Review: Gotham

Preface: I've been wanting to write a review column for some time, but really didn't know what to write about. Now that I'm back into some comics and TV shows, I have something to review. I kind of hope this will become a weekly thing, but if history is any indicator, it won't be quite that frequent. I'd also like to keep it relevant, that is, reviewing newish things, but who knows.

So, with that...

Gotham

They sell a lot of umbrellas here.

As of my writing this, there are now four episodes of Gotham. I have to say, I am on the verge of letting this show go.

First of all, this does not feel like a superhero comics universe at all. This is a grim and gritty cops and mobsters drama. Some characters from the Batman oeuvre are present, albeit in something of a larval state, but not all of them have anything interesting to do. Episode 1: Pilot was particularly guilty of this. Besides the requisite Waynes and Jim Gordon, there is the Penguin, The Riddler, and maybe Poison Ivy? Oh, and let's not forget Selina Kyle, the future Catwoman, who seems to be photobombing every other scene.

I know that was only the pilot, and they threw everything at us at once to hope something sticks. Still, I had hope for the show.

In subsequent episodes, Oswald Cobblepot, or the Penguin (don't call him that, btw) grows as a character, and is to date the most interesting part of the show. He's playing both sides when we're introduced to him, and continues to do so even after a falling out with his former boss. I'm not sure what his angle is, playing the mob against the cops and against each other, but he's doing a pretty good job of it so far.

Fish Mooney is another one of our main characters, and to my knowledge is not from the comics canon. This is Jada Pinkett-Smith vamping all over the place. She's mean and dangerous, but charismatic throughout. She's an interesting character even if a bit one-dimensional. Whenever it looks like she might have some vulnerability, she completely undercuts it with her ruthlessness, and as much as I want to like her, I really don't. If that's by design, then they're doing a good job.

See the red? Red equals evil.

Gordon. I like Gordon, but he's your typical white hat cop in a corrupt system. This trope feels a bit played out even in the setting of Gotham. His paladin-like moral code makes some of the choices he has to make even tougher, especially since he has to play the game or face death at the hands of the mob. I feel like this is true to Gordon, but it's just not that interesting, and the conflict he has at home with Barbara feels forced and unnecessary.

Which brings me to Bruce. Oh, Brucey Brucey Brucey. I get it. It's Gotham. Gotham is all about Batman. We've seen the Batman origin time and time again, in two sets of movies, in comics, in animated series. We know this story. Origin stories are always and forever the least interesting part about superheroes. Why do we have to keep cutting away to Bruce Wayne? Why do we have to get an eleven-year-old's perspective on everything? He doesn't even seem like a real kid. He's reading his parents' files, he's following current events on the news, and worst of all, he's boring. I would much rather see a teenage Bruce Wayne. What is that guy like? Is he trying to get into the family business? Is he beating up muggers in his spare time? I'm not really sure when he put on the cowl, but it would be far more interesting if a proto-batman were out there, maybe getting his butt kicked because he's not good at it yet. Maybe he's filtering information to the police, an anonymous tipper. Maybe he tries to get in with some mob thugs with the idea to infiltrate the system. Little kid Bruce is just nothing, and I'm tired of him wasting minutes of this show. Why does Gordon keep reporting back to him like some kind of underling? It just doesn't work.

Don't worry kid, one day you'll be cool.

I do kind of like Edward Nygma as the CSI or whatever he is. He's odd, but in a kind of fun way, and knowing who he becomes later, I get a kick out of him. He doesn't ham it up too bad, he just does his thing and then is gone again doing whatever it is he does. I'd actually like to see a bit more of him, but what we're getting is enough.

So, I'm going to keep watching it for now, but I'm losing my patience with you, Gotham. Be better. We all want you to be better. You've got a built-in fan base, don't blow it.

Kill La Kill: Progressive?

I recently watched the entirety of the Anime show Kill La Kill. I'd seen some brief screenshots and animation on Tumblr, but hadn't checked the show out before. Frankly, some of the character design made me cringe, and I had been avoiding it, but for whatever reason, I gave it a go.

Now, to preface this, I want to point out that having been on Tumblr has exposed me to no small amount of feminism as it relates to female characters in fiction, and the male gaze, specifically in comics and animation. So, when I started watching Kill La Kill, I was already prepared to look down on it. I mean, look at the main protagonist, Ryuko Matoi.

Underboob Ahoy!

Yikes. Now, without having seen much of the show, I find myself down on it already. Shame on you Kill La Kill, for pandering to fanboys that want to see all the T&A. For Shame. Tsk Tsk. Now compound that with the main antagonist through the first part of the show, Satsuki Kiryuin.

How does it stay on?

GAH... even worse. So already, I have my doubts. But the show's animation style is hyperkinetic and fun, and the female characters, while scantily clad, are well written and numerous. They all seem to have their own agency. Additionally, they all seem to know and actively acknowledge that their outfits are ridiculous.

SPOILERS AHEAD!  Get it?

OK, So the main thrust of the show is that there are these things called life fibers. Some kind of parasitic alien life form that, when woven into clothing, grants the wearer superhuman fighting prowess. The thing is, that people exposed to too much of this life fiber get overwhelmed by it. So, the amount of skin showing on our two main characters is justified. OK... I'll buy it.

