First Impressions / Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon

「劇場の支配者」 (Gekijou no Shihaisha)
“Ruler of the Theatre”

Explanation:

Timeline – May 20th-29th

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Why does Neito love meat so much?

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Toori and Horizon’s discussion at the BBQ

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The cargo ship’s hull and its anti-spell coating

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What’s up with that young boy and Kimi-nee?

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Much Ado About Nothing

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Impressions:

First of all, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way – That. FANSERVICE!! Bath scene? Check. All-female bath scene? Check check! Other stuff that happened? Probably, but it’s hard to remember after all that glorious SERVICE!! However, I’m going to try to confine my perverted gushing to the Random Thoughts section below. Let’s get our plot on for now, sound good?

I go over Toori and Horizon’s discussion in great detail in the Explanation section above, so I’ll skip that in favor of our other major couple, Tenzou and Scarred. That. BATH SCENE oh my gods–!! *massive nosebleed* Ahem. Sorry. I’ll control myself.

Anyway, the reasons for Scarred’s burgeoning attraction to Tenzou are becoming increasingly clear. It all comes down to honor and sacrifice. Tenzo and Mary (I’m going to start calling her that) are both, to borrow a phrase from another show airing this season, selfless freaks. Just one look at their bodies (focus on the scars people, the scars!) shows that they are the types who sacrifice themselves for others. Yet while Mary feels only regret and pain for the sacrifices she has made, Tenzou is fulfilled by his own. Mary sees in Tenzou a happier version of her own worldview. When you meet someone who thinks like you, dreams like you, works like you, and sees the world like you – if only you shone as brightly as they did – well, I can imagine why she’s falling for him.

Moving on, the second bath scene was, of course, friggin’ awesome. I’ll go into more appropriate gushing below (preview: boobies!), but for now, two things. One, I found it hilarious how deftly Asama’s maus went about filling in for the censor steam. Sure, I would have preferred that she hadn’t, but I appreciate baldfacedly blatant censorship when it’s both unobtrusive (i.e. not censor tape) and at least gives me a chuckle. It’s almost like that little mini-miko knew we were watching, ARGH!! Secondly, it sounds like mauses do a lot more than just help with active abilities. Sun block and skin protection were both mentioned, as well as maybe helping Masazumi not starve quite so easily. I’d really like to know what else mauses can do. Also, boobs.

Then there was the end of this week’s offering. While most of Episode 4’s runtime was filled with service and humour, Shakespeare-chan’s reapperance at the end reminded us that yes, there is plenty of plot in this show, and I’m not talking about the happy-go-lucky kind. I’m unsure about why that Tres España ship appeared, save to tell us what we already knew – that Mary Stuart wasn’t actually in the Tower of London. Yet all in a flash we have Shakespeare-chan telling a new story, the return of the briefly mentioned Avalon / Lost Noble sub-plot, and a whole lot of new antagonists being revealed. I have to say, this last minute plot bomb has me really excited for the next episode! I especially liked how they visually paired the protagonists with the antagonists they would be facing off against. Not only does it build excitement and set us up for some tournament-like one-vs-one fights, but it’s also nice to see that characters like Malga and Kiyonari are going to keep having an effect on the story. They’ve gotta make use of that big cast, after all!

One final thing – the music. Though I’m not the audiophile that Moomba is, I can tell when the audio is done right occasionally. First of all, the soundtrack for Kyoukaisen continues to be remarkable. For me, it was during Toori and Horizon’s discussion at the party that I was reminded of this. Watch that scene again and just focus on the music. The way it deftly cuts in and dials up the feelings and the tension until what could have been a dry, dialogue-heavy scene takes on the heroic, world-spanning-consequences tone that rightfully fits its subject matter. Beautiful.

As for the other music thing, look no further than the ending. Once again, we saw the ED switch due to the tone of the very end of the episode. The cutsy chibi ED was fun, but it wouldn’t have been appropriate here right after so much of the coming conflict was just foreshadowed. That’s why they switched it out for something more powerful and serious. Personally, I like this song a lot more than the serious ED from Season 1, but that’s not the important part. The important part is the tone it sets. It takes the emotions that end of the episode conveyed and carries them further, allowing us as audience members to stay in that moment for a little longer, while we slowly come to grips with what we just saw.

