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The Samurai Bride, Viewfinder Love, and Time Travel Disappointment
Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride – 12 [END]
Gather Round Everybody!
Evil Inshun is here
Yoshihiko looks a little beat up
Into the final episode, and Great Japan is still in danger from the giant spirit vessel. And even worse, the spirit vessel kills and then absorbs all of Muneakira’s Master Samurai after they all try individual acts of bravery, leaving only Muneakira and Juubei. We do have some heroics from Keiji again, who saves Muneakira by giving him all her qi, and some more heroics from Yoshihiko, who finally does something worthwhile in repelling all of one attack by the giant bad guy. But the real key is dispelling the evil spirits that have possessed everyone, and strengthened the wraith.
Sparkly…
And of course, that means it’s time for the Samurai Bride. And boy did they make this both a non-event and corny as hell. In the end it was less climactic than Ash yelling “Pikachu, I choose you!” Everyone accepts it as a fait accompli, and then Muneakira and Juubei are ‘wedded’, complete with white outfits and a long sword with a bow that they’re both holding. Some Wraith Cake anyone? And then they use the power of love and trust to dispel all the spirits.
A bow… and kitsune ears… *facepalm*
Well, except for Musashi, who is possessed by the meanest of spirits. So we finally get the big battle between Juubei and Musashi, and Juubei finally wins it with love, trust, and a really big sword and laser beam. This also releases all the other Master Samurai, who are revived as Juubei was at the end of the first series (well, the BD version at least). And at least this time there was plenty of acknowledgment of who won the battle, unlike at the beginning of this series.
It did have a really big sword
Overall, I have to think that most people were, on balance, a bit disappointed with Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride. It did bring back a lot of the style from the first series, but it wasn’t helped by the inclusion of some terrible episodes, or questionable decisions about making girls Master Samurai. Personally, I think that they didn’t really need any more Master Samurai, but if I were going to add a couple for this series to Muneakira’s group, it would have been just Kanetsugu and Gisen. Sasuke was just an outright silly gimmick, and the idea of Matabei and Hanzou staying true to Sen and Yukimura, rather than becoming part of Muneakira’s harem appeals to me. The story did pick up in the second half, and the training arcs weren’t bad, but ultimately the bad episodes at the beginning into the middle really sapped a lot of enjoyment out of this series. I don’t know how much of the disappointment was just overly high expectations from the first series, but when this one started off with a Maid Cafe, it was definitely a worrying proposition. While the quality recovered some, it never really seemed to get that balance of fun, fighting, and harem anxiety that the first series did.
I don’t think Inshun counts as a loli with that rack
—————–
Photo Kano – 12
Tomoe’s got a really cute smile
Kazuya can make a good first impression
Did she borrow Haruka’s pantsu also?
Tomoe’s not particularly athletic
This week’s episode presents us the story of the last girl, Misumi Tomoe. We’d previously seen her crying at Haruka’s desk, and asking Kazuya not to tell anyone that she wanted to be like Haruka. That’s about all we’d seen of her, tho, and when Kazuya encounters her alone trying to make different faces, that starts a relationship where he notices her and starts to take more interest in her. And when he gets an apparent love letter from Tomoe asking him to meet her on the roof, he’s surprised to learn that she’s transferring to a different school. She’s always had to keep moving from school to school, and tries to not make waves, so she wants him to not hang around. To his credit, that’s not what he’s going to do, and pledges to be her friend. From there, they start working on making memories, and taking lots of pictures, even joining all the other characters in their activities. Kazuya starts making his move and going outside the school with Tomoe to take pictures, too. Eventually she gets the guts to tell the rest of the class that she’s transferring, and gets everyone to make memories with her.
I loved Mom and Dad pulling imouto-chan out of the frame. Good job!
I’m a complete sucker for hugging pics.
There was a bit of padding this episode, as there was quite a bit of series review, including a couple minutes after the dramatic parting between Tomoe and Kazuya. They even engineered having all the characters in the show see her off at the rail station. I did like the device where they reprised key moments in the other routes but without Kazuya, because now he’s off with Tomoe, like the Jumping Nonoka Turn and Rina’s having all the pans fall on the ground. But overall, this was a nice episode, but not really anything spectacular. Actually, I probably feel about this one the way most people felt about the previous one with Rina. So the series ends next week with an imouto-centric episode, and we’ll see what Kanon is up to. I’m expecting something like Miya’s OVA episode of Amagami, so probably another series reprise kind of thing.
