| @inim @whiteflame55 @filifjonkan @RandomFriday @Antalk @jdvz @JokerVentura @ruckes @kekekeKaj @OrlahEhontas @cipheron @botnetMAL New thread for Fantastic Children starting Monday 1st September.  |
 |
| Thank you for starting this @23feanor, looking forward to it! |
 |
Reply to filifjonkan
Thank you for creating this thread! Any idea where I can watch this series? CR?
| @filifjonkan sadly not I'm afraid. At least in the UK you can only watch it on the high seas, likely because it's an older show and CR doesn't want to licence such an old show for only a few views. |
|
| Yeah, I don't see it anywhere legal in the US, either. Time to get myself an eyepatch and a parrot once again. |
|
| I got my copy from mahou.org, but it appears they no longer exist. Their website redirects to a gaming DL site now. |
  |
Reply to whiteflame55
| @whiteflame55 ah, this is absolutely priceless! I have lost count on how many times I’ve watched this clip.. |
| Oh dear are you sure about this one? I have never heard anything good about it. |
Reply to SuperAdventure
Oh dear are you sure about this one? I have never heard anything good about it.
| @SuperAdventure It's kind of fun going into these blind, it is what it is, as the kids say. Could be great, might be terrible, we won't know until the end credits roll. Looking at the scores of my mal friends, it seems to have gone down well enough with most scoring it 7 and above. |
|
| Episode 1 Dude is obsessed with undead kids and must put a stop to them. Alright then. A child named Conrad awakes from a nightmare, only to be visited by a female specter. Is this another dream? We’re in 1853 Holland. Conrad apparently has a pretty well off family with a mother and 2 brothers. He tears up a postcard. Later, he and his brother are confronted by a crowd of kids in cloaks each with white hair and blue eyes who call him Palza, apparently his real name. He does also have similar hair. He rejects them, saying he can’t go with them and that what they did was wrong. They call him a traitor and, despite some desperation, leave him to his new family. Cut to 1901 and the same Conrad has grown up and discovered X-rays. Meanwhile, the other kids are still kids. Elsewhere, in an archipelago at a sanatorium, those same kids surround the bed of a dying woman, Tina, who was going by Serafine. As they stand there, Mel seems to lose her memories of those around them. Just then, a boy looking their age, Dumas, barges in with knowledge of who they are demanding they work together. They refuse, and he condemns them, saying they’re monsters who will get stakes through their hearts. All of them note a variety of paintings made by Tina, ones that bear a detailed version of the same strange image from the postcard we saw earlier, and all the children aside from Mel end up escaping. Cut to 2012. A girl with dark hair lies atop some statues in that same archipelago. A young boy trains in hand-to-hand fighting, seems like a free spirit. He discovers the young girl, who came in on a boat from parts unknown and won’t respond. We get a view of a crowded city center, where the boy Thoma approaches a female fortune teller he knows well, seems like his mother. He quickly jets off to save a young boy who is being chased for stealing named Chitto, but kid doesn’t want to be saved. He seems to know the people chasing him, and ends up going with them, refusing to say where his sister Helga is. Of course, this is the same girl Thoma found earlier. They’re both run-aways from an orphanage, and are taken back unwillingly in the end. ED has a nice song, and a lot more of that image which appears to be some tall, pointed structure set against a number of celestial bodies. Damn, they really just threw us into things with all show no tell, eh? Intrigued to see where things go. |
|
| Episode 1. From Nippon Animation studio who did a lot of the older WMT shows, don't know the director but he's worked on a lot of older series, including Akira and WMT. Was doing some housekeeping to the future watch list, taking off the ones we've watched, and when checking out the studio noticed Future Boy Conan, which we've both got on our lists. Quest for the Best mentioned it and it's an old classic, so thought might be a good candidate for a future watch? We've got loads of interesting shows I'm looking forward to checking out; Pumpkin Scissors, Magical Doremi, Bokura no, Mai Otome, Eureka Seven, Now And Then, Here and Now. From what we see and hear at the outset, looks like there's a group of immortal children, and one of them, Conrad (Palza), wants out. They must have some way to prolong their lives, but as children, and he wants to live a normal life as Conrad. Conrad must've got out, as he grows up and discovers x-rays. Maybe the immortal kids need to keep taking something to stay immortal. Was Tina/Seraphine perhaps another child that 'got out' like Conrad and grew up. From the conversation with Dumas, and the pics Tina painted, I'm hazarding a guess there's some sci-fi tech at play, and they aren't the only ones with knowledge of it. Skip forward to 2012, a boy named Thoma is at an island with what look like Buddhist ruins. Is it the same island, or archipelago, not sure, didn't see any ruins when the white haired children visited Tina's house. Both islands looked tropical. Thoma sees a boy running, Chitto, turns out he's from an orphanage. The men are looking for him and a girl named Helga, was that the girl sitting on the statue maybe? Yes it was and she's returned by Thoma's dad. Is that a floating castle in the stars in the ED? We see: Christina 1721-1759 Seraphine 1859-1901 Helga 2001- So 100 year gap between each of the women's deaths and the birth of the next. Still murky as to what's going on. Will have to let events and the story unfold! |
23feanorSep 1, 3:54 AM
|
| Yep, there’s a lot of intriguing series on our lists. Now and Then, Here and There and Eureka Seven are long-time considerations for me while Future Boy Conan and Pumpkin Scissors are new additions to my ptw, looking forward to watching them all. Will have to do another ranking soon, though I believe Lupin VI is next. Episode 2 Back in 1901, after the discovery of x-rays, the former vampire child (I guess they can decide not to be vampires and just grow up as normal humans with different colored hair?) wrestles with his history in a press conference. Apparently he doesn’t recall his history with the other child-like vampires (CLVs), but having spent time with one of them after he’d aged inspired him. It’s pretty unclear how all this works. Cut to 2012. Helga lies in her room at the orphanage. One of the CLVs, suddenly riled by pictures like those we saw last episode, decides to break all the lights in their dwelling. They’re in a castle, most in the basement as one waves a glowing hand over some stones, revealing some crystals that grow out of the rock. These contain a copy of their memories as well as ones that belong to their former comrades, which they say could have restored their memories. Just as the CLVs retrieve them, the enemy appears. Suddenly, a ripple and they’re sucked underwater. A set of hulking shadows greets them in a cloudy place full of pillars. The CLVs strike with prepped swords, which turn these figures to stone and slice them in half. One of them, Hasmodye, trips up and one of these hulking figures approaches him, showing him an image of a beautiful house on the water before being destroyed. We also get more insight into the CLVs’ rebirth. When one of their number dies, they think they will be reborn 100 years later. Given that the last time this happened was 112 years ago, they’re searching for the 11-year-old reincarnation now (Helga?), which is roughly the age they appear to be. They do all this while avoiding whatever just happened and Dumas. Are they linked? They’re also concerned about aging, as apparently physically aging up even a year could cause them to lose their memories, though I’m unclear what exactly prevents them from aging and what can remove that. We watch Helga and Chitto escape once again and Thoma training again with his dad. Thoma drops his mother off at work and goes searching for the other two, who are there trying to travel elsewhere by train on limited funds, not that he’d know they were even here. He ends up running into the CLVs by accident, but nothing comes of it yet. Those same CLVs board the exact same train as Helga and Chitto, failing to spot Helga. Getting Noien vibes at this point. Not the best comparison given that that was one of my earlier watches on here and I didn’t love it, but hopefully this will go better. It’s easier to put the pieces together so far. |
|
| Hope you enjoyed your day off yday. I mentioned Magical Doremi as I keep seeing dub eps being uploaded onto pirate sites in drips and drabs, currently at 40/51. It was dubbed in 2005 according to dubbing wiki, so no idea why it's suddenly dropping now. I think @inim might've initially suggested it years ago (not because he's watched it, but that he'd heard good things), plus one of the anitubers (PhenomSage or Bennet the Sage maybe) said it was well written and funny. Anyway I watched the first dubbed ep yday, Aria liked it, it's quite kiddy, but funny and dub performance is old but gold. It's well done, charming and amusing kids tv. Not sure whether we'll want to watch 51 eps of it for a group watch, but we might. Yes, it's Lupin 6 next. There's an ep 0 to kick that off. After that we'll rank some shows to see what's next. I've also had Eureka Seven on my radar for years, since I created my mal list, so maybe that one. On a side rant, it's getting so hard finding, and being able to access what you want to watch. CR only has the sub of Eureka Seven, Netflix has the dub, but it isn't supported on an ad-only subscription, which is their language for 'another paywall bitch, now pay up', although I think this is a UK only thing atm, ughhh. Makes sailing the seas more appealing by the day. Loads of good recs from Quest for the Best, Baby Steps (2014) and Cross Game (2009), both of which Geoff has mentioned before and I already have on my list. Think @inim enjoyed Cross Game and gave it high praise. Episode 2. Do we know the kids, CLV, are actually vampires? I don't know anything about this show, and synopsis didn't mention vampires and no vampire tag. Just wondering if I missed something. I kind of assumed they might be vampires, but with sci-fi it might not be. I did read @inim's review from a few years back and it says this is a very slow burn with good payoff. Annoyingly, this is one of those older dubs where the on screen text wasn't translated, so names of places and dates are omitted for me. Reading your messages is the only way I know when and where we are. Couple of the dates have been numerical which I can see ofc. From what we can see of Conrad Rugen, when these CLV (useful term for the group, whether they end up being vampires or not) stop having something, or doing something, or leave the group, the aging process must kick in and they age like normal humans. Side effect of memory loss. We see a shadow entity going after the CLV. So they have a supernatural enemy, no clue as to why they're being pursued and by what atm. The CLV store memories in a crystal, in a safe place, this one a church now library, and they mention having done it 20 times before. So their memories must degrade over time. The whole aging process for them, and rebirth is still unclear. The CLV mention they are 11, and approaching their 12th bday, so are they aging normally, or very slowly, and they then lose their memories. What happens next, do they revert back to their state at 11 y/o, ie inject their old memories into themselves. Thoma goes looking for Helga. She and Chitto make it away from the orphanage and onto a train, so do the CLV. Thoma misses Helga and the train. You can tell we're going to be slow drip fed details, like Texnolyze. |
|
Reply to 23feanor
Hope you enjoyed your day off yday.
