fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #658 ]

⌈ Secret Post #658 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

101.

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102.

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103.

[Looking For Group]

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104.

[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]

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105.

[Fanfiction; Voldemort Kaulitz]

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106.

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107.

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108.

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109.

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110.

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111.

[The Penguin of Death]

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112.

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113.

[Fullmetal Alchemist]

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114.

[Death Note, Mello]

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115.

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116.

[MCA, KH II]

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117.

[Gurren Lagann]

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118.

[Fringe]

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127.

[Psychonauts]

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128.

[Avatar]

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129. [broken]

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130.

[Ashes to Ashes, Shaz Granger]

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131.

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132.

[Code Geass, C.C.]

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133.

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134.

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135.

[Whitest Kids U' Know]

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136.

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137.

[Nabari no Ou]

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138.

[Kamen Rider Kiva]

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[BoA]

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147.

[QI, Jeremy Clarkson, Sean Lock]

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149.

[Resized]

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151.

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153.

[Star Trek]

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154.

[Fast and the Furious]

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155.

[I suggest Kamina]

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156.

[Code Geass]

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157.

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158.

[Ken Russell's The Devils, Father Barre]

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159.

[Supernatural]

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160.

[Avatar]

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162.

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163.

[Stephen Colbert/Kathleen Parker]

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164.

[Death Note]

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Notes:

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Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #094.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 - broken links ], [ 1 2 3 - not!secrets ], [ 1 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 - too big ], [ 1 - repeat ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 - doing it wrong ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nia developed plenty through the show, I believe. She had a purpose in the narrative, thematically speaking, even beyond helping Simon to develop. She started as naive, sheltered, so-spoiled-she-doesn't-know-she-is-spoiled princess without much information on the world beyond the absolute reality Genome had provided her with. She starts shaping herself through her interactions with the cast and comes to appreciate Simon because of his love for Kamina and his dedication to any task. To her understanding, Simon's statue of Kamina is the very definition of humanity. Genome's abandonment stripped Nia from her identity, it took away all she believed was correct and Simon appears to give Nia something to believe in, something to validate her own existence.

It just grew from there, really... and that's more than enough to guarantee their relationship as compelling. Besides, let us not forget that maybe Nia saw a little bit of Genome in Simon; you can't afford ignore the possibilities of a father complex when it comes to Gainax shows.

Regardless, perhaps that's not for you and I understand it's just silly to argue about personal preferences; but there is plenty of material to understand the development of their relationship.

Genome's abandonment stripped Nia from her identity, it took away all she believed was correct and Simon appears to give Nia something to believe in, something to validate her own existence.

This is why her character is hampered by being so closely associated with Simon's mid-development, because you would think she would have had a similar crisis of faith since her world was supposedly shattered like Simon's. On the contrary, the show only pays lip service to the idea that being kicked out of her father's house had led to any major amount of suffering on her half.

Her character arc isn't "finding a purpose" as much as it is "learning the ways of the world". For some reason, Nia pops out of the box equipped with boundless optimism and never questions or loses that for no discernible reason, even when every single other cast member has their own individual crucibles as they make their way through the series.

But she indeed has a similar crisis of faith. She isn't trying to find a purpose, she was trying to understand what it meant to be human. It isn't in Nia's character to extendedly grieve, but her own type of insecurity was delivered plenty through the show. She asks for a proper burial of her sisters in order to validate her own existence, she hesitates to kill her father in episode 15, she in at first scared of Simon's proposal because she wants to protect her own identity and she ultimately asks him to allow her in order to become Nia once again.

And "every single other cast member"? How were Viral or Yoko given more of an individual crucible than Nia? How was Kamina given more of an individual crucible than Nia? I remember Kamina screaming for his father for a brief sequence in episode 2 and "forgetting" about it in subsequent adventures.

She isn't trying to find a purpose, she was trying to understand what it meant to be human.

I deliberately said she wasn't trying to find a purpose.

It isn't in Nia's character to extendedly grieve, but her own type of insecurity was delivered plenty through the show.

Where was this?

She asks for a proper burial of her sisters in order to validate her own existence, she hesitates to kill her father in episode 15, she in at first scared of Simon's proposal because she wants to protect her own identity and she ultimately asks him to allow her in order to become Nia once again.

How were Viral or Yoko given more of an individual crucible than Nia?

Youko's was finding her purpose--unlike Nia's. Viral's was similar in that he was searching for a place to call home. All of the (remaining) mains' are illuminated by their scenes in 26.

How was Kamina given more of an individual crucible than Nia? I remember Kamina screaming for his father for a brief sequence in episode 2 and "forgetting" about it in subsequent adventures.

You are kidding, right? Kamina is the second most complex character in the entire show--and I didn't even like him all that much, honestly--Kamina was operating almost entirely on bravado and felt like the only thing he could really do was try to give strength to people like Simon. He outright says this, so I'm not sure why you're thinking that Kamina's development is somehow tied to his father.

That's why he needed to die, narratively, before Simon figured out there was a "man behind the curtain".

Funny how you ignore the scenes I mentioned. Nia was insecure of her own worth, but she thought moping around would not help her move forward. She wanted to atone for the sins of her father. She buried her sisters because she wanted to be assured of the value of her kind. She was trying to understand humanity, that was her purpose. Something as compelling as Yoko's, Viral's and Kamina's.

Kamina's development is tied to his father because the essential theme of Gurren-Lagann is the confrontation between the past and the future. The eternal conflicts between those that will come and those that came before.

she hesitates to kill her father in episode 15

When I rewatched, I interpreted this as her seeing her last chance at being validated as a person in the way she'd originally hoped for being destroyed. That she then got up and went back to Simon instead of just...letting herself fall over the edge too says a lot about her strength.

Having been following these threads, I'm just going to observe here that it's possible, as I do, to acknowledge that the show could have done more to develop Nia, but still love what is done with her.

I have issues with the way Gurren Lagann handles its female characters (yes, Yoko too). I essentially agree with everything

csakuras and

7thisgod are saying about Nia's development--I think it was there if you look hard enough--but I am disappointed that so much of it was subtext, whereas so much of a lot of the rest of the cast's development was text. I understand why other people would find her less interesting than some characters, but I don't think she's less complex...just somewhat mishandled. I hold out hope that the second movie will give Nia some actual action and screentime towards the end, so we can see her own thoughts and decisions instead of having to guess at them, but that won't fix the flaws of the original show.

Also, while Simon/Nia may be too "perfect" for your tastes, I like it a lot because I feel like it justifies its perfection (as well as appealing to my fondness for certain types of connections between characters). We're not told "Simon and Nia are ridiculously good for each other," we're shown it. You may prefer more conflict in your pairings (and I usually do too), but Simon/Nia appeals to the part of me that likes really big, epic love that's also just plain cute.

I personally, in terms of Nia-content, find it reassuring that Maasahiko Ootsuka is credited as director for both Gurren-Lagann movies. Not only is Nia his favorite character, he was already in charge of 4 of the 6 major Nia episodes. (9, 15, 17, 27)

We'll know tomorrow, I guess.

[ SECRET POST #658 ]

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Re: The rage is strong with me today

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