Category: Otogi Juushi Akazukin

Short Synopsis: The final episode focuses on the partings of the Fandavalians. Good: Glad to see this anime ending with a good episode. Bad: Hot springs? Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 Ah, thank goodness. The final four episodes of Akazukin weren’t a complete waste after all. While the ending was nothing special, It did leave no unanswered questions, it was in no way rushed, and the overall-episode was quite heart-warming. It’s also nice to see people back in Erde. And of course, Souta’s talking to flowers remains cute. The climax only had one annoying point: Souta coming back to say a final goodbye to Akazukin, after having stated not to do so. It’s not necessarily bad or anything, but I’ve seen this happen a bit too many times. Still, the other events more than made up for it. I especially loved Ibara’s kiss. Overall, it was great to see the different antics of the characters for one final time. My favourite was Randagio. He still didn’t notice that Cendrion has been sealed, and he was still trying to get Erde’s key for Cendrion. So cute. ^^ Oh, and let’s not forget the voice in which Baru told Hansel that he’s not a dog. XD Well, it’s finally time to say goodbye to this wonderful anime. It’s been great fanboying about this. It’s definitely one of the better anime I’ve seen. Even when you do count episode 36 and 37. It’s sad to see that it’s finally over. Sayonara Akazukin, it’s been very fun.]]>

Short Synopsis: The big climax: Cendrion is defeated. Good: Considering the show’s genre, the ending could have been a lot worse; good to see Souta’s mother living. Bad: Cheesy, but what else did you expect? 😛 Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10 See? Now that Souta’s away from the main focus, this series is turning a lot more interesting. Due to the nature of this show, this episode obviousy had to follow a number of patterns, but overall, I’m happy with it. The animation was quite nice, and I liked how everyone worked together in the end. The end of the episode also was really nice. Normally, I don’t like characters who seem dead, only to be revived later, but as the death of Souta’s mother was rather disappointing, then I’m glad to see that she lives. Next episode will be an entire episode dedicated to the aftermath, which should be quite interesting to see. Ringo also should have a bigger role (I still didn’t like how little attention she got in this episode). It’s sad to see this anime go at last. Overall, it’s been awesome. Just too bad of the horrible episodes that were 36 and 37.]]>

Short Synopsis: Oh God no! Not the brainwashed main character! Good: Well, at least Souta’s out of the picture for most of the next episode. Bad: Oh God no! Not the brainwashed main character! Overall Enjoyment Value: 6.5/10 No! No! No! Hansel and Turude were interesting, because the two of them were well-developed. But Souta just got converted and reverted back in only one episode. That’s way too short in order to allow for good development. It’s a shame. He was a near-perfect character to be watching from the side-lines. He was brilliant when he just observed and commented the stories of the others. But the fact remains that he’s way too dull for a main character. Ack! I hate this. My once favourite show of the time suffers from the bad-ending-virus. Ah well, at least the next episodes show promise, as Akazukin is going to do what she’s good at: kick ass! Still, what I’m really hoping for is a BIG role for Ringo and Randagio. Especially Ringo. I’ve been longing for a bit more screentime of her. She was such a major character in the beginning of the show. I’d love to see her back. I guess I have been fearing this. I didn’t want to admit it, but basic storytelling just has to include the two main characters in a clichéd situation, unfortunately. Please, let at least the final two episodes be worthwhile! For the past few episodes, I’ve also been waiting for the subs for this show by TV-Nihon, as at one point, they just released their files two dais after the original airdate. Unfortunately, they’ve been releasing in batches again. Luckily, it’s batches of two, instead of four or five. Still, I’m going to be watching the final two episodes raw. This anime showed me that watching raws does have a certain charm above watching the subbed version, even though some of the dialogue goes past me. Perhaps this is because the raws allowed me to give my own interpretations to the story, instead of TV Nihon’s version. I never really realized this before, but a lot of the meaning of a show does get lost when I watch the subs as well. With the subs, it’s just the minor details that never reach me, while with the raws it’s the major details.]]>

