Forum SettingsEpisode Information
Forums
New
What did you think of this episode?
DO NOT discuss the source material beyond this episode. If you want to discuss future events or theories, please use separate threads.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
Pages (2) [1] 2 »
Aug 7, 2008 2:54 PM
#1

Offline
Feb 2008
216
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
----------------------------------------
Crazy episode - I thought I was going to have an Evangelion flashback when Popo started talking about letting the kaiba swallow up everyone to unite everyone's memories and becoming one. I guess the next episode is the big showdown.
Aug 7, 2008 3:38 PM
#2
Offline
Dec 2007
5303
Evil Warp is back on his throne. The chilhood friends are separated once again. The new and old Neiro are coming to the rescue. Everything comes into place so perfectly it's mind blowin, Kaiba is truly a masterpiece. It would have been perfect, if not for some episodes in the middle of the series which do not really serve the plot or character development.

In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same.
Aug 7, 2008 4:25 PM
#3

Offline
Feb 2007
5481
Jacut said:
It would have been perfect, if not for some episodes in the middle of the series which do not really serve the plot or character development.


They were there to develop your picture of the world. I thought those episodes were really important and interesting.

:<
Aug 7, 2008 4:51 PM
#4

Offline
Jan 2008
1274
I usually wait until I've completely finished a series to do this, but I am going to bump Kaiba to a 10 prematurely. It has been insanely good the entire run and I can't imagine them screwing it up in the final episode.



Aug 7, 2008 9:42 PM
#5

Offline
Apr 2007
1348
popo getting all excited about having so much power was sad.

I guess power corrupts, after all.
逃げちゃ駄目だ。
Aug 8, 2008 2:19 AM
#6

Offline
Jul 2007
226
selective_yellow said:
Jacut said:
It would have been perfect, if not for some episodes in the middle of the series which do not really serve the plot or character development.


They were there to develop your picture of the world. I thought those episodes were really important and interesting.

:<
I agree, some people just can't seem to understand how important those kind of episodes are... (-.-)
Aug 8, 2008 1:06 PM
#7

Offline
Jan 2008
4817
This episode was AWFUL.

Might have to drop this show's score down by one after all.
"I'm starting to think mal is run by Xinil generating electricity on a bicycle." - idklol
Aug 8, 2008 8:25 PM
#8

Offline
Mar 2008
62
Cihan said:
This episode was AWFUL.

Might have to drop this show's score down by one after all.

You're taking a piss, right? RIGHT? :P

The NGE touch was nice btw. I could relate to Popo at that point, just like I could relate to the characters in Evangelion, it worked for me. Still one episode to go, but I'm impressed. In my opinion the best show this year, hands down. Only thing I don't like is how it's perhaps a little too confusing, I was still not completely sure who is who by the end of the episode. Oh well, plenty of time to do a rewatch someday.
Aug 9, 2008 1:34 AM
#9

Offline
Jan 2008
4817
PBz0r said:
You're taking a piss, right? RIGHT? :P

The NGE touch was nice btw. I could relate to Popo at that point,


You could relate to a dude who keeps laughing to himself maniacally in that stupidly cliched way? Really? The moment where he leans out and drops his mum's memory stick is probably the WORST scene I've seen all year. Even worse than anything in Code Geass R2.

The writing was AWFUL in this episode, compared to the writing in the first four or so episodes, this one was like a McD shit burger next to a restaurant dish. I've seen better writing in Naruto. The show by this point has completely lost everything that made it special for the first 5 or so episodes, because as was predicted, the overarching plot took over and the unique thought-provoking compelling story was replaced by generic lowest common denominator crap.

Yeah, I'm not too happy. Kaiba really dropped the ball. Like Popo dropped his mum.
"I'm starting to think mal is run by Xinil generating electricity on a bicycle." - idklol
Aug 12, 2008 4:58 AM

Offline
Feb 2007
2910
It was such a chaotic episode, I don't know what to think of it in general.

