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Touma mopes around about how UNFORTUNATE he is since he accidentally walked in on Tomoe-sensei changing, was punched out by Seiri, and HAD to partner with Mikoto for the folk dance only to get kicked in the back of the head by Kuroko. The UNFORTUNATE events continue when Touma wins a trip to Italy causing him and Index to be reunited with Orsola, just in time to help her move. Of course since Touma is so UNFORTUNATE he walks in on both a naked Index and Orsola in their respective showers. Whoever couldn't tell that Orsola was hiding a ridiculous body under her nun's robes obviously doesn't know Index very well. Yes, I do feel a bit perverted typing out that sentence...moving on.
The somewhat peaceful vacation is interrupted when Orsola is inexplicably attacked by...wait for it...the Roman Catholic Church. She assumes that they're after the Book of Law again, although nothing is ever "for sure" in Index when it comes to motive since the series loves to create random relics out of thin air, suddenly making them the most important thing ever. Evidence to support the fact that the Roman Catholics are after the Book of Law again is that we see the expected return of Sister Agnese (now with a skimpier nun's habit!). By the end of the episode, Touma and Orsola have been abducted by the Roman Catholic Church and are currently hiding out on one of their ghost/ice ships of which they command an entire fleet.
This episode thankfully gets Index back to its well-animated and fast-paced self after stumbling a bit in the last arc. The reappearance of Sister Agnese also bodes well for some interesting fight scenes in the near future. Let's just hope that Touma doesn't talk too much. |
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So here's the deal. You can have any wish you want granted. That's right, ANY WISH at all. Want to be an astronaut, firefighter, or NFL player just like you always dreamed of? Sure thing. Want a small cottage on the ocean where you can paint your life away and somehow still earn a living? No problem. Want your terminally ill best friend to somehow miraculously be cured? Ain't no thing. Here's the catch: you have to put your life on the line every day to defeat the very source of evil in this world. Really, it's only fair since you're going to have your wildest dream granted right?
I've never seen the standard magical girl contract pointed out as directly and without bias it was in this second episode of Madoka Magica. It speaks volumes that Sayaka and Madoka are actually taking an entire episode to consider Kyubey's contract (that's right, they're still not magical girls at the end of the episode as I had erroneously predicted last week!). Kyubey even goes as far as to point this out by saying that most girls would have jumped at the chance. Mami ends up taking the two magical-girls-to-be out on a literal witch hunt. Towards the end of the episode Sayaka looks like she's going to join up because Mami looks so cool when she's doing her thing, while Madoka thinks that it would be fun to help people. Meanwhile, Homura continues to look on without joining in the fray. Predictably she was trying to stop Kyubey before he reached Madoka in the last episode, and now she watches as Mami tries to enlist both Madoka and Sayaka.
There's definitely a darker direction being taken, and SHAFT is trying to create a sense that everything isn't going to be alright and solved with the power of love and friendship by the end. (Although I'll bet that Homura ends up fighting alongside Madoka, Mami, and Sayaka once there's a witch powerful enough to warrant it.) The battles in Madoka continue to impress, combining SHAFT's cost-cutting animation style with very stylish action from the characters themselves. The witch was a bit underwhelming since it looks like this, but the crazy world that the witch's presence incites is bizarre and beautiful, helping to get that darker atmosphere across. We also see just how powerful Mami is, and how much she's willing to protect her own and Kyubey's interests, which could turn into something far more sinister. I'm looking forward to next week already.
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From the very first frame of animation, Fractale feels much more like a sweeping movie landscape than a television series with the production values (music, animation, even some very Ghibli-like character designs). It immerses you in its world, where communication between actual humans is scarce, since they can conjure up "doppels" or computer generated holograms that seem to possess personalities. In this world lives Clain, a boy who had parents at one point but they either no longer exist or left, who lives with doppels of his parents and his dog Jackie. His house is at the edge of a cliff, with scenery that mimicks an English moor, and he is seemingly completely isolated from any other living being.
That is, until a strange girl named Phryne falls from the sky and into his little corner of the world, after accidentally hearing, and seemingly recognizing, the song playing from his music player. Their first conversation is rather humorous, since apparently neither of them are used to actually speaking with other human beings. Clain invites Phryne back to his house to treat her injuries, where she has no qualms about stripping down in front of him so that he can help her treat her wounds. It's more of a testament to the fact that she may just not be used to people (and therefore has no shame), and the scene achieves its goal of being rather awkward and sweet instead of being played off as titillating. Of course, Phryne's visit is short-lived, as she's being pursued by some hilariously stupid baddies in a zeppelin-like aircraft. After dropping a few hints to Clain that she's not actually from his time, she mysteriously vanishes, leaving him with her pendant. Clain, being a bit of a technology whiz, discovers that the pendant contains some sort of data on it and...voila! Another girl mysteriously appears when he hooks up the pendant to his computer.
