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Old 04-26-2014, 02:12 PM   #26
Lil'twick
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Kano I can't just stop *melts*

Episode 3:

Spoiler: show


Overall, this was a really good episode. It ties everything together from the first two episodes, and feels liek the story is really moving on. I loved the Mekakushi Dan (Kano-kun come here X3), and the relationship dynamics between all of them. THey all seem like defined characters with their own quirks, and I find myself liking Kido more than I thought. ALSO KANO IS AMAZING YES I SAID IT I FUCKING LOVE KANO OKAY LET ME FANBOY OVER HIM GOD DAMN IT.

The Department Store scene was pretty hilarious, but I also like how serious the Dan was during the hostage scene. It was good to see the other side of the story, and learning Shin is related to Momo must have been a shocker to some of you guys. Regardless, it does explain a lot of things, but I didn't like how it ended one.

Anyways, I can't wait to see Heat-Haze Days in action next episode

Heat Haze Days Spoiler:
Spoiler: show


Because Truck-Senpai is going to be giving Hiyori and Hibiya a lot of hugs while Konoha can only watch
. It's going to be very plot relevant, and hopefully it'll also tie up some loose ends this Episode has created. I'm just waiting for the Yobanashi Deceive episode. I'm just waiting for it.

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Last edited by Lil'twick; 04-26-2014 at 04:00 PM.
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Old 04-26-2014, 02:43 PM   #27
Emi
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Episode 3

Spoiler: show
Wow was this episode great. :3

First we have the Mekakushi Dan (be damned if i can spell anything from memory) and we meet Kido (omg kido why are you so awesome), Seto (Eh), and Marry (omg illya who said you could come to mekakucity actors). They interactions between all of them is great and we finally get some closure on what the red eyes thing is about. Some closure. Superpowers! Kido is shown to be able to "erase" things from people's sight, Momo in contrast focuses all the attention on herself. Marry has "locking eyes" and by god are you based on Illya she had like the exact same thing. Plus Marry tripping is adorable. I can't stand it I want all of them.

The department store was just WHAAAAAAAAAAAA? Shinugget is Momo's onii-chan, Ene is some super hacker (further supporting my hypothesis she's actually human and not just a really sophisticated AI (not Geth enough *shot*)), and we learn that Kano doesn't have telekinesis, instead its the ability to change how he is perceived to others. Seto also can look into people's minds. That's cool.

Then EVERYTHING IS EXPLAINED AND WE SEE KISARAGI / MARRY 2X COMBO. Not to mention Kido being a "ghost". :333333333333 AND MARRRRRYYYY DURING THIS PART IS FUCKING ADORABLE.

All in all, this was a pretty great episode, but where is my Ene?
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Old 04-26-2014, 03:52 PM   #28
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Kido looks like she's got a kink in her back.

Episode 03:

Spoiler: show
Much better. Things are falling into place, and we meet the Dan with some entertaining interactions as a result. The animation stepped up this week as well. I didn't mind the SHAFTiness so much either, I actually thought it worked really well here. Speaking of which...

Kido making all the fabulous Senjougahara poses. Seriously girl, what is up with those contortions. They make you look as creepy as Kano.

And then all the ponytails. <3 (I didn't even realize she had one in the first ep until someone pointed it out.) And Kano abuse. Omg. She was rubbing his arm afterwards ican'teven.

Man, Marry sounds just like Manaka. She's a lot less shy than her manga counterpart, but still cute as a button. =3

That high-tech base. How the heck do these kids afford holograph windows and tables? Shin presumably mooches off his sister, but what's their excuse? =3= (Btw, for anyone who missed it, Shintaro showed up in episode 02 during the father death scene. He was sitting on the edge of the sofa.)

Why does all the liquid in this show levitate.

Phone: "Sorry I died. Shall I say goodbye?" *shot*

I love how even Seto was laughing at Shintaro's lameness. And Marry's angry glare gets him to stop. XP

Speaking of Seto, I'm starting to love his voice. He looked really cool in today's ep, looking forward to him getting more screentime. =3 I liked the explanation for him being there (as opposed to the manga where he wasn't present during the hostage crisis at all), forcing him to use his powers.


Kano you're such an idiot.

Also love how Shin's just like "meh" and Seto is "=O".

Marry steals the show again. Using the handheld massager as a weapon... Too adorable. In the manga she just thought it was cool and was randomly holding it for no real reason.


This scene was so awesome.

Dat insert song ahhh. Mekakushi Code wasn't one my favorites but suddenly I love it. <3

Damnit, it's over already again? Argh. These post-credits scenes take up too much time... At least we get some pretty close-up shots now instead of just a stick figure walking, and the story becomes sadder.


Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable episode that finally gives us some explanations as to what's going on. If you haven't already, I suggest you go back to the first episode and look for clues that hint at how the events play out. Here are the ones I've spotted:

Spoiler: show


Kano demonstrating the size of his schlong revealing his hands were never tied.



Marry's feet getting tangled in the wires.



Kido appearing when Shintaro is running towards the terminals.


Anyway, now that the terrorist subplot and majority of introductions are out of the way, hopefully we can start moving on to more interesting stories... Like the "Heat-Haze Days" upupupu.

Also since we're pretty much covered all that needs to be said about Kisaragi Attention, here's the PV it's based off of:

Spoiler: show
BORKED

"A song where all eyes are on you."


Mekakushi Code doesn't have an official animated PV, but there is a fan-made one available for anyone who wishes to watch it.

Spoiler: show
BORKED

"A song of hiding your eyes."

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Old 04-26-2014, 05:39 PM   #29
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Spoiler: show


Marry why are you so adorkable.



Marry stop.



