「劇場の咆哮者」 (Gekijou no Houkou Mono)
“Howler at the Theatre”
I have been waiting for this episode all season. In case you hadn’t guessed, these posts are a lot of work, especially Kyoukaisen ones that take double or more the time of a normal RandomC to produce. Yet once the credits rolled on this one, I leaped up in excitement and began pacing around, thoughts and words spinning around in my head, jostling, fighting to spill out onto the page before me. This is the kind of episode that makes me love Kyoukaisen, and fantasy and fiction in general. Epic confrontations, heroic efforts, friends coming to save friends from the bring of despair and snatching victory from defeat, love and strife and feelings galore…ohh man, my writer’s soul is on fire! This is without a doubt the best episode of the season so far. Explanations are first, then the impressions as usual. Let’s get to it!
Explanations:
Only One Loli Shakespeare-chan
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The big reveal at the beginning of the episode was that there wasn’t actually two girls who Neshinbara was friends with as a child, but rather only one, the child known as No 14 who would eventually become Thomas Shakespeare. Now, don’t be confused (as I initially was) – it’s not like Shakespeare-chan was confused or lying or anything. Due to her genius + the “rough atmosphere” she grew up in (i.e. the abuse, likely because she was a half-elf in Tres España, a place where they’re not too fond of non-“pure” races), she actually has a bit of a split personality problem. There are basically two Shakespeare-chans: the kind feminine “watashi” one, and the harsh slightly yandere “boku” one. When Neshinbara disappeared, the watashi one “died,” which is why she said that girl didn’t make it. That said, by the end of this episode though…well, check out my last explanation on this page for more on that! (Thanks to Moomba for the help on this one.)
Why is Kimi-nee impervious to Cecil’s gravity magic?
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Kimi says that her god, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, accepts makeup and fashion as ritual offerings. That means that merely by putting on makeup and wearing fashionable clothing (or being fashionable herself, which Kimi-nee most certainly is), she’s making ritual offerings to her god, which come back to her in the form of nearly universal spell immunity. And Kimi-nee gets even more amazing!
Why did Masazumi’s maus need to know more about her in order to teleport to her?
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Once Masazumi’s maus sensed that she was in trouble, it wanted to teleport to her to help. Unfortunately they haven’t been together very long, so it doesn’t know her that well. This is important because while the link between them is unique, the little anteater needs to travel through the Earth Pulses to reach her, which means that it needs to know exactly where she is. To do this, it has to distinguish her from everybody else, which means it needs to know more about her…which it does not. Fortunately, the Brown Algae have known Masazumi for longer, so they fill her maus in on the details so that it can travel to her. Woo!
The Maid of Orléans
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The Maid of Orléans is Joan of Arc. Neito mentions that the Maid was someone from Hexagone Française who was executed by England during the Hundred Years’ War, as was the case with the original Joan, and that Neito’s Argenté Chaînés were an artifact that some of her companions took from her execution grounds. That part is new.
Neito’s Chains & Silver Dust
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During her battle with Walshingham, Neito lets loose some silver dust which appears to change into more chains. In fact, that’s exactly what happens. This works because her Argenté Chaînés are an intelligent weapon which have some of the traits of an immortal. Given that they’re silver, she talks about the full moon, she refers to the Maid of Orléans (Joan of Arc) as being of a different species, and Neito’s own species, it’s reasonable to assume that the type of immortal is a werewolf, and that the chains are using the full moon to replenish themselves in the same way that a werewolf changes. That’s a guess on my part though, and to be honest, it doesn’t really matter. The important part is that the full moon has been linked with all sorts of occult happenings for millennia, and that’s what’s happening here again.
Margot’s Plan
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Margot’s plan is to use signal lanterns to relay information between the various ships, and keep them coordinated / from crashing into one another despite the fact that they can’t communicate as they normally would (thanks to Felipe including what are basically jamming spells in the exploding fire ships). It’s basically like using morse code, only with light instead of sound. Brilliant! Reminds me of reading about the US Navy’s 2002 Millennium Challenge. Sometimes the old ways work just fine, and in certain instances, they’re even better than the best of the best.
Shakespeare-chan’s Different Form of Speech
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Neshinbara mentions that when Shakespeare-chan (as a child) was with him, she used a different form of speech. He’s referring to the fact that she used to use “watashi” when referring to herself, instead of using “boku” like she does now. Considering that watashi is a more feminine pronoun than boku is, it’s almost like she stopped thinking of herself as a girl when Neshinbara disappeared from her life. (Thanks to commenter Yuu for the help on this one.)
