First Impressions / Zetsuen no Tempest

「舞姫」 (Maihime)
“The Dancing Princess”

Looking back throughout Zetsuen no Tempest, it’s been fairly obvious just how important Fuwa Aika’s been to this story. In many ways, she’s the reason this entire journey existed after all, and the one factor that completely threw Samon’s plan into disarray. What I didn’t expect however though, was just how much she would continue to influence things even now. I mean, darn, I figured she’d continue to play some part… but shucks, Aika’s pretty much completely orchestrated the sequence of events we see this episode, the revelation of her as Yoshino’s girlfriend leading to Hakaze’s attempt to test the Tree of Genesis, as well as the now inevitable confrontation between Mahiro and Yoshino. To say the least, the future’s likely going to be molded from the results of these events, and it’s just pretty darn spectacular when you realize that the person responsible has been dead since before the series started! Few series manage to have such spectacular tie-ins even with people that are constantly on the screen, yet Zetsuen manages to do it with someone who ain’t even alive! Just… bravo.

But yeah, the general feeling I got after watching this episode was just… “Wow.” After mixing a bit of seriousness and comedy through the past few weeks, we’d been getting the feeling that things would start escalating soon, and boy did it escalate quickly — chock full of some great developments as well.

For one, it was nice to see Yoshino show some semblance of emotion — to Hakaze no less. In ways, his inevitable emotional release was building up for quite a bit, and it’s just great to finally see him actually express the feelings he keeps holding back with a smile. To top it off, it was just incredibly symbolic that the person he ends up expressing it to is someone who also has feelings for him, as well as the only one who really can do something about the situation — a situation that Yoshino has been lamenting he could do nothing about for years. In this respect, one really starts to wonder though. The fact that things fall so nicely into place regarding this matter really make you wonder if he’s indeed a Mage of some sort… or at least someone special enough to be beyond the logic of either tree.

Interestingly enough though, if there’s one major general development, it’s how things have seemingly turned all of a sudden against the Tree of Genesis. Its own Mage is intent on testing it, Samon originally worked to try and destroy it, and the Mage of Exodus is also present with the power to trash it as well. Of course, there’s been bits and pieces hinting that the Tree of Genesis might not be “good” at all in the grand scheme of things, but the question becomes: which one of the trees is really good or bad? Are either of them even capable of being categorized as good or bad? Is this just some kind of struggle between life and death between two Gods that just have humanity caught in the balance? Are there “aliens” at work!?

In the end, there’s just a lot of uncertainty involved at the moment — and as Samon mentions himself, for the future as well — and I guess I can’t say anything else except that the story has done superbly in being able to pretty much do whatever it wants at will. Zetsuen’s just shown an ability to give us twist after twist — twists that have made us consistently question everything we’ve seen before — all while not pushing the envelope of what would be considered acceptable in its own universe and logic and not forcing anything to develop at all. On that note though, it looks like the future holds quite a bit of intrigue in the possible developments, and the ending looks like it’ll be good one — even if it turns out its an original one. Guess we’ll see how it goes eh?

 

Preview

73 Comments

    2. Psycho-Pass and From The New World are still in the running for me. To be honest, I don’t want to compare them at all, since all 3 of them are such stellar shows. We’ve been truly blessed by the 2-cour shows that started last season.

      This season… not so much. Chihayafuru S2 and then the rest.

      Nic
      Reply

  4. I just keep getting the feeling that Aika is the Mage of Exodus after all….
    This wimpy guy whos name i can’t really remember just can’t be it. I mean I totally would expect some kind of twist like that from this series and considering that Hakaze came back from the Dead basicly it wouldnt be too far off for the same to happen with Aika. ( given that she is indeed the mage of exodus)

    Well either way can’t wait till next week, Zetsuen no Tempest is definately in my top 5 Anime’s 😀

    Maniac
    Reply

    1. Hakaze never died though.

      However I wouldn’t put off an Aika resurrection, or at least I’m personally hoping for one.

      Bringing the dead back doesn’t work using the Tree of Genesis’s magic because the act is so illogical, but it seems fairly convenient that they also have an illogical magic at hand that could complete the task.

      qwert
      Reply

      1. “However I wouldn’t put off an Aika resurrection, or at least I’m personally hoping for one.”

        I certainly don’t. See, the thing is, bringing a character back to life whose death meant something(and in the case of this series, it is the event that drives EVERYTHING we’ve seen in this show; both chars AND plot) negates the weight that death had on said events.

