Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「それは、つまり」 (Sore wa, Tsumari)
“Well, In Other Words”
A broken bathroom spirals into a showdown with three girls’ hearts on the line…and their lives.
An Excuse For Bath Time Fun!
No two ways about it, Illya breaking the bathroom was a transparent excuse to give us happy fun bath time. What I continue to like about Prisma Illya is that, though that was true, enough interesting and plot-worthy things happened after they were done horsing around in the bath that it didn’t feel exploitative or pointless.
But more on that later. First, Kuro! There was definitely some Liz fascination going on (and a little for Stella), which was both hilarious and fun for the parts of the family who like boobs. But everyone else got some fun in Shirou x Auguste shipping! That…just out of nowhere man. They kept escalating it until they finished with at end card that will likely launch a non-zero number of doujinshi. Not the Shirou slash pairing I would go with, personally. It’s all about the selfcest. In the other universe, that is. Here only Illya & Kuro have that option. Speaking of…
A Normal Life
On the ‘ol trope-o-meter, I Just Want To Be Normal (trope!) is one of my least favorites. Here it’s not intolerable, but it doesn’t add much either. Illya has never been particularly gung-ho, but she has been willing, and this pivot back to reluctance feels…backwards. But not intolerably so. Little girl and all that.
Returning to the trope-o-meter, misunderstandings (trope!) are likewise low on my favorites list. This time though, once again, the story tip-toes around something that could have been intolerable and makes it work. It was obvious to me that, when Illya said she wanted to go back to her normal life, it meant she didn’t want to fight and risk death, not that she didn’t want to spend time with Miyu, Rin, and Luvia. Even Ruby and Sapphire – and eventually Kuro if I were to bet, and we’re past my experience with the source material, so I’m guessing now – are people Illya wants in her life. She just wants normal-them, without all the violence and fighting and danger.
That was obvious to me, and to Ruby as well, but to the others…well, Rin and Luvia had a silent moment, and rightfully so, because they’re the ones most likely to lose touch with Illya, being older and heavily invested in the mage world. Miyu though, correctly (and eventually) realized that wasn’t what Illya meant…probably. Maybe. Actually, it doesn’t matter! She’s fighting for her own reasons. The only one who really took Illya’s reason at face value was Kuro, and I can’t blame her. Illya hasn’t shown a willingness to be kind to her so far, so she’s not wrong to freak. It’s a misunderstanding, but not by much, and it doesn’t go to ridiculous lengths.
Also important: The misunderstanding lasts all of half an episode before Illya is clued in. Misunderstandings become intolerable when they go on for too long, so the sooner everyone realizes where the lines of communication got snarled, the better.
Looking Ahead – Archer Kuro vs Saber Miyu
The jokes and the fanservice (in-universe jokes and otherwise) are appreciated, but what made me fall in love with Prisma Illya originally was the combat. To me it’s Fate-style magical combat with a Nanoha-style spin, and that level of destruction, mayhem, and copious explosions is a pleasure to see. Hopefully Illya will take a page from Nanoha’s book and befriend the crap out of Kuro next episode.
tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Bath time leads to battle time as the fight over (& with) Kuro comes to a head #prismaillya 05
Random thoughts:
- Shirou has discovered meido Rin! Nothing wrong with being a meido, Rin-chan. It’s a good thing.
- Auguste is sizing up Shirou for Luvia, right? …right?
- Anime has led me to believe Kuro feeling up Liz’s oppai does not make her gay. It makes her Japanese. Skinship is a wonderful thing!
- Illya does not hold back. Neither does Auguste.
- That Illya. Truly skilled amateurs are dangerous. Since they don’t know what’s possible, sometimes they don’t even realize when they’ve done something unheard of. That’s how the future is created.
- Am I the only one who, when Kuro said the card was inside her, said “Duh.”?
- Her ahoge came out of the box!
- Kuro looks so sad…
- At the end there I was yelling “Fly dammit, Illya!” Then Ruby suggested exactly that. Nice to have someone on the team to voice my thoughts.
Check out my blog about storytelling and the novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Compromise, Control, Temporally unfocused, and Fast, easy, guaranteed.
Full-length images: 10, 12, 16, 17, 22, 28, 37.
Preview
 |
 |
 |
End Card
 |
Shirou is truly harem king personified…. even the old butler wants to stick his Gae Bolg up Shiro’s…. ill stop now…
Anyways! Next week is the return of the Fate series strongest character! IRISVIEL!
Shiro’s Avalon?
P-Put it in.
JAM YOUR OOOOOO IN MY XXXXXXX.
SaberAuguste: All this time…you were my scabbard.Dude…. That’s plain disturbing
https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%20Zwei!%20-%2005%20-%20Large%20End%20Card.jpg
That end card! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!
