First Impressions / World Trigger

“Power Elite・Jin Yuuichi”


「実力派エリート・迅悠一」 (Jitsuryoku ha Erito・Jin Yuuichi)

This felt like the World Trigger that I love so much. I think I’d have to put that down to two things. One is us meeting the top dogs of the Border agency, and the other is that we’re finally moving into the direction that the series will take from here on out. I was thoroughly satisfied this week, even if the visuals still aren’t perfect and the reaction shots are far too long – but at least they manage to convey the awkwardness that comes with being stared at by your superiors.

But before that tense second half, we have the conclusion to the conflict with the Ilgar Trion Solider. Whilst the action may not have been the most original or exciting, it was certainly use of tactics. With the lack of knowledge regarding a rare type of Trion Solider such as this, it means its abilities and motives are all a surprise, never seen before. So when Kitora effectively damages it to the point of defeat, she is shocked when it becomes clear that in its final attempt at causing destruction, it is purposefully crash landing where it will do the most damage. It’s a cruel strategy, but an effective one, confirming that the Neighbours behind these Trion Soldiers know what they are doing with each being given a specific purpose.

It ends up that Yuma (yet again) has to save the day. But this time he can’t show his true abilities through combat – as he would be instantly found out by Border – so he comes up with a simple but effective strategy: use his sneaky abilities from a fair distance and literally pull the Trion Solider into the river, setting off its bombs and preventing anyone from being injured in the process. It’s a neat little moment, and a successful one at that. Yuma is just too good I suppose…

Osamu is the one who ends up dealing with the after effects of this particular attack. Sure, he gets some positive thanks and welcomes from those who he saved, but there’s also some silly complaints as well. Osamu seems prepared to deal with the personal grudges of the civilians, but Kitora steps in and gives out some well-practiced official lines to quell the disruptions. In the process, when conversing with Yuma, she easily admits that it wasn’t her who dealt the final blow to the Ilgar. Kitora may be a tsundere at heart, but this moment itself proves that she is not so selfish as to take all the credit for what she didn’t do. The fact that she got assistance is bugging her, but she accepts it and later on even gives Osamu the credit she feels he deserves.

The second half of the episode takes place entirely within the Border HQ, which can be entered through disguised doors throughout Mikado City activated by agent’s triggers. It’s here that we get the introduction to the charming Jin Yuuichi (Nakamura Yuuichi), S-Rank agent, and Elite of the Border Agency. He’s an important fellow with his own admirers, and he’s a flirt at heart. But he’s been called to attend a meeting – the same one that Osamu has been summoned to.

Talk about tense. It’s a long scene – you could argue that it drags, and I wouldn’t disagree with you – but an effective one. Osamu is really put on the spot, being watched and analysed by the top dogs of Border as they try and come to a decision on what to do with him. It’s a classic example of those who hate rule breakers, and those who admire them. Although it’s hard to get a proper grasp of each of the characters involved, you do get a clear idea on which of them side with Osamu, as well as those who are against his actions. And then their is the mysterious Commander, Kido Masamune who never makes it clear what he thinks on the matter.

Osamu is given his chance to say sorry for his actions and promise that he would never do it again. But he refuses. He sticks to his morals and says that he would do the exact same thing again if it meant saving those who are in danger. Now, Yuma may be entertaining and hilarious, but there’s something about Osamu’s spirit that is admirable. He’s a weakling in comparison to those around him, but he is dedicated to his beliefs, and his journey that lies ahead is one of the most interesting aspects of the series – for me, at least.

The notion to even upgrade Osamu to B-rank is brought up, in counter to him possibly being fired from Border. In the end it is Jin who decides to take Osamu under his wing, after agreeing to deal with the issue of the rising number of gates appearing throughout the city. Jin suspects that Osamu is involved in this somehow, and so the deal is sealed.

But Jin isn’t the only one who has his eye on Osamu. Miwa Shuuji (Morita Masakazu) also decides to confront him and confirm if Osamu really did deal with the Trion Soliders beforehand. As expected, he covers for Yuma, but that only helps Miwa confirm his suspicions that a Neighbour is somehow involved in this. Which results in him asking permission to have his unit watch over Osamu, putting our fateful pair under more pressure to keep up their act. Especially for Yuma, as Commander Kido doesn’t mince his words when he says that Neighbours are, after all, their enemy.

Next week might be a little less dim in terms of lighting, as we step outside again in an episode that will officially introduce our fourth and final main character, Amatori Chika. Considering she is my favourite of the series, you can count me excited!

 

 

Information Digest:

Synopsis:

  • Four and a half years ago, a gate to another world appeared in Mikado City. From the gate the Neighbours appeared to wreck havoc.
  • But the mysterious Border defence agency arrived to fight back against the alien invaders, allowing the city’s residents to live their lives normally again.

Previously:

  • It is decided that Osamu is to be escorted to the Border base of operations in regards to his actions, escorted by the A-Rank, Kitora Ai.
  • We also learn about the hierarchy of Border – from A to D. Before they can arrive at the base though, another Trion Solider appears over Mikado City, this time dropping deadly bombs.

