The first two episodes start with a crew on some sort of flying ship. The crew seem discovers they're being chased and gets ready, so they get ready to land at the closest available dock. The scene then shifts to a mother waking up her son who seems to have overslept. The son, Akiyuki, who is also our lead character it seems, eventually leaves the house and heads off to drop off his father's bentou.
We're then introduced to the next couple of characters, Haru and some other dude. The two do some judo sparring and Haru wins. The scene shifts back to Akiyuki showing him taking a shortcut to his dad's house. Akiyuki gets off his bike and takes a path by foot, and Haru, her sister, and that guy from before walk across and notice Akiyuki's bike. The guy and Haru bet on whether Akiyuki would make it in time later.
Akiyuki drops off his father's bentou, makes some snide comments, and heads off for school. As the judo guy and Haru are waiting in line for the bus, the two discuss their bet from earlier as Akiyuki doesn't seem like he's going to make it in time, but Akiyuki barely arrives in time to get on the bus. At the end of the line, Akiyuki notices the girl at the end of the line doesn't have the required armband to get on the bus, so he uses some slick talking to get on the bus and gives his band to the girl. As the students are heading off to school on the bus, Akiyuki notices some odd ships (foreshadowing?).
The scene shifts to some government army types trying to figure out what is happening with the arrival of so many foreign ships. The leader seems to be confident at first that no one would attack their country, but at the end of the scene a one of his officers confirms some invading ships.
The students finally arrive at the school, and everyone starts to get off the bus. Akiyuki and Haru get off the bus and start verbally jabbing at each other again, while the foreign girl from earlier does some suspicious activity with some odd object in her hand. Suddenly, an explosion happens on the bus. The judo guy and Akiyuki instinctively search for Haru and find her. Akiyuki quickly diverts his attention to the bus as a weird green light as appeared, eventually dispersing into multiple beams, one of which flies into Akiyuki's arm. The light causes some weird gem and mutation to appear on his arm, but both disappear. Akiyuki, despite protests from the judo guy, jumps on the bus and finds the foreign girl from earlier bleeding some green stuff. She says something to him and touches his forhead, which causes Akiyuki to undergo a weird transformation. The transformed Akiyuki eventually gets shot by some military guy, and the ships from before drop some giant pod lookalike things to end the episode.
The next episode picks up where the last left off, and Akiyuki isn't dead from the shots. The pods open up and turn into some weird monsters that start shooting up the city. The transformed Akiyuki tries to stop the monster, and the two end up fighting for a bit. Haru chases after Akiyuki, and so does one of the crew from the ship from the opening scene. As Haru chases after Akiyuki, she almost falls off some piping and Akiyuki has to save her. Akiyuki eventually defeats the monster, but the girl on the ship lands and after some questioning, causes Akiyuki to return to his human form.
The crew from before seem to be waiting for this girl, and she arrives carrying Akiyuki on her back. Nakiami, the girl who carried Akiyuki, seems to be fiddling with Akiyuki's weird arm. One of the crew busts in on Nakiami and Akiyuki, but Nakiami reassures him that Akiyuki won't cause anyone any harm. A pretty funny scene ensues after this.
We then get to see the damage the multiple monsters caused. Thousands were hurt or killed. Akiyuki's mother goes to her husband's place to discuss what happened to their son. She assumes the worst, and a very emotional scene follows.
We also get to see some commander, who is surveying the damage from an attack that occurred. He meets with a doctor who has the same markings on his face as Nakiami. The two talk about the "Hitogata" which they call Xam'd. After a bit of discussion, the episode ends.
Thoughts:
Phew that was a long summary. A lot happened in the first two episodes. I wish the raws for this came out on torret -__-. I really like this series, not only because BONES is producing it, but because from the initial couple episodes are full of quality. The animation is so detailed. Not only are the main characters well animated, the environments have so much detail too. I also enjoyed the music a lot for this series so far. The only problem I have with Xam'd so far is that the series does remind me a lot of Eureka 7. I know it's the same studio and stuff, but I can't help but be reminded of Eureka 7 with a lot of the series' aspects.
The series opens up with A LOT of questions. What's with the weird monsters, what's a Xam'd, why was the ship on the run, what's with the northern kingdom, who's at war with each other? The question can go on and on! I'm very positive on Xam'd so far, and I hope to see more!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Nabari no Ou - 04
Summary:
Koutaro shows up with his band of ninjas, and he successfully scares the Yoite fellow away. The Fuuma village cleans up after the melee that occurred in the previous episode. Rokujou's little band end up having suffered some injuries, but nothing that a bit of time won't heal. A female ninja takes Rokujou, Kouichi, and Shimizu to rest, but Shimizu drags Kouichi off leaving Rokujou to ponder about the past day's events.
