This episode was… beyond incredible. Oh my god… I can still hardly believe how this turned out to be by far the best episode of this series yet. And with Shion no Ou, this has to say something! Every single part about this episode was just outstanding, and this episode turned out better than I could have ever imagined. It’s episodes like this one that only appear once every half a year. These episodes really are the true masterpieces, and showcase the best of the best for anime.
Okay, so it was sortof to be expected that this was the episode where Shion would find out that Hani-meijin was the one who killed her parents, but the real strength of this episode was the fact that the series had built her character into a truly memorable one. In the end, what happened was that Hani-meijin and Shion played a game of Shougi, after the murder. Shion just was too young to immediately realize what happened to her parents, so she just went along with the game, in an attempt to protect them. Because of this, she tried everything, to prevent Hani-meijin from taking her king. Hani-meijin then took the king from her, and placed it on her father’s forehead, explaining why it was so drenched in blood, after which he left, leaving Shion to finally realize what that total bastard had done to her parents!!!
As it turns out, Hani-meijin left his mother’s necklace with Shion on purpose. He wanted her to have something to constantly remind her of her parent’s murder, so that she wouldn’t just forget it, and a necklace is the perfect thing for that. And you just have to love Shion when she finally realizes that. Instead of cowering in fear, she quickly pushes them aside, rips off the necklace and puts Ayumi’s necklace on instead. That was so AWESOME.
And really, the animators were on FIRE for this episode. It’s not like the episode was extremely smooth or anything, but there were so many different angles, so many different poses. I really love the sense of style that this series has. Most series try to use some extra budget for flashy CG, or extra smooth frame-rates. But this series is different, and instead it’s more interested in different poses and viewpoints. Heck, it has this even more than Hakaba Kitarou. This is really what anime should be: an art-form.
It’s such a shame that there’s just one episode left. This series is really too awesome to end, but on the other hand, it also needs a conclusion. The next episode should be perfect for that, because all that’s left is for Shion to bust up Hani-meijin, Hani-meijin to reveal his reasons and the reason why he ended up killing Kazumi as well.
You convinced me to watch this series, you friggin bastard. Your blog just tempts me too much. I ain’t complaining cuz this is how I discovered Baccano, Dennou Coil, Toward the Terra, Bokurano, etc., but still, it’s just so tempting… And I have 71,856 animes on my to-watch-list…
Just… damn…~
Would this be worth watching in itself, or is it only truely able to be appreciated if you know the series?
I am wondering what Shion’s relationship to Kazumi is/was. She said — well, thought to herself — that she was an important person to her when she realized that she was dead after Satoru told her… I think that they look somewhat alike, with the eyes and hair color, but perhaps that is coincidental.
This could really stand to be a full 26 episode series, but I guess we won’t be so lucky. There’s a lot of ground to cover in just one remaining episode, and I’m sad that there won’t be much time for wrapup or consequences after the big revelations. Still, it’s been wonderful in spite of the time shortchange.
I’m going to attempt to stay away from here in order to not spoil the ending for myself (it’s going to be difficult ^^;) so I’ll echo the thanks above in pointing us toward such an epic series.
(English subs are currently two episodes behind — the suspense is *killing* me…)
Denizen, well, I think you need to have seen the rest of the series, to truly understand what Shion and Satoru have been through.
Apexantapex: the big question is indeed: what was Kazumi doing at Shion’s christmas party. How did she know Shion’s parents? I do agree that it’s a bit sad that there won’t be a proper aftermath.
Theres no doubt, i must see this.
where did you watch the last 2 episodes? I can’t find where to watch them.
All the different poses and camera angles! And wow, the end of this episode was just too awesome. I’m finally going to finish this masterpiece of a show in less than an hour, and I can’t think of a review either that will do it justice.
does anyone have a link to watch the episode online for free?