Short Synopsis: Turude’s identity is revealed. Souta’s mother doesn’t last long afterwards. Good: Finally a bit of background-info about Souta’s mother. Bad: What? No twist? Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10 To be honest, this episode disappointed me a bit. I’m beginning to fear that the pre-ending episodes showcased the best of this series, and now the mysteries are solved, the series is going to finish rather dull. I sure hope I’m wrong in this, but it seems like everyone already played his or her part. At least, except one person… Ringo!!! Please tell me that you’ll return to being a major character and actually save this show from ending mundanely. This show doesn’t deserve a bad ending, this series was brilliant from episodes 23 till 35. Don’t let all of this go down the drain with the final episodes! Aagh! I hope I’m right about the small hint the creators dropped in her little conversation with Hameln, right before they entered Cendrion’s castle. I was hoping for her to do something while Souta awakened, but all she did was not move a muscle. Honestly, this show is too awesome to destroy!]]>

Short Synopsis: The introduction of the finale of Otogi Juushi Akazukin. Jedo returns, Cendrion takes Souta to her castle, and we get the final confirmation about Turude. Good: Poor Randagio. In fact, poor Souta and Akazukin. Bad: Ringo has become rather useless, hasn’t she? Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 Wait, the guy is alive? Ah it doesn’t matter, as he dies this episode for real this time. In a quite interesting way, though. Souta released his power, and he tried to take it all for himself. This, however, became too much for him and he dies, changed from the King of the Lycan to a mere slave of Cendrion. Now I also understand why Cendrion was so interested in the Lycan. Not because they were so strong or reliable, but they’d make some great Nightmarians. On a less serious note, I loved it when Randagio offered his services to Cendrion and the eerie background music suddenly stopped. It just shows how useless he is. It’s interesting that Cendrion doesn’t just kill him. I wonder if he’ll still have some kind of role left. Same with Ringo. When will she stand in the spotlights again? She got quite some airtime during the first third of this series, but for the past number of episodes, she’s been just a bystander. It’s probably because all of the story didn’t have anything to do with her. That’s changed now, now that Souta has been kidnapped, so I’m expecting some action from her in the next episode. It’s also interesting, the magic Souta released actually was dark magic, as opposed to the light magic we saw him release against Hansel. That’s probably Cendrion’s work. She’ll probably execute her plan in the next episode and be freed, while the later episodes will focus on sealing her back, and eventually destroying her. They’d better be awesome. ;)]]>

Short Synopsis: A Hansel and Gretel-episode. I guess we all know what’s going to happen. ^_^ Bad: Ah, the cheese. Good: Who cares about the cheese! The episode was damn awesome!! Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10 Ah, and this concludes the story for Hansel and Gretel. That leaves five more episodes to deal with Turude and Cendrion. Usually, you wouldn’t need so many episodes for just that, so I’m expecting a few nice twists here and there. ^_^ The episode itself also was totally awesome, as finally Gretel’s wishes come true. Cute! Cute! Cute!!!! And as a special treat, we also learn how Gretel managed to actually handle that huge sword of hers: it’s because of her mittens. We already knew that she could use gravity-magic, but she actually can do that because of these things. It was in a desperate attempt to keep up with her brother, who kept getting stronger. It’s interesting, the one of the reasons Otogi Juushi Akazukin has been so incredibly awesome is that it’s been closing lots of its major storylines. First the Jedo-arc met a closure, where Akazukin’s and Baru’s storyline finished. Then Bremen-tachi were removed, and Randagio’s storyline has finished. Now the past two episodes have been finishing the storyline of Hansel and Gretel. Ibara-Hime probably isn’t significant to the storyline, and I think that Shirayuki’s storyline was resolved when the bell was destroyed. That just leaves Souta, Turude, Souta’s Father, Cendrion and possibly Ringo. If I had to guess, then the next episode will be a Turude-one. Awesomeness. ^_^]]>

Short Synopsis: Finally, the thing that was about to come ever since Gretel appeared in this show: she flees from Hansel and joins Akazukin-tachi. Good: OMG Turude! Beware for MAJOR SPOILERS below. Bad: The power of friendship! Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10 Whoa! Seriously! The episode was nice and all, but a bit cheesy. It had it coming, but Gretel joining because of the powers of friendship just overflowed with cheese. The episode itself was nice, but it didn’t really solve anything, in comparison to the previous ones. But then, at the end of the episode, I realized something incredible about Turude. She’s Souta’s MOTHER!!! Holy god. OF COURSE, how could I not see that!? Okay, it isn’t explicitly shown, but with this, all of the pieces fit together. It had to be strange for her to be the only major character left, without any background information or history. Of course that wouldn’t be shown, it’d spoil everything. Only now the creators dropped the first hints about this! That is SO awesome. It also totally explains why Souta’s mother was captured, why Cendrion knew about her, everything! I love this show!]]>

