It could all be part of their development into healthy adults.
I liked this episode, and to all the people who dropped this because of the homosexuality: Good riddance. It’s an Orwellian sci-fi series with lots of social and genetic engineering in it. They modeled their society after Bonobos. I thought that it was a good way to show that our protagonists aren’t just regular humans with superpowers.
Curiously, this homosexuality is not present or at least not shown in the adults. Perhaps they’re engineered so that this is only a phase? And on an emotional level, this sudden sexuality is(like in episode 5) more of a coping mechanism than anything else. This is all very well thought out.
I get the idea that Shun is gonna die in the not too distant future because of his run in with the high level psychic.
Yes, I’m more inclined to think that it’s only a phase but that their sexuality may settle upon entrance into adulthood. There may be adults with homosexual orientation but we have not seen a lot of this society as yet. We’ve only been told certain things but this time we’re getting to observe the development of the children. I’ve heard that the novel spans a few years, taking them into adulthood so we’ll get to see their development until that point.
I don’t think it’s engineered so it’s only a phase. It’s probably socially conditioned so that it’s only a phase. I’ve heard that in Japan, at least in the past, lesbianism was considered something that teens can mess around with but they were still expected to marry men when they grew up. Marriage might not be about sex in this show, and for all we know even the married adults have sex with everyone else in the village.
I think “commenter” is right that if it’s modeled after bonobo society then probably society has developed to consider sexual contact sort of like regular social interaction that has many functions like to be used for stress, to comfort, to play, etc. At least that is the impression I get from reading about bonobos, they do it for many reason other than babies (for social & emotional purposes, and someone also said it’s good birth control). And just remember how even a few decades ago teenagers having sex without being married was a big no-no, and now most teenagers don’t wait for marriage, so society in general is more “open” with that sorta thing (& imagining even further into the future even more “open”). I think it’s somewhat immature in the year 2012 to be against homosexual relationships being on tv because some people think it’s “gross” or “wrong” or whatever (but are okay with huge anime boobs & panty shots & lolis etc.)…well, people have every right to their opinions (i just think it’s kinda silly-it’s not the 1950’s!)
Really, people are dropping from the now world over this episode? Wow, bigotry is alive and well nowadays, huh. This is probably my favorite episode of the season – awesome character development and, excluding the homossexual majority of the relationships, it’s a surprisingly realistic portrayal of teenage relationships, that is, that when teens are given enough liberty, they fuck their brains out.
I was really anxious for this next ep ever since the kids went back to the adult society. A friend of mine was surprised that Shun went along quietly with the adults but this just goes to show how much the adults prepared. It’s not just the cats that weeded kids out. It’s possibly enough that Shun doesn’t even see a way out. And with Shun gone it’s just four against an unforeseen number of enemies in every adult around. I’m interested to see if there’s a way to escape safely or if they’ll even consider it.
Seriously though… it was an interesting turn for the storyline so it’s sad for those who dropped who were only going to focusing on the character developments. Your loss I guess.
And somehow people drop this show for this episode. Thankfully, this episode got rid of the viewers we don’t need.
We who, exactly? 😉
because anyone that doesnt like the same thing you do is a bigot and scum right? That’s not a world changing attitude, infact it perpetrates the same biggotry and biases, an “us vs”them” attitude in which either side is just as bad. If people dont like a show because of home stuff in it, then thats up to them, more power to them for following their own preferences. . .its not “their loss” and its not “your win” either. someones not liking of something you like does not mean that you are less that human or something, it just means that they dont like it. Accept it and move on.
Ah, but he did not say anything about people losing anything by dropping the series. In my opinion, it’s like a bunch of holocaust deniers walking out of a theatre showing Schindler’s List.
I have to admit, even with the comments i read in the shoutbox, the switch from hetrosexual to homosexual relationships were a bit extreme. I’m a BL fan so I’m all for boy on boy, but Satoru x Shun was very left field, esp after the Satoru x Saki, and it’s still so obvious that Saki likes Shun.. so what is this mass repression of real desire going on?
It’s not like I can’t accept it, in that there is some hardcore manipulation going on in how the adults treat the children, so wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some sort of homosexual attraction thing they’ve coded into the genes. But despite that it’s still a bit of a shock.
However this may be EXACTLY the reaction the director is going for, making us feel that the relationships are weird and unnatural.
The whole Shun part is very interesting, with the creepy eye, his attack?? on the force user whatever his name, and a realisation that something else is going on. What’s going to happen to him? What role will he play next?
Animation wise, I thought it was ugly with a lot of distorted faces… but I think story wise, it is the creepiest, and up there with Brave New World and the Time Traveller thus far.
When did I say they were scum or bigoted? If they can’t handle the homosexuality then they can leave. I never said “win” or “loss” I’m saying that the viewers who rage at this show because it’s “homo” can stop raging and leave. God knows how much worse it could get as the episodes move along. This episode is a clear cut line for those people and I’m glad that those people are out of it now. I never said I had a problem with their views. Accept it and move on? I already did. I understand that you are very cynical when reading posts but please do not assume random things about people.
Oh and I forgot to mention more about the “win” or “loss” part. Indeed, personally, I think it’s their LOSS (so just ignore my last post about not mentioning it sorry 🙁 ) because so far, it has been telling a wonderful story and the very fact that they drop it because of one turn-off is really a shame. I mean, if you watched this far you probably at least like the show to some extent. Then again, I respect people’s opinion if they say, “Oh I can’t handle the homosexuality of this show so I’m dropping it.” That’s fine with me.
