nobahn's Anime

Theron Martin

Paul Jensen

1. My 1st impulse would be to rate it at 9/11, but since Karen Kohiruimaki isn't in high school (college?) I'm rating it at 10/11.
2. Nothing in this episode stood out; so I'm rating it at 9/11.
3. There were some scenes showing Karen Kohiruimaki as a college student in real life; so I'm rating this at 10/11
4. Well, that ending is a surprise. The next episode better have a good payoff. Rating at 10/11.
5. There was no credible explanation for "M"'s behavior at the end of episode #4. I would have rated it at 7/11, but that last, unexpected scene causes me to raise it a notch to 8/11. But there's no explanation for the talking gun; taking it down a notch back to 7/11.
6. No explanation is provided as to how "M" successfully identified Karen; so I'm rating it at 8/11.
7. Nothing stood out; I'm rating it at 9/11.
8. • 14:00|OK, I'll admit that the humor is effective.....
   • Didn't think I would be doing this; but the strategy/tactics has me on the edge of my seat, so I'm rating this at 11/11.
9. More strategy/tactics, so I'm rating at 10/11.
10. More of the same; so the rating is the same.
11. A talking gun? Rating this at 8/11.
12. The last five minutes -- excluding the post-credits scene -- pushes this episode up to 11/11.

• A simple story involving a warrior and a boy that's about friendship, pain and redemption -- the OST is decent excellent, as well! (Question: Will the warrior (Nanishi) survive the last scene?)
• I am rating the movie at 11/11 in spite of the 2 problems that I observed in the last fight scene.
• For me, what makes something a Masterpiece (11/11) is that I continue to rate it as such in spite of any serious mistakes that occur. (see Violet Evergarden and Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid)
• I have come across a criticism of the muted colors. This takes place as winter is coming – of course the light will be dim!

1. Justin Sevakis wrote:

   [Kotorou and Nanishi] form an uneasy friendship (the kid is a total brat!), [...].
   [O]nce on the road together, the kid's position slowly softens. He's especially surprised when they bathe and [Nanashi] washes the black dye out of his hair, revealing it's true color: red. He's a foreigner, a fact that surprises Koutaro, and actually makes him lower his defenses a bit... which is unusual for the era. We wonder what, exactly, this kid has been through.

2. My response to Sevaksis's thesis is as follows:
   During a very incidental conversation (they were drawing out bandits by pretending to be clueless) Kotorou told Nanishi that:
   

   • His mother had died shortly after giving birth to his brother;
   • That he was old enough to remember his father dying of some unspecified illness; aaand.....
   • His said brother was sold off into slavery and he, himself, was bought by the Monk Shouan and brought back to Japan.

   Given that sort of trauma, of course the child would react badly to any further chaos in his life!!!

The Best Anime Film You Never Watched | Must Watch Anime|Tristan "Arkada" Gallant ("Glass Reflection")
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• Well, the 1st episode, "Episode 0", certainly shows that ufotable is at the top of its game here.....
• The 6th episode ("Episode 5"): Bloodless violence. What's up with that?
• The 7th episode ("Episode 6"): The 9:00 minute mark has a very interesting change in the OST.....
  So I checked out both the 6th & 7th episodes ("5" & "6", respectively) because I was curious about the characters shown in the OP. Evidently these 2 ep.s are a commercial for the game Tales of Beresteria. See the 2 episode reviews.
• I would have rated it at 10/11 ("Excellent"), but the OST is Terrific!!!

14. 3 of 13 ep.s
    
15. ep.#15: nice OST!
    
16. ep.#16: prince konan (the barbarian? :P )
    
17. ep.#17: Is there such a thing as a "just" war?
    
18. ep.#18: Rose becomes a "Squire".
    
19. ep.#19: Crucifixion is the order of the day.....
    
20. ep.#20: A great malevolence is purified ─ only for a greater challenge to be issued.
    
21. ep.#21: The peoples of the world gather and unite to meet the challenge ─ but will they suffice?
    
