Jan12

Absolute Duo – 02

By , posted under Absolute Duo, ANIME

AbsoDuo 02-001

Let’s get comfy…

It’s episodes like this that make me happy to continue coverage for a show that I was feeling somewhat iffy about. This is the exact direction that I wanted them to take the program. They’ve engaged character building mode, making the cold open from the opener that much more important.

“I’ll drink a lot of your apple tea”

AbsoDuo 02-whatdo2

…boy will she…

So, it’s looks like we’ve hit a jack-pot for fuwa fuwa cuddly here. It’s not a stretch to see that Julie is more than meets the eye, several clues are given this episode. She taught herself martial arts (that’s a flaggin’) She has a need to be close, almost to close for Tooru’s veggie-male status, she’s a stranger in a strange land, lacking in some basic literacy, and has worries about sticking out, even if some of her confusion with the language can put people off at the worst of times.

AbsoDuo 02-007

..cause in Japanese, cuddling takes on all the levels, not just the innocent ones…

But for all her faults, Tooru cannot help but help. It’s pretty much in his sort of character’s DNA; just can’t leave it alone. Even Tora is getting jealous! Well, not really, as it seemed he was just willing to go along with official Duo-ship just to shut Tooru up. And despite her faults, Julie does have a rather level head, and remarkable martial arts abilities, and as seen in last episode, a goodly amount of Blaze control. She would make a great part of any Duo, and in this context the strong seek out the strong to take advantage of all the blistering training.

AbsoDuo 02-008

…putting up with Bun-Bun is an endurance test in itself, oh and <caption contest>…

So in the course of the week of temporary duo’s, it’s all a matter of sizing each other up and getting a feel for who is the most compatible. At the outset, shy Miyabi sticks out like a sore thumb, with few that would take on a shy girl such as she is. Given how well they spare, it’s an easy match for Julie and Tomoe. With both Tooru and Tora working out their differences, that seems like a match as well, and all are pretty much accepting of it. But, let that sore thumb come back. Tomoe prefers to team with Miyabi. I guess they feel that Miyabi will rise to the occasion, or is there some hidden knowledge at work? So…of course that leaves Tooru to see the obvious. Julie still has a hard time with others, so now she is the sore thumb. What’s a beta-male harem lead to do?

AbsoDuo 02-sakura

…reflect on cherry blossom for one thing…

One of the purposes of viewing the blooming of sakura is to reflect on how transient things are and to reflect on the fact that this sort of thing repeats itself. The undeniable facts of present and future. It was a nice moment, and especially gave us the reminder that Julie was officially first girl.

AbsoDuo 02-009

…with these Blaze we thee Duo…

So we have things nice and pat at this point. The somewhat tough yet somewhat vulnerable girl in need of a knight. I kinda felt he was coming off a bit to beta in this regard, but it rather worked for the scene. It was romantic, warm, and quite a nice place to be, considering where it is probably going to end up. Both of them are getting much closer and learning more about each other. Both have their secrets I’m sure….

AbsoDuo 02-002

…as does Bun-Bun…

Absolute Naughty

Show ▼

And with this I will call myself happy to continue with the program. As I mentioned in the intro, you cannot go wrong with some decent character building, and rather than jump right into the esoteric bits of how the Blaze works, they gave us the people behind the hands that would use them. I loved how much closer both Tooru and Julie are growing, as they look so sweet together, and as a result, gives us time to reflect on what they do and will mean to each other. We also get to see the beginning of some team building with the supporting cast. All in all, the show is meeting some of my expectations…

AbsoDuo 02-003

…until next time…

About

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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51 Responses to “Absolute Duo – 02”

  1. Di Gi Kazune says:
    January 12, 2015 at 11:15 pm
    POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments

    Apple tea with lots of milk. >_>

    Just deflower her already you wuss!

    Caption:
    …putting up with Bun-Bun is an endurance test in itself, oh and if you don’t pay attention, she will go Jibril on you.

    Reply
  2. akagami says:
    January 13, 2015 at 12:08 am
    POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments

    This show is killing me, I feel like it’s going to provide me as much joke enjoyment as Guilty Crown did.

    I’ve really grown to like the OP though. Swing those weapons, swing!

    Reply
    • Di Gi Kazune says:
      January 13, 2015 at 12:18 am
      POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments

      This show is killing me, I feel like it’s going to provide me as much joke enjoyment as Guilty Crown did.

      You mean Guilty Pleasure. 😛

      Reply
    • BlackBriar says:
      January 13, 2015 at 3:05 pm
      POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments

      The only thing I recall Guilty Crown having that’s related to joke enjoyment was Shu searching people only to find useless, random voids.

      Reply
  3. Foshizzel says:
    January 13, 2015 at 12:16 am
    POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments

    Such a great episode and wow Julie is easily the most likable characters and thank god they did not make her a typical Tsundere so hi5 for that change and it helps that she is so damn cute as well <3

    That gym fight was nice on those fanservice moments~

    The end shot! I guess bunny sensei is probably the first "Baddie" of the season or has a split personality? I can't wait to see what happens with that!

    Reply
    • Highway says:
      January 13, 2015 at 12:22 am
      POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments

      The gym shlamozzle was one of those things that made it feel just awkward and stiff for me. Yeah, we know all that stuff is contrived, but there’s no way that people can end up like that, at all, from where they were. Just… eh.

