Final Impressions / First Impressions / Rinne no Lagrange

「またいつの日か、鴨川で」 (Mata Itsu no Hi ka, Kamogawa de)
“Until We Meet Again, In Kamogawa”

A haunting episode full of partings. I’m finding myself unable to quite put into words my feelings about this final offering, which isn’t an ideal situation for a writer to be in. Still, I’ll give it a shot. The final episode of Rinne no Lagrange season one, and some thoughts about the series over all. Let’s do this thing.

First of all, the order of the episode was jarring. I expected it to launch right back into the action, but instead we started off with an epic yuri confession…that turned out to be an epic yuri troll. Xebec, why you do this to me!! That moment aside, I found the flip-flopped order we saw the events off-putting, as it took away the uncertainty and replaced it with only curiosity about how the events transpired. It was also confusing, and sort of frustrating to be seeing the aftermath when I wanted to know why Muginami was gone and Lan had to leave.

…not that all of that is necessarily a bad thing. I know I’m prone to forgive a lot where Rinne no Lagrange is concerned, but hear me out. This episode was haunting and mournful, with a sense of loss permeating the entire atmosphere. And it wasn’t the angry loss of a loved one – we got that last episode with Youko-nee’s apparent death. Rather, it was separation that filled the screen, and separation is jarring, off-putting, and frustrating…all feelings that the episode was designed to evoke. Whether this was a good idea is up for debate, but how well these feelings were instilled in the watcher is a much harder point to argue against, at least in my eyes. We were made to feel what Madoka was feeling when she said goodbye to Lan so many times. That scene wasn’t enough to move me to tears, but I certainly felt for Madoka, and was saddened by it.

But there’s still this whole deal with the Blossoming of Rin-Ne. Whatever the blossoming is hasn’t really been revealed yet. I can’t say that I disagree with Villagulio’s assumption that it’s something bad though, or rather, I can understand his concern. Moid was certainly enjoying the whole spectacle, and I don’t trust that guy as far as I can throw him (with several hundred kilos of lead weights strapped to him, and the use of only one of my arms). Still, I realize that this is what the writers want us to think (specifically in regards to Moid), and that it’s quite possible that no one truly knows what the Blossoming really does, or could do if it was controlled by the right hands.

Which brings me to the scene with Yurikano. My original comparison of this scene to the beach scene at the end of End of Evangelion turned out to be only about 20% correct. Rather, it was the dream sequences between Shinji and Rei in that same movie – and any number of other stories, if you don’t like this example – that provided a more apt comparison. But compared to other cryptic dream teachers, I really liked Yurikano’s straight-forward attitude. She told Madoka everything that she knew openly and honestly, and reminded her that though she may have been “chosen,” whether or not she would succeed has not been preordained – that was all up to her. Now there’s a theme that I can get behind! Sure, our protagonist here may be a bit special, but that doesn’t mean she automatically gets to win. She has to earn it. And if this episode tells us anything, it’s that she still has a lot of earning left to do.

I’m not going to get into how Madoka knew to fly around in a circle and spawn that giant flower, because I honestly have no idea. I would remind anyone who has a tendency to get bent up over such things (I’m one of them! Or at least I used to be) that Madoka is strapped into a mysterious ancient relic machine that has plenty of secrets yet to tell, so there are plenty of potential reasons. But returning to my earlier point about Villagulio, I don’t blame him for assuming that, even if they have the power to set right what went wrong, the Voces are dangerous. What I liked here is that we got a final and unequivocal revelation of Villagulio’s motivations. No matter what deeper reasons some of us have attributed to him, he has always been after the one thing that a Prince should be after – to protect his people. He feels that the Voces are dangerous, and that the people of De Metrio will be safer if Madoka is eliminated, so that’s what he goes after. I still feel like there’s something missing here, because some of his actions don’t quite add up if he always wanted the Voces to end up as scrap metal, but I suppose it’s best to assume only the most simple of motivations until proven otherwise. So a good prince of De Metrio he is, until further notice! Even if it nearly cost him his life.

