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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- That was brilliant again. It's nice to see how the classroom works in this series. I also like how Makoto goes against even more challenges. Still, NO PAIN NO GAME. There were some really neat moves imo and even thought it was fast paced matched with the theme well. He's gotta keep up with the rhythm~ Oh and I really liked how the mechanics were built in this episode with the robot motifs. That captured the pacing well imo. |
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| Wow! That was really great. Lol'd at Sensei at the start sending him a love letter hahahaha XD The way Smile's limiters got released was EPIC! Dat Robotic arm and Dem Robotic sound effects were awesome. He totally owned Sensei! And the way he told Peco he's going ahead was amazing. He's seriously gonna start kicking ass. Can't wait >.< |
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| wow I loved this episode. It looks like the OP is going to be the same song and the visuals will be sped up parts of the episode. I'm okay with this. At least it's not cheesy and not set to garbage idol music (or even worse, evanescence-esque J-pop). While the first episode was a little quiet in setting up the story, this one really picked up the pace in terms of development and emotion. Teach is awesome : I love his playful banter towards Tsukimoto, even during English class (that he's teaching himself lol!). I don't think all introverts should be forced to change who they are, but I think what the teacher is trying to set out to do is more than that. I feel like what he's really trying to do is get Tsukimoto to be honest with himself and what he wants to do, because Tsukimoto's tendency to squeeze into his shell isn't what I'd call introversion, but more like confusion. Tsukimoto is overwhelmed by emotion so he tries to shut himself out of it and tries to involve himself with the world as least as possible. I'm really interested in the hero/human vs robot duality of Tsukimoto shown through some sort of flashback (I guess he was bullied back in elementary school). Loved the way "you are made of iron" has a dual nature to it as well. I wonder if it was Peco who got him out of the locker, and what he said to Tsukimoto that changed him. |
idontwannapostApr 17, 2014 11:35 AM
| Woooo aku no hana 2014 |
| One of my favorite parts in the manga was Smile vs. Sensei. " You need a hard heart to win " totally owns everything. I love the animation. Completely loyal to the artwork of the manga. Compared to it though, the anime has more "hero scenes" and that robot scene, I don't really remember that in the manga. If only Mushishi s2 isn't airing, this would have been my AOTS. |
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| That was a really good episode. The match between Smile and his teacher was realistic and cool. Smile seems like an interesting character. |
jimjameswhatever said: SolviteSekai said: Woooo aku no hana 2014 how so? Because its a decent show that everyone is bashing for its animation? |
| Smile is scary when he's serious. |
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| Ok, I know I said the art was ugly but I'm really starting to like it, this episode was AMAZING, loved every second of it, the love letter was hilarious XD, I think this is my favorite show of the season, looking forward to the next episode. |
Currently watching everything that comes out to avoid missing something good... |
| This show is simply marvelous. OK, let's start from the beginning. The flashback was kept short and simple. No need to show what happend before that moment nor any external narration that tells us about it. Seeing Smile in the cabinet locked up from the outside was enough to make it clear to the viewer what the situation is all about. It's all the more heart-breaking that elementary-schooler Smile considers that cramped up space as a refuge that protects him (presumably from the bullies who put him in there) when that couldn't be further from the truth. At the same time it illustrates very well how many victims think. Instead of turning his aggression towards the perpetrator he turns inwards, sealing himself off from what bothers and hurts him. In this case it's the robot (surreal imagery alert!) who saves him from the cabin, the withdrawn place that he was put in by others but what he also partly imposed upon himself by keeping quiet. I like how it isn't quite obvious who the robot is supposed to depict. Is it Peco, and if it's him why bother with the symbolism, while in fact it is intentiously kept ambigious as the ending demonstrates. This episode tied in with the first episode's ending pretty nicely. Smile's lack of competitiveness and drive in genral was immediately adressed, as was his habit of holding back during matches with his best friend, this show really wastes no time with how tightly-written it is as a whole. I love how the dialogue flows so seamlessly, tying in previously mentioned subjects and putting a spin on it such as the milk products Peco always drinks or the one-sided wife-husband relationship between Smile and his Coach played for laughs in an understated, natural way. While the conversations are pretty much devoid of overt theatrics they still get the point across even though they don't spell out everything which is always a positive in my book. It's an interesting juxtaposition: Smile plays for fun, Peco plays in order to win (The latter might talk about quitting Ping-Pong as the whimsical kid he is but all his remarks during the matches and the scene at the beach make it painfully clear that this sport is serious business for him). A pretty significant difference especially if we take into consideration that the robot in the flashback most likely represents Peco (at least initially) and how Smile talked about him like he was his saviour which doesn't really make for an even relationship as they are not fighting on equal footing. Is this some potential for conflict between the two friends that I see? In any case it will be interesting to see how the changes in Smile's personality will affect their friendship and there's no doubt that Smile will change. It's