May6

Black Bullet -05

By , posted under ANIME, Black Bullet

[HorribleSubs] Black Bullet - 05 [720p].mkv_snapshot_00.47_[2014.05.06_17.14.33]

“You know you liked it”

 Well, at last I come to my “I am disappoint” episode. But I will cover some potential good along with the outright bad.

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Politics is about Power

[HorribleSubs] Black Bullet - 05 [720p].mkv_snapshot_04.51_[2014.05.06_17.28.01]

Finding his way in the political landscape

Well, like so many stories, it begins with the need for a bodyguard, when you already have a half dozen. This speaks enough to know that something is up. The people that Seitenshi is supposed to trust just aren’t enough, she needs to farm more labour from outside. But is it more than just that?

The political mixture in this one is quite heavy; not to mention incredibly direct, to the point, and not at all mixed. First we have a potential bad egg on the scene. Say what you will about Yusuwaki Takuto, but I think that jealousy of having his position usurped by Rentarou is just a cover. It is fairly clear that Lord Tendo and Seitenshi don’t see eye to eye on home affairs, and having this guy being hand picked by Tendo to be by the Lady’s side is just fishy as all get out. That would be enough, but this guy has to take it a step further ( I swear, do these guys ever watch television or film?). You don’t threaten the guy that’s neutral, that just pushes him the direction you didn’t want him to go in! Rentarou is able to make very quick work of them; quick to establish his power, quick to make an enemy.

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The Sleepiest LOLi

[HorribleSubs] Black Bullet - 05 [720p].mkv_snapshot_07.11_[2014.05.06_17.35.09]

Caffeine pills….part of every child’s well balanced breakfast

I’ve always said, a LOLi is never late, nor early, a LOLi arrives exactly when she means to. I don’t know why they choose to have Tina Sprout arrive on the scene the way she did. From those too big pajamas and her night-owl slippers to her sleepy-headedness to adorable name, she just squeals kawaii! Well, not literally, we squeal. Well, I do. As introductions go this was random as all get out, at least at the outset. What passes by Rentarou as an odd event, looks like it was a set up from the start. See Motherfoshing Gandalf/The LOLi-Defender’s Rule No.1 of LOLis above. She got your digits, son. And she has a mission. Hmm, Tendo goes out of town, new LOLi arrives.

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Domestic Issues

[HorribleSubs] Black Bullet - 05 [720p].mkv_snapshot_12.08_[2014.05.06_17.53.22]

The new character is on the bottom, I promise

This episode is not light on new character introductions. At first blush, some of it felt pointless, like the sudden entrance of Shiba Miori. But when it’s dropped that she is the provider, gratis, of both Enju’s fighting shoes (she has fighting shoes!), and the varanium black bullets that Rentarou pretty much has to use for bug hunts, we not only get a Chekov’s Gun scene, we get a potential Chekov’s Armory to boot. To add fuel to the fire, neither Miori nor Kisara are on the friendliest of terms. Competing martial art styles? Harem jealousy? The old who has the biggest boobs chestnut?

[HorribleSubs] Black Bullet - 05 [720p].mkv_snapshot_16.12_[2014.05.06_17.59.50]

Dr. No? Blofeld? Kamal Khan? Scarmanga? Drax? Le Chiffre?

Holy Crap! Our next new character is President Saitake, the guy that saw the sign for the All You Can Eat Villain Ball Buffet and proceeded to Eat All He Could. I have to admit, having a bad guy  presented as so obviously a bad guy is somewhat refreshing, but it kinda kills the narrative a bit. I mean, the guy is basically a thug warlord in an era that has brought back something like the Warring States period. His one exchange with Sentarou is to bitch about him destroying Heaven’s Ladder (did it get destroyed? I didn’t see that. Well, it wasn’t really loaded to specifiction…), and the rest is warmed over Sun-tsu’s Art of Speak Loudly and Carry the Biggest Stick.

Oh, and Saitake wanted to transfer the railgun To The Moon. Really? Who the heck wrote this thing? The cheesy is getting thick! But then we get to learn that Japan, being a volcanic archepelago, is the richest country is terms of varanium deposits. Maybe controlling a railgun on the moon is not such a bad idea. Nice to know it got totaled. Chekov’s Broken Gun? But with all that in mind, we find a pressing need for Seitenshi needing someone she can trust. Every other Protected Area is gearing up for action, and Rentarou cannot stand by and nurse feelings of inadequacy, and his very personal need to see Enju comfortable and safe.

[HorribleSubs] Black Bullet - 05 [720p].mkv_snapshot_20.57_[2014.05.06_18.21.22]

Enju..<insert association football joke here>

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I hate to say it, but this episode could have been a lot better. There are many ways to peel a grape, and when you got people watching, do it with some style. The animation looked second tier and all the developement “just happened”. It’s one thing to set up a new arc, another to do it in such a lackluster fashion. I mean the only thing they did really good on was the LOLi introduction. And that only gets so many points. Unforgivable! But with this much foreshadowing, I hope the staff can kick the proper style of ass soon. What did you folks think?

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All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
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19 Responses to “Black Bullet -05”

  1. Di Gi Kazune says:
    May 7, 2014 at 12:52 am
    POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments

    I bet there were no pantsu in that shot. Convenient censoring.

