@Beta Upgrade
It may be you’re getting hit by the triggering effects of the “girl falling from the sky” trope. The creator of this trope might have been Hayao Miyazaki, or at least he solidified it, in Castle In The Sky when Sheeta floats down from the sky. Of course, that was a gentle descent. In other cases, like Haibane Renmei, it is absolutely not gentle … at least, not ‘everything is ok’ gentle. More of a ‘this is fine’ gentle. And that can make a big difference in how it hits people.
Even if you haven’t seen Abe-san’s amazing work (Haibane Renmei is after all a ‘cult classic’, much like other anime bearing his fingerprints like ‘Serial Experiments Lain’ and ‘NieA_7’), its “Free Bird” opening can be massively triggering for some, without them even knowing what they are seeing. And when Rakka (the main character) does realize what is happening in episode 1, the show just drives the ‘what is really happening’ home with a spike.
It is fully a ‘this is fine’ moment, and it can really hit audiences in unexpected ways. My lovely spouse, who is really absolutely fine with almost anything terrible that may happen to human-like characters in shows (murder mysteries are her thing), absolutely can’t sit through the opening of the show. She’s even brought it up in therapy. But, she’s a doctor, and that level of ‘not in control’ is, for someone like her, the end of all meaning.
Some speculate the reason the ‘falling girl’ trope hits so much harder in shows like Haibane Renmei is because it is a “psychological/melancholy” (yay for Japanese having thirty different words for “psychological trauma”, and more for “people who solemnly accept their helplessness, meaningless, and existential doom”). The fall is not action packed - they aren’t even aware, or trying to escape, what seems like certain tragedy. It’s like you’re just watching someone fall to their death and all they keep muttering is “Oh, this again?”
But others say it’s a metaphor for reincarnation, and carries the existential weight of having resigned yourself to the inevitable. Which also can be existentially triggering. Watching someone as active and who fights so hard for her own life as Rainbow just … fall … that’s 90° from normal reality.
When done poorly, it can come across cliché. In this case, it is done very well.
artist:mrscroup has, like Abe’sama before them, driven the metaphor home with a spike in a single frame.
We don’t know if Rainbow is even interested in pulling herself out of the dive. Maybe, for once, she has everything she needs right where she is, and is satiated with it all.
Or, perhaps, her quiet confidence in herself, and her own ability and self-esteem, have reached a point where this kind of potential death is fine. It’s just normal, and she can finally relax. Release control over it all. And fall.
No one knows, in this single instant of time, what will happen. But we can see what it means, and even though the image is titled “Relaxing Flight”, for some it is a terrifying freedom.
This is art. REAL art. It has the power to grab something so deep in your soul that you forgot it was there - and drag it screaming back into a light so bright even your inner demons are terrified what it might mean.
I don’t like this picture and its upseting me because i don’t understand why….the colors are great, the style is amazing, the background is breathtaking….just something about the image just feels….off….wrong…ugh its driving me nuts trying to figure out what is bothering me about this…
@AvoidingFever17
Have you heard about our lord and saviour paradliding? It’ really just that, flying with <10kg apparatus. One can feel the air, read the clouds and think like a pegasus. During evenings like in this picture, it’s common to have gentle lifting air all around, and it’s just chill sight seeing of the lowering sun.
Well spake.
SING FOR THE YEAR
SING FOR THE LAUGHTER
AND SING FOR THE TEAR
It may be you’re getting hit by the triggering effects of the “girl falling from the sky” trope. The creator of this trope might have been Hayao Miyazaki, or at least he solidified it, in Castle In The Sky when Sheeta floats down from the sky. Of course, that was a gentle descent. In other cases, like Haibane Renmei, it is absolutely not gentle … at least, not ‘everything is ok’ gentle. More of a ‘this is fine’ gentle. And that can make a big difference in how it hits people.
Edited
the wings?
🎶 Sing for the year 🎶
🎶 Sing for the laughter 🎶
🎶 Sing for the tear… 🎶
Descend to break free ✅
Have you heard about our lord and saviour paradliding? It’ really just that, flying with <10kg apparatus. One can feel the air, read the clouds and think like a pegasus. During evenings like in this picture, it’s common to have gentle lifting air all around, and it’s just chill sight seeing of the lowering sun.
To fly and be one with the skies