T_|’s comment captures a trend so well. And I certainly can’t resist a chance to make fun of Sakura Matou and Kaede Fuyou at the same time. But unless we get Heaven’s Feel, both girls (whose games were commercially released on the same day, 2004-01-30) will have to bow down to the girls of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - the best horror series I’ve seen for a long time. Mad thanks to Kurogane for getting this ball rolling and to Stripey for finally tipping the balance.
Such an appropriate and chilling OP theme. The lyrics also appear to be tailor-made for the series, conveying the ideas of someone behind (twice), fingers clawing in the night, having nowhere else to go. Psycedelic flowers that look so threatening and out of place at the same time. The first arc (Ep 1-4) have been an absolute blast. The grisly opening scene setting us up to jump at everything that is dropped on us - even though there’s no actual violence until the latter half of the fourth episode. The sense of mystery stemming from how we begin to distrust Keiichi’s memories and senses - a classic device that Nabochev employs to devastating effect in Lolita.
Yours may be big but mine is magical. And I may yet slaughter loads of people. One can only hope. Mwahahaha…
Yes Sakura, your game might have been more popular and you killed plenty of people in one thread but my anime series aired first. I didn’t kill anybody and my weapon is just a boxcutter. But my psychopathic behaviour made fans notice and even enjoy an otherwise average (if well executed) eroge conversion harem series like SHUFFLE! while your series is becoming known as Yawn/Snore Night. Shin jaeba iinda!!
…so am I the only one who still considers homicidal tendencies a turn-of?
Wait, so like moe is capable of encompassing just about any possible anything now?
W4 is not alone in being apprehensive about pyschos and potential killers. As a trained minister of death there is but one course kill those who seek to kill me. The choice between me and the enemy is simple, me. Underaged and deranged jail bait is bad ganja.
Still if you are willing to convert that love nest to a mental institution more power to you. Nevertheless I’d strongly advise against boxcutters.
YES!!! ANOTHER VIC.. err… fan captured :).
>>Wait, so like moe is capable of encompassing just about any possible anything now?
Same as the power of love, the power of moé knows no bounds :).
Yeah, it seems that pyschopaths are the new moé. Same like how Kannazuki triggered a flood of yuri, Kaede seems to have made going batshit insane, the new craze.
But all in all, I attribute the greatness of Higurashi to the excellent production values and the great seiyuus, not for only just the batshit insane scenes.
W4, Crusader - I was being ironic and teasing friends like Stripey for getting boners over psycho-lolis.
jpmeyer - given the inherent ambiguity and contestability of the concept, I’m not surprised that ‘moe’ can be stretched quite far. E.g. I think Ken Akamatsu’s classic definition has a positive criteria (inspiring nurturing/protective feelings) and a negative one (no sexual desire for the character) - but quite a lot of fans who describe a character as moe also totally ignore the 2nd criteria. The way I interpreted T_|’s comment was that if your character design is sufficiently cute, there are fans who will still like a character even if she’s a vicious homicidal psychopath. And in fact, find her even more interesting because of the latter distinguishing feature. Sheer marketing genius.
Kurogane - interesting that you’ve credited Kannazuki with the current yuri craze. IMHO despite it being quite atrocious and gratituous esp in the middle, it managed to ‘break out’ because of the superfluous giant robot parts that made licensors go: “Ok, we’re too dumb to market subtle yuri but if it’s giant robots, we already know how to sell this stuff and have no idea to try and reactivate our tiny pea-sized brains.”
Good point, but i think you guys forgot completely SCHOOL DAYS. There’s more psychopatics babes for you! (^^)
I have been mesmerised by mental basketcases of the fairer kind waaaay before Kaede appeared on the scene, so my… appreciation of them is not due to any fad. ^_^
I find it hard to explain exactly why I find them alluring. Maybe it is because they unleash all their true feelings and thoughts when they go whacked, as opposed to bottling it up to the frustration of the audience. Maybe it is because I find it hilarious to see ex-timid girls go crazy on spineless males.
When I try to watch anime like Lamune, I more or less go comatose from the overwhelming sappiness of it all. I prefer to have excitement in my anime, and psychotic females are one source of them.
I love the crazy cop in Fumoffu, the scene of Asuka in the EVA movie, crazy Hina from Bleach, Lina from Slayers, Mitsuki from Dual!(TV), Dokuro-chan, etc…
Even then, although I am a sucker for psycho-babes, they are never in my top ten list for all-time favourite female anime characters, because as I mentioned before elsewhere, while I am attracted to them, the attraction is not of the lovey-dopey kind. It is more of the “HELL-YEAH!” kind.
So while I find them adorable, I do not long for them. I feel this is an important distinction that needs to be made.
Cheers.
“So while I find them adorable, I do not long for them. I feel this is an important distinction that needs to be made.”
Go take a look at my sig at animesuki :D
Anyone know who was the first pyscho loli?
I think the School Day girls were before any of these other girls but who was before them?
I think Silyvia from BGC 2040 was close but she wasn’t a loli. Very Sexy but not a loli.
I think it would be hard to put a “true” pyschopath female character on anyone’s top 10 list….. well i’d like some OCD in my girls, but well, normal is still the way to go (read: Kaede Fuyou, Asahina Mikuru).
Zyl - I randomly mentioned Kannazuki actually, when considering timeline based, Mai HiME shld be the originator (read:ShizNat). But then, Kannazuki was much more famous for the yuri instead of HiME, so meh…
I’m also actually quite interested in to SCHOOL DAYS as well… . just that I can’t seem to find much info about it.
well i’d like some OCD in my girls, but well, normal is still the way to go (read: Kaede Fuyou
*blinks*
How exactly do “Normal” and “Kaede Fuyou” have any business being in the same sentence?
The girl has major psychological problems, a highly obsessive personality, and is just in general FUCKING NUTS.
If you want to find a particular anime to ‘blame’ for the current “yuri-craze,” shouldn’t MariMite get it?
>>>> but well, normal is still the way to go (read: Kaede Fuyou, Asahina Mikuru).
I find your choice of ‘normal’ girls to be ironic. ;)
To me, normal would be like Tenma from School Rumble, or Keichii’s sister in AMG.
Zyl - Okay. Forgive my misrepresentation.
And remember, everyone: adrenaline prohibits arousal. 8)
Next season will have more TEH CRAZY as well
PS: The originator of Yuri was Yami to boushi to hon no tabibito, silly. Either that or Marimite.
PS2: Shizuru is more overrated than Kira Jesus Yamato
W4 - No worries, I didn’t feel misrepresented - such a heavy word! (;^_^)
T_I - True enough but in terms of breaking through the US market, Kannazuki is probably the first series with a pair of yuri leads. Yamibou and Marimite are still not licensed in the US…
hmm.. this sets me thinking… what about psycho-girls in non-anime mediums such as Soma Mitsuko and Chigusa Takako from Battle Royale? Not to mention the other Chiaki Kuriyama character: Go Go Yubari. I’ve seen quite a bit of fanart on them. Shouldn’t they be included in the psycho-girl moe lists too?
Haha…., Skane and Fencedude, good job at spotting that. It was intentional :)
But anyways, Kaede in the game is actually pretty normal. The whole batshit insane part in the anime is an original plot.
Well… I missed out Marimite… so I can’t actually be qualified to really say anything about the origins of the yuri craze. But definitely it was Kannamiko that started it out for me.