The Anime Thread

[IAceI]

Well.. wait.. what?

Oh yeah I forgot this:

Sakamichi no Apollon Episode 12 (finale)

The finale, and in typical Watanabe style it is anything but typical. Sentaro has gone AWOL after the crash, leaving just Kauro and Ritusko. Does Ritsuko like Kauro? Well we have no idea because she doesn't really make any sense with her actions. Kauro makes a move, gets shunned, says he's going to college in Tokyo and this leaves Ritsuko with no one.

Time skip to 8 years, Kauro is a doctor and bumps into Yurika in the hospital who is pregnant with Jun's child. She hands him a picture and without explaining Kauro leaves on a train to somewhere, at the top of a slope in a church he finds Sentaro and lures him to the church by playing the organ. Without words they begin to jam on the organ and drums similar to old times. As they are running down the large slope, much like they did at school - they find Ritsuko who also has tracked down Sentaro by the picture. She smiles. The show ends. The big question: who does Ritsuko wind up with, isn't answered.

Kids on the Slope/Sakamichi no Apollon has basically been the smash hit of the Spring 2012 season. Lauded from website to website it's a slice of life work of art by Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop) with music by Kanno (Cowboy Bebop) where they link up again. Set in 1966 Japan it explores love, friendship and betrayal by a group of three brought together by jazz music. What I love about this show is the way the animation works, it isn't showy or flash, it tells the story by little things like the clenching of a fist. Powerful and a little emotional it's well worth a watch if you like your slice of life shows. Only 12 episodes too so wouldn't take too long.

They may answer the lingering question with a special one off episode in the future, but I wouldn't bank on it. It allows us to draw our own conclusions of how things panned out, and that's why it's fun.

[gunnar hendershow]

Well I reached the end of Mirai Nikki. I wasn't sure how much I liked the ending, I'm still not. A lot of anime suffers from pacing issues, and the ending is either too drawn out or happens too fast. A lot of anime also suffers from shoddy animation that really distracts from the show, safe to say when characters were running this was absolutely the case. I also was bothered at the lack of detail with a lot of scenes of destruction, and how things like glass windows and bookshelves would be intact while everything else around was reduced to rubble. Finally, I did like the characters, they didn't pay the most attention to developing minor characters but the ones with a moderately important role in the series did have themselves fleshed out to the point where you could believe their feelings and emotions. Now, for the spoilers.

The ending really came out of nowhere, and I don't think in a good way. It built up, all the way, to a showdown between Yukki and Yuno. The twist of Yuno having won the game previously and this being a second incarnation of the world wasn't a bad idea, and obviously not something you want to put early on in the series, but it was executed in such a way that they had to spend so long explaining it and its ramifications that the excitement of the conclusion was really lost. The big moment the series had been building up to, whether it would be Yuno or Yukki who died, suddenly stopped being the focus as they worked to explain this new wrench in the plot. All I wanted was for a resolution to their romance and battle and it took so long to reach that point, and so many wrenches were thrown in, that it seemed anti-climatic when at last in the final scene after Yukki is waiting for 10,000 years his phone changes to read "Yuno comes to join me". I also really disliked Murmur going from light, comic character to serious manipulator trying to work alongside Yuno and against Deus. It was too much of a character shift for her. But the first 21, 22 episodes were great. I didn't hate the ending either, but it just was crazy and a lot of the new plot elements were unnecessary. Any anime that can have memorable minor characters is one that has done its job well, as that is one of the consistent weaknesses of anime series that don't span hundreds of episodes.

In the end I give it an 8/10, and recommend it to those who like psychological thrillers.

[Ruki]

Wait...Ilya was in Fate/Stay? >_<

I should really re-watch it.

[Ruki]

Accel World!

Another battle heavy episode, but it was pretty good. Not sure how two level 9's struggled against Cherry Rook, yet a level 4 or 5 was able to knock him around like it was nothing. And now he has the calamity armor!

[Mick]

Accel World 12:

As so ends Chrome Disaster, not with a bang but with a whimper. Decent episode, ending with Niko showing up at Haru's house again. Should be fun.

Oh yeah, I found out the guy that came up with Accel World is also the one behind Sword Art Online.

Oh, and courtesy of Reddit:

[Ruki]

...what the actual fuck?

[Mick]

...what the actual fuck?

