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「凪黄金」 (Nagi Oogon)
“Calming Gold”
The Calm is here… Something wicked this way comes…
But rather than something wicked, the calm actually makes youmu more vulnerable and all the Spirit Warriors go hunting. Although weaker in comparison, it looks like the youmu are more aggressive (like the one that reminds me of a titan) which isn’t good news for Akihito. In fact, Akihito appears to lose consciousness on the train ride home and somehow makes his way into Ayaka’s home/shop. There’s a bit of a disconnect there, but I think the idea is that someone found him and brought him to Ayaka where Mirai and Mitsuki were. Even though there’s likely going to be a strong focus on Akihito next episode, this week was all about building up his significance. Why is Izumi protecting him and is he the “secret weapon” that the Nise family has been hiding? His role in the past few episodes have been so muted that I don’t really feel how important Akihito is in the story. Someone pointed out that his role as a main character has been overshadowed by Mirai’s awesomeness so it’ll take a while before I get the hang of seeing him play a more serious part.
Now what caught me off guard was not necessarily all the plot developments that took place, but rather the random scenes featuring Sakura and Mirai. You know, the one after they visit the convenience store and Sakura gives Mirai a nice pep talk. This episode seems to push the idea that Mirai might actually like Akihito and by like, I mean, “like like“. I hate saying the word “like” because it doesn’t feel powerful enough to explain the phenomena that’s between “having a crush” and “love”. For now, I’ll just say that Mirai is developing feelings for Akihito and it’s a relief to realize that it’s not going to be dragged on and on… but at the same time, it feels rather forced and random. Don’t get me wrong, I think the couple does have chemistry to some extent and it’s fun to watch them interact and fit so well together. It just feels underdeveloped and the romance aspect of the show could’ve been pushed back to say – after The Calm. Or it should’ve been hinted at more during the first half of the cour. Either way, I’m sitting on the fence between, “Yay! Romance!” and “What the…where did that come from?” Also, as I initially suggested last week, Sakura doesn’t really have a role anymore and that’s a shame. Wasted potential for a great character.
This is the part of the post that I wish I had a separate section just for random comments because there are so many incoherent thoughts that I just want to point out:
- That “Onii-chan!” cry from Mitsuki has got to be one of the best hands down. Normally I cringe when harems or rom/coms feature girls saying that but my dear god, that just made me love Mitsuki even more.
- Is it just me, or does Ayaka resemble a certain Pokemon? So she doesn’t breathe fire, but she’s just as graceful looking (and kick a**).
- I hate antagonists that are created just for the sake of having conflict – kind of like having bad guys that are bad for the sake of being bad. I like motives and history and knowing that something else is powering them besides money and greed. Miroku doesn’t come off as the most interesting villain and I wish they would just kill him off and get to the juicy stuff about the Nise family.
- I love the whole damsel in distress scene and I love Hiroomi even more after this. It’s a shame that they’ve put him on the back burner for so long that he’s almost like a secondary character now rather than primary one. He can provide a lot of depth and complexity to the show if they’d only showcase his knowledge more than his sister complex.
- A little surprised to hear that Yui’s family tried to kill Mirai after the death of Yui. Not sure how that went down, but I guess it explains why Sakura came back to try and “finish the job”. Perhaps Izumi actually murdered the rest of Sakura and Yui’s family to defend Mirai? In which case… what does Izumi have up her sleeves?
During the second half of this series, you can really see some cracks in the plot and where there are cracks, there might be craters later. I’m a little nervous that there might be pacing issues and some more added originality to the series that doesn’t fit. There are a lot of questions and potentially a lot of disappointed fans out there if Kyoukai no Kanata doesn’t tie this together properly. For one, I wish they would spend more time developing the Nise family and Akihito in other ways rather than through comedic scenes. Conversations amongst characters can reveal a lot more about them than seeing their fetishes or seeing them in action. That’s just a personal reference that I have towards storytelling though.
TL;DR – @RCCherrie: So much is happening I can’t keep up! But this is good, I love mysteries. Omg did Mitsuki just say onii-chan?! kiyaaaa ~ #kyo_kai
Full-length images: 04, 07, 08, 10, 28.
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I got to say Sakura has become super likable this episode.
with the glasses of course!!
