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| That was the most surreal and and creepy Mononoke so far. For a moment there I thought the Medicine Seller was trolling those people :P |
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| Man, this anime just never disappoints. Another memorable arc. That said, I didn't quite understand how each victim's actions (samurai killing fourth contestant, funny-nose guy killing the lady, and the other contestant presumably being poisoned by oleander) were related to the fact that they were already dead, the whole game was merely an illusion and that the Medicine Seller was acting all along. |
| great + funny arc. I think the deaths were caused by the Toudaiji controlling the suitors some time previously, as the strength of the incense is such that it can play tricks with their minds by creating aural/visual hallucinations (suggested by "hearing smells" and the talk of memories etc). It had them kill each other and kept their souls oblivious, re-enacting the routine daily as it needed their interest in its magic properties to maintain its sense of self. Presumably those 3's deaths (usually) later reoccur offscreen in some way we don't see, or else they just repeat the tournament ad infinitum (not needing to die again), waiting for a new round then always failing to guess correctly. All Kusuriuri did was break the cycle by confronting them with reality of their "crimes of passion" and making them consider the possibility of their own death, via poison. The act of possession probably made their actions not 100% explainable, like the way the 4th suitor was ridiculously provocative towards the samurai. (or something? either way the incense created illusions to maintain the deception). masturbating hostess/frogs/picture of Shogun(?) - not sure i got all the symbolism there but felt it needed a mention :P I meant to post this a month ago but fell asleep, so it may not be entirely correct. |
BlackoutingJun 22, 2012 5:13 AM
| Another short but sweet arc. And, this episode provided a nice conclusion with twists, a more extended transformation/unsheathing scene, a cool battle with the mononoke, and a beautiful scene where things returned to color at the end. While I'll be sad to see this end after the next arc, I am looking forward to seeing what they provide as a finale for this show. It has been a fantastic watch up to this point. |
Blackouting said: great + funny arc. I think the deaths were caused by the Toudaiji controlling the suitors some time previously, as the strength of the incense is such that it can play tricks with their minds by creating aural/visual hallucinations (suggested by "hearing smells" and the talk of memories etc). It had them kill each other and kept their souls oblivious, re-enacting the routine daily as it needed their interest in its magic properties to maintain its sense of self. Presumably those 3's deaths (usually) later reoccur offscreen in some way we don't see, or else they just repeat the tournament ad infinitum (not needing to die again), waiting for a new round then always failing to guess correctly. All Kusuriuri did was break the cycle by confronting them with reality of their "crimes of passion" and making them consider the possibility of their own death, via poison. The act of possession probably made their actions not 100% explainable, like the way the 4th suitor was ridiculously provocative towards the samurai. (or something? either way the incense created illusions to maintain the deception). masturbating hostess/frogs/picture of Shogun(?) - not sure i got all the symbolism there but felt it needed a mention :P I meant to post this a month ago but fell asleep, so it may not be entirely correct. +1 :p ksuriuri was so badass in this episode,and how he made them realize that they're already dead was kinda funny+creppy at the same time. about this mononoke i have to say that it was pure evil thats all... |
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| I loved the effect of the scent bringing it all back to life - but only temporarily. |
| That ending was intense! Really nice to see the transformation once more and just the amazing action! Really good ending for this chapter, lets see what the last chapter will be like! |
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| Fantastic episode, definitely my favorite arc so far. The twists always get me and the fighting in this episode was done beautifully. |
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| Kusuriuri: "silly me, silly me" :)) |
| This was truly amazing! I loved how the blood was orange, made me go look for the opening sequence of the last chapter - Jissonji's figure in the walls and the screaming - that was crazy. |
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| Funniest episode. And most likely my favorite arc. Very clever usage of incense. I'm still not sure if I get how the incense game was played though. |
