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Apr 26, 2009 3:15 AM
#1

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THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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Really good episode it was really exciting.

Aug 29, 2009 5:22 PM
#2

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Oh snap. That look Akio gave Anthy when she giggled! Awesome.

All that Lucifer symbolism. Love it.

I always forget the part when Anthy hesitates. I was really glad to see that.
Oct 1, 2009 11:38 AM
#3

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Feb 2009
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The episode was good, but the new ED sucks in comparison to the first ;-(
Oct 6, 2009 2:58 AM
#4

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That episode was so gay... well at least they finally took pity on poor Utena and made an elevator for her...
May 18, 2010 6:11 AM
#5

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Jun 2009
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so, it seems that utena's Ouji was Akio... that sucks. i can't stand such studs.
i hoped that it would be Dios

btw, all the male characters in utena are like this, except Miki.

i like it that Rose Bride's heart moved
Aug 4, 2010 8:54 PM
#6

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Alas86 said:
That episode was so gay... well at least they finally took pity on poor Utena and made an elevator for her...
ROFL, it was about time, the poor girl went up those endless stairs so many time already... And yes, too many naked guys this time, but the episode was great otherwise.
Oct 7, 2010 3:04 PM
#7

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Alas86 said:
That episode was so gay... well at least they finally took pity on poor Utena and made an elevator for her...


haha yeah
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Nov 14, 2010 2:34 PM
#8

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*fans self* lots of bishie flesh. Starting to love Akio, the douche <3

Incest a go-go!
頭脳は子供、見た目は大人! ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ
Dec 24, 2010 11:16 AM
#9

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Alas86 said:
That episode was so gay... well at least they finally took pity on poor Utena and made an elevator for her...


LMAO, really. XD
Mar 17, 2011 3:22 PM

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I would've gotten really pissed and demanded an elevator to, ^^

Good episode.
burntlettuceJul 8, 2011 6:24 PM
Apr 10, 2011 11:03 PM
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That was uncomfortable.
May 5, 2011 4:17 PM

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Haha that was the most homoerotic episode i've seen of anything, ever.

Also, looks like my fears about Anthy's brother are correct. ):
Jun 5, 2011 6:47 AM

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Whoa... I'm not that quick to think about 'things' but this tower at the end... totally phallic ^^"

And the heck with Akio, gimme some gun and I'll solve his problems. Stupid pervert =.=
Jul 8, 2011 5:49 PM

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To be honest, the homoerotic overtones didn't really bother me. I was more bothered with the car randomly appearing every where than anything. Really good episode.
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Aug 4, 2011 7:05 PM

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I never thought Himemiya had so much hair. She surely knows how to hide it during the day.

And all those homoerotic people (Himemiya x Anthy; Akio x Touga) have very strange syncronized ways of laying in a bed.
Aug 5, 2011 8:21 PM

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Nov 2009
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yo WHAT the fuck. how come those other bastards shirts came off but saionjis didnt?!? blasphemy! what the fuck was up with that car scene? this episode was probably the most mindfucking so far. and that ending........um........

i really hoped utenas prince wasnt akio..i fucking hate him.
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Aug 15, 2011 10:03 AM

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Renato said:
I never thought Himemiya had so much hair. She surely knows how to hide it during the day.


i was also surprise that she is actually long haired

after 25 eps, we finally get some new pre-duel animations, and now we know why Anthy always able to reach the top first :)
Sep 15, 2011 3:31 AM
The Shrike

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Nov 2009
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New arc and the connotations of the car are pretty erotic if you ask me. Saonji is starting to get annoying. He should be informed that he will never beat Utena and stop embarrasing himself and the council.
"Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that's beyond the reach of these small hands." Mamoru Oshii

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Nov 1, 2011 6:23 PM

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Alas86 said:
That episode was so gay... well at least they finally took pity on poor Utena and made an elevator for her...
Haha, seriously!
Took pity on us too. Finally a new transformation scene! Though I'll probably get sick of it soon.

SuperSamos said:
so, it seems that utena's Ouji was Akio... that sucks. i can't stand such studs.
i hoped that it would be Dios
I was pretty sure that it was Dios D:
It being Akio goes completely against all my predictions for this show orz. They could still be lying, but that's unlikely at this point.

Seems like Anthy had the same "prince". Maybe she's not really related to Akio. Speaking of which, yeah, that look Akio had was most definitely unsettling.
And yeah, where was she hiding all that hair? I've seen a lot of "official" art of her in which she has long purple hair, no glasses and generally a much more attractive character design. I guess that's the movie/manga/later in this anime though.

