「土上の下り者」 (Do Jou no Kudari-mono)
“Those Descending to the Surface”
Explanations:
Why did Toori not die when Futayo bound his reflection?
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Toori didn’t die because Futayo didn’t actually bind Toori’s reflection, but rather that of the
charms he was holding. I don’t know whether Futayo purposefully targeted those, or whether Toori blocked her attack, but I would guess it’s the former because it doesn’t make a lot of sense for her to kill her leader (especially since her liege is clearly quite fond of him). As for why Futayo did this (clearly with Masazumi’s consent, since she didn’t seem too concerned), it was probably because they didn’t want him screwing around when they’re trying to work and/or because they didn’t want him to bother the sleeping Horizon…which is (of course) what he
immediately proceeded to do.
What’s up with the graveyard?
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Tenzou mentions that there was “something wrong” with the
cemetary that he and Scarred end up going to, but it’s never mentioned exactly what is wrong with it. The answer? I didn’t catch it in the episode, but apparently the graveyard got damaged in the crash landing. I don’t think it really matters, though. To me, it mostly seemed like an excuse for Tenzou and Scarred to meet again so they could get a little
closer. Still, if you know the answer then tell me in the comments below.
Felipe, Muneshige’s title, and the Hashiba
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When Felipe and Gin are talking about Muneshige’s title, Felipe mentions the Hashiba. The Hashiba are the ruling family of M.H.R.R. (Stilts note: that’s the country based on the Holy Roman Empire. More on them
here). The Hashiba want the title of “Peerless Man of the West,” and cash-strapped Tres España (they’re in serious debt at the moment) is considering selling it to them. When Felipe says that Gin and Muneshige would need to join the Hashibas for Muneshige to retain his title, that’s what he means – they would have to leave Tres España and join M.H.R.R.
Shirojiro vs Charles Howard – the Meat Trading Showdown
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This one is a bit complex, so if you’re confused, read the whole thing through (plus the next explanation as well). It should make sense be the end.
- Musashi has 2,000 tons of meat which will expire in two weeks. England wants this meat (2,000 tons = a months supply for their entire country), but they’re unsure if they can go through all of it before the battle of the Spanish Armada happens (conclusion: the battle will happen in less than two weeks). England can preserve all this meat in one week, meaning that it will be good for longer. Also, the longer they wait to buy it from Musashi, the less it will cost them to buy – and given the quantities and their relative situations, neither Musashi nor England can really go to other parties. England wants supplies for the war, and Musashi wants money to keep their city flying. That’s the stage.
- Shirojiro suggests the joint Spring School Festival because it can be used as cover for the exchange of all the meat. That way, England doesn’t look like they’re defying the Testament Union too much, and the exchange of the meat can be done through the Musashi Student Council Booth. Anyway, he suggests the festival (and suggests that it last for two weeks) under the premise that people eat more during a festival, so England could potentially use up all that meat in half the time. That is, he starts from the premise that 1mo of meat + increased consumption due to a festival = 2wks of meat. They begin haggling over the length of the festival
- Now Charles Howard starts with three days. If Shirojiro were to accept this, Charles would be screwed – England needs a week (7 days) to process the meat, so that’s the shortest amount of time they can accept. As for Musashi, it needs a week and four days (11 days) to make a profit on the sale of the meat (because after that the meat’s value will fall too low due to its impending expiration). The reason that Shirojiro starts with fourteen days while Howards starts with three is so they have room to haggle towards their preferred number of days – eleven and seven, respectively.
- The problem for Musashi is that Shirojiro only has three days to give up (14 – 11 = 3), whereas Charles Howard has four (7 – 3 = 4). Plus, England can go over that if they need to, though it will cost them extra money to hold the festival, whereas Musashi can go absolutely no lower than eleven if they want to at least break even. That means Musashi is at a disadvantage.
- So Shirojiro and Charles Howard haggle, and after a few moves Shirojiro goes down to nine days – below the eleven days Musashi needs to break even on the sale of the meat. Masazumi thinks that Shirojiro might be trying to make up the lost money back on selling other things at the festival. That’s not what he’s trying to do, though it’s not a stupid idea on Masazumi’s part by any means (Stilts note: grocery stores frequently use that very tactic. They have what are called “loss leaders,” or commonly purchased items like milk, sugar, and eggs that they’ll sell at a loss in order to get people into the store in the hopes that they’ll purchase more expensive things while they’re there. They’re usually right, though it can be close sometimes).