 

Details Digest:

Chapters Covered:

  • Chapters 8 p.18 – 10

Border Agents Introduced:

  • Jin Yuuichi, S-Rank Border Agent, Tamakoma Branch (19)
  • Miwa Shuji, A-Rank, Leader of Miwa Unit, Close-rage All Rounder (17)

Miwa Unit Ranking:

  • As evident by the 07 on Miwa’s badge, that makes the Miwa Unit as the 7th best unit of Border.

Preview

31 Comments

    3. It frustrating bec the premise of the show isn’t bad, it’s just so poorly executed. How can you seriously put a minute of close up face shots that have no effect on the actual scene??

      lesley
      Reply

  4. No issues with the episode aside from that long unnecessary pause regarding Mikumo’s response. IIRC, he did responded quickly without thinking about it that much showing his firm resolve. Unlike here where it looks like he’s hesitating. What a waste given that they could have used that to proceed with the story instead.

    masterjaw
    Reply

  7. While the awkward pauses in the boardroom were a little painful, I think Toei made up for it beforehand where they extended the scene where Midorikawa fanboys over Jin, as well as actually having Jin mention Katagiri and Yuitsuka’s name. We didn’t even get that in the manga…guess Ashihara-sensei thought it’d be okay to tell them who they were xD

    I’m excited for next episode too! Chika is adorable ;-;

    thestormfall
    Reply

  9. I guess my only complaint was that there were way too many talking head scenes. Jin’s entrance into the base was needlessly drawn out by having everyone talk. Sure it helped established Jin’s character and personality (and gave us a glimpse a character we will meet later), but I like to think his character speaks for himself. For reference, that scene is a single page in the manga, quick and to the point. He also touches Sawamura’s butt in the manga, but that’s a change I can sort of understand.

    Ruddor
    Reply

    1. And before I forget, I have to complain about the pacing of the whole show in general, at least in regards to adapting the manga. I guess I just noticed because the anime cuts off the episodes in weird places, like right before the conclusion of a scene, especially considering the early chapters/mini-arcs end by alluding to the next chapter/mini-arc.
      For example, the fight at the school takes place over three chapters. Two for Osamu and Yuma to fight the neighbors and the third to introduce the Arashiyama Squad. The third chapter ends with Osamu and Yuma meeting Kitora at the gate.
      Next, Kitora’s talk with Osamu and fight with the Ilgar lasts three chapters and ends with the awesome shot of Jin on the phone over a mountain of neighbor corpses. I don’t know about you, but that would be an awesome scene to end an episode on, or at least a cool pre-opening scene for the next episode.
      I don’t see why these early arcs couldn’t be condensed into one episode each. Granted, they would be packed pretty full and they would have to trim off some of the dialogue and explanations, which are big parts of the series, but, seeing as the early parts of the series are easily the weakest, we wouldn’t have to wait so long for the good stuff.

      And trust me, there is a lot of good stuff.

      Ruddor
      Reply

    1. I’m sorry that my post makes you feel that way. If you’re looking for complaints on the animation quality then I’d advise reading my review of episode 3, as I pretty much go over everything I have to say on the matter. I’ll continue to mention when something is noticeably off (like I have done this week with the long pauses in the meeting) but I don’t see the point of bringing up the exact same complaints every week. I know they’re there, you know, we all know, I just think repeating myself will become a bit tiring.

      On the post itself, I tried to be as informative as I could, providing what I hope is a helpful digest of the new characters introduced, as they will be recurring throughout the series given their importance to the story and the setting. I tried to highlight the plot points that I felt were most worth highlighting, from Kitora’s fight to Miwa’s final scene.

      As a fan of the manga I’m glad to see the story being adapted, even if it being done on a lesser budget than I would have hoped. I’m sorry if me being passionate and positive about the contents of the story itself makes you unable to take this website seriously anymore. I’m just trying to say a bit more than “omg the animation sucks, this sucks.”

      Samu
      Reply

      1. Well I apologize for that comment since it was more a joke about me being passionate over how I feel this anime is but to me it’s not even the animation (though that doesn’t help) but really I just feel like they are messing up everything.

        • Bad soundtrack
        • Bad pacing
        • Meh acting

        And then when we get into the animation, it absolutely ruins everything else. World Trigger to me was a pretty fun over the top shounen that was really high octane and fun and this adaption isn’t capturing any of the energy for me. If I were just nustifying it over whether or not it had a good story I could just transcribe a script onto the screen and add an intense soundtrack and call it AOTY. Even if the underlying story is good (and honestly World Trigger isn’t exactly for the story) I can’t take this adaption seriously and like 50% of trash animes would suddenly be 5/5s.

        My post was more of a joke though, sorry if it offended you.

        Noragami!
        Reply

      2. The pacing is pretty much just like the manga. I don’t see you someone can complain about it.

        The soundtrack. Well, I don’t think it’s good, but I also don’t think it’s bad… because I didn’t even notice it (which means it’s not getting in the way of the show).

        And the acting is the exact same acting every anime has since the beginning of times.

