Episode 2 Reflection
Whoaaaaa. That scene with Akizuki that evil-samurai and Sonhex referred to was SO aimed at the girls, I swear. I literally pointed at the screen and grinned at that moment (sorry, I can't help it!!) What was with that look?! Quick, I need to hide in a hole and giggle girlishly... And I need to stare and the screen and grin stupidly.
It was a good episode; not as good as episode 1 but still went along fairly quickly, no major complaints. The episode seems to be moving quite fast for the second episode. I did not expect the Troupe to get part of their revenge that fast personally, so that was a pleasant surprise.
The Look
It's one of those deliciously ambiguous looks that he has, they're kind of sharp but tinged with a bit of sadness all the time, though here it seemed softened by a bit of a reassurtive touch. Like a "don't worry you won't die" kind of feel.
But you know, the first thing that jumped at me was... why WERE they so close in the first place? Why was he even looking at her when blocking Hario's attack? Ah, but anything's allowed for the name of coolness I suppose. I dedicated a whole fangirl rant on this. So if you want to read my thoughts on the issue please go there.
I can't look at that image too much, it causes me to go awfully silly... and laugh in very weird ways...
The Fight
I'm relieved that the bad guy's gone because then they can move on better. The Jiwariken brings back the ol' memories of Rurouni Kenshin once again... I think there was a character who used something like that.
But the thing that felt the most nostalgic was Akizuki's sword position when he gets ready to fight. Especially that cool cut where they focus on his face and move the camera so that he faces us... I kind of tingled at that moment..
As for me, my favorite part of the fight was when Akizuki initially jump away from from Hario before running toward the wheat field. I loved how we see his face upside down, and for a moment there it looked like I was watching Ergo Proxy's Vincient fighting all over again.
Kakunojou
Frankly speaking though, I was a little disappointed by Kakunojou - I get the feeling that she's not really very much of a leader. Soutetsu seems to come up with all the plans, and the good scripts for the plays, and the guys do most of the fighting anyway. She had to be expectedly saved by Akizuki if she wasn't going to be split in half by Hario. I guess we'll have to expect her to fall head over heels for him, of course :P I just hope she's, well, useful...
Considering Kakunojou was never trained to fight properly, frankly I would find it unnatural if she can actually face off with someone as high level as Hario, so on this issue I must disagree with Wao, I DO hope she gets more useful though, don't get me wrong.
Her seiyuu really doesn't impress me either (the pre-fight dialogue really felt forced), so at least I hope her character improves soon. I'd hate to see a Mary Sue happen, really. That would cheapen the coolness of Akizuki, you see... >_> (and of course it would make the story better.)
And the war paint + pre-fight dialogue really wasn't necessary, it reminded me of typical samurai anime where they talk a lot and be all cool and then get down to fighting.
I thought that scene was for humour, and mirrors their ultra dramatic intro in episode one. I actually like it even though it was silly and unnecessary.
Akizuki
Akizuki is really leet and all. Thank goodness he's refreshingly practical; he isn't interested in the luxury of watching plays or anything and leaves once he's done, only coming back so that he can use them to help get rid of Hario. But at the same time, he's not totally emotionless; we can clearly see that he is perfectly capable of angsting . And he was listening to the play...
I thought the fact Akizuki used water instead of simply hacking at his enemy was really cool.
Also, the animation was not bad but could have been better, I think. More movement would have been nice. And it's really amusing to see that Akizuki's eyes are sometimes drawn in a way that looks very similar to Raul from Ergo Proxy - after all, they do share a few animators.
Soutetsu
The way I look at it, his intercepting the letter is almost a definite indication that he's not in this for peace and is not averse to bloodshed (aka possibly evil ;P)... but from the observations you listed, it does seem difficult to place him on either side.
However, the unexpected earthquake seems to have neutralised the effect of Soutetsu's actions. Has it? It seems that way to me, anyway... Because the Imperial troops couldn't move from where they were...
It would make sense indeed if he was on the side of foreign arms merchants who would benefit most greatly from a prolonged war. It would be very exciting if the conflict escalates into something that seriously affects the lives of hte main characters and causes them to ahve to start living a very different life...