I mentioned Magical Doremi as I keep seeing dub eps being uploaded onto pirate sites in drips and drabs, currently at 40/51. It was dubbed in 2005 according to dubbing wiki, so no idea why it's suddenly dropping now. I think @inim might've initially suggested it years ago (not because he's watched it, but that he'd heard good things), plus one of the anitubers (PhenomSage or Bennet the Sage maybe) said it was well written and funny. Anyway I watched the first dubbed ep yday, Aria liked it, it's quite kiddy, but funny and dub performance is old but gold. It's well done, charming and amusing kids tv. Not sure whether we'll want to watch 51 eps of it for a group watch, but we might.
Yes, it's Lupin 6 next. There's an ep 0 to kick that off. After that we'll rank some shows to see what's next. I've also had Eureka Seven on my radar for years, since I created my mal list, so maybe that one. On a side rant, it's getting so hard finding, and being able to access what you want to watch. CR only has the sub of Eureka Seven, Netflix has the dub, but it isn't supported on an ad-only subscription, which is their language for 'another paywall bitch, now pay up', although I think this is a UK only thing atm, ughhh. Makes sailing the seas more appealing by the day.
Loads of good recs from Quest for the Best, Baby Steps (2014) and Cross Game (2009), both of which Geoff has mentioned before and I already have on my list. Think @inim enjoyed Cross Game and gave it high praise.
Episode 2. Do we know the kids, CLV, are actually vampires? I don't know anything about this show, and synopsis didn't mention vampires and no vampire tag. Just wondering if I missed something. I kind of assumed they might be vampires, but with sci-fi it might not be.
I did read @inim's review from a few years back and it says this is a very slow burn with good payoff.
Annoyingly, this is one of those older dubs where the on screen text wasn't translated, so names of places and dates are omitted for me. Reading your messages is the only way I know when and where we are. Couple of the dates have been numerical which I can see ofc.
From what we can see of Conrad Rugen, when these CLV (useful term for the group, whether they end up being vampires or not) stop having something, or doing something, or leave the group, the aging process must kick in and they age like normal humans. Side effect of memory loss.
We see a shadow entity going after the CLV. So they have a supernatural enemy, no clue as to why they're being pursued and by what atm.
The CLV store memories in a crystal, in a safe place, this one a church now library, and they mention having done it 20 times before. So their memories must degrade over time.
The whole aging process for them, and rebirth is still unclear. The CLV mention they are 11, and approaching their 12th bday, so are they aging normally, or very slowly, and they then lose their memories. What happens next, do they revert back to their state at 11 y/o, ie inject their old memories into themselves.
Thoma goes looking for Helga. She and Chitto make it away from the orphanage and onto a train, so do the CLV. Thoma misses Helga and the train.
You can tell we're going to be slow drip fed details, like Texnolyze.
I mentioned Magical Doremi as I keep seeing dub eps being uploaded onto pirate sites in drips and drabs, currently at 40/51. It was dubbed in 2005 according to dubbing wiki, so no idea why it's suddenly dropping now. I think @inim might've initially suggested it years ago (not because he's watched it, but that he'd heard good things), plus one of the anitubers (PhenomSage or Bennet the Sage maybe) said it was well written and funny. Anyway I watched the first dubbed ep yday, Aria liked it, it's quite kiddy, but funny and dub performance is old but gold. It's well done, charming and amusing kids tv. Not sure whether we'll want to watch 51 eps of it for a group watch, but we might.
Yes, it's Lupin 6 next. There's an ep 0 to kick that off. After that we'll rank some shows to see what's next. I've also had Eureka Seven on my radar for years, since I created my mal list, so maybe that one. On a side rant, it's getting so hard finding, and being able to access what you want to watch. CR only has the sub of Eureka Seven, Netflix has the dub, but it isn't supported on an ad-only subscription, which is their language for 'another paywall bitch, now pay up', although I think this is a UK only thing atm, ughhh. Makes sailing the seas more appealing by the day.
Loads of good recs from Quest for the Best, Baby Steps (2014) and Cross Game (2009), both of which Geoff has mentioned before and I already have on my list. Think @inim enjoyed Cross Game and gave it high praise.
Episode 2. Do we know the kids, CLV, are actually vampires? I don't know anything about this show, and synopsis didn't mention vampires and no vampire tag. Just wondering if I missed something. I kind of assumed they might be vampires, but with sci-fi it might not be.
I did read @inim's review from a few years back and it says this is a very slow burn with good payoff.
Annoyingly, this is one of those older dubs where the on screen text wasn't translated, so names of places and dates are omitted for me. Reading your messages is the only way I know when and where we are. Couple of the dates have been numerical which I can see ofc.
From what we can see of Conrad Rugen, when these CLV (useful term for the group, whether they end up being vampires or not) stop having something, or doing something, or leave the group, the aging process must kick in and they age like normal humans. Side effect of memory loss.
We see a shadow entity going after the CLV. So they have a supernatural enemy, no clue as to why they're being pursued and by what atm.
The CLV store memories in a crystal, in a safe place, this one a church now library, and they mention having done it 20 times before. So their memories must degrade over time.
The whole aging process for them, and rebirth is still unclear. The CLV mention they are 11, and approaching their 12th bday, so are they aging normally, or very slowly, and they then lose their memories. What happens next, do they revert back to their state at 11 y/o, ie inject their old memories into themselves.
Thoma goes looking for Helga. She and Chitto make it away from the orphanage and onto a train, so do the CLV. Thoma misses Helga and the train.
You can tell we're going to be slow drip fed details, like Texnolyze.
23feanor said: Touch (1985) and Cross Game (2014) have a similar story and are by the same author - down to the character design. My "breadth-search-first" mentality made me pick the show with fewer episodes, not sure if it is close enough to call Cross Game a remake. But for sure it's inspired by the 80s show.Loads of good recs from Quest for the Best, Baby Steps (2014) and Cross Game (2009), both of which Geoff has mentioned before and I already have on my list. Think @inim enjoyed Cross Game and gave it high praise. The praise comes from the smooth and comfy mix of genres it offers. To start with, I usually avoid pure sports "ganbatte" anime like the plague. I went into Cross Game blind and found that it has a lot of elements from a mystery show, a romance, and plenty of slice of life in it. That made up for the fact that the arc holding it all together is baseball, which for a European sports grouch like myself is close to the maximum punishment. Long story short, this show lives from the underlying tragedy, the slow budding romance, and the calm and comfy way it tells the story in a slow and steady pacing. It knows where it is going in 50 episodes, so it also sticks the landing. The feeling is not so much that of watching a sports show, but character development and slow-burning romance of the main couple. Everybody is nice and friendly, the drama is present but never threatening. Something to watch on a lazy day, but with just enough drama to make you want to see how it resolves in the next episode. 23feanor said: I think the Rugen is a bad subtitle transcription of a phonetically J-mangled German name, because anything else perfectly describes the first Nobel laureate in physics, Wilhem Conrad Röntgen. In German you use Conrad as his first name and not Wilhelm, probably WW1 shame related. The foto they show in the anime is him (long beard), he grew up in Holland as his mother was Dutch, also in German X-Rays are called Röntgen Radiation (Strahlung) to this day. "öntg" has an Umlaut and 3 consecutive consonants, that is difficulty level 5/5 for the Japanese :)Conrad Rugen 23feanor said: Yes, it's on my PTW based on what I read about it. The show seems to be one of those really targeted at young girls, but never shy to touch loaded and difficult issues and taboos in a playful way. So it has "depth" in the choice of plot elements and goes the extra mile to make them accessible for pre-teens. I'd join a Doremi watch I think, my chores from the AWC are not done but the end is in sight. there's a 51/51 eps German dub, thus easy watch.Magical Doremi |
inimSep 2, 4:50 AM
 |