- Anyway, Shirojiro suggested nine days when Charles Howards was at six, so Charles goes up to seven, and then even goes up to eight as a sign of “good faith.” Not really; this is actually an attempt on his part to close negotiations, since they’re now within a day of one another, and England can accept either eight or nine days gladly. This is when Shirojiro does the Triple Axel Dogeza (lawl!!) The point of that move was simply to wow the human being Charles Howard as a merchant and a negotiator, which Shirojiro did splendidly. This earns Shirojiro another day (getting him to nine), at the cost of only a little bit of his pride. That’s a good exchange, considering Shirojiro has none.
- Here’s where Shirojiro gets truly amazing. Remember how Charles Howard was bluffing when he initially offered three days? Musashi is now close to their goal (they’re both at nine days), but they need those two extra days, so Shirojiro goes all in and calls Charles Howards’ bluff. He then repeatedly takes positions below the seven day mark, forcing Charles Howards to actually switch sides and begin giving Musashi more time of his own volition, in an effort to coax Shirojiro above the seven day line. He offers better terms on the nine days, and then ten days…at which time Shirojiro leaps, offering eleven days. With them only one day apart now, Charles Howard yields, and Shirojiro wins. Drinks all around!
Suzu, Adele, and Futayo as “hostages.”
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First of all, remember that Shirojiro just bent Charles Howard over and paddled him like a misbehaving toddler. However, it’s not like Musashi wants England to be their enemies or anything like that (they’ve got plenty of those already), so it’s in their benefit to give up something else. Thus, Shirojiro extends anolive branch – he takes Musashi’s strongest offence (Futayo) and strongest defense (Adele), and separates them from the rest of the group by making them bodyguards for their diplomat, Suzu. If England was worried about foul play from Musashi during the Spring Sports Festival, that should alleviate things since they won’t have all their power clustered together in one place. By the way, that’s why Charles Howard throws in the extra two days for the festival (bringing the total up to 13 days).
That said, Shirojiro is really just taking them to Charles Howard to the cleaners again. Yes, this will separate Futayo and Adele from the rest of Musashi while they’re there…but it will also let Suzu investigate the strange sound she heard coming from London Tower. Once again, Shirojiro gets everything he wants, in the guise of giving something to the other side. Brilliant.
Impressions:
Alrighty, I’m going to attempt to keep this brief (pffft, Stilts keep something brief? Chea right) because I just spent the better part of an hour writing an explanation of future-past economics, and also it’s late and I have work tomorrow. There were four major things I really enjoyed about this episode, so, as is my wont, I’ll tackle each of them in turn.
Horizon! This week we finally learned why Horizon was suddenly sleeping twenty hours a day. It’s sometimes hard to remember, since she’s no different than most emotionless girls (trope!) – save for that mean right hook of hers *cringe* – but Horizon is a robot. Also, she had a rather rough time at Juana’s hands a couple of episodes back, so it makes sense that her internal systems / programs might need some tweaks and/or repairs. Still, what’s with all the nut shots, Horizon!? Clearly you’re the S to Toori’s M, but I think you’re going to want to, ahem, you know…use that, uh, thing, uhm…some…*fidgets* *fidgets* You know what? Never mind.
Muneshige and Gin! The whole shaving bit was funny, especially when Felipe almost made it worse, but the big thing here was the revelation that Muneshige was the one who severed Gin’s arms. I don’t know what made him do that – though I’m sure he had a good reason, given his personality + the obvious love Gin has for him – but now I reeeeeally want to know what that reason was. Wake the hell up, Peerless of the West! You have some serious questions to answer!!
Tenzou and Scarred! As I said last episode, Scarred is indeed a woman, and as I heard from the crazy people who defiltered her voice, she is indeed voiced by Horie Yui! I must admit, I’m not as big of a fan of Hocchan as many (don’t fire me Divine, I’ll try harder!), because she really only uses one voice, but I enjoyed the soft tones she was using here. Three stars.
