「対決」 (Taiketsu)
“Showdown”

This episode brings back what I love so much about Nanana. The mystery, the adventures and most of all, Tensai. Her character is just so brilliant and amazing to watch without being too annoying or too much of a know-it-all. I don’t necessarily follow her train of thought all the time, but it’s just how she comes to her conclusion with just the power of observation that’s amusing. She’s a good contrast to Juugo who just jumps into everything without thinking. The pair of them work well together (if Juugo actually followed directions) because they balance out each other’s weaknesses and strengths. I love watching couples that have very polar personalities but still manage to get along because not only does it show that opposites attract, but it means that they see something in each other that they lack and they can respect those differences. Ultimately, I don’t think there’s going to be any “true” couple at the end of the season, but in my mind, it’s made up. Tensai x Juugo all the way!

Juugo and Hiiyo got into an argument this week about the involvement of Yuu-chan and who was right or wrong. I thought this was an interesting debate because the more I listened to both sides, the more I realized that this wasn’t much of a conversation as it was just screaming and taunting (did anyone else notice how all their angry faces look the same?). Juugo was clearly on the offensive because common sense would tell you, it’s wrong to send a young girl to her death (even if it is voluntary). However, you can’t negate the fact that Hiiyo is also not wrong if Yuu-chan did accept a job knowing the circumstances that it was dangerous. I don’t work in law, but I do work in business and without getting technical, I would think that Hiiyo has a point and he makes a convincing argument if Yuu-chan was to be treated like any other human being. You’re given the choice to accept whatever job you want, and you also have the freedom to stop or proceed at your expense. In which case, I could argue that Juugo was not seeing the situation clearly and being quick to judge. Of course, speaking technically, Yuu-chan IS a child and should be treated as such. She can’t be held accountable for her actions because of her young age and as an adult (if he had any care in the world), Hiiyo shouldn’t have sent her into the ruin.

When the confrontations began and the action finally started, I was actually excited to see how they would take Hiiyo down. He seems a little overpowered with his boots and combat abilities, but that’s what made me more anxious to hear what Tensai had to say. She survived a punch (no! not her face!) to prove her point to Hiiyo – she’s in a whole new league compared to him. The ability to swim in the shadow is cool and all… but that doesn’t compare to the powers that Isshin holds. Looks like he already had his hands on a treasure all this time so why doesn’t he have more? His powers can be so easily exploited. There’s two more unique treasures that we haven’t seen yet – one that’s inside the chest and the other is being held by Hiiyo. We saw this last episode too but I wasn’t sure what the extent of this power was. Sounds like the future is manipulated to be a reality based on what he says so it’s almost like he controls the future. No clue how Juugo will survive that one…

All in all, the episode was a great way to showcase what all the build-up and anticipation has led up. It’s not the last treasure, but it is going to be the last that we’ll see of Nanana for this season. As of last week, I thought that we’d see more of the Adventure Club’s original members, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. A second season is definitely a must at this rate – the characters are much more than they appear to be on the surface and if each arc is going to dive deeper into their history, I’d want to see that animated. Not only that, but it seems like we’ve barely scratched the surface of who Nanana is, not to mention getting any closer to her murder case. Let’s hope the finale doesn’t end with a cliff-hanger or a teaser… but I guess that’s still better than being anime original.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: This is why Tensai is so awesome. Love her attitude and how her mind works =3 she looks adorable being carried princess-style! #nanana_tv

27 Comments

  1. Agreed on the argument between Juugo and Hiiyo. Regardless of who’s right, I think all it really boils down to is that Hiiyo is an A-hole. That punch tho. Such a satisfying noise. And that cliffhanger totally shocked me! Excellent episode!

    I like Tensai well enough (filthy JuugoxYukihime shipper here), but I really didn’t buy her figuring out the zodiac and Fibonacci sequence so quickly. Felt like there was a marvellous leap in logic to her deduction.

    whemleh
    1. Not really .. you just need to know ALOT of maths. The walls were showing standard descriptions of the golden ratio that you will find in any textbook, and if you know what the Golden Ratio is then of course you’ll know all about the Fibonacci sequence, which the different zodiac suggests.

      She just knows a hell of a lot thats all.

      Scruffy
      1. Not exactly “a lot” of maths, just the connection between the golden ratio and the Fibonacci sequence – the ratio of any two arbitrarily high consecutive elements of the Fibonacci sequence converges to the golden ratio. Even someone who does not particularly understand math could have known this as a little bit of (admittedly mostly useless IRL) trivia.

        pyon
      2. Do note I totally believe in her solving it, but I just would have expected for her to have to puzzle through it for a second. I know she’s meant to be a genius, but that she figured it out so instantaneously felt like they were stretching a little.

        whemleh
  2. My first issue with the argument between Juugo and Hiiyo is that Juugo made it seem like Hiiyo forced her to take the job, and he wasn’t hearing anything else, even after is was explained, rightly or wrongly that she knew about the dangers.

