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JGordonson said: Kuji was already my favorite character and this episode only cemented it. Not even surprised by that post-credit scene honestly considering the way Kazuki has interacted with his little brother this whole time. The crossdressing act seems more like an obligation at this point than it does some kind of passion. ShadowMega said: Tooi could sympathize more with Enta with their chemistry of wanting to get closer to a person but the other is oblivious to their emotions. Kuji's older brother doesn't come off as being oblivious to his desire to come be next to him at all to me; he's purposely keeping him at arm's length because he already unwillingly let his younger brother fall into a life of fairly mild crime (I could barely know anyone around my age that HASN'T sold weed in some capacity and killing someone obviously isn't mild but if that hasn't had any legal recourse yet then it likely never will so it practically never happened) and is trying to keep him away from getting any deeper. I feel like Big Bro's text to reschedule their reunion is some foreshadowing that shit hitting the fan for him. I do want to note that being involved with weed in Japan is much much much more severe. There is huge repercussions for being involved with weed, and it's not common culturally at all for people to dabble with it. Tooi's weed is actually the most shocking thing they got away with showing in this series so far. Not because it's uncommon for us in western countries, but because the repercussions are so severe in Japan and weed being shown on tv is so unlikely. When people were talking about being surprised Sarazanmai got away with showing certain things, the drugs were number one on the list. Even possession gets you into some major trouble. |
Claptrap said: I do want to note that being involved with weed in Japan is much much much more severe. There is huge repercussions for being involved with weed, and it's not common culturally at all for people to dabble with it. Tooi's weed is actually the most shocking thing they got away with showing in this series so far. Not because it's uncommon for us in western countries, but because the repercussions are so severe in Japan and weed being shown on tv is so unlikely. When people were talking about being surprised Sarazanmai got away with showing certain things, the drugs were number one on the list. Even possession gets you into some major trouble. I'm aware of the perception of it there, but it did slip my mind that selling/possessing/growing would considered more severe of a crime than things I would rank above it due to the jail times associated with them here in the US. Thanks for the clarification. |
| Mendokusai |
| @JGordonson No problem, it's easy to forget because as time goes by it becomes a much bigger cultural divide... Where I live weed is even legalized recreationally so sometimes even remembering can be a big surprise. (That said, I think you're completely right that Tooi's brother keeps him away for his own safety and should clarify that. Really liked your post as far as their relationship, I think it's spot on and I'm curious about the reunion shift too.) |
| The OST, damn. Last scene was confusing, i think they're going with the kazuki x kuji ship |
| Despite being his flaws and his hideous dark undereye circles, Kuji is my favorite as a human and Enta is my favorite as a kappa because of his glasses. Kazuki.... well I don't know. I like how we finally got to see Kuji's past and his life with his brother. It was kind of obvious, before they showed it, that he shot someone because of that scene where his brother put the gun in the drawer and him knowing where it was. It was bound to happen. As much as the cop characters are nice, for some reason, their song and dance number kind of bores me. The kappa trio at least have some variation. Also that ending where Kazuki says he hates Haruka. I'm sure he'll take back his words or some shit like that lol |
| 臭い- |
| i love ikuhara's works but i didn't get into sarazanmai as i thought i would. it's probably because i didn't like the elements he chose to tell his story this time. and i don't know, but i feel there's a lot less real story in each episode. maybe it's because i'm not invested in it as i was in his previous works, but i feel that aside from the battles we don't get that much of information like we got on his other works. maybe this is going to be my least favorite series from him, but i'll keep watching because i'm still curious to see where this is all going anyway. |
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| Ikuhara has done it again! another fabulous episode! so this time, it's all about soba, guns and protecting your little brother as you take the blame for it. why does cross-dresser dude hate Haruka?!? 5/5. |
