Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya / First Impressions

「トリコロール・バースデー」 (Torikorouru Baasudee)
“Tricolor Birthday”

It’s still 90% comedy, but when the comedy is this good, I don’t mind!

Comedy Episodes Number Two

I’m sure some people will complain—it’s another comedy episode, why aren’t they getting to the plot, this is just filler, etc. A reminder: We only have a little more of the 2wei manga still to cover. After last episode, it was 10 chapters, according to Hanabira.Kage. With ~11 chapters total to cover in 10 episodes, the pace isn’t going to be as fast as other adaptation. But I ask you, is that so bad? We’re getting the full story here, in a way we hardly ever get in anime adaptations. I feel like I don’t need to list examples, but even my other show, Arslan Senki, is starting to suffer from excess streamlining, as some character-developing moments are sacrificed in order to show more of the story. With a show like this, it’s critical to get to the plot eventually, of course; otherwise you get something like Charlotte, which is (so far) all sizzle, little substance. But Prisma Illya has always gotten back to the plot, with the occasional pit stop off into full-comedy land. So to those who will complain, I say to ye: Give it some time. The plot will return, I promise you.

Beach Gag Bonanza!

Besides, with comedy this good, how could you complain!? First of all, points to Kazuo—Suzuka was absolutely shipping Shirou x Issei. And you know what? I take it back. It’s much better this way! It adds to his (un)lucky bastard/butt monkey status, to have a friend who maaaay be gay (gar?) for him, but regardless, is saying things that are pretty easily taken that way. It also provided yet another opening for when the comedy combo really started climbing.

I especially enjoyed the speedy reappearance of Bazett, save with any possible self-esteem shaved away. Here’s why I think, at its base, spin-offs and parodies like Prisma Illya and Carnival Phantasm work—after all the pain these characters were put through in their original stories, it’s nice to see them live basically happy lives (or at least, lighthearted and occasionally carefree lives). Bazett got a raw deal the last time around. Check out Fate/hollow ataraxia if you don’t know the details, but suffice to say the Fifth Holy Grail War would have gone much different if Bazett had been present. Being reduced to selling icicles and working odd jobs might not be the happiest of fates (hah!), but it’s an improvement. And it’s funny! Congratulations, Bazett *wipes away a tear*

Magical Ruby’s Mysterious Syringe Happy Fun Time!

I generally don’t like when a convenient memory wipe invalidates everything that just happened. I also generally don’t like time travel stories, but Steins;Gate was amazing. My point is, anything can be done well. And I thought this was done well because it was done for laughs, and (to my memory) has only been done once. Continual memory wipes in order to maintain the status quo are annoying. Once in a while I may let it pass.

Granted, the main reason this didn’t both me is because the comedy in Prisma Illya just works for me, and it was already on a high combo from everyone competing for Illya as a proxy for Shirou (what is this, NakaImo?!), so when Ruby showed up with a friggin’ syringe, baldfaced as all get-out, I was already cracking up! And I just kept going! It was so in-your-face funny that I wasn’t the least bit surprised that Ruby “accidentally” gave Shirou a truth serum (I guess he does look at Luvia’s breasts after all! I mean, who wouldn’t? Though badmouth Rin’s legs again and I’ll destroy you, Shirou *shakes fist*), but I was loving it! I wouldn’t have minded if there was no memory wipe, mind you. It would have changed the dynamic and been a lot of fun (mostly, a lot of fun in seeing how the girls (and Issei) justify still going after Shirou after he said all this), but even the memory wipe itself was so ridiculous that I can’t be mad. I could never be mad at Sapphire-chan, even if Ruby deserves far worse, nyahaha!

