meme_of_bilitis | I have doubts that [a femslash meme] would be very long-lived

I have doubts that [a femslash meme] would be very long-lived

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nayrt, but! I watched this years ago and enjoyed it a lot, though I rarely rewatch anything and haven't rewatched it so some things are a bit fuzzy. When it came out there weren't many anime with f/f, and this was a combination of "the most central to the plot" and "the most not remotely censored," while we had other things, like say Utena, which was gay and central but censored all to hell (there was ONE kiss in the original TV run, in the opening sequence--and the original art was cropped so you can't see their faces touch! C'mon, 90s! Let us gays live!) or stuff like Sailor Moon or Loveless where there is a f/f relationship but not with the main characters. Or Kannazuki no Miko, which I love in its own special way, but one rapes the other and dies! Or Maria-sama ga Miteru, which was one long subtext tease. So take that context in mind! Simoun was revolutionary when it aired just because it was about f/f relationships, and lots of them! Now, onward....

The worldbuilding is one of the most interesting factors, especially with how it handles gender and sex. Basically, everyone is born into a sort of nonbinary sex with female development, and at adulthood can choose to become true women or become men. (As part of this, all the male characters have female VAs.) The story focuses on priestesses piloting war machines, who in order to operate the machines need to be in that unchosen initial sex. Some of them stay there in part because it gives them leave to put off choosing, and they don't know what to choose or if they really want to choose. So nearly all of the cast are in this category, which does mean that any of them could become men by the end--though we do see their choices by the end, and very few of them do! Also it does not use this as a chance to het out the relationships it developed, most of them stay gay in whatever form.

The operation of said machines requires the priestesses to smooch, so there's lots of kissy-kissy! Some people found that fanservicey, since they're not necessarily kissing for love or lust, but see: 1) the context this existed in, and 2) if you watch it, the kisses are all very different! Some are shy, some are passionate, some are formal, some are simmering with resentment. We do also get kisses outside of that ritual! The romances are textual and canon, the duty-kisses are just gravy.

Fanservice is actually at a reasonable minimum here. There are a few gratuitous shots of some kind of special training uniform with weird cutouts that made me go "uh-huh" at the time, but by modern standards it's downright restrained. This isn't moeblob uguu fanservice, nor are there anime tiddy physics.

I remember really loving the soundtrack, and I loved the art too, though the style was a bit controversial at the time. And I loved that though they could have been put in bog-standard mechas, they weren't! They actually designed something for them to pilot that wasn't a giant robot. They use the thingies they pilot to draw magical glyphs in the sky, that do magic and stuff, which is so much cooler than boom boom blam blam giant robot. And they're on an airship! You get the sort of stuff you might get from one of the better Gundam titles: the toll of war on young idealistic soldiers, political intrigue, the closeness that develops in those situations--except with actual gay.

There are actually three male characters I can think of. One has recently chosen to be a man, and still has a feminine appearance, with boobs and all. (He doesn't bind because this type of transition is normal in their society I guess.) There's one het relationship involving him. The other two are in a relationship with each other, which is great and all but IIRC the fandom decided to make all the fic about them and not the like 20 canon f/f(ish) relationships. To be perfectly honest I missed their existence the first time around because I just wasn't focused on them, so I was in for a shock with that. I'm not proud to say I wasn't going to "be the change," and I ended up just shrugging and passing on the whole fandom. I think it got more of a f/f following later, as it damn well should! But my interests had moved already. Enjoy the fandom I did not have in 2007! Actually, last I peeked, there was a lot of discussion of the religious elements? They're priestesses in a religious war, though the religion is fictional, faith is a big part of the story.

It can be overwhelming when it tosses you in with a pretty large cast right off the bat, but over 10 years later and I can still remember most of their names, so they must have been characterized pretty damn well.

Good stuff! Simoun is one of my favourite animes of all time, I've rewatched several times and I still find it compelling. I definitely agree the characters are well written and leave a lasting impression. Ugh I'm feeling the need for another viewing tbh, even though it always destroys me.

DA

Maybe we could do a meme watch-through? Simoun's been on my to-watch list for a while, and watch threads are usually fun.

AYRT I would probably be down for that!

I’d be down for that!

How do they usually work? Do people just watch them on the same day and then talk after, or does someone screen it in a Discord or something?

Usually you watch in roughly the same few days and have a discussion space on meme for it.

i'd be in! i watched pretty much everything else with canon f/f from the late 90s and earlyish 2000s but somehow missed that one.

NA

If a re-watch does start, please drop a link to it at FFA! I don't check this meme often so I might miss it otherwise, but I love Simoun.

Lol everyone here in this thread seemed enthusiastic about it but also just kind of hoping someone else would do it for them. /guilty

nayrt

I have too many other things to organize in my life :( plus my Femslashex writing! Aaaahh.

Maybe if there are exchange requests for it it'll spur a rewatch?

WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS. I made a thread.

YOU ARE THE FEMSLASHER THIS MEME NEEDS.

NAYRT

I wish I could say we should organize a meme rewatch, but I'd never manage to keep it up regularly.

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I have doubts that [a femslash meme] would be very long-lived

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