Okay, I barely know what's going on but I like the setting, the mysterious atmosphere and the OST so far. I should definitely enjoy this.
But I have to say this show is REALLY ugly. Especially those characters with their huge lips and always showing their teeth. And it doesn't really help either that the show looks like it has no in-between animation. Very low budget production for sure, even the voice acting felt off at a few points.
Good episode. Those transformations are creepy and I'm sure they have something to do with that incident they showed in the first episode. Looking forward to finding out more about it and I'm also interested in the father of the MCs. Might be that terrorist.
But mostly I'm enjoying this kind of scenario where you have to figure out which of the two sides (if any) are the good guys alongside the MCs.
Episodes 3 & 4
Not really much to say. We're getting slowly introduced to the different parties and the terminology of the world and for now it seems the Countess has the upper hand in the struggle for our MCS.
Episode 5
That sudden engrish song surprised me.
Meanwhile the power struggle between the Gilgamesh boys and the Countess continues. With the sister being captures and them being seperated it's pretty much the worst case scenario for our MCs.
There is a lot of exposition, but I'm not bothered by it. I'm trying to pay attention to all the details and expecting my crippling ignorance of ancient world history won't come bite me on the ass. Either way google is my friend.
I really liked the facility and I was hoping the whole story would be set there. It seems that won't be the case, but it's too early to be disappointed. I don't like the characters' designs a lot right now, but they'll most likely grow on me with time.
The comment about how Sheltering Sky make older people feel and how it makes younger people feel was nice because it evidenced the difference that comes from adjusting to a big change and perceiving something as a constant in our lives. Basically how the generational gap sort of works.
The way they met the other group was very interesting, but wow that really took a turn fast, okay? I'm super intrigued of course.
Episode 2
I was a little confused and thought the three hooded people were partners with the three guys at the big creepy house, but that's not the case!
The fight did not disappoint. I was a bit impatient when they were waiting and seizing each other up, but after it started, it kept scalating fast.
Oh. So their identities are finally shown. And I get the idea that these are all part of the same group and parted ways, most likely after the terrorist attack. I'll be honest and say I'm having a few Blood+ flashbacks, but this seems more mature than that. We'll see.
My favorite thing so far is the music!
Episode 3
Gilgamesh and Orga. I'm glad that people and what they do are starting to get names and a bit is explained regarding what they want. It's becoming very interesting, but it feels like it's going to be a game of "So, what is the truth?"
With all the destruction going on in these episodes, it was crazy that the protagonists had never got hurt. It's no wonder that when they're about to, whoosh, powers awaken.
I wonder if it's possible for one of them to awaken to powers of one side (i.e. Gilgamesh) and the other for the opposide side.
The Countess turned out to be more cunning that I thought she would, but I guess it was needed to advance the plot.
Episode 4
The dream sequence at the beginning was cool!
I liked that they explained the epic and connected the name of their father to the original story.
The wing woke up on its on huh. Well, it gets the battle going. I'm distracted by wondering who pays for all the repairs.
The characters are starting to grow on me. Except the Countess! I'm petty like that.
This show really jumps around. I like Toru. At first I thought he was a girl lol it's hard to tell with these character designs, okay? Anyway, they took the sister. I'm still wondering what's with the piano tuner. I'm sure I'll find out in due time.
Episode 6
I think I get the idea of the anti-matter and molecule exchanging, but... I fear some of it might be going over my head. If I get it right, then the fact that we saw one of them heal rapidly or like make the wound disappear could be because they take molecules from the matter around them and can use them to coat the anti-matter at will? Either way Gilgamesh seems really powerful because they were able to create that room again in the hotel.
The death of that Gilgamesh member was predictable, but I thought he was going to be killed by the leader, not self-destruct! I wonder how it gets triggered and man, what power. Hopefully they'll explain more about it. It seems the sister's ability(?) will become relevant soon.
I have to say I've grown to like how this show depicts its action scenes. There's barely any dialogue, and no grunts or screams, just a bunch of supernatural dudes silently battling it out. That's pretty unusual for anime, but I like it.
I'm not thinking too much about the anti-matter stuff, I usually just accept science babble like that in anime since I think that most of the time if you REALLY understood it, it would probably be bullshit xD.
Episode 7
Esper snowball fights must be so much fun, I'm jealous :>.
Also we got some nice conversations this episode. Overall it was rather slow but I enjoyed the change of pace. Seems like Kiyoko decided to leave after all if I interpret that final scene right. I hope we get to see their father soon.
Episode 8
I guess the countess finally succeeded in separating the two siblings. It was a pretty frustrating episode in that sense. I hope it's only temporary and I also wanna know why the countess is so twisted.
You make a good point about the battle scenes. I agree.
Finally a bit of a relief among all the seriousness. I found the part with the snowballs cute. It shows that Isamu really wants to teach Takuya. We return to high tension right away to find that the Countess checked if Kiyoko had been uh. raped I guess?
I could sort of perceived a parallelism between a family being built and another being separated as well as the paiting as the representation of family. They had a pretty nasty argument at the end of the episode.
Episode 8
The Countess and Kiyoko sure have a complicated relationship. She really hinted at something serious though. I wouldn't have expected the woman to take advantage of her proteges, but who knows?
LOL just as I'm thinking well, I guess she has reasons to tell the Countess that, but it's not like something will happen... IT HAPPENS. Also the incest hinting runs deep in this one.
She's gone now. I wonder how that development will impact the future.
I'm happy that I've been able to keep on schedule :D
That was quite a bit of sudden exposition with all that new information to process. We even got a new character, kinda. The idea with the vacuum computer is kinda cool. And the prelude to the battle at the end was also pretty nice. Things are definitely getting exciting. Which is interesting considering how early in the series it is.
