「不協和音」 (Fukyoowaon)
“Dissonance”

Truthfully I never expected to be back blogging SnS this week, but when you mix alcohol, birthdays, and some utterly hilarious restaurant orders well you wind up with crazy Pancakes decision making. It’s not like SnS is particularly bad in any way mind you, but sometimes you need that extra little shove to take the plunge and I dare say this episode did the trick—among other things, cocktails not included. Don’t deny, you know you’re happy finding out where Satsuki puts all that cake too.

As discussed last week, one of the big concerns I’ve had for SnS of late is its choice of direction. The harem-esque drama angle has been competing hard for attention with SnS’s main story, and while the threat still remains for a paint by number love quagmire, it seems the show has found a decent balance in favour of mystery. It’s now reasonable to assume for example that Asahi is still alive and kicking in some capacity thanks to those visions she had, and that’s before including those red crystal shards in her possession which all but scream “assemble them all and return to normal.” Then there’s the recurring issue of someone (or a specific group) deliberately spreading information on Asahi’s comings and goings, with the result being every big shot making increasingly bold attempts to put the optimistic cutie under their control. Considering Asahi’s supposed abilities this matter is arguably the most important at the moment because it’s unclear what these different groups stand to gain by using her. In-game advantage? Sure that’s already known, but how does this relate to Re’Union’s supposed function of selecting people for real world rewards? Knowing the answer will likely go a long way to explaining Asahi’s predicament given the latter is almost assuredly the reason for the former.

Getting to the answer, however, may prove to be SnS’s slog as it seems it’s time to deal with the issue that is Takanori. Say what you will about Satsuki’s impossible crush and her annoying childhood friend inability to actually make a play (seriously Satsuki, use those breasts—they’re a choice weapon!), but our bespectacled clever boy is downright aggravating, between his chronic NTR state of mind and poorly hidden stalking. Simply gleaning rumours from informants? Please, you know this guy is watching Asahi himself, after all he’s already shown a proclivity to showing up unexpectedly from nowhere. I imagine Haruto will succeed in putting Takanori in his place (because Gary Stu lead male protagonist powers), but there’s always the chance Takanori may actually prevail over gleaming golden sword swings, unless something/-one else interferes with the mano a mano showdown. Just remember two members of Subaru are missing from the picture, wouldn’t be that farfetched seeing one choose this moment to make their triumphant return and keep that Asahi love triangle on full boil.

Best hold onto your horses boys and girls, SnS appears ready to start ratcheting up the pressure.

 

Preview

21 Comments

  1. Some clever small changes in the OP this week. After we see that red gem shatter, for a second we get a shot of Asahi inside a pod-like thing full of wires, meaning she is alive in a lab somewhere.

    ruicarlov
  2. This show is just different enough to keep me engaged.
    I can’t predict exactly what’s going to happen next, so
    the mystery part is pretty decent. Also the mild sexual
    tension between the two add some depth to the characters.

    Interesting plot hole is the mail address. He gets an error,
    but she’s just not getting an answer/reply. Mail doesn’t
    work that way for the same email address (i.e., errors come from
    the email server, not from the recipient) but neither though
    to ask about the exact address they’re using (they have to be
    different).

    I’ll cast my vote as well and hope you’ll continue to blog.

    Other than that

    mac65
    1. It could also be that Clive blocked Haruto and for whatever reason this future has blocked accounts return error messages. I’ll have to watch that part again though, Shiranai Hito is likely more right in his impression.

  3. This series is equal parts new and equal parts familiar and for that I am really enjoying it. Isekai is beaten to a bloody pulp at this point but I thoroughly enjoy the mystery and so far the characters are at least mildly interesting enough to get me through. I have to say I’m sort of anxious to “get the band back together”. I tend to enjoy plots of that nature because they always feel satisfying when everyone is there, kicking butt together like the good old days. Friendship! Anyways, yeah this show will be on my watch list as long as they don’t overuse that “we used to bathe together!” joke.

    sosbrigade1991
    1. The mystery is really what keeps this refreshing IMO, without it SnS is little more than SAO rehashed and the show makes little effort to try and distract from it. Agreed on the band getting back together too, I’m quite interested seeing how this circle is squared considering Takanori’s state of mind and the lack of prime opportunity to reintroduce Clive and Nozomi.