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Jan 2, 2012 1:20 AM

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this might have been the funniest episode yet, why were all the guys ripping their shirts off randomly? and Akio thinking he was so cool ripping his shirt open and then jumping to the front of the car. Maybe next time Utena will also follow the trend :D

But what the hell happened to Saionji? What did Akio "show" him exactly? (insert penis joke here)
Jan 11, 2012 8:20 PM

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Jlopes3 said:
But what the hell happened to Saionji? What did Akio "show" him exactly? (insert penis joke here)


lol I was wondering about that too! When Saionji said "I saw" I was like "you mean you saw his bare chest?"

and lol@Utena finally getting to use the elevator.
Jan 22, 2012 1:07 AM

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If I read this right the duel's setting was reversed. Utena no longer used the borrowed dream of being a noble prince. Her own ideal has developed into something more individual and different and that's why she could pull her own sword and sword of Dios itself wasn't usable. Dios still manifests because she has the conviction to try to make her memory eternal.

On the other hand Saionji's conviction changed to the other direction. He was a duelist because he can't let go of the dream of eternal friendship. Now Akio gave him a truth to protect that is similar enough to so that he doesn't 'grow up' and disappear from the academy. The car is a superficial, externally borrowed ideal and confidence just like Utena's image of the prince. I'm not sure what it is, it's something about understanding the truth about the world, but he still hasn't grown up. Like the power to superficially maintain relationships, but he still deep down inside holds the hope of friendships OR it is a pure motivation for a misguided approach.

And that stuff about Lucifer and what not. Akio probably used to chase a dream like the duelists, but grew bitter and took this manipulative approach. In the 'corrupted route' he is the strongest, but the brilliance of a pure dream still makes him unable to appear on the night sky. That's why he needs to make it so that the sun doesn't appear.

I'm sure all this will be proven wrong by the end but just some thoughts :D
Jun 3, 2012 2:10 PM

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Dec 2009
1641
This episode was weird haha and posts on this thread are making me laugh lol
Indeed, it's good that Utena finally gets to take an elevator.
Aug 31, 2012 4:08 PM

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Lol what the heck, I laughed at the new transformation sequence. As soon as the elevator reached the correct level, the car came out and I just could't hold myself
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Sep 6, 2012 8:24 PM

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Lol at this thread and the homoerotic tones of the episode - the bare chests, the throbbing engines, and whatnot. That stuff aside, though, I liked this episode and the new entrance sequence for the duels. I guess when you level up enough you get to take the elevator.

Also, Utena is not too genre savvy is she? I mean, when a mysterious authority figure tells you that his namesake stems from the Morning Star/Lucifer then odds are he's the evil mastermind.
Dec 9, 2012 6:07 PM
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EOTW said:
this might have been the funniest episode yet, why were all the guys ripping their shirts off randomly? and Akio thinking he was so cool ripping his shirt open and then jumping to the front of the car.


Haha, yeh, Akio jumping to the front of the car with a bare chest was hilarious. The excess of bare chests wasnt hilarious though :/

Also, the "gondola" just turned out to be an elevator.. I thought it might be some sort of pathway to the upside down castle in the sky! Loving the new battle animations...

Hate Akio. I hate schemer-types like him and I hope the Prince isn't him.. I was hoping it'd be Dios, i.e. the guy that Akio was talking to in that first recap episode.

The car was kinda funny how it was just showing up everywhere, and I loved the baseball bit going on in the background during the council meeting.. always entertaining when they do that sort of stuff..
Jan 27, 2013 5:44 PM

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Mar 2012
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I love the "Extra! Extra!" bits, but it was nice to have a throwback to the old scenes. I loved the new battle sequence as well.

I wonder if the guys realize how odd they seemed, with their shirts flapping open every five seconds while talking about throbbing engines.
Feb 8, 2013 12:50 PM

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Oct 2011
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Alas86 said:
That episode was so gay... well at least they finally took pity on poor Utena and made an elevator for her...


This. The new ending sucks, too. But at least the episode had a high pacing to it?
Mar 4, 2013 1:17 PM

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Yeah, I'm not digging the new ending :C

Ah well, I'm getting more intrigued about Utena x Anthy and I'm hoping Anthy doesn't do anything too unforgivable to Utena... I'm really hoping they can overcome Akio's scheming and Anthy can break away from it as well. Here's also hoping that Anthy doesn't really like being a pawn to manipulate Utena ;o;

Mar 30, 2013 6:10 PM
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Jan 2012
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Akio has such a delicious body. I wish I could enter in the world this anime takes place, just to touch him. :c Anyways, Anthy protecting Utena in the fight was great. I loved when her pulled the Dios' sword Utena instead of the usual opposite. The surreality of the said fight was beautiful. Lovely episode.
Apr 21, 2013 1:24 PM

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So things were kind of poised up until now and without a lot of budget, but looks like they finally decided it was time to rev it up.