No one wants to talk about the engagement between Shun and the super-psychic? Wow…
I agree very much so with Fluca’s commenting stream concerning the blurry exposition. Sexuality really wasn’t acted upon or even properly introduced until the Saki/Satoru interraction. We are then expected, by the name drop of Bonobo monkeys alone, that homosexuality or bisexuality was the norm social relation within this society. I personally was laughing my ass off at the tongue-f*cking part. It was just too random. Really, like, crying laughing. They even did the ‘past quote repeated and fading away’ thing. To me, almost the whole first half portrayed a great example of lazy story-telling.
Then they start focussing on cantus itself, and Shun’s development. I expected the worst after the forementioned bit, and then was absolutely shocked at how well they portrayed the brittleness of cantus. That smile! And the chick-eye! These moments excited me to say the least. I highly anticipate the answers to some of the questions this episode introduces. Can’t wait, I’m back on this show.
The style of storytelling used in the anime series is entirely up to the storyboard writer and the director, I guess. I wasn’t put off by the style of exposition used in this episode. The main reason I brought up the sexuality shown, is because when I went to a blog to read what people thought about this episode, hoping to find discussion about the situation with Shun going into rehab, all I found was comments from persons disgusted by the depiction of homosexuality. I decided to throw out a comment to nip it in the bud and prevent this comment section from turning ito UTW’s comment section.
Let’s talk about the scene then,
Meeting Between Shun and Leader:
What was that ripple?
Why did Leader leave promptly and silently?
What’s the meaning of Shun’s smile?
The ripple I think, while literally depicting the instance of their meeting, also depicted a clash of power. The writers juxtapose leader and shun, and then one of the characters outright confirms their relation. They also talk about power; leader may split the earth in half if he focussed. Shun focussed on his egg, leader probed him either literally or figuratively, something unexpected happens. Loved the ripple, lol.
Leader then quickly left the room without a word. I take that he was shocked by Shun’s development, or that maybe he was literally hit by Shun’s psychokinesis. It’s hard to say what happened exactly (unless I missed something), but combined with Shun’s revelations at the end they created a very foreboding rhetorical presence.
Shun’s smile was the icing, for me. For one it was such a creepy gesture. He seemed suspiciously crazy. Even the chick eye had this effect. Something went on that we can’t comprehend quite yet. (unless I missed something, hopefully i didn’t miss anything lol).
This scene accentuates the topics from the New World that most interest me; Cantus, character-development, losing control. It moreover left me wanting, which is exactly what I expect from writing of any sort.
What do you see in these?
happened**
*I mean, whether they have telepath; the ability to communicate via their minds.
Pertaining to the ripple; On a second viewing of that scene, I think somehing on a psychic level passed between Shun and Kaburagi that caused Kaburagi to react the way he did. I think that something about Shun’s mental state probably disturbed him. Observe the sadistic look Shun makes after Kaburagi leaves.
I think that having their powers “sealed” and then “unsealing” it themselves (among one another) made them different from the rest of the children. I don’t know what this difference is but I think that Shun, perhaps the cleverest of the group, figured something out going based on what the Minoshiro told them. Shun is very inquisitive and I think that he’s probably pieced something together based on what they learnt at that time.
I’m not sure if the psychic ability of the humans include telekinesis so it may be possible that Kaburagi made contact with Shun’s mind. Whatever the cause, Shun keeps mentioning that he has some “illness” that isn’t a “sickness of the body”. He also tells Saki, cryptically, to beware cats.
I also noticed that during the minoshiro part, Shun was the only one that wanted it to continue while everyone else was telling it to stop. He said at one part “that makes sense” while everyone else was like “no, no, stop, why, why?!” So maybe he figured something out. Also I remember when Saki was restoring Satorou’s powers she had a vision of Shun and then the fire…I wonder if Shun has some other power that the others don’t have and that’s why he got sent away. (Shun was also the only one to remember his own mantra from his own mind, everyone else had it written down, or in the case of Satoru, Saki was the one who told him) interesting.
I think that Shun is becoming a Karma Demon. He’s heading off into solitude to die, just like the clever, powerful boy in the story the kids read during class.
What an interesting idea. I think it fits in the narrative definitely. I mean, we only know stories of these Karma Demons; the distinction between real and fiction leaves room enough for Shun’s continued development.
yeah I was having that same kind of reaction to that. . .it was like making a caricature of homosexual relationships, I half expected there to be a montage or something the way it was made. but yeah shuns part was great, and it’s a shame that no one really talks about that, as it was the best part of the ep really, I mean THAT’s how you continue a theme, first with the story of the boy becoming a demon pk user (show dont tell was used there) then showing satoru having signs of that during the goblin arc, throughout the story that themse was weaved perfectly during the whole series so far, THATS how you introduce and reinterate themes into you work. if all of a sudden shun started turning evil and killing humans left and right the next episode or two after explaing it, people would be like “wtf” too.
