OP Sequence
OP: 「ZONE / / ALONE」 by 茅原実里 (Chihara Minori)
Watch the OP!: Streaming ▼
[flv:Kyoukai_Senjou_no_Horizon_II_OP.mp4 550 310]
「朱の場の部員達」 (Shu No Ba No Buin Tachi)
“Club Members in Scarlet”
Before we get started, some housecleaning matters. This is the start of Season II, so if you need a refresher on Season I (or an overview of how Horizon’s Earth works in general), check out the retrospective posts I published last week. Part 1 has a lot of basic information + summaries, explanations, and impressions of episodes 01-06, while Part 2 goes over episodes 07-13 and includes a big old final impression of the season at the end. Seiyuu names for all previously introduced characters are in the character list of Part 1, so I won’t be repeating those here.
Now, I’m going to split these posts up into two parts – explanations and impressions. Since Kyoukaisen can be tricky, the explanations are for anything I think might confuse you, or I had to go look up myself. Click on the spoiler tags in the explanation section for the answers to those questions. As for impressions, that’s the usual RandomC blogging fare, done in glorious Stilts-loves-Kyoukaisen-way-too-much detail. Let’s get to it!
Explanations:
What are Testament Arma?
Show ▼
Testament Arma are a set of unique, powerful weapons similar to the Armaments of Deadly Sins. While the Armaments are based off of the Seven Deadly Sins (and the Eight Evil Thoughts, an earlier version of the same), the Testament Arma are based off the Seven Virtues. Of the two, the Armaments of Deadly Sins are far more powerful because they have both Normal Drives and Overdrives, the latter of which is what basically makes them weapons of mass destruction. Testament Arma aren’t to be taken lightly though, as they still possess abilities (in the form of their normal drives) that make them far more powerful than regular weapons.
There are 14 Testament Arma, two for each of the Seven Virtues. Of these pairs, one is referred to as the Vetus (lit. “Old Generation”), the other the Novus (lit. “New Generation”). Each of the Harmonic Divine States (save for Qing-Takeda and the Far East) holds the weapon pair that symbolizes the virtue they represent. For example, Tres España has the ones for Temperance, while Great Britain has the ones for Justice.
What do Tres España’s Testament Arma do?
Show ▼
Hironaka Takakane (Yasumoto Hiroki) (on the left) has “Crus Temperantia Vetus” (the Old Generation), which lengthens the duration of his allies’ abilities within a certain area. Diego Velasquez (Miyake Kenta) (on the right) has “Crus Temperantia Novum” (the New Generation), which seriously limits, disables, or outright cancels the abilities of enemies who enter the area. It can be assumed that both have a limited duration on their active abilities, though this has only be outright stated for Diego’s weapon. Also, both of these Testament Arma are swords, so they can assumedly be used to hit people as well, though Takakane prefers to use his bat anyway.
What is with Era Fusae’s and Hironaka Takakane’s legs?
Show ▼
If you look closely, both Era Fusae (Asano Masumi) and Vice Chancellor Hironaka Takakane (on the right) don’t appear to have feet. Why? Because they’re ghosts. Incidentally, they’re also married, and they both died during the recreation of the Battle of Lepanto. This is also probably why Era is able to stay on Michiyuki Byakko even though it runs around like a beast.
What are those red things sticking out from the side of Juana’s, Era’s, and Diego’s heads?
Show ▼
Those are their ears. They’re elves. That’s probably have some kind of armor over their ears though, because I can’t imagine anything biological being shiny, metallic, and red.
Why don’t Era Fusae or Naomasa get inside their Gods of War?
Show ▼
I had this thought when the two fought each other, because it seemed like being inside those things would be a loooot safer than standing on the chest of a giant mech that is slugging it out with another giant mech. While I still don’t have an answer to the safety thing, part of the reason they stand outside has to do with how Gods of War work. You see, Gods of War have a nervous system just like human bodies do, which is incidentally why they’re designed to have broadly human shapes. In order to pilot one of these things, the operator is converted into data and “downloaded” into the God of War. After this, the pilot and the God of War are inseparable unless the pilot is converted back into physical form or the God of War is destroyed (which will kill the pilot).
The reason that people go through this is because it gives them quick reaction times with no delay between human, interface, and machine. However, this method gives rise to obvious limitations for things like having a social life or doing anything other than fighting. For that reason alone, I know I would much prefer to stand outside a God of War and control it with my Maus rather than be poured into it like a new citizen of the Matrix. Plus, there’s the simple storytelling reason for this…it’s a lot harder to empathize with a huge faceless machine that has no physical pilot and can’t do anything but stomp around and fight.