Oh, and one other thing about this ED. You noticed who starred in it, right? Mary. Remember that in Season 1, it was our tragic heroine Horizon who starred in the serious ED. Naturally, that means that it’s Mary who is our main tragic heroine this time around. With the stage set, the rest of the Trump showing up, and the main plot of this arc exploding onto the scene, things are only going to get worse, for Mary and for others, before they get better. As with last season, we just have to hope they get better in the end.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Service, service, & more fanservice…but also plot, including a turn for the dire in the last minute. Excellent. #Kyoukaisen

Random thoughts:

  • My my, Neito really loves meat, hur hur hur. Erh, sorry. I’ll be good.
  • Neito: “Hug me.” Stilts: “Okay.”
  • Does this look like a freaky fourway between Toori, Horizon, Neito, and a plate of meat to anyone else? Not that I’m complaining.
  • “Tenzou, more beer!” Can…can I have a Tenzou of my very own?? Nothing weird or anything, it’s just, just…FREE BEER NINJA WOOOO!!!
  • I enjoyed Milton (Kawahara Yoshihisa) and his little freak out sessions, though not as much as Tenzou turning him into a cannibal. Beware of getting between a ninja and his busty blonde, apparently.
  • Speaking of, who wants to bet that Toori has already realized that Scarred isn’t a guy? He’s an idiot, but he’s perceptive like that. Though maybe I just like to imagine that he’s on deck (trope!) for Tenzou x Mary. Probably both.
  • Azuma! Horizon!! Futayo!!! *cracks up laughing* The scene where they ask about sex – and the whole thing gets foisted off on Masazumi – was hilarious! Ohhh Malga, you should have properly explained everything to Azuma the first time. Now him + two busty babes have a very easily misunderstood definition of what sex means. I can only hope this will lead to more hilarious misunderstandings ^^ And by “only hope,” I mean I will cry big manly crocodile tears if this doesn’t happen. Seriously, make it happen Sunrise. I’m counting on you!
  • Dem. BD. Sales. Someone find me a picture of Shirojiro bathing in money, and label it “Sunrise Accounting Department.” They’re going to make a fortune.
  • Related: I had to watch the second bath scene twice, because I totally missed the dialogue the first time through, for some strange reason. These are the kinds of things I do for you. You’re welcome.
  • It’s okay Adele, I like you just the way you are :3 But I like Suzu just the way she is too :3
  • Oh, one last bit of plot-like substance – I was surprised to hear that Mary wasn’t actually going to be executed, but rather was going to be “saved.” Now I’m curious…does this mean that she won’t really be saved (she’ll remain locked up or something), or that she feels guilty being saved because of past events! (which I won’t spoil if you don’t know them yet.) Personally, I lean towards the latter. Mary smacks of someone who would have survivor’s guilt to me.
  • Did you catch the book Seijun was reading? Yeah, that’s right – Machiavelli’s The Prince. I cannot applaud Seijun enough for this! That’s a really good book, and reading it should aid her in her political ambitions greatly. That reminds me, I haven’t done my read through for this year yet. Maybe I should change it up and do that after I…erh… *shifty eyes* I fear I’ve said too much.

Full-length images: 01, 03, 05, 14, 20, 26.

Stilts note: I apologize for my tardiness with this post – I was running around all day yesterday and flying today, so I couldn’t spend as much time writing as I would have preferred. Next week’s post should be released with my usual alacrity. Look forward to it!

 

ED3 Sequence

ED3: 「悲しみは誰の願いでもない」 (Kanashimi wa Dare no Negai Demo nai) by 結城アイラ (Yuki Aira)
Watch the 3rd ED!: Streaming ▼

Preview

54 Comments

  5. So much LOLs and HNGHs this episode!

    Neito+Meat= HNGH!

    Masazumi on sex: LOL

    Kobold smashing coin: LOL

    Mary’s service: HNGH!
    Tenzo’s reaction: LOL

    Anteater with its parent saying goodbye: HNGH

    Suzu being larger than Adele and Adele being a potential closet perv: LOL

    PS: Can’t wait for the Asama x Masazumi doujin that Malga is working on.

    Stilts I was wondering about the mouse/maus portion, is there some real meaning behind that that or was it service for the most part? The whole contract shenanigans aren’t too helpful too.

    The Kimi-nee part seemed legit though, thanks for clearing that up. Maybe you’ve answered this before but I’ve always wanted to know where do you get these nitty gritties from.

    LightnDark
    Reply

    1. For the maus portion, I think that’s a situation where they wanted to drop a bunch of exposition, but they didn’t want the scene to be boring so they added a bunch of fanservice to make it more palatable. Masazumi’s new maus will probably become more important later on, so that needed to be shown, they just didn’t want it to be dry and boring. Call it killing two birds with one stone : )

      As for where I get my information, mostly I just intuit it from the episode. I’m a storyteller before I’m a blogger, so it’s easy for me to tell what the writers, director, and studio meant to say, even if it doesn’t always come across too clearly. What can I say, it’s my only gift!