| I'm going to do a deeper dive into my choices from the list during our Lupin VI watch, sounds like there are some goodies in there I've overlooked. @inim Sounds like Cross Game is absolutely worth getting to at some point, and if it means bringing you back on board, I'm more than willing to roll the dice on Magical Doremi even with its length. Episode 3 Yeah, I'm kinda just assuming they're vampires or vampire-adjacent creatures. They aren't human, they barely age, but they aren't sucking blood and travel in the daytime, so they don't fit the usual stereotypes for vampires. I'll keep calling them CLVs for now and adjust as we learn more. Also, glad watching this subbed is helping with the timeline a bit, always annoying when they don't translate what's on the screen. So Helga is basically confirmed to have some memories associated with the CLVs since she's prone to drawing that same picture we've seen several times now. We don't know why the director at the orphanage are so dead-set on getting them back, but clearly there's more to how they perceive these kids. Helga doesn't speak much, but when she does, it's about the place in her picture, where they are apparently trying to reach. Speaking on that, they show a map at one point in this episode with a variety of locations, some of which align to locations in Belgium and the Netherlands, though the map is clearly not of those places since it's an archipelago. There's definitely some alt history here (which may also explain some of the naming discrepancies with Rugen). From the CLVs, we hear a bit of what seems like prose talking abotu a resting place they're headed towards where their "soul will once again have a home" and "night and stars are waiting." They say this is a line from Hesse (guessing Hermann Hesse, who wrote Siddhartha and Steppenwolf in our timeline, but wrote this in theirs) and it seems to reference the place they're headed, which they're very impatient to reach. They also discuss the effects of advancing science too quickly, as Rugen did, and its broader ripple effects. Cool concept, would be interesting to have this series explore that in more detail. A detective approaches a woman's house. There's apparently been an ongoing search for her son, Ian. He vanished 6 years ago and they called off the search 3 years ago saying that he ran away. Weird reason not to search for him anymore, though I get that cases like this can just go cold. This was apparently the same year when several other children went missing, all 5 years old... all turning 11 this year. Coincidence? I think not! The CLVs are called the Children of Belfort (might as well shift to calling them CBs from here on out) and one of them is Ian, her child. However, this photo is from 100 years ago, suggesting that Ian is the reincarnation of Palza (who grew up into Conrad Rugen). One thing that sticks out to me: Helga looks like a pretty normal child for a reincarnation, while Ian has the characteristic white hair and blue eyes. He apparently developed that as he grew, but Helga did not. Why? This detective seems to know a lot about this and is exploring the broader mystery of the CBs. Helga and Chitto are forced to write apologies, but remain unrepentant. Chitto's very protective of her, that moment of him holding his bag over his head to try and protect her from the rain says a great deal by itself. Unfortunately, so does the director's stroking her hair, implying some kind of abuse from her shaking. He's also sending Chitto to another orphanage, so depriving her of her lifeline. Chitto's desperate efforts to stay with her despite being beaten are just brutal. We see the man from the very start of the series on a speedboat. He crosses paths with Thoma going at a breakneck pace before slamming into the boat with Chitto and two men onboard, causing an explosion. Shockingly, everyone's fine (the other boat even speeds off) and Chitto uses the opportunity to escape, finding his way to Thoma. A group of men in sunglasses (seriously? It's night and you're wearing sunglasses? You guys can't see shit) come in on a big boat and start combing the shoreline with huge searchlights. They're looking for escaped criminals, probably the man in the speedboat. The plot thickens. |
|
| @inim thanks for the info on Cross Game and Touch, don't think I've heard of Touch before now (I see it's 101 eps, so bit too long for a group watch, but Cross Game sounds promising with it's genre mix). Oh, I see you enjoyed Apothecary Diaries and are now onto Frieren, you are eating well sir. Reminds me we've got Frieren S2 coming up soon, trying to tamper my expectations. I think Magical Doremi could be a good time, and will be similar to Sailor Moon with episodic, goofy silliness, but set in elementary school rather than middle school in SM. Plus from the bits I've seen of Doremi, it's centred around the school, whereas SM moves away from a school setting after a couple of eps. Episode 3. This is the period of early digital/cgi animation, but looks good, apart from the memory crystals which stand out as cgi inserts. Backgrounds are nice. Unless it's some Dutch/German colony I don't know about (which is highly possible) then we're looking at an alt world setting. I do like this archipelago setting with the islands and boat travel. The little prose mentions a resting place for the soul, and one of the CB says they want to go back there, to a place of rest and stars. So sounds like they were there before and looking to return, but this continued mortal existence, whether death and rebirth, or extended lifespan, is exhausting for the CB. Another one of them goes on to say they're trying to get home, which sounds to me like they come from an alternate dimension, supernatural realm or space, but not earth. And they need Tina (now reborn as Helga in all likelihood) to do this. The plot thickens. A group of 5 y/o's all go missing at the same time. They'd now be 11. Sounding more likely that they do die and get reincarnated, regain their memories somehow (maybe triggered by the one CB who said he never loses his memories, maybe he doesn't die like the rest and is the one who triggers the revival of the others memories) and then leave to regroup. Bit harsh on the families who lose their children. From the conversation between the mother and detective, sounds like Ian was reincarnated, as his hair turned white and his mother said it seemed he was trying to make the most of his time with them, and was unduly concerned for the family. He must've known he had to leave them soon. Chitto and Helga are recaptured and returned. His concern for her is touching. And yeah, looks like she's suffered some abuse, the director mentions 'the director at her previous orphanage', which may be what made her so uncomfortable with his touch. I thought she was being held for some reason connected with the CB, but looks like she's just a runaway orphan to the director. We see a speedboat, some tech/radar and Chitto finds Thoma on his island. Then some MiB come looking for the guy, and lady, who were on the speedboat. Escaped prisoners apparently. |
|
Reply to 23feanor
@inim thanks for the info on Cross Game and Touch, don't think I've heard of Touch before now (I see it's 101 eps, so bit too long for a group watch, but Cross Game sounds promising with it's genre mix). Oh, I see you enjoyed Apothecary Diaries and are now onto Frieren, you are eating well sir. Reminds me we've got Frieren S2 coming up soon, trying to tamper my expectations. I think Magical Doremi could be a good time, and will be similar to Sailor Moon with episodic, goofy silliness, but set in elementary school rather than middle school in SM. Plus from the bits I've seen of Doremi, it's centred around the school, whereas SM moves away from a school setting after a couple of eps.
Episode 3. This is the period of early digital/cgi animation, but looks good, apart from the memory crystals which stand out as cgi inserts. Backgrounds are nice.
Unless it's some Dutch/German colony I don't know about (which is highly possible) then we're looking at an alt world setting. I do like this archipelago setting with the islands and boat travel.
The little prose mentions a resting place for the soul, and one of the CB says they want to go back there, to a place of rest and stars. So sounds like they were there before and looking to return, but this continued mortal existence, whether death and rebirth, or extended lifespan, is exhausting for the CB. Another one of them goes on to say they're trying to get home, which sounds to me like they come from an alternate dimension, supernatural realm or space, but not earth.
And they need Tina (now reborn as Helga in all likelihood) to do this.
The plot thickens. A group of 5 y/o's all go missing at the same time. They'd now be 11. Sounding more likely that they do die and get reincarnated, regain their memories somehow (maybe triggered by the one CB who said he never loses his memories, maybe he doesn't die like the rest and is the one who triggers the revival of the others memories) and then leave to regroup. Bit harsh on the families who lose their children.
From the conversation between the mother and detective, sounds like Ian was reincarnated, as his hair turned white and his mother said it seemed he was trying to make the most of his time with them, and was unduly concerned for the family. He must've known he had to leave them soon.
Chitto and Helga are recaptured and returned. His concern for her is touching. And yeah, looks like she's suffered some abuse, the director mentions 'the director at her previous orphanage', which may be what made her so uncomfortable with his touch. I thought she was being held for some reason connected with the CB, but looks like she's just a runaway orphan to the director.
We see a speedboat, some tech/radar and Chitto finds Thoma on his island. Then some MiB come looking for the guy, and lady, who were on the speedboat. Escaped prisoners apparently.
Episode 3. This is the period of early digital/cgi animation, but looks good, apart from the memory crystals which stand out as cgi inserts. Backgrounds are nice.
Unless it's some Dutch/German colony I don't know about (which is highly possible) then we're looking at an alt world setting. I do like this archipelago setting with the islands and boat travel.
The little prose mentions a resting place for the soul, and one of the CB says they want to go back there, to a place of rest and stars. So sounds like they were there before and looking to return, but this continued mortal existence, whether death and rebirth, or extended lifespan, is exhausting for the CB. Another one of them goes on to say they're trying to get home, which sounds to me like they come from an alternate dimension, supernatural realm or space, but not earth.
And they need Tina (now reborn as Helga in all likelihood) to do this.
The plot thickens. A group of 5 y/o's all go missing at the same time. They'd now be 11. Sounding more likely that they do die and get reincarnated, regain their memories somehow (maybe triggered by the one CB who said he never loses his memories, maybe he doesn't die like the rest and is the one who triggers the revival of the others memories) and then leave to regroup. Bit harsh on the families who lose their children.
From the conversation between the mother and detective, sounds like Ian was reincarnated, as his hair turned white and his mother said it seemed he was trying to make the most of his time with them, and was unduly concerned for the family. He must've known he had to leave them soon.
Chitto and Helga are recaptured and returned. His concern for her is touching. And yeah, looks like she's suffered some abuse, the director mentions 'the director at her previous orphanage', which may be what made her so uncomfortable with his touch. I thought she was being held for some reason connected with the CB, but looks like she's just a runaway orphan to the director.
We see a speedboat, some tech/radar and Chitto finds Thoma on his island. Then some MiB come looking for the guy, and lady, who were on the speedboat. Escaped prisoners apparently.
