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General Anime Discussion

Virgin Soul ep 21: So it looks like Nina has finally gotten over her Charioce-crush enough to realize the dude needs to be stopped before he kills any more people and/or wrecks the entire world. It came at the cost of
one of the most beloved and important characters in the season getting shanked by a scrub
, but hopefully this means Nina will shape up and become the heroine Virgin Soul always needed.

I do feel sorry for her, though. It's presented less like she's found newfound determination and more that she's just so tired and broken from losing people she cares about that she wants everything to end by whatever means it takes. That scene where she tries to scoop up a tear and dab it back in her eye as if that would undo the sadness she's feeling was heartbreakingly evocative.
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Vatican Miracle Examiner has really gone full Indiana Jones this week what with the death-traps and secret evil organizations, huh? I'm not complaining, especially after the incredibly exposition-filled last episode some actual action and suspense is definitely welcome. In a show ostensibly about investigating miracles though, it really feels like the miracle part was sidelined in this story arc, with the explanation for the miracle itself being relegated to the last few minutes of the episode. (And somewhat contrived even by this show's standards.
I'm no druggist, but if everyone was high on Cocaine enough to hallucinate rainbow glowy Jesus then they ought to have been having more symptoms then just seeing some flashing lights
.)

I'd be actually curious to read the novels now to find out more about "Galdoune" and Julia's motives as a villain, but unfortunately none of them are translated in English as far as I know.
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Not sure how I feel about the Charioce apologism Virgin Soul is diving into. It feels like the show is just brushing off all the terrible things he did for his "noble" goal (which is incredibly risky, especially since it's not at all obvious Bahamut can even be killed at all). The attempt to say he wasn't responsible for
El
's death because he didn't directly order Alessand to kill him is idiotic, when Charioce
has been trying to kill the kid
for literally the entire season.
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Wow, episode 10 of Made In Abyss was just about the most viscerally unpleasant moment in anime I've ever seen (and I mean that in the best sense possible). Most of the episodes up until now had their scares and thrills, but the Abyss was still mostly portrayed as a place of adventure and wonder rather then horror. Now we see full well just how terrifying and grotesque the Abyss can truly be, and why the adults of Orth were so reluctant to let Riko dive down there.

At least we get a cute bunny girl(?) out of the deal, I suppose. It sounds like a minor detail, but I wonder if Riko's Blaze Reap is truly lost for good. Since they just got it a few episodes ago and only had a chance to use it once against the Madokajack, it'd feel kind of a waste for Reg and Riko to lose their main weapon (other then Reg's robot powers) so quickly.
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Huh, I totally called that Kakegurui's
final episode would end in a draw
, though I thought both would end up leaving the academy where instead neither of them are. I guess this way it leaves some room for a possible season 2, though I'm pretty sure they just skipped a whole arc of the manga at this point and I don't really get why
Kirari decided to disband the Student Council at the end
.

Even if it was only an anime-original ending, it was cool to see Suzui finally man up and get in on the gambling action for once rather then sitting at the sidelines. His speech when he saw through Kirari's ruse was outrageously badass and Yumeko's reaction afterwards was even better (though the CGI hand was pretty awful). Let's be honest, he basically made her cum with those words alone. Suzui for best boyfriend, anyone?
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Originally posted by RoydGolden
though I thought both would end up leaving the academy where instead neither of them are

Wouldn't that pretty much end the story? Like, the manga is still going from what I know and anime original endings are (thank god) more or less a thing of the past. Sure, some animes like to "mix things up" a little, like No Game No Life did (story spanned volumes 1-3 and the last scene with old deus was actually the ending of vol 6).
That said though, I agree with everything else. Badass gambling moment for the win :D.
Anime statistic on MyAnimeList:
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... what even am I doing with my life?
Originally posted by JackTheSpades
Wouldn't that pretty much end the story? Like, the manga is still going from what I know and anime original endings are (thank god) more or less a thing of the past. Sure, some animes like to "mix things up" a little, like No Game No Life did (story spanned volumes 1-3 and the last scene with old deus was actually the ending of vol 6).
That said though, I agree with everything else. Badass gambling moment for the win :D.


I was under the impression it was intended as an anime original conclusion to the story, since they basically skipped an entire arc from the manga where Yumeko gambles against Kirari's obsessed secretary Sayaka.
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Thank god Made In Abyss isn't ending at 12 episodes. I don't think I could stand that cliff-hanger. Presumably the last episode is going to be a flashback to Nanachi's childhood...
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
So, Nina ends up with Charioce (
mute x blind OTP
), Bacchus ends up with Sofiel (who's tsundere over cooking for a "fake god"), Rita ends up with Kaisar as her new
zombified
boyfriend and even
Favoro gets some last words from Amira
. It's just love all around in the ending of Rage Of Bahamut: Virgin Soul. Seriously though, while I had some (okay, many) misgivings about the direction the story has been taking lately I have to admit the ending was pretty satisfying. The Nina x Charioce romance was clearly inevitable but the show handled it with enough of a bittersweet touch to not be too saccharine.

