Reviewing anime, manga, Japanese light novels, answering questions for my fan fictions and giving news about my original stories. There's a lot going on here and if you're a fan of anything I mentioned, then do be sure to drop by and pay a visit.
Volume 4 details the first half of a new arc. In the first chapter, we learn that everyone is getting ready for the Hollow Eve Festival. The entirety of Itogami Island is abuzz with preparations. Meanwhile, our resident fourth primogenitor, Akatsuki Kojou, is getting ready to meet up with his childhood friend, Yuuma Tokoyogi. But while Kojou is enjoying time with his friends, strange things are happening on the island. Natsuki Manamiya, Kojou's infamous loli teacher and the Witch of the Void, has gone missing. What's more, there are spatial distortions happening all over Itogami Island.
The spatial distortions are probably the most interesting aspect of this volume. The mechanics behind this strange phenomenon is that time and space are warping around people with strong magical power, transporting through space-time and dumping them in another location entirely. During the prologue for this volume, the War Dancer Kirisaka Sayaka and the Princess of Riehaven La Folia, have this happen to them just as they're about to board the airplane that will take Princess La Folia back home.
If that wasn't bad enough, then there are a pair of witches who have infiltrated the island, though this has nothing to do with Kojou—not at first.
A good portion of the first third of this novel is spent introducing Yuuma. Kojou's childhood friend is a charming young woman with qualities that are attractive to both sexes. During their first meeting, she somehow charms Asagi Aiba, the resident hacker genius and Kojou's second love interest, though he himself is oblivious to her infatuation with him. To be honest, I'm a little upset that Kojou hasn't seemed to get the hint. However, I understand how harem protagonists worked, and this is only volume 4, so I can only hope that something happens on the romance front within the next dozen or so volumes.
During this first portion, we learn that Yuuma met Kojou before he had become the fourth primogenitor. I do feel like there was a bit of a contradiction within this volume regarding Yuuma's background. For example, we learn that she spent most of her time locked inside of her mansion. However, it's inferred that Yuuma also went to school with Kojou. While there's a chance that the status quo changed after she met him, I somehow doubt this would be possible, considering what we learn about her later.
After Yuuma is properly inserted into the story, a shocking plot twist happens! Yuuma kisses Kojou!
Okay. So, maybe that isn't so shocking. This is a harem series, after all. However, what happens afterward is surprising. Kojou wakes up the next morning to discover that he and Yuuma have switched bodies. Just why they have switched bodies, I'm not going to tell you. What I will tell you is that the next two-thirds of this volume deal with Kojou trying to find Yuuma and some actually surprising revelations that reveal more about Natsuki Manamiya's past.
This particular volume was, while not the strongest of the four thus far, at least an entertaining addition to the series. Grammatically speaking, it wasn't bad, though it does have a bit of a problem with telling instead of showing. I'd say that out of all the light novels I've read so far, Strike the Blood is probably fourth on my list of favorites behind Spice&Wolf, Accel World, and Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-. Would I suggest reading this volume? Yes, I would, especially if you're into the same genres that I am. Even if it wasn't amazing, Strike the Blood volume 4 was an entertaining story that expands on the tale of the World's Mightiest Vampire.
Accel World has been one of my favorite light novels ever since I read the first volume of the series, and Accel World volume 6 didn't disappoint. In the previous volume, Haruyuki and company take part in a race on the new space elevator that's orbiting Japan. During the race, a group calling themselves the Acceleration Research Society attacks the spectators, Haruyuki dons the Armor of Catastrophe, and he almost loses himself to the armor's bloodlust but is saved by his friend Lime Bell, aka Chiyuri. This volume, volume 6, deals with the fallout of that incident. Several new characters are introduced in this volume. Well, I call them new, but in truth they're old characters that we know by name but never appeared within the series up to this point. They are the remaining Seven Kings of Pure Color. Since these characters are introduced within the same chapter, the text is somewhat bogged down by a lot of description and details. I was both a fan and bothered by the intense amount of detail that had been given about each of the Seven Kings. I love details and detailed descriptions, but I feel like it would have been better not to have so much of it all at once. During the meeting between the Seven Kings, we learn a bit more about Kuroyukihime, the leader of Nega Nebulus, the Black King, and the person who introduced Haruyuki to Brain Burst. I feel the most important piece of information right now is the animosity between her and the Purple King, who it's been implied was the lover of Red Rider, the previous Red King who Kuroyukihime beheaded. Let's do a quick recap. Before Haruyuki became a Burst Linker, Kuroyukihime had rebelled against the other kings when they sewed for peace. During the peace talks, she decapitated Red Rider, and then had to fight her way out of a six-way brawl. This probably wouldn't have been so bad in a regular fighting game, but all of the kings are level nine Burst Linkers, and when a level nine is killed, all of their points are taken, Brain Burst is uninstalled, and their memories of the program are erased. This is what caused the animosity between the Purple King and Kuroyukihime to spring forth. One of the issues that are discussed during this meeting is Haruyuki's donning of the Armor of Catastrophe. It seems the armor has parasitized itself to him. It has basically become a part of him, sort of like a parasite. This would have normally meant that Haruyuki would be given the Judgement Blow by his King, Kuroyukihime, which would uninstall Brain Burst. However, since he was able to come back from being possessed by the armor, an ultimatum is issued instead. If Haruyuki can get rid of the Armor of Catastrophe in one week, he'll be allowed to remain a Burst Linker, but if he can't, then the other kings will put a bounty on his head, which is all but a death sentence. The bounty would make every Burst Linker come for him. They would drain him of his points by constantly challenging him to duels, and when he reaches zero, Brain Burst would be forcibly uninstalled. While this is a huge issue, Kuroyukihime says she has a plan. We don't learn what that plan is until much later in this volume, but there's plenty of new developments that fill the rest of the page. The first new development is the introduction of a new character. Utai Shinomiya is a fourth grader attending Matsunogi Elementary School. She and Haruyuki meet after he accidentally volunteers himself to clean out the animal cage. We learn shortly after that she is also a Burst Linker, and not only does she know Kuroyukihime, but she was a part of the previous Nega Nebulus before it disbanded. As is the case with most of Reiki Kawahara's light novels, this volume has a lot of melodrama dealing with old wounds and friendship. The involvement of Utai expands our knowledge of Kuroyukihime, and it also shows how far they've come as people. One thing that I like about this series is how it develops the characters. In the first volume, Kuroyukihime feels like this perfect, ephemeral existence. Each volume reveals more of Kuroyukihime's character, eventually culminating in us realizing that she's not perfect, that she has deep scars created from her past, which, coincidentally, Haruyuki helps heal. It was also interesting to see how the dynamic between Haruyuki, Takumu, and Chiyuri has progressed. They were childhood friends whose friendship had been broken. Volume 1 has Haruyuki refusing to speak with them. Takumu was even the antagonist in that volume. Meanwhile, Chiryuri had sat on the sidelines fretting over them. Now that volume 6 has arrived, their friendship feels much more solid. While I don't know how they acted before because it's never truly revealed, I feel like the three of them have become the friends they used to be back when they were younger. As a light novel enthusiast, I can't say this volume disappointed me. It had a lot of action, plenty of new twists and turns, introduced a slew of characters, and left us with an ending that has me craving the next volume. This is one of the light novels that I would recommend to everyone, regardless of whether or not you're into gaming and MMORPGs.
