Random Curiosity

「もうひとつの意識」 (Mou Hitotsu no Ishiki)
“Another Mind”

Well if there’s one thing that Argevollen definitely has going for it, it would be its rather unpredictable nature. The developments may not be shocking, but the direction the series takes almost always is. I’ve often wondered about what the writers had in mind for this original series, and it looks like at least in the interim, the focus has shifted almost entirely to Samonji. While he’s off fighting a one-man war to uphold the idealistic dreams of Reika, the rest of Independent Unit 8 continued with the more laid-back developments from last time. The latter was surprising to say the least, because the scenes between Tokimune and Jamie came off more as an epilogue than anything else. They talked about how they met and got into this situation and spoke in a manner that made it feel like the war was already over. It was different if nothing else, and different is something I always welcome when it comes to anime.

As a result, the episode as a whole felt rather subdued and despite the whole “calm before the storm” setup that the end of the episode geared towards, I honestly can’t say that’s the vibe that I got. Instead, it felt like we started another chapter in the Arandas/Ingelmia war altogether and the days of Unit 8 had come to a close. On the Arandas’ side, the only ones who still have any desire to fight are Cayenne and Samonji. Rather than being irked by this development, I’m actually quite surprised since it feels like we’re now getting to the story within the story and Tokimune’s role has been eclipsed by Samonji, the stoic captain whose actions always speak louder than his words. Incidentally, this also means that I have absolutely no clue how things will conclude given these recent turn of events. While there’s little doubt in my mind that Tokimune and the other will do something to rally behind their captain several months later, I’m curious to know what will happen to Richthofen’s subplot. Then there’s Holmes, Garp, and Lontar’s subplots. Also, what peace of mind and/or closure will Samonji really find if he just pushes back the enemy line before a truce is eventually reached?

At the moment, I have a lot of questions floating around in my head about how XEBEC plans to wrap the story up; however, I will commend them for taking what came off as a rather straightforward, cookie cutter-type anime recipe back in summer and making it into something different, even though it won’t appeal to the masses. For that reason alone, I’ll continue to watch.

 

Preview

Great minds think alike

Join us for our first tri-continental podcast, as RC strikes a blow against the tyranny of distance.

It was my pleasure to slide back into the host’s seat (I’m not paying to have those beer stains cleaned, Mister) for a spur-of-the-moment podcast. Joining me from California is Kairi, and from Scotland Samu.

Apologies if you were expecting more bloodshed, but the fact it that the three of us tend to agree an awful lot when it comes to anime-related topics (such is the curse of impeccable taste). If we’d kept the tape rolling we could have had about three more podcasts worth of lavishing praise on series we all love (that, and giving Samu grief about his “plan to watch” list).

• Kairi – @Okaeri_Kairi, MAL profile
• Guardian Enzo – @GuardianEnzo, Anime-Planet profile, lostinanime.com
• Samu – @its_samu, MAL profile

We cast a wide net with a very spontaneous conversation. Among the catch:

00:00 – Intro – What superpower would you choose?
05:30 – Underrated Spring shows

• Kairi – Akatsuki no Yona
• Samu – Shirobako
• Enzo – Tribe Cool Crew
• Plus: Animator working conditions, the stigma of shoujo and kids shows, and “What makes a harem show a harem show?”

13:48 – In praise of Akatsuki no Yona

22:17 – World Trigger is better than it gets credit for

27:58 – Sanzoku no Musume Ronja, Sidonia no Kishi and CGI

31:40 – What Fall show would you rather have your eyes poked out with yakatori skewers than watch?

• Enzo – Cross Ange
• Samu – Trinity Seven (sorry, Stilts-chama) and Ore, Twintails ni Narimasu
• Kairi – Twintails

34:30 - Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso post-mortem
47:40 – Koe no Katachi adaptation discussion
51:45 – Kairi tries in three minutes or less to convince Samu to watch Eureka Seven
54:58 – Samu tries in three minutes or less to convince Kairi to watch Game of Thrones
58:50 – If you could tell the anime industry to start doing one thing and stop doing one thing, what would they be?
63:00 – “Stilts and Zanibas walk into a bar…”
65:00 – Dealer’s Choice

• Kairi – Pokemon and a slightly creepy story of generosity
• Samu – Ano-hana love

68:05 – Wrap-up/shout-outs
71:10 – He has spoken!

A special congrats to Samu, who in his very first podcast won the “make Xumbra talk” sweepstakes.

RandomC Podcast #09 – Banquet of Kings | Duration: 720.26 – 96 kbps

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:12:29 — 35.3MB)

「壷天の星」 (Koten no Hoshi)
“Sea of Otherworldly Stars”

Sometimes, it feels like Mushishi can read my mind.

You may remember that last week we talked about how the mushi-shi must look like a bunch of cons to the common layman. This week we see more of the jaded cynicism that some hold for the whole mushi business. Who can blame them? The idea that your daughter fell down a well and into an alternate dimension is a rather eyebrow-raising idea when simple explanations like kidnapping can suffice. We, as the audience, have followed Ginko around long enough to have full faith in his work, but strangers, who can neither see mushi nor stars in a well, will wisely be suspicious of what exactly this mysterious man is trying to sell. If I was the grumpy patriarch of a Japanese household I would be a bit cynical too about trusting the fate of my family to some white-haired chain smoker.

As is par for Mushishi, the bonds between family (and, in particular, sisters) is treated with a great deal of respect. Despite both the father’s stubborn cynicism and Ginko’s supernatural displays, what ultimately saves Izuho is her connection to her family. The method of rescue is less important than the desire to do so—it’s a them you’ll have seen in Mushishi before. With humans seem to get spirited away quite regularly in the Mushishi world, and this episode may remind you of the first and last of the first season. And it’s also similar to last week and having to ‘clap if you believe’. Mushishi has always been thematically consistent, and I can appreciate that.

It’s interesting to me that the Mushishi world still, in part, runs on faith because it highlights one of the interesting dichotomies in Ginko. In dealing with the mushi Ginko has always employed a kind of anachronistic scientific method, even as he employed his arcane rituals. The mushi-shi as an organisation have amassed huge amounts of knowledge about the mushi, but there is still so much they don’t understand. That may be why so few treat the mushi with open fascination like Ginko, and instead wish only to exterminate. In this world, in this age, the unknown is simply a source of danger. Izuho may still hold some curiosity for the stars in the well, but even she ultimately pulls away. Her father goes all the way to block it off, which just goes to show the general attitude to these things. But even he leaves one small opening, as a concession to his own superstitions. Whatever the philosophy toward the mushi, at their core humans still have a subconscious respect for these mysteries of the universe.

Sea of Otherwordly Stars of course evokes imagery of space, that final, forbidding frontier that humans have yet to master. We recently landed a robot on a comet, but that wasn’t without its hiccups, and private space-travel ambitions have been dampened by worrying accidents. Yet, despite these hardships and dangers, the world beyond our atmosphere still holds a romantic allure for those on the ground. We may no longer be at the height of the Space Age as we were during the Cold War but, like the stars, human curiosity has yet to be dimmed. So shall it hopefully be as well for the world of Mushishi.