A banquet is held, and at the banquet Rokujou is introduced to the rest of the Fuuma village as the bearer of the Shinran Banshou. Rokujou makes some comments, but the Fuuma ninjas misunderstand the meaning behind his little speech. Rokujou then decides to question Koutaro's true intentions and what Koutaro would do with the Shinra Banshou if he obtained it. Koutaro, to Rokujou's surprise, honestly answers that he would utilize the Shinra Banshou to defeat the Kairoushuu and to accomplish multiple things for himself (which included a village of women for himself).
We also get to see the Kairoushuu henchmen from before in some apartment. The Kira user and the blond guy with the guy are both present as they wait for a speech from their leader. The leader comes on through a live internet feed and begins to explain his plan to the Kairoushuu members.
Tobari wakes up, and Rokujou explains some profound thing about how both people need to be alive for both people to be saved. Rokujou leaves some comments about Kotarou which causes Tobari to head straight for Tobari. Everyone eventually ends up at Kotarou's room to discuss what to do. Kotarou explains that what they were going to was find the other villages and try to convince them to give up their secret art scrolls because Kotarou would need them to develop a new jutsu to safely remove the Shinra Banshou from Rokujou. He also mentions that if the other villages don't want to give up their scrolls, it was their job to steal or rob them of their scrolls. Simultaneously, the Kairoushuu's leader also explains to his henchmen the same thing.
Thoughts:
I was thoroughly bored with this episode. I didn't exactly care too much for Rokujou's character in the first place, partly because the seiyuu's voice doesn't exactly match the character in my opinion. Episode 4 also didn't reveal much new information. The only new thing that came up was probably the direction in which the series was going. So the characters are going to go from village to village and steal scrolls now? I'm not sure I want to stick with this series.
Koutaro shows up with his band of ninjas, and he successfully scares the Yoite fellow away. The Fuuma village cleans up after the melee that occurred in the previous episode. Rokujou's little band end up having suffered some injuries, but nothing that a bit of time won't heal. A female ninja takes Rokujou, Kouichi, and Shimizu to rest, but Shimizu drags Kouichi off leaving Rokujou to ponder about the past day's events.
A banquet is held, and at the banquet Rokujou is introduced to the rest of the Fuuma village as the bearer of the Shinran Banshou. Rokujou makes some comments, but the Fuuma ninjas misunderstand the meaning behind his little speech. Rokujou then decides to question Koutaro's true intentions and what Koutaro would do with the Shinra Banshou if he obtained it. Koutaro, to Rokujou's surprise, honestly answers that he would utilize the Shinra Banshou to defeat the Kairoushuu and to accomplish multiple things for himself (which included a village of women for himself).
We also get to see the Kairoushuu henchmen from before in some apartment. The Kira user and the blond guy with the guy are both present as they wait for a speech from their leader. The leader comes on through a live internet feed and begins to explain his plan to the Kairoushuu members.
Tobari wakes up, and Rokujou explains some profound thing about how both people need to be alive for both people to be saved. Rokujou leaves some comments about Kotarou which causes Tobari to head straight for Tobari. Everyone eventually ends up at Kotarou's room to discuss what to do. Kotarou explains that what they were going to was find the other villages and try to convince them to give up their secret art scrolls because Kotarou would need them to develop a new jutsu to safely remove the Shinra Banshou from Rokujou. He also mentions that if the other villages don't want to give up their scrolls, it was their job to steal or rob them of their scrolls. Simultaneously, the Kairoushuu's leader also explains to his henchmen the same thing.
Thoughts:
I was thoroughly bored with this episode. I didn't exactly care too much for Rokujou's character in the first place, partly because the seiyuu's voice doesn't exactly match the character in my opinion. Episode 4 also didn't reveal much new information. The only new thing that came up was probably the direction in which the series was going. So the characters are going to go from village to village and steal scrolls now? I'm not sure I want to stick with this series.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Kurenai - 05
Kurenai's fifth episode wraps up with another wonderfully produced episode. Episode five didn't have as many revelations as the last episode, but this episode does compensate you with a more heartwarming and comedic episode.