What is with Michiyuki Byakko’s weirdly thin legs?
Show ▼
I thought this was weird, and I have a potential answer, thanks to Moomba translating some tweets from original author Kawakami Minoru (thanks mooms!). Kawakami said that if you look closely, Michiyuki Byakko has a cross design. I originally thought that was referring to its magic, which is all crosses, but I’m beginning to think that he meant the whole mech’s design. That would explain why it has such weirdly thin legs (they could be parts of the “cross” that go into the ground) and oddly thick arms.
Why did Masazumi tell that terrible joke?
Show ▼
Neshinbara wanted her to buy more time. Notice this scene? That’s him giving the “stretch it out!” signal. After all, Musashi didn’t need to destroy the San Lorenzo (that’s the name of Tres España’s ship), they just needed to stall it until they could accelerate away and escape to Great Britain. Of course, destroying the San Lorenzo would have been nice, given how much they were trying to nuke the thing, it just wasn’t goal numero uno.
What does Juana’s Armament of Deadly Sins do?
Show ▼
Juana has Akidía Katárripsi (Idle Destruction, sin: Sloth), and its ability is Iyake no Taida (Idle Disgust), which binds the part of each person’s body that they’re most disgusted with. That is to say, if you don’t like your calves for some reason – or, in Neito and Masazumi’s cases, your chest – then it would bind that part of your body. This is apparently not a real pleasant experience.
Why does Musashi “win” if they can keep Great Britain from stopping them for three minutes?
Show ▼
First of all, Great Britain is neutral. They’re not on the Testament Union’s side, but neither are they on the Far East’s side. That means they don’t necessarily care if Musashi makes port, but if they just let them do it easily, it’s like Great Britain is siding with the Far East. However, if they were to test them out a little bit (under the guise of trying to bring Musashi under Great Britain’s control, though they’d probably be fine with it if that happened), it wouldn’t seem like they’re on the Far East’s side…and it also gives them a chance to see how the Testament Union would react. Sometimes maintaining your neutrality is hard.
Why is Great Britain’s Student Council called the “Trump”?
Show ▼
In card games where one suit ranks above the others (ex: bridge), a trump is a card of that superior suit. For instance, if the suit chosen to rank above the others is Spades, then a Jack of Spades would be a trump. You could also say it “trumps” the other suits. Great Britain’s Student Council and members of the Chancellor’s Board have been collected into a group patterned after a deck of cards, so they are called the Trump because Great Britain naturally wants to claim that their Student Council and Chancellor’s Board would trump those of any other country.
The Trump is also referred to as the Queen’s Cards, after their leader Queen Elizabeth. I’ll probably use that phrase, because it sounds better to me, and because I don’t want it to sound like I’m talking about Donald Trump.
Great Britain, Innocentius, and the Spanish Armada
Show ▼
Ever since I learned that a lot of Great Britain had pirate connections in Kyoukaisen, I figured we were in the general area of history where the Spanish Armada happened, but when Innocentius mentioned that an Armada was coming up, I had to go double-check the date of the original one. Turns out it happened in 1588 AD. Recall that it is currently 1648 TE, and since TE corresponds to AD on a one-to-one basis, that means that the Spanish Armada should have happened almost a hundred years ago!
What does this mean? According to some of my dear commenters (thanks all!), history recreation has gotten pretty badly delayed for reasons that will become clear later on. That means Innocentius is correct – the Spanish Armada has not (re-)happened yet. Regardless of that, the important part right now is that all throughout this approximate time in history Great Britain and Spain were fighting each other nearly constantly, so it makes sense that the current Great Britain would want to feel out an organization that the current Spain belongs to.
Why did Malga start talking to Asama about making a doujinshi in the middle of a battle?
Show ▼
I must admit ignorance on this one – or I did, before some of you chimed in with the answer! Here’s what she was doing. First of all, check out this extra picture I took of the scene. Notice how the first words of each of her sentences are in red? What Malga was doing was sending a hidden message to Asama by highlighting the first word of every sentence in the message window. This way she could tell Asama to shoot her out of the way without their adversaries realizing what they were planning.
That said, Malga would probably love for Asama to help her make a doujinshi. Not only would Asama’s legendary delusions make for some choice material, apparently Malga has made a doujin of Asama before, and it sold really well. Don’t get too excited, though – apparently she draws tentacle stuff. I mean, unless that’s your kind of thing. Then I guess you should get super excited!
Why did Asama shoot Malga? And why was it the smart thing to do?
Show ▼
Asama Shot Malga for two reasons:
- Asama’s bolt wasn’t tipped, it was blunt, so while it clearly hurt, it wasn’t going to kill her.
