"She's beginning to think that the world is beautiful"

The danger of replacing Beatrice with a ninja is that then she wouldn't need to send Virgil to do her dirty work: she could sneak out of Heaven and guide Dante herself. Presumably, though, this plothole could be handwaved over. Especially since having her make like a ninja over the rooftops of the New Jerusalem is really appealing. (Is anyone else disappointed that Dante doesn't get to fly between the planets, but is translated from sphere to sphere without noticing till after it's happened?) Though that means switching from the astronomical metaphor she uses on Dante for most of Heaven. Hmm. All of which means I'm still considering that provisional NRS.

I keep gnawing on something Beatrice says in Heaven canto 4: that the circles of Heaven are not real, but a symbolic framework to help things make sense to Dante's limited human perception -- that in truth all souls are equally in the highest heaven with God. And, indeed, in the end the scheme dissolves into a vision of the Mystic Rose which closer approximates this truth. So Heaven -- but what about Hell and Purgatory? It's not a stretch to suggest this applies there, but we never, that I'm aware, get any confirmation they are symbolic rather than literal geography. A bone to chew indeed.

Of course, one could ask the same questions of the End of the World in Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Speaking of which, the Revolutionary Girl Utena manga also bounces interestingly off Dante, though in very different ways than Fruits Basket. Makes me want to see chibi!Dante and ninja!Beatrice duel for the Mystic Rose Bride and "the power to revolutionize the world and the eternal stars!"

---L.

"She's beginning to think that the world is beautiful"

The danger of replacing Beatrice with a ninja is that then she wouldn't need to send Virgil to do her dirty work: she could sneak out of Heaven and guide Dante herself. Presumably, though, this plothole could be handwaved over. Especially since having her make like a ninja over the rooftops of the New Jerusalem is really appealing. (Is anyone else disappointed that Dante doesn't get to fly between the planets, but is translated from sphere to sphere without noticing till after it's happened?) Though that means switching from the astronomical metaphor she uses on Dante for most of Heaven. Hmm. All of which means I'm still considering that provisional NRS.

I keep gnawing on something Beatrice says in Heaven canto 4: that the circles of Heaven are not real, but a symbolic framework to help things make sense to Dante's limited human perception -- that in truth all souls are equally in the highest heaven with God. And, indeed, in the end the scheme dissolves into a vision of the Mystic Rose which closer approximates this truth. So Heaven -- but what about Hell and Purgatory? It's not a stretch to suggest this applies there, but we never, that I'm aware, get any confirmation they are symbolic rather than literal geography. A bone to chew indeed.

Of course, one could ask the same questions of the End of the World in Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Speaking of which, the Revolutionary Girl Utena manga also bounces interestingly off Dante, though in very different ways than Fruits Basket. Makes me want to see chibi!Dante and ninja!Beatrice duel for the Mystic Rose Bride and "the power to revolutionize the world and the eternal stars!"

---L.

"My wings are made of hay and corn husks so I can't leave this world behind"

In the interest of varying my incidents while slowly bushwhacking through Dante's theological thickets,* some random anime reports:

Someday's Dreamers episodes 5-12 (end) — Hmm. The interesting dark worldbuilding currents I was digging in the first episodes evaporated in first a romantic then an existential crisis. Fortunately the romance is not our heroine's, and the existential crisis resolves with the physician-heal-thyself thread of her mentor in a neat (or possibly pat) way. In fact, most of the episodes tie into the resolution, making it a surprisingly tidy overall arc. Not a brilliant fantasy anime, but good, and it does have moments of true wonder. That main piano theme earwormed me like mad for a few days.

Haibane Renmei episodes 1-13 (end) — I'd suspected I'd like this, but not this much -- I snorked it down. We've got angels with small wings, birth as a mature being, learning to be what one is,** a walled world, a crow-girl, ascension-with-grief, despair made concrete, partially averted redemption, and quietly creepy spirit beings -- all of which add up to mine. My kind of stuff. And for those of you who dig amnesia stories, it's that too. I'm amazed something this soft-toned can create so much tension -- at the end of every episode, I all but squawked "what! -- already?" I want to describe it as "Take Princess Tutu, replace ballet with angels and subtract the meta, then cross it with Princess Mononoke minus ecotastrophe and with war replaced by salvation, and then layer the result with quiet gray feathers in an old house," only that completely FAILS to convey anything. Wah. Watch it, 'k?