Bonus: notice how she’s talking during the end, while the ED is playing. She starts using watashi again! Awww, that’s sweet : )
Impressions
Malga, Tenzou, & Kimi-nee
Malga and Tenzou sticking together was a strange combo from the first time I saw it last episode. Yet, like seeing Adele, Suzu, and Futayo together (side note: we need to get that band back together, people!), or even Malga herself and Neshinbara back in Episode Two, it’s refreshing to see how these characters who aren’t normally seen together interact. I laughed hearing the Tenzou mention a minor slight from their childhood, and Malga the kindness Tenzou showed. There’s truth there; kids say mean things (Malga to Tenzou, Neshinbara to Shakespeare-chan, Toori to Horizon) to one another, and those minor wounds can endure in a way that later slights can’t even compare to…but in the same way, sometimes even the most minor of kindnesses were showed as a child are held dear, and never forgotten. Nice to see that though Tenzou was wary (as kids can be – Malga is different, she’s strange, and that can be scary), he didn’t let that stop him from being kind. Good on you Tenzou, and you too Malga, for wing manning (hur hur hur) for him when he most needs it!
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Then there’s Kimi-nee. OH MAN AND THEN THERE’S KIMI-NEE!! I absolutely love it when Kimi-nee starts chewing the scenery (trope!) like it’s going out of style, and she was in top form here! (Picture not necessarily related.) I especially loved her saying that there’s no reason she would tell her enemies how she did what she did, only to immediately do that at the slightest opportunity! XD Oh, and that ass slap wasn’t too shabby either ; ) Kimi-nee, you’re truly amazing.
The thing about Kimi-nee is that she really is everybody’s glorious big sis. I wonder if there will ever be a day Kimi won’t know what to do, won’t be outstanding, won’t bust onto the scene with exactly the answer to what needs to be done. That might be glorious to see, but it might ruin her totally. I’m not sure, but I think I’d like to see it either way. But now, whoop some English ass, Kimi! Oh, and Malga too. Time to stand up witch-girl, just like your onee-san says. Fuck yeah!
Admiral Adele, Leader Toori, and Friends
This whole history recreation thing is a rather funny idea. The thought is to recreate what happened in order to get humanity back to where it once was. That’s a crazy idea in and of itself, but anyone with an above average understand of human nature (or who has listened to one too many theological arguments, or has more than a passing interest in politics) can instantly pick out the biggest flaw – humans are excellent at twisting things to their own benefit. More than England vs the Spanish Armada, that’s the fight that’s going on here. Adele is fighting like it’s a literal recreation of the original battle, whereas Felipe is fighting using the loosest interpretation that he can twist to Tres España’s benefit.
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Case in point, instead of the fire ships being English and the losses coming because they dove into the Spanish ships and caused havoc, Felipe made it so that the fire ships were Tres Españaian, and the losses because he detonated them right next to Musashi. There are still fire ships, there are still loss, but it’s not exactly how it happened originally. That wouldn’t stand up to a 5-year-old, because they look at the world how it is, but in the worlds of politics, interpretation, and war, that’s child’s play. Up to that point, Adele was in way over her head.
Fortunately, she’s not alone. When Toori busted in to talk to her, I was struck by exactly how similar he is to his big sister. He does through idiocy what Kimi-nee does with coolness and hamming it up, but they do the same thing – they step forward in the nick of time and tell those with actual power exactly what they need to hear in order to win. Here, Adele was frozen, thinking that she had lost the battle, and that she would be the reason that everything she loved and everyone she cared about was destroyed. That is, until Toori comes up and basically says hey, don’t worry about it. You’re not alone, remember? You have friends. Call on them, call on them for help. They’ll answer.
And they did. Heidi and Shirojiro, Margot, Musashi-sama and Suzu…they all came when Adele called, and the battle began to turn. Though of course, this was also in part thanks to Toori, for the one other thing he did – he gave Adele permission to twist history to their own benefit. Felipe is doing it, so why shouldn’t they, right? Which is awesome, because that’s exactly what they needed. Toori is, in truth, a true leader – he doesn’t do the work, like fight battles, command engagements, make policies or set up trade details or all the rest – but he assembles around him people who can do it, makes sure they have the tools to do so, and gentle nudges them so that they’re able to do their jobs with all of their ability. You don’t see many of those in anime
Masazumi vs Christopher Hatton, Round 2
HNNNNNNNNNNNGGG Masazumi’s maus is so friggin’ cute!! I had no idea how Masazumi was going to beat Christopher Hatton, which is part of the reason that made this battle fun. It does feel like Masazumi’s maus just teleporting in with a bunch of spells that it got from Asama just because she happened to come by is pretty convenient, but…well, okay, it was pretty convenient. Still, you’ll get a lot of forgiveness from me for throwing out a super cute maus, Masazumi tsukkomiing, an animated skeleton threatening to beat someone to death with a book, and Asama saying “happy death” in glorious engrish. Needless to say, I enjoyed this scene ^^
Neito vs Walshingham, Round 2
This battle was an interesting one. Compared to their first match, it seemed like Neito had a slight advantage from the get-go, but it wasn’t so huge as to turn this into a curb-stomp battle (trope!). Really we didn’t see them fight a whole lot, so Neito’s slight advantage could have turned around in an instant, just as Walshingham’s advantage in Round 1 ended with a tie. The clutch moment was when Neito charged towards Walshingham when she was firing her gun and shut it down. That was ballsy as hell, but it was exactly the kind of move that was needed to stop a dangerous opponent. Really, I was reminded of one of the first times I saw Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, and how the battles would go back and forth until one clutch move would seal the close battle for one of the combatants (especially when it was Nanoha vs Fate in the first season). That’s how a fight should be – short, frantic action that turns into someone’s victory in the blink of an eye. That’s pretty much how it works, after all.
