Then I got kicked in the face.
Now, I don't know if the eleven episode anime simply compressed the nine volume novel by Atsuko Asano into utter non-sense but I was shell shocked after the last episode. What just happened? I asked myself. Ok, I understand what happened, but why? For the love of God, why?
Deus ex Machina is 'a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention' says the good old Wikipedia. Intervention by a Goddess in this case.
** Spoilers ahead **
We have two main characters in conflict: one wishes to save No 6 (Shion), one wishes to destroy it (Nezumi). The character arcs were great, Shion slowly goes from the idealist to the destroyer. Nezumi arcs from the destroyer to one who wants to save the city. But how can we both destroy and save No 6 in a manner that both characters would accept? Bring down the walls that surround NO 6 and the outside. Great, I accepted that answer.
What I don't quiet understand is how the story contrived to do that in the last episode. The Goddess archetype through Safu called Eriulias brings down the walls which is fine, then Nezumi dies and is brought back to life.
Ok....
Within the context of the story that was presented up to that last episode, that's a lot to take.The ending completely lost me because it didn't fit into the carefully constructed story that went before it. *sigh* When a wonderful story like this traumatizes me because of shit that doesn't make sense, then I get irritable. I'm lying in wait to see if the NO 6 novels, wonderfully translated at http://9th-ave.blogspot.com/ really ends that way.
2 comments:
Sometimes Deus Ex Machina work just fine, Euclides invented the damn thing, no one gave him credit and now he is regarded as a genius.
Evangelion gave me the same reaction of a "deus ex macchina" ending but years later Is still my favourite anime. I guess the novels can give you an answer, as the same Deus ex Machina can be very convincent in the right hands.
I apreciate your blog, Im slowly inmersing myself into eastern comics/manga cause I got tired of reading Morrison, Rucka an Simone, over and over again (I mean my love for everything Batman or Bane related has a limit).
I was reminded of the film Adaptation by some of your analisis (the part when the main protagonist atends a class from a famous writer teacher).
Im currently reading Nana to Kaoru, is a explendid manga that makes my hearth race everytime I read It. Maybe one of you could be interested in reading It.
I hope you return to post soon.
Take care
I agree that Deus Ex Macchina works, but it's all about context. If that was the type of story that was set up, I would have believed it.
The story up to that point didn't set me up for it however. It wove a more realistic sense of conflict an resolution that didn't involve throwing in a god to resolve the story problem.
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