      That said, if anyone informs me that I’m wrong in the comments (or I read about it elsewhere) I come back and fix it. I don’t want any wrong information to stand.

      Stilts
      Reply

  8. oh my… this episode was so fun/win, from growing Tenzo X Scarred romance, to another sex-ed failure (I will eat m a printout of this comment if this will not lead to another misunderstanding, especially as more people were “attending the class” now…) to Shakespeare launching another play just as the Tres Espana ship arrives… hilarity will ensue?

    ewok40k
    Reply

    1. (Note: his spoiler is a guess about Mary)

      Oh gods, I hadn’t even thought about that. I hope you’re not right, though I think it very likely that you are. Oh my, poor Mary…

      Stilts
      Reply

    1. I didn’t add that into my explanations because it was gone over decently well during the episode (and also before I was crunched for time, and also I forgot about it), but I guess I should have gone over it! Here’s the dealio:

      Milton is a Yatagarasu, or a three-legged crow straight out of Japanese mythology. Asama states that Yatagarasu like Milton should be at temples doing good deeds, which implies that he should not be flying around England waiting on Scarred. That’s why, when he tries to escape, she shoots him…she probably wants to ship him off to the one of the shrines he should be working at. It’s all rather more close-minded than I prefer, but that’s a miko for you…she has to do right by her gods.

      Stilts
      Reply

    1. Her form chibi in ending is the most adorable I’ve seen.
      In addition to being half-werewolf, pretty and strong, I include with Gin and Mary on my list of favorite girls

      Shadow74
      Reply

  17. As usual, thanks for all the explanations Stilts! Horizon and Toori’s talk and the brave kid’s actions made more sense now.

    – That kobold. It must really hate Tenzou for getting so close to Scarred.
    – You gotta love that Ninjutsu way of eating.
    – That mouse scene…so potentially anybody can get a mouse with the right contracts and offerings? I thought that anteater so looked so cute too.
    – Everyone is just so used to Aoi in his birthday suit by now.
    – Just wanna clarify too with Shakespeare activating that play, is she just picking a fight with Neshinbara? I thought the whole idea of the joint festival was something like a truce between Musashi and England.
    – Can’t wait to see this guy in action: https://randomc.net/image/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon%20II%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2044.jpg
    – This is definitely late but I never noticed Scarred showed up as early as season 1: https://randomc.net/image/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon/Kyoukai%20Senjou%20no%20Horizon%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2045.jpg

    Zhinvu
    Reply

    1. Yes, Shakespeare-chan is definitely picking a fight with Neshinbara. Remember that while the festival does give them a sort of truth, that doesn’t mean individuals can’t go off and start getting rowdy on their own. Plus, countries don’t always hold true to truces anyway

      And yeah, everyone is just used to Toori being naked now. Keikaku doori? *is unsure*

      Stilts
      Reply

  20. “the sound at the end”

    Totally agree, for some reason I watched Tari Tari before Kyoukai this week. After a great episode of character build for Wakana, they end it with the uplifting ED of the series. Talk about awkward, all your feelings are cheated. Then you get Kyoukai they way they ED play into the mood of the story is master piece.

    It’s being said many time around RC but I want to repeat it again: Producers/Directors/Writers keep the mood! Is important to have a “proper” ED sequence; but being unflexible in “special” occasions is just plain wrong.

    Finally to stay in the mood : Kimi-nee walk with me!!!!!

    Yes!@
    Reply

    1. Yes, agreed! I was actually thinking of Tari Tari when I mentioned that stuff. I’m really enjoying that show, especially the last couple of episodes, but that ED certainly snapped me out of the dramatic mood Wakana’s situation had established. Talk about whiplash…

      Stilts
      Reply

  21. @Stils:
    Question on the Maus.
    The Maus is alive? It has a mum? It is small meaning it can grow big? Meaning that chibi-miko is alive too? (More than one question, but originates from one. Take it as ONE string of a question)
    Question on contract
    So did she form a contract with anyone and does she need to give anything in exchange for the contract?

    deafvader
    Reply

    1. That’s a tricky question. Mauses aren’t alive in the same way that humans (or near-humans) are, that’s for sure. However, just because they’re spiritual beings doesn’t preclude them from having parents or growing bigger. On those counts I have to default to “I’m not sure,” but my guess is that yes, Masazumi’s maus has at least one parent (we saw it, after all), and yes, it can grow bigger. The mechanism for making a new maus, though? Well, no idea.

