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「凶刃ノ痕」 (Kyoujin no Ato)
“Scar from an Assassin’s Dagger”
The conclusion of the second movie with Rygart about to abandon Hodr and Sigyn to their fates was pretty emotional for me, and really touching when he decided to go against his father’s advice to try and save his friends, so it’s been a pretty grueling wait for this third movie.
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「誘う鬼火」 (Izanau Onibi)
“Luring Will-O’-The-Wisp”
Even with the foreshadowing on Daitetsu’s inevitable fate and the fact that I knew it was coming, it had a lot more impact than I was imagined. I got a little choked up during the final send-off, especially when Kyousuke showed up in his bruised and battered state to pay his respects.
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「ケイトの朝と夜」 (Keito no Asa to Yoru)
“Keito’s Day and Night”
It’s always the quiet and diligent ones that we need to be careful of, whether it’s in the bedroom or the karaoke room, as Keito quickly showed us this time around. You think you know someone, and then they do something that leaves you absolutely speechless. Tetsuya sure wasn’t kidding when he said the things that happen at part-time jobs can go far beyond one’s wildest imagination.
Zazie’s got his work cut out for him against Jeel.
「喪われた心弾」 (Ushinawareta Shindan)
“Lost Heart Bullet”
Surprisingly, there was an updated opening sequence this episode, though it would probably more correct to call it the actual second opening sequence since the other one was a collage of scenes shown before. Along the same lines, this new one doesn’t really foreshadow what we’re in store for in the upcoming episodes, but it’s oh so pretty to watch.
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「She is Rana Linchen」
The other main heroine of the series makes her debut, earlier than expected after Ingrid’s backstory was glossed over last time. Hailing from Tibet, Rana Linchen and her bubbly personality is portrayed surprisingly well by Hanazawa Kana, more so than I was anticipating anyway.
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「罰ゲーム」 (Batsu Geemu)
“Punishment Game”
This has to be one of the few series where the character interactions provide a lot more entertainment than the actual plot, and Touma’s return to Academy City made this one of the best episodes this sequel in that regard. The huge cast of characters are a lot of fun to watch, especially when they all come together with their various nuances.
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「ボーイ・ミーツ・ボーイ」 (Booi Miitsu Booi)
“Boy Meets Boy”
It’s probably safe to say Ichika’s inexplicable appeal knows no bounds, as he’s been attracting cute girls long before he landed himself in an all-girls paradise. In school, out of school, cue in Gotanda Ran (Obata Noriko) for the latter. It’s easy to feel sorry for all the girls when Ichika isn’t aware of how popular he is, and utterly impossible for Ichika for the very same reason.
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「出発」 (Shuppatsu)
“Departure”
The fallout from all the bloodshed and moral implications last time wasn’t nearly as thought-provoking, but does raise some new questions on the character side of things. Most pertain to Phryne’s motives after her sudden reappearance, as she seemed to be helping with the Star Festival, only to reveal later on that she wants to see the Fractale System destroyed too.
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As promised, here’s the first monthly digest post, featuring relatively spoiler-free impressions on all the series we’re watching. The idea here is to share some quick thoughts on the ones that aren’t being covered regularly, plus potentially re-spark some interest in shows that you may have considered watching, but held off on for whatever reason (hence the omission of major spoilers).
In addition, all the writers’ impressions are here to provide contrasting opinions, if you were ever interested in what the rest of us thought about a series that someone is covering. The impressions themselves are based on the episodes that aired in the given month, indicated under the series title, and are intended to be fairly brief yet insightful in some way. It’s a lot harder to say something meaningful in a few sentences than it sounds, so hopefully people find some value in these type of posts. If there isn’t much interest, then we may not continue writing them.
Since this is the first post of its kind, feedback is highly appreciated. Also, if you have any suggestions for possible improvements either to the format or the content itself, please do share them.
Note: Please be considerate of others who may be interested in picking up a series after reading about it here by placing discussion of any major spoilers in <spoiler></spoiler> tags. There will be little to no tolerance for anyone intentionally spoiling the enjoyment of others.