Marry.
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Old 04-27-2014, 03:56 PM   #30
Talon87
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Episode 03:

Spoiler: show
This episode was entertaining from start to finish, a welcome departure from the boredom of Episode 1's first half and almost the entirety of Episode 02. This marked the first time I was actually eager to tune in to a Mekakucity Actors episode, like, eager enough that the day before I was counting down the hours until I'd get a chance to see it. But in the end I wasn't so eager that I stopped everything for it -- I ended up not watching it until later in the evening, and put off posting about it until today. A good episode, yes, but a great episode, eh ... we're still a ways off from such heights. ^^; Maybe some day. Hopefully some day soon.


One of the biggest mysteries up until now has been, "What exactly are these kids?" What are their powers? Do they all have the same powers? Where did their powers come from? How old are they? How did they meet? What do they do to get by in the world? While many of these questions remain as yet unanswered, we did finally get a few of the basic theories addressed.

For starters: no, the kids do not appear to be vampires. Hoorah! Although it hasn't been entirely ruled out yet, I must admit. ^^; But aside from the red eyes, the pale skin, the fact that most of their powers seem to have manifested when they've been in the dark/shade, etc, Kido offers no indication that they are vampires. They drink iced tea. They don't demonstrate any blood lust. And I guess most importantly ...

The kids' powers are unique to each and every one of them. Kido alone has the power to not be noticed by others. Kano alone has the power to change how he appears to others. Etc. Thus, the kids are less "all the same type of lifeform with the same library of powers" and more like mutants in the X-Men series. Each one has a special "superpower" that makes him or her unique.

Speaking of the powers, let's go ahead and discuss those here rather than character-by-character. We have so far:
  • Kido, with the power to not be seen by others
  • Momo, with the power to attract others' attention
  • Kano, with the power to alter how others see him
  • Marry, with the power to freeze people who she fixes her gaze on
  • Seto, with the ability to read people's minds
We don't know Shintarou's, Hibiya's, or #9's yet. And Ene's is probably just going to be related to her being a super-powerful computer program. But the five we do have are a good start. There's an obvious trend with the powers: they mostly have to do with vision or the eyes. Only Seto's does not, and even it could be tangentially squeezed in under the label "reading others' thoughts" / "seeing what other people think". But Marry's, Momo's, Kido's, and Kano's, they all have to do with sight / the eyes. While there's no promise that this trend will keep up, I will go ahead and say that I think it's very, very likely that one of the Kagerous (or the girl from the initial scene of the series, either/or) is going to have the power of prognostication, i.e. the power to see into the future. It's just too obvious a superpower not to tap into, particularly for a writer who is making so many of the superpowers tie into sight.

I'll probably circle back around to more general thoughts later, but for now I want to move on to several specific characters.


Marry was the Kagerou I was most excited to meet. Just based on looks alone, she looked like the sort of character who was going to be my favorite. Unfortunately, I'm sorry to say that while I do like Marry, I don't like her near as much as I would have liked to. ^^; In fact, there are a few things about her that disappoint me.

While the other Kagerous thus far have felt like actual human beings -- even Seto, blank slate though he is, hasn't felt like what I am about to say -- Marry has felt more to me like a caricature. She feels like a walking, talking moe machine rather than a girl who, as a matter of her very natural existence, is incredibly cute and charming.

It all starts with Marry's voice. Manaka from Nagi no Asukara is back, and unfortunately the voice is every bit as artificial-sounding and cloy here as it was there. I'm trying my best not to hear Manaka in Marry, but it's proving impossible. The voice is too identical and sadly Mekakucity Actors follows too closely on the heels of Nagi no Asukara for me to have forgotten what Manaka sounds like. This is a bias I come to the table with that most of you will not, but sadly it's only the first of several complaints.

Next up, and by far my greatest complaint about Marry, is her mannerisms. Rather than seeming like a girl who genuinely does these things naturally, Marry feels either like she's doing things deliberately for the attention or (worse) like she's putty in the writers' hands and her sole purpose in life is to serve as a vehicle for moe moments. Example 1: the way she puffs out her cheeks when she's angry. (Classic moe trope.) Example 2: when she was acting like a semi-retarded six year old and was like "I CAN HELP TOO! :3" with that telephone cord, swinging the telephone around like a hammerthrowing hammer and clocking the hostage taker on the head. I could try to point out more specific examples, but I think in general I can just say this: she feels less like a person on camera and more like a tool.

But at the end of the day, Marry is still the Kagerou female I'm most interested in. She has the greatest visual appeal and the backstory I most want to know more about. But looks and intrigue can really only take you so far. If this series ends with me having switched sides to Team Kido, I wouldn't be surprised.


Kido then! I'm not normally a fan of sullen girls who wear hoodies and act like they're war veterans returning home from a traumatic experience. But Kido, clearly the mother of the group, has some developments this episode which endear her to me ever so slightly. I'm by no means a convert (yet), but I will go ahead and say that ...

I lightly ship her with Kano. *gasp* The problem is -- though it's more of a delight than a problem in these early stages of the game -- we don't yet know the extent of and the nature of their relationship. Are they brother and sister? Are they childhood friends? Are they in fact lovers but have a hard time admitting it? Who knows. What we do know is that they have a physically intimate relationship. I don't mean "sexual", I mean physical: they get in each other's space, lay their hands all over one another's faces and bodies, and neither one of them acts like a line has been crossed. Kano endures Kido's physical torture; and Kido endures Kano's teasing. If they're not in love, then they're certainly either best friends or else family.

Kido's power sounds like it sets up for a "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ON UPN WILL CLAIM TO BE KIDO?" story arc, but I don't mean to sound unkind when I say that. In fact, I'm hoping that Kido's backstory will defy the tropes of the genre (of stories about kids who the world didn't see) and will deliver something to be cherished. We'll just have to wait and see. I do like though how her power is established to be "the opposite of Momo's power." It invites the viewer to look for other pairwise matches between characters. (So too does Shintarou's and Momo's relationship, which we'll get to in a second.)