      As for the bathing joke I don’t think we have to worry too much on that front, not with Satsuki’s perpetual failure to make a move and force Asahi into bringing up childhood friend credentials 😛

  4. those visions of asahi clearly hinted that she was a subject of a certain experiment. that final vision of a what looked like a observation window with peeps that look like doctors or scientists cemented the idea that she is alive somewhere and is confined (hey, they didn’t show any body, you know… that annoying trope). anyway i think asahi, when she “died” in game got her consciousness or we just call it “soul” sent somewhere (SAO you know..) and with that, the body of her basically becomes a mannequin of sort that doesn’t work because the program (soul) is removed and since it doesn’t work, that stopped her heart and everybody assumed she is dead. we must not forget, that the time setting is 2040s. more likely lots of medical advancement already happened on those time.

    so yep, imma continue watching this. this anime is surprisingly good, exceeded my expectations and the plot is keeping you hooked. sadly, the source is ongoing so we wont get to see the possible happy ending.

    and takanori? you said “my asahi”? who says ASAHI is YOURS? ASAHI is everyone’s WAIFU damn mother F. i hope haruto serve you your A. but i think he wont because if you get deleted, asahi dream of rebuilding subaru will fail

    Jeffers
    1. Given Asahi’s physical state right now I think the end result will be just like .hack//Sign; her “soul” is trapped in the game for whatever reason, and the mechanism to extract it likely resides in the game world—i.e. the red crystal, the emphasis on Sense abilities. I wouldn’t even be surprised now if the whole purpose of Re’Union was to use the player base (encouraged through the promise of real world rewards) as a means of discovering how to “awaken” Asahi.

      Also as you say it’s pretty much guaranteed neither Takanori nor Haruto will actually lose in their fight, but that’s not to say either of them cannot bleed a bit beforehand. I think we’ll see Takanori find out what it’s like to actually hurt 😛

    1. I don’t think it will be as bad as Sumika, but there’s still a chance for some evil shenanigans yet all things considered.

      Also it’s not only the right place for the cake, it’s the best place 😛

    1. It certainly would give a reason for him to not even doubt Asahi’s existence after she first appeared. Damn now I kind of hope this is the case, if just make Takanori’s continued obsession with Asahi make some logical sense haha.

  5. Satsuki is playing such a stereotype. She wants to be Haruto’s girlfriend so desperately, wants him to always think only of her, talk about only her all the time, she hates it when Haruto talks of any other girl, even Asahi. Asahi is supposed to be the childhood friend, little sister perhaps, but not the rival for Haruto. So you have the triangle where Satsuki doesn’t mind being alone with Asahi, as long as Asahi is treated like a little sister, but not as childhood friend becoming a damsel-in-distress/girlfriend by Haruto. And it was very cheap, morally, for Satsuki to storm out of the cake restaurant when Haruto talked more about Asahi than Satsuki, making all the other girls in the restaurant assume it was a lovers’ spat and that Haruto, by stereotype, was a bad boyfriend (and sticking him with the bill).

    Satsuki needs to mature before Haruto realizes what is happening and starts giving her the cold shoulder treatment.

    Takanori is also playing the person who lost his childhood friend, only for Asahi to come back, but he is exceedingly more cautious than Haruto and knows something strange is going on. He also appears extremely wealthy (see Episode 2 with the butler holding the umbrella for Takanori in the graveyard). And unlike Haruto, Takanori accepted Re’Union and may in fact be several levels higher than Haruto, and has his own Sense powers. But unlike Haruto, Takanori wants to protect Asahi by putting her in a cage with his guild, it seems.

    There’s too many unknowns right now, and much like Sword Art Online, we could have some program developers meddling in affairs. Too many people know what “the new Subaru” is up to, and think either Asahi’s Prophecy Sense can be transferred to another person, or ransomed off to another guild or something.

    jhpace1
    1. Won’t have to worry about Haruto I think, he’s endowed with the lead male curse of perpetual obliviousness when it comes to female intent: no matter what Satsuki or Asahi does, he’ll never realize what they actually want, at least until one of them actually kisses him—and we know the chances of Satsuki doing that right now 😛

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