Although, I might add that scoring this anime is going to be bloody hard. I was set on giving this a 10 after Ep 6 or 7, but I'm starting to contemplate if it really deserves it. Cause as much as I'm still enjoying the show a lot, some of these scenes in this episode was downright bad. All depends on the last episode I guess.
Sep 8, 2008 1:43 AM

Offline
Sep 2007
3889
Uuchie said:
selective_yellow said:
Jacut said:
It would have been perfect, if not for some episodes in the middle of the series which do not really serve the plot or character development.
They were there to develop your picture of the world. I thought those episodes were really important and interesting. :<
I agree, some people just can't seem to understand how important those kind of episodes are... (-.-)
I miss those episodes, actually.

Cihan said:
The moment where he leans out and drops his mum's memory stick is probably the WORST scene I've seen all year.
Yeah, that probably was the worst scene in this series. Kaiba's not perfect, but I'm just watching it 'cause the setting is so unique, just like the art. I still feel confused as hell, though.



Sep 15, 2008 9:31 PM

Offline
Mar 2008
62
Cihan said:
PBz0r said:
You're taking a piss, right? RIGHT? :P

The NGE touch was nice btw. I could relate to Popo at that point,


You could relate to a dude who keeps laughing to himself maniacally in that stupidly cliched way? Really? The moment where he leans out and drops his mum's memory stick is probably the WORST scene I've seen all year. Even worse than anything in Code Geass R2.


Yes, I could. I can't really explain why, which pretty much kills our discussion here, but I could. The way he dropped his mother's memory...thing wasn't very subtle I agree, but that wasn't really the point in my opinion. It was so sudden, so stupid what happened, and you could see the guy think: "If in an instant like this, my victory can suddenly mean nothing, what was it all for?" I really felt Popo's despair at that point and the fact it looked so stupid only made it more powerful.

Cliché? Perhaps. But I wouldn't go as far as saying it's worse than anything that happened in Code Geass R2. That's kind of harsh, you know. :P Well anyway, all I can say is: too bad you didn't enjoy it as much as I did.

On another note, why does Spice and Wolf rank 100-ish with a 8.20 while Kaiba ranks 200-ish with a 8.47? Because more people have seen Spice and Wolf?
PBz0rSep 15, 2008 9:36 PM
Sep 15, 2008 10:18 PM

Offline
Dec 2007
1042
PBz0r said:

On another note, why does Spice and Wolf rank 100-ish with a 8.20 while Kaiba ranks 200-ish with a 8.47? Because more people have seen Spice and Wolf?


Actually, it's funny you bring that up. Just recently I had noticed the inconsistency of Kaiba's score with its ranking as well. After about 30 minutes of looking around, I quickly noticed that the data of many series is inconsistent with the data shown on the "Top Anime" list.

I will do this with Kaiba for example. If you look here, you will notice Kaiba is currently ranked about 57: http://myanimelist.net/topanime.php?type=&limit=30. And as you have noticed, it says it is ranked 200-ish on the Kaiba page. I am not sure if this is being fixed, or even which data is accurate.
Sep 17, 2008 1:21 PM

Offline
Dec 2007
1042
Awesome, the ranking has now been updated. And after looking further into it, it seems all rankings are now accurate.
Sep 17, 2008 1:28 PM

Offline
Mar 2008
62
Deadpool135 said:
Awesome, the ranking has now been updated. And after looking further into it, it seems all rankings are now accurate.


Hm, #60 ain't bad I guess. I could see this show climb the rankings after a while, after more people have seen (all of) it. It happened with Mushishi
Sep 17, 2008 2:42 PM

Offline
Dec 2007
1042
Yeah, I do remember that happening with Mushishi. Same thing with Baccano also. All went under the radar for a while.

Hopefully it begins climbing the ranks even further, and that just might get the ball rolling.
Nov 8, 2008 9:57 PM

Offline
Nov 2007
584
Popo idiotically assuming Warp was dead, and dropping his Mom were the low points of the series for sure. Episode wasn't bad otherwise, but still. The Mom dropping scene wouldn't have been nearly as bad if something had just PROVOKED it. Like if the elevator shook or something. Anything, really.

Also known as Monster in a box, but I hate that handle...and it doesn't fit here.
Nov 28, 2008 10:06 PM

Offline
Oct 2008
417
I like when Kaiba looked at how those 3 copy Kaibas wanted to rule... The one with the orange/yellow thought bubble (on the right) was the best.

