Random Curiosity

「修羅を斬る」 (Shura wo Kiru)
“Kill Shura”

I have mixed feelings about this week’s episode – both good and bad. For the main part, I thought the episode was entertaining once again and true to the Akame ga Kill sayings, a character does not last very long after revealing his or her history. Flashbacks, romance stories and future aspirations should be a clear warning that someone is going to die. The action was nonstop and watching Lubbock take down another opponent singlehandedly was amazing. He’s quick on his feet and he thinks before he acts which is more than I can say about Tatsumi. Lubbock’s Imperial Arm is so diverse that it’s no surprise how he came this far. When we were first introduced to him, I kind of brushed him off as your typical pervert in the group. Now I know he’s much more than that and quite capable on the battlefield… it’s just unfortunate that he was backstabbed (literally). No Imperial Arms is perfect either, so no matter how smart Lubbock was at using his, even he couldn’t save himself from falling out of the sky. I think seeing Lubbock’s death will take its toll on Tatsumi… this would be the second(?) time he’s seen a comrade die in from of him and he couldn’t do anything about it. I’d like to see Tatsumi man up and become a more prominent character these days; after all, isn’t he the protagonist? Although I saw Lubbock’s death coming, it’s still bittersweet to know that Lubbock’s last thoughts were of Najenda. Being dragged into this fight just because you love someone, and then killed before they knew? That’s just heartbreak all over. I feel for you Lubbock, I really do.

Now come my gripes with the episode, or just the general storytelling for Akame ga Kill. I’m not a manga-reader; but I’ve heard that since last episode, the anime has deviated quite a bit from the original story which eliminates an entire arc. This arc revolves around Shura’s gang called the The Wild Hunt and to save you some research and digging, they’re a very brutal group that have no sense of humanity and the arc is probably being skipped due to the amount of heavy censorship that White Fox would have to include. So, simply put, I don’t think that the rest of the story will be completely “anime original” since everything else has been straight from the manga so far. However, adjustments will be made so that the outcomes are the same; at least, that’s what I’m hoping. My issue is then, how they go about that… because right now, I see a disconnect between the last episode and yesterday’s. There’s this giant gap between what happened during the last showdown and the current day that doesn’t bridge in my mind – like, what happened to the fight between the Night Raid and the Jaegers? Why did the group split up again? And where are they? The only part of the story I found comprehendible was seeing Lubbock and Tatsumi in the capital, but that still doesn’t explain why they’re there and what they were trying to achieve with this back-stabbing lady. I managed to piece together the pieces in my mind but Akame ga Kill should be more straightforward than that.

This episode officially introduces Shura (Kimura Ryouhei) who was seen in earlier episodes but then disappeared after sleeping with some girl. At the same time, it introduces another villain – one strong enough to rival Esdeath herself, Budou (Gouda Hozumi). This left me confused because Akame ga Kill has always been a very linear story with one enemy for the Night Raid at a time. It’s unlike them to present two antagonists who don’t even have the same agenda, not to mention the entire team behind Shura whom remain nameless. It was hard to focus on which villain would be the ultimate one to beat in the long run – but it’s obvious now, Budou is incredibly powerful. Then that leaves me wondering, why bring back Shura at all? I understand that they probably wanted to tie the Wild Hunt somehow someway and not leave any loose strings, but it felt so short-lived and only to bring the demise of Lubbock. This was the only part of the episode that didn’t jive very well with me since it felt like such a cop out and at the same time, an unfitting addition. I can forgive this slight hiccup if the rest of the series is still delivered well. Hopefully White Fox will still produce a great finale now that we’re in its last stretch. It’d be a terrible fate for the series if it were to fall on its face now but I shall remain skeptical until I see it happen.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: So our new antagonist didn’t last very long… But why would #AkamegaKill bother introducing two then? Ugh not a fan of the new guy >_<

Preview

「Moon -月-」 (Moon –Tsuki-)
“Moon”

I’m still amazed by how different this original version of Sailor Moon is compared to the original anime. I have this mindset that characters should behave a certain way or events should take place in a certain order but they don’t and then I’m honestly surprised by the outcome of the episode. Some differences irk me, but for the most part, I’m liking the new direction of Sailor Moon Crystal. I like seeing Sailor Venus play a more centric role (and that might be because she’s still a new character) but she seems to have a great head on her shoulders and she’s almost like the second-in-command. Unfortunately that means that Sailor Mercury, Mars and Jupiter, all start to blur in the background and hearing their voices once or twice an episode just doesn’t do anything for me. I have the same complaints about Queen Beryl and her “henchmen”. While I’m sure they each have their own distinctive personalities, we don’t really see much of them except for Kunzite who seems to be in charge. This is one of the pitfalls that I find with such a large cast and a very fast-paced plot. I remember really liking Sailor Jupiter too (back in episode 5) so it’s a shame that she doesn’t get much of a chance to shine.

