Random Curiosity

「怠惰で臆病な姫君」 (Taidade Okubyouna Himegimi)
“A Lazy, Cowardly Princess”

Nation-level politics at its best.

Their First Loot

The newbies weren’t a large part of this episode, which is kind of a shame – with the massive leaps in character growth and camaraderie they’ve made, I actually look forward to their scenes now. What I liked was finally seeing someone reference loot. It should come as no surprise to anyone that loot is important in this game, but having it finally reference and showing its importance was a nice nod for old MMO players. Even better though? The bonding the team did over so freely and willingly giving the gauntlets to Rudy. It’s the “obvious” thing to do, but the depth of the gesture should not be understated. After all, if they weren’t a team then they may have rolled for it, or sold it so they could all benefit. Giving it to Rudy is a way of saying he’s important to them and him getting stronger is solidly to their benefit simply because it benefits them, and that makes my heart all warm and fuzzy on the inside. They’re a real team!

Bonus points: Rudy totally deserves it after the support work and team play he was throwing out there. Though so do the others – Serara’s roots, Tohya leading the goblins to them, Isuzu’s support songs, Minori on the lookout…they’re finally a real team, awesome!

Politics of the Old

Once again, Touno-sensei proves that he understands politics better than most authors out there. The political horse-trading in this episode was very believable. First of all was what I refer to as the Politics of the Old, and it’s what you will recognize as politics proper.

The Lords of Eastal are the most obvious offenders practitioners. In order to avoid owing the adventurers of Akihabara anything, and because they were more scared of what the adventurers might do instead of what the goblins would do, they were willing to sacrifice the city of Tsukuba. When you look at it with what we might call “common sense”, this is fucking stupid, with the curse word most definitely required. That city is inhabited by people who will die if they don’t act, and yet they’re willing to let them die for fleeting political gain. Sounds familiar? Because it ought to. And yet there’s logic to it, because in the lords’ eyes the uncertain danger of the immortal adventurers is far more important than the certain danger of the beatable goblins. But people will still die.

Even the adventurers of the Round Table were not immune to this. They went in they’re playing good cop/bad cop…is what I’d say, but honestly it was more like quiet cop, blunt cop, and angry cop. What they really did was go in and play the Kirk/Spock/McCoy bit, with Krusty as Kirk (ego, trope!), Shiroe as Spock (superego, trope!), and Michitaka as McCoy (id, trope!). Shiroe was to act in favor of sending troops and dig for information, Michitaka was to be against them and act angry – a job he did a little too well – and while Krusty’s role wasn’t spelled out, you can imagine him trying to “force” them into the accord they secretly agreed upon earlier. And yet, while they were playing these political head games, even they forgot to treat their opposites with respect, and that lives were on the line. They were treating the lords of Eastal like adversaries rather than working with them to save lives.

The Politics of the Young

Then there’s the other kind of politics, the Politics of the Young. You’ll recognize these by other names such as “idealism” or “common sense”. Minori and the other newbies embody this, abandoning politics per say and doing what is right. Lenessia, though, was the real star this week.

Personally, I find real world politics to be fascinating, but one thing constantly aggravates me – why is it that nation-states can act more like children than actual children can? We scold kids for not sharing or hitting others to show they’re strong, and then our governments go out and do these very things all the time! (Or have in the past…no nation’s history is clean of that, unless they haven’t gotten the chance yet.) That’s Politics of the Old, which might more accurately be called Children’s Politics.

What Lenessia did was something different – she treated everyone like people who are worthy of respect. Rather than treating the adventurers like tools to be used, she treated them like individuals who have to be asked as equals. Rather than see the people of Tsukuba as pawns in a power game, she saw them as people whose lives she wanted to save. She treated everyone like people, and set out to do the best she could for everyone involved.

I wish more of our world’s politics was like that, don’t you?

Looking Ahead – A Way Out

The Lords of Eastal lucked out, because Lenessia has given them a way out. She understand adventurers, she understands that freedom requires resolve, and she finally understands that in the adult world, you have to work really hard to earn the right to slack off. Crazy, isn’t it? But best of all was how she surprised Krusty. Shiroe is right, you don’t see that very often!

It looks like next time will give Lenessia more chances to surprise Krusty, and us a chance to hear another Touno-sensei speech. I don’t know if she’ll be able to match a certain peasant girl, but I’d love to find out.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Politics at its finest. And when all is looking bleak, Lenessia saves the day! #loghorizon 17

Random thoughts:

• D’aaawww, Lenessia is so kawaii when she’s scared. I want me own lazy princess!

Check out my blog about storytelling and the fantasy novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Dogfights, battleships, & sword fights, Combo counter update – It’s going well, it’s going not so well, I really like this scene, and Unveil an actuality. My current combo counter: Editing chain, 15 days long. Writing chain, 2 days long.

Full-length images: 24, 28.

Preview

「蒼き魔女の迷宮篇II」 (Aoki Majo no Meikyu Hen III)
“Labyrinth of the Blue Witch III”

Long story short, the character reactions this week tell you everything you need to know about themselves and what Strike the Blood offers:

Basically, Vatler’s as crazy as usual, Sayaka’s constantly getting surprised, Kojou’s getting tossed to the curb in terms of impressions again, La Folia continues to win the best girl sweepstakes by a mile, and it all comes together to form one of the better series this season.

Switching over to the more serious side of things though, I have to say that I didn’t see the events of this episode coming. I had sensed there was something off about mid-way through the episode (it felt like our cast was fighting a final battle for some reason), but I never expected this to happen. After all, things were going pretty smoothly, and it looked like Kojou was about to expand his harem even further. Then it’s like, SURPRISE! WE GOT YOU! and suddenly we get both Natsuki and Yuuma taken out at the same time, and it’s like NO WAY. I had to rewind a few times just to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me, and you really have to give credit where credit’s due.