It's hard not to draw comparisons between this initial episode of Fractale and A-1 Pictures' Anime no Chikara debut, Sora no Woto. Both aim to immerse you in a strange world that combines technology with relics of the past, presenting an odd approximation of the future. Much like in Sora no Woto, Fractale's world also has hints of much darker machinations with the Fractale computer system controlling all, providing a world of complete and total peace. Instead of the backdrop of a war-torn small town, Clain lives in a completely sterile environment reminiscent of the recent movie Summer Wars, except far more technologically advanced. For the record, it also has some fairly obvious references to Nadia, and Nausicaa. I liked Sora no Woto for what it ended up being: a slice-of-life, girls being girls series; however, I'm looking forward to and expecting much more from Fractale, if only based on director Yutaka Yamamoto's (Kannagi, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, the beginning of Lucky Star) statement that he would stop producing anime if Fractale fails. Thus far, he's off to an amusing and entertaining start with Fractale, and I'm definitely going to stick around to see what happens. |
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Ahh...Star Driver I missed you so in your week off. Not that any of the Winter series I've watched thus far are bad, but when compared to something as well-crafted as this show, well...there's no comparison. Okay, enough gushing, let's dive right in!
Episode 14 is another sister-centric episode, following the adventures of Mizuno and Marino as they discover in the first few moments that Takuto is girlfriend-less, opening up separate but similar visions of a "rosy high school life." Marino's hopes are quickly dashed when Mizuno gains the advantage when in Night Flight, she's given a kissing role opposite none other than Takuto. Instead of going the jealous route that the episode was teasing the viewer with, Mizuno's joy only renews Marino's desire to protect her sister, no matter what the cost.
The cost, as it turns out, is apprivoising and being taken over by Ayingott, the latest cybody resurrected by The Science Guild. At first, Marino manages to hold her own while Ayingott uses its second phase ability to search for the maidens. Marino sees Wako, Fish-girl, her own sister and then gasps, presumably as she sees the East Maiden. Before she can do anything, Ayingott takes over completely going berserk and striking out at the watching Glittering Crux members. Sugata ends up using the King's Pillar to paralyze Ayingott while Takuto finishes it off.
Most interestingly is when Marino (as Manticore) reports her findings to the Glittering Crux. She claims to have not seen a West Maiden, saying that the that maiden must not exist yet. Smirking, Ivrogne asks if Manticore saw anything about her, causing Manticore to clam up and say nothing. Later, Head remarks to Ivrogne that Manticore must have seen who she really is. Ivrogne says that she wouldn't have cared if Manticore had revealed her identity, saying that only a few people know that the four maidens were born after the driver of Samekh (Sugata). Meaning...
...that Ivrogne is more than likely the East Maiden. Even more interesting is that Head already knows this and has said nothing. Ivrogne being the East Maiden would also tie into why she was shown playing with Sugata and Wako several times when she was younger, and it could be Sugata's choosing (or being forced into choosing) Wako over Ivrogne that caused Ivrogne to join the Glittering Crux instead. The question of why Head has said nothing remains, as well as how many people in the Glittering Crux would realize that Manticore is lying. Ivrogne now knows thanks to Manticore's lie who the West Maiden is, and it bears watching to see what exactly she does with this information. Also worth noting is that Sugata was with Head when Zero Time occured, and Head froze like anyone other normal person; however, Sugata noticed that he was gone when Zero Time ended. |
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So in my crazy work schedule, excitement over the upcoming winter season, the Kuragehime finale, and my fawning fangirlishly over Star Driver, I kind of sort of forgot to blog about Index for a few weeks. Whoops. Not that the series did itself many favors to be particularly memorable in episodes 11 and 12, except to have terrible animation in episode 11. Which is odd, considering that it had been presumed that J.C. Staff was spending most of its time and effort on Index, its biggest moneymaker.
We finally see the showdown (At an airport! At sunset, for extra drama!) between Oriana and Touma in this episode after she's been chased around the city by him, Tsuchimikado, and Stiyl, wreaking havoc along the way. In particular, Oriana brutally attacks Himegami while under the mistaken impression that she's an Anglican magician. This, of course, gets Touma's righteous hackles up to the point where he tries to reason with Oriana for a good few minutes before leaving her knocked out and lying on an airport runway. Communicating from one of Oriana's spell papers, the Roman Catholic nun Lidvia reveals herself as the mastermind behind it all, saying that Oriana was deployed to keep them occupied while she set up the exact conditions for the Croce de Pietro to activate, which would cause science to be overpowered by religion and everything to be united under the Roman Catholic Church. Seconds away from activating, Touma is stuck for an answer when suddenly fireworks start going off.