If there was a theme for this week’s episode, tragedy is one that strikes me as the most prominent. Although, I’m not particularly sad or upset to any degree (I must have such a heart of ice); even though there was momentum building up to the revelation of the Moon Kingdom and what ultimately happened. When Sailor Moon and friends arrived on the moon, there was nothing left; except for this very shiny Excalibur-like sword sitting in the middle of the ruins. Then Queen Serenity (Koyama Mami) appears as a hologram and starts to reveal what happened in the past to the Moon and Earth Kingdom. I think this is supposed to be the tragic part of the story because everyone dies, Usagi kills herself and the Queen sacrifices herself to banish this “evil force”. I see this Romeo & Juliet-type reference here as Endymion dies and Usagi does too… but then I thought to myself, why?! Why are you killing yourself?! It made sense when Juliet killed herself after seeing Romeo (and everything else) dead around her, but why would Usagi abandon her Kingdom because the love of her life sacrificed himself to – by the way – save her life? I’m so confused. I’m not bashing Usagi for her decision because I’m sure all first loves are fragile and this is supposed to be a sad scene, but really?! In my mind, I played that storyline out better; perhaps Usagi killed herself because she didn’t want to fall into the hands of the enemy and told everyone else to flee. That sounds like a much less selfish action.

I’d have to say that I like the opposition between the Sailor Scouts and the Dark Kings much more this week since it adds a little more history between them. Although I find it cheesy that the Sailor Soldiers fell in love at first sight, it brings a richer story to the Dark Kings (other than being known as just “henchmen”). It’s also revealed that they use to work for Endymion in their past lives which I thought was interesting, but doesn’t really serve any purpose for them now that they’re brainwashed. In the original Sailor Moon series, they were killed off one by one so I’m actually intrigued to find out if they’ll also get the same fate in this rendition. I somehow doubt it; but does that mean they’ll stick around for another arc? I’d appreciate it if they played a bigger role in the story – as male counterparts for the Sailor Soldiers and also their significant others. The original Sailor Moon never really gave the other girls a “boyfriend” per say, so that’d be a modification that I’d be excited to see. Finally, I’m not bothered or blown away by the fact that Tuxedo Mask comes back to life brainwashed. I sense lots of tears and “power of love” actions coming but that’s not anything new and definitely shouldn’t be a surprise for this genre.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: So many Romeo & Juliet references in this episode, but I love those types of romance stories <3 #SailorMoonCrystal

So many full-length images this episode: 06, 08, 10, 17, 18, 28, 34.

Preview

「幸せの手紙」 (Shiawase no Tegami)
“Letter of Happiness”

As expected, this episode comprises the entirety of the Sachi route. I’m sure all viewers are use to Grisaia rushing through its story at relativistic speeds by now, and there’s not much left to say about that which has not already been said. It was inevitable that there would be substantial cuts to tailor the the story to the linear format, even if we weren’t restricted to a single episode. And, to be fair, I actually approve of some of the changes they made. The overarching plot of the Sachi story—about her needing to cancel the test dramatically—was something that could have used some streamlining. I’m going to compare and contrast the original visual novel a bit, so spoilers for that.

Show Spoiler ▼

The anime version makes Sachi relatively more active and Yuuji relatively more passive, which I consider a good thing. It makes Sachi feel more like the protagonist of her own route and Yuuji feel less like a blunt instrument. It’s also, in my opinion, a far more sensible resolution to her conflict. It’s still about Sachi potentially doing something she’d regret, but with slightly less sensationalism and a lot less wanton property damage. I suppose I prefer my plots straightforward, I suppose; the less hoops the story has to jump through the less taxing it is on one’s suspension of disbelief. It’s still rather outlandish, sure, but a tighter plot leaves less gaps in logic. I still found it a bit right, though, to hear Yumiko concerned about Sachi doing dangerous things when she barricaded the school and faked an explosive death just last episode. That ship sailed long ago. Yuuji simply isn’t capable of doing things in a non-dangerous manner.

