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「4 BRIDGE」
Kamiya Hiroshi is reunited with Saitou Chiwa in another SHAFT production since Bakemonogatari, but he’s not getting any loving this time as the little orphan girl from Great Britain absolutely destroys Riku in a one-on-one “play fight” and makes him her new underling. Having hung around Sister before, I guess it’s no surprise that Stella is like that; however, it still doesn’t change the fact that she can unleash killer ground-to-air combos that happen so quickly that Riku doesn’t even know what hit him. Hilariously enough, a few seconds of his life must have been wiped from his memory as the traumatic ordeal jostled his brain and left him wondering if a grade schooler just kicked his ass. Unfortunately for Riku, he doesn’t even get the opportunity to try and forget it ever happened since Stella is quick to remind him that he can’t be no big brother of hers (i.e. in a yakuza kind of way) if he can’t beat her in a fight. Now it could just be me, but even with the whole stapler in your mouth thing, Senjougahara Hitagi is looking like sunshine and rainbows in comparison to Stella. At least Riku thought about hightailing it like everyone else when Sister asked someone to look after her for a bit, even though he was late to act.
Before things got a bit out of hand with Stella’s introduction, the continuation of Riku and Nino’s date went surprisingly normal, or at least as normal as one can expect from a date between an Earthling and a “Venusian” who live under a bridge together. Admittedly, the whole bit with Riku emphasizing the important of a sense of distance in a relationship and eventually having their hearts understand one another was pretty silly, especially with the way Nino took it in a literal sense and how Riku got swept up in her understanding of it, but there was still some good intention behind trying to carry Nino like a princess to get into the right mood. It’s just too bad Riku failed in its execution and ended up delivering a good number of knees to her ribs instead.
In contrast to that, the real romantic moment came when Riku was able to sense Nino’s unhappiness over her reed boat not making it to the ocean. I’m a bit curious as to what her attachment to that is and whether it symbolizes something else to her, but credit goes to Riku for deciding not to ask even though he was curious about it and simply jump into the water to help the boat along. That was probably one of the few things that went right in their date, along with his line about being a mere Earthling and how he’d like to be with her if she’s okay with it, which won Nino over in more ways than he’s probably aware. I wasn’t anticipating anything profound from the romance department in this series, but scenes like that have me wondering if Riku and Nino’s gag-filled relationship will actually amount to something in the end. It would be awfully cute if it does, but I’m okay with these little glimpses of romance even if it doesn’t.
Lastly, we saw the introduction of Sawashiro Miyuki‘s character in the series — a beautiful farm girl named Maria. Seeing as she runs a farm by the riverside with livestock and all, it was hard to imagine that she would be relatively normal. It didn’t take long for my suspicion to come to light though, as she’s quick to tell Riku not to bother introducing himself since it’s a waste of the Earth’s oxygen. Compound that thought with her saying she’ll teach him how to covert carbon dioxide back to oxygen and you just know she’s one messed up individual. Apparently, she only says stuff like that to get a reaction out of people, but when she’s unable to get one out of Sister yet manages to open up the stitches on his face, something is seriously not right there. Why do the pretty ones always have to be crazy?
Preview
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Saitou Chiwa and blushing Nino. Hell yeah!
Those are some insane combos right there =P
Yep insane combos, i had to rewatch just to see what insane moves they were, hope we see more of Stella’s moves
Hahaha!! Poor Nino and the “princess treatment.”
arrrrghh! subs always take forever with this series. I cant get anything done until i watch this lol
Oh god, this show has Sakamoto Maaya and Saito Chiwa. If they added Noto Mamiko to this show I think I would have to stop watching anime, since never again could a harem reach the level of my dream harem with those three.
Poor Riku, he was warned by Sister, yet he had to play Big Brother. Also, I burst out laughing when Maria’s barrage finally popped Sister’s stitches. Ah, Miyuki. We may have lost you in Angel Beats!, but it looks like you’ve got another home here.
riku should know by know anyone that show up under the bridge is crazy.
sister is turning to be my fave char here, his defense were however broken by stella’s “Kamikaze” and maria’s quote “your boring” show that he’s the next most normal person in the series.
Are the voice actresses in Japan well paid? I mean the top level ones that seem to be in just about every other series as a main character (like Sawashiro Miyuki).
From what I’ve read, no, they’re not well paid at all. Which is precisely why they (have to) star in so many roles. I’d guess, if anyone, Maaya Sakamoto, who doesn’t play many roles but always a main role when she does, gets paid most out of the VAs.
I loved the bending saw sound effect during the “carried like a princess” scene. And Nino’s facial expressions were priceless, including the blushes at the end. I for one am and have been expecting good things out of the romance department from this show.
hmm.. i felt like divine’s post are getting a bit late. getting a bit tired divine?
Dude, it’s ok for Divine to have a life. I rarely read the posts until AFTER I’ve watched the episode. But it’s nice to see a couple of screen shots on the main screen to give me an idea of what to expect.
I’m sure you read when he said he had a party the other day and ended up staying the night (go Divine!) and not updating Angel Beats! until he got home. I personally would rather he have a life and be a little late than crack under the pressure of writing so many reviews that he finally quits.
yeah, me too.
I usually watch first then read the post unless I don’t plan to watch it.
hehe.. I’m not asking him to speed it up.. point is it’s good he’s resting a bit ^^
Now that is what I call great combos xD
so far this episode and the second are the funniest in the series, any episode involving “sister” ends up being too funny to handle. i probably will never be able to forget the best quote ever, “thats not a sister, its a brother”
What Riku has yet to realize is that he is equally crazy as the other characters. Lol. What’s with the distance thing and “to be carried like a princess”? XD Well yeah, he has zero experience in love. Lol. Both Riku and Nino are so romantic at times!
I’m so in love with the ED.
I don’t loke the princess way !!! Way to go Nino. Stella four course combo is a hidden move in the new Street Figther game. There nothing like a great insult without using dirty words!! I’m going to make that one mine: “don’t waste the oxygen with introductions” that has to be the quote of the season !
NICE GRASS BOAT
this reminds me….
divine
when do you think the final ep of bakemonogatari is gonna air?
I haven’t checked to be honest, so I’m not even sure if there’s a scheduled air date for it.
It’ll air “when it’s done,” I imagine. I never would have thought it, but Bakemonogatari could end up taking longer than Katanagatari to air a full season. Damn you, Shaft.
the best episode of arakawa under the bridge so far. I really liked Stella 3 combos, it was so hilarious.
she actually did a 4-combo, sister warned to only use 3-combo and she said ‘mistake’
Someone shoot me for watching this too late. TOTALLY HILARIOUS EP!!!!
Lol, for a moment there I thought Maria was like one of those crazy ALF activists…
(Google it if you’re not sure what ALF is)
No sir I don’t like it.