I'm glad this series had good stand alone eps and an ending storyline. That was actually my one gripe about Mushishi (since people are mentioning that here). I just like closure.
Jan 6, 2009 3:04 PM

Offline
Jun 2008
46
wohoho... massacre! *-*
the writers didnt care too much about popo did they... i like the idea of popo.... of the goodness and strongness of his emotion against the vileness and blindness of his actions.... classical idea with a lot to exploit but it seems the power of kaiba just made him look like nothing... all the plans the rebellion made against warp, counting those fake warps, were totally made into nothing in this episode... i still feel hooked to the series though, they didnt use what they had constructed, but i guess something beautiful is still coming.
Kirameite, yurameite, aoki yumi, maihanatsu, hana mo-e yu-kuuu!!!
Jan 21, 2010 1:55 AM

Offline
Sep 2008
1624
Beatnik said:
PBz0r said:
You're taking a piss, right? RIGHT? :P

The NGE touch was nice btw. I could relate to Popo at that point,




Yeah, I'm not too happy. Kaiba really dropped the ball. Like Popo dropped his mum.


My thoughts exactly. My rating for the show came down from a 9 to an 8 and now its looking like I'll end up giving it a 7.
"...our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; our weary eyes looking still, looking always, looking anxiously for something out of life, that while it is expected is already gone – has passed unseen, in a sigh, in a flash – together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions.” - Joseph Conrad ('Youth')
Jan 21, 2010 1:03 PM

Offline
Nov 2008
2645
This episode was really too much, too much treason, too much 'I killed you but no you killed me'.
The other dude's revival was really pointless and it felt like a deus ex machina to get rid of that girl.
Also people acted stupidely in this episode, they were all too careless and they all died in a stupid way. The scene where Popo lost his mom's memories because he didn't pay enough attention was also very bad.

And it was dragged out, I feel like this episode with this episode could have been done into one episode.

Though I really liked Popo's background story.
Kaiba isn't perfect and this episode was probably the worst of this series, but I still love it, and I loved the suspence in this last few episodes.
Mar 22, 2010 9:27 PM
Offline
Feb 2008
418
WTF was that? Popo drops his mom's chip? Some mastermind to just make a blunder like that. Suddenly everyone is double crossing everybody (that Mantle guy comes out of nowhere!). Popo suddenly goes crazy.The breakdown made no sense.

I actually think this was the worst episode yet because it felt so random. EH.
May 1, 2010 4:19 PM

Offline
Mar 2008
1275
Contrary to others, I loved it...all the ends are tied, it's all explained...amazing
Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines.
Jul 10, 2010 8:07 PM
Offline
Apr 2009
24
Beatnik said:
PBz0r said:
You're taking a piss, right? RIGHT? :P

The NGE touch was nice btw. I could relate to Popo at that point,


You could relate to a dude who keeps laughing to himself maniacally in that stupidly cliched way? Really? The moment where he leans out and drops his mum's memory stick is probably the WORST scene I've seen all year. Even worse than anything in Code Geass R2.

The writing was AWFUL in this episode, compared to the writing in the first four or so episodes, this one was like a McD shit burger next to a restaurant dish. I've seen better writing in Naruto. The show by this point has completely lost everything that made it special for the first 5 or so episodes, because as was predicted, the overarching plot took over and the unique thought-provoking compelling story was replaced by generic lowest common denominator crap.

Yeah, I'm not too happy. Kaiba really dropped the ball. Like Popo dropped his mum.

'nuff said.

Exactly what I was thinking. At first I felt bad comparing Kaiba to Code Geass but feel much better to find another person share the same ideas. All these awful plot twists remind me a lot of Code Geass; I love the body collector coming back alive "ahah you guys thought I was dead?!!?!" scene and then everyone dieing afterwards. And then it turns into save the world type of show...
Aug 8, 2010 12:28 AM

Offline
Jul 2008
1306
How you guys felt about this episode is the same way I've felt about all the episodes before Vanilla died. They became kinda ridiculous after a while. AND WHERE THE FUCK DID THAT MECHA COME FROM?
Sep 5, 2010 2:38 PM

Offline
Jan 2010
1526
Beatnik said:
This episode was AWFUL.

Might have to drop this show's score down by one after all.


said the guy wich gave sayonara zetsubou sensei a 10...

great episode again ^^,even if it was a bit hard to follow

5/5
Sayonara,papa!