Despite the slimmer Sachi route, though, I still think the anime tried to play too many angles in too short a time frame. We have the childhood friends thing, Sachi’s relationship with her parents, Sachi’s warped sense of self, Yuuji reconnecting with his past, blowing up the school, Sachi valuing her friends, Sachi scoring points in the harem race. It’s like someone had a checklist and were just ticking the boxes for what needed to be done this episode. Without proper development, fulfilling the quota of ‘important scenes’ is not enough to give the story proper impact. And some scenes were just not important at all, and I’m not just talking about the usual blatant fanservice. I mean this. Are you punishing me, Grisaia? Was I being too critical? Please, spare my eardrums; they’re innocent victims here.

Peeking outside the garden ~ looking ahead

So with the Sachi route resolved with an emphatic ‘meh’, we’ll be moving on next week to the first part of Makina’s route. I do wonder why they chose to give it (and Michiru’s) two episodes over Yumiko and Sachi. I don’t begrudge them their choice (I take issue with any of the routes being reduced to a single episode), but I am interested to see the reasoning. I suspect that they’ll take the opportunity to develop Yuuji’s background, since Makina’s route is the one in which Yuuji’s shady organisation has a largest appearance. Regardless, two episodes should serve better than just one, and I have higher expectations for the adaptation of Makina’s story than I had for Yumiko’s and Sachi’s, though that’s not necessarily saying much.

Full-length images: 11, 14.

End Card

OP3 Sequence

OP2.5: 「courage」 by 戸松遥 (Tomatsu Haruka)

「絶剣」 (Zekken)
“Absolute Sword”

I think this was my favorite episode of Sword Art Online yet — yes even more than the one when Kirito decided it was okay to finally use TWO SWORDS AT THE SAME TIME. Also good on the A-1 for giving us a new opening sequence to match the new arc.

Real Life Problems

Something that I think always gets done horribly wrong in any show focused on games is the depiction of a gamer’s real life. Typically, its woefully exaggerated on either end of the spectrum with the parents/guardians just being another villain in the way of the protagonist’s struggle to be the best gamer ever. But in this show’s case, I don’t think I’ve ever been so split between wanting to root for the gamer while mostly agreeing with the parent. Don’t get me wrong, Asuna’s mom fits the definition of a cold bitch all the way down to the stupid hand gestures she made and if I was basing my opinion on just that, I’d want to see her get smacked right in the temple. But honestly I kind of don’t want to see that because if you just listen to what she’s saying, even just for face value, it sounds like a mom wanting success for her daughter. Apparently coming up from nothing, it’s hard to see what’s wrong with wanting your only daughter to find success in life through a combination of hard work and being around the right people.

On the other hand, you have to give mad props for Asuna for not lashing out and losing face in-front of her mom. As much as her mom made sense in terms of #value, the way she went about it as well as her tone of voice would of had me smacking her straight in the temple the moment she mentioned she looked up Kirito behind Asuna’s back. Luckily we get to have our cake and eat it since Asuna managed to slip in some venomous words right as she walked away — and she didn’t even look back to see the damage!

Side note here, but am I the only who only just realized Asuna came from a family rolling in money? I remember they talked about her father owning a hospital when they introduced that creepy guy from ALO but I never got the sense that she was super rich until recently.

New Girl!!

LOL. The face that Asuna made when she realized her opponent wasn’t some stocking brute but a cute and tiny girl was priceless. While this begs the question why people don’t take cute and tiny girls for the terror that they are, it feels like Yuuki could give Asuna a run for her money. Now, while I take this opportunity to warn you not to look up how to spell Konno Yuuki’s name because of the dangerous spoilers you could possibly see (I only read one sentence and almost got completely wrekd by accident), you can bet that I’ll take as much Yuuki Aoi as I can get. Because come on, who doesn’t like that unique voice of hers that only gets more moe when she’s yelling!? Oh, and I suppose she looks like she’ll be a fun character too~

Looking Ahead

This is solely based off of my interpretation about what Kirito said but when I hear that someone is the product of a certain technology, it sounds like that they’re probably immersed in it so deeply that it becomes a part of them. In terms of a VMMORPG, I would say it’s akin to someone who literally plays 24/7. While this doesn’t answer whether or not this is by choice or because of some outside force, my guess is heavily influenced by the fact that the ending sequence doesn’t show any scenes of Asuna or Yuuki together outside of the game even though it looks like they’re (eventually) going to become buddies. Anyways, it looks like we’ll have to wait and see what this is all about next week. Judging off of the episode preview though, it looks like Sleeping Knights is a guild name — so maybe they need Asuna to fill the last spot? XD

「水楓(すいふう)の乙女たち」 (Mizu Kaede (Sui Fuu) no Otome-tachi)
“The Maidens of Watermaple”

Akatsuki comes out of her shell as the twenty-six maidens of Watermaple prepare to face down the raid boss in their city.

