Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun 2 11-12
Talking to a huge snake like a boss #shotapower
 |
Oh my goat Hakkenden is going to end soon! Aaaaaaahhhhhh no more of my beloved Sousuke and Ao after next week *sob* |
Dying Sousuke // I know this was going to happen (thanks, opening), but it’s still painful anyway. To make it even worse, he had to go into forever-hibernation mode after he had a big fight with Shino. What a thing to have before dying, right?
Sousuke’s “death” makes me wonder about the bead though. Right now, we know the bead chose Ao because Ao stole the bead from Shino. But it has been said that the bead chooses the master itself. So is the thievery the only reason why the bead chose Ao? I think there’s more than that. I think Ao’s wish is much more stronger than Sousuke. It makes sense though, since the one that is not at Shino’s side is the sexy shadow. His wish is stronger and bigger than Sousuke’s. Of course, stronger wish always leads to stronger determination and more incentive to make his wish comes true. If a master/servant has to choose, which one would he pick, the strong one or the weak one? Of course the strong one! So yeah, I can’t really hate the bead for choosing Ao instead of Sousuke. Why choose the weak one when there’s another one that has more worth to be its master?
Ehm, enough for my theory. I’m still sad for Sousuke’s “death” too, since he contributes to the yaoi moments in Hakkenden was the one who stayed with Shino until the end. Though Ao is the part of Sousuke where he’s obsessed with Shino, the fact that he isn’t with Shino all this time cannot be avoided. The one who has been with Shino in good or in bad is Sousuke. Feelings matter, but sometimes companionship matters more than feelings. And that is what Sousuke gave to Shino. So yeah, I hope Sousuke is revived next week or else I’ll bawl.
Final Fight // Since it’s almost the end, it can be called as “last fight.” Not much can be said about it except that it was anti-climatic, but it was the part in episode 12 that makes the episode enjoyable. All Eight Guardians (though Dousetsu’s arrival just makes things worse) are together, though unfortunately one of them isn’t part of the group. Each guardian unleashes their not-so-awesome power, destroying and killing the demons that revived by Tamasuza. Though the fighting scenes were not that impressive, it’s fun seeing the guardians together. They’re finally together!
Tamazusa’s Evil Plan // Finally we all know what Tamazusa’s plan is. It’s no other than… Revive Fusa-hime! Yaayyyyyy…. Kind of. Her wanting to revive Fusa-hime is not without reason though, since she wants to use Fuse-hime for her own benefit. Since Fusa-hime is the “good princess,” of course she has a tremendous amount of power. Now, this power of hers is what Tamazusa wants. And how can she get it? By reviving Fusa-hime then absorbs her! Genius, right? Hahahaha.
“Best drink EVAR!”
That’s not the only plan though. Since Riou has told Shino (and the audience) about Tamazusa’s legend, it is more than obvious that she loves her sons more than anything else in this world. Unfortunately, this love of her is what makes her… Different from others. She wants to revive her son (don’t know which one), and a vessel is needed for that. That’s probably the reason why she was looking for a powerful tengu vessel. Anyhow, it seems that Shino is the perfect vessel for her “son,” so she shoves Holy Water into Shino’s throat when he was dying, making Shino’s soul to slowly disappear. It’s ironic how such parental love leads to the doom of others (and probably to the whole world too). The question is, is one person excused to do such thing for the one thing she loves the most? Is this even love or obsession? Only one can decide.
Irony in a Religion // This one is heavily implied in Hakkenden. Tamazusa has been succesful all this time is not without help, of course. She has been receiving help from the church. Why? Because the church wants to have a barrier that is much more powerful than the one they had before, and that barrier can be gotten from no other than the spirits. Though during the process, some lives can be lost because the spirits aren’t the passive kind of being. But hey, that’s cool! After all, some shoul be sacrificed for the greater good of others. They won’t die in vain! Yay!
Evil Organization 101: only old people with hoods make evil organizations
Yeah, that’s pretty much how the church in Hakkenden is. Basically, they all suck. The church might be the place where one seeks for salvation, but not this kind of salvation. Besides, which church would allow the death of many just for a barrier? Can they be considered as church? It’s kind of funny how the church that is supposed to protect its people became the one that takes their lives. That kind of church is pretty meaningless, isn’t it? Fenegan should definitely step down from his “throne” and have Riou takes over.
Damn it, DEEN, why do you still keep the habit of messing up few episodes before the end of the series? I’ve been loving you all this time, but then you had to screw up Hakkenden episode 12. NOT COOL
Fine, I know the last few episodes won’t be as impressive as the beginning episodes, including episode 11. They’re the last episodes after all. I’m cool with episode 11 though. It’s not good, but it’s not that bad. I’m not liking the info dump on Tamazusa, making it feels too convenient for episode 12. I prefer to have the legend of Tamazusa slipped in season 1 when Riou was talking about Fusehime. Or at least episodes before the last anime arc. This way, everything would feel natural. Having the anime telling about the other legend in episode 11 is so… Ugh. I still could tolerate Daikaku’s explanation on his Cat Eye though. He has been wearing that headband since forever, so I guess his Cat Eye is excused. Also, I greatly enjoyed the serious conflict Sousuke had with Shino. After so god-knows-so-many episodes, both of them are finally in a real fight where they don’t talk with each other. Besides, it’s always a good incentive for Shino during the last fight. I mean more incentive, since Sousuke “dying” is a good incentive already.
So here I am in episode 12, expecting some great fight and tear-jerking drama… Only to get none what I expected. The fight has such bad animation, and it’s so damn boring. There is nothing nothing exciting about youkai puffing out in a second just because of Daikaku’s eyes. I’m not complaining about his Cat Eye, I’m complaining about the sucky animation when this happened. Shinobu flapping his useless wings and swinging his wooden stick like an idiot makes me yawn. To make it even worse, Shinobu not doing anything when he sees Hazuki (or whatever his name) is the reason why Shino got slashed, giving Tamazusa her chance to shove Holy Water down into Shino’s throat. Wait, so I should be thankful that Shinobu was useless? Because Shino dying is the only exciting part of episode 12. The rest is just ugh.
Then there’s Tamazusa and the church. I expected some kind of mind-blown revelations about them, but what do I get? Just the same ‘ol “give-me-back-my-son”, “I’m-going-to-use-your-body-for-my-son’s-spirit”, and “I-shall-revive-my-enemy-to-absorb-her-muahahahaha”. Jeebus, what the heck. All my speculations that Fusa-hime is actually the bad one, that Shino and Riou are Tamazusa’s reincarnated sons, and that the sons became Fusa-hime’s guardians are for nothing. The church is worse though. Everything everything is so that they could make a barrier. What in the world? It seems that I’ve been thinking too much about this anime to the point where I forget that this anime could shrink into a generic anime. I guess this is what fangirl disappointment is. I guess I should calm down and rewatch episode 12. I might feel better about it, but I know that my love for this anime is lessened now. I hope the manga is not like this… Or is it?
Preview: Tamazusa doing Kamehameha to save the show
It’s an inverted Kamehameha