- The other arrows from Musashi’s archers were tipped, and they were also numerous, which would have hurt quite a lot.
So basically, Asama shot Malga because doing so got her out of the way of the more dangerous attacks without hurting her more than was necessary.
Why is Shakespeare’s first name “Thomas”?
Show ▼
I honestly have no idea. All the other characters have actual historical names, but Kawakami seems to have whiffed on that one by making her Thomas instead of William. Hopefully we’ll find out the reason for that later on, if there is one.
Impressions:
As I anticipated in my episode 13 impressions, this season started off with Tres España’s attack on Musashi, and it was indeed awesome! Seeing all those familiar faces, even though it has only been like a week for me, was quite fun, and it did the same thing the original first episode did, which was give a nice taste of the action and comedy that Kyoukaisen can bring to bear and whet my appetite for what was to come. Let’s get into it.
First, Naomasa. Her rumble with Era Fusae (Asano Masumi) was mostly interesting for what said opponent did. Era’s Michiyuki Byakko is a beast, both in how it acted and the sheer power it displayed. On par with divine weapons like Futayo’s Tonbokiri, its ability is to always find an opening in its opponent’s guard – or as I like to think of it, to ignore its opponent’s DEF stat 😀 I winced when Michiyuki Byakko destroyed Jizuri Suzaku’s leg, but despite Era’s taunting (her “Suzaku no nisemomo”), it turned out that Naomasa wasn’t really trying to win – she was just stalling for time at the behest of Neshinbara, so they could RAM TRES ESPAÑA’s SHIP WITH ONE OF THEIR OWN! O.O Oh Neshinbara, you’re so awesome, but more on that later.
Enter Masazumi! Weirdly enough, one of the things I love about Kyoukaisen is how they frequently use negotiation and debate to solve problems when most shows would go straight to violence. Well, that’s not what happened today! After Masazumi’s terrible joke (see explanation section for why she did this), it became clear what their real plan was…park on top of the Tres España ship and nuke the fuck out of it. Swiftly approved!
Not that Juana (Tanaka Rie) was going to let that happen. From the second she activated her Akidía Katárripsi (sin: Sloth, see explanation section for details), I knew it wouldn’t work on Toori. I mean, there can’t be anything about Toori’s body that he’s disgusted with, not with how often he’s naked! Though come to think of it, he also just wasn’t on the ship when Juana’s attack struck, so maybe he just dodged it?
Either way, what I was surprised about was that Horizon was so badly affected. That’s an admission of failure on my part though, because it’s really quite obvious. The weapon focuses on the disgust one has with one’s self, and Horizon, as an Automated Doll who has been stripped of all her emotions and probably wishes she was still human, has plenty she probably isn’t fond of about her current situation. But back to Toori, I loooooved his solution to their Juana problem. She got the “full Toori”, HAH! But even more priceless was seeing Tenzou cry about how the first mysterious princess that’s fallen into his arms was Toori. Priceless!
Show Full Impressions ▼
By the way, that points to something I love about Kyoukaisen, which I’ll probably mention many more times in the weeks to come. With all the different personalities floating around, and the interesting reactions they each have to everything that is happening, Kyoukaisen can smoothly slip some humour into nearly any scene. Of course, that’s only what gives it the material…what really makes it work is the fact that most of the fights maintain a fairly light tone overall, which means they can toss in a joke, a blush, or a funny reaction in without destroying the mood. Love it!
Speaking of, Malga, Azuma, and Miriam. I damn near fell out of my chair when Azuma revealed that he didn’t know what sex was, and Malga ended up trying to educate him (not that way, you perverts!). Let me be the first to say THANK YOU AZUMA-SAMA, for getting Malga to admit that she and Margot have sex! m(_ _)m.
But it only got better from there, because it was even more hilarious when Azuma got back to his room and started naively suggesting sex to Miriam. Oh man, what are you suggesting right now Azuma!?!? *rolls around laughing* But yeah, shocked/embarrassed Miriam was really cute. Azuma and Miriam are one of my favorite non-official couples to ship, so when Miriam was shivering because she suddenly suspected she was rooming with a casanova who was trying to “capture” her, and then she ejected him from the room despite the fact that she can’t use her legs–! Oh man, too much fun.
Of course, just as soon as Neshinbara’s stall-until-we-can-accelerate plan finally bears fruit, they appear off the coast of the floating island of Great Britain…only to end up in more trouble. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, that’s the Musashi way! (Apparently). Enter the Trump, also known as the Queen’s Cards. Check the explanation section for why they attack, but as for the members themselves…well, they’re just weird, even by Kyoukaisen standards. That doesn’t mean they’re slouches though – William Cecil’s (Kuwatani Natsuko) ability acted like a gravity suppression magic based off her own (formidable) weight, Robert Dudley (Yamada Miho) has a tennis racket that can easily repel attacks and a Testament Arma that can remote control enemies’ weapons (probably among other things), and Ben Jonson (Onosaka Masaya) managed to intercept Kiyonari and avoid being hit by Noriki, both of which are things that Galileo couldn’t manage last season, or at least not twice. They’re weird, but they’re not whimps.