A Raid Boss in Akihabara

Flavor text coming to life has already had farther reaching implications than I expected, if it’s turning a regular NPC into a raid boss. Freeze effect, boosted stats for every adventurer within fifty meters, and a seriously buffed HP bar are not things that should be handed out freely! Though I’m still not entirely sure how that worked—would Akatsuki have turned into a raid-level monster if she got the sword, or is it only an NPC thing? And why could Nelreth buy a raid drop anyway? Even in late 90′s / early 2000′s MMORPGs, I’m pretty sure raid drops were bind on pick up! Though perhaps that’s another sign that the rules of the game are breaking down in favor of the rules of reality. It’s a pretty damn important one if so.

I do like their plan though. Fan out, cover the city, stall him when he appears, and then converge and pounce. It’s simple, but simple plans are often the most effective. The curfew won’t be popular, but the price might be worth it if they can take down the murderer without delay. It all hinges on Lenessia playing ball so he can’t teleport away. I hope the Kunie boy was lying about it taking decades to reboot the magic circle, because any deaths that happen from monsters later on would be on Lenessia’s shoulders (or so I bet she would feel), and I can imagine especially dickish players (from Minami, perhaps) using that to train raid-level mobs into the city. They’ve got a raid boss in Akiba, and he needs to be stopped, but they could be opening up the door for many more.

Akatsuki’s Out of her Shell

Akatsuki is really coming alive as a character. I didn’t realize how much she existed in Shiroe’s shadow until now, she she’s coming out of it. I’m not even talking about her blushing, and blushing, and blushing around her friends (bonus blush!), but the way she so directly and optimistically answer Lenessia when she was confiding in Akatsuki about her worries. Akatsuki has stopped being a wallflower, and really taken on more personality of her own. Though she’s still essentially Akatsuki—she’s still shy, not great at communicating, and a bit awkward. But she smiles more, and that’s lovely to see.

Looking Ahead – Lenessia’s Decision, & Akatsuki’s Overskill

Take it from me, writing sales copy for creative works is hard. You need to give away enough to draw people in, but not so much that the experience is diminished for those who decide to give it a shot. Episode previews are a form of this, but I’ll never understand why, seven episode into the second season, they are persisting in spoiling so much. You’ve already got us! We’re going to watch! There’s no reason to make it so obvious what Lenessia will decide, who the twenty-seventh maiden is, or that Akatsuki will show off her Overskill. Leave something for next week, gah! Though I am excited about next week, so they got me there. It’s time to see Akatsuki shine even more!

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – The flavor text becoming true has created a raid boss in Akiba, but Akatsuki is so much more vibrant than every before #loghorizon s2e7

Random thoughts:

• Rieze’s characterization seemed to jump out of nowhere, but she’s there now. From crying over Krusty’s disappearance to taking charge in front of the Round Table, she’s no one-dimensional character to be sure.
• This episode confirms that Nelreth isn’t a willing murderer. The last time we saw Byakumaru in the shop was episode two, and he wasn’t a monster yet. And how he called himself a proud Defender while he was Gollum-ing … yup, we’re going the tragic route. Probably. Maybe it’s half and half, though he’s definitely mad now. Poor guy. Good thing Souji backed out, or he’d be as good as dead.
• “There are things you can only learn by accepting your weakness. Being weak, losing … these aren’t pointless things.” That’s true. If you’re not failing often, it means you’re not doing enough interesting, difficult, or uncertain things. Failing is how we learn how to succeed.
• Bonus points for Akatsuki finally realizing that her height isn’t a weakness. I used to have a short friend who said she wasn’t short, she was travel-sized … and any time I drag my 6’7″ frame onto a plane, I’m reminded that great height isn’t always an advantage. It’s all about how you approach and use your weaknesses (and strengths).
• Put on some armor, Marie. Take this seriously, jeez.

Check out my blog about storytelling and the novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Impostor syndrome, Save it for your daydreams, Storytelling is subjective, and Delusions of importance. For book updates, sign up for my mailing list.

