Forum › Looking Up to Magical Girls discussion

F4x-3lwx0aa0tcu31
joined Apr 20, 2013

inb4 she gets a power up that the more she gets hit, the more powerful she becomes

Random Wanderer
Gatchaman%20hajime
joined Dec 3, 2016

Wow, Azul broke completely.

Wait, Utena, what are you doing? This is what you said you wanted!

Mask
joined Jan 6, 2015

I wanted to see her lick those boots.
..I think I learned something new about myself today.

57e011396781cdc3308f5aefac880571
joined Feb 19, 2016

Although Azul getting mind broken would've been hot, this isn't hentai so I definitely agree with Utena's disgust towards her at the end. She really admired them and to see one snivelling and drooling like a fucking dog would've made any normal person angry.

True heroes do not give in.

4esenuaj_400x400
joined Sep 16, 2014

^She is still mind broken, I don't think she can go back to how she was that easily.

joined Jan 21, 2020

Aight, all this talk of agreeing with Utena is annoying me cuz this chapter has her being a hypocritcal shit. Literally from the start her whole thing is that while she doesnt want to be on the evil side, she keeps giving in to her desires. And once one of the magical girls does that its all dissapointment and disgust ? And while the MC isnt really supposed to be seen as an amazing person, if theyre gonna treat her saying this as something correct and have the magical girl take it as a source for character development while the MC (who was the one who brought her to that point ik the first place) being a hypocrit and acting like an asshole/being responsible for all this in the first place keeps getting played off as a cheap joke like they did in this chapter, imma be pissed.

Someroughclipping
joined Aug 28, 2019

Oof. She finally broke one. Her disgust is understandable though. She does still admire them after all. She probably enjoyed tormenting them but also liked that they still resisted her and fought for justice blah blah blah. Seeing one submit to their enemy, even if that enemy is her, made it no longer fun for her.

Azul is probably gonna get back on her feet after this. Getting defeated by the enemy over and over again is one thing but getting scolded by your enemy about what you stand for is a different kind of low.

Aight, all this talk of agreeing with Utena is annoying me cuz this chapter has her being a hypocritcal shit.

Well the last panel pretty much confirms this.

last edited at Mar 11, 2020 12:26AM

joined Jan 21, 2020

Well the last panel pretty much confirms this.

While thats true, the way it looks is theyre playing it off for laughs again. The main thing that bothers me here is that characters arent being held as accoumtable by the narrative. Utena can go around being aweful as much as she wants cuz the manga keeps playing it as a joke and not taking it seriously while Azul breaks at a pretty understandable point and the manga sets up to scrutinize her and have Utena whip her back into shape (pun intended) with her words.
Obviously this is just my speculation for how the next chapter is gonna go and maybe ill get surprised but thats the direction i see the story going in for now.

last edited at Mar 11, 2020 12:37AM

TifalovesAerith
7056534
joined May 7, 2017

I love the fact that you can't predict the things are gonna happen in this story.

_20180228_203946
joined Jan 24, 2018

Today's chapter was Azul going on a perfect date.... So she pretty much called out Baiser to come and do some nasty freak stuff to her.... even put a barrier up incase things got a bit rough.... Daaaamn Azul!!!... Masochist much?!
horny intensifies

last edited at Mar 11, 2020 12:47AM

Someroughclipping
joined Aug 28, 2019

The main thing that bothers me here is that characters arent being held as accoumtable by the narrative. Utena can go around being aweful as much as she wants cuz the manga keeps playing it as a joke and not taking it seriously while Azul breaks at a pretty understandable point and the manga sets up to scrutinize her and have Utena whip her back into shape (pun intended) with her words.

I think that's the point. Utena is the MC but she's also the villain. She can be awful, a hypocrite, an asshole, and not be accountable or responsible for anything cause well, she's the villain. Azul is supposed to be one of the heroines. She's held to a higher standard. She's not allowed to fall that low or break, and if she does, she's expected to get back up. And I think, that's what Utena expects out of them despite her efforts to make them submit. She doesn't want them to be like her: falling cause of their desires. She looks up to magical girls after all.

