I think they're making it malfunction such that if Chisato wants to have normal health again, she'll have to kill for it to happen.Originally Posted by Ryll
I'm really entertaining the idea that someone's going to die and give Chisato a human heart here. I can't decide on whether Majima, Mika or Takina would be the most likely candidate were it to happen.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Majima's ability is the most unbelievable thing in this show. It's like the creators have never shot a gun in their life.
Oh wait, the creators are Japanese. Of course they haven't heard, much less shot, a gun in real life.
Peace.
I'm expecting some sort of memory wipe/mind control, but I hope I'm wrong.
The poop dessert gag was excellent.
Another great episode.
That is all.
Episode 10
---------------
I expected a somewhat sedate set-up episode for the climax ones, but the series continues to surprise me with well-crafted emotional episodes like Chisato getting her Coming of Age early. We finally saw what Mika is always gazing at when he's working the counter: Chisato's picture of her family.
The series consistently subverts the audience's expectations without ever relying on "OMG Twist Outta Nowhere" stuff. Every action is foreshadowed or set up for a later payoff. Majima's calculated restraint despite being a global terrorist. The plan not being a simple "blow up the tower" or attack DA in a direct assault but rather to force the government to expose DA. DA leadership happy to throw the girls to their deaths in order to keep its secret.
Majima's plan is very smart because it puts DA and the government in an impossible position with almost no effort on Majima's forces. It doesn't have to be instant chaos, just the suggestion of it. Gun crimes will increase over time just as the scattered weapons are found and used later. The government is either forced to admit that Japan was never as peaceful as people believed, or admit the existence of DA, which is a failure of Japan's insistence it is a peaceful because of its culture. And DA Leadership is stupid enough to think that their Radiata AI (which both Robota and Kurumi can hack) will cover up what millions of people just saw, and they're willing to burn up Chisato to go after one man, which won't even solve the problem.
I liked the ambiguity of whether the guy on the bench was shot by the cop or shot himself, pretty sure it was the latter with his horrible trigger discipline (as one would expect from someone who has never really handled a gun before).
It's hilarious how this gun plan kind of directly attacks gun culture. They basically flat out said that having more guns will lead to more deaths, regardless of which society it is and what state that society is in.
Peace.
That's not the intended takeaway here. Majima's statement is that Japan is lying to itself thinking that it is so peaceful. He's basically insulting the Japanese Nationalist stance that they are a "more cultured" nation and that Japan's people simply aren't prone to that kind of violence. His assertion that it is all lies and exaggeration (which it is, both in the series and in real life).
The guns are just the tinder to enflame the monstrous behavior in all of humanity. Because they make violence easy for anyone. A trained merc or a bunch of orphan girls. He's accelerating the natural cycle that DA controls by overburdening their ability to respond in secret and cover it up. Somehow in universe, people are still finding bombs and taking them to public parks as shown in the cold open of the series. Majima filled the city prefecture with items that are typically very difficult to acquire in Japan.
They're setting up the conflict of Chisato who has inherent faith in humanity against Majima's view that peace itself is a lie.
This is what I meant. This statement is something people who love gun culture actively deny, always shifting blame to mental health or people or whatever. The reality is, and what this episode plainly accepts as truth, is that having guns will lead to more violence and death.
I know it is not the intended message, but it is a message you can very easily take away nonetheless.
Peace.
The counterargument is that guns also make it easier for weaker people to defend themselves from all types of physical violence.
So no, not quite the conclusion and inference you think it is. More guns provide opportunity only. How they're used is a still a people problem.
Both the gun and education are "the great equalizers."
That's what you think, and I disagree, but that wasn't what the show blatantly showed this episode. Some dude literally just grabbed a gun from a paper bag thinking it was a toy and got shot by an antsy cop. That wasn't an opportunity or an equalizer. That scene basically said having guns will cause more violence and death, and that is the premise of greenhead's plan anyway.
And just use pepper gel spray to defend yourself. That is very effective in many scenarios, unless of course the attacker has a gun...
Peace.
It's meant to be ambiguous. I'm pretty sure the guy accidentally blew his own head off.
And that is still violence and death. Accidental gun discharges are plenty dangerous and deadly.
Peace.
The same can be said of anything capable of being used for violence purposefully or accidentally, in my eyes. Cars, cutlery, or chemicals to craft explosives and poisons can all be misused. I'm on the "blame the finger before the trigger" side, but as Ryll said, that isn't the takeaway. It was funny that the first thing depicted was a person picking up a gun, pointing it at his own head in amazement and a 'peace adjusted' police officer immediately escalated the situation. It depicts the chaos and potential damage that injecting power to people not used to or trained it can fall victim to, which was Shinta's takeaway, and I can appreciate the depiction, even if my own sensibilities don't align.
Glad that Chisato didn't blame Mika for keeping quiet about the extenuating circumstances of her situation, and got to wear her Yukata before going on her possibly last mission.
Looking forward, I hope, if the showrunners had planned for this to continue on, that they don't kill off Chisato, but also I wouldn't be satisfied with a soft reset... Perhaps a shift to a new character set, or perhaps some focus on the boys of lilly bell? Either way I stoked to see where it goes!
Stuff hurting people is a public health issue, and the degree to which you limit its access is determined by its opportunity cost and its utility in the general public if access was less restricted.
Examples:
Motor vehicles kill. Their usefulness in society is huge. They're not banned. Levels of control and their fatality are deemed acceptable in for the most part.
Same with knives.