Anyway, Scarred and Tenzou’s conversation about Double Bloody Mary made it abundantly clear (to me) that Mary and Scarred are one and the same. First of all, she was extremely critical of Mary in a way that screamed of self-deprecation. Then there’s the fact that she has a chain around one leg, which says “prisoner” to me. As for why she’s not confined to the Tower of London like she’s supposed to be, I assume that’s because Queen Elizabeth and the other higher ups don’t think she’ll run away, because she’s not the kind of person who would run when she knows some other woman would be given the Mary names and executed to start the Spanish Armada in her place. Personally, I am now extremely excited to see how Tenzou gets her out of that whole mess. As much as I love Horizon and Toori, for some reason I’ve always been a sucker for beta couples, and having a nice honorable pervert like Tenzou get a slammin’ hottie…well, that’s every man’s dream, ne?
Capitalism, ho! Check the explanation section for a details on what happened here, but as for my impressions, they boil down to one thing – don’t fuck with Shirojiro. He may be useless in anything that doesn’t involve money, but when money is involved, he is not to be trifled with! But seriously, it’s sections like these that set Kyoukaisen apart from other anime. While there are plenty of shows about fighting and war, there are few that throw high stakes business negotiations into the mix (Spice and Wolf is the only one I can think of, though I’m sure there are others…maybe). Things like politics, debate, and business hold the potential for the protagonists to completely and utterly lose without risking the death of a beloved character, which actually has the effect of raising the tension in my eyes. It also takes us to conflicts less traveled, which is nice after seasons full of of sword fights and romantic misunderstandings…though Kyoukaisen has those too, so the best of both worlds!
Next week we’ll presumably see some preparations for this joint Spring Sports Festival, which I am eagerly looking forward to. It looks like the battle of the Spanish Armada will happen soon, but if they can fit in a quick undoukai then I won’t mind! Especially if it involves Ambassador Suzu and bodyguards Adele and Futayo! Holy crap, that’s three of my most favoritest characters set to travel through England together! That plus the possibility of Tenzou and Scarred-chan going around the festival together…HNNNNNG– *massive nosebleed*
tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – The pervert ninja gets a love interest, the blind girl becomes an ambassador, & the miser takes his counterpart to the cleaners #Kyoukaisen
Random thoughts:
- Aoi Toori is naked again! To all those of you who were happy he put clothing back on last episode…c’mon, you knew that couldn’t last. After all, this is Toori we’re talking about.
- A helpful Gin is a scary Gin. Eep!
- I find Felipe to be a very interesting character. He’s a leader who no longer wants to lead, and would prefer to do the shopping and clean up instead. He’s clearly a very kind man, but I wish he would have more faith in himself. C’mon Felipe, buck up. Do it for Juana, at least!
- “Excalibur Caliburn” is such a silly name. C’mon Japan, I know you know the better! Still, I liked Tenzou’s little trick for pulling a sword out of the ground. That’s another example of the little details being everything in Kyoukaisen.
- What is with characters getting nailed in the nuts this season!? And it’s not even all in this show. You’re making me relive bad memories, Japan. Have mercy!
- As I said, don’t mess with Shirojiro. Not only will he take you for all you’re worth, he’ll also feed you nasty food to put you off guard. Though actually, that food didn’t look bad to me, but apparently the English guys weren’t fans. C’mon, I’ve seen what English people eat. Sashimi is an upgrade.
- Charles Howard, you’ve got a bit of a tell there. Just sayin’.
- By the way, I liked everyone’s chat handles, like Neito’s “Silver Wolf,” Naomasa’s “Smoking Woman,” and Kimi-nee’s “Smart Big Sis.” Dunno why, but all these characters having handles like the ones we use here just makes them seem more relatable to me. Also, that’s the first hint we’ve gotten Naomasa smokes like she did in the LNs (though that detail was taken out for the anime so far). Nice.
- If the sound Suzu heard is coming from London Tower, and Scarred really is Double Bloody Mary (who is supposed to be imprisoned there), then anyone want to bet that Suzu and her group will be instrumental in setting Scarred-chan free? But no betting from the LN readers! That’s cheating.
- I have the same reaction when women ask if they can call me “Stilts-sama.” By the way, the answer is yes, especially if you’re a busty blonde. Banzai!
Full-length images: 19, 26, 34, 37.