The show’s just done a superb job of luring you into believing that it’ll be all happy endings, fun and games, and harem expansions, and it capitalizes on this in style with multiple shockers in the span of a 30 seconds. At the same time, it continues Strike the Blood’s steady second half rise, and the series is starting to get better and better. The question remains though, whether or not both Natsuki and Yuuma are out of the picture permanently or not, and I’m not sure what to think. I want to believe they’ll both survive, but the fact that the OP foreshadowed darker developments and the fact that both of them were impaled seems to imply that at least one of them won’t make it. It also has to be noted that this episode broke the tradition of the series having four episode arcs, which doesn’t bode well at all considering how conclusive the chapter end’s have been so far. Gosh darn it, next week’s episode can’t come soon enough!

Full-length images: 01, 14.

Preview

「ニッポン壊滅」 (Nippon Kaimetsu)
“The Destruction of Japan”

Doom’s day is finally here!
But the episode never goes as you’d expect it to… And this week was no exception. Sometimes I wonder why I’m still even watching this show and then I remember. It’s because it never fails being unpredictable. I won’t lie, it’s not the most entertaining show; especially after
Mari and Hidenori’s absence, but it sure knows how to keep the story going. Samurai Flamenco has come such a long way since it’s premiere but now that it’s more than halfway done, I’ve got to say, it’s pretty d*mn crazy! But is it a good kind of crazy? I’ll let you know…

Unlike previous weeks, this episode was fairly well balanced and straight forward. Masayoshi warned the public, public good crazy, monsters arrive and fighting ensues. The only problem with that is that I hate when travesties get resolved so really. This episode was just filled with so. much. cheese. It was just too much for me because Samurai Flamenco still borders that half spoof/half serious drama line. I’m not sure if it’s trying to be realistic with the government involvement or if this arc is just trying to wrap itself up for the next chapter. I didn’t mind that Masayoshi decided to post a public announcement but in real life, nothing can be that easily resolved. It would’ve made for a better fight if the civilians turned into “heroes” themselves to defend Japan. I guess having other heroes show up is close enough.

This has got to be the first episode I’ve seen (since the first 5) that brought up the theme of heroes so prominently again. And in a good way; not the joking manner that makes fun of The Power Rangers. I can appreciate how they try to link everyone together and how you CAN make a difference by being one individual. It’s cheesy as well, but somehow I can accept that given the overall direction of the story so far. So the big guy doesn’t end up leaving the Flamengers to rot (as interesting as that would be) bit instead he gives them hope. Seeing your childhood heroes come to live must be such an inspirational feat to someone like Masayoshi. I can’t imagine what Japan would be like after this, but heroes are no longer a rarity it seems. I don’t want to ask too many questions because I’ll just drive myself mad, but now we know why “heroes” are so readily accepted by everyone.

What’s really caught my attention this week, was that awesome cliffhanger Who saw that one coming? I’m not usually one for doppelgangers, but for some reason, I’m (probably wrongfully) hopeful for this twist. Aliens aren’t on the top of my list anymore but a twin brother who has super powers and wants to destroy Japan? That sounds like a great story for good versus evil – and isn’t that one of the reoccurring themes here?

TL;DR – @RCCherrie: What are you doing to me #Samumenco?! Such mixed feelings… But that cliffhanger was pretty good I’ll give it that =P

Note: Apologies for late post! I’ll be away for the next week and unfortunately that means my posts (for Noragami as well) will be delayed. Hopefully not for more than 48 hours but no promises =( Regardless though… Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

「どうにもとまらない」 (Do Ni Mo Tomara Nai)
“Don’t Stop Me Now”

Going back to the topics I started on last week, Kill la Kill is increasingly looking like a series that seems more action-oriented than story-oriented. Because like many previous episodes, this week’s episode delivers on the action side of things—providing plenty of flashy fight scenes between the finally deployed Nudist Beach and the Student Council members and between Satsuki and Matoi as well. What does ends up being a hit and a miss are the story developments in between those however, and it’s a pity that this is the case. I love entertaining action series as much as everyone else—in fact, I probably love them more considering my affinity for Kawamori series—but it just feels like there could’ve been more here to develop considering the content and expectations put upon it initially. Don’t get me wrong though, this doesn’t make the series a bad one at all. It merely misses the mark somewhat—which still says a lot more than some of the series we’ve been given in the past year.

That said, one of the things Kill la Kill is really trying to emphasize is the friendship element between Matoi and Senketsu, and how their affinity for one another allows them to reach a power level normally unattainable for someone like her. In this sense, Satsuki’s regard for her Kamui is markedly different, and it’s also apparent why. After all, her involvement in the production of Goku Uniforms make the Kamui merely another piece of clothing to be worn, and her treatment of Junketsu clearly reflects this. And that’s fine. It’s a solid foundation from which to develop things from, sure, but there seems to be a missing component that makes this more than solid, and part of it stems from their inability to give a convincing argument against Satsuki.

Because as many of you may remember, a lot of us mentioned that Matoi was arguably the bad guy within this context—an anti-hero main character more than anything. She came in wielding her scissor sword, and essentially started wrecking things to try and find out information about her father. Meanwhile, Satsuki’s the one with an actual noble goal and a whole legion of loyal supporters—strong ones too—at her side that’d gladly sacrifice their lives for her in the face of any challenge.

Considering these initial developments, the fact that Matoi’s ends up accusing Satsuki of being too heavy handed this week ends up ringing a tad bit hollow—precisely because she was pretty much doing the same kind of carnage initially. Satsuki was the one developed as the paragon of virtue among the two, yet suddenly Matoi’s also one in the span of 2 episodes? It’s unconvincing to say the least—especially when you consider the methods she uses to obtain Satsuki’s sword. Not only that, but Matoi’s accusation that Satsuki is alone just because she doesn’t interact with her Kamui rings hollow as well. Yes, she’s alone in terms that none of her peers can match her skills or charisma and in the Kamui interaction context, but she’s far from alone in terms of allies. With the Student Council by her side, she has at least four people she can rely on when she needs to, and she’s had them for a number of years as well. Number-wise, that’s more than what Matoi has in terms of equivalent strength friends, and just one of Satsuki’s relationships is already longer in length than all of Matoi’s combined.