I think Ootani-sensei’s boobs have just gotten bigger all the way through the series…
Bonus Scrolling Time!
—————–
The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat – 11
In some ways, Tsukasa appears to be living the dream…
“Sorry, I stuttered!” This scene reminded me of Bakemonogatari, particularly this bit from episode 14.
Presented without comment.
Thus we bear witness to the birth of Yokodera’s bellybutton fetish?
So in anime, alcohol is basically a near perfect aphrodisiac, even when just smelled from some cheap beer.
So Youto and Tsukiko are back in the past as expected, and quite conveniently run into a young Youto who conveniently convinces Tsukiko’s mother Tsukasa to invite them for dinner and a sleepover (no questions asked!), leading to them conveniently meeting up with the young Tsutsukakushi sisters who happen to be back from Italy. With just am episode to go, I guess narrative efficiency is king. Gotta say, some parts were really cute, such as Tsukiko training young Youto to like kids… right after berating the old Youto for the same thing. And Tsukasa dressing up Youto in girls’ clothing was gold. Combine that with her drinking problem and you’ve got a lady who really needs some help and shouldn’t be allowed to hang out alone with primary school students. One wonders what else she did to Youto on a regular basis when no company was over and how much responsibility she has for him being the hopeless pervert he is now.
All that would be pretty creepy if the story were at all something to take seriously. I see that Tsukiko is still fixated on being the “first” girl to meet Youto. Now this seemed to have been confirmed when the young versions briefly encountered each other in this episode, but Youto didn’t bother to relay that info to old Tsukiko. What’s actually interesting is that while Tsukushi was right about their mother living in the house, she was absolutely wrong about her and Tsukiko being there. Is there some memory altering going on? But who’s doing it and why? Tsukasa seems to be at the heart of it all, as Youto’s memory of her is gone, and she’s responsible for Tsukushi’s abandoment anxiety issues now. And even her laughter reminded me of the stony cat’s. Which stony cat will Tsukiko go to to reverse her time travel wish; will it even be there? The finale has its work cut out for it if is to provide a satisfying and coherent conclusion.
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Tags: Henneko, Hyakka, PhotoKano, time travel
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Jet Pack Neko-mimi Wedding Dress GO: This is probably as negative as I will get here. But this was just a straight up terribly composed series. They had lots of cool elements to deal with but bungled as much as they could.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Not even close…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
She succeeded gloriously where Yukimura failed miserably. You can’t go against the natural order of the world.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
One needs not go against the natural order, one can appreciate the time and place one finds things.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Only if one is willing to appreciate it.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It was definitely a blender type show. “We should put in maid cafes!” “We should put in some evil Samurai!” “We should make someone get married!” It just didn’t work out at all. The second half was far better than the first half, but not enough to pull it up to good.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
They tried to do so many things at once that it had the whole story grounded and that was a shame compared to how simplistic the first season was.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Henneko: Wow. They really rolled out the ecchi elements on this one. Start of Bellybutton, Yokodera’s Younger Brother (look at it from Tsukushi’s pov), and what should have been a kindly mother, that turns into something from The Heart is Deceitful Above all Things (indie film by Asia Argento, no not that one).
Yeah, all in all, the possibility of untangling this mess in the time left is getting to be pretty interesting. I’m betting they go for, at least, an emotional, if not plot, wrap up.
Goodness, Tsukiko, you’ve got some moves, girl.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Spammy took my Henneko…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Wow, you’re really becoming his favorite lately. What have you been attracting him with?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Spammy only takes the best?
No…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I just don’t mention how many of my comments get caught anymore. It’s downright embarrassing to be a writer and still at the mercy of spammy… 🙁
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
You were exposed to Spammy before you became a writer. I guess it has determined that there will be no special treatment.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Soon…. Soon he will be at my mercy!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
As soon as you get the chair and whip back to discipline him.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride – 12 [END]: It was a bittersweet finale. The fight was worth watching but the dire situation on the country could have been exploited better if it spanned two episodes instead of doing the usual rush job ending. It pains me to see animes that don’t try to pace themselves.
Surprisingly, I liked Juubei’s new form but the whole wedding ceremony during a crisis was over the top. I face palmed about two times with that.
