MovieChat Forums > Buru Jenda (1999) Discussion > I consider this a masterpiece.

I consider this a masterpiece.

posted 11 years ago by HellRaidertr
3 replies | jump to latest

I am going to admit, I am an avid anime fan but I try to find rare gems like this one here. I found myself trying to steer clear of mainstream trend as much as I can.

Why I would consider this a masterpiece, is entirely related to how captivated I was while watching the series. The characters are very real, they have emotions, problems thus makes it very convenient for the viewer to establish an empathy between them. Not to mention, you will be always at the edge of your seat because the characters are always in constant danger.

Remember the cliched hollywood horror movies, the first half of the movie is usually reserved to introduce the characters. E.g The jock, the nerd, the hottie etc. Because during the second half, when they are in danger, you are supposed to care for the characters but you never can, because the characters are not real at all. They don't act logically. However Blue gender did this the right way. They aimed for extreme realism.

Blue Gender did not take character study further unlike Evangelion, but the characters were multi dimensional and they had their own arcs which were all very interesting.

You can't help but notice how this was produced within a limited budget although there was no apparent mistake whatsoever that caught attention. The animation is not overdone like the ones we are accustomed to these days. Everything is straight to the point and perfectly placed to add to the storyline. The designs of armor and mechas were pretty decent and not exaggerated.

There were only a couple of things that bothered me, that was unneccesary use of sex. Don't think of me as a bigot, but I think if a scene that does not add anything to the continuation of the story it can be omitted. This is not a hentai and if we wanted to watch hentai, those are one click away, right? So nearly half of those scenes were unnecessary and I don't give a damn about fan service either. The profile of audience that watch anime like Blue gender are obvious. And I suppose we would do okay without fan service. The second thing is that the ending feeled like kind of Deus Ex Machina. Although it was a full and satisfying ending, not to mention a happy ending I believe it butchered the series in some way. A proper ending could have been figured out with no effort at all.

Despite these, I think Blue Gender totally rocks.

9/10

Hey, Soldier. Do you know who's in command here?

[–] The_Mad_mad_mad 11 years ago

I loved this series and consider it a masterpiece as well so allow me to agree with you there fan to fan. Excuse my bad writing when I explain the flaws you pointed out. I disagree with you on these flaws but I am not here to attack you or destroy your opinion. I respect it and find you not a conservative. You can still keep how you feel about the flaws. Please hear me out when I explain.

Now to the point.

The sex scenes were necessary to the show. If you pay close attention all they do is work work work. Think back to that one girl who pissed on herself while doing a field report. See how she didn't react to what's his face's fondling of her breasts. Sex is a way to help the people on Second Earth to work and be productive efficiently. You might have expected the station to honor morals but they don't. They abandoned morality long ago. You would know that from what Marlene told Yuji when he questioned her about there being people left behind on planet earth. Knowing what she said do you expect the sex to be sacred? No not really. Try to imagine if you will living on a massive space station for about maybe 3 years with no lay (I'm stretching it I know). You'd be frustrated and wouldn't think straight. Or imagine if a female/male (not sure if you're a guy or a girl, please forgive) just casually fondled you due to her not getting any lay on a space station. Would you oblige his/her invitation? Think of the soldiers on that station. They have all been through some *beep* Sex would be the main cure for them to relax. Even on the battlefield you see them touching and fondling each other. And they do it after the battles or when they are sure they are some place safe where the blue will not attack. Sex in Blue Gender is a now or never practice, cause you are sure to die the next day or the person you have been friends with might die. I don't think it was for fanservice since most of the people doing the do were barely anybody we know. It was a way to show us that sex is more mechanical than relative, and I believe they did it perfectly without it being super in your face like any hentai with a plot. there were some parts allusions towards this activity and some build up to it so I doubt it was unnecessary. Again you can think what you will about that part.

For a better shorter explanation of this look blue gender up on TVTropes.org

Now the next thing, the ending.

