MetaFap: Fall ’14 – 04 [NSFW]
One of these three does not belong.
Ore, Twintails ni Narimasu – 04
Of course she doesn’t turn around. Of course.
What a fantastic episode that was. It was an unexpected move to have what was ostensibly the big boss villain be defeated just 4 episodes in, but it was also an excellent one. I’ve seen too many shows stick to the typical escalating-lesser-villains formula, and they’re often just wastes of time. It would have been even moreso in this show whose action sequences have not been inspiring. I’d much rather see quick montages like we did, so that we could get to the meaningful fights faster. That said, Drag Guildy’s fight here was actually quite good, easily the best yet.
And I don’t mean just in animation and direction; the writing throughout the fight was hilarious. I think the best moment was when Tail Red, without any hint or even questioning, identified Drag Guildy’s technique as being of Twin Tails. Instantly. It was a great way of showing us how much both of these characters love twin tails, while integrating seamlessly into the fight. The fight itself also featured other details to make it interesting, such as Drag Guildy’s brag of his untouched back, or Tail Red’s twin sword maneuver to grasp victory from the jaws of defeat. Earlier fight scenes were missing touches like those that allow mini-narratives to form within a fight.
The overall narrative is proving quite interesting as well, with the revelations in this episode regarding Thouars’s identity and the fate of her planet. Twin tail love elevating a person to godhood; how cool is that? Using twin tail affinity not just as a generic excuse for magical powers but as a full-on narrative element that has meaning on its own is exactly what this show needed. With just 1/3 of the season over and Tail Yellow not even introduced, I’m sure there is still plenty left to be uncovered. Now how will Souji go about fulfilling the dream of the twin tail paradise with himself as its goddess, avoiding the twin tail hell that Thouars had to suffer through? As long as this show keeps its breakneck pacing and obsessive yet genuine worshiping of twin tails, I am very excited to find out.
“Oh no, it’s just more muscle.” God damn it, stop turning me on, Aika (click for stitch).
Ending the cold open right here just as he grabs it was perfect. I love it each and every time he does this. Those two are gonna fuck so hard one day.
That’s one impressive volume of hair they’re pulling out.
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Madan no Ou to Vanadis – 05
I love the way Eleonora always sits (click for stitch).
This episode was a lot more in line with what I was expecting from this series, which isn’t really a good thing. Well, at least the harem antics at the beginning were pretty funny. The cold open especially was just wonderful, capping off seeing Lim go all deredere (by her standards, anyway) over Tigre with him walking into his “gift” in the bath right before the OP. The parts right afterward showing Eleonora acting both childish and jealous were cute as well. She’s definitely one of the highlights of the show.
But the whole interlude featuring Bear-Tigre and Ludmila had me scratching my head. What purpose did it serve? It seemed like a huge waste to spend that time just showing them chatting and becoming friends. Why not go all out and show Ludmila being really cute and moe, building off the fanservice that started the episode? Or go in the other direction, really turn up the plot point of their friendship by having her talk at length about the stress she faces as a War Maiden. Instead of her just dropping a couple pithy lines at the end.
Gotta admit, this girl is really fucking adorable (click bottom image for stitch).
At least the pacing of the story means I’m quite looking forward to the next episode. Like Eleonora, the idea of an extended siege doesn’t appeal to me, and I was appreciative of the episode getting right to the infiltration at the end. That also featured some of the best animation in the show so far in Eleonora’s ineffective Ley Admos. Her sword’s resonating with Tigre is something I’d like to see explored more, because I’m a little confused as to why he was able to break down the door that she could not. Considering Tigre has no magical powers, one would think that all he has to offer is range and accuracy, which makes it odd that the combined attack was so much more powerful than Eleonora acting by herself. Maybe it’s the power of love? I kid, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the story go in that direction. I haven’t seen a good fantasy love story in a while, and Tigre and Eleonora are perfect characters for one.
Eleonora is the lead, and she has charisma, but I think Lim is my favorite. Something very attractive about her stoicism (click for stitch).
That poor bear looks so sad!
I can think of at least 2 reasons why this shot was so wonderful.
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Grisaia no Kajitsu – 05
It’s not what it looks like, I swear!