Destroy it with the Tsar bomb
I still kinda feel like this show is dragging. What worked for the manga doesn’t work for an anime production. Ramp it up and take advantage of the medium. This show has character narrative that has take five episodes to NOT bring to fruition. And it was better paced in the source.
Hmm? It was paced pretty much exactly the same in the source.
Haven’t read the source material, but the pacing is similar to the first season IMO, things never picked up there until around episode 5 either. Might be more noticeable here though because of the heavy focus on comedic fan service that season one emphasized less.
The pace is fine to me. The problem may be in the different time requirements to convey a chapter’s worth of content in manga and anime, and our perception of that time as it passes.
Let’s say the episode adapts two chapters (I don’t know if it does, let’s just say.) With ~22 minutes of content, that’s 11 minutes per manga chapter.
Do you think it takes you 11 minutes to read a manga chapter? Probably not. It may take 9 minutes, making it seem faster. But more than that, I think it’s the fact that, when you’re reading manga, you’re actively engaged in reading the material, whereas anime is a passive activity. That can make things seem slower when they’re really paced nearly the same.
I don’t think they could have sped this up much though. The episode ended in a good place, and if they sped it up too much it would have ended in the middle of some action. A little adaptation awkwardness is to be expected with things like that.
For me it has little to do with timing and more to do with how information it conveyed. We’ve have actual real characterization coming up in later chapters. For five episodes they’ve spent too much time on trivial character bits. Adaptation need not be a 1:1 ratio.
Best end card since forever
Kuro’s misunderstanding… it was the only thing she could think when she heard Illya wish to be normal. There would have been no question in her mind that it meant being rid of everything Kuro emobodies: magic, the cards, danger… You will see next episode why it was the worst thing she could have heard.
Or, you know, you could wait and tell me that after we’ve seen what happens 😛
Some of the stuff you’re going to learn still takes a bit of thinking to recognize all the emotional impacts of it. I wanted to get you thinking in the right direction before you write the post for the next episode rather than afterwards.
I thought I had successfully avoided the BL stuff this season; Fate Kaleid apparently had other ideas (proving that Shiroe’s harem does not discriminate, it’s all inclusive). Thank god for alcohol though, blurry vision and fuzzy mind makes the bad evil end card go away, right? Good 😀
On a more serious note is the interesting comments made by Kuro about Miyu, the implication being that she too is similar to Kuro (and the nurse) in terms of her existence. Hopefully get some additional info on that before the season is through because that’s something not yet touched on unlike Kuro’s existence. Oh and of course Illya is going to befriend Kuro, Stilts, just look at the end credits, there will be plenty more
girl on girlcousinly love to come before the season is over 😛Of course the Emiya glands don’t discriminate genders. Have you forgotten Issei?
Regarding Miyu, that’s what I found interesting as well. Kuro made pretty clear that Miyu came into contact with magic and the mages behind it long before she ever knew Luvia and became a magical girl. Probably why Sapphire picked her in the first place. And also likely the reason why she can call upon Saber’s powers now. There’s still a lot of questions surrounding her, but I can say I like the constant tidbits of information scattered throughout the season about her past. She’s an interesting enigma, for sure.
Also, Miyu sure seemed interested in Liz’s great pair of…eyes. Don’t be tempted, Miyu!
poor Shiro!
and next chapter IRI! … and Saber Miyu xD
.. that end card x.x
really loving this series , so glad it comes out on Wednesday … it makes the day suck little less!
PS: Kuro can teleport? or is she going astral and corporal to move to places? .. projection i can understand..but teleport?
Will Saber Miyu do an EXCALIBUUUUR!?
https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%20Zwei!%20-%2005%20-%2042.jpg
Show Spoiler ▼
What brought me into this series is Yuri kisses.
Hmm. If I’m not mistaken, Illya broke the heater in the manga. Well, I guess this makes it absolutely impossible to bathe in there pretty much, so yeah. And I like that it’s also somewhat of a callback to Ep1 of the first season.
Shirou is definitely the bone of MY sword. I really am watching this show for all the wrong reasons. Please give me Unlimited Blade Works now.
You know what, every move she made, let her Boobies jiggle every time 🙂
Ups, forgot the Picture
https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%20Zwei!%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
It’s okay, if they animate Saber Miyu like a Boy. Because she is a Magical Girl with inhuman Strength. So she has the enough Muscles to move a Big bad ass Sword like a Men 🙂
Just compare in the Net, how Woman would swing such a Big 2händer (okay. Skyrim Mods as example)
https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%20Zwei!%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2042.jpg
I Show you my Big Sword! Behave yourself!
https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%20Zwei!%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
WoW, One-san, you have really a Big Sword
https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%20Zwei!%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2024.jpg
But, my Big Arrow is longer then yours!
https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%20Zwei!%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
If I didn’t know any better I’d say Illya looks like a sexual predator.
