(Dropped) Kurenai – Naivety to the extreme
I'm come to the (probably erroneous) conclusion that Kurenai is harem for joseis. No, not reverse-harem. It's still a male harem lead only that he appears to be specifically tailored to pander to the older female crowd (and by older I'm talking about late teens and early twenties.) I finally dropped the series ep 10 for 2 reasons - naivety of the cast (hence the unraveling of the credibility of the premise) and the lameness of Shinkuro as a man.
Let me first clarify that I did enjoy very much some parts of the series. The education that Yamie and Tamaki gave to Murasaki was priceless. Much of the dialogue between the ladies was food for thought (I thought the 'save file' analogy was particularly intriguing and have confirmed traces of truth in that statement between my wife and me.) Murasaki and Shinkuro's relationship was endearing to behold. I personally wouldn't underestimate a child's ability to love in a mature manner even though Murasaki isn't quite there yet. Maybe in a couple more months with more daytime TV soap and Yamie/Tamaki indoctrination, Shinkuro/Murasaki may make a fine couple. Just a disclaimer here. Although I had found the ladies perspectives in love/life to be thoroughly interesting, I thought they were rather unhealthy, especially for a young child like Murasaki to acquire. Yamie/Tamaki clearly had issues and definitely ill-equipped to pass on 'wisdom' on love or even life.
Now for the gripes. One of my biggest lament of the series was how naive the cast generally was. From Benika to Shinkuro, they were constantly make poor choices on the ground when it came to protecting Murasaki. I especially palmed-faced when Shinkuro insisted on returning Murasaki to 'say farewell' in ep 9. 2 issues - First Murasaki didn't really say goodbye or gave any form of closure to her short friendship with the neighbours. I'm not sure what Shinkuro is trying to inculcate in Murasaki but that objective was certainly not achieved. 2nd. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING SPENDING THE NIGHT THERE?!?! 'Say goodbye' and leave for safer havens! I blame Benika. She was too idealistic to give so much space to an overly emotional/sensitive teenager. The credibility of the plot just came apart with those incredible motivations. My heart goes out to Yayoi (undoubtedly the most sane of the lot) who has to babysit this bunch of free-wheeling idealists.
The other deathblow of the series has to be Shinkuro. It's irked me to no end that Shinkuro didn't act decisively to rescue Murasaki and mucked around the whole of ep 10 even after knowing her unspeakable fate. Maybe the sensitive dialogue and introspective conversation cater to the target audience's tastes but just doesn't cut it with tanuki type. 2 eps only to go but I dropped it since I know I wouldn't forgive Shinkuro (and actually much of the cast) for not flying to Murasaki.
And oh, Yuuno chan has to be the choicest haremette in the show even though she still couldn't muster enough charm for me to complete the series.
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July 25th, 2008 - 10:50
so your a yuuno fan huh…
i prefer ginko myself…
more or less i’m the same with you…
i’ve backlogged kurenai for quite some time now after ep 9…
i just couldn’t bear finishing the series…
maybe in time i can finish it, but for now it stays in my external hd…
July 25th, 2008 - 10:56
Sit back and watch as this post gets littered with “plot doesn’t matter” comments…
July 25th, 2008 - 11:25
Plot matters! But you’re just wasting your time trying to get plot from anime. Go read a book or something (or in this case, go read the book).
“I thought they were rather unhealthy, especially for a young child like Murasaki to acquire.”
O RLY. SRSLY. O.O I mean, uh, obviously the Kuhouins thought that was the case as well. Then again, Murasaki did not check into a nunnery when she escaped from home. What an ironic statement to make about this show.
I think the complaint in this post, other than the above, are well and reasonable. The story of Kurenai is not one of nitty gritty, fight-every-inch hard boiled detective story. It’s the kind of the story where it’s fitting to bust into spontaneous song and dance in the middle of an episode.
So. Yeah. Maybe it’s not so well and reasonable.
