trying to spread the good word. i've been about as aggressive about this as i am about utena, though my success rate is lower for some reason (the reason is that one is a reasonable length tv show and the other is a 1.5 million word web novel)
I think you might be underselling it slightly by not mentioning that the setting has catgirls I laughed out loud when the narration was like " CAT-LIKE EARS TWITCHED", more people need to read 1.5 million word web novel.
I was spooked by the length at first but now it's like, okay so exclusively sapphic ensemble cast featuring catgirls and trans mech pilots, and it doesn't end??? I'm gonna pay for this because I want it forever ❤
i didn't know it had catgirls when i first read it, and it reads as totally normal to me now. like, of course it has catgirls! and yeah, i get a massive new like, 10-20k word chapter every other week where i either get cute gay shit that always has at least one trans woman involved and often has more, kickass mech fights, or lengthy political diatribes that i eat up like candy. or if i'm lucky, all three
if i mentioned catgirls i'd mention a couple other things that you haven't seen yet, which i'll drop under a spoiler box just in case you'd prefer to be excited
not a real spoiler
doggirls! and elves! and various type of fishgirl! and they all have distinct cultures that are a delight to read more about
OF COURSE it has catgirls why the fuck wouldn't it?! This is such an easy sales pitch, everyone should be reading this. I convinced the goodreads commie lady to read it lol.
I'll sequester myself from the couple other things and come back even more hyped in all likelihood :) I really thought this was gonna be the all-Murati-all-the-time show, but I'm shocked at how much I love Yana. Everyone thinks she's a pro cause she cleans up well, but actually she is trash
Also is this mega the best place to yammer about it? I have tons of little thoughts I could be spilling 24/7 so I wanna make sure I'm clogging the right thread or comm with em.
hell yeah, i keep trying to get more people to read it but somehow this pitch isn't working literally everyone i talk to? but i've now gotten at least 3 or 4 people to read it through this site, maybe more who didn't mention it or who i've forgotten
i post most of my thoughts in the general site mega, but when i'm talking about new updates i also post in the trans mega. everyone on this site should be reading it, but like. especially the trans posters
That is a pretty good rate actually, usually it's harder to get people onboard with long serialised stories. But we have to get more people onboard!! EVERYONE should be reading it
Okay cool, I can sort of evenly divide my postings for both! Also a leviathan just showed up for the first time(on ch3.7?) and woooooah
Wow, they really were... I'm definitely gonna be rewatching Utena... a lot.
Edit: Thank you for Utena posting so hard, this is one of my favorite shows now, and I never would have started it without seeing your recommendations.
I cried a lot at the end, and I've been tearing up off and on thinking about it for hours after finishing. I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't expect to be so viscerally affected by it.
yeah. genuinely life changing. i cannot put into words how important it is to me, how much of a gut punch all of akio's abuse is as we see it in more and more detail, and how uplifting and joyous the moment where utena and anthy truly reach out and see each other for the first time is. that ending is perfect, imo
I can't know for sure, having only just seen it, and I can't really articulate it yet, but I do feel different already. I'll need to ruminate on it for a while.
part of why i say it's lifechanging is that it was, as far as i can remember, the first real critique of liberal feminism i ever really absorbed. i was a teenager, maybe 15 when i watched it for the first time. i started the show completely cheering for utena to become a prince and by the end i was able to understand that "women does the shitty thing a man does" is not actually a worthy goal and that it really just maintains the systems of patriarchal control. it fundamentally changed the way i looked at the world
it also changed how i looked at art, prior to utena i was very much a "the curtains are fucking blue" type, i didn't get symbolism and didn't want to. but utena changed that as well. i remember getting to the scene with touga and saionji on their shitty bike and going "ohhhh, i see! this is a parallel to the akio car scenes indicating that touga is (and always has been) trying to imitate the adult masculine ideal of akio, but that's fundamentally impossible for him and it ruins his relationship with his friend/boyfriend!" and from that point forward i was able to do media analysis good, like i saw the code in the matrix
utena's mixture of obtuse and opaque symbolism with some blindingly obvious stuff is really good for that sort of thing, i was able to instantly understand a lot of the stuff going on like the car representing sex and masculinity and adulthood and all that and plenty of the shadow plays make sense, while stuff like the coffins or all the flower symbolism or the duel themes i can turn over in my brain and constantly find new meaning
started the show completely cheering for utena to become a prince and by the end i was able to understand that "women does the shitty thing a man does" is not actually a worthy goal
I sort of did the same thing, despite now feeling like I should've known better. It forced me to think "if I can turn my brain off for media, in what other areas am I just passively accepting liberal feminist perspectives before being led into a similarly jarring conclusion?"
utena's mixture of obtuse and opaque symbolism with some blindingly obvious stuff
That's really the perfect way to put it. And then it blends that approach at times to lead you deeper, like the butterfly/chrysalis/caterpillar/leaf shadowboxes (probably not the most opaque imagery, but it's the example that comes to mind); by the time it gets to Mikage's backstory there's just a hand on the screen pointing to them. I feel like it'd be a really frustrating show to watch if you were committed to a "the curtains are fucking blue" approach alone.