Oh, and Walshingham’s maus OS is almost criminally cute, HNNNNNNGGG!!
Neshinbara vs Shakespeare-chan, Round 2
Oh man, where do I start! I go over the reveal that there was only one girl that Neshinbara was friends with as a kid in the Explanations section, so scroll up for that. Now, let me just say that I totally called it that Shakespeare-chan would crack out King Lear, though I was wrong about Neshinbara using his debut novel (even though that did appear later on). As far as sheer fight choreography, the duel between King Lear and Neshinbara’s deity Michizane was the best of an episode full of some awesome fights (well, other than that while naval battle, but I kind of put those in different categories). Either way, nothing says “epic confrontation” like two giants duking it out, so my heart was pumping as I watched that. And then it got better
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While the dueling giants were great, it was the words that passed between Shakespeare-chan and Neshinbara that made the fight for me, and the hidden meanings they contained. Shakespeare-chan is so distraught, so wracked with pain from this childhood slight, from the crush that stomped on her feelings, and it came through in her words. While Neshinbara fought with everything he had, both for his friends and his country and to apologize to the childhood friend he so wronged, Shakespeare-chan wavered, unsure, and that’s part of the reason she lost. But more than that, Neshinbara used all of his abilities + the determination instilled in him by Asama (and through her, Toori) last episode to flat out best Shakespeare-chan. Crossover stories are nothing new to anyone who reads fan fiction or American comics, but the thought of doing that with Shakespeare’s plays is damn near sacrilege. Yet he did, combining the story of the king Shakespeare-chan had summoned with the king slayer that she had forced Neshinbara himself to become. And here’s the best part – in using Macbeth to beat Lear, Neshinbara cured himself of the curse that Shakespeare-chan laid on him. I mention that because I didn’t catch that initially, and it made me all the more impressed with Neshinbara. Well played, sir.
But by far the best part of an amazing episode came after Neshinbara won. Tsundere Shakespeare-chan, deredere Shakespeare-chan, and more deredere Shakespeare-chan?? HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGG– *falls over and feints from massive nosebleed* Not since Toori pulled Horizon into a hug and then kissed her an episode later back during Season 1 have we been shown such a sweet scene in this show, and I thoroughly enjoyed it for the wait. This was a hard fought win for Neshinbara, one that has been building up since Episode 1 of this season, and I also enjoyed it all the more for that wait as well. There’s a lesson, there – like a fine wine, a bottle of good beer, or a kiss from a beautiful woman (or handsome man, whatever your preference), the waiting and the anticipation makes it all the grander when you finally reach out and pluck that which you desire. I won’t lie, when Neshinbara just out and said that Shakespeare-chan liked him, a big ‘ol grin appeared on my face, and when she asked whether it was okay if she stayed with Neshinbara (and was all coy about it, talking about the king and Macbeth, d’aaawww!), I leapt up and ran around giggling like an entire pack of 14-year-old girls who just brushed past the most popular and handsome sempai in the entire school when he’s out shopping with his even hotter older brother.
…erh, that got weird quickly. It’s just that, I can’t, I don’t even, it’s like…HNNNNNNNGG– *falls over from an even bigger nosebleed* *dies*
Looking Forward – Mary
This ones easy to see. Kiyonari still has to fight bacon, but that’s small fry stuff; Adele isn’t done taking the fight back to Felipe, but that’s not the thing I’m looking forward to most; no, it’s Tenzou dueling Walter Raleigh for Mary’s life. Tenzou has less than three minutes to save his girl, and Elizabeth isn’t going to give her up easily (even if I’m still not totally convinced that her sister’s death is what she really wants). Shakespeare-chan and Neshinbara’s romantic moment was amazing, but if there’s anything that has a chance to top the one between Toori and Horizon, it’ll be that between Tenzou and Mary. I want it, I want it oh so bad. Oh man…why can’t it get here faster!!
tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Kimi defies gravity, Neito whoops ass, Seijun’s maus is cute, Adele gets her mojo back, & Shakespeare is deredere for Neshinbara #Kyoukaisen
tl;dr, part 2: @StiltsOutLoud – This episode (ep10) is utterly amazing. Watch it. WATCH IT NAO!! #Kyoukaisen
Random thoughts:
- boing boing.