Kano is a bit of an enigma. He seems to be a lot like Kagari in Psycho-Pass. He's the type I could easily see being a criminal delinquent yet at the same time someone with a generally good heart. Maybe a bit of a sick mind? But a generally good heart. In that sense, I would say that Kano is a far cry from the serial killer archetype we've seen in Hollywood's Heath Ledger Joker and Psycho-Pass's Makishima Shougo. But at the same time, the animators seem to be going out of their way to depict Kano as a mentally-disturbed menace. This series doesn't seem like the type to have a traitor in the children's midst, but if anyone is going to turn on the group, the animation alone hints that it will be Kano.

I like his relationship with Kido. (See above.) He doesn't seem to find it easy to let people know what he's really feeling: he's ever the jokester and seems to use comedy to compensate for something missing in his life. Whether Kido is his sister, whether she's someone he spent his early years with at an orphanage, whether she's his girlfriend ... whatever she is to him, it's clear from this episode that she's one of his favorites if not his #1 favorite in the group. That stated, I seem to recall (vaguely) that some of you shipped him with Seto or possibly even with Shintarou, so I guess I could be way off base here and that time will tell if I am.


Seto rounds out our group of four original Mekakushi Dan club members. Unfortunately ... he's kind of a blank slate still. ^^; While Marry suffers from the problem of having lots of writing thrown at her but all of its superficial fluff that serves to dehumanize her, Seto's sparse material has established his humanity ... it's just that it's been so very sparse. ^^; I don't really have a good handle on whether he's sincerely happy-go-lucky or whether he just puts up a strong front, whether he's smart or dumb, etc. This episode establishes that he is something of a protector for Marry, which would suggest that he's either family (brother & sister?) or else that he's known her since childhood. The OP credits likewise suggest that Seto and Marry go way back, what with him tugging her along by hand as they frolic through some Heidi-esque area. (Or maybe it's just Marry's dress that makes me think of Heidi. )


Okay, so back to general talk. One thing I enjoyed about this episode was the surprises. Starting us off is the revelation that Kano isn't a psychic and that he did not in fact cause the televisions to fall down during the hostage crisis. That was all Momo, Marry, and Kido -- and they did so by hand, not by any sort of telekinesis. Interestingly enough, the episode does confirm the presence of a psychic in their group -- Seto -- but does not indicate that he has powers of telekinesis, only that he can read people's minds.

Another great surprise was the revelation that Shintarou and Momo are brother and sister. I did not see that coming. I don't remember seeing Shintarou in Episode 02 during any of the flashbacks and I don't recall Shintarou indicating that he had a pop idol for a sister either. So that was an interesting "What a small world!" little surprise. (Also: the fact that she refers to him even at this age as "Onii-chan" despite her personality stokes the fires of many a shipper's heart, I'm sure. ) It also immediately invited the consideration that Kido and Kano could be related (double K! double O!) and that Seto and Marry could be related. There have been times where I have thought that Kido's eyes looked a lot like Kano's or where I've thought that Seto's smiling face looked somewhat like Marry's, and the fact that Shintarou and Momo (for whom I don't see the resemblance) are brother and sister makes me wonder if these other characters aren't too.

I didn't like how the episode ended without any resolution on Shintarou's front, but given the limitations of a 22-minute block of time I understand why this had to happen. Given the soft spoiler from the OP credits, we know that the order in which the kids joined the club was:
  1. Kido
  2. Seto
  3. Kano
  4. Marry
  5. Momo
  6. Ene
  7. Shintarou
  8. Hibiya
  9. Konoha
Thus, we know that Shintarou has to join before Hibiya does. And Hibiya looks primed to join the club next episode given the sneak peek focused heavily on him. This should hopefully mean that even though Shintarou was shot (... or appears to have been shot? ), he shouldn't be out of commission for very long.

Speaking of that list, though, it sure is strange to me that Seto joined the club before Kano but that Kano joined the club before Marry. I would've totally expected the order to have been 1. Kido, 2. Kano, 3. Seto, and 4. Marry given their personalities and how they seem to interact with one another. But I guess the club was either a) founded by all three original founding members at the same time (and Kano just happens to be #3) or else that Kano doesn't have as strong of a backstory with Kido as Seto does. (Iiiiiiiiinteresting ... :o) We'll have to see. I'll be surprised if we never find out the origins of the club. I assume its creation is going to be a key part of Kido's backstory.

I don't know how much of this is Shaft being Shaft and how much of this can be relied upon for observation-based speculation, but the children's club room seems awfully large and well-furnished. It has to have a working refrigerator if Marry can provide iced tea, so we know it's not an abandoned building without electricity. It has an amazing amount of floor space. It's either well lit or else (even more lavishly) has a ton of natural lighting in the form of large windows. The walls and floor appear to be made of metal, which while uncomfortable is definitely something that strikes me as post-modern arthouse type of stuff. Who knows! It could be an abandoned warehouse (and fuck da rules about electricity [/oops we goofed ]) or it could be a posh apartment paid for by one of the Kagerous. No idea.

I just now noticed that Kido's hoodie sweater-jacket appears to be iPod-themed. It has an iPod-esque play button in the center and some sound bars (or signal bars?) on one of the sleeves. I presume that this ties back in to the franchise's musical roots and has no other bearing on the plot, but who knows!? Who knows.

Last edited by Talon87; 04-27-2014 at 04:05 PM.
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Old 04-27-2014, 05:06 PM   #31
lilboocorsola
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
Episode 03:

Spoiler: show

Marry was the Kagerou I was most excited to meet. Just based on looks alone, she looked like the sort of character who was going to be my favorite. Unfortunately, I'm sorry to say that while I do like Marry, I don't like her near as much as I would have liked to. ^^; In fact, there are a few things about her that disappoint me.