Preview
Posted by 
d(^.^d)
Tenzou trigger another flag!
and Mr. Poker Face is smiling LOL.
His smiling face was priceless LMAO
Dat smile.
In the first episode Tenzou frustrated because Toori is his first “Princess mysterious fall from heaven.” But for the opening, he will have to be “the hero who saves the girl prisoner” or fight for her, XD sounds much better to be the hero of a beautiful girl.
Oh god, ‘dat Hocchan. All my feels, ALL OF THEM.
I’d pretty much figured out the negotiations, but you clarified the few things I was unclear on.
Suddenly I have the urge for some round melons XD, Tenzou don’t fail this time. Hard to tell is Horie Yui as Scarred usually i recognize the voice.
Your explanation helped me understand why it suddenly reversed in Shirojiro’s favour. The effort you put into Horizon every week is well appreciated by this reader here. <3 The negotiations felt quite tense as I was watching it play through and that chat thing looks really neat. Was a bit concerned when Toori suddenly he had clothes again, and then they made him run around naked XD and HURRAY FOR TENZOU and HIS BUSTY NEW BLONDE =D
Thank you kindly! That thought will help me t’morrow when I’m in boring meetings trying to stay awake after only three hours of sleep O:
(No sarcasm there, btw…as long as some of you find my posts useful and/or enjoyable, it’s totally worth it. T’morrow will still suck though, lol)
Ah..the BGM for this episode is just so good xD
I love the English battle theme that they played during the first dogeza. Epic.
Full sized Mary
http://i.imgur.com/7ClOI.jpg
Next episode preview gif, Dat Nate.
http://i.imgur.com/EUA1o.gif
Nicely done.
Waiting for textless version.
I must know… Who is feeding her?!! -faints from cuteness overload-
Now I have the picture of Mary in my file, thank you very much. XD
How do you get the .gif behind the episode preview? Is it from a special airing?
The next episode previews air on Bandai channel and/or the official site but it’s region blocked to Japanese IP’s only. Usually all the previews we get is some pictures, or in rare cases like this, a gif made by Japanese posted on Japanese message board where us westerners can actually see them.
I just saved the gif on 4chan when someone who reads the Japanese boards posted it there.
Scarred-sama! HNNNNNGH! Yui Horie and blonde bombshell aside, her self-sacrificing no-ego character makes me want to protect her… (as it is probably with certain ninja…)
Trade negotiations were all fun and games, though. Especially when they started bargaining in reverse directions!
Oh, and that was a close shave for Muneshige… Gin, you certainly should not play with sharp object. Especially with Felipe around to lend a hand…
Last but not least, the chatroom avis/handles were sweet!
Close…shave? *groans* Get out. That was horrible!
What can I say? Incredibly Lame Pun! Yay!
Stilts and trying to act shy? What is next, him trying to make short… never mind that one ^_^”
Joking aside, Horizon probably hits him that much since the only emotion she has at the moment is jealousy, and with how Toori acts all the time she probably thinks that he deserves to be hit in the nuts that much…
I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m just an innocent shoujo with no knowledge of such things >:3
Said from the deep voice sporting Andy’s post-coital-without-coitus moment-of-heartwarnming face. My holes are aquiver. *heart*
The reason for the graveyard being there is a grim one. Basically its one of the more unfortunate recreation of history by following the Testament.
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oops wrong spoiler tags. Forgive me….
Fixed the spoiler tags for ya.
Very interesting. And not surprising, given what we already know of her.
A question Stilts.
Why want the title “peerless of the west”?
It seems to me that titles only give responsibilities. And its not as if the Test Union or someone gives you money…. i think?
Power. When geopolitics are involved, the answer is almost always power. The one who takes responsibility in a situation is the one who calls the shots, and gets to lead the other nations. Innocentius’ role as head of the Testament Union undoubtedly comes with a lot of power as well. If M.H.R.R. takes the Peerless of the West title, they’ll be at the center stage of world events like Tres España has been…and there’s very little a European nation likes better than that, believe you me.
