Black Bullet – 12
/we can rest upon the ground/and look at all the bugs we found/
Dammit Dammit Dammit Dammit Dammit Dammit!!!!!!! Welcome back to the penultimate destination of the Loli Bug Hunt. We’ve backtracked and made a stop at Despair Station. Be sure not to leave anything in the carriage. Next Stop! The Flame of Revolution!
——————————————————————————————————————————————————–
This is the world you fought me for…
A Certain Bug-Hunting Enju
If you’re wondering about my string of struckthrough curses, you’ll have to wonder a bit longer. I’ll get to it in short order ::fumes:: Hey did you see that? Rentarou and Kagetane make for a pretty good team, don’t they? They took down that Level 4 or 5 monster in short order. Just two Promoter Punches? Well, as a fishy looking thing, it was not in it’s exact element. I guess we can see this Gastrea as a cautionary tale. Careful with that mercury. It poisons fish, and make them create their own mouth lasers….But with that thing out of they way, the JASDF can call in the air cavalry. So how does everyone feel about Aldebaran’s immortality? Not too shaky, and a good way to bring some ultimate weapons in the form of Shinba-san’s military connections.
This was a long bathroom break
I hate to say it, but Midori’s departure actually lead to some great character and plot development. One, it was a display on how one takes responsibility into one’s own hands. Midori didn’t want to burden anyone with her death. She took her own initiative, and was able to help those around her not have to carry that burden. I imagine that Ren is still feeling the weight of Kayo’s death, not to mention his students. Two, she gave Ren some insight. He isn’t fooling anyone with his half-hearted attempts at leadership. He cannot be the same man he was before. And Three, she shed some light on Kisara’s inner rage. I didn’t even know she felt that self-destructive, but it is a very interesting point of foreshadowing. Especially given how much she clung to Ren as he was going into his Commander in Arsehole phase.
Really, Rentarou?!
But how about that pretense of literally stepping into Gadou’s mantle. Looks like Gadou was just a bit off in command. Again, we can bring up the Civil Office as a military force? Do they have brevet promotions like this? Don’t companies control them? Again, this show isn’t explaining it, I won’t bother either. But he does rather step up to command and show they what it’s all about. Ren’s near dismissal for “desertion” is a good counterpoint to how Ren handled the cause of actual desertion. It’s a good turn of the coin, I mentioned last episode. He will become what they fear; something more than the Gastrea. Good thing he has Kagetane on his side. And speaking of whom. He’s playing this game. Ren getting killed by his own men in not the ending he wants, eh? Being hated by his men? Is that something that fit’s in Kagetane’s plan.
This isn’t the last, I fear
I loved how Shouma stepped up in characterization. It is a bit odd that he was driving out of his martial arts school for developing the sort of technique that he did, but I guess that works out. He has lost his parter, and feels that grief. But he won’t let it consume him til the time is right. He even has the wherewithal to gain a new Initiator for the upcoming battle. With Gadou gone, he gains Mibu as his new partner; very well performed by Inori Minase (Chino from My Coffee Shop Employees Can’t be this Usagi!).
…and she has a Valeyrian Varanium Steel Blade.
You must make amends with it…
hmm hmmm hmmm couting the ways I can kill him hmmm hmmmm hmmmmmm
So now we draw up the end game. The advancement of Aldebaran’s forces takes them to the Flames of Revolution, the landmark to the last Gastrea War. Shiba is able to provide an immortality stealing bomb, but it comes with caveat. It has to be inside the big critter. How? Why punching a hole in the thing. Maybe even repeatedly. I wonder who has done something like that before? Promoter Punch! And how about that scenery? Nothing like a reminder of past pain to get to Enju, and Tina as well, who was left out of this episode more or less. Nothing like laying it on thick producers. But it does rather set the stage well for the big Bug Fight next episode. They’ve got the prep down. Interesting place to stage a battle. Emotional resonance, high ground for the troops with battery powered flood light to keep the battle from being in the dark.
…and then this happened…
Ok, I call shenanigans! Look it takes quite a few men to work this sort of detail. I know that most of them are on this same butthurt patrol as this weasel, but are you telling me not one of them provided the voice of reason. Maybe one did, and he’s got a shallow grave somewhere, but that’s as story there. Might want to tell it. Besides, those batteries are useful, why ditch them at sea. Hide em, cause it might take to much trouble to find them by the time the Gastrea get there. Yeah, I know that office/supply skulldugery isn’t as exciting as midnight evidence dumps, but geez.