- No one has ever looked crazier than Toori while naked. Anything he does, he does well…while naked. Woo!
- I enjoyed how Margot’s plan got the unspoken plan guarantee (trope!). Too bad it was a minor one that got showed off in 30 seconds anyway, Orz
- This OST continues to be phenomenal. Everyone, make sure to bug Moomba to do another OST post when that comes out, will you? It deserves it. Nay, it demands it!
Full-length images: 11, 13.
ED & Episode Epilogue:
Preview
Posted by 
Impossible.
Not only does Kimi always know what to do, if she ever didn’t, THE UNIVERSE WOULD RESHAPE ITSELF SO THAT HER IDEA WOULD WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
I knew I could count on you to cover the Neshinbara/Shakespeare stuff in depth, and you certainly did not disappoint.
I can’t wait to see how Kimi and Malga deal with Cecil and Dudley.
So the word bends to the will of Kimi-nee? …yeah, that sounds about right!
Suddenly want to see a Horizon & Haruhi crossover where Toori and Kimi enter Haruhi’s class as the new transfer students. Or better yet, the SOS-dan joins Class 3-Plum, ufufu~
Walshingham’s maus OS is almost criminally cute, HNNNNNNGGG!!
^YES!!!
Kimi-nee in the form of nearly universal spell immunity.
^DOUBLE YES!!
it’s Tenzou dueling Walter Raleigh for Mary’s life.
^OVERKILL! Me too, am looking forward to this the most.
Stilts, are you still gonna challenge Neshinbara to a word duel?
Pffft, what are you talking about? I do that with every one of these posts, Orz
Kimi-nee WHY U SO AWESOME!
Also the maus/mouse conversing with the brown algae, so cute..she’s a bad comedian too lol!
As for Shakespeare-chan’s “Watashi” “Boku” thing, there is’t one one the two that is more formal, and going Keigo it would be something like “Watakushi”, not that just a pronoun makes Keigo…
It more like Shakespeare stopped thinking of herself as a girl when Neshinbara went AWOL so switched to “Boku”.
Modified things accordingly, and even added a little extra that I noticed because of your comment. Thank you kindly!
It would be awesome if Shakespeare-chan joins Musashi.
Seconded
Hatton, vice minister of laughters supporting Horizon and Masazumi. Horizon + Masazumi + Hatton = The ultimate gag show.
Two cute couples being official and end up together at the end of the series?
OH YES! PLEASE!
Don’t forget Tenzo. Well, those two are more cool than cute though.
What I mean about “two cute couples” is…
Couple#1: NeshinbaraXShakespeare
Couple#2: TenzouXMary
How is Toori x Horizon not cute? :p
Or are they not together? O.O
Kimi-nee and Neito. I couldn’t be more happier! But this episode wasn’t about just them either. Shirojiro is truly a magnificent bastard with how he manipulated the non-combatants (adults) into lending a hand, Toori with his speech that pretty much summed up to ‘hey, you’re not fighting alone, y’know?’, and the algae-things teaching the maus all about Masazumi so that he could deliver one hell of a retribution. Simply, epic!
I’m a bit uncertain of HorribleSub’s explanation of Kimi-nee’s imperviousness to Cecil’s ‘gravity’ magic. If I recall correctly, episode 1 explained that Cecil doesn’t exactly use gravity magic; instead she distributes her weight to who/whatever she wants. And while my moonspeak is utterly horrible, I think I heard Kimi-nee mention ‘diet’ during her explanation this episode.
My own theory is that, in essence, Kimi-nee was offering the ‘weight’ Cecil was distributing to her god.
If anybody read the light novel, mind explaining why exactly Kimi-nee was unaffected?
*points to his explanation section* There. I explained it up there.
Poor masazumi, those algaes were cruel.
“Masazumi, Politician. Loves taxes. Cross-dresses. Doesn’t stand out. Poor. Passes out. Forgot! She’s a bad comedian”
LOL
at least they didn’t included “Flat” as one of her attributes.
I’m not quite sure if HorribleSub’s explanation is accurate, though it would be helpful if a light novel reader could confirm this.