 

Preview

「スリーピング。ナイツ」 (Suriipingu Naitsu)
“Sleeping Knights”

If you thought last week’s episode was good, just wait till you watch this one.

Balancing Games and Real Life

For anyone who’s ever invested time into any MMORPG, it should be clear just how much of a time sink games like those become. While it already takes a ton of time to grind out mobs trying to find the best gear for your character, toss in the time you need to spend with your in-game friends because they’re just as real as anyone in the real world and a few hours quickly turn into a handful. Repeat that cycle as the game gets you more and more immersed and that handful of hours literally start turning into days.

But does that mean a game that’s designed to immerse you is a bad thing? Sure we don’t currently have the technology available to go and do a full drive but at what point do you say enough is enough? And see, While I don’t want to give Asuna’s mom any credit for being a perfectly sane person, her argument this week against what Asuna’s doing didn’t really have any holes in it. Besides being ignorant of her daughter’s passions (which is pretty typical for some parents) as well as touching a very sensitive topic by comparing the Amusphere to the murder-you-in-your-sleep Nervegear, it feels like she simply doesn’t want Asuna spending wasting her time on things that seem to have no return on their investment. Something which she’s completely entitled to as well as is probably right about on a certain level.

Either ways, what do you think? I’m a gamer at heart so its tough for me to let go of something especially after I’ve invested a good chunk of time into it — but I can totally see how all those hours could have been used for something else.

Kirigaya “Bad-ass Kirito” Kazuto

Throughout the entire second season I think this is the first time seeing Kirito has made my mouth completely fall to the floor — in a good way. Some may call him overpowered, but even if he is what better way to use it then being a complete bad-ass? I don’t know about you but the moment the camera panned over him hiding among the crowd was the moment I knew either something awesome or lame was about to go down. While it’s up to you to decide how you felt about what he did, I’ll come back and argue with you after I go re-watch that scene a few more times.

Dirty, Cheating, Mofos & Looking Ahead

Even though this version of Aincrad doesn’t have everyone literally fighting for their lives, it doesn’t change the fact that the larger guild that’s been using the Sleeping Knights for their own benefit are all a bunch of scumbags. I mean, how can you even look at the people you’ve effectively been stealing from without feeling even a bit of remorse? Ugh.

Anyways, as much as I wanted to see Kirito wreck an entire sea of people it seems that we’ll have to wait until next week to see the carnage. While it remains to be seen whether or not the 20 or so people standing in Asuna and Yuuki’s way will back down or not, I wouldn’t mind watching the Sleeping Knights kick some butt before facing the boss ahead. See you next week!

OP1.08 Sequence

OP: 「エクストラ・マジック・アワー」 (Extra Magic Hour) by AKINO with bless4

「恋心が届かない!」 (Koigokoro ga Todokanai!)
“The Love Isn’t Reaching!”

*With Amaburi‘s delayed subs, everything’s a bit late this week. My sincere apologies.

So I predicted a plot episode this week, or at least a Latifa episode. Shows what I know about anime.

In a sense, I suppose this was a Latifa episode because she does get a non-zero amount of screentime (that is, more than usual) and we do learn some tidbits about her past (indirectly, as it may be, from some poor saps hitting Seiya!Moffle’s berserk button). In fact, we get a fair bit of development in many departments, but Amaburi has always been a comedy first and foremost, and the laughs get priority. It means we have to look for those little flashes of character insight while clutching our sides, but they do sneak their way in there. And sure, it’s still a bit of ‘characters reciting their life story’ but at least it’s made funny, which elevates it from simple exposition.

I actually initially had doubts about whether the premise of this episode would actually work for me as comedy. Turns out it did, and I’m glad for it, but this was a rather strange episode of Amaburi. I know I say that every week, but this time it’s not just because of wackiness. For one, it’s the first time Amaburi‘s wandered out of its theme park setting, which is akin to releasing zoo animals into the suburbs and would result in about as many casualties. There’s also something inherently creepy about wearing someone’s skin—that’s a horror movie scenario right there—and I wasn’t sure if I’d be overcome by the squick, not to mention the extreme suspension of disbelief required to accept that the sensible Seiya would let the Stooges run his life (into the ground) for three days. Seiya must have been really sick; he’s evidently delirious.

Walk a mile in their shoes

Despite the magical gimmicks, characters swapping bodies is an old sitcom schtick. Unlike the usual routine, though, the three faeries make no effort to even pretend to be Seiya; for park mascots they operate despairingly poorly when actually in costume (which might explain some of Amaburi’s woes). I was afraid that this episode Seiya would be subject to a full scale character assassination, which is probably not something his already low reputation at school could afford. It’s a good thing his peers are such a simple and gullible bunch. That’s where a lot of the laughs came from, but it was still almost painful for me watching Tiramie go full sexual predator on the poor girl. I made it through holding fast to the faith that karmic justice would surely be delivered. Great props to girl C (names are hard) for saving the day. Her continually expanding role has been a pleasant surprise, and it was enough to make me feel a twinge of pity to see her eating lunch alone on the stairs. Also great props to Seiya’s seiyuu’s sensational display (say that ten times fast) this episode. It couldn’t have been easy for Uchimaya Kouki to do so many impressions (and impressions of impressions) this episode. While we’re at it, let’s hear it for Sakaguchi Daisuke as well for always having to play the number 2 for Kyoto Animation.

Amagi Brilliant Park: Isuzu Keeps Trying

I was glad that at least Isuzu tries to uphold the Seiya masquerade, even as she was being hunted by her natural predators. It wouldn’t be an Amaburi episode for me without Isuzu’s sincere struggles. To be fair, she actually does a surprisingly adequate job of it, though it’s all relative, I suppose. Considering how much of a misanthrope Seiya is apparently at school (and we can only wonder why), I’d argue that Isuzu makes a better Seiya than Seiya himself. Actually, with Isuzu being so easily expressive as Seiya I’d argue it makes a better Isuzu as well. Maybe I’m letting the ship carry me away, but Isuzu and Seiya complement each other rather nicely.

The Latifa x Seiya ship also picks up some steam this episode, and one can perhaps interpret some displeasure in Isuzu about this. I don’t think that’s what it’s about though; I think Isuzu is burdened by knowledge about Latifa’s MIA mother. Or not. It’s already been demonstrated that I fail at reading anything into Amaburi. Maybe she just wanted cake. I wouldn’t know.

So while next week seems to be an episode about the Elementario girls—about time, considering how they’ve been little more than comical noise since episode 01—I’m not going to make any real predictions. It could be anything. There’s no way to tell until we see it. Amaburi is the quantum physics of anime.

Full-length images: 05, 16, 23, 33.

 

Preview

Bonus Round (because I’m a people pleaser)

「ジョバンニの島」 (Giovanni no Shima)
“Giovanni’s Island”

“You can stay with us.” Giovanni said, unable to contain himself. “We’ve got a ticket that goes on forever!”