While the other Kagerous thus far have felt like actual human beings -- even Seto, blank slate though he is, hasn't felt like what I am about to say -- Marry has felt more to me like a caricature. She feels like a walking, talking moe machine rather than a girl who, as a matter of her very natural existence, is incredibly cute and charming.

It all starts with Marry's voice. Manaka from Nagi no Asukara is back, and unfortunately the voice is every bit as artificial-sounding and cloy here as it was there. I'm trying my best not to hear Manaka in Marry, but it's proving impossible. The voice is too identical and sadly Mekakucity Actors follows too closely on the heels of Nagi no Asukara for me to have forgotten what Manaka sounds like. This is a bias I come to the table with that most of you will not, but sadly it's only the first of several complaints.

Next up, and by far my greatest complaint about Marry, is her mannerisms. Rather than seeming like a girl who genuinely does these things naturally, Marry feels either like she's doing things deliberately for the attention or (worse) like she's putty in the writers' hands and her sole purpose in life is to serve as a vehicle for moe moments. Example 1: the way she puffs out her cheeks when she's angry. (Classic moe trope.) Example 2: when she was acting like a semi-retarded six year old and was like "I CAN HELP TOO! :3" with that telephone cord, swinging the telephone around like a hammerthrowing hammer and clocking the hostage taker on the head. I could try to point out more specific examples, but I think in general I can just say this: she feels less like a person on camera and more like a tool.

But at the end of the day, Marry is still the Kagerou female I'm most interested in. She has the greatest visual appeal and the backstory I most want to know more about. But looks and intrigue can really only take you so far. If this series ends with me having switched sides to Team Kido, I wouldn't be surprised.
>Marry

Spoiler: show
As mentioned on Skype, Marry is not actually one of my favorites since she is the token (loli?)moe of the group. Her role does serve a purpose though.

For the record, her voice goes back before Manaka, as she was voiced by Kana Hanazawa in the music album CM. But I know what you mean by not being able to unhear the other character.

I remember you mentioned the possibility of Marry being the Hanako (Katawa Shoujo) of the gang, and I will say that in the manga Marry was much more like her. She was scared to come out of her room to meet Momo and hid behind Kido. Marry in the animé is much bolder and confronts people more often when antagonized (see her indignant "I'm not a ball of fluff!", which wasn't in the manga - but she still froze Kano for making fun of her about spilling the tea - minus the puff face). Her moe moments such as the scene with massager are played up as well, as I talk about in my post on the subject.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
Spoiler: show

Kido then! I'm not normally a fan of sullen girls who wear hoodies and act like they're war veterans returning home from a traumatic experience. But Kido, clearly the mother of the group, has some developments this episode which endear her to me ever so slightly. I'm by no means a convert (yet), but I will go ahead and say that ...

I lightly ship her with Kano. *gasp* The problem is -- though it's more of a delight than a problem in these early stages of the game -- we don't yet know the extent of and the nature of their relationship. Are they brother and sister? Are they childhood friends? Are they in fact lovers but have a hard time admitting it? Who knows. What we do know is that they have a physically intimate relationship. I don't mean "sexual", I mean physical: they get in each other's space, lay their hands all over one another's faces and bodies, and neither one of them acts like a line has been crossed. Kano endures Kido's physical torture; and Kido endures Kano's teasing. If they're not in love, then they're certainly either best friends or else family.

Kido's power sounds like it sets up for a "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ON UPN WILL CLAIM TO BE KIDO?" story arc, but I don't mean to sound unkind when I say that. In fact, I'm hoping that Kido's backstory will defy the tropes of the genre (of stories about kids who the world didn't see) and will deliver something to be cherished. We'll just have to wait and see. I do like though how her power is established to be "the opposite of Momo's power." It invites the viewer to look for other pairwise matches between characters. (So too does Shintarou's and Momo's relationship, which we'll get to in a second.)
>Kido

Spoiler: show
I like how SHAFT portrayed Kido. She's even weirder than I imagined, but still awkwardly adorkable. X3

Her relationship with Kano is cute too. As I was re-watching the episode last night I kinda noticed Kido sounded a bit... affectionate? when she called Kano "incorrigible" and looked a little sad when Momo deleted the picture from her phone. ;( *shot for overanalytic shipping*

This is more as an aside, but I feel Jin missed an opportunity with Kido's backstory that many fans theorized about based on one of the PVs. While it would've been pretty horrible and tragic, it would explain why she acts like such a tomboy.

Also, I'll go ahead and admit that most of these kids' backstories aren't really anything new that we haven't seen in fiction before, but of course that doesn't mean they aren't still relatable/sympathizable.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
Spoiler: show

Kano is a bit of an enigma. He seems to be a lot like Kagari in Psycho-Pass. He's the type I could easily see being a criminal delinquent yet at the same time someone with a generally good heart. Maybe a bit of a sick mind? But a generally good heart. In that sense, I would say that Kano is a far cry from the serial killer archetype we've seen in Hollywood's Heath Ledger Joker and Psycho-Pass's Makishima Shougo. But at the same time, the animators seem to be going out of their way to depict Kano as a mentally-disturbed menace. This series doesn't seem like the type to have a traitor in the children's midst, but if anyone is going to turn on the group, the animation alone hints that it will be Kano.

I like his relationship with Kido. (See above.) He doesn't seem to find it easy to let people know what he's really feeling: he's ever the jokester and seems to use comedy to compensate for something missing in his life. Whether Kido is his sister, whether she's someone he spent his early years with at an orphanage, whether she's his girlfriend ... whatever she is to him, it's clear from this episode that she's one of his favorites if not his #1 favorite in the group. That stated, I seem to recall (vaguely) that some of you shipped him with Seto or possibly even with Shintarou, so I guess I could be way off base here and that time will tell if I am.
>Kano

Spoiler: show
Kano was depicted as more lighthearted in the manga up until a certain point, so I was actually somewhat surprised when I watched his PV after reading the first few chapters to learn more about his hidden side. (Which admittedly was part of what got me way more interested in the series to begin with. X3) SHAFT seems to be going out of their way to show him as a darker individual from the outset with shots such as the one pictured above, making him seem slightly sadistic in episode 01.