I have my own theory why Kimi-nee was unaffected. First off, correct me if I’m wrong but Cecil doesn’t exactly use gravity magic but instead amplifies and distributes her weight to who/whatever she wants- as explained in episode 1. While my moonspeak is utterly horrible, I hear Kimi-nee mention ‘diet’ during her explanation this episode. Based on this, I think what Kimi-nee did was to essentially offer Cecil’s weight to her god, to maintain her beauty or whatever, and thus became impervious to Cecil’s ability.
Again, if someone could confirm this…?
Kimi’s hability makes her untouchable to enemies as long as she is making an offering to her goddes, by simply being herself (since she sure as hell makes sure she is always pretty and fashionable and all that beauty stuff she does) she is making an offering and thus the attack of her enemy can’t reach her (in her fight with futayo the attack was stronger and as such she just rised the value of her offering by dancing and singing).
This episode we have lots of…
HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH
HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Best episode yet, hoping next week will trounce it.
The battle between Shakesphere-chan and Neshinbara in this episode is the best, not to mention Neito and Walshingham.
Gravitation cant win agains her boobs.
Malga makes a great wingman for Tenzou…or should I say wing-girl?
Women make the best wing”men”. Seriously, try it out sometimes…the ladies are a lot more likely to not think you’re a creep if you have a woman tacitly vouching that you’re not a creep. Of course, they’re liable to think you’re dating, but that’s another problem entirely 😀
(Note: do not take dating advice from anime bloggers. It rarely goes well.)
I was going to take your advice, until I read your note.
Oh well…
Shakesphera… Walsingham OS… Adele… Suzu…. Shakesphere….
X_X
Moe overload… Need medic….
Hmm, makes me wonder if there are possibility’s to get the same spell-immunity as Kimi has with the other deities.
I think the real immunity is that Kimi is protected against “looking bad”. Being crushed to the ground by gravity sure isn’t becoming, and her God always wants her to look her best. Kimi didn’t reveal her real protection, but she did hint at it. She gave an over the top explanation to throw off her enemies.
If so the wouldn’t Kimi be immune to EVERYTHING?
I don’t think there are a lot of people capable of breaching a God’s protection, so Kimi as a Tank instead of Adele?
i have to say i really enjoyed reading this blog about ep10 almost as much as i was watching the show…
anyway GIMMEKIMINEEE!!! GIMMEMORE!!! she is like KIMI NEE = KAMI NEE!!! and that ant eater HHHHNNNNGGGGG! and the MAUS OS!!! do they even know that some people watching this show have heart problems! *thump*(0o0)
God, my ears… The music throughout this episode were all superb! Now I can’t wait to hear the OST album~
I just want to point something out in regards to Shakespeare. She’s not exactly mistaken – there were two girls in a sense. It also ties in to why she used different pronouns when refering to herself. Shakespeare had a split personality due to being a genius. The first used ‘watashi’ and ‘died’ when Neshinbara left, resulting in the ‘boku’ version that exists now.
So Neshinbara didn’t lie and Shakespeare also technically wasn’t mistaken.
Thks mooms, edited accordingly!
Wish they’d made some references during the Shakespeare/Neshinbara fight to explain the Thomas/William Shakespeare thing. They’re pretty strict with the historical naming and all even when it crosses gender lines so still confuses to why they’d change a name like that.
There is a notable Thomas Shakespeare out there and although he is British he’s also an achondroplastic dwarf sociologist who was born in 1966 so…
According to japanese wiki, Thomas name is related to number 14… but I don’t know how.
@ everyone: feel free to chip in and correct me if I made a mistake anywhere~
Stilts: Had a look back in volume 2 of the light novel- Reason why Shakespeare thought there were 2 girls in the beginning was actually caused by Shakespeare’s own split personality – it didn’t go that deep into it but this was hinted to be caused by 2 things that Neshinbara would like to confirm but still doesn’t fully understand:
1) the rough environment/abuse that Shakespeare through childhood whilst growing up (abuse was the word used in the LN but imo in a larger sense I sorta think it points towards the rough/harsh environment but that wouldn’t produce split personalities necessarily)
2) scenario which is often seen in a lot of geniuses – they often have another self within themselves which the main body/mind uses as a pressure release point/ self reflection point.
Hope it helps~
And where is Futayo? She has been dissapeared for 2 episodes now…
This was a truly amazing episode of Horizon that we got for this week (or last week to be exact). Horizon is the only anime for now to make me watch an episode for 4 times, 2 times with the RAWs (even though my Japanese is only beginner level currently) and another 2 times when the subs come out.
I don’t want to babble on too much, so I’ll just point out all the awesome moments of this episode for me:-
– Kimi-nee’s arrival. I was literally squealing like a teenage girl who just saw Justin Bieber when she steeped out above Margot and shielded her from Cecil’s power. Can’t wait to watch the confrontation between England’s 2 ugly hags and Musashi’s awesomest, most fashionable nee-chan.