      On the contract, there are two types of contracts that a character can have with the gods (and I probably should have explained this in my post, but ohhhh well I was in a rush >_<). The first if a contract with the gods of a land, which Masazumi has with the gods from where she was born in Mikawa. The other type is a contract with a god they worship, which Masazumi does not have. That was the contract Asama suggested she do during the bath scene. Had she formed a contract with a god she worshiped (ex: Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, which both Toori and Kimi-nee worship), she could have gotten a maus specifically suited to that deity. It's because she elected not to (and apparently, because she was being cheap) that she got a random maus, and ended up with the cute anteater. I hope this helps!

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. Thanks for the great answer. But you missed out one. Contract indicates give and take. What did Masazumi give? Apart from the payment for the Maus it is not like she gave anything for the contract.

        deafvader
        Reply

      2. Actually, a contract only implies that there’s an agreement between at least two parties that has some kind of binding, legal obligation to it. Perhaps a fair contract should include give and take, but it’s not mandatory.

        Needless pedantry aside, here’s my take on the situation: in regards to a contract with a god one worships, what the contractee (the mortal) gives is their worship. This is an assumption on my part, but often gods don’t exist, or at least aren’t very powerful, without at least some followers. Therefore, it stands to reason that that’s what is most valuable to them. This doesn’t always have to be a direct thing, by the way – the power can come from the influence a god’s church gains when it has more and more followers – but there’s certainly a link. Oh, and there’s always tithing / donations too, which every church loves.

        Stilts
        Reply

  23. Quote: » Speaking of, who wants to bet that Toori has already realized that Scarred isn’t a guy? He’s an idiot, but he’s perceptive like that.

    I think so too, cause deep down Toori is a big pervert that would play an h-game during the first episode, so he must have some kind of sixth sense when someone is a female.

    Benz
    Reply

  24. This episode had it all. The cute, the sexy, the funny and the story.

    Milton was hilarious.
    “NOOO! This is practically cannibalism,
    but it’s sooo good!” 😀

    Damn, that Anteater scene. So cuuute. 🙂

    Some clarification needed:
    1) What was that talk about “Nikyou Crests”? Did I miss them talking about it in earlier episodes?
    2) “Desu-ne” is only used by female characters, was that it? So that’s why Masazumi now knows Mary’s gender.
    3) Why is Mary using “Judge” instead of “Tes”? Maybe because she’s trying to learn/speak eastern languages?
    4) That Kobold wanted the payment, but threw the coin on the floor to piss of Tenzou, or was there some deeper meaning behind it?

    And since we got some nice Asama fanservice, anyone who still remember which episode of the first season featured her shooting down that Tres Espana ship? That was awesome.
    Tried looking for it on Youtube but couldn’t find it.

    boingman
    Reply

    1. I’ll take each in turn:

      1) The “Nikyou Crests” are the symbol that appears when someone becomes a lost noble. This happened multiple times in the first season, including to Masazumi’s mother (prior to the series’ start) and President Sakai and Tadakatsu’s old school friend. It’s an ongoing mysetery among the Far East, so it was interesting here because they learned that other countries were experiencing it too

      2) I believe this is accurate. Masazumi definitely did a double-take there, so it’s likely that she suspects Mary’s true gender now. After all, who would be more experienced with camouflaging themselves as a man than Seijun? 😀

      3) Mary uses “Judge” or “Jud” because she learned about the Far East from a book (you can see her looking at it in Episode 3, when she and Tenzou meet on the path). That is to say, since Far Easterners use “Judge,” she is as well…though I think it fits her situation better anyway.

      4) Your guess is as good as mine, but I suspect it’s merely because he doesn’t like this ninja guy who is getting close to his master (Mary), but he’s fine with the actual payment he got. He was just tossing in an insult without giving up the goods.

      As for the episode that Asama shot down the Tres España ship, that was Episode 10 of Season 1. Remember, you can always check out my retrospectives (Part 1, Part 2) for information on the previous season!

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. Thanks for the answers.

        1)
        Oh I see. First time I heard about it. Guess that it’ll come up again in the future.

        And now I feel dumb for asking that Asama question. Sorry, and I promise that I’ll get to reading of your retrospectives posts. At once. 🙂

        boingman
        Reply

      2. it’s also posible that the Kobold was checking the autenticity of the payment wich insulted Tenzou by sugesting that he would do something unhonorable as giving fake money.

        teelaelmes
        Reply

  27. Damn! This series is just too good at providing bloody cute animal thingies! THAT KOBOLD! THAT CROW…AND NOW THEY EVEN MANAGE TO MAKE A FRICKIN ANTEATER CUTE????!!! HGNHHHHHHHHHH!

    Kaitune
    Reply

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