First Impressions / Kyoukai no Kanata

「ショッキングピンク」 (Shokkingu Pinku)
“Shocking Pink”

I have no words to describe how I feel. I always thought there was a good balance between slice-of-life, comedy and action in each episode, but this one was purely for shits and giggles and there is nothing wrong with that. If you’re marathoning this show, this might actually be a good break from all the tension and especially all those feels at the end of last week. As a standalone episode, it’s still not that bad and brings a lot of the typical moe moments that KyoAni is so well known for. At the same time, it’s not too over exaggerated that it’s annoying. I feel like their intelligence as a group dropped 10 points at the end though…

No major plot developments makes this one a little harder to discuss. Mirai is still poor and on the verge to hunt for income and she comes across this youmu that “happens” to be on the school roof. How come no one said anything before? This thing is worth 10x more than what Mirai’s earned so far and guess what? It stinks… quite literally. No one can attack it because it’s like a skunk that attacks with a flood of evil odor water (looks like pee?). Well, I guess that explains why no one can get close. It’s a group effort to try and take this one down! I loved the dance routine and the singing and all that effort that the group puts into one week – it’s practically making fun of this stereotypical plot. Obviously I wasn’t expecting anything to come out of it, which makes it more hilarious because the group suddenly lost track of who was supposed to attack the youmu to begin with. Great effort guys, but I guess Mitsuki will just have to smell for another week. In all seriousness though, I actually enjoyed the song (sung by each of the seiyuus accordingly) and the choreography was animated very well. It truly felt like an idol group’s performance, even though it’s in anime and it was meant to be a spoof. Funny and clever, which makes it my type of comedy.

So I actually have nothing more to say about this episode other than… hurray! I love the fanservice and I love the outfits! I actually do like the outfits that Mirai puts together. Although it’s not terribly realistic to wear every day, it helps me develop my ideas of my own. It’s not over the top to the point that I’m disgusted, nor is it too in your face that I’m turned off and annoyed. Just the right amount of cute and sexy makes it enjoyable. The only points that bother me are how absentminded the characters are sometimes – like, how could they forget that there’s no one to attack the youmu? What are they trying to accomplish anyway? It was fun to see the guys involved though and even if it’s not about them, Hiroomi is as adorable to watch as ever. I’ve seen actual guys nosebleed from being too excited – that fact, is for real. Not to mention that he had a bit of a Free! moment here. Oh, this episode was just full of fun and I will stop rambling and just tell people to enjoy it. It’s probably best to just read the bottom line…

TL;DR – @RCCherrie: Fanservice episode! Not that I’m complaining… It’s a good tension breaker and I liked the song! #kyo_kai

Full-length images: Needs more full lengths!

 

Preview

97 Comments

  3. I laughed a lot, and hard while watching this. I completely lost it when I saw their idol group outfits and they started singing. Also, Ai rose even more in my rankings in her cute outfit, stealing the show, and it seems I’m not the only one who thinks so.

    KyoAni brings a lot of moe to this serious/dark anime, I love it.

    Shrubbery
    Reply

  4. This episode ranged from hilarious to extremely cheesy… The first half had me laughing a lot. The way they spoofed the stereotypical “resolve” moment made me giggle too; however, I felt like the wirters ended up taking themselves seriously in the second half and… that felt awkard to say the least. Especially the way they set up an excuse to put an insert song (moar money from da fans! Yes I’m quite cynical)

    Minor complaints apart, I guess the laughs were well worth the episode.

    lorenzo
    Reply

    1. Well then I guess the episode has achieved what it was aiming for. That’s the whole point of this filler-esque episode. Just to entertain and be a breather.

      Also regarding the idol part, just a piece of trivia. The script writer who handled Love Live is handling Kyoukai no Kanata as well. Maybe the last part was just him injecting his personal preferences.

      megalith
      Reply

  5. The Japanese head writer for Beyond the Boundary has since profusely apologised for this episode, twittering,
    “Sorry about this…. Just this once I requested to write a silly episode to insert into the series. Next week we’ll return to the original tone/material from the novels”.
    I’m guessing this episode wasn’t well received by the Japanese viewers?

    zztop
    Reply

      2. Amazon pre-orders, mainly. But even if all the pre-orders translated into sales, that still wouldn’t paint a true picture of KyoAni sales volumes because they have their own online store whose numbers aren’t included in the official industry sales charts.