Great episode with lots of references: Rebel without a Cause, and maybe even Lost Highway (released on February 97 while this episode aired around September 97). Rebel points to Satan, Satan the star is described as Venus, whose name is the Goddess of Love, which in turn points to the omni-sexuality of Akio. Also I've thought this before, but the glass thing of Himemiya feels like NGE. Other similarities can be found between Himemiya and Rei.

Character development all around, even if I'm still not sure how to link all that with the dark duelists arc (where Akio draws a parallel between Himemiya and Nemuro).

I just hope they can keep up this level of quality/density for the rest of the episodes.
EratiKApr 21, 2013 1:38 PM
Jul 18, 2013 6:36 PM
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EratiK said:
So things were kind of poised up until now and without a lot of budget, but looks like they finally decided it was time to rev it up.

Great episode with lots of references: Rebel without a Cause, and maybe even Lost Highway (released on February 97 while this episode aired around September 97). Rebel points to Satan, Satan the star is described as Venus, whose name is the Goddess of Love, which in turn points to the omni-sexuality of Akio. Also I've thought this before, but the glass thing of Himemiya feels like NGE. Other similarities can be found between Himemiya and Rei.

Character development all around, even if I'm still not sure how to link all that with the dark duelists arc (where Akio draws a parallel between Himemiya and Nemuro).

I just hope they can keep up this level of quality/density for the rest of the episodes.


oh man, i immediately thought of lost highway as well. i wonder if that was intentional?

also what the heck was up with akio's face this ep?

Sep 20, 2013 6:02 AM

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Aug 2012
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Gondola = Elevator?

Also flowers grew into Himemiya's clothing ... well she is the rose bride after all.
Jan 30, 2014 6:40 PM

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Nov 2012
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The new zetai unmei is badass, the new ed is lame compared to the first one though.
Sep 15, 2014 8:57 PM
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The car scenes were just fantastic lmao and very stylish.
Nov 7, 2014 10:18 PM

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I'm kinda surprised at how many people watched this within the past 5 years or so and were surprised by the lesbianism. Utena has a reputation for that. That's why I'm here. The only thing I'm finding uncomfortable is all of the incest-y stuff with Akio and Anthy. Especially this time since it was a lot more rape-ish and more explicit.
Ich verstehe nicht
Dec 13, 2014 7:17 AM

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Dec 2013
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The best episode so far.
Dec 15, 2014 6:56 PM

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Whoo, all that subtext! YES! I like how Anthy protected Utena during the duel and hesitated with her brother at the end. She be thinking about Utena, yo.

I don't like the new ED song, but I like the images, haha.

Bare chests ftw. I'm jealous of Touga's hair, he has prettier hair than me. :(

New stock footage ftw
Jan 7, 2015 12:16 PM

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Sep 2013
16130
Wow, is it just me or did this show just get a bigger budget. It was probably a new cour starting here.

Nice episode, some fast plot development after all that fluff in the last episode. The car scene was based.
Jan 19, 2015 10:22 AM

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Jul 2014
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Anthy with hair down, hhh.

Well this anime has everything; Yuri, Incest, and a little bit of Yaoi.
hancatJan 19, 2015 10:55 AM
Mar 19, 2015 6:30 PM

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what a lovely episode, definitely one of my favorites. somehow it felt different from other episodes. love the whole new feeling of everything
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Sep 25, 2015 10:26 PM

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Funny how Touga says that he's not old enough to drive, even though he looks like it.

I mean, all the middle schoolers look like they're in high school, and all the high schoolers look like they're in their twenties.

4/5
Dec 18, 2015 8:05 AM

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Well this episode was just great. No one seemed to have noticed a few episodes back, but there was a brief snippet of conversation between Anthy and Utena in the Rose Garden (when Mikage was listening on, and realized Utena reminds him of Tokiko) which implied the Anthy had hinted she was being controlled by someone larger. That, couple with what she said (tried to say) to Utena in bed this episode seem to show that Anthy's true feeling are starting to surface. Obviously she's very layered, but it's become clear that she does really like Utena and doesn't like being under Akio's control. (While a lot of the saturday night visits before seemed "semi-consensual" this episode makes it all the more clear the Anthy really doesn't like this at all. That she felt bad about Nemuro, the way she genuinely likes Utena and has told her some deep feelings before, way early on when she told Touga that all life is valuable - during a "filler" episode, so I'm sure this was missed by a lot of people - all this is building to paint a picture of someone immobilized by something (we don't quite know why yet) were Anthy has been stuck as The Rose Bride and in a role of absolute submission for so long, and really doesn't like it but doesn't really know how to feel otherwise. Utena has showed Anthy quite a lot, and I think Akio's frustration with Anthy, Anthy's protection of Utena in the duel (as opposed to passitivity) and ultimately her clearly growing disgust and unwillingess to be used as Akio's sex doll (yeah, I think we can count this as rape, and maybe all the previous times too, Akio really has a tightly abusive leash around her) when she resisted at the end, all point to her slowly growing out of her shell and starting to make a stand for herself. Whew that was a lot lol.
Feb 16, 2016 5:32 PM

