This is one episode that should have belonged in the first season, as it’s entirely devoted to Claes without any signs of the plot whatsoever. I’m not sure why it took her so long to get her own episode. Was this the actual sequence in the manga, or did Madhouse just omit her back-story when they made the first season? In any case, it’s definitely a good thing to finally see some attention to one of least-developed members of the cast, because first of all she really needed it and second of all: Claes is such a great character.
I assume that her partner is on some kind of mission, and left her behind? I couldn’t pick up that part precisely, but we never see him outside of a flashback, and it does explain why she never participates in any mission. What also surprised me in this episode was that there were more Gunslinger Girls than just Henrietta, Claes, Angelica, Triela and Rico.
I also must say that I really like the new OP animation and the new ED-tune. They fit the new feeling of second season perfectly, in my opinion.
Il Teatrino is just like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. That too went into a completely new direction when compared to the first season, offering a totally new dimension to the story. You’ll either love this, or hate how the second season didn’t continue with the style you liked about the first one.
claes!
it’s a chapter from the manga+ filler but mostly manga,i just expected it to come earlier since it does seem a bit late but claes is my favorite character so i don’t mind.
she got an episode in season 1 (episode 5)and from that episode,you’ll learn that her parter started feeling guilty about what the agency was doing and couldn’t do it anymore,so he was going to reveal it all to the public,so the agency killed him (officialy it’s a car accident).
They erased her memory but as you can see she still has some unconscious memories.
I’ll stop now about claes but i could talk about her for hours.
The other girl is beatrice,she only got like one line in the manga so i’m happy to see the anime gives her more screen time.
Ah, my mistake. It’s really been too long since I saw the first season.
it’s ok,i do suggest you give the 1st season another try someday,you might enjoy it more after watching il teatrino.
Yeah! It really is a great episode , I love Claes too and it’s good to see her again in an entire episode and the flashback fits perfectly well in here. I remember that it was kinda creepy to hear about her her partner’s death, when Claes learned the news she’s been sort of cut from reality as if she couldn’t keep on living but then the organisation somehow made her forget about it or something like that because it truely was a shock for her and she woulnd’t be able to work otherwise. But despite all that, a part of her memories remained deep in her mind I guess just like Angelica who remembered for a short while that she had had a dog named Pierro ( in the 13rd episode I think )then the moment later she forgot about what she was saying. It’s so moving but creepy at the same time. Those poor girls have such a miserable “life” if we could talk about a “life” , they used to have a miserable life but now they’re used to kill people . Her passion for books and how to grow vegetables hasn’t changed and she knows how to enjoy leisure activities, that’s what Jean ( I think it was his name but I’m not sure) learned to her. This episode really is like one of the first season but it follows the manga . And the new girl Beatrice, I hope we’ll see her again cause I kinda liked her. Does she kill too? I bet she does. Well, if I got it right she couldn’t understand how Claes managed to have a good time in her activities ( Claes said that someone learned it to her a long time ago but couldn’t say who precisely learned it to her) so I supposed she was miserable too.
Well, I’m a fan of Henrietta and Triela, but all girls have something to tell about their sad situation. Children used in civil wars… There’s not really fictional about this story but the artificial body thing… But I discord about your aproval of the OP and EP. The music didn’t combine with the whole spirit of the serie (what really matters, anyway…). “The light before we land” was much more adequate, and the soundtrack too, with the italian themes. I like the OP pictures, but the music don’t fit with them…
It sure fits with the mood of this second season but the first OP fits with the first season, I loved the OP of the first season maybe even more than this one but I must say this one is really great too!
Okay, apparently I wasn’t clear enough with that statement: the creators actually changed the OP and ED in the middle of the second season as well. The OP now features the same song, but with traditional animation and the ED got a whole new song.
>Il Teatrino is just like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
I don’t agree! They’re completely different situations.
Gunslinger should have been boosted up by far having its own story and side carachters fleshed out very well by season two. Thus while season one gave the mood, setted the background and developed the main chars.
But season was ruined by low budget and unable people.
Higurashi, on the other hand followed the two types of arcs the game was composed of. Question arc on the first season and answer arc in the second one. So while the question arc are rather chaotic and are meant to rise questions and situations, the first season reflectd that and we had a show of full chaos and evil. We only barely knew what was really going on in Hinamizawa.
The answer arcs, on the other hand go settle the story revealing te mistery. And we have that in the second season.
Let me say the art and graphics also was far better in the second serie than in the first one. And that’s again the opposite situation than in Gunslinger :/
Solaris: I didn’t mean it that way. My point was that you’ll either like the changes, or you’ll hate them, which you quite nicely demonstrated. I’ve seen quite a lot of people who were turned off by the sudden change of focus for Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, and there are obviously enough people who don’t like the sudden art change. On the other hand, there are also people who appreciate this change (like me, apparently).
[SPOILERS AHEAD: DO NOT READ – U’RE WARNED]
>I’m not sure why it took her so long to get her own episode. Was this the actual sequence in the manga, or did Madhouse just omit her back-story when they made the first season
Nope, this was an episode on shedule in the manga. It’s contined in the Pinocchio’s arc, but it’s useless in this arc. This episode prepares the next arc indeed. Infact it’s meant to let you know how Claes is useful to the technology of the cybernetic bodies. You will know why in the manga volume 6, or in the third serie, if it will ever be.
Here’s the actual sequence of the manga episodes from volume 3 to 6 1/2. You can see what’s still to be seen on the screen if you really want it
Manga episode – Title (what happens) #anime episode
12 kaleidoscope in the anime #1st episode
13-15 Pinocchio #2-3
16 Breaking the chain of Retaliation (Ange feels sick) #4
17 Retiring Tibetan Terrier (Henrietta – The kidnap fails) #6
18 Tiny joy, tearless grief (Claes) #8
19 Mimi Macchiavelli (Triela and Mario’s daugther) #10
20 Tosca (Rico kills the bad guy at the opera) #9
21 Wise Serpent, Pure Dove (Jose vs an old friend) #9
22 She is a flower that blossom in bona fides (Hilsher’s past) #10
23 Transient Reminiscence (Patricia and Marco) #5
24 Katerina, Revenge of Torus (Franca arrested) #7
25-27 Pinocchio (grand finale i guess)
28 Dum spiro, spero (Jean and Rico)
29 Ghost (Jean, Josè and Enrica)
These two last episodes are about Jose, Jean and why they’re fighting hard. We also know more about a little girl we briefly saw in the first episode speaking with Jose. Guess who is she? 😉
This episode definitely gave me back the motivation to continue watching. I guess I really love these sort of episodes that just focus on the characters even if the plot is sidelined. Frankly, I just can’t seem to care about the plot in this series. In fact, the most things I remember about each episode up to now are details about the characters, while the whole setting just goes over my head.