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| This reminded me of Kurozuka. So damn much. EDIT: Ok, nevermind. Same director. What is disturbing is that Pumbaa is not the weirdest thing in this 'arc'. This must have been made on drugs. I don't even know what to think about it yet. |
- If you believe this place holds you, it is a prison. If you do not wish to leave, it will become a fortress. Current icon: Kusuriuri from Mononoke by pana (LJ username) |
| Shigeru's, or w/e his name is, VA doesn't suit him at all. Boring. Liked the last part. The whole witch thing was freaky. That's all. |
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| Wtf again. lol That ending was a bit confusing but overall that was pretty entertaining. |
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kimmiechan said: Thanks for making sense of this madness.Gaara_The_Great said: Absolutely brilliant. Tetsuro Araki manages to surpass his previous work--Kurozuka. Also, I think there wasn't any girl, it's just Shigemaru's imagination though it's obviously left to the viewers to decide for themselves. I agree...Here's what I think: |
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| I want to say she wasn't a demon, but who dances with chop heads. So it was all in his head... maybe, good arc. |
TuzoAnimeJun 22, 2010 9:57 PM
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| i'm scared of cherry blossoms now...never going 2 the parade...thanx wat was up with that at the end? getting sukd into the tree? nd was the chik a demon really or was he hallucinating? nd lol @ the grandma frm the city who smelled country bumpkin xD |
| [Catchy, cool, insightful quote] |
| The most accurate depiction of all the stories' in the anime. There was one scene I was looking forward to seeing, mostly for its comedic effect, but that the anime left out. In the original story, the woman had the heads tearing off each others' flesh, and when the head begins to rot, she would throw them away and get new one's. I found that kind of funny XD |
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aero said: kimmiechan said: Thanks for making sense of this madness.Gaara_The_Great said: Absolutely brilliant. Tetsuro Araki manages to surpass his previous work--Kurozuka. Also, I think there wasn't any girl, it's just Shigemaru's imagination though it's obviously left to the viewers to decide for themselves. I agree...Here's what I think: Then why did his ex-wives question him about bringing home another woman? Unless you're saying every one of the girls were imaginary, but then the little girl was talking with an old lady. |
aero said: kimmiechan said: Thanks for making sense of this madness.Gaara_The_Great said: Absolutely brilliant. Tetsuro Araki manages to surpass his previous work--Kurozuka. Also, I think there wasn't any girl, it's just Shigemaru's imagination though it's obviously left to the viewers to decide for themselves. I agree...Here's what I think: Then why did his ex-wives question him about bringing home another woman? Unless you're saying every one of the girls were imaginary, but then the little girl was talking with an old lady. |
| Weird episode. hmmmm. |
noteDhero said: Be that as it may I do agree with the person you've responded to. It seems you and others alike are too caught up in comparing one series to something completely different. You yourself said you've never had the chance to properly read the literature. Yet you openly discredit this based on a unfounded bias you apparently have bought over from another series; as if the two are intertwined.Really? Only one person mentioned the light novels in comparison to the show having actually read the source. Perhaps you'd like to read all of the comments before you post. Being the non cynical and open minded person that I am there are parts of this particular episode that might come across as strange. The humor and comedy aside with the suspense and psychological can be a bit disorientating at times. All and all that's what makes it a very unique adaption; since I assume cell phones, ear phones, and Moe was far from what the author originally wanted to get across. It's a very refreshing, yet similar, aura compared to the previous 4 episodes. |
| In the end the question remains if all of this can be considered as hallucinations originating in his loneliness as it is hinted at the quite ambiguous end. |
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| Don't really like how its so hard to figure out if he was imagining her the entire time, or he just killed her. Or if he killed himself after killing her. Hate vague endings. And yeah, whoever made this adaption is pretty unprofessional, throwing a bunch of crappy humor into the story, since it sounds like that's what he did. Story I give an 8/10 to. Adaption, 6/10. On to the next. |
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| GAH, this is a bit difficult to really understand. But there are plenty of things to think about. @_@ |
| So at the end, he was her... |
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Montrovant1488 said: So at the end, he was her... More like she didn't actually exist. |
| One death today is a tragedy, but when hundreds of thousands die fighting for their country, it's just another statistic. |