BFFs
That sure got heavy in a hurry. Last week, I thought Fruit of the Loom was doing pretty well since Michiru’s route started off interesting enough. However, I wasn’t nearly as impressed with its conclusion. As we know, there was some weird split personality thing going on. And it turns out that there really was some supernatural element involved as the whole situation came about when Michiru received her deceased friend’s heart in a transplant. That’s fine and all, but I just didn’t find the story behind everything too compelling.
So you had a bad day…
As I understand it, both Michiru and her unnamed friend were going through some tough times in life. Both considered ending it all by committing suicide, but here we see that Michiru is all talk since she never once made good on her desire to die. Her friend, on the other hand, actually went through with it and jumped off the roof of the school. But uhh, what was she struggling with and what was it that pushed her over the edge? I’d feel more strongly about it if we knew more about the girl and what finally drove her to take the plunge. But as far as I’m aware we got precious little of the sort. If I had to guess, she was likely isolated and lonely since she was a foreigner, and then maybe she got assaulted (perhaps even raped) by some unsavory characters on the day of her death. But that’s way too much guesswork for us to get a feel on things. We just weren’t given enough for her brief spiritual reunion with her family to have any impact.
Happy end?
It’s certainly nice that Michiru made peace with her friend and started to value her life more. I know I got tired of hearing her say that she wants to die by the end of the episode, especially when we all know that she doesn’t really mean it. And I understand that the situation in which the girl who wished to die but couldn’t due to some supernatural shenanigans was supposed to be tragic. But I have to say that the entire episode felt empty and without significance. It’s like we walked in halfway through a dramatic reading of a story. We’ve missed the important bits, and we’re just in for the ride without any investment or care. Not a very good experience. So I’m hoping that at least the rest of the routes aren’t much like this one.
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Tags: grisaia, madan_anime, ore_twi
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 Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Ore, Twintails ni Narimasu – 04: Good episode and I’m amazed. How can the level on the absurdity over twintails be this high? It’s baffling. I couldn’t stop facepalming from seeing the bad guy suddenly growing his own twintails to show his devotion. These people all have some screws loose.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
This show is so ridorkulously absurd that it is a guilty pleasure I am advertising. For nearly the whole show, they are standing there trading barbs on the superiority of twintails and exchanging compliments.
I feel sorry for Cure Blue, I mean Tail Blue. She is the only sane person in the series. 😀
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
True. She’s found herself trapped in a loony bin.
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
I loved Souji’s bit about twin tailed warriors actually being 3 people, and Aika’s flat “is there anyone here who isn’t fucking bonkers?” reaction.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Heh heh heh….you said, “flat”…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Aika’s propably saying “No amount of therapy will ever make this moment okay”.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
I think I mentioned seppuku somewhere as the solution…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That’s Souji’s “salvation”. Aika still has a chance.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Grisaia no Kajitsu – 05: A sad story for Michiru. Losing so much at still a vulnerable age, especially the only friend that shares any relations, depression was the likeliest result. Fortunately, she found the strength to move on. I will say, damn, Yuuji’s… um… methods of helping are extreme. Personally, she looks better with black hair than blonde.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I kind of wonder if Michiru would let her hair go back to black, since she wouldn’t have to keep playing the part of the cliche tsundere.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
For some reason, I don’t think she’d consider that. She might want to stick to her “acting” despite having a burden lifted from her shoulders.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Grisaia: It really did feel empty and dull. It was like “let’s make this straight out of the VN”. And the idea that “We became great friends… but she still went and killed herself” kinda made no sense. Maybe there was a lot more behind it, like the meaning for all those marks on green eyes. Was she getting beat up? Cutting? If she was getting beat up, was it by her parents… who Yuuji took her to see? Did she visit some revenge on them? It’s like you made a movie out of a road trip, and left in all the driving parts and sleeping in hotels, and left out all the attractions you saw.
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
That’s such a good way of putting it and reminds me of a thought I had about Grisaia the other day, which is, It has a fascinating setup and extremely shitty characters, yet it focuses solely on the characters while barely exploring the setup at all. After that excellent ending to the 1st episode… I want my money back.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
After watching this last episode I’ve decided to give up on it. It could have been good, but the execution has been lousy. And it looks like it’s going the way of one or two episodes focusing on each girl, without going into any real depth, with Yuuji solving her problem. It’s just going through the motions.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Grisaia: I am making an honest attempt to follow the show. But right now, it feels like I’m watching it just because other’s are. That’s not a hight recommendation.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Twintails: I’m going to go against the grain on this one. I felt the show’s sense of overindulgence got in the way. The only thing it really lacked in that sense was the character’s painting the fourth wall. Now I know that means I’m taking it to seriously…but comedy can be like that…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
*turns skylion into Tail Black* 😛
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
If Tail Gold/Yellow wasn’t already taken, that would be mine. But, I’ll take Tail Brown…as that is the unfortunate color of my hair…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
What was that you said? Tail Gr…*mmff*
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
..quiet you…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Luna-chan!
