Recap. It’s nothing special, though. Unlike Bokura no, this really isn’t a series where a recap works. Basically, it was aimed at young children, to explain the plot and characters a bit to them. Throughout, we see a few shots of the voice-actors for Isako and Fumie, explaining this, sometimes accompanied by a giant Sacchi-balloon, a stuffed Densuke and fake glasses. This one really reminded me that this show is aired on the NHK-channel.
The only reason I’m really making this post is to make a few announcements, for those who are wondering:
– Dennou Coil this week is a recap. I assume the next episode to finally air next week.
– There is still no sign of any new episodes from Saiunkoku Monogatari. I’m afraid it’ll take a few more weeks till it’ll continue.
– There is also no Toward the Terra this week. I assume that it’ll continue next week.]]>
Category: Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense
Bokura no – 19
And finally there’s another episode without fighting. Heck, the next pilot hasn’t even been announced yet. Okay, we know it’s going to be Jun (I seem to have misunderstood the seventeenth episode, where Koemushi announces the pilot order. It’s not Kanji who’s going to be next, it’s Jun), but still. Anyway, this episode has to be anime-original: it explains Jun’s background, and how Tanaka got pregnant of him.
Kawai turned out to be a good friend of Yun’s father, hence why he’s so friendly with him. He’s the one who tells him the truth, by the way. At the time, though, both of them were involved in shady business. Jun’s father then picked up a high-school girl at one point, whilst being an adult himself. This girl was of course Tanaka.
Things went quick, and they got married and had a baby: Jun. Their happiness didn’t last long, though. I suspect that Jun’s father had gotten in trouble due to the fact that he owed money to the wrong people. As a response, they trashed their house, and made them run away. Jun’s father wanted revenge, though, and he died in the process of doing so. Tanaka was still in danger, however, and so she was forced to separate from Jun, so he was adopted into a new family, whose mother was at the time pregnant of Kana. The mother, however, died when she gave birth. Their father is actually still alive, but I suspect that he’s often gone due to his job. Tanaka, meanwhile, joined the police after her experience. Something tells me that she still felt guilty, which is why she was so eager with the Zearth-case: finally she could be the one to support children. At least, that’s what she first thought.
In the next episode, Yoko should be getting some background info. I also hope that they show Yun and Kana together a bit more, now that they both found out that Tanaka is Jun’s mother. This definitely was one of those building-up episodes, and even though it lacked major plot twists, unlike the previous episodes, it was really good, and I’d love to see what Jun’s going to do when he’s going to fight. He’s definitely changed a lot since the beginning of the series, when he was just a heartless bastard. It started when Kirie started to live with him, and because of that, he’s become closer to the other characters.]]>
Bokura no – 18
MAJOR SPOILER UP AHEAD!!! This episode was amazing, though there’s one plot twist you don’t want to find out until you’ve actually seen the episode. I repeat, if you haven’t seen Bokura no 18, STAY AWAY FROM THIS ENTRY!!! The following line should fill up enough space for the blog aggregators.
I should be complaining that Takami only got one episode for herself, but holy god, Tanaka’s death totally made up for it! She goes down, along with Takami’s father by the hands of the terrorists we’ve seen for the past number of episodes. This not only removed one of the key support-characters from the show, it also means that Koemushi has to select a new final pilot. Something tells me that it’s going to be poor Kana, as Koemushi has been hinting towards her for the past few episodes. O_o
What also surprised me is the relatively short amount of time that is spent on mourning about Tanaka. The only one we really see crying is Tamotsu, and the others seem to have accepted her death, just like she was one of them. These kids have really matured throughout the series. I also wonder when Tamotsu is going to tell Kana and Jun about Tanaka.
So, now there are three pilots left: Kanji, Jun and someone Koemushi still has to decide on. For a chance, we don’t get to see who’s going to be the next pilot. My money is on Kanji, though the finale of this series is going to start in the next episode. This episode definitely proved why Bokura no is one of my favourite series. Will the ending do the same? I definitely do hope so!]]>
xxxHolic Second Season?