It makes you wonder if Satsuki wouldn’t have been a better main character instead… but I digress. In general, this episode ultimately ends up being similar to many of the previous. It’s far from a bad episode—especially in terms of action—but it’s also not exactly the pinnacle of the genre either. I will admit there were a few developments here that surprised me—such as how Matoi obtains Satsuki’s blade—but much ends up as expected, and even the ones that surprised me were a tad bit of a hit and miss. Next week however, does seem to hold quite a bit of promise. With the supposed revelation of details surrounding Matoi’s father upcoming, it could very well flip the entire series on its back, and I’m quite interested to what exactly those revelations will entail. Depending on how they do things, it could very well be a game-changer in many respects.

Preview

「会長はお姉ちゃん／プール掃除でお約束」 (Kaichou wa Onee-chan/ Puuru Souji de o Yakusoku)
“The President is Onee-chan / Pool Cleaning Promise”

I sense a sister yuri love triangle in the formation even as the kissing gets heavier and hotter!

Onee-chan Kaichou

I feel like we’ve only gotten the tip of the iceberg with Yuu’s older sister and president of the student council Sonoda Mitsuki (Fujita Saki). Her suspicion about Yuu-chan and Haruka’s relationship is of course well deserved, but what I appreciated was that they didn’t make a big deal about her finding out. I mean, she found out immediately and there was no drama! Though I do admit that having them try to hide it from her for a while might have been entertaining.

The big question is, is Mitsuki smitten with Haruka? All that doki doki business when she was bringing them drinks would seem to indicate a little something. If not that will be a huge red herring (at least to me), and if so…well, I’m all for it! Why do I say that? Because Haruka x Yuu are a total OTP, and nothing will break them up. All Mitsuki would do is add a little spice and comedy to the whole situation, and I’m okay with that. After all, she’s been pretty fun so far.

Yuu – Embarrassed or Protecting Their Relationship?

One of the more interesting lines was when Yuu was getting all embarrassed about the shameless swimsuits Haruka modified. She said something like “If our secret leaks out, our relationship will be over!” What I find fascinating – and often, morally troubling – about shows like this is that they’re not trying to take a moral or social stance on the subject of same-sex couples, but the subject matter pretty much demands it. While Haruka would already have them up on the altar in a pair of wedding dresses, Yuu-chan seems to think there’s something wrong with their relationship…or maybe not. Honestly I think she’s just embarrassed, but the words she chooses to use to hide that are at least indicative of the culture they live in, and it’s one that doesn’t go “Yuri couples? Full power ahead Captain, this is a sure thing!” Which is a shame I think, because yeah equality and all that, but also look at them!!

Haruka’s Oppai

I can’t help enjoy an episode largely devoted to Haruka’s oppai. That’s all. Just…enough said.

Looking Ahead – Turning Up the Heat

What is this, Amagami Redux!? Not that I’m complaining. It looks like they’re going to turn up the heat even more next week, which works for me. Yuu straddling Haruka HHNNNNNGGGG!!!

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – I think Yuu’s onee-chan might have a crush on Haruka? If not, at least we still have Haruka’s oppai \o/ #桜Trick 03

Random thoughts:

• Mitsuki sleeps with her glasses on. That’s some fidelity to the meganekko ideal!
• I want to play with Shizuku’s twintails! So jealous…
• Cheerleader Haruka is fine too.
• Face-planting into onee-chan’s oppai is fine too!
• Delicious legs are fine too!!
• Kissing on the floor is fine too!!!
• Haruka in a swimsuit is–!!!1! *nosebleeds everywhere* I’m okay. I…I think I’m going to make it.
• Blushing Yuu-chan + storage room kiss + looking longingly into each other’s eyes OHHHHHH GOOOODDDSSSSS–!! *massive, crippling nosebleed* *dies of ero-moe* *worth it*

Check out my blog about storytelling and the fantasy novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Dogfights, battleships, & sword fights, Combo counter update – It’s going well, it’s going not so well, I really like this scene, and Unveil an actuality. My current combo counter: Editing chain, 13 days. Writing chain, 1 day.

Full-length images: 15, 27, 28.

Preview

End Card

「八軒、高く跳ぶ」 (Hachiken, Takaku Tobu)
“Hachiken Jumps High”

Gin no Saji, now 100% cow rectum free.

Volume 10 of Gin no Saji the manga is at 610K sales and counting, and the anime continues to hum along quietly, minding its own business and doing what it does so well without calling much attention to itself. I’ve come to think of this series as a kind of episodic slice-of-life, a show that’s plot-driven from week to week but squarely in the slice-to-life camp in terms of the recurring themes. That doesn’t mean there aren’t recurring plot points – there certainly are, and we saw them this week – but it does mean that most of the conflict-resolution narrative we see in any given episode usually resolves itself by that episode’s end, and exists mainly to shed insight on the series’ larger themes of identity and growing up.

It’s interesting to speculate on where this season will finish up, because those themes aren’t exactly the kind with clear-cut resolutions and in any event, the manga is still going strong. This isn’t a show that’s overwhelmingly successful by the standards we usually use to judge an anime commercially, but that’s probably neither a surprise or a requirement for it to be considered a success – the manga is such a powerhouse that the anime is really here to promote the brand. There are really two separate questions here – where will A-1 choose to end the anime this season, and where will Arakawa-sensei choose to end the manga (presumably at a fairly distant time)?

What Gin no Saji is doing – perhaps even more so far this season than in the first – is taking us along on the journey of a kid who still has no idea who he is, and showing us how each new experience fills in a little bit of the picture for him. It does so without being preachy or professorial about it but make no mistake, these are life’s lessons we’re seeing play out – Hachiken’s life lessons. Last episode wasn’t really about finding a puppy in a trash heap and figuring out how to train it, and this week isn’t really about making an overdramatic horse jump over a training-wheels Swedish oxer – they were about what learning about those animals teaches Hachi-kun about himself.

Whenever Gin no Saji opens the window into Hachiken’s past it’s always a bit of a big deal, because he works so hard to keep that past locked deep inside him where no one can see it. We know already that this is an absurdly competitive boy – he hates to lose, and something related to academic failure caused a “nervous breakdown” (his words) in middle school. When it comes time for all the first-years (except Mikage, who’s already jouzu) in the Equestrian Club to try jumping, they all overcome their fears and manage on the first try – all except Hachiken, and Maron. Worse still, after a few abortive attempts a couple of the other rookies try jumping on Maron – and they sail over the oxer, raving about how easy a horse Maron is to ride.