        Now what I said above was my logical side talking. Emotionally, I think Hakaze has proven herself worthy of being the one next to Yoshino’s side. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the chemistry between Aika and Yoshino, and I feel they’re a better couple. However, Hakaze’s feelings from puppy love, to a more profound love(as Junichi also felt), and the willingness to defy and destroy the deity she’s served all her life makes me feel that she deserves Yoshino’s love too. Aika coming back would kill the purpose she’s worked towards since her rescue from the past.

        frubam
        Reply

      2. I guess it depends on if Yoshino likes Hakaze or not, if I take into account his views on a girlfriend from episode 7.And if he thinks there’s no point in crying because it doesn’t change anything then I doubt he would have a problem falling in love again either.

        shadowalker
        Reply

      3. @frubam

        I agree with you but it’s possible the mere possibility of Aika being revived might drive a big wedge between our cast if it comes with a heavy price, that others would be unwilling to pay but that Mahiro would.

        Nic
        Reply

      1. It’s translated into english till Volume 5. Chapter 24…….but the volumes in the country of its origin is at like Volume 8 ,Volume 8.5 something like that..so I doubt the original ending

        Natsu
        Reply

      2. The manga will end at chapter 44 next month, so my bet is that the anime ending will be tied in to the manga ending. (I’ve just read chapter 43 and it was great!) This episode the anime blended together a number of manga chapters in the mid-to-high 20s, so as long as the anime continues to focus on the key points it ought to be able to finish up with the manga ending quite easily.

        Dave Baranyi
        Reply

      3. The end of Volume 5 pretty much aligns with this episode when Hakaze decides to test the tree with a bit into the first chapter of Vol 6 for the fight that comes afterwards.

        That means it’s taken 18 episodes to cover about 25 chapters or roughly 1.4 chapters per episode.

        It seems the series will end with chapter 44 so unless there is a whole lot in between that can be condensed you’re looking at another 12 episodes to finish the series at the pace they’ve set so far.

        They did manage to hit almost 2.5 chapters per episode with the material from volume 3 though so fingers crossed that they can pull that off again without hurting the story and fit everything in.

        qwert
        Reply

    3. OMFG. That is exciting news. I doubt the anime will manage to fit it all though. The chapters are like 40 pages each so it usually fits like 2 chapters per episode. Although the anime has definitely included stuff in previous episodes that were from future non-scanlated chapters in a way to tie events more consistently.

      On the other hand, maybe it’ll be finished with a OVA series? Logically, that would be the best course of action since MAL says we only have 6 episodes left. And I doubt it will be enough to cover everything.

      Nic
      Reply

  8. All I could say when Yoshino broke down was “let it alllllllll out bro.” It was fantastic. Truly a great story. I can’t even begin to imagine how it must’ve felt to hear that message of Aika’s death by phone, only to stay there looking into space.

    Mahiro definitely suffered during, but Yoshino suffered much more because he kept it back until the dam was ready to explode. None other than by my favorite Hakaze.

    But I was kinda disappointed when they skipped over the aftermath of the touching scene with Yoshino and Hakaze. When Yoshino got all embarrassed after Hakaze saw the true side of Yoshino.

    If it was one thing I loved about this episode, it would be that Hakaze now feels something much deeper than love for Yoshino. Truthfully its a really confusing to know theres a feeling STRONGER than love. But this story is just powerful when it comes to things like this.

    Now next episode, we see that Hakaze might just take the first step to claiming Yoshino for herself since nothing holds her back now. I’m glad she doesn’t have to try to force her feelings away now.

    swordhack4
    Reply

  10. This is exactly what I waiting for. At least the first part of the episode reminded me of why I love this series so much. It was really intense to watch and how everything came together. Call me a hater, but I like the more darker theme serious vibe of this show more than the comical side. To me, that’s what makes it stand out from previous shows. I’m excited for next weeks, hope they keep this momentum going, I’m waiting for the storm to hit!

    To me, Aika is the coolest dead girl ever. Even now, we get glimpse of how awesome she truly was and continues to be, even in flashback format. What a strange girl indeed, personality wise, I hope she gets at least mention for best characters during the end of year ‘Best of Anime’ .She may not win considering we just started the year and who knows what new animes will come with it, but she definitely deserves a mention. At least to me, she made an impact as a dynamic complex character.