Preview

「決意」 (Ketsui)
“Resolve”

The questions surrounding “Perphevollen” were answered quickly this week, as the Evangelion-like Trail Kriegers do in fact function as a “hive mind”. It seemed like the most probable possibility after seeing the preview for this episode, but what did surprise me was Cayenne’s militarist mindset that seemed to have rubbed off on Samonji. The former’s desire to take back the land that Arandas lost so that the deaths of their soldiers haven’t been in vain is going to clash with the politicians’ desire to reach a truce (as Izumi explained), so I’m rather curious to know what “favor” Samonji asked of Izumi. At the moment, I get this weird sense that Samonji actually wants to go along with Cayenne’s bloodthirsty desires, partly because it puts him in the pilot seat of a U-Link System that Tokimune’s described as feeling like he’s with Reika. That, and he hopes to be in control of the weapon that Cayenne’s been prepping in case his superior refuses to stand down if/when a truce is announced. Whatever the case, the writers made it pretty clear that Samonji was shouldering some burden and not acting like his usual self, as suggested by his fleeting and transient presence and the emotionally detached post-sex scene with Suzushiro.

Aside from all those story-driven developments, I’m admittedly unsure how to take the more light-hearted party that the rest of the episode revolved around. I kind of applaud the writers for slipping in something that felt so unnecessary without making it feel terribly out of place, plus using it as a means to reiterate how Tokimune’s relationship with Jamie is likely going to be nothing more than friends. At the same time, I’m rather confused on how these developments should be of any priority this late in the series, considering all the other things that the story could be focusing on. For instance, there was nothing from the Ingelmia side this time around, whether it be Richthofen or Lontar/Holmes/Garp. Expanding on what’s happening from their perspective is probably better use of the limited time left, which leads me to suspect that the writers once again have more time to work with than story to tell, much like we saw in the first half. Conversely, these developments have been woven into the main story at opportune times so that they don’t feel like “filler” at all, which compounds how I’m torn over whether I should praise or question the writers’ decisions. For now, I’m surprisingly edging more towards praise. (Yay, go XEBEC.)

Looking ahead, it doesn’t appear like the preview hints at much time, other than seeing the Perphevollens in action. While I get the feeling that this new weapon will change the tides of the war, I’m most interested in seeing how the rest of Unit 8 feels about their captain using the same technology that killed Reika.

Preview

「蜃気楼」 (Shinkirou)
“Mirage”

This episode felt like it was jumping around everywhere — and I didn’t really mind! Because for me, this series is supposed to be one about a kid who gets thrust into the middle of an all out magical war. And with the Holy Grail up for grabs for the last one standing, you’d expect all the (competitive) participants would be ready to do whatever it takes to win, right? Which is exactly why it didn’t bother me that things felt a bit hectic.

Just What Are Servants?

I’ve never quite gotten over what happens at the end of Studio Deen’s adaptation of Fate/stay night but that show’s ending as well as Archer’s statements this week really made me think about just how much emotional attachment Masters and Servants are supposed to have. While servants typically have the outward appearance of a human and some sort of wish they want fulfilled by obtaining the Grail, does that really mean they’re alive? Honestly, what makes them more than just a shell filled with the memories and spirit of someone from a different era?

Even though none of the above questions or answers to them have any bearing to the show itself, I think it’s really interesting how ufotable’s spin pokes around what really makes up a Master-Servant relationship. You have duos like Shirou and Saber or Rin and Archer who seem to collaborate together, ruhless dictators like Illya or Shinji who force their servants to follow their orders to a tee, and even some weirdos like Show Spoiler ▼

who take that standard and completely obliterate it! Anyways, while I can’t say I view servants simply as the tools their designed to be, I appreciate that the show is consistently trying to show us some different sides to things that I thought could only been one way.

Trace, On!

While it remains to be seen whether or not Shirou will fall to Saber’s charm, I’ll gladly take more scenes where we get to see him show off his skills as a lackluster mage. I can’t say exactly what it is but watching him grow closer and closer to mastering his skill gets me pumped up thinking about how cool it’ll be when he can actually pull it off.
Show Spoiler ▼

Wtf, Caster and Assaassin? Plus, looking forward

In a double whammy kind of way, it was surprising to see two more servants working alongside each other. Even though I have no idea why Assassin would be assisting someone like Caster who said her class is quite territorial, it looks like another full-scale battle is about to get underway. Judging from the opening sequence it looks like Caster isn’t your typical type of magician that sits around waiting for their skills to cast and Assassin looks like someone who could give Saber a run for her money — meaning it should be a ton of awesome action scenes for all of us next week, yay! See you next week!