There was a lot to enjoy in the first part of this battle with Great Britain, especially since Musashi only has a few of their people on hand to fight, since the others are all still halfway across Musashi where they fought Tres España. That’s why characters like Malga (two notable and completely separate roles in one episode? Madness!), Noriki (keep trying man), and even Adele (yay, Adele! My favorite tank/wall :3) got a chance to shine. Still, there were two notable stars for me.
The first was Kimi-nee, as usual. Sure, I appreciate the fanservice she dished out (you’ll have to watch the episode for the closeup ~_^), but I’m curious what she thinks Asama can do if she’s not allowed to shoot people. Really though, I just want more elaboration on that. I understand why Asama could shoot Malga in this episode (see the explanation section for details), but that doesn’t explain why she was able to shoot at Makiko-sensei in episode one of the first season (Edit: apparently Asama got special dispensation to shoot at Makiko-sensei because the shrine didn’t think she could hit her, and even if she did it wouldn’t be lethal. They were right. Makiko-sensei is awesome!), nor why it was okay that she shot down that Tres España ship in episode ten (interjection #2: that one could be because she was shooting the Tres España attack, and her arrow just happened to go through it and strike the ship. Whoops!). Either way, I look forward to seeing what Kimi-nee has in mind. She is wise far beyond most people’s years, and she also has that sideways, corkscrew-like thinking that her brother possesses, so I’m sure her idea will be great.
As for the other one, it was Neshinbara. Not only is he a great strategist, this time he charged straight into the battle and started owning with words. Awesome! In a show full of amazing personalities – including a tsundere half-werewolf, a busty nee-san, a jealous robot, and a silly nudist protagonist – I think the strategist-writer is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. Blasphemy!…or it would be, if not for my profession and aspirations 🙂 No worries Neshinbara, keep up with your “Mountains of Text”. It’s working for me so far!
Though, the question is: will it work against the adorable Thomas Shakespeare (Saitou Momoko)? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out! Writer vs writer, let’s do it!
tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Musashi fights off Tres España…and then runs right into a battle with Great Britain! Action right from the start. Loving it. #Kyoukaisen
Random thoughts:
- No, I did not forget the other super-hilarious part of this episode. Horizon’s punishment for Toori because he let himself get felt up by another woman was as funny as it was cringe-inducing. The Armament in her soul, Ólos Phthonos, is the one based on jealousy, so it was fun seeing her show one of the few emotions she has right now. Plus, her deadpanned “a-ano dorobo neko” (lit. “that thieving cat”, which translates into something like “that dirty whore”) was so HNNNNNG!! *Stilts bursts a blood vessel*
- Speaking of Horizon, I’m glad to see she got a new outfit. Musashi Ariadust Academy’s uniform has never looked better, nyahaha! \o/
- Futayo’s Tonbokiri (that’s Slicing Dragonfly…I’ve decided I like the Japanese name better) is really strong. A weapon with an any-magic dispell and a one-hit KO attack? Overpowered. If all Divine Weapons are like that, the hierarchy is probably Testament Arma –> Divine Weapons –> Armaments of Deadly Sins…though of course, the best solution is still to get as many of all of the above as possible 😀
- I loved Innocentius’ sigh after Masazumi’s terrible joke. You just keep losing to that old man, don’t you Seijun? :3
- It’s okay Neito and Masazumi, your chests are fine the way they are ~_^
- So Juana’s overdrive didn’t affect Toori (I think, unless he just dodged it). I wonder if it would have affected Kimi-nee? We need an answer to this, pronto!
- I forgot to mention, but it was impressive that Tres España managed to stop Lype Katarripsi’s attack, even if it took two Testament Arma, a Divine Weapon-level God of War, and Gin almost getting toasted to do it. They proved they’re antagonists that won’t be pushed around. Nice.
- Speaking of Gin, you just know by the looks she exchanged with Futayo (and what we saw in the OP) that those two are going to be at each other’s throats the whole season. Yay, can’t wait!
- Geez, what is with Great Britain always being a floating island in the anime I cover?
- Robert Dudley, William Cecil…WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR FAAAACE?
