Soushin Shoujo Matoi – 03
Eye saw her standing there…
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Special thanks to all the lurkers on my last post…and so, without further ado, this post… |
As Above, Not So Below?
I know I used this last episode, but I love Yuma’s “resting mean face”
I think Luciela-san makes for a pretty great teacher and friend. Or at least, she facilitates some learning and has the strong chance at becoming an ally of situation. I really like what her scenes had to offer, as she was able to use those situations at hand to get where she needs to be. She also did quite well in learning the lay of the land pretty quick, confirming the things that the audience had leads on in previous episodes, and spending some time getting to know Matoi and her father’s situation. They really hammer out the aspects of trust, the missing mother, and a daughter’s needs in one scene, and that just makes that layer much deeper. Shingo has seen a lot and wants to spare his daughter that, but he’s still untried as a father. But also, I love how Yuma is getting a bit tired of Matoi being the center of attention (but not really it looks like, see a pic after the cut), and I look forward to Luciela taking advantage of that. Poor Yuma…
They’re always watching you…even when you pee…
I’m liking the metaphysics this show has to offer. It’s a not-so-hairy-as-one-would-expect/almost scientific enough/quantum physics babble of an explanation as to why we have gods and demons and angels and devils going around causing miracles and mischief But more important. It works on a broader thematic level too. From a younger point of view it’s basically the so-called “mysterious way the adult world works”, and that’ s a good place to be in a mahou shoujo. As above/ the higher plane works as a stand in for older folks and what must seem like the million and one bits of stress and matters of importance (for the given value of both of those) that have to be dealt with that don’t make sense to them. It’s also general enough at this point to serve as a springboard for all manner of adventure, and it’s specific enough in some of the telling to feel like they can make their own mise en scène out of it when it’s time for a more specific set of exposition.
…especially this guy…
And what better way to give that bit a particular nudge in the right direction than bringing on the bad guy. We already know these demons love to possess some pretty horrible people already. They love to leave empty and exhausted husks in their wake, as well. Poor humans burn out to easy, and as a result so far we’ve had the punters and the lay-abouts. We’ve not had a proper bad guy in any respect. The television fortune-teller is a good start, as he has a hint of “talent” in detecting the higher planes, so the demon can access that talent and make more of it. I’m assuming he won’t burn out as easy as well. He does participate in some great back and forth action animationwith Claris and Fatima, the members of Creed- and everyone else for that matter. So that’s a good mark for the range of power and ability right there, as Claris has been shown to be the resident bad-ass. So cue the over limit power to bring on the demon’s final defeat! But that is just icing on the cake. It looks like she has a past to explore, as the preview for next episode leads us. She’ll have her hands full it looks like; when the Big Bad is called Anti-Enter Your Organization’s Name Here, you know she’ll be busy.
Running Gags and Combat
Your fortune: I’ll kick your ass later in the show…
There was a neat scripting trick I want to bring up before I go. When Luciela and Shingo were talking, he prepared a drink, and looked like he was very much tired from his past few days. With that set up, he’s in a perfect position to fall asleep the moment he slows down a bit, and has a whiskey to boot. That dovetails right into Luciela surmising that the magical girl looks a lot like Matoi’s mother. But with Shingo asleep and not hearing that, he won’t consider it. He already assumes that he has his answer for why she was at two dangerous scenes, her curiosity. Given that he’s taking a lot on trust regarding his wife’s disappearance, he’s an investigator going down a twisty alley with half open eyes. And when investigators like that have their eventual epiphany, they reveal interesting things….But that’s for later I assume, next episode we got the continuation of the big fight…
He looks a bit like a Disney villain…
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