Which brings us to Mugniami’s departure. That Muginami went back to Villagulio’s side after all he did may have been surprising to some, but it wasn’t to me. By episode 11, Villagulio and Muginami’s relationship had dissolved into the equivalent of a pretty nasty interpersonal fight, which is to say, the kind that all of us have with almost everyone we’re close to at one point or another. It was a particularly bad one, sure, but it was nothing that wouldn’t have involved them sniping at each other for a few weeks before making up in a more boring setting. The bottom line is that Villagulio’s transgressions didn’t expunge the years of love Muginami had for him, so when it was either she act or he dies, she acted, and saved him. Makes sense to me.

And so Muginami is gone, and Lan leaves too, vowing to bring her back so the three of them can be comrades in Kamogawa once again. That final scene on the Hill of Vows! Madoka, Lan, that aborted maru! T__T Of the three, now only one remains, and she’s back doing what she always did: helping out everyone, but getting close to no one. It feels like things are temporarily back to normal…but not really. That feeling of loneliness, of separation, of loss isn’t likely to leave Madoka. I wanted her to go along with Lan, to end this first season on a high note. I suppose we’ll have to wait a few months to see that (maybe?).

I feel like this post has meandered in an unintuitive, jarring, and off-putting manner, which is perhaps appropriate for this episode. Still, one more thing before we get to my final impressions: Asteria. She says that she’s “the witch who pulled this universe into an eternal loop of peace and calamity,” and promises to disappear once Madoka severs the Rin-Ne. I don’t think it will be as easy as Madoka taking her to a specialist to get that tattoo zapped off, so I have a crazy, off-the-wall theory for you. First of all, it sounds to me like the one that Yurikano met when she first got to the beach was none other than Asteria. If that’s the case, it stands to reason that the Voces (or whatever Yurikano used to trigger the Tragedy of Militia Zodia, if it wasn’t a Vox) have something to do with getting to this beach. When was the only other time we know of that the Voces were used? And doesn’t that symbol on Asteria’s chest look like the memoria that the three Vox pilots have? Here’s my crazy theory: Asteria piloted one of the Voces (probably Aura) 20,000 years ago.

…or not! As I mentioned, that’s just a crazy, off-the-wall theory I came up with seconds ago. Let’s take it to the comments, and have you guys tell me what you think about the events of this episode. For now, let’s get onto those final thoughts, before I meander any longer.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Haunting loneliness; blossoming flowers; a crying Madoka: #RinneNoLagrange heads into a 3mo break. Is it summer yet?

Random thoughts:

  • When the OP played as an insert, with its slower speed, different instrumentation, and Nakajima Megumi really showing what she could do, it was extremely effective. It just fit the scene perfectly, and built upon the uneasy atmosphere the episode had been going for by taking something that was once so uplifting and making it haunting, and sad. Too bad the Zero no Tsukaima team never learned this lesson.
  • Looks like our three favorite ovid pilots are going to be sticking around. It looks like everything won’t even superficially be the same as it once was. Good!
  • So Muginami sent a paper letter from space. How’s that work again? It’s probably best not to think about it. Moving on, nothing to see here…

Full-size images: 04, 28, 38, 39.

 

ED & Epilogue

 

Final thoughts:

When this season started, Rinne no Lagrange was nowhere on my radar. The first time I remember hearing about it was one of the first times I talked to Divine, when he was teaching me everything I needed to know to make a post. I remember him talking about the pre-air of episode one, and how it was light-hearted, with good mecha action, and some other stuff I’ve since forgotten. Let it never be said that Divine has bad taste in anime, because nine episodes later when he needed the rest of us to pick some shows up, I jumped at the chance to cover this one. Episode after episode, Lagrange has shown a deft hand for every facet of storytelling which has brought what seemed like a stereotypical premise to vivid life on the screen. Did I say I jumped at the chance to cover this? Let me change that to lunged. It’s more accurate.

Characters, details, feelings, and fun: those are the four things that this series did so well. Taking each in turn:

  • The foundation of a good story is always in its Characters, and Lagrange’s cast is full of memorable ones, with each character displaying their unique and interesting characteristics within seconds of their introduction, and becoming unforgettable shortly thereafter.
  • Details are the little things, the tiny touches of a meaningful pause, a stern look, or a blush from Youko-nee’s assistant that say more than words ever could, and bring those great characters truly to life.
  • Feelings are what drag us further into the story, because as much as many of us like to think we’re ruled by logic and intelligence, we’re not. Lagrange was masterful at manipulating the atmosphere to get at our emotions, thanks undoubtedly in part to its original series roots.
  • Finally, there is Fun. Never forget that, though the plot is interesting and will keep us guessing until season two comes to a close, it will probably be clumsy Lan, Madoka getting groped by Asteria, or Array getting used to maid clothes that will stick in our minds. There’s nothing wrong with a little “filler,” so long as the plot has enough time and we’re all having fun!