View all my reviews
2016
has seen a good number of entertaining anime. Shows like ReLIFE, Food
Wars The Second Plate, Kiznaiver, Planetarian, Erased, My Hero
Academia, Hey! My Name is Sakumoto, And You Thought There is Never a
Girl Online, Flying Witch, High School Fleet, Heavy Object, and a
number of other anime that I'm not going to name right now. The point
is, a lot of really entertaining anime have come out this year. Among
those anime is Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World.
Re:Zero
is an anime that exploded in popularity almost overnight, and I'm not
saying this just because it's my favorite anime of 2016. I remember
when I finished watching the first episode, which had been split into
two parts, and then going onto facebook the next day and finding a
facebook page already created. That in itself wouldn't have been
shocking. However, this page already had over 30,000 likes. Since
then, that page has expanded and now has around 160,000 likes. There
are also two more pages that I follow, one of which has 155,000 likes
and the other with around 60,000.
If
that wasn't enough, then there's also the fact that this anime has
received more votes on Crunchyroll per episode within the first few
days than any other series. This anime has been so hyped that I'm
pretty sure it's already beaten numerous other popular series in
terms of how many fans it's gained within a short time frame.
That's
why I'm going to be doing a multi-video series explaining what I
believe makes Re:Zero so popular, as well as what I feel makes it
such a great anime. Due to my computers inability to produce videos
longer than 15 minutes, I plan to focus each video on a specific
aspect of the series. There will probably be 4, 5, maybe even as many
as 6 videos depending on how many aspects of this anime I decide to
talk about.
The
first aspect of the series that I want to talk about is the aesthetic
appeal. Re:Zero is an anime that boasts some beautiful artwork and
what I like to call animated cinematography. Throughout the series
we're given numerous large, sweeping shots of cityscapes, landscapes,
and various gorgeous locations all rendered in breathtaking detail. I
was particularly impressed with the sunset shots, which seemed to be
a favorite of this anime. There are many of them.
What
I enjoyed about these shots wasn't just how pretty they were, but how
they showed us the size of this world. The world of Re:Zero is
massive. I remember watching the first episode when Subaru is first
sent to this Lugnica. We're given a kind of close up of Natsuki
Subaru, and then it pulls back before shifting into a wide view of
the capital city of Lugnica. Just looking at how wide and sprawling
that cityscape is as it mixes with the viridian of the forest, and
then you have that interesting view of the castle in the far distance
was incredible. It was scenes like this that made me really think
about how utterly massive this world must be.
Another
visual appeal of the series was how diverse Lugnica's people are.
Throughout the series we're given more than just humans. There's
lizardmen, dog people, cat people, and they're not just humans with
cat ears. A fare few of them look legitimately like anthropomorphic
animals. I even remember seeing one person who looked like an otter
in priest robes and an alligator. Even the characters that you only
see passing Subaru throughout various scenes gives the series a sense
of their being a lot more to this world than the small story about
Subaru and his misadventures.
And
speaking of Subaru, can I just say that I really like his character
design. First, he's got these sort of narrowed eyes and slicked back
hair, which are generally associated with thugs in Japan. It actually
doesn't necessarily fit the “otaku stereotype” and has often made
me wonder if his looks might be part of the reason he became a NEET.
I feel like there's a backstory behind his appearance and how people
back in his world associated with them.
And,
of course, we can't forget the tracksuit. The tracksuit is actually
an Otaku stereotype in Japan. I don't know how true it is since I've
never been to Japan, but I've read on several blogs that a lot people
who fall under the Otaku/NEET/Hikkikomori stereotype wear tracksuits
because it's easy to change into and out of, and these types of
people generally never leave their house except to buy food. This is
actually the reason I like seeing Subaru in the tracksuit. Thanks to
how unique this anime is among other isekai anime, seeing this
stereotype taken and used in a way that disregards most of what we
expect from this genre makes his outfit stand out.
That
being said, if we're talking about main characters, then there's no
way I can forget the heroine. From the moment Emilia was introduced,
I was in love with her character design. Her unique appearance
practically screams main heroine in all caps. First, she's the only
character with silver hair. Her eyes are purple, but the pupils are
green, which is an interesting artistic touch and makes me wonder if
this has something to do with her status as a half elf.
Speaking
of half elf, Emilia really falls into that archetype with her short,
pointed ears. They immediately stood out when I first noticed them,
and there's a nice bit of asymmetry going with the added white rose
that's asfixed to the right side of her hair, and the butterfly hair
clip that's attached to her bangs on the other side. The flower is a
lot more prominent, especially because the purple ribbon offsets the
white rose, which is compliments her hair.
Following
her face, Emilia's introduction has her wearing a white dress with
purple accents and some gold thrown in for color. I don't think I
need to mention this, but the outfit really flatters her. From the
very first glance, the outfit is designed to make her stand out.
Furthermore, this isn't the only outfit that we see her in. Because
this anime is about Subaru. Emilia isn't always seen since she's
usually busy learning how to become a ruler. To make up for her lack
of screen time, the director has her change clothes numerous times as
a way to make her stand out more. I know some people who will debate
this point, but I think it does a good job of that. I can always
notice Emilia the moment she's entered a scene, and my eyes tend to
track her even when she's not necessarily the subject of the scene.
To
top it off, Emilia is almost always seen with Puck, the cute mascot
character who is actually likable. Puck is one of those characters
who's cuteness as been maximized. He's like that adorable kitty you
want to take home with you. In some ways, I might even call him a
show stealer. What makes his aesthetic even more appealing is how he
can transform into a huge ass monster that's anything but cute.