P.S. Shinji is still a jerk. And a slimy one at that.

 

Preview

「光の緒」 (Hikari no O)
“Thread of Light”

I’ve wondered, for a while now, exactly how common knowledge of the mushi is in Mushishi. Although the mushi-shi seem to have a wealth of research on the subject, the layman seem to have no understanding of the hidden forces that make their world work. The ones who do seem to be the exception rather than the rule. That’s understandable, I suppose, what with only select few people being able to even see the mushi. I won’t be surprised if, to some, the mushi-shi look awfully like charlatans, asking simple villagers to believe that the solution to mysterious illnesses are arbitrary rituals that somehow drive away invisible creatures. It’s quite impressive that the modern human can ‘believe’ in things like microbes causing diseases. I suppose that’s why vaccine hysteria and Flat Earthers and climate change denial are still things; for the layman, science is still in part a matter of faith.

It is notable that, at least in this episode, faith is something that is rewarded. Gen believes that his mother watches over him in the form of an angel, and that faith is entirely vindicated. In contrast, Gen’s father distrusts Gen’s mother, which ends up causing him more problems in the long run. Note, also, how it is often in Mushishi that children are able to see mushi, but adults cannot. This is not an uncommon theme in fictions. Children can see faeries. Children can fly if they believe. Children are open to magic and wonder, while adults have lost imagination. At the same time, children seem to have an innocence that protects them from duplicity. Remember the Emperor’s New Clothes? Funnily enough, Thread of Light is in some ways an inverse Emperor’s New Clothes stories, in which the robe in question is both splendid and real, even if nobody can see the thread.

While the robe is real, it’s not necessarily literal; like many things in Mushishi, it serves as a metaphor, representing Yui’s dedication to her son. You will remember that last week’s episode was about motherhood; Mushishi Zoku Shou seems to be doing its episode in pairs. Whereas Secluded Cove was about about the dangers of depending too much on that relationship, Thread of Light is about the dangers of wantonly severing it. To paraphrase Ginko, adults make do without it, but infants cannot survive without it. Indeed, when Gen and Yui are reunited, all their problems are resolved. Gen, no longer teased about his absentee mother, makes peace with the other children. Yui, no longer having to work the ether, regains vitality. It feels like a bit too neat of an ending, but Mushishi seemed to have been playing a few too many angles this episode, so perhaps needed something simple to wrap it all up. The message to take home is about the value of that Thread of Light: invisible yet precious, and a rare treasure indeed.

Preview

Preview

「プールが危ない!」 (Pūru ga Abunai!)
“The Pool Is Unsafe!”

This week, Amagi Brilliant Park gets invaded by pirates.

That’s it. What else is there to say? I should just end this post right here. Go home, guys and girls. We’re done.

Show Spoiler ▼

Preview

「石を擲つ人々」 (Ishi wo Nageutsu Hitobito)
“Those Who Cast Stones”

Hands down, there’s no one else that makes me feel as uncomfortable as Kamui does. He has this creepy aura around him that’s not similar to the charisma that Makishima had but it’s cynical and dangerous. Makishima felt like a true adversary for Kogami, and his actions – although wrong – still came with a high purpose. One of the reasons I think Makishima was well received was because he had clear ideals that could be seen by others and hence why he had a large following. On the other hand, I feel as though Kamui almost forces himself into the minds of others. He sounds delusional and wicked and if given the chance, I think he could kill many more citizens to prove his point. The way he’s so calm while committing crime is something that never settles well with me. Then he manipulates people into following his orders because he makes them “clear”, like what is this? A cult following? Once again, I ask myself, how does he do it?! It just makes my skin crawl watching Shisui obey him and treat him like a God… she gave up an EYE for him and continues to kill innocent people. But why?! This is not making someone clear, this is clearing someone of their conscience. No matter how far down the rabbit hole I go, I couldn’t imagine justifying killing someone.

