Rivendell is Watching...

Owl and I are finishing up redecorating the apartment. We have these stick-on decals from Owl's store, with chalkboard and whiteboard fronts that can be written on, and we've put one by our media room---Crow's old room, in which we've put our TV and computers. We're putting on it a list of what Rivendell (our apartment's nick name) is watching, and I thought it might be interesting to have a brief review of the shows on that list as they change.

So. Here's what Rivendell is watching currently:

Daredevil
This Netflix original series was released today, with thirteen episodes making up the first season. Daredevil is one of Owl's favorite superheroes, and she's been busy reading the Bendis and Maleev Daredevil omnibus. So she's been anxiously awaiting the Daredevil release all week, and we're huddled up in the media room (it just sounds so fancy, right?) watching.

I have to say that so far I've been incredibly impressed with all of the Netflix originals, and Daredevil seems to be living up to their standard of quality. It's definitely a dark and gritty superhero adaptation, a la Nolan's Batman series or Snyder's Watchmen, but it has a persistent and delightful humor to it as well.

Granted, I say this as we watch a man skewer his own head on an iron spike, so take the TV-MA rating seriously. They don't shy away from gore.

As we get further into the series, I'll talk more at length about the series, as it looks quite promising.

Steven Universe
Oh man, where do I start?

So, let me right off the bat just clarify: this is a children's cartoon. There's been an upwards trend in kids' TV towards smarter, more self-aware, and often much darker and more mature shows. Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time is perhaps the most famous example of this, but shows like Gravity Falls and the five-night, ten-episode Over the Garden Wall follow in the same vein, and often have overlapping creative talent. Steven Universe is a show created by Rebecca Sugar, an Adventure Time writer and storyboard artist. Steven Universe is the first Cartoon Network show to be created by a woman, and the show is one of the best examples of strong female casts I've ever seen.

The show is a ton of fun, silly and light in tone but often asking serious question and providing insightful answers. An anime-inspired story about the Crystal Gems, intergalactic warriors who protect the earth, it consistently does a stellar job on talking about gender roles and family dynamics. It has also introduced an openly gay romantic pairing, going so far as to show one character kissing the other on the cheek---a degree of affection henceforth denied to on-screen gay couples in children's TV. Both Adventure Time and Legend of Korra have been hindered in attempting to portray lesbian relationships by network restrictions, and Steven Universe is breaking ground with this relationship.

Ouran High School Host Club
I first started watching Ouran High School Host Club in high school, and though its appeal is far from universal, I have a deep and lasting love for it. I hesitated before showing it to Owl, as she is not nearly as fond in general of anime as I am, and Ouran can be a lot to take in at once.

A satire of Shōjo anime---a subgenre marketed towards teen and preteen girls often with heavily dramatized romantic relationships---Ouran centers around a group of high school students who are part of a student host club. Popular in Japan, host clubs are typically bars with male staff that entertain predominantly female clientele who come for conversation and light flirtation. They are a newer take on hostess clubs, where female staff cater to a predominately male audience. The show takes the concept to humorously drastic extremes by setting up a high school host club composed of heavily-exaggerated tropes---the  dramatic, princely character, the cute boy-lolita, the "cool" one, etc. The protagonist, Haruhi, stumbles upon the club by mistake. Because of her short hair and androgynous style of dress, Haru is mistaken as a male student, and as she sees little difference she doesn't bother to correct the assumptions. She accidentally breaks an expensive vase belonging to the host club, becomes indebted to them, and joins the host club as a natural entertainer. Hijinks ensue! Haruhi becomes the lens through which the outlandish antics of the host club are highlighted. 

It's an odd list, to be sure, but we've had a lot of fun with these shows. We're in the middle of watching quite a few shows right now, and the Rivendell is watching list only highlights a few and is far from comprehensive. Hopefully we'll have some more shows to put up on our board soon, and I'll talk more about those then!

Any recommendations for us, readers? We're always on the lookout for new shows.

See you Sunday,
Raven