Oh boy, From the New World sure set a standard as the first show of the new season. This show really is good, and it still stands out, even though there have been many other every promising first episodes since. There still are points at which it is just the best of the bunch.
What really makes this show stand out above all the others is its setting. Better than any other show this season, it managed to create its own world with its own rules, cultures, education and customs. Within 2 episodes it already managed to make us feel a part of it by using 12-year old kids who were familiar with it, but still needed to get a grasp on the fine details. The whole Cantis is also a very intersting version of Telekinesis, and I love how rooted it is with the rest of the setting, to the point where humans are seen as gods by other species because of it.
Also, there is a lot of eye candy this season, but even then, I feel that this series has the best artistic direction. Perhaps not the best animation (that award goes to K), but with K you can see that the animators are abusing lens flares a bit much. Here however, everything feels artistic, and the use of colours is just perfect, especially during the trippier scenes, making this series really look gorgeous.
The characters in this series are interesting because as one of the few series, this show decided not to put them on its promo image. They feel different than usual in that they don’t try to stand out from the rest: they feel right in place with the rest of the children there, apart perhaps from that purple haired girl. It makes them feel down to earth, and yet this series is very good at portraying their emotions. This one’s definitely one to keep your eyes out for.
This episode also did a good job of fleshing them out, using that little contest of theirs: it added to their characters, but also it showed some of the more serious sides of the whole Cantis, how it is a taboo to interfere with the Canti of others. They also introduced a guy who probablyis going to become a major villain in quite an interesting way with this.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)
Hmmm. If you were under the impression that the kid who interfered with during the competition is going to be a villain, he definitely got erased after doing that. He broke one of the cardinal rules of their setting, and considering how dangerous interfering with someones Cantis seems, they most certainly eliminated him.
Also is it just me or did they all seem older during the last couple minutes of the episode?
This was a good second episode to follow up on the excellent premier. Still, I think I’ll probably put this series on hold after this. I want to marathon it when its over or nearly so, because I tend to forget a lot of details when I watch a series on a weekly basis, and this show is just chock full of little details that the audience need to take note off to truly appreciate the intricate story.
If by “villain” you mean the kid that interfered with the stone ball using his Cantus .. he isn’t going to be anything .. the Cat got him and they clearly said he disappeared just like their shy friend who vanished in the 1st ep.. but i wonder what’s the relation between the symbol they stamp on the name of the kids they want to erase and that giant rock that has the same symbol (is it actually Japanese or part of the weird language this world has !!?).. do they impression them there !!? .. or maybe they bury them there after the cat gets the job done *shudders*
Either way, the one you should be talking about is a “girl” not a “guy” .. think about the main characters monologue right at the end of the episode regarding her red-haired friend and you will understand who is going to be the villain here, saying “if person [x] wasn’t born a lot of people might have been saved” simply means person [x] will be responsible for killing them.
Oh, and if someone hasn’t figured it out already, the one narrating the story is actually the main character .. but since she sounds like a mature woman i might assume that it is in the not-so-close future, and from the way she speaks it seems a lot has happened and maybe she is the only one who survived .. hmmmm .. the mystery thickens XD
Also .. did anyone understand the lunatic emperor scene at the start, if i got the time line correct it means the modern-esque scene from the first ep happened first .. then 500 years later we get our lunatic emperor who flies (probably using the same power seen in the modern setting and the one the kids have which is related gravity and creating powerful gravitational fields) and who also burns people who stop clapping hands for him (that i have no idea how he did), then 500 years more (1000 from the urban modern setting period) we get our story with the kids in the settlement .. seems like putting everything together is going to require some brain-work .. this is seemingly a story that spans a 1000 years XD
I also liked the 2nd story we got this time about the Karma Demon kid, for its wicked art and simple but symbolic story (i’m now in love with those stories and their unique art styles .. i want one of those in every episode .. reminds me of “Monster” and its creepy storybook tale that ran parallel to the main story XD).. and did i mention i loved the new ED with its surreal animation .. so haunting and beautiful and matches the song really well.
I like it and all, but the whole sports event thing didn’t really do it for me. It was interesting and all, and I get that it isn’t a major part of the story, but still felt that it could have been better executed.
Well we still don’t know what “erased” means here. The first thought that comes up is that they literally got killed off by the cult, hence these freaky fables that they learn in class that somewhat mirror these disappearances. Then there’s also the possibility that the kids simply ran away and made their own resistance based on the cat, and the teachers are keeping quiet because they don’t want the kids to know.
and then there’s hammerhead of the delight, making things 2spooky4me.
what does the stamp say? “disappear?”
It wasn’t labeled in my fansub
Potential antagonists thus far include:
– Trickster Cat (Impure Cat)
– imperial government / emperor
– Education Committee