All she needs is ME-GA-NE—♪♫ -o-o-*
I don’t know about you all, but this ep was the most confusing to me yet! Where did this Calm come from? Why does it exist? Hell, why do ALL these fantastical elements exist? How could Sakura seek revenge, then somehow turn easily and become Mirai’s friend in the next episode?
It’s a fantasy show… don’t you normally just accept the existence of all fantastical elements in one?
We need more Akihito mama postcards.
If I find the people responsible for the down-vote they’re going to get a Akkey-Mama card.
To the downvoters…FUYUKAI DESU. -`д´-
Glad someone else caught the Ninetales reference, was kicking myself for a few minutes wondering where the hell i’ve seen that puppy before.
I was an obsessed Pokemon fan back in the day haha! Hard not to spot that one.
I’d like to loop that “oniichan” scream scene. It was the cutest scream of “oniichan” this season.
I had a hunch as to what type of youkai was the store owner was, I didn’t expect to be right about it since there are only a few types of powerful youkai in Japanese Myth that are actually female.
The “oniichan” scream was awesome! I am positive that a certain Mikan would be proud of it!
Let’s say I have my doubts that Izumi is truly protecting Akihito. Looks more like two sides are fighting about who is going to enslave Akihito to me. Or perhaps one side is trying to enslave him- the Association- while the other- the Nise family- wants to kill him.
Is Miroku an anime original character, because he hasn’t been fleshed out at all? What is he trying to accomplish with Akihito, what is his conflict with Izumi, and what is with the hentai tentacle powers?
No he’s not, I believe he’s from the LN. I’m hoping they give him some sort of flashback later because he just seems to be lurking in the background all this time. He’s definitely lacking development.
Ayaka is a Ninetails. It was mentioned in the episode that Kyoukai no Kanata-class youmu were responsible to diseases, disasters and conflict right? They’re intentionally calling back to the myths that used monsters as excuses why disasters happen (God of War starting a war, a giant catfish causing earthquakes, etc.). Which is really nice imo, but also suggests that Ayaka is a thousand-year old youmu, but still has the sense of humor of a young mother.
I really like that part!
Sakura has changed so much to the point where she can read the person whom she hated the most like a book and she’s being very supportive too. Akkey’s and HIromi’s conversations are really interesting as always.
As for the villain, who is the real one? Izumi or that guy from the Spirit World Society? Like Cherrie does, I also hate antagonists who are created for the sole purpose of creating conflict. I hope there’s a good backstory for Izumi and that Spirit world society guy. I really like stories wherein the authors make us loathe the villain then suddenly give us a backstory and then turn around our hatred with sympathy. Nobody was born evil, I don’t really buy that a person is evil to the core because there has to be something that happened to push him to do evil things. Even the most evil of Villains have good back stories that tell us what pushed them into oblivion (see Luca Blight). But of course, while it doesn’t fully justify their way of doings, the author can’t simply tell us that “this guy was born crazy and evil, so nope, there’s no back story or whatever” unless the author is creating a story with generic and boring evil villains (see SAO villains).
The way I see it, the Sakura we’re seeing this week might be her normal side, as supposed to her crazy side previously.
…and then those batman gambits, there’s no black and white there, everyone has their own agenda these days; We just happen to to try and sort them into good/ally or bad/villain categories.
https://randomc.net/image/Kyoukai%20no%20Kanata/Kyoukai%20no%20Kanata%20-%2008%20-%20Large%2008.jpg
I’m with you Akihito! <3 lol
Anyway, it does feel like there's some sort of tug-of-war between the organization and the Nise family, with Akihito as the rope. Though, we have yet to see just what their goals are and just what makes Akihito so damn important all of a sudden.
This episode is too fast! What is up with them lately? Why is it that they keep messing up the pace?
TQ
I’m gonna reserve my judgement about Izumi for now. For all we know Izumi may well be working to protect Akihito some how (that’s what I’m hoping is the case, though the Logic in my head is saying otherwise :p). As for Miroku, I’m not sure if we’ll see any hidden depth or further exploration of his character besides his position as the laid-back antagonist. I don’t dislike him, but if all we’ll see of him is his plans to get ahold of Akihito then I don’t see him leaving a long lasting impression on me either.
From the the preview it’s implied that Mirai will have to fight Akihito next week. I doubt the fight will drag on for another 5 episodes, so it makes me wonder if we might have another arc after the Golden Calm plot.