It’s not as though a movie that takes Miyazawa Kenji’s Night on the Galactic Railroad as its spiritual inspiration being heartbreaking comes as a surprise. Still, Production I.G.’s Giovanni’s Island is a real emotional sledgehammer – occasionally a bit heavy-handed with the sentimentality, but it’s hard to begrudge it that given the subject matter. It takes us back to a period in history that has a seemingly endless supply of tragedy to go around, and in the larger scheme of things perhaps what happens in this film is but a drop in the ocean – but it’s in showing us the human faces of such dark times that a story can make the deepest emotional connections.

Seemingly endless as well is the tug Miyazawa’s novel holds on the Japanese consciousness – it’s a story beloved by children and adults alike, a perfect storm of sadness, self-sacrifice and loss written by a man trying to cope with the death of the sister he loved more than anyone else in the world. Miyazawa-sensei wrote the story while traveling in Karafuto – the once-Japanese and now Russian island now known to the world as Sakhalin. And Giovanni’s Island returns to that setting, using the novel as the spine that connects the events in the story.

Giovanno no Shima is based on the life of a real man, Tokuno Hiroshi – a native of the tiny once-Japanese island of Shikotan who was forced to abandon it with the remains of his family when it fell under Soviet occupation after World War II. The screenplay was written by Japanese Academy Award-winning writer/director Sugita Shigemichi, and the film is directed by longtime veteran Nishikubo Mizuho. It’s the story of those first years after the Japanese surrendered to the Allies on August 15, 1945 as told through the eyes of its hero, Senou Junpei (Yokoyama Kouta). Or rather, through his memories – as the events are the flashbacks of the now elderly Junpei (Nakadai Tatsuya), returning to the island for the first time (Tokuno-san has returned to Shikotan regularly since the collapse of the Soviet Union made it possible).

That last point is important, because Nishikubo-sensei has chosen to animate the scenes from Junpei’s childhood with much simpler character designs and movements than the modern ones, as reflects a child’s eye view of the world (a fact utterly missed by many reviewers, I might add). The backgrounds, however, are gorgeously detailed – and in pairing them with the stylized designs and animation, give a storybook quality to those glimpses of the past (which make up most of the narrative). Interwoven with these are fantastic flights of the imagination when Junpei and his younger brother Kanta (Taniai Junya) enter the world of their favorite book, Night on the Galactic Railroad - which are often necessitated by the cruel nature of the lives the boys are leading.

Make no mistake – this is not a political film in any way, shape or form. It makes no effort to balance the moral scales of the Americans who bombed Japan, the Soviet occupiers, or the Japanese Imperial forces – nor should it. These concerns were not on the minds of the 10 year-old Junpei and the 7 year-old Kanta – they were worried only about their simple lives on their remote island, and the impact these larger events had on them. About the closest the film comes to commentary is when Junpei, Kanta and their teacher-protector Sawako-san (Nakama Yukie), lost in a blizzard on Karafuto while trying to reach the prison camp where their father Tatsuo (Ichimura Masachika) is being held, receive assistance from a Korean camp worker who comments on how ironic it is that she should help “Japs”, when the Japanese government did nothing to help repatriate the Korean slave laborers abducted into service by the Imperial government.

Giovanno no Shima slides effortlessly through many moods, but this is always a sentimentally-driven film – it’s powered by the oversized emotions of childhood, as remembered by an old man. When the Soviets arrive on Shikotan they kick the natives out of their classrooms and their houses, treating them as virtual prisoners. Yet there are moments when the locals and the occupiers connect with each other, most obviously the generation too young to fight in wars. Especially powerful is the moment when the Japanese children – shunted off to the tiny spare classroom adjacent to their old one – sing the Russian folk song they’ve been hearing through the thin walls, and the Russian class reciprocates by singing the Japanese one the local students have been singing to the accompaniment of Sawako-sensei’s guitar.

Among other larger-than-life emotional elements is the story of Junpei’s first love, for the daughter of the Russian commander who’s moved his family into his house and forced the occupants into the stable. Tanya (Ilyushenko Polina) is beautiful, blonde, and very much a storybook figure herself – so much so that Junpei takes to sketching her with regularity. Tanya comes to feel about Junpei as he does about her, but obviously this is a romance that’s doomed before it ever has a chance to flower – it’s events concerning the arrest of Junepi’s father that initially derail it, but Junpei and his family (less his elderly grandfather, who’s stays behind to die where he was born) are exiled to a labor camp on Karafuto after having been told they were being sent home.

Things get very, very dark after that. The fact that Junpei has taken (for Tanya’s benefit) to calling himself Giovanni and Kanta Campanella should give you some idea of where things are headed. The boys’ scheming but protective uncle Hideo (Santamaria Yusuke) does his best to keep the boys and Sawako alive by hook or by crook, but it’s tough sledding. Eventually Hideo discovers that Tatsuo is alive, and the boys take off on a Quixotic attempt to see him at the prison camp in the snowy wilds past the final stop on the railroad. This is a tragedy, not a suspense film – we know where things are headed, more or less, but that doesn’t lessen their impact a bit.

The final moments of the scenes from the distant past, as well as the more hopeful present-day postscript that follows, might be seen by some as heavy-handed. I won’t argue that they pack the emotional subtlety of what Roger Ebert called “the greatest anti-war film of all time”, Grave of the Fireflies – but I find them very powerful nonetheless. What they lack in subtlety they make up for in emotional truth, and there can be no doubt that to the child Junpei (and Tokuno) who lived these events, the emotions were every bit as powerful as they’re depicted here.

In addition to the gorgeous backgrounds and stylized animation, a special note should be made about the casting. Not only are 12 year-old Yokoyama-kun and 7 year-old Taniai-kun heart-rendingly genuine, but the Russian characters are played by Russian actors – and the Russian songs performed by a Russian children’s choir. Yokoyama especially has a huge load to bear here, in a role that forces him to convey an extremely broad range of emotions and moods, and he turns in an astonishingly effective performance.

Giovanni no Shima is a true expression of anime as art. It’s hand-drawn, simultaneously wildly imaginative and grounded in unvarnished truth. It’s won its share of awards at film festivals around the world, but for the most part has barely caused a ripple in the pond at home or abroad, not doing much at the box office and barely being noticed by anime fans. When we see a film like this – painstakingly created by hand, filled with honest feeling and imagination – make so little impact and compare it against what generally does make an impact in the world of anime, it’s hard to feel much enthusiasm for the future of the medium as a serious art form. Yet there’s no other medium in which a film like Giovanni no Shima could exist – not in live-action, and not in American animation. Like the events it depicts, this film is both hopeful and tragic – its reception may not bode well for the future of anime like it, but that it could come to exist in the first place is a reason to feel proud to be an anime fan.

