Well I just rewatched it, after...9 years? or so. And I actually really liked it, I guess it wasn't just my brain remembering it fondly for being one of my first seasonals. I was reading quite a few of the comments, I don't know why maybe cause I'm starting to write more in the forum lol, and yeah there's always a variety, of people that just hate anime, people that just didn't pay attention, people that really liked it but their lack of english grammar (mine isn't perfect either) just stops me from reading their essay, some other that also compare it to the live action and is a pretty nice read, and of course a lot in between. Sad I didn't find any comment from F0RMATION, I was checking the first episode threads and I loved how he was the first to predict the daughter mom theory lol. Someone refuted it by saying she would need a lot of stuff to take care of a baby, but since she's a genius I guess she could have had the tools to make them? I don't know. It's also interesting that they say she's a normal girl but also was able to carry out the conversations quite well, even if she couldn't come up with stuff herself she was a really good student I guess.
Now, one thing I was looking for people to comment on but didn't see I think, specially in the episodes where we learn the relationship with her uncle, is that she is suppose to be an unparallel genius that doesn't exist in this world. Someone did comment about how overused this trope is, i do like it a lot in Zaregoto from Nisioisin! but basically they are suppose to be in a different level, they are suppose to see stuff we don't, yet people jump to the conclusion she looks like a sick person so she is just delusional and not really smart. I remember when I was at church lessons that they told that it's impossible to understand what God is thinking since he's at a different level, we can only try to understand it. Basically I think it's like that, even if you don't believe in god I do like this way of thinking, that we have to remember what we think is but a fraction of it all, a piece of the puzzle, we don't see the full picture so it's hard to quickly make conclusions. The point of Magata Shiki is that she is far smarter than everyone else, a genius, so she sees the world in a different light, and people a lot more stuff others don't. You could just claim it's a different angle she sees and that's fine too, but I guess it's like "if you are smart enough you will want to kill yourself cause you realize there's no point to it all" something like that, that combines intellect with extreme nihilism.
But basically just like we can't know what others think, we don't know what a super genius like her sees, and why she comes with that conclusion, it's just fiction as well but I do like thinking what would a superior being with incredible intellect think, it's a nice what if. In the scenes of her uncle as well, she knows what she needs to do to manipulate him cause she's just that smart, so it's hard to blame the uncle lol. So while she did kill her parents, daughter and uncle; I do believe it's really interesting how she is free from ethics (like some commented, and how saikawa said this made her pure) so that must be quite a punch for other people watching and being disgusted by her actions and way of thinking, but basically we can't really understand her, the show also says this, that she has her way of thinking and the others have a different one. Someone also compared how Moe is basically a self insert of the viewer that is shocked by all the things Magata Shiki is capable of, that you would never do or think of doing that, which is pretty on the nose, she just can't seem to forgive her for thinking that, and a lot of people on this comment section also claim to be smart enough to know this is all stupid, it's lame writing, that she is just sick, but that's just it, she might be sick, or just be really smart and we don't really understand her behavior, but we can't just say we know why she does this, that she is just sick, put her in this box called mental illness and be like we know better.
I do like how Saikawa-sensei said "thinking the sky is pretty is actually an unnatural thing to say, a person that is really free wouldn't really think that, only someone that is often far from nature would say something like that" which I thought was a really interesting line, there's a lot of those in the show, I even loved the lectures from Moe's dad at the end, people say it's slow, maybe go watch a mecha anime lol, the conversations of this show are really cool and interesting, sometimes yes, it tries to be smarter than it is, like with math and the hexadecimal thing that I can't believe it was such a big reveal, everyone's a fucking programmer in the anime but they have to make this big exposition to the viewer that probably doesn't know what hexadecimal is lol. But I wouldn't really call it slow paced, the mystery wasn't really the point of the show, I mean there's a fucking murderer and everyone was so chill about it. But going back to the nature being normal and not beautiful, I wonder what would a person that has been in nature all they life think about it...if they meet the comforts of life, maybe they would think the city is beautiful instead, to be able to satisfy their every needs! That nature was just harsh and torture and they never think of beautiful at all! I like that think that, because I too enjoy nature but it's what Saikawa-sensei said, I enjoy it cause I'm surrounded by buildings, electronic devices and I take this break from it all to appreciate nature as beauty when it's just the normal state of life, it's like saying I enjoy breathing so much. AND, this topic is brought back at the last episode! Sensei asked Shiki what she thought of the sky when she saw it for the first time in 15 years "Nothing really" Saikawa-sensei asks "really?" and the Doctor claims he's quite sentimental lol, she literally reacted like Saikawa-sensei said she would
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