3-gatsu no Lion – 09 [Distant Thunder part 2 – part 3]

by SuperMario, posted in 3-gatsu no Lion, Currently Watching:

“The calm mind is the way”

It becomes true to both Rei and our old man Matsunaga this week, since their minds are totally tangled with so many unnecessary thoughts and feelings. In more than one way, Mr. Matsunaga is a stark contrast to Rei. While Rei is a young shogi prodigy who become a professional a bit too early, he’s the old man who still hanging on that shogi rope for a bit too long. Rei respects him for spending 40 years dedicated to shogi, whereas the man envies him for being too bright. A rising star vs. a faded star.

And they both have their issues before the match as well: Rei is occupied by the poisonous words from Kyouko: “strangle the old dog”. That first long, uncomfortable sequence of Rei standing on the train, together with frantic close up cuts are really spot on, that what Shaft does best of course but this is one of the rare times that their own style fit perfectly to the material of 3-gatsu. Mr. Matsunaga feels exactly the same way, and of course doesn’t feel really good about that. Well, I came to this episode expecting a tense and emotional match between those two, as a result I didn’t prepare myself for the silly, upbeat beat the old man behaves throughout this episode.

The older you get, the more childish you behave. This is true with Mr. Matsunaga here, as the show frames his behaviors as nothing more than those of a child. All his actions: his silly praying, his clumsy behaviors, his random shogi strategies, his bad manner when losing, his often-contradicted statements; all show his immature (or should I say: over-mature) side of him. The randomness of his shogi surely gives Rei a hard time, for how can you beat a person who you can’t figure out their motives? That gives the match a much more lousy and silly tones than you would normally have expected from any professional shogi match. (Thank goodness there were no jokes about the old man’s bad back, that joke is just… painful and insensitive. But we have him falling down instead. Ouch!)

But consider this, I used to play in competitive level sport before so I know this well: when is the time that you know your time in the sport has come? It is when you don’t have a drive to win anymore. Mr. Matsunaga knows this well, and he’s prepared himself for that moments to come. I love the moment he describes Rei as a “beautiful death god”, it’s just amazing how impressions often work in accordance with our own inner psyche. Except that just like facing with death itself, the closer that moment approaches, the more desperate you want to keep hanging on. His feelings are totally legitimate here, that makes him still feel like an actual human despite his often over-childish behaviors. So comes to my next point, is it really a good option for Rei to encourage Mr. Matsunaga to continue on shogi? As I said earlier I don’t think so, especially the old man even admits one of the reasons he doesn’t want to quit is because of the housework at home. This guy needs a good spanking in a butt.

Kyouko remains a force to be reckon with, as she knows exactly how to hurt Rei. Her calling to Rei to “comfort” his feeling is nothing but abuse his mind but this time only her plan backfires. It’s more about understanding other people, Rei is now more willing to trust and shares feelings with others and this is one step up from the former-Rei. I agree this episode is a minor episode for 3-gatsu, it doesn’t add much in the big picture and especially a let down from last week’s standout episode but it still does its job. Still the show remains incredibly sensitive when it comes to character’s drama so even with a lesser episode like this one, the characters still shines bright.

Flip Flappers – 10 [Pure Jitter]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Flip Flappers

So her whole life is a lie, huh?

Now that she realizes Yayaka’s friendship as a fake, Cocona’s partnership as a substitute, Flip Flapp organization downright used her for their gains, obaa-chan even betrayed her; Cocona is on a verge of complete breakdown, but who would’ve thought she transforms into the-other-dark-magical-girl-show level of insanity? Struck down your own house by summoning “meteors” falling from the sky? Floating from the ground so she doesn’t have to step on fallen pieces of the robots and her obaa-chan? Totally mean but serve you right, obaa-chan. But girls, here a lesson for you: if you want to confess your sins or tell your dear friend a secret, DO IT RIGHT AWAY; don’t wait until the robots attacking you and then they will somehow ruin the mood by spoiling what you’re about to say with such meaner spirit.