This episode was mostly cosmetic changes from the manga. Illya only accidental shot the heater hence why the the family couldn’t take a bath. Here, she punches a hole on the wall, so it makes a much better visual gag. Also, in the manga, Kuro smashes a stone wall with her towel, as opposed here where she breaks a mirror instead. Symbolism I guess? The rest were mostly the same, including the bathroom tussle between Kuro and Illya.
Next episode is the return of Mommy Iri. She’s going to be amazing.
https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%20Zwei!%20-%2005%20-%20Large%20Preview%2003.jpg
Sekuhara Illya is Kuro. Having two of them would be far too amazing.
I feel this is the most entertaining anime for me this season.
If Illya does decide to do it Nanoha-style, then there may be nothing left to befriend afterward.
You know, it’s really pissing me off how they keep making Illya look like the bad guy here. Let’s just forget that Kuro tried to kill her just cause she wanted to. Let’s just forget that she has been mucking up Illya’s normal life on her own whims. Let’s just forget she continues to hide secrets from everyone but claims she wants to do nothing but live a normal life. Clearly Illya is the douchebag here for not attempting to look past it! (facepalm)
Plus this whole misunderstanding business isn’t to my liking either. As you pointed out Stilts it appears Miyu was the only one to obviously use her brain and didn’t assume Illya ment that everyone who has invaded her life should disappear. She just wants to live a normal, battle free life with them. That’s all. I can understand how Kuro would misunderstand this but I was about to roll my eyes if Miyu didn’t understand what she truly felt. Again Kuro hasn’t been acting properly for someone who deserves pity. Yet the show keeps making seem like Illya is in the wrong for having angst against her. IT’S FUCKING BULLSHIT!!! >:(
It will be really annoying if Illya is the only person to admit her faults next episode.
I don’t think they’re making Illya seem like the bad guy, just a bit insensitive. You could say she’s wrong in this instance, but that would transfer it to Illya and Kuro being wrong, since Kuro started out there with the attempted murder and all.
One thing to remember on the misunderstanding – just because Illya didn’t mean she wanted the others to disappear, if she went back to her “normal life” that might not be possible. Rin & Luvia will go back to the Clock Tower eventually, and if Illya doesn’t want anything to do with the magical world, they’ll drift away. Kuro too, has a very complex situation there, one which we don’t know everything about yet. And Miyu…well, same answer.
Illya might not have meant she wanted them to disappear, but neither do the others know if she’ll pick a life without magic or a life without them, because that may be the real choice Illya will need to make.
I hope Ilya can get Kuro to somehow stay permanently. She is too good character to die of laws of magic or lack of mana…
I can’t exactly blame Illya for not understanding Kuro when the latter has made zero effort to open herself up to any of the protagonists even when they inquire her. If she wants empathy then she has to take the first step. Not to mention she tried to kill Illya and the only thing preventing her doing so is the Geas on her chest. If I were 8 and some psycho tried to kill me then went around sexually assaulting my friends, the last thing I’d do is try to understand and befriend the person. I’d try to keep the hell away and wouldn’t trust him/her in the least. And let’s face it, all of us would do the same thing.
You will learn what there is to learn about Kuro next episode. They don’t directly address her behavior (no one says “so she behaved like this because…,”) so it may take some thought after you learn the details about her, but once you know what there is to know, and once you think about it, it makes her behavior understandable.
Note I said “understandable” not “justified.” The things she did are wrong, but I understand why she did them, particularly since, despite all her knowledge, she too is still just a child.
Even if Kuro and Illya have the same face, i don’t know why but there is something about Kuro that make me love her way more than every other carac.
C’mon, look a that sad face of her
this show would have benefited from elementary school aged boy characters to have a nice gender balance. it annoys how shows nowadays with little girls as main characters have no boy characters their age to interact with.
“…it meant she didn’t want to fight and risk death, not that she didn’t want to spend time with Miyu, Rin, and Luvia. Even Ruby and Sapphire – and eventually Kuro if I were to bet…”
As a whippersnapper, I learned that as: “Everyone wants to go to Heaven, but no one wants to die.” If you do assume that Illya has the true mental faculties of one her age, then it’s not a all a stretch for her character.
Really enjoying this show, and your reviews. Roll on!
Ep 06:
I can live with the “secret” of Kuro explanation and the “ending”. Why? They took time to give her Emotions and background. So it is okay for me
No one’s gonna comment on Shirou’s trademark “Nandesa?”
First time I heard it was in Carnival Phantasm and thought it was funny. I don’t remember him screaming it in FSN (2004) or FSN:UBW film. Here, I heard it twice.