Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「カドケス高等学校飛空科」 (Kadokesu Koto Gakko Hi Sora Ka)
“Cadoques High, Aerial Division”
Here we go. As training gets underway, this could be the start of something great… or one of the bigger disappoints of the season. Because if there’s anything I’ve noticed here with Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta so far, it’s that there’s a lot to work with, and how much they successfully execute it all could result in a wide range of final impressions.
At the moment though, they seem to be doing quite well—seamlessly integrating the Cadoques High introductory segment with extra information about the series’ rather extensive universe. And it’s a great start, because having such an extensive universe and managing to tell viewers about it without it being overbearing are two important elements for any adventure story. This goes double for this series in particular, as this setting also sets the foundation for the drama and romance portions of the story here, and it’s nice to see that they’ve gotten that down early on.
Indeed, the whole three continents surrounded by an endless sea (and an endless waterfall) setting ends up being quite unique in its own way, and it serves quite well as a factor that engages viewers and gets them invested in the overall story. There’s an air of mystery about it all that leaves you wondering what exactly it is they’ll find when they reach the End of the Sky and whether or not all of them end up surviving until then. Benjamin’s question of why Isla needs protection in the first place hints at some potential enemies in the future, and it’s interesting to note how both the instructors chose not to answer the question directly. Furthermore, it has to be noted that the flying island they’re on may not be entirely of their own design at all—it may have just appeared the Holy Spring—which if true, brings with it a whole host of questions about its origins and the technology behind it.
There are just a lot of puzzle pieces to sort out before it’s all said and done, and again, how they end up being addressed—along with the budding romance between Claire and Kal-el—will end up being key determinants of how far this series goes. For now however, we’re getting back some pieces in regards to the main cast, and it’s nice how this episode seems to exchange the questions about the grand scheme with information regarding the rest of the pilots. Best of all, none of it is rushed, and we manage to find out quite a bit about each member’s past and/or the reason they signed up in the first place. Notably, this also set up the whole noble vs. commoners conflict we saw budding in the first episode, as well as the revelation that Ignacio Axis seems to know exactly who Kal-el is—providing even more plot threads from which to build from.
Ultimately, this second episode is good follow up to what’s been a pretty solid start to the series so far. If the many potential plot lines have hinted at anything, it’s that this could be the show with one of the highest ceilings this season, and I look forward to seeing how things work out here. I can’t say I’m enthused that the series only has one-cour to work with and I can’t say I liked how Kal-el nonchalantly ditched Ariel for Claire during the training exercise (even if it made perfect sense why), but yeah… guess we’ll see. Until next week, be sure to “nurture your own independence.” Just don’t take that to mean that you should only eat bread all the time like a certain someone.
Preview
 |
 |
 |
a lot of death flags thrown at the dinner table..
indeed.
having lot male students casts than female students
sound pretty passable for fodder
This series is one of the better ones this season and it really seems to hold a lot of promise. I hope they manage to let that promise soar.
I still find the whole “Fly Kal-el” brings a smile to my face considering his rather famous namesake
Better than Attack on Titan.
Agreed.
Better than Guilty Crown and SAO =P
Better than Slice of Life animes. Better than Space Bros. Better than everything.
AOTC.
Better than opinions!
Seems like Hanji managed to cure Annie of ther Titan disease.
That aside, this show’s shaping up into something that I’ll remember in time to come and I’m slowly getting used to the character design and art work.
It’s nice to see them mentioning the great falls again and I’m trying to piece together the chronological time line and location together with the movie version that came out 2 years ago (if I recall correctly)
Unfortunately Annie also lost her ability to face-plant anyone she gets her hands on.
That got replaced with fist plant
pretty good second episode. though i did find the first a bit lower than what i expected. the high school humor didn’t really feel great and somewhat a bit forced. the second half did see a nice progression though.
*wipe eyes* its Kal-el dammit, not oz bezarius!!
How is this only 12 episodes? Even this early in the show I can tell that there is a lot of potential to really flesh out the world and the history behind the different continents, including their tenuous pasts.
It still blows my mind that shows like this get a single cour when shows like Tokyo Ravens and Strike the Blood get two. Those aren’t bad shows, just saying there are more deserving shows out there.
I like where this is going: death flags everywhere.
