「帰らぬ日々白き明日」 (Kaeranu Hibi Shiroki Ashita)
“A Daily Lifestyle He Can’t Return To and An Unknown Future”

There were probably a few more tears than needed from Yuki this time around, but I’m still okay with the male emotional angst given the backstory to his character. As this first mini arc of sorts has shown, Yuki’s extremely sensitive nature is the character trait that establishes his need to confide in Zess (a.k.a. Luka Crosszeria), which is a relationship that will undoubtedly be a mainstay over the course of the series. Quite frankly, I don’t really care to see two guys expressing profound emotional attachment for one another, but I don’t particularly mind because their past life together is clearly a key part of the story. Most of all, I’m just grateful we don’t have BL undertones here for no apparent reason other than to satisfy fangirls who have that sort of fetish.

As for how Yuki’s run-in with Uzuki played out, I thought it was pretty tactless for the Duras possessing his classmate to blab about how there are different ranks within their demon species, ranging from the lowly Nidatorehi, the slightly more superior Mid-Villains, and the mighty Opasts. Granted, that was probably more directed towards the viewer to fill us in on the details, but I always find villains look needlessly dumb when they spell everything out for the good guys. In any case, the big revelations this time around turned out to be the awakening of some of Yuki’s abilities and Zess being a member of a Duras lineage seen as traitors.

The latter doesn’t really come as any surprise to me having checked out the manga while writing the Spring 2010 Preview, but the former I’ve been rather curious about since I never read that far. With the ability to heal others by taking on some of their pain, Yuki’s powers seem to go beyond merely physical wounds and can heal the hearts and minds of individuals as well. It just kind of sucks how he has to suffer in the process, which we’ve already gotten a glimpse of before when he uncontrollably sensed the negative feelings and emotions emanating from others. At the same time, the self-inflicting damage Yuki’s ability causes is befitting of his soft-spoken, want-to-feel-needed personality.

In terms of overall plot, I’d say it’s fairly clear that Kanata is indeed Reiga now, so the big question mark is what the deal is with Takashiro, his book, and his beef with Reiga. Action-wise, I thought Tsukumo and Luka’s combination attack was pretty cool, so I’m looking forward to seeing upcoming battles against more powerful Duras where Tooko’s involved too. With this somewhat slow Uzuki sub arc concluded and Yuki off to Tokyo, I may not have to wait too long either as it looks like things are going to start picking up right away.

 

Preview

18 Comments

  1. I’m glad their finally done and dusted with that arc. I don’t think people need to worry about the BL-ness. It doesn’t look like it’s going to pull a Monochrome Factor (if anyone remembers that anime) any time soon.

    Blue
  2. really need to find time to watch this…
    from what the pics look like, they should adjust the lightness and darkness of the anime(I mean some pictures are too dark or too light) but maybe thats just me

    amado
  3. I like the manga chapters that I’ve read so far & if they’re sticking with the manga progression than next episode we should be seeing lots more action. At this point, I’m interested in what kind of past does Reiga has with both Yuki & Taka & why he seems intent on antagonizing them.

    ayumikat
  4. ok i am a girl and not a BL fan at all but i cant help but to find your comment a bit sexist as you dont seem to mind UTTERLY over the top fanservicing for kissxsis or whatever the title is that is… I’d like to get why male audience gets TONS of tolerated FS whereas the most you’ll see of a guy is shirtless or over cliched yaoi..hmmmm

    Anyway thanks loads for blogging new series! I shall make my pick aafter exams T-T

    neko
    1. I don’t know if sexist is the correct term here, unless you’re criticizing me for not being bisexual and having a preference towards fan-service involving girls. I’m not being biased towards BL or find it intolerable — it’s just not my thing. If I really found it intolerable, I wouldn’t even be blogging about this series.

      1. hmm true prob too strong for a word… just bugged me as a general cliche. blah. hope that didnt offend ya, wasnt the purpose, more a general thought about why in terms of fanservice differences are so HUGE depending of its audience..sorry i am ranting ha! Neways keep up the great work.

        neko
      2. I’m not offended, so no worries. I just wanted to throw in my two cents on why I’d want the BL to be part of the plot in this series, whereas kiss x sis can get away with murder fan-service-wise. 🙂

    2. Hehe, that is a bit too strong of a word to use. But yes, the problem is with the audience so you cannot expect them to all behave similarly. Personally for me, I’m a guy but I’m never bothered by either type of fan service whether for girls or guys as long as it does not go way over the top.

      @ divine

      I’m rather happy that you’re someone who is very willing to watch series such as these that usually have BL undertones. I mean, a lot of people will usually start saying you’re gay or something when you say you watch series that has potential BL undertones even if the plot itself is interesting.

      Silver
      1. agreed
        besides, it cant really be yaoi(I prefer this definition) since the guy is really a girl and they arent really being intimate with each other(just moral support, understanding each other, and saving yuki from the duras)
        otherwise, its just similar to frau and teito(and its those yaoi fan girls who started it)

        amado
  5. I really love this manga and I’m really glad you’re blogging the anime. Even if it is a bit more pretentious than it was in the manga. For some reason Yuki is a lot more annoying in the anime than his seems to be in the manga. And he needs to stop crying! Even though since I’ve read the manga, I know he’s not going to stop that soon. It’s probably his overly girly voice that makes him seem more annoying and useless. I loved the Luka/Tsukumo combination in this chapter and how it was animated but it annoyed me earlier when they left out some of Toko talking about Tsukumo’s powers and developing his character a little more.

    What I’m really excited about though is the next episode where Hatsuma and Shuusei come in. They are probably my favorite characters in this show, along with Tsukumo. I’m looking forward to seeing their relationship pan out in full animation. Along with their awesome powers. 😀

    Hana
  6. Aaaaaa finally watched this episode waiting for yuurisansubs,what can I say about this,it seems very classic to me what I mean is that I’ve already saw this kind of scenario/ plots 3 or 4 times but I’ll keep watching this because even if it was already done it’s done right.

    Rockmanshii

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