        Angelus
        Reply

  8. I’m gonna be the odd one out and say I both loved and hated this episode.

    Yes it was fun, yes it was amusing, yes it was well animated and enjoyable…

    But god DAMN does it not help me take the show as seriously as I think it wants me to. With that pretty fantastic 4th episode and the 5th episode being an aftermath one, I thought the show was gonna take the slice of life/drama turn I wanted it to… I hoped for too much.

    Filler episodes like this are, however, completely unacceptable in a 12 episode run. Unless KyoAni confirms a second season, this will just have been wasted time. I seriously doubt we’re going to see all questions answered before this show is over and, frankly, after coming off of Daybreak Illusion (Which is not a comparison, KnK is INFINITELY more enjoyable than DI/Genei) I am losing my tolerance for shows that leave unanswered questions that are incredibly important.

    Repeated disappointment is not something I handle well.

    DigitalFowl
    Reply

    1. I agree with you to an extent in that i feel that this ep should have been an OVA ep because it does indeed break the tension and drama that this series was aiming for; It makes it harder to defend it for the untapped potential it has. Regardless of what some ppl on the net have said about this series so far, i think its competent and those who are screaming that this show has bad writing, i really cant see what they are referring to. This series so far has lacked tight direction (to which a big part of that is that the director is new and i guess a bit inexperienced in the field; but the direction is still not bad) but the writing has been just fine (not excellent but definitely ok and solid enough). This ep however has acted as a bump in the series’ natural tone, which im sure is off-putting to some but now this series has 7 eps left to make a statement on what makes it a dark fantasy or why it should be considered a series with a interesting take on loneliness and isolation.

      I had so much fun with this ep but i really feel as if this should have been released as an OVA. The only way i see this series making this ep relevant is if some dramatic shit goes down and this series capatilizes on this ep as a moment in Mirai’s life when she truly felt happy and close to people because her moment of loneliness is coming. The last line of the second pv released of KNK had mirai saying: “kanbara, you wont ever leave me will you”, which leads me to believe that there’s going to be some sort of conflict that leads to mirai feeling doubtful about her newfound happiness. I mean look at her; the way she was fooling around with her new club members is completely different from the mirai that thought she deserved to be unhappy. I thought that scene where she was showering next door to akihito and when the banter she had with him when she framed him with that fake fart was adorable. When i think about this ep as a way to show a happy moment in mirai’s life, it helps me get over the fact that this ep’s tone was jarring with the series because at the end of the day, this ep was enjoyable. At this point im going to just enjoy this ride that is KNK and be hopeful that it does tap into its potential before it’s over.

      sonicsenryaku
      Reply

  9. You know what? I might be the only one who notices these things but is SOOO nice to see a animated j-pop song that is ACTUALLY animated! No gross overuse of CG (cough Love Live!). I loved it. Kyoani are the only people who can pull that off so wonderfully =).

    leatherhead333
    Reply

  10. stinky, but with style, that ep of kyoukai no kanata idols 😛

    KnK seems to have spare time. a lot of it. and one might wonder why they waste it so much…half of the series is now behind us..we’ve only seen one or two episode in total time which was really really good. the rest…?not that bad..but could have been better.

    it’s not the first time of simply SoL episode. and it’s definitely not the first time of wasting time during such kind of SoL-episode. which bring me to one thing that starts to annoy me the most: they keep pushing us the “megane”(glasses) and “siscon” stuff.
    I mean…it’s nice that our characters have bizarre side…but why they keep expressing it too much and push it toward the viewers? and it’s really too much…it’s funny for sometimes as a comic relief, not all the time
    I thought they might restrain themselves…but I guess it’s not gonna happen. and forgive me, but I must say this, in contrast to Chuunibyou which succeeded in that matter, KnK just fails again. it’s not that funny anymore…part of it is the characters fault, part of it is the lousy performance (in that matter only!)…but something doesn’t feel right with it, every episode.

    yet, I do must say, this episode managed to have a lot of funny moments. and the result was really hilarious.
    the simplicity of weird youmu that defies logic was getting along well with our bizarre group of fellows. it just felt right. no need to be too much sophisticated to enjoy good fantasy-SoL.
    I mean..what. can’t he be killed after he spit on you that fluid?they really didn’t think that someone should kill him?they cant lock him in cage?they really couldn’t surprise him in another way?
    yes, they can. they can do all those things and more. but who cares about logic.
    it was funny and it did the job with all the stink and bizarre moments. funny and simple. that what it is. that how it should be. fun-to-watch.