I had to post because I was also annoyed about everyone freaking out about the gay stuff, just thought it was silly…but here’s what I think: in the earlier episode the boy with destructive powers, and children who showed any disobedience being carted off, then the creature in the woods talking about a syndrome that cause some PK users to go haywire & destructive…and so the scientists developed a system for weeding these potential children out of society and the sexuality part fits in because they mention that the scientists discovered that bonobos have no violence in their society and in this episode in the info part it mentions that the adults thought it was “necessary” to make a “society of love” based on bonobo society. So “love” (sex=procreation=creation&love / opposite of destruction&violence)the scientists were trying to genetically engineer out these traits (and maybe engineered in bonobo genes?) so that they would naturally use “intimacy” as a way of “psychically” cleaning out any “demonic syndrome/violece”. It was probably manipulated into them genetically like an “urge” and sometimes stress activates it (like w/ SakiXSatorou), kinda like how they talked about the “death feedback” as a reaction that was genetically engineered from wolves to condition violence out of people. Maybe it was the stress of the incident in the forest that caused them to form these relationships over the past 2 years, Saki and especially Satoru probably had the most stress which may have been why he was so quick to get w/ Shun and then the other kid (esp. w/ all the killing he did in the previous eps.) I also noticed Shun was the only one not disturbed by what the library creature thing was telling them in the woods, he was the only one that wanted it to continue when everyone else said stop. So probably the adults noticed and are sending him away…so he pushed his friends away in order to protect them (maybe)…and when the psychic came in the classroom same thing maybe, he was trying to give him a warning like “stay away”. Although the smile from Shun, I don’t know, strange…but I bet we will find out what happened to all the children who get “disappeared” in the next epi. and I bet they find out and maybe try to save him/stop the adults/”punishment”/ethics society/whoever is behind the orwellian stuff (was hinted at before that the humans are probably the greater evil.)
But it really wasn’t just the relationship stuff that was introduced really fast, the first few episodes hardly gave much information at all except for some world building, kids randomly disappearing and some confusing flashbacks, then basically we learn about everything once then get to the forest, but I agree it was kinda like a lot of info all at once, but for me this was also the part it started to get more interesting and that we could start to piece together the stuff from the previous epi’s, and it started making more sense. I gave my interpretation below about what happens with Shun and him getting taken away (and how it relates to the “PK syndrome”/violence stuff/”love society”/genetic manipulation/etc.etc.) I bet we find out where he gets taken next episode.
They really need an explaination as too WHY every single student seemed to be in a homosexual relationship. If they are going with the Bonobo explaination shouldn’t there be gay, hetero, pedophilic, etc etc (not that I would enjoy it any more but it would at least make sense) if thats the explaination they are going with rather than ONLY gay relationships which comes out of nowhere and just seem like shock value alone. Bad writing.
I thought the animation was awful. I don’t know how you can praise it as ‘creative’ Having your characters stand up and look like they are puppets on strings wobbling around isn’t style, it’s jarring and unpleasant to watch. Pick one form of animation and movement and stick with it. Bad directing choices.
Scene transition is still jarring and awkward. Bad directing and writing.
Might be time to drop this.
Yeah, actually I wasn’t a big fan of the animation this episode either. But as far as the transitioning goes its always been a little off to me so I wasn’t very bothered by it. I actually almost dropped the show during the first few episodes of build-up. I didn’t really get what it was leading to until everyone met the “Library” which is when I started to pay attention.
Since then the episodes have been a little hit and miss storytelling-wise, but the story itself has gotten more interesting.
Maybe you should. I’ve heard that To-Love Ru Darkness has nicer animation and no homosexual relationships. You should also check out OniiAi or the latest Moeblob show from KyoAni. KyoAni puts out some spectacular animation and I’m sure it may be down your alley.
On a serious note, if you don’t like it and can’t derive any entertainment value from it then there is really no point in sticking with it.
I like the animation and character design because it’s different from a majority of what’s broadcasting these days. Even if the animation is a bit choppy and the character designs aren’t always consisent, it’s a break from the rounded, curvy, polished, sparkly animation mass produced for several shows over the past 5, or so, years. The story is really a matter of personal preference and so is enjoyment. The three episode rule is generally good for deciding whether to follow a show so I’m surprised you’re still here. Go ahead, Lala-sama is waiting for you (just kidding).
I think you’ve missed my point, its not about being different from mainstream. That works when you wholeheartly go for a different style, like the movie “The Artist” and its full use of 20’s style filmatics. This is random stylistic decisions seemingly have very little to do with the subject matter and mostly seemingly 100% budget saving and poorly done.
I stuck with this show because I do enjoy the setting and am interested in the characters. The shoddy directing and writing week after week is starting to build against me though.
I suggest you give it two more episodes and then drop it if you like.
You may be right about the budget but I think, like many shows out there, that they’re saving it for something spectacular at some point. Look at ‘Welcome to the NHK’ or ‘Birdy the Mighty:Decode’, also see ‘Deadman Wonderland’. The climax of a series typically has high action. Maybe they’re saving up for the ending.
This is the only anime series I’m watching this season and hence I give it more attention than I think someone watching multiple series simultaneously might.
looks like someone is mad ;o
yea, I agree with VJOT,I remember really being annoyed at the animation when I first started watching Noein (and to a certain degree I was not used to Gankutsuou either) but then both of them turned out being two of my favorite anime (not saying from the new world is exactly the same because all 3 have very different styles). But sometimes it’s just because we’re so used to seeing all the stupid sparkly shiny moe kawaii crap that I think some people are too quick to judge and not let the story come into it’s own first. Some things require a certain “suspension of belief” and I think that can also go for the animation style, sometimes simpler animation (without all the sparkles/fanserve/shiny moe crap) can be better and less can be more.