There
are numerous other characters who've been given a design that
enhances the visual appeal and makes the anime shine. Rem and Ram are
two such characters. They're maids and twin sisters. Now, maids are
sort of a staple in Japanese culture. Maids often appear in anime and
manga because they symbolize what many Japanese consider to be
appealing in women: attractive, subservient, and cute.
Rem
and Ram are the characters who I feel were designed to encapsulate
the “moe” character archetype.
Unlike
most anime, which have threadbare maid designs that are meant to be
more sexually appealing, and are often worn on the character with the
largest amount of cleavage, the designs on Rem and Ram are a bit more
modest. They strike a decent balance between being sexy and being
functional. I also like how they're contrasting Red and Blue hair and
eyes make them stand out from each other.
I
feel like there was no expense spared when producing this anime. I
don't even want to think about what kind of budget this series had.
Not only was the diverse world and myriad of characters gorgeous to
look at from every angle, but the animation feels incredibly fluid
from the first frame to the last. While I did notice a few fudge ups
with some visual effects, overall, I feel like this anime had some of
the best animation I've ever seen.
I
think this sort of fluid animation can be seen best in the fight with
Elsa. The magical effects actually looked real. When Emilia and Puck
were shooting ice spikes at Elsa like fireworks at a festival, they
looked like actual spears of ice being hurtled towards a target, and
when they struck something, they actually created a freezing effect
along the ground. Incidentally, this freezing effect was used to trap
Elsa's foot.
My
favorite part of this battle was actually when Rienhard appeared. I
really loved how they made Elsa jump around and run along the walls.
The way the animators blurred and stretched her body to make it look
like she was moving at super human speeds was an interesting visual
choice, and when we were given a first-person perspective of her
crawling along the walls like a spider monkey, it was creepy as fuck.
Outside
of the visuals, another key factor that I feel increased the
aesthetic appeal of this anime was the music and how the directors
used it. I'm not going to talk about the opening and ending themes
yet, since I'll probably do those in a separate video. Instead, I'm
going to talk about how this anime used music during its scenes to
enhance the emotions that the director wanted you to feel.
This
anime is filled to the brim with a number of interesting instrumental
songs. Going back to the episode where Subaru fights Elsa, the
episode starts off with an almost off-time tune that enhances the
increases the tension between Emilia, Subaru, Rom, and Felt when
they're having a stand off. As the stand off continues, more
instruments join the music to thicken that feeling of the scene
reaching a potentially fatal conclusion. However, the tension soon
fades when Subaru spots the flower on Emilia's clothing, which was
given to her by the girl they had rescued together in a previous
timeline. The music fades at just the right time. A mere instant
after the music dies, Subaru spots Elsa getting ready to attack
Emilia.
The
best example of how this anime used music was during the more
psychologically damaging moments. I feel like the greatest example is
in episode 18. Subaru wakes up after barely surviving against the
White Wale. The music that's playing is an electric piano, and the
tune has a melancholy feel, which contrasts with Ram's casual
demeanor. However, this only serves to enhance Subaru's emotional
distress, which you can see in his face. At one point, the
instruments shift to what I believe is a violin orchestra, though
don't quote me on that. At this point, Subaru tells Ram that Rem is
dead and wallows in his own helplessness. At that moment, Ram asks
Subaru, “Who is Rem.” The abrupt ceasing of music that happens
here is almost jarring, and it really gives you this feeling where
you can't help but wonder what's going on. This is especially true
because the music starts a few seconds after this question, but the
tone is different, darker, and it accompanies Subaru's increasingly
desperate voice.
Natsuki Subaru -The
Hero You Never Asked For-
Natsuki
Subaru is the titular character of RE:Zero Starting Life in Another
World, and he's one of those character who's very existence has
sparked much debate within the anime community. Some people love him,
claiming that he's realistic, while others hate him, perhaps for that
very same reason.
I
don't think there's any denying that Natsuki Subaru is a great
character. The fact that he sparks so much debate among fans proves
that. But what makes him work as a character that gets so much
attention? Why does he, out of all the tracksuit wearing Otaku who've
been sent to another world, receive such high praise and loathing in
equal amounts?
Taking
a look at the very start of the series, we immediately get a feel for
what kind of person Subaru is. We watch him as he lazily, slothfully,
reads a manga at a convenience store. We watch as his empty eyes
flicker across the page and he mumbles to himself. Taking a look at
him here, in his natural element, I feel like we have a clear view of
Natsuki Subaru and what kind of person he is. What stood out the most
to me during this sequence was how empty he seems. It's not the same
emptiness as most light novel protagonists, who are no more than
blank slates that are used as self-insert characters. He feels more
like a soul who simply has nothing going for him, which is the
general outlook that most Japanese people have of Otakus.
When
Subaru is suddenly transported to another world, he instantly
recognizes what happened. Rather than panic, as would be the natural
response of most people, Subaru seems excited. This is shown in his
cringe worthy dialogue and over the top actions. He's not freaked out
in the least. In fact, he seems to think of this as his chance to
shine as “the main protagonist.”
I've
heard a lot of debate on the subject of Subaru's reaction, or lack
there of, as some people have described it. Some people feel like
Subaru's reaction was unrealistic because he didn't panic enough.
However, I actually think Subaru's reaction is exactly what we should
expect from someone like him. While it's not shown, from his general
appearance, demeanor, and attitude, it's easy to see that Subaru is
the kind of person who stayed at home watching anime and playing
video games all day, only going out when he needed to buy something.
In
many ways, Subaru is the by-product of the media that he's consumed.
What's more, there are numerous isekai anime out there, which I feel
lends credence to Subaru's reaction to his new predicament. He's
consumed so much of this media where regular Otaku's are sent to
another world that not only does he realize what's happened, but he's
become disillusioned enough to believe that being sent to another
world somehow makes him special, that he's become one of the chosen
few, and that he was sent here for a reason, and that this reason is
because he's going to be the hero of this world. What makes his
actions more believable is how Otaku view themselves.
Everyone
wants to be special. However, I feel like Otakus take this to another
level. This is why so many anime that pander to Otakus feature tropes
like overpowered main characters and harems. They're designed to
empower and glorify Otaku culture.
What
makes Subaru different is that his existence doesn't glorify Otaku
culture. Everything this guy does throughout the series is cringe
worthy. Near the beginning, he spouts atrocious and arrogant lines
that made me want to slam my face into a wall, because a facepalm
wouldn't be enough to deal with the cringiness. In some ways, in many
ways, Natsuki Subaru is the exact opposite of a traditional light
novel protagonist. Instead of glorifying Otaku culture, he does the
opposite by showing all of the worst traits that are often associated
with Otaku. It's sort of like staring into a mirror and only seeing
the things about yourself that you hate the most.