According to the author, Kano is the one who "keeps the plot moving". So it's probably a good idea to keep an eye on him...

P.S. It's funny, but as another aside I thought Kano would end up being my favorite after seeing his PV, but I dunno, he's fallen out of favor for some reason, despite all the interesting revelations surrounding him. Maybe I'm just burnt out from my Itsuki-fangirl analysis days haha.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
Spoiler: show

Seto rounds out our group of four original Mekakushi Dan club members. Unfortunately ... he's kind of a blank slate still. ^^; While Marry suffers from the problem of having lots of writing thrown at her but all of its superficial fluff that serves to dehumanize her, Seto's sparse material has established his humanity ... it's just that it's been so very sparse. ^^; I don't really have a good handle on whether he's sincerely happy-go-lucky or whether he just puts up a strong front, whether he's smart or dumb, etc. This episode establishes that he is something of a protector for Marry, which would suggest that he's either family (brother & sister?) or else that he's known her since childhood. The OP credits likewise suggest that Seto and Marry go way back, what with him tugging her along by hand as they frolic through some Heidi-esque area. (Or maybe it's just Marry's dress that makes me think of Heidi. )
>Seto

... Yeah I got nothing else to add at this time. ^^; I do want to learn more about Seto though and am glad he's at least getting more screentime than in the manga, even if it's still sparse. ='D

Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
Spoiler: show
I don't know how much of this is Shaft being Shaft and how much of this can be relied upon for observation-based speculation, but the children's club room seems awfully large and well-furnished. It has to have a working refrigerator if Marry can provide iced tea, so we know it's not an abandoned building without electricity. It has an amazing amount of floor space. It's either well lit or else (even more lavishly) has a ton of natural lighting in the form of large windows. The walls and floor appear to be made of metal, which while uncomfortable is definitely something that strikes me as post-modern arthouse type of stuff. Who knows! It could be an abandoned warehouse (and fuck da rules about electricity [/oops we goofed ]) or it could be a posh apartment paid for by one of the Kagerous. No idea.
>Base

Spoiler: show
It's SHAFT being SHAFT. The base was a lot smaller and more normal in the PVs/manga. They did the same thing with Shintaro's room too. Because ART/TECHNOLOGY.

I am a little disappointed they didn't reveal the exact location of the base yet, since it's kinda become symbolic of the series as the meeting place of the Mekakushi Dan, like the Literary Clubroom is to the SOS Brigade. (I mean, I guess my current user location kinda spoils it lol.) It was actually incorporated onstage during one of the live concerts.

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Old 04-27-2014, 05:38 PM   #32
Talon87
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Disclaimer: any comments in this post may contain spoilers through Episode 03. None contains spoilers beyond that.

Looking over your guys' posts, it seems like Lanturn likes Marry, Lost really likes Kano, and blaze is going bazonkers for Marry. Connor loves Marry as well, and even Yuki writes that Marry steals the show. Geez. Was I the only one who was put off by some of (what felt to me to be) her more artificial moments?

Quote:
Originally Posted by blazeVA View Post
Marry (omg illya who said you could come to mekakucity actors)
Marry wishes she were as cute as Ilya. I would link to the evidence but it began to get far too much and far too necessitating of ugly spoiler disclaimers. Suffice to say ... Marry is cute too, but Illyasviel is in a whole other league.

Quote:
Originally Posted by blazeVA View Post
Marry has

Spoiler: show
"locking eyes" and by god are you based on Illya she had like the exact same thing.
I doubt that she's based on Ilya, and I don't think your submitted evidence constitutes proof that she is either.

Spoiler: show
Red eyes with the ability to freeze someone in place wasn't original when Nasu wrote it either. Many stories have supernatural beings using their eyes to freeze someone in place. Witches, vampires, children from Hell, the list goes on.

If Jin says in an interview that Illyasviel von Einzbern inspired the design for Marry, then I'll hand it to you. But for the time being, their personalities are pretty different despite the whole "look at me, I'm a kid" factor.


Quote:
Originally Posted by blazeVA View Post
Ene is
Spoiler: show
some super hacker (further supporting my hypothesis she's actually human and not just a really sophisticated AI (not Geth enough *shot*))
I think you may be leaping to conclusions too hastily.

Spoiler: show
I agree that it would not be surprising if Ene were actually an avatar front for an actual person. However, when Momo refers to Ene as a "super computer hacker," it could be either one of these two things:
  1. She isn't aware that Ene is an artificial intelligence.
  2. She is aware that Ene is an artificial intelligence but that doesn't matter: it's still Ene who is the "master computer hacker," even if she is only just a program, and thus that's who Momo is referring to
Obviously Ene had to come from somewhere. And unless Jin is going to argue one of those farfetched tales where Ene was "born from the Internet," "a consciousness that arose from the Internet's primordial soup," then it means that Ene has to have a creator. A human creator or team of creators. Given stories like this one, the odds are 9:1 that she was created by an individual. Now whether that individual is in fact "the real Ene" or whether the real Ene is the program we have and her creator is nothing at all like her, that will remain to be seen.