I wouldnt say drop it yet, theres still some good things to come, just ignore this ep, save for the shun parts with the egg and the master guy/whatever. There also were heterosexual parts in the story, just the homo parts were highlighted for shock value. I agree that was bad, especially since the bonobos didnt just have homosexual relationships.
Actually, I just looked it up on wikipedia and it says that the MAJORITY of bonobo sexual interaction is homosexual and that it’s a mostly matriarchal/lesbian society. So actually if you consider that the scientists have been engineering humans/messing with their genes it makes sense. The sparkly horse library thingy (lol i forget it’s name) in the woods said the scientists used genetics to “condition” certain traits in humans and that bonobos were used because they were the least violent society and they were trying to eliminate the violent PK-user syndrome because society had devolved into a violent dark ages. It also said they used the wolf gene for the “death feedback” trait to stop PK users from going haywire) So actually if you consider they have this bonobo trait, then this type of thing would be like an instinct (genetically coded). So I disagree that this is for “shock”…which I don’t consider homosexuality being on tv to be very “shocking” in 2012 because I don’t have any problem with it IMO (&where i live there’s gay politicians and gay business owners and my neighbors even are a gay couple, so no one here really gives it a second thought), but maybe some people were raised differently, in diff. country, or have never met a gay person so probably they think it’s bad/wrong and freak out if they see it on tv, but that’s just my opinion, and if ppl are freaked out they can always drop the show, but I think it’s a pretty interesting show) Just had to say that because I noticed you said it was for “shock” several times and I don’t agree b/c again, if you think about story line and the whole scientists messing with genetics and conditioning certain traits in humans + orwellian society it’s realistic they would have this (and remember the symptom of wolf gene/”death feedback” were also shown, it’s why they were sweating/tired and the priest guy died when he killed the ogres and Satoru almost collapsed too when he used violence).
I totally agree with Spike.
The bonobo explanation doesn’t hold a second. If they had evolved as bonobos they would turn in all directions with everybody. And believe me it would be far less romantic than what we have seen.
This is gay romance, and due to the age of the characters it is probably illegal in some countries. However I think the creators are professionals and, as Spike said, they added the scenes for shock value. You know, the kind of scenes you add when you know your episode won’t be very good.
It was not even hentai, not a trace of humor.
The animation made me think of some low-cost Chinese anime from 15 years ago. Very sub-par.
At least they should have kept the girl-on-girl parts only ^^
Haha, sorry for the joke, but this anime looks so ridiculous at times, with all its stupid beasts. I only watched this episode because the comments made me curious.
And what thoroughly engaging, unique, yet credible and high-production value anime are you watching this season?
I watched Ebiten. Lots of fun, and a deep philosophical meaning. Yeah.
My thoughts on the matter: Heterosexual relationships are prohibited or at least discouraged until they reach majority to avoid masss teenage pregnancies with all the implications (namely, powers going out of control due to raging hormons).
That doesn’t mean they should LIKE homo relationships as they seem to do, and develop them systematically.
And also there is something called dating with smooch only, and the pill, or abortion in the worst cases, or sterilization in the context of this anime.
And still, there should be a credible explanation of whatever it has to do with this story.
And teenage pregnancy is not really an issue in Japanese fiction, usually.
>That doesn’t mean they should LIKE homo relationships as they seem to do, and develop them systematically.
They are genetically engineered to prefer homosexual relationships instead of heterosexual relationships during puberty. For birth control purposes. You ask how come? Have you asked why young elementary school children have girls forming groups and boys forming groups? It works the same way.
>And also there is something called dating with smooch only, and the pill, or abortion in the worst cases, or sterilization in the context of this anime.
This is the future where science is supposedly banned. A highly “religious” society as well. Just like some fundamental Christians don’t like birth control, there are many reasons why they don’t use them. Also, if you can genetically engineer humans to behave in homosexual relationships only during teenage years, you don’t need to bother with things like birth control.
>And still, there should be a credible explanation of whatever it has to do with this story.
It has very much to do with the sociocultural setting of the story.
>And teenage pregnancy is not really an issue in Japanese fiction, usually.
Well, you should start reading real “Japanese fiction” and not just light novels and visual novels (or eroge)
its not, there were heterosexual relationships in the scenes too.
@ what’s with all the homo relationships?
>> maybe boys still hang out more with boys, girls with girls, they understand each other more; thus more interactions (not even necessarily relationships) end up being of the same gender at that stage?
To be honest, I’m most bothered by the use of the phonograph. Why use that kind of technology? Why? Do analog records really fit with everything else?
(okay, I was joking there, at least somewhat)
Playing the Largo from the New World (omg, New World) Symphony, also the melody for “Goin’ Home”, to signal kids to go home (omg again), as in the first episode… now that kind of rubs me the wrong way somehow. I can see people liking that, but I’m getting a wave of pretentiousness, a kind of smug satisfaction by the creators. The whole tone of the show, the way it takes itself seriously, and the whole genetic and social engineering deal also contribute to this feeling. Maybe it’s just me.
That said, at least it dares to go places and try things that others don’t.
What do you mean “it dares to go places and try things that others don’t” ? I must have missed a few scenes…
Mwahaha…
Ok, sorry, I agree with you it takes itself much too seriously, compared with the simpletonness of those superpowers and beasts and stuff.