Despite
how cringe-inducing Subaru is, he does have some outstanding
qualities, such as his desire and determination to help Emilia during
the first arc. Even though his lines still made me facepalm, I really
admired his determination and willingness to help, even though it was
obvious that he was still afraid of Elsa. The fact that, in the end,
he not only succeeded but also saved Emilia's life when Elsa tried to
kill her with a surprise attack, has a much greater impact because
it's something that I honestly didn't think he could do, unlike most
light novel protagonists who only struggle when the plot demands it.
During
the next arc, we see more of Subaru and his ridiculously meta
dialogue and poorly veiled anime references. By this point, I
actually felt like his dialogue was kind of charming. I thought his
attempts at wooing Emilia, who doesn't even seem to realize that
Subaru is completely crushing on her, were cute. It helps that he and
Puck got along great. Puck's added cuteness does an amazing job of
softening Subaru's thuggish appearance and terrible lines.
I
almost feel like this arc served as a method of buffing Subaru's
character up while also slowly breaking him down. In the beginning,
Subaru works really hard to be useful and spends a lot of time with
Emilia, even convincing her to go on a date with him. Then he dies.
He goes to sleep and wakes up the next morning in the bed that he
first woke up in, a bed that he hadn't slept in since the beginning
of the arc, and the scars on his hands, which he gained from cutting
himself while learning to cook, are all gone.
Subaru's
emotional paradigm slowly shifts from light hearted to darker. At
first he tries to do everything over again, going under the
assumption that he can figure out what killed him if he retraces his
steps. This doesn't actually help, though. On the fifth day, the day
where he was killed last time, Subaru decides to stay up all night
and ends up suffering instead of just dying in his sleep. First, he's
hit by some kind of strange nausea, which we later learn was caused
by a curse. Then, when he leaves his room to seek help, he is
brutally attacked and murdered by someone, though he never saw who.
After
this, Subaru decides to confront his attacker. This is the point
where Subaru breaks. When he's killed and his life resets from his
previous “save point”, Subaru decides that he doesn't want to be
near anyone. He withdraws into himself and doesn't bother with all of
the actions he took previously. He shuts himself away, convincing
Beatrice to protect him. As a result of his actions, Rem is killed in
his place, which makes Subaru realize that the person who cursed him
wasn't Rem or Ram. Of course, at this stage, none of that matters
because Subaru already irreversibly screwed up this time line.
Subaru
undergoes another shift during this episode. At the end, he kills
himself to reset time by willingly leaping off a cliff. I'm not sure
if this is stupidity or what, but since he has his Return by Death
ability, I can't argue with the results. Subaru returns back to his
previous save point and decides that the first thing he needs to do
is win the trust of his new companions. We then watch a desperate
Subaru as he struggles to earn Rem and Ram's trust. I can practically
feel his desperation during this time. The way he ramped up his
cringe-y Otakuness in a vain effort to endear himself to them was so
well-done. It contrasted with the “thought speaking” that we hear
the longer this went on. It wasn't until Emilia, who was already
pretty worried when she sees how he's acting, allows him to release
all of his pent up frustration and sorrow.
This
is the turning point in the arc, because the next few episodes are
basically Subaru overcoming all of the obstacles that were presented
to him. Thanks to Emilia, he earned Rem's trust, which enables him to
find out what had cursed him. Then he earns Rem's affection by saving
her in the last arc of this season.
All's
well that ends well, right?
Wrong.
In
most anime, this would be the point where Subaru becomes the hero
that everyone wishes they could be. Instead, Subaru takes a different
turn, a more realistic turn. He becomes arrogant. It's no surprise.
After facing off against such hardships, overcoming such hurdles, any
normal person would become drunk off their own sense of
self-importance. In some ways, this arrogance is deserved. However,
Subaru shows us the worst and ugliest side of humanity's arrogance
during the next arc, and it's here where I feel Re:Zero
differentiates itself from other anime of the isekai genre.
This
arc introduces a new problem to the anime. We've already learned from
Roswaal that Emilia is one of several candidates who are next in line
for the throne. Subaru travels with Emilia under the pretense of
thanking the people who helped him when he first arrived in Lugnica
and having his magic gate, which he damaged during his fight with the
Mabeast, healed.
We
can see at the beginning how Subaru's arrogance has gotten the better
of him when Julius kisses Emilia on the hand and he responds with
jealousy. However, it's not until Subaru muscles his way into the
meeting where all of the king candidates are that we can see how low
he's fallen. This fact is further emphasized when he accepts Julius
challenge and gets his ass handed to him, and now comes the clincher.
After being beaten by Julius, he is confronted by Emilia. Before
this, he had actually made several promises to Emilia: He would not
do anything reckless and he would wait at the inn with Rem. When
Emilia asks Subaru why he decided to fight Julius, his answer is that
he did it all for her, because she saved him and he's repaying her.
The
problem here is that Emilia doesn't remember saving him. The timeline
in which Emilia rescued Subaru is already gone. The only one who
remembers what happened is Subaru. Frustrated, drowning in
self-importance and arrogance, Subaru goes off on Emilia, claiming
that he's done so much for her, that she should be more grateful,
that she should be indebted to him. Emilia agrees that she owes him a
lot and decides to end things here.
What
we see after this is Subaru going through a downward spiral of denial
and despair. Each episode becomes more and more hopeless as the
tragedies that he faces escalates. Halfway through this arc, Subaru's
mind even breaks and he becomes a vegetable. And just when you
thought Subaru could not get any lower, he surprises you by showing
us just how scumy he can be. I feel like this arc is showing us how
low humans can become when they're back is against the wall. All of
Subaru's faults are thrown into his face by the king candidates who
he tries to make help him. It isn't until episode 17, when Subaru
confronts Emilia after miraculously making it to the Roswaal estate,
that he realizes just how little he can do, and it's not until
episode 18, when he is killed by Pack after killing Emilia, that he
realizes how little everyone else expects out of him.
