Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai – 07-08
Back to Back They Faced Each Other…
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Well, this show certainly doesn’t like to break the mold. While I found the first part of the Two Alchemists arc to be different enough from the previous three Tragic Family Background arc, it looks like they put in all the stops to keep this from being all that interesting…. |
There was something about Elves….
I got a lollipop tree…you got a LOLipop harem….
I think the story gets some points for having Ikaruga being so upfront about her own identity. It’s clear that the Institute/Academy is opposed to this Alchemist group, yet she’s taken no steps to obscure who she is and where she is; so much that she’s even able to be on speaking terms with them after four years, four years of abandonment it seems. But, it just doesn’t have all that much style or substance beyond that. I’m getting the feeling that a ton was left out in the transition from page to screen. So for all intents, Ikaruga’s connection to a shady organization comes off as bland.
Then we swing back to the day to day platoon activities. As usual, the 35th is down but not out, and as such is in the market for the perfect job to score some much needed points and credits. Here they start to talk about “the border” and I get just the faint whiff of world-building. That would be fine if this episode was in the early days of the series, but with most of the show in the bag, it feels like a poor time to be loading the gun for this reveal. Well, to be more correct, it’s a poor time for this show, as they’ve not done a very good job firing the gun once loaded.
Hey, we share a flashback, it must mean we have a past with each other right?
This hardly even matters as Ikaruga just ups and leaves on personal business; and typically Kusunagi just let’s himself and his command of the group be walked over, not that I really blame him, a turn of the plot is a turn of the plot after all. Seems she’s a clone or something, and in what should be a major turning point for the whole story, we get a rather bland overview, and some internal politicking passing for plot points mixed in. We know that Director Ohtori is not what he seems, but have little reason to care one way or another. As for the hierarchy of Alchemist, it’s just more of the same.
So we have the Lost Matrix Macguffin, something about elves or other magic racial-types and whether or not they can be cloned as the meat of the arc and that they shouldn’t be made into weapons, ’cause bad. It’s pretty lean all things considered. Ikuraga is an almost reaction-less character all things considered, and she’s been shunted to the background for the most part. So I didn’t feel that there was anyone there to carry any of the major emotional points they set up. She got enamored of a fairy tale book, it gave her a nice personality, she didn’t want the little elf baby to be a weapon. Time to box it all up and put a pretty bow on it then call it a story.
…a baby and a book, brilliant background!
As for the second part of the arc, it was sadly more of the same we’ve seen in the previous three. A showdown, Valhalla is interested for Reasons ‘cause why not?, Alchemist is shady for Reasons ‘ cause there’s no reason they shouldn’t be, and the 35th Shoutai saves the day out of pure luck and not much in the way of heavy lifting. After that it was pretty much a pantomime of emotions from Ikuraga as she wasn’t able to save her evil(?) clone sister from….something? Yes, I keep saying, something. After watching both episodes twice I didn’t see much in the way of a full calorie meal to say I really digested much of anything. Which just leaves us with an outline of a show.
Some Extras
Who are you? Am I supposed to be caring?
…some random fanservice….
“I’ve got a great idea for a cliffhanger…how about them not having any sex?”
She was an elf macguffin all along!
…same thing we do every time, Kusunagi…
…half of her burden is just the back part of her head…
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As you can tell I’ve gone from being enthusiastic about this show, to feeling rather “meh”. I’ve complained here and there about a few issues that have creep-ed up in previous arcs, and that was mostly to illustrate that with just a few more steps they could have made a better episode. But this arc? Bland. It was pretty abortive from the start. By the time the eighth episode rolls around I should have a solid enough feel for the background, what the stakes are, who is on what side, what they might want to do, and how they feel about all the other characters. Then you pull the rug out, make dogs and cats live together, etc. So far, I got very little on that score. Which is a shame, as all of the pieces have some great potential. I get the feeling that there is much more going on, but by now I should have those feelings met, and maybe even challenged. But the only challenge I feel right now is in continuing. So….let’s see how the beginning of the next arc turns out….
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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
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Antimagic’s author talks about big boobs, from Vol 3’s afterwords.
“Ikaruga was the main(girl of this arc, so now) it’s big tits’ turn. After last time’s tiny breasts (of Mari and Lapis), the breast size sky-rocketed.