- Fun fact: Asama and Kimi-nee’s breasts make different poyon sounds. Maybe Horizon’s too, though it’s pretty similar to Kimi-nee’s. N-Not that I was listening or anything! *tsun tsun*
- Fun fact #2: I write way too much. “Mountains of Text,” Neshinbara? I CHALLENGE YOU TO A WORD DUEL!!
Full-length images: 20.
ED Sequence
ED: 「悲しみは誰の願いでもない」 (Kanashimi wa Dare no Negai Demonai) by アイラ結城 (Aira Yuki)
Preview
Posted by 
I only watch for the nipples
Good to know. By the way, you do know that the only nipples in this episode are Toori’s, right?
Edit: actually, they censored those too. The More You Know~
Hmmmm… I sense aminosity
I’m a fan of kyoukai and I’m shock to see this post/comment…. nipple? u sure youre watching kyoukai? or maybe it’s like what stilts said…u leik toori’s nipple….and what a fetish
At least say boobies, then we might actually believe that you actually watch the show… unless you really mean Toori’s nipple that it…
Goddamn Stilts. Just goddamn. I thought I wrote too much, but I must bow before a true master.
I have nothing to add. You literally covered EVERYTHING.
Yeah, the overachieving didn’t stop with the retrospective. If anything, it may have gotten worse :X
*is totally crazy, nyahaha~ \o/*
I-I won’t still admit Stilts as my master in Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon.
You haven’t beaten US yet.
覚えているよ………！o(>< )o
Just admit it, Croos! I cannot be beaten!
*cackles like an evil overlord* *struck down by a strapping young lad with a magical sword whose hometown Stilts once destroyed*
Curses!!
Looks like I am going to watch this along with its first season. I better get started.
If you don’t understand some terms in the first season go to Stilt’s Horizon post(Part I and Part II) or from Sensei. They were really helpful when I re-watch the series.
I love you Stils, possibly homo.
I know Rich. We’ve been over this before. Don’t make this awkward.
Go away, Stilts’ mine!
This is closer to a wiki article than anything, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m going to really need this to enjoy the show beyond a superficial level.
I’ll keep doing my best! And yeah, I used to edit Wikipedia a lot, so I guess it became something of a habit :X
lol good thing you added tags or i wouldn’t no where to start if i lost my spot in the summary XD
Stilts don’t just smash that Wall of Text on our faces. I’m trying to enjoy the boobies and the great action scenes!
Between Neshinbara’s Mountains of Text and my Walls of Text, none shall survive, bwahaha!
Now we just need to get Shakespeare-tan to help too…
God dammit, Writers! I try to get into a show but the sheer volume of guide books and articles I need to read in order to understand it all just alienates me!
Alas, no cap of Asama’s close-up…
In all seriousness though, it was nice to see her get a fair amount of attention here, she made a good impression in the first episode, but only seemed to have occasional (but appreciated) stand-out moments in season one.
And beyond that, lots of characters got some enjoyable focus, Azuma was adorable as usual, Malga had some nice lines, Neshinbara is awesome, and obviously Toori, Masazumi, Horizon, etc. are always incredible.
Then the great fights, interesting new characters, lots of hilarious bits… In other words, so glad to have this series back!
I think we’re going to get some more of Asama next episode for sure, but hopefully that’s not the end of it. She’s second tier on my list right now, but I feel like once she gets some more exposure (not that way, you perverts! …okay, maybe that way too) I’ll like her even more. She has such a fun character, she just needs more time to shine!
ss 07-08 “sex ed 101 FAIL”… little did I suspect that few minutes later:
ss 31 “Lets have sex, NOW!” I cried from laughter on this scene…
Agreed! I think I’ve watched those scenes like 10 times so far XD
Stilts no Ecchi
so agree with you on that
Mmm…the most badass OP of the season…
He speaks the TRUTH and did I mention how lovely Minorin looks in the PV? =3
what is s3x?
Azuma you’re gonna be an awesome king one day!
https://randomc.net/image/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon%20II%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2025.jpg
Tenzou is hilarious. You’re gonna get your hot partner soon.
We all know, STILTS > NENSHINBARA.
Fact!
*blushes*
Love Stilts’s blogs, always fun to read for example… “Awesome! In a show full of amazing personalities, including tsundere half-werewolves, busty nee-sans, jealous robots, and a silly nudist protagonist” or “Fun fact: Asama and Kimi-nee’s breasts make different poyon sounds. Maybe Horizon’s too, though it’s pretty similar to Kimi-nee’s poyon. N-Not that I was listening for it anything! *tsun tsun*” XD
Just when I thought I nearly finished reading the whole review– a spoiler tag appeared and revealed another wall of text. \o/
Thanks for all the explanation, Stilts, I watched this eps for like– 4 times in a row and still missed some (or most– idk) of the details that you wrote here.