Kacpy reports that Moonphase announced the second season of xxxHolic! I really hope this is true, and I’ll definitely be blogging it. It’s great to see that after Wellber no Monogatari, xxxHolic will also recieve a continuation. I’m looking forward to see Watanuki’s antics again. :)]]>
Bokura no – 17
Interestingly enough, Aiko only gets one episode for herself, compared to the four episodes that were between Kirie’s selection and death. What’s more, it seems that her role was more to build up for Kanji’s case. Now that Takami has been selected as the next pilot, t becomes clear that Kanji and Jun will be the special pilots, and they’ll probably be the ones who get some extra attention.
In fact, Aiko could have been the one along with Takashi who got the least amount of development for her case. While the people in the middle got an entire episode for themselves, this episode is not only about Aiko. Kanji, Jun and even Koemushi get developed. Tanaka and Jun finally have a talk between the two of them. I couldn’t pick up whether Jun already knew that Tanaka was his mother, but Tanaka was definitely trying to help him without trying to sound too suspicious (and failing horribly, of course. ^^;).
Kanji, meanwhile, gets into an interesting love-relationship with Aiko, right before she dies. She’s indeed really been stressed out, but it’s not only because f the fact that she’s a pilot. Her father has also been cheating on her mother, her mother kept drinking after she found out, and now that the situation of Zearth has become public, she keeps getting bothered by reporters, looking for a scoop. For her, Kanji looked like a huge beacon in the night, and something tells me she fancied him already.
We also learn something interesting about Koemushi: the one he’s been talking to is Yoko, and not his assigner like I originally thought. He’s also already decided the order of the pilots: Yoshikawa – Takami – Jun – Tanaka. Of course, this doesn’t turn out to be true when Kanji provokes him, and he lets the guy live for even longer by selecting Takami. I think that the rest of the order will match up pretty well, though. Something tells me that Koemushi has been planning to let Ushiro go last of the children, for some reason. It’s also interesting that Tanaka will indeed be piloting, if everything goes to Koemushi’s plan, at least. I really wonder how the director is planning to end this one, and save the children without the use of magic.
Another thing that makes me wonder: why were there only four lights burning on Zearth when Aiko was still alive, when there were supposed to be five more pilots?]]>
Dennou Coil – 13
This episode continued to flesh out the Illegals. While the previous was a comedy, this one was a tragedy. There’s no Daichi this time, or Kyoko. This episode was all about Denpa, and it turned out really sad and overall an incredible episode. Only a heartless bastard would not be moved at the end of the episode.
The episode starts with Haraken’s aunt, who is using the Kyuu-chans to get rid of the white fogs that surround the old buildings. And this couldn’t have been a better introduction, as it really shows that the Illegals are in trouble, people see them as viruses, which need to be exterminated. This episode introduces an illegal you just have to feel pity for.
It seems that Denpa has been taking care of it, at an old football-field where the Sacchi’s can’t come. It’s based on the stories of the Loch Ness monster. He ran into it among its friends. They disappeared very soon afterwards, though, and only that particular illegal stayed, because Denpa fed him some metabugs. It’s interesting as it can only move on the muddy parts of the field, and it gets hurt by the grass, like it’s water. It also hates direct sunlight.
Yasako and Haraken discover Denpa at one point, and they comment on how sad it is for such a creature to be there without its friends. When Fumie sees it, though, isn’t enthusiastic about it, and she reckons that Kunbinaga (as Denpa seems to call him) will die soon anyway, and leaves. Later, however, Denpa discovers that the soccer-field is about to be turned into a new building by construction-workers. Therefore, in order to save Nessie, they have to find a new home for him. Yasako manages to find a nice spot in the end, though there’s one problem: getting Kunbinaga there. They decide to ask help from Haraken’s aunt.
And finally I know her name! Harakawa Tamako. Finally I can address her as something other than just “Haraken’s aunt”. Another interesting thing to note is that she is in fact seventeen years old, and she does attend a high-school (god, she looks strange in a school uniform).