"Just how a mirror reflects you,people will also reflect your heart."
~Athena Glory,Aria

"Whatever happens,happens"
~Spike Spiegel's thoughts on dying(Cowboy Bebop)
Mar 1, 2011 6:20 PM

Offline
Aug 2009
3452
I had regarded Popo obnoxious and annoying up to this episode, but the very well done background story made me change my mind. I wouldn't dare say I like him, but at least I don't dislike him as much as I did before anymore. Actually, it's difficult to judge a person living in such a seriously disturbing and twisted world cuz I can't say what I would have done. I guess I can only pity the man. It's quite rare for an anime to make me ponder about such heavy and dark issues as much as Kaiba does. I suppose it's a sign of its greatness.

Yeah, the whole thing with uniting memories and thus becoming one instantly reminded me of Charles' ideas too.

Admittedly, the multiple twists were a bit too much but I liked the episode nevertheless.
metamorphiusMar 1, 2011 6:39 PM
May 17, 2011 2:49 PM

Offline
Sep 2008
346
Whoa, worst episode so far, how did that happen? D:
Jun 11, 2011 10:32 PM
Offline
Jun 2011
3
Beatnik said:
PBz0r said:
You're taking a piss, right? RIGHT? :P

The NGE touch was nice btw. I could relate to Popo at that point,


You could relate to a dude who keeps laughing to himself maniacally in that stupidly cliched way? Really? The moment where he leans out and drops his mum's memory stick is probably the WORST scene I've seen all year. Even worse than anything in Code Geass R2.

The writing was AWFUL in this episode, compared to the writing in the first four or so episodes, this one was like a McD shit burger next to a restaurant dish. I've seen better writing in Naruto. The show by this point has completely lost everything that made it special for the first 5 or so episodes, because as was predicted, the overarching plot took over and the unique thought-provoking compelling story was replaced by generic lowest common denominator crap.

Yeah, I'm not too happy. Kaiba really dropped the ball. Like Popo dropped his mum.


I find myself again in disbelief in regards to the opinions of others in these discussions and the reasoning they use to justify those opinions. The reference to CG is questionable.
Nov 12, 2011 9:02 AM

Offline
May 2010
2452
Just like ep 9, got some mixed feelings about this ep.

It started great with Popo's backstory to get some disclosures from the characters' past

but the last minutes of the show including Popo's carelessness just came out of nowhere. O_o

It felt mindblowing but still..
Dec 6, 2011 2:26 PM
Offline
Apr 2011
270
That was so disappointing. I feel like there are no longer any sympathetic characters, and this is a show that seemed like for the first five or so episodes was all about exploring people's lives and situations and evoking sympathy. Now it's about what? Power struggles? It's not even handled well.

Popo dropping his mom just made me laugh. I feel like Popo went from an idealistic rebel to a trite insane villain trope in the span of a few minutes. Nice character development. I guess we're supposed to believe he snapped from losing his childhood friend? And then his mom? Eh, I guess, but it was handled with no subtlety or art.

Seriously, what happened to this show? I'm dreading the next episode. There's no way it can be redeemed after this.
Feb 11, 2013 10:43 AM

Offline
Aug 2012
231
Wait.. Popo is a guy?

...


Hahahahahaha
Mar 2, 2013 9:57 PM

Offline
Nov 2011
128658
Yup, kind of a disappointing episode really. Awfully written.
Apr 7, 2013 4:17 PM

Offline
Dec 2011
1571
Man I gotta say I've loved all first 10 episodes of Kaiba but this one really kind of blew hard. Too much backstabbing and people dying so easily and stupidly. Plus Popo dropping his mother's chip was soooo weak.

