Ah, the standard episode in which a character is angsting and his or her friends spend the episode trying to talk him or her out of it. I now realize how often such an episode can go wrong: it’s obviously predictable, and often it comes across rather lazy. I now realize that series as Suteki Tantei Labyrinth and Code Geass did a rather pathetic job on it: Mayuki and Lelouch did nothing but angst over what happened, then his friends come and say a few words, and they act like nothing ever happened.
Episodes like this one need lots of inspired dialogue. They need introspection, both from the character him/herself and from the ones around him. They mustn’t try to be standalone episodes, assuming that the next episode will continue on like nothing ever happened. And I must say that Crystal Blaze did a pretty good job at it. Manami was definitely depressed, but I like how the creators used a bit of comedy in order to lighten up the mood from all her angst. In this series, the characters actually try to understand both each other and themselves, and that’s what makes this so appealing.
Seriously, Crystal Blaze is one of these series where every major character has become likable, and especially the good guys are a joy to watch. I already sung praises to Shu and Manami, but Ayaka’s caring nature and Akira’s down-to-earth nature are also wonderful. And of course Poririn rocks as well. Th relatively large emphasis so far on the bad guys also really helps. These guys are definitely not your typical misunderstood villains, and they they’re turning out really nicely.
I’m really not sure what exactly it was that the creators did, but this is everything a 12-episode series should be. The reason why I prefer 26 or 39-episode series above series of such a short length is that they can easily go wrong if they’re not focused, and it takes something special to get some quality development out of the characters, something which is much easier for series with 26 episodes, because it usually takes me around 10 episodes to really connect with the cast of characters.
It’s nice how you’ve been writing about the ways in which this show is good, but in your last 3 posts there has been nary a mention of the actual plot!
I’m finding hard to gauge whether it’s worth watching 😉
I can’t take your comments seriously when you don’t write even ONE word about what actually happened in the episode. What the hell kind of blog is this?
omg, really, i don’t understand spoiler freaks. what’s so interesting about just retelling the episodes? Crystal Blaze is a very nice show, imo, and, psgels, thank you for blogging it! Your blog is really informative and it’s very appealing that you just watch what you like and don’t give a damn about what _everyone_ watches and what is mutually considered “win”(at least that’s my first impression). I’m glad I found it, and I’m going to read it… But not the latest 2 Crystal Blaze entries, because I haven’t watched the episodes yet… Don’t want spoilers ^__^ Sorry if my English is bad.
I’ve never been interested in reading a rehash of an episode’s plot. I’m only looking for opinions and impressions.