That's right, the Daihaseisai fireworks save the day, ruining the exact light conditions that the Croce de Pietro needed to activate. It's such a stupid conclusion, especially after three episodes of chase scenes, that it's hilarious, and Touma plays it off like it was planned all along. You know, before collapsing due to his incredible injuries that somehow he'd been able to fight through. In the hospital, Index exacts her revenge by biting Touma, during a Mikoto and Kuroko visit, which results in one pissed off Railgun. Later, Index visits Himegami, and while Himegami laments that Touma would have saved anyone regardless, Index reassures her by saying that Touma seems happy when he's with Himegami. Maybe it's because Index realizes that Mikoto is her only true competition for Touma's affections.
The best advantage that Index has over other series is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, opting to go for fun fight scenes, amusing anecdotes, while usually keeps the plot rolling at a fairly fast pace. Episode 13 is a great example of this and was fun to watch, finding that good balance of defeating the baddie, while adding a bit of intrigue at the end with Laura Stuart's airplane antics. In typical Index fashion, it does suffer from long moments of exposition, particularly from Touma and Lidvia, in order to explain everything to the viewer; however, I felt that the fight scenes and hospital scenes towards the end more than made up for it. It's silly, it's stupid, but still somehow fun to watch, especially if you shut off your brain. Onto the next arc! |
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The Magical Girl Show Recipe (as tweaked by Studio SHAFT)
The Girl: (1) Madoka Kanome, an average 14-year old girl who loves her friends and family. Klutziness level isn't nearly as bad as other girls of her ilk, and she also seems a bit more motivated and ambitious, although we have yet to find out whether she's bad at school or not.
The Best Friend: (1) Sayaka Miki, an overall genki girl. She teases Madoka frequently and has blue hair.
The Catalyst: (1) Mysterious transfer student Homura Akemi. Madoka first sees Homura in a dream, where she is overwhelmed by an apocalyptic landscape. That day, Homura transfers into her class and eerily tells her to stay as she is. Later, Madoka and Sayaka find Homura dressed in costume chasing after...
The Obligatory Mascot: (1) Kyubey. Resembles a pokemon. In the next episode, she's going to turn Madoka and Sayaka into magical girls.
The Other, More Experienced Magical Girl: (1) Mami Tomoe, armed with a nice outward personality and a very intimidating gun, she saves Sayaka, Madoka, and Kyubey from Homura's pursuit.
To say that this was a standard introductory episode to a magical girl series is like saying that water is wet, or snow is cold. If you don't like magical girl series, you probably won't like Puella Magi Madoka Magica unless your heart can be swayed by out-of-this-world production values. As to be expected from a pet project of SHAFT director Akiyuki Shinbo, Madoka Magica is visually stunning. The show maintains a level of Shinbo-standard animation before blowing the figurative lid off in a fighting scene at the end of the episode by throwing sketchy outlines and pieced-together collage-style real world images. It's not anything that Shinbo hasn't explored in previous series (more specifically Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei or Pani Poni Dash!) but it's taken to a whole other level in this one episode of Madoka, and as a viewer (and an artist) I'm salivating to see what's next.
For those used to Shinbo's previous series, it's worth noting that his visual style has actually evolved a bit in Madoka Magica. For one, there's a lot more actual animation instead of relying on rapid-fire cutscenes and title cards. In fact, there's nary a title card to be had throughout the entire episode. The angles in the series show a fantastic amount of attention to detail, as do the lighting choices, finding the series sometimes at odds with itself due to its cute, flat-faced character designs by Hidamari Sketch veteran Ume Aoki.
Overall, I personally loved this series and would recommend it to anyone based on the art style alone because it's just that impressive. It's worth noting that the first anime I ever watched were magical girl series, and I'm highly distracted by beautiful things, so Madoka Magica is nothing short of a perfect viewing storm for me personally. It goes without saying that I'm going to continue blogging it.
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The last few episodes of Kuragehime find Tsukimi in the midst of discovering her inner fashion designer, with a few of Kuranosuke's designer dresses falling victim to her scissors. Meanwhile, Inari is now not-so-secretly in love with Shuu, following his two-fingered bitch slap of doom when she pretends to kill herself in order to get his attention. The episode ends with their storyline completely unresolved, although they are unknowingly on the same airplane. *gasp!* Tsukimi/Shuu seems more and more unlikely, as Tsukimi and Kuranosuke continue to grow closer by going after their two dreams together and entering a fashion show. Touching moments follow, including one where Tsukimi admitting that she doesn't want to leave this world that Kuranosuke has thrust her into the spotlight of. All's well that ends well when Chieko's mother returns to tell the girls that she's decided not to sell.