Thing is I had regarded this a masterpiece up until now. Depending on the last episode this might have to go from a 10 to a 9.
Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines.
Apr 20, 2013 6:08 PM

Offline
Jan 2013
11047
Interesting episode.
Lets see how the final episode wraps it up.
Probably a 9/10 anime.
May 31, 2013 2:17 PM

Offline
May 2012
25829
Some serious shit in this episode and a lot of deaths! Well lets see what the last episode has to offer!
Jun 3, 2013 4:23 PM

Offline
Apr 2012
59
Not as good as the other episodes definitely. I'm fine with Popo dropping the memory chip and him going crazy, but random body-collector guy reappeared and everyone dies? By that point I sorta checked out because it seemed so pointless. Generally a really sloppy episode.
u gay
Jul 21, 2013 6:46 PM

Offline
Apr 2012
752
Worst episode. Oh, and good luck justifying the worst scene of the series. Contrived writing was all over the place, and Popo dropping his mother's chip is just the epitome of this. Having Popo's assistant and her brother, for instance, also suddenly pop up in that flashback speaks multitudes about dat Gainax ending. The singular reliance on this one flashback to pivot so many backstories and their resulting dynamics really is Code Geass levels of quality. The directing remains splendid, but the incongruity (thematically and plot-wise) of both halves of the series severely hamper Kaiba's ending.
Mar 17, 2014 7:54 PM
Offline
Sep 2013
163
The insane killing and betrayal was pretty great taken by itself. The story is alright but not astounding. The way that human unification idea keeps poping up in anime is always hilarious. The chip dropping felt appropriate to me, the final dip in Popo life crumbling around him has he achieve his goals. Everyone is fighting to be remembered or to bring back happy memories.

Though I prefer the first part for now which explored more interesting ideas and the world (7 first episodes). Not sure that going character centric was the right call.
Di-DorvalMar 18, 2014 5:38 AM
Apr 10, 2014 12:05 AM

Offline
Dec 2012
114
goddamnit Kaiba you were better than this
May 19, 2014 10:52 AM

Offline
Jul 2011
498
I wanted to believe but I knew the writers weren't going to be able to pull all this stuff together as the series went on, not in 12 episodes. It's a shame but a series so heavy on plot falling on its face on such a pivotal episode really diminishes the entire thing. Episode 5 was pretty bad but it doesn't matter much because it was one of the world building eps, for a finale ep to be so horrid is probably going to leave a bitter taste in my mouth about the series.

http://i.imgur.com/8fzeJBS.gif
KellhusMay 19, 2014 10:57 AM
Oct 1, 2014 5:04 PM
Site Admin
Offline
Aug 2012
8257
Di-Dorval said:
The insane killing and betrayal was pretty great taken by itself. The story is alright but not astounding. The way that human unification idea keeps poping up in anime is always hilarious. The chip dropping felt appropriate to me, the final dip in Popo life crumbling around him has he achieve his goals. Everyone is fighting to be remembered or to bring back happy memories.

Yeah what's up with the human unification thing? :/ Well tbh I think I've only seen one other anime with the similar idea of "let's all be one," and I watched that two days ago so it's still fresh in my mind.

Really liked this comment about the chip dropping and how everyone is fighting [...] I don't understand why so many were/are hating on dropping the memory chip. Yeah everything else was kind of overdramatic like how everyone kept backstabbing each other and whatnot, but that was one moment where I sympathized with Popo. Like holy fuck, he's finally gotten on top of the world (or so he thinks anyways), but then he finds out that Cheki will never have any memories of him in the past ever again, and then dropping his mother's memory chip to top it all off was just depressing. It's similar along the feelings of when you write a long ass essay which you took you days to finish, and then accidentally clicking x on Microsoft Word and then proceed to accidentally click "yes" when it asks you if you want to exit without saving. Yes that has happened and yes I know what a stupid mistake why am I such a stupido, but it was the worst feeling ever. I almost went fuck this assignment, so no wonder Popo went insane. I mean he kind of deserves it in a way because of the way he went about reaching his goals. Still, he has a sympathetic back story.
Oct 30, 2014 11:39 PM

Offline
Jul 2008
10795
So Popo drops him mom, realizes he gimped Cheki, goes crazy and then Evil Warp retuens to kill everyone then really starts to kill everyone...*sigh*
Feb 17, 2015 12:13 PM

Offline
Jun 2013
68
just dropped all of his mom's memories on accident lol what a dumbass. Popo was really losing it. i was nice to get the remainder of his backstory.

the amount of out of nowhere betrayal kills in a row was a bit ridiculous. the rest of the episode was good though

how will it all end?
Aug 5, 2015 11:04 PM

Offline
Jul 2014
235
Betrayal, despair, and sadness.
That's how the world is ;_;
Aug 10, 2015 9:38 AM

Offline
Jul 2014
5390
Was I supposed to feel sorry for Popo or something? Because I didn't feel sympathy for him at all. After all, how I am supposed to feel sorry for a violent, hypocritical, maniacal extremist like him? I actually laughed so hard when he dropped his mum's memory chip. It was hilarious, yet I'm pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be.