    Solara
    Reply

    1. Character-wise I think the other three(Yoshino,Mahiro,Hakaze) characters are better though, mainly because we haven’t seen or know much about Aika.Sure, we have seen how she influences the events through Yoshino and some interactions in the flashback scenes, but otherwise they never showed much about her character(yet) compared to the other three of whom we know their motives,how they think,their emotions,etc.

      shadowalker
      Reply

      1. I like the rest of the cast but they don’t set apart from being anything different than what I have seen before in anime. Yoshino is interesting in the aspect that he hides his emotions well and has incredible insight. Mahiro is pretty typical, and his ulterior motive of finding someone who murder his sister is expected, and apparently he has a sister complex. I’m not really shock nor amaze by this character. That’s not to say he isn’t a good one. Hakaze is pretty intriguing herself, with having insight, and I must admit she shrined the brightest when she was in the Island, and when she ‘landed’ she became somewhat another archtype charcter that can’t be remotely useful cause she happens to be in love. At least that’s how she came across to me in the recent episodes, but apparently many like that about her.

        Aika is pretty much ‘book worm’ strange. Which is also a common archtype. But I guess the way it’s presented here makes her rather intriguing. Besides having a dramatic impact on the story alone, her persona is pretty strange in itself. OR maybe I just find her the most fascinating because of the sole fact that not much is known about her. Yet again this are my personal views on it.

        Solara
        Reply

      2. Aika aside, I’m not a big fan of romance especially in this kind of show, but I think Hakaze’s inner conflicts are necessary right now because being the most powerful character of the show, atm, if she either decided to support or destroy the Tree of Genesis there wouldn’t anyone to stop her, essentially ending the show(not that the romance is out of place, though).

        This completely off topic but considering your preference in anime characters you might want to check out ‘Baccano!’ it had a large cast of very…..interesting/strange characters(but the show itself is different from Zetsuen no Tempest).

        shadowalker
        Reply

      3. I like unique characters cause they fit the current plot line, not because they are soley unique. Granted, unique characters can sometimes make the story itself more engaging. I will look into that series that you mention. Thank you.

        Frankly, that whole ‘Hakaze’ saga with Yoshino is ridiculous to me. While it brings the shippers happiness, it baffles me that it’s all about how she feels and how Yoshino will react to it that the fate of the World will literally be in their hands. Heaven forbid she is on her period, she might kill us all.

        Even the cast themselves found her rather ‘useless’ mentally just because she was in love with Yoshino. Episode 13 was all about that actually, how they feel powerless, how they don’t know what will happen, and so on and on all because she was acting like a high schooler with a crush. And she was. And it was utterly upsetting for me to see. The way they presented her in those episodes, really piss me off. Her character was downgraded from her independant awesome personality that she was in the Island. Am I suppose to be impress that the greatest strongest character in this show is at the mercy of some emotionless boy? Well he showed emotion now. The second Hakaze returns and becomes emotionally independant without the need of someone, I’ll root the crap out of her.

        Cause thats where she shines the brightest, and I love that about her. I love how Hakaze was in the first part of this episode, then it went to Hell the second she said “If it really toyed with my Yoshino’s life, I’ll absolutely make it pay!”

        Baby steps I guess. P:

        Solara
        Reply

      5. You do have point there, but then again Yoshino and Mahiro are also in a somewhat similar situation from the beginning, they’re actions are also motivated/influenced by their feelings for Aika, but I guess the fact she’s dead puts more weight into it.

        BTW, I just noticed, Hakaze is starting to sound a bit like Mahiro, not sure if that’s a good thing.

        shadowalker
        Reply

      6. Well the thing is, in their defence, the series started off that way and we know those guys were a bit loony in the head and we ran with it. When you are given something and it’s said ‘thats how it is’ you don’t question it. Hakaze came out a certain way like everyone else did, and we expected that each episode, only when I saw her off the island, she became someone else that gave us room to judge her as a character and question her. While everyone else seems to be the same way moving along with the plot. Only Yoshino made some change by showing emotion finally. Which I’m hoping was there for a reason cause the guy appears fine right now. I was hoping that those freaky eyes he made would be a more dramatic plot change and who knows awaken the real Mage or whatever, that would had been cool. It would give it more purpose for why it was done.

