Gokukoku no Brynhildr – 07-10
Glowing titties strike again!
I’ve fallen behind on my shows a bit, so unfortunately I’ll have to squeeze all four of these episodes into one post. Fortunately, there wasn’t as much material to cover as I thought.
Stupid Stuff
Wahhh! I’m a big baby!
Gokukoku no Brynhildr is still pretty decent, but lately it’s done some things that made my raise my eyebrows. And that’s not a good thing. The first big thing is Ryouta’s confrontation with Nanami. I get that the guy has excellent photographic memory, but I just can’t buy that his good memory allowed him to survive Nanami’s mind wipe. That just doesn’t work. I’m sorry, but there’s a limit to suspension of disbelief. It’s hard to make me accept that just having good memory allows you to overcome powerful, supernatural powers. Especially when Nanami was made out to have the strongest memory manipulation abilities of all magicians. Strong enough, in fact, that she was isolated purely because even the laboratory was afraid that she would abuse her powers on both the staff and other magicians.
Stickin’ it to the man! Ok, that was pretty bad.
There’s also something to be said about Nanami’s arc as a whole, but all things considered it wasn’t all too bad. It was fairly obvious from the very beginning that she wouldn’t have a happy end since the show has already well-established that no magician who attempts to betray or abandon the laboratory ends up with a good fate. So that kind of lessened the impact of her demise even though I suspect we were supposed to feel much more strongly about it. Of course, it’s possible that the arc was executed better in the manga since the adaptation had to compress it all into one and a half episodes, but I digress. The obvious outcome aside, it was nice to see that not all magicians are obedient dogs who are afraid to so much as let down the laboratory. Her solitary confinement and resulting desire to see the outside world were probably the primary driving factors, but it was still refreshing to see Nanami use her powers without hesitation to defy her supervisor and in extension the laboratory if only for a day.
Blehservice
I would like to point out his reaction was detached and devoid of any real human emotion.
My next complaint is yet again the show’s strange continuing insistence on random moments of fanservice. I know it’s beating the dead horse a bit, but a somewhat related incident during Nanami’s arc re-inspired my disdain for the matter. Specifically, I am talking about the scene where Nanami decided to sell her body to her former (sort of) supervisor to get some cash for her insatiable sweet tooth. Yes, I know it was supposed to tie in to her despair at not having anyone to remember her by; her supervisor claimed he would not forget her before she rewrote his memories. But the whole thing seemed like it was having a hard time deciding if it wanted to be light-hearted (he gave me so much cash just to see my armpits!) or serious. So I was left feeling quite uncomfortable watching a young girl degrade herself for no discernible reason beyond fanservice. Oh, and don’t even get me started on what happened between Kazumi and Ryouta.
What Kana thinks of the new OP.
Finally, I think it’s worth mentioning that the show made a tremendous mistake by introducing that new opening as we come into the final arc. Who thought it was a good idea to replace what was an interesting and unorthodox opening with some horrid hardcore screamo? That shit’s just terrible and totally inappropriate for the tone of the show. Gokukoku no Brynhildr may have some pretty gruesome moments that might have worked with some screamo, but its primary charm is its mysterious and dreadful atmosphere.
Grim Outlook
An alien, I guess.
But that’s enough griping for now. Let me instead briefly go over my thoughts on where the show is headed. First of all, I had figured that Kogorou would be used as a convenient excuse to remove the worry of immediate death from shortage of pills. But I was wrong; seems things won’t be so easy for the magicians after all. So now that Kogorou won’t be providing any help on that front (at least in time to save Neko and the others), what role will he play? The whole “having a supply ready for future escaping magicians” thing sounds nice but is more or less irrelevant to the present cast. So I guess his main focus will now shift to the supposed alien embryo? He certainly sounded very excited about the discovery, but I wonder if he would be able to make much progress on that front in a timely fashion either. Studying alien life forms sounds like it would take just as long as, if not longer than replicating a drug. It’s possible the show will just force the issue and have him magically come up with quick results for the sake of plot though.
Don’t mess with us. We’ve got swag!
Next is the overall situation of Neko and the others. With just one month left of pills before they start falling apart, the gang are going to have to take some drastic measures to ensure their survival. Ryouta’s outstanding plan is to pursue the mysterious German-speaking group in hopes of finding answers. But why would an organization that apparently wants to kill all magicians have anything that would help Neko and the others survive a bit longer? The only possible development I can see coming from this that might be good for them is if the anti-magician organization is more concerned with the evil organization controlling everything from the shadows and thus agrees to coordinate an attack on the laboratory to take down a common enemy. But that seems far too convenient considering Kogorou’s drug replication was just overturned.