After
being killed by Pack, Subaru is forced to confront all of the things
that he ignored: his weakness, his inability to do anything, the fact
that no one expected anything from him, and his own self-loating. I
feel like this episode represents both the lowest and highest points
of Subaru's evolution here. After having failed numerous times to
become the main hero that he feels his owed to him in this world, he
tries to convince Rem to run away with him. What makes this point so
low is because Subaru doesn't love Rem. He loves Emilia. However,
he's trying to convince Rem, a girl he doesn't love, to runaway with
him as a consolation prize. Rem realizes this, of course, which is
why she convinces him not to run away, but I'll get to that when I
talk about Rem in another video.
I've
mentioned this before, but in a lot of ways, Subaru is the kind of
otaku/nerd that many of us don't want to be. Having watched many
light novel anime in my time, I wasn't used to seeing a character
like Subaru, who isn't the glorified otaku protagonist that's special
from episode 1. And as much as I loved seeing Subaru when he actually
succeeds when everyone expected him to fail, I loved seeing him when
he realized that he was nothing even more. In some ways, I feel like
Subaru is less of a protagonist and more like an non playable
character from a video game who suddenly became the main protagonist.
He oftentimes finds himself in over his head, but he pushes through
and succeeds even while he's annoying the crap out of everyone around
him with his genre-savvy awareness and self-importance. It's these
massive flaws mixed in with the few good traits that shine through
that make Subaru one of the best and worst characters that I've ever
seen. He is, in many ways, the hero that you never asked for.
Emilia -Silver-haired
Half-elf Heroines-
Emilia
is the main heroine and love interest of Natsuki Subaru, and I don't
think anyone can deny her visual appeal. From her silver hair and
purple eyes, to her outstanding dress, Emilia stands out among
heroines in terms of how aesthetically pleasing she is. But beneath
the surface of her pretty face and pointy ears lies the real reason
she's the main heroine of Re:Zero.
True
to her role as the main heroine, Emilia embodies many of the traits
that a lot of people find appealing. She's kind to everyone she
meets, she goes out of her way to help people even when doing so
wouldn't benefit her, and she has a forgiving attitude that makes her
extremely likable. She's also socially awkward, has trouble
expressing her feelings, and is incredibly naive, which makes her
really cute. I feel like her very concept was made to epitomize the
traits that people consider to be “main heroine” traits. In some
ways, I actually feel like Emilia is more of a main character than
Subaru, despite how this anime is about Subaru.
I'd
like you all to imagine what this world would be like if Subaru never
showed up. If no otaku from another world suddenly appeared in
Lugnica, what do you think this anime would be about? Chances are it
would be about Emilia. The reason is because of the lofty goals,
position, and expectations that have been placed on her within the
series. We learn from Roswaal in episode 5 that Emilia is one of
several candidates for the throne of Lugnica. During the time when
Subaru is learning how to be a good servant, we're given occasional
glimpses of what Emilia is doing. The times when we see her sitting
behind a desk, writing on something or reading something, are placed
in here to reveal that she's learning how to become a proper ruler.
If Subaru had never entered the picture, I'm positive that this story
would have been about Emilia as she tries to ascend the throne.
But
while this is certainly a lofty goal worthy of a main character, it's
not everything that makes Emilia who she is, or what makes her shine
despite getting so little screen time. Throughout the series we're
given tiny glimpse of her personality. Whenever she's with Subaru and
he's acting goofy, Emilia shows us a socially awkward side of her
that, at first glance, seems like nothing more than a cute quirk. It
isn't until much later that we learn that her inability to sometimes
comprehend others or take their words at face value is because of a
much darker reason.
One
of the scenes I would like to highlight for you all is just before
Subaru dies for the first time after coming to Roswaal's mansion.
Subaru is telling Emilia about all the fun things he's been doing,
and how he went into the village that day and had to deal with all
the kids and a dog biting him. He asks Emilia if she wants to go with
him, but Emilia turns her head. She states that “it's not that she
doesn't want to go with him, but that she might cause trouble.”
This
sort of scene continues throughout this arc. It doesn't seem like
much at first. However, we were previously given a hint as to why
she's so reticent to travel into the village with Subaru. It's at the
end of part 2 episode 1 and the beginning of episode 2. In part 1 of
the first episode, Emilia tells Subaru that her name is Satella, so
naturally, Subaru calls her that when he catches up to her at the end
of part 2. However, the time line from before has vanished, and so
Emilia never gave him that name. He's shocked when she gets angry,
but then she tells him not to call her by the name of the “jealous
witch”. We learn later on that the “witch” is referring to a
woman named Satella, who is one of the most feared and hated people
in Lugnica's history. In episode 4, when Emilia confronts Subaru,
Felt, and Rom, Felt is startled when she learns that Emilia is a
half-elf. Her words in that episode point to another fact: Emilia
looks exactly like Satella.
If
there's one thing that's popular among shounen anime, it's that we
love to see our heroes as the “underdog”. There's nothing greater
than watching someone who is supposed to be weaker suddenly triumph.
There's a reason anime like Naruto, and more recently, My Hero
Academy, are so popular. Oddly enough, Emilia embodies this shounen
trait more than Subaru does. For her entire life, she's had to live
with the hatred that comes from being not only a half elf, but
someone who resembles the most hated person in history. When looking
at her during the meeting where they introduce the king candidates,
we can see that she's the underdog. No one wants her to win. In fact,
I'm pretty sure that many of these people would be happier if she
dropped dead.
This
is what makes her such an appealing main heroine. While Emilia is
never given a whole lot of screen time, the bit of screen time that
she's given is irreplaceable and does an excellent job of slowly
revealing more about her and the hardships she has to face.
I
think it's because she's had to constantly deal with the hatred of
others that she comes to appreciate Subaru, and it is also what
ultimately helped drive a wedge between them. During the last scene
of episode 13, when Subaru tries to justify how he broke his promise
to her, Emilia tells him that she thought he was going to be
different, that he would treat her the same way he treats everyone
else. I could almost feel Emilia's heart shattering with those words.
When someone has been scorned their whole life, the only thing they
want is to be treated the same as everyone else, especially if the
circumstances for that scorn are beyond their control. However, it's
this moment that reveals something else about Emilia's character.
Throughout
this entire moment, I feel like everything Emilia did was for
Subaru's sake instead of her own. Subaru kept pushing himself because
of her, kept getting injured because of her. In the end, she decided
that it would be better if she cut ties with him. If they were no
longer associated with each other, then maybe Subaru would stop
hurting himself for her sake. Of course, it's not as if Emilia is
perfect. I'm sure that a part of her reason for pushing Subaru away
was for her own sake. It's not easy seeing someone push themselves so
hard for you when you can't understand why. At the same time, I feel
like Emilia's kindness is almost at the level of a martyr, which
partly caused by the fact that Emilia doesn't believe she deserves to
be happy.