Summary:
The episode opens with Shinkurou on the phone with someone (probably Yuuno because the conversation involved how he was feeling physically or something like that). The scene switches to Shinkurou and Murasaki changing as the two seem to be headed off somewhere. While on the train, Murasaki makes sure to question Shinkurou about the experiences that are foreign to her. Murasaki later becomes a little depressed and worried as their trip takes them to an area similar to what the Kuhouin household's surroundings looked like. Shinkurou reassures her that they aren't going to the Kuhouin household. Murasaki again confides in Shinkurou on the bus about her fears of whether Shinkurou would protect her if Yuuno attacked her, but Shinkurou reassures her that Yuuno isn't that kind of person.
The two soon arrive at the Houzuki (Yuuno's) household, which Murasaki remarks is similar to the Kuhouin household. As Shinkurou and Murasaki wait in the waiting room, Chizuru, who turns out to be Yuuno's younger sister, greets Shinkurou and is introduced to Murasaki. Yuuno soon appears, and the two eventually go off to do some martial arts training while Murasaki and Chizuru are left to hang out with each other in Chizuru's room. Some comedic moments ensue as Murasaki hangs out with Chizuru. Shinkurou basically gets knocked around by Yuuno for a while, but after Murasaki arrives to watch Shinkurou, he eventually gets the better of Yuuno in an exchange.
Shinkurou sits down to talk with Yuuno's grandfather about some stuff. I had some trouble understanding the grandfather's words, but the gist of what he was trying to tell Shinkurou seemed to be that Shinkurou is part of their family and they care about him. Shinkurou and Murasaki eventually leave and go shopping for food, during which Shinkurou and Murasaki talk about their day and what to eat. The two eventually arrive home to find Tamaki and the landlady inside already eating some kind of soup and tofu dish. Some more hilarity ensues, and the episode basically ends with them eating around the table.
Thoughts:
I really can't express enough in words just how much I enjoy watching Kurenai. Murasaki's innocence, willingness to learn, brash, and intelligent nature meshes amazingly well with Shinkurou's more calm, mature, thoughtful, and reserved nature. Episode 5 did a great job and illustrating how intelligent Murasaki's character really is. Since the first episode, without a doubt, you could tell Murasaki was an intelligent girl already, but in episode 5 she shows just how smart she is when she was able to recite an entire recipe for a dish that Shinkurou didn't know how to make. In fact, throughout the episode, Murasaki displays that quick and willingness to learn by using all the new words and concepts she's seen on television while Shinkurou is at school.
This episode also seemed to illustrate Murasaki and Shinkurou's deeping relationship. Murasaki openly confides in Shinkurou about her worries, and Shinkurou tries his best to relieve her of her worries and compromise with Murasaki when she wants something. The writers are doing a wonderful job writing witty and funny dialog throughout this series so far, and episode 5 shows how the writers can switch from a serious episode to a more light-hearted and funny episode. I look forward to more of what Kurenai has to offer. From the previews, the next episode seems to involve Ginko somehow.
Summary:
The episode opens with Shinkurou on the phone with someone (probably Yuuno because the conversation involved how he was feeling physically or something like that). The scene switches to Shinkurou and Murasaki changing as the two seem to be headed off somewhere. While on the train, Murasaki makes sure to question Shinkurou about the experiences that are foreign to her. Murasaki later becomes a little depressed and worried as their trip takes them to an area similar to what the Kuhouin household's surroundings looked like. Shinkurou reassures her that they aren't going to the Kuhouin household. Murasaki again confides in Shinkurou on the bus about her fears of whether Shinkurou would protect her if Yuuno attacked her, but Shinkurou reassures her that Yuuno isn't that kind of person.
The two soon arrive at the Houzuki (Yuuno's) household, which Murasaki remarks is similar to the Kuhouin household. As Shinkurou and Murasaki wait in the waiting room, Chizuru, who turns out to be Yuuno's younger sister, greets Shinkurou and is introduced to Murasaki. Yuuno soon appears, and the two eventually go off to do some martial arts training while Murasaki and Chizuru are left to hang out with each other in Chizuru's room. Some comedic moments ensue as Murasaki hangs out with Chizuru. Shinkurou basically gets knocked around by Yuuno for a while, but after Murasaki arrives to watch Shinkurou, he eventually gets the better of Yuuno in an exchange.
Shinkurou sits down to talk with Yuuno's grandfather about some stuff. I had some trouble understanding the grandfather's words, but the gist of what he was trying to tell Shinkurou seemed to be that Shinkurou is part of their family and they care about him. Shinkurou and Murasaki eventually leave and go shopping for food, during which Shinkurou and Murasaki talk about their day and what to eat. The two eventually arrive home to find Tamaki and the landlady inside already eating some kind of soup and tofu dish. Some more hilarity ensues, and the episode basically ends with them eating around the table.
