MetaFap – 47 [NSFW]
The Final Boss, Sunflowers of Love, and Forgetting the Past
Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride – 11
So you want to be a Samurai Bride?
Muneakira’s trying out for a new show when this one’s done
Barely scratching the Guardian Stone
With the plot in high gear, this episode really moved fast and exciting. This cuts down a bit on the ecchi moments, but it keeps the story moving, and that story has actually gotten pretty good. If you managed to make it through the first half of the season, this is the reward now. And, to be honest, I’m not sure whether the story would be any better if they’d stretched it out more. I don’t think that there’s too much stuff happening at once, and they needed to keep the reveals for this part. We learn that each of the Dark Samurai is incomplete somehow: Musashi with artificial ears, Koujiro with artificial eyes, and Inshun with no voice. Doesn’t really match Mataemon with her artificial everything, but still explains the quirks.
So while Musashi goes to fight Juubei, the rest of the Dark Samurai instead go off on their real purpose: to disrupt Great Nippon and the Guardian Stone. Even Inshun is taken against her will to become the vessel for uhappy spirits, creating a giant monster to fight. Meanwhile, Keiji comes back and convinces Muneakira to just shrug off the seal that’s been placed on him. That’ll likely end up freeing the way for Juubei to become the Samurai Bride.
It’s always good to see Keiji
I’m less confident in that result than it might seem, tho. I don’t know if I see the show really relegating Sen and Yukimura (particularly) to that kind of subservient role. I really doubt anyone’s going to die in this show. It’s been very reluctant to kill anyone off, even in the first series (bringing back the three who seemed to die in sacrifice). Even if Juubei becomes the Samurai Bride, I don’t know if it will take the Master Samurai status away from the rest of them. This definitely seems like a “We’ll find a way to be better!” kind of show.
Samurai Fight!
The Big Bad Final Boss
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Photo Kano – 11
Wouldn’t you want to join?
Looking – and acting – like a cute family
So blushy
It’s Yunoki Rina’s turn this week, the “Wife of the Academy”, so called because of her personality and skill at cooking, thankfully not because she’s sleeping around. Rina’s trying to get the Cooking Research Club off the ground, because she loves cooking, and even feels that the idea of passing the recipes and flavors of the students down through the years is a good goal. Last week I wondered how they’d handle Rina’s story, because we’d seen almost nothing of her so far. She’s the girl who dropped the oranges, got a special name for her Rin-Oppai from the pervy twins, got said boobs grabbed by Kazuya, and… not much else. So basically, she was an empty shell prior to this episode. I was really a bit concerned by the prospect of how badly this episode could go.
A secret finally revealed, I really liked how they worked this into the overall story even while doing these different girls.
So it will probably be a surprise to hear that this was my favorite episode of Photo Kano so far. Crazy happenings? Nope. Amazing coincidences that pulled Rina and Kazuya together? Nope. Blackmail? Childhood friends? Transfer students with toast in their mouth later for school? Riverbanks? Nope. In a way, Rina’s story was even rarer than all of that in anime: a beautiful depiction of how so many ordinary people fall in love. A meeting with no amazing significance, talking, getting to know them, go on some dates, and fall in love. And they both realize it, and confess at the same time. This episode just felt so natural. Sure, there was a little tension with keeping the club going, but that was it. They didn’t even play up the imouto hijinks, just had a nice family-type outing to the amusement park. All so ordinary, and yet, so glorious.
A satisfying conclusion to the episode
I expect that this wasn’t everyone’s favorite episode, but for me it just worked. I frequently talk about concepts like ‘resonate’ and ‘authentic’ in my analysis of anime, and this episode knocked both out of the park. It didn’t need to make it feel authentic for the characters, usually the challenge in making some of the weird stories we watch come to life. This time the love was just authentic on its own.
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The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat – 10
The Steel King has some difficulty with the concept of paizuri.
The track team has a bright future with these leaders. I can tell.
I’m with Mai here. Coming to practice to cheer on just one member of the team is a huge bitch move.
Fine for the foot lovers, I guess, but this should have been taken at least 10x further.
I have to reiterate my message from last week, which is that it would be nice to actually get some idea of why things are happening. This week was all about Tsukiko getting angsty about losing her position of the oldest acquaintance with Youto to Emi. Which I guess fits the standard light novel harem member model, but it doesn’t make it any less stupid. Her hiding inside Barbara was cute, but the “Hentai prince” couldn’t think of anything more perverted than tickling her feet? Come on, I know at least one other light novel protagonist who would have provided gold in the same situation. With the return of the stony cat at the end of the episode, it looks like we’re diving into the final arc of the show, probably involving time travel of some sort. Don’t ask me why the cat was hiding as a rabbit or why it still seems so hell bent on messing up the lives of Youto and friends. Or heck, why Youto kissing Azusa last episode made it retreat. The fantasy story here is so messy that I doubt the closing episodes can explain it to satisfaction, but it would surely be magical if they manage to pull it off.