That's what Reddit said! ^_^

[gunnar hendershow]

I plan on starting Accel World tomorrow. Well that and Sakamichi no Apollon.

[IAceI]

Good choices dam. Get blasted through Sakamichi no Apollon and let me know what you thought, think there's another in here who has been watching it too. Only half way through Accel World so another to the simulwatch will be nice. I got it watched the other night:

Bit depressing how easily it all ended with Chrome Disaster. And half the kings haven't shown up. Looks like Yellow Radio survived and Green King is up next. Hope it gets a bit more... engrossing, I suppose, as we go into the second half.

Also up to episode 16 of Fate/stay night. STILL NO CASTER! Mental. It's weird seeing Saber talk to someone so much. Also..am I not meant to have worked out the Shirou/Archer angle yet?

[Mick]

Good choices dam. Get blasted through Sakamichi no Apollon and let me know what you thought, think there's another in here who has been watching it too. Only half way through Accel World so another to the simulwatch will be nice. I got it watched the other night:

Bit depressing how easily it all ended with Chrome Disaster. And half the kings haven't shown up. Looks like Yellow Radio survived and Green King is up next. Hope it gets a bit more... engrossing, I suppose, as we go into the second half.

Also up to episode 16 of Fate/stay night. STILL NO CASTER! Mental. It's weird seeing Saber talk to someone so much. Also..am I not meant to have worked out the Shirou/Archer angle yet?

Since it's not revealed in Fate/Stay Night, behold the angle between Shirou and Archer:

Archer's real identity is EMIYA, aka Emiya Shirou. From a possible future. This is hinted when he says, before Berserker kills him "You always were Ruthless, Ilya". Just how could Archer know that? Some more hints would be that Shirou was on the Archery team before he got injured. Shirou acts like an idiot because, like Kiritsugu, he wants to save the world, only over his life he realizes that he can't save everyone. That's why he's so cold to Shirou; Archer sees him as nothing but a painful reminder.

Anyway, when Lancer stabs Shirou, and Rin uses that heart shaped gem to (seemingly) heal him? Shirou decides to hang on to it for no apparent reason. Rin used that gem earlier as the catalyst when she summoned Archer (which is exactly why she didn't get Saber, though given Archer's hand to hand abilities it's quite possible he could have been summoned as a Saber servant. Unfortunately, Saber was already designed as a main character, so they had to go with something else. (Shirou healed because Kiritsugu put Avalon inside him when he found him; it's the only reason Shirou survived the fire). In short, Rin used some kind of screwed up law of time travel to summon Archer, by using something that has only belonged to herself and her father (but belongs to EMIYA in the future) to summon him.

Oh, and that bit about episode 13:

Sakura is/was the true master of Rider. You have to remember the screwed up history of the Matou's from Fate/Zero. Shinji's dad (and Shinji) and Kariya had zero magical aptitude, and since the Matou were founding members of the Holy Grail Wars, the deal was struck with the Tohsaka. With Sakura, things only got totally worse for her after Fate/Zero. Daily baths with the penis worms, horrible abuse, and then came Shinji, who was pissed at his own lack of magical talent and jealous over Sakura's (seeing how she's really a Tohsaka). He'd pretty much rape her whenever he pleased, and then coerced her into turning over control of Rider. He only became a master with 'The Book of False Attendant', which acted like a Command Seal, only it wasn't. That's why it burns up when he Saber EXCALLIBURRRRRRRRRRRed Rider. Apparently Shinji also coerced Rider. He was pretty much just a total dick driven mad by his own (magical) impotence, the fact that an adopted kid was the heir over him, and that she was warming up to Shirou.

Some of this comes out in the Third Route, where it becomes apparent that Rider holds a deep love for Sakura and absolutely loathes Shinji (she says Shinji reminded her of Perseus, saying 'Perseus was a Shinji that succeeded). Erm, not sure if it was revealed, but Rider is Medusa, hence Pegasus and the blindfold, and the long hair which could technically be described as 'snake like'

Then there's her true form:

It took five Noble Phantams to bring her down. Rider was supposed to be one of the strongest Servants this go (I imagine after Saber and Berserker, I'm not sure how Archer would rank), but since she had Shinji...it didn't work out too well.

Anyway, just keep on trucking.