Clearly, this is one of Hachi-kun’s buttons, big-time. We get actual flashbacks here – middle school uniforms, students laughing about how easy a test was, chibi-Hachiken silent in the shadows. He doesn’t yet understand enough about either horses or himself to temper his first instinct, which is to push harder and grind harder until he succeeds. This actually leads to what I consider his first real fight with Mikage, who’s aghast at his lack of consideration for Maron’s well-being. It’s interesting that Nakajima-sensei – who clearly realizes what’s happening here – chooses to silently let Hachiken struggle through this. Even Mikage insists she can’t communicate the nature of the problem in words, because he just won’t “get it” – but she does invite him to an equestrian competition in her home town, hoping that he’ll get a greater sense of the problem by watching the diverse field of riders – and horses – go through their paces.

Sure, there’s a lesson about equestrian sports here – the horse is doing most of the work, and the horse and rider have to cover for each other and trust each other. But it’s a not so subtle commentary on Hachiken’s refusal to let anyone inside (including his family), which life at Ezonoo is chipping away at glacially, one sliver at a time. I believe we also got a tacit blessing from Mikage’s father for their relationship – though being the snapping turtle he is, he has to issue it in the form of a challenge, and of course that part of the story too is moving with glacial deliberation. We also get yet another attempt by Tokiwa to spice things up with a bogus rumor about Hachiken and Mikage’s non-existent (at least together) sex life, though this one is nipped in the bud by judicious use of local farmstand produce.

「遠い波のささやき」 (Tōi Nami no Sasayaki)
“The Whisper of Distant Waves”

Well, looks like Miuna fans are getting their cake and eating it too.

Maybe I’m a bit more plot and world-oriented than most when it comes to dramas of this sort, but as far as what happened this episode, the part that stuck out the most (outside of Hikari’s always wonderful characterization) was not the exploration or potential for romance between Hikari and Miuna. I found it convenient that poor little devil Akira got rubella for the sake of getting these two a little date (shame, Okada, shame, first the old men and now the children?) among other little concerns, but had that not been the case, I’m still a little iffy about the focus here. It was hardly a bad episode, aside from a few more slips in animation than usual, but the fact that the end held the most interest for me says a lot about the dynamics between characters here. They don’t feel quite as natural as they did when all the other sea kiddos were around; showing Hikari and Miuna laughing and getting along didn’t really make it feel as real of a relationship as when Hikari was with the other kids. It was a particularly pushy bit of narrative device, and I didn’t really care much for it personally.

In fact, as much as I wanted to throw my own shoe at her, I understood Sayu better here; she’s definitely a selfish piece of work, throwing dramatic tantrums for no real reason but shallow jealousy and childishness, but you know what, I was fourteen once too. And boy, was I just as bad. It sucks being the third wheel, and it sucks seeing your best friend being “taken away” by a romantic interest, and at that age you’re still liable to be stupid and prone to letting your emotions take you places you wouldn’t normally go (though that doesn’t mean everyone grows out of it either), so I understand why she burst out in anger like that. It wasn’t really pleasant to watch (or even necessary to the narrative) but I can’t fault her for being realistic as far as middle schoolers go. Whether or not she’ll grow out of it is another story.

In any case, I find Miuna to be alright as far as pining heroine goes, (though I think I much preferred Chisaki), but I do miss the chemistry and development from the first cour. Naturally that’s been missing considering half our cast has gone MIA, but hopefully with Kaname’s return we’ll start seeing things set in motion. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Miuna, really, but at this point in the narrative she almost feels like an outsider pushing in on a bubble that should only be burst at her own peril; though that’s just me. Perhaps to someone else, she looks more natural with Hikari than I give her credit for; regardless, I kind of feel like that’s still something a tad beside the point, especially when I consider the fact that Miuna, the halfling, has suddenly realized she can breathe underwater.

That’s significant, if only because of what we already know. Children born of a union between sea people and land people are not supposed to have Ena. And Miuna has in the past experienced a near-drowning incident. So the important question is, why now, and why Miuna? Is it because of the state of the sea villages? Has the sea god intervened somehow? I can’t imagine this being purely convenient for Miuna’s sake (though that’s definitely a possibility), so I can only hope this somehow ties in with the bigger story at hand.

Preview

If you thought that Aizen was a god with his bullshit abilities, then Yhwach is going to blow your mind. This chapter gives a bit of backstory about the father of quincies and the origin and nature of his powers, presumably narrated by Haschwald. Yhwach was born as a completely physically disabled infant – blind, deaf, mute, and immobile. He did however, have to power to grant portions of his soul to other people, which also granted them all sorts of healing boosts and other abilities. At the same time though, I wonder why he was unable to heal himself. Interestingly, Yhwach’s name seems to reference Jehovah (also transcribed as Yahweh) and he was basically treated as some sort of holy relic, but once the people infused with parts of his souls passed away, power, knowledge, and skill returned to him and he regained his functions. Now he uses people infused with portions of his souls as pawns to keep himself running. Every death (regardless of quincy or shinigami) returns more power to him and makes him ever stronger. The whole war is basically just snack time for him in the grand scheme of things, if his motives are what Haschwald said.

However, his power overall is very convoluted with a lot of holes that may or may not be explained in the future. He’s been dormant for the past millennia (presumably because of a lack of souls return to him), but the quincies have still been around reproducing and dying natural deaths all that time. Also, the mass extermination was only 200 years ago, which would have boosted his strength significantly and easily restore his functions. I can only assume that since being a quincy seems to be genetic, the descendants of the people he infused also gain part of his soul. It’s not clear why the Sternritter serve Yhwach so fervently either as despite his cruelty and power it doesn’t seem they are fighting against their will. It’s possible that they were all tricked into ingesting the Sternritter initials, but I would guess that they are aware of the nature of their existence and purpose. Finally, we have Ishida, whose motives are only hinted at, but if he’s Yhwach’s “successor” then why does he also need to die and become tribute? And why would Yhwach need a successor in the first place? The implications of his power are interesting, but it also raises a lot of questions that I hope will be explained later rather than leaving us to make up theories about what’s going on.