– My ears would cry joyful tears of blood(if they could) with the epic soundtrack that accompanied the epic moments in this episode. Special mention goes to the song during Tenzo and Margot’s run and Kimi-nee’s arrival.
– Felipe’s cunning use of history re-enactment to score some big damage on Musashi. The previously always useless looking Chancellor and Student Council President of Tres Espana finally shows his true mettle with some crafty and canny tactics under his sleeves.
– Shakespeare VS Neshinbara’s duel of giants. Not what I’d thought their match would devolve into after the last episode, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome.
– Neito VS Walshingham 2nd round face-off. A bit short compared to their glorious fighting prowess on display in their 1st round match, but still a worthy conclusion with a healthy dose of Neito’s chain-wielding skills on display, and the revelation of Walshingham’s OS.
– The brown algae trying to give Masazumi’s maus a synopsis of her personality. Especially that last one lol.
– Musashi-sama’s arrival at the ‘Inadequate Bridge’. With just a few short commands, she manages to reactivate Musashi’s automated dolls, reinstate Musashi’s defence systems and prepare counterattacking measures. Now that’s one priceless automated doll to have on your force.
Next week, Kimi-nee’s and Tenzo’s battles. If any episode can top this one, it’s definitely episode 11 based on its potential material. I don’t know how I’ll live without an episode of Horizon to loo forward to weekly after this season ends. Hopefully, a 3rd season is forthcoming and won’t be long in to reach us.
Yeah Musashi-sama doesn’t get much credit and shes the best automated commander so far.
Agreed that this is pretty much the best episode, though the last episode was also great, and here’s to hoping next episode will even be better.
It did take a while for me to understand why I enjoyed this show though. It’s been a confusing trip.. Loving this anime while not understanding why am I enjoying it.. Now I pretty much know 😀
Regarding Neito, I’m still a little confused as to her history. On one end, it sounded like she was descended of Joan of Arc and a werewolf after supposedly being saved, if I got the gist of the message Drake was talking about with Malga. But on the other, Joan supposedly burned after all, while it was mentioned that the mystery force mentioned changed after admitting a female werewolf into their ranks.
Aside from me being confused with the bits Drake and Neito dropped in relation to her abilities and weapon, I loved the fight scenes. And the resolution to Neshinbara’s fight. He didn’t accept Shakespeare-chan’s surrendering of the Armament of the Deadly Sin, which if I got the gist right, would’ve caused some issue for her; he instead “stole” it.
Can’t wait for the next one; wonder how Tenzo will pull out a win.
I think Joan of Arc were rescued by a werewolf unit (Nate’s mother). Her silver chains is basically the one used to chain Joan of Arc at the stakes.
In fact, it could be that Neito is related to Joan of Arc. It was said by Drake that the Mitosudaira gained in power after they married in a female werewolf, and this episode we learned that Joan was of a different species and that Neito now wields her chains. It could be that Joan was of another species and the Mitosudairas took another female werewolf into their family prior to rescuing her, but, well…I don’t much believe in coincidences when it comes to fiction, not when all the pieces lining up would be so much more fun for the author to write 🙂
[spoiler]Afaik Joan was rescued by Nate’s grandmother, both are dead by now I think, Joan historically lived hundreds of years from current date in Horizon. The Mitotsudaira marrying a werewolf is more recent and refers to Nate’s father (human) marrying her mother (Turenne, Queen of Werewolves and part of Hexagone Francaise student council). Nate’s chains are what was used to bind Joan to a giant cross, her mother uses said cross as a weapon. [/spoiler]
@ Dynellen: umm failed spoiler tag – may want to delete
Horizon in the middle of nowhere… or where historical battle reenactments are deadly serious affair (Felipe getting rules-lawyer on fire ships was Crowning Moment of Awesome)… or where Masterpieces of Literature clash with Literal Gods of Literature, and “Even in death (I still serve) a pro continues to edit”. Where being fashionable grants magic immunity. Where OS can make you want take her(?) home…
Stilts, re: Morse code, modern navies still train it and use it with signaling lights when EMCON (aka radio silence) is enforced, allowing ship groups to travel the seas undetected unless enemy gets his ships or planes nearby with active radar (and going active you get detected and destroyed much earlier).
Funny how things have become on this show, episode 10s for both season so far have cranked the awesome up to eleven and broke the knob…
The past episode and this are at least less of a mind boggle and more of epic and laughs, but as usual thanks for the explanation on the heavy stuff Stilts.
– Last week, Kimi’s slap that pierced the heavens almost gave me Gurren-Lagann vibes. It was almost the same here because I felt Kimi was emitting GARness like Kamina. So Kimi’s secret to ultimate defense is because she’s Kimi? Best ability ever!