Short Synopsis: My prayers have been heard: A Randagio-episode!!! Bremen-tachi also return. Good: I can’t believe I cried during this episode! That was SO incredibly sad! Bad: What can ever be bad about this episode? Overall Enjoyment Value: 9/10 Seriously! Oh my GOD. When I thought that episode 30 was awesome. This one is possibly even better! I really can’t believe I cried during this episode. Not just once, but for nearly a quarter of the episode! But this proofs that Randagio can be SO awesome when he gets serious. I never expected such a sad episode to come from a show like Otogi Juushi Akazukin. Over the past few episodes we’ve come to know Randagio as the cute little idiot you just can’t stay angry about. Twice, he got accompanied by his fellow brothers, Esel, Cane and Alektor. He’s been mostly used as comic relief and small challenges. I think that the reason Cendrion hasn’t kicked him out yet is the fact that he does provide useful information at times, and he’s a nice person to order around. Still, with that, you don’t become the perfect employee, and right now, Randagion is in quite some trouble with Cendrion. It seems that Nightmarians are actually made, from special Mazoku who have enough dark energy. That’s why Randagio always came up with animal-like Nightmarians. They were just ordinary Mazoku, or talking animals to put it more bluntly, who have been converted. I’d like to meet the snake-men, though. ^^; Anyway, because Randagio and his companions have been so adorable lately, this episode turned out so incredible. I just couldn’t help but care about them. Esel, Cane and Alektor finally realized in how much trouble Randagio has landed, and they decide to turn themselves into a Nightmarian. Because they don’t know how the flower who does the magic works, they all end up being turned into one Nightmarian. Randagio turned amazing when he learned that the only friends he probably ever had went to such lengths to help him out, without an even 100% chance of certainty. The rest of the episode was SO sad. It definitely proved that quirky characters can be incredibly touching as well. This anime has built up perfectly for this episode. Obviously, the combination of Esel, Cane and Alektor wasn’t enough to turn them into Nightmarians, so they start having problems in the midst of fighting Akazukin and the others. Because of this, Randagio is about to lose a number of loved ones. Seeing that this anime is aimed at children, you would expect a cure for them to be found, no? Well, that’s half of the story. Shirayuki indeed knows a spell, but it does blow away all of their memories. Because of this, they’ve got no reason anymore to remember Randagio or work for Cendrion. Seriously, this episode was awesome, awesome, and even more awesome. It’s a perfect example of an unpopular series which doesn’t deserve so little people talking about it. Sayonara, Bremen-tachi. Things have been fun.]]>

Short Synopsis: Akazukin needs a bit of time after last episode’s revelation. Good: Near-perfect closure of the Jedo-arc; The more I think about it, the better it gets. Bad: After this, I DEMAND a Randagio-episode. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10 Whoa… he’s gone now. Jedo-sama really is gone now. With this, the episode closed up the storyline between Akazukin, Baru and Jedo-sama. Jedo-sama’s death was another one of those deaths which made a great impact on me. Not at the moment he died, that actually was pretty standard, though I’m only beginning to miss him now that I’m typing this. That’s definitely a sign of a good anime. The final touches are also put to Akazukin’s and Baru’s past, Jedo-sama’s reasons are explained. It’s a great way to close a chapter in this story. Now then, this means that there are still eight episodes left. Eight episodes left to free Shirayuki’s country, to find out what happened to Souta’s mother, to find the role of Souta’s father, to free Fernando, to see Gretel retaliate to her brother, and to defeat Cendrion. She’s taken a small step back during the past two episodes, so that the show could focus on Jedo. Now that he’s gone, she’ll be coming in action again. And yes, I am SO rooting for a Randagio-episode. I refuse to believe that this little cat doesn’t have any background at all. I also refused to believe that the city musicians of Bremen won’t appear anymore. Turude also could use a bit more background. Do you suppose she’s going to get it?]]>