        André
        Reply

      3. ^ Look hun when someone stares at nothing for five minutes and it’s just a frozen screen that’s considered bad pacing in most regards. The thing with the manga is that chapters are condensed in a weekly format but directly adapting all the info and making a trashy dump you sit at people explaining about boring things for half an hour and then montage to some lame action sequence animated by a bunch of butt monkeys smoking into a puppycat. And I can’t believe I’m reading “all acting is the same” smh this acting is average at best.

        Noragami!
        Reply

      4. “Look hun when someone stares at nothing for five minutes and it’s just a frozen screen that’s considered bad pacing in most regards”

        Not, it is not. Don’t use writing jargons if you don’t know what they mean.

        Pacing is related to the overall speed and manipulation of time in a story. So one awkward moment in one particular scene doesn’t mean the whole freakin’ episode has a “bad pacing”.

        That scene in particular was awkward, sure, but the rest of the episode was absolutely fine, so there can’t say the episode had a “bad pacing”. Saying that would be stupid.

        “The thing with the manga is that chapters are condensed in a weekly format but directly adapting all the info and making a trashy dump you sit at people explaining about boring things for half an hour and then montage to some lame action sequence animated by a bunch of butt monkeys smoking into a puppycat.”

        I’m sorry, but, what? You’re saying that you don’t like exposition scenes that explain how the world, powers and organizations work in an anime? Well, that’s a sad day for you, because you’re gonna have those when dealing with many shounen anime. That’s how shounen is. They have, at some point, explain how the world and the power system works, otherwise the viewer will get confused. They MUST to do this. The more complex the world in an anime is, more of it you’ll see.

        And World Trigger does NOT do a bad job at explaining these things. Each episode they throw a little bit of exposition. It’s not “half an hour” like you’re saying, not even close. All episode have some comedy, some character development, some action and some explanation about how things work. So it’s not like exposition scenes are as long as you’re saying. You’re being dishonest, kid. Also, people who are watching actually want to know how things works, it is to be expected.

        I think you don’t like it because you have read the manga and you’re already know how things work in World Trigger, but guess what? Yeah, not everyone who watches the show have read the manga, so they NEED to sit and learn this information. Isn’t that amazing? Yeah, the anime is not being made only to please you, it’s being made to a general public, including those who don’t know s… about the manga.

        It’s actually funny to see how you are complaining here. You are like a kid who don’t know how to express himself and is trying hard to make a point about a subject he doesn’t know anything about.

        – The RC’s author writes a text you don’t agree with, you say you’ll never take RC seriously anymore.

        – There’s one problem with one scene in the episde, you the “pacing is bad” (when you don’t even know what “pacing” is).

        – You see characters spending 2 minutes explaining something relevant to the plot, but you don’t like it and say the show takes “half an hour” to explain these things and that they simply shouldn’t do it (yeah, you, as a manga reader, already knows all that, but what about viewrs who haven’t read the manga? Are saying the writters should give the middle finger to them?).

        – For some random reason you think the acting is not good.

        André
        Reply

      5. Please stop twisting my words since you seem to be adding a bunch of things without even considering what I’m talking about. Trust me that I toom in account of necessary exposition but this episode? Talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk way to spice it up? It’s boring! I can totally accept that you like this show (I already stated that the RandomC thing was a joke) but please take a look around and tell me what the hell you’re seeing about this anime that I’m not. Even if I didn’t read the manga I guarantee you I would be bored as hell. Because what did this series ever do to hook you into the story? Sure some people might be intrigued by the synopsis that was clearly set up but I know the guys who are watching it with me and me personally found myself playing on my iPhone as the show was running, and looking back at the screen and saying “oh, right.”

        This series is boring. You can’t do chicken scratch to change my opinion. I find an entire exposition based episode with no other merits to be a halt in the show’s energy, a.k.a bad pacing. What comedy? You mean the three slit lines or the “ahh! I tripped and fell!” If anyone is watching ths for the comedy please point me to their direction so I can ask what exactly made them laugh EVER in this show. Exposition episodes are FINE but this show has no backbone to it! It’s so damn basic. You can tell by my name that I must love Noragami, and I read the manga beforehand. The exposition and world building STILL managed to attract me. What you think my reason is for not liking this show is completely irrelevant.

        Tell me:
        – Did you read where I said the RandomC thing was a joke?
        – Did I ever say the acting was bad? I said it was “meh.” “Average.”
        – Please stop calling me a kid since it’s really not effective?

        Check out your elitist attitude and look at the comments here. My comment with complaints about the show has 6 vs 2 likes. Trashy adaption. Fish eyes. ANN consistently gives these episodes a negative review. The average for this show on Anime-Planet is quite low. The forums of Anime-Planet are panning this series. My complaints are valid — your attraction to the show is valid. We have completely different opinions and that’s fine but your post itself was completely insulting and derogatory. I already apologized to Samu for the comment I made as it was not a serious one and my aggressiveness in the last post was pretty clearly going towards a comical path (I hope. If you were offended I apologize again) but relinquish your title as a keyboard warrior because this is ridiculous.

        See you next week where I will probably still hate this show.

        Noragami!
        Reply

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