Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai – 12 [END]

…and everyone carried everyone else’s burdens….The End….

This episode has a bit of merit to it. But for the whole of Shoutai, it’s a case of far to little, far to late, far to gone…Come along as I bring my third of four Fall 2015 shows to a close.

Character in Search of a Theme

Just add unkillable imouto….it has to mean something!!!!

The day and the imouto were well and truly saved, and that’s all that counts right? You know, I say up there that the last episode had merit. I know that’s kinda true, as I made a note that some of the imouto scenes had a hint of it. But somewhere between then and right now, I’ve lost the point. Was it there? Perhaps, but I guess it wasn’t that strong a point, or else I would have remembered it. Well, my memory is about as reliable as asking a post what it’s like to be wood, so there is that. However, my memory issues aside, almost having a point, is what this series was about, but more on that later….

…nice to see they can work with each other after all..

honestly, it was good to see both Ootori and Takeru find that they needed to get that final reach for power. I like that Vlad was even more selective that Ootori made herself out to be when it came to forging a lasting pact, and that Lapis was no less serious about it and perhaps even more. Notice she didn’t say he had to give up all that was precious, nor did he have to give up being human. Just “can you?”, “would you?”. Do you know your limits? Do you know how you reach for power, do you know that you have to sacrifice. It was a fun, interesting way to suggest a deeper world going on, and it’s a shame they never plumbed the depths.

When the LOLi has power….

As it stands, the show is suggestive that they can go down much much deeper. Director Ootori has plans within plans involving Takeru, that much is sure, Suginami of the Alchemy group has investments here and there, and it looks like one of Kusunagi’s relatives, perhaps his father is involved with Valhalla after all. But, is that just wishful thinking on Silver Link’s part to include those bits? I think so….

Where does Kanaria belong in all this. Part of the harem? The non-existent background?

They hired Satome Arai for this role! I would love to hear/see more!

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Series Review

Well, like so much that can come from a light novel source, we can sense a great deal of densely packed material being left behind when it comes to the adaption process. It’s up to the director, the screen writer, and a careful balance to bring the work to episodic television, and that depends on the type of scope you want to work with.

But they always did such lovely eyecathes…

For something like the Monogatari series, whose thematic aim is baked into everything, it’s a matter of just cherry-picking the best dialogue from the source. But it’s never that easy (nor is that even easy) nor should it be. For something like Shoutai, I get the feeling that a great deal of it’s thematic scope was baked into the magical background, and it used character to express that as it’s scope. So, something was very much missing when it came to the small screen look into the source material.

I think Shoutai failed because it didn’t want to take time to explore out that background. Why? I have no clue really. I’ve not read the LNs nor do I think I care to. I could intimate that they are probably not very well done, and that the background is half baked or something of that nature. So there was little there any adapter to find. But I won’t wed myself to that, and will be satisfied pleading ignorance.

Whatever the reason, I do get the very strong feeling that no one at Silver Link gave this show much of a second thought, much less the the desire necessary to tell a great story. It shows. The harem aspect is weak, the characters barely pass the hoariest of base tropes, no one, not even the supposed villain, or I guess…anti-protagonists, have any real motivation other than “for not sucking/for the evulz”.

…and in the end it’s still hard to pick a favorite, I suspect…

Technically, some of the great design I was hooked with never really came to life as the series progressed, the combat animation was uneven and not very engaging….goodness I could go on. I supposed if pressed to allow the show a saving grace I would say, it’s one cour…..? No seriously. I liked Mari and Ootori’s characterizations, and some of the bitch fests they had. That felt somewhat genuine. Plus I love how evocative Lapis was with hints of a bigger magical background to come, they might not have done, but there were some nice hints here and there all the same. Ah well, I can’t pick great shows to cover all the time.

Takeru: So, whomever was the imouto-substitute…you’ve been replaced!

Thanks for Watching!

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