Okay, so now Fumiaki has reached the point where he’s just gotten annoying. In the previous episode he was still cute, but for the creators to carry this through in even this episode… it’s starting to get on my nerves. Especially considering that he’s gobbling up time that could be spent on the real main character here: Maya, who is a much more interesting character.
Characters like Fumiaki are always a bit of a double edged sword. I can understand flaws and all, but this episode was trying a bit too hard to make him look like an idiot. We’ve got enough anime with idiots already, can’t this series just be about genuinely interesting characters? Heck, I’d much rather watch that strange-haired weirdo and his friend at this point. At this point, I can only hope that the creators know what they’re doing with this guy.
This episode still had some really good jokes, though. Generally, all of the parts that didn’t focus on Fumiaki were really quite interesting and enjoyable. I loved the joke the creators made, when that moth chased Maya and Fumiaki behind Smile and JK. We also get confirmed even more that Maya surely knows a lot about the occult.
Most series about the supernatural just look at one direction: it’s either Shinto, or Viking legends, the Greek gods, or Chinese mythology or any other kind of popular kind of folklore. Only a few combine two of them, so Occult Academy is actually quite rare to actually look beyond the individual legends, and rather examines patterns and similarities between all kinds of different folklore across the world, like with the giant tree in this episode.
Finally, another thing that has me rather worried is the following, but it might just be something about this episode, and not the rest of the series. In terms of mystery, this series is really excellent at building up. But this episode showed that when it comes to revelations behind its questions… it doesn’t pack a whole lot of punches. Fumiaki’s background is pretty much what we could have guessed when he first explained it and the missing girl also predictably was found here. I want to see this series play around more with revelations.
Rating: (Enjoyable)
I think you nailed it. Bunpei has become a major liability to the show. At the moment he isn’t merely useless and stealing airtime away from Maaya, he’s getting actively annoying. Like, I want to punch him too.
A shame, in a way. It started out so well, but I don’t like at all how the story seems to be built on him for the “humor”.
*sigh*
Well, his character made for some really funny moments, so I can forgive the focus on him.
Plus, I think we’re being set up for a sort of redemption arc for his character, hinted at the end by how Maya treated him. I think he’ll become a more rounded character in the next few episodes.
Haha, your prediction in Episode 2 that Bunmei was lying about his mission was totally right! Gotta love it.
As for Bunmei’s uselessness…well, he had psychic powers once, that may come back. That besides, him being an awful Time Agent is something I find funny – and I do like him as a character, he is your typical moron character, but in a much more endearing way than anime usually handles them. I usually hate the simple stereotype, but he’s still fun to watch and the characters and setting in his little subplot are likeable enough. If he spent all his time with Maya as per predictable plotline(a character I find still fairly shallow), I would be pretty bored.
Fumiaki is the acceptable target of the Maya’s otherwise unacceptable abuse. To be suitable for that role they need to chisel away the audience’s sympathy for him. Maya wouldn’t be interesting if she flew off the handle and assaulted just anyone. They just also happen to make him the butt of a lot of the other physical comedy as well, and in this episode they made him less sympathetic by piling on more evidence of his cowardice and dishonesty. They set out to rubbish his character (文明の崩壊) and succeeded. Presumably after being chastised in this episode he’ll turn around.
It’s interesting that they have Maya and now Mikaze present strings of factoids in each episode. Either about the history of lore or the history of the region.
Agree with everything… Well, at least this episode was better than the last, if anything because there was more Maya in it ^^ Maya rules, awesome main character… I hope she starts getting more airtime than mr.time agent
Why the hell did they pick this idiot as a time agent anyway? And also, nostradamus key just HAS to be something really obvious… At first I thought it would be Maya herself, but she took a pic of herself in the mirror right at the start and it didnt work so thats out heh
Agree with Frost. Without the idiotic Uchida to return Maya’s insult-reaction comedy ping-pong attack it just wouldn’t be as much fun. And, as you say, psgels, it certainly was funny, I really enjoyed the middle section in particular. And I also agree that the more Smile and J.K. the better! Just waiting for Ami to get more screen time too and see what she has to say about Maya’s past..
I like how she was able to “spot” the entrance of the Pyramid so easily, and beeline right for where the explosives-laden caves were. She made it seem obvious, but with her driving, coincidentally “spotting” someone at the tomb while drifitng at 70+ mph, and then falling on Bunmei so that he fell against the entrance, not to mention happening to have the two flashlights with her (where did she keep them, she doesn’t carry a bag!), and then how she managed to get out just fine later and rendevous with Bunmei after the explosives detonated. I would bet that she was the one that sent the signal for the explosives to go off. Bam. Mikaze is a rat, a succubus, a lying whore.
I suspect Chihiro and Mikaze are both members of an organization whose purpose is to prevent the realization of the prophecies that, in Fumiaki’s time, keeps sending people into the past since they failed. I actually doubt there’s any evil group trying to realize the prophecy, and instead it’s just coincidence that all of these occult things culminates in the bad end.
I really hope Fumiaki turns out to be more useful in the future and mans up instead of being a coward. :/
Ｙｏｕ ｋｎｏｗ, Im really getting Tired of all the main male characters being complete pussy idiots who get curbstomed(almost literally) by the female lead, like wtf really the chick takes her metal bracelets and punches him in the face like brass knuckles? Why does anime do this? I know if it were the other way around it would be *cruel inhumane etc etc* but when its men getting beat the heck up by women its *comedy*
Im done with this bs of a show.
You do realize that Kozue was punched in the face repeatedly by Smile in the first episode?
It’s usually dumb people in general that are acceptable targets for comedic violence. This extends to characters that aren’t generally stupid if they happen to do something stupid preceding the physical comedy.
As it pertains to violent female characters, it happens to be a popular fetish for some of the people that buy the discs and the merchandise.
I liked this episode and with Fumiaki’s uselessness and Maya’s courage gives me a feeling that Maya will sacrifice herself to save the future, she took a picture of her and was dead by 2012 not only death but only a skull meaning that she was death for quite a while.
I don’t know maybe I am reading too much into it but Maya is a great character I want to see her more.