I must say that this episode turned out completely different from what I expected. Now that the setting has become your average high school, I was expecting a more light-hearted chapter, and the way this arc started indeed seemed to suggest so. So I was wrong.
Because this was the last place I expected the Baskervilles to show up at. I’m not exactly sure how they knew that Oz was visiting his sister this day, but the Tragedy of Sabrie turns out to be a bigger mystery than expected, especially since the ones who instigated it don’t even know everything that happened. I suspect that they want to know the exact details of what Jack did back there in order to prevent it from gobbling up the entire country.
The most interesting thing in this episode was the piece of meta-fiction in terms of the Holy Knight series, which seems to be a series of popular books in the Pandora Hearts universe. I loved how both Oz and Eliot (the new guy, who seems to be part of the Nightray family, of all things) had completely different ways of interpreting a guy named “Edgar”. Oz, being cast in the abyss and all, has lost just about all of his self worth, but it turns out that he even thought little of himself before he was cast into the abyss, which again brings us back to the way he was raised by his parents. This episode shows that he still fails to see the many people that care about him (Ada, Gilbert and especially Alice). Those words from Eliot made a lot of impact.
And on a side-note: what kind of school has a barbecue club? Seriously?
Rating: ** (Excellent)
A~ha. Now that they were done with the first DVD, animation looked better than ever… Was the omake where you sacrificed the budget for CC arc after all, Xebec? YOu guys could do it when you really want to….
This episode is a mixed one. I’m really glad that the animation had gone up and the seiyuus are doing great (aside from Ada’s which poorly degraded my eardrums..) there goes some changes. Ada wasn’t supposed to get kidnapped… but maybe it’s the creators’s way to explain where Ada is. In the manga, she was just left on the floor. Tjh-that shouldn’t affect the major storyline, I hope. And… they really have no other way to poison people LOL *there goes Ada’s first kiss*
The thing with Holy Knight’s being a hit novel in PH era; doesn’t this remind you of Harry Potter? xD Actually, if you open your eyes, there are lots of similarity between HP and PH… Okay, I just found another similarity :p
…I’ve heard of schools having a cooking club but barbequeing… Latowidge must be the first. xD
Well, in a way it does make sense: if you’re going to get information from someone, why not use his cute sister as a hostage? I agree that the poison bottle could have been more creative though. Especially since it was supposed to be really rare. 😛
@psgel
Not if you have the hobby to collect some? We still dunno who is that poison-collecting guy in Baskerville; never confirmed, perhaps a possible future character? Then Xebec has screwed it xD
And.. Elliot and Fang’s brief fight kinda makes the 2nd eps’s “fight” even meh LOL
Back to the anime; where is Oscar? xD
Preview: Hm hmmmm, he’s coming xD And good to see Jack again xD
Actually, if you notice that the poison bottle is the same one that Vincent used to poison Sharon. And who did Vincent visit beforehand? I wouldn’t put it past Lottie to snatch it. xD;
Hey, Metter, the Elliot x Fang fight was for the Elliot whores (which, similar to the Jack whores, are all the fandom); fanservice, basically. 😉
NEXT EPISODE: OMFG, I SEE HIM.
this episode was made of awesomeness. I was SO waiting for this one and it turned out great
I really liked how this episode fixed a plot-hole in the manga. By having Ada with Oz, and letting Eliot find the kittens, it explained how he found out where Oz was, while he just randomly showed up there in the manga…. As small as it seems, it really impressed me that the show fixed this.
Anyway, the next episode is going to be fun. I love the influence Eliot has on Oz, and then, eventually, influenced-Oz on everyone else. Awesomeness.
But seriously, there’d better be a season 2, or a fantastic, anime-original ending!
@Shirachi
Ah, true enough. And about Ada’s being involved, I guess it’s to extend her screenplay… though her role isn’t a very mice ride 😛
@smallDetails
Nah, he didn’t just popped out of nowhere in the manga. Ada was left on the floor and her cats were the ones that lead Elliot to the secret passage.
Second season is must… Since the S arc is really… as awesome or even surpass the Cheshire arc IMO….
Why do I have the feeling that this anime won’t have an ending? D: The manga is still on-going and the anime is catching up to it rather quickly. Maybe there will be a season 2 or a high-budget OVA at least? 8D
In other news… YEEEEEESSSS JACK AND ELLIOT AND FANG!!!! FINALLY!!! >:D >:D >:D
@Metter
Oops, lol. I must’ve blacked out that part of the manga.
Seriously, though…I NEED the S arc to show up somehow in this show. Vincent and Gil’s backstory messed up 1/2 of all PH theories, so it’s pure win!
oh LOL, Barbeque Club
That off-the-wall idea fits the humour of this show perfectly, I think.
@smallDetils
I’m as dying as you are to see the S arc but… maybe they had better left it for a second season so Mochizuki could go further in the story(and twist the manga reader’s neck over and over and over…) They might want to end the first season with the beginning of S arc. Now THAT’S what I call cliffhanger xD
I’d be happy to see that scene with Echo in the festival ;D I’d love to see that dress in color~
Ah, i would have died for a BBQ club, even a culinary club would have been nice. I am a huge cooking fan.
This series is just awesome.. I didn’t know if the premise would work for this show, but it has been refreshing. The characters are brilliant. Elliot is hilarious, i love his rightcheous outlook and how it contrasts that of Oz.
This show has gotten to be absolutely brilliant, and if all follows well, then it might even surpass Phantom as my favorite anime of this season.
This was one of the “cheesy” episodes, which focuses on just plain humor and stuff, but as the next episodes will follow, it gets a tad serious. 😀 I’m just waiting for a second season- PH has really surpassed my expectations. I expected 07 Ghost to be good as the manga was great, but it sucked and I’ve stopped watching it. PH on the other hand, is one of my top mangas, but I expected the anime to be bad because the whole story is really complex. So far, it’s kept up with the manga true to heart, and thus has really made something out of a dark gothic fairy tale/Alice in Wonderland. 😀
Is it me, or has the animation seemed to have gotten better?
Yes it is.
Reason one might be the DVD sales. I mean, dude, there were so many moe and maids (female and male) in it so I guess it’s what attracts the otakus and the manga fans for the bonus. Second reason: Their best animator team was to handle the omake so since they were ‘free’ after the DVD, they worked on this episode LOL.
Now my worries would be the next episode; the guy who cut Oz’s bunny shooting and Vince’s corpse gouging is back…! OAO
Also… about how they will end the series… those who read the manga: even if we assume that they would use the one chapter per episode pace… Chances are, they might an anime original… DOn’t fail us Xebec!
My high school has a BBQ club & they serve the school- at a price- stuff like BBQ sandwiches. Of course, this is a high school of more than 5000 people so we have all sorts of weird clubs.