Well, this episode unfortunately wasn’t as impressive as the previous ones. It still was amazing for any regular series, but this is Tokyo Magnitude we’re talking about, which had been consistently awesome up to this point and it’s a shame that this episode broke its flow a bit. This episode was a bit too… “anime”, for a lack of a better description. It was the only episodic episode of this show so far, but especially the animation budget was considerably lower.
The creators thankfully kept trying to animate all of the on-lookers around, characters still are very much animated, but the faces in this episode were sometimes too distorted to take seriously. It works in some series that go with this all the way, like Birdy the Mighty, but here it doesn’t really work, unfortunately.
In this episode, Mari also catches a cold from sleeping without a blanket. She collapses a bunch of hours later, sleeps for some more hours, takes a few pills and after that is completely fine again.
That is not how colds work.
This really was my major beef with this episode. I’m not sure about others, but when I catch a cold I don’t immediately notice this. Of course it’s annoying and I feel terrible while having the cold, but is it really enough for people to pass out on? Where does the heavy breathing come from, and why do they disappear that often? I’ve seen this often in anime: people catch colds and nearly always pass out afterwards for dramatic effects. Or do the Japanese have different colds than the Western world or something? Especially in a show as realistic as this one, it stands out.
But apart from that, there was a lot to like in this episode and it really allowed us to show a different side of Mari. The aftershocks made as much of an impact as ever, especially when Mari, Mirai and Yuki, especially since they were inside a building (the building where Mari works, actually). We learn that a bunch of accidents have taken place at the place where Mari lives, and she suddenly becomes a completely different person as she tries to find out more about what happened back there. All we know from this episode is that there’s some sort of fire going on, but nothing on her daughter yet. We do get to see another bunch of pictures of her daughter and her husband though, along with a small flashback of how she and her husband fell for each other.
So a major part of this episode was spent on Mari, trying to decide whether or not to abandon Mirai and Yuki in order to check up on her daughter. Mirai and Yuki even go as far as borrowing a scooter from a person who managed to survive the earthquake without any major casualties (I loved that scene in which they tried to steer that scooter. So realistic). In the end, she just decides to take her time and go along with the two children.
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 – 06
Yeah I agree that the cold thing seems out of place. Maybe some people will say it’s a combination of exhaustion and stress. But, still it does seem out of place.
On a side note, have you seen how Birdy looks on DVD? I think the sloppy animation wasn’t intended since the animation in the DVD’s version is pretty different from what I’ve seen.
It seems that Japanese common knowledge has pneumonia and hypothermia mixed up, and the ease with which it can happen exaggerated(i.e. the infamous ‘kaze hiku!’ whenever someone walks around in the rain or falls in a river).
It’s the swine flu I say, the swine flu!
This episode really have some flaws that bother me a lot . One of them is that one second before , Mari is bleeding , another second later , the blood miraculously disappear. I was like wtf and it really affect the whole atmosphere of the episode for me.
I THINK JAPANESE FLUS DIFFERENT FROM THE WESTERN TYPE
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had fickle colds that lasted only an hour or two before. And yes, a silly little nap fixed it.
My colds generally entail a high fever, and usually passes overnight. I’ll feel like crap, burn up, pass out, mumble some craziness in my delusional state, and wake up slightly exhausted, but otherwise perfectly fine.
Psgels. She said herself that it was anemia, 貧血.
nice to see some Mari development, I a bit afraid they spend much time on unimportance stuff
@ supertauren you should check the interview with Ryousuke Sawa, he as stated that the aired version is indeed intended.
it was the solely on the director (kazuki akane) interests we got the modify version on dvd.
psgels I think you should stop watching raws for a series like this xD
Mari said it clearly that she had an anemia. I didn’t think that this episode lacked ANTHING. Mari’s development was great, new character was also interesting for the variety and I loved the moment when yuuki and mirai brought the bike.
I thought the flow and pacing was a bit off in this episode. I’m also getting tired of Mirai and Yuuki walking off on their own, when will they learn their lesson? Does one of them have to die?
I also disagree with Mari’s choice not to see her own kid. I think it’s unrealistic and the wrong choice.
Other than that, good episode, I agree with the 2 star rating (out of 3).
It seems like she indeed suffers from anemia, more probably exhaustion is taking its toll on her.
I found the episode relatively realistic. The major problem for me was that the choice she had to face could have been better presented. As it was, I did not connect really well to her emotions, although it’s such a difficult and dramatic decision. After all, if Hina dies, she will be drawn by the guilt of not having tried to help her own daughter.
The part about her partner was nice, but in the end I did not think it contributed very efficiently to the emotional building up of the episode
I agree with some of the comments. I still do not understand why she chose to be with Mirai and her brother rather than go and find Hina. I would assume as a mother, she would be concerned about her daughter’s safety and someone was willing to look after the two kids. Mari’s mother and daughter, if they are unharmed, would be worried and anxious about Mari given that she was in a badly hit area.
Maybe she didn’t want to let down the kids. Though, I agree the other girl could have watched after those children. It was a good episode, nevertheless.
I can add another thing. Telling to stay in the office when a building next to it has just collapsed is not really good idea.
But yes, overall seems one of the best anime currently airing.
Just managed to watch 6. Hm…i thought Mari falling sick seems pretty realistic. She’d been exposed to the elements overnight without a blanket, been on her feet all day although I expect she would take regular rests as necessary, is probably undernourished and had just received some mentally stressful news about a serious fire in her neighbourhood that may endanger her daughter and mother. The exhaustion and stress probably just got to her and knocked her out. I’m amazed at how quickly she bounced back actually. I was expecting her to be down with a fever.
I agree that Mari deciding not to go check on her daughter was weird though – especially if there’s a possibility that she’s in imminent danger. True, leaving the two kids at the tiger office after the building next door collapsed is probably not a great idea, but she had a friend there at least to help look after them. Maybe she was expecting her husband to be there for her daughter…? Hm…
She said she passed out because she was anemic, and the pills she took were iron. Anemia is often like that, with a sudden loss of energy and possibly unconsciousness, with a quick recovery after some rest.
I think I understand Mari’s decision. She said in a previous episode that if it was her daughter, she’d hope that someone would help her. She knows that her mother is looking after Hina, and that if anything had happened, there isn’t anything she can do about it by getting there quicker. Leaving the children wouldn’t do anything but ease her own anxiety, and she probably feels a strong sense of responsibility to look after the kids because she took that burden on. There is something about taking up a responsiblity that makes one feel like you should personally carry it through to the end. Mirai and Yuuki need her, and while her friend would have watched out for them, I’m sure Mari felt like she shouldn’t pass her responsibility on to the woman. The dream of her husband underscored this. When she couldn’t keep up as fast on the bike, he came back for her, and said he couldn’t leave her behind because he’s the one who invited her. She took it upon herself to look after the kids, and now she feels it wouldn’t be right to leave them behind just because they are slower.