Chaos ensued at the end of this episode because I don’t know how anyone could keep a clear hue after that display. A bold move by the police force because I can’t imagine having to clean up after that mess; although still the right decision in my opinion. These kids and their addictions to games is crazy (although, I too, am one of those kids so what do I know?) and they’re not going to stop until they see what’s really going on behind the chicken. In fact, the longer this fight went on, the more unlikely this situation seemed in my mind. I couldn’t take it seriously anymore after half the episode was done because there is no way that the police could’ve created all these drones and NOT put any sort of protection into their software. Is it that easy to create a proxy server and redirect users to link up with the police’s network and control drones? And then it’s just as difficult apparently to trace back to these users and block off their controls? It just made Sybil and the government seem so fragile that anyone with the skills to use holograms and hacks could’ve thought of it. Anyway, with all this planning that Kamui has put into his master plan, I doubt this will be the last that we see him killing innocent people for his cause. What I hate is still not knowing what he’s planning and how he plans to achieve his goal. We know that the Dominators react to the “eye” and not the person that’s holding the gun, but why is Kamui collecting them? Who is going to end up using them?

Mika… oh Mika… even when you try and do the right thing, I still take it the wrong way. While I appreciate her proactiveness in digging into Tougane, she hasn’t come out with anything groundbreaking. On top of that, she reminds me of my group members from school that would just reject everything but have no good solutions of their own. I understand that Mika doesn’t want everyone’s Crime Coefficient to shoot up, but does she have a better idea? What is she doing to save the lives of Division 1 (and 3) by standing around? She is, in fact, doing nothing and I’m glad that Jouji finally said what everyone else wasn’t. This girl needs to wake up and make some tough choices. Jouji has become my hero this episode. Then there’s Tougane who, I swear, is not Kogami! There is no way that he would point a Dominator at Akane like that; he should know that she’s special. I stick by what I said last week – that he is evil and a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s strange that there are so similarities between him and Kogami, but the two are definitely not one and the same! I refuse to believe it!

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: I still refuse to believe that Tougane and Kogami are one and the same >_< They must be like old friends or something... #PsychoPass

「狂気の城」 (Kyouki no Shiro)
“The Castle of Madness”

There’s something rotten in the Principality of Hartgen, and it’s everything. The antagonists are compounding.

The Bloodthirsty Kingdom of the Broken King & the Black Chaikas

The Principality of Hartgen stinks in a way no setting in Hitsugi no Chaika has before, and yes, I remember the island they just got off of. That was an island of monsters, but in a somehow comforting way—Evil Scientist #037 acted just as we expected, and the mass-produced fayla, while scary, weren’t as menacing as even the unicorn they fought in episode one of season one. Probably some conservation of ninjutsu (trope!) going on there.

This city, though, is deeply wrong, and all the more unnerving because the monsters are humans. It makes me think there’s some kind of spell in effect that’s making the combatants all so bloodthirsty. A culture of violent disregard for human life has been nurtured in this nation, and it makes me badly want to see the whole thing torched to the ground, or at least smacked upside the head until sense returns. But you can’t punch a nation, so I suggest King Hartgen instead. He and the Black Chaikas—correction there, I guess they’re the black rangers, not purple—need to be deposed stat.

Tooru Pushing Chaika Onward

Is it just me, or is Tooru pushing Chaika into collecting the remains? Chaika doesn’t know what she wants to do, she’s unsure, but Tooru keeps pushing her on. I think part of it is him realizing that they don’t have time to sit around, and that if they’re going to do this thing, they need to do it now before the opportunity is lost, and our Chaika regrets it forever. But maybe there’s more. It seems to me that Tooru might be pushing Chaika forward so much because he doesn’t want to go back to being a listless bum. Being a saboteur is the only thing he’s any good at. Maybe he’s just desperate not to give that up for as long as possible.

Guy’s Rapidly Expanding Evil

Guy has always been the sort of mysterious figure that set off everyone’s this-guy-is-up-to-no-good alarms. Well that klaxon is building to a fever pitch. This episode Guy confirmed what many long knew (thanks to quick screen pausing)—that he saved Gillette’s life. Doing it by mind controlling a bunch of soldiers into shielding Gillette with a mound of corpses doesn’t exactly ring of Good Guy. Nor does saying he saved him because of the hatred in his heart. Nor the fact that the man-formerly-known-as-Gillette now murders people. Nor taking Niva and—oh for the love of the gods, can someone just sucker punch this guy too? Our cup runneth over with antagonists, and Vivi & her crew are the only true good guys hanging around. But since a few of them just got a visit from all the king’s men … yeesh. When it rains, it pours, and right now it’s pouring axes.

Looking Ahead – Saboteur Battles, Battle Royal

It looks like Tooru and Akari’s infiltration is going to run into a road block, and they’re going to participate in the tournament after all. By the way, while I like their attempt to sneak in and steal the remains, wouldn’t it be smarter to just jump the winner and take the remains then? The winner might be weakened or injured from fighting, and at least then they wouldn’t risk tripping across a bunch of other powerful fighters. Say, Team Red Chaika, who are planning to have that Red vs White battle we’ve been waiting for.