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| his transformation is soo fucking bad ass |
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| Everyone was already dead, the house was in ruins. That's just creepy >__< |
"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness." "May those who defy their fate be granted glory." |
| This is an amazing episode. Kusuriuri trolling the dead. lol xD. Damn dat Kusuriuri vs Nue was epic. Kusuriuri is badass as it gets. fucking epic. |
| wasn't expecting the whole thing to be an illusion. good shit |
| This arc was truly awesome, I liked it a lot. |
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| I just want to point out that the creature that killed the samurai was at least most likely modeled after "Dorotabo" which is a ghost of a hard working farmers spirits who's heir wasted his life work. Adds another layer to that character. |
| A perfect episode, a scary one too. The later half was creepy. Seeing the illusion fall apart afterwards was amazing. (How many graves were there? At least a hundred, no?) The transformation/fight scene was amazing as always. The dog was cute! |
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| That got really creepy in the second half there. |
| :) |
| It improved a lot. 4.3/5 for this arc. |
| Hmm interesting. This arc went out from it's formulaic method that the former arc told. The Mononoke 'Form' here isn't actually showed until the end, and there's no foreshadowing about it either, although it's pretty weird seeing how that Kusuriuri know that all of them were already dead and also the cause of their deaths. Best arc so far nontheless. |
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| Well, that was relatively straightforward horror compared to the last couple of arcs. Still fun, though. The artwork, as always, was beautiful to behold. Also, definitely the most awesome-looking exorcism! The ending of the battle was hilarious, though. XD |
| Wow that escalated so quick towards the end and then suddenly. Just ended. |
| I'm Bruneian and I like anime. And Manchester United. And fat cats. |
| This was my favorite arc so far. Had to do a bit of reading up to fully appreciate it. Even then it was a bit confusing. But it was tense, exciting and the ending was so great and unexpected. I liked how it didn't draw attention to how each of the three suitors resembled a part of the Nue. Though maybe it thought it was super obvious to Japanese viewers. And I liked how cold and bleak it was both visually and tonally. The Medicine Seller's agenda and empathy for humans has been kept deliberately ambiguous throughout the series. And in this arc with its dead wintery scenery, he was at his coldest. Showing no sympathy for the admittedly horrid suitors. And not fixing much besides destroying the Mononoke of the arc. It was a good way to approach the penultimate arc I think. This episode was very visually dynamic and strong. Which considering I thought the last one went over the same plot points one too many times. Was a refreshing change. The incense contest was particularly grippingly animated. With the suitors appearing dull and colorless until they got a whiff of the incense and then brightening. The monster at the end was also one of the coolest yet. Though it didn't look too much like how I imagined a Nue would. I can't believe there's only one arc left. But I'm quite excited for it. |
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| It was such a funny episode for the most part last time then it suddenly escalated so high to the point of me asking what the fuck in horror ;~; The funniest one killed someone after being called dumb, the tiny dude murdered the lady for getting off to the drawing of the dude she prefers getting screwed by, and the last one who stayed greedy til last second got poisoned by Kusuriuri... That twist when the Nue log was making the dead souls which actually amount to about a hundred repeat a dreadful loop to keep her pleased, making everything look like it was back then using the scent of incense was my favorite twist yet. I giggled when he was fighting the mononoke with chaos all around then it suddenly went silent and *pop* the log was chopped just like that lmao |
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| Lol the anticlimatic cutting of the wood. Funny. |
 Three things cannot be long hidden.. ...the s u n, the m oo n, and the tr u th. |
| Illusion~ That was incredible :) I'm enjoying this so much more than I ever thought |
| What a sinister conclusion. I really enjoyed this episode, i think it was played out in a very subtle way; the mystery surrounding it was such that i couldn't have guessed that it was the 'toudaiji' behind all along. I really loved when he brought the truth out and again, the musicalization in this episode was sublime. Also, i love the sword form, it's so freaking enchanting and magnificent. |
 SEIZON SENRYAKU: Hungry 100% of the time.Vzla-IT |