July 25th, 2008 - 11:32
I’m ok with your criticism of Shinkuro taking Murasaki back for a night. I thought that was kinda dumb as well. However, I think it is really unfair to say that Shinkuro “mucked around.” He just got the crap beat out of him so badly he couldn’t even sleep at night. I was under the impression that as soon as his injuries healed he went right back out. I think you are being unfair to Shinkuro in this instance, especially considering the considerable resources of the Kuhoins.
BTW, isn’t it a little silly to drop a series RIGHT before the end (though I kinda doubt you will like the ending, I still like the story about the violet petals)
July 25th, 2008 - 11:46
I believe there was an explanation to Benika’s letting Shinkurou handle Murasaki.
▼ Show
(My apologies if the spoiler tags don’t work.)
July 25th, 2008 - 12:15
I finished Kure-nai and I’m of the opinion that it’s a decent show but not an overly memorable one, partially because of what you said (that the cast can be pretty dumb at times) and partially because I felt the show was confused on what it wanted to be (action-drama or slice-of-life).
The beginning half-or-so of the show was definitely the stronger point and I won’t say you made a bad decision (although I did think the ending was decent). But I would like to refute some of your points, by trying to argue that the cast were idiots because they were ordinary people thrown into an extraordinary situation.
Shinkurou’s sometimes frustratingly apologetic personality, I’m tempted to say it’s just a remnant of Japanese culture, but since I never really saw a lot of resolution to that I can’t make too many excuses for it.
Oh, and Yuuno? Really? I’ll take Ginko any day over her. (Again, this is another part of the show that was unfulfillingly concluded, though.)
I think you should finish it just because you’ve come this far, but that’s just my attitude towards things. It’s only an hour, after all, and it might put a bit of a better taste on this show when you look back at it. It depends on what else you have to pit against this show, I guess – I consider it above-average, but barely.
July 25th, 2008 - 13:37
I kind of disagree with your decision to drop Kurenai. First of all, you’re only two episodes from finishing it! Secondly, though I agree that almost everyone acts in a stupid way and only make wrong decisions, last episode will make up for that. I particularly enjoyed the last episode, because Murasaki created her resolve, and I really enjoyed watching her making her decision and not backing down.
So if you want to take my advice, finish it! You’ll only spend 40 minutes watching it, and then you can review the whole show instead. I think you will like the last episode
July 25th, 2008 - 14:17
My problems with Kurenai were resolved somewhat by some explanation of plot points from the novel that were never explained in the anime. For example, Shinkuro felt free to leave Murasaki at his apartment and to visit one last time because the building held a special “buffer zone” status in the “underworld”… which is one of the primary reasons that Benika had Murasaki stay there in the first place, to provide for her safety even in case of discovery. The shock wasn’t that they were found to be there, but that the Kuhouins infiltrated the building, anyway. Of course, the anime couldn’t explain something to integral to the plot.
I was personally very upset with Shinkuro’s depiction as spineless up to episode 10. By the end of the series, though, I was satisfied. I recommend finishing it. It is not perfect, but I’m glad I stuck with it.
July 25th, 2008 - 16:42
I’d say see it through to the end because you’re, y’know, two eps away from the end and you seem to have picked up on some of the things the show does really well. But then, if there are some aspects that really rub you up the wrong way (Shinkuro and his questionable reasoning, similarly with Benika) I can understand how that can grate on you.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it enough to see it to the end but at least you appreciated its stronger points instead of the kneejerk “ZOMG! this is so unrealistic!” reaction. Sometimes it’s a good ‘reality check’ to read a negative review that puts its points across well.
If you ever get the motivation to watch the end, it’s a good compromise type of ending that doesn’t do what you expect, but could have done a lot worse. They do indeed ‘fly to’ Murasaki’s aid but the results are (mostly) in keeping with the direction the series took. I’m not trying to pursuade you to watch the end or anything, but it *might* be worth your while.
July 26th, 2008 - 01:31
Well, I was skimming (special skill acquired sometime ago due to time constrain, lol) thru this anime (epi 1-9), and I kinda agree with Stripey’s impression. This show gives me a similar feel to the anime Gigantic Formula for me.