You really missed scenes, or just didn’t understand what you were watching. I mean, you said in another comment that “if they evolved as bonobos…”. They didn’t evolve as bonobos. These are the one of the many genetic modifications made by scientists to them (these includes the death feedback as well), and not a result of evolution. These are not speculations but actual info we get from watching the anime. They are not humans turned into bonobos by scientists, they were just modified to exhibit the same behavior bonobos’ exhibit to avoid conflict and reduce stress. They retain other aspects of being human, like complex emotions and intellectuality. That’s why they wouldn’t turn in all directions for comfort, and will most likely turn to people they are close to or have feelings for. But they are free to turn to the same sex which will most likely happen if the sexual relationship is not romantic. These openness to homosexuality will most likely also cause more people to be homos. And being homo (and hetero) not being deviance, it is not unnatural for homos to be many.
They also didn’t all turn homo. Saki obviously has feelings for shun and goes to Maria for comfort (sex) because they’re close friends. Shun is most likely just pretending (he’s most likely turning into a Karma Demon). Mamoru obviously likes Maria. Some people in the background are also hetero if you pay attention. Satoru likes Shun though lol.
There are only few anime with settings these detailed and have a society that’s very different to ours today (which many will see as disturbing, including me, since it is not the norm in our society). This series trusts its viewers to get and piece together all these details and info they show (which is not the most common way of storytelling, but is not unique to this anime). And sadly, because of this, many viewers actually fail to understand the whole story and only get the simple and obvious things in the setting, story, and characters. They will not be able see that “it dares to go places and try things that others don’t” and understand that all these “disturbing” things and stupid beasts actually fit the setting and are explained properly.
With that said though, I feel that the creators are having difficulties adapting these novels, which lead to some bad scene transitions. And they obviously also have low budget, but are making the most out of it. Heck, the normal art style doesn’t even shade the characters(no shadows on clothes etc). Maybe for the sake of improving the fluidity of the animation.
Pretentious according to Wiktionary:
“Marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction.
Their song titles are pretentious in the context of their basic lyrics.
Ostentatious; intended to impress others.
Her dress was obviously more pretentious than comfortable.”
I would have to disagree with your use of the word in this context. I don’t think that the anime is attempting to gain unwarrented importance. Certainly it is trying to gain distintion by adding in certain elements but would such distinction be unwarrented? I believe that some of the ideas and themes introduced in this anime series does warrent distinction.
In the second instance, trying to impress, I would say that all works of art (music, animation, film, etc) try to impress. Is trying to impress a bad thing? In what ways would you say that From the New World was trying to impress? If you were to say that it was trying to appear scholarly, I would argue that the use of basic research is something that a lot of science fiction shows tend to do. Would we condemn the majority of the Science Fiction genre as pretentious because they try to impress the audience with their foundation in actual scientific research? I am pursuaded that there are certain elements in Sci-Fi and particularly in From the New World that are there simply to provide substance and a foundation so that the audience can suspend their disbelief comfortable and enjoy the show.
*End of pretentious rant*
takes one to know one ;p
This anime is amazing and one of my favorite of all time. I’m tired of cookie cutter, prime time nickolodean hack job animes. Creative, edgy, unpredictable in story, animation and sound lunge this anime to another level. I don’t know the demographics of the readers of this site but I’ve been around for a while and I live for stories of this type. It’s a vat of stale air out there and we need more shows like this that push boundaries of the medium.
hahaha oh wow, this was …. expected. Turns out that crush/sex chart from /a/ was somewhat true… which means a-1 is withholding the sex scenes… goddamit where is my les sex scene?
the thing that bothered me more here isn’t the homo aspect, but rather the aspect that everyone homo now. I mean within these two years, did everyone ended in a homo relationship? So were the hetero crushes they had as children mean nothing?
Mamoru with his one-sided feelings for Maria is homo? and so are some of those boys and girls together in the background? and what about Saki’s obvious feeings for Shun that she almost confessed? And Shun’s reactions to Saki seeing him? So all these mean nothing?
woah woah woah, there’s a difference between being a couple and individual feelings man. even though there are hetero feeling here and there, my question is why can I find a hetero couple?
oh and i need an example of “some of those boys and girls together in the background” give me a segment of time
Well, my bad. I thought you were saying that every one of them was homo now and not that every couple was homo. I also sounded mad now that I reread it. And also about the background people. I rechecked and found out that those I thought were hetero were just female looking males. Maybe that’s why they’re attracted to each other lol
But still, those hetero crushes still exist. Not just as feelings here and there. And are most likely their “true” feelings if not for the the bonobo programming and society interfering. Maybe the bonobo modification done to them were made so that the specific behavior to avoid conflict (and create a society of “love”) and relieve stress is to turn to the same sex first (for population control). And also maybe ( most likely) this is also encouraged by the grownups which these filtered out obedient children would not try to disobey.
and that part of my biggest question. Why are there only homo couples? The aspect that our sample of 5 kids shows signs of developing hetero feelings should probably go to show that the entire population of 12 year old are capable of developing hetero feelings, but now all we see are homo couples.