23feanor said: In a way, DoReMi may be the kids edition of SM, both were created and directed by Junichi Satou. He also directed the Aria franchise, Princess Tutu and the "hidden gems" Kaleido Star and Prétear: The New Legend of Snow White. So I'd trust his ability to make an elementary school show interesting.I think Magical Doremi could be a good time, and will be similar to Sailor Moon with episodic, goofy silliness, but set in elementary school rather than middle school in SM. 23feanor said: Yea, AD was fun to watch and I've S2 on my PTW already. I'm currently at about 50/60 completed in AWC, got time until early December. I just don't know why I do this to myself each year, lol. But at least I do not go for 100/100 as in the years before and do not aim to complete by April. But 60 shows is still a challenge for me in the current life situation. And I owe y'all 2-3 dozen one line reviews, the list is growing and contains some less popular shows I want to praise. E.g. Girls Band Cry and Tawawa on Monday - both are upper tier in their respective genre.Oh, I see you enjoyed Apothecary Diaries and are now onto Frieren |
inimSep 3, 4:12 AM
| |
| @inim coincidence, I was mentioning Junichi Satou to @whiteflame55 last week as he's just started the first Aria show. I knew Satou was involved in early SM as our last SM watch, Sailor Moon S (3rd season of SM) was the first directed by Ikuhara, although Satou is credited with the storyboards for a large number of eps. Before that Satou was lead director on SM seasons 1 & 2 and Ikuhara was co-director/episode director. Sailor Moon s1, solely directed by Satou is still my top pick from the franchise. I'd forgotten that Satou also directed Princess Tutu, another great show. He's one of my top directors, for Aria alone, which is unique and gold standard for SoL with added extra bits, as I said to @whiteflame55. He also did Magic Users Club, an OVA with follow up season, it's quirky but solid 7/10. AD is superb, and imho, S2 was even better, opened the world up a bit, more political, palace and military intrigue all woven masterfully together. Someone else has mentioned Tawawa on Monday before, being good low key ecchi fan service. Similar to Ganbare Douki-chan, which to date is the only manga (well, web comic) that I've completed. Just checked and it's continued on from where I left it, so going to go and read the remaining 20 chapters, at only 2 or 3 pages, doesn't take long. I just started Space Adventure Cobra, which I discovered is another Dezaki show. And look forward to your reviews when you get some free time. You've watched a fair number of shows since your last one. |
|
| @inim Always interested to see your short reviews. I loved Girls Band Cry, thought it was a surprising stand-out last year. And yeah, you've got a lot to look forward to in S2 of Apothecary Diaries. I didn't love it quite as much as S1, but I still think it's excellent. @23feanor Aria's been great so far. I'm 8 episodes in and it's definitely a vibe. President Aria is a particular standout, just love everything about this giant headed cat. And it makes a lot of sense that Satou's the connective tissue between this and SM. Episode 4 A glowing figure of a young girl with long brown hair in a dress stands in a clearing. They emphasize this space several times, showing us shots of it with and without her in the frame. Chitto and Thoma search for Helga while avoiding the MiB (too good not to use it). These guys are scary with their night vision goggles, multiple helicopters and rifles. The boys manage to sneak into the orphanage, knock out the guard watching her room and rescue her. She has a very weird and taciturn response to Thoma saying he met her previously and then to Thoma touching her, not sure what that's about. Could just be a response to strangers or to older boys for some unknown reason. While escaping, they run into the person from the speedboat who begs them for help. I thought this was the man from the start of the series, but it turns out to be an older woman. She asks that they stay with her. Helga goes to her side and holds her hand. She says she's not a criminal and it's revealed that the ghostly figure from earlier is her dead little sister (who possibly either was or was supposed to become part of the CB?) and only Helga can see her. The old woman's name is Sinon, who is only 24 based on her ID (doesn't look a day under 70) knows she's going to die and speaks of her regrets before passing away. Her name is Sinon and we see flashes of what looks like her in a facility. She sees her sister in her ghostly form as well. It's at this point that they're discovered by the MiB and are taken captive, though Thoma puts up a good fight. Shortly thereafter, despite some efforts to save her, Sinon dies. A woman who arrived on the island earlier, Professor Gherta, walks into the scene. She appears to feel legitimately sorry for Sinon. I guess that old man in the speedboat is still on the loose, not sure how Sinon got here or who this third person they're talking about is. The MiB know where these people are headed and know they're dying as well. The search is ended, Sinon is bagged up and the kids are told to keep quiet about this. They manage to make it to Thoma's boat and escape. The director ends up giving up the chase at this point, refusing to put himself in harm's way (he was held at gunpoint) to retrieve them. On the way offshore, Helga spots the ghostly figure again (is this one Sinon?) as it sinks into the sea. We cut to a house with a woman bringing back groceries. She has a visitor: an old man who is upstairs playing with her daughter. Guess we know where one of the other escapees is. |
|
| Aria is most definitely a vibe, bit similar to Call of the Night in that respect, vibe with a story attached. President Aria and the cats are fun. Did you pick up the dub? We just finished Resident Alien, one of those shows where S1 & S2 were ok, and then S3 & S4 got better and better, writers found their groove. They had a joke about MiB there, so it was in my mind when I saw the guys in sunglasses at night time in this show. Episode 4. A glowing girl and the wreck of the speedboat we saw at the end of last ep with a mysterious symbol on its prow, which the MiB promptly burn, making me think it had meaning and they didn't want it discovered by the islands residents. From her reaction to Thoma, I wonder if Helga is uneasy around guys older than her maybe. Or did she suspect him of being a CB, but then he doesn't have white hair, does she know about the white hair? Helga and the lady, Sinon, can see the ghost of her sister, which she says has come to take her away. Thoma and Chitto can't see the ghost. Sinon says she's 24. Clearly someone, the MiB, or people they work for, have been experimenting on her, and this might connect to the secret of the CB and how they don't age and/or reincarnate. Her ID card says the GED Project. Sounds like Sinon was attempting to head back to see her mother before she died. Guessing her mother is on the island. The MiB say they're trying to help Sinon and the other escapee, and I don't disbelieve them. The Doctor says 'poor girl' with sympathy in her voice, without a trace of condescension or scorn. Didn't sound too villainous to me. The kids get away from the island and the director of the orphanage says to give up chasing them. We end on an old man sitting on a girls bed. Is he her father, similarly aged up like Sinon, and returned to see his family one last time before he dies? My takeaway is that the GED project and this doctor Hawksbee are involved with something related to the CB and aging. Were Sinon and the other escapee willing volunteers on an experiment, was there a side effect, did they have some genetic disorder that GED project was trying to cure. We don't have any details yet. |
23feanorSep 4, 3:36 AM
|
| I've been watching the Aria sub, actually. I'd prefer the dub for something like this so I could just drink it all in, but since it's legally available on CR here and only in sub, that's how I've been watching it. Still a good time. I really like Resident Alien, and I agree, it definitely got better in S3 (I haven't seen S4 yet - I actually forgot it came out last month, so thank you for the reminder, just unfortunate that it's only available on Peacock here and I don't have that subscription so I'll likely be pirating that one too or waiting for it to drop on Netflix). Episode 5 Alright, current theory: I think the CBs are connected with individual humans somehow and those humans essentially take on the years the CBs don't show. I think the MiB isn't actually involved in causing them to age, but picks them up and studies them to try and understand the CBs. It's still unclear how that would work, how memories are involved (these older individuals can see spirits, as I suspect the CBs can based on Helga's capacity, but I doubt they have the CB's memories), or why turning 11 is the magic number before you can become a CB (it seems the transition can be slow or rapid depending on how much they remember, given that Ian went full white hair and blue eyes at 5 and remembered everything, while Helga is still a normal looking child at 11 and just keeps redrawing the same picture) and turning 12 is yet another magic number where CBs revert to normal humans and age normally, but we're starting to see the shape of it. The woman is obviously nervous of this old man who just arrived in her home and is interacting with her daughter. She seems to have a vision of an older woman in the house as well, that's odd. He gets scooped up by the police and she never hears him out (I mean, I'd at least want to know why he was there, but maybe that's just me). The kids hide out on a deserted island where Thoma has made his own personal hideaway. Meanwhile, the CBs are apparently returning to a place where they can recharge a bit. This is Clairmont Sanatorium and Hospital, or at least it used to be 111 years ago. The building has become decrepit with time. Helga wanders off from their base of operations, stuck on Sinon's last words. She remains withdrawn and sullen. Chitto is very defensive of her, even pushing back on Thoma calling her "that girl," though we don't know why that sets him off. He also refuses to allow Helga to do any work, taking it on himself in her stead while Thoma tries to push her to do her share. She really isn't in the mindset to be helpful, but Thoma's right that Chitto can't just cover for all her work, either, nor is it preferable to just allow her to wallow. Cooks, the detective from earlier, arrives at police headquarters and is shown a video of the old man (name: Grass). He was in custody here along with that strange old woman who seemed to vanish earlier, but Grass died like Sinon. He was only 31. Stranger still, the old woman sitting next to him appears on camera, though no one in the room could see her and she vanishes as he dies. That apparently was his late mother, though it's odd that everyone can see her. The woman he visited comes to give some insights into Grass, who seems to be her missing husband, as you surmised. Cooks becomes fixated on the symbol on Grass's uniform (apparently a symbol of a demon god named Ged - hey, GED, which is the federal science agency we've been referring to as the MiB, gonna keep using that) and the body was apparently taken away by the MiB. They're visited by Alice Holingworth, an examiner from Internal Affairs who is here to work with him on his case. They head back to Cooks's hotel room and find a man in sunglasses with white hair waiting for them. I think this is Dumas, who has aged a good deal, and jumps off the balcony when threatened, vanishing into the woods. We find out that Cooks has been investigating a case of a missing girl for 6 years and has gathered extensive research since then involving kids with white hair and blue eyes, all of whom are CBs now (and he knows that's what they're called). It's also confirmed that every CB, not just the few they've been searching for, died on the same day in 1901 - so they didn't live 100 years (unclear how long they actually lived, doesn't seem consistent with normal lifespans but it's not anywhere near true immortality), they died and reincarnated 100 years later with their memories. We also learn the identity of that man in the very first scene of this series: Radcliffe, who researched all this back in 1901 and left notes and a voice recording behind. A lot of pertinent information this episode: the MiB were researching a certain black stone Cooks' father found next to the bodies of the CBs (the memory stones turned black after they died?). Needless to say, Alice isn't super receptive to all this information about a death cult of runaway children wandering around and reincarnating every 100 years. Chitto goes missing in a rain storm and both Thoma and Helga plunge into the dark woods to find him. Seems Chitto is one of the few parts of her life that will get Helga up and moving. Alright, now I'm intrigued. A little exposition goes a long way, and couching this in an investigation is a smart choice. |
