Maria the Virgin Witch

Re: Junketsu no Maria

I like Joseph. Dude's cute. In an innocent kind of way. The scene where he
was trembling in fear as they faced the opposing army
, was pretty nice. Though I'm a sucker for those kind of things.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

Episode 1

Yep, this was better than I thought it would be
The synopsis made it sound like it would be some generic ecchi bullshit that I was watching for masochism's sake. Instead we got some awesome HEMA, and an interesting, if pretty basic, story basis.

There was some fanservice, mainly Artemis' outfit and the sleeping scene, and it did stand out to me, but I guess I can't help but see it comparatively rather than objectively, I was expecting Cross Ange levels, instead I got something a lot more subdued, so it didn't bother me quite so much.

The humour fell a little flat for me, but then it wasn't really the focus of the episode, so we'll see how that plays out in the future.
A good start I guess.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

The sexual innuendo was just amazing. Why the jaws, indeed, Maria.

They've handled the setting rather well. The balance between feudal life and the studio's own injection of fantasy based on Western folklore complement each other naturally. And, as always with these depictions of this era, the Catholic Church is a little testy with witches, which almost certainly indicates that they're inspired by Joan of Arc in casting Maria as an actual virgin witch in France.

Speaking of puberty, Artemis notes Maria's bashfulness right before a lovely scene with Maria and Joseph and their subtle romantic feelings which is the cause of Maria intervening in the battle later on. The actual battle captured the individual feelings of the soldiers, from indifferent Galfa who doesn't even bat an eyelash when the priest gets shafted, and the degrees of fear for those inexperienced. I'm really glad that they didn't typecast anyone as the heroic one-man army either, especially Joseph.

Maria is close to the mark, even when being chastised for being love-lorn on top of a dragon's head, with the Catholic Church being afraid of women; but it's not that they're afraid, it's that they despise women.

The La Pucelle woman that Maria mentions would actually have been Joan of Arc, or at least allegorical to her and the violation of women in those days. Virginity checks were both an egregious invasion of a woman's body and slammed regulations on her body while a man had no such requirement to bear proof of "pureness". But beyond that, I found it hilarious how accurate Maria's statement about canonizing La Pucelle as a patriot will be and Artemis' sarcasm after Maria announces that she'll even have sex with a dog.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

ep1 - Very different from what I was expecting ... Interesting contrast between bawdy but juvenile humor and some big ideas about power and sexuality.
There was some care taken with the historical background (the weaponry and tactics, ransoms and mercenaries) but even more with the personalities of the supporting cast. Some were noted above, but I particularly liked
the interactions between the family Maria has helped in the past ... the little girl Ann trying to make sense of the difference between what the bishop said and how nice Maria is in person, her mother's and grandmother's protectiveness, and the father's outright fear that speaking of the connection will ruin the family. So far, each one has a different and plausible reaction. If they keep on like this, this could be an interesting ensemble.

Also a little surprised but glad they didn't
kill Joseph off in his first battle - I thought he was doomed and that would be the driver for the subsequent events. But I guess this is going to be kept a somewhat lighter comedy ... not gentle with the clergy, however.

But I will keep expectations quite low so as not to be disappointed.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

The first episode of this was actually pretty fun. I liked pretty much all of the characters, the fight scenes all looked pretty solid, and they've already opened up a number of different potential ways for the plot to go, all of them seem interesting. Maybe it was just me, but the animation at times almost gave me a ghibli feel, especially the shots of the villagers, and the young girl. Looking forward to more of this, definitely the dark horse of the season.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

Episode 2.
Dickish as it sounds, I'm on the angels side. Maria means well, but she's playing Holier-Than-Thou guardian and thinks she can stop all fighting everywhere. Nice to see that naive cliche get shredded by episode 2.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

Episode 2

I liked some parts, had problems with others
Like, were they trying to make homosexuality a joke in of itself? And then with the Incubus in the guys room, are they also then trying to play the idea of rape as a joke too? If yes to either or both of them then I sincerely hope it doesn't go down that route for the rest of the show. If no, then the comedy was lost on me.