I wonder how Rita
zombified Kaisar
though. From what we've seen the zombies she brings back don't seem to retain their individuality or personality from their original lives but just be mindless servants. Then again, Rita clearly brought herself back as a zombie so presumably she has some special way of doing it that avoids that problem. Makes me wonder why she couldn't revive
El
too in that case though (unless there's some incompatibility issue with him being a holy-aligned being and necromancy being dark magic), or for that matter anybody who died in the big battle at the end.

Also not sure how to feel about the implication Bahamut isn't actually dead at the end. On the one hand they're understandably leaving things open for a possible sequel, but on the other hand Bahamut still being alive after this would make the entire season and Charioce's character arc completely pointless. Charioce's entire goal was to nullify Bahamut as a threat permanently; if he didn't do that then he basically killed and enslaved tons of people for no reason whatsoever. In that case he's not really a "hero" at all, just an idiot with a grudge.
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Oh wow, that finale of Made In Abyss was awesome. Cute moments, tragic moments, horrifying moments, tearjerking moments and heartwarming moments all combined together in a single drop dead gorgeous package. The scenery for the ending montage when we were following the balloon package up through the abyss was absolutely stunning. (Speaking of which, who bets that package was some kind of memoriam for
Mitty
?)

Overall I think Made In Abyss is without a doubt the best anime of this season. Re:Creators and Rage Of Bahamut: Virgin Soul come in close second but they both became increasingly bogged down with problems in the latter half of their run, whereas Made In Abyss if anything only got better the further it went.

I only wish we can get a second season to see Bondrewd get his ass kicked... (Seriously, in a show where the world 'irredeemable' is tossed around so casually, he's one of the few to truly earn it)
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
I didn't think Vatican Miracle Examiners could get any gayer but that final episode... Hard to top two dudes forming emotional bonds in a windswept meadow in a shower of sparkles while one of them is dramatically dying from a terminal illness.

10/10 would gay again.
So, I just checked out the second (technically first, since the first was officially "episode zero") ep of Dies Irae. I think the opening fight between Ren and Shiro had better animation then the entire prologue put together.#tb{:p}

It was a rather slow-paced opening, but it definitely got me hyped for what's coming next. Kasumi is a likeable childhood friend character and Rea's stoical routine is pretty hilarious (she's pretty much my favorite character at this point). The scene when the LDO reveal themselves and we get this epic sounding rock music, apocalyptic shots of crows flying out of trees and Trifa's pronouncements that basically amount to "kill fucking everybody" was downright spine-chilling. Also, am I misunderstanding something or did Kasumi bore a giant freaking hole in Ren's wall just so she could visit him without knocking? That alone baffles me way more then all the occult and supernatural shenanigans afoot...
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
So I just watched the zeroth ep of Dies Irae English dubbed. Is it just me, or was the dub really... not good? Speaking as someone who genuinely likes English dubs, even. The German accents sounded very forced and the actors seemed to be trying so hard to maintain their accents that they forgot to actually put emotion into their lines. Eleanor in particular barely emoted to the point where her lines almost sounded comical at times, and while she was hardly the most expressive character in the original Japanese it didn't feel nearly this forced. Nobody sounded any where near as dramatic and hammy as they should have been for a story like this (again, putting way too much effort on the accents).

Also I don't know if it's just me being unfamiliar with German accents but Reinhard and Karl's voices sounded almost identical to me, to the point where in their opening conversation I honestly had trouble telling when one stopped talking and the other began. Maybe the non-German characters like Ren and Kasumi will get better voices, but seeing as the main highlight of Dies Irae is its villains hearing them with such lackluster voices is really disappointing. I can honestly see myself skipping this one, even given the obvious benefits to watching a show in one's own native language.

Finally, given the various German words Funi sprinkled in I'm a little surprised they decided to censor the Sieg Heil at the end. I guess that's a little too edgy even for a show like this...
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Since the dub is pretty lousy I'm not going to bother waiting for it and just watched the second episode of Dies Irae tonight. At least the big fight-scene was miles better then the ones from the prologue. Animation quality was still noticeably limited a lot of the time though, even in the opening shot of Kasumi and Rea the way their skirts were blowing looked really static and unnatural.