These
two facts, the fact that Emilia is more concerned about Subaru than
herself, and the fact that she doesn't believe she deserves
happiness, are expanded upon later on. When Subaru returns to the
Roswaal estate and tries to convince Emilia to leave with him, she
doesn't understand and therefore won't go with him. Subaru then goes
off on a rant. When he finishes, rather than getting upset, Emilia
asks “Why are you crying, as if you're in such pain?” This tells
me that she realizes Subaru is suffering, even if she doesn't
understand why. Rather than just assuming that he was yelling at her,
she recognizes that the person he was yelling at was, in reality,
himself. That he was telling himself that nothing he did would make a
difference. What makes this moment so impactful is how, even though
Emilia is stressed from being a kind candidate, she still shows
concern for Subaru.
One
of the few things I didn't like about this series was how little
screen time Emilia received. I would've liked to see more of what she
was doing while Subaru was being traumatized and suffering. That
said, the few glimpses we're given are enough for me to confirm that
she's also been suffering in her own way. During the time where
Subaru is gone, Emilia spends her days alone in the mansion or trying
to convince the villagers that it's not safe and they should come up
to her mansion where they will be protected. The villages scorn and
refusal to listen, combined with the fact that Subaru is no longer
there to keep her company, leaves Emilia depressed. For those of you
who've watched the closing theme song of the second half, you'll see
what I'm talking about. During the closing theme, we're shown a
cartoonish version of what Emilia's life was like after cutting ties
with Subaru. Later on, we're also given flashbacks that show the
villagers turning her away when she tries to rescue them.
Of
course, there is also the fact that everytime Subaru came to the
mansion during episodes 14, 15, and 16, Emilia has been killed by a
cult that wants her dead. Even if we didn't see her death, it's easy
to realize that she likely suffered a great deal before dying.
The
final point I'd like to make in this segment is how Emilia is a
badass. We don't see this very often because she only fights twice,
once against Elsa and once more when the Witch's Cult attacks, but
she's actually pretty freaking strong. Sure, she's got Pack on her
side, but Puck actually didn't do much outside of the beginning
fights with Elsa, and he only gave Emilia a little bit of aid when
she fought against one of Betelguease's fingers.
Whether
you like Emilia or not, I don't think there are many people who will
deny that she has all the makings of a main character.
A lot
of romantic comedy anime are often hit and miss. Sometimes they're
amazing and sometimes they suck complete donkey balls. My Bride is a
Mermaid is a slightly older anime, having been created in the earlier
2000s, about a young man who, through a series of unfortunate events
and circumstances, ends up getting hitched to a mermaid—which is
kind of obvious, seeing how it's in the title. Fortunately for
everyone who is curious, My Bride is a Mermaid happens to be one of
the better romantic comedies.
Our
story begins when Nagasumi Michishio almost drowns while on vacation.
Luckily, he's saved. Unluckily, the person who saved him happens to
be a mermaid. To make things even worse, the mermaid who saved him
was Sun Seto, daughter to the head of the Seto gang, a mermaid yakuza
group. As if that wasn't bad enough, there's a law among mermaids
that whenever a human sees them in their true form, the mermaid must
die in repentance... or something. That part is never explained, but
it doesn't matter. What does matter is that this sticky situation can
only be resolved without impending death on either side by one thing,
and one thing only: Nagasumi and Sun must get married. Too bad her
father, Gozaburo Seto, isn't keen on the idea and will do anything
to stop this marriage from happening, including murder.
There
are a number of aspects that make this anime better than the average
harem romantic comedy. For starters, the series doesn't rely on fan
service-y gimmicks and threadbare cliches to tell its story. Instead
it relies on outrageous events and preposterous scenarios that could
never happen in a million years. Things like a submarine suddenly
crashing through the gymnasium floor during class, or an epic battle
between a mermaid pop idol are pretty commonplace in this series.
Of
course, it's not as if the story is free of tropes. However, the
tropes used in this anime are used well. Chimp is the perfect
example. He's basically the perverted best friend who's only real
purpose is to be, well, perverted and humorous. What makes him
funnier than most characters of his type is how he's used. A great
example is how Chimp can sometimes randomly turn into a “wise old
man” archetype character and start spouting ridiculous lines. It's
even better because this character archetype was clearly inspired by
none other than Master Roshi from Dragon Ball Z.
Going
through the episodes, it's clear that My Bride is a Mermaid doesn't
contain much in the way of plot, but since this is a romantic comedy,
I don't really think that matters. Every episode focuses on
delivering off the wall and outrageous comedy, while exploring and
further developing characters and character relationships.
Seeing
how Sun and Nagasumi are our main characters, it's pretty obvious
that they would be the focal point for most of these episodes.
However, there are a number of side and support characters who
actually get a time to shine. In fact, part of what makes this series
better than most is because it gives its other characters enough
screen time to properly develop. Even the “Class Rep,” a girl who
is so invisible that we never actually learn her name, has several
episodes where we get to see her being placed in the spotlight.
This
sort of side character development is never more clear than in
episode 24, where Kai Mikawa, Nagasumi's rival for Sun Seto's
affection, gets a boil on his butt. During this episode, Chimp
overhears the doctors talking about Kai and mistakenly assumes
they're saying that Kai has contracted a terminal illness and will
die soon. Of course, they were only talking about how Kai was
insufferable, but he didn't hear that part. The entire episode then
deals with Kai as he's treated like a prince, only to learn that he's
apparently terminally ill. Despite knowing that what his real illness
is—you know, the boil on his backside—Kai ends up believing he's
going to die soon, which may or may not be because the entire world
apparently said so. This episode would actually be really touching,
except you know that Kai isn't really dying, and so the entire
episode is just this huge build up for a massive train wreck.
Saying
that, the series isn't all fun in games. While every episode delivers
a good deal of comedy, there are also some life lessons to be
learned, and we get to watch Nagasumi and Sun undergo numerous
hurdles as they further their relationship and develop as characters.
In most of the episodes, we get to see how these two interact with
each other and with others.
One
of the most important reasons I enjoyed this series is actually Sun
Seto. In a day and age where I feel like a good portion of anime have
become standardized to the point where characters are so bland I
could replace any one of them with a character from another anime and
the story wouldn't suffer, Sun is a breath of fresh air. She's one of
those characters that you can't replace. Her personality is unique
and every bit as outrageous as the other characters of this series.