    well, it really seems like a mid-episode (again?) with no progress. same old-KyoAni simply know to deal better with SoL.
    this ep could also served as a wonderful ending SoL episode for the series. I mean..it did somehow felt that way at the last part where they practiced and all..
    I think that was the purpose of it and all the spare time. to let us enjoy and feel the relaxed daily atmosphere and enjoy the chemistry within the group.
    now KnK gonna be a bumpy road for its second half. at least it seems like it. and I hope things will be more interesting, surprising, high-paced. they can do it. I believe and trust KyoAni, even if so far it could have been better, it does seem like they seek to reach something much better behind the horizon of what we’ve seen so far.

    random thoughts:
    1. poor mitsuki. she stinks now. don’t worry, I still think you are best girl <3
    2. it could be even more funny if afterwords someone (like that woman who fights) would have come and kill the youmu so easily. that is to say "such misfortune" 😛
    3. the boys looked weird when they were singing and dancing…give up on becoming idols, Akihito and Hiroomi. on the other hand, the 3 girls have so much potential. I can see this coming – kyoukai no idols anime of those 3.
    4. it would have been better if there was a continuity of events. according to the preview, we'll return to sakura and other stuff that are more relevant to previous ep context. so again…KnK has "free" time to waste..too bad it breaks the relevance of context and sequence of events.

    thedarktower
    Reply

  11. This episode was cute and funny, and the dance routine was good, but something has bothered me since I watched it. Let me see if I can nail it down.

    I’ve argued before that “filler” or “fluff” episodes can bring a lot of value to a story, because not only are they fun (hopefully!), it’s in those episodes that we really get to learn about the characters, even more so than in the serious plot-focused episodes. That’s where we see them take small steps, be goofy, learn things, make gradual decisions, and generally be themselves when some huge, dire crisis isn’t hanging over their heads.

    We didn’t get any of that here. Mirai is poor and clumsy, Akihito loves glasses, Hiroomi loves imoutos, Ai is cute, Mitsuki is…Mitsuki. We’ve seen all of this before. Nothing was added to the story, no characters were fleshed out or explored, we didn’t even explore new facets of theirs or the world’s. It was fun, but it was empty.

    Like Cherrie said, a pure fluff episode isn’t necessarily bad, but…well, I’m feeling the lack. Plus they were definitely way dumber than normal, because rule of funny (trope!). That last joke probably would have worked better if they hadn’t been suddenly so dumb + I saw it a mile away. Your mileage may vary (trope!) though.

    Stilts
    Reply

    1. you are right.
      this episode is indeed funny, cute, pleasant. but it lacks something.
      and it’s not crazy energy or progress with the story or character development (THO it’s somehow lacks but irrelevant).
      simply put, it is..stuck in the middle.
      between previous eps and the progress one would expect with the story and characters (especially with the preview of next ep)…this episode feels unrelated and stuck in the middle.
      it could serve its purpose (which was great and was executed well) as an OVA or afterwards at the end of everything.

      thedarktower
      Reply

    2. To be fair, I imagine that creating the kind of “filler” or “fluff” that you seem to be looking for, without interfering with the story of the source material, is quite difficult in an anime adaptation, especially if you only have one episode. In a original series, you have complete control over all your characters and their histories, but in an adaptation you have to work with what you’re given. If there is filler in a one or two cour adaptation, I think that one should expect that there is no constructive development of any kind, rather than hoping writers managed to come up with something good to complement the main story.

      Alternatively though, I guess they could have just decided not to do any filler at all and avoided all that.

      introverte
      Reply

      1. Indeed, I would have gone with option #2 myself : ) That’s why I stopped writing fanfic after a single attempt long ago – after realizing that I couldn’t have complete control over someone else’s characters, I said screw it and started doing my own thing!

        Stilts
        Reply

    3. I know what you mean.

      While I did enjoy the episode overall, I feel more like it should’ve been a Blu-ray/DVD extra OVA episode rather than part of the main series considering, as mentioned by others, this episode didn’t add anything to the story or characters, and it doesn’t help that, like most series these days, it’s only a short 12-13 episodes(?)

      Back in the days when 24-26+ episodes was the norm, sparing a single episode for something like this is usually just fine (unless the plot/characters are just THAT deep/complicated/etc.), but for 12-13 episodes, unless you plan on doing multiple seasons, even taking 1 episode to do something like this can be detrimental to the entire series (unless the series itself is pretty much always like that to begin with).