The thing about Rinne no Lagrange is that it continually exceeded expectations. That’s a hard feat to accomplish! Exceeding expectations at the beginning of this season when it was a big fat unknown was easy, but each and every episode it kept doing things right over and over again, and every time the bar was raised, it just flew higher. With a main character that is relatable while still being heroic, a setting that is vibrant and alive, and a plot whose scope is of interstellar proportions, Rinne no Lagrange brought a ton to the table. It wasn’t perfect – nothing ever is – but even its dips were nothing next to its heights. We’ve got a three-month break until this baby comes back for its second half, so until then, let’s all keep a little “maru” in ours heart, ne? Bye bye!

End Card

83 Comments

  1. I don’t think the movie at the beginning was a “troll”, I think it served an important purpose in placing Lan and Madoka’s feelings for each other in context. Their reactions after the camera stopped rolling, and then later atop the Hill of Vows…if Madoka (or Lan, I guess, but Madoka is in the nominally “male” role) were male, there would be no doubt that these were two people stumbling towards their true feelings. I know, I know, my goggles are on too tight, but Sato Tatsuo is not a director who is going to include a scene like that for “trolling”. It would go against everything the show had been thus far to dismiss it as such.

    Madoka was sad to see Muginami go, but separating from Lan was almost physically painful for her.

    Fencedude
    Reply

    1. The beauty of the “Oh they just did this for a movie” confession comes from how it neutralizes the cheesiness of the confession. The scene not only makes us laugh but then back hands us with a superb wordless frame where you realize Madoka and Lan pretended to act and simply expressed themselves on camera.

      That scene alone just showcases how this series can weave humor, revelation and emotion with such deft skill. Oh yeah and the fact that it actually knows how to handle their characters and execute foreshadowing into twists. That alone remains a feat not many animes seem capable of.

      schwegburt
      Reply

      1. Exactly. They could at the end of the next cour do something just this cheesy, but for real and it won’t be cheesy specifically because its a callback to this scene, the first time they spoke their true feelings. Even if neither really knew it at the time.

        Fencedude
        Reply

    2. I never meant to insinuate that it was pointless, or only to troll us. You’re points are valid. However, there’s little doubt in my mind that the director knew how most of us would react to this scene, and that they presented it in such a way so as to promote this misunderstanding. They were definitely messing with us, even if the rest of your points are no less valid for that fact.

      Stilts
      Reply

    3. I still remember when Tasuo said “no traditional romance” in an interview (or was it one of the other staff?). I called BS on that and now I’m sure he is lying. Lan and Madoka had scenes where their fingers were intertwined. TWICE. In the same episode. How else are we supposed to interpret that?

      fragb85
      Reply

      1. It still a little too soon for romantic feeling (but we have another season to go), but because both Madoka and Lan if you take in in context of the girls background you get a little less of romance but a rather strong decency on the one and other as a emotional tie that is much deeper then causally friendship. Lan I don’t think has any very close friends she could be herself with and Madoka hasn’t let anyone into her heart for a long time and has been coasting on keeping busy with the jersey club to fill that void.

        The aborted aborted maru was really for both Muginame and Lan as her girls were no longer with Madoka and havering to face that lonely feeling she had forgotten. It was only set right when she got the letter from Muginami to placate the uneasy feeling if your other friend made it out alive.

        The intro was a troll as it was so out of context of were the show currently stand I was confused from the get go. lol I loved it but I was like what show am i watching right now.

        Ani_BEE
        Reply

    5. “Madoka was sad to see Muginami go, but separating from Lan was almost physically painful for her.”

      I think it this way: rather than to assume a special significance for Lan, it’s more of a case where, after Muginami’s departure, where Madoka didn’t even have the chance to bid her a proper farewell, Lan is the only other remaining member of their trio and now even she has to go as well. To lose the last of her best friends, leaving her totally alone (in a sense) is too much for Madoka.