| I think it was brilliant.Loneliness does crazy shit to people |
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| Really disliked this arc, nothing bad but sure as fuck wasn't any good and the "comedy" felt out of place. |
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| Damn great episode! The ending was definitely unexpected o_O' Still nice arc I think this as the last episode of this arc or is there more? |
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| Yo Tite Kubo is my mans...but I really don't think his style fits this genre. Stick to Bleach baby...oh wait. Too soon? |
| so the bllossom made him crazy ? or just lonliness |
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| I think it's both - she's seen as a demon and is actually a demon. Either way, another mindfuck ending although I have to say though that these two episodes' comedic scenes were a bit fun to add into the mix. |
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| This was awesome. He was imagining the woman right? She was a construct of his imagination due to his intense feeling of solitude. I cannot believe so many people have negative comments about this series. Then again, when you click on those people's panels they have stuff like One Piece as their favourites so it would figure that they don't like something like this. |
| "Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that's beyond the reach of these small hands." Mamoru Oshii There is a cult of ignorance (...) nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov |
| That was a pretty boring arc until the last 3-4 minutes. |
| Still fumbling around for thoughts in my head, but I think I've somewhat grasped what's going on. As the show suggests, I'll interpret these weird chain of events as a result of Shigemaru's loneliness along with what the show suggested in the earlier episode, as a fall to decadence and a rebirth into salvation. I think this arc somewhat similar to the last couple episodes of "No Longer Human." Shigemaru, like Yozou, has deep-rooted problems in dealing with other human beings. We can see this through his willingness to seclude himself within the isolated mountains and his fear of cherry blossoms. Viewing cherry blossoms is traditionally a social event that one shares with company, but in his case, the blossoms become a physical trigger to remind him of his lack of human interaction and—at the same time—his longing to establish such connections. One can only stay secluded for so long. Borrowing the mentioned phrase now, we see how he descends into “decadence” through his continued stay in the mountains, in which he begins to lose sense of reality, morality, and identity the more time he spends alone. I believe his conjurations of his “wives” are a development from this, in which he attempts to create imaginations to keep himself sane and functioning. With this in mind, we can partially explain the strange and exaggerated “humor” of the show. As a result of his degradation, reality begins to blur as we’re thrown into his messy mind. As his time alone lengthens, he can only fall further down the shitcan. More and more of his imaginations (wives) pop up to keep him surrounded, even to the point of a talking boar making an appearance, but these are not enough for him. Eventually, I think what could be called as “salvation” makes her appearance in the form of Akiko. He unconditionally obeys her and falls madly in love with her, and she, in her duty as “salvation” tries to save him from seclusion and bring him to the people of the city. By the end of episode 1, we’ve run into a somewhat strange scene, with him killing off his former wives. I think contextually, if we treat them as past imaginations, it makes sense for him to see them merely as old, boring attractions in comparison to his newest revelation. It wouldn’t seem that strange then for him to decide to get rid of them, as brutal as the scene may entail. In their replacement, he follows Akiko to the city of people, a subconscious attempt to save and rebuild himself. But obviously, things don’t go well. He’s very awkward, very suspicious, “shy,” and strained with the people in the city. He can’t even hold a conversation with them, so he tries something else. He begins collecting heads for himself, playing with said heads in an effort to change himself. But he never reaches salvation completely. Eventually, his fascination with Akiko fades away, and he asks her to return back to seclusion with him. As he makes his final trek back, the cherry blossoms return once again, triggering another reaction. He realizes the unspeakable horrors and the painful loneliness he suffers, understands that Akiko is a mere imagination, and sees herself and himself as a barbaric demon. Now this ending is quite interesting. Of course, what ends here is definitely no salvation for Shigemaru. He’s gone way off the deep-end, returning back to his secluded self, but at the very least, it’s fair to say that he’s definitely changed. At his last breath he’s able to realize his pitiful faults and horrific behaviors. He’s able to reestablish a sense of morality and bring himself back to reality. But in a sad twist of fate, he trades in his life to do so. |
