revue starlight goodposts

[guerrillatech]

[shoujokageki]

gahahahgahhaha im watching this weeks episode and i was right i was right top star evil

[shoujokageki]

Okay i have to leave for work soon so i dont have time for screenshots but heres my posts: in the third episode when karen and maya are dueling the candle flames on the chandelier start off red (Karen’s image color) and once Karen cuts it down, they become a blueish grey (Maya’s image color). This seems like a weird change at first bc if Karen is associated with red, shouldn’t her cutting down the chandelier have turned the flames from blue to red, to signify her taking control of the scene?  I think that’s what would have happened if that were the case, but that’s not actually the change the show is depicting. It’s more along the lines of Karen trying to take control of the scene only to realize the actual gulf between maya and herself; she makes a play and gets totally outmatched. This is reinforced by the fact that, immediately afterwards, the backdrop of a staircase parts, revealing maya atop an actual massive staircase. The scene starts with them on equal footing, but very quickly reveals how out of her league karen actually is.

[shoujokageki]

Okay i have to leave for work soon so i dont have time for screenshots but heres my posts: in the third episode when karen and maya are dueling the candle flames on the chandelier start off red (Karen’s image color) and once Karen cuts it down, they become a blueish grey (Maya’s image color). This seems like a weird change at first bc if Karen is associated with red, shouldn’t her cutting down the chandelier have turned the flames from blue to red, to signify her taking control of the scene?  I think that’s what would have happened if that were the case, but that’s not actually the change the show is depicting. It’s more along the lines of Karen trying to take control of the scene only to realize the actual gulf between maya and herself; she makes a play and gets totally outmatched. This is reinforced by the fact that, immediately afterwards, the backdrop of a staircase parts, revealing maya atop an actual massive staircase. The scene starts with them on equal footing, but very quickly reveals how out of her league karen actually is.

[shoujokageki]

Okay i have to leave for work soon so i dont have time for screenshots but heres my posts: in the third episode when karen and maya are dueling the candle flames on the chandelier start off red (Karen’s image color) and once Karen cuts it down, they become a blueish grey (Maya’s image color). This seems like a weird change at first bc if Karen is associated with red, shouldn’t her cutting down the chandelier have turned the flames from blue to red, to signify her taking control of the scene?  I think that’s what would have happened if that were the case, but that’s not actually the change the show is depicting. It’s more along the lines of Karen trying to take control of the scene only to realize the actual gulf between maya and herself; she makes a play and gets totally outmatched. This is reinforced by the fact that, immediately afterwards, the backdrop of a staircase parts, revealing maya atop an actual massive staircase. The scene starts with them on equal footing, but very quickly reveals how out of her league karen actually is.

[shoujokageki]

Uh ok so theres a lot to post about this week but what im really impressed with is how fast we got to a point where the like. starting pairs were broken up and people got mixed around? Like i was ready to have a few episodes where like. one or two of the pairs was the focus apiece but we’ve seemingly circumvented that entirely and im really into it

[shoujokageki]

alright folks so heres the update this show owns

[shoujokageki]

like one of the reasons im very interested in revue starlight is bc i just finished utena and like. theres a lot of vectors you can compare them on but im particularly interested in how the show manages its group dynamics. im seriously hoping it becomes a deconstruction of competition and especially competition between women infavor of supportive relationships

[utopianparadoxist]

Having watched the first three eps today I strongly agree it’s heading this way. It feels pretty inevitable since Karen’s entire motivation is that Theater is something she wants to SHARE with Hikari, and the main conflict seems to be that the other girls (and the system) seem to believe actually sharing that experience is impossible if you also want to live the dream of theater to the fullest.

The comparison to Utenas Duelists is also pretty apt since even the champion of the duels was ultimately a victim of a broken, exploitative system in Utena. It remains to be seen how evil giraffe dude really is but the parallel definitely feels relevant.

PS. You mentioned having JUST watched utena so just in case you’re unaware, revue starlight is being made by one of ikuhara’s proteges. All these utena vibes are quite deliberate.

[shoujokageki]

Oh yeah im aware of Furukawa's relationship to ikuhara and thats why im making the comparison in the first place

[shoujokageki]

im watching the new episode and god i love being right about things

[shoujokageki]

I will never make a joke ever this blog is for serious giraffe analysis only

[shoujokageki]

While I only really have any intent of engaging w the revue starlight anime, apparently the stageplay has a trans actress in its cast and that rules

Source: https://mobile.twitter.com/andrearitsu/status/1018226249737625600

[shoujokageki]

Her name is Sanada Reo, and she's been cast as a teacher.

[shoujokageki]

While I only really have any intent of engaging w the revue starlight anime, apparently the stageplay has a trans actress in its cast and that rules

Source: https://mobile.twitter.com/andrearitsu/status/1018226249737625600

[shoujokageki]

Giraffe Theorem

The reason the top star auditions are being held by a giraffe is because the audition process as well as the title top star are arbitrary and realistically the expectation that the girls all compete to be The Best is baseless, or has otherwise become so warped that whatever base it had had become meaningless

[shoujokageki]

heres a bunch of screenshots that im using to validate myself these are lines from the second episode that the teacher is saying to the class

making the presupposition that the show is using stage-acting as allegory for like. living. this is like literal textual instruction to all these characters that focusing on oneself won’t make you a better performer or person, and that the best way to understand yourself is to understand others.  this is a big part of why im predicting that the top star business is going be rejected by the end of the show in favor of a like. co-operative shared stardom

[shoujokageki]

just absolutely stoked to get to maya and claudine’s episodes because of the way their relationship has been established so far bc theyre like

the fact that theyre paired up is definitely being contextualized by each other two girl pair, especially futaba and kaoruko (motorcycle lesbians) and hikari and karen, but theyre also pretty explicitly rivals and i want to see how the show positions their implicit intimacy in relation to that rivalry and the assumed negative emotions that would come with it.

[shoujokageki]

like one of the reasons im very interested in revue starlight is bc i just finished utena and like. theres a lot of vectors you can compare them on but im particularly interested in how the show manages its group dynamics. im seriously hoping it becomes a deconstruction of competition and especially competition between women infavor of supportive relationships

[shoujokageki]

okay heres my grand prediction: there is no top star and the audition process will end up being a sham or otherwise lose its meaning as the show continues. they will all stand on the stage together, the “we” in “we will become starlight” is in reference to all nine girls