Not that I’m complaining. Their way sounds waaaay more fun … for us!

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – The Principality of Hartgen is rotten, but Guy might be worse. Team Chaika’s cup runneth over with assholes #chaika s2e6

Random thoughts:

• I liked Akari and Tooru’s diving outfits. And they both show about the same amount of skin, woo! Well, at least Tooru’s shows some skin that Akari’s doesn’t, which I feel is something. At least the woman isn’t all stripperific for no reason, for once.
• Fredrica ate them, shells and all! I guess that’s one way to boost your armor rating.
• Wuh oh. Chaika told Fredrica to go nuts. Some people are gunna diiiiiie!
• Every time Chaika and Niva talk, I just … blink. What strange girls.
• One thing I didn’t get—I thought they were only allowed to have three fighters in each team? So why did the official ask about Niva, but say nothing about Fredrica? I guess they can technically carry her in, but a dragoon seems something of a stretch for a weapon.
• One thing you can’t deny is that our Chaika truly cares for Tooru, Akari, and the others. Red Chaika was worried about her spearman, even though he kept telling her to use them to fulfill her goal, but there’s no doubt with our white girl. She’s a good one at heart.

Check out my blog about storytelling and the novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Save it for your daydreams, Storytelling is subjective, Delusions of importance, and Only once. For book updates, sign up for my mailing list.

Full-length images: 02, 22.

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「紅い髪」 (Akai Kami)
“Red Hair”

That was some fantastic action animation.

I think it’s fair to say now that if you’re not watching Yona, you’re missing out on one of the best shows of the season. Even without the great action this episode, this series has been consistently good and often great. It’s sad that there isn’t much of a following, but I’m not surprised. There’s a lot of stigma associated with the shoujo genre, which is an interesting topic in and of itself. In an extremely simplified view, you tend to either get something good with shoujo themes, or something along the cage route. Unfortunately the cage route is prolific. Whether or not the stigma is justified is irrelevant; the point comes down to the fact that shoujo anime tends to have to “prove itself”, for better or worse, and I think Yona has done a great job of doing just that.

Setting aside the fact that the action was great this episode, there is something even better happening as far as characterization and narrative go. We are witnessing a change in Yona, and as we all learned in middle school, dynamic characters are always better than static ones. But Yona is not the only one undergoing a metamorphosis. Hak and Soo-won are also being depicted as increasingly interesting people whose lives have also been irrevocably changed. But while Hak’s resolution to protect Yona and Soo-won’s ambition to take the throne have strengthened, Yona is still discovering who she is and what she wants outside of her role as a princess. She doesn’t have a lofty ambition, or a particular dream. All she wants is to survive at the moment, and she absolutely doesn’t want to lose Hak in the process.

That’s an interesting dynamic we have here; Yona isn’t just interested in supporting Hak, or in being content to let him protect her. It isn’t really about expressing herself either. She genuinely cares for Hak, and she selfishly (or selflessly, depending on your perspective) doesn’t want to see him die before her eyes. Though he seems a lost cause, surrounded by merciless soldiers and poisoned at the precipice of a cliff, she takes matters into her own hands in the form of Tae-jun’s sword. She doesn’t hesitate for a second to slash off her own hair in order to save Hak (keep in mind that this is a pampered royal girl we’re talking about; if you’ve ever had your hair cut with a blade you know it HURTS), nor does she hesitate to use the sword to show she means business. The fire in her eyes is very real, and she’s mesmerized everyone around her with her newfound ferocity.

Of course, ferocity isn’t a proper replacement for strength or training, and it was pretty clear that even if Yona did get Hak back up, he was never going to survive the Fire Tribe’s attacks. That they fell together was almost a stroke of luck. Injured they may be, but they are still alive and now they have no pursuers. Even more luckily, they’ve been found by the very people they were searching for in the first place, The Priest Ik-soo and his assistant/caretaker Yoon. The latter introduces himself as a self-proclaimed bishounen, while the former proves himself an incredibly ditzy but powerful spiritualist who claims he can speak with God.

In the meantime, Soo-won has been told of Yona’s supposed death, but while his inner self is clearly pained at her loss, he refuses to let the knowledge undo his determination to become king. Whatever Soo-won has done, it’s clear that he has some very strong views on how to be a proper king, and it looks like he’s dead set on seeing them through.

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