Looking Ahead

Since the preview was a BL cut, I’m not sure what to expect. They certainly kept pounding on Miyu’s past, and on how she clearly hasn’t had a normal life (and is clearly lying about much of it), so I expect that to be a serious factor by the end of the season. Whether that starts next episode will all depend on how fast Luvia and Rin can dig, and whether Bazett can earn enough to get out from under Luvia’s debt. That’s cold, Edelfelt … I like it! 😀

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Another heavy comedy ep. Also, Ruby-chan has fun with mind-altering drugs! B/c once you’ve got twincest, anything goes #prismaillya s2e2

Random thoughts:

  • “Everyone plays the main character in their own lives.” Wiser words have never been spoken, by Tatsuko. Be the main character, my friends. Like Tatsuko. (Not like Tatsuko.)
  • Speaking of, the swimsuit reveal cut was a nice bit of sleight of hand. You go in thinking, “Is it going to be the same? Will it be different?”, and I’ll bet you didn’t expect exactly how it would be different! I know I didn’t. And that second when you realize it’s not quite the same is great, bwahaha!
  • A heart for Kuro, stars for Illya and Miyu. Those are some awfully fitting choices, Shirou. Maybe you do know something, after all…
  • I liked how Shirou was running after Illya too, for no real reason. Of all the Shirous, I think Prisma|Shirou might be the most dense. They were all talking about liking him right there! An acceptable break from immersion for comedy, but definitely a break.
  • Good thing Sapphire-chan wiped everyone’s memories. Otherwise I don’t think Mimi could have handled it anymore. Get used to it, Mimi-chan. You’re friends are absolutely nuts.

My first novel, Wage Slave Rebellion, is available now. (More info—now available in paperback!) Sign up for my email list for a FREE sequel short story. Over at stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: The Kingsman princess joke, Be the anime blogger, If you find yourself using buzzwords, STOP, and How to save Twitter.

 

Preview

59 Comments

    1. Also forgot to mention, but did anyone initially thought that it was Taiga selling those popsicles by the way she was yelling at the start? When they revealed it was Bazette my mind was like “Yup, it’s Taiga. She is the only one with really short hair in this series…wait…oh man it’s Bazette O_O Shit’s gonna hit the fan…”

      …then they proceeded to destroy her almost invincible aura from the previous season…

      Taiakun
      Reply

      1. My first thought went to Taiga, too. The intensity of the yelling, the slight mania in the voice… yeah, I was all ready to laugh, then Bazett just made me laugh harder!

        Aex
        Reply

    2. I can’t blame you, almost anyone can die from laughter.
      https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%20Zwei%20Herz%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2035.jpg
      It has always been an anime/manga tradition for Tsundere girls to have pigtails, along with an average chest where they have very lovely legs that try to compensate for the lack of the other element; it is their “natural” ahoge, especially when they abuse their legs to invoke their target’s innate foot fentish.

      Up to now, I don’t know any pigtail girl that isn’t a tsundere, likewise, I don’t know a Tsundere girl with a large chest.

      L002
      Reply

      1. Re Tsundere girls with reasonably large bosoms; Naru Narusegawa from Love Hina, and Houki from Infinite Stratos are ones that come to mind.

        Re non-tsundere girls with pigtails; Tamako from Tamako Market, Chiyo from Azumanga Daioh, Kana from Minami-ke

        Taiakun
        Reply

      2. I’ll also gladly add Kaname Chidori (Full Metal Panic!), Seraphim (Kore wa Zombie desu ka?), Yui Kotegawa (To LOVE-Ru), and Arpeggio of Blue Steel‘s Takao* to the list of tsundere with reasonably large busts.

        (* – While she’s not as busty as her KanColle counterpart, she’s definitely not flat.)

        Non-tsundere girls with pigtails… Hmm… Haruna (also from Arpeggio of Blue Steel), Kotomi Ichinose (CLANNAD), Ayumu Nishizawa (Hayate The Combat Butler), and Kin-iro Mosaic’s Alice (to name a few).