        At this point, I’m like “Okay, he showed emotion, his expression looks like he’s shocked, but he appears to be normal again, but Mahiro is now in shocked and is perhaps confuse internally and chances are we’ll waste more episodes of Mahiro finally asking Yoshino that bloody question if he was or isn’t. And now that Hazake knows that Aika was the GF, she apparently claims Yoshino as hers, clearly not caring whether or not Yoshino even likes her, cause no one cares.” Wait. WHAT. Isn’t that like a factor? @____@

        I mean with all of the shippers and feelings and love and boyfriend and so on and on and on about Hakaze’s undying love to Yoshino and the world ending at their hands, DID ANYONE TOOK INTO CONSIDERATION IF YOSHINO EVEN LIKES HAKAZE!? I’m sure that would be a major factor if Hazake realizes that Yoshino doesn’t really give a rats ass about her while she’s madly in love with him. I find this utterly hilarious.

        Solara
        Reply

      7. Agreed, but unfortunately this isn’t something limited to this show.Whenever someone from the main cast falls in love with a another character they are automatically expected to requite those feelings, even if there is no indication that that character is interested or not – I share your sentiments on this.
        As for the matter at hand, I haven’t seen anything to indicate Yoshino likes Hakaze either.He maybe nice and gentle with her, but then he’s like that with everyone else too.Even all the times he was emotionally supportive towards her seemed to stem from his own traits of rational(positive?) thinking rather than from any consideration towards her.Personally I think there’s also a fair chance that Hakaze might get rejected.

        shadowalker
        Reply

      8. And here I thought Zetsune was one of a kind and wouldn’t fall into popular trends. Which if it did ended up Yoshino returning her feelings just ‘for the Hell of it’ I would actually be a tad disappointment in the lack of unoriginality. Hakaze is well aware that whoever the GF was Yoshino really loved her, and was very loyal. As witness, we the audience, are aware of this as well from episode one to now, Heaven forbid he loses that phone along with that image. So Hakaze being all ‘smart’ would know that just because you found out that his ex was dead all along, will probably find the idea of him STILL being loyal after the fact of letting her know to be rather ‘stupid’ or she would admire that strong determination of Yoshino. Which she said once that that is a quality that would make her fall in love with him more. My question(s) is, why would you be hung over a person who clearly doesn’t care if his ex was dead and still remain loyal after so long? Would you forever be second best? Do you think that JUST because you found out the truth now Yoshino would change his mindset and start liking you now?

        This are the questions Hakaze. Which apparently hasn’t cross her mind yet cause she skipped all of that and claim the poor boy. If Yoshino ever ends up with Hakaze, I would want it on his terms and pace, not because someone force him into it. But yeah Yoshino hasn’t really done anything that says he wants to date her or even like her like that, which to me means he is still hung over Aika.

        Solara
        Reply

      9. Actually that last part I didn’t necessarily mean it’s because Yoshino was still hung up on Aika(that’s also a possibility too though and he probably is) – if Yoshino likes Hakaze but isn’t pursuing the matter because of he’s still hung up on Aika I would have expected to see some indication to support that from the show, so far there’s been none.
        At the moment I’m going with either Yoshino simply isn’t interested in Hakaze(without any underling reason he just doesn’t find Hakaze attractive in that way) or like you said, he’s still hung up on Aika and doesn’t view any other girl in a romantic sense.
        If they are going to be couple hopefully we’ll get to see why Yoshino likes Hakaze too, after all, they gave us plenty of reasons as to why Hakaze fell in love with Yoshino, why not the same here.

        shadowalker
        Reply

    1. Yes, it’s good to see him finally crack a bit & seem truly human.

      It’s hard keep feelings pent up like that for so long & I think they did a good job showing them finally pour out.

      FarHorizon
      Reply

  13. I tell ya, ZnT is the only show currently running that can get away with this EPIC theme. I feel like I am watching an operatic stage play (w/ the EPIC bgm) with most of ZnT episodes. This show is an EPIC in-making. One of the few shows that I enjoy watching every week.

    Deathtogeneric/formulaicshows
    Reply

  14. Hmmm, hasn’t anybody theorized yet that it’s Mahiro who is the Mage of Exodus? I mean, regarding Aika’s death, the only one( for now ) that could have killed her is the Mage of Exodus. And who would have motive to kill her? If Mahiro found out about Aika’s secret relationship, would Mahiro become mad and insane enough to kill her in anger? He is pretty emotionally driven according to what we’ve seen of him so far. And after this hypothetical murder he would then repress his memory because of shock or something.