      I understand that folks generally can’t help but see pairings here and there, but at least keep Madoka’s harem intact =___=

      Estavali
      Reply

  2. I think the girls will eventually get together… when their duties allow. Like what was that old song going? “Until we meet again…”
    Oh and even in the epilogue team frienemies steals the comedic show with butlers joining
    Array-meido in the Kamogawa beach restaurant!

    ewok40k
    Reply

    1. This was not on my radar and it turned out to be one of the more enjoyable series of the season. I thought GC was gonna be the cream of the crop and it turned out to be a mess and this series was head and shoulders above GC.

      I do have one question… whats with the trend lately of series to have a young looking pre-teen girl in charge of these massive information networks like Asteria here, the leader in Aquarian Evol, and quite a few other series. Is that some sort of an anime stereotype?

      Karmafan
      Reply

      1. Why have the leader by some crusty old man when you can have them be a cute little loli instead? 😀

        But seriously, while your Aquarion EVOL example might simply be a case of “screw it, appeal to the lolicons a bit more,” it’s looking like there’s more to Asteria than that, as the wild mass guessing we’ve got going on demonstrates. We’ll have to see, I suppose!

        Stilts
        Reply

      1. I would suggest looking up a ‘tetrahedron’ which has three points at the base and one point at the top or peak making a pyramid shape. It’s also a fairly common shape found in chemistry and is quite a stable formation. If so, then in keeping with the ‘stable’ idea the three (Madoka, Lan, Muginami) form the base and the 4th Vox would be at the peak. Just a bunch of speculah for you…

        U238Willy
        Reply

    2. A 4th Vox would make sense, minus all of the legends and artifacts that list 3. Youko-nee would know about a 4th if it was ever listed.

      Asteria is the original Vox Aura pilot. That seems to be a pretty obvious conclusion. Given the “astral lake” is likely outside of a basic time-conception, Asteria & Yurikano likely did talk with each other previously. Or she is the merger of the previous 3 pilots from 20k years ago and the “final form” of the Rin-ne will merge Lan, Madoka & Muginami into one being.

      Kiss & company need a better explanation in the next course, otherwise they’re a bunch of idiots for not just offing Madoka at the bar. Unless the Voxes will just choose another set of girls and repeat the process. (But given how rarely it does, I get the feeling it’d be a safe way to “deal” with the problem)

      I lol’d so hard at the opening scene. I was confused then in stitches. It was only a slight troll. Just a little. Sato has said they won’t be doing romance, so the general idea that they have a deep, abiding set of emotions for each other that aren’t actually romantic is something of a the point. It’s definitely an interesting way of approaching it.

      Then again, a lot of this series is an attempt to construct a “band of brothers” style series with female leads. That’s the reason for the minimal amount of male characters and all of the powerful female ones. (Though they almost blew the entire series with how they constructed Tadakoro, but they rewrote him twice to solve that) It’s taken a bit to really find the right feel, but they’ve gotten there. The main thing they have to deal with is, well, the “shipping” aspects. Anime watchers are a bit too used to female characters with that type of relationship being setup to bang each other. When that really isn’t the point of this series. Think “deep friendship”.

      I still don’t get why Kiss targeted the city. I get a bad feeling the reason is “the script called for it” more than anything else.

      Didn’t Madoka say Muginami would have been killed by Dizelmine if she had stayed? I thought that line was there. I can check later though. But, that would make some sense.

      Hopefully with all of the speed bumps out of the way, the next section can be much improved. While it ended pretty well, those first few episodes were all over the place. Still, Lan’s feelings on clothing keeps you around, at minimum. 🙂

      SQA
      Reply

      2. Oh heaven’s sake.

        4th Vox was pretty obvious because the other 3 were based on Greek elements. Asteria playing a role with Vox is also obvious.

        Anyone could have come up with these.

        suff
        Reply

      3. Hmm, I would say her Memoria mark looks like one that symbolises the three Voces as one entity (three “petals” converging to a central core). From what we have seen, activating the Rin-ne requires all three Voces to “contribute” to the Flowering together as well as having the pilot activating the Flowering to drain (devour?) her fellow pilots during the event, which could be represented by the design of her mark.

        If this is indeed the case, then it’s also possible that Asturia had a different mark in the past when she was still a Vox pilot, and that she gotten her current mark after she triggered the Flowering and got the world messed up.