    Reply
  2. belatkuro says:
    May 7, 2014 at 1:43 am
    POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments

    >Cuts back on expenses so eating hotpot is a rare deal
    >Dinner ruined because of catfight
    >Security deposit gone because of said catfight
    >Meets weird sleepy loli
    >Douche bodyguard threatens your life
    >Old bastard calls you out for destroying the railgun
    >Loli headbutts your chin and talks about your breast preferences
    >Didn’t even get to taste the drink offered by benefactor

    Being Rentaro is suffering.

    Reply
    • Di Gi Kazune says:
      May 7, 2014 at 7:47 am
      POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments

      Hey, certain large cats in the sky would actually regard the sleeping loli as a plus…

      Reply
    • thorgriim says:
      May 7, 2014 at 10:13 am
      POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments

      Would it also be fair to say.. all of Yuki Kaji is suffering, like all or most of his characters suffer in some way or fasion, i bet we can all name several of his characters.

      But Still Belatkuro, I like your breakdown of the episode, you sir get the awesome thumbsup!

      Reply
    • BlackBriar says:
      May 7, 2014 at 1:00 pm
      POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments

      Being Rentaro is suffering.

      Fukou da!!!

      Reply
  3. thorgriim says:
    May 7, 2014 at 10:06 am
    POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments

    Well the sleepy LOLi is indeed cute, I won’t lie I squeals kawaii! Her whole appearance in the episode was adorable, the pajamas, the pills.. what an entrance to the episode. then the adorable sleepy LOLi became a badass assassin, also shes blond like a certain other character that meet Rentaro.

    We can now add another loli sniper this season!

    When they said put the railgun on the moon, i thought…”death star” but the moon really isn’t a star but now its magical destroyed..

    well…Rentaro did disarm it

    /putglasses on YEEAAHHH… ok that was uncalled for I’m sorry.

    Reply
  4. BlackBriar says:
    May 8, 2014 at 12:24 am
    POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments

    Yeah, this entry was weak but did set the stage for a new impending crisis. And with this, Seitenshi may get a taste of what the real world is like. For the longest while, she’s been nothing more than an idealistic dreamer but has never gone through anything that puts what she believes in to the test. At this point, her words don’t have much of an impact with her sheltered life taken into account.

    Saitake is a bare faced douche from the get-go and obviously views others as expendable assets when their role has run its course. The idea of transporting the rail gun to the moon is absolutely ludicrous, if not unethical. Anyone with half a brain who’s met him personally would know he’d eventually turn on humans should the Gastrea problem be suppressed.

    Reply
    • skylion says:
      May 8, 2014 at 8:26 am
      POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments

      …and the railgun doesn’t even need to be used. Just the threat of it there, ready to go it quite enough.

      Yeah, Seitenshi has set herself to do whatever it takes to bring peace to the world. This worries me far more than anything a two bit thug with little idealism has to bring. He’s direct, and to the point, and you can predict his motions based on that.

      Reply
  5. Irenesharda says:
    May 12, 2014 at 10:57 pm
    POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments

    “An idealist believes the short run doesn’t count. A cynic believes the long run doesn’t matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.”
    -Sydney J. Harris

    “So where do we go from here?
    And how to forget and forgive?
    What’s gone is forever lost
    Now all we can do is live.”
    -“Brothers” (Fullmetal Alchemist)

    Well, I’m back! After finally having finished finals, I am free to catch up on all the anime I missed. Yay! 😀

    Anyway, for a small review for episode 4, the end of the Kagetake arc was really good and had some really deep emotions and moving moments. Kayo’s death really hit hard, and Rentaro’s second close encounter with dead, as well as his panic about having the fate of the world (or really just Tokyo) on his shoulders were really great scenes. I can tell you, I was pretty surprised that Rentaro is actually the “fullmetal civil officer”, and it was good to see him take out Kagetake though I thought the guy would last a little longer. However, I am highly doubting that this is the last time we’ve seen him or his daughter. The turns and the questions they had at the end were rather intriguing as we wonder what Tendo will be doing next. You wonder why white-haired princess is linked with this guy if it’s now that he’s trying to sabotage her agenda? And what’s with the tricycle and what are the gastrea actually? And Enju is only 7.2% closer to becoming a monster? That’s cutting it really close, isn’t it Rentaro? I can understand you not saying anything, but I would make sure you keep up with that.

    As for episode 5, like you mention skylion, the new arc is good but compared to the last one, it’s a little wanting. Tina’s cool, but I feel like I’ve seen emotionless assassin lolis like her before. Enju is a much more interesting character and Kayo was a much deeper character, so I’ve seen nothing especially interesting about Tina yet.

    The plot is very cut and dry, the good and bad guya are very black and white. Between wanting to laugh at Mr. Evil Mustache dictator and his plans of world domination and rolling my eyes and wanting to gag at Ms. white haired princess Lacus-clone and her desire for a united world peaceful utopia, there wasn’t much interesting in the plot this time around. Rentaro and Enju actually seem more like observers to everything than participants this time around. I still like what’s going on, but I want a little more and I expect a little more after such a stellar first arc.

    Reply
    • skylion says:
      May 20, 2014 at 5:38 pm
      POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments

      Oh, goodness I am sorry to have missed this comment for the past two weeks! Glad to have you back, and I hope the best for your finals.

      That lead quote it quite apt.

      Oh, feel free to laugh at Mr. Evil Mustache! I did for hours.

      Reply

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