Posted by OP2 Sequence
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OP2: 「PROMPT」 by 昆夏美 (Kon Natsumi)
Episode 13:
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「孤高のエース」 (Kokou no esu)
“The Aloof Ace”
Clearly, we have entered a new phase in Majestic Prince. If the first twelve episodes were merely a precursor for the imminent showdowns, it’s safe to say this is where the real action begins. What comes next is going to be ever more all-consuming, and the latest episode certainly wasted no time in the dramatic ramp-up – a brand new catalyst was brought into the picture this week with the introduction of Kuroki Ange (Watanabe Akeno)! Ange, who made her brief appearance way back at Episode 5, is no less an enigma than before – from her gender and origins to the true extent of her competence as a pilot, just about everything about the novice is shrouded in puzzlement! For simplicity’s sake, I will, for now, assume she’s a female – the series has gone to great lengths to establish the ambiguity of her gender, but whether such an obvious legerdemain amounts to anything more than a comical device is still up in the air. I have a sneaking suspicion there’s more to that than meets the eyes and the cogency of her true gender could have a preponderant role to play in the overall narrative. It’s hard to imagine the scale of human experimentation that GDF has embarked on and gender-manipulation is presumably well within their bounds – after all, the AHSMB pilots are genetically-modified soldiers to begin with and Ange could be a victim of their desperate attempt to create the perfect soldier!
Kuroki’s gender is certainly up for debate, but that’s not all there is to her mystifying repute – the pilot of Black 6 appears to have a textbook case of bipolar disorder, and her split personality was right at the forefront of all the hubbub and drama this week. There’s nothing especially intimidating about her usual presence – in fact, her crippling self-doubt is pretty much a stock answer for any newcomer of Ange’s stereotype. But concealed behind her meek temperament, therein lies the rub and a completely different Ange – belligerent, foul-mouthed and hard-hitting – seems to emerge when she’s subjected to psychological provocation, either in the form of mental stress or a pugnacity-induced excitement! There’s a whole lot about Ange that remained at the sixes and sevens – that much is clear, but for all her ostensibly nerve-racking crotchets, Ange has proven to be a very proficient AHSMB pilot, so much so that she was able to repulse an entire Wulgaru squadron singlehandedly. Black 6, GDF’s latest AHSMB unit, is certainly a force to be reckoned with, and both its firepower and maneuverability are clearly a few notches above the rest. The latest addition to Team Rabbit is quite a formidable ally to say the least – and no question, it was the superior mecha capabilities of Black 6 and Ange’s prodigious skills as a pilot, albeit in her berserk form, that brought about the crushing success of Operation Iouto this week.
Ange has certainly proven her worth as a powerful combatant, but it remains to be seen how she’ll adapt to the norms of her new environment – and in the course of time, fit in as part of Team Rabbit. Needless to say, the Zannen 5 are all a bit of a square peg, and their kickback and response to a new pilot were certainly emblazoned with their idiosyncrasies – starting with Kei’s venture to make her a welcome cake! The love-struck duo, Tamaki and Ataru, are obviously smitten with Ange, and it doesn’t seem like her androgyny or all that “gender-bender” hoo-ha is any of their concerns. On the other side of the spectrum, Izuru’s brief interaction with Ange was marked with an embarrassment of theatrics and cattiness – one that regrettably ended with a big slap on Ange’s face! I have to admit – it was pretty nice to see Kei step up for her man, and the assertiveness that she displayed in this episode has, to my greatest delight, laid bare her romantic affections for Izuru – and presumably, her dissatisfaction with Ange’s outburst of petulance! It’s no exaggeration to call Ange is a loose cannon and her seeming disrespect for any authorities has indisputably made her into a bone of contention to everyone. There’s definitely more to Kuroki’s eccentricities than it appears at first glance, but the point at issue is how will the Zannen 5 cope with the introduction of a new character dimension – that’s something which, no doubt, warrants our close attention in the coming weeks!
Random tidbits:
- “I’ll bake a cake” – I’ll eat whatever Kei makes, just gotta stock up on those insulin shots!
- “Good luck, Izuru!” – Kei’s the only one who’s rooting for Izuru. She’s definitely a keeper!
- “Don’t you dare mess with my man!” – Kei sticks up for the person she loves. Doubly keeper!
- “Next time Asagi and Izuru can do it” – Toshikazu wouldn’t be caught dead in such a skimpy swimsuit!
- “A hot girl or a hot guy” – I wonder if we’ll ever find out about Ange’s true gender. It could be an endless troll!
