Okay…it’s been a while. Over a month since my last update. It wasn’t enough that life got in the way. It’s more like life crashed into my apartment with a bulldozer, leaving mass destruction in its wake.
I’m sorry…I’m so so sorry.
Between my thesis work, my employment, and my child, I haven’t had a moment to myself. It’s wonder that I was even able to take the time to get down to Seattle for Emerald City Comic Con this past weekend!
After an initial scare which I won’t regale you with, I was able to enjoy ECCC, even though it’s quite a ridiculous event! I thought I was ready for the event, but trust me, I wasn’t ready! Downtown Seattle was swarming with people who’d come from far and wide to hobnob with sellers, cosplayers, and celebrities. There were guys on every street corner selling and buying badges, guys trying to sell their mixtapes, and restaurants passing out flyers in hopes of attracting customers. There were even girls scouts selling cookies near the Convention Centre! Girl Scouts!!
I might have bought a couple of boxes.
In any case, I was there to rejoin fellow my magical girl enthusiasts from GeekGirlCon (yes, I never posted about that, and I’m sorry that I didn’t) for the Magical Girl Panel, which took place on Friday afternoon. I was a little afraid with this one – we had two new people join our discussion so I wondered if the synergy we had at GeekGirlCon could be retained. But I’m happy to say that it was. I tell you, every time I do this panel, I end up learning new things. I’m going to have to write a book one day from all that I’ve learned!
I guess if there is one thing I took away from the panel, it’s that there are more magical girl series focused on darker themes rather than the love-and-friendship series which have been present since the very beginning. People call them “deconstructions” – I hesitate to do that because while the themes are darker and more violence, they for the most part use the same structures and use similar elements as the shojo/girl-centered counterparts. While I can understand Madoka Magica as a deconstruction – after all, writer Gen Urobuchi himself stated that he wanted to directly question the usual themes – most other series, including the ultra-violent and trauma inducing Maho Shojo Ikusei Keikaku, retain the whole aspect of love being the greatest power of all. Furthermore, it continues to perpetuate the idea of the heroine being a bad ass despite her imperfections of personality, due of her innocence, heartfulness, kindness, and inner strength.
The only person who has outright deviated from this is Ryuuko from Kill la Kill, but considering it features of a character who have shiny nipples and…well, that other shiny object, what did you expect? In any case, the panel was a success and I’m looking forward to doing it again for GeekGirlCon!
Now, I’m back home preparing to finish writing a thesis chapter as well as apply to present more panels. Oh, and UPDATE THIS BLOG. In the meantime, please be patient with me. I hope I can post more soon!
Maho Shojo Gakuen 
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