I think Sakura’s role now is more of an outside perspective on Mirai and Akihito’s relationship, as well as a nudge in the right direction for them to realise their feelings for each other. My impression is that KyoAni wants to give the two some decent form of closure within this season and needed a catalyst to speed things up for them (I haven’t read the source material but I think it’s fair to assume things go much slower for Mirai and Akihito in the LNs). None of the other characters seem to be able to serve that purpose well (they’re either busy with their own plans, they don’t care, or are too busy eyeing their little sisters), so instead what they do is introduce a new character, give them a character arc that helps us empathise with them and served the function of a person who was truly on friendly terms with Mirai, and then incorporate them into the main cast to act as the catalyst. Not a bad effort by KyoAni by any means.
I keep on feeling like the comedy aspect is forced a bit too much.
Oh yeah, I’m also surprised nobody brought up Akihito’s dream where it’s implied he’d killed someone. That’s the second time we’ve been shown that (episode 2 was the first time) and I’m wondering if we’ll finally get some answers about Akihito’s past in the next episode.
The dream is likely about him hurting Hiroomi. What’s more interesting are the two kids who treated him like a maneating monster because he survived a car crash. Just how long has he been treated like a demon?
I thought it was implied several episodes ago that Akihito might’ve killed someone. Possibly when he transformed and no one could stop him. I think Mirai realized it too when he said that he understood what she was going through because she too had killed someone unintentionally.
Yay Ninetales! \o/
Yay megane Sakura! \o/
Yay Onii-chan! \o/
Yay more Akkun mama postcards! \o/
https://randomc.net/image/Kyoukai%20no%20Kanata/Kyoukai%20no%20Kanata%20-%2008%20-%20Large%2001.jpg
Now… Where’s the other hand????
I actually am not certain whether possibly BOTH Izumi-neesan and the Society representative want to USE both Mirai and Akihito together to kill “Beyond the Border”. Walpurgisnacht deja vu anyone? While Izumi-san seems more benevolent (she saved Mirai after all) she definitely is a very secretive and manipulative person…
Also gotta love teacher’s reaction to the very word of wedding!
while a lot of things rolled out this ep, the pace was ok.
but as for now, things are still too blurry. who is the real bad one?if there is one, and how is mirai related to it all of sudden (or not so surprisingly)? and so on…
but IMHO the problem here is a bit bigger. you pointed out the problem of “antagonist created for the sake of conflict”, and I agree. but the that’s not all. the problem is the mystery is…put it simply – boring. not “boring boring” because there is a mystery, but the way it’s executed when everything is too blurry, nothing really new discovered for the viewers..it’s like they are hiding all the cards and wait for the real final act to reveal them all (that’s why I don’t think there will be much cracks and craters in the plot. they’ll bring it to a fine ending. unless they wanna make an opening for s2. and I won’t be surprised after all of KyoAni’s last project got s2 such as chuuni, tamako market, probably free too).
what I am saying is..the mystery is kinda shallow, nothing new really is developed even when they “try” to intrigue us with info like “the calm”, the old man, the agent’s info…it’s in the same level. instead of progressing and developing much more aspects.
you’ve said so too “I wish they would spend more time developing the Nise family and Akihito in other ways rather than through comedic scenes” (BTW it’s Nase, not Nise..not a big deal or something..).
you’ve mentioned in the “same breath” the feeling of “disappointment”. and it’s true. KnK could have better in most of its parts. both story and characters.
I am not sure if it’s as a result of the hype fo KyoAni’s and “dark fantasy” which definitely attracted people to watch. for me, I must say I did expect it, but in the end I am trying to see KnK for it is doing now, not for what I was first thought it would be.
and I honestly believe that regardless of “dark fantasy” and the hype, KnK could have been better in most of its parts so far. yet, I am trying to enjoy as much as I can, and I am enjoying I am guess, but the feeling of wasted potential really brings disappointed, especially since KyoAni are good.
as for the characters. Mirai is developing “feelings” for Akihito, while I agree it might seem bizarre a bit, I don’t feel it too much forced or something. I think there is sense in it.
and obviously Akihito is now the main axis which the series revolves around.
not much to say here for now, next ep will be more interesting in that matter.
p.s
I a kinda confused here.
Sakura is the little sister of Yui, which was the same age with Mirai(’cause they went to school together). so how’s is that Mirai and Sakura are in the same class?!?!since the two didn’t go to class together in the past.