Marzan said: This was awesome. He was imagining the woman right? She was a construct of his imagination due to his intense feeling of solitude. I cannot believe so many people have negative comments about this series. Then again, when you click on those people's panels they have stuff like One Piece as their favourites so it would figure that they don't like something like this. Change One Piece to Naruto and I'll fully agree with you there ;) Was a good arc although I enjoyed the first one more. Can't wait to see the next story :) |
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| "If I have to choose between you and those heads, I choose you" DAMN SO ROMANTIC... Hated these comedy moments. Like really, IT'S NOT FUNNY. And it ruins the atmosphere. Fucked up, random, rushed, without any sense... Seriously,, this arc was just a huge WTF. It didn't make ANY sense. Only last 2 or 3 minutes of this arc were interesting and actually made sense. Still, it's not enough. And voice acting sucked. Big time. This bandit had a voice of Yo from previous arc and it didn't fit him at all. I give this arc 3 or 4 heads out of 10. Just cause it had potential and good art & music. (And seriously, is every Japanese literature classic so fucked up and creepy?) |
| So people assume that Akiko is a demon, and that Shigemaru realised this when they were both under the cherry blossom trees, hence why Shigemaru strangled her to death. I'd humor the possibility that Akiko isn't a demon, and that Shigemaru just went insane while under the trees and killed her because of his burst of insanity. Why at first did he see bloodied trees when he first seen the blossom tree (the year prior), and the second time freak out when he stood amongst the trees? Just a concept that perhaps she isn't a demon. |
| I don't even care about what happened. I'm just glad this shitty story is over. Terrible people depicted doing terrible things. Why am I supposed to enjoy any of it? On to the next arc, please. |
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| This would have been much better if they had maintained the atmosphere and visuals from the first story. They were probably aiming for a more dynamic experience by changing the tone of this arc (and perhaps the remaining arcs as well), but it was a bad decision imo. I couldn't take this story seriously because of the lame comedy relief and the bright color palette. |
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| This arc reminded me of the Chinese idiom "色字头上一把刀" which basically means "Lust kills". Lust or lecherous behavior often leads to one's downfall. In this case, the strong bandit who owns a whole mountain, had many wives and live life without much worry, became a slave for beauty and eventually loses everything including his own life. I am guessing that Akikol is indeed a demon. Probably a cherry blossom yokai. That last scene was just an illusion and Shigemaru was actually strangling himself. Which explains why we see his corpse at the end and the reason for Akiko's head obsession. |
Stay in yesterday 時を止めて |
| The visuals during that song the demon was singing were really freaky... I should have known that woman was a demon. The ending seems to be left open to interpretation. To me it looks liked they both died though I wonder what happened to both the demon and Shigemaru's body... I liked this episode more than the previous because I got used to the random comic relief scenes and the deformed faces but I still didn't like this story. 5.5/10 Can't wait to watch the story Kokoro though. I heard this is the best story in the series. |
Shrackner said: Still fumbling around for thoughts in my head, but I think I've somewhat grasped what's going on. As the show suggests, I'll interpret these weird chain of events as a result of Shigemaru's loneliness along with what the show suggested in the earlier episode, as a fall to decadence and a rebirth into salvation. I think this arc somewhat similar to the last couple episodes of "No Longer Human." Shigemaru, like Yozou, has deep-rooted problems in dealing with other human beings. We can see this through his willingness to seclude himself within the isolated mountains and his fear of cherry blossoms. Viewing cherry blossoms is traditionally a social event that one shares with company, but in his case, the blossoms become a physical trigger to remind him of his lack of human interaction and—at the same time—his longing to establish such connections. One can only stay secluded for so long. Borrowing the mentioned phrase now, we see how he descends into “decadence” through his continued stay in the mountains, in which he begins to lose sense of reality, morality, and identity the more time he spends alone. I believe his conjurations of his “wives” are a development from this, in which he attempts to create imaginations to keep himself sane and functioning. With this in mind, we can partially explain the strange and exaggerated “humor” of the show. As a result of his degradation, reality begins to blur as we’re thrown into his messy mind. As his time alone lengthens, he can only fall further down the shitcan. More and more of his imaginations (wives) pop up to keep him surrounded, even to the point of a talking boar making an appearance, but these are not enough for him. Eventually, I think what could be called as “salvation” makes her appearance in