Up until the last episode, Kuragehime had toed the very fine line of being realistic and direct with its emotional content while also maintaining a rather melodramatic plot. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, this series faded a lot in its final episodes as it rushed to wrap at least a few of the dangling plot threads up. In fact, one could probably make the argument that perhaps the studio executives should have waited for a bit more of the manga to be released before turning it into an anime. This means that many viewers will probably have a hard time suspending their disbelief especially in the final episode, where Amamizu-kan is saved (for the time being) very abruptly, and Tsukimi wins a fashion design competition with her jellyfish dresses, baring the plot for what it really is: generic shoujo wish fulfillment.
Fortunately, where Kuragehime falters in storytelling it makes up for immensely in its character interaction. This isn't to say that all of the characters were particularly developed since many of them *cough* Banba and Mayaya *cough* were complete one-note side characters; however the relationships between the characters, especially the developing friendship/romance between Tsukimi and Kuranosuke maintained a perfect balance of poignant and hilarious that tug on the viewer's heartstrings. Kuragehime was from the first episode an anime that identified with me on a very personal level, from Tsukimi's inner monologue to the whole shoujo wish fulfillment aspect. (I need a Kuranosuke to make me over, although there would be blood over my grimy Bart Starr jersey, I'm sure.)
Kuragehime also benefits from the fact that it looks a bit different from many other anime out there with many bright colors, solid lines, and an interesting while not being overdone use of super-deformity. The animation is crisp and fluid as well, which is to be expected from Brain's Base (Kure-nai, Baccano!, and Durarara!!). Elements from the latter two are often reflected, albeit toned-down, in Kuragehime due to Takahiro Omori's highly competent direction. This is certainly a fantastic series to recommend to any twenty-something female anime fan, any shoujo fan, or for anyone looking for a solid romantic comedy series.
Oh and I'll definitely miss the outtro music, "Love is coming back. BACK! Love is coming ba-a-ack. BACK!" |
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| "You are forever responsible for that which you have tamed." -The fox in The Little Prince
There are countless reasons why I love Star Driver: the campy fanservice, the bad jokes, the palette-swapped stock footage, transformation sequences, Professor Green, etc.; however, this past episode (13) and last week's episode (12) did wonders to clarify why exactly this series is so wonderful. At its midpoint through a 26 episode run, Star Driver hasn't come to that climax that so defines the success or the failure of other 26 episode series (I'm looking at you, Durarara!!) but instead has continued the slow and steady building up of its characters.
In episode 12 we see Kanako/The President, desperately attempting to live out her youth at school, while maintaining her seemingly flawless appearance, charisma, and continued domination of everything and anything she puts her mind to. This confidence causes her to lose a cybody boxing match to Takuto, taking her out of the running for leader of the Glittering Crux. Episode 13 finds Benio/Scarlet Kiss doing some soul-searching after Takuto pointedly asks her if she likes anyone at all. Realizing that before she discovered her first phase ability, she fell in love with Sugata because of his power, she comes to terms with her feelings and begins to move on. There are so many different plot threads, storylines, and character backgrounds that are slowly being woven together, and it's a fantastic combination that doesn't rely on a specific buildup to something (I'm looking at you again, Durarara!!) and will keep the viewer coming back week after week (along with the fanservice and camp).
All the while we have Head, who in a way is the "after" version of Sugata, rediscovering his love of painting even in Fish Girl/The North Maiden's absence. At one point in episode 13, he tells Sugata that people need to take a deep look at what they've seemingly lost, and search to see if its truly lost at all. He could be simply talking about painting, a vague passion for something or someone that you love, or more specifically, his love for Fish Girl. If you feel passion towards something/someone, one way or another, those feelings are impossible to completely erase. "You are forever responsible for what you have tamed," especially if what you have tamed includes yourself and your own changing feelings. The developing relationship between Sugata and Head is an intriguing one to watch that leaves you wondering how Head's advice will continue to impact Sugata's life, especially his relationship with Wako and his friendship with Takuto.
Even more interesting is the manner in which Takuto has been presented to the viewer with all of his characterization coming entirely from his interactions with others and his actions. We rarely hear his inner thoughts or opinions which gives the illusion that even the fairly bland Wako has had more character development than the supposed lead of the series. In addition to this, the various relationships that are being built throughout the series have served to develop every other character but Takuto. It makes one wonder when it's going to be Takuto's turn, and what exactly his entire story is, especially now that we're getting snippets from nearly every side character.