This also represents fluctuations of power between the two branches of the Habsburg House (Holy Roman Empire and Spain) – and in real history the pairing was a geopolitical nightmare for France as it was wedged between both, with addition of Spanish Netherlands (current Belgium/Holland) on the third side. The defeat of the Armada and Holland gaining independence helped balance the situation, and then shrewd policies of the Richelieu during 1620-1640s paved the way for the future dominance of Louis 14th France…
BTW, do the battles HAVE to follow established history? Because with no Poles to help them Austrian Habsburgs are pretty doomed when Ottomans move for Vienna in 1683…
Tsk, I knew anime is better! Kyoukaisen explained to me what a one semester’s worth of economics( break-even and loss leaders, oh and haggling!)in under 30mins. Gotta love that ending smile from Shirojiro a merchant should always smile to their customers.
Lastly, looks like Chizuru (Yuru Yuri) has some stiff competition on the human blood fountains!(n_n)
I had to pause and let out a long, gut bursting laugh for half a minute there when Shirojiro pulled of that Triple Axel Dogeza Bow. You can tell how superior his technique is compared to Charles Howard’s when he managed to do it without ruffling his clothes and made a fricking crater with his forehead lol.
I think that from now on, each time I see Horizon appear on screen, I’ll subconsciously be protecting my nuts with both my hands. I hope Toori has made a deposit at Musashi’s sperm bank because what with all the hits his gotten at his nether region, he’ll need to do so to ensure he can still pass on his heritage to posterity..
I still don’t understand though why Muneshige pretended to sleep when Gin wanted to shave his beard with TWO, frickin massive cleavers. Is he still feeling guilt for his defeat to Futayo, and can’t bear to talk with her face to face?
Stilts, the reason they needed to move the graveyard was because it was damaged during the crash landing.
I’m surprised you didn’t touch on the fact that Excalibur Caliburn was used last episode despite being implied to be stuck (in a rock I guess?). Obviously, since it’s a Divine Armament it’s power can still be used even if it can’t be moved.
Ah, I missed that. A good catch, mooms! Edited my explanation on the graveyard
That was sashimi on CURRY, nasty combination.
I was laughing when she said Excalibur Caliburn….
Is now the third episode of this season and move more in the relationship of Muneshige and Gin that in the first season.
1st: Gin giving everything to regain the pride of her husband.
2nd: Gin wishing Muneshige to be as macho as Felipe, XD.
3rd: Gin attending to her husband in a coma, and giving us to know that it was he who cut the arms.
For the latest need explanation, which happened to do that to the woman you love, not something you’re willing to do unless her life depended on it. Anyway they are my favorite couple in the series, a shame that Muneshige isn’t awake 🙁
Don’t worry, Gin and Muneshige will finally get their happy ending in this season. I won’t tell you any further though xD
There is something still bugging me regarding the trade thingie.
Maybe there’s something fundamentally wrong with how I understood the situation I hope you can enlighten me. The thing that’s bugging me is, when Masazumi mentioned that 9 days would at a loss for them. I am under the premise that “the closer it gets to the expiration the cheaper it will get”. So 11 days is their maximum(minimum I’m confused lol) allowable days to make profit? Am I right with that?
So why is 9 days exactly at a loss for them? Isn’t it better for them to sell it as soon as possible?
Kindly help out this confused soul. Thanks.
I’m not quite sure on that either, but since Heidi says “Considering the rate of returns, 11 days is the shortest we can cut it”, I have a guess:
Setting up for the festival would incur some expense, which just the sale of the meat wouldn’t cover. Therefore, by drawing it out, England gets some portion of the meat for processing using the festival as a cover, either at some agreed-upon price, or at declining prices. However, the longer festival also means that more (food and other goods) can be sold to the attendees, at a profit, which makes up for the declining value and initial expenses.
I think the longer the festival will be held, more food will be consumed by England, so Musashi’s meat will become more valuable in the end and don’t forget about additional income from other goods.
See it like this we have Day 1 and Day 14 as the mark being day 1 the soonest and 14 the latest they can sell
If the Festival lasts 14 days they have to begin in day 1 because it lasts 14 days of the 14 day they have. If the festival lasted 7 days they would begin in day 8 as is what is more convenient to England. Thas why if the festival lasted 11 days they would begin in day 4 that is their break point.
What this man said! That’s why it’s more beneficial for Musashi to start earlier – the sooner they start selling, the higher price they’ll get for the meat since it will be farther from its spoil date.
Oh I see!