the form of Akiko. He unconditionally obeys her and falls madly in love with her, and she, in her duty as “salvation” tries to save him from seclusion and bring him to the people of the city. By the end of episode 1, we’ve run into a somewhat strange scene, with him killing off his former wives. I think contextually, if we treat them as past imaginations, it makes sense for him to see them merely as old, boring attractions in comparison to his newest revelation. It wouldn’t seem that strange then for him to decide to get rid of them, as brutal as the scene may entail. In their replacement, he follows Akiko to the city of people, a subconscious attempt to save and rebuild himself. But obviously, things don’t go well. He’s very awkward, very suspicious, “shy,” and strained with the people in the city. He can’t even hold a conversation with them, so he tries something else. He begins collecting heads for himself, playing with said heads in an effort to change himself. But he never reaches salvation completely. Eventually, his fascination with Akiko fades away, and he asks her to return back to seclusion with him. As he makes his final trek back, the cherry blossoms return once again, triggering another reaction. He realizes the unspeakable horrors and the painful loneliness he suffers, understands that Akiko is a mere imagination, and sees herself and himself as a barbaric demon. Now this ending is quite interesting. Of course, what ends here is definitely no salvation for Shigemaru. He’s gone way off the deep-end, returning back to his secluded self, but at the very least, it’s fair to say that he’s definitely changed. At his last breath he’s able to realize his pitiful faults and horrific behaviors. He’s able to reestablish a sense of morality and bring himself back to reality. But in a sad twist of fate, he trades in his life to do so. This is along the lines of what the story is actually about. The large majority of the posts here just don't get it at all. Read between the lines people. These are classics of Japanese literature; allegory, satire, and symbolism shouldn't be unexpected. |
| http://moesucks.com/2009/11/16/in-the-woods-beneath-the-cherry-blossoms-in-full-bloom/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Excellent web page that explains the episode and what it truly means amazingly well. Opened up my eyes! I thought this may help others as well! |
Please add something new to the Thread. If you are just going to agree with everyone else, and not add anything significant, Please do NOT re-post/re-word/repeat what someone else has said. I hate reading 9pgs of parrots and copycats. #BEORIGINAL  |
Shrackner said: Still fumbling around for thoughts in my head, but I think I've somewhat grasped what's going on. As the show suggests, I'll interpret these weird chain of events as a result of Shigemaru's loneliness along with what the show suggested in the earlier episode, as a fall to decadence and a rebirth into salvation. I think this arc somewhat similar to the last couple episodes of "No Longer Human." Shigemaru, like Yozou, has deep-rooted problems in dealing with other human beings. We can see this through his willingness to seclude himself within the isolated mountains and his fear of cherry blossoms. Viewing cherry blossoms is traditionally a social event that one shares with company, but in his case, the blossoms become a physical trigger to remind him of his lack of human interaction and—at the same time—his longing to establish such connections. One can only stay secluded for so long. Borrowing the mentioned phrase now, we see how he descends into “decadence” through his continued stay in the mountains, in which he begins to lose sense of reality, morality, and identity the more time he spends alone. I believe his conjurations of his “wives” are a development from this, in which he attempts to create imaginations to keep himself sane and functioning. With this in mind, we can partially explain the strange and exaggerated “humor” of the show. As a result of his degradation, reality begins to blur as we’re thrown into his messy mind. As his time alone lengthens, he can only fall further down the shitcan. More and more of his imaginations (wives) pop up to keep him surrounded, even to the point of a talking boar making an appearance, but these are not enough for him. Eventually, I think what could be called as “salvation” makes her appearance in the form of Akiko. He unconditionally obeys her and falls madly in love with her, and she, in her duty as “salvation” tries to save him from seclusion and bring him to the people of the city. By the end of episode 1, we’ve run into a somewhat strange scene, with him killing off his former wives. I think contextually, if we treat them as past imaginations, it makes sense for him to see them merely as old, boring attractions in comparison to his newest revelation. It wouldn’t seem that strange then for him to decide to get rid of them, as brutal as the scene may entail. In their replacement, he follows Akiko to the city of people, a subconscious attempt to save and rebuild himself. But obviously, things don’t go well. He’s very awkward, very suspicious, “shy,” and strained with the people in the city. He can’t even hold a conversation with them, so he tries something else. He