        Incognito
        Reply

  4. There goes Bazette’s cool image out of the window. First introduced as a badass fighter last season, now she’s ended up like her Carnival Phantasm counterpart, doing odd jobs to make ends meet. Now if only Lancer was around to tease and flirt with her……

    echykr
    Reply

    2. Actually I saw Bazett in Carnival Phantasm first where she looked so cute when she’s embarrassed, so seeing her as a powerful fighter in season 1 made me like her even more. Plus I can’t help but admire her positivity if you’d call it that. Even when Luvia left her penniless she’s doing her best to etch out a living, even if it’s overcharging ice pops.

      Zhinvu
      Reply

  5. So So funny. Ruby is such a troll.

    I immediately thought TV Tropes for Tatsuko http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeroOfAnotherStory

    Around 15 years ago when I was researching my ADHD seriously the community thought Far Asian countries had little of it especially Japan. After all these cultures could be extra ruthless with the non conforming hyper types and Japan during the age of the Samari and the right to cut down any commoner at anytime would have been hard to live though for someone with ADHD. But this and many other anime show that the hyper form and passive space case forms of ADHD are alive and well in Japan despite the low reports of it in Japan then.
    Japan is behind in mental health get Tatsuko some form of speed fast. All the very effective on ADHD stimulant drugs are forms of speed it’s very counter intuitive.

    RedRocket
    Reply

  7. They don’t just have Yuri fanservice but Yaoi fanservice too. Isn’t equal opportunity nice? Not much in the way of action yet, but all they really have left is the major climax, gotta fill 10 episodes somehow.

    The_Green_One
    Reply

    2. Being reduced to selling icicles and working odd jobs might not be the happiest of fate

      If we have a multiple anime crossover by having Bazett join Gintama’s Odd Jobs Agency…Gintoki might have a better life lol.

      Techim
      Reply

  10. I really think I could watch this show even if it was full of those antics. Hell, I would even watch it if Tatsuko was the MC and all these antics revolved around her!

    Tassadar
    Reply

  11. Tatsuko is just so unpredictable! And Illya has the cutest reaction faces, and there were lots of them in this episode. I also gotta say Luvia was sporing a pretty hot swimsuit too. It’s funny how Ruby and Sapphire are just the top ornaments of Magical Girl staffs but they exhibit so much personality. I can only imagine Ruby had a big smiling troll face when she was messing with Illya here, and Sapphire must have had a really angry piercing look when she was disciplining her sister.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

  12. Just in case people have forgotten:

    – Ruby’s been working on the love potion for a while – she alluded to it way back in chapter/episode 1 of the original Prisma Illya!

    – After the fight with Bazett, Luvia was livid that her house had been wrecked and swore to completely ruin Bazett. And this is the result.

    Going by the title of the next episode, it’s likely to be filler. I can’t remember where I saw it, but that title looks extremely familiar.

    Hanabira.Kage
    Reply

    1. Nice catch on both of those! Though I wouldn’t call anything we’ve had in Prisma Illya so far as “filler.” Comic relief, slice-of-life, something like that. All of these episodes still reveal character, which is one of the two main purposes of any event in fiction. Filler, on the other hand, is just fluff.

      I know that’s what you probably meant, just pointing out that it’s a wee bit different.

      Stilts
      Reply

      2. Ah, is it? Well, we’ll see. I regard filler as generally without point. That can be fun too, provided there’s enough time for everything (shouldn’t be a problem, from the sounds of it). But if it still reveals character (and entertains too), that’s not quite the same.

        That’s probably just semantics to most people, though. I’ll just wait to see next week

        Stilts
        Reply

  14. Illya: “It’s a birthday party, so you celebrate your birthday, right?”
    Miyu: “A birthday’s something to celebrate?”

    Obvious Illya and Miyu are both obvious. *ding* (See also: Shirou’s “People die when they are killed” line.)

    Rin (to Luvia): “Shut up with the ‘Shero, Shero’!”
    Me (as Rin): “Besides, I already won his heart last season!”