Not everyone is homo 🙁
Actually I looked it up because I noticed everyone saying that “why are they mostly gay”, but apparently bonobo societies in fact ARE mostly homosexual (like 60%+…so basically the bonobos are gay or lesbian except for a few “alpha” females & males who reproduce). It also said they are matriarchal and that the whole point of using their genes, was because society had devolved into a violent dark ages because of the PK syndrome and so the scientists genetically engineered the humans to not have any violent traits (also the genes from the wolf were used for the “death-feedback” in case they did go haywire they would automatically die) So I actually think it makes sense if you think about this being “genetic” it would be like instinct (if you pay attention they also show the automatic “death feedback” thing with them sweating/getting tired, actually I think the priest did die and Satoru almost died when he killed the ogre creatures but in the end just collapsed) So I think it makes sense with the genetic engineering thing and wanting to get rid of the violence/”syndrome” thingy.
so what you’re saying is that genetic engineering was causing people to go into homo couples. Problem is that somewhat conflicts with the aspect that at both ages of 12 and 14, they’re still capable of developing hetero feelings. Why exactly is that?
even thought it was short lived, I loved shun and satoru together so much.
I just hope that saki and shun dont end up together since I really cant stand saki
They were faking it, I think. Or rather, I think Satoru was trying to make Saki jealous. I don’t think that Satoru’s relationship with his new partner is genuine.
My theory is that because Satoru had to kill all the ogres he had the most trauma & stress (also had “death feedback”)and so because of the genetic engineering he was basically just trying to have a relationship with whoever was around him, like he hit on Saki basically just because she was there, and probably Shun was next because he was the next closest person (Mamaru was too shy to be with anyone, poor guy & maria x saki), and then I think Shun was afraid to be around anyone so he pushed his friends away to protect them (pk-user syndrome??or “psychic illness”??) so Satoru who was probably still traumatized just went with that other guy who also was probably the next closest person…I thought his smiling was just an “act” so he can pretend to everyone that he’s fine so that the adults don’t come & take him away…because he’s probably the most traumatized out of all of them after what happened (but Shun is the “smartest” and did you see the creepy eye that came out of his egg, eww – so looks like he’s the first to get taken away). Lol, teenager emotions are complicated.
Yeah, I agree, Saki was being a bitch to mamoru this ep a shame no one really caught on to that. . .I was feeling sorry for that guy :*(
53 comments lmao , who would’ve thought that homosexuality was such a big deal xD
It isn’t. Bad writing OTOH…
There seems to be 3 camps:
“Homos EWWWWWW! droppped!” – hate this show people.
Storytelling / Pacing / Animation / Storyboarding – Major Issues – not really enjoying this people.
Loving the ‘Uniqueness’ and ‘Experimental’ techniques used People.
Gotta say from what I’ve read here and elsewhere Camps 1& 2 are far outweighing camp 3… even on 2chan. Potential for very poor retail sales and an overall failure seems more and more likely as weeks pass, which is sad because it seems to have some pretty good potential underneath this unnecessary fluff people are up in arms about.
you forget camp 4:
the “omg some people have an opinion, I must passively aggressively bash them to make myself feel superior since I’m offended that they dont like the same thing I do”
I’m in camp two becuase I KNOW this story gets good, and even with the stupid pacing of the past four episodes (not just this episode as many may believe) there will be a point in the story where the director cant fuck up no matter how bad he is, hell my little sister could probably be the director of the parts, and people would be like “omfg this is amazing!”
I agree though, these is no reason to drop it, but I do understand that people just dont like certain things. Too bad the anime community has been devolving into the “if you dont like x thing that I like, you are bad and you should feel bad” environment for years now.
greatest main examples of camp 4 in anime of the top of my head:
Mugiwara penguindrudge
Least exile fam’s winged tampon
C- – The possibility that this show might suck
el oh el
Least exile
Camps? That’s a bit dramatic. Let’s just call them ‘homophobes’, ‘elitists’, ‘people with great tastes’ and ‘fanatical people with great tastes’. I’m just trying to be funny, of course. I don’t think categorisation of the audience is necessary, perhaps categorisation of the audience’s impressions/reactions would be better.
If you are still convinced of your ‘camp’ idea, then let me look at each one:
Camp 1: yeah, many, if not a majority, of those who commented on UTW and blogs seem to be of this crowd.
Camp 2: these people do exist but are the most difficult to understand. Eight episodes in and they are still watching the series. Are they trying to torture themselves or do they think they have an obligation to finish the series?
Camp 3: I think I fall here. I know there are flaws in the series but putting those under a microsocope and stripping it apart will definitely reduce my enjoyment of the show so I don’t it.
Camp 4: I haven’t seen any of those here. The closest thing would be commenters telling people that they should pay close attention to the show if they’re going to try to be analytical and discuss the show’s flaw.
Now, saying things like: “Bad directing”, “bad pacing” or “bad script writing” insinuates that the writer of such a comment has a preference for a certain type of directing. pacing or script writing. That would certainly make it ‘bad’ in their opinion. Such claims or counter-claims cannot be made dogmatically. From my own perspective as a mere viewer and not an expert, which I most certainly am not, I don’t notice those things which probably means that the same things people find ‘bad’, I find ‘good’.
Also with regards to ‘showing’ versus ‘telling’, this is a 24 episode anime based on two novels. When reading a novel, the reader’s imagination embellishes based on descriptions. When watching a show, very little is left to the imagination as that has all been done for you. Given the limitations of an anime series, such as time and budget, showing everything would take up a lot of time. Even if the director uses clever techniques to show many things at once, the subtlety is often lost on many viewers and causes confusion.