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

    4. to be fair, at least we got to see mirai and akihito be a little more relaxed and chumy with each other so that’s something. I know what exactly what you mean stilts in regards to filler eps showing character’s acting more natural and relaxed and in a sense, allowing us to learn a bit more about the nauces of their personalities. This is why im pointing out mirai and akihito’s more chumy behavior because that’s really all we got out of it in terms of character insight..i guess that and learning that mitsuki is not always so calm and that she can lose her nerve…but that could have been insinuated. Still it was nice to see that and i came out of it liking the characters a lil more

      sonicsenryaku
      Reply

  12. I’m just happy the group got to act like normal kids for once. They were all so distant before Mirai came into the picture, and now they’re sort of goofing off, which is nice every once in a while

    CTT
    Reply

      1. A show full of broken people, cute things die first and a massive mortality rate? I can see it now:
        KyoAnimator “This high school girl’s design is so sweet and moe”
        Urobutcher “She ends up being fed through a woodchipper in the next episode”
        KyoAnimators “NOOOOoooooooooooo!!!!”

        Are you going to pay the therapy fees for the poor KyoAni staff?

        celebrinen
        Reply

  19. I couldn’t help but laugh through most of this episode! Right now this is probably one of my favorite episodes, it was just fun to watch!

    Mitsuki in the bubble was just great! Love how it started with the end first and recapped it right before the ED started!

    Shurai
    Reply

  22. Some viewers(including me) liked this episode simply because the comedy actually worked to some degree because I didn’t really find it’s “dark fantasy” aspect that good to begin with and don’t even get me started with the show’s attempts of being funny so far.

    I believe a lot of people who stopped expecting much from KnK considered this episode to be pretty good.Going by those standards however,that’s really not saying much.

    I admit that last week’s episode almost raised my hopes a bit but it looks like it was just a fluke.

    MgMaster
    Reply

  25. I watched with a friend and I noticed the lack of attackers toward the end, and assumed one of two things:

    Either they’re idiots due to writer desire to setup a pratfall,

    or perhaps, as my friend suggested: The pet squirrel could attack while the humans are a distraction.

    We know what happened. The whole episode was nicely wrapped up though. Opening and closing with shower scene makes far more sense with the pet.

    KnK characters are simply shallow, but that doesn’t work so well in a drama / horror setting. The comedy works, but the show’s direction fights itself. Goes to show trying to be both drama / suspense and comedy is really hard to pull off well.

    Stand alone, I like this episode, but I am sad to hear they don’t have more to flesh out the characters. Like stilts said, it is a wasted opportunity.

    Drasca
    Reply

  26. This was a great episode and probably the calm before the storm. It looks like the next episodes will be heavy drama again. And who wouldn’t want to see more screen time for Mitsuki? Keep ’em coming!

    On a side note I was wondering why no one was covering Tokyo Ravens. It’s really good, probably better than Strike the Blood minus the loli. It comes with an interesting plot twist as early as episode 3 so I expect more good plot twists.

    The Story You Don't Know
    Reply

  31. Can Kyoani do at least one anime where they could not be Kyoani?

    “Yo, we threw all these awesome fight scenes, hope you guys are happy, but we just gonna do stuff that we usually do.”

    sadakups
    Reply

    1. Well, if Kyoani didn’t do something Kyoani, then it wouldn’t be Kyoani animating, then is it, the reason Kyoani go through with this is because it works, and if you guys aren’t into moe, comidic slice of life series, then don’t keep your expectations so high watching a Kyoani anime, because the series description can only tell so much.

      TrapMaster
      Reply

  33. ….I’m actually impressed. That actually managed to be legitimately the most painful thing to watch released this entire week. And given my rather low opinion of the likes of Infinite Stratos and Walkure Romanze, that’s saying a lot.

    That was… Nichijou-brow humour. By which I mean pointless, senseless, random, and driven mainly by the characters having the intelligence of a rock. I… honestly can’t find the combination of all of those funny. By about the second time they got hit by the stink shower I was almost physically cringing. And, like Stilts said, it did literally nothing to advance the plot or the characters.

    Meh. On a totally unrelated side note, some animator obviously had too much fun with Hiroomi, because his dance looks like it has easily the most detail put into it of the four.