Man, this episode was such a disaster. And this show had been doing so, so well too.
AtavisticAug 10, 2015 9:43 AM
Feb 1, 2016 4:50 PM

Offline
Mar 2014
2752
danieltortoisee said:
Was I supposed to feel sorry for Popo or something? Because I didn't feel sympathy for him at all. After all, how I am supposed to feel sorry for a violent, hypocritical, maniacal extremist like him? I actually laughed so hard when he dropped his mum's memory chip. It was hilarious, yet I'm pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be.

Man, this episode was such a disaster. And this show had been doing so, so well too.

This is pretty much how I feel... The show seems like it doesn't know who to focus on anymore... Popo became even crazier than he previous was, wanting to merge everybody's memories into one, Kaiba regained his memories and went on a memory killing spree near the end of the episode... and Neiro isn't even really being focused on anymore, aside from the director showing her speeding towards some goal.

It's like there's no protagonist anymore, and without as solid of a narrative structure as I'd like, it made things feel messy and unorganized. Perhaps that's intentional, but it made this episode somewhat harder to follow than the rest.

tingy said:
I don't understand why so many were/are hating on dropping the memory chip. Yeah everything else was kind of overdramatic like how everyone kept backstabbing each other and whatnot, but that was one moment where I sympathized with Popo. Like holy fuck, he's finally gotten on top of the world (or so he thinks anyways), but then he finds out that Cheki will never have any memories of him in the past ever again, and then dropping his mother's memory chip to top it all off was just depressing. It's similar along the feelings of when you write a long ass essay which you took you days to finish, and then accidentally clicking x on Microsoft Word and then proceed to accidentally click "yes" when it asks you if you want to exit without saving. Yes that has happened and yes I know what a stupid mistake why am I such a stupido, but it was the worst feeling ever. I almost went fuck this assignment, so no wonder Popo went insane. I mean he kind of deserves it in a way because of the way he went about reaching his goals. Still, he has a sympathetic back story.

I personally think it's just an odd choice by the director... mostly because it was treated without much seriousness. The fact that you compared it to "not saving your work in Microsoft Word" is paramount to the un-serious nature of the directing in the scene. Considering how much talk there was of Popo restoring his mother's memories, and then all of the sudden "Whoops, burned 'em all up", without so much as a slow-motion shot or any kind of lingering shot on that moment... it felt almost like the punchline to a comedy sketch.

Not only that, but I disagree with you about Popo as a character. At every turn, Popo is painted as this irrational, maniacal megalomaniac who's hell-bent on making his way to the top for his own gratification. To me, his backstory wasn't one to be sympathetic about, but simply to show how he grew up being selfish and how that transitioned into his adult life, always focusing on getting what he wants, no matter the method.
So, it just seemed a bit odd that the director decided to show this scene, in an attempt to make us sympathize with this character. If you ask me, it really fell flat.
vigorousjammerFeb 1, 2016 5:05 PM
::End of Transmission::


Feb 1, 2016 9:34 PM
Site Admin
Offline
Aug 2012
8257
vigorousjammer said:
tingy said:

I personally think it's just an odd choice by the director... mostly because it was treated without much seriousness. The fact that you compared it to "not saving your work in Microsoft Word" is paramount to the un-serious nature of the directing in the scene. Considering how much talk there was of Popo restoring his mother's memories, and then all of the sudden "Whoops, burned 'em all up", without so much as a slow-motion shot or any kind of lingering shot on that moment... it felt almost like the punchline to a comedy sketch.

Not only that, but I disagree with you about Popo as a character. At every turn, Popo is painted as this irrational, maniacal megalomaniac who's hell-bent on making his way to the top for his own gratification. To me, his backstory wasn't one to be sympathetic about, but simply to show how he grew up being selfish and how that transitioned into his adult life, always focusing on getting what he wants, no matter the method.
So, it just seemed a bit odd that the director decided to show this scene, in an attempt to make us sympathize with this character. If you ask me, it really fell flat.