That made sense. So in a way it’s actually in “reverse”. When England said 3 days in the bluff. It meant they’d start selling in day 12. And the 13 days Musashi got in the end meant they can start selling in day 2. Which is very good for them.
Thanks for explaining. Everything’s clear now.
How is it that Tenzou knows scarred? Have they met before?
They met in the previous episode.
Since then, two weeks have passed.
Again thanks Stilts for the explanation of the heavy stuff. I still don’t get fully the business with the meat but with your post, I got something to start with. On Horizon’s new role as Musashi’s royal nutcracker, Show Spoiler ▼
Also like what you said hats off to Tenzou. He’s a favorite of mine since season 1. The voice was misleading but I suspected Mr. Hoodie to be a she, but to be voiced by Hocchan I didn’t see coming! Tenzou’s gotta watch out for those kobolds though. One of them likes to crack nuts too.
And Shirojiro sticks the landing! 10/10
A little trivia regarding “Excalibur Caliburn”: “Caliburn” is short for “Caliburnus”, the Latin name for the Welsh name “Caledfwlch”, the original name of the Excalibur.
Seems like author Kawakami really did his homework with names.
I think the author MORE than did his homework, lol…considering how far along the series is, and how popular it was to get an anime.
=D
I just hope BT keeps translations on it going.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Toori stayed naked the whole season.
Nor would I. In fact, I’d be willing to place a bet that he will be
Normally I don’t particularly care for this show but episodes heavily featuring Shirojiro are always a total treat to watch. Seeing him run circles about the guy from England and manipulate him with words into giving him exactly what he wants was amazing, almost like watching an anime version of Thank You For Smoking. The episodes that are heavy on the wordplay are definitely the part of this show that I enjoy.
I just want to say that I have nothing but respect both for your love of Shirojiro, and for mentioning Thank You For Smoking. That movie is amazing, and undoubtedly the first time I realized how amazing of an actor Aaron Eckhart is. Swiftly approved!
@Stilts: Another question. If the battles and wars are recreated history then is it not also true to say the victor is already certain? Why need outside influence? (Musashi?)
You forget that history recreation is a mean to achieve something and nothing more. As the Pope said in S1, there are many interpretations of the Testament, so skillful leaders can bypass or alter the reenactment of certain events if they are clever enough, using the Testament as a excuse to gain more power.
Toori is so win, sure he’s silly and seems crazy/stupid but there’s method to the madness I tell you! Only one to get Horizon to wake up, though she went back to sleep shortly after her good morning “welcome”.
It’s been buggin me for quite a while. What are thos little black things that Horizon fed and spilled water over them called? I don’t remember their names to be revealed at any point.
They’re called Brown Algae.
Thank you very much. ^^
I was curious what they were called ever since I showed this anime to my sister that actually paused when the scene with Masazumi and the alge came because it was way too cute for her. She actually said that she died from cuteness overload. xD
In case you’re confused about such things in the future, refer to the following links:
* https://randomc.net/2012/06/30/kyoukai-senjou-no-horizon-retrospective-part-1-the-premise-the-world-episodes-01-06/
* http://kyoukaisen.tumblr.com/charaprofiles
Hope this helps!
Rofling right now because you made a database that people should read if they want to understand anything that is going on the screen. xD
Thank you for compiling this info. I actually started watching this because I saw someone make a gigantic post about this anime that got me really interested in the first place. ^^
Keikaku doori! ( ﾟ∀ﾟ)ｱﾊﾊ八八ﾉヽﾉヽﾉヽﾉ ＼ / ＼/ ＼
I’m glad I helped
corrup– I mean, introduce you to this wonderful show ^^Can’t believe you didn’t mention the adorable deep-voiced-nut-breaking kobolds! Tenzou has to look out for those guys though if he wants to keep his family jewels long enough to pump out some kids.
However…. As cute as Scarred looks, her boobs are quite distracting in not a good way. Boobs are GREAT, but too much of any great thing is too much. I wish that Sunrise could tone down on some of the boobs. Sometimes, I just want to focus at the story and all I could think of was “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBSOHMYGODTHATISSOMUCHBOOBBOOBBOOBBOOB”.
On a non-boob related note, Gin is growing to be my most favorite characters of the series. I hope that we will find out about her past before this season ends.
sum1 make a gif of the chibi dancing in the ED 😮