Thoughts:
I really can't express enough in words just how much I enjoy watching Kurenai. Murasaki's innocence, willingness to learn, brash, and intelligent nature meshes amazingly well with Shinkurou's more calm, mature, thoughtful, and reserved nature. Episode 5 did a great job and illustrating how intelligent Murasaki's character really is. Since the first episode, without a doubt, you could tell Murasaki was an intelligent girl already, but in episode 5 she shows just how smart she is when she was able to recite an entire recipe for a dish that Shinkurou didn't know how to make. In fact, throughout the episode, Murasaki displays that quick and willingness to learn by using all the new words and concepts she's seen on television while Shinkurou is at school.
This episode also seemed to illustrate Murasaki and Shinkurou's deeping relationship. Murasaki openly confides in Shinkurou about her worries, and Shinkurou tries his best to relieve her of her worries and compromise with Murasaki when she wants something. The writers are doing a wonderful job writing witty and funny dialog throughout this series so far, and episode 5 shows how the writers can switch from a serious episode to a more light-hearted and funny episode. I look forward to more of what Kurenai has to offer. From the previews, the next episode seems to involve Ginko somehow.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Kurenai - 04
Wow, what an amazing episode. It's been a while since I've last enjoyed a series as much as Kurenai. Geass is pretty good, but it's missing something that Kurenai seems to exude.
Summary:
Episode 4 kicks off with Shinkurou leaving Murasaki to go do the job that Ginko told Shinkurou about. Murasaki tags along, which is a recipe for disaster. As Murasaki follows Shinkurou into the building where the job is, we get to see an adorable and somewhat funny scene where Murasaki watches Shinkurou's elevator reach a certain floor before she herself uses the other elevator, attempting futilely to press the elevator buttons by herself. Shinkurou on the other hand finds the criminals he was looking for and attempts to bargain with the criminals for what I understood as the deed to Shinkurou's old school. Their discussion is interrupted as the boss's henchmen found Murasaki. Some more bargaining ensues, and Shinkurou decides to accept the boss's word, though Murasaki insists that the boss is lying. It turns out he was, and a fight ensues as Murasaki and Shinkurou attempt to leave the building. Murasaki gets knocked around a couple times, which angers Shinkurou, and he beats the crap out of everyone, even revealing the hidden blade in his right arm (think Guyver). Yayoi makes it into the building too and finds an injured Murasaki. Benika also arrives, but she doesn't do much except drive everyone back to Shinkurou's place, as Yayoi yells at Shinkurou the whole way back.
The scene changes with Murasaki waking up followed by Shinkurou awakening. Murasaki seems completely fine and offers to make breakfast for Shinkurou. The two get into a blame game where both blame themselves for the previous night's events, but the two soon end their discussion. Murasaki ends the scene with a somewhat comical remark about some leftovers and whether they were still edible.
Shinkurou goes to school and discusses with Ginko about the results of the job. Shinkurou accomplished what he was supposed to, but he isn't sure the other side would keep their end of the bargain. Towards the end of the encounter, Ginko accidentally bumps Shinkurou's right elbow area, causing Shinkurou to let out a small exclamation of pain. It seems Shinkurou's elbow blade doesn't exactly just come out without consequences. Shinkurou also talks with Yuuno, who also discovers he hurt his arm. She is audibly upset about Shinkurou's jobs, but Shinkurou tries to make it out to be nothing serious. Shinkurou eventually heads home to find Murasaki putting the finishing touches on her cleaning of Shinkurou's apartment.
The two head to the public baths again, but this time Murasaki has visibly changed her ways from the last time the two were there. The rest of the episode had to do a lot with building Shinkurou and Benika's past and explaining a lot of the questions that we may have had about the current situation.
Thoughts:
I loved this episode. Even with only a decent grasp of the Japanese language, I could definitely tell what was going on. Episode 4 was especially great because every scene in the whole episode was used to either progress the story or to assist in character growth. Everything after Shinkurou and Murasaki woke up showed how much growth as a person Murasaki had accomplished since she moved in with Shinkurou. Offering to cook breakfast, cleaning Shinkurou's room, and washing her own hair, Murasaki has come a long way already from the once selfish and demanding little girl that originally moved in with Shinkurou. Shinkurou himself seems to have progressed some too. From his discussion with Murasaki about who was at fault for the whole night before, you can tell Shinkurou has softened towards Murasaki because he blamed himself for all the horrible things that happened on the previous night.