- Bad news everyone! The dopey Captain Komine is still alive and kicking – How is it possible that someone who screwed up so miserably still have his job?
- Nothing cheers Rin Rin up like a lollipop, and no one sucks on one as sensually as Rin Rin!
- “Awwwwww” – Please let this be Izuru and Kei!
tl;dr: @SeishunRC – #MajesticPrince 13: Gender-bender, split personality and a complete badass in combat – Kuroki Ange has made her mark in Majestic Prince! #Anime
Full-length images: 03, 04, 05, 10, 12, 18, 32, OP.
Episode 12.5:
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特別編「ザンネンなんかで終わんない!!」 (Tokubetsuhen zannen nankade owa nnai!!)
“Special Edition: It won’t end with Zannen!!”
Since Episode 12.5 will probably go un-subbed, I thought I would chime in briefly in this post and give you guys a quick rundown of the focal points discussed. For those of you who haven’t seen it, the bridging episode was predominantly a panel discussion – or should I say an informal interlocution that was hosted by Hikasa Yoko (Kugimiya Kei) and Iguchi Yuka (Irie Tamaki). It’s always interesting to hear what a seiyuu has to say about the show that they’re working on and clearly, there’s a whole lot going on behind the scenes that was not made apparent in the final product. Voice-acting was obviously a keen interest for our two lovely hosts and both of them, in particular, were very impressed with Ikeda Junya’s performance as Suruga Ataru – if you recall, Ataru’s the one who sputters out technical jargons like a machine gun, which is evidently not an easy feat! It was to my great joy that Hikasa-san openly discussed the possibility of a romantic development between Kei and Izuru, and her favorite scene in the first half was none other than the brief but affecting conversation that those two shared in Episode 3 – “Sometimes it’s too hard to bear, just what am I”. Most of the chitchats were pretty casual and off-the-cuff – they were constantly pulling each other’s leg, with Hikasa-san comparing Yuka’s “baka” level to that of Tamaki’s and Iguchi-san pointing out that she has never seen Yoko as calm and collected as Kei. In fact, Iguchi-san even joked about Tamaki’s big jugs outright and she called attention to the fact that a side view – no thanks to Rose 3’s cockpit seating – doesn’t quite do their massive size justice. For obvious reasons, there’s not a great deal the hosts can reveal about what’s coming next, but Hikasa-san did confirm that it’s going to be ever more dramatic, emotional and action-packed – I’m more than happy to take her word for it and the second half is certainly off to a great start with the introduction of Kuroki Ange, “The Aloof Ace”!
ED2 Sequence
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ED2: 「アリガトウ。タダイマ。」(Arigatou. Tadaima. by クギミヤ・ケイ(CV: 日笠陽子)、イリエ・タマキ(CV: 井口裕香) [Kugimiya Kei (CV: Hikasa Yoko), Irie Tamaki (CV: Iguchi Yuka)]
Preview
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Dat Cake – https://randomc.net/image/Ginga%20Kikoutai%20Majestic%20Prince/Ginga%20Kikoutai%20Majestic%20Prince%20-%2013%20-%20Large%20Preview%2001.jpg
I’ll eat whatever Kei makes, I can never say no to her :3
I got nostalgic with Akito/Agito vibes from Ange, especially the “vulgar” language.
+50 Seishun Points!
Good catch! I didn’t make the connection until I saw your comment :3
Hmm I don’t think Ange has Bipolar or split personality. More oppressed and that the psycho Ange is the true Ange and the meek Ange is just him/her being shy considering his/her harmonics rose the more Ange become more aggressive. Still its fun when you hear verbal abuse like that thrown at your enemies. Too bad the Wulgaru couldn’t hear that abuse. I would be amused at their reaction.
I thought the exact same thing! Especially when she went berserk.
You could be right, but that wouldn’t explain the memory gap that she experienced. It doesn’t seem like she has any recollection of the harsh things she said to Izuru.
Kei’s epic b****slap was great. Its a far cry from when she was all snarky on Izuru before. It seems Izuru’s dorkiness is finally getting through to her. Also the ED is really shipping them hard unlike the previous season OP.
As far as Ange’s gender ambiguity goes, I’m as baffled as the characters. This might the first time where Hirai’s sameface actually works perfectly. I wonder how long they will milk this aspect of him/her though, because it would be amusing to see throw far they can go with it. On the other, hand English lacks a gender neutral pronoun so typing he/she or him/her is a huge pain.