Next week it looks like things will again take a turn for the worse as a Valkyria is let loose upon the hapless runaway magicians. At this point, I’m wondering if the laboratory is going way overboard as the Valkyria appears to have a few screws loose and is also unable to or uninterested in restraining her powers from slaughtering every living thing in her sights. But the gang have managed to evade everything thrown at them so far so I guess the laboratory is just as desperate to kill them as they are to survive. The way I see it though, the show is definitely setting up for the laboratory losing control over the Valkyria, which will result in her running amok and threatening the entire world. Which is where Neko and co. step in to save the day. I have no idea how they will stand up to such an overwhelming opponent though.
Whoops, I just killed everyone. Tehe-pero~
About Sumairii
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I had a comment in mind, but instead, Tl:DR
I just watch this show as pure comedy. It gets harder with the grimdeath scenes, but the rest is hilarious.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
My next complaint is yet again the show’s strange continuing insistence on random moments of fanservice.
I hear it’s a hallmark of manga creator Okamoto Lynn’s writing, including cute girls, misogyny and ultraviolence.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Yeah, I hear that too. And I think it’s pretty spot on lol.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
This is one of those shows. It’s not ‘good’, but it’s not that bad, and for some reason I care about the characters way out of proportion to their actual interest, especially the girls.
I actually think that Kazumi’s a fun character, and think that her reaction to her own mortality is well within the bounds of the normal. Yeah, it’s played for laughs a little bit more than I’d like (or maybe even interpreted as being for laughs more than it actually is), but I think Ryouta’s missed the point too much, and should have been a bit more understanding. Kazumi does like him, and I think there’s plenty of reason for that. And she wants to experience as much of life as she can, since she’s facing her own death every day.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Kazumi is definitely one of the more interesting characters. Neko is only relevant because Ryouta is obsessed with Kuroneko. Kanna so far has devolved into just a gimmick to give the gang heads up on bad things happening. And Kotori is just plain stupid. So definitely Kazumi is the most well-rounded of the bunch since she’s the only one we’ve ever seen showing consternation over her impending and untimely death.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I really do wish they had time to pay off what Kazumi exclaimed about Kana’s secret. It feels that they are just sitting on that.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Oh goodness. I feel so much for Kazumi. But she has to not only fight being a magician in this world, she has to fight writer tropes the keeps the male MC chaste. It does make me want them to take a more honest approach. But then, you would have the Lulz of Kuro exploding stuff!
Ah, anime, sometimes you hoist us by the petard, sometimes you are the petard.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
I cave in and read the manga right up to a little bit of Valkyria arc a while ago ._. This is what happens when cliffhangers are too effective couple with some depression that makes me unable to watch anime. (I’m fine now, if any1 is wondering)
I’m a bit sad that the anime is skipping Skadi arc that has one of my favorite side character (so far). Tsuchiya the fujoshi researcher is really likable and I really hope she is important enough to not die in vain. Tht arc also give me a new look on Bluehair Dude and explores Kazumi character/insistence of having sex w/h Ryota. I also feel bad for the witch of that arc as well since she such a sweet girl T_T
But for what the anime is worth, I’m actually fine fine with most of the stuff that the anime altered and I’m still able to enjoy the episodes. But now I’m wondering how are they going to wrap the arc up with the remaining 3 episodes since I heard Valkyria arc has 50+ chapters. And I only read a bit of Valkyria arc so I am in the blind as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3eoZE_zGGk
Also here the second opening with the first opening track instead. So much better than the actual song.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Ugh, it felt as though my ears were butchered trying to listen to that trash. The new OP is a huge misstep and relatively pointless to be introduced this late in the series. The show was better off sticking with the eerie and moody instrumental.
Nanami’s death sadly had no impact because thanks to the spoiler visuals from the OP, it became clear her death flag was imminent. Just came quicker than expected. A shame as she wasn’t properly fleshed out and I was beginning to take an interest in her character after the gloomy backstory which shed some light on her anti-social tendencies.
Besides Neko, my most liked character has to be Kazumi. She’s feisty, down to earth and funny as she’s constantly chasing after Ryota’s chastity.
A means to an end? They’re essentially seen as disposable weapons ready to be dissolved at a moment’s notice. My theory is if the magicians prove useful for whatever agenda the laboratory has, their life expectancy will be prolonged for how long it’s allowed until their usefulness has finally run its course.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…things fall apart. We have to have this mediation on what the value of any life has, don’t we?
And for the record, I’ll be the loner. I freakin’ love the new OP. It was unexpected and just insane. Felt like it was supposed to be there….
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I think we’re not talking about the same thing. The organization I was referring to in that sentence is the shady German one, not the one backing the laboratory. AFAIK, those two are different and distinct groups. The lack of formal names really makes things confusing, I know.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 167 comments
Organization XIII?
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Is that what they’re called? I might have missed that in the midst of the four episodes I had to marathon… orz
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
No, its a reference to Kingdom Hearts.