Coming to it much later in life, watching Utena helped me understand my own experience of girlhood. With that late bloomer/second adolescence that queer people of a certain age can experience, my chronology of becoming an adult feels like it's all over the place. But as I was watching, I could integrate my experiences—from some of my earliest memories to things that happened to me just a few years ago—by superimposing them onto the characters into a somewhat coherent narrative. I guess that's just a drawn out way of describing catharsis, but...
I sort of did the same thing, despite now feeling like I should've known better. It forced me to think "if I can turn my brain off for media, in what other areas am I just passively accepting liberal feminist perspectives before being led into a similarly jarring conclusion?"
yeah, it really makes you consider the way you view the world, because even on rewatches i find myself cheering for some of that stuff. it's a very appealing narrative, and it's important to rethink how we view it going forward
I guess that's just a drawn out way of describing catharsis, but...
never seen utena but you and u/ashinadash got me started on Unjust Depths the other day (I didn't realize how long it was but got curious while procrastinating) and I'm now scared for how long its going to take me to finish lmao because I'm in deep. I was up half the night reading it last night, and maybe 1/3 of my workday today
this is gonna be like whenever I get into a new webcomic but way longer isn't it?
yeah it's so nice to be able to read a scifi story of this kind and completely root for the heroes without reservations or going "well they're fighting people who are worse in this case but they do basically represent america," not even getting into how nice it is to have all these trans lesbians
it's INCREDIBLY refreshing, and not at all subtle.
More and more people are saying this!! :)
trying to spread the good word. i've been about as aggressive about this as i am about utena, though my success rate is lower for some reason (the reason is that one is a reasonable length tv show and the other is a 1.5 million word web novel)
I think you might be underselling it slightly by not mentioning that the setting has catgirls
I laughed out loud when the narration was like " CAT-LIKE EARS TWITCHED", more people need to read 1.5 million word web novel.
I was spooked by the length at first but now it's like, okay so exclusively sapphic ensemble cast featuring catgirls and trans mech pilots, and it doesn't end??? I'm gonna pay for this because I want it forever ❤
i didn't know it had catgirls when i first read it, and it reads as totally normal to me now. like, of course it has catgirls! and yeah, i get a massive new like, 10-20k word chapter every other week where i either get cute gay shit that always has at least one trans woman involved and often has more, kickass mech fights, or lengthy political diatribes that i eat up like candy. or if i'm lucky, all three
if i mentioned catgirls i'd mention a couple other things that you haven't seen yet, which i'll drop under a spoiler box just in case you'd prefer to be excited
not a real spoiler
doggirls! and elves! and various type of fishgirl! and they all have distinct cultures that are a delight to read more about
OF COURSE it has catgirls
why the fuck wouldn't it?! This is such an easy sales pitch, everyone should be reading this. I convinced the goodreads commie lady to read it lol.
I'll sequester myself from the couple other things and come back even more hyped in all likelihood :) I really thought this was gonna be the all-Murati-all-the-time show, but I'm shocked at how much I love Yana. Everyone thinks she's a pro cause she cleans up well, but actually she is trash
Also is this mega the best place to yammer about it? I have tons of little thoughts I could be spilling 24/7 so I wanna make sure I'm clogging the right thread or comm with em.
hell yeah, i keep trying to get more people to read it but somehow this pitch isn't working literally everyone i talk to? but i've now gotten at least 3 or 4 people to read it through this site, maybe more who didn't mention it or who i've forgotten
i post most of my thoughts in the general site mega, but when i'm talking about new updates i also post in the trans mega. everyone on this site should be reading it, but like. especially the trans posters
That is a pretty good rate actually, usually it's harder to get people onboard with long serialised stories. But we have to get more people onboard!! EVERYONE should be reading it
Okay cool, I can sort of evenly divide my postings for both! Also a leviathan just showed up for the first time(on ch3.7?) and woooooah
yes!!!!
yeah the leviathans are cool as hell
Just started Utena today after seeing you recommend it a few times, so I guess I gotta start Unjust Depths soon...