In conclusion, watch Star Driver, if you're not already. On the outside it may seem like silly stupid fun, and it is, but there's a lot more to offer than that, beginning with its fantastic character development.
Sidenote: Despite being a childrens' book The Little Prince is one of my personal favorite books, and one of two books that I own in both its original language and translated English version (the other book holding that dubious honor is the first volume of K-ON!). Honestly, I've been waiting to use that quote since I first heard the shout of, "Apprivoise!" in the first episode.
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The title refers to Shuu and his dirty laundry, which everyone is made aware of, especially when (in a gigantic stroke of coincidence) Shuu's father asks Inari if she's had sex with Shuu in front of Kuranosuke and Tsukimi. In Kuranosuke points out that it's impossible for Inari to have had sex with his brother, since Shuu is a virgin. Momentarily shocked speechless, Inari goes a bit nuts and says that she's known as a "virgin killer" before showing everyone the picture on her cell phone. Overcome, Tsukimi runs away. Later, when out together at a cafe, Shuu tells Inari that he doesn't believe that they, "United in spirit." causing Inari (and myself) to do a hilarious spit-take. In an episode that is otherwise a one-two emotional punch to the solar plexus, it only makes this line more humorous. It's hard to tell exactly what Inari's angle is in continuing to bother Shuu, since she's already been introduced to Shuu's father, and I'm interested to see where her constant badgering leads them.
Meanwhile, Tsukimi is overwrought with emotion, recalling that when she was younger, if she had been teased or something bad had happened, she would curl up and go to sleep, pretending that she was swimming with jellyfish. She tries to curl up and erase the memory of Shuu from her mind. When that doesn't work, she resorts to alcohol with a little help from Mayaya and Banba, before promptly falling asleep. What follows struck a gigantic chord with me because when I was younger, my mother used to carry me to bed whenever I would pass out in a book, or on a palette of paint. Under the influence, Tsukimi dreams that she's swimming with Clara, and then being carried by her mother to bed. In reality, it's Kuranosuke carrying her to bed, which is so stupendously cheesy, and emotionally effective at the same time. Kuragehime isn't the most original stuff around, but its overwhelming directness, even with melodramatic elements are what make it so fantastic.
In fact, this episode begins on a slow but sweet note, with Tsukimi trying to show Kuranosuke what she meant by a jellyfish dress. One of the things she shows him is her sketchbook, which includes some very beautiful sketches of various jellyfish. This showcases the fact that it's easy to see the passion behind a sketch or painting when the artist cares deeply about their subject. (Seriously, if you have a friend that's an artist, you should be able to go through their stuff and point out the things that they absolutely loved working on.) Coupled with Kuranosuke's memory of his own mother, and the bittersweet moment where she tells him that she'll never wear a wedding dress, it's looking like Tsukimi and Kuranosuke's passions may be a "perfect storm" of sorts for both of them to achieve a dream. Of course, there are only two more episodes left, and the manga is still ongoing, so it will be interesting to see how exactly they're going to go about ending this. |
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In an odd story progression decision, Star Driver revisits the story of Kanako Watanabe in this episode, as told through the eyes and actions of her right-hand woman, Simone. Unexpectedly, Simone hates her mistress (which you could have predicted from her attitude in episode three). As it turns out, she has a reason for this beyond Kanako's seemingly peerless good looks, luck, and overall powerful presence: she's the daughter of Leon Watanabe, the man that Kanako had married. This ends up making Simone (whose real name is Pamela) look very foolish when she discovers that it was her own mother who recommended that Leon marry Kanako, and that Kanako had used her cybody once before in order to save Simone's life.
Mistakenly thinking that she's going to avenge her mother, Simone attempts to turn on Kanako by allowing Takashi to drive her cybody in tandem. They end up being defeated by Takuto, who momentarily allows Sugata to drive Tauburn in tandem. Speaking of Sugata, he's inspired by none other than the aimless Head when the two run into each other at Kanako's party. Head implies to Sugata that if you have a natural talent or ability, it's a waste not to take advantage of it. This is what ends up inspiring Sugata to help Takuto out when fighting Simone/Takashi.
Surprisingly, there are very few scenes of the You twins, although there is a moment where Marino catches herself watching Mizuno (and therefore watching Takuto) during a Night Flight practice. Hinting that she knows Marino's feelings towards Takuto, Mizuno says that Marino was only watching someone who she loves. Mizuno has also taken over singing duties from Fish Girl, and although she has a pretty voice, I can't help but miss Fish Girl's "Monochrome" song.
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