On the flip side Commander Colossal Moron is still in charge and getting screentime. I guess I have one reason to root for the Wulgaru. At least they’re entertaining in their over-the-top crazy.
Hmm I don’t think it’s a case of split personality or bipolarness. I seem to remember in a previous episode, they were stating that the units bring out part of their true personality, the personality they don’t really show to others? I’m not sure if I’m remembering it correctly. I’m surprised they have a loose canon like that though, most organizations would be wanting to get rid of something like that and not keep it, no matter how much an asset, a loose canon will eventually be a bad thing.
That would be possible if not for the fact that Ange changes personality even when not inside her machine. Also, none of the others seem to shift character so drastically when in their mechs. I think she does have some sort of split personality consider how swift the changes are and how she doesn’t seem to remember certain things once the two switch. Such as when she was about to tear Izuru’s book, but once she shifts back to meek persona she asks what was she doing?
Just look at Commander Moron, any army that still has an idot like that after such a hrrible defeat is doom. In the serious side, maybe they are getting desperate because depite the AHSMB they haven´t give a succsessful counter atack to the Wulgaru, Ange might be an experiment to test a new kind of experimental pilot, just think of the cyber new types of the universal centurie and yu´ll get the right idea.
I like Ange, as I think his character is a refreshing change of pace from Tamaki. At least when Ange goes off on his/her own, he actually accomplishes something aside from getting in trouble/getting the rest of the team in trouble.
Please no bait-and-switch; please no bait-and-switch! Izuru/Kei ahoy!
I didn’t consider that Ange’s gender ambiguity might be a throwback to the extent of MJP’s genetic manipulation; I thought Ange was just the obligatory trap. Hopefully you’re right, and this show will also tackle that side of the narrative in greater detail.
One thing that did annoy me about this episode is its reuse of the launching sequence. I felt that was lazy on the studio’s part… until Ange started killing everything. Right. Animators, you’re forgiven
I need more tissueso_oGenderbent Hallelujah Haptism? Check!
Man I’ve been missing this show for WEEKS! That drought was so painful to bear T-T. I like how Izuru joined the side of Asagi and Suruga in thinking that Ange is a girl while Tamaki and Kei think Ange is a guy.
This scene was just hilarious. I wonder if Mr.Ratburn would have some of Kei’s cake a second time XD.
The fact that no one on team rabbits seemed to have a problem with how they were each addressing Ange was funny to me as well. Even though Ange has just been introduced, I am really liking her( i believe she is a girl 🙂 ) character, and she kicked ass in this episode.
On another note, if they don’t upgrade the rest of team rabbits they can kiss this war goodbye. Black 6 can only do so much by itself.
Kei was awesome this episode and thanks for the extra insight of the “recap”. It was interesting to read about the Zannen girls 😀
Somehow Ange reminded me of the druggies from Gundam Seed… Great action as always. It was really fun seeing Ange chase Krein while screaming like a lunatic. Although it worked out well for a small-scale combat like this, I wonder how well this berserker tactic will fare against a full-scale battle like Ceres.
I thought of them too, especially considering the amount of experiment I suspect was done to make her a killing machine. That scene where she says that she was bred to fight and nothing else, made it all too real with what the MJP is doing in trying to make living weapons. However, they ended up with a loose cannon rather than an emotionless automaton.
I just hope that team work can be created among the six of them.
There are a few factors making it difficult though.
1. Her meek and shy personality when it’s the “normal” her.
2. Her dissatisfaction with Zannen’s performance.
3. Inability to follow orders when she snap during battle.
The future for a teamwork looks bleak…
It’s going to take a long time for Ange to fit in as a team member…
Split personalities are tricky. If the two sides are completely separate entities, and one side is more dominant than the other, then no amount of friendship or military consequences are probably going to affect the actions of the more dominant, bloodthirsty identity. The two identities would be separate and you would have to deal with each one separately. Because unless you get both sides to agree to work with the team and follow orders, every time the berserker side comes out, all bets are off and dark Ange will do whatever he wants.
Its really not Ange’s fault, the MJP should never have made her the pilot of this thing without doing a standard psych evaluation. And if they DID know about her mental disorder and STILL put her on the team? Then the consequences are on them, they wanted an unstoppable weapon? They got one.
THAT ENDING SONG!! IT’S IZURU AND KEI RITE??? PLEASE TELLME IT’S IZURU AND KEI!!!!!!!!!!