For the protagonists, the obvious solution would be to prevent Voldemort from splitting his souls into anybody else and waiting it out until all the horcruxes die and the cycle breaks. Since Kubo probably isn’t going to drag this series out for several hundred years though, Ichigo and co. will have to find another way to defeat him. Or possibly, Aizen will come back and work some more of his plot magic.

「追撃の…魔王魔法少女」 (Tsuigeki no… Maou Mahou Shoujo)
“Magical Devil Girl… In Pursuit”

I don’t even know where to start after watching this amazing episode. You want some ecchi? Here’s some ecchi. You want some heart-melting, hnnnng inducing moments? You got it. You want a new character who pushes our favorite couple forward instead of backwards? HERE YOU GO.

Yuuta is a growing boy! A growing and loving boy.

With the way this episode started off, I think it’s become 100 percent clear that Yuuta clearly knows what he wants. Even if he needs to sugarcoat the idea of a passionate relationship behind a “contract”, there’s no denying that he isn’t some delusional guy. But if you take a second to add in this week’s opening minute to last week’s heartfelt actions, there’s no other way but to see Yuuta as one of the most sincere and passionate guys ever. Sure he may get roped into awkward situations because of his indecisiveness (Mahou Shoujo Yuuta anyone?), but what more could you ask for from a boyfriend who understands how to handle your weaknesses while still helping you move toward a more positive future?

Shichimiya Satone, more commonly known as “Sophia Ring SP Saturn VII”

After her sudden introduction right at the end of last week’s episode, I recall not being too happy about her appearance. Remember, Yuuta and Rikka had basically just reconfirmed their feelings for one another after a slightly awkward date. And after an physically and emotionally exhausting day, it shouldn’t be too hard to see how the appearance of a “new girl” could just become another obstacle for the two to overcome. Add in how Satone randomly challenged Rikka to a battle and Yuuta personally escorting her home and how can you not see the tens of thousands of bad things that could happen.

However, what I failed to take into account was just how mature Satone is. While her chuunibyou levels may exceed even Dekomori’s and her view on reality may be a bit warped, there’s no denying that she’s incredibly good at reading the mood and understands how to control her emotions. Sure she may have taken things a bit far when she penguin-kissed Yuuta, but I don’t judge her for it. If anything, it was an awfully cute way for her to close out the unrequited feelings Yuuta left her with when he suddenly disappeared out of her life.

All that said, it seems she did the complete opposite of what I expected and actually became one of the strongest driving forces behind my favorite couple. Somehow tackling a handful of difficult topics like jealously and lust in a single episode, without her appearance I doubt we’d have ever gotten a scene like this. Thank you Satone-chan<3

KyoAni’s Budget, Side Characters, and the Future

With its never ending budget and talented animators, it’s easy to say that the quality of the show hasn’t slipped at all since its second season debut. From the background characters to the creative chunibyou scenes, it’s nice to see KyoAni in top form.

For the side characters, it’s a little depressing to see Isshiki still getting the short end of the stick. Either getting kicked in the face or tackled straight into a wall, it seems like he won’t be getting more than a few lines anytime soon. Luckily though it seems that Kumin-senpai has been relieved of her duty as bad-joke teller — something which couldn’t have come sooner. Both Dekomori and Nibutani are still getting tons of screen time, so not much of a change there. If anything though, it seems like Nibutani’s loosening up a bit and letting her creative side slip out — something I also approve of!

So after three episodes, is Chu2Koi Ren something you should be/continue watching? OF COURSE. With its romantically focused story combined with that KyoAni magic that makes thing just “work”, I can’t imagine this show getting derailed. So if you aren’t watching, you should really go start.

Random Thoughts

• Maou Yuuta? HAHAHA. Imagine if Yuuta started talking about economics or the most effective farming strategies. Or potatoes.
• Jealous Rikka is soooo cute. CHOU KAWAII.

Well, there you have it folks. Madara’s carnage is almost complete and we’re at a point where something’s got to give. With only the Third Hokage fully intact out of the revived Hokage, the current Kages and most of the medical ninja almost out of chakra, and both Sasuke + Naruto on the brink of death, Kishimoto’s bought the manga as close to the brink as possible, and it’s the moment of truth. Will Madara actually end up winning? Or will both Naruto and Sasuke somehow bring themselves back from near death to win?

Going back to what I mentioned last week, this chapter makes it abundantly clear that there’s only few ways left to go from here, and it makes you wonder what exactly all of this will culminate in (and if it’ll be a satisfactory conclusion to it all). Because as expected, Madara’s rampage has gone on unchecked, and it doesn’t look like any of the current Shinobi are in any shape to do anything about it. At the same time though, it seems virtually inconceivable that Kishimoto’s going to go the “Madara victory and then some kind of timeskip” route. Yet, it also seems quite far-fetched that anything can turn the tables in a conclusive way without it requiring some suspension of belief.

So what’s going to happen? Considering the genre, it’s easily to conclude that the latter is far more likely, and it’s something that makes things interesting because there are actually two wild cards left that could give our heroes one last chance. After all, Sakura still seems to have the Sozo Saisei chakra storage in her forehead intact, and Sasuke still has the “new jitsu” he learned from the First Hokage (assuming it hasn’t already been activated). Conceivably, this could be used to heal both Naruto and Sasuke (at least), and permit the latter to use the new jitsu he was taught (while also throwing back to the whole Team 7 working together thing). The thing though, is that this makes the entire arc potentially reliant on that one jitsu… and gosh darn, it’s going to have to be one impressive technique. It’s just too bad we’ll have to wait two weeks for the next issue (no chapter next week). THE SUSPENSE!

「ムシ×ダケド×カシ」 (Mushi x Dakedo x Kashi)
“An x Indebted x Insect”

It’s not that often I can say this with anime, but I’ve truly never seen anything like what Hunter X Hunter is doing right now.

By my calculations something in the neighborhood of 20-25 seconds passed during the course of this episode. That means, in the last three, we’ve seen probably under two minutes of real-time covered if you don’t count the 60-year flashback in episode 111. I don’t think audacious even begins to cover this – it was audacious when Togashi tried it in the manga. For Koujina-sensei to adapt it in the same style for the anime is insane. And yet, somehow, it works.