|
| Shame about the Aria dub, it's one of the best dubs out there imho, along with Tenchi, because it has English VA who only voiced a handful of shows, plus they're all very well cast for their respective roles. I did try the sub to begin with as I'd seen clips of Alicia's 'ara ara', but the dub version 'my my', is equally seductive. You're also missing out on Aika's 'no sappy lines allowed' catchphrase which is slightly different in the sub and doesn't land as well i think. It's something she says over all the seasons, always at sappy moments breaking the ice in a nice way (just when people start feeling self conscious) and making everyone laugh. I do get where you're coming from though. Especially if you want to watch on a smart tv, then CR, HiDive and Netflix are so easily accessible with their apps. Resident Alien S4 was very good, nice way to round out the series and finished on a high note. Peacemaker S2 just started over here and that's another one that we really like. Episode 5. Good theory. I'm still unsure as to what's going on with the CB. Do they awaken in existing children at 5-10 y/o, all come together for 11 then die after a year at 12 (or as you suggest, do they revert back to the children they were before, losing their memories), redepositing their memories in those crystals each cycle? And they've been searching for Tina (Christina), Sepharine and now Helga for some reason, well to get home, or to a safe place where they can rest. Agree that it seems likely the MiB aren't the ones behind this phenomena, they're just studying it. The CB say '111 years since Seraphine died and no signs of Tina', we've been assuming they are one and the same, Seraphine was Tina/Christina reincarnated after 100 years. They talk about them as if they're two people. Or is Tina the original so that's how they refer to her, ie they're looking for Tina, who they know reincarnated as Seraphine in 1859, or called herself Seraphine. You can't help but notice how sombre and withdrawn Helga is, as is she's suffered a lot of abuse as a child. Chitto is very protective of her. The old man was the missing husband, who also aged up and died, also a ghost, but this was was caught on camera. Alice Holingworth teams up with detective Cook looking into these child disappearances and the origins of the CB. A demon god GED, huh. And Cook's grandad saw the previous CB pass away 100 years ago, all on the same day at the same time. So maybe the ones who got out, Mel and Palza, were the ones who were captured by the MiB and studied, but aged very quickly maybe? But then Palza, who became Conrad Rugen went on to become a famous scientist and aged past his 30's i think, well he looked older in that press conference. Cook's grandad found a stone with the dead kids, and Radcliffe investigated, and somehow this linked to GED. Alice wants answers, and this story sounds like hogwash to her. Chitto is the one thing that gets Helga moving. The mystery is starting to spread its metaphorical wings. |
|
| I might shift up to the dub on a different site after the first season. The second season is double length, so it would give me a solid comparison and then I can decide which direction to take for the third season. We'll see where it takes me. Glad to hear the final season of Resident Alien was solid! Been watching Peacemaker S2 as well and enjoying that one too. Alternate dimensions make for interesting shenanigans, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. If you haven't seen it, highly recommend Creature Commandos, which instantly proved to me that James Gunn is the right man for the job with righting the DC universe (Superman doubled down on that and Peacemaker's not slowing him down at all). We're also making our way through the new episodes of Wednesday S2, which has been fun, if a little scattershot. Episode 6 They find Chitto collapsed. Thoma initially goes to help him, but quickly books it out of there. There's a killer bee on Chitto's back. He stumbled upon a hive and Thoma is terrified. He still attempts to save Chitto very carefully, but since his grandfather died due to their stings, he's too nervous to fully go in. By contrast, Helga just strolls on in there. Girl's got nerves of steel. Luckily, the bees don't sting her or Chitto (who was not stung either, he just fell out of a tree). When they return, Thoma acquires clean clothes for Helga. Seems he's falling for her. He asks about the drawing she's been working on, surmising that it's a place she wants to go and feeling like he's seen it somewhere before. Chitto discovers a suspicious boy in the forest. This is one of the CBs who is interacting with a floating metallic sphere making computer noises before it phases into the ground. Seems like there's some overgrown tech out here, maybe from 100 years ago or even earlier. He runs into a dog that he recognizes, likely from his life before becoming a CB. Poor thing just wants to see him, but he backs away and even raises a sword to kill it. This, thankfully, isn't a real dog. It's one of those shadow beings and he takes it out easily. Thoma and Chitto watch all of this, but can't see anything. They confront the CB, resulting in a brief scuffle where the CB proves a match for Thoma's fighting prowess, particularly using that device at his side which apparently allows him to defy gravity a little with those sick jumps, but Thoma overpowers him. The sword he was carrying also just phases through objects, so I guess it can only cut those shadow creatures. The CB calls on Wonder to save him, which is a robot on the island. I like that design, it's like it has two huge shields for arms and I've never seen a design like that for the head. The CB gives Thoma a scare and jets out of there, spotting Helga on the way out. He reconvenes with some of the other CBs, who are frustrated by their lack of contact with someone (maybe the other CBs?) and their lack of results finding another child who is set to join their ranks. Back to Cooks, who gets a lead on a university research group called Phantom Ged and their leader Gherta Hawksbee (the doc from MiB), as well as information on Grass. He was declared dead 3 years ago following a test run with an experimental aircraft, though obviously, that was a cover-up since he was alive until last episode. They also learn of events with Sinon, and Cooks makes some connections between them. |
|
| Not sure if I should watch this one. It's a lot of episodes and I'm not in the mood for anime most times. Do we have to finish it this month? |
 |
| @Aoi_hana completely up to you when you watch, post when you want, but no spoilers please. We watch 1 ep per day and post after each ep but please feel free to watch at your own speed. Always good to get another opinion on a show as we're watching. And welcome to the club. Episode 6. Helga showing nerves of steel with the killer bees. Think I would've been as terrified as Thoma, more so if my grandfather died from a sting. Helga is one of those wispy, airy fairy types, who don't seem to be able to look after themselves and others want to keep safe and protect. You know that CR award category 'protect at all costs', she'd fit in there. Thoma has had a change of heart where she's concerned, seen by the new clothes he gets her. We get our first sight of sci-fi tech in the form of weapons the CB displays during his run in with Thoma, and Wonder, a robot hidden on the island. Intriguing. Cooks decides to head to Clairmont, where the fragment of black memory rock was first discovered, and where we know the CB are hiding out in the abandoned orphanage. The CB are still searching for the reincarnated Seraphine/Tina. |
|
| @Aoi_hana Happy to have you join us for whatever number of episodes you'd feel comfortable watching. We've had many instances where people just finished a show at their own pace and posted their thoughts at the end if that's what you would prefer. We do watch shows for these group watches that are shorter than this, so if you'd prefer to wait until we start one that runs a little shorter, that's fine too. Episode 7 Cooks heads to Clairmont with Alice. He plays the recording he copied onto a cassette player for her. The sound isn't great, but she gets a lot of info, hearing about a certain professor Radcliffe meeting with Cooks's grandfather as they examine that black stone (looks too big to be the memory stones). Cooks Sr. witnessed the deaths of the CBs of the time, capturing that old photo of them alive in front of a spinning mechanism of light. They cause him to collapse, and by the time he awakens, they're dead, their bodies naked and uninjured, hair returned to normal non-white color and black stone at their side. Said black stone is indestructible. However, when exposed to x-rays, an unknown pattern is transferred to photographic plates. What's more, the pattern changes each time this is done. It's from this stone, the Fragment, that the Ged Group is formed. In 1915, they've upped their game to get more information from the Fragment, but they still can't decipher the symbols, which still continue to change. Radcliffe finds a newspaper from 1856 where the deaths of CBs were reported in similar fashion to those of 1901. Strange, that's only 45 years difference. Radcliffe heads to Europe to search for answers in 1918, and finds evidence going further back: 1806, 1771, 1753, 1701, 1672, 1661, 1642, 1627, 1611, and 1581). So it wasn't my imagination: their frequency increases as it goes back in time, though not evenly (by my count, we've got 100, 45, 50, 35, 18, 52, 29, 11, 19, 15, 16, and 30 years, so there's some variation but the gaps are generally decreasing and notably, the shortest length is 11 years, the age of the CBs). And they looked identical to current CBs. The furthest back he went was 1489 in Befort, Belgium. He found a journal written by a university instructor at the time, which described the CBs as well. Over the course of 500 years, they appeared 13 times. Turtles all the way down. And this all leads back to the very first scene of the first episode, where he's recording the words Alice hears in 1919. He dug up the graves of the CBs who died in 1901 and burning their remains. Love when stories loop around like this. At the Clairmont Sanitorium, the CBs wait, pining for a resting place as he looks at the picture we've seen throughout this series. Two of them wanders into a dream, seemingly right out of 1581 (given the portrait on the wall of one of them). Shit's creepy. He has clothing on from the time that can't be torn off, reforming as quickly as it's removed. These all seem like memories from the time brought to life. Even finding his memory crystal can't release the trapped CB, who is drawn to the love of family long dead, but he eventually has it forced upon him. It fuses with the device on his belt and he... appears on a beach alone in a futuristic setting before returning to himself entirely in the dilapidated remains of his former home, still affected by the loss. Another CB who can't let go. |
|
Reply to 23feanor
@Aoi_hana completely up to you when you watch, post when you want, but no spoilers please. We watch 1 ep per day and post after each ep but please feel free to watch at your own speed. Always good to get another opinion on a show as we're watching. And welcome to the club.
Episode 6. Helga showing nerves of steel with the killer bees. Think I would've been as terrified as Thoma, more so if my grandfather died from a sting.
Helga is one of those wispy, airy fairy types, who don't seem to be able to look after themselves and others want to keep safe and protect. You know that CR award category 'protect at all costs', she'd fit in there. Thoma has had a change of heart where she's concerned, seen by the new clothes he gets her.
We get our first sight of sci-fi tech in the form of weapons the CB displays during his run in with Thoma, and Wonder, a robot hidden on the island. Intriguing.
Cooks decides to head to Clairmont, where the fragment of black memory rock was first discovered, and where we know the CB are hiding out in the abandoned orphanage. The CB are still searching for the reincarnated Seraphine/Tina.
Episode 6. Helga showing nerves of steel with the killer bees. Think I would've been as terrified as Thoma, more so if my grandfather died from a sting.
Helga is one of those wispy, airy fairy types, who don't seem to be able to look after themselves and others want to keep safe and protect. You know that CR award category 'protect at all costs', she'd fit in there. Thoma has had a change of heart where she's concerned, seen by the new clothes he gets her.
We get our first sight of sci-fi tech in the form of weapons the CB displays during his run in with Thoma, and Wonder, a robot hidden on the island. Intriguing.
Cooks decides to head to Clairmont, where the fragment of black memory rock was first discovered, and where we know the CB are hiding out in the abandoned orphanage. The CB are still searching for the reincarnated Seraphine/Tina.