With all of this in mind, it's worth considering how the Hasha no Kubi will factor in. Will the balance of power tip back to the Shogunate or will there be a new faction or what..
The bad guy
I did say I was glad he was gone, but Kaoru Chujo's comment reminded me that I did like his evil confident smile. Although the war paint bit didn't impress me, it didn't leave a bad taste because he then smirked in a VERY badguy smirkish way, but it also genuinely felt like he wasn't impressed either. So I didn't feel like I was supposed to be impressed. Anyway, it was refreshing that, consistent to a character like his, he didn't even bother remembering who he had killed.
I like Hario, at least in this episode because he actually talked here. His speeches really make him very bad ass. I liked what Wao mentioned above and also how he said, "I wonder why." when Akizuki asked why he followed him during their first encounter in the episode.
Mr. Glover
Oh yeah, the guy on the ship in episode 2 is T.B. Glover. He supported the Satsuma/Choushuu factions, even helping send some of their students for overseas study in a time when you weren't allowed to leave Japan. He was primarily an arms merchant, and after the Revolution had to close his company down because he had no business. He still was in charge of Takashima Coal Mines as part of a collaboration with the Hizen han, and stayed on in an admin position even after it got bought over by Iwasaki Yataro, the founder of Mitsubishi (who also sorta bought over Ryoma Sakamoto's company). Quite cool that his son with a Japanese woman was called Thomas Albert Glover -> Tomisaburou Kuraba.
Verdict
Anyway, I don't know how much of this will appeal to the viewer who wants something very realistic and less dramatic. But while I'm ready to admit it has its weaknesses, it's right up my alley so what the heck. At the same time I think I'm probably going to end up going silly over this series, making me incapable of having a proper, level-headed discussion of it... Whatever. I can't wait for next Friday!
So far this series is a lot more amusing/entertaining to me than many other series I watched in the last while. Plus, there's The Look, so what can I say?
Here's another very long post Wao made between episode 2 and 3.
Whoaaaaa. That scene with Akizuki that evil-samurai and Sonhex referred to was SO aimed at the girls, I swear. I literally pointed at the screen and grinned at that moment (sorry, I can't help it!!) What was with that look?! Quick, I need to hide in a hole and giggle girlishly... And I need to stare and the screen and grin stupidly.
It was a good episode; not as good as episode 1 but still went along fairly quickly, no major complaints. The episode seems to be moving quite fast for the second episode. I did not expect the Troupe to get part of their revenge that fast personally, so that was a pleasant surprise.
The Look
It's one of those deliciously ambiguous looks that he has, they're kind of sharp but tinged with a bit of sadness all the time, though here it seemed softened by a bit of a reassurtive touch. Like a "don't worry you won't die" kind of feel.
But you know, the first thing that jumped at me was... why WERE they so close in the first place? Why was he even looking at her when blocking Hario's attack? Ah, but anything's allowed for the name of coolness I suppose. I dedicated a whole fangirl rant on this. So if you want to read my thoughts on the issue please go there.
I can't look at that image too much, it causes me to go awfully silly... and laugh in very weird ways...
The Fight
I'm relieved that the bad guy's gone because then they can move on better. The Jiwariken brings back the ol' memories of Rurouni Kenshin once again... I think there was a character who used something like that.
But the thing that felt the most nostalgic was Akizuki's sword position when he gets ready to fight. Especially that cool cut where they focus on his face and move the camera so that he faces us... I kind of tingled at that moment..
As for me, my favorite part of the fight was when Akizuki initially jump away from from Hario before running toward the wheat field. I loved how we see his face upside down, and for a moment there it looked like I was watching Ergo Proxy's Vincient fighting all over again.
Kakunojou
Frankly speaking though, I was a little disappointed by Kakunojou - I get the feeling that she's not really very much of a leader. Soutetsu seems to come up with all the plans, and the good scripts for the plays, and the guys do most of the fighting anyway. She had to be expectedly saved by Akizuki if she wasn't going to be split in half by Hario. I guess we'll have to expect her to fall head over heels for him, of course :P I just hope she's, well, useful...