    Corin
    Reply

  34. I did get a laugh out of the episode despite the mood shift so I can’t complain to much. Still, needs more Aya and Shizuka though.

    Now waiting for a battle of the bands crossover with Haruhi and K-ON.

    celebrinen
    Reply

  35. This episode went and threw the mood out of the window in favor of the traditional Kyoani way: doing cute things.

    IMO that’s fine. This is Kyoani we are talking about. This is a moe action anime anyway. I don’t get why people hating on this: it’s like they forgot it’s Kyoani and went all “hey, Kyoani is doing some edgy stuff for us edgy hipsters now!”

    Bismuths.

    Kyoani will always do moe and haters can go suck edgy metal.

    TheMoondoggie
    Reply

    1. Problem #1: This wasn’t even on the level of ‘moe’. It was, honestly, unrestrained idiocy. I meant it when I implied your average episode of Walkure Romanze is higher-brow than this was.

      Problem #2: ‘Throwing the mood out of the window’ for no reason does largely mean bad writing. Like they lined up a bunch of sharks and decided to waterski-jump over them. With lasers attached to the sharks’ heads.

      And problem #3: Mind you, I actually kind of like a number of KyoAni works. That being said, the excuse of ‘this is what they always do’ only goes so far.

      Corin
      Reply

    2. I mentioned in a post above that I liked this episode because I really wasn’t expecting much from this show anyway but it’s only natural that people who are would be disappointed with this episode.Just because they’re KyoAni,it shouldn’t mean that they can do anything they want at any given time.

      MgMaster
      Reply

      3. If there’s anyone qualified to criticize this episode, it sure ain’t you Kaioshin, with your unhealthy hatred against all things Kyo-Ani. Right now you’re no different from a sports fan enjoying his schadenfreude at seeing his hated rival sports team going through a losing streak.

        All studios go through a bad patch, Kyo-Ani is no exception, though only time will tell if they’ll recover. But you probably won’t care.

        Anonymous
        Reply

      4. The sad thing is this isn’t a rough patch for them. People are still praising them like they’re gods gift to anime for this totally tonal consistent episode that brings with it a myriad of contradictions to the story and the most elementary of ecchi humor. But hey I guess give people a dance sequence and something to ogle and they’ll come and praise it like it’s a masterpiece of craftmanship.

        It’s not really Kyoani I hate so much as the low standards it inspires in it’s fans. It’s anime fandoms greatest shame just how easy it’s fans are to work up into a frenzy of praises and claims that they lost their shit laughing at what amounts to basic humor you can find in just about any show. As one friend of mine put it it’s like Pavlov’s dogs.

        Kaioshin Sama
        Reply

      5. I’m with Kaioshin Sama on this one.You can be sure that if Strike the Blood or Tokyo Ravens(which I personally find more entertaining,but hey that’s just my taste) would have an episode like this they’d take way more heat.

        MgMaster
        Reply

      6. Kaoishin the thing you’re so pointing out is also applicable to the same people like you. You throwing your same rehashed opinion to stir shit isn’t all that different from the ones you’re so adamant to fight.

        I’m glad you’re not allowed to post in any KyoAni related thread in animesuki. When I occasionally felt an urge to check a KyoAni thread in ANN, 80% chance you’re there causing a storm. You’re really that infectious and toxic.

        megalith
        Reply

  40. It’s a damn shame that there was no Kyoukai no Kanata episode this week, I was really expecting one. I sure hope there’s one next week, unlike this week in which there was no Kyoukai no Kanata episode. I suppose I can only hope.

    EH2
    Reply

  43. I like Mirai but it of made it simpler if they gave her more uniqueness. what I love about kyo ani girl characters is they all have different ticks that make them well…them Kotomi with her spacey intelligence, Rikka with her delusions, and Chitanda with her curiosity. they could’ve made her a teenaged Yomiko Readman

    milina
    Reply

  44. I laugh so hard I almost peed. OMG. This is awesome, not only is Mitsuki cute here but that awesome gayish lovely song in the end. I so love it. Not bad for an ice breaker, I have nothing to complain for 😀 I love episodes like this

    Katan
    Reply

  52. This episode is really great!

    Very nice idol sequence!
    Would be nice if Kyoani did Love Live, say no to CGI!

    Haven’t seen that much but i’d like to say that this is the best animated singing and dancing in the whole of 2013!!

    iron2000
    Reply

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