Short Synopsis: This episode features the climax of Nijuu Mensou no Musume.
Highlights: Blegh. Just blegh.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6.5/10
Wait? That’s it? We’ve had all this build-up, and the creators just end with such an ending? Talk about disappointing. There was this whole world open for this series, and yet it goes with the most predictable route. There were so many things that this series could have done, and yet it ends with such a dull finale. Such a bloody shame.
You know, I think it would have actually been better for this series to go with the “detective girls”-route. It would have fitted this series perfectly; it would have been unpredictable and allowed for many chances for the cast to develop further. Now that I really think about it, I believe I actually looked forward to that point when this series had just started.
The big problem with this series is that after the doll arc, the creators somehow found it a good idea to just get rid of the fast and unpredictable pacing of this show, and end the series with a solid continuous story. Unfortunately, the entire scientist-arc has just been one big rip-off of the doll-arc. There’s hardly anything original. And what’s worse: there was hardly any character-development at all. We’ve already established that Chiko can think for herself. All this arc did was confirm it.
Agh, what a bloody shame. My sole salvation is that there’s one episode left before this thing ends. Let’s hope that the creators manage to find something interesting to fill it with. Bones, you really disappoint me with this. I really hope that their next work is going to be more like Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi, and less like… this. This is why it’s so important to have a solid conclusion. The series may have had an awesome middle-part, but in the end I am going to be left with a sour aftertaste. I noticed the same with Wellber no Monogatari: solid series + baaaad ending = memorable in a bad way.
Wah, where’s the spoiler summary? xD
Ayashi was SOOO bad that it got canceled mid way, and you want more of that. I’m happy you didn’t like the way things ended, that just means I’m gonna love it.
Michael: well, if you like dumb straightforward endings, then you will indeed like this episode. 😉
ryvrdrgn: SPOILER, but basically, Chiko tries to break down the energy-creating machine, and succeeds. The scientists plummets to his death, the dolls break down and the good guys live happily ever after. That’s basically the gist of it.
I’m surprised that you like the middle part of the series. I thought the parts between the “international thieving adventure” arc and the epic climax arc were boring. Tome and Koito are constantly depicted as caring, but ignorant and somewhat helpless (or do I really mean useless?).
I don’t consider the middle episodes to even BE a “doll” arc. It’s more of a “slowly show the audience things from Nijuu Mensou’s past” sort of thing.
And if you couldn’t tell that this show was campy and all kinds of ridiculous from the start, you should probably call your doctor and ask you mother to see your birth certificate so you can confirm that you’re mentally sound and have some grounding in reality.
I thought they did a nice job of incorporating Chico’s heirloom, and Nijuu Mensou’s personality has really come out in these past few episodes. Like 18-21 so far have really served to humble the man. It shows that he’s not always the guy who always has a plan and for whom everything works out, because he ends up having to compromise a lot. Suddenly, in quite a few situations, I started to feel like Chico was the stronger of the two.
Regarding the Detective Girls… Tome is too dim (and motherly) to be a sex tool. Koito overestimates her capacity to survive dangerous situations, and her motives are extremely childish. It’s like the first fourth-state-of-water experiment and its aftermath weren’t enough to keep her from trying to get Chico into Nijuu Mensou’s pants. I seriously think that was why she encouraged Chico to escape the patrol car, and not because she caught on that Chico would somehow save all of them (which, thinking about it, her comment upon meeting up with Tome and fatso definitely confirms).
And Chico is strong in a lot of ways, but Koito really underestimates that. She doesn’t appear to comprehend Chico’s awareness of their surroundings. She’s definitely off in her own world.
So I see those two as filler-characters, as well as buffers between Chico and her ridiculous aunt. They basically exist to keep everyone from questioning why Nijuu Mensou would just leave Chico alone with her aunt for any extended period of time if he knew she’d be in the same position as she was when he originally liberated her. Not that she can’t take care of herself, but it would have been a little depressing if no side characters had stepped in.
And Chico now has another life. Ken tells her to go on home to Tome and Koito because he can tell that she’s regained some semblance of the happiness they all shared as a family when they still worked with the boss.
So the end is really good, in my opinion. I’m looking forward to the next episode. I’ll never forget how happy I was at the sight of Chico moving steadily away from Shunka on that boat. Koito is obnoxiousness incarnate.
So when is Mr. 20 Faces going to get his Guardian Character?
“well, if you like dumb straightforward endings, then you will indeed like this episode”
This comming from someone who loves Porfy, the most boring show this year, who will have the most “dumb straightforward ending”, the reunion
Can YOU spell hypocrite?
So…to conclude, there’s a guy wrote an essay, and there is a guy who wants to start a war. Now we just need some character development. You know, getting to know the background story of the characters, and figuring out why they are acting the way they are acting.
(I am referring to the comment section of this post, not the series.)
Magic (esp dolls) was the main destroyer for this series. Any detective and magic mixture is the fusion to bad plots and static characters.
I know this isn´t a comment i just can´t find any other way t tell you this.
Please BLOG KINO´S JOURNEY,
Kino, accompanied by a talking motorcycle, named Hermes, travels through a mystical world of many different countries and forests, each unique in its customs and people.
Kino only spends three days and two nights in every town, without exception, on the principle that three days is enough time to learn almost everything important about a place, while leaving time to explore new lands.
the anime director Ryutaro Nakamura described as “a radical sense of ‘beauty,” and brutality, loneliness, nonsense, oppression and tragedy are often juxtaposed against compassion and a fairy-tale atmosphere.
yes this episode was very disapointing, it had potencial and they ruined it!!!!
someone’s best friend: I already reviewed it, both the series and the movies:
http://psgels.net/go.php?http://psgels.net/2006/12/05/kino-no-tabi-review-87100/
http://psgels.net/go.php?http://psgels.net/2007/12/06/kino-no-tabi-life-goes-on-review-75100/
http://psgels.net/go.php?http://psgels.net/2007/12/28/kino-no-tabi-the-beautiful-world-byouki-no-kuni-for-you-review-85100/
I would have really liked this series a lot more, if they had focused more on the detective girls, and less on the white haired witch type arcs. The Detective girls were just fun, while the other, just more of the usual. Bit of a let down, even if I did see it coming.
@psgels
Oh, thanks! ^_^
Net’s busted at the moment and can’t watch from work. T_T
I personally thought the best episode for Chiko was when she took out the bullets from the gun of the girl in the early episodes (when 20 faces was injured and in bed).
When I watched that part it was like “Cool! If there’s more of that then I’ll love this whole series!” Unfortunately there wasn’t much more of that in the following episodes. More cool mind games please! T_T