I do not consider it a Dues Ex Machina. I don't think you fully understand the concept of that trope. I'm not trying to insult you please do not see it that way. If you watch the battle again. Marlene, yes, stated it has no core and she scanned it 3 times. Yuji came up with the solution: Tear it to pieces by aiming for its fleshy weak spots. THAT was the solution. There was no plot device involved, no super weapon that the characters whipped out of nowhere. There wasn't even a big damn heroes moment with the second team. It was a quick final fight where only their teammates died swiftly and violently. This caused them to act fast to get at least one hit on the creature's weak points. And that's what Yuji did he was close, he gunned its weak points, cut that wicked tail of the thing and blew its brains out. Simple. Quick. Messy ending of a final battle. Frankly that's how I like my anime fights mostly. An Ideal preference if you will.

I hope that if you find this enlightening or if you even come onto IMDb and find this reply. I know this is a month late but I hope these explanations help you understand these flaws.

Best wishes to you :)

[–] HellRaidertr 11 years ago

Glad you replied.

I enjoy replying to fans rather than haters.

To start with, I was fully able to grasp everything in the series but thank you for the brief analysis for it may be use of someone. Of course these scenes had a purpose, however my initial problem was that how the series were rubbing it in the viewer's face considering the number, length and subtlety of these scenes. However given how I tend to watch more than 5 episodes in one sitting, maybe for the viewers that were watching this while being aired it was less inappropriate.

I should have been more clear about "the ending" that bothered me. I could not care less about the boss battle, it was okay. What intrigues me most is the fate of the earth and the reason of the plague. Unfortunately in my opinion series were not successful explaining these to the viewer due to being busy focusing on different aspects of the show. I find the case of ending very similar to Lost and Battlestar Galactica. Most of the Tv Series suffer from bad endings due to nature of series and how scenario writers work. When they can not find a logical explanation and resolution for ending they either turn to god's or nature's plan and I will never be satisfied with such drivels.

Hey, Soldier. Do you know who's in command here?

[–] The_Mad_mad_mad 11 years ago

To that I have to agree with you about nature's plan and all that jazz. I most certainly agree with you there. At best it is what many would call a "gainex ending" I'm sure you are familiar with that company. I was doing a lot of thinking after I posted my reply and I figured it was not the battle that bothered you but the aftermath that led to peace with the world. To me, that ending was the world making Yuji understand why *beep* ended up the way it ended up. The humans that were cocooned, the dead blue. "She" was showing him that the deaths of the people were not in vain or some form of hostility towards humanity, for they were used to be seeds to grow new plants. As Marlene stated in I believe episode 2 they (the blue) never feed off humans. But yea that's what I got out of him being in the pod thing. Yea, it came the hell out of nowhere and it doesn't really add up. However I didn't mind it ending it like this at all. Maybe cause I'm use to seeing stories about sentient planets or nature having a mind of its own.

I think where the creators made the mistake was when they had the high council get all reckless with the operation to take earth back. They had a lot of people killed along with most of the sleepers and then Tony attacked the medical station. You can't even get any bigger than that ! If there is a flaw to be had those two would be it. So in my honest opinion I don't blame their idea of shortening the Africa campaign and making Tony bat *beep* insane in a span of two episodes. Or you could point the blame on them making the planet sentient in the first place. I figured if they removed those elements and lengthen the Africa campaign we would have gotten a different ending to your liking. But what's done is done, and despite the flaws we both agree this series is a masterpiece.

About the in your face sex, really didn't mind. Not because it turned me on or anything. More I saw it as a way to convey that something is not all right in second earth. It was sort of a reminder that everyone in that station is well... Conditioned to do these immoral things. And I'm left feeling this place is not the haven that many the characters make it out to be.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my explanations and replying. I'm glad I can discuss this series with someone who is a fan and can explain about some points they didn't like and why instead of saying "cause it just do" or "cause I didn't get it"

And really if anything we're getting out of this discussion is mainly about our tastes. I am glad I can share my tastes with you without being judged on them and I can hear you out and understand why you don't agree. So I don't know what else to talk about in this anime series less you have some other points you want to talk about that you didn't like about the show. Or we can talk about another series.