Kidding aside, everything starts to make sense now that we know the true nature of who Coconami…uh… I mean Mimi is. That’s Cocona with long hair and red collar. She seems to be the first one who can enter Pure Illusion world, who partnered up with Papika(na) and young Salt in the process. It leaves another clue to Papika as somehow she hasn’t aged since that time and started to regain her memory once the fragments were completely collected. Which still doesn’t explain how she screws up on answering that simple question from Cocona’s (and ours for a full three weeks): “Who’s Mimi” that leads Cocona to completely distrusts everyone around her. I wonder, instead of that 5-minutes flashback (I counted it), Papika could have just answered: “She’s your Mom” and all the misunderstanding will be resolved in a flash. You can argue that she lost her memories but the fact remains that Cocona is an exact replica of Mimi so it’s not hard for her to reach a conclusion, ya’ know.

Okay, I’ll be serious now. I swear I have heaps of fun talking about this episode. The sad news is, with the fragments collecting comes to an end, it means there could be no more Pure Illusion world for us to enjoy. I already missed those adventures where under the surface might or might not have a deeper meaning, but it sure is fun to talk about those worlds. Admittedly, I think we will encounter the ultimate Pure Illusion world, which I guess the clue of that world is the big painting from Iroha-sensei that Cocona was quite interested in. Now, the Cult going full force in order to capture Cocona so that they can complete the mission and step up to rule the world, and that new amorphous girl is yet to reach her full potential so I expect the match between her and Cocona in coming episodes.

Looks like we will learn a bit more about the backstory of Papika, Mimi and Dr. Salt in next episode, but judging from the brief flashback couple episodes ago, Dr. Salt was already mature at the time of the “incident” so it would be 4,5 years after this week’s flashback; and the baby that Mimi hold is none other than Cocona. It’s pure speculation but I guess something happened in the Pure Illusion world and Mimi was shattered into fragments, one of which implanted inside Coconas thigh. That might be the reason why Cocona is rather famous in that world: is totally controlled by fake life, fake friend who was assigned to be near her to keep an eye on the fragment and that might be the reason why she was chosen by Papika in the first place. This episode surely is a life-changer in terms of plot, connecting all the connective tissues and making it a collective whole. For one thing Flip Flappers might be one of the rare shows that you won’t see what come next, it could go west or east or up the sky depending on its moods and I’m totally fine with that. Let’s hope this wacky little show ends on a high and conclusive note.

New Manga Spotlight – Yakusoku no Neverland, Maou-jou de Oyasumi and Uratarou

by AidanAK47, posted in New Manga Spotlights

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Yakusoku no Neverland [The Promised Neverland]

Emma and her friends have a pretty good life at the orphanage they grew up in. Though the rules may be strict, the caretaker is kind. But why are the children forbidden from ever leaving…?

As you have likely have guessed, the Orphanage isn’t quite what it seems to be but as to why that might be I will avoid spoiling. It will be difficult to really go into detail as that would ruin the surprise(Though it isn’t all that surprising but regardless) but the rundown is that these kids need to escape the Orphanage. So what we have here is a kind of Great escape story where the kids formulate a plan while avoiding attracting the suspicions of the caretaker. It’s pretty tense and the artist really know how to make some unnerving imagery. I can really see this becoming an anime in the future and if so it could be really something. Highly recommend this.

Maou-jou de Oyasumi [Sleeping in Devil’s Castle]

The time when humans and demons once existed. A demon king, the existence that throws off that balance of perfect stability, kidnapped a human princess and confined her in his own castle.
People raged, and sent a hero on a journey to rescue the princess to the castle she was confined in. She was supposed to be weeping, despairing, and waiting for a rescue, but… Having so much spare time, aside from sleeping she has nothing else to do.
Now, the “imprisoned princess” does as she likes in the demon king’s castle in a seek of a quiet sleep!
This is a sleeping short comedy!!

The hero and demon king routine has become rather stale a premise in regards to anime but this manga is different in just who it decides to focus on. This a about a captured princess who loves to sleep but is constantly finding problems coming up which prevent her from getting her precious nap times. So this tale is about her overcoming such problems no matter what gets in her way, even if she has to make a bed monster hunter style. The story is pretty simple and there really isn’t much more to it than that but the humor just really works. The stories are short and sweet while never failing to bring a smile to my face.

Uratarou

As a child, Princess Taira Chiyo escaped from being captured by the Minamoto army due to the the sacrifice of her mother. Now at the age of 15, she travels the land searching for immortality. Following the rumors about an immortal named Kijin-sama, Chiyo actually finds him! But all he wants is to die?