I can easily see where this turn could be divisive among the fanbase. We’ve had copious amounts of narration and slowed time down almost to a stop. As a result of that there’s been very little in terms of the titanic clash we all know is coming, and we can go an entire episode (apart from a key few seconds at the end) without even seeing the characters who seemed most prominent at the end of the last one – The King, Komugi, Neferpitou, Netero and Zeno. And yet I don’t know that I would change anything, because this bizarre narrative device is really working – at least for me.

I think the most contentious part of all this is probably the narration – it’s certainly referenced often enough by fans of the manga. The reason this narration is so prevalent, I think, is because Togashi has twisted this story into a funhouse mirror of perspectives. We keep seeing the same moment – in truth, the same couple of seconds – play out in the minds’ eye of a large number of characters, and the narration provides what I see as a necessary anchor. Because of its presence rather than seeming repetitive or utterly chaotic, these perspective shifts are like planets orbiting around the narrator’s Sun. Effectively this part of the arc is an experiment – I suspect Togashi was conscious of the fact that he was in uncharted waters here, and fell back on the Narrator’s significant presence as a way to keep everything coherent.

A couple of things stand out for me in the situation on the ground. First, Killua could hardly have been proved more right by the way events have played out – you just can’t assume anything is going to go according to plan. Pretty much nothing has up to this point – but despite being the most adamant about expecting the unexpected, Killua still strays away from his own advice and wings it when he sees two soldier ants standing in Ikalgo’s planned path (it’s clear now what Ikalgo’s role in the plan is – or was). For Killua to actually leave Gon’s side at that moment was a bit shocking, even to Killua himself (having that moment play out in slow motion brilliantly conveys how surreal it feels to him), but it all ties back into the fact that Killua overthinks everything. When chaos breaks out I continue to believe Gon is the one who thinks most clearly, because he’s always sure of his purpose. Killua is always plagued by self-doubt, and it always intrudes when events force him to react in the moment.

Meanwhile Shoot seems to have been given a certain clarity of purpose himself by Gon’s display of clear-headed courage last week. Menthuthuyoupi has basically transformed into one of the Old Gods, and his massive attack destroys the main staircase and completely shuffles the deck. Shoot is badly injured, but never more sure of himself. Knuckle and Meleoron get in another attack on Youpi but his aura is so immense that Potclean has barely made a dent. Shoot’s fierce attack manages to buy time and get Morel his weapon back, allowing him to take the fight to Shaiapouf (more on him shortly). Cheethu and Brovada respond to the alarm that the two soldier ants raised before Killua eliminated them, and Welfin silently observes – aware that something isn’t right.

The battle has splintered into so many fronts now that I honestly feel that if Togashi had structured this traditionally it would be hopelessly confusing to keep track of. My suspicion is that Welfin’s nature – self-serving and secretive – will work to Ikalgo’s benefit here. Rather than act immediately on his (correct) suspicions, he’ll sit on the information and see how he can use it to his advantage. Meanwhile Togashi has deftly (once again) flipped expectations on their heads (poor Killua – nothing ever goes as planned for the boy who loves to be in control) by effectively taking Pitou out of the game and putting him on medical duty, and turning the drama queen Shaiapouf into the dangerous berserker. Pouf has, in a word, flipped out (OK, that was two). He’s consumed by self-loathing at having failed the King, he’s enraged at Komugi for having stolen the King’s attention, at the King for having allowed her to, and at himself for allowing his anger about it to cloud his judgment. I wouldn’t care to predict what Pouf will do now – as the Narrator tells us, Pouf’s emotions are both a source of great strength and great weakness (as he also said about Youpi’s magical origins).

Given all that, it seems to me that Morel is the best – or worst – possible opponent for Pouf at the moment. No one in the cast excels at head games the way Morel does, and he’s currently captured Pouf inside a prison of Deep Purple’s smoke. Pouf is desperate to get back to the King and has become completely unbalanced, and if Morel can survive the raw power Pouf’s anger and desperation will call up, his impatience will likely be Morel’s greatest weapon. But I don’t think that’s going to be easy, and if Togashi were a more conventional writer I might suspect that Morel and Shoot both raised death flags this week. The next moments are going to be key for Morel – the longer the fight with Pouf drags on, the more the balance should shift in Morel’s favor.

My favorite part of the episode, though, is the last minute-and-a-half (which depicts about five seconds of actual time). Gon has arrived (Killua has fallen behind as a result of his deviation from the plan, and whether he catches up to Gon in time is an open question) at the second-floor balcony from which he planned to jump to the third floor. But the “idiot” is as usual thinking with perfect clarity, and deduces from the location of Morel’s smoke cloud that his target isn’t on the third floor. The scene from here is nothing more than Gon’s face as he sees the King appear on the opposite balcony, and Netero’s when he too appears and notices Gon staring at him. No words (or narration) are needed – the two faces tell everything. Gon’s initial shock, Netero’s GAR smile as he gives Gon a thumb to tell him where Pitou is, and the pure rage that suffuses Gon’s eyes at that instant. That look in Gon’s eyes is what this arc has been building towards, and while it may be a while yet before we see him unleash it, the full measure of what Gon has become and the extent to which his feelings can fuel his power are about to be put to the test. It’s the ultimate shounen moment in a story that subverts every shounen trope in the book, but that’s the nature of Togashi’s genius.

Preview

「戦車 THE CHARIOT」

I’m going to attempt to overlook some things for the sake of analysis. Some things such as the following:

• Heavily armored robots can easily be taken down in one shot by majestic arrow or a gun. Common armor apparently has no protective gear against this. Armies are essentially useless.
• Jeanne’s voice isn’t convincing anyone. It doesn’t even sound modestly tomboyish from how her seiyuu delivers the lines. Despite this, she earns a man-to-man confidence and a dogeza from Nobukatsu (though admittedly, he’s pretty gentle himself).
• A number of in-between animations are fairly inconsistent, especially for scenes unrelated to the action.

Instead, let’s focus on the story development so far. Most recently, we have been introduced to Himiko, queen of Yamatai, whose historical counterpart was a shaman queen of Yamatai-koku (whose location is debatable) in early 3rd century Japan. She just got a marriage with Nobunaga by possessing a “regalia,” of which its importance is yet to be explained. However, this regalia could very well be similar to one of the real Imperial Regalia of Japan, the jewel Yasakani no Magatama. With this union of both regalia and marriage to a queen, Nobunaga is clearly poising himself to claim legitimacy as a ruler, far beyond succeeding what his father Nobuhide presides over now.