Despite the seemingly decent ratings I saw before catching this show, I’m afraid it doesnt appeals to me.
July 26th, 2008 - 01:35
And I would say NOOOOO dont finish it if you didnt like it just like how some people never finish their food purposely to practise their sense of (food) control
D
On a irrelevant side note, batman dark knight rocks!
July 26th, 2008 - 04:33
I haven’t finished Kurenai myself (I stopped after ep8 iirc) but I have to agree sith Stripey on this one. The naivety of the series is beyond extreme even.
I’m already use to spineless male main characters that are only good in apologizing, I’m used to bad decisions making that can change pretty simple situation into worse because they are required for the plot. But it seems like in Kurenai everyone lacks a common sense when it comes to protecting Murasaki.
I can’t completely trash this series because I enjoyed some comedy elements a lot. If Kurenai was more of a high fiction comedy it would be all fine… but its not. It looks like they were trying to make rather realistic series and then added completely unrealistic elements like the “horn” and characters lacking common sense.
July 26th, 2008 - 08:26
Why are you dropping a show right before the finale?
SPOILER
Shinkuro’s balls drop in the last two episodes.
July 27th, 2008 - 01:33
I have to agree on the two reasons there, but I have to say the last two episodes (actually just the last) were pretty good.
July 27th, 2008 - 08:39
Thanks for all the thoughts, both for and against the points I’ve listed. On not completing series even with 2 eps remaining, I actually can name at least 2 other 13 part series which I have caught til ep 10 only to drop them (DCII being one of them). When I deemed a series to be unworthy, I consider dwelling another min on it to be an excessive waste of time.
However, given the comments so far, it’d seem that the remaining eps are worth a peek. Although as Kabitzin mentioned, I’m a little skeptical on how the series can turn around with just 2 eps.
July 27th, 2008 - 14:40
@Stripey:
I’m also a Yuuno fan. Even though this show ultimately depicted her in a bad light (clingy, indecent, source of lack of real strength as a result of the Houzuki arm-blade-thing), she is definitely a great person and seemingly pretty down-to-earth as well. I also thought Shinkurou was quite pitiful — a little more shounen oomph would’ve been good, although I did like his character’s voice acting.
July 28th, 2008 - 17:50
I recommend you the novel. I dropped this anime around the same time you dropped the series because I read the novel around that time. The difference was just too much. Benika’s actions will make MUCH more sense and Shinkuro wasn’t as pussy as he was in the anime. Seriously, novel kicked ass. It has all the things you liked about the anime and fixed almost all the problems you have mentioned above. ^^
July 28th, 2008 - 19:43
Is….the novel in japanese?
July 30th, 2008 - 11:16
It’s not so much that Shinkuro’s balls drop in the last 2 episodes as that the show tries to have the last hurragh that every actiony drama seem to MUST have. Felt forced you know. And the charas remain teeth rottingly idealistic and blind to reality as always. It’s for the best you don’t watch if you already feel so unsatisfied. You might get a sugar rush (at best) but you should know how those are in the end.
August 1st, 2008 - 02:47
//crimson: Yeah, the original novel is in Japanese, but I read the Korean translated one. I’m not sure if it is out in any other language.
August 6th, 2008 - 00:43
Interesting… I too have backburnered or dropped Kurenai.
I kept saying I *SHOULD* like this series…. but I keep finding other things to do rather than watch it – even rewatching old favorites. Those symptoms are clues…
I’ll continue to download it when I’ve got nothing on queue…. but unsatisfying and “don’t care” is the nicest thing I can say after seeing 8 episodes….
August 6th, 2008 - 06:27
Cyrilix: I erm.. like clingy girls though only pretty ones and Yuuno qualifies
muhootsaver: Ah.. that explains a lot. That would have made a world of difference in my assessment of the series. I blame the series composer for messing up the show. XD
Zzz…: Thanks for the caution. I’ll probably still complete it but with sufficiently moderated expectations…. some day XD
vexx: which says a lot actually