22. ep.#22:
    Battle is met with the forces of the Lord of Calamity;
    the Lord's servant willingly allows herself to be consumed;
    and the preview is uncharacteristically serious.
23. ep.#23: And with a Major Death we get a different ED song and another somber preview.
24. ep.#24: The backstory of the Shepherd Michael and Heldalf before he was cursed to become the Lord of Calamity is revealed, providing the setup for the final confrontation.
25. ep.#25: A short battle followed by the tying up of loose ends.

• Graphics ─ Ufotable really sets the standard here.
• OST
• Deaths (for the most part, anyway)

• Seems to be a slice-of-life.....
• Symbolism in film.
• 31:35| I relate too well with Mochizou.....
• The movie took ninety minutes to get them both to acknowledge their romantic feelings. Rating at (9/11)

1. OK, so this is supposed to be a comedy -- amongst other things.....
2. Great ─ a harem comedy.
3. Ayeka's ankle sure did conveniently heal rather quickly. [Con]
4. More harem hijinks.
5. • Ryoko's personality changes ─ without explanation ─ and there's a big hole in the logic of what Grandpa says. [Cons]
     
   • Kudos for meaningful grief.
6. • So Tenchi saves the day and gets a full-blown harem.....
   • Mihoshi is ditz fighting in a quasi-Playboy Bunny suit. [Con]
   • I'll give props for Kagoto's last line [Pro]

1. the op & ed just grow on me.....
2. as of ep.#13 I don't know where this is going.....
3. this series has taken a remarkably different turn from whence it began.....
4. symbolism in ep.#15 (8:15 mark)
5. ep.#17: I have to give this anime credit for taking a wholly unexpected direction.....
6. ep.#18: seeing Takayanagi in the thrall of a hormonal surge is quite amusing! (And then it gets real serious real fast!)
7. ep.#19 has a humorous segment -- animation quality is inconsistent.....
   the 1st 10 ep.s or so were shonen tropes -- but not now.
8. I'm gonna have to rewatch a major part of this series because I've become confused.....
9. ep.#23: Mana Kuzunoha looks so sorrowful; is that supposed to be foreshadowing?
10. ep.#24: what's w/ the time skip? I'm gonna have to rewatch THE WHOLE-DAMNED-SERIES!
    The humor actually had me smiling.....

• rating at 6/11 'til I rewatch it.....

• Marco Oliveros

• Gigguk
  
• Also, read the light novel.

• EP23 insert song 「 僕の中の君へ Boku no nakanokimi e」|Violetto Grammophon
  1. "The Storm Dragon, Veldora"
     Nice animation!
     Setup.
  2. "Meeting the Goblins"
     Con: If Veldora was imprisoned, then how was he protecting the forest (& goblins)? major plot hole!
  3. "Battle at Goblin Village"
  4. "In the Kingdom of the Dwarves
     Satoru/Rimuru still has a H. Sapiens hertero sex drive!
  5. "Hero King, Gazel Dwargo"
  6. "Shizu"
  7. "Conqueror of Flames
  8. "Inherited Will"
     Pro: A tragic, but inevitable, death.
  9. "Attack of the Ogres"
  10. "The Orc Lord"
  11. "Gabiru Is Here!"
      6:45| Unexpected humor. Pro
  12. "The Gears Spin Out of Control"
  13. "The Great Clash"
  14. "The One Who Devours All"
      Pro:The lord of the Orcs talks about his past and his responsibilities before he dies.
  15. "The Jura Forest Alliance"
  16. "Demon Lord Milim Attacks"
      A tad bit too trite.
  17. "The Gathering"
  18. "Evil Creeps Closer"
  19. "Charybdis"
  20. "Yuuki Kagurazaka"
  21. "Shizu-san's Students"
  22. "Conquering the Labyrinth"
  23. "Saved Souls"
  24. "Black and the Mask"
      Flash back (OAV).
  Con: Who/what is "Sage"? That's never explained.
  25. If this is canon, then the manga's quality must have seriously slipped.
      This was a recap episode.
  Con: There are too many loose threads.
  There are too many cons; I'm rating this at 8/11
  Just found out that a 2nd cour has been green-lit for 2020; so I'm changing my rating to 9/11.
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