I'm on episode 29 of Utena now, and I'm downloading the Unjust Depths epub for when I have more energy to read next week.
yesss, hahaha, YESSSS
the last 10 episodes of utena are incredible, and i hope you enjoy unjust depths!
Wow, they really were... I'm definitely gonna be rewatching Utena... a lot.
Edit: Thank you for Utena posting so hard, this is one of my favorite shows now, and I never would have started it without seeing your recommendations.
yeah....
the finale always gets me, i'm sobbing every time
i'm always happy when people enjoy the things i enjoy! i'm really glad to be able to expose people to new things, and i'm glad you enjoyed!
I cried a lot at the end, and I've been tearing up off and on thinking about it for hours after finishing. I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't expect to be so viscerally affected by it.
yeah. genuinely life changing. i cannot put into words how important it is to me, how much of a gut punch all of akio's abuse is as we see it in more and more detail, and how uplifting and joyous the moment where utena and anthy truly reach out and see each other for the first time is. that ending is perfect, imo
I can't know for sure, having only just seen it, and I can't really articulate it yet, but I do feel different already. I'll need to ruminate on it for a while.
It really is.
part of why i say it's lifechanging is that it was, as far as i can remember, the first real critique of liberal feminism i ever really absorbed. i was a teenager, maybe 15 when i watched it for the first time. i started the show completely cheering for utena to become a prince and by the end i was able to understand that "women does the shitty thing a man does" is not actually a worthy goal and that it really just maintains the systems of patriarchal control. it fundamentally changed the way i looked at the world
it also changed how i looked at art, prior to utena i was very much a "the curtains are fucking blue" type, i didn't get symbolism and didn't want to. but utena changed that as well. i remember getting to the scene with touga and saionji on their shitty bike and going "ohhhh, i see! this is a parallel to the akio car scenes indicating that touga is (and always has been) trying to imitate the adult masculine ideal of akio, but that's fundamentally impossible for him and it ruins his relationship with his friend/boyfriend!" and from that point forward i was able to do media analysis good, like i saw the code in the matrix
utena's mixture of obtuse and opaque symbolism with some blindingly obvious stuff is really good for that sort of thing, i was able to instantly understand a lot of the stuff going on like the car representing sex and masculinity and adulthood and all that and plenty of the shadow plays make sense, while stuff like the coffins or all the flower symbolism or the duel themes i can turn over in my brain and constantly find new meaning
I sort of did the same thing, despite now feeling like I should've known better. It forced me to think "if I can turn my brain off for media, in what other areas am I just passively accepting liberal feminist perspectives before being led into a similarly jarring conclusion?"
That's really the perfect way to put it. And then it blends that approach at times to lead you deeper, like the butterfly/chrysalis/caterpillar/leaf shadowboxes (probably not the most opaque imagery, but it's the example that comes to mind); by the time it gets to Mikage's backstory there's just a hand on the screen pointing to them. I feel like it'd be a really frustrating show to watch if you were committed to a "the curtains are fucking blue" approach alone.
Coming to it much later in life, watching Utena helped me understand my own experience of girlhood. With that late bloomer/second adolescence that queer people of a certain age can experience, my chronology of becoming an adult feels like it's all over the place. But as I was watching, I could integrate my experiences—from some of my earliest memories to things that happened to me just a few years ago—by superimposing them onto the characters into a somewhat coherent narrative. I guess that's just a drawn out way of describing catharsis, but...
yeah, it really makes you consider the way you view the world, because even on rewatches i find myself cheering for some of that stuff. it's a very appealing narrative, and it's important to rethink how we view it going forward
i think i get what you mean
Thanks again for the recommendation and thanks for talking to me about it!
never seen utena but you and u/ashinadash got me started on Unjust Depths the other day (I didn't realize how long it was but got curious while procrastinating) and I'm now scared for how long its going to take me to finish lmao because I'm in deep. I was up half the night reading it last night, and maybe 1/3 of my workday today
this is gonna be like whenever I get into a new webcomic but way longer isn't it?
you might be there a while, yeah, took me a few weeks reading it pretty regularly. how far in are you?
Arc 1 Intermissions [I.4]
apparently
it's really good I didn't realize how much I needed this
it's not very subtle but that's kinda my exact shit for some reason
yeah it's so nice to be able to read a scifi story of this kind and completely root for the heroes without reservations or going "well they're fighting people who are worse in this case but they do basically represent america," not even getting into how nice it is to have all these trans lesbians
it's INCREDIBLY refreshing, and not at all subtle.