This allows her to shine as the main heroine.
Episode
22 epitomizes her individuality. During this episode, Lunar requests
that Sun act as her boyfriend because she's rehearsing for a movie.
Sun agrees. Not only does Sun agree, but she goes all out. The next
morning we get to see exactly what Sun's ideal version of a boyfriend
looks like. Poor Nagasumi doesn't quite match up. Perhaps it's not
surprising, but Sun's idea of a perfect boyfriend is someone who acts
like a yakuza thug. She's even got a beard.
It's
not just the episodes like this that make Sun a likable main heroine.
Outside of having a sweet and kind personality, Sun has these little
quirks that make her feel a bit more real, such as her catchphrase,
or the fact that she's a complete airhead, or how she panics whenever
Mawari—Nagasumi's childhood friend and someone who's life goal is
to become a cop—starts talking about following the rules. Little
moments like this allow us to see Sun as her own person and not just
Nagasumi's trophy wife, which is something that many harem anime
suffer from.
Perhaps
the prime example of proper main character development is at the
halfway point, episode 13. Lunar, a mermaid pop idol and Sun Seto's
self proclaimed rival, has fallen in love with Nagasumi. In this
episode, her father decides that Nagasumi has to take responsibility
and marry into the family, or he will be killed. He's then kidnapped
and taken to the Edomae estate. There, he's strong armed into
accepting his marriage to Lunar. The timely arrival of Sun, who
confesses her feelings to him, sways Nagasumi to take a stand and
state that he won't marry Lunar because he's in love with Sun. This
sort of development is not only appreciated, but it's also what makes
both Sun and Nagasumi more likable than the standard protagonists
that newer anime of the same genre have a tendency to produce.
Another
thing that I really like is how they properly reuse a joke in a way
that, despite having already been used, remains funny even after
using it again. In the first episode, Nagasumi and his parents are
dragged to the bottom of the sea, where Gozaburo is waiting for them.
After they arrive, Masa, one of the Seto gangs thugs and Gozaburo's
right hand man, performs mouth to mouth resuscitation, essentially
stealing Nagasumi's first kiss. This joke is revisited several times.
In fact, whenever Nagasumi is in Masa's presence, he gets all starry
eyed. Adding to the humor is the fact that Nagasumi's mother also
gets starry eyed whenever Masa is around. This joke culminates until
the last few episodes of the season, where we learn that Masa has
lost his memory and is coming close to regaining it. This episode
features an “out of the closet” joke, in which Sun mistakenly
believes that Nagasumi is in love with Masa—much to her husband to
be's horror.
Just
as important to the series is how the anime had a satisfying
conclusion. I've been let down by a lot of romance anime in my time.
The biggest problem with harem romantic comedies is that most of them
are always open-ended. They make you scratch your head and wonder why
the hell you spent several hours watching these characters get closer
to each other when, in the end, the main character didn't choose any
of the girls, didn't man up, and the romance never progressed even
after everything these characters have been through. My Bride is a
Mermaid had a truly satisfying conclusion, and it shows that
conclusion in the most spectacular manner possible by having a
suddenly transformed Nagasumi in place of his usual character design.
If you want a good comedy mixed with romance, then I'd definitely
recommend you watch this anime.
So, what can I say about Accel World Volume 2. Well, for starters, I do not think volume 2 was as good as the first volume. Don't get me wrong, I still highly enjoyed volume 2, but when you compare the personal issues that Haryuki had to overcome in volume 1, volume 2 presents a lackluster personal crises that I feel was less of a crises and more of a plot device to try and mimic the success of the previous volume.
So, the story starts off like any other. Takamu, Haruyuki's friend who got his ass handed to him by Haruyuki himself in the previous volume, has teamed up with Haru and Kuroyukihime. They've begun to expand the influence of their legion. However, Haru seems to be having trouble. Namely, he can't seem to win a single battle anymore.
What I found unbearable about this was that Haruyuki's only strength is in his ability to win at video games. It is literally the one thing he's good at. Now that this has been taken away, I feel like Haru is less than what he was in volume 1—a sort of one step forward two steps back kind of thing, if you will. However, the problem isn't just that Haruyuki suddenly sucks at video games. It's the reason he's become so bad that I take issue with.
Without giving too much away, I can tell you that Haruyuki's issue seems to revolve around his belief that Kuroyukhime will throw him away if he fails. However, this issue was already resolved on volume 1. During the moment where they were about to get run over by a car, Kuroyukihime confessed her love to Haruyuki. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think a girl who confesses her love to someone would throw that person away. This makes the entire personal turmoil Haru feels seem less like a real problem and more like a plot device.
Saying all that, this volume was still a lot of fun to read, and here's why:
There are two factors that make this volume really shine. First was the introduction of a new character: Niko. Niko is a ten year old burst linker and the Red King. Despite being a little girl in real life, her avatar form can transform into a massive fortress that's capable of demolishing entire buildings. She's crass, kinda rude, and has a major attitude—all the things that make her an interesting character.
What really brings this new character into the fold isn't just her introduction and attitude, but what we learn as the story continues. In the beginning, Niko finds out who Haryuki is in Brain Burst, hacks into his family's server, and then pretends to be his cousin... which is pretty damn impressive, if I do say so myself.
After Niko is revealed to be a fake, we learn that her reason for this was because one of her members has the Armor of Catastrophe, which is this supposedly cursed armor that has a lot of history behind it. Toward the end of the volume, we're given some major plot twists that flip everything I thought I knew about Niko onto its head. It was well-done, and it made her personality make more sense. If I had to deal with half the hardships she's dealt with, I'd probably act just like her.
The other aspect about this story that I loved—loved, loved, loved, loved—is how we learn more about Kuroyukihime's past. I said this in my last review of volume 1, which you can find here, but Koyukihime at first comes across as a teenage boy's wet dream. By the end of volume 1, this illusion is shattered and we learn that she's actually just a normal girl with a past that makes her feel a bit like an anti-hero.
In volume 2, we learn even more about that past. We're given an in depth look into her sordid history with the other Six Kings of Pure Color. This adds even more depth to her character and gives us something to empathize with her. She's not just that hot chick who loves Haruyuki for some unknown reason. She has goals and desires and a past that have nothing to do with him. It makes her feel a lot more real.
I also like how she has her own personal issues that she needs to move past. While we don't see everything because the story is told from Haruyuki's perspective, the fact that she has to overcome the regret she feels for her past actions makes her stand out among other light novel female protagonists.