In my opinion, the highlights of this episode are the depiction of the social interactions among the children at the school and the incident between Shun and Kaburagi culminating in Shun leaving to go into rehabilitation. I think this rehabilitation is a form of hypnosis to make Shun fit back into society. That, or they’re going to banish him.
See the problem with the response “you aren’t a writer/director/animator so you can’t make claims” is pure bullplop thats been passed along by people who don’t like the show they like being critiqued. Heck how do you think movie critics make a living? Even the most famous critics certainly aren’t writers/directors/animators… Experience allows you to critique.
Now you may have a valid claim against people that are on the 25th show they’ve ever seen, but most of us commenters probly have a couple hundred shows under our belts – heck I’ve been watching since Laser Disc in the late 80s 🙁
Compared to the many shows even from just last season the flaws are very apparent to a lot of people, some of us are still trying to enjoy it – but the choices made by the staff is making it difficult.
You missed my point. Or rather, you constructed a convenient Straw Man from my ‘argument’.
I did not suggest, or intend to suggest that “you aren’t a writer/director/animator so you can’t make claims”.
What I did say was: “Now, saying things like: “Bad directing”, “bad pacing” or “bad script writing” insinuates that the writer of such a comment has a preference for a certain type of directing, pacing or script writing.” I don’t think that anyone can argue with that statement.
Nor is there anything wrong with being critical…but substantiating your claims, rather than saying, “bad directing” and leaving it at that, would be more convincing.
Now, personally, if I found myself at the point where I’m “trying to enjoy it”, whether that ‘it’ is a book or a movie or an anime series, I will drop it without hesitation. I cannot understand the masochistic tendencies of one who consumes media that they are struggling to enjoy…but that’s just me.
Hmm I guess we’ll have to just agree to disagree since you see it as preference, whereas I see it as simply black and white- a proper way to do things and an improper way. The sorts of techniques being used here would get an F in film school because they aren’t stylistic choices, they are just poor ones.
@Spike, yes, it seems that we disagree on a fundamental level. This was the same issue I had with my English teacher many years ago. She was trying to tell me why my writing style went against the conventions of good and proper storytelling and I was telling her that I did not believe in the ‘proper conventions’ and that I’d continue to write whatever entertained me. Needless to say that I did not win that argument. Perhaps a film school would give From the New World an F. I won’t know, I’m not a Film student, I’m simply looking for entertainment that pokes my brain every now and then.
I think you both may have a point. I was kinda bored with the show for the beginning episodes. I didn’t understand the point of the random flashbacks, the stupid game thingy, saki’s childhood, other random parts, then the minoshiro info-dump in the woods, while it was a lot of info all at once it does make sense that the kids would have been completely in the dark until then and so it’s not until the woods epi that we can connect the dots and the earlier episodes start to make more sense. This is where the show got a lot more interesting for me. Also the whole thing does make sense if you think about how society became violent because of PK-user syndrome and scientist using different animal genes (bonobo and wolf) to “condition” certain traits in humans. But I can see how some people would be annoyed at the pacing/not finding all this out until the 4th episode…but in that case I agree with VJOT, if they hated the pacing or thought the show was bad why didn’t they just drop it? For me, I think it’s strength is the world-building and characters which I like shows that do this well. Also, like this blog, I tend to enjoy more “unique” “unconventional” shows (hate hate hate all the stupid sparkly shiny moe stuff).
For me the problem is not the homosexuality (although I would have liked to see more hetero couples in that school!!) but the fact that Satoru X Shun came out of nowhere.
12-years-old Satoru seemed to like Saki. Now we had a two-years time skip and he is in love with Shun?
Dear author, it’s not enough to say “2 years are a long time for a teenager”. You have to show me some hints that Satoru might be into Shun. This is just bad storytelling.
For all we know, 12-year-old Satoru may have been in love with Shun too. If you rewatch previous episodes, Satoru’s constant bickering with Saki may have been his effort to win Shun’s attention, since Shun always showed much interest in her. That’s the feeling I got anyway, so I’m not really that surprised at the change after the time skip.
77 comments uhhh whats happen in this show??, I dropped it in the four chapeter, so boooring to watching more. Someone can explain me the hype?. Meaby I retake the series.
This show started kinda slow, so it might be advisable to watch that fourth episode to the end. The fifth and sixth episode are both very strong and finally why I watched it in the first place. The reason behind this outbreak of comments is however in that this episode was filled to the brim with homosexuality.
Clearly some people get really uncomfortable with that.
Uhhhh I understand, Meaby a peek the five and six and depends of that I continue whit this series, is really a wonderfull season.
Honestly, if you dropped it, there is nothing in this episode that’s going to make you pick it up again.
From another blog comment section, this will explain a lot to those who are like “wtf why are they all gay and not some gay some straight” etc – minor spoiler warning btw but it’s been theorised above anyway:
“Having read novel spoilers and part of the actual novel about the rules of their society about relationships…
1.Boy-girl relationships are strictly discouraged until they reach full adulthood/age for marriage. There are regular checks to ensure this.
2. Boy-boy and girl-girl relationships are encouraged in place of boy-girl relationships during their childhood/teenage years
Therefore, almost all relationships at that age are boy-boy or girl-girl.
This is why you only see adults having male-female relationships so far.”