Meanwhile, we have developments with Jeanne experiencing more visions and premonitions, which often get her into dangerous situations. Her connection with our world’s Joan of Arc seems to be triggered by fire, which is an interesting point of development. If one looks similarly to Oda Nobunaga’s end, his own death involved fire surrounding him, but in the end he refused to be engulfed by them and instead took his own life (see Incident at Honnou-ji). Thus, one can make a connection that Nobunaga does not fear the flame due to this historical reference, and as such is able to console Jeanne, even as she fears the flames engulfing her as a consequence of her sacrifice. This might not have been an intentional development on the writer’s end, but it’s an interesting connection I thought would be worth sharing. Either way, Jeanne is beginning to see the potential that Nobunaga has in being a king, which leads both to increased respect and growing feelings.

However, there will be many a problem that keep Jeanne from advancing her connection with the future lord of the Oda. First threat comes from Himiko, whose legitimate bond will most likely produce distance if Jeanne’s gender is revealed. Second is the watchful gaze of Ichihime, whose closeness to Nobunaga–to the point where she knows exactly what weaponry her brother needs at what moment–can place additional distance. Though it’s not a love triangle in the slightest, the dynamic between these three women will play an important part in Nobunaga’s perceptions of the world. Whereas Jeanne hails the future tales of what is to come and what must be stopped, Himiko reveals the traditions of the past and how they come to strengthen his legitimacy in the present. Though it’s a stretch, Ichihime resides in the present for Nobunaga, keeping him tethered to the reality that he lives in now. How Nobunaga interacts with each character will reflect Nobunaga’s overall attitudes of his future, present, and past, and overall shape how he will approach the incoming menace that is the crusading West Star.

Preview

「招かれた厄災」 (Manekare ta Yakusai)
“Bidden Calamity”

Noragami is such a great combination of comedy and serious themes. I think it brings together a lot of great points to progress the plot, but at the same time it tries to be lighthearted when it can. It even proves to be quite haunting when it wants to be, so I give the creators two thumbs up for being able to portray all these different emotions clearly and smoothy. It’s not every day that I enjoy a story that tries to be too many things at once but Noragami is one of those few exceptions.

The character dynamics definitely make this story so far. The three individuals aren’t the most unique ones that you’d see out there, but the situation that they’re put in brings out great interactions amongst them. Yato and Hiyori don’t quite get along, but they’re forced to help each other under these circumstances. It’s because of this that I think Hiyori tolerates him more than she’d care to. Actually, Hiyori on her own fits pretty well into your typical archetype of a school-girl (except for her love of pro-wrestling) so I don’t find her terribly interesting to watch. Yato and Yuki on the other hand, they’re like the typical duo that don’t get along, but still manage to stay together. I know it’s too soon, but this is probably the character development that I’d like to see the most. Yuki and Yato are so opposite, but they’re both cold and distant at the same time which makes me hope that Hiyori will break that down. I think Yuki has a bit of a crush on Hiyori too… I wonder where that will go because a little romance wouldn’t hurt.

This episode was terribly depressing with all the talks of suicide – especially amongst students. I feel like I relate a little more to Hiyori’s plea to help these people because some of the saddest sights to see are young individuals who don’t value their life. Students, who haven’t even lived their lives fully, feel so much pressure that they’d take their lives before even reaching adulthood. It goes to show just how valuable your life is. Yato brings up a good rebuttal though – If the students don’t care, then do they deserve to be saved? I like to believe that: if someone doesn’t care about themselves, then it’s a waste of my efforts to care about them too. And it follows the old saying that, you should love yourself if you expect others to love you too. So perhaps, there’s always going to be two sides of the story. In the meantime, I’m just glad that Yato softened up to Hiyori’s reasoning regardless. It makes him feel a bit more softer. It also made Hiyori realize that Shinki are people that didn’t want to die. Poor Yuki’s been fighting to live all this time and it just makes me more curious to his cause of death. That’s definitely what I’d love to hear about sometime.

I thought the girl at the end reminded me of Mayu, but apparently it’s a new character! Someone that also recently passed perhaps? Or an acquaintance of Yuki’s? I recognize the little triangle on her head as something that Fuyumi (Blood Lad) wore because she turned into a ghost, so perhaps this girl is too.

TL;DR – @RCCherrie: This episode made be feel bad for Yuki =( I wonder how he died then…? But the subject of suicide is pretty emo #noragami

Note: I wanted to inform everyone that I’ll be in Seattle next weekend and my post for Norgami might be will very likely be late. I’ll try and get it posted on Tuesday (latest) but no promises! Thanks for everyone’s patience =)

Preview

「風の革命」 (Kaze no Kakumei)
“The Wind Revolution”

As the third episode of Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta rolls in, it’s revelations galore, and you can’t help but feel somewhat for Kal-el (a.k.a. Karl la Hire, former Crown Prince) considering what he’s been through. His father was executed following the Wind Revolution, his mother drawn away to be killed in a pig cart shortly after, and even he was scheduled for death at some point. At this point, it makes perfect sense why he’s unstable emotionally, and its surprising that he’s gotten this far without going bonkers considering the potential catalysts around him.

Not only does he have to deal with issues that people his age normally deal with, he has to deal with seeing pictures of or hearing about Nina Viento (literally translated as “girl of the wind”) everywhere he goes, he has to deal with the whole noble vs. commoners clash that he normally wouldn’t have to—the list goes on. He’s essentially trying to live a life as someone he isn’t—or at least, as someone he hasn’t completely accepted—and he’s doing so while on a floating island literally being sent to nowhere. Oh yeah, Nina Viento’s also on it too. To say the least, it’s definitely not the ideal situation to be in, and it shows just how well the Albus family has done to get Kal-el this far.