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Tags: Henneko, Hyakka Ryouran, Photo Kano
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 LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Henneko:
I’m hoping Japan can get the 2020 Olympics, cause the LOLi Throw is begging to be an exposition game.
I’m with you on the plot development; I was a bit impressed with how the ecchi/moe style masked some of the dark fantasy elements, but have been less impressed with how it is showcased. I don’t mind mystery elements, but when they become absurd, then explain them in an effective manner. It’s a cat, it’a bunny, it’s Emi, it’s a pot of jam, its Anne Boleyn….what will they think of next?
So. let’s see if we qualify….What is the 10x Potential?
I’ll go first. Remove that sock just like you are removing….heh, all the rest.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride – 11: Things got epic in a hurry. I’m here for the reward of enduring a rather slow paced story. The fight between Musashi and Juubei was good. I guess whatever was missing from each Dark Samurai when they revived was punishment for something they did in their past life but I don’t see what Inshun could have done to end up like this. She seems the most innocent.
I don’t know what show he’s going for but that qi attack looked very familiar.
10x Kamehameha!!Seriously, I had to roll my eyes for that anticlimatic development. The whole run, Muneakira and the girls were dreading the seal on his arms then Keiji comes along and tells him all he needs to do is use qi to break it. Come on, it was that easy? It made all the concern feel pointless.POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, actually, Muneakira didn’t tell any of them about the seal. they found out about it when they near to killed him pouring all that qi into him. I did think that development was very typical for an action type series or show. “I’ve got the fix for your problem… oops! it got burned up!” And then the guy just goes and fixes his own problem. And it wasn’t really *that* easy, let’s give Muneakira some credit for becoming strong enough to undo Inshun’s seal.
I’m guessing something like Inshun mouthed off to her general, or forsook him at the time of her death. Something that was probably dishonorable for a samurai.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Photo Kano – 11: One of the more fluffy episodes of the series. I actually prefer the previous pairings because here, Rina looks more like an older sister than a partner for Kazuya.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I thought Kazuya actually went ‘older’ with his sweater for their date. They certainly did go for the more mature vibe, tho. That was part of what appealed to me about the episode.
I figured I’d be in a minority in liking this one, but it seems I might be a minority of one. What can I say?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
One thing I hadn’t noticed in the series before, that I thought was really effective this week in Photo Kano was the background music, mostly figures on the theme of the OP. It worked well for different moods.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 175 comments
stony cat anime well give now more wonder what happen in past there?
give tsukiko get more “hmm” yet youto wonder his lost memory & worse it seem stony cat is a bunny version of
http://grevolt.geekrevolt.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Kyubey-Being-Kyubey.jpg
yea $10 calling if stony cat/bunny kyubey is also a incubator
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Kyubey didn’t allow wishes to be cancelled…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Kyuubey was also a cheapskate who conned people into taking his terrible lowball prices, too. Seriously, one wish for your soul? Even Stanley Moon / Elliot Richards got 7.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’m just really getting frustrated with HenNeko. Now we’re just to “I’m gonna grant anything that sounds like a wish! Bwahahahaha!” The unsmiling cat has really become a malevolent force, rather than just a somewhat belligerent one.
And I really disliked Tsukiko’s turn from confidently in the lead to essentially giving up on the present and resigning herself to living in the past. What has caused her change from being someone who is confident in herself (which it seemed she was, especially wrt Youto) to someone who has determined that they’re just wrong? I just don’t get this osananajami obsession.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I dunno, I’ve always seen her confidence as being a bit forced, not as sure of where it stands. Taking the I Knew Him First route seems like something a shy teen like her would do..
Yeah, I was set to call a “no game” on that level of wish granting as well. This, whatever force it is, is evolving. It had to be directly addressed in stoney cat form, but now that it can step out of that into possession of individuals, it can take any phrase and turn it. What happens when it evolves next?
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat – 10: Some things are starting to frustrate me about this. First, she probably means well but Tsukiko is beginning to come up as controlling by continuing to destroy or get rid of Youto’s property. I can’t understand how she’s managed to become this insecure. Second, Tsukushi still thinking Youto has a brother is getting old. You’d think she’d eventually catch on his deception.
My current interest is the Vice president that’s always sexually harassing Youto. She’s gaining more and more screen time so I wish we could at least see what happened to her to make her so twisted.
the stony cat is really being more of curse than a blessing and now it can change forms. If I were them and ever get one in my hands, I’d throw it in the ocean.