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「運命の至る場所」 (Unmei no Itaru Basho)
“The Place Where Fate Leads”
Well, it looks like Ikuhara’s intent on keeping me guessing until the very end, as I have even less of an idea on how Mawaru Penguindrum will conclude after watching this episode. And here I thought this precursor to the finale would confirm my suspicions that Momoka’s diary would transfer everyone’s fate to a better one. Instead, it took that idea and completely derailed it.
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「縮退 retraction」 (Shukutai)
I’d like to think that I’m pretty forgiving as far as anime goes — particularly when it comes to overused stereotypes — but while Guilty Crown’s done a decent job of avoiding that pitfall lately, there always seems to be something else that rubs me the wrong way. This time it was Shuu and almost everything about his character.
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「焼かなイカ!?／護らなイカ!?／寒くなイカ!?」 (Yakanai ka!? / Mamoranai ka!? / Samukunai ka!?)
“Won’t You Grill!? / Won’t You Defend!? / Isn’t It Cold!?”
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「激戦の日」 (Gekisen no Hi)
“Day of the Fierce Battle”
I’ll be quick to admit that I have a soft spot for prideful stubbornness that someone will take to their grave, but even then, Gundam AGE deserves some praise for getting an emotional response out of me with the deaths of some side characters.
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「聖杯問答」 (Seihai Mondou)
“Holy Grail Dialogue”
For the better part of half of this episode, I was pretty set on how my impressions in this post would go — that Urobuchi Gen writes some exquisite dialogue that’s truly worthy of kings — but then the second half rolled around after Rider lectured Saber on what it means to be a king and I just had to tackle it from a different angle — Fate/Zero is too epic for words.
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「私」 (Watashi)
“I”
If one of the goals of this IM@S adaptation was to turn to make it one of the most unexpected dramas of the year, the producers should give themselves a pat on the back for a job well done.
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「美しい棺」 (Utsukushii Hitsugi)
“Beautiful Coffin”
When I stop for a moment and look back on how Mawaru Penguindrum started and where it is now, I can’t even confidently say I can succinctly sum up the plot off the top of my head. A lot has happened in terms of characterization and conveying a deeper message, and only now has the series started to address the underlying plot in a way that should make sense to all viewers.
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「捕食 prey」 (Hoshoku)
At times, it feels like Guilty Crown is on the verge of shaking off the jitters from a rocky start, but every time the series is about to, it has a knack for injecting a sudden development with no precedence or build-up and expecting viewers to get emotionally invested in the subsequent scenes.