        Ehhh, to summarise, I don’t think there’ll be a fourth Vox, or at least, if there is, Asturia won’t be its pilot. While the “fourth Vox of Earth” argument sites the classical elements as its premise, especially since the Voces we seen now are linked to three of them, I’m more inclined to related the Voces to the primary colors (green, blue, red), with Muginami’s orange replacing red. Firstly, as we have seen, the Flowering involves the Voces coming into one, a theme that is more at home with the primary colors (which when combined gives us white light) than the elements.

        Also, the color assigned to Earth is green while that for Wind/Air is yellow in Greek philosophy. It is in Asian philosophy that Green is associated with wind via the Wood element, which defeats the purpose of relating the Voces to the Greek elements. Of course one can argue Rinne no Lagrange deliberately uses Green for Wind and Yellow for Earth like what Magic Knights Rayearth did. But then again, most of us here are forgetting that even the Greek elements are made up of five, not four elements: Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Aether at the centre. That means if the Voces are made to represent the classical elements, there should be five of them, not four, not three. Which at this point would makes things very messy.

        Lastly, I think adding a fourth Vox with Asturia as its pilot is counterproductive to the story. The main theme in Rinne no Lagrange is the bond between Madoka, Lan and Muginami, a bond that does not include Asturia. I personally dislike the idea of trying to slot Asturia into the Jersey club trio; imho it would weaken the dynamics that has been built up between our loveable trio. She has been effectively cast as an observer, a third party, abeit one who’s determined to keep another from repeating her mistakes. In any case her role is more prone to pulling the strings from behind the stage, rather to take it as an active actor.

        Estavali
        Reply

    4. How does the Memoria thing work?
      Suppose its one Vox unit, one type of Memoria ‘tattoo’?
      So if Asteria piloted Aura before, she would have the same Memoria as Madoka?

      Or does the a single Vox unit give different Memoria to different choosen pilots?

      iron2000
      Reply

  5. Honestly I didn’t think I’d like this series as much as I do. That beach scene reminds me of Contact, which incidently is one of my favorite movies. Kind of wished we learned more during the beach scene.

    Azuma
    Reply

  6. Really loved this series a little bit improvement on some background thingy and it’s gonna be “maru” 😀

    And wow at the end didn’t think that asteria is a super important char XD
    Lan’s brother is a beast :C

    ricz
    Reply

  7. Yeah, the paper letter got me, too until I realized what I’m typing on…

    I enjoyed the 1st cour, but this episode did leave me a little perplexed.
    I wonder if the writers took this approach because of the 3 month break?
    I don’t feel that there was a lot of resolution in this finale – but still
    a great cour.

    mac65
    Reply

  8. With the extreme inversion of the episode’s order, there’s a lot of mixed feelings for myself, going from perking interest (oh? the ED’s showing up as the OP?), to surprised (wait, what happened to the battle? And why am I seeing Yuri???? … crud, trolled – HARD…), and sadness (knowing what had really happened and what will happen by the end of the episode).

    At least it’s not the end. (just like Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere)

    BTW, This face is creeping me out now. Who wants to bet that he’s going to die a horrible death?

    @ Stilts: that piano version of the OP is side B of the OP album…and I don’t want to know how badly ZnT screwed up the anime-exclusive ending (haven’t watched the anime adaptation at all)

    info600
    Reply

  9. On the “paper letter”.

    It’s called custom printing from a digital image. Though the question of how she paid for the printing is actually more of a question at that point. Though it was probably shipped via Lan in the first place.

    SQA
    Reply

    1. I thought theres a scene showing Muginami writing with a pen on the letter paper?

      In the end the ‘aliens’ are also sort of a branch of humans, so perhaps pen and paper is a common culture?
      Or is KISS laying low thus using low tech methods so as not be tracked?

      iron2000
      Reply

    2. Ok, I get it.
      How did the paper letter mail from space?

      Maybe KISS could send a single man shuttle to Earth and the pilot passes it to a student at the school gate.
      Or Lan could have sent it like you said.
      Or its anime magic 😛

      iron2000
      Reply

  11. It’s gonna be a long wait until season 2 🙁 I wonder if they’ll pull a timeskip though, where Madoka, Lan, and Muginami are all-grown up.

    Maaaa- ;______________;

    I’ll let slide how exactly Muginami’s letter was delivered, it was probably delivered First Class by Lag Seeing, anyways, because I’m still curious about Lan’s brother. Given how Moid went..er..’typical insane villain’ here and is working for him, I wonder what his motives are.

