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「なんでもない日」 (Nandemonai Hi)
“A Day When Nothing Happens”
Whatever you thought of the entertainment value of this episode of AoEx, there’s no denying that it was slight. Given that and the fact that it was anime-original, I’m sure there won’t be a lot of excitement in the ranks of the manga readers this week.
I enjoyed the episode myself. I think I’m in the lucky group not having read the manga, because it allows me to vie every ep on its own merits and not how it slots into the bigger picture. Even for me that’s still important, of course, especially now that we’re down to a month to go and a long way from any discernible conclusion. But I’ll take good filler over crap if given the choice, and this was pretty good.
I was under the impression from the preview that this might be “the Shima episode” but really, he wasn’t the center of attention for most of it. He does set things in motion by determining Izumo’s birthday via his fortunetelling, which inspires Shiemi to suggest a surprise party. Shiemi and Paku set off to find a gift (after stopping at “Magnaria” to discuss it) while Rin and Konekomaru bake the cake and Bon and Shiemi make the decorations, and Bunny-kun… Well, does nothing as usual. The misunderstandings and misadventures are amusing if pretty standard, but the more humorous elements surround Shiemi and the Okamura brothers’ ignorance about birthdays. Rin and Yukio were told by Shiro that they were born on December 27th, so Rin doesn’t even know a birthday cake is different from a Christmas cake – and poor Shiemi doesn’t even know what happens at a birthday party.
A little trial and error leads to Mephisto and his hamster-brother enjoying a Christmas cake and the irony of that, and Izumo declaring that the party should be a joint affair for everyone since she doesn’t want to be left out of the planning. But all is not fun and games for Yukio – his “black spot” is spreading quickly, a fact that he hides from the others even as he labors to find a cure, but Shiemi senses something’s amiss with his behavior. She seems to have moved past the crush stage (and transferred that affection to Rin) but she and Yukio still have a relationship that pre-dates her time as his student.
There’s really not much else to be said about an episode that was about as straightforward as one can get. If it weren’t for Yukio’s issues and a bit of focus on Konekomaru’s doubts about Rin, it could just as easily have taken place well-back in the first cour, and if you enjoy seeing these characters interact with each other you’ probably found it pleasing enough. What it did it did well, but what it didn’t do is bring me any closer to a confident guess about how this adaptation is going to end.
Preview
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*sigh… Why can’t all of Ao no Exorcist’s fillers be like this -_-
loved the Wagnaria reference xD
liked the epi 🙂 and next epi seems to be interesting as hell 😀
I must be the only person watching this show who enjoys the comedy-filler more than the main-plot. Don’t get me wrong, the show&plot isn’t bad but it’s just not all exciting compared to other shows airing.
Maybe it’s just my “meh” attitude to shounen shows
For some reason I feel like Ao no Exorcist doesn’t even have a main plot yet, these are just shifts between the comedy episodes and the very beginning of the real thing. I mean we know main concept, but there isn’t a clear direction for the rest yet, not even in the manga. We still have a long way to go, like in shounen generally and without good filler this rushed anime would be just sooo dead. Thus enjoying the filler is required.
The interactions between the characters are fun. Birthday vs Christmas cakes XD. I read the manga and I love this episode. Not sure why some people consider that a contradiction though.
I don’t consider it one, X – but the overall reaction to these fillers by manga readers has been negative. To judge by the comments here, anyway.
Oh, I love AnE’s characters!! And this filler was definitely better than the squid-one (although that wasn’t hard to beat…)
Heheh, Yukio and Rin didn’t know the difference between birthday and Christmas cakes =w=
Being a Christmas baby myself and my mom born on the 28th we both know the felling have having our B-days rolled into the holidays.
That being said the fact that BOTH Yukio and Rin have never seen a birthday cake speak volumes about them not having childhood friends … I feel really bad for both of them. I get the impression that Yukio was either reclusive with his train at a young age or that his classmates feared him because of his brother. T-T
Yeah, it is sad that our fear and prejudice gets in the way of making friends. I’ve seen that way too often. And Yukio does look like a reclusive kind of guy, I suppose having a brother with a reputation for trouble doesn’t help. Though, having the opportunity to make good friends even at their age is luckier than many.