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Akari-chan!
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Twintails: LN readers say vol 1 has already been covered by the 1st 4 episodes.
The show’s content definitely backs an observation I have:
that this LN was clearly written by a smart otaku,
who knows their LN/otaku tropes,
and is turning them on their heads for an unconventional otaku story.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
As expected of the LN Informant. You do your job well.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
4 episodes per LN isn’t a bad pace. I don’t know how big the LN’s are, but that’s not terrible (unlike Haganai’s 9 LN’s in 2 cours). I still like DxD’s 2 LNs per cour, but 3 isn’t too fast.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Twintails: It’s really amazing that a show that is so tied to a(n especially silly) Macguffin is able to keep it so earnest and authentic. Souji just has that perfect level of interest, and he’s got a fetish but it’s not 1) super creepy or 2) allowed to take over his life (with the exception of not being able to attack a doll of him). Mainly it doesn’t turn him into a quivering pile of goo. I also think that Aika’s a great brake on the whole show, keeping it from going too out of control, and trying to pursue Yuuji but without it getting depressingly desperate.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Vanadis:Regarding that gate, it was made specifically to withstand Ley Admos. Ellen mentioned that Leitmeritz and Olmutz, Ellen and Mila’s territories, have been on bad terms before. The previous holders of their weapons have clashed many times, plus the fact that Ludmila’s family is a long line of Vanadis, so they should know how powerful Ley Admos is and how sturdy a gate should be to withstand it. The LN’s description is that the gate was made of three iron sheets sandwiched between thick oak planks.
What this means though is that Tigre’s bow is even more powerful than Ellen’s sword to be able to breach that gate.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Grisaia: Yeah, this was pretty much oversimplified, suffered a lot more cuts and left out quite a lot of details. I’ll fill you in on some of them.
1. Michiru’s friend was actually dating an older guy and she loved him a lot that she would do anything. The guy though ordered her to be raped by other guys for fun. She wanted to kill herself the first time but Michiru managed to stop her. She still tried to love the guy but as you can see, she’s all beat up. Cue suicide and the rest of the story.
2. The heart donor is actually a different person and not the friend that jumped. I actually thought at first that it was the same person but I was wrong.
We got a small flashback of the person who became the ‘other’ Michiru. She was caught in a traffic accident and was just left in a vegetative state for a long time. Her parents suffered a lot to keep her alive but she wouldn’t move again. She was aware of her surroundings but she can’t move or talk. The father tried to pull the plug on the machine keeping her alive but didn’t. Soon after the mother suffered from illness from watching over her all day that she forgot her own health. The father then decided to donate her heart when Michiru was in a critical condition.
Seems like it’s going to be 2 episodes per route as I predicted. Next up is Yumiko route from the title of the next episode which is the very start of her route. This also confirms that we’ll get a reset of stuff ala Yosuga no Sora. No way we would do this in a continuity.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Why’d they even bother. It’s like they didn’t even leave ANYTHING in.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Vanadis: The way Lim looked so pleased with the bear outfit was adorable. I really like those little touches added to her character.
Grisaia: I didn’t think it as that bad…but then I read the comments and saw what was left out and now I’m horrified. Why would they hack out all the good parts? D: I still feel like I’m waiting for this anime to show me messed up girls who are so weird they end up in this special school, but so far it’s been pretty average. I can’t seem to stop watching though…
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
Yeah, the bear suit scene was great, from her unceremoniously dumping it onto him, to her little “Nice” upon seeing how it looks on him. I get the sense that she really likes bears.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Madan no Ou to Vanadis – 05: More politics and battle tactics. Not necessarily bad things to watch. They do put in some perspectives. The highlight was Ludmila’s carefree talk with Urs (Tigre) giving a huge contrast in attitude to what we’ve seen before. It’s refreshing to see her not acting so high and mighty for the sake of status and appearance. Even she’s relieved by it. Plus I feel for her that she has to involve herself with people she doesn’t like.