 

ED Sequence

“Miwa’s Squad Assault” 「三輪隊の強襲」 (San Rin Tai no Kyoushuu) And so we get to the moment that propelled the initial popularity of World Trigger upwards, allowing it to find its audience. To give a little background heading into this episode, I think it’s important to mention how this was the moment in the manga where World Trigger – which had up until this point been in fear of imminent cancellation – quite literally shot up to the top end of the magazine, catching everyone by surprise. There are many, many WSJ manga that start to fall into the bottom of the machine and are doomed to end. World Trigger just did something that many fail to do: Survive. But before we get into what was the cause for that increase, we learn a few very important things this episode. Branching off from Chika’s introduction last week and her ability to attract Trion Soldiers, we get confirmation on why that is – as well as also explaining why they invade Earth in the first place. It’s for Trion, the energy that some humans have more of than others, allowing them to use the Neighbour technology to its fullest. The Trion Soliders that are sent by the Neighbours to wreck havoc in Mikado City are there to gather those with the desired amount of Trion, so they can use it for themselves in the ongoing wars taking place in the other world. I suppose if it annoyed you that the Neighbours just appeared for no reason in the first episode, we now have that reason! Honestly, from a storytelling perspective, I think the underlying plot for World Trigger is just waiting to be uncovered. It’s like we’re standing on top of an industrial site, enjoying what’s on the surface when there is a giant, shiny gold mine beneath our feet. Things are going on offscreen that we will certainly see in time, but for now our focus is on Yuma and his travelling to Earth. Replica measures both Osamu and Chika’s trion within their bodies, resulting in two quite different amounts on display. Osamu seems to have around the average of any usual person, but less than that of a typical Border Agent. Chika, on the other hand, has a massive amount. It’s no wonder that the Neighbours are attracted to her – she’s undoubtably the most useful source of Trion for them to harvest. Now it just comes down to how to protect her from being kidnapped and taken to the other world… Tying to that, Osamu says that watching out for Chika wasn’t his sole reason for becoming an agent. But I think there’s no doubt that it plays a large part in his decision. With that, we get a little flashback of Amatori Rinji – Chika’s older brother, and Osamu’s tutor – who was aware of what was going on with the Neighbours and Chika. Basically, what it comes down to is Chika doesn’t want to cause problems for anyone else, especially after losing a friend because of it. She attracts danger, and to her to best way of combatting that is by isolating herself. We then have our moment that effectively saved World Trigger in its early run, when Miwa Squad enters! Straight away Yuma clears up their misconception of Chika being the Neighbour, and from there the combat gets underway. It may not have been perfect (when will it ever be?) but I thought the action this episode was pretty much on point. It was fast paced – contrasting from the long pauses and reaction shots that we still get far too often – and it did have a certain kick to it. One thing I enjoy most about the action in World Trigger is how tactical it is. We got a hint of that in this episode, as Miwa and Yoneya Yosuke (Kishi Daisuke) both lure Yuma out into the open so that the two snipers of their team can get a clean shot on him. It does seem like Toei enjoy making cliffhangers out of scenes that were not like that in the manga. I think it worked effectively this time, but as evident by the previews, it’s obvious that thing are not as dire as is made out at the end of the episode. That being said, things will certainly change from here onwards. Yuma’s secret is out, and it’s obvious that members of Border have differing views on Neighbours and how to treat or deal with them. There’s also the “Takoma Branch” to consider, who were labelled as traitors by Miwa – and it just so happens that our Elite Agent Jin is part of that particular group – who seem to have a different ideology than that of Miwa Squad and the Border HQ Commander.

Information Digest: Synopsis: Four and a half years ago, a gate to another world appeared in Mikado City. From the gate the Neighbours appeared to wreck havoc. But the mysterious Border defence agency arrived to fight back against the alien invaders, allowing the city’s residents to live their lives normally again. Previously: Osamu learns of Side Effects and the potential enhancements that they give to those with enough Trion. As well as that, Border agents are dispatched to deal with the rest of the Rad drones. Meanwhile, Chika and Yuma have their informal introduction to one another, but it’s cut short as she attracts another Trion Solider towards her.   Details Digest: Chapters Covered: Chapters 13 – 15 p.5 Miwa Squad Introductions: Yoneya Yosuke, Attacker – A-rank Border Agent (17) Kodera Shohei, Sniper – A-rank Border Agent (16) Narasaka Toru, Sniper – A-rank Border Agent (17) Most Trion in One Person?: It is evident just how massive Chika’s Trion is, but replica even goes on to say that he’s never known of one person to contain so much. Just imagine how strong she could be if she put that excess Trion into combat skills. Osamu has had problems when it comes to running out of Trion during combat, but Chika would have no fear of that!

Preview

「死闘の報酬（こたえ）」 (Shitou no Houshuu (Kotae))
“The Reward For The Death Match”

Oh boy was this week’s episode fantastic. Leaping straight back into the action, there was barely any time to breath with so much fighting going on.

Sacrifices

Even though I’d love to talk about how amazing all the fight sequences looked, I’ll take this opportunity to touch on something I thought was really important to the series as a whole. No matter where you look, the show is definitely trying to make a point about the stark differences people have when you talk about “saving” someone. Does it mean stripping your empathy away in order to save the most amount of people? Or does it call for you to treat every life equally and therefore try to save whoever’s within reach? Because either way you look at it, you’re saving people, right?

While the answer is obviously no, thinking about the merits of both sides leads me to an awkward internal battle. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit older now and have lost a bit of faith in what chivalry entails, but it’s tough for me to watch Shirou spout his ideals about what it means to save others in-front of battle hardened warriors. I know it’s part of the story and specifically designed to have you question your own beliefs but what’s probably the most powerful part of ufotable’s adaptation is the way it quickly makes you fall for the side that opposes Shirou. Even though I believe you shouldn’t value anyone’s life more or less than another, Archer makes quite the compelling argument in-favor of creating the most beneficial situation for himself and humanity as a whole.

Anyways, I was just curious about what everyone else thinks about this big conundrum. We’ve seen what happens to people who try to save others only to see another fall and logistically it’s a nightmare but does that mean we shouldn’t even try? WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Show Spoiler ▼

Assassin Is Best Assassin

While he may not be True Assassin, I will always hold a place for him in my heart. Every bit deserving of the title Samurai, how can you not love a badass that flaunts his abilities in all the right ways? Also, props to him for not attacking Saber from behind as well as stopping Archer’s second surprise attack against Shirou. Now, if only he could leave that darn temple!

Looking Forward

Man, can you imagine how awkward it’s going to be the next time Shirou see’s Rin? “Hey, your servant nearly killed me. How ya doin?” Anyways, even though so much fighting went on throughout the episode we really didn’t get anywhere. Caster seems to be just fine, we still haven’t seen Illya or Berserker, and Shinji seems to be doing whatever (I’m okay with not seeing Shinji though). Judging from the preview though, it looks like the story is about to make another sharp turn so I guess we won’t have to wait too long! See yall next week!