    BTW, does anyone know who did the voice acting for Tatsuko’s two older brothers? (And maybe the rest of the family, too…)

    Incognito
    Reply

  15. Am I the only one who heard the background music from MJ’s Thriller, when Shirou became a love zombie (thanks to Bleach this word becomes more disturbing) and walked to Illya?

    dean
    Reply

  17. Hey author, if u didn’t get why Ruby is all about drugs in this episode, she was being 100% Kohaku reference in this episode. (She is the same VA as Kohaku in Fate universe) Same thing with Sapphire and her reference to Robot Hisui at the end.

    drzero7
    Reply

    2. @drzero7

      Please, call me Stilts!

      Thanks for pointing that out. I’m not as familiar with Tsukihime, so while I’m aware of Kohaku and Hisui—both of their general personalities, and that they share seiyuu with Ruby and Sapphire—I don’t know everything about them. Danke~

      Stilts
      Reply

  19. Seems this season doesn’t have much going on in the plot department. Though at least this episode was more productive than the last one (which was completely pointless) since Miyu got to experience a few new things which was admittedly kind of cute. The volleyball scene was classic Miyu :3

    The humor in this show really clashes with the serious parts though. Miyu had a heartfelt moment that soon escalated to a unfunny joke that practically took up the rest of the episode……….kind of spoiling the moment. There is nothing wrong with letting that kind of stuff set. You don’t have to shove comedy in every moment possible. I think Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood did this sort of thing the best. However, giving credit where credit is due I thought the “main character” joke with Tatsuko was probably one of the only times the character made me smirk. This is partially due to the fact it breaks the 4th wall which is a kind of humor I like when done well.

    Issei was actually funny since he provided some nice dry humor which is something this show lacks way to much of. But then they turned him into a shouting maniac near the end just like everyone else which sadly made everything not funny again =/. You don’t need 50 million tsukkomi’s!!!! >:/. It’s called variety writers!

    Oh and Buzet is apparently just a comic relief character for………..some reason. I mean her mission is STILL to take the card from Kuro right? So your telling me she just didn’t care that she Kuro was right in front of her? She first met them again when nobody was around. Plus Illya and Miyu wouldn’t be able to do much with their staffs so Kuro would have been easy to take down. Even if she’s broke achieving her mission seems like it would at least help the situation. According to the characters last season the spell that was placed on her is pretty weak and given Buzet’s power it should be easy to break it. So even that excuse doesn’t really work. Heck she didn’t even have to cause a scene at the beach. Just following her would afterwards would make sense. Not to mention why not use her magic to make money? Everyone in the world is pretty oblivious to magic considering when Kuro and Illya played dodgeball nobody questioned what was clearly supernatural forces at work. Soooooo yeah the situation seems pretty contrived. Even if this episode is mostly comedy that doesn’t mean you can poorly explain things especially when it’s key to the plot! >:/

    I suspect Buzet will be an ally sooner or later given the opening so I guess this is one of those shows where trying to kill someone is a slap on the wrist.

    While I don’t usually reference manga material I actually decided to start reading the chapters each episode covers every week just to see what the anime changed. And it seems a couple key factors were left out for…..absolutely no reason including the subtle foreshadowing of the joke with Buzet last episode. This isn’t really spoilers since the show skipped this moment but I’ll put it in spoilers anyway.

    In the manga while Illya and Kuro are kissing Kuro actually does go through some character development surprisingly.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    So in conclusion why did the animators feel these elements needed to be cut? Instead of all that great stuff happening during that scene the anime gives us a bunch of kissing sounds. Yeah apparently that’s all that’s necessary huh? I’m telling you this is why fanservice can ruin great elements in it’s source material. They were focusing on sexualizing the scene instead of character development and addressing plot related issues. The same thing was done to Freezing although overall that show got hit WAY worse than this one.

    Anyways that’s enough pointless ranting from me.