[IAceI]

I figured the whole Shirou/Archer thing - the flashbacks kind of sealed it. AND THERE'S THE ARCHERY TEAM RITE?

And yeah, I'm pretty sure Sakura wasn't in episode 13?

[Mick]

I figured the whole Shirou/Archer thing - the flashbacks kind of sealed it. AND THERE'S THE ARCHERY TEAM RITE?

And yeah, I'm pretty sure Sakura wasn't in episode 13?

I just picked 13 because it meant Rider and Shinji were gone.

Bah, I thought you said you did not work it out.

[IAceI]

Well I kinda put all the clues together but wasn't sure, surprised they don't really explain it fully in the program though. They look pretty similar mind, once you know it's hard to unsee it.

And I did not realise that was the reason, I spent all of 13 waiting for Sakura to turn up but it was just Ilya being a psycopath. She seems to have gone nice now though, I hope that doesn't last I hope she goes back to being a psycopath. I figured there was something between Rider/Shinji as they made a deal out of the servant representing similar ideals and beliefs of the Master, which obviously Rider/Shinji were not.

Was this just a 'Rider' or was she a historical figure? And if so did said historical figure bend over a lot?

[Mick]

Well I kinda put all the clues together but wasn't sure, surprised they don't really explain it fully in the program though. They look pretty similar mind, once you know it's hard to unsee it.

And I did not realise that was the reason, I spent all of 13 waiting for Sakura to turn up but it was just Ilya being a psycopath. She seems to have gone nice now though, I hope that doesn't last I hope she goes back to being a psycopath. I figured there was something between Rider/Shinji as they made a deal out of the servant representing similar ideals and beliefs of the Master, which obviously Rider/Shinji were not.

Was this just a 'Rider' or was she a historical figure? And if so did said historical figure bend over a lot?

Rider is Madusa.

[IAceI]

...Right. That makes sense. I thought it was Cyclops..

[Ruki]

Wait....

Shirou/Archer are the same person? :/

I never even thought that once.

This show is weird.

[IAceI]

Archer is a future Shirou.

Aaaand fin. How beautiful and pretty and sad. I liked it very much so.

Edited July 1, 2012 by IAceI

[Ruki]

Archer is a future Shirou.

Aaaand fin. How beautiful and pretty and sad. I liked it very much so.

Same thing

[IAceI]

Yup. Nothing seems to make sense or be able to just be straight forward in the Fate/ story.

I really enjoyed the way Shirou, Saber and Tohsaka were done in Fate/stay night but found a lot of the other Masters were sort of afterthoughts/seemed a bit.. unnecessary. Like Caster killed her Master and Kirei took Lancer etc. I think Fate/Zero did a better job of making me care about the peripheral characters. That and the Servants in /Zero were much more bad ass.

[Mick]

Yup. Nothing seems to make sense or be able to just be straight forward in the Fate/ story.

I really enjoyed the way Shirou, Saber and Tohsaka were done in Fate/stay night but found a lot of the other Masters were sort of afterthoughts/seemed a bit.. unnecessary. Like Caster killed her Master and Kirei took Lancer etc. I think Fate/Zero did a better job of making me care about the peripheral characters. That and the Servants in /Zero were much more bad ass.

They did, no doubt about it. I want to say that when the game was done, Type Moon had no idea it would take off the way it did. Fate/Zero was really thought out a lot more, with only a handful of the characters being established for it in Fate/Stay Night (Saber, Gilgamesh, Tokiomi, Kirei and Kiritsugu). We didn't know anything else about it except that there was a massive fire and something went down by the bridge.

They also hadn't established certain rules; it's pretty much canon that Assassin has to be one (...or a shitload) of the Hassan-i-Sabbah, yet Caster completely subverts it. I'm not even sure if in the Visual Novel there was a mention of who was to be the master of Assassin. All I know is that Caster killed who would have been the master.

Still, there's lots of 'what could have been'. Like, if Ilya decided to make Heracles anything except a Berserker, then she would have won, or if Kirei decided to not meddle around, etc.

If you want, you could watch the movie, Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. It's less than two hours but focuses on the second route of the game, completely action packed and focuses on Rin, Archer and Shirou (unlike the series, Rin is Shirou's main love interest). It doesn't give much in the way of exposition, being meant for people familiar with the show.