only a matter of time until teacher Koizumi and China break him out of his shell. The final match got me all up in arms with how climatic it was. The visuals synchronized perfectly with the themes presented here, Smile as the butterfly, a quiet presence and incredibly fragile personality-wise (the butterfly on the coach's shirt was a nice eye-catcher), a single moment that reveals his state of mind hidden under his abrasive behaviour. All his actions are meant to ward off attention from himself, to remain unnoticed and to prevent getting hurt. To actually commit himself to that sport and participating at tournaments would mean going against everything what his personality is composed of, no wonder he is so averse to playing along the teacher. The flashbacks is shown once again, though this time there's no hero to save Smile. He has to save himself by taking the offensive and accordingly the robot that opens the locker looks completely different and yet it's instantly clear that it's supposed to symbolize Smile's own fighting spirit as the robot's game-like appearance links back to what we've gotten accustomed to from Smile, which is playing video games. Taking this into account it becomes apparent that Mr.Koizumi reached his goal by calling forth Smile's fighting spirit despite losing the match. Losing the battle but winning the war or so they say. Funnily enough the logical result of combining these two visual depictions of Smile's mental state would be a winged robot btw, haha. |
EudaimoniaApr 17, 2014 12:37 PM
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| Wow that was intense, I love the way the story is being told. We got to learn a lot about Smile, his past of being bullied and why he is the way he is now. It was clear that in the past he wasn't so "emotionless," as shown when he was interested in learning ping pong and when he said he wanted to be like Peco. The robotic motif as Stark said was quite interesting and it was awesome the way Smile broke his limiter (and became ruthless against the aged Koizumi).The line "no one can hurt you" made a deep impression on me, and how the robot tells Smile that "the hero isn't coming." He can't rely on the hero anymore to help him to defend him, instead he has to rely on himself now. Btw, great post Eudaimonia. You're doing all the analysis for me :D I also didn't notice the butterfly on Koizumi's shirt. |
tingyApr 17, 2014 12:34 PM
Eudaimonia said: The flashbacks is shown once again, though this time there's no hero to save Smile. He has to save himself by taking the offensive and accordingly the robot that opens the locker looks completely different and yet it's instantly clear that it's supposed to symbolize Smile's own fighting spirit as the robot's game-like appearance links back to what we've gotten accustomed to from Smile, which is playing video games. Taking this into account it becomes apparent that Mr.Koizumi reached his goal by calling forth Smile's fighting spirit despite losing the match. Losing the battle but winning the war or so they say. Funnily enough the logical result of combining these two visual depictions of Smile's mental state would be a winged robot btw, haha. I wonder if this "being a robot" (albeit a more aggressive one than we are used to seeing Smile as) is going to be what he eventually grows into, or if he'll eventually strive to be more of a "hero" with iron blood pumping through his body. I'm thinking more like you, in that he'll learn that he doesn't have to be a robot, or completely red blooded (representing a complete change in his personality?). Instead, we a have mix of both, coming out of his shell, yet staying true to his 'robotic' nature. |
| the savior of anime appears. the savior of anime appears. the savior of anime appears. |
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| ^tingy, yeah, it's little details like this that accentuate what's talked about and they serve as easter eggs, quite charming actually. I really get the impression that the production team and especially the director put a lot of thought and heart into this show if they even paid attention to things like these, not to mention the snappy scene composition and imaginative animation (I just can't get over how splendidly the robots scenes were put into motion). |
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jimjameswhatever said: Eudaimonia said: The flashbacks is shown once again, though this time there's no hero to save Smile. He has to save himself by taking the offensive and accordingly the robot that opens the locker looks completely different and yet it's instantly clear that it's supposed to symbolize Smile's own fighting spirit as the robot's game-like appearance links back to what we've gotten accustomed to from Smile, which is playing video games. Taking this into account it becomes apparent that Mr.Koizumi reached his goal by calling forth Smile's fighting spirit despite losing the match. Losing the battle but winning the war or so they say. Funnily enough the logical result of combining these two visual depictions of Smile's mental state would be a winged robot btw, haha. I wonder if this "being a robot" (albeit a more aggressive one than we are used to seeing Smile as) is going to be what he eventually grows into, or if he'll eventually strive to be more of a "hero" with iron blood pumping through his body. I'm thinking more like you, in that he'll learn that he doesn't have to be a robot, or completely red blooded (representing a complete change in his personality?). Instead, we a have mix of both, coming out of his shell, yet staying true to his 'robotic' nature. I had the impression tht Smile already thinks of himself as a robot, a defense mechanism he developed over the years to cope with the grueling childhood experiences. The blue one we saw in the revised flashback could be seen as an update that's more agressive in nature while retaining its inapproachable character. Neither of these versions strike me as particularly desirable since they are not able to deal with the source problem which would be Smile's habit of sealing away his emotions. So yes, I think your predition might very well be what will happen though I'm certain it will be gradual and longsome process, things like these need time to get fixed after all. |
