Category: Character Studies

The Heroines of Princess Knight

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Princess Knight was always a series I desperately wanted to read. After all it inspired so many creators and I’d heard its name when discussing things like The Rose of Versailles and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Vertical re-released it in English just this past year and so I was finally able to see for myself the influence. I realize now after reading it, that I had no idea what to expect from it; tt was unlike anything I had conjured up in my mind. The only thing I had consistently heard was it’s the story of a girl with the heart of a boy and through my own assumptions I figured she wanted to be that boy when really she just wants to be the typical princess. Does it take on gender politics, definitely, but does it do so in the ways I thought it would, not as much. It being, what I concluded to be, a satire of the fairytale genre was a surprise.

Princess Knight has gained this almost mystical reputation as this prototypical shojo manga. For a time it was even incorrectly labeled at the first shojo manga by American fans. It did not help that one of the few ways to read the manga was buying the very out of print and insanely expensive Kodansha bilingual manga release. This all led to Princess Knight gaining a legendary status as if was often referenced by other works but was almost impossible for the average fan to get their hands on. So much of the series reputation came on what people thought it was more than what it actually was. In a way I think most fans saw the works that were inspired by Princess Knight and extrapolated what they thought it would be. And so the actual gender politics are far less progressive and the themes far less complex than some of fandom might have imagined.

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The Speakeasy #025: The Flying Penguin, A Revolutionary Girl Utena & Mawaru Penguindrum Discussion

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Drink #025: The Flying Penguin,
A Revolutionary Girl Utena & Mawaru Penguindrum Discussion

Kunihiko Ikuhara is undoubtedly one of our favorite directors so it seemed only fitting for us to devote a podcast to two of his most recognizable masterworks. For each show we brought on a guest to talk with us a bit about the selected show. We started with Clarissa from the Anime World Order podcast to chat about Revolutionary Girl Utena. As she recently did a paper for grad school on the show she seemed the only logical choice for a guest to talk about pink-haired crossdressers. After that we talk with Patz from Insert-Disc about Ikuhara’s recently concluded work, Mawaru Penguindrum. With both titles we do an in-depth analysis of characters and themes and don’t hold anything back on the spoiler side of things. If you have not finished either series be warned that we give away pretty much anything that could possibly be. If you want a review just know that both shows are 100% recommended so you can just watch them and then come back and listen to the podcast.

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And now your helpful bartenders at The Speakeasy present your drink:

The Flying Penguin

Preparation:

Pour 1.5 ounces each of Vodka, White Rum and Gin into a highball glass over two ice cubes. Add a good spash (approx .25 ounces) of angora bitters and swirl with a metal stirring rod. Add 5 ounces of Pink Grapefruit Juice. Add 1.5 ounces of sugar syrup. Slice a fresh lime into a slice approximately 1/2 of an inch wide. Cut in half, squeezing one half directly into the drink (then drop the squeezed lime half in). Make a small nick 2/3rds of the way up the second halfof lime and use to rim the glass then as a garnish. Include a metal stirring rod.

Mass Effect: Holding Out for a (Good Female) Hero

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I recently decided to take the plunge and play through the Mass Effect series. I was going to start a while back but my roommate’s 360 decided to retire with a dishonorable red ring discharge. But with the recent black Friday sales a new Xbox has found its way to the apartment again. So I decided it was as good a time as any to see what everyone was talking about. But as anyone who has played the game will tell you when you plunge into Mass Effect you have to make two major choices.

The first is the gender of your character. A simple but important decision. While the game does not play entirely differently depending on your character’s gender there is enough of a change to be distinctly noticeable. The other major choice you have is to choose between a paragon or renegade style. You can play the game as a noble hero or as a loose cannon who gets the job done at any cost. While you can also play more towards the middle of the road the game encourages you mix up those play styles as you see fit but favor one over the other. Also playing someone who is true neutral is just boring.

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