First Impressions / Tegami Bachi

I have to admit, this does look pretty legendary.

「ブルー・ノーツ・ブルーズ」 (Buruu Nootsu Buruuzu)
“Blue Notes Blues”

One two-cour season and eight episodes later, we finally earn a bit more about Niche’s past as the Child of Maka. Up until now, there hasn’t been a whole lot about where Lag’s faithful dingo came from, so when the preview last time indicated that she would be reunited with the legendary creature and another gold hair, blue eyes, woman with claws for hands, I was expecting big things this week. Much to my pleasant surprise, this episode unraveled some of those mysteries and raised new questions as well, such as whether or not Niche was truly born 200 years ago. The true story behind why Maka no longer shows itself to humans seemed to suggest that it was closer to 20 years, given how it’s the same mayor of Blue Notes Blues that threw both Niche and her twin sister off a cliff because the entire town thought they were cursed. A more likely possibility is that he drank the water from the Blue Notes Scale lake in the holy cave where Maka resides, and has lived all this time due to its rumored effects of extending one’s life to a thousand years. In either case, the bigger surprise was that Niche has a twin sister (Koyama Mami) and that she grew up much differently from her. It was eye-opening in the sense that the two of them are the same age and that Niche may end up in a similarly grown-up body at some point, and also left me wondering why her growth was stunted to begin with. As adorable as Niche is in her child form, her nameless sister is really something else in her adult one. She takes the idea of having hair covering just the right places to a whole new level.

Incidentally, there seems to be quite a discrepancy in their intelligence as well, as Niche’s sister’s speech and mannerism reflect an age-level similar to appearance. From her story about the truth behind what happened 200 years ago, it would appear that the tear Maka shed for a woman named Celica (Ueda Kana) (whom the townsfolk were thinking of sacrificing for the land) is what led to the birth of Niche and her sister. Leading up to that, the revelation that Lag isn’t human seemed to suggest that he’s the result of a successful human experimentation conducted at Akatsuki. The fact that he has a spirit amber as his left eye supports that idea, and probably means that he’s an example of someone who was able to become a spirit. Details aside, it looks like Niche isn’t the only unique existence in this Bee/Dingo combo. Other than that, Gauche was no where to be seen this episode, though Lag did stumble upon the frozen Gaichuu in the cave that was freed by his shindan. Nothing was shown of Zazie either, who’s the one everyone should be more concerned about after the battered condition he was left in. For now, it looks like both of those will continue to take a backseat to the ongoing story about Maka though. The preview actually shows Niche fighting against her sister, plus Lag using his Akabari to do what he does best — bringing people around with the truth. Overall, this was a very good plot-oriented episode, and quite possibly the best one thus far this sequel.

 

Say no to food that’s still twitching. Lag can probably do without Niche’s claws digging into his arm too.

Niche told Lag not to bring up her past to the townsfolk, but he needed a friendly crushing reminder.

I got some serious The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker vibes from the artwork during the mayor’s version of the story.

Is this the first big step towards a relationship between Lag and Niche? Sylvette, you have your work cut out for you.

With their trust in one another stronger than ever, the dynamic duo bursts into action!

Some examples of the nice backdrops seen in this series.

Frozen Gaichuu and more shell casings from Gauche’s gun. What is Reverse planning to do with them?

Lag and Niche stumble upon the legendary Maka. They’re there, in the bottom right hand corner.

Niche’s twin sister doesn’t believe in clothes, let alone underwear.

Lag’s embarrassment over seeing a naked body shows that he’s still very much a child.

Unlike Niche, she knows how to make some stylish-looking underwear for herself with her own hair.

Maka senses that Lag isn’t human, so Niche saves him from getting dissected with a flying headbutt. It put new meaning on a Steak sandwich.

Niche may be smaller, but her golden swords work just as well.

As an overseer of the north, Maka has very little interest in the humans that mined all the spirit amber to warp it.

Celica comes into contact with the legendary yet surprisingly compassionate creature and begs it to save her unborn child, even at the cost of her own life.

Any guesses as to which one Niche is?

What ever happened to the saying that all children are born innocent?

Someone’s hiding the truth from the townsfolk and my hunch says it’s the mayor.

Preview

Will Lag be able to bring Niche’s sister around with his shindanjuu? Given his track record, I sure think so.

24 Comments

  2. I’ve been waiting AGES for this part to be animated. I like how they essentially told the same story twice, but the Mayor distorted it in a way to make him seem like the victim. Ugh, what horrible people, throwing poor Niche and her sister off of a cliff T.T

    Now that we know about Niche, all that’s left is to learn about Lag’s past…

    Overcooled
    Reply

  10. My guess is that Niche is the baby with her eyes closed since she doesn’t remember any of this. I’m thinking having longer hair will give Niche’s sister the upper hand in this battle.

    Rika
    Reply

  12. wait a sec; I don’t think that’s the same mayor as 200 years ago that threw them off the cliff. The lake itself doesn’t provide longevity like is proclaimed in the stories, but Maka’s tears that do so. I think that it’s just that the true story has been passed down from mayor to mayor, and that’s how he knows the true story.

    frubam
    Reply

  14. Man there are a lot of anime/manga that constantly use the scheme of horrible people making themselves look like the victims while making the victims look like the villains, such as the legend of legendary heros, Naruto, Superior, Tales of Syphonia. Ect.

    I find Niche’s twin to be hot. I’m guessing she would be like that when she’s Lag’s wife. Though Frubam has a point. The manga got a little curved though. Either way, it’s still enjoyable.

    code fanboy
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *