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「砂のお城」 (Suna no Oshiro)
“Castle of Sand”
Given how Unnamed Memory has played out in its latter half usually I have something to harp on about. Perennial pacing issues, unfortunate source material chopping, Tinasha doing Tinasha things, what have you; there’s always something to flesh out the weekly post. This time however is arguably the first where things were kept relatively conventional. Issues remained certainly, but finally of the less egregious kind.
The big thing about this arc for me is how in any other moment it would’ve served as a nice bit of story material. Here we have a start line with Oscar and Tinasha growing into each other, a minor villain in Leonora with just enough backstory to further push them towards each other, and an outcome in Tinasha accepting that marriage proposal which makes the crowd go wild. It’s the right sort of thing for Unnamed Memory to lean into – and much like previous arcs the thing brought back to earth courtesy of the how and when. Although a nice cap on the pairing of witch and king, the depth needed to make it properly felt remained lacking thanks to that missing buildup and minimal development of the antagonists driving its progression. Give Leonora a bit more character complexity, have the showdown with her carry a better sense of finality, and suddenly that wedding gets a lot more consequential in the audience’s eyes. Or for that matter Travis’ role. At least Leonora had more explanation for her presence!
With that said though I cannot say I especially disliked these past couple of episodes. After all we got that grand resolution of Tinasha accepting Oscar, we got the fun of seeing what their personal lives are like during down moments, and we had Tinasha come into her decision only after some serious thought repeatedly displayed. Chalk on it being an outcome teased in advance with no melodrama holding it back – a serious plus considering the usual romance shenanigans – and I cannot fault Unnamed Memory too much in this regard. That only makes what comes next in the finale all the more interesting. Simply put we have a major cliffhanger ahead of us (if one witch’s presence wasn’t foreshadowing enough), and if remaining true to the source material is likely to be a doozy.
If you think Unnamed Memory is finished with the whiplashing best think again. One way or another next week is going to be one for the season.
Preview
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I’m not dissatisfied at all, just the opposite 🙂
For me, this anime has some of the best main characters of any show I’ve watched, and their interactions have been absolutely precious. I mean, just look at the banter.
Oscar: (goes down on Tinasha, kisses her and starts nibbling at her stomach)
Tinasha: Oscar! Stop that and find the correct time and place for that!
Oscar: (looks up) Got it! (continues to nibble)
It’s little gems like this that make watching this show so fun for me. I literally burst out laughing for half a minute.
Yes, the show tries to cram too much content in too few episodes. But that’s nothing new, I’ve resigned myself to that. Within this constraint, I absolutely enjoy what we’re given.
Well, I AM dissatisfied, and it’s how the director fundamentally chooses to tell the story for this episode. You can even say it’s the same throughout the series. We see Oscar and Tinasha both engaging with Leonora and Unai, but considering how Oscar and Tinasha can easily outdo any enemy, it means they are pretty much OP.
Both Oscar and Tinasha are always victorious in every episode, as if all Oscar is doing is knocking one domino over that knocks another one over, and so on. I don’t want to dunk on Unnamed Memory, but I don’t feel urgency or concern for Tinasha or Oscar.
In my opinion, if you leave out the Romance …and the hot witches, The overall story leaves a lot to be desired.
I thought it was clear right from the get-go that this show is 90% Tinasha-Oscar antics. That’s what I was watching the show for in the first place. Which made it easier to please me.
That green haired mage got offed off screen. Have to wonder if some of these characters are worth their screen time. Maybe it’s better if they were entirely cut out?
Personally, I’m both satisfied and dissatisfied with this episode. Such a complex feeling! XD
The one thing I hope they actually explain is why the witch of silence actually gave that curse to the king’s family.
The banter between Oscar and Tinasha is what carries this show–it shines through Studio ENGI’s lackluster handling of this series. IMO it feels like they’re just phoning it in, doing the bare minimum to get it aired; a more motivated team would’ve done a more nuanced show even with the limited budget.
I’d mostly blame Kadokawa for this mess though, as they treat anime adaptations as little more than adverts to boost LN sales (the 4th volume of Unnamed Memory’s sequel was just published earlier this year).
Th
I agree with Renasayers. Everything moves too fast. I like the banter too, but the plot goes by way too fast. Are we getting only the best banter and skipping the boring stuff?