Clearly based on the legend of Momotarou, this manga isn’t really what I would call a masterpiece. But it remains a pretty fun shounen adventure regardless with a decently original hook. It does show dangers of becoming a rather generic shounen battle manga but at this point in time I don’t see any harm in recommending it. Plus I really like a one shot the mangaka made called Zombie Maria and his artstyle is really great for detailing gory fight scenes. In fact the artwork is pretty great in general as you can likely see from the above.

 

Other Notable New works

Red Sprite (Sadly this one was recently axed but it’s still a nice read.)

Marry Me!(Yuuki Miku)

Murenase! Shiiton Gakuen

Rike ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumeishitemita

Gendai Majo no Shuushoku Jijou

Shitei Bouryoku Shoujo Shiomi-chan

Amalgam of Distortion

Sound! Euphonium 2 – 10 [After-School Obbligato]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Sound! Euphonium 2

This season surely gives us too much of Kumiko-cuteness versions. After the fluffy little Kumiko last few weeks, the bedridden sore throat Kumiko, the surprisingly “always listening – always understanding” (such a pretentious slogan) Kumiko last week, what shades pf Kumiko is in store for us this week? Of course it’s an emo teary-eyes Kumiko. As much as a blank emotion when we first met her, this episode in particular shows us that she can express her own emotions, and on top of it actively resolves conflicts because she really wants to. That’s quite a development for our girl Kumiko to be that emotionally honest and I’m sure she deserved all the praise she got this week.

As contrasted to the Kumiko – Asuka showdown later on, Kumiko and Mamiko’s conflict was pretty quiet, soft but full of honest moments. The sisters don’t really make conversations to each other for so long, and the last times they talked there were a huge influx of misunderstanding from both sides, but to resolve the matters like this show how much maturity they both have become. It’s like the first time that Mamiko treats her sister like a companion, frankly tells her sister her issues in exactly the way she feels. That scene is layered by Mamiko literally cleaning up her mess (way too subtle KyoAni!), while Kumiko just stands there, cooking and listening. This is the most appropriate way to end their conflict like this, because ultimately Mamiko doesn’t need her sister’s help, she just needs her to understand. Like Asuka’s last week insecurity about being Eupho-girl, Mamiko was a bit jealous of Kumiko because she could do what she wants; while we know that Kumiko was thinking the opposite. The play of perspective is there to show us how they’re struggling with their own images. Speaking of perspective, my favorite moments out of this little drama has to be just after Mamiko said she was about to move out and said she’d be a little sad (don’t know about you guys but I personally find it real hard to talk about emotions to my siblings, just like Mamiko and Kumiko here), she looks at this little corner and knows that the place where she spend her childhood as home will be no longer her home. That feeling rings so hollowly true here.

But the most brilliance thing is how her sister’s drama helps supporting Kumiko in her “Operation Bring Back Asuka-senpai”. The event last week, powerful as it was, isn’t enough to bring Asuka back to the band. After all, Asuka’s main intention to invite Kumiko last week was because she needed someone to hear her out, not to resolve her conflicts. In her minds, the best solution has always been cutting herself off from the band, that’s where out Kumiko steps in. Yes, Asuka isn’t wrong about all that, but sometimes, just follow what you’re most passionate about regardless of any other things might be the best course of action. It’s no points to continue what you ain’t love doing. Be honest to yourself. Be a KID!! The showdown is atmospheric, tense and I love how Asuka lays bare what she thoughts about Kumiko. On that showdown, we have many shots from multiple perspectives: most of the time from Kumiko’s point of view, sometimes they pull out from different angles, sometimes they don’t even show the girls’ faces at all. Those shots aim to show us how much Asuka was still in control of the situation until Kumiko’s breakout. Kumiko’s body expressions after that talk is priceless. I can see so much efforts were put to make her gestures as expressive as we see here.

To align with the tone of this second season, this episode also leaves Reina absent for most of the time to do god-know-what from He-must-not-be-named (AKA spying from her teacher) and it looks like the next episode will focus on her crush issues with Taki-sensei. To be honest that arc might be the one I least interested in, because we already know the outcomes of this crush. Despite that, it also means we will have more Reina’s time so I remain optimistic about that arc might turn out worthwhile. Maybe.

Occultic;Nine – 09[Future Days]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Occultic:Nine

The presentation of Occultic;Nine is starting to remind me of speed Racer, an anime from a bygone era which had a rather infamous dub. Basically due to the literal translation, the way which Japanese can say more with less words and the speed of dialogue it required the dub actors to say a large amount of words as fast as possible. This resulted in a dub to one of the very first anime localized in the US and quite possibly the worst dub ever to grace the medium. You see when you are so focused on spitting out the script at high velocity it’s difficult to truly emote or present said script in a watch that can be engaging. Even Bakemonogatari takes moments to slow down to get the emotion out while Occultic;Nine attempts to have an emotional reconciliation in the span of thirty seconds. This is just abysmal, on all fronts besides animation and art. I don’t blame those guys as purely on animation and art this show has been rather impressive, I even found the point of view shot with Miyu walking down to the boys killing room to be really well done. But direction, editing and dialogue is just a pure trainwreck.

But let us try to piece together just what is going on here. Well first Miyu is a goddamn moron as just from a text message from her old friend she decides to go to a secluded location where she previously met the murderous kid, down into a secret passage that opened out of nowhere and through an incredibly ominous tunnel that screams get the hell out to any sane individual. I understand that grief can have an effect on people but this…this is just nonsense. I would believe it if she was going there for revenge but she truly believes her friend was alive despite seeing the bloody remains first hand. There is overcome with grief and then there is being an utter moron, you have fallen into the second category. But with this we get some insight into who this boy is and the Kotoribako. Basically this boy is a living person who has been  killing people because he sees them as rare cards somehow and he makes people into kotoribako because he wants to get rare cards. So to summarize the above, the boy and Kotoribako…are absolutely irrelevant to the main plot. The only thing this whole side plot did was give the main characters some exposition to figure out a bit of the evil organizations plan, exposition which the child knows because…he’s a rich kid? Um…I…bloody hell…just…just what is this? How is this writer getting work? What editor approved this? This development adds nothing to the narrative but more plot-holes! This is what this writer utterly infuriates me as it reminds me of the asinine stories I used to write between classes when i was a teenager. I know this logic, the reason this boy is in the story is because he wanted a psycho boy in the story. For that’s what he thinks is cool, logic be damned.

On the upside Ryo-tas looks to be getting a point. Seems her bouncing about like a preschooler was all just an act and she seems to be the mysterious Zonko which has been communicating with the blogger kid all this time. I would like to say this means she’s no longer pointless but well Zonko hasn’t contributed to the plot much either. She told the kid to pull out a tooth and helped him figure out a puzzle with the ceiling. If anything this brings up the very good question that if she knew everything that was going on then why did she spend the last 9 episodes saying and doing nonsense when everyone else was trying to figure out what’s going on. There’s going to have to be a very good reason as to why she kept all this to herself and considering the answers we got so far I say it’s going to be nonsensical. Also oh god the detective mentions that the ghost guy(Another pointless character up to this point) can time travel.

Oh no! No! Hell no! You can’t just put in a throwaway Steins;Gate reference and expect me to swallow that. There are two things which can turn any story into an utter mess and those are alternate dimensions and time travel. Occultic;Nine is already a clusterfuck so this is really the last thing it needs. But most of all…if this all ends with a time reset I will be goddamn furious. The time reset is the get out of jail free card of every hack writer. It is only acceptable when time travel is an integral part of the narrative. Otherwise it’s a cheap method of avoiding consequence in storytelling which renders the entire plot moot. Other than that we just find that the evil organization plan to end the world it seems with this new world plan which I guess involves killing everyone on the planet so they can live as immortal ghosts? But then what about the mind control plan? Is that still in effect? Well tune in next time and prepare to see none of the occult stuff in the opening as well as any occult in general. Couldn’t even live up to the name…I have a headache now.

Magical Girl Raising Project – 10[Super-Hot! Back-to-Back Battle Events!]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Magical Girl Raising Project

I am really starting to dislike how this show is killing off the characters I grow remotely interested in while leaving only the dullest characters to carry the show. Don’t take that to mean I cared about the remaining twin angel that got killed off because her death was pretty deserved. But this cements the twin angels as characters whose only function was to kill off more interesting characters. No, my grief goes to Hardgore Alice who in typical fashion was given some development only to get offed by Swim Swim. What rubs me the wrong way is in how utterly contrived her death was. First with Snow White getting that Alice doesn’t mean her harm only to throw a hissy fit at her after hearing that the death game was going to continue. Then you have Swim Swim take her out in human form were she is knocked out by an arbitrary rule that no one can see her transform and basically not being able to become a magical girl because she couldn’t focus after being mortally wounded. I call bull on that second one as if you are lying in an alley about to die I think that’s the time you would be most focused on saving your own life. I have heard of a couple of things from the light novel which makes these events more sensible. For one, Snow White is supposed to be much more mentally unsound as this whole magical girl battle thing takes a pretty heavy toll on her.

Other rather depressing detail is that before becoming a magical girl, Hardgore Alice planned to kill herself and was regularly stealing her Uncle’s sleeping pills to use to overdose but changed her mind when Snow White helped her find her key. This makes her ability as a magical girl rather ironic as someone who originally wanted to die is given a body that can never die. The last detail makes her death a little more tragic that was in the manga but not the light novel was that it was her uncle that found her in the alley. Because her uncle was around Alice couldn’t change into a magical girl. As sad as it is, that feels like a much more devastating emotional gut punch. Overall I just don’t like how Alice was sacrificed for the sake of Snow White’s development, especially when she was becoming a much more interesting character than her. I get that Snow is supposed to be the archetype of the stereotypical magical girl but she just isn’t doing anything about the situation or showing anything interesting about her character. I think the more interesting road would be for Snow White to get killed off and for Hardgore Alice to carry her torch.

With this the only characters I actually care about are Swim Swim and Ripple. Cranberry is just a bit too one dimensional at the moment to really interest me and I already pointed out why Snow White isn’t particularly compelling. As for Tama, well she’s a background decoration likely not long for this world. With Cranberry’s talks with Fav we at least have a better grasp on what is going on here. Seems Cranberry is the one in charge of this whole game and Fav is acting as an observer. Thing is that Fav and Cranberry are in cahoots and have decided to turn what is normally a selection process that discourages fatalities into a full battle royale. With this we can at least establish that the organisers of the game aren’t malicious but instead it’s those who are running the game that’s turning it into something twisted. It’s a bit weird that the magical world isn’t keeping tabs on her but I guess that was supposed to be Fav’s job seeing as he’s is sending back false reports. If it comes down to either Swim Swim or Cranberry going down next episode I hope it’s Cranberry but Swim Swim just has much more presence as a villain. If this show keeps killing off everyone I somewhat care about this is just going to end up with a final battle where I won’t really care about the outcome.

Drifters – 09[Serious Bomber]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Drifters

Drifters is at it’s best when the Orte are getting trounced and they are certainly getting a beating here. I could complain over how the Orte are one dimensional villains but after the master race bull and the concentration camp here they are quite literally Nazi’s at this point. Nazi’s are the one type of villain that always deserve a good beating. However it would be good to see the Drifters having some challenge here as the Orte are posing as much of a threat as rubber ducks. This is in part due to the drifters making use of actual tactics when the Orte are following the bare necessities of leading an army. Seeing Nazi’s get killed is hardly a unsatisfying experience but a one sided battle is a rather dull watch. I did think the Orte might actually put up some sort of fight when they brought out the heavy armored knights but that was quickly taken out with Olminu’s walls and gunpowder. Speaking of which I thought Oda’s gunpowder would require a year for the materials to be produced. Was there a time skip I was not made aware of?

Olminu must have a hard time off screen as it seems that all she is to the characters is a walking boob joke. It’s unfortunate when your mentor is praising your talent and calling you a prodigy only for him to remind us that she has breasts. She certainly does but really what does that have to do with anything? I say the Drifters crew need to take a look over at Occultic;Nine as there is a much more deserving target for the boob jokes. Ryo-tas could use some mockery over her design because it is certainly driving me insane at just how no one in the show remarks about the girl who looks like she got a XLL size breast transplant. Olminu is at least proving that she has an actual point in the series besides being a pin up girl and it would be nice to see her get some respect for it. That and the boob jokes got old fast.

Oda is once again flabbergasted over technology as he marvels over the communication device which is a orb that essentially acts as a transistor radio. His revelations over how this device would revolutionize warfare also brings up a fair point about Murasaki’s actual job. I for the most part assumed that this battle was essentially a minor spat between EASY and Murasaki for entertainment but there is a question about Murasaki’s actual job. This episode seems to suggest that Murasaki takes Drifters from other world to provide perspective and innovation to another, hence preventing stagnation. It’s possible this was the original purpose of Drifters which has been turned into a war between EASY and Murasaki. It doesn’t excuse the fact that these two are wreaking a unrelated world over a personal grudge but it does give some light into why these two even exist.

On the ends side of things the black king is teaching the monsters agriculture which might explain as to why they didn’t send their full force to kill the Drifters. They mentioned this before but the ends intent appears to be only killing off humans in order to hand the world over to the monsters for them to take humanity’s place. So essentially the ends are saviors to the monsters who are wiping out humanity to give them a chance at a better life. The contrast is rather interesting. The ends are teaching their side agriculture and farming whereas the Drifters are teaching their side war and weapon making. Makes one wonder who is the true villain.

3-gatsu no Lion – 08 [Image – Distant Thunder part 1]

by SuperMario, posted in 3-gatsu no Lion, Currently Watching:

We’re back with 3-gatsu no Lion after a week hiatus from sick leave (I know everyone got sick last week, be it in springtime in this corner of the world, or the start of winter elsewhere) and I’m glad that the show returns in good form. Kyouko might be the most distinctive character the show has created so far. Like a true femme fatale, her sheer present demands our full attention, her sparks gleam that we couldn’t take our eyes off, and her venomous words keep sinking in Rei’s heart. Rei aside, I’m pretty sure that we’re having a good time here.

Harunobu continues his self-assigned mission as “Rei’s best friend” to full extend, both having fun showing the magic of shogi, and later crashing on Rei’s couch that night (except that it’s Harunobu’s brand new futon couch so why complaint?). We heading on from last episode’s “shogi for dummy” with all the warrior cats making fancy moves and dancing around. While it sure is cute to see shogi explained in such simple and funny way, this part is obviously my least favorite of this whole season. Look, whenever this show focus too much on the mechanics of shogi, it fails because the show is ultimately a character’s focus piece. Later part where Issa and Smith remarked on Harunobu’s passionate commentary feel oversold as well (I thought they tried to bring a point that Rei’s move wasn’t that bad at all but that isn’t the case). But later when it comes to his own reflection towards Harunobu’s action, it again picks up its steam. The overly enthusiasm from his friend makes him feel lousy, because that energy is something that he doesn’t have. But it’s great that Rei’s taking one step at the time, as of now he even hates himself for feeling that way in front of his friend.

We have a nice flashback from Kei over his “image” of his father. I love that little moments so much as the little Rei tried to get better at shogi just to observe that raw expression of his own father (stripped down from all social’s niceties). That again gives us two things about his relationship with shogi. First, as the show already pointed out before, the very reason Rei got into shogi was not because of his love for shogi, but because he wants to spend more time with his father. Here in this episode, we learn that he wants to be really good just purely to get that expression out of his father. Second, he sees himself as a person who now continue in the world of shogi that his father had always yearned for. Those two points tell us a very personal but ultimately troubled perspective of Rei. For once, unlike Harunobu, he isn’t that happy to play shogi; he doesn’t even love shogi that much (that was pointed out by Kyouko later), as of now he’s just hanging there, playing shogi because it’s the only way of living he knows. And even imaging himself as the son who accomplish his father’s unfulfilled dream? That seriously is a troubled thought because unless he plays shogi for himself, he will always be stuck (like he is now) and can never get forward to his way of shogi.

That distant thunder we saw couple episodes back has finally appeared in the form of goddess Kyouko. The reason why her roles are such compelling in this show is because she has very conflicting emotions towards Rei, and all her actions aggressively contradict each other from time to time, sometimes even in the same line of exchange. While Haunobu and the shogi-sensei represent a bright, full of energy side and the sisters represent a warm, caring side, Kyouko is Rei’s utter dark and stormy side, and it only makes sense that her appearance is in late at night. We don’t really know much about her in this episode; considering that we look at her this time through Rei’s perspective, and for Rei, Kyouko is a totally mystery; but there’s still heaps of thing that we can take out from her night of visit. He doesn’t know how to deal with his sister, but her words often pierce through his heart the deepest. It’s so obvious that she still brings a deep hatred towards Rei, the way her bitterness towards Rei’s moving out on his own, and most noticeable of all, her plain resentment towards Rei’s shogi. When you think about it, it all makes sense. The kids fight for their father’s attention through shogi, and it’s that shogi that break them apart. She’s unsurprisingly know great details about his next opponent, and she’s trying to manipulate him to give that match up. Such a sly move but Rei won’t grow unless something directly challenged him like this occur so the next match will actually be a fight inside his head. Can’t wait for it.

Some of her actions, on the other hand, signal how much she grows to care about him. Keep in mind that you won’t spend the night with someone you hate, given that she could’ve slept in her friend’s house and not necessary Rei’s. Maybe the reason is she wants him to get back to the house, since she knows that it would make her father happy, but I don’t think that’s the case as well. I love her remark that after 10 years living in the same roof, she didn’t know Rei much, because even realize such things mean that now she actually cares a bit more about him, but then she’s able to recognize the new futon doesn’t have Rei scent yet. Her looking straight through his eyes and checking if there’s any scar is one of the most powerful scene. After all, wound can be healed but scars will always remain. Whatever her motivation is, she remains the most striking character out there in this series and her presence alone is something Rei ultimately needed in order to break out of his shell.

Flip Flappers – 09 [Pure Mute]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Flip Flappers

Again this week, Yayaka takes up the stage and by the end of this episode her arc is basically over, now that she is abandoned by the Cult and is taken over by Cocona and Papika. But what an emotional ride this episode delivers. I’m particularly taken not only by the action and consequence she ultimately took, but by how the show frames these through its visual and symbolism. Watching Yayaka smashing the mirrors of her childhood friendship’s memories in pursuit for “what more important” resonates with me a hundred times more than she says it out loud. Watching the wrapped bud changing shape according to Cocona’s emotions tell me a lot about how these two forces matter to her. Watching the two unlikely friends sitting back to back to each other talking about food brings warmness in my heart more than anything I’ve watched this season. That is one of the strength of this medium, an ability to convey theme and message through impressionist, abstract images that added much more layers to the context.

But first, it’s hilarious to see Cocona gets so worked up over the randomness Papika murmuring last week. After all, calling out wrong name is a serious crime, but the way Cocona reacts make it clear that their relationship is not unlike an actual couple. She being difficult further reflects her insecurity towards her relationship with Cocona (the more hilarious when at the end Papika declared that Mimi was her partner). But what surprise me were even when they having a fight, their impedance is stable enough for them to get through the Pure Illusion world, and one of the Pure Illusion world is… outer space (because when you think about it why the hell not? I swear we will get an underwater Pure Illusion world sooooon enough). In other notes, last week shows us how confident the show handle their fighting scene, and this week viewers who look for spectacular fight won’t be disappointed. All the fights have great energy and the choreography is remarkable, and I have to hat off to the music during that second fight, which totally intense and thrilling and I can sense the sadness behind the score as well.

Per usual, what do we have in this week’s world? We have the most simplicity world, a vast, empty, pure white world (with ceiling on top!) with no place to belong to that really for me represents the blank state of emotions and the tough spot Yayaka is currently in. As soon as Cocona and the twins reached the fragments, the place closed up which for me signifies the confused state of Cocona over which friends she had to choose. The inside of the place where Cocona and the twin got trapped, as contrast to that empty world outside, is like a cozy, warm and dark room with some decors. Comfortable but again completely isolated. I have to say that Cocona being “trapped” inside is pretty much the show’s motif by now. As long as she decided who she stands for, the thing broken apart and freed them. I also really like the idea of them swapping pairs this time, so we have the very unlikely but hilarious moments of Papika and Yayaka, and the brief but peaceful moments between Cocona and the twins. Actually, Yayaka and Papika are getting along surprisingly well. Though Cocona is an only mutual link they share, they actually have a great chemistry together. Yayaka knows how to “handle” Paprika and Paprika knows how to bring emotions out of that girl. This duo is priceless.

But Yayaka and her relationship with Cocona again shines the brightest this week. We get the flashback of the two meeting together, symbolized heavily by that pink flowers (which I don’t know the name of). Maybe the flowers symbolize their friendship? We already see Flip Flappers pulled this off on episode 6 when the duo role represents the lonely, entrapped situation of Iroha-chan, but this episode is much more emotional because we follow Yayaka and her struggles throughout the entire series. Her place in her own organization is pretty much unstable, and her best friend Cocona is further and further away from her. Speaking of that it seems that the two young girls were tested for the organization? That last fight between Cocona and Yayaka is without a doubt a highlight of this episode, most notably on how Yayaka desperately try to get what she wants. As I said above, the mirrors that reflected their own relationships being shattered brings so much raw emotions to their bonds, and although I would prefer much better if she indeed stabs the girl to get the fragrance, the way she couldn’t bring herself to do it, and later shields herself to protect Cocona, is emotional satisfy that bring tears to my eyes.

For the third time in a row, the show ends with that “Mimi” cliffhanger, now that Yayaka arc is over, this is the damn time now that you give us something more than just a tease, don’t you think Flip Flapper?