But I gotta thank you for bringing this theory up. I feel like this series is in a prime position for a lot of fun speculation. It's a shame that at least two people posting here (Yuki and Lost) are going to have to recuse themselves from such discussions, and it'd be an even greater shame if more of you were to join them. (RESIST THE TEMPTATION! DON'T CAVE TO SPOILERS! ) Part of the fun in watching a series like Mekakucity Actors weekly is discussing the mystery elements with your fellow unspoiled viewers. Whether it's Hunter x Hunter and debating who will win a particular fight to the death, whether it's Fate/stay night and trying to figure out the servants' identities, whether it's Kanon and trying to find out what happened seven years ago that Yuuichi has no memory of, it's fun to examine the available evidence and speculate.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lilbluecorsola View Post
I remember you mentioned the possibility of Marry being the Hanako (Katawa Shoujo) of the gang, and I will say that in the manga Marry was much more like her.
Spoiler: show
She was scared to come out of her room to meet Momo and hid behind Kido. Marry in the animé is much bolder and confronts people more often when antagonized (see her indignant "I'm not a ball of fluff!", which wasn't in the manga - but she still froze Kano for making fun of her about spilling the tea). Her moe moments such as the scene with massager are played up as well, as I talk about in my post on the subject.
That's a shame then. I think I would have vastly preferred HanakoMarry to ManakaMarry. Like Nagi no Asukara's Manaka, yes, this one does seem very outgoing and bubbly. Like, even if she is soft-voiced and allegedly timid, she actually seems to display a great deal of social normalcy. (I'd call it "social courage" but that's not quite the right word, haha. )

Oh well. Marry doesn't have to be Hanako to be awesome. And she doesn't have to be anyone else either. Marry just needs to be Marry, and whether I think Marry's awesome or not will be up to how the chips fall. But yes, if the manga version of Marry is different from the anime's and is closer to Hanako, I do think I'd have preferred to have seen her. I think it's too late to even entertain wishful thinking on that front though. Episode 03 so thoroughly established what sort of personality Marry has that I can't imagine backpedaling to a Hanako personality at this point.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lilbluecorsola View Post
>Base

Spoiler: show
It's SHAFT being SHAFT. The base was a lot smaller and more normal in the PVs/manga. They did the same thing with Shintaro's room too. Because ART/TECHNOLOGY.

I am a little disappointed they didn't reveal the exact location of the base yet, since it's kinda become symbolic of the series as the meeting place of the Mekakushi Dan, like the Literary Clubroom is to the SOS Brigade. (I mean, I guess my current user location kinda spoils it lol.) It was actually incorporated onstage during one of the live concerts.
The first part's disappointing to hear and is another solid example of Shaft and I not being on the same page when it comes to how to visually present a narrative. The second part sounds cute. It makes me wonder how many kids signed up for the Lit Club in 2006, 2007, and 2008 following that initial surge of Haruhism. Not sure the same will apply to the Blindfold Brigade's hideout, but it'd be kinda cute if it did. (In before it's an actual place and Yuki wants to go on pilgrimage there to check it out. I would want to if I were a big fan! )
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Old 04-27-2014, 06:18 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
That's a shame then. I think I would have vastly preferred HanakoMarry to ManakaMarry. Like Nagi no Asukara's Manaka, yes, this one does seem very outgoing and bubbly. Like, even if she is soft-voiced and allegedly timid, she actually seems to display a great deal of social normalcy. (I'd call it "social courage" but that's not quite the right word, haha. )

Oh well. Marry doesn't have to be Hanako to be awesome. And she doesn't have to be anyone else either. Marry just needs to be Marry, and whether I think Marry's awesome or not will be up to how the chips fall. But yes, if the manga version of Marry is different from the anime's and is closer to Hanako, I do think I'd have preferred to have seen her. I think it's too late to even entertain wishful thinking on that front though. Episode 03 so thoroughly established what sort of personality Marry has that I can't imagine backpedaling to a Hanako personality at this point.
I think I actually prefer ManakaMarry a bit more. XD Maybe I'm just tired of the "supremely shy" stereotype. I guess to me it's kinda refreshing to see Marry being more proactive, as the results are amusing to watch.

On that note, since again I doubt the animé will go into more detail on their finances, I'll elaborate on something we saw in this episode:

Spoiler: show
Marry makes artificial flowers to sell, though of course they don't contribute much money. XP It's more just her being "I CAN HELP TOO! :3" Seto works several part-time jobs, which is presumably where they get most of their income. It's unknown what Kido's and Kano's occupations/daily activities are.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
The first part's disappointing to hear and is another solid example of Shaft and I not being on the same page when it comes to how to visually present a narrative. The second part sounds cute. It makes me wonder how many kids signed up for the Lit Club in 2006, 2007, and 2008 following that initial surge of Haruhism. Not sure the same will apply to the Blindfold Brigade's hideout, but it'd be kinda cute if it did. (In before it's an actual place and Yuki wants to go on pilgrimage there to check it out. I would want to if I were a big fan! )
It's not a physical place, just that (see my current user location for soft spoiler so this will make sense)...

Spoiler: show
The doorway with #107 on it has become a motif. One was set up on stage for Jin and the band members to enter through.

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Old 05-02-2014, 12:20 AM   #34
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Watched episode 3 myself:

Spoiler: show
Bah! I wanted to hate on this episode, because hating on hyped things is the cool things to do! Sadly episode 3 was actually pretty good. It also nulls my complaint about last week's episode. Kido was a very interesting character. The whole group of super-kids clicked really well. It was fun watching them interact with each other.

For complaints....can't really think of any besides animation.
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Old 05-03-2014, 11:14 AM   #35
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So fabulous.

Episode 4

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So after Episode 3 who mostly everyone adored, comes Episode 4. I had predicted it'd be a sudden skip like Ep 2, and I was mostly right about it. 'Mostly'.

So this episode introduces Hiyori and another character. So the starting begins with Hibiya, living with Hiyori and Konoha. Apparently Konoha has a problem of memory loss, and forgot (?) Hiyori and Hibiya. So the second half focuses on Hiyori constantly getting killed by different ways, with Hibiya constantly trying to save her that smells extremely like a Steins;Gate fashion.