 

Preview

「アキバレイド」 (Akibareido)
“Akiba Raid”

What’s better than Akatsuki? More Akatsukis!

Kiting the Boss Around Town

Rieze’s plan was a clever one. Rather than group all twenty-six people together and try to burn Nelreth down through overwhelming firepower—which probably wouldn’t have worked because he could have just teleported if he got into too much trouble, plus it would have buffed his stats out the wazoo—she had whoever encountered him first drag Nelreth through a succession of kill zones, where small groups were waiting to beat him the hell up. Constantly bringing fresh fighters to bear until Nelreth had done too much damage was smart, though to be fair, if he were smarter (and didn’t stick to Akatsuki), it would have all gone to shit in no time. Mostly I just cheered when Rieze explicitly referred to what Akatsuki was doing as kiting. As someone who had to kite raid bosses in EQ more than once, I can tell you it’s harrowing as fuck, so good on you for taking it the whole way, Akatsuki.

Akatsuki’s Overskill, & the Truth About Overskills

It has been hinted at before, but the truth of the Overskills is revealed: they are, at their root, the application of spells and abilities in ways that weren’t possible when this was a game. What’s interesting is that they’re actually incorporated into the game framework, or the UI if you will. That makes them not so much hacks as an evolution of the system the adventurers are used to. Nazuna’s Divine Step is a great example—a creative use of existing mechanics to do something that wasn’t possible before. Though maybe she just learned it from her time with Illya.

The birth of Akatsuki’s overskill was one of those great “Fuck yeah!” moments. Combining her desire for speed with her Tracker skill Hide Shadow (and probably other stuff), she can create doubles that do damage when they attack. Akatsuki has never been the sneaky, baskstabbing kind of Assassin, so this one fits her well. Also, lots of Akatsuki-chans WOO!

Accepting Weakness, False Strength

Akatsuki’s narration about the nature of weakness and strength is fascinating, and I don’t think I can do it justice. The critical point is the difference between Akatsuki and Nelreth. They both started at the same place, thinking they needed something else—a weapon, in both of their cases—to obtain the power they desired. But as luck would have it, Akatsuki was too poor to buy the crutch, which meant she had to pursue another path.

Accepting one’s weaknesses is an invaluable skill, because once you realize how weak you are, your dissatisfaction fades away, and you can focus on becoming the best you you possibly can. Akatsuki realized she was weak. That doesn’t mean she stopped striving, but she did stop beating herself up about it, which is an unproductive pastime. Rather than raging against the world like Nelreth did, Akatsuki learned to accept her inadequacies, and so quelled, at least in part, her jealousy of Minori. She refined herself, practiced her skills, and in the moment when she needed to take it up another level, she rose to the challenge and achieved something great.

Look, I said I couldn’t do it justice. What I’ll say is that I’m a man who believes in the power of stories—they are what teach us how to be human. And in this episode, there’s a lesson that we should all take to heart. Rather than chase after tools to make our lives better, it’s best to see those as the crutches they are, and improve ourselves instead. Though granted, the tools can be nice too (I say as I type this on a computer). It’s a balancing act, just one we should all probably tilt toward self-development.

No Boys, New Blade, Broken Sword, Victorious Battle

In the comments last week, KaleRylan mentioned how the lack of guys in the twenty-seven maidens actually reflects a bit of general sexism. While it’s obvious why Shiroe and Krusty had to get out of the way for others to shine—their gender aside, those two are really damn competent—there was no reason why Soujirou, Nyanta, or others couldn’t help out as grunts under Rieze’s command. It wouldn’t even have changed the flow of things, it just would have swapped a few of the nameless characters out with ones we recognize. Or they even could have stayed as nameless characters, just male ones. Erh, male and not fabulous, that is. I’m all for girl power and the ladies getting the spotlight even more, but this backfired somewhat.

So that’s a bit of an annoyance. But past that, the whole battle was awesome! And the one good thing about not including Souji is that Nelreth got to live, whereas his sword did not. Which led to the best moment of the episode for me:

Reforged by Tatara, the blacksmith of Amenoma, for the personal use of a quiet, unsocial wielder. That this earnest girl may go forward without bending or breaking, repelling evil curses and this world’s tragedies, so that man may support blade, and blade support man.

I teared up y’all. That was beautiful. The friendship between them is beautiful, all the more because of the changes it has inspired in Akatsuki. Encore!

The Pajama Party of Victory & Shiroe

I had to laugh when the battle was over, and it went to … a pajama party. What! I guess that’s why Touno-sensei didn’t want more guys than just the one, which seems silly, but super perverted Henrietta makes up for a lot. And Akatsuki and Lenessia laughing together … hng~!

Looking Ahead – Back to Shiroe

Better yet—and second only to Tatara’s flavor text gift for best scene of the episode—was when Akatsuki spoke to Shiroe. She’s so cute when she’s nervous, and her calling him a “stiff blockhead” …. HNG~ / HAH! She’s more lively than she ever was before. Akatsuki has had her character development, so I’m looking forward to Shiroe reclaiming the spotlight, so we can get the other half of that dream conversation, and so they can eventually be reunited.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Akatsuki kites the boss, finds her Overskill, and saves the day with the help of her friends. Friendship is beautiful ;_; #loghorizon s2e8

Check out my blog about storytelling and the novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: The allure of magic, Import, don’t recycle, Impostor syndrome, and Save it for your daydreams. For book updates, sign up for my mailing list.

Full-length images: 26, 35.

 

Preview

「見つからない子供たち」 (Mitsukaranai Kodomotachi)
“Untraceable Children”

There are so many reasons to be excited for PSYCHO-PASS 2 this week, but the one that stands out for me is Kougami Shinya! As soon as I saw him, nothing else seemed to matter. I didn’t even care that Kougami (Seki Tomokazu) was just a fragment of Akane’s imagination; all that mattered was that he actually spoke. His seiyuu came back and spoke real words and he’s not just someone that used to exist some time ago… he’s actually real and he’s slowly but surely making his way back into this season. It might not be next week or the week after, but I’m confident that he’s going to somehow make his way back before the finale. The show is making a huge emphasis on how Tougane and Kougami are alike, but there’s no way that they’re one and the same, so what is their relationship? And I’m sure people have pointed it out before so you can say “I told you so” but I did in fact notice – Akane is smoking (she is not just sniffing cigarettes like I thought).

Asides from my blatant love for Kougami, Kamui proves himself to be quite the antagonist and furthermore, one step ahead of the police. I always thought he was thorough with his plans and obviously he had “followers” but never did I imagine so many! That’s crazy and so unexpected. My mind was completely blown when the holograms slowly revealed who the inspectors already met and although it’s not a twist I haven’t seen before, I wasn’t expecting it. When I think about it, investigating the plane crash should’ve been the first thing the inspectors did at the time they discovered the first hologram. It’s only the next logical step because they had no other leads at the time. However, despite this small hiccup in the plot, I like how it’s all slowly tying everything together and shows that Division 1 is pretty much falling into Kamui’s plans. Everyone that they’ve questioned, have been captured on purpose and they seem like diversions for the police. Meanwhile, Kamui is out there recruiting more people to use these Dominators for… whatever he has planned next. Probably another massacre to prove a point? Or are they targeting a specific person next?