    That and it came off like because she was a young girl that made all the difference to Juugo, as if a guy of the same age would somehow be ok (gender roles!).

    Also Hiiyo has shown he has little regard for anyone so why up in arms about his continued disregard for people? Juugo should still be pretty pissed at Isshin for leaving him and Tensai holding the metaphorical bag back in those other ruins.

    Anyhow, still a pretty decent episode, and liked the way they beat Hiiyo, as it took teamwork and thinking, as opposed to Juugo somehow out powering him. I do hope next week there’s no cliffhanger since this seems unlikely to get a second season…?

    a box like Hippo
  3. I’ll have to rewatch the previous episodes to be certain, but didn’t Hiiyo mention that Yuu-chan de-aged (or something along those lines)?

    I hope Matsuri comes in. Yukihime would destroy Hiiyo for attacking Juugo! Still, I have a feeling that Hiiyo’s ring hypnotizes rather than future-manipulation/reality-warping. I do wonder what’s the catch to the ring; maybe it’s single-target?

    Beedle
  4. All the previous episodes were apparently just warm-up for this moment. Tensai finding the Fibonacci pattern was just usual Tensai, but *taunting Hiiyo* elevated her to a whole new dimension of awesomeness. Totally agree with Cherrie that she is the most impressive character in the show.

    pyon
  5. I’m sure that like with past ruins, some of the details from the LN are omitted, so it’s expected that Tensai’s deduction seems extraordinary.

    This episode seals this as AOTS for me. It’d me a shame if it didn’t sell well enough for an S2, because it’s very unlikely the LNs will be licensed, and the characters are far too endearing for them to only get another 23 minutes.

    Hippocratic
    1. It’s lucky for Hiiyo that he provoked her first, allowing him to easily dodge her attacks and take her out. Given how violent she is, if she had gotten in that lucky hit instead of Isshin, Hiiyo would have been instantly downed. Then he would have been torn apart too quickly to use the ring.

      ReverseTales
  6. This episode really was Tensai awesomeness all the way, and I like that there was another ruin where she and Juugo had to coöperate so closely (the first one since episode 3). And damn, she’s got serious balls in taunting Hiiyo – and with success, too. Sure felt good seeing that jerk Hiiyo getting pummeled as well, even if he has some other aces up his sleeve.

    And yes, seeing as Juugo’s unlikely to hook up with Nanana in the span of the one remaining episode, Tensai X Juugo for life!

    All in all, this episode contained all the things that attracted me to the show in the first place. The ep was over before I noticed, and that’s always a good sign. It’s a good way to close the show out, even if this will no doubt leave me tasting for more (though the cynic in me tells me we’re unlikely to get a second season).

    Dvalinn
    1. Like serious. Tensai and Juugo are such foils of each other. They fit one another like hand and glove! If those two would stop competing with one another and be actual partners permanently they would do great things.

      Also, they should marry. At least married life won’t be boring.

      Mincemaker
  7. I liked very much how it was the teamwork that really brought overpowered antagonist like Hiyo.
    Tensai struck the first blow, Isshin proved crucial info on the abilities, Juugo provided sheer brawling power, and the final punch was rightly delivered by the one who was punched by Hiyo first!
    But Hiyo has another treasure up his sleeve, namely some kind of body-sabotaging device (as seen earlier in his combat with Isshin’s spy). My bet is on the ring he has on his finger…
    One thing that caught my attention though is that Hiyo had at least some reason behind his arguments – Yuu-chan definitely must be quite capable girl to survive such dungeon, and she did it after all. This of course begets another question, who is really that 1st grader and why is she running with most dangerous gang of the most shady part of the town?

    ewok40k
    1. I think that ring has the power to jinx people. Because the effect doesn’t seem to be direct, as in “fall over”, but rather acting through the malfunction of a body part, such as “ankle broke” -> fall over.

      So it wasn’t like the ring stopped Juugo from breathing; rather, the ring jinxed his lung into collapsing, which in turn prevented Juugo from breathing.

      In that case, a probable weakness is that it doesn’t affect objects, since they can’t get jinxed (maybe?).

      ReverseTales
  8. We’re almost done for the season, a treasure yet to be opened, Juugo trying to solve Nanana’s death, and Nanana telling Juugo he can’t use what’s in the treasure chest. From a drama point of view, it just suggests that the treasure can bring the dead back to life. Haven’t read anything, and I’m probably behind the curve, but if the OP each week shows Nanana in the treasure chest, it might suggest that she, or that thing around her neck, is the ultimate treasure. Further, if that thing around her neck is some type of protection talisman, then maybe when she was ‘killed’, that bauble she’s wearing now contains her human existence, so if the treasure can bring the dead back to life, it wouldn’t work on her. If Juugo is dying, they get the treasure, and it is capable of bringing back the dead, then if Juugo had to choose between using the item on himself or Nanana, we know who he’d choose.

    I’m babbling, so I’ll stop….. I want that next episode!

    SmithCB

Leave a Reply to Cherrie Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *