Ah, finally. After five weeks of absence and recaps, Saiunkoku Monogatari finally returns with episode 57. Oh, how I’ve waited for this series to return; but first: another recap!
So… yeah.
There’s nothing much to say. While it’s awesome to see Shuurei back, a recap remains a recap. Thank goodness there were a few minutes of new material, which featured hilarious banter between Ryuuki, Shuuei and Kouyuu, but that’s all. I was also too lazy to take new screenshots, so those who paid attention will notice that I recycled a few from previous episodes.]]>
Seirei no Moribito – 24
I’m nearly speechless. This episode was quite straightforward, but the incredible attention to detail in both the graphics as the storytelling made it an awesome watch. This episode was really good in portraying everyone’s involvement, even though I didn’t understand some of the dialogues. Still, this series has featured episodes that were a lot more difficult to understand. This either means that my Japanese is getting better, I’m getting more familiarized with the story, or the dialogue as simply been simplified. I think it’s one of the latter, though.
Anyway, the thing that Gakai found out in the previous episode was that the lake isn’t the place where the egg is going to hatch. Chaggumu is heading for the real place, and the majority of the episode is spent on finding him, when they suddenly run into Rarunga, who’s also searching for him. There’s a high emphasis on tracking in this episode as well, and because of that, you could actually see the subtle trails that Chaggumu left behind.
In any case, Tanda finds out a way to defeat Rarunga, who turns out invulnerable to physical attacks: drink the dew of the water lily-like flower that we saw Chaggumu grab. Apparently, that one forms the link between the real and the spirit world. And with this, I realize the significance of the episode where Saya was ill: that one was meant to explain this principle. With this, they manage to kill Raruga, but there seem to be two of them, or perhaps even more.
I know that this description didn’t do this episode justice. The thing I really liked was how almost every person in it felt so real. People are smart, and think like real human beings. At least, more real than in 95% of all other anime. Don’t expect the fight against Rarunga to top episode three, though. While it looks beautiful, it just lacks the adrenaline of that episode. I think it’s safe to assume that the best fight of the series was showed in that particular episode. But after all, fights aren’t everything. ;)]]>
Baccano! – 06
If you were wondering what happened to my entries for Baccano! for the past two weeks, there was some kind of hiatus in the broadcast schedule. Luckily, it’s now back and totally made up for the two-week absence when this turns out to be quite possibly the best episode of Baccano! yet. I love how well-written the story for this series turns out to be; especially the middle of this episode is excellent, which brings us twist after twist after twist.
We start the episode with the information-office. It seems that they received a threat from the Gustave-family, something about Eve. I didn’t quite understand that part, weren’t the Runorata-family the ones who were after the Genoards? We also “see” the director of the information-office for the first time. I put “see” between quotes, because we never realy see him. He’s always hidden behind a huge pile of books and paper. Afterwards, the blonde guy talks to some of his subordinates to keep an eye out for the Gustave and the Gandor-family in case they show signs of knowing where Dallas went.
Next up, the Flying Pussyfoot. Nathalie Williams is in a room with the guys in black, as they get a transmission from the ones we saw getting captured at the end of the previous episode. We then switch to the mysterious green-clothed girl, who is still under the train, climbing. Then, my theory of her being the Rail Tracer gets blown to pieces as she encounters it, seeing it brutally kill one of the guys in black. It then comes towards her, whispers something in her ear and this causes her to scream and flee. The interesting thing is, though: the Rail Tracer let her live, which means that it’s on the Flying Pussyfoot with a mission.
Back to 1930, Dallas tries to go to Luck to get some help in getting revenge on Firo, though Berga quickly takes care of him and his companions. The interesting thing is that they confiscate the two bottles that Dallas took from Barnes. This gives us more clues as to how Luck and Firo became immortals. But on the other hand, we haven’t seen any proof that Firo was friends with the Gandor-family up till now, have we?
The next scene is on the Flying Pussyfoot again, where Chezlaw hides Merry in a broom-closet so that he can move a bit more freely. We then switch to Nice, Jacuzzi and their companion (I love this guy, by the way. He’s so large that he keeps struggling though the small corridors and doors of the train; quite hilarious) find the door where Nick disappeared in. They find him back, and he tells them about Ladd Russo, and it seems that Lua and the one who went with her were the ones who launched the surprise attack on Nick.
When Nick is free, they notice another door, under which blood appears. But first we see how one of Ladd’s companions discovers Merry and gets stabbed by Chane! This can become very interesting. Remember how Chane only barely survived the trip, and Merry was nowhere to be seen amongst the survivors. Back to Jacuzzi, the bloody door opens and Ladd emerges from it. Jacuzzi indeed has a history with the Russo-family: the punks from the previous episode are from the Russo-family it seems.
A conflict between the two parties is avoided when Jacuzzi mentions the murdered conductor. Apparently, he was one of Russo’s allies, not Chane’s. Because this is rather unexpected for Ladd, he decides to check it out. It seems that he’s becoming aware of the Rail Tracer as well, as inside the room he came from, there were some more of its victims. This can turn out interesting, and I’m beginning to think that that missing arm of his was caused by this being. No human could do that anyway. And I’m also pretty sure that the guy in the first episode, of whom we only saw a silhouette, is this same Rail Tracer. Apparently, he’s searching for someone. But what could it be, and what does it have to do with the mysterious girl, the conductor and the guys in black?
Back to 1930: we now see Isaac and Miria, after they’ve just been hit by Ennis. They’re still angry at the driver who hit them, but they’ve unfortunately ran into Dallas, who has just been angered by one of his underlings when he started talking about Eve. It’s clear that the two of them are really close.
We then switch to the New-York part of the 1931-story, where the guys from the Runorata-family kidnap Eve. Could this start the explanation of why she was watching the digging-machines fish up things in the harbour in 1932? In any case, her maid gets locked up and she’s in trouble now.
Back to Jacuzzi and the others: they see inside the room where Ladd came from and witness the bloodbath. Nick then looks outside of the window and he spots Rail Tracer.
Back to Ennis, it seems that she wasn’t searching for Firo like I first though, but Dallas. It’s obvious, since they’re the ones who took the bottles from Barnes. Coincidentally, when she finds him, Dallas was just busy beating Isaac and Miria. She saves the two of them, explaining their friendship. I’m expecting her to get even closer to them in the next few episodes. I now also finally know why the Gandor-family is so important in this story: they’ve basically got the bottles, and I don’t think that Szilard will be getting them back easily.
We then switch to the information office, where the news has arrived that Eve has been captured. Out of all of the subplots, theirs is the hardest to understand at the moment, unfortunately.
We end the episode with Szilard and Ennis, along with their allies as they inject some strange liquid into Dallas. This could explain his disappearance, though I doubt that the injection will just kill them. Did Quates just turn them into guinea-pigs for his experiments?
So, obviously I liked this episode. This anime is almost one huge roller-coaster ride, and we’re only halfway through.]]>
Like the Clouds, Like the Wind Review – 82/100
Like the Clouds, Like the Wind is basically what you’d get when you cross Saiunkoku Monogatari with Shoujo Jang Geum no Yume and put the result into movie-format. It’s the umpth attempt to place a child at the centre of adult struggles, in this case an empire which just lost its emperor, but thankfully it’s also one of the better ones. I think we can thank the shoujo-roots of the story for that.
Basically, most similar premises forget to give their main characters a reason to become involved. They just become important because the story demands them to. Ginga, the main character in this particular movie, thankfully avoids this common pitfall: the emperor’s dead, his son needs a new wife, so all over the country girls are scouted to become his concubine. Ginga is one of them. There, it’s not that difficult, and it makes the movie so much better.
That’s not to say that this movie is flawless, though. It may have avoided all of the pitfalls that plague shounen-series; it does have the most common flaw of shoujo-anime: she basically coincidentally meets up with the characters who are important to the story. Ginga’s personality does explain a bit why she ends up standing out, but this remains an annoyance. Still, I’ve seen movies go far and far worse.
To continue, the setting also receives enough development as well. Through the course of the movie, it gets a fair bit of explanation of how the country ended up, what the main threats are, and the role of all of the different characters in this. Speaking of the characters, most of them aren’t much individually, but the chemistry between them is excellent. Keep an eye out for the old lady, she’s really hilarious.
And then comes the climax, which for once isn’t the highlight of a movie. This is basically because at that point, the creators decided to favour feminism over realism. The result is enjoyable to watch, but quite impossible when you start thinking about it. It also seems that at that point, the creators nearly forgot that this is supposed to be a children’s movie, and the attempts to hide blood from the screen become a bit too grating.
Luckily, the climax is redeemed by the ending. I totally expected this to boil down in a totally happy Disney-ending… and it doesn’t. Quite refreshing, if you ask me. Anyway, even though this movie is aimed at children, it’s also a nice watch for adults who like shoujo. It’s not the best, but definitely not the worst movie out there.]]>
Angel's Egg
Oh boy, this is going to be one difficult review. I seriously have no idea how to properly criticise this one like I do with other movies, hence the absence of a rating. The thing with this movie is: you’ll either be drawn into its atmosphere, or you’ll be bored to tears; that’s basically it.
Angel’s egg is more of a piece of art than a movie, with its biggest weapons being its eerie music and slow but subtle storytelling. Don’t expect to get any explanation about the questions that are asked through the course of seventy minutes. This movie provides a setting with lots and lots of mystery, and it leaves it to the viewer to add his or her own explanations to them.
On the other side, though: if you’re not interested in the setting, or aren’t affected by the atmosphere, this will be some of the most boring hours that could have been possible, simply because there’s nothing else in there. The plot moves slooooooow, and it really relies on connection with the viewer.
Personally, I liked this movie, though; especially the atmosphere and the subtle character-interactions. I especially liked trying to find out their reasons for acting, even though I still can’t bring the thoughts it provoked into words. Be sure to expect lots of biblical references, put into a different context, and a very lonesome and quiet setting. If you like artsy stuff: go for it. If you expect action: stay far and far away from this and go and watch something like Steamboy or anything similar.]]>
Ooedo Rocket – 24
Interesting, it’s quite possible that out of all the shows that will be ending in a few weeks, Ooedo Rocket will have the most unpredictable ending when it comes with a few nice twists this episode. While the final two episodes for both Bokura no, El Cazador and Toward the Terra are promising to be awesome, I do somehow know what to expect (and let’s not talk about Claymore, which will probably end in the most predictable way).
Some of the new twists were hard to follow, though, especially the ones at the end of the episode. Apparently, Mizuno-sama has ordered Torii to order Kagiya and his daughter to construct another rocket. This one, however, isn’t for going into space; it’s artillery. Torii explains a few things, but Norio Wakamoto’s voice is among the most difficult to understand amongst voice-actors, despite his manliness. I assume he wants to fire to the other side of the ocean, but why? Nice cliff-hanger by the way. ^^;
And Akai! Here I thought that he’s been busy with some cunning plan to get revenge on Seikichi, and all he did was sit in a tent and do nothing. I LOVE his new look as well, and it seems that he’s finally getting back into action with the next episode, as we saw him hiding behind Kagiya’s rocket at the end of the episode. That has to mean something!
The rocket also gets an interesting development: the blue monster from the sky comes, right before the official launch and blows the thing up! I loved how Tetsuju was near it, and the question remains: what happened to it? Tetsuju was found near the rubble, but there’s no sign of the Blue monster. Not even a shot of it escaping. What also surprised me: the thing now has the same eye as the guy it took it from. Could it really have merged with Tetsuju with that blast? By the way, does anyone know his voice-actor? I think I spotted another reference to a different anime when he suddenly put glasses on.
I’m really curious about the final two episodes, because they’re actually got so much potential. Heck, I’m not even sure if Sora is going to go into space or not. This episode showed that the rocket design remains buggy, so I wonder whether such a large construction will actually launch. Both Ginjiro and Akai have some kind of unexpected role to play as well. Overall, it’s going to be fun. :)]]>
Claymore – 24
Ugh… the next episode will be horribly boring: Claire vs Priscilla. I’m looking forward to episode 26, though. That’s the one where Priscila has been defeated and Claire needs to be saved. That one does hold potential, and I’m curious as to how the creators will be planning to end this series (because at this point, I am not expecting a second season for this series).
The current episode also wasn’t that bad: there was no fighting. It’s basically an aftermath, in which nearly every character gets an important bit of development. This aftermath would have been even better if the fights around it weren’t so dull, but I’m glad that at least this episode turned out good enough. Even Raki was enjoyable to watch.
Claire also was okay, when compared to the previous episode. It’s logical for her to suppress her awakening as soon as she saw Priscilla. Priscilla, however, was the only one I didn’t like. Her awakening may be explained, but it felt a bit forced if you ask me.]]>
Bokura no – 22
This episode was truly magnificent. Even though there are only three episodes left, Bokura no spends an entire episode on Jun’s past, but boy, does it turn awesome. I love how well his character has been developed up till now, this makes his background even sadder. The creators did a wonderful job in making his personality as real as possible.
All the times Jun’s been yelling at others, these were all about relieving his frustrations. The problem with his father wasn’t the fact that he didn’t pay attention to Jun, heck he seemed awfully keen to please him. But at the same time, he only spent very short times with his son, before getting distracted with something else. Jun has actually been screaming on some quality time with is father alone, but that never came.
And unfortunately, he often spent time alone with Kana, so he often directed his frustrations at his father towards the poor unfortunate girl. Kana realized this, which is probably why she kept supporting him. She kept hoping for someone or something to save him. This is why she asked Tanaka to search for Jun’s real mother: she thought that a mother would be able to save him. She was probably too tiny and scared to do it herself.
I’m seeing Kirie more and more as the biggest saviour of Bokura no with this. Not only did he bring Yoko closer to the other children with his revelation, he also was the one who managed to save Jun from his built-up frustrations; both by coming to live with him, and by refusing to fight. I almost believe that he did this to show Jun that there are far worse people on this earth. And it definitely made impact: ever since then, Jun started to change, being helped by all the other children. I seriously love both his and Kana’s characters.
Anyway, with only two episodes left, it doesn’t seem like Seki will be piloting. My gut says that in the next episode, during Jun’s fight, something very special will happen, that will somehow resolve the story. Two episodes are just enough time for both the fight, develop the people who are behind all of this, and give some conclusion. It’s going to be tricky, but I’ve got faith in the writers. They’ve already accomplished so many great things, if anyone can pull off a great ending, it’s them.
If I had to guess, then it’s got something to do with the giant tower that was being built by Tanaka’s employer’s employer. I assume that he’s been working on it for a while, and now it seems that it’s finally finished, due to Kanji’s mother’s research. The previous episode already showed that things like these can accidentally suck up the energy of the entire planet. I’m interested in how Kanji’s mother managed to tweak it in just a few days, and what the effect of it will become.
Long story short: I love Bokura no.]]>
El Cazador de la Bruja – 24
For the people who have been watching El Cazador for its storyline (are they still there?): this is the episode you’ve been waiting for. This is probably THE episode with the most plot developments and revelations of the entire series. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the more incomprehensible ones, meaning a huge load of trouble for me, trying to understand it.
So, let’s hope I got this right:
– The one who caused Ellis and Nadie to travel was Rozenberg. Apparently, he had to find a way for her to get to the witches’ village, and it was too troublesome to just directly transport Ellis there.
– Rozenberg’s objective: the witches’ power.
– It seems that all his efforts were in order to get Ellis’s powers in their final stages.
– Because of that, he’s going to try and kill Nadie. The shock will be a heavy emotional impact for Ellis, causing her to finally awaken. Fair enough.
– Originally, Rozenberg was indeed the one who sent Ricardo after Ellis, to make sure that she follows the right trail, and to get him LA at one point. The reason why Ricardo stayed after he was fired is simple: he wanted to protect Ellis and Nadie.
– LA seemed to have fallen in love with Ellis, ever since he saw her, when they were still in testtubes.
– A flashback seems to suggest that Ellis indeed was the one who killed the professor. And I finally realize the truth behind it: Rozenberg used the same technique we’ve seen him use against LA: mind control. Hence why she doesn’t remember.
– Rozenberg’s father was the one who started the research about the witches’ power, and a certain thing called “Maxwell’s Demon”. Blue Eyes explains what it is, but there was no way I could make sense out of it through all the techno-babble.
– The research was cancelled once the government started getting involved, and Rozenberg’s father killed himself because of all the failures that came out because of that. I assume that Rozenberg picked up the project afterwards, and created Ellis and LA. It’s probably because of this that he wants the power: to take revenge.
Okay, I think that’s all of the major relegations. Please notify me if I got some of them wrong. Anyway, about Ricardo, he indeed didn’t have a deep reason for sticking with them. He just didn’t have anything else to do, so he went along with his feelings, and I think that’s why he wanted to see how Ellis and Nadie would fare. I think the decision came in the onsen, when they finally got to know each other. I assume that he had been thinking of a way to continue, after which the duo of Ellis and Nadie popped up. I’m interested: will we ever find out what his relation is with Lilio?
Also, the production-values surprised me in this episode. They were awfully low, there were especially an awful lot of distance-shots throughout the episode, even more than usual. Something you wouldn’t expect when there are only two episodes left. Still, LA’s death did make up for it. He just is a character that is beyond rescue, and he’s lived a miserable life, ever since he was born. Insanity hasn’t been used in too many anime lately, possibly because it’s too easy to screw up with it, but LA has been a wonderful character. I’m at least happy that he’s finally put out of his miseries.
It’s a pity that LA, Ricardo, Lilio and Rozenberg all took time away, so there wasn’t really much time for many scenes between Ellis and Nadie, though at least the finale was quite thought-provoking. It’s often easy to kill off characters as the end of a series draws near (*coughwolfsraincough*), but LA’s death feels right within the storyline.
So, there are two episodes left. I’m not expecting much of the ending, as Rozenberg currently has the potential to screw this storyline up. I’m hoping to see lots of Ellis and Nadie together, though. Rozenberg will probably start controlling Ellis as well at some point. LA already showed that you can break the mind control through pure love. While it is cheesy, it’s also interesting for the storyline: Ellis said she loved the professor, but right now I doubt she really did it: she both couldn’t escape the mind control, and seeing him dead did make her sad, but it didn’t fully awaken her powers like it should have. I just wonder how Rozenberg found out that Ellis has fallen in love with Nadie instead.]]>
Mai Otome Zwei Review – 63/100
Mai Otome Zwei, to come with a Blackadder-quote, is like a broken pencil: utterly pointless. Basically, in an attempt to milk out the Mai Hime-franchise even more, the creators ran an on-line poll, where visitors were allowed to vote for their favourite characters. These characters would then be featured in a four-episode long OVA.
It baffles me to think that out of all possible characters, the three main ones ended up winning this poll, because yes, Arika, Nina and Mashiro somehow got most of the airtime and glory in this series, yet again, despite being the most annoying and aggravating characters in the original series already. Still, Mai Otome Zwei has one major advantage above the original series: it’s fun to watch.
Most of the airtime is filled with pure and useless fluff, focusing on these three characters and a number of lucky others who managed to score high in the poll, but at least it’s fun fluff. It’s quite refreshing, compared to the original series, which portrayed predictable and dull struggles between angsty teenagers. I actually laughed more in the four episodes of this OVA, than the entire 26 episodes of the series.
Still, the fact does remain that Mai Otome Zwei is full of weaknesses, especially when it starts getting serious and focuses on its storyline, which seemed to have surpassed the original series in terms of dullness; and let’s not forget the obligatory and suggestive bath-scene.
A story as cheesy as Mai Otome just mustn’t take itself seriously. It’ll only end up falling flat on its face, and the best way is just to include lots of comedy. The final episode of the series made a good start and Mai Otome Zwei continues this trend decently, but the fact remains that Mai Otome is, was and will always be a trainwreck. And then to think that Sunrise is planning to milk out this concept even more with yet another fully fledged continuation. Will the pain ever stop?]]>