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| Well that was a pretty good episode, the Ping Pong match was intense between Sensei and Smile. Also having some character development for Smile. |
| not burger - BOOEEWWWGER Another great episode :D |
| -☾✩ |
| great episode, usually I don't watch sports anime, but this one got me immediately hooked. Lol'd when sensei told them how to pronounce "Burger" xD really like the psychological aspects that are shown! |
| This anime is pretty cool. Certainly one of the better ones of the current season. |
 "Why did he have to surrender, what is more in the outside world, huh, sumptuousness, freedom? Nowhere in the world are you going to find them fools! Fools!" -USSR president, Future War 198X-nen |
| This is so awesome. Utterly fantastic. Also, finally we see a serious match with Smile. Now "I'm guessing", that Peco will be left behind and will train to catch up with Smile. Looking forward to see what'll happen. |
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| Extremely nice character development. Tsukimoto's last line of "I'm going on ahead, Peco" really shows just how far he's gotten in a single episode. Nicely done. |
| My Anime Blog: http://www.Entravity.com/ Episodic overviews of the latest anime. |
| Definitely a better episode than the first one now that the show is starting to get it's pace. An overall great introduction into Smile and his rising, the machine bits really did add to his character. There was definitely less reused animation than the first episode and the music was excellent. |
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| Hell yeah, Smile! Peco is actually getting on my nerves, he seems a bit rude with him... I really liked that "I'm going on ahead, Peco" and that brief moment where Smile were represented with butterfly wings on his back. Now I can't wait to see Peco's reaction, and I'm curious about their past too. |
| That sensei and his love letter to Smile. XD Sensei vs. Smile was a awesome match. His robotic movements were quite epic! Looking forward to see him facing that Kazama guy and Wenge. Good episode. |
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| I was extremely turned off by the art style at first, but after getting used to it I can see that's a it's a good show and it looks the way it does for a very good reason. |
| I could feel the intensity leaping out my PC screen. That was fantastic. |
"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness." "May those who defy their fate be granted glory." |
| Now this is a sports story. Not much to say, just liking it so far. |
| “Suppose, gentlemen, that man is not stupid.” |
| lol Smile is a robot but i think he will change to become a top player |
| Fantastic episode. I love it. Such good direction. |
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| So good. And lol at the girl's food getting stolen by a bird. |
LoneWolf said: @Josh makes me sad to call myself Canadian. |
| This is becoming the one show I look forward to the most this season. Is it Thursday yet?? |
TheNaturalPerm said: I'm sayin'.the savior of anime appears. the savior of anime appears. the savior of anime appears. |
LoneWolf said: @Josh makes me sad to call myself Canadian. |
| LOLOL "Not Baagaa, BURGER." "BORGOR??" This show is fantastic. The comedic moments are amazing. That poor lady lost her sandwich. The coach is amazing as well. Also, does anyone know if the Chinese is accurate? It sounds legit. |
| Please let there be development. The way the MC was acting really pisses me off. |
lampshades120 said: Also, does anyone know if the Chinese is accurate? It sounds legit. They got a Chinese guy to play Wenge, but he is from Guangzhou so maybe Cantonese is his first language not Mandarin. It sounds legit to me though. http://myanimelist.net/people/29835/Yousei_Bun |
| “Suppose, gentlemen, that man is not stupid.” |
| That was brilliant - animations, voice acting, characters. While the nonchalant demeanour of Peco is interesting aspect, I hope that he will grow to be less apathetic towards others by the end of the show. |
Ineptia said: lampshades120 said: Also, does anyone know if the Chinese is accurate? It sounds legit. They got a Chinese guy to play Wenge, but he is from Guangzhou so maybe Cantonese is his first language not Mandarin. It sounds legit to me though. http://myanimelist.net/people/29835/Yousei_Bun yeah his mandarin is definitely a bit more sharp (cantonese to me sounds "sharp") |
jimjameswhatever said: Ineptia said: lampshades120 said: Also, does anyone know if the Chinese is accurate? It sounds legit. They got a Chinese guy to play Wenge, but he is from Guangzhou so maybe Cantonese is his first language not Mandarin. It sounds legit to me though. http://myanimelist.net/people/29835/Yousei_Bun yeah his mandarin is definitely a bit more sharp (cantonese to me sounds "sharp") I think it's definitely mandarin and native too. |
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| It's great how the voice acting actually adds layers to what's happening, as so often, anime are so very unsubtle and feel the need to spell everything out. Fantastic show. |
| This anime's freaking awesome!! Mushishi, Haikyuu and Ping Pong are springs savior |
| "Burn the heretics" |
Toaki90 said: You forgot Jojo.This anime's freaking awesome!! Mushishi, Haikyuu and Ping Pong are springs savior |
Ckan said: Seriously, I m not the only one who don't enjoy Jojo, am I?Toaki90 said: You forgot Jojo.This anime's freaking awesome!! Mushishi, Haikyuu and Ping Pong are springs savior Still can't understand whats the hype all about Tried to watch the first seaon few weeks back 9 episodes later, i got anime poisoning |
| "Burn the heretics" |
Toaki90 said: I'm disappointed in you, but I can see why some people don't like it.Ckan said: Seriously, I m not the only one who don't enjoy Jojo, am I?Toaki90 said: You forgot Jojo.This anime's freaking awesome!! Mushishi, Haikyuu and Ping Pong are springs savior Still can't understand whats the hype all about Tried to watch the first seaon few weeks back 9 episodes later, i got anime poisoning |
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