That said, it’s interesting how Kal-el and Claire are similar in some regards. Both of them grew up as members of the upper class and both of them associate extensively with commoners despite this. But whereas Claire does so on a voluntary basis, Kal-el never had a choice in the matter. In this sense, it can be said that Claire is the person Kal-el could have been if the Wind Revolution never happened, and it goes to show how important circumstances are in determining the person we ultimately become. There’s a nature vs. nurture element to this whole thing, and it’s only fitting that the two end up coming together the way they did, because Claire fits perfectly as someone who could keep Kal-el from succumbing to his desire for revenge. Not only could she fill the void left behind by his circumstances, she’s a literal reminder of who he could have been if things went differently in the past. More importantly, her upbringing allows her to sympathize with Kal-el, which may serve as a conduit for venting emotions that he’s normally unable to talk about.

At the same time, it’s a give and take. Now that Claire is a significant person in Kal-el’s life, it’s highly possible that if something happens to her, there could be no turning back for the latter. Up until now, he’s been able to hold in his rage purely because of the Albus family’s influence and his mother’s last words, and it’s a precarious balance that could be tipped by the slightest incident. Things could easily go grim dark in a hurry, but at the same time, it has to be noted that Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta doesn’t seem to be that kind of story. Rather, it seems to be more of the uplifting variety instead. Considering that Claire seems to be the person who ends up “teaching him about love” (per the premise synopsis), it’s seems that she’ll at least survive through a majority of the series, and their relationship will form the crux of the story and of Kal-el’s development. The thing is though, this doesn’t mean she’s someone who will definitely survive the entirety of the series, and it makes me wonder if she does. There seem to be some subtle hints that things don’t end up as ideal as we’d like, and it kind of feels like Nina Viento may actually be more likely to survive at this point instead!

Overall, the revelations we get this week only lead to more questions, and it makes you wonder how things are going to develop from here. As with the previous episodes, there’s a lot of potential brewing here with Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta, which could make this a series we either love or hate to no end when it’s all said and done. There are still nine episodes left though, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Until next week!

Full-length images: 12.

Preview

「騙し騙される事もあるじゃんよ」 (Damashi Damasareru Koto mo Aru jan yo)
“Occasionally Even the Deceiver Is Deceived, Baby”

Whatever they’re putting in the water over at BONES these days, I wish they’d sell it at the local kusuri-ya.

I think it’s in the very nature of what Space Dandy is trying to do that it’s going to be somewhat hit-and-miss. The series has pretty much dispensed with traditional plot and character development to the point where it effectively hits the reset button at the end of every episode. The show seems to be pretty much free-association, no limit insanity – and when you go that route, some gags are going to work better than others. Of the three episodes we’ve seen so far, only the second really hit every note from start to finish – I’d rank this one about on-par with the second (and far better) half of the first episode in terms of batting average.

One thing you know you’re always going to get here imagination. Truthfully this is the most genuinely psychedelic anime I’ve seen in years – I’ve seen a lot of shows try and fake it, but it’s something that can’t be faked. You can’t try and be psychedelic – it’s just something that either happens or doesn’t. There’s no put-on here – the weirdness is genuinely weird, the product of what’s obviously a very liberal creative process (at the very least) and an enormously talented staff. This week Watanabe-sensei brought in Steins;Gate director Hamsaki Hiroshi to storyboard and direct, and JoJo Animation Director Akita Manabu.

You get the feeling these folks are relishing the opportunity to cut loose and try stuff they’ve never been able to try before. Again, by its very nature that’s going to lead to some big hits and some big misses, but it’s always going to be interesting. One thing that does puzzle me a bit is why so many insist on comparing Space Dandy to Cowboy Bebop. Sure, Watanabe directed both – but when he did Sakamichi no Apollon in 2012 I didn’t hear it being constantly compared to CB. It’s odd how it almost seems as if the world has forgotten that show even exists, and indeed the intervening decade-plus may just as well have not happened, and Watanabe went straight from the finale of Cowboy Bebop to the premiere of SD. I think he should have been taken at his word that this series was going to be a lunatic, lowbrow comedy and nothing else – because that’s exactly what it seems he’s intent on delivering.

As for this episode itself, it featured the debut of the strange creatures that first appeared in the epic six-minute PV featuring the full version of Okamura Yasayuki’s OP – beings I dubbed “vagina monsters” because, well… I mean – look at them. Funny thing though, they didn’t turn out to be monsters at all (in fact they were even already registered) but good samaritans – they were trying to warn Dandy & Co. that the damsel-in-distress, Mamitas (Taketastu Ayana) they’d encountered was in fact a “Deathgerian”, #1 on the most recent “12 Aliens You Don’t Want to Be Eaten By” annual ranking. Having watched Oreimo I can only say that the casting was spot-on here, but I’m not sure Watanabe was actually going for that on-purpose…

There’s just so much randomness flung at the camera here. QT’s “Buy 1 get 365 free” space food from 10,000 light years away – which is of course expired by 10,000 years (only the “sell by” date though, not the “consume by” date) was sure to play a role later in the episode. Meow revealing that no matter how much he doth protest, he’s basically a cat (and lunch). Searching for the nearest Boobies (Dandy’s point card was about to expire) in the “Galaxy of Mexico”. And best of all, for me, the grand battle between Mamitas – now transformed into a kind of Cthulhu oppai monster (most nipples in the galaxy, surely) doing battle with the “Mini Aloha” – an escape pod from the Aloha Oe that transformed into a mecha wearing a Hawaiian shirt whose name is “Hawaii-Yankee” and who looks eerily like Canti from FLCL (which is probably the last show that was this legitimately psychedelic, though it was also a lot more emotionally resonant). That battle sequence was the highlight of the episode – fantastically drawn and animated.

In truth, my feeling is that this style of series has a certain self-limiting quality to it. When you’re not trying for anything of substance with the recurring plot or characters, the whole ballgame is being hilarious and being great to look at – there’s no net so if you whiff on those, it’s just “splat”. I think the visuals are going to be a constant, and I expect the humor to likely be about what we’ve seen – ranging from intermittently funny to outright brilliant. I love the limitless imagination that’s on display here, and there may even be a certain profundity that occasionally creeps in when it ventures deep into the Jungian realms of the subconscious. Mostly, though, it’s just a strap-in and enjoy the ride kind of thing – and as long as the expectations are in-line with what the ambitions of the show are, I think Space Dandy is going to deliver most of the time.

Preview