Personally, there is no way I’m dropping the series as it is right now, it’s too promising. Like that stuff with Shun and the demigod psychic guy was great. It looked to me like he stopped time or something similar (Still have no idea as to the full extent of cantus’ power and variety of abilities), in order to chat to Shun in private.
Fuck, now I really want to read the novels.
Thanks for that insight. If I get time before the end of the year, I might start the novels.
well that explains why i can’t find a single hetero couple…
I also read on wikipedia that bonobos are mostly homosexual and matriarchal societies except for the few “alpha” ones that reproduce, so that would also make sense if you go with the genetic manipulation thing and makes even more sense with what you said that they aren’t encouraged to have male/female relationships until they are older and ready to have kids, so its used also for birth control too.
I know im late but your info is obviously wrong. Tell a real scientist that and they will luagh and point put darwins theory of natural selection. If the only ones reproducing are hetero alphas then only their genes will be passed on. Meaning to they homo beta gene will npt continue. Its impossible for a homo majority to exist in any species.
so SHINsekai no yori is the new SHINseiki Evangelion. of 21th century
so much polemic about a single episode.
Great episode, its one of the most creative anime I have seen in a while. I was a bit surprised by the number of comments for this episode though. I’m not sure I agree about the animation since I found it to be mediocre to bad for the most part, but since the animation quality is all over the place in this series, I’m sure it will improve.
This series just keeps getting better and better! It’s been a long time–maybe since “Shiki” that I’ve watched a series and week to week have absolutely NO idea what to expect. Easily the best setting of the season, and I thought the music really stood out this episode as well. Some people seem to complain about the animation style, but I think it really works for this story. Now just have to wait another 7 days to see where this thing goes next…
I’ve got an interesting theory concerning Shun. It concerns the “Fox in the Henhouse” syndrome mentioned by the Minoshiro. Looked up the term and discovered it’s used to described a situation where there’s a predator in the midst of prey (“in the henhouse” so to speak). I believe that this applies to the situation with regular humans and Psychic humans 1000 years before. With the emergence of Psychics, AKA the “fox”, they experienced a psychological phenomena whereby they started viewing their fellow non-Psychic humans as prey and this triggered some instinct that caused them to begin killing the non-Psychic humans. This will also explain why non-Psychic humans are removed from the modern society of ‘From the New World’. This is to prevent violence from breaking out due to a re-emergence of the “Fox in the Henhouse” syndrome. I think Shun probably started to fall victim to this syndrome. We also don’t know what happened to the group Shun was with during the time Saki and Satoru were having their adventure. All we know was that they re-grouped in the end.
I think you are right, I mentioned it in another comment with the minoshiro part in the woods that Shun was the only one who asked it to keep talking while everyone else was like “No, no, no, stop, it’s horrible” because they couldn’t take even the mention of stuff like killing and violence. While everyone else was freaking out Shun was listening closely and then said “Yea, that makes sense”…so he probably knows something. I remember thinking that their reaction seemed way over the top like why would they freak out so bad at just the mere mention of that stuff and then Shun just stays perfectly calm listening. But then I thought it does make sense if you think how they were genetically engineered that way. And it also makes sense that Shun might have the syndrome, because the whole point of the scientists using bonobo and wolf genes was to try and get rid of the syndrome. So then Shun started pushing away his friends (ended with Satoru and Saki), and the part with the ripple and the priest, it was like a warning to stay away (also, the episode was called “Omen”, so yea, he’s warning people). Finally, at the end he said how he has a “sickness of the mind” and probably won’t ever see them again. So looks like we are going to find out soon what happens to all the children who disappeared in the other epi’s because Shuns friends will probably try to go after him.
It also makes sense for Satoru’s behavior, in the woods arc he collapsed from the “death feedback”/wolf gene and also with the bonobo gene he would basically try to get “intimate” with whoever was closest to him as a way of relieving this stress, first it was Saki, then Shun, then Rei. I think Satoru got really messed up from the violence/death syndrome/psychic pain from killing the creature and he’s desperately trying to cling to people for comfort and also probably to “put on a happy face” so that the adults don’t suspect anything and try to take him away too. yea, that was long explanation, but I think this show is very well thought out, I like smart unique shows and I think people complaining or saying they don’t get it or dropped it b/c of the gay stuff should maybe just stick to anime with torpedo boobs and panty shots – maybe more their speed :/
I had forgotten the difference in reaction by Shun, thanks. Makes me wonder if there is one person who is designated to “rid” the community of the outliers, the violaters, the not-gifted enough. And maybe the Kusarabi is one, he’s this cat, and Shun may have been expected to be the next one. It could be that his ability to handle listening to tales of destruction/murder are part of what would make him a capable executioner. Maybe the society breeds and trains it’s “fox” for societal purposes…and Shun was tagged to be one. This would explain why they wouldn’t get rid of him (them) right off. Value. The rare abilities plus being “different”.
best anime! ;D
Worst anime
whats anime
i know what anime is ;D
yes! beat mawaru penguindrum comment record!
hahahaha never thought i’d see that record beaten well done shin sekai for being so hated yet so loved at the some time xD
A great episode once again. Shin Sekai Yori is as epic as ever :).
Honestly, I consider my self far from being a conservative. Still, this shit was nothing short of creepy and if it becomes a plot point, I’m probably going to drop the series. Very unexpected gay content was unexpected.
Didn’t Kira kill you already? LoL.