I think the episode was great even though I’m a manga reader. What makes it so great are the little flashbacks of Shiro which makes it a little more heartfelt. Don’t get me wrong, the manga has those too but the anime version has a certain charm to it.
Possibly because of Shiro’s seiyuu voice, it’s so freaking awesome (ignoring the fact that it’s annoying Ali Al-Sarchez)
Even as a fan of the manga, I can agree that this episode was fun. Except the Yukio’s emotional stuff in the end, for some reason that got on my nerves. : D
-agree- Yukio’s random, and quite depressing made the party so dull, it’s like he can’t ever have fun. -_-
The only reason why the anime pissed me off was because the characters seemed much weaker (and bi-polar) than in the manga, especially Kononekomaru last episode.
But I thought this episode was great! It was funny and it foreshadowed Yukio’s problem (Do those blue sparks mean Satan’s powers? :O)
The watermelon story reminded me Momotaro…anyone else?
I can only agree : D definitely Satan’s power, yeah. Melontaro : D
Was I the only one that thought the second cake was a bit…well…meh…?
I had expected a much bigger cake at the actuall party
Out of funds? XD
Yay eyebrows-chan <3
Somehow get the feeling that whatever it may be, will have something to do with Yukio’s arm thingy and Neigauz-sensei. Possibly something like, Neigauz-sensei following Mephistos’ orders to do something to Yukio, which will turn him semi-demonic and then it’ll be up to Rin to rescue his little brother. ‘Cuz honestly, that sounds so shounen.
I think you’ll find more people who’ve read the manga enjoy the divergent story than you think Enzo, so long as it continues to be interesting and relatively consistent, both in terms of storytelling and actual animation budget.
There are a lot of stories you can build on a single universe, even on a single set of characters. They can all be awesome despite the differences.
Story wise, I think people take a lot more offense to adapted source material that tries to be faithful but falls short simply because there are important contextual details that are missing or provide a slightly different but important perspective. Entirely new contexts don’t have that problem.
Animation wise, I think everyone takes offense at how little care is put into the production values of anime original episodes/stories.
Since they’ve broken the continuity cleanly, I’ve been enjoying the anime version of Ao no Exorcist more and more just as is.
I second that notion. These anime-original episodes so far are really very much fun and entertaining (maybe except for one or two that was bland), and I like how they link up to the meatier and more serious parts of the main storyline, despite being a manga reader myself.
It’s even better from a manga reader perspective that they are doing fillers and a filler arc instead of writing an anime original end to the main plot. This way they can continue with the story from the manga in a second season.
Well of course, I’m glad to hear your opinion and I honestly hope you’re right. It just doesn’t feel that way sometimes based on the tone of many of the comments. Certainly there have been a few clunkers, but most of the filler material has been quite good.
Hey, thats Shima with Paku buying the gifts.
I liked this episode!! The previous filler were mehh… but I enjoyed this one a lot. I laughed at the innocent explanation that shiro gave yukio and rin about their birth, a random watermelon floating under the bridge and he cut the watermelon in half hence twins were created!
Being a manga reader I suppose kyoto arc is out of question, I wonder if satan will make his appearance at the finale?
I don’t think this series will end with Satan defeat but he might make an appearance to taunt Rin in some way. I think the laboratory will have a big influence in the final anime arc.
I have a feeling this’ll become similar to FMA anime-only series. Doesn’t seem like it’ll end anytime soon, unless they make a horribly rushed ending like Go Sick.
Talking continuity wise >.< how FMA's anime only was 51 episodes.
Well, it just pushes the Question “WHY DID THEY DO THIS”. I think it would be interesting if there was a BLOGGER on this site that explores the BUSINESS side of ANIME and the politics behind it. WHY certain shows get pushed out against all reason and others don’t.
lols..to be honest, i really didnt notice that Amaimon was on top on Mephisto’s hat until i read your post XD
I don’t know all throughout the episode I was like Shouldn’t Rin be training or something? Can someone tell me if the next episode is filler or not as well?