Extra Clips
Well, we have one more week until the big action. I felt that most of the combat in this one was just as rushed as the last episode, so I hope that they’ve saved it up and are able to blow into some budget for the finale. Still, this show has far to may derpy moments, from Ren’s assumption of command (really, no one else?), to Mr. Jerkwad (not even going to look up his character’s name) basically acting like a butthurt kid dooming Tokyo in the process. Midori’s loss, much like Kaya’s is something to hard to talk about, mostly because she got far less character development for it to feel like more than just narrative advancement. What did you folks think?
Preview
…anyone see this one coming…
About skylion
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
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Commander Gado was described as a nepotist in the LNs, who favoured his family members for promotions and army positions.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
You really deserve a title for the LN information you give us from time to time.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Pretty sure most of his info are second hand stuff, mostly from AS forums.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
What abt meeee?My mid terms is hitting next week so I might not be able to do a comparison post for it, but we shall see.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
By all means, finish your midterms. But a comparison post would be pretty sweet…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
You would think any modern commander would have studied Genghis Khan, who didn’t do this sort of thing…his was a meritist system.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 29 comments
Definitely a high point of this ep. was seeing the Aldebaran’s regeneration in action! While I did find Kaya’s loss was painful, I was even more taken by Shouma’s intense display of emotion; the voice actor did such a great job his animated version couldn’t keep up! It definitely added feels to an already sad moment.
Rentaro suddenly becoming Sgt. Hartman seemed out of character – wouldn’t a quick beating have been enough? Still, it happened and we get that Ren’s not playing Mr. Nice guy anymore.
What kind of sacrifice will Rentaro have to make now that his much needed supplies aren’t coming? Will he have to force himself into the Aldebaran’s body? Holding thumbs for a better paced, memorable finale!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
When you pay for Roy Mustang, you get Roy Mustang.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
I think i;ve seen this some palce before.. hmm my mind is drawing a blank.. but I feel guilty not remember it..
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Really, couldn’t the studio animate the Gastrea like everything else instead of using CG? The use here is horrid and makes them stick out like a sore thumb. Aldebaran’s design was worse than Pleiades’. Aldebaran’s immortality is unfair. Hitting the body is a story by itself but taking out the head should’ve been a sure way to end it. I mean, the brain is where everything matters.
I know you got to act tough when it comes to taking command but Rentarou is taking it a bit too far. The consequences he announced for any form of insubordination or desertion are too harsh. A leader carrying ruthless manners like that will ultimately inspire a revolt. Mibu’s concern is adequately placed. He really is crossing the line into dictatorship. Guilty Crown’s Shu Ouma walked that path and paid a heavy price. Coincidental both are played by Yuki Kaji.
Again, the show heartlessly had to pick another cute character. These circumstances piss me off to no end. Though quiet, she was kind til the very end. What a waste.
Kagetane wants Ren to see matters from his perspective. What better way for that than causing everyone to turn against him?
Ugh, that four eyed scumbag surfaces again. I’m sure Seitenshi realizes what kind of person he is so I’m wondering why she hasn’t kicked him to the curb.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Oh, I don’t know. desertion is a pretty serious crime in most militaries and I know that there have to be a few were death is consequence of going AWOL. I wasn’t expecting Ren to be so harsh, but I don’t really disagree with him either. It’s not like last episode where he went against orders to save the entire group, this is a dissenter that can completely cause chaos and mutiny in the entire group and they don’t stand a chance if everyone is too afraid to fight. They will all die, either in battle or trying to run away from said battle.
Sometimes, the princess is smart, but I think that a lot of the time she is too softhearted to be a good leader. She has to know about Tendo too, but despite the fact that he was the one who hired Kagetane to do what he did in the first arc, probably had a hand in her assassination attempts in the Tina arc, and is responsible for the monolith’s destruction in this arc, she has yet to fire the guy and keeps him on as an adviser. The other guy is the same way.
I’ve heard of keeping your enemies close, but when it gets to the point that you do nothing to stop their sabotage to your own work, that’s on you.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Most likely budget issue. Even studio like Ufotable also uses them as well but the Cg was done better there.
Like many mentioned be4, Rentaro is the type that puts other happiness be4 his own so he will always does stuff like these. Though it will definitely bite him in the ass later I feel.