23feanor said: @Aoi_hana completely up to you when you watch, post when you want, but no spoilers please. We watch 1 ep per day and post after each ep but please feel free to watch at your own speed. Always good to get another opinion on a show as we're watching. And welcome to the club. whiteflame55 said: @Aoi_hana Happy to have you join us for whatever number of episodes you'd feel comfortable watching. We've had many instances where people just finished a show at their own pace and posted their thoughts at the end if that's what you would prefer. We do watch shows for these group watches that are shorter than this, so if you'd prefer to wait until we start one that runs a little shorter, that's fine too. Thanks guys, I think I'm gonna pass on this one. I have another challenge to watch Hataraku Saibou and that's keeping me busy for the month. Maybe I'll join in October, time permitting. ^^ |
|
| Episode 7. Using Alice as a framing device to give her, and us, more background info. Nice approach. The CB's hair goes back to the normal colour after they die, interesting. Almost as if they are inhabited by a different person, who takes over their body from ages 5-12 and then leaves them, killing the host in the process. Almost looks like a suicide pact with all the CB gathered to die together, in front of a weird glowing device. I recall how one of the CB said that Conrad Rugen's invention of x-rays was going to cause further trouble for them, and looks like he was proved right. X-ray images of the stone lead to puzzling symbols and the eventual formation of GED (MiB) who start investigating the whole affair. Radcliffe follows leads on the CB and takes their story back to 1489 in Befort, Belgium, hence Children of Befort, where they were apparently taking away by the devil (maybe a sci-fi device?). One of the CB, Hasmodai, has a dream, or illusion maybe, of his former life as Andrew, that can draw the others in. Appears that he's tired of their existence and wants somewhere safe to rest, and the closest thing was his family life as Andrew. THe other CB, Ogi, gives him a memory record, what we called the memory crystal, and it brings Hasomai out of his dream state. We see a glimpse of a beach and futuristic setting with pillars rising into the sky in the distance that Hasomai calls home. Good ep, the mystery is drawing me in. |
|
| @Aoi_hana Happy to have you watch along with us anytime! @23feanor I agree, the mystery has been working for me pretty well. Color me intrigued. Episode 8 Thoma brings Helga and Chitto by the house. His mother's more upset that they've been skulking around without telling her and invites them in, even taking the day off to play hostess. She also decides to call the orphanage despite Thoma telling her that Helga and Chitto were abused there. I get her concern about just keeping them, but this is a pretty strange move on her part. Why not just report them to the authorities? The director of the orphanage tells her they're no longer his responsibility and hangs up, so she opts to let them stay as long as they want. She's ready and willing to step up at least, and even take a swing at her son for saying she's cheeky. The CBs go around asking children if they've seen the picture of that place they're trying to get to (just going to call it "The Picture" from now on). They lament their distance from love and family. Two of the CBs hop on Wonder (which has been around for 500 years and was the creation of one of them in a previous iteration) and fly around, treating it like another living being. They come back to anger from their fellows, who think they took an unnecessary risk. Thoma's parents clock The Picture as a machine of some kind, then his mother uses her fortune telling to discover that she has a brother who cares very deeply about her, though she doesn't seem to know anyone. They take the picture in hopes that they'll remember something associated with it. When Thoma's mother (I just looked it up, she doesn't get a name for whatever reason, nor does his father) brings up the prospect of what Helga will do when she grows up, Helga falls to tears, likely knowing all too well (we don't know how) that she shouldn't expect to get the chance to grow up. Thoma awakes from a nightmare and goes to Helga's sleeping form before staring at her and passing out on the floor. Don't know what that's about. He offers the next day to help her look for the place in The Picture, but she says it's hopeless. Meanwhile, the CBs get a lead on Helga. One of them gets spotted by Cooks, but gets away. However, she stops by a storefront, focused on a man sitting inside. This is her father. She narrowly evades him, sobbing at the thought that her disappearance has clearly hurt him deeply. |
|
| Episode 8. In the dub Thoma says Helga and Chitto were miserable at the orphanage, he doesn't mention abuse, which I'm not sure he knows about. The mum is right that taking on 2 kids, who as far as she knows are simply unhappy at their predicament, is more understandable. Yes they might not be happy there, but you can't adopt every unhappy child you come across. If Thoma had mentioned abuse, I'm guessing her reaction might've been different. Mum divines that Helga has a brother, wonder if she means one of the CB. The mum's warmth seems to begin melting some of Helga's walls, and she even smiles, a little. So Wonder was built by one of the CB, Tarlant. Tells us they know sci-fi tech. Helga's reaction to mum asking her future indicates she knows something about what'll happen to her. We have no idea what she knows, she hardly speaks. One of the CB, Soreto, gets a lead on Helga after showing the Picture to various children. Some of them recognise it as Helga's drawing. Now the CB know the name of the girl they're searching for, the reincarnated Seraphine/Tina. Cooks arrive on the island and instantly spots Soreto, who he knows as the missing girl Flo. She's running off to inform the CB about her discovery of Helga, but passes Flo's dad looking despondent in a cafe. She breaks down knowing the pain she caused him and missing him. She the CB do retain some of the emotions from the children they inhabit. |
|
| Episode 9 Sorento makes her way back to reconvene with the other CBs, conveying what she knows about Helga. Seems part of the mentality for why they want to return to this special place is to escape their previous lives and the connections they are trying to sever. Suddenly, blue lights in the sky and a giant bolt of light slams down, radiating outward. These are apparently the same as something from the CB’s past. The site it came down was a house where someone broke in, kidnapped a young blind girl, and ran off. The girl’s fiancé died. Dude seems like a real creep, don’t know if he deserved that. The culprit was Kirchner, an older looking man who is supposed to be 27 and can apparently summon that lightning. Could the other two do that? Kirchner is this girl’s (Cybele) brother, who was rescuing her from her abusive aunt and uncle. He knows he’ll die soon. The CBs arrive with a crazy gadget indicating that some amount of something called Orsel is here, despite it not existing in nature (only in “the Zone”). Both the MiB and Cooks arrive as well. Despite their willingness to be pretty brutal with their tactics, the MiB is told to take care for the hostage. The CBs confront Kirchner first, saying that the electricity coming from his body is from Orsel. Whatever test they did with an aviation machine 3 years ago, that seems associated with “the Zone.” Is access to “the Zone” aging them, or is it the Orsel? Like the others, he sees ghosts, this time his dead parents. The CBs say this is Enma taking him over, whatever that means. Before they can come to some accord, shots are fired through the window. Dumas has arrived, and unlike Greta, he’s ready and willing to kill those involved. Kirchner is shot, bringing the lightning down on the MiB in his final moments. Kirchner vanishes into thin air. Gherta briefly glimpses the CBs, seeming not to know of them. The CBs spot Dumas as well. In lighter news, Helga’s going to do a portrait of Thoma’s parents, who dress in their best (looks pretty good, she does have a talent for it). The monkey Thoma befriended earlier quickly bonds with Helga and shenanigans ensue. Yet, Helga continues to draw the same image, crying to herself as she holds it. |
|
| Episode 9. Getting reincarnated over and over, and having to leave your birth family for the CB would be a harrowing experience. I can see why they want to break the cycle and find this safe place, where their souls can rest. Another guy that has aged up, Kirchner, arrives and saves a bling girl, who it turns out is his sister, from aunt and uncle who appear to be selling her off to a creepy guy as a bride. He can control lightning, haven't seen that before. Kirchner says he was tricked while a pilot in the army and is going to die soon. Was he also in the GED project? Orsel, hmmm. The CB seem shocked by its presence. And it doesn't appear in nature, outside of the 'Zone', whatever, or wherever that is. Some ghosts appear to Kirchner and the CB say it's enma, is that like the illusion dream that Hasmodai experienced the other ep I wonder. Kirchner says he was a test pilot and doesn't know why he has this blue energy that the CB call Orsel. They think he was somehow sent to the Zone, maybe some alt dimension? The CB say 'someone is out there using our data to open the Zone', maybe the text from the black rock, all the symbols were finally deciphered? They also say that Kirchner uses Orsel like Tina used to do, something I don't think they can do. Kirchner disappears but the CB say he isn't dead, just gone somewhere. |
|
| Concepts like the Zone, Orsel and Enma, all of which may have been introduced to us in some form but are now getting named, remain enigmatic. I appreciate that the series breadcrumbs some of these mysteries and appears willing to give us the answers without just info dumping out the gate. It encourages some audience sleuthing (along with Cooks) with the promise of a payoff when things come together. Episode 10 So Dumas was about 12 last time they saw him, which was 100 years ago, but he's only aged roughly 5 years in appearance. I guess the white hair and blue eyes indicate some very slowed down aging, which they might be able to take advantage of if they didn't decide to sacrifice themselves. Still unclear on why they do that over irregular intervals across 5 centuries, but I'm sure we'll find out. The CBs surmise that, when Mel was captured 100 years ago, she helped inform Dumas of how Orsel worked, even if she was losing some of her memories (it's spelled out that, as they approach 12, they lose their memories, which can be reinforced by those memory crystals), and that she helped him get into the Zone. The CBs call in Wonder, who releases a number of floating platforms they call fog boats for every one to ride. Nice little addition to its design. They go searching for Helga. Along the way, we revisit some memories of one of them with his former sister, and it's a gentle but deeply melancholy moment, knowing he'll have to leave her behind. There's a lot of tragedy to these characters, you have to wonder what their aim is given what they're losing for it. Cooks and Alice go to inspect an old research lab. There are defunct tanks around the place. It's been 30 years since Gherta was placed in charge of it, but now it's an auxiliary site. The investigators find no one here and go snooping around, finding a secret room with an electric lock. They find a room full of pictures and books about/written by Conrad Rugen, and intuit their way through the electric lock, finding themselves in a set of tunnels underground before finding their way to a giant chamber full of strange machines that bear a resemblance to Wonder. There's a hospital and they discover items for each of the test pilots here. They also find a huge chamber with the code the x-rays. Hey, I recognize some of those chemical formulas (is that the Krebs Cycle!?). Unfortunately for them, there's also surveillance, and they're soon assaulted by men with guns. In a board room, men speak with Gherta of the three missing people, two of whom they've confirmed dead (Sinon and Green) and the last is missing (Kirchner). Gherta seems to be the only one who cares about them as people. We learn why they aged so quickly: the experiment caused a special enzyme to be produced in their bodies that broke down their DNA. Those enzymes (Orsel?) were also responsible for the electrical discharge in Kirchner in particular. Gherta has solved the mystery of those X-ray films, finding that they revealed plans for a machine that opens space and time. They call the place they go to the Ged Dimension, saying it's the world after death (the Zone?). Their country (still don't know what it is) wants to use this technology for their own means to demonstrate that they have state-of-the-art technology, possibly using it for their own enrichment. Dumas is using them, under the alias Demian, to achieve his own aims. We don't know what those are yet, but when Gherta sees him, she's immediately set off, recognizing the white hair and blue eyes. Dumas forces the hand of this committee, smacking one of their leaders when he speaks of delays and asking Gherta how long it will take to complete the "Kuril Island Ring." Gherta passes out at his touch. By the end of the episode, Helga takes off with Chitto in a rowboat, leaving behind the picture she drew of Thoma's parents, while the CBs arrive on the island. |