    Beedle
    Reply

  12. Oh gods… season 2, hurry up!!!! Thanks for the coverage Stilts!

    The yuri scene in the beginning was too good to be true, so I guessed it was a movie, but still… how they gonna go and play with our feelings like that?! XD Was heart-wrenching to see Lan go and Muginami disappear, but at least we already knew that there was a season 2 coming, so it wasn’t rage-worthy.

    So Moid is crazy. Glad that’s fully out in the open, and it really does make you question what Lan’s brother might be up to since Moid is following his orders. Villa might really still be the good guy that’s just working with bad, incomplete information. Still too many questions/mysteries to really guess what’ll happen next season.

    I love it! 😀

    Aex
    Reply

  13. The first two minutes had me slack jawed and my Yuri Radar going crazy. And then I was fooled, well played writers, well played.

    The actual goodbye scene was great though espeically when they were repeatedely waving goodbye. Its almost like Lan doesn’t want to go. Then Madoka does a half-Maru then burst to tears and I shed some manly tears. Madoka doesn’t angst often, but when she does its pretty powerful.

    The battle was a little disappointing though. I liked the trippy scenes with Yurikano. But then Madoka gets her resolves then her magic flower comes but then…stops. Also I don’t quite get why Muginami went back to KISS. I get that she was trying to avoid Dizelmine for her previous affiliation but she could have just as easily taken asylum with Novomundus. That’s just nitpicking though.

    And finally Asteria revealing she has a Memoria is great as is the implication that she is older than she looks. That’s more than enough speculation fuel before the next season.

    Well can’t wait for the next season now. At least I got Fate/Zero to watch while I wait.

    fragb85
    Reply

    1. Muginami went back to KISS because she’s still in-love with Villa and doesn’t want him to die, who I feel is a right bastard for denying such a well-endowed and devoted young maiden. Still curious as to where Villa goes from here; I doubt Dizelmine’s attack killed him, after all. Villa also has Muginami’s Vox now, so I wonder if KISS are going to try to copy its technology or something in an attempt to find its secrets.

      Asteria’s reveal does raise several questions, and I’d have raged if a season 2 wasn’t already confirmed. I don’t know how accurate the subs I’m watching are but, her words imply a sort-of immortality and that she started this ‘endless cycle of war and peace’…and here I just dismissed her as the obligatory loli of the show…

      Beedle
      Reply

  14. The scene with Madoka and Yurikano at the Red Sky Beach reminds me of something from Kingdom Hearts 😛

    Felts like Aura had Madoka doing what it wants, until Yurikano’s advise.
    With the advise Madoka regains control of her emotions and stop the blossoming.
    Then Aura goes silent in defeat 😛

    So the 3 Vox units are now split between the 3 factions.
    What if Earth is forced to choose sides next season?
    Will the 3 become enemies (at first?)?

    The season ended somewhat peacefully?
    Wonder what will be the conflict next season?
    Polyhedron?
    The thing about Villa, De Metrio, Dizel, La Grite and Polyhedron is still blurry.
    And theres still the blossoming and the Vox units.

    iron2000
    Reply

  16. i was screaming my head off when i got trolled at the end of the confession… but that aside, i must say that the 1st cour was wraped beautifully.

    of all the scenes in this episode, the one that got me going was when madoka was saying her goodbyes to lan. really touching.

    well, here’s one more thing to look forward to after fate zero

    c2710
    Reply

  18. Those first few minutes really trolled me. I mean, it’s fun to joke about her charms and her harem, but I had a serious “No way!” (in a good way) moment watching that scene. I was cheering for those two until that damn girl said Cut! and I had another “Now way!” moment (this time in a bad way) – had to click pause just so I can collect myself.
    As I watched on, I was starting to think one or all of them was just dreaming. I too would have actually preferred if they continued on from the battle directly rather than showing us the outcome first since it did feel like it took something out of watching what happened but that’s just me. And I guess those first few scenes wouldn’t have come about if they did it that way.
    Also Le Garite’s overwhelming military power just made me believe even more that Lan’s brother might be the real antagonist. Well his influence despite his lack of appearances makes me think he has other plans no one else but probably Moid knows about. He’ll probably have a bigger part next time.
    All in all, this series and Madoka turned out to be my favorites this season.
    I’m going to hibernate now. Someone wake me when this show is back on -.-

    Jin
    Reply

  19. The whole beach thing reminds me of a hollywood movie from the 90’s, cant member the name but it has some similarities with the show, particularly ending up on a beach an talking to someone who is supposed to b dead. If i member correctly, this advanced alien race left clues for us to go visit them but by the time we figured it out an got to the meeting place (a beach) they had already gone. It is possible the voces r a means to contact a possible “real” alien civilization. If someone can help with the name of the movie would b very helpful.