Occultic;Nine – 07-08[Happiness is a Warm Gun]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Occultic:Nine

By episode sevens end it did confirm that indeed, the majority of the cast is dead which brings up a whole host of problems. For you see while this twist may seem like a interesting left turn, it only really works if you consider the time a character is shown on screen the only time in existence that they have. This show demands that you completely disregard the other free time you would assume living beings have in life. For if you take that into account then these people should have figured out something was wrong much much sooner. After all, if they eat then they might wonder why the store attendant is ignoring them while confused at how products were carried to the till by themselves. If they don’t eat then anyone would notice if they went several days without eating. There’s also problems with general rules of how they are perceived. The show already establishes that they have a physical presence and can bump into people. But if they pick something up and put it into their pocket then does that item turn invisible? Or is there a floating tooth key walking around when mister blogger goes out for a stroll? The more you think about it, the less sense it makes. This twist also brings the problem that with our main characters dead that means that they are in no danger. That means no tension. On top of all that when you confirm that death is not permanent than that renders death meaningless which is generally why the “dead” twist is often pulled at the end of a story.

Considering the inconsistency of the sped up dialogue I think we can safely say that it isn’t a stylistic choice. More likely the script hasn’t been planned to the time constraints of each episode and the dialogue is sped up to compensate. A very unwise method of trying to squash it in as it kills the pacing and whatever immersion the viewer had when all the characters start speedrunning their dialogue. I actually wondered if the video was literally sped up as people start vomiting exposition at a rapid rate. Also boy, that exposition. I said before that I doubted this show would have satisfactory answers for any of the questions it poses without resorting to something dumb. Thus I hereby say I called it because good god this is dumb. So the Kotoribako which was given so much attention previously now seems to have no real purpose. Instead this seven gods cult thing has somehow cultivated both a mind control drug and a chemical which can allow you to retain yourself after death. There’s some info dumping nonsense about them doing this by following some notes by Nikola Tesla and perfecting it by analysing a thesis written by the professor who was murdered.

So this is treading the old ground of Chaos;Head in which a scribble written by the protagonist on the back of a homework essay somehow lead to the creation of reality wrapping machines. Not sure why they did this seeing as a second time round this explanation is just as dumb as the first time we went through it. Maybe even more so. But we ain’t done yet as it turns out that the mysterious evil organization was created by Mr Not-neets dad. How this happened was that the dad was a radio show host who used to take questions from viewers and give advice(You know typical radio show stuff) but he was apparently so good at it that he started giving live seminars and then it became a cult. Feel free to read over that sentence and let it sink in that someone wrote this down and didn’t see anything wrong with it. Sure not-neet says it’s far fetched but it’s not even that, it’s downright impossible. It wasn’t even a big radio station, just some small town one and yet it somehow gained such a following that it spawned an evil organisation with plans for world domination?

This writer continues to utterly baffle me with how he fails to see the utter ridiculousness of his own ideas. If this anime was satire or comedy that might be something. But it’s clear that we are supposed to take this 100% seriously.  Personally I find that difficult when the main villain has a plan as ridiculous as a old bond villain. All they really need now is a volcano lair and they got the whole set. Seriously how are these evil organizations even formed? How do you gather a huge group of like minded people to sit in a room all day discussing how they are going to rule the world by injecting mind control drugs into world leaders? Guys, are you sure you planned this out? I mean you think no one is going to notice all the world leaders acting weird? Who decides what, how does it even get done? After all even if you take over the world leader there is still a government that’s not going to approve your slave collar law. What are you even going to do with the world?

Because nobody really thinks about that, considering that running one country’s affairs is a giant pain in itself. Of course maybe they don’t really care about running the world well but then what’s the bloody point? Rule the world just for bragging rights? As for other events Ryo-tas remains a waste of screen time besides being a mannequin with basketballs glued to her chest. The rest spend most of their time discussing if they are dead or not, or being depressed about it. The other antagonists on the other hand seem happy enough to talk enigmatic despite the fact that the audience has long since stopped giving a damn. Admittedly I am skimming over character interactions and just commenting on the mystery of the show but that truly is the only thing carrying it. Which makes it all the more noticeable when you can poke holes in it till it all just falls apart. By now, in this story sense is a sandwich so sure, why not just throw in an inexplicable moai statue contraption whose sole purpose seems to be poor security for a usb stick.