      Reply
      • skylion says:
        January 13, 2015 at 12:26 am
        POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments

        …the amount of luck/unluck needed for that shlamozzle is not for us 3D folk to understand. Leave it to trained 2D professionals…

        Reply
      • BlackBriar says:
        January 13, 2015 at 3:02 pm
        POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments

        Yeah, we know all that stuff is contrived, but there’s no way that people can end up like that, at all, from where they were. Just… eh.

        Anime logic. It defies the very concept of reality.

        Reply
  4. Highway says:
    January 13, 2015 at 12:21 am
    POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments

    This one’s not my favorite. It’s not bad, really, but it just feels so stiff. Julie is nice. Tor is nice. The show isn’t dumb. But it just feels like it’s not moving, and mostly because of the interactions between Tor and Julie. It’s all so upright, so much distance. Even when they’re in bed it just feels uncomfortable: space between them and yet Tor’s still freaking out, no cover or anything. And then stuff like the slight pauses between lines between Tor and Tora. It’s not “George Lucas directing” stiff, it’s not “Keanu Reeves acting” stiff. But it’s still just a bit stilted.

    Reply
    • skylion says:
      January 13, 2015 at 12:24 am
      POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments

      I found the distance to be somewhat rewarding. They kinda have to start off that way, making the moves to close in in due time…

      Reply
  5. Rathje says:
    January 13, 2015 at 12:50 am
    POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 163 comments

    The fanservice in this one felt a bit wooden. Like it really didn’t need to be in there, but someone felt obligated to put it in.

    Reply
  6. BlackBriar says:
    January 13, 2015 at 10:16 am
    POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments

    ..cause in Japanese, cuddling takes on all the levels, not just the innocent ones…

    A testament to the truth that most people in this day and age have their minds thoroughly in the gutter. Perhaps those girls are from privileged families, barely have time to socialize and are sexually frustrated.

    A slight step-up from the opening episode. Thor/Tooru is getting comfortable around Julie but she’s leagues ahead around him. I’ll say it was for story’s sake Thor and Tora attempted to be a Duo though everyone already knew who’d be paired with whom (Because if looking at all the show’s advertising before the release, using that trope feels unnecessary). As if a good-natured lead would leave a vulnerable young girl hang.

    Why am I not surprised? Something just wasn’t right about that hyperactive Bun-Bun. What did get past me is that they’ve hinted she has a hidden agenda so soon. Leaves to wonder what happens from here on out. In the meantime, that malicious smile is saying “watch your back”.

    Reply
    • skylion says:
      January 13, 2015 at 12:23 pm
      POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments

      Bun-Bun would make the perfect candidate for crazy-but-affably evil…

      Reply
    • Highway says:
      January 13, 2015 at 1:01 pm
      POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments

      I dunno, I think the Bun-Bun sneer doesn’t necessarily mean ‘hidden agenda’. They’ve already made it clear that the school is not your ordinary school, what with the “Welcome to the school, we’re kicking half of you out in 5 minutes!” thing and the less shocking “Your temp Duo partner is the person sitting next to you.” It might just be the next “Haha, let’s F with the students again!” thing.

      Reply
      • skylion says:
        January 13, 2015 at 1:10 pm
        POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments

        But, what better way to hide the real hidden agenda?

        Reply
        • Highway says:
          January 13, 2015 at 1:29 pm
          POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments

          At some point, it’s turtles all the way down.

          Reply
        • JPNIgor says:
          January 13, 2015 at 1:41 pm
          POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments

          Help Tooru get through school, reveal he is the son of a might god of thunder and steal his power. It’s like feeding the bird to make it fat and eat it later. Mission acomplished \o/

          Ah, I know absolutely nothing about the VN. Pls, don’t take this seriously hahaha

          Reply
      • BlackBriar says:
        January 13, 2015 at 2:56 pm
        POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments

        I’m not sure about that. People would use any means to cover their tracks and achieve their goals. In Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis, Gilles de Rais went to great lengths for his plan to come to fruition and in the meantime, he masterfully manipulated angels, demons and humans.

        Reply
    • akagami says:
      January 13, 2015 at 6:24 pm
      POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments

      I saw an article on a non-sexual healing professional cuddling service in the paper just the other day. o.O

      Reply
  7. belatkuro says:
    January 13, 2015 at 11:07 am
    POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments

    The gym part, mostly the backflip fiasco, was anime-original so blame that on the studio for making it stupid like that.

    And I guess it was better than the previous episode. Slight, though there are still issues I have and I can foresee happening with the changes they’re doing. They’re speeding up the coverage so they could finish the first volume next episode. Nothing new with regards to LN adaptations.
    If there’s one thing I can praise, it’s that I like Tora more in the anime. He didn’t have an illustration until the 3rd volume so he was just a faceless friend around this parts. I even forget at times that they’re childhood friends.

    Guess if you’re covering it then it’s fine. Not like I can stop you. It’s a decent start and I hope they won’t trip later on and land on Tooru’s crotch.

    Reply
    • skylion says:
      January 13, 2015 at 12:50 pm
      POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments

      We’ve been in the discussion of silly/stupid vs. not for most of the week of FIs. So…the backflip is no more or less stupid than any other antics I’ve seen in TLR et. al.

      Wow….a faceless fiend…interesting detail…

      Reply
  8. Highway says:
    January 13, 2015 at 1:04 pm
    POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments

    That was another thing that kinda of bugged me. Your main character is named To-rə, and you try to pair him up with a character named To-ra.

    Reply
    • BlackBriar says:
      January 13, 2015 at 2:58 pm
      POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments

      If that partnership indeed get through, I guess they’d use signs or tags to identify themselves. Even that would be screwed up 😀

      Reply

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