In any case, there won’t be help from Tamako, since she started asking strange questions. Yasako, Haraken and Denpa then decide to just try to move Kunbinaga themselves. The first attempt fails when the Kyuu-chans and Sacchis arrive. Fumie then arrives and decides to help them. They spend the rest of the day, trying to find the best route, while Fumie stalls the construction-workers as much as possible (quite funny, actually ^^;). In the end, the best way turns out to be to use the local river at the time of dawn, when the sun hasn’t reached it yet.
That morning, the move can begin, and Kunbinaga has to try and survive beams from the Sacchi, beams of light, coming from the streetlights, the white stripes on the asphalt, and the atmosphere of the new buildings. The children try to help him as much as possible with darkness spray, though he suffers much damage from them.
Becuase of this, they run out of time, and reach the river after the dawn had reached the river. Kunbinaga then sees a couple of industrious towers, and thinks that they’re his family; he tries to swim to them, but is overwhelmed by the incoming sunlight, and dies. It’s interesting how Fumie ends up crying along with everyone, even though she once said that Kunbinaga would die soon anyway. Anyway, that scene in particular was awesome, and an excellent closure to the first half of Dennou Coil.
Isako is beginning to look like a villain more and more. Not only does she have a huge amount of power, and does she make use of everyone she runs into, she also got her powers from taking them from Illegals, who turned out to be intelligent creatures, just like humans and animals. It’s a miracle that she didn’t run into Kunbinaga. I also believe that the current episodes are not only awesome to watch, but also vital for the final part of this series, as they illustrate that Illegals themselves definitely do have their own problems, and right now we’re really sympathizing with them.
The Illegals sometimes remind me of the mushi from Mushishi. They’re all just trying to survive. The Illegals are just taking control of the pets because they really don’t have anywhere to go, and the amount of white fog is decreasing drastically. I believe that the creators are using this as a parallel with our world, where countless of animal species are about to get extinct by the hands of humans.]]>
Bokura no – 16 – II
Ah, so the previous episode was episode 15,5, while this one is the true sixteenth episode of Bokura no. And yet again, I loved it, as it comes with yet another shocking plot twist at the end. We start the episode with the news that the fact that Zearth is piloted by children has leaked out to the public. The parents of Kanji, Takami and Jun also come together and learn that their children still aren’t saved. Kirie meanwhile decides to fight for his mother, who has gotten out of hospital and finally managed to find a job.
The awesomeness begins when the fight starts, though. Not only do they have to battle an enemy which has been highly experienced, with only two pilots left, Kirie also somehow manages to increase Zearth’s abilities tenfold, killing him or her off easily. He also had some strange ideas for his final moments. He actually knew that Yoko was the one who wasn’t part of the contract, and he told this to the others in his final moments. Because of that, he didn’t die as the centre of attention, but he died on the side-lines.
But still, I knew that Yoko was the one who remained out of the contract! Though it’s because of different reasons. I originally thought that because Takashi forced her to enlist, but I think that that was just an attempt of her to make it look like she ad suspicions from the beginning. She’s actually Koemushi’s accomplice and sister! She was the one who pointed the twelve children towards the cave, and was the one who introduced them to this mess!
I’ve also been wondering whether we see Tanaka and her partner as a pilot in this series. The fact remains that this series is starting to near its end, and there are only four children left: Jun, Takami, Kanji and Aiko. This means that there’ll be five fights left, if I recall correctly (since Kirie beat two enemies, instead of one).
The next episodes should also promise to be awesome, since Aiko is one of the most mentally unstable of all the pilots, apart from Isao. I really wonder how she’ll chose to deal with things, especially now that she knows the truth about Yoko.]]>
Dennou Coil – A Circle of Children – 12
This episode was wrong on so many levels, but I think everyone can see that by looking at the screenshots. It’s not what it looks like, honestly. ^^; Basically, those hairs are tiny illegals who have settled on the faces of people. It looks quite hilarious and wrong if you don’t know what’s going on.