However, this episode had quite a bit of disappointments, like many's initial reaction to Episode 2. First off, the animation. Wow, it was cool and random but at other times it was poorly done - even for a live stream. I'm not sure if SHAFT is broke or something, but the scene where Hibiya was pouring tea, TEA MAGICALLY GATHERS INTO THE COP. I mean the lack of colours is okay and has a ring of feeling, but bad quality... err yeah, no. Secondly, Hiyori is my main problem. She is just the annoying brat and I feel bad for Hibiya. HIBIYA X MOMOOOBS SUPERIOR MASTER RACE. And lastly, wow, the lack of feels. It just feels really... anti-climatic. According to Yuki, Kagerou Days was one of the most, if not the most, famous songs in the series, but ergh. It felt so... Disappointing and flat really.

So Ep4 is a pretty disappointing experience, which is really sad coming from the success of Ep3. Furthermore, I think SHAFT spent all their budgets last episode or something. I should rewatch with high quality and subs, but that's my thoughts for now.
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Old 05-03-2014, 02:38 PM   #36
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I kind of hate summer.

Episode 04:

Spoiler: show
I kind of hated this episode... Well, "wasn't impressed" with it at least. I had a feeling the execution would probably be disappointing so I didn't get my hopes up too high, but SHAFT really let me down with the terrible animation/art direction.


Great way to start off summer. With little girls getting hit by space trucks.

Also lol at those lazy poles raining down. They didn't even show her getting impaled... I need more blood damnit. Wannyanpuu's fan PV was far more gruesome and dynamic than this despite the cutesy style, even though I didn't think it looked that great from a technical standpoint the first time I saw it.

The episode was a little better with higher quality and subs, and people are pointing out some interesting clues SHAFT slipped in, but still. The story just didn't come through. Way too slow-paced and sloppy. This is the most famous song of the series, it's supposed to be dramatic and full of feels. Instead it makes me sad for a different reason. The post-credits scene evoked more emotions than this, and I wish they wouldn't compete for screentime.

On the subject of padding, I disliked how they stretched out the scene with Hibiya asking his parents for permission to spend the summer in the city. Was that even necessary. Went on way too long and made no sense, like Momo's classroom scene. (The voice acting was good though. Why couldn't he have expressed that much emotion when saving Hiyori...) The Hiyori doll he was holding amused me though. FYI that's not a SHAFT thing, it's actually canon.

More trivia, but reveals a bit about Hibiya's real personality:
Spoiler: show
Hibiya's a stalker and he makes dolls of Hiyori. One of them has a recording of her voice.


Speaking of personalities, man Hiyori is a real bitch in the show. She's still a bitch in the manga/novels, but the animé makes her even more cruel to Hibiya. Far different from the sweet relationship they seemed to have in the fan-made PV... Which again I can't even link because thanks to yet another abrupt ending we haven't seen the major twist to this tale yet, which differentiates it from Steins;Gate/other death time loops we've seen. (Though it's been hinted at heavily through the dialogue.)

As for the song itself, I didn't care for how they inserted it. Felt as uninspired as ep02, it really needed more action and visuals to support the lyrics. Something like a montage of all the deaths and Hibiya screaming over them as in the fan-made PV to show how much pain he's going through, wearing him down to the point where he "hates summer". Also, I think I recognize the singer as the person who sang "Kagerou Days" in concert with Jin, and tbh I'm not a fan of his breathless tone.

The only parts of this episode I really liked were Konoha's. Finally get to meet him properly for once, and the first thing he does is go to the bathroom. ...He also puts mayonnaise in the rice cooker. Okay.

Ugh, even the stupid terrorist subplot ended up being better than this somehow. And Shintaro's still lying on the floor, he's been that way for three eps now. =/ Get up and do something already, you lazy bum. *shot* (The irony.) So much for our "protagonist". *sigh* Please next week let's just get back to more Kano and Kido kthnx.

Oh, almost forgot since I missed it during the first rawstream, but the beginning bit with the girl from the first ep was intriguing. I didn't like how they drew her back then (or Shin's double-chin *shot*), but she was pretty here, especially when tucking in her scarf.




If a bit scary...

I do question some of the translation decisions CR made here and at the end. I heard they made some assumptions in the first ep as well that aren't necessarily implied by the original Japanese.


The title of next week's ep does give me a chance to talk about something interesting I found a few days ago. Soft spoiler for just the title itself, doesn't reveal anything about the episode's contents:

Spoiler: show
"Kaien Panzermast" is an instrumental/dialogue track that appears on the album, and has been referenced a few times in the novels. "Panzermast" is a radio broadcast system used for disaster prevention that looks like megaphones on top of a pole. In some places, it's used to play a song called “Yuuyake, Koyake” at sunset as a signal for children and students to return home before it gets dark. You can see and hear it at the beginning of episode 01.

While I learned about the significance of Panzermast in relation to Kagepro a while ago, what I didn't realize is that the song actually has lyrics (source):

Quote:
1 夕焼け 小焼けで 日(ひ)が暮(く)れて
山(やま)のお寺(てら)の 鐘(かね)がなる
おててつないで みなかえろう 烏(からす)と いっしょに かえりましょう
 
2 子供(こども)が かえった あとからは
まるい大(おお)きな お月(つき)さま
小鳥(ことり)が夢(ゆめ)を 見(み)るころは 空(そら)には きらきら 金(きん)の星(ほし)


The sunset is the end of the day,
the bell from the mountain temple rings
hand by hand let’s go back home together with the crows.

After the children are back at home
a big and round moon shines,
when the birds dream, the brightness from the stars fills the sky.
So there you go. That's why we're seeing so many crows everywhere.

Example of Panzermast being played in Japan

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Old 05-03-2014, 05:17 PM   #37
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Episode 04:

Spoiler: show
Well, I can tell that this episode is going to be one where I'm going to want/need to talk to other people to try and figure things out. Hopefully the people who know know by virtue of knowing all the answers will keep their knowledge separate from those who only know via deduction. Not really looking to be handed the answers so much as discussing them with fellow in-the-dark viewers.