Lovely Complex episodes 1-4 (in fansub): The tallest girl and shortest boy in the class, both sensitive about their heights, are paired up by everyone because the constant bickering is funny. Indeed, it's all fun and games until one of them pokes an eye out notices what the audience knew all along: that self-image problems aside, Risa and Ohtani are perfect for each other. Romcom hijinks ensue. This is one of my favorite ongoing manga in English (it wrapped up last year in Japan). The anime compresses the story's pacing, compared to the manga, but all the snark and attitude is lovingly retained. And it's fun to hear everyone in the cast speak Osaka dialect, instead of just the one Idiot-from-Osaka sent in by Central Casting. Well, okay, they're all idiots here -- this IS a high school romantic comedy. I want an icon of the repeat loop animation of the end credits.

Meanwhile, I await summer for the English releases of Maria-sama ga Miteru and Victorian Romance Emma -- both, interestingly, sub-only, in season box sets.


* I appreciate his warning in Heaven canto 2: "If you've been reading this as an adventure yarn, stop now, 'cuz there ain't no adventuring in Paradise." Oh, do I appreciate it. At length.

** Usually, this is "learning to be human," but the Haibane aren't.

---L.

"My wings are made of hay and corn husks so I can't leave this world behind"

In the interest of varying my incidents while slowly bushwhacking through Dante's theological thickets,* some random anime reports:

Someday's Dreamers episodes 5-12 (end) — Hmm. The interesting dark worldbuilding currents I was digging in the first episodes evaporated in first a romantic then an existential crisis. Fortunately the romance is not our heroine's, and the existential crisis resolves with the physician-heal-thyself thread of her mentor in a neat (or possibly pat) way. In fact, most of the episodes tie into the resolution, making it a surprisingly tidy overall arc. Not a brilliant fantasy anime, but good, and it does have moments of true wonder. That main piano theme earwormed me like mad for a few days.

Haibane Renmei episodes 1-13 (end) — I'd suspected I'd like this, but not this much -- I snorked it down. We've got angels with small wings, birth as a mature being, learning to be what one is,** a walled world, a crow-girl, ascension-with-grief, despair made concrete, partially averted redemption, and quietly creepy spirit beings -- all of which add up to mine. My kind of stuff. And for those of you who dig amnesia stories, it's that too. I'm amazed something this soft-toned can create so much tension -- at the end of every episode, I all but squawked "what! -- already?" I want to describe it as "Take Princess Tutu, replace ballet with angels and subtract the meta, then cross it with Princess Mononoke minus ecotastrophe and with war replaced by salvation, and then layer the result with quiet gray feathers in an old house," only that completely FAILS to convey anything. Wah. Watch it, 'k?

Lovely Complex episodes 1-4 (in fansub): The tallest girl and shortest boy in the class, both sensitive about their heights, are paired up by everyone because the constant bickering is funny. Indeed, it's all fun and games until one of them pokes an eye out notices what the audience knew all along: that self-image problems aside, Risa and Ohtani are perfect for each other. Romcom hijinks ensue. This is one of my favorite ongoing manga in English (it wrapped up last year in Japan). The anime compresses the story's pacing, compared to the manga, but all the snark and attitude is lovingly retained. And it's fun to hear everyone in the cast speak Osaka dialect, instead of just the one Idiot-from-Osaka sent in by Central Casting. Well, okay, they're all idiots here -- this IS a high school romantic comedy. I want an icon of the repeat loop animation of the end credits.

Meanwhile, I await summer for the English releases of Maria-sama ga Miteru and Victorian Romance Emma -- both, interestingly, sub-only, in season box sets.


* I appreciate his warning in Heaven canto 2: "If you've been reading this as an adventure yarn, stop now, 'cuz there ain't no adventuring in Paradise." Oh, do I appreciate it. At length.

** Usually, this is "learning to be human," but the Haibane aren't.

---L.