I can see where the ambiguity about her gender could have meaning to the plot. It could be possible that her weaker, meek side is female, while her bloodthirsty side is male. Her eyelashes and blush become more prominent during her submissive, non-assertive moments, while her features look distinctly more masculine when in attack mode. It could be a clue.
As to what he/she is physically, I have no idea.
I say its either a black hole or no body bits down there.
is it a girl or is it a guy?!!?!
It’s a Hideyoshi. 🙂
The weird thing about Ange’s AHSB, is that it’s more powerful than the others. If it’s intended for mass-production, it usually goes the other way in order to reduce costs for the sake of increasing the number.
Even its user interface seems more advanced than the other’s.
If the Zannen 5 don’t get upgrades soon, they’re going to end up being outclassed by EVERYONE, including Ensign Redshirt.
the OP hints that izuru’s Red-1 seems to have a hidden feature (what it suddenly revealing two extra eyes ala gundam harute). whether or not it ties to some fighting capability unique to the zannen 5’s units, we still don’t know.
New opening and ending are confusing me.
Is Ange going to stay with Team Rabbits or will she join the senpais?
gotta say that i love that new OP. it really has that cool factor to it that shows this as an awesome mecha show (and yay! team doberman is back!!).
about ange, i can’t help but see tons of death flags when he/she suddenly went all berserk. i am guessing that he/she came from a more extreme case in the MJP project’s continuing militarization. i definitely want to see how his/her character develops. hoping to see some comedic scenes surrounding him/her (oh boy, this his/her thing is tiring).
Honestly, I was thinking Ange was just going to be faking the whole shy thing until s/he got a mock battle, after which the real Ange would be revealed to look down on the Rabbits. S/He appearing to be a bit bipolar/have a bit of a split personality that appears to be brought out by the AHSMB was surprising (as was the fact that s/he and Black 6 actually drove back the Wulgaru instead of being left a sitting duck for the Rabbit senpai’s to save), and I’m looking forward to seeing how our Sixth Ranger will develop.
And if there’s anything this episode has done, it’s established that, even if there was nothing else appealing about the show, Kei is more than enough to get me watch it, and her shows of affection for Izuru continue to be endearing:
* Her reassuring him that they’ll listen to what he was going to say before Suruga barged in. So sweet.
* Her “Ganbare, Izuru” under her breath (which Asagi somewhat notices. Jealousy?) while Tamaki and Suruga cheer for Ange. So adorable.
* Her hurried slap to Ange’s face when s/he was going to rip Izuru’s sketchbook. I think I might’ve squeed when I saw that.
I’m really hoping that the one’s holding hands in the ED are indeed Izuru and Kei.
Kuroki Ange… Is she a guy? Is he a girl? I guess I don’t have to know. Now I am rooting for IzuruxKei.
Kuroki Ange is quite a melting pot of tropes.
6th power ranger
A Trap (cant tell if he is she or she is he yet)
Split Personality
Likes his dakka very much
Has a hidden agenda (to my suspicions)
Anything else I’m missing here?
I was not impressed with this episode in the slightest. It is a severe blow to my opinion of the series and that makes me sad. This show always had some shadows of power ranger crap going on it, but it managed to focus more on the military/war/quirkiness aspects of it more.
Ange is just so much of a 6th ranger trope that it’s pathetic. Not only is she the literal 6th ranger, but we also have an episode dedicated to how completely awesome she is and how much more powerful she is than the others.
Personally, I completely hated her as a character, even more so than Tamaki. Comedy elements aside, these people are soldiers, they are supposed to follow orders. But here were shown that the epic new member can completely ignore the orders of both her squad leader and her captain, with presumably little to no consequences. And is so freaking invincible that she is able to walk DIRECTLY through an enemy trap and come out on top just by the power of her insane rage.
Yay?
Is this really what we want?
Wasn’t Tamaki enough of a random, incompetent soldier for one show? Now we have another character who’s going to run around screaming random insanity but instead of cute idiocy, it’s going to be vulgar insanity.
And what part of flying straight through a lava vent is an “intelligent plan?” Dear god, this did not impress me.
“How is it possible that someone who screwed up so miserably still have his job?”
Have you ever taken a look at our government? Full of people who have screwed up so badly they should not only not have a job put probably be placed in prison as well for crimes against humanity. All you need is a lot of money and friends in high places and you can screw up as many times as you like and still somehow have a job in the government.
Being at his age Koimine is most likely rich at this point and has connections. He can continue to make a lot of selfish decisions that cost the lives of thousands under his command but his seniority within the military saves him from getting dishonorably discharged.