redwoodalchan

So, now that I've gotten back from the (belated) Halloween party at my old martial-arts school, I think it's finally time to bring this year's Halloween festivities to a close. So I'll just end by sharing my final thoughts here.

( Read my final thoughts on Halloween )

So, that's the note on which I end Halloween this year, I guess. It's time to put away the Halloween decorations and costumes, roll up my sleeves, and face what the rest of the year will bring. Here's hoping that Halloween as we know it is still around next year.

Well, at least I still have the Pokemon holiday fic exchange to cheer myself up.

Three to four years ago now, I first started watching episodes of the original “Neon Genesis Evangelion” series. Less than two years ago now, I attended an Anime Boston panel where I got to meet cast members of the “Evangelion” remakes coming out, including Spike Spencer (Shinji), Brina Palencia (Rei), Trina Nishimura (Mari), and J. Michael Tatum (Kaji). However, it was just this October that I finally got around to picking up copies of the remakes currently available on DVD. Even now, watching the DVD's really brings back the excitement and wonder I experienced when I first discovered the original series as an older teenage girl.

I'd just like to preface this by relating a bit of background here. Since Otakon 2011, which I volunteered at, I knew that the dark magical girl show “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” existed and was coming to the States. This past summer, at Otakon 2012, I went to a celebratory panel with Christine Marie Cabanos, Sarah Williams, and Lauren Landa, who provide the English voices of Madoka, Sayaka, and Kyoko, respectively. And although I hadn't actually started watching “Madoka Magica” at that point, I had such a great time at the panel and autograph session (where I was ecstatic to have Lauren Landa say two whole sentences to me that didn't have to do with the show) that I decided I just had to watch “Madoka Magica” this very Halloween.

Fortunately, “Madoka Magica” turned out to be fairly short, which meant it was easy to fit in—and, if anything, I found myself having to pace my viewings of it so that I wouldn't finish the entire thing in a single night (then “Shiki” came along...). This is a good show. It's compelling, it draws you in, and it really makes you feel for all the various characters. I'm not sure if I'd say it's quite as good as “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” or even that it's as groundbreaking as it's been made out to be—though more on that later. But there's a lot it does well.

WARNING: There's really no way to talk about the plot of “Madoka” without giving away the story, so if you haven't seen it yet (and you want to be surprised) DO NOT READ ON!!

( SPOILERS AHEAD )