And Horizon. She’s way too adorable here. I used to dislike her during the 1st season (because she’s the only useless character among all badass characters, not to mention her high spec/hidden power and her personality– or should I say, too close to being a mary sue?), but this eps completely changed my opinion about her. I really love the part where she did the punchline(?) at Seijun’s joke. lol
Yeah, she’s more and more coming into her own. She’s being more Horizon Ariadust and less P-01s, and her human character is a lot more interesting (and pleasantly snarky) than the “logical” robot ever was. Yay for more jealous Horizon-tan!
so convient where her hand placement is XD
https://randomc.net/image/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon%20II%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2023.jpg
I prefer this hand placement: https://randomc.net/image/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon%20II%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2017.jpg
^_____^
pretty sure she actually grabbed it rather than just covering it. lol!
Probably the best premier I’ve watched this season. What I love about this show (besides all these eccentric characters) is that even though some people have no idea what’s going on, people still continue watching it (without those posts of yours I’d still be one of those people; hell, I probably still am lol).
Thanks for explaining a lot of those details. Honestly I find myself enjoying this series even when I have no idea whats going on, looking forward to more and I was cracking up this whole episode because Toori was naked the whole time. xD
Yeah, I know what you mean. That’s pretty much how I was for most of the first season (for my first watch-through). That is, until Toori and Horizon’s debate in episode 12. After that, I had to figure out what exactly was going on.
You know, that episode may have broken me in some way…
So…Toori starts off the new season nude…seems legit.
I shivered during that scene where Kiyonari was calmly walking through Cecil’s gravity manipulation. Awesome first ep promising more things to come!
Great job breaking down the ep, Stilts! I love your explanations, as I admit there were a few parts that I missed (like Tres Espana’s ghosts- I didn’t notice their legs!) 😀
Oh, about Asama’s shooting, here’s my take on it:
Asama can’t consciously directly attack living things with the intent to kill/hurt/maim. She can, however, ‘kill’ them indirectly (downing the ship they’re riding or those crates the Tres Espana mooks were atop).
As for Makiko-sensei’s battle, maybe that had something to do with how everyone wasn’t actually going all-out? Or, maybe to actually ‘kill’ targets, she has to make an offering first.
IIRC, the deal with Makiko-sensei was that the Shrine doesn’t think Asama can hit her, and even if she did (by some fluke), it wouldn’t be lethal. So Asama got approval so shoot her. (And look– she didn’t even hit her. Makiko-sensei is scary.)
The case with the ship is pretty simple, she only destroyed a ship and didn’t kill anyone. There was only one guy on the ship as it was a suicide mission and we see an escape pod ejecting from it after it got shot.
Thank you all! I have updated my post accordingly. Addin’ to that wall ‘o text, oh yeah!
“Spanish armada” it is the real deal, we’ll be seeing the naval battle of gravelines among others this season. Whole history recreation just happens to be delayed pretty badly for reasons we shall see later but let’s just say certain blonde is related to the matter at hand.
“Why did Malga start talking to Asama about making a doujinshi in the middle of a battle?” She just needed to talk about something random to send out her hidden message, she highlighted certain words (first word of every sentence or something like that) in the message window. Of course if she can convince Tomo to help her make doujin for shooting her she’d be in even better place financially. According to the official 4koma she makes.. tentacle doujins, according to Vol 3 of the LN she has fans and especially the doujin featuring Tomo was a big hit.
“I knew it wouldn’t work on Toori. I mean, there can’t be anything about Toori’s body that he’s disgusted with, not with how often he’s naked! ” Juana’s attack only hit the ship that had crashed into San Lorenzo, Toori wasn’t there, seeing as he appeared behind Juana only seconds later.
Thank you! Editing my post accordingly.
And on Toori, yeah, I realized that was probably the reason after I had already written the whole post, so I just went back in and jammed that thought in there. I still suspect it wouldn’t have affected Toori, but who knows…he might not be quite as impossible as I give him credit for.
I have a feeling everyone has something they don’t like about their body. Toori is fabulous and doesn’t mind being seen naked but I think if hit by that attack at least his shoulder with the scar from Horizon’s accident would be affected.
Well everyone except Kimi, she probably could ignore the whole thing.
The opening just dives straight into business. It pretty much left me speechless and gaping for air.
