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「華麗なる休暇」 (Kareinaru Kyuuka)
“A Lovely Holiday”
A relaxed day with dire undertones.
Taking Their Time
This show oscillates between trying to do too much and too little. This episode bent more towards the latter, but I think it worked fairly well. The overriding theme was “the calm before the storm”, and I think they succeeded in giving the girls a fun outing while still weaving in the creeping dread of an uncertain (and probably bleak) future. By now it’s simply been well established that this isn’t a story where the main characters are getting a happy ending easily (if they do at all), so good times are automatically met with suspicion, but the meeting back at school and the fortune-telling later on both served as counterpoints to the light tone of the episode.
Show, Don’t Tell
As a storyteller I’m really glad I’m covering this show, because it’s forcing me to think about what they’re doing right and wrong. Here’s an example of both.
In the right column, their use of the tarot cards to foreshadow was done well. This is probably the only time I’ve ever seen fortune-telling used to good effect (to me). Not that it isn’t used all the time, I just think that fortune-telling is a load of bunk, so it’s only in a world where it has already been established that fortune-telling is real that it works. This is playing to their strengths, and though it’s not exactly unexpected, that’s fine. It works and they did it before whatever they’re foreshadowing became blindingly obvious, as proper foreshadowing should be.
On the other hand, the moment between the four girls the morning after (hur hur hur) was as unsubtle as a crashing plane. Don’t just have them narrate on their motivations, show them! Seira doing 400 sit-ups a day or Akari asking Seira to teach her how to work out both show something about them without them having to explain it. Having them soliloquize is lazy.
Looking Ahead
It’s official – buildup time is over, and now we’re getting to the plot…next week. It’s dangerous to make assumptions like “the Daemonia are like viruses” (as if viruses aren’t dangerous enough), so it was smart of the triplets to look into the double Daemonia. Now it sounds like the lost wielder of The Lovers and that creepy boy(?) that has been corrupting people will finally come to the fore. About time! Give me some plot dammit!
tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Relaxation episode with dire undertones. It’s It’s official, buildup time is over, it’s onto the plot…next week. #geneitaiyou 07
Random thoughts:
- Is it just me, or does Luna giving out signals that she’s going to go yandere for Akari?
- Of course Seira is a scardy-cat. Honestly, that’s a touch too cliche for my tastes.
- AHHHHH!! He’s way scarier without the bed sheet, RUN AWAY!!
For more from yours truly, check out my blog on writing, art, and the book I’m working on at stiltsoutloud.com.
Full-length images: 04, 21, 33.
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Luna being jealous is too cute <3.
Theres no way she'd go down the yandere path fool! 😛
I dunno. It’s always the quiet ones 😉
I sense a grief seed growing in her
The one problem I had with the fortune telling was that Akari, of all the girls, would know what they meant even though her “Auntie” glossed over the destruction part of the reading. She didn’t seem to react, so is she clueless, hiding it from the others? Why didn’t she call “Auntie” out about it after getting her alone?
They probably all know what it means though. They DO attend a tarot academy after all, and for most if not all of them, they’ve been well-acquainted with tarot since they were but young children.
I think they all know, they just didn’t say it aloud because it’s…not heartening. Better to think they can defy fate.
What was with the random politician on campaign? Is it some random Japanese current events political caricature that I don’t get?
Wasn’t that the guy using the Diablos Tarot wielder to achieve his own ends?
Was it? I don’t think they showed us his face, did they?
So a random politician soapboxes how he’ll lead the country through an oncoming revolution while the girls walk passed obliviously.
Obviously it has got nothing to do with the plot and is in no way foreshadowing or anything. Right?
I’m so excited for next week! But of course, this week’s episode was fine too.
i find it interesting…aging in anime…i wanna see a show “doesn’t matter about what” but it’ll feature characters all in the stage of life after cutesy is gone but before they become old baba’s..that would be weird…..hahahah! wow that’s a good question! are there any geriatric animes???featuring nothing but old farts?? that could be comedy GOLD!!!
That moment when the cat and the crow said something about being incubators, alarm bells went off in my head.
And along with that tarot reading, alarm levels hit the roof
Eh? What. Am I watching a different translation?
Schrödinger said they were only Coordinators. Laplace mentioned that the organisation was the way it was to protect the girl’s fates.
Yeah right, Young Children fight “Death” Monsters, or dealing with it. This Anime was from the beginning not my Type. Chibi Girls vs Death. Now they want to turn the ruder? It is in the roots, you cannot get rid of it now
I don’t think they want to turn the ruder. I think it’s full speed ahead.
I’m kind of losing it for this show. These little girls look like 8-9 year olds too me. Never makes sense to put a child that young on the front lines.
At least with Madoka Magika it worked because the parents didnt know. Also, I can’t help but feel they are stripping Madoka Magika ideas left & right.
These furry little animals look a lot like Kubei (as folks noticed earlier episodes) but done much worse. Hopefully they can explain these animals background. Maybe that will help it feel more original.
But anyway, beyond feeling like a barbie doll clone of Madoka Magicka for young girls the show is pretty cool. This episode was a bit dull but had its fun moments.
Alright, the green-eyed monster rears its ugly head, higher-ups finally catch a glimpse of enemy will behind Daemonia, and suspicious politicians in the background call for revolution… (cultists of Tzeentch! a CHANGE we can believe in!)
The “doom and darkness” tarot prophecy is really a bit redundant at this point.
Now give me more fighting! Though after Ilya Prisma I doubt the show will impress me…