I agree that it was treated sort of in a comedic way, no one was expecting that to happen. There was neither build-up or the feeling of resolution to that moment, but I think that's the point. People like Popo who are so one-track minded and consumed by their goal may likely make that mistake out of nowhere and have all their "hardwork" go down the drain. I never personally sympathized with Popo until this point, because I know how he felt then, even though the experience I related to was not as important to me as what Popo's was to him. And maybe not everyone will make stupid mistakes, but others do, and it just happens all of a sudden, and maybe all you can do is rage and then laugh about it later. I don't think we were supposed of have a lingering shot of that moment either because he probably isn't a relatable character to people. It happened, sort of sucks for him but so what? Now what's the point of this? Imo Popo is just another character/tool to build upon the world.

While I said that Popo had a sympathetic backstory, I would agree with you that it wasn't to make people sympathize/empathize for him, but to merely show what he went through. The director most likely wasn't going for that because I'm sure even he wouldn't agree with the means Popo did in order to achieve his goal. Together with his backstory and what happened with him in the end, its more likely that the director wanted us to feel pity for him, if anything. And this is all just part of the experience in the world of Kaiba, what happens in such a society with memory chips and disposable bodies.

Not sure if what I wrote made any sense, but I agree with you for the most part, even if I felt differently (sympathizing with Popo). Creator's intent or not, the audience will always have different reactions. Yuasa probably didn't intend for us to sympathize with Popo in this episode, but some people did. It was crazy and overdramatic that it was laughable, and if you felt that way (as I did), that was probably the point.
Feb 1, 2016 10:23 PM

Offline
Mar 2014
2752
tingy said:
I don't think we were supposed of have a lingering shot of that moment either because he probably isn't a relatable character to people. It happened, sort of sucks for him but so what

I suppose, but in that case, I don't think the director should've shown it happening at all, and just have it mentioned later on. The fact that it was shown makes it seem somewhat important, even though it was treated as a joke. Perhaps it would have been more effective if it happened, and then Popo mentioned it to someone later on.
Although, I suppose showing it was also a good way of showcasing the moment where Popo truly snapped, which makes him saying all that stuff about "making everybody happy" later on in the episode make more sense, so I could also kind of see why it's in there.
::End of Transmission::


Feb 3, 2016 1:30 PM

Offline
Apr 2013
345
I suppose, since I've been lurking these discussion threads for the past few episodes, I might as well voice my opinion too. My favourite scene this episode was where, in less than a minute, the show pulled 3 or 4 plot twists and had so many double crossers. Not because it was good, just because it was bloody hilarious. Kaiba turned into a really different show in the second half. I'm disappointed by it. I've been wanting the overarching plot to take precedence for some time now, but it's just lost all the charm that made the first half special. Kaiba is now just 'sorta weird' with little substance to accompany it. I'm still enjoying it, sure. It's a helluva lot better than other shows, definitely. However, I think the second half of Kaiba just fell completely flat. It started off pretty well, too.

In all fairness, though, Kaiba was never worthy of replacing one of my anime or even close to getting a 9/10 from me, so it's not like my opinion of Kaiba has really dropped that much. A fun series with Masaaki Yuasa directing it, that's what I view this as. It simply doesn't compare to Tatami Galaxy, but it's really quite unique. I'm glad I finally got around to watching Kaiba, if nothing else.

Now I suppose I could conclude by saying "I doubt this could get any worse", but I know I'm underestimating it, so my hopes are that Kaiba maintains above-average quality until the end.
Pages (2) [1] 2 »

More topics from this board

Poll: » Kaiba Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )

Netforce - Aug 7, 2008

155 by Rexnihilo »»
Jun 27, 6:55 PM

Poll: » Kaiba Episode 7 Discussion ( 1 2 )

cyruz - Jun 2, 2008

80 by Rexnihilo »»
Jun 27, 5:26 PM

Poll: » Kaiba Episode 6 Discussion

cyruz - May 30, 2008

43 by Rexnihilo »»
Jun 27, 5:10 PM

Poll: » Kaiba Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )

tainteddonut - May 2, 2008

116 by Rexnihilo »»
Jun 27, 3:58 PM

Poll: » Kaiba Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 )

cyruz - Apr 29, 2008

82 by Rexnihilo »»
Jun 27, 3:40 PM
It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login