|
| Episode 10. We've watched our fair share of shows that hold off on revealing the mysteries until way too late, and then dropping all the lore within a few eps giving us little time to digest, Wolf's Rain and Dennou Coil coming to mind. This show is playing it better, giving us some info, but still keeping important details hidden. So it's confirmed, the CB lose their memories at 12 and have them refreshed by the memory record crystals. Still unclear why they sacrifice themselves at 12, jumping into some light given off by a device, as seen by Cooks Senior. Do they go back to the Zone, to be reborn at a later date? Gherta seems genuinely concerned for the aged individuals (well, for their loss), and doesn't see them as guinea pigs. Those she reports to don't care. They want results. And the project is being used for military reasons, and for profit, they want to capitalise on any tech advancements the GED dimension may offer their country. Ah, so the mystery of the black rock was solved by Gherta and a space/time machine built from the plans it divulged. Seems a bit careless of the CB leaving such plans behind when they disappeared, or did they assume no one would be able to build it. Was the device they disappeared into at 12 another space/time machine, built according to the same plans? Turns out Dumas, going by Damian, has been funding the GED project. Gherta instantly recognises the white hair and blue eyes. There's mention of an accident 3 years ago, would explain why the research base appears abandoned, and the Kuril Island Ring, a weapon, a portal? That was a sad moment with the little sister, lovely background song. Helga decides it's time to leave, and takes off with Chitto leaving Thoma asleep. |
|
| Episode 11 Thoma wants to go after Helga and Chitto, but his mother stops him, telling him that they left without saying anything because they wanted to spare their feelings and Helga needs to find a place she can truly call home. Doesn't seem like the best reason not to chase them down, but nice emotional insight at least. Thoma's parents let him go so that he can help Helga get to that place. Damn, free range parents right here, trusting in his eventual return. The CBs arrive at the orphanage. Of course, Helga isn't there, but they find her file and know they've found their girl. Onboard a large ship, Gherta remains an emotional wreck, recalling Dumas from 27 years ago. It's heavily implied that that meeting is how Gherta figured out how to decode the x-ray films. They're keeping Kirchner's sister in a room on said ship, waiting for her brother, believing he will somehow come for her. Weird to just say "we don't get his powers, so he'll make it somehow," but they have a magnetic field they plan to use to trap him onboard. They're also searching for signs of his Etheric Body coming near, not sure how they're doing that. Gherta clearly has some fears of being locked in a room, just having the door closed gives her a severe panic attack. Probably associated with Dumas. We learn that Gherta grew up in German Khartoum and joined the GED group at 18. They find Helga and Chitto before their rowboat capsizes and rescue them, planning to drop them off elsewhere. The CBs find Thoma, surrounding him. He refuses to (and can't) tell them where Helga is. Thoma heads into the open ocean searching for them. Thankfully, the CBs follow him and rescue him from a rogue wave. After some brief discussion, they have an unspoken truce and work together, determining using a thermal camera that can peer into the past that Helga and Chitto were picked up by a ship. They quickly locate the ship. Kirchner arrives, walking through the ocean and causing the ship's instruments to go haywire. He gets onboard, Helga and Chitto separately spot him, and he eventually finds his way to his sister. And yeah, you can feel the slow creep of tragedy oncoming here. The MiB sends in troops, unleashes bright bombs of light and seals the walls. That shout of Cybele from him actually made me laugh for a second, just a weird line read. |
|
| Episode 11. It is a helpful bit of emotional teaching from Thoma's mum, explaining why Helga left how she did, without a word. Thoma, ofc, feels rejected and like she betrayed him, going off without warning, but his mum gives some insight into why she did that, because she cares for Thoma, and his parents. And has her own path to travel. Good little lesson for a young lad. Letting your kids do things, even though there's a risk involved, gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. This morning, Aria had a tantrum on the way to preschool because it was raining and I wouldn't let her bring her stuffed reindeer out the car as it'd get wet. Thinking of allowing her to go off on a journey by herself in a few short years (guess Thoma is about 11, same as Helga) is terrifying. But then, Thoma is pretty hardcore for a kid with his martial art training, and taking the boat out on his own. And he can cook, and search out food on the island, yeah he's a pretty resourceful kid come to think of it. Yep, Gherta clearly has some trauma over her meeting with Dumas, who she met 27 years ago and looks like gave her the key to breaking the code of the black rock. He hasn't aged. Who is Dumas? He looks like one of the CB, but is in opposition to them. He must also come from the Zone dimension, but doesn't kill himself, or disappear at age 12 like the other CB do. Have to agree with the captain, heading out to sea on a tiny rowboat sounds like suicide, especially for 2 young kids. Luckily they get picked up by the GED ship, which is hoping to draw out Kirchner, who didn't die when he disappeared. Gherta's plan does have a lot of holes, supposing Kirchner can get to them on a boat, that he didn't die, that their plan to contain him will work. Bit flimsy. Thoma and the CB come to an accord, find Helga. We're getting the introduction of more and more little sci-fi elements. Residual thermal images, gazing back in time using thermal imaging, sounds handy. Etheric body scanning is another, radar but for Orsel. Kirchner appears on the boat after his sister as predicted. They go to spring the trap, and his scream in the dub is a tad over egged. Will it work? |
|
| Episode 12 Yep, they caught Kirchner, but not for long. The cameras go black and instruments malfunction as he unleashes blue lightning hell. Metal ship full of instruments? Yeah, that's a problem. Kirchner frees himself and hunts Helga down, threatening her for having used him as a guinea pig even while she pleads to help him. She confirms that he did indeed travel into the world of the dead, saying it was a noble deed. He can't trust her, and I don't blame him - bunch of dudes are ready to shoot him and some of them try. The CBs arrive and try to put a stop to it, saying Kirchner's already dead. Thoma searches for Helga with a couple of other CBs, running into two of those shadow monsters (Thoma can't see them, but these are Enma). Kirchner gets assaulted by them as well, and they just absorb his lightning. Aghi tries to explain that the Orsel lightning he emits is due to his unstable soul, that he's literally emitting it and destabilizing it more. When he entered the Zone, his life had already effectively ended, but since he can't accept death, he can't stabilize his soul and pass on. But this isn't a way around death so much as a way to defy it, and if he enters the Zone with an unstable soul, it could collapse the universe. And apparently those Enma are the universe's response, a way to prevent that by taking him out before he explodes. If he accepts death, he can stop this, but he has to do that before the Enma erase his soul entirely, ending his cycle of rebirth (guess reincarnation is just a thing in this universe for everyone). The more they destroy these Enma, though, the more they keep coming. Soon, Kirchner is assaulted by so many of them that a black ball of shadow forms around him. It's a barrier meant to shut him in while his soul is destroyed, preventing a broader impact. His sister Cybele hears his cries and the CBs keep entreating him, but there's nothing they can do. Aghi in particular really does everything he can to save him, trying to help him pass on, but Kirchner is annihilated in a blinding flash of blue light, the barrier collapsing in on him. In the aftermath, Cybele reaches out above her, seeming to grasp the hands of the appropriately aged Kirchner who lifts her up, a smile on her face. No one else can see him. Soon, even to her, he vanishes. Gherta confronts the CBs. Aghi's infuriated, telling them they should never have interfered with the Zone. At last, the CBs meet with Cybele and Helga. That wasn't just a personal vision earlier, Cybele knows Aghi by name and says Kirchner thanked him. His soul did pass on after all. Helga, Thoma and Chitto all end up going with the CBs. They speak of a far off planet of water, some 200 million light years away, called Greecia that is their home. So they're aliens then? Not sure what to do with that final revelation. One thing I very much appreciate about this series: they never let us forget the weight the CBs carry. That scene at the end of Ian (I had to look it up, but I confirmed this is Aghi) calling his family and hearing his younger sibling entreating him to return before hanging up the phone is just so sad. Whatever we may find out about their origins, the CBs are, at least in part, human. They were raised by human families. It's no wonder several of them have abandoned their mission, not just because they've forgotten, but because they can't stand to leave their emotional connections behind. And it would be one thing if their connections were just to one family, but they have connections across multiple generations, 500+ years, that some of them remember like it was yesterday. We may not know much about what the CBs actually want (is that image they keep reproducing of their home planet? A mechanism to get there?), but we do have a very good idea of what seeking it costs them. That's powerful. |
|