    Evil In7en7
    Reply

  20. she could have used FedVox Mail. Sorry horrible joke. But truthfully i did like this episode and it did move me to tears in some way especially when the opening song was being played at the end. I guess we have to wait for the OVA to be released and the second series. I cannot wait cause this anime def. struck my heart (in a good way)

    MM
    Reply

  21. All I have to say is that it seems that Array has found his calling in life as a maid. lol

    I really can’t get enough of him now after he stepped off the plane. The truing the beach house into a host club.

    Ani_BEE
    Reply

  22. Nobody mentioned anything about Madoka playing Karuta? I thought it was pretty funny to hear her recite passages on the cards. Where did everyone’s humor go?

    Next season, Rinne no Lagrange X Chihayafuru crossover. Who’s with me? =D

    Dusk
    Reply

  24. This series.. is no good. grade C. Passing grade since some people like it, but for me, it was another one of those with full of cliché. I suppose Fate/Zero, Ano Natsu de Matteru, and some episodes of Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou are only worth your time for 2012 winter series.

    Some guy
    Reply

      1. Give me (sometimes incredibly sappy) Natsume Yuujinchou Shi any day over the series like this. That’s all I’m saying. There is nothing this show brought that was original, hence, the full of cliché comment.

        Some guy
        Reply

    2. “Cliche” and “unoriginal” have become such an overused and generic description that the words have lost all meaning on critique. If that’s all you can really say then your opinion can’t be taken seriously.

      fragb85
      Reply

    3. You go on about Rinne being “unoriginal and cliche” while praising NatsuMachi (which, by the way, I love), which quite literally lifted its entire plotline and characters from Onegai Teacher

      Logic. You do not has it.

      Fencedude
      Reply

  25. Loved this show. Especially how every episode made me like Madoka and Lan more. So much so that their good bye left me a bit teary eyed, especially when Madoka broke down.

    I loved it when Madoka was helping the Karuta club, but it would have been cooler if Lan would have been there too considering the seiyuu.

    xephx
    Reply

  26. I feel cheated. How the ships look futuristic is never explained, nor where they came from. I’m not expecting RahXephon or Eureka Seven, but there’s plot holes all in this cheese. Earth can’t make its own fighter-ships for what reason? Status quo among the world powers?

    I get the feeling Rinne no Lagrange is only half-baked. It could have been epic, instead of just mysterious and harking on the three girls.

    And I’m really getting annoyed by organizations in anime being run by 12-year-old girls (Sacred Seven, Aquarion EVOL). Unless they are immortal, at which case I just pity them never able to grow up.

    jhpace1
    Reply

  27. Wow. And thus ends the first season of an awesome anime. I thoroughly enjoyed the art, the laughs, the references, the “Maru”‘s, the yuri-at-your-discretion moments, just everything. This one really held me over this winter. Also, really liking the piano version of Try Unite! It really got to me at the good-bye scene… at which point, I was like this: http://i43.tinypic.com/zvrgqb.jpg

    I’m going to miss the lovable little trio. I feel sort of lost now that it’s ended, lol. ‘Til we meet again in the summer, show.

    Debonair
    Reply

  31. I picked this show up when I watched the pre-air on a bored whim. From day 1, I’ve been hooked. I may cut back on one show this next season so I can re-watch Rinne week by week >).

    Haha, I wonder which I’ll like more. Fate/Zero season 2, or Rinne season 1 >)?.. hehehhehe.

    Kumakaori
    Reply

  34. I frankly don’t look forward to the next season.

    I don’t know, maybe the only mecha franchise I like is Gundam, maybe I only enjoy seeing best friends and lovers trying to kill each other, but I absolutely hate characters such as Madoka and Lan. I can’t put my fingers on it, but they and their friendship seem so unreal that it really does not appeal to me at all. I also dislike having mecha’s abilities based on one’s emotions… I just don’t like this concept.

    suff
    Reply

  37. Is it only me? When Asteria said that she’s “the witch who pulled this universe into an eternal loop of peace and calamity,” Furude Rika from Higurashi and Umineko came to mind.