Another great thing about episode 4 was all the background stories that were filled in. We found out what happened to Shinkurou's parents, some of his past, and how he met Benika. Benika also filled us all in on why she chose Shinkurou to take care of Murasaki, and why she took Murasaki from the Kuhouin household. So much happened in just a 25 minute episode! The only complaint I would have had with this episode would have been the lack of any bruises or remaining contusions on Murasaki. Don't get me wrong. I don't like seeing kids get beat around, but she seemed to get hit pretty hard by those henchmen. It's not like they were using kiddy gloves with her either. I can however understand that the bruising is a small detail, and it's not exactly all that important in the scheme of things. All in all a wonderful episode.
Summary:
Episode 4 kicks off with Shinkurou leaving Murasaki to go do the job that Ginko told Shinkurou about. Murasaki tags along, which is a recipe for disaster. As Murasaki follows Shinkurou into the building where the job is, we get to see an adorable and somewhat funny scene where Murasaki watches Shinkurou's elevator reach a certain floor before she herself uses the other elevator, attempting futilely to press the elevator buttons by herself. Shinkurou on the other hand finds the criminals he was looking for and attempts to bargain with the criminals for what I understood as the deed to Shinkurou's old school. Their discussion is interrupted as the boss's henchmen found Murasaki. Some more bargaining ensues, and Shinkurou decides to accept the boss's word, though Murasaki insists that the boss is lying. It turns out he was, and a fight ensues as Murasaki and Shinkurou attempt to leave the building. Murasaki gets knocked around a couple times, which angers Shinkurou, and he beats the crap out of everyone, even revealing the hidden blade in his right arm (think Guyver). Yayoi makes it into the building too and finds an injured Murasaki. Benika also arrives, but she doesn't do much except drive everyone back to Shinkurou's place, as Yayoi yells at Shinkurou the whole way back.
The scene changes with Murasaki waking up followed by Shinkurou awakening. Murasaki seems completely fine and offers to make breakfast for Shinkurou. The two get into a blame game where both blame themselves for the previous night's events, but the two soon end their discussion. Murasaki ends the scene with a somewhat comical remark about some leftovers and whether they were still edible.
Shinkurou goes to school and discusses with Ginko about the results of the job. Shinkurou accomplished what he was supposed to, but he isn't sure the other side would keep their end of the bargain. Towards the end of the encounter, Ginko accidentally bumps Shinkurou's right elbow area, causing Shinkurou to let out a small exclamation of pain. It seems Shinkurou's elbow blade doesn't exactly just come out without consequences. Shinkurou also talks with Yuuno, who also discovers he hurt his arm. She is audibly upset about Shinkurou's jobs, but Shinkurou tries to make it out to be nothing serious. Shinkurou eventually heads home to find Murasaki putting the finishing touches on her cleaning of Shinkurou's apartment.
The two head to the public baths again, but this time Murasaki has visibly changed her ways from the last time the two were there. The rest of the episode had to do a lot with building Shinkurou and Benika's past and explaining a lot of the questions that we may have had about the current situation.
Thoughts:
I loved this episode. Even with only a decent grasp of the Japanese language, I could definitely tell what was going on. Episode 4 was especially great because every scene in the whole episode was used to either progress the story or to assist in character growth. Everything after Shinkurou and Murasaki woke up showed how much growth as a person Murasaki had accomplished since she moved in with Shinkurou. Offering to cook breakfast, cleaning Shinkurou's room, and washing her own hair, Murasaki has come a long way already from the once selfish and demanding little girl that originally moved in with Shinkurou. Shinkurou himself seems to have progressed some too. From his discussion with Murasaki about who was at fault for the whole night before, you can tell Shinkurou has softened towards Murasaki because he blamed himself for all the horrible things that happened on the previous night.
Another great thing about episode 4 was all the background stories that were filled in. We found out what happened to Shinkurou's parents, some of his past, and how he met Benika. Benika also filled us all in on why she chose Shinkurou to take care of Murasaki, and why she took Murasaki from the Kuhouin household. So much happened in just a 25 minute episode! The only complaint I would have had with this episode would have been the lack of any bruises or remaining contusions on Murasaki. Don't get me wrong. I don't like seeing kids get beat around, but she seemed to get hit pretty hard by those henchmen. It's not like they were using kiddy gloves with her either. I can however understand that the bruising is a small detail, and it's not exactly all that important in the scheme of things. All in all a wonderful episode.
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