Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「わかってもらおーなんて思ってないよ」 (Wakatte Morao Nante Omotte nai yo)
“I Don’t Expect You to Understand”
Okay, I have to admit, that was pretty clever. I imagine it was far less impressive for the manga readers here (except perhaps while they were reading it), but it was something of a surprise for me. Despite the multiple hints lying around (the OP, people mentioning that she would be introduced without her glasses, that said introduction would probably be in episode five) I somehow failed to associate the swim-team menace Kikaijima (Kayano Ai) with the stern-and-serious-looking final member of the student council (which means I was mistaken when I assumed she hadn’t appeared last episode!). There were plenty of hints throughout both episodes, not least her appearance (I blame the glasses… and that swimsuit…), her love for money (her position would be the treasurer of course) and the intelligence she showed beyond the two other members of her team.
Back to the swim team for a moment, I wonder whether they became monsters for the sake of money, or if they were monsters even before that. Each of the members suffered in the past due to a lack of money, which resulted in their unusually strong resolve to procure it no matter what the cost. I suppose on a certain level, it’s this determination that makes them seem like monsters to others – most of the feats they’ve performed are feasible, but pretty dangerous to execute. Most people wouldn’t even consider being so reckless, thus seeing the swim team put their lives in danger and succeed every time must seem like the actions of a monster.
We’re told that it’s unusual for the monsters of the special classes to team up in Sandbox Academy. But in reality, when you add a shared goal to the mix, it’s not unusual for even the wildest of beasts to form a temporary truce to accomplish it. That doesn’t seem so much the case for the swim team though – while they obviously share a goal, the affection they feel towards each other extends well beyond the bounds of a temporary truce. Perhaps it ties in to how people perceive them as monsters – unlike characters such as Medaka, the swim team members haven’t actually exhibited any superhuman abilities beyond their disregard for their own safety and strong teamwork. If they were not truly monsters, the supposed ‘rules’ wouldn’t apply to them. While they value money more than anything else, they still like each other more than money. It’s somewhat twisted, but it proves that they’re not entirely fixated on wealth and that makes me lean even more towards considering them normal people but with exceptional circumstances making them seem above the norm (for now at least – I still expect things to get weirder!).
The second and third events were… kind of strange, if fairly straightforward. An underwater three-legged race is definitely a fairly simple concept and this isn’t the first time I’ve seen eel catching in an anime. Event number four wasn’t entirely unusual either (even if I can’t claim to have participated in anything similar), though leaving it up to Shiranui definitely brought out an interesting idea. Awarding points differently depending on the rank of the team whose bandana you stole was definitely a stroke of genius when it came to evening out the odds for the final battle, even if it left the door open for Nekomi to swoop in and steal victory with her trademark underhanded tactics!
Random thoughts:
- With Akune and Zenkichi seemingly getting along so well, it was obvious that things would turn out badly… they still managed to do pretty well though!
- I really enjoy the larger-than-life imagery used when Medaka launches into one of her epic lectures. I only wish they’d use it more often.
- Oh Medaka… your animal issues are absurd… and I think Akune is actually enjoying that!
- Just how buoyant are those armbands? Was the student council under a special handicap, or was it the same for everyone? It would certainly explain why most of the males were unable to dive!
HNGGGWell… that was unexpected… sort of…
Full-length images: 01, 02, 04, 06, 08, 13, 20, 28, 30
* Special thanks to Stereoman for full-length 02 and the… uniquely cropped 28!
Preview
 |
 |
 |
Show Spoiler ▼
Show Spoiler ▼
i wasn’t expecting THAT KISS to happen…….. ok, this show is rate PG-18
Oh, so this is the reason they put the swim competition episodes before the artist one next time. So they can show off Kikaijima as a model too, which did not happen in the manga.
All the ridiculousness, especially the standing on armband part is redeemed with..
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)
Pic 29! Them goggles, they do nothing!
Kikaijima with glasses >> without glasses.
I’m gonna miss the Hachikuji-Illyasviel commentary.
Pic 1: Oh Gainax.
kikaijima + glasses = pure win
and i think kyuubei might just be my fav charact for the show
Hmm, first picture shows all the new characters from the Flask Plan arc. Is that a confirmation that its gona be animated? I sure hope so.
This one’s only 12 episodes though, right? So they might just tease us with that class 🙁
please. Even 12 is a pure tortue already.
I’d rather eat a bag of hair than watch a minute of this thing. Wake up, people!
So ‘worstof2012’, you spend your time reading comments on blogs about animes you hate? Yes eating a bag of hair would then indeed be the best decision. If it’s really a torture, don’t watch it, don’t comment, and don’t force your opinion on other people.
Actully how many episodes this is has not been stated.
What REALLY bothers me is that the designs (mostly the faces) looks odd when animated
I’m currently following the manga in a love/hate/wtf relationship for years and this anime is gonna suffer the “on paper concept” problem, when it finishes with the “school life arc” (as I call it) and start animating the other weirdness that happens onward that will numb newcomers to the series looking for school/action/drama/fan-service type show better be handled with care or it its going to fall flat and look awkward, things that I knew happened to other mangas like Air Gear and Tenjou Tenge (if they dare to keep true to the content) both of which were never finished animated and would require far too much effort to animate the insane complex fight scenes without taking shortcuts resulting it looking lame and missing emotional impact
In the mangna the scenes conveyed enough (at best) to get a grasp, plus a LOT of drawn out Tech/Psycho-babble in-between and DURING bouts of fighting that still needed to be REREAD just to make most of it to stick and I fear what will have to be cut or padded out to make the conversion to anime
Gainax is being pretty reserved with this and it lacked the stylized flare of older shows (due to talent leaving), maybe SHAFT should have animated it instead but that’s just an opinion of mine (probably biased too since watching Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei series, bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari)
worstof2012’s looking for the next GC 🙂 Something to rant on, because MB can take a load of abuse.
She’s not really the last council member. Only for now. I don’t think the anime will get to the point where the last person is introduced sadly. At least not in this season.
It is such a shame that the most awesome member will not be shown.
I’m picking up the show. NOW!
Tsk. And people said I was wrong about the treasurer not appearing this season. Pfah!!!
The monster child is coming soon.
This show is so random. So Medaka will kiss anyone she likes? And she likes everyone? Ergo she’ll be willing to kiss everyone? 0_o’
No, she loves her. That’s Medaka kisses her.
*that’s why Medaka kisses her I mean.
Yeah, Medaka can potentially kiss everyone, ‘Overflowing Love’ and all that. Heck, later on,Show Spoiler ▼
you can tell what she really thinks relationships, eh?
Though, it is quite difficult to judge Medaka harshly. If you’re sticking with this, just pay attention to Zenkichi’s words; he’s sorta the Arararagi-san of MB in the sense that whatever he observes tends to be true.
Show Spoiler ▼
Simply put, Medaka’s just too different.
I only just realized that Kikaijma was the final member after watching the opening for the second time; anyways is that an eel in her swimsuit?! And Nekomi was a neko in that background (lol). Also that eye-catch illustration looks great. What threw me off was the judo team winning, not the kiss though. Well, that’s probably because I got a glimpse of it from here. Good episode. I can’t wait to see the other monstrous students.
Shiranui’s the reason I’m watching this
Medaka: best “flying-tackle-of-love” victory since Rushuna in “Grenadier”!
I really liked how the swim team guys admitted freely they like their teammate more than money. This and their background gives them definitely nicer touch!