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| So it looks like Kazuki might just be using his brother as an excuse to cross-dress... There's definitely a strong theme here about the importance of being honest with yourself as well in order to be able to truly connect with another. I'm thinking Kazuki just isn't prepared to admit to himself his passion in expressing himself in that way, Enta isn't prepared to admit to himself that Kazuki just doesn't feel the same way as he does, and as for Toi... I think it might be that he just isn't prepared to admit to himself that his older brother's not the perfect being he's set him as, and reinforced his world view with. That his way of life isn't ideal or right. Perhaps, I think, there may be a twist with his brother having some blame in what happened to their parents. I'm really, really loving the writing of this show. And the direction. And the music. And especially the characters. Right now this is AOS for me, and the ED definitely has my vote for the best. Those who are calling this vain, or lacking focus or meaning, I think just can't be bothered to give it the time of thought... The themes and symbolism really aren't hard to decipher. This show is pretty upfront about them, from that ending text that always directly states their feelings, to the always kept shut-and-close boxes the protags carry (their emotional baggage and secrets), to the multiple enemies they've faced (who are always examples of people who never learnt to open their "boxes", and became shameful and desperate as that toxic decision to repress a part of oneself manifests itself in awful ways). There's a very clear point about the importance in one's life of connecting with others, and the importance honesty plays in that--both with yourself and those you care about. And the show does make an even clearer point about how our protagonists aren't doing this right now, and are really struggling and unhappy. Kazuki with his brother, Enta with Kazuki, and Toi with his older brother. All very clear case studies of this theme. |
ZaugrMay 5, 2019 8:08 AM
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| God this show is so, SO fucking good. Literally a 10/10 episode. A lot of the 'soba' puns were hard to translate. And to some extent, same with the kiss/Keith/sillago ones last episode too. Props to Asenshi for doing a great job doing the best they could there. |
| Lmao Kujii felling i love with kazuki as azuma sara BABY KAZUKI IS FREAKING ADORABLE but wow didnt expect him to say his brother was the better one off dead I think i understand his brother's feeling tho, he was probably depressed because his parents died with a bad name, and pressured with the responsibility of taking of his little brother so much that he decides to do bad things. I already liked him alot I will never get tired with police tho, that pose was fabulous asf. KAZUKI SHOOTED A GUY WHEN HE WAS SO LITTLE WTF |
Zaugr said: Kazuki with his brother, Enta with Kazuki, and Toi with his older brother. All very clear case studies of this theme. Those are the pairs shown in the OP as well… ;) Also Reo and Mabu, but we've yet to get that far. |
| The play with the word "soba" was amazing. Soba, as in the plate, and "soba ni iru/soba ni inai" (to be there/not to be there). I just love Ikuhara so much. We finally got to see Toi's past after all. He has his reasons for loving his brother so much. Can we judge him for being "evil" (drug dealer/killing a bad person)? Ikuhara is asking us to question what we call morality. My baby boys Mabu and Reo are getting more screentime in the next episode! We'll also get to see Sara in person. I'm so excited. What's with that "I hate Haruka"? Omg. |
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| So, Kazuki hates his brother and Toi has a dark past. Nice. |
| All weebs creatures of the galaxy, hear this message. Those of you who listen will not be struck by western animation. You will no longer know hunger, nor pain. Your Anime have come to lead you now. Our strength shall serve as a luminous sun toward which all intelligence may blossom. And the impervious shelter beneath which you will prosper. However, for those who refuse our offer and cling to their western animation ways… For you, there will be great wrath. |
| This show is super sentai if it was made by a jewish man contracting with the devil. I like it but 6 minutes of every episode are the same thing, the otter dance the anal sequence and then the running sequence. The animation is really so good though. |
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| The best episode so far, it was so dark and yet retained the same feel of randomness, as usual, I wonder what happened to Kazuki's brother meeting that idol. Such a caring brother Toi had, even if it wasn't apparent o the surface, it describes the situation this show is having pretty well. I was not expecting that twist at the end where Kazuki says he hates his brother. Making Soba with used bathing water that you stole, how weird can it get? They are pushing towards a new limit. |
lezerman said: Jesus chirst people, don't like then drop it, no need to come here every week complaining about how you don't get this and blablabla. I dunno, this is a series worth watching even if you don't like it. I'm on the fence, but even if I decide that I don't like it I still want to have watched it. papsoshea said: Tsukizono said: It's fine if you don't enjoy it, but it's definitely not "shit". The butt stuff isn't even sexual, it's very heavily stylised, I don't see any fetishisation anywhere. Ikuhara likes to create morally grey characters, and I think Toi is quite a sympathetic character. Although Kazuki can come up as unlikable, his motivations are a mystery and I am intrigued to find out more about him. The reusing animation comes from magical girl shows where reusing animation is quite common, and becuase this is a magical boy show it's not a big deal if it reuses animation? Of course you don't. It's so clear - disgusting and