Seriously Toori, you really DO know how to make a statement and Horizon, you’re just so cute with your new found emotions
I must say, this start of this season has been exciting thus far…
I thought Lype Katarripsi’s sin was sloth. If Akidia Katarripsi is sloth then what is Lype Katarripsi’s sin? might just be a mistake on my part though.
lype katarripsi = sadness
Instead of dwelling much on that whole “sex” misunderstanding, as well as being glad that Horizon season 2 is here, I’d rather thank you Stilts for this kind of post. A lot of the Q&A you put I never would have noticed, like those characters without legs and the 3 minute conquest explanation. Senjou no Horizon is a unique series with fighting styles I don’t normally see (the spear that cuts you by just having your image reflect on its blade comes to mind) is normally that kind of series I avoid for being too deep, but the mecha and character designs, and battles made me watch season 1 and anticipate its return. Yeah I’ve gotta be one of those kinds that want to understand what I’m watching, so you’ll never believe the migraine I got just trying to understand Toori and Horizon’s debate back then. I only got to read your retrospective now so I’m thankful you provided that explanation. I also visited that tumblr site with all the insights but I think I only got how Toori turned things around now through yours. I was thinking along the lines that Toori was trying to convince an automated doll to change its mind. I didn’t think of it that way that there’s 2 personas inside Horizon and that Toori’s goal was to bring out her Ariadust side (at least that’s the impression I got). Long story short, I’ll be following season 2 and try to understand things but I’ll be depending on your posts for stuff I didn’t get. And PS https://randomc.net/image/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon%20II%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2033.jpg – Horizon can be so scary.
I’m glad that helped! And I don’t blame you for not getting that the first time through. I sensed where the flow of the debate changed the first time I saw it, and I still enjoyed it for that alone (and for earnest Horizon, HNNNG), but it took me two days of wracking my brain to wrap my mind around what was happening there. And even then, it only “clicked” when I was editing the post the day i released it, somewhere around 4 o’clock in the morning, lol! I’m glad I put all that effort in, though…it’s fun thinking really hard and managing to figure out such a tricky problem.
WHY DOES THE ROBOT HAVE BOOBS.
A fetish I guess…
For further reference of boobs on bots check out the LN or the MMO, Cosmic Break.
1st time that I thought of naruze as a cutie <3
Okay, first of all, thank you Stilts for the lengthy review and throughout explanation.
Second, an excellent episode. Right into the action and full of usual Kyoukaisen cool action and funny jokes. Two things I regret however, 1) I should have rewatch the whole first season before. I just cannot wait to watch the first episode 2) should have not spoiled myself by reading this review first X-X. Can’t help with it either. It still fun but the whole sex thing will be funnier if I don’t expect it.
Actually, make it three: now I feel the whole episode finish too fast and want too watch the next one ASAP T-T. I wonder if I should do like last season and wait until it finishes airing then marathon it…
Third, a Question if you don’t mind: What is thoese white-dark grey pair of things that everyone wear on their shoulders (or in the case of the sumo wrestler, waist)?
I read something on that (no idea where, otherwise I would find the source), but the long and short of it is – no one knows. Literally, I don’t think Kawakami (the original author) has ever said specifically what they are. I do know that Kimi’s maus Uzume emerged from one of those things before her battle with Futayo in Season 1 (Episode 9), but that’s the only time we’ve seen them do anything functional. The rest of the time they’re just there.
*shrugs* s’all I’ve got!
Okay, thanks anyway.
Late breaking development! My sources (i.e. light novel readers, by way of Moomba) tell me that those things are for gravity control. They’re apparently how Gin makes those huge guns float, among other things. I’m not entirely sure what everyone else uses them for, other than probably keeping the female characters from having terrible back pain.
YEAH HORIZON IS BACK. Funny start for the season. This is one of the few shows where I can love all the characters. Knew Stilts would throw a wall of text which I have read and I’m sure we can all expect many more walls of text regarding Horizon throughout the season. Stilts you are outdoing yourself with every post. Thank you for your hard work, may you continue to do so.
Domo, domo *bows*
And yes, look forward to many more walls ‘o text to come. It’s not like I love spending eight hours on a post, so if there’s no need then I’ll give you guys a blessedly short post, but as long as there are things that need explaining, I intend to do it! So yeah, expect a lot more of em, heh
Shakespeare <3
I’m not sure whether to envy Neshinbara or feel sorry for him…
Don’t overwork yourself Stilts, carpal tunnel can be really scary. That doesn’t make Neshinbara any less badass though 😉
Season 2 off to a great start, perfect blend of glorious action and timely comedy, with a sprinkle of poyon poyon goodness. Speaking of that, your attention to details never ceased to amaze me Stilts >:3
HAH, carpal tunnel. Nice ^^ I’m still waiting for a good picture of Neshinbara doing something awesome (without credits over his face, damn ED!) so I can make a new gravatar. Sorry Andy, you are truly epic, but Horizon-tan is the one who owns my heart…
This article, and the two others that came before this, really made my viewing experience more complete. Like in Fate/Zero, there are things that cannot be translated/included in the anime because of contraints in time or the medium used. So now, I do believe that after watching the show, I will have to refer to your article in case I missed out or didnt understand something :)))))
Fukuyama-sama is amazing as usual as Toori. His acting definitely shines the most in this episode(Ono-D is second) XD
Stilts you’re crazy!