We didn't see anything of Kiyoko this episode. I wonder when the focus will shit to her again.
A nice episode with a good cliffhanger. I want to see the little brother grow up more. It's interesting how they keep mentioning that older people want the old sky back and younger people don't mind either way.
I liked the tower's design too
Episode 10
I wonder who "those guys" in the dark were. Most likely people related to the original Heaven's Gate project. It was cool learning more about the past of these kids, but it seems they all had pretty depressing lives before. The scene where they're forced not to use their power was a bit unexpected because they fight without being covered, but they also fight in lonelier places, so maybe that's why? It seems contradictory, but I'm overthinking it.
That picture is obviously important and it shows some faces that might be familiar? So I guess it can be assumed that these are the offspring of researchers from the center shown in the first episode.
Episode 11
I really liked the first scene! The way it was done was very cool. The lady, to be insisting so much on having meals together, now she's the one skipping them.
The information about how Heaven's Gate was created was tied neatly to Gilgamesh and history. Nice. The robots were indeed really creepy and I'm guessing that was what the Gilgamesh guys noticed earlier.
It's mighty obvious that the Countess was into Dr. Madoka too...
Yeah, 'those guys' have me intrigued as well. Their presence alone was enough to make the Gilgamesh boys retreat so they seem pretty scary/powerful.
The fight scenes this episode were pretty cool but unfortunately the animation being mediocre at best took its toll here. If this were animated by Bones it would be so much cooler :>.
Episode 11
LOL @ the countess saying that asking questions like 'why?' is childish. I'll gladly be a child then :>.
This episode was really intriguing though, probably my favorite so far. The scene with the creepy brain-robots (they remind me of Texhnolyze by the way) was pretty intense and a lot of interesting information was revealed as well. I definitely feel like we're getting closer to the core of the mystery surrounding this series.
Episode 12
You gotta love how Tatsuya keeps comparing his sister to the worst women around. But it was nice to see Kiyoko again even with how tragic her story turned out so far. I definitely hope things improve for her before we see her again.
It seems like it was implied that Tatsuya is some kind of clone of his father or something even weirder. Can't say I didn't expect something along those lines but I'm still interested in finding out the details.
Also that pre-death funeral they mentioned at the end has me intrigued. WTF is what even? xD
I was excited about Kiyoko being around and thinking "So cool!" while she told her story just to be slapped by reality later. I'm too naive... I also got the idea that Tatsuya is actually a clone. Since they mentioned it a couple times with the lizards before? And all the money etc. That would also explain why the other children look like some of the researchers in the photo if they were experimenting with cloning themselves and implanting Dynamis.
It's my first time hearing about a living funeral, too, but maybe this old guy was the head of the experiment or something and the kids will find out more about themselves. The plot progression is very well planned considering this "reveal" is being done in episode 13.
Episode 13
Well what I got from this is that Kiyoko is in love with his father and his brother because his mom and the Countess were, too lol and since she can be comparable to them etc... what is with all the incest!
So it was this guy and not the robots what kept Gilgamesh away. Man, this guy must be sick powerful. I wonder if the girl really is the one who used Dynamis, but it would make sense to have her be around the doubles. Also, not much was revealed at all! They need to stop teasing
Episode 14
So Fu and Isamu huh. Yeah, it was expected. It seems Tatsuya is not interested though. We'll see if anything develops there.
It seems the focus has changed to Kazamatsuri and I guess they're justified. The guy has a nasty personality. Well, pretty much every adult in this series does...
Also, the sky is clearing!
Episode 15
When Gilgamesh appeared I realized I didn't really missed them much. It was very impressive how they used the building's security measures to destruct the tower though! So very crafty. The background music in the distruction scenes was really eerie. Fitting.
So this is the real power of this nasty guy. It makes sense Gilgamesh were so eager to run away last time. It's a bit ridiculous that he showed up only after the tower was destroyed, but I'm sure his excuse would be something like he had not been contacted.
I wonder if Kiyoko will help the blond guy
Episode 16
Isamu has become my favorite character now for being the most sound of mind. Kiyoko ended up helping that guy. The scene at her apartment was really nice. The tension and stuff. The dialogue feels complete even if there's a lot unsaid.
The "dummy" girl came back. She has a tremendous amount of power it seems. I'm sure she'll become key later on.
Kazamatsuri said they had killed 4 and 6 remain, but what about the guy who self-destructed? Is he included in the 4 tallied? I guess eventually we'll find out, but now we know Enkidu/Dr. Madoka stole the Gilgamesh from the experiment. It was predictable, but it's good to get confirmation
Haha, yeah a lot of teasing this episode but not much information, only more mysterious characters. But at least it was satisfying to see the Countess all flustered after she had fallen for the double :>.
Also Fuko is definitely going to die of anime disease at some point considering how much time they spend on showing her sneezing :(.
Episode 14
Kazamatsuri is definitely interesting but for now I'm mostly looking forward to seeing whether they can really return the sky and what consequences that has for gilgamesh, dynamis and all that stuff.
Episode 15
I also liked how the Gilgamesh boys used the security system to help them destroy the lab. But damn, Kazamatsuri and his 'troops' have some legit destructive power. To the point where I have to wonder why Gilgamesh seems to be giving them any trouble in the first place.
DID THE EYE THING REALLY HAPPEN??? Ahem. So, more about the plans the professor has are being revealed. The Sheltering Sky has a purpose. If I recall correctly, they say this has a lot to do with the clones being born with power, so then why is Gilgamesh trying to fight them? Although maybe it's the other way around and Orga are just set on fighting Gilgamesh to the point that they retaliate.
It is also possible that the race being reborn still has not happened and the Dynamis passed down to the clones was something else.
I'm curious to know on what grounds is Kazamatsuri accusing Tatsuya of aiding the terrorist, too.