– Watch out Stilts. Looks like Neshinbara hasn’t taken all of Shakespeare’s Deadly Sin Armaments yet. She still has that dangerous smile of hers. But seriously, I was scratching my head a little with that fight. So the reason Neshinbara won was simply by making up his own story using Macbeth and King Lear, making Macbeth the hero in his fanfiction?
– The part with Shirojiro and Heidi also got me a little lost. Shirojiro started talking about defensive spells, so I’m guessing those ships have something to with that and he’s basically pulling off some kind of blackmail?
– So was Toori pulling off some kind of reverse-psychology thing by panicking? Or is it more of a “What I’m doing is NOT what you’re supposed to do in a crisis” thing?
– Masazumi’s mouse is definitely cute, but the little Nendoroid..err mouse Neito pulled out of Walshingham is just as HNNNNGGGG inducing. I broke when it started shaking and pleaded “help me.”
– Oh Asama. She can be downright cruel sending that mouse armed to the teeth with offensive spells…but it’s for a good cause so all is forgiven.
– Can’t wait to see Tenzou and Walter in action.
Yeah, Neshinbara won because he’s a fanfic writer.
Shirojiro and Heidi basically maneuvered people’s ships (or at least, the ships rich people had a lot of money on) in the way of enemy fire, and then extorted more money out of them for the use of defensive spells to protect said ships. They’re kind of awesome, haha
Toori was just helping Adele calm down by being silly, like he always does. Also, he probably just likes acting like that.
Agreed on Tenzou and Walter! And more Mary :3
So many cute things this episode ^-^ and… scary Horizon O.O
Y’know Stilts regarding your overall attitude towards kyoukaisen (which I love and share btw) I’m surprised you aren’t giving those brown algae some more credit! You seem ecstatic at your S1 posts on how all the characters had their own shining moments. And here the brown algae, got to shine a bit themselves (at the cost of…well Masazumi’s reputation to her own maus lol).
Either way…Kimi-nee being awesome, Adorable ant eater maus, Walshingham OS maus is ridiculous cute, and fabulous OST keeps being awesome each ep. At least among all the other awesome things that happen in Kyoukaisen.
If only this was 2-cour.
You’re not wrong about the brown algae. I just forgot to mention them because there were too many other things to talk about D:
haha it’s alright. Masazumi’s Maus did have an HNNNNNNNNNNGH moment soon after that scene, followed by Walshingham’s OS after it. So it’s understandable why’d you forget. XD
Thanks to Shirokuma cafe the moment the anteater maus tries to look imponent was LOL worthy.
Since my Japanese is very poor and I don’t have the novels or what actually happened, I read up on the Spanish Armada battle as I was curious to how the “re-enactment” was going (Thanks Wiki!).
Battle of Plymouth (1588.07.21) – This was the first skirmish where the battle ended in a draw. England kept their distance from Spain who was good at close quarter battles, but couldn’t effective fire upon them in return. Spain lost 2 ships when they collided, and the English commander at the time stole away from his fleet to take the much-needed supplies. But he was using lanterns for communication and when he snuffed his out, it led to confusion within his ranks.
Battle of Portland (1588.07.23) – This was a small battle in the bigger Spanish Armada battle, in which Spain had an advantage, but couldn’t capitalize due to the maneuverability of the English ships. England had formed a line with their ships to attack the Spanish fleet, but didn’t press the advantage afterwards.
Battle of Calais (1588.07.27) – With the Armada entrenched in Calais, the English fleet decides to set 8 ships on fire and send them towards the defensive Spanish fleet. This caused the Spanish fleet to break formation and thus become disorganized.
Battle of Gravelines (1588.07.28?) – Here was the final battle where Spain was done in because England used their maneuverability to stay out of range of the Armada who tried to fire their cannons. Once they ran out of their long-range shot, the English closed in, inflicted damage, then maneuvered such that the wind would blow water into the holes punched by the English cannonry. This led to the utter defeat of the Spanish Armada.
Now let’s turn to the Kyoukaisen universe. First, we go back to the battle of Lepanto. Segundo was the commander of the forces that were the key in the success of the Testament Union over P.A.ODA. In our universe, the commander of those forces, Álvaro de Bazán, was supposed to command the Spanish Armada, but died right before the deployment.
But here Segundo lives! And furthermore, in a hat-tip to our history – where the blessing of the Armada’s banner was done in the same manner as the one prior to the Battle of Lepanto, Segundo goes even further to use the actual ships used in the Battle of Lepanto!
Using the smaller, more agile ships meant that they, not Musashi, would have the maneuverability advantage. And the rolling wheel formation employed by Segundo is an actual execution of the English strategy at the battle of Portland! So Musashi takes some damage before it can adapt and defend itself.