I can’t complete a post without talking about my favorite girl this season, Mika… who is actually not as incompetent this episode as I would’ve imagined. She’s not great as an investigator and she’s terrible at covering her tracks, but her instincts don’t lie. Tougane has a hidden past that even Sybil has kept from Division 1. I wish I knew more than that, but we’ll have to give more time for Mika to slowly deduce her own conclusions. What we do know so far (and correct me if I’m wrong) is that Tougane is somehow connected to the Chief (or Sybil) and he also seems to be against Akane. Meanwhile, the Chief/Sybil refuses to really believe “Kamui” could possibly exist… and if he does, he needs to be eliminated because he’s living proof that Sybil is not perfect. What puzzles me is that Kamui seems to be working with Masuzaki Yohei (Sugo Takayuki) to develop drugs and patents backed by the biggest corporation in the industry, Tougane Corporation (which is sign that Tougane himself is involved). It’s possible to me that Tougane is hiding Kamui’s footprints from the MWPSB or Sybil is hiding him, because he’s an anomaly in their system. Or Tougane is not actually working with the Tougane Corporation because Tougane himself is… not in fact who he seems to be? This is what I love about PSYCHO-PASS because while everyone and everything seems unconnected, it’s actually the opposite. Treat everyone suspiciously and trust no one (new characters anyway).

Just one more thing I want to mention before heading out – I like how they finally gave more background and life to Hinakawa Sho’s character. He’s been put on the backburner for a while now so it’s nice to hear how he became an Enforcer, even briefly. I also liked seeing some action between Shion and Yayoi too. I’ve never loved this coupling, but it shows that their relationship is not forgotten or written off.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Wow #PsychoPass has outdone itself this week. What a nonstop ep and so many revelations to be told… I’m incredibly excited now! #pp_anime

「天命」 (Tenmei)
“God’s Will”

PSA: So apparently certain website filters crash if you turn the computer off when it’s still running, and can end up blocking your internet access way longer than you asked it to.

And worse, it was one of those filters that won’t go away even if you uninstall because I have no self control.

Long story short, I’ve been having papers and exams all week and with my technology issues on top of that, so I apologize for the long wait.

Though not as beautifully choreographed as the last episode, this week’s offering was pretty good for mythology and setting up where the story will be heading from now on. By now it should be pretty obvious that Yona is the descendant, and possibly even reincarnation, of the Red Dragon Hiryuu. One of my readers earlier in the season commented that the Korean mythological canon didn’t include these types of dragons, and they’re right, but that’s because this particular myth is fictional and part of Yona’s universe. The dragons are based on the style of Asian dragon mythology, but the story itself is original to the mangaka. Hiryuu was a god who decided to become human, and in doing so he became a ruler of a human kingdom, Kouka. Unfortunately, his kingdom became involved in wars and eventually Hiryuu himself was nearly executed. When all seemed lost, four dragons descended from heaven and pledged themselves to Hiryuu, creating human warriors who carried their blood who would serve Hiryuu to the end. When the king died, the warriors did not lose their blood, but instead continued to pass it down through the generations.

This is the story that Ik-soo tells Yona and Hak, and it’s also a story that highlights the similarities between this series and Fushigi Yuugi. Like the latter, Yona’s task is to find and ally with all four dragons, in the hope that by doing so she will walk the path that God wills of her, a path that Ik-soo claims is full of hardship and sorrow. Though it’s unclear if Yona wants to take back her throne, her current desire to follow Ik-soo’s advice stems from her relationship to Hak, not to her bloodline. After nearly losing Hak once already, Yona is done being protected one-sidedly. She wants to be able to protect him just as much as he protects her, and for good reason. Hak is the only one she has left from her past life, the one thread that is letting her live on through her grief and shock. Though she doesn’t understand Hak’s romantic advances (why should she; she’s busy with survival on the brain, and she’s never seen Hak that way before so she just assumes he’s joking as usual), she nevertheless cares for him more than anyone else at the moment, or at least, that’s what she’d like to tell herself.

Hak too, though frustrated, has given everything up for the princess, and though he’s wary of her learning to fight and of going off in search for these fabled dragons, he can see her clinging to this hope and he won’t take that away from her. It’s an understandable contextual urge to keep her from any and all danger, but it’s also great that he realizes she needs to follow her own path, and even better, that he vows to support her and stay at her side while she walks it.

As to Yoon and Ik-soo, the former is a kindhearted but slightly tsundere boy who watches over the clumsy priest. Ik-soo himself is mysterious; he’s sweet and silly, but he’s also wise and clearly very powerful; powerful enough that he was kicked out by Yona’s uncle, who feared the threat he posed to the King. Nevertheless, he clearly cares about Yona, and it looks like he cares for Yoon very much as well, from what we can guess the favor he asks of Yona will be.

 

Preview

「黒い思惑」 (Kuroi Omowaku)
“Black Agenda”

Black Chaikas. Black Chaikas everywhere.

Warmongers, War Hawks, Selfish Cowards, & the Rare Few Who Don’t Want War

We had them at the end of last season, but the warmongers are coming out of the woodwork even more this time. Precious few seem content to live in a world at peace, and there’s some unfortunate parallels between that and reality. Peace is, in many ways, a habit—to many of us in the developed world today, the idea of a full-scale war is a matter of fiction. The same thing is true of war. Compare this to Madan no Ou to Vanadis, where war is very much a matter of course—it’s not something to moralize over, it’s just something nations do. It’s the accepted way of solving problems. Here we have a world suddenly bereft of war, and a lot of people can’t cope.

It borders on incredulity. It’s hard to imagine why they would lust after battle so much when they could accept peace. But what’s the point in life if you’re not doing the work you’re supposed to be doing? Understand that I’m not condoning war—between the warmongers, the war hawks, the selfish cowards, and those who don’t want war for its own sake, I’m firmly in the fourth camp. Yet I can understand the frustration at not being able to do the thing you want to do, as I’ve struggled with that myself. And war too, is a habit, and here it’s a habit the people have grown used to over the three hundred years of Emperor Gaz’s war.

So I get the warmongers, in a way. At least they seem to want to fight the battles themselves. That marks them as mentally damaged, but at least consistent. The war hawks, the ones who would send other people’s children to die when they could choose a different path, are as lamentable as the selfish cowards who would turn away from a dangerous enemy to protect their own interests alone. Of the four, only those of the Kliemann Organization and like-minded souls like General Fyodor inhabit the final, and only sane, camp. But between the warmongers and the war hawks, it looks like the rapidly approaching finale of Hitsugi no Chaika is going to be an explosive one.