HazmatChiefAlsimi
joined Feb 9, 2019

Woah.

joined May 31, 2019

Woah, shivers from page 29. It's like seeing the "mind-break" trope train crashing into an icy mountain.

62342532_p4_3
joined May 27, 2015

I'll never look at a panda the same way again

Tsuki-chan Uploader
Unknown
Chads no Teikoku
joined Dec 18, 2013

NOOOOOO ACCEPT HER AHHHH

God this is so good

Tsuki-chan Uploader
Unknown
Chads no Teikoku
joined Dec 18, 2013

kirakazumi posted:

Although Azul getting mind broken would've been hot, this isn't hentai so I definitely agree with Utena's disgust towards her at the end. She really admired them and to see one snivelling and drooling like a fucking dog would've made any normal person angry.

True heroes do not give in.

Did I just discover a new fetish?

Lil-Dumpster-Rat
2020-10-01%20(2)
joined Jul 27, 2019

Hold the FUCK up,

W h A t W a S t H a T

Artoria
joined Sep 12, 2018

This gets DARK suddenly.
The last page gave some levity but I want more of the plot(like, actual plot) soon.

joined Jan 21, 2020

I think that's the point. Utena is the MC but she's also the villain. She can be awful, a hypocrite, an asshole, and not be accountable or responsible for anything cause well, she's the villain. Azul is supposed to be one of the heroines. She's held to a higher standard. She's not allowed to fall that low or break, and if she does, she's expected to get back up. And I think, that's what Utena expects out of them despite her efforts to make them submit. She doesn't want them to be like her: falling cause of their desires. She looks up to magical girls after all.

Right, which is why its so jarring to see Utena of all people be the one to criticize her for it. Its like watching a criminal beat up some security guy and once the latter, wounded and tired, gives up and begs for mercy the criminal starts lecturing him and somehow the narrative acts like the criminal is somehow right. Which btw the whole idea that Azul is commiting some big sin here is also lost on me. Like these are 14 year old girls who got picked basically randomly cuz they were brave one time so her giving in is pretty understandable. Turns out, normal people cant just willpower their way through continuous abuse and not be affected by it, especially when theyre 14.

Amimaidprofile
joined Mar 5, 2019

I think that's the point. Utena is the MC but she's also the villain. She can be awful, a hypocrite, an asshole, and not be accountable or responsible for anything cause well, she's the villain. Azul is supposed to be one of the heroines. She's held to a higher standard. She's not allowed to fall that low or break, and if she does, she's expected to get back up. And I think, that's what Utena expects out of them despite her efforts to make them submit. She doesn't want them to be like her: falling cause of their desires. She looks up to magical girls after all.

Right, which is why its so jarring to see Utena of all people be the one to criticize her for it. Its like watching a criminal beat up some security guy and once the latter, wounded and tired, gives up and begs for mercy the criminal starts lecturing him and somehow the narrative acts like the criminal is somehow right. Which btw the whole idea that Azul is commiting some big sin here is also lost on me. Like these are 14 year old girls who got picked basically randomly cuz they were brave one time so her giving in is pretty understandable. Turns out, normal people cant just willpower their way through continuous abuse and not be affected by it, especially when theyre 14.

i wouldn't call it losing willpower through continuous abuse. i mean, Azul's turning point was clearly the time she was blindfolded and had her body teased. She was enjoying it despite lashing out, attacking, and wasn't even actually hurt in that instance. That's why she looks so "messed up" at the end of that chapter, she learned losing control like that in a non-harmful manner can be fun, and it opened the door.

last edited at Mar 11, 2020 8:14AM

Book%20and%20cloakhbq1
joined Aug 1, 2011

so, Sayo's super-subbiness prevented her from being mindfucked like the other two?

Yeah. The mascots are definitely working together.

Also, I don't think I like the new girl. Her design is nice and all, but her power is a bit too broken to be interesting. It seems like she just wins unless a deus ex machina stops her. Sure, she technically has some sort of time limit on her power use, but that's so ill defined that it's no better than plot convenience.