Chinese kids will die, fatty will die, giant bro will sacrifice himself, that two grey haired pair will turn out to be spies and will be killed, latin babe will cry over fatty and die in a vengeful fireball of glory, jerk lancer will start relationship with the sister and live along with her. MC will die along with love interest to save the world.
Calling it: the deaths will be sporadic too giving the whole series a darker atmosphere at the end.
Man, I can’t wait. XD More suffering pls.
Apparently they are not Chinese but Japanese or people in another world who happen to awfully resemble to the Japanese.
Frankly, anybody who watches Japanese animes so often is supposed to tell Japanese from Chinese I guess because he should be familiar with Japanese culture a little bit more than most people.
I could swear “Qi” is more Chinese-like than Japanese.
Yeah, Qi is a chinese name.
However, “Mitsuo Fukuhara”, “Noriaki Kashiwabara”, and “Nanako Hanasaki” are completely hands-down Japanese names.
Yeah but I’m looking at place of origin instead of the person’s name.
Well, I think this will probably have a bittersweet ending.
Maybe this will be one of those one-cour shows that they plan to be two-cour from the start and they just haven’t told us yet?
Let’s hope. The world-building has lots of potential.
Kind of remind me of Ace Combat’s Strangereal, as the other novels are placed also here, separated by time and/or the vastness of the world
i’d actually bet on this anime not having that much worldbuilding. not that i’d prefer that, but the source LN is actually only one of four different stories set in the same universe, so the author’s had 4 stories of time to flesh out the world. if we see anything here it’d just be a small fraction.
Im actually becoming very interested in Ignacio, cant wait to see more of him.
Looking good so far, it’d be nice for Last Exile to get a worthy successor.
Theory time: Claire Cruz is actually Nina Viento. They have the same seiyuu, and Claire was suspiciously missing in the morning(in this episode). Nina Viento is somehow responsible for the death of Kal-el’s mother, possibly? Judging by his reaction in the first episode, she’s definitely responsible for something. Anyway, he’s falling in love with Claire, unaware that she’s Nina Viento.
Yeah. This is going to get very complicated.
The series is setting up Claire and Kal to be star crossed lovers, members of nobility on opposite sides and Kal harboring a deep hatred for Claire’s alternate persona. No doubt in my mind Claire will die by the end of this series. Also, tons of death flags raised during the dinner scene.
So I did the some research on what happens in the Light Novel and I have to say that I will be dropping this. You guys will be in for an emotional roller coaster.
My feelings are ready for it….
I think
I did a light research so as to not spoil myself. It’s good as pain and tears go. I’d say Valkyria + Last Exile-tier of feels.
can you elaborate more or point me to source? sorry i’m noob at researching
Best not to know I think….
I only read that tiny blurb of the show on wikipedia
could you tell me what happened to Claire and Karl-El? you can tell it through email. thank you
Hmm. I think I’ll be following this. The second episode was better than the first, which was a bit preoccupied with introducing and/or hinting at the many facets of the protagonist, and as a result came off a bit hasty in its pacing. This was more like it.
And I must say I totally failed to recognize Yuuki Aoi as Claire until the credits.
After Walkure Romanze’s Tahahiro set the standard of what an MC should do, Kal-el took the torch. It’s been a while since I saw a male stand ground against a so-called superior-class douche in the first episodes and win. Even if it’s as a joke, by the end of the series, he could become Man of Steel’s Superman, if only can get rid of his hate.
Come to think about it, maybe the whole “I hate Nina Viento” may be a misguided hate build by politics, with Ignacio’s reveal at the end. And frankly, if Claire is really Nina and Kal begins to hate her, he’ll turn into the season’s asshole.
Solid secondary cast, and i hope that most of them survive.
Is it just me or did the animation level drop drastically from the first ep?
2/3 of the 3 episode test passed!
Gosh that bishie admiral/chief navigator reminds me of Jaeger from Valkyria Chronicles! did the Magnificent Bastard (T) escape death to become expy character (T) in another military-themed anime?
Now we move away from being Superman to being Vyse. Keep them Skies of Arcadia vibes up!
Remember Hare or Shirley or any other girls that are cute and nice? Yeah, it doesn’t end well for them…
A main character who actually can deal with the stereotypical high-class douchebag? That alone makes it interesting enough to watch. xD
Gotta love how he completly put him at his place by going all proper etiquette.
But yeah, lot’s and lot’s of death flags here. Being high in the sky brings lots of wind to keep them waving.
Well, it went so because Show Spoiler ▼