—This work, Antimagic Academy, will continue to present you (with) various kinds of breasts.
Don’t explode at me with “you’re not the one to talk about the big ones in the series”; from girls with huge breasts to a boobless fuel tank, I wrote it with my unchanging love for all kinds of breasts.
In the end ‘He’ (my d*ck) came out, just how the heck does he pick the timing. And as scheduled, next time its big-breasted loli’s (Usagi’s) turn. It’s a big-breasted loli. Everyone loves big-breasted lolis. Even if not everyone loves big-breasted lolis, I really love big-breasted lolis.”
My god, he’s perverted. ( -__-“)
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
….they should just adapt the afterwords…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That headmaster continues to be more sly and sadistic every time he’s on screen. Would like to see what kind of person he was before being put behind a desk.
Ikagura’s elf form made her pretty unrecognizable from her human form. What are the odds that was her first time transformation? The inquiry is based the appearance she doesn’t yet have a feel for that power, like she was just then taking it for a test run. A shame her sister got killed. It could’ve been interesting seeing them both interact outside of their predetermined environment.
Will someone please kill that bastard Haunted… Seeing him alone makes me sick to the stomach.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
For my money, they’ve been playing the headmaster in to coy a fashion, he’s a bad egg, we know he’s a bad egg, no matter of stretching it out makes him any more interesting. So unless the writers/director’s drop the pretense by next episode, I’m afraid I just wont care.
I like the point you’ve made here; about whether or not Ikaraga is comfortable with power is salient and of interest. But her character has been handled so heavily, that the point is of little merit so far as the story is concerned.
Haunted’s character makes me sick to my stomach well, sick because he’s such an awful excuse for an antagonist….
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Haunted’s character makes me sick to my stomach well, sick because he’s such an awful excuse for an antagonist.
The author said that was his intention to write Haunted that way.
“Even though I’ve made him, he’s a really disgusting guy. He would puff out his chest with pride and yell “We should go down the path of evil!”, and do his best.”
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
No, that wasn’t what I was saying. I’m saying he is a crappy, horrible, badly written character. It might have been the author’s intent to write a character that is evil for the luzl of it, but this adaptation doesn’t do that….hell, I’d like a lulzy insane villain instead of ill conceived and poorly executed sop…
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
The anime cut out some content from the Usagi arc, which I feel is worth sharing.
Tenmyouji Reima tries to escape seeking his family’s protection, but is brutally executed by Kirigaya Kyouya, the blonde guy from the earlier school festival episode. Chairman Sougetsu issued the kill order, to test Kyouya.
Apparently this is important because it provides foreshadowing for Vol 5.
Sougetsu (S): Rest assured. There’s a lot of them (witches) to kill. You who knows the truth about this world should know that right? From now on, anything can happen in this world.
Kyouya (K):“…hmph.”
Kyouya spat that out with disgust and directed the huge shotgun towards the sky.
It was a shotgun clad in ominous miasma, on its body 『The Malleus Maleficarum V ‘NERO’』 was carved in.
(K)“Then hurry up and start it already…! I won’t lose to Kusanagi, so hurry up and kick it off! That second Witch Hunt War of yours!”
He raised a war cry and shot a blank from his shotgun into the air.
Dark green particles were released and lit up the night sky. However, that light was too irregular to be really called ‘light’, horrifying… and filled with doom.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
If wonder if that’s just a really awkward translation, cause that passage is pure garbage…
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Occasionally its awkward translation, but most of the time it’s the source writing.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…not very well written.
I want to apologize, as I came off as a right-arsehole in the original reply. That wasn’t what I wanted to say. I just wanted to point out that the writing leads the reader, rather than giving the reader the space to feel the effect. “..and filled with doom” is just plain awful. What does it even mean?
I also didn’t even reply to your original intention, which was to include something that would help the viewers understand something of the story.
Well, first off, a bit of my grumpy old man has to get out of the way first but he talks about one of my first rules; the adaptation has to stand on it’s own feet, and shouldn’t be just for the fans of the source material. I’ll not back down from that rule as I feel it’s a valuable one. So with that out of the way, this point you’ve included looks good. I wish they had put it in the show in some form, as it expands the background and makes the story feels more personal. Why they choose to just focus on the harem aspects of the show? I guess that’s self evident? Maybe…