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A really great episode!
I love how they decided make things fresh with the new ending song, new animation for Utena entering the dueling arena, the sword being pulled inside of Utena instead of Anty etc...While of course keeping some aspect like the original duelists jumping back into the fray. If this keeps up, we'll be seeing a rematch with Juri and i can't wait!
Apr 12, 2016 2:28 AM

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Cool episode. Really good and consistent animation this episode too, they definitely spent a lot of budget on this one.
Jun 28, 2016 9:11 PM

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Major improvement after the recap/filler episode. It seems we're entering a bold new phase of Utena and it's already very exciting and very confusing so par for the course. There were lots of things that made this feel fresh again, the new elevator (we'd seen the stairs too many damn times this was such a welcome change), immediate advancements in the character of Akio, the return of Touga and return to immediate plot relevancy of the rest of the Student Council, some serious strides in developing Anthy more. And I can't be the only one who felt like there was a noticeable jump in animation quality.

One of the more interesting parts of this episode is Akio. He is at his most Princely here, wooing Wakaba at the beginning, putting the moves on Utena during their star talks and Touga even reveals Utena is the girl from his coffin story (surprise suprise) and Akio is the Prince from her past (ditto). But we're also starting to see his ugly side slowly but surely. Touga also reveals what we pretty much knew from the last arcs finale that Akio is the end of the world. His star gazing scene with Utena also revealed his dark underbelly a bit as well as inviting comparisons between himself and Lucifer that carry over throughout the rest of the episode. The most unsettling though, is that the episode ends with another creepy incest scene with him and Anthy that goes much further than the previous ones have. Not only that but this time Anthy resists him a bit, as she's already developing a will of her own from her relationship with Utena.

Anthy has been perhaps the most puzzling character of this series, despite being one of the two leads. It's unclear how much free will she actually has, Touga has in the past claimed she was no individual will whatsoever, a sentiment echoed by an even creepier than normal Souji when he duels Utena at the end after Akio reveals the meaning of "the eternity" that Anthy can lead him too. This seemed to be confirmed when she was temporarily possessed by Touga at the end of the first arc. This was made all the more heartbreaking because it seemed like prior to that Utena had gotten through to her, and she really more than anyone else just wants what's best for Anthy.

Here she actually makes good on their growing relationship though. After their moving bedside promise earlier in the episode, when Utena loses her sword, Anthy of her own volition steps in and shields her before producing another sword from within Utena this time. This is interesting enough and I'm curious what it will be revealed this means. But it also shows Anthy is developing her own thoughts and feelings and she's realized Utena is her best bet at salvation. It's also noteworthy Utena proceeds to beat Souji's ass without the help of the Dios Spirit this time. We're getting some real exciting development here folks.

There were other things that interested me in this episode too, that were as always a bit puzzling. I was amused by the baseball metaphor when Souji tells off the rest of the Student Council but I didn't fully understand it. I was also really entranced by the recurring scenes of Touga and Akio later with Souji speeding down a deserted highway at night in a luxury car. These scenes had a real homoerotic energy, furthered Souji and Touga in the bed later that were an interesting counterpoint to all of the lesbian imagery we've had until now with Utena and Anthy. What it all means though, I can't tell yet, especially that the duel with Souji ends with him being struck by the car. I can only hope that wasn't just a thing in this episode and I understand it a little more by the end.

The teaser for the next episode, as well as the title seems to suggest that Utena will be dueling Miki once again. I'm not thrilled that we're seeing her fight the same people all over again, but if it's as fast paced and interesting as this episode can't say I'll complain to much either. Also I still love Wakaba, and any episode with her is a good one even if she spends most of it swooning after evil ass Akio.
Jul 17, 2016 4:09 PM

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Well at least we have plot movement, sort of and of course a bevy of bare chests. Great drinking game: every time one of the guys opens his shirt...Drink.
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Dec 25, 2016 2:25 PM

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It is so rewarding when something is finally happening. The build-up is worth it after all.
Mar 9, 2017 10:32 AM

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i laughed so hard at this one!
Saionji became a different person after experiencing akio's throbbing engine in action. akio has been putting his engine in action for so many times recently his face's gotten long
SorvarinMar 9, 2017 10:37 AM
see you, space cowperson . . .
May 27, 2017 1:48 AM
Ceasefire NOW

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Aug 2009
3697
This anime is kicking it into high gear now eh...all these car scenes. ;)

The End of the World was tired of seeing her walk up those thousand steps and showed her the gondola lol.

=-= Ugh Saionji came back an even bigger jerk. Don't come back ever again.

Guess we'll be seeing a lot more of the car.
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