Angel
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What is this?
All beings are at times afflicted by Earthly Vices. It is the job of the deities to cleanse them. In a certain city in Japan, Buddhist deities live in the Bonnoji Temple to fulfill that purpose, and with the departure of one of them, Shaka Nyorai calls down Taishakuten and Bonten from the Heavenly Realm to assist. Except that “assisting” means a lot less cleansing of vices than either of them expected. Instead of wiping all vices from humanity, the two find themselves struggling to buy milk from a store (instead of finding a cow), eating Shaka Nyorai’s awful food, and just generally not getting the whole “relax and enjoy the Earthly Realm” thing. But maybe that’ll do them some good when Ashura, an old friend of Taishakuten’s, shows up with mischief in mind. Namuamidabutsu! -Utena- is based on a video game and streams on HIDIVE, Mondays at 8:00 AM EST.
How was the first episode?
Rebecca Silverman
Rating: 2.5
I can’t help but feel like Namu Amida Butsu! -Rendai Utena- wants to be the bishounen game adaptation answer to Saint Young Men. It definitely wears its religious origins on its sleeve – all of the characters are Buddhist deities with their own storied mythologies and they’re specifically on earth to cleanse humans of Earthly Vices. Shaka Nyorai, the Buddha in charge, is known for teaching the Middle Way, a path between full-on sensuality and total abstention, and that comes through in what he says to protagonists Bonten and Taishakuten, who are having trouble adjusting to life on earth.
This aspect coexists somewhat uneasily with the goofier pieces of the episode, however. Most of it is concerned with showing us just how bad at being human(ish) the two newly arrived residents of Bonnoji Temple are. They haven’t been to the Earthly Realm for centuries, so things like frozen food and washing machines throw them for a major loop. They’ve never had cake, been to a grocery store, or even really bothered to think about what passes for “normal” in society these days. All of that leads to things like Taishakuten’s initial human disguise being a famous body-builder (Bonten opts for a cute high school girl look) while he runs around looking for a cow to milk or Bonten being overwhelmed with the options in a modern supermarket. (Why yes, buying milk is a major plot point!) These scenes are more cutely amusing than outright funny, but they do work better than the more heavy-handed elements of the show. On the plus side, the character designs are very pretty even if the animation is lacking, so if you just need to look at some very lovely young men, this fits the bill.
Where this goes from here may determine whether this is worthwhile or not. Keeping up this uneasy balance of Buddhist philosophy in scenes like the Nyorai taking Bonten and Taishakuten out to see that vice is a part of all beings in small amounts and the sillier aspects such as Bonten trying to do laundry with a washboard doesn’t quite work now, so that’s not really a good sign. Ashura, our presumable bad guy, shows up in the final moments, which may indicate that things are going to get more serious in general. On the whole, however, this episode doesn’t leave me feeling all that hopeful – Namu Amida Bu! -Rendai Utena- feels a little too entranced with its own schtick over telling a story.
Thank you
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2019/spring/namuamidabutsu-utena/.145495
How was the first episode?
Rating: 2.5
I can’t help but feel like Namu Amida Butsu! -Rendai Utena- wants to be the bishounen game adaptation answer to Saint Young Men. It definitely wears its religious origins on its sleeve – all of the characters are Buddhist deities with their own storied mythologies and they’re specifically on earth to cleanse humans of Earthly Vices. Shaka Nyorai, the Buddha in charge, is known for teaching the Middle Way, a path between full-on sensuality and total abstention, and that comes through in what he says to protagonists Bonten and Taishakuten, who are having trouble adjusting to life on earth.
This aspect coexists somewhat uneasily with the goofier pieces of the episode, however. Most of it is concerned with showing us just how bad at being human(ish) the two newly arrived residents of Bonnoji Temple are. They haven’t been to the Earthly Realm for centuries, so things like frozen food and washing machines throw them for a major loop. They’ve never had cake, been to a grocery store, or even really bothered to think about what passes for “normal” in society these days. All of that leads to things like Taishakuten’s initial human disguise being a famous body-builder (Bonten opts for a cute high school girl look) while he runs around looking for a cow to milk or Bonten being overwhelmed with the options in a modern supermarket. (Why yes, buying milk is a major plot point!) These scenes are more cutely amusing than outright funny, but they do work better than the more heavy-handed elements of the show. On the plus side, the character designs are very pretty even if the animation is lacking, so if you just need to look at some very lovely young men, this fits the bill.
Where this goes from here may determine whether this is worthwhile or not. Keeping up this uneasy balance of Buddhist philosophy in scenes like the Nyorai taking Bonten and Taishakuten out to see that vice is a part of all beings in small amounts and the sillier aspects such as Bonten trying to do laundry with a washboard doesn’t quite work now, so that’s not really a good sign. Ashura, our presumable bad guy, shows up in the final moments, which may indicate that things are going to get more serious in general. On the whole, however, this episode doesn’t leave me feeling all that hopeful – Namu Amida Bu! -Rendai Utena- feels a little too entranced with its own schtick over telling a story.
Thank you
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2019/spring/namuamidabutsu-utena/.145495