We're not given too much outside of that. Takumu, Haruyuki's friend, has teamed up with him and Kuroyukihime as the third and last member of Nega Nebulus, which is Kuroyukihime's old legion name. This volume has a good deal more action than the previous one, with the entire last third being dedicated solely to a massive battle. Haruyuki is having confidence issues again, which to me, feel like a forced plot device to give him some kind of personal crises, but there isn't much more to the story.
The writing was enjoyable, as always. While I felt like this story wasn't as good as the previous volume, it had nothing to do with the writing, which remains a joy to read. If you wish to read a light novel that is the very epitome of what a light novel should be, you don't have to look any further than this.
Every few seasons, an anime
will come out that touches you—and I don't mean the tentacle grope
kind of touching. It's an anime that touches your heart, that makes
you feel a wide array of emotions you generally don't feel, that
makes you curse the damn ventilation system, because now you've got
this suspicious moisture in your eyes that could have only come from
dust particles floating in the air.
Right...
Orange is an anime about a
group of high school teenagers. It's filled with all the drama,
comedy, romance, and things so typical of high school that I almost
forgot these characters aren't real. Watching Orange made me remember
all of the drama that I went through during high school. Of course,
my high school days didn't have any supernatural elements, but
whatever.
The first and most important
aspect about Orange is that this is one of those anime where all of
the characters feel like real people. Naho isn't just a character in
an animated series. She feels and acts like I imagine a real girl in
high school would act. Everything about her, from her design to her
personality, makes me think of the people I knew when I was attending
high school. What's more, because of how realistic she is, I found
her character to be very sympathetic. From the moment she was
introduced, I wanted to root for her, to see her succeed in her
goals.
Of course, she isn't the only
character. All of the characters feel like real high school
teenagers. I have to hand it to the Seiyuus. While Masako Nozawa, the
seiyuu for Goku from Dragon Ball Z, recently stated that the quality
of voice actors are dropping, I think the people who play the voices
of these particular characters did an admirable job. I never once
felt like I wasn't listening to a bunch of real teenagers in high
school going through life's daily problems. This was especially true
during the more emotional scenes. It takes a lot of effort to make
your voice sound like you're actually crying. As someone who has
tried to fake cry many times to get out of punishments when I was
younger, I can tell you this from experience.
I mentioned before that there's a
supernatural element involved in here. During the first episode, Naho
receives a letter from her future self, which asks her to save
Kakeru, the male character who becomes the main love interest and a
central point of this anime's plot.
One of the more interesting aspects
about this series is the supernatural, time-travel letter itself. I
still don't know how future Naho managed to send her past self that
letter. To be honest, I don't think we're ever going to learn how it
was sent back to the past, even though we get several flash forward
scenes of Naho and the other characters ten years in the future. I
actually think this is a good thing.
One thing about a lot of anime is that
they really like explaining how something came to be, or how a
particular power works. In shonen anime, characters will go into this
detailed description about how X-technique works by compressing the
space-time continuum of this world's inter dimensional whatever, and
I really don't fucking care. Like, seriously, I don't always need to
know how something works. In fact, sometimes, most of the time, all
that exposition does is bog down the story with needless
explanations.
Orange gives us an aspect involving
time travel, but it doesn't give us anymore than that, allowing the
viewers to come up with their own ideas about how the letter came
from the future. Of course, it does go into a minor exposition about
how time travel creates alternate realities whenever the future is
changed, but that actually furthers the plot by presenting a series
of conflicts later on.
Perhaps the most heartbreakingly
beautiful part of this anime was watching Naho as she tries to help
Kakeru, who suffers from depression because of his mother's death. In
the future, Kakeru committed suicide because he felt guilty about his
mother dying. The letter that her future self sent to Naho was done
with the intention of saving Kakeru's life, because future Naho has
lived in regret ever since he died.
Dealing with someone who's suffering
from depression can be hard. Anyone who's ever had depression or
watched as someone they love dealt with depression can tell you this.
What makes this particular plot so moving is how accurate they
portray someone who's depressed. Kakeru tries to act happy whenever
he's with the others, but there are points where he gets moody and
seems down. He sometimes snaps at Naho, even when she hasn't done
anything wrong and only wants to help, which is another accurate
portrayal of people who are depressed.
Outside of the story itself, I was
really impressed by the artwork. The character designs differ vastly
from most other series. In particular, the attention to detail on
their faces made these characters stand out. They all have
differently shaped eyes, which are designed to help reflect their
personalities. Likewise, the way their mouths are formed could easily
denote what kind of person they are.
The greatest example of how these
characters personalities are reflected in their appearance can be
found in Saku and Azusa. Azusa has wide, bright eyes, a slightly
larger mouth than the others, and is almost always seen smiling. This
immediately let's viewers know what kind of personality she has. The
bright eyes denote her enthusiasm. She's probably a very optimistic
person, and the larger mouth, which we usually see smiling, tells us
that she A) probably likes to talk more than the others, and B) has a
brighter outlook on life.
In contrast, Saku has narrow eyes,
which he wears glasses over, and a small mouth that rarely smiles.
The narrow eyes denote a more serious character than the others, but
since he's with a bunch of rowdy people, this also means he's going
to play the straight man more often than not. The smaller mouth also
means that he won't talk as much. When he does talk, it'll always
sound serious, even if what he's saying is completely ridiculous.
In this day and age, where the artwork
in anime has become very standardized, a style like this stands out a
lot.
Something interesting that I discover
while watching this anime is how I found myself not shipping the OTP.
From episode 1 and onward, we're shown that Naho is in love with
Kakeru, and that love sometimes seems reciprocated and sometimes it
doesn't. However, the longer this series went on, the more I found
myself rooting for Suwa.
I feel like Suwa has gotten the short
end of the stick in all this. Throughout the entire series, he's done
nothing but support Naho's love for Kakeru, even though it's
blatantly obvious that he loves her. He's also more supportive of
Naho than Kakeru is. He's that friend who constantly hangs in the
background, always there to catch Naho when she falls. But because
Naho loves Kakeru, nothing happens... which is kind of funny because
the future Naho is married to Suwa.
On the whole, the series is touching
and deals with emotional issues that some people might find
uncomfortable. I think this brings out a unique quality that we don't
often see in anime. To anyone who would enjoy a heartfelt romance,
drama, and hints of supernatural time travel, I'd recommend this
anime to you.
Strike the Blood, Vol. 4: Labyrinth of the Blue Witch by Gakuto Mikumo