That’s why I love you though!
Shhh Freddeh, we don’t want them to know. Not yet.
I bet Neshinbara would reply like this, Stilts.
D:
Damn. You used word(I thought it was World).
*/me accepts defeat.
O-Only this one that is.
I was guessing that the whole doujin discussion was code for “shoot me”. As she’s talking the lines appear with the first kanji highlighted in red on the archer’s (forget her name) pop up panel (forget what they are called too).
Yeah, “shoot me” sounds about right. Maybe someone with the necessary japanese skills can confirm that that was exactly what those red kanji were saying.
There is so much happening, not only what the characters are saying, but all those offerings & spells, a real nightmare for every typesetter. 😀
Thanks Stilts for your wiki-like explanation. Guess that for this 2nd season I won’t have to rely that much on other sites as much as for the first one, since you’re already doing a stellar job.
As others already said, don’t overwork yourself.
No problemo : ) And don’t worry, I shant burn myself out. The work I knew I would put into Horizon-tan is a large part of the reason why I only took two shows this season, nyahaha! Plus there’s the whole “I’m crazy” thing. That helps too.
NICE JOB! Reply to my profile on MAL with a response. I WANT A TALK WITH YOU!
Ahhhh yelling! I didn’t know there were messages on MAL o.O If you want to get a hold of my, pop on irc and leave me a message on Mizore, or better yet shoot me an email at StiltsOutLoud@gmail.com. I’ll get it a lot faster there : )
love the coverage!
Geezus Stilts. You made me watch the whole episode again for pointing out things I missed. I think I was paying too much attention to the nipp-ahem, I mean breasts! Definitely the breasts! ^_^; Thank you Aoi.
I’m beginning to wonder at how much information you could pull up on Owari if it got animated and how it would apply to this show and vice versa. We’d all probably drown in a Sea of Text from you if so. It would be so informative that we’d all drown or become seatexters.
Seriously Stilts, keep up the work. Must watch the “sex scenes” all over again.
You know, in any other show the phrase “must watch the sex scenes all over again” would mean something completely different. I just wanted to point that out because it made me laugh XD
Ok don’t get me wrong i love tits. I mean i REALLY LOVE TITS. And the bigger the better. But seriously the breasts in this anime come off as looking freakishly unnatural. But i still love the tits though.
Here’s a beautiful picture from the opening, it’s only seen in a split second pan over it in the actual video.
http://i.imgur.com/DPilC.jpg
Sweet, Horizon battle outfit?
Sure didn’t notice that one. Thanks for the pic.
all that seriousness in the picture….ruined by a single dove…
he loves to strip. it wouldnt be much impact in his first night with horizon later
OK, thanks.
Sorry my bad. I was replying to †Croos†.
Anyway, this season looks really promising.
I finally got to see the episode and LOL. The scene with the prince and “his family” is the highlight of this episode for me XD.
As for how Toori dodged the attack, yes as mentioned he was already behind her at that time, because Toori boarded the other ship at 8:56, there you see naked legs running in the foreground of the scene.
Good catch there!
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Daiaki711/horizonups.gif
Grope-dodges for everyone!
I’m so thankful for someone out there to see how truly wonderful this show really is. Hell, your explanations are easier for me to understand that most resource websites. I mean damn, people need to realize this show is really unique and original and it must have took forever for the author to write up this show with so many different and unique characters.
I’m a little (or very) late here, but cheers Stilts for the coverage on Horizon, I find the explanation portion extremely helpful by answering all the ??? that I’ve had while watching the episode. Keep that up, and the good work of course!
Actually, your impressions could use less “summarization” to be honest (in my personal opinion of course)..There isn’t a real need to mention every single thing happening? Especially since this IS Horizon and action is happening all the time. Although I have to give ya huge props for doing just that as well.
But really, good job on the post – love the explanation section! Impressions could be much shorter but that’s just me.
PS: I think Horizon and Kimi-nee breasts sound the same, at least to me. 😉
Come to think of it, how come Tomo’s clothes are now the school uniform whenin the last episode of season 1 she was wearing abody suit? @_@
Well, S2 Episode 1 is on the 4th of May, several days after “the fateful reunion” on S1 Episode 13 (April 20).