There were other parts I liked though, for instance, I kind of like how Artemis berates Maria's innocence, it comes across more like a couple of friends joking than peer pressure, especially when you consider where the power lies in the relationship. The whole part with Michael was also pretty good, it's kind of cynical but also kind of correct, though I can't help but thinking that if all the witches and archangels worked towards a common goal, there'd at least be significant reduction in war and banditry.

Also worth noting that we saw Valkyries this week, and they talked about Valhalla, so it seems that they're not just focusing on christianity in this show.
With some trepidation, I'm looking forward to seeing the next episode.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

liked it,

I take maria's side. Sure she can't stop all sin, but it doesn't hurt to control what she can. I really don't see micheal's problem with that.

Basically he's saying if you can't fix all, don't bother fixing any.

I can see if Maria was trying to use her power to selfishly force a following, from what I see, her actions are harmless, letting it be seems to be the bigger problem,

Just what is the angels doing? Just watching a shit filled planet continue on it's path of being a shitty planet? seems pretty shitty to me.

now if he can give me a better reason of why Maria's actions are harmful, I'd take his side.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

She is using her power to selfishly force a following. She summons giant ass monsters, and strong arms them to stop fighting with threats of violence. She's a hypocrite. Hell, she was gonna reduce a town to cinders cause she saw a dudes dick.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

^that last part was an over the top reaction, I think it in itself was more put there for a comedic effect rather than it being in her serious personality to destroy things over petty matters.

As for stopping mindless violence with her powerful influence, I see no problem with it. the end result is people live in peace and bandits are forced to make an honest living.

I don't see how that is bad.

In consideration of christianity, God is said to be a jealous God.
Maria isn't making anyone worship or bow down to her.......
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

The end result is, people get dependent. Even now, people are expecting her to swoop in and play Batman. You think those other guys in trouble wouldn't enjoy a witch coming in to save them? She's one person, and Michael is giving her a good reminder that she's fallible.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

^if that is the logic the angel was thinking, could accept that if he said it, is reasoning is different. Cut and dry he just wants people to kill each other over and over uninterrupted for the rest of time.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

It all comes down to free will. As humans, we can choose whether or not to get along or fight. More often than not, we fight. And that's our choice. Maria is taking the choice away, under a misguided but not malevolent sense of do-goodery.
 
Re: Junketsu no Maria

I have to disagree with that.

Maria is just protecting a select group of people.

Consider this, If the same people on their own power had a large military force. The same effect would take place, people who still have free will to attempt to harass the people out of fear decide not to, and perhaps go to a less guarded location.

Don't see the problem with her protecting who is with in her power to protect.

The people are as free as people are in most places. If they do anything boldly unethical, she will intervene. In say america, if someone does anything boldly unethical, the police will intervene.

In Maria's case, she gives everyone a flashy show of fire and lightning, doesn't hurt anybody and just send them off, free to do whatever. In human hands, those guys would be either beaten or locked up for an undetermined amount of time depending on who attended to the matter.

So far Maria's law has been a one note simple thing. She doesn't like war, so she's expected to interrupt any large scale acts of violence. She is merciful and only ask that the war stops. no one is punished.

Has for the religion element, there is far less freedom involved.

Sexuality is shunned, a list of what not to do is given, threats of eternal fire for disobeying is put out there. They want to be worshiped and have a superiority complex. For what ever reasons, Humans they decide are their play things, and they disallow all other powerful beings from interacting with them.
 
Last edited:
Re: Junketsu no Maria

ep2 - a little murky where this was going, but more interesting than many of the new shows ...
Well, now we know that Heaven and angels are real and powerful ... that changes the perspective on Maria's witchery. And although her rationale for intervention is a little murky, at least she's empowered and making decisions.

The introduction of the incubus and his anatomical deficiency was good for a smile, but the scene of Artemis feeding two innocents to the wolf was not. Agree that this is not a funny subject. Artemis works because she is beyond jaded ... an innocent incubus doesn't seem like a sustainable joke.

I also would rather that the fanatic that Artemis couldn't influence was unreachable because of sexless asceticism, rather than liking boys. I think those who truly value the power to inflict pain over pleasure (theirs or others) are the more intimidating and plausible foes.

Once again, Ann and her granny generate the most interest - they see both worlds, and although they like Maria they accept many of the beliefs and institutions she has set herself against. So it looks as if they won't be an uncritical cheering squad.

Still watching, still hoping for something memorable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top