Wasn’t the dickhead fired/something? Or am I not remembering the details right?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
It’s the difference between inserting CGI and blending CGI.
Coincidence they got Kaji Yuki for this role? I would like to think they knew exactly what they were getting.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Desertion in the immediate face of the enemy is cause for summary execution in many militaries. And don’t be so sure that getting his soldiers to hate him will lead someone to fragging him. Soldiers will put up with an asshole commander who’s competent and wins battles much more easily than they will a nice guy who’s incompetent and likely to get them killed.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yeah, I want the guy that keeps me alive and killing the enemy. He can be an ass or nice, don’t matter. Thou the latter would be a blessing…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
For anyone who’s curious, here are Rina Hidaka’s Top 5 roles voted by Akihabara Fans some time ago on ANN.
1. Ririchiyo Shirakiin (Inu X Boku Secret Service)
2. Airi Kashii (Ro-Kyu-Bu!)
3. Nagisa Akatsuki (Strike the Blood)
4. Last Order (A Certain Magical Index)
5. Enju Aihara (Black Bullet)
Wow, Enju’s not as popular as I thought and I’m surprised Last Order was ranked so low. There go some of my assumptions on the fanbase.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Well, Enju has not been out as long. And Last Order says that she can image people not liking her diction, says Last Order with little irony.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Well, I’m real happy Strike the Blood’s Nagisa Akatsuki got a mention, she’s dead center among the choices but no way did I imagine she’d outrank Last Order. That’s quite a surprise for me right there.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Ohh there goes me not paying much attention to voices.. but she’s still growing on me. She played Ririchiyo ehh.. awesome, and Last order too.. interesting as well. Poor Enju, But like Skylion said she hasn’t really had the time to really shine being not out very long, but hey.. i didn’t get to vote.. 1 could matter here.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Ah, so the cards are all in place…IT’S TIME FOR THE FINAL BATTLE!
This was a good episode, with action and drama all wrapped in one. I thought the pacing was a little quick, with Rentaro defeating Pleiades so quickly (man was that anti-climatic), and then suddenly two battles had already happened in the meantime in which Gado was killed and Midori mortally wounded?! Okay…
Oh well, it got all the pieces into place and Rentaro is suddenly now next in command.
So, Gado sent the one guy who happened to be his next-in-line to die on a suicide mission alone? And Rentaro had a line to the white-haired princess this whole time? And why didn’t he radio in about the craziness of what Gado was doing?
Well at least we got some awesome scenes with Kagetane and Rentaro working together. Those two are a good pair, and I loved the scene where Kagetane and Kohina are just standing there surrounded by the other civil officers but they don’t give a care. And Kohina has that cute line of “Can I cut them now, Papa?” and he responds “You can kill half of them.”
I just cracked up, this guy may be helping Rentaro, but he’s still a psycho and a killer. And once Rentaro talks to them, Kagetane just calmly walks through them all without a care, like a boss. He’s so awesome.
Anyway, Midori’s death was a sad note in the episode, even though it felt pretty rushed. She was wounded off screen and she hasn’t had that much of any sort of development. And when she said she was going to go to the bathroom, I couldn’t believe that Rentaro was that daft, but indeed he was. So the girl disappeared. I sincerely thought the girl was going to kill herself in the bathroom, but instead she did it by a tree in the woods. That cat-girl definitely had some guts, but I guess it’s better than turning in the very enemy that you’ve pledged yourself to destroying.
Shoma got a little development following her death and we learned what happened to him after he left in the past, and he later got a new partner almost disturbingly quickly, but I guess it’s war and there’s no time for grief.
Rentaro took to the position of leader pretty wholeheartedly, and it’s obvious that some of Kagetane’s darkness has rubbed off on our hero as he’s gone full dictator on the the civil officers. I love how Kagetane and Kohina stick up for him and Kagetane is constantly acting as his sort-of guide, basically saying that since this is the world he wants and is fighting for, he has to make do with it and come to terms with it even if it means that he must do things he doesn’t wish to.
Enju also has a bit of development her as her emotions and grief regarding her dead classmates is finally getting a chance to show itself. It’s not a lot, but at least they didn’t sweep it under the rug.