Finding Out What Others Already Knew

This was, largely, an episode of characters finding out what other characters already knew. Between Tooru and Chaika learning about Vivi’s transformation, Vivi and Nikolay learning about the black Chaikas, and the Kliemann Organization learning about the black Chaikas as well, it was mostly time spent getting all the information to all the parties. Which leads me to the biggest question—how far along are we, source material-wise? I remember it being said that they’d have to adapt almost a light novel per episode, but this episode was pretty slow. That + I don’t believe the final light novel has even been released, and I’m filled with trepidation. Adaptation is a tricky thing, and while this episode was overall coherent and well done, it may signal massive source cuts from the final episodes.

I wish I could give you a better idea of how it’s going to end, but I cannot. Instead, I say this—hold onto your butts. Some lowered expectations will make whatever happens easier to swallow, so with good reason to fret, I’d get to lowering them if I were you.

Looking Ahead – More Chaikas? Guh

So the twin Black Chaikas have an onee-sama. Thaaaaat’s not good. Between her plans for a Chaika vs Chaika vs Chaika (with three Chaikas watching … *head spins*) duel to throwing Red Chaika to the Minotaur dungeons or whatever, things aren’t looking good for our heroes! (Or the other heroes, or the friendly-ish antagonists.) I just hope they can fit the rest of the Chaika goodness in the remaining episodes without it all becoming a mess. Earnest hope!

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Shin-nii stops the infiltration, so the battle royale goes on, with more Chaikas entering the fray to confuse me all to hell #chaika s2e7

Random thoughts:

• Those breathing apparatuses do you no good when you’re full submerged, you baka kyoudai.
• “Even is anii-sama were to become my enemy, I’m prepared to have him lick my feet and beg for his life as I beat him, bind him, and drip candle wax on him.” Akariiiii!!
• The remains are at the top of the castle. You have a dragoon with you. Fly up and take them?
• Loli Fredrica is justice, but this isn’t bad either. I missed this form!
• Snake the sword through the gate, you baka Red Chaika! Just stick it out, wave it, and flay them all alive! I swear, I have to kil—I mean, do everything around here.

Check out my blog about storytelling and the novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Import, don’t recycle, Impostor syndrome, Save it for your daydreams, and Storytelling is subjective. For book updates, sign up for my mailing list.

Full-length images: 04.

 

Preview

It’s almost open season now with many major players finally entering the scene. Ukitake and Kyouraku meet on the ruins on Sereitei and comment that the invasion was actually forseen; I’m not sure what this implies, but it could mean that the two of them (and maybe others) actually have something sneaky planned from the very beginning. There’s a giant eye inside Ukitake’s shadow, and he makes a reference to the “kamikake”. Something strange is going on here, and Kyouraku cryptically states that he has “business” with the Central 46. A wild guess says that Aizen is involved in this business. Urahara also has his own preparations in action, and he has brought the vizards and also Yoruichi’s little brother Yuushirou Shihouin, a dorky kid who’s the “Guardian of the Sacred Armor”. It looks like they are planning to go up to the Palace themselves, and bringing along a lot of gear. Whatever Urahara is planning, he seems to serve the Soul King quite loyally, and his motivations may become clearer as the war rolls on.

Up in the Royal Palace, Yhawch has finally decided to step into the battle himself against Ichibei Hyosube, a cheerful and slightly manic monk with a giant calligraphy brush that he uses to duel and summon his attacks by writing characters. A giant Buddha’s Palm appears out of nowhere and sends Yhwach flying at high speed. The action is hectic, but it seems that Ichibei’s ability to modify names to have different attributes has also rendered Yhwach mute, and to avoid defeat he ends up having to crush his own throat with his fingers so that he can summon Zankuto Bougen, a bow that fires several giant arrows through his own body so that he can return to the platform. It’s actually pretty clever, but Ichibei continues to attack relentlessly with his brush, rewriting names and reducing his opponent’s strength by half. Unfortunately, Ichibei is also making the mistake of explaining his powers in the middle of battle, and pretty soon Yhwach will probably regain the upper hand. I’m pretty sure that he will eventually be able to defeat all of the Zero Squad; there are many other characters still in line for a chance to fight him, so for the sake of plot, Yhwach’s crusade simply will not end here.

His goons are a different case of course. Though he has given his “elite squad” a boost by reviving them, this was done at the cost of most of the remaining Sternritter in Soul Society, who lose their souls to his Auswahlen. Lille and Pernida who were utterly helpless against Nimaiya before, now kill him and destroy the Cage with ease. There’s no doubt that Yhwach is the supreme God of the quincies, granting and removing power as he sees fit with little regard to their lives. The question is why they agreed to serve him in the first place (quite enthusiastically it seems) and accept the letter designations that essentially bound them to him until the end of their abbreviated, expendable lives. Even Ishida voluntarily joined the Sternritter, which makes me think that there’s a whole different side of the story that we aren’t seeing yet. He and Haschwald still haven’t actually done anything in this fight though, as they continue observe the others.

I apologize for the absence these past weeks as I’ve been busy with work and actuarial exams. Posts should return to a regular schedule starting today.

“A Dark Night’s Passing” 「暗夜行路」 (An’ya Koro) As was obvious, the parasite body at the end of last week’s episode was not Shinichi’s mother, but in fact a man with the same partial-parasite as Shinichi. Uda Mamoru (Takuma Suzuki) seems a jolly guy who wears his heart on his sleeve (which could, given what happened in this episode, be biologically correct as well) but has a certain pang of tragedy to him. There’s also his imaginatively named parasite – Parasite – who resides in Uda’s mouth, chin, and chest area. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to see a hybrid like Shinichi this soon, but I’m glad, as it allowed for our depressed main character to actually develop a nice sort of friendship with Uda, since there are two people in the same very rare situation. The comparisons between the speech and behavioural patterns of Migi and Parasite also get brought up, showcasing the difference in their developments due to Migi reading books and Parasite watching movies – I suppose it says just as much about their hosts as it does about themselves. Before the confrontation last episode, Migi was about to explain something to Shinichi – but now is the time that it is being brought up again and properly addressed. Simply put, Migi is growing more and more independent, even if there are limits to him separating, which is tied to that fact that Migi is only 70% of what he originally was due to inserting himself into the hole in Shinichi’s heart. Therefore, Shinichi is now 70% Shinichi and 30% Migi. These percentages give Shinichi a fright, and they should; he may have been slowly changing as a person due to the events he found himself caught up in, but to have a significant portion of himself be replaced by that of a seemingly emotionless parasitic alien… it really does beg the question whether Shinichi is really a human anymore? Like Migi points out, he can now run at the speed of an athlete, and can jump to tremendous heights. Plus, as noted last week his sight and hearing have improved to the point where it seems like he is beyond that of an ordinary person. While these traits are awesome and make for an improvement in what Shinichi can do by himself, it is still introduced as a worrisome development – as it should be. Then we have the obvious talking point of the episode: the final fight with the parasite within Shinichi’s mother. It was set up wonderfully, the tension was ripe in the air, and Migi just so happened to pick the worst time to go to sleep (at least he upgraded Shinichi’s right hand to a neat-looking sickle blade in the process). Connecting back to Uda almost committing suicide off of a cliff, we are brought back to a similar location for the battle to take place. Everything about it was awesome. The animation was fluid and on-point, and the music was pumping in the background – if only it lasted a little longer. But what we saw was important. I, for one, was worried that Shinichi would lose himself after having to kill his own mother. He showed hesitation when reminded of the scar that he caused, but overall I’d say he was pretty much prepared for the worst. Thankfully though, Uda and Parasite came to the rescue, avoiding death themselves and then dealing the finishing blow. Shinichi may have been saved just there, but my suspicions tell me the chances of Shinichi going down a dark path down the line are only increasing by the episode. So we’re not out of the woods yet, not by any stretch of the imagination. For now, this little revenge story has been wrapped up, and the scene on the cliff with Shinichi and his father was a brilliant way to finish it all off. They both know what happened, even if neither has to say it aloud. And I’m sure Shinichi would cry if he could, just like his father. It would hurt to lose your wife in a way like that, but at least what’s done is done… even if tomorrow will bring new – and almost certainly – worse things. So, with Makiko out of the harem despite her considering nature, Uda still alive after the battle, and Kana and Murano sensing Shinichi at the end, I’m interested to see where our cast goes from here. Kana is a mystery, but an interesting one. Murano is the final connection between the Shinichi of the past. And our protagonist himself… well, his transformation is finally complete, and I think many will be quite pleased with the result.