begins collecting heads for himself, playing with said heads in an effort to change himself. But he never reaches salvation completely. Eventually, his fascination with Akiko fades away, and he asks her to return back to seclusion with him. As he makes his final trek back, the cherry blossoms return once again, triggering another reaction. He realizes the unspeakable horrors and the painful loneliness he suffers, understands that Akiko is a mere imagination, and sees herself and himself as a barbaric demon. Now this ending is quite interesting. Of course, what ends here is definitely no salvation for Shigemaru. He’s gone way off the deep-end, returning back to his secluded self, but at the very least, it’s fair to say that he’s definitely changed. At his last breath he’s able to realize his pitiful faults and horrific behaviors. He’s able to reestablish a sense of morality and bring himself back to reality. But in a sad twist of fate, he trades in his life to do so. Love the interpretation. Fully agree. Loved the first arc but the end of this one is just too good to ignore |
| No matter what kind of life a person leads, they will always die in the end. That is only fair. And in life did you know a person only has two choices to choose from? "To do" or "Not to do"! That's it!! - "god" (Oyasumi Punpun) |
| Quite a weird story. Didn't like the comedy mixed in but I enjoyed it anyways, |
| This one was a bit confusing honestly. I'm gonna go read the novels after this. Also, yes the comedy was very weird. |
| I wasn't on the edge of my seat. I was instead reeling back the entire time. Um, I don't know what to say here. That was something I've never seen before, so I'm not sure how I should react. Yeah. |
| I'm not sure what I am supposed to understand of this story's meaning, except for the fact that the author succeeded in giving us a feel of mind fuck wondering with many questions. Realistically I look at it as a ... Two psychopaths. A psychotic couple. One who loves a women for her unparallel beauty and so is easily manipulated by her demands to keep her. And a women who loves to make him do what she wants. Bring her material and death ... Beheaded heads to laugh and play with like a little psychotic girl. Cold blooded psychopaths of a Couple who possibly for a year have been together.... The man serving this gorgeous woman and her, demanding what she wants. But ... I wonder how strong the urge to kill him and be free was, if there was any. Her attempt to cut or stab him with a dagger begs question but. That doesn't show she really wants to kill him, because. Remind you, she's a psycho.. her mind is abnormal and she was only pouting and lonely. So in my opinion, I don't think she ever wanted to kill him. She loved to see him kill for her since Day 1. As for him ... the influence of Cherry Blossoms I do not understand besides thinking how it's a thought and inspiration of the author because of his memory in war seeing burned corpses with the silence of Cherry blossoms as horror. I don't see how Shigemaru feels an instant unknown horror from it. Until the end, it stops. The ending is odd. In the story for love of that gorgeous women he was always cold blooded to kill for her. For her. But before that he claimed himself to be a Kind Bandit. But for love, he killed. And to kill cold blooded for love, you are a psycho at heart and birth. Not because of Cherry blossoms. When he strangles her to death I do not believe that he killed her to save himself from her killing him now or one day. Not at all. Like I said, she never wanted to. What I do believe is ... not that he killed her because he imagined or went insane that she was a fantasy-like Demon, not in speech or metaphor but a real life Demon. But that she was saving himself from her influence. Sure, he might of denied that he hates killing now or like he said he hates the city and prefers the Mountains. But ... I think, in some way. Either it'd be to stop being a psycho or stop listening to her or to stop killing... He loved her. But maybe he ... wanted to become his old self. A Kind Bandit, like he was. He killed her because ... she unleashed his psychotic side for love. But he was tired of the city and his old peaceful days in the mountain. When he strangles her to death. And seeing her as a demon, I think that's a metaphor that she is a psychopath. And when he sees himself mirrored to her. I believe that it's a thought of freedom. That he has mentally killed his psycho side that she brought out of him. And when the cherry blossoms engulf him. That means that psycho side of his will be gone with the cherry blossoms and that he will restart his life in the mountains like the old days as a kind bandit. |
| The hobby of this woman seems funny. This is all because she played with dolls when she was younger... Though, I didn't like this arc as much as the precedent (the color and the comedy don't match with the story imo). |
| Well... that was tragic and quick. The last chapter is still better, hopefully the next chapters will be better than this one. |
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| I didn't like this story :s And his voice was something very disturbing imo... doesn't suit him and that bothered me til the end :s |
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