I keep watching, and the show is good. It's from some of the minds behind shows like FLCL and Gurren Lagann, two shows that are as silly and fun as they are weird and inscrutable. Kill La Kill is a little more straightforward storywise with the same strange animation style and off-kilter sense of humor. So I'm enjoying it despite the uncomfortable amount of female nudity, particularly when the characters are supposed to be 17 years old.

Now, a couple episodes in, we are introduced to another character. This character is an undercover teacher at their school. He is an agent for an anti-life fiber group codenamed NUDIST BEACH. They wear little if any clothing because, well, we find out later that the evil corporation REVOCS (anagram for COVERS) is secretly putting life fibers into clothing all over the world. So Nudist Beach does not wear clothing in order to better combat their evil scheme. We get to meet Aikuro Mikisugi.

Nice gun.

Wait a minute. Wait. A. Minute. Now I'm not so sure. So many shows, games, comics, treat the female form as a thing to be seen. Form-fitting, skin-showing, male gazeworthy things are they. I mean, boob windows in everything. Now, here is a show... here is a show that says, here is the reason that our characters are basically fighting in lingerie, and then is not afraid for those rules to apply to its male characters as well. Mikisugi is forever letting whatever clothes he has slip off, even mid conversation. And he keeps his gun right out front.

OK. So I'm starting to understand that this show isn't about T&A. This show is saying something.

Let's not forget Nui Harime, one of our villains.

How cute.

Yeah, she's horrible. She's the one who started this whole thing by killing Ryuko's father. And she did it with a smile on her face. She's obsessed with femininity and cuteness, and also happens to be about as evil as you can be. By the end she's a snarling ball of rage, but still rocking that pink bow like a boss. I. Love. This. Character.

By the time of the show's finale, virtually everyone's naked, or in barely-there battle gear.

Good thing it's warm out.

Male and female alike, it doesn't matter. And it's not overly sexualized nudity. It just is. I think (and this is my interpretation) that the show is shining a spotlight on all those tropes, particularly in anime, of the strong female character who is also a sex object. I think that this show first shows us how ridiculous it is, and then takes it further and further until it just doesn't matter anymore. Man, woman, and child are all in next-to-nothing to combat the life fiber threat. In the last beat of the show, EVERYONE's clothes are obliterated, leaving everyone exposed, hangin' all their stuff out in all its floppy glory. But it doesn't feel weird or unnecessary. It makes sense.

So, in conclusion, between the Nudist Beach operatives and the ultra feminine, yet ultra evil and powerful Nui Harime, I feel like Kill La Kill says some interesting things about objectification both in anime and in general. So I was wrong to snap to judgement about it. It's not perfect. There are some uncomfortable moments with Ryuko and her surrogate family ogling her, but other than that, I think this show is a step forward. This is a definite recommend.

I'm Back! What's with all the death?

July is over.

I decided unconsciously to take July off. Rejoice both of you who read this blog!

Well, what really happened is that I busted my buns at the end of June to make a couple deadlines, and found myself creatively dried up. I started reading again, which I haven't done in some time, and watching shows on Netflix. God bless Netflix.

Anyway, I finally got back into my Game of Thrones reading. I am halfway through book four, Feast for Crows, and I had a thought. (no spoilers, I promise.) What is with all the grimdark?

I finished the Anime series Attack on Titan, and began a new one, the Netflix distributed Knights of Sidonia. One thing that all three of these stories share, is a seeming delight in letting us get to know and like a character and then killing that character, often in a brutal way. Where did this come from? I blame Sean Bean.

The man is a walking spoiler.

Now, Martin's Game of Thrones novel is old enough to vote, so I have to imagine that he was in uncharted territory in the world of genre fiction especially back then, but this was totally unthinkable in television as far as I'm aware. Aside from horror, where death and dismemberment are the name of the game, where does this happen? I mean, up until Game of Thrones, the worst I'd heard of was people being shot. Who shot JR? (and much later, who shot Mr. Burns). In either case the character lived. Characters are killed off in daytime soaps, but they often come back. If there's no body, there's no death, and even then sometimes not.

Attack on Titan is about as bad as Game of Thrones. The body count is high, and it's not just unnamed grunts or guys who are just about to retire. That show introduces whole groups of characters that we are taught to love and identify with, and then proceeds to smoosh them like so much raspberry jam. That is almost not a metaphor. Those of you who have seen the show know what I'm talking about.

Be careful who you get attached to.

At times it's like these shows are trolling us.

"Hey, you know that one character you love, and is your favorite character? Nothing, nevermind... muhahahahaaa..." -Scumbag Show

Now, with Game of Thrones, having read well into book four I almost feel like Martin knew he was going to introduce whole countries worth of new characters, and had to kill off a bunch of them just so we had enough space in our cerebral cortexes (corticii?) to remember all the names. But I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. He might just be fucking with us all, laughing behind his monochrome DOS monitor as he plots another mass murder.

The face of evil incarnate.

All this makes me fear for the future of storytelling. Are we as a people going to tolerate our main characters surviving our stories anymore? I am on the cusp of beginning a new fantasy novel, and I don't want to be expected to kill off my main characters. I mean, unless it makes sense. Sometimes a character was born to die. Especially if he's played by Sean Bean. (spoiler alert).