I don't think that's much of an issue in the sense that power levels have never really been a thing in this story. I'm going to guess that her power is meant as a thematic foil to Baiser's; Alice strips away their agency and pushes them into roles that she defines. Whereas Baiser physically restrains them but ultimately pushes them into discovering new things about themselves.

This is all wacky, galaxy-brain media analysis though, so more likely the author just liked the idea and rolled with it lol

I mean, when you think about it, this all plays into the villain team’s BDSM theme. Baiser’s just a straight up dominatrix, Kiwi’s abilities focus on inflicting pain, and Alice’s focuses on taking control. In a way, Utena’s teammates are just extreme versions of Utena herself.

You realize this means all 3 girls represent all 3 aspects of the trifecta? Kiwi's the SM (sadomasochism), Baiser's the B&D (bondage and discipline) and Alice is the D/s (dominance and submission)?

Huh. That makes a lot of sense. I hadn't really thought of Kiwi in terms of SM, largely because of how hard she falls for Baiser, but I can definitely see the connection, now that you've pointed it out. I wonder if we'll see a similar reflection on the hero's side.

I think that's the point. Utena is the MC but she's also the villain. She can be awful, a hypocrite, an asshole, and not be accountable or responsible for anything cause well, she's the villain. Azul is supposed to be one of the heroines. She's held to a higher standard. She's not allowed to fall that low or break, and if she does, she's expected to get back up. And I think, that's what Utena expects out of them despite her efforts to make them submit. She doesn't want them to be like her: falling cause of their desires. She looks up to magical girls after all.

Right, which is why its so jarring to see Utena of all people be the one to criticize her for it. Its like watching a criminal beat up some security guy and once the latter, wounded and tired, gives up and begs for mercy the criminal starts lecturing him and somehow the narrative acts like the criminal is somehow right. Which btw the whole idea that Azul is commiting some big sin here is also lost on me. Like these are 14 year old girls who got picked basically randomly cuz they were brave one time so her giving in is pretty understandable. Turns out, normal people cant just willpower their way through continuous abuse and not be affected by it, especially when theyre 14.

While Utena's behavior isn't particularly good, I'm not sure if it's as hypocritical as people seem to think.

Utena doesn't really believe in Enormeeta's nominal goals, which means she's not motivated by any long term victory. Instead, she seems to enjoy fighting against Tres Magia and watching them struggle. Actually defeating them, in the long term, would be counter to her goals, so one of their members giving up is just as much a loss for her as it is for them.

Put another way, she's more like a prize fighter than a soldier. Soldiers fight to accomplish some greater objective against enemies that try to stop them. So, for a soldier, a strong enemy is a good thing. Conversely, a prize fighter is motivated by the fight itself, and each individual win, meaning their opponents are a necessity. A prize fighters rival quitting is unlikely to get them closer to their goal (them not being their does not mean the fights are one) and actually deprives them of what they want. It is purely a bad thing.

Doyoulikemykar2
joined Nov 15, 2019

yall talking trash forget that my girl utena is a huge magical girl stan, what are yall talking about

did i miss the chapter where she went and said she wanted to take over the world? shes into seeing the magical girls be cool and theres nothing cooler than being at the edge of defeat and rising up, of course she was pissed when azul gave up

F4x-3lwx0aa0tcu31
joined Apr 20, 2013

hellowitchy posted:

yall talking trash forget that my girl utena is a huge magical girl stan, what are yall talking about

did i miss the chapter where she went and said she wanted to take over the world? shes into seeing the magical girls be cool and theres nothing cooler than being at the edge of defeat and rising up, of course she was pissed when azul gave up

This dood/ette gets it!

Twitterprofilepic(2019)2
joined Apr 17, 2018

To be fair to Utena after her battle with Azul, a proper sadist would never give a masochist what they really want ;D

Wolfsister%20cara
joined Feb 10, 2013

Somehow, I really loved that last chapter. I feel it pretty sound and solid.

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