    Kusabi
    Reply

  38. I think Yurikano is Madoka mother. As in one of the first few eps Youko did comment how she did not want Madoka to plot Aura which could be a reason which I’m thinking is that she knew the last person that used the vox and saw what it could do thus she did not want Madoka to ride it also she most have know that Madoka had made a connetion with Aura in the past. That is why she was checking Madoka body to see if she had her memoria. As for Asteria she could have been 1 of the orginal 3 that ploted the vox and thus has a memoria likething which could be the after effect of the Rin-ne going out of control. or there could have been 4 voxs as her memoria has 3 things plus 1 in the middle.

    Yoyo
    Reply

  39. AHH, DAT ABORTED MARU!! T____________T

    When the OP played as an insert, with its slower speed, different instrumentation, and Nakajima Megumi really showing what she could do, it was extremely effective. It just fit the scene perfectly

    Oh, that was the Rasmeg Duo version of Try Unite!, which IMO is one of the most beautiful piano pieces I’ve heard in anime since, hmm, ef?

    nagi
    Reply

  40. Madoka, Lan and Muginami became my fav trio since a long while.
    I’ve watched this last episode 2 days ago and remembered choking a bit at the scene between Madoka and Lan. I don’t know about you guys but I’m in for the ongoing and growing Madoka and Lan’s relationship. Yuri? Sure! I think there’s a good reason why they focused on both of them instead of Muginami.
    It’s 「じゃね」and not「さよなら」so I’ll wait for my girls this summer. 夏にまたね！
    MAAAAAAAAAAARU!

    Shinjiro
    Reply

  41. I’ve been giving Villa’s actions some thought and it seems to me that the “missing” factor in explaining many of them may be Yurikano. She’s his sister after all, and it’s quite obvious that she’s the woman Madoka was talking to in that beach scene. Remember Villa’s pondering about whether a demon would cease to be if it didn’t have an impure heart to feed on or if there was even such a thing as a pure heart? I’m thinking maybe Villa is aware that Yurikano -or at least a part of her- is inside the Vox. That could explain why he seemed so focused on making the Voxes bloom in previous episodes rather than simply destroying them. He wanted to see what would happen. I think he may have only decided to destroy the machine his sister is linked to after seeing the terrific power that the Voxes nearly unleashed.

    Maybe that’s not exactly it, but I think Yurikano is probably something we should be focusing on when trying to explain Villa’s actions.

    Darthtabby
    Reply

  44. Three months is going to be a long wait. The thought that I won’t be seeing Madoka, Lan and Muginami next week is just painful.
    Luckily we have the awesome OST to make the wait more bearable. Long live ジャージ部魂 and I say that while singing the Jersey Club song 😉

    Seishun Otoko
    Reply

  45. I guess the name Madoka is synonymous to great anime. This series is one of the biggest surprise for me for winter 2012 season. The story is intriguing to keep my interest on, great animation, lots of characters I really like, and music that is nice to listen. It also have a nice balance of drama, comedy, sci-fi, and mecha action.

    Madoka = Great anime!

    Ghostalker
    Reply

  46. I liked Rinne no Lagrange. I agree with other posts that reference the fact that a show like this has been done before and while not intricate or over-the-top, it still delivered the goods–albeit not like I wanted. Why didn’t the girls get the glory of finishing up the fight? Anyways, most shows I’ve watched this Winter have really been decent but I wanted so much more. 1) Another — I wanted more relationship development. I wanted a better epilogue with the remaining classmates, etc. 2) Ano Natsu — Oh the longing! Why, oh why does it have to end this way?! (sad) 3) Rinne no Lagrange — …and again, no real happy ending. [yet] 4) High School DxD — ok, better ending but not really because in my mind that ended as ‘right guy’ and ‘wrong girl’ imho. 5) Nisemonogatari — Send in the Senjogahara. Sisters are nice but, what am I to do with this ending? 6) Amagami SS+ — Yeah this was great.

    In the end, Rinne was decent and I’m looking forward to the next season.

    U238Willy
    Reply

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