However, unfortunately, we can’t end this on a good note. We have the jerk from the Tina arc showing up again, and he must have picked up something from Kunato of Knights of Sidonia, because here we have another guy who is perfectly okay with putting everything and everyone (including himself) at risk, just so he can get back at his rival. Jeesh, guys, selfish much?
I have a feeling someone is going to die next episode, but again Rentaro is pasted as the red herring because there’s no way he’s going to die after all this. My bet is on Tina, or Kagetane, and I’m leaning more towards Kagetane. Midori let out a bit of plot device information about Kisara easily turning dark, and I think that may come into play if Tina dies. But that’s a maybe. However, with Kagetane’s it’s this: you know that the plan is going to have a big snag at the last minute and Rentaro being the key to this plan, is going to probably try to sacrifice his life. However, they forget that Kagetane actually has the same mechanization and power as Rentaro (if not more) and the only reason that Rentaro defeated him before was the power of plot and the fact that he caught the guy by surprise with the fact that he was mechanized as well. I believe, that when Rentaro trying to place the bomb in the Gastrea, Kagetane will take his place.
The guy seems to really take a liking to Rentaro, and it sounds like something this show would do in the last episode. Now whether Kagetane will actually die in the end is another thing all together… I mean he’s been presumed dead before.
Well, next week is the final episode, let’s see where this show ends this.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Everybody wants to be a cat, cause the cat’s the only cat that knooooows where it’s at.
Kunato is miles ahead of Mr. Megane Idiot. But this isn’t the best sort of race to call….
Everybody dies but Ren, Enju, and Kisara. It’s the mop up afterwards…
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Nah, Ren just gives up because he has no lights, and someone keeps on TRYING to let the bugs when for some reason. So he lets them though because.. F-it.. I’ll take my loli and go home someplace…
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Oh, and I forgot. They finally solved that mystery involving the pair of civil officers that were killed in the camp a few episodes ago. So it was Kagetane and Kohina that were the culprits. Serves the pair right. Background characters and you decided to pick a fight with those two? You deserve to die.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
You know, I didn’t notice this until a comment on one of anime sites I watch, pointed it out. But look at Enju’s “flower dress” in the ED. If you pay attention throughout the series, you can see that her dress subtly changes color throughout the progress of the series. In the beginning, the dress was lighter and the background pretty. By this recent episode, the dress has become downright sinister looking, and the background dark. Also, I’m not sure, but I think the light sparkles have also changed to. What do you think this means for Enju’s fate by the end of this?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Or it could just be jerking at your heartstrings. Thanks for pointing this out.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
hmm.. could be showing her stages of her infection?( im sure that’s not the right word) Is getting worse and well her state of mine is also getting her down, But Ren seems to help her though it.. Just my guess.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Well My turn here, Well the episode is pretty entertaining, I did like the bit with Rentaro and Kagetane at the start haha, “guess we have no choice” type deal. Oh Kagetane how you’ve been missed and we can’t forget your little daughter, Kohina.
Agree haha, those two crack me up.
Midori’s death, the only question is.. Why you do this to the neko girl! WHY! what point does it show.. well I guess to make Shoma share his history/past? Anyways you will be missed Midori, neko girl with limited screen time! I didn’t get attached to her either so it wasn’t really too shocking, Sad yes, very said, but at least Ren didn’t have to kill her, like a certain other character.
“Shoma gains a new LOLi”..
Well Ren sure took up the slack rather quickly, just because you killed Pleiades in 5min doesn’t make you a god or anything..*tsudara* Anyways I already said how I felt about this bit hehe.. Though It does have to be done to make the people stronger.. BUT wait… background characters who cares hehe. The end. it just the main people that will save the day.
Glasses guy.. what the hell, You want to would to burn don’t you, lost everything so now on can have it, this guy.
So ya that’s that, as far as this episode, I too felt the pace was too rushed, alot DID happen after all, but one more to go to see how this ship is sailed.
At first this series sounded cool and was pretty cool, full of cute girls doing cute things like Fk ya Bateru! But lacked at some parts, However I was an entertaining series, I don’t know if id Re-watch it later, who knows.
And with that the series has dropped on my top 10 list. (top 10 is all equally liked but its liked a little less then the first spot.)
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I think the entire series has been very rushed, and out of pace.
I’m thinking about reviving my “how they should have done it” rant for the Tina Sprout Arc, and tune it to the whole series.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
I have learnt a new word today: Spanking Sodomy.