Despite going in the right direction by removing the censors that prevented the fanservice, I was disappointed with Samurai Bride because it lacked the feeling and effort in its storytelling that last season had. And that it wasted it’s potential by cramming the good parts in the second half of the run when using the entire 12 episodes was an option.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 175 comments
stony cat – yep it’s time travel doing yet look youto & tsukiko look to witness & might alter past give we more reveal that mom was ill.
& oh marathon watch on photo kano give all seen ep.1 to ep.12 really find quite good series to watch.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Hooray for more people giving Photo Kano a try! I think the series is probably one that will wilt in the natural comparison to Amagami SS, but it may not be fair to compare it to that series. If they were done in the opposite order (i.e. Photo Kano before Amagami), then it would probably have been a lot more well received, even with the limitations of the format. There are so few omnibus shows (Photo Kano, Amagami SS, and Yosuga no Sora are really the only ones that come to mind), and I’d like to see more. I really like the idea that ‘everyone wins’ especially the conceit they used in Photo Kano, “A moment in which a distinct reality was singled out.”
Of the 7 ‘routes’ in the show, I think it was probably 2 really good ones, 4 ‘ok’ ones, and 1 disappointing one. I’ll do more of a wrap up next week. 🙂
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I decided to give Photo Kano a try because it was on a whim and you said it was worthy of MetaFap. After all this time, I can say I don’t regret picking it up.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 323 comments
why so serious !!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Let’s put a smile on that face!!
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
That’s an endorsement I can use:
“If I recommend it, it’ll be a show you won’t regret watching.”
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The obstacle is that you’d have to prove your point every time.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Photo Kano – 12: It may not be like the others but at least the pairing with Tomoe had some kind of traction. The only thing that bothered me was her near complete lack of self confidence. Some of the others may have been down on their luck but she was near depressing.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think she definitely was way down on the self-confidence meter, but that also gave her more room to improve, and I think they made a good showing that she did improve throughout. Someone without much self-confidence doesn’t pick that swimsuit, after all.
I mentioned it in the caption, but I thought it was a nice touch that her mother and father were so supportive of the change in her and of her relationship with Kazuya, even if she’s moving away (there are plenty of longer distance relationships that work fine, that’s for sure). That was really a nice touch.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat – 11: Well, this shattered any and all preconceptions I had about Tsukiko’s mother. Her demeanor was much like the girl that’s always harassing Youto with her perverted fantasies.
I think everyone’s memory problems are bound to the effects of the stony changing reality every time. The more wishes being made and then cancelled, the worse the memory becomes. The story is so tangled up now that how this ends is anyone’s guess.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Samurai Bride: “This isn’t even my final form!” – is what basically this episode amounted to. Just…ugh.
The first season was better, just barely. This whole dark samurai/samurai bride plot thing was just bad. Not to mention the additional master samurais just to complete the set. And don’t get me started on that qi thing with Muneakira just blowing away the curse last episode.
Oh well, it’s all over now.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
In my opinion and by comparison Senran Kagura ended on a higher note than this. Even the relationship between the Master Samurais and Dark Samurais fell along the same line. Samurai Bride had potential but it was unfortunately squandered by mostly filler episodes that shouldn’t have been there.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Senran Kagura definitely did the “Frienemies” story line much better. In the end, Samurai Bride almost didn’t know what to do with the Dark Samurai. They spent the entire series building them up after the first curbstomp fight, and then basically crumpled them up and tossed them aside to bring in some other big bad guy. And all the training and getting better that the rest of Muneakira’s Master Samurai did was tossed out the window as well because they got two attacks in and then were unceremoniously killed off.
At least in the first series, it set up Gisen as the bad guy throughout a few episodes, and then had the good guy (Juubei) fight the bad guy as the climax.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Since the finale looked open ended, I figure Gisen will be bad again along the way.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
In another hundred years when Amakusa can be resurrected again.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
She probably has some power to make herself eternally young until then.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
It really cracked me up when Juubei whips out her huge sword in bride mode… and then proceeds to shoot it like a gun.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Melee weapon, ranged weapon. Yes. both. With a jetpack….
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
One of Final Fantasy’s yet to be unveiled gun blades?
POWUH: iLurker with 1 comments
[…] course, not everything time travel touches has to be life and death. Kind of like in Henneko last season, this was a good excuse to show us loli/shota younger versions of our favorite characters. Shinobu […]