I guess only anime allowed to play with ages, classes, schools, transfer students and so..Haha
No yui was mirai’s sempai
I said it before and I’ll say it again, “dat Onee-san, DO REALLY WANT!”
Thats onee-SAMA.
The way Spirit Warriors fight Youkai in this show should be how Pokemon battles are. Really. And not just Ninetales, this, also: https://randomc.net/image/Kyoukai%20no%20Kanata/Kyoukai%20no%20Kanata%20-%2008%20-%20Large%2027.jpg looks like the new Pokemon Zygarde as well :3
Haven’t seen the Pokemon Z… so I had to Google it. Very right you are sir =)
I keep getting the feeling that the painting of the demon is related to Akihito in some way. I mean, why is there never any mention of his dad?
I just have to get this out there, but KnK is a show of wasted potential, and the cause of it is the dialogue. Sometimes I’ll be watching and thinking, “Why am I listening to this inane conversation about glasses and the semantics of ‘You’re unpleasant’?” The script tends to be a lot more interesting whenever the characters are discussing something serious, like the revelation that Yui’s family tried to kill Mirai, but instead the producers keep wasting precious minutes by hammering the audience in the head with running gags.
And yet, I keep coming back to see if something will happen. KnK, you’re lucky you’re so pretty.
I heard that most of the anime’s story was loosely adapted from the 1st volume and a rough draft of the 2nd volume(3 volumes currently exist in Japan).
If the writers are stuffing in a lot of original material poorly, perhaps that’s part of the reason why some plotlines haven’t been flowing well.
If anyone thinks Sakura is not meshing well, turns out she’s an anime-original character. Together with Sweet Potato the dreamshade pet and Ai.
The forced comedy bits actually makes some sense, if you consider how Spirit Warriors cannot have normal lives. So normal comedy bits always carry with it some sort of awkwardness.
And man, I wonder what sort of creature did Akkey’s mom do to get a child that powerful.
Doesn’t Ayaka resemble one of the Tailed beasts from Naruto?
I still don’t get what was the use for an anime-original character like Sakura if her arc got wrapped in two episodes, and the next one she’s made a complete 180°.
In regards to your comment about mirai’s sudden feelings for akihito cherrie; its not so sudden more than it is that it hasn’t had enough time to fully develop to the point where we as an audience can be totally invested. Without a doubt, the first four eps of the series illustrate how mirai’s could have caught feelings since akihito was persistently by her side when she was feeling at her lowest. the problem.is that the series hasn’t truly.capitilized on the bond that they built.after ep 4…instead using comedic bits to show how chummy the.two have become which never went anywhere deep because it there was never any layers behind those comedic bits. Mirai’s growing affection has had its time.to.be powerful enough to get an emotional response out of its audience (subpar character writing and not enough time)…….who knows tho I have confidence though that it can pull of somthing of genuine organic emotion before its all over
You’re very right, as an audience member, I don’t really feel invested in their relationship, nor do I feel any strong bonds between the two. Maybe it’s also because I’m watching it week by week, but the lag between each episode cuts emotional attachment I might have for a show. I don’t mind the comedic moments as much as I mind the fact that didn’t develop it steadily throughout the weeks. I love a good rom/com and I don’t mind if they focus on how “chummy” the two are… but it needs to have good timing.
Exactly right…which is what I mean by the.fact that the comedic bits didn’t have amy layer beneath them
it was trying to show how chummy the two had become n I didn’t mind the.comedy at all…but it didn’t properly show the chemistry growing between the two within the comedy in da same way an.excellent romcom would which is part of the reason y this is kinda falling flat. I like that they r finally trying to focus on that relationship seeing that this is the final arc m da next ep does seem to focus on the turmoil mirai will be facing having to deal with putting akihito down as she’s probably the only one who can effectively do it; she.looks pretty distraught in that shower clip so im hoping the last few eps can pull it off
I wonder what happened to Izumi’s sword. It looked like it was chipped when she took the attack from the guy. 🙁 still, <3 mitsuki's "Onii-chan" scream~ haha! xD Imouto mode~
I think the romance between Mirai and Akihito was well done.
They obviously see themselves in each other and are in the same situation in terms of relationships with other characters. They understand each other like no one else can because they’ve been through similar stuff in life.
This episode feels really rushed/disconnected/jumps…let’s hope it doesn’t turn into a train wreck.