Considering Kakunojou was never trained to fight properly, frankly I would find it unnatural if she can actually face off with someone as high level as Hario, so on this issue I must disagree with Wao, I DO hope she gets more useful though, don't get me wrong.
Her seiyuu really doesn't impress me either (the pre-fight dialogue really felt forced), so at least I hope her character improves soon. I'd hate to see a Mary Sue happen, really. That would cheapen the coolness of Akizuki, you see... >_> (and of course it would make the story better.)
And the war paint + pre-fight dialogue really wasn't necessary, it reminded me of typical samurai anime where they talk a lot and be all cool and then get down to fighting.
I thought that scene was for humour, and mirrors their ultra dramatic intro in episode one. I actually like it even though it was silly and unnecessary.
Akizuki
Akizuki is really leet and all. Thank goodness he's refreshingly practical; he isn't interested in the luxury of watching plays or anything and leaves once he's done, only coming back so that he can use them to help get rid of Hario. But at the same time, he's not totally emotionless; we can clearly see that he is perfectly capable of angsting . And he was listening to the play...
I thought the fact Akizuki used water instead of simply hacking at his enemy was really cool.
Also, the animation was not bad but could have been better, I think. More movement would have been nice. And it's really amusing to see that Akizuki's eyes are sometimes drawn in a way that looks very similar to Raul from Ergo Proxy - after all, they do share a few animators.
Soutetsu
The way I look at it, his intercepting the letter is almost a definite indication that he's not in this for peace and is not averse to bloodshed (aka possibly evil ;P)... but from the observations you listed, it does seem difficult to place him on either side.
However, the unexpected earthquake seems to have neutralised the effect of Soutetsu's actions. Has it? It seems that way to me, anyway... Because the Imperial troops couldn't move from where they were...
It would make sense indeed if he was on the side of foreign arms merchants who would benefit most greatly from a prolonged war. It would be very exciting if the conflict escalates into something that seriously affects the lives of hte main characters and causes them to ahve to start living a very different life...
With all of this in mind, it's worth considering how the Hasha no Kubi will factor in. Will the balance of power tip back to the Shogunate or will there be a new faction or what..
The bad guy
I did say I was glad he was gone, but Kaoru Chujo's comment reminded me that I did like his evil confident smile. Although the war paint bit didn't impress me, it didn't leave a bad taste because he then smirked in a VERY badguy smirkish way, but it also genuinely felt like he wasn't impressed either. So I didn't feel like I was supposed to be impressed. Anyway, it was refreshing that, consistent to a character like his, he didn't even bother remembering who he had killed.
I like Hario, at least in this episode because he actually talked here. His speeches really make him very bad ass. I liked what Wao mentioned above and also how he said, "I wonder why." when Akizuki asked why he followed him during their first encounter in the episode.
Mr. Glover
Oh yeah, the guy on the ship in episode 2 is T.B. Glover. He supported the Satsuma/Choushuu factions, even helping send some of their students for overseas study in a time when you weren't allowed to leave Japan. He was primarily an arms merchant, and after the Revolution had to close his company down because he had no business. He still was in charge of Takashima Coal Mines as part of a collaboration with the Hizen han, and stayed on in an admin position even after it got bought over by Iwasaki Yataro, the founder of Mitsubishi (who also sorta bought over Ryoma Sakamoto's company). Quite cool that his son with a Japanese woman was called Thomas Albert Glover -> Tomisaburou Kuraba.
Verdict
Anyway, I don't know how much of this will appeal to the viewer who wants something very realistic and less dramatic. But while I'm ready to admit it has its weaknesses, it's right up my alley so what the heck. At the same time I think I'm probably going to end up going silly over this series, making me incapable of having a proper, level-headed discussion of it... Whatever. I can't wait for next Friday!
So far this series is a lot more amusing/entertaining to me than many other series I watched in the last while. Plus, there's The Look, so what can I say?
Here's another very long post Wao made between episode 2 and 3.