| Episode 12. Gherta sincerely pleads with Kirchner to return to the facility for treatment. I believe she wants to help him. So Kirchner is dead already, and Orsel is created from his unstable soul. And Enma are coming to stop him, as returning to the zone with an unstable soul could cause catastrophe. Forgot to mention before but Enma is the Japanese name for the king of hell. This revelation has to be connected to the CB reason for sacrificing themselves at age 12. How is Dumas avoiding the Enma I wonder? The CB call it the Zone and Aghi says that neither they nor she should mess with it. Gherta referred to it as the dimension of death when talking to Kirchner, saying he was a hero as one of the first humans to enter it. So aliens. Why are they here, and what do they have to do with the Zone? Are they stuck on earth, having to reincarnate and continue leaving family behind, in a cycle of loss? I like that we've got this revelation now, and we can move onto the next part. Good build up. |
|
| Episode 13 We finally get an explanation of The Picture, which shows the moon and sun of the CBs' home planet and a purification tower present there to keep the oceans clean. We also get a vision of it, looks pristine. One of the CBs summons an upside-down pyramid with a glowing bit in the middle, which apparently recognizes wave patterns of CBs, confirming their identities. We hear the poem that has been spoken a couple of times over the course of the series again, one from their home planet, which Helga recognizes. She sees visions of Greecia. Helga appears specifically an uniquely important, and it turns out, she's the princess of Greecia, named Tina. The CBs were scientists working in the royal palace on Greecia. They say something happened, which apparently involved Orsel because that's a lot of blue lightning, causing the palace's destruction. When that happened, they used a transference device (the same one we've seen in memories from previous versions of them just before they die) called the Out Zone, sending her soul to Earth. The king was pissed and ordered them to bring her back. They transferred themselves to Earth, for some reason landing 500 years prior to Helga's birth, with the aim of sending her back to Greecia (possibly through the Zone). It's only possible to exit the Zone alive through that transference device (I'll call it the OZ). Through recent events, they've discovered that Gherta has made her own version of an OZ, though it clearly has problems. And that's where we get into Orsel, the energy that comprises souls. We know the rest: that Orsel is stable, that it can be disrupted using this new OZ, and that returning to the Zone after it's been disrupted is a big no-no. Interesting to learn that the afterlife is galaxy-specific but somehow interconnected, that's new. So the reason they've been dying and reincarnating over and over again was just to give themselves more time to find Helga I guess? It's unclear why the variation in timing for those exists. It does seem like their aim is to kill Helga to return her soul to Greecia, but they are up-front about asking her permission to kill her. That's something, and she seems willing to listen and they even offer to show her her past life as a princess. Aghi in particular is placed in an odd position when considering all this. He hasn't thought about it as killing Helga, just returning her to her former life as Tina. It's the same with her lives: he hasn't allowed himself to view each of their previous iterations as having died, just that he is reborn over and over. From his perspective, that's what has happened. Not so for each of the humans whose lives they've taken over, nor for their loved ones. He's challenged on that view with one of the others saying they're not supposed to be here, that they don't really exist (their preserved bodies on Greecia are the only ones they concern themselves with), but of course they do. They're here, whether that's appropriate or not. Apparently, what happened with Kirchner's soul is similar to what happened with Tina's, the repair process of the universe imposed upon them. Not sure how hers made it out of a similar situation to his, but it's heavily implied that she was unleashing blue lightning like he was. Was she the cause of the palace's destruction? Is that why they had to send her away? Thoma has a terrible nightmare, waking without seeming to know where he was and holding onto Helga tightly. Don't know what that's about. Helga agrees to look into her past life, feeling driven towards something there. She's start with Serafine, the artist who painted a picture in the Clairmont sanatorium. The CBs ensure that Wonder will protect all of them, so the alliance between them, at least for now, is forged. And the CBs have another goal: get the data from the experiments Gherta has done so far. The risk to the Zone may affect them, after all. And with Dumas still lingering in the background, staring up at an enlarged image of his big sister (is that Tina?), seems there might be a lot of competing interests at play. So yep, another major info dump of an episode. A lot to consider. |
|
| See you've gone straight onto Aria the Natural, which for my buck is the pinnacle of the franchise with a lot more supernatural happenings, and a slightly more magical feel than the other seasons. Did you decide to pick up the dub? Am considering binging a seasonal and wondered about Silent Witch, I know it hasn't finished yet but any good? See you also picked up Dealing with Mikadono Sisters Is a Breeze, sounds like one of the trashy harem romcoms I often watch, most of which end up disappointing, like Couple of Cuckoos this season, which is just a smidge more entertaining than your bog standard LN harem from 2010's, but not by much. It's actually not too bad, but I've just seen so many harem romcoms of this nature (where MC has to live with girls and gets engaged to one) that a new show has to do something different, or perfectly execute everything to impress me, like Girlfriend Girlfriend, or Cafe Terrace and its Goddesses. Episode 13. Halfway mark. I like how Aghi approaches the conversation with Helga, Thoma and Chitto, appreciating that it's a big claim, but asking them to hear him out and for Helga to answer some questions. Plus they have Wonder and weird hi tech devices, which tend to lend validity to his assertion they come from an alien planet. Lot to digest. So Helga is Tina, a princess of Greecia, and due to an upheaval (what caused it, as you said, was it Tina who caused it?) Tina was going to die so the scientists (CB) send her soul energy (Orsel) to earth, and then had to follow her on the kings command to retrieve her soul. They've been searching ever since. Different galaxies have different afterlifes, interesting. In ours, your soul goes to the Zone, and the CB built the OZ to traverse this afterlife dimension. But it depends on your soul being stable. The various children they inhabited having effectively died is an interesting point, and something the CB, and Aghi hadn't really considered. I'm not sure if they took over these children's bodies, or were they reincarnated as the children and then their memories returned at some point (age 5 it sounds like)? If the former, then they essentially killed the children whose bodies they took over. If the latter, then it was mainly the families they were born to, and themselves, who suffered emotional damage. Myne from Ascendance had a similar worry, taking over the body of the girl she reincarnated into, or whose body she inherited, but at least that girl was going to die, and she kind of took her place and lived. I think it might be the latter, as one of the CB says they've been 'killing themselves', by going into the OZ. But ofc they exist, they are very real to the people around them who suffered when they went missing. So Helga will have to die in order for the CB to return Tina's soul to Greecia via the OZ. Helga has a deep seated connection to Greecia, as we can see from her pictures, she thinks of nothing else. So she wants to know more, despite protestations from Thoma and Chitto. Is Thoma going to have some connection to Tina, from his nightmare (who was that on the ground bleeding, thought it was Kirchner at first but not so sure) and reaction he appears linked to her? Hasmodai wants to take the data from Gherta and GED before they leave. And lastly we see Dumas talking to a massive picture/statue of his big sister, which looks like Tina. Like where this is all going. It's far fetched but has internal logic. We still have questions but appreciate we've got a broader sense of the framework for the story. |
23feanorToday, 4:46 AM
|
| Yep, I agree Aria the Natural is a step up (at least so far) from the first season, a lot more worldbuilding and giant cat will do that. I have been watching the dub and enjoying it, I’d say both versions work fairly well for me. As for the two series you’ve asked about, Silent Witch is great, consistently been in my top 10 of the season. Visuals are gorgeous, the lead Monica bounces pretty effortlessly from hilarious to tragic, and the story’s taken some surprising twists and turns. As for the Mikadono Sisters, I got the same impression off the bat, but it’s surprisingly not trashy at all. If anything, the show pushes back on the usual tropes and becomes more about the expectations that come with being a prodigy and how the MC helps lift up the titular sisters. I wish it would focus more on the influence of their father, but it is surprisingly powerful when it hits. It doesn’t rise to the level of Silent Witch, but it’s worth the watch. Personal favorite new anime is The Summer Hikaru Died with Fragrant Flower being a close second (Silent Witch not far off from that). Sword of the Demon Hunter, To Be Hero X (S1 ended today and, yep, it's great) and Anne Shirley are all still great from last season. Episode 14 It's a recap episode! I'm not too upset about this one, it actually is good to put some of these scenes into the broader context we've learned since we started. It's only adding a few minor insights, so I can't give it credit for being a good recap, but it is nonetheless welcome to lay out what we know so far. We get a look back into when Palza (who became Conrad Rugen) left the CBs, a moment when the other CBs couldn't recognize why he'd view this cycle of death and rebirth as so devastating. It's clear that Mel had a close relationship with him on their home planet, and felt he was abandoning her. And the universe itself through Enma is trying to make them forget their mission, to abandon efforts that might disrupt the Zone and thus death itself. Dumas's aims are still so unclear. He calls the CBs "evil, hateful monsters" but we don't know anything about why yet. They do frame Thoma's meeting Helga as though it's fate, it was always going to happen as though they were drawn together. Puts the scene where he wanders into her room and stares at her sleeping body, as the scene where he wakes from his nightmare and hugs her into some context, though we don't know the why. Anyway, back to more new content tomorrow. |
whiteflame5550 minutes ago
|
More topics from this board
Sticky: » Discuss the Series You Just Finished ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )Chelle - Jul 27, 2009 |
3195 |
by 23feanor
»»
Sep 7, 7:28 AM |
|
Sticky: » New Member Introductions ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )Chelle - Oct 3, 2009 |
911 |
by Aoi_hana
»»
Sep 6, 1:12 AM |
|
» Lovely Complex (2007) - August Group Watch ( 1 2 )whiteflame55 - Aug 1 |
54 |
by 23feanor
»»
Sep 5, 11:43 PM |
|
Sticky: » Interest Thread for a Group Watch ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )23feanor - Oct 26, 2020 |
330 |
by 23feanor
»»
Sep 1, 3:14 AM |
|
» Sailor Moon S (1994) - July 2025 Group Watch ( 1 2 )23feanor - Jun 27 |
80 |
by 23feanor
»»
Aug 7, 12:43 AM |