Musaigen no Phantom World – 05
LOLIIII KUMAAAAAAAAA ARASHI!!!!!!!
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On first viewing I thought this one was pretty straightforward, and fairly weak tea. But, upon a second viewing, another layer popped right out. It really was one that was there all along, so I guess I should fault myself for not paying close attention. I was concentrating on the monster beat-up…and was kinda bummed by a bad characterization trope… |
The Adventures of Pure Tsun and the LOLi
Two different reactions…
Our main character this time around has been the quiet, but efficient, lonely little Minase Koito. She’s pretty much textbook Pure Tsun as the story begins, and even has a tidy background that fully supports that characteristic. Sometimes I’m at odds with how stories portray people with power, especially power that just saves someone’s life or can potentially save more lives.
It’s not the power, nor the person wielding it, but it’s how context is completely wiped out in the face of fear. “Oh noes, a scary monster was after us and you zapped it with a power you didn’t know you had, now I’m gonna be scared of you….for reasons”. It just always feels like a cheat; not a very well thought way to create a character that has difficulties dealing with social situations. It deprives us of some of the richness the phantom metaphor package is dealing with.
Our weekly dose of cold-open exposition deals with that. The part of the brain that does deal with singing is very strongly connected to the parts that compel us to socialize, and keep us socialized. With Koito able to manifest her power with, an albeit, limited form of singing, going along with her taciturn nature, we’ve got a nice contrast going on. That plays really well in these scenes in specific, the character in genreral. But as I stated, I just with they would have made the background a bit less reedy, the connection would have been stronger.
As it stands, with this particular monster, it’s not so simple. Not even the third time is the charm with Big Red of the Three Heads. Which is a really neat way to convey that perhaps Koito has been having problems with this phantom for a lot longer. She’s hunted it, she knows where it’s likely to pop up, she’s got a good deal of knowledge, but she always falls up short. She even mistakes telling the beast that she’s already sealed it in the past; obviously, she’s such a loner she doesn’t even stop to realize that she needs someone else that can seal to do that particular deed. This was the phantom of “beating my head against a wall until one of us breaks”. I hope she can walk away fully before it becomes a White Whale….
It’s good they have someone as observant as Arisu-sensei. She’s sees right into and through most of this and is able to prescribe the right situation for it. Her handling does rather beg the question of rather or not this phantom was the one that plagued Koito in the past. In other words, is that a huge bluff she used there at the end? I think that’s not the best question. It’s better to ask if the situation she set up worked. Did Koito see the light and accept she can be part of a group?
I’m gonna say yes….
Phantom Extras
This was a fun episode all in all. I like the straight up fights. They were well paced and very nicely animated, and display that KyoAni penchant for action; smooth motion, lots of funky filters, reserved set up, and then bursts of action. While I appreciated that they are trying to set Koito-san apart from her fellows to give a distinct arc, I’ll reiterate that I’m not a fan of the tropes they employed; lead balloons all around. But damn if the show still isn’t a fun watch.
I love the addition of Kurumi…finally. She brings with her the most bad-assed stuffed bear since Witch Craft Works, and that’s a welcome addition and reference. Also is the characterization that instead of being the highly-capable-multi-loli with more enthusiasm than brains, they are treating her as a story should treat a small child, which is a good thing. As it stands it looks like they are getting her ready for her own adventure next time….
…so we’ll see you then
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: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Koito is still rough around the edges for me but I guess her backstory of being alienated as a child due to her powers manifesting at a young age qualifies as a valid justification. At least now she’s gone down a few notches and is on her way to becoming decent.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Let’s remember what little monsters young children can be, especially to someone different. I’m not surprised Koito’s classmates ostracized her.
So Mai sprayed water from her kidneys on the monster. Wait, doesn’t that mean she peed on it?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yes, children do have the capacity to be little shits. But not all of them, not all the time, and not all the adults either. The trope is a failure in nearly every circumstance. But here, it’s not outstayed it’s welcome.
Yes, she peed on it…cause she did….
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Delicious young LOLi-gao~ *imagines the nak…*
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Read the label. It says “Property of skylion”. Sorry, friend, she’s off limits to you.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
https://youtu.be/UJlfD4JwoEs
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Kurumi was interesting! Finally we see her powers in action and yeah I thought Witch Craft Works when I saw the giant bear or Annie aka the token LOLi from League of Legends who also has powers to summon a big ass bear to fight for her.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
LOL. Yeah, I’m not very familiar with LoL, but I having very passing familiarity with it, enough to recognize a few folk on Reddit bringing it up.
…oh, and that voice is familiar…I woooooonder who it is?