Information Digest: Synopsis: Parasitic aliens have descended on Earth with a hunger for human flesh. They are everywhere – taking hold in the bodies of those unlucky enough to encounter them. Once fused with a host body they can mutate in whatever way they please – except for the case of Izumi Shinichi, whose alien parasite, Migi, is trapped in his right hand. Previously: After being mortally wounded by his mother, Migi inserted himself into the hole in Shinichi’s heart, which saves, but also changes him. Shinichi ends up going to the island where his injured father is being kept, as well as to get revenge on the parasite who killed his mother.   Details Digest: Chapters Covered: Chapters 14 p.32 – 17 p.4 Shinichi Losing His Humanity: After Parasite points out that crying is most certainly a human trait, it highlights the fact that Shinichi is finding himself unable to do so. The change in his character and his person has been gradual, but with the fusion with Migi, I doubt he will ever be the same person again. Makiko Didn’t Die: I’d say Makiki surviving while this all goes on is the most surprising that happened in this episode. I could feel the death flags waving her off… Just Who/What is Kana?: That is the question I’m left with. She’s a strange one, and I have no idea what to make of her. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts – but please, don’t spoil anything, even if it seems obvious.

Preview

「奥義(ロストテクニカ)と異変解決(プロブレム・ソルヴィング)」 (Ougi (Rosutotekunika) to Ihen Kaiketsu (Puroburemu Soruvuingu))
“Lost Technica and Problem Solving”

Sexy gives way to badass, and leads to tragedy.

Distracted by the Sexy

I couldn’t help but laugh at how often Liese used her sex appeal to further her plans. The Headmaster, of course, wasn’t being serious about it—he undoubtedly let himself get beat so that Arata and the others would have to take care of Liese. I was fixing to rage when everyone started talking about how Arata wants to see all of the Trinity Seven naked—I mean, it was funny, and seeing Levi naked would be an automatic win at life, but they were in the middle of a battle!—until Sora calmly noted that Liese was using that as a distraction to let her disrupted magic return to normal. I say it once, I’ll say it again—I’mm all for fanservice, but if it’s not going to be shameless, I like it to be relevant to establishing character or the plot. All home runs in the fanservice department this week.

The Enemy That Wasn’t

The dynamic is odd between Liese and the rest of the Trinity Seven (+ Arata). They never really act like enemies, to the point that they allow Liese to approach Selina, even though she was the one who put her in that bed. Arata said it best—up until Liese froze time, it didn’t feel real, because they were taking so many breaks to banter. Which is odd because some of their attacks were clearly aiming to kill (see: Levi’s kunai to the eye). Which actually worked, sort of, though it still feels odd.

As for Liese herself, it felt like she was too devoted to being an evil mage as opposed to focusing on something of substance. Take when she said, “A mage does whatever it takes for their research.” I don’t buy it. Obsession isn’t a reason for itself, and trapping herself in another dimension for her research’s sake makes even less sense than Arin being willing to let the world burn in episode two. But then again, Liese mentioned something about “us,” so it appears that she isn’t the only one involved in this evil magus schtick.

Freeze the World, and the Poisoned Kiss

The magic system still hasn’t been explained well, so I don’t really understand what Mantra Enchant does. I thought it buffed the user’s physical abilities, which made sense to me, but is the dragon part of it? And I have no idea why Arata putting it on his tongue did what it apparently did. He also got his magic back so quickly that it seemed like a waste of time to have him lose it at all.

Looking past the exposition failure, I liked the movements of this battle. Reveal followed by counter, culminating in Arata’s poisoned kiss that dealt the final blow to Liese. It was competent, and for a magical-fantasy-action-harem anime, that’s pretty much what we need. It was still the oppai jokes that carried the whole bit, which is fine. Though that pained “I’ll rub them raw!” did not work. C’mon Arata, take this seriously.

Looking Ahead – More Enemies Immediately

I loved Arin pointing out Mira’s tsundere act. She wants to punish Liese, uh huh, suuuure. But at least they didn’t leave Liese in limbo without giving us hope she would return, because Selina is great, but she’s nothing next to her onee-chan. The tragic bit just doesn’t feel right for Trinity Seven. It doesn’t look like Arata is going to get any time to rest though, which is par for the course. At least he’s finally getting competent enough to not be a drag on the show.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Sexy gives way to badass, and leads to tragedy. It doesn’t look like Selina or Arata are going to give up on Liese though #trinity7 07

Random thoughts:

• I liked the Headmaster’s comment about how evil mages are always defeated once they obtain great power. You can defy the systems for a while, but eventually it will chew you up and spit you out. Better stay on the side of good if you want to take those shortcuts, Liese.
• From the sound of it, Hijiri may have triggered the series-beginning Breakdown Phenomenon, and then saved Arata from her own mistake. And mages still can’t see how dangerous obsession is? Bakas.
• The Headmaster is using Arata in the role Hachiken from Gin no Saji ended up filling, someone new to mix everyone up and help them grow. Except this time it’s on purpose, and Trinity Seven isn’t nearly as good. Though what is?
• Don’t Dress Break your grimoire, dude. I have a feeling that won’t end well.

Check out my blog about storytelling and the novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Import, don’t recycle, Impostor syndrome, Save it for your daydreams, and Storytelling is subjective. For book updates, sign up for my mailing list.

Full-length images: 08, 14, 20, 25, 33, 36, 38.

 

ED3 Sequence

ED3: 「ReSTART “THE WORLD」 by Touyama Nao & Suzaki Aya

Preview