COVID kills. Controlling COVID by keeping people at home was useful for the most lethal strains and before we knew how to deal with it. Now that most governments have accepted that COVID can't be eradicated, the population has greater immunity and health facilities can somewhat keep up, the general public has come to accept that the opportunity cost of staying at home is no longer worth it. They'd rather earn money, go travelling, and accept the higher death rate COVID brings to the more vulnerable cohorts and accept whatever strain on the public health system this entails.
Guns increase the ease of mass killings. Their utility of being accessible by the general public is ...I dunno, you tell me. Different countries have decided on different balancing points, and decided on whether the deaths associated (not caused) with easier access to firearms is worth its utility - whether that's freedom, hunting, whatever.
Alcohol kills. There was once a prohibition. People decided it was too much fun to drink and have easily accepted that any alcohol related death is more acceptable than a complete ban on it.
It's just all a balancing thing. What balance keeps people happy and alive enough to pay taxes to keep the world going.
-----------
I was particularly fond of the gradual cafe downsizing such that only Mika and Chisato were left. It was always portrayed as being a big happy family, but I liked seeing the core family interact on their own. I remember the scene where Chisato saw Shinji in the bar and decided "Yep, it's a date. It's rude to intervene any further. Let's give them space" because it's Mika.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Agreed. I just think there is very little benefit to having wide access to guns (like in this episode) versus the gigantic risk and danger it poses. My wife has been within steps of 2 shooting incidents while working retail. Even if she physically didn't get hurt, the mental trauma it gave her is significant, to the point she quit her job. I have a carry license, and we have both shot in ranges together, but I'd gladly never do that again if it meant even 1 less shooting incident to traumatize people, more so ones I care about.
Peace.
I do think that the general population has little utility in owning a gun compared to its perceived harms. I looked into trying to acquire one in Australia some time ago for shits and giggles, and to see what it'd be like owning one. The commitment to the minimum participation rate at shooting ranges required to obtain and keep the license made me decide otherwise. Too much work.
edit: Said work -
https://www.ssaa.org.au/?ss_news=han...s-in-australia-Join a shooting club.
-complete their training.
-Probation with club for 6 months.
Then:
-Apply for firearm license, criminal record check, photo ID.
-Select desired firearm, but not purchase.
-Give firearm details to police, apply for Approval to Purchase.
-Wait 28 days. If approval granted, purchase firearm.
-Take to nearest police station, register it within 14 days.
-Pay fee.
-Gun only to be used in approved club events.
-Attend 4-6 club events / year to maintain licence.
-Store in gun safe ($400-800)
Last edited by Buffalobiian; Mon, 09-05-2022 at 10:32 PM.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
in contrast, I had to watch a 30 minute video and then attend an in person test where a guy just handed me a loaded, laser-sight handgun to shoot a target 7 yards (around 6.4 meters) away, which I could've done with 0 experience, like my wife did when we did it for fun (without the laser-sight).
I could've also just skipped all that if I just wanted to buy one and "conceal carry"* it by driving 20 minutes east to a different US state.
*it is illegal here, but if it is concealed, no one would know anyway.
Peace.
Rather than continue a dissertation on guns in the real world, you're still both missing the point of this episode and the series theme. It's not guns.
Majima is challenging the status quo with fear. The literal definition of terrorism.
1. Fear of blowing up the replacement tower - lures DA out into the open in the center of the city.
2. Fear of the opportunity he's provided across the prefecture - threatening Japan's illusion of superiority at controlling violence.
3. Fear of losing control of power/authority - Forcing the hand of the gov't and DA's leadership to demand DA act when they should not, lest they lose their authority
4. Fear of losing their secrecy and freedom - Forcing DA to act and risk outing themselves.
This one is actually Shinji, but centralized with the rest of the conflict by having Majima kidnap Shinji:
5. Fear of Chisato dying - Takina (and the rest, but not quite as forceful about it) don't want her to die.
The guns don't matter. They could be guns, knives, bombs, laser katanas, tasers, magical bullshit, superpower granting drugs, scifi bullshit, literally whatever lowers the bar for people doing bad things. All of the above have been done elsewhere. He chooses the distribution method because it is more effective and even works if he dies to DA.
Chisato is the counter to all of Majima and Shinji's machinations. She isn't afraid to die. She accepted it long ago, or else she wouldn't be as good as she is. Chisato refuses to react to or be trapped by fear. She lives free and wants to share that mindset with everyone she meets. You've seen it consistently throughout the entire series.
We didn't miss the point. We're just talking about the aspect that interested us more.
I get that Majima is enabling crime should people choose to embrace it and that it doesn't have to be guns.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
But the story also used guns because they are the most effective. Imagine spreading 10,000 kitchen knives and expecting anything to happen lol.
@Buff - That is some extreme measures to get a gun in your country. I actually find that a little too much, to the point that shooting as a sport would die there.
Peace.
Episode 11:
Majima's ability not getting fucked by gunshots will never stop pissing me off.
Did the animation become shit this episode? The action was choppy, and a lot of the art was shoddy. Are they saving money for the next one, which I assume is the climax?
I love that Takina finally got to save Chisato's life. Majima should get his shit shot out of him next episode. The only reason he was winning was because of the darkness. Now Takina just needs to find cover and let Chisato fuck him up.
Why is the Lycoris organization so inept? How can they be fucked over so many times by Majima and one hacker? How did they not even think Majima would bomb them AGAIN? Did no one really wonder why the fuck vacuums were just running around during a shootout? My first thought upon seeing one was "oh bombs again."
Peace.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