    Hmm, is it an actually feasible theory? No? It would be too much of an asspull maybe.

    vlm
    Reply

    1. Haha, no, just no. For one, Mahiro wears his emotions out in the open for anyone to see. Look at how completely shocked and in denial he is over Yoshino being Aika’s boyfriend. Two, had he killed Aika for that, why would Yoshino even be alive?

      No, for me, the theory that has more legitimacy is that Aika was the Mage of Exodus and I dunno… lost control of her powers, killed her parents and then took her own life? She’s so mysterious, it’s really hard to tell what was up with her. Anyway, I’d be kinda disappointed if the killer turns out not to be someone from the current cast.

      Nic
      Reply

      2. Or maybe she killed herself so that the world will be saved by Mahiro and Yoshino. But then we come across the question, How did she know what’ll happen after fer death? The possible answer is time traveling. By now I’m quite sure she used to be the Mage of Exodus before her death. I mean c’mon, it’s obvious with all those hints they are throwing at us. But if that’s true there’s the question, why would the mage of Exodus want the world saved? Isn’t tree of Exodus there to destroy it? Which leads to the question, is the tree of Exodus really evil? Guess we’ll have to wait for the series to end to find that out.

        Swarz
        Reply

  16. Haha, damn, Zetsuen no Tempest is in full gear again. I love how all the little things that have been handled by the show – both the recent events and the event that started the story – tie together so perfectly, and it makes sure no episode is wasted. It’s time for the build-up to pay off once more, and this show once again proves why it’s my favourite show this season.

    I also kind of find it interesting that both Yoshino and Mahiro had an outpour of emotions because of the reveal. Yoshino cracking and finally allowing everything he’s bottled up to show on the outside let us see that he is still very human on the inside, but I also liked how Mahiro, who’s usually loud and always showing his emotions, actually grew quiet now and just started doing things to get his mind off of it in quiet solitude. They really are complete opposites in every way.

    And thus, I wonder what’s going to happen now. Hakaze’s little trip has set her mind in order (that smile!) and now the puny humans are going to taunt and test the trees. Fireworks are going to happen, and it will hopefully be glorious.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  18. Damn I thought I was going to see more after this scene, curse you Shinsekai Yori and the way you introduced the Bonobo effect! hahahaha

    Joking aside It’s really good in the eyes when Hakaze and Yoshino interacts with each other.

    “If it really toyed with my Yoshino’s life, I’ll absolutely make it pay!”

    hahaha best dialogue from yandere Hakaze there.

    baseone
    Reply

  19. lol, just love the way how surprised and shocked Mahiro sounds in previews…
    ‘HAKAZE IS IN LOVE WITH YOSHINO?!?!?”
    ‘YOU KISSED?!?!?!’
    props to the seiyuu responsible
    gets a laugh outta me everytime

    NierTevra
    Reply

    1. Sufficiently advanced technology can be seen as magic?
      I’d say while I would not set the origins of the trees yet, I’d definitely try and subject them to scientific analysis. Fraulein has my attention.

      ewok40k
      Reply

  21. Surely Hakaze likes ear lobes a lot, as she said in the previous episode … she just grabbed Yoshino by his ear to ask him to let her talk privately with Junichiro at the cafè.

    Attention to details, just another quality of this show.

    Voyager
    Reply

  23. This show has taken a severe turn for the worse. It went from two boys trying to save the world, to two boys and their girl problems…. Also the whole tree of genesis and tree of exodus crap is getting really stupid with this whole power ranger versus princess crap.

    DivineJimmy
    Reply

    2. Who cares about the salvation of the world? But love is an eternal theme. You can save girlfriend/wife – save billions of strangers does not make any sense. For this idea I love manga and anime.

      Andrew
      Reply

  24. I’ll be honest. I really love this anime, ever since the first episode.

    But, I can’t help but get annoyed at Hakaze having feelings for Yoshino. I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem right. I really hoped that once she learned that Yoshino’s girlfriend was Aika and how Yoshino had suffered for a long time, she could find it easier to forget her feelings for him to not take advantage of his grief. But I grew even more annoyed with her when her feelings for Yoshino got stronger instead. She only wishes to destroy the Tree of Genesis, all for Yoshino and nothing more. It frustrated me, a lot.

    At the very least, I’m glad that Mahiro has found out the truth. I just hope he won’t try to kill Yoshino, but I don’t think he’d really do that. And Evangeline’s theory about what the Tree of Genesis and Exodus may really be kind of surprised me. But hey, Zetsuen no Tempest is an anime full of shocking, yet reasonable twists.

    yin13147
    Reply

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