    All that said I’m glad this season is focusing more on Miyu’s development since I like her the most of the main cast. Just have some more cute moments with her and I’ll forgive everything eventually :3…………………..maybe…………probably not………but STILL!

    leatherhead333
    Reply

    1. I think the main point with Bazett(or at least what I got out of it last season) is that she’s a soldier to the bone. She had orders to get the cards, so she’d stomp three loli to do it without blinking. They’re on an official truce now though, so personal feelings aren’t in play, if she even has any on the matter. I do enjoy how they’re using the fact that she’s been hung out to dry to get all the comedy they can out of her! XD Fear the influence of New Money(Luvia)!! And wow, that manga content… that’s a pretty huge thing to leave out for all the two seconds it would’ve taken to show >.>

      I disliked that Kuro sucked up so much Miyu-time last season. I’m starting to forgive her with all this development for both of them 🙂

      Aex
      Reply

    2. Bazett was taken off the job and thus no longer wants the card. When Bazett was attacking she was only doing it as hired help. One of the reasons the girls are so confused is Bazett in this universe so far is just a mercenary it noting personal it was just a job.

      RedRocket
      Reply

      1. The anime never stated she was off the job. Just that she got billed for the damages. As far as I’m concerned everyone should be under the assumption she still wants the cards so the lack of anyone caring about her being around doesn’t really make sense right now.

        leatherhead333
        Reply

      2. There was a truce were Bazett gave them 3 cards back when she went for clarification. Later Luvia states that the Bazett action was unauthorized by the association but someone let it happen. But the clear part is this season when Bazett states her credit cards were frozen and she was stuck with the damages not something a employer would do to someone it wanted to collect the cards would do. This was right after she declares that she is nothing but a popsicle seller and told of her odd jobs clearly fired or suspended from the association. It is easy to draw the conclusion that she is not currently employed by the association to recover cards. And as Bazett was not collecting the cards for her self why would she be trying to get a remaining card. Yes the girls first assumed Bazett was there to get a the card but if Bazett wanted the card she would have taken the card right then. By not acting Bazett must not be currently seeking the card.

        RedRocket
        Reply

  21. When the Truth Serum gone start take effect, and he saw her Golden Boobies.. That was pure fun 🙂

    Looks like the Director and the Writer, want to give us Happy times, so that we forget Illyias Fate in Fate/Stay Night UBW. it worked

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

  22. Well that was a nice comedy episode sprinkled with some soul-crushing implications for what Miyu’s life has been like so far. Yes, Miyu, your birth absolutely something to celebrate. Whoever told you otherwise needs to choke on a razor.

    Why do I feel like it’s less that her family moved and more that she and her brother were taken by force for some reason? These are all landmines that have been sitting around since we first learned she didn’t have a home, and I think that they were left hanging was the real problem I had with Kuro taking center-stage last season. It was believable that all the attention was taken off the mystery of Miyu, but I didn’t like it. And her brother is “similar” to Shirou? Hmm… are we going multiverse this season or am I thinking too hard? Maybe I just want to finally know who Shirou was before Kiritsugu made him an Emiya…

    Happier note: You mean Ruby flying off into the wild blue yonder last episode had a point?! I thought she was just being nuts again XD Still, there’s something about the sudden appearance of a syringe that can get a nervous laugh out of just about anyone, which is good for loosening up the audience for the insanity to follow. I loved the reactions when Shirou turned to the loli-crew, and I think Mimi was a ninja in a previous life and now she just can’t figure out how to get out of stealth-mode… or she’s a distant relative of Kato Megumi!! XD

    Aex
    Reply

  23. I wanted to see the birthday girls spend a significant amount of time in their birthday suits. Not that type of birthday suits the bathing suits they got as birthday gifts. Although there is not too much difference between the types of suits I must admit.

    RedRocket
    Reply

  25. Stilts. I know you probably meant it as a funny joke, but if he’s talking about her legs and how her legs being that visible and dragging his eyes to her skirt and the cloth beneath it… I’m quite sure he’s “complaining” in the same sense as he was “complaining” about Luvia’s chest.

    And considering he went into further details than with Luvia… Rin’s “winning”.

    Dorian
    Reply

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