Rusalka was cute, at least. As far as adorable murderous sociopaths go, she's at least on par with the Fate franchise's Elizabeth Bathory...
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Just watched the second episode of Zodiac Wars dubbed. I was surprised how Rat's title was translated as 'Killing All' rather then 'Killing in Swarm' like I'd seen it written before, which seems much more rat-appropriate.

I'm totally rooting for Monkey to win at this point, since she seems like the only contestant with any obvious morals. The hints that she could solo the tournament by herself if she ever got serious were also interesting. It makes me wonder just what kind of overwhelming power is hiding behind her pacifist exterior...

Dog was also kind of an idiot to underestimate Chicken that thoroughly from just one glance at her (especially in a contest full of weirdos who are obviously not all they seem). I'm not surprised that he
was one of the earliest to go
.

Update: I forgot to mention this in my initial commentary, but Dog's trick to counter the poison in the
Zodiac gem
doesn't make a lot of sense. No matter how much of a genius at poisons he is, there's no way he could prepare an antidote to a poison without even knowing what kind of poison it is. It would be one thing if he made an antidote after
swallowing
it, but doing it before seems rather illogical.
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
So Kasumi was the
culprit behind the decapitation murders
, not Ren. Seemingly she was possessed by the guillotine spirit and/or Mercurius's pendant. There was certainly a lot of crazy stuff going on this week of Dies Irae and if not for my vague familiarity with the VN I'm sure I'd be completely lost right now. Mercurius is shaping up to be one of the most interesting villains at this point. He has a nice voice and some cool/thought-provoking lines, not to mention that awesome scene of him seemingly overlooking the entire universe from his cosmic throne. I don't know if that scene is literal or a metaphor for his power or what, but either way it looked pretty damn cool.
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
I wonder, in episode 3 of Zodiac Wars, did you guys get the impression the One Man Army drug really affected Niwa's emotions or she was just using it to rationalize her repressed kindness coming to the surface after meeting Monkey? It feels too cheap to have her
lose
just because of a drug. I feel like the kind and caring side she showed with Monkey was the real her, and she was just too tragically blind to her own emotions to realize it. In a more idealistic series this might've led to her pulling a heel-face turn and ending up one of the good guys, but here it just gets her
mercilessly slaughtered by Ox
. Goes to show there aren't really any "good guys" in a show like this...
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
I can't believe how badly this episode of Dies Irae butchered the Spinne fight. Ren's inner conversation with Marie when he awakens his Yetzirah, distracting Spinne with his hilarious rant about big boobs, realizing Kasumi was still alive by the mole on her breasts, Spinne's speech establishing his motives as the only "ordinary person" in the LDO; everything cool and interesting about the scene from the VN was cut and the rest was rushed so badly it wasn't even funny.

Up until now I'd thought the Dies Irae anime- while burdened with some mediocre animation at times- was at least a serviceable adaptation of the VN, but this is just irredeemably bad. If they're going to adapt the VN so half-heartedly then I don't know if I'll even bother to keep watching at this point. I don't even know who the show's intended audience is supposed to be anymore. Newcomers are just going to think it's a corny Nazi-wanking edgefest and be turned off the franchise altogether, while fans of the VN are going to be pissed that it's adapting their beloved characters and scenes so poorly.

If you want to see what this show could've been then check out this (kind of badly translated but what can you do) video of the Ren vs Spinne fight in the original VN. Seriously, it's like comparing heaven to earth.
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Watched ep 3 of Fate/Apocrypha. Favorite moments in this episode were pouting Mordred and the Fran x Caules scene in the flower garden. Really adorable. Not crazy about how the Karna v. Siegfried fight was handled though. It was the same problem with the fight back in episode 1, where all the action is just way too fast to the point of being almost impossible to follow. If anything this was actually worse since the fighters were zipping around a lot more. The sheer scale of the fight was certainly epic (seriously, that environment destruction goes way beyond anything ufotable did), but it's kind of a waste when you can't actually see what the heck is going on.

The scene with Shirou and the other Red faction Masters was also kind of confusing. If I weren't familiar with the LN, I doubt I would've clued in they were supposed to be
brainwashed
at all.
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!
Watched the 4th ep of Apocrypha this morning. I forget how the analogous scene went in the LN, but the Achilles fight in the anime didn't at all showcase his invulnerability or how remarkable it was that Chiron could bypass it. Maybe it'll be explained later or something, I dunno.' Also, as an aside I've noticed all the actors in the English dub are pronouncing Chiron's name as more like 'Charon'. Is that the correct way to pronounce it in the original Greek or what?
Evil flower of Pure Illusion... we're going to pluck you out!