Oh, and Kyoko kissed Daichi and later Denpa. Don’t ask. I do love, though, how she keeps hanging out with Daichi. They do fit each other perfectly, they’re both obnoxious brats who got sent away by the people they look up to. And somehow, I like both of them, Even though the past two episodes have done rather nothing to develop Isako, they did a great job in fleshing out the characters, and introducing new kinds of illegals that just sparkle with imagination. To be honest, Dennou Coil is turning into one of my favourite series at the moment, as it’s currently doing just about everything right, there are no obvious flaws, and it perfectly combines comedy and drama. Especially this episode was hilarious. (Notice the blush on Mega-Baa’s face when she sees Daichi’s new look? She also looks hilarious with her beard on; ^^;)
The interesting thing also is: these illegals were perfectly sentient, and they all had a mind of their own. Yasako had some great conversations with them, and we see them actually develop, change and learn in this episode. Especially the final part of the episode was really thought-provoking, when they started to have war with each other. I also love the solution for the problem: transfer all of illegals to the old guy’s head, and the background music that was chosen for it only made it better.
So basically, I’m ashamed to say it, but I absolutely loved this episode. ^^;]]>
Bokura no – 16
Recap. Strangely enough, though, I didn’t mind it at all. It was the perfect chance to get a bit nostalgic over all the characters that lost their lives throughout the show, and it sure as hell reminded me why this is one of my favourite shows of the season. Especially seeing the first episode back, when everyone was still alive with Kokopelli had impact. I also loved the use of insert songs throughout the episode. As far as recap-episodes go, you can’t get any better than this one.
Another thing is that we only really understood that people were really piloting the other robots since Maki’s fight. Seeing the other children beat up the enemy robots, and knowing that they were actually destroying planets also was really creepy. The only thing that I didn’t like about this episode was how it yet again didn’t focus on Kirie, for the third time since he got assigned as the next pilot, and I’m really interested to see some more attention focused on him.
Gonzo’s productions may be either a success (Red Garden, Master of Epic), or a failure (Getsumen to Heiki Mina, Kaze no Stigma), and Bokura no is one huge success. 🙂 (Oh, and in case you wondered, yes I’ve recycled screenshots from previous entries, since I got lazy and this is a recap anyway ^^;)]]>
Dennou Coil – A Circle of Children – 11
Remember the very first piece of promo-art that got released for Dennou Coil? The one where we saw Yasako, underwater with strange beasts swimming around her? This episode tries to shed some light on that by showing a new kind of Illegal: a fish who feeds on scenery. This fish has its own surrounding of cyber-water, and the more it eats, the more both it and its environment grow. While the issue was resolved at the end of the episodes, I really hope that we get to see more of these cases, since it was this that originally made me a fan of this series.
The story didn’t develop much in this episode, though. Most of it was meant to show a lot of creativity and develop Daichi. Oh, and we learn something interesting about Mega-baa and Tamako (I finally know her name!): they knew each other, and Tamako is member number 2 of the Coil Investigation Agency. I originally thought that all members were children, but now it seems that Mega-baa has been doing business for a considerable amount of years. Something also happened between the two of them in the past, based on the way they talk to each other.
The cyber-water also raised an interesting question: to what extend can these glasses manipulate sound? This episode showed (quite humorously, by the way) that you can’t communicate to someone outside of the water when you’re inside the water yourself. The cyber-world keeps surprising me. I also suspect that the metabugs may be more important to the story than they look now. For some reason, Isako doesn’t need the illegals that feed on just scenery.
This episode also again showed what a perfect team Daichi and Fumie form. They just aren’t afraid to exploit any of each other’s weaknesses, and I’d love to see the two of them work together. Fumie was downright mean to the poor guy in this episode, but it’s safe to bet that Daichi pulled stunts like that with her in the past as well. I’m just wondering whether they might go too far with their pranks at one time, though.]]>