We don’t see the Battle of Portland, partially because it probably went without much fanfare in an attempt (successfully) to lull Adele’s Inadequate HQ into a sense of complacency.
The Battle of Calais is where things get interesting (obviously). England was supposed to send fire-ships to scatter the Armada, but again England and Musashi are expecting the exact replication of the battle. Instead, it’s Tres Espana and Segundo who creates the “fire ships” and sends them into Musashi causing them to be in disarray – not Spain!
With the dolls unable to communicate, Naruze thinks up the plan to separate the ships, communicating using lamp lights (Aftermath of the Battle of Plymouth!). This creates more area for the Armada to have to focus upon and thus allows Musashi to attempt a counter-attack.
So, before Ep 11, it looks bad for Musashi right now despite Segundo retreating for the Battle of Gravelines. The attack at the Battle of Calais inflicted heavy losses (remember the ship image at Inadequate HQ as Adele froze in horror?). Furthermore, the ship has separated and can only communicate via lights (or divine communication).
I’m expecting Tres Espana to do what our Spain couldn’t do in the Battle of Gravelines. The original plan for the Armada in our universe was to get in close quarters then board the English fleet. However, here the maneuverability advantage here lies with Tres Espana. So Segundo at the Battle of Gravelines should be expected to use his remaining ships to encircle the Musashi fleet and board the ships. It makes sense considering that he was worried that Musashi was turning this into a battle of attrition. If they can’t win with firepower, then use manpower and try and board the opponent – much like in our Battle of Lepanto.
What I don’t know is how Musashi will successfully defend and defeat the Spanish Armada. Currently, Segundo has twisted the Battle of the Spanish Armada completely to their favor (though they are supposed to still lose in the end). Segundo’s plan will be to inflict as much damage on Musashi in a bid perhaps to (a) prevent/delay Musashi from achieving their objectives, and (b) keep Tres Espana’s fleet in a strong position – especially with the Peace of Westphalia approaching.
Sorry, that’s Margot, not Naruze who thinks of the separating of ships idea. It’s late.
The Battle of Portland was done when Musashi shoot a few round at Tres Espana. Also Segundo can completely sink Musashi, self destruction his fleet and announce they lost. It sound ridiculous, but yes they can do that.
Episode 10 Glossary:
http://kyoukaisen.tumblr.com/post/31442501819
Episode 10 Q&A:
http://kyoukaisen.tumblr.com/post/31451566126
@Stilts:
A couple of questions. Are the Musashi’s Gods too overpowered? I mean look at Kimi’s deflection skill. Just being a girl is all it takes, make up and fashionable clothes. (Makes one think why don’t other people get the same contract).
Does Masazumi Maus have some special function? Asama’s is for shrine duties. Malgort’s for flying and shooting. Money maus is for transactions. So Masazumi’s is for politics? or something??
Masazumi’s maus with all those attacks… Asama is more scary than she looks.
I don’t think any woman can got to Kimi level of offerings and dedication to her contract with Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto as a Shirabyoushi.
Feel free to check out the section titled “Magic, Mauses, & Sign Frames” in Part 1 of my Season 1 retrospective for more on that magic stuff, but the long and short answer: yes, Shinto magic is very powerful. By making ritual offerings to different gods, Shinto magic users can effectively use any spell imaginable. Of course, sometimes the rituals are insanely hard – and in the case of Toori’s “happiness” ritual, if failed they can result in death – but the potential power if you can pull them off shouldn’t be underestimated.
As for Masazumi’s maus, it’s more like a “starter” maus, and doesn’t really have a special function. It just does all the general functions of a maus, which were gone over some during Episode 4.
Why do animes sometimes say certain words all the time as either a single word like “judge” from this anime or like Shanna series some characters say something like “dimatsu”? Are they substituting Judge in place of yes?
apparently, yes! this is their “affirmative!” military equivalent possibly too… and there is another similar one in the rest of the Horizonverse “Tes!”
See the section titled “Judge and Tes” in Part 1 of my Season 1 retrospective. All questions shall be answered by your kind and reliable Stilts-oniichan, BWAHAHAHA!!! 😀
Yes, Testament and Judge are equal to “affirmative”. Testament/Tes is used by the Testament Union, Judge is used by Far East and outcasts and Shaja is used by the muslims at P.A. ODA.
Stilts you know that in the Underworld movies the vampires use cloned blood as a backup storage in case of need, you better start praying that someone invents something like that otherwise one this days you´re going to see something as good or better that this episode and you are gone for good!. A lesson: always keep blood in storage in case of extreme HNNNNNNNGG! moments like in Horizon.
I know, right? I always knew I wouldn’t have a normal death, I just didn’t know how!
Stilts-oniichan
????-2012
Death my Moe
“She’s just so cuuuuuut–!!” *gurk* *dies*