gratuitous. Just knowing that this is a self-indulgent director speaks for itself. Ikuhara clearly likes telling the same sort of story and the same sort of characters. It would be fine if this was a series with sequels because that would be the series shtick but he's doing this with all different shows with different stories and characters, and already it has grown tiresome at episode 4. The excuse of reusing animation is just stupid, just because its a staple in Mahou Shoujo doesn't mean he has to use it in everything (which he obviously does). If there is suppose to be some big meaning behind this there how many times must it be jammed into our heads, like, I get it now. From everything I've heard about Ikuhara the past month, especially from his fans, Sarazanmai is already showing all of his trademarks – self-indulgence, and lack of narrative focus. I kinda agree. Revolutionary Girl Utena is a top 5 for me, so this isn't coming from a hater's perspective. Ikuhara definitely loves telling the same type of story over and over again, and it's starting to make me feel like he's limited as a director. He started off taking the Sailor Moon formula and putting an amazing postmodern spin on it, making him seem absolutely brilliant as a director. Since then, it's been the same formula with only slightly different spins. The repeated animations in Utena were almost like a spiral into mayhem, they definitely had meaning and added something to the story. Since then, it seems like the form has replaced the function, like he's just riffing on an idea he had over a decade ago. MahouShoujoLain said: Sorry for the long ramble! I just can't agree with the assessment that this show has a "lack of narrative focus". To me, the show doesn't waste a minute of its time on anything that isn't central to the narrative. As for self indulgence, well, an auteur is only an auteur because you can identify components in their work that makes it distinctly theirs. At the end of the day, we've seen every story there is to tell: A romance is a romance—boy meets boy, and falls in love; girl meets girl and falls in love; boy meets girl and falls in love; etc! A fantasy tale is a fantasy tale—magic exists and can be cast; monsters exist and are invading human society; vampires, ghosts, wolves, fairies, and so on. It's the style and approach to how we tell these ever-occurring stories, that makes reading/watching/playing books/shows/games endlessly fun. And Ikuhara? Man, the guys got a really fascinating style. As I said at the beginning, I've never seen his stuff. But boy, am I excited to see some more after this, because I think his style is so much fun! Of course, it's always a matter of personal taste whether you like someone's style or not. I just don't think it's "self-indulgent" to palpably have a style. I also agree with this. Ikuhara is definitely self-indulgent, but his self-indulgence is also definitely really fascinating. If this is your first Ikuhara show, I totally understand being intrigued and hyped about all the interesting symbolism, carefully constructed plot, etc. I can't complain about his style, I can only complain that he seems to be limited by his style, and that complaint only matters once you've seem several of his shows. I'm not even sure what I'm complaining about, since this is clearly one of the best anime to come out recently. I guess I just had higher hopes for the director and he's seemed unfortunately less-than-godlike ever since Lesbian Bear Storm. |
| “Money can't buy dere” |
Tsukizono said: El_Caguai said: without lesbians this is not fun :( Why are you still watching this then? Both wlw and mlm rep is good. Don't fetishize lesbians, that's gross. Lesbians are hot tho |
"Whether doing good or evil, I will be the boss." |
| Wait, Kazuki, what the hell? That last sentence had me really confused but definitely more interested in the next episode. I wonder why he would hate his little brother... And on a side note, I usually would complain about the re-used animation but those dance sequences are far too great to be just skipped. xD Anyways, it was another nice episode. |
| In my opinion Kuji got the most interesting past, his brother is pretty cool despite going on the bad path I'm curious whats really going on between Kazuki and Haruka |
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| Oh my, that look on Tooi's face when Kazuki was drinking soba. Is there a new feeling inside him? Overall, another great episode. I absolutely love Tooi's backstory, it's obviously the most "heavy" of the trio. The wordplay between soba and the brothers' names is also cool. The ending shots were GLORIOUS. That cucumber got sliced in pieces really fast haha. I'm excited to know what's going to happen next, especially about Kazuki's true feeling about Haruka (does he see him as a burden?). It also seems that we'll get to see Reo and Mabu acting really soon! This episode also colcluded the introductory arcs for the main characters, I guess. There's still content left to be seen, sure (like Sara's kidnapping, which supposedly will reveal more info about her), but at least we know the basic backstories of our main characters. Ikuhara really succeeded in establishing a clear story structure (well, he has never failed at that). However, surprising changes are to be expected! Nothing will go on the same for too long. |
St0rmbladeApr 25, 2020 3:56 PM
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