| That was freaking brilliant. The art execution, comedy, and reveal of the plot in bits was phenomenal. I love getting mind blown every episode. I think Kusuriuri knew all along because he had no desire (or knowledge) of the Toudaiji and so he was able to see what was really going on through the illusions. |
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| i think.. this entire anime needs a rewatch for me |
| That episode was a trip to say the least lol |
| “I love heroes, but I don't want to be one. Do you even know what a hero is!? For example, you have some meat. Pirates will feast on the meat, but the hero will distribute it among the people! I want to eat the meat!” - Monkey D. Luffy |
| holy shit this arc was amazing, what a mindfuck this was. all the arcs have been fantastic so far, except the first one maybe also the way he went epic and shit vs the mononoke/Nue and transformed and then the next thing he cuts the wood in such an anticlimactic way, that had me lol |
| Best episode so far. I was wondering in the previous episode why only kusuriuri-san and the hat, nose and katana where coloured. Now everything has sense. Whatever is coloured exist while the rest is an illusion. |
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| This was a fast-paced one, quite the fun arc too, but still didn't scale up to the first two. Although it probably had a better fighting scene with him fodderizing the Mononoke by his badass transformation. |
| The Japanese chimaera arc is my favorites so far. There were a few funny moments as well as a scare in this episode(there was one other episode that scared me like this but I can’t remember). Also Kusuriuri killed it as usual! |
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| Damn so all of them were killed by the Mononoke and made to play the game day in and out unaware that they are already dead.. Really good Arc this one too..probably my 2nd favorite one.. |
 "Not everyone who works hard is rewarded. But, all those who succeed have worked hard" |
| That fight was one the beautifulest fight I have ever seen In my life man those colours and all this arc would be my fav from here on. [/B]Kusuriuri: "And so .. the scent expires."[B] |
| Whenever I begin to question the quality of this show it always manages to redeem itself in some way. Pretty good arc overall, though the previous one will probably always be my favourite for how many interpretations the ending has. It feels good to be watching this again, even if it's still jarring as hell. I want to understand this show, but the absurd directing and heavy reliance on Japanese folklore has made it something really hard to be engaged by. |
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| The entire thing being an illusion caught me off guard but there was a subtle hint in the last episode. Kusuriuri played the "Illusion" deck in the game they played in the last episode. This arc was the best one yet for me. It was by far the most interest setting-wise and also had a simple and straight forward story. |
| So the whole town is an illusion, it's just a abandoned town. The Mononoke(Toudaiji) had taken the form of Ruri,the old lady and the girl. The three suitors were killed a long time ago and their souls were playing Kumiko over an over all this time. The plot for this one was quite easy to follow and that fight scene was wonderful. |
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SubscriberSun said: The Medicine Seller's agenda and empathy for humans has been kept deliberately ambiguous throughout the series. And in this arc with its dead wintery scenery, he was at his coldest. Showing no sympathy for the admittedly horrid suitors. Well he's not sympathetic because they're already dead anyway, it wouldn't change anything As obvious as it was yeah the little girl (+old lady) were the mononoke but at the same time not quite... bc I didn't expect it to be a shapeshifter. I just expected the little girl to be the mononoke as Riuri's ancestor to kill for revenge reasons but it happened to be just greedy and plain evil lol. |
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| This is my favorite arc so far. I like the creepy atmosphere and the twist at the end. There was also decent action. I really thought The Medicine Seller had engaged in murdering people for the first time. lol I want incense that can give me illusions! |
| Bro pulled a Gogeta with that transformation and throwing a rainbow at em |
| I have a third testicle that gives me psychic powers |
| It was a mesmerizing chapter from beginning to end, from the incense game to the battle against the Nue. By far the best chapter to this point. |
| MOKUSHI KUSHIMO SHIMOKU KUMOSHI MOSHIKU SHIKUMO. |
| I still like the second arc the most but this arc was pretty close to be first. The atmosphere was amazing and this arc had more of a creepy feeling which is I love |
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