First, thoughts on the three characters of the day. Hibiya, I'm not really a fan of. I hadn't minded him before, but this week sees him being a total submissive weakling when it comes to that bossy bitch he has a crush on. I can't stand men like that, no matter how old or young they may be, so that's a strong strike against Hibiya for me. The bossy bitch, Asahina Hiyori, I found impossible to like. Self-centered, manipulative, inconsiderate, pretty much just a huge bossy bitch. But I did find it interesting just what a major character she appears to be -- including the fact that she bears an uncanny resemblance to the girl in the ED credits. (I think it's safe to say that that girl is Hiyori given that Hibiya is the first one who shows up in the ED credits besides her and not only that but his body is also in contact with hers.) As for Konoha, it's hard to like a character who is such a boring blank slate. Maybe he'll become interesting later, but if Kagerou Days were a Square-Enix JRPG, Konoha would currently be the first person I would rule out of being on my final main team.

Next, thoughts on the episode itself. The first half did a solid job of introducing us to Hibiya (yes, we first saw him in Episode 02, but c'mon) and exploring his relationship with Hiyori. The second half did a solid job of intriguing viewers with its apparent Groundhog Day premise. It's not really clear to me what Hibiya's powers are or if he was even using them, but it seems like he was stuck in some sort of a loop similar to what we've seen before in other series: "the girl I love keeps getting killed no matter what I try to do." Every time she died, Hibiya would wake up shortly afterward. It's unclear, thus, whether this is Shaft being artsy fartsy or whether what we witnessed were subconscious premonitions Hibiya had while asleep and were not in fact actual occurrences in the physical world. Regardless, Hibiya felt that the only way to break free from the never-ending cycle was to try and outmaneuver the cat by trading places with Hiyori at the last possible second. We'll have to see whether he was successful or not.

With any luck, this should prove to be a nice place for the Hibiya/Hiyori/Konoha story arc and the Shintarou/Ene/Kido/Kano/Seto/Marry/Momo story arc to merge into one. Why? Well, I imagine that Hibiya did in fact get hit by the truck but at the same time that he did not die. And I likewise imagine that Shintarou did not die from his bullet wound. Thus, I imagine that both boys were probably taken to the hospital -- and thus Hibiya's team will cross path's with Shintarou's team as the two boys meet. (They could even share the same hospital room for all we know.)

Still not clear what the deal is with the girl in the old-fashioned navy blue sailor school uniform. Already have mentioned that I'm not sure what Hiyori's role will be in these events but it seems unlikely that it would be small given her prominent placement in the ED credits.

I'm not sure whether it's Shaft or Jin (almost certainly Jin), but it seems like the writing is fond of exploring cultural assumptions about the color red. We'd already seen Shaft having lots of fun animating red stoplights in previous episodes, but this week the red "STOP" took on an important meaning given how Hiyori kept dying -- hit by oncoming traffic, falling off of bridges, etc. I guess we'll have to see what else they do with the color as the story goes on. Blood is too obvious; I'm thinking more along the lines of cultural things like, I dunno, red being the color of passion, war, stuff like that.
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Old 05-04-2014, 12:19 AM   #38
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Yuki encouraged me to share these thoughts here, so here we go. Enjoy. (Note: she specifically encouraged me to share the thoughts that you'll find beneath the indigo-colored marker "* * * several hours later * * *". So look for that and read from that point forward if you just want to read the portion Yuki specifically recommended I share. The text above, I've provided as a courtesy to give you some footing for what we had discussed earlier in the evening.)

(Contains certain spoilers through Episode 04. Contains lots of heavy speculation by Talon about stuff as yet not revealed. Friendly reminder that I am avoiding spoilers myself for this series.)

Spoiler: show
Talon: I went into Episode 04 of Mekakucity Actors with low/neutral expectations, so I didn't think it was that bad. Certainly better than 02. But it looks like you and anyone else who'd gotten on board the hype train was sorely let down by it.

Yuki: It's probably more interesting to newbies. Lanturn got spoiled somewhat/

Talon: Do you feel Shaft botched it overall? Or was your complaint with them specific to their artsy fartsiness getting in the way of telling the story? iirc you accused them of messing it up, but I don't recall if it was clear *how* they messed it up. Maybe it wasn't clear because of spoilers you had to withhold. *shrug*

Yuki: I didn't like the animation.

Talon: The director for this episode(?) seemed to be very fond of abruptly cutting between frames of reference. Like, the camera would be on Hibiya's face ... then abruptly to Hiyori's ... then abruptly to Hibiya's

Yuki: I just thought it looked really bad/lazy. I mean, see the gif I posted. I didn't feel anything from the deaths.

Talon: Well, it was hard to for two reasons. A, when I saw the *first* loop, I thought it was a flashback, not a flash forward or continuation from where we'd just left off. So I figured that anything I was watching had already happened -- and thus come what may Hiyori would be okay. B, and much more importantly, Hiyori is a character whom I find difficult to feel sorry for. Like, I don't want her to *die*. But she's a pretty detestable person as presented.

Yuki: That's part of where I prefer the song format. Since it lets you draw your own conclusions about the characters. The fan-made PV portrayed their relationship a lot differently. Then when her canon persona was revealed fans were disappointed.

Talon: I noticed that in the post as well: you don't say "the PV portrayed _her_ a lot differently" but rather "the PV portrayed _their relationship_ a lot differently." Did the PV still portray her as a bit of a manipulative bitch?

Yuki: No, she was different too. I mean, she seemed more cheerful and friendly towards Hibiya.

Talon: Maybe Jin wanted to make it easier to justify Hibiya abandoning Hiyori for Momo. Assuming he even does or ever will, that is. It seems a lot of fans, from what little *I've* even picked up reading between the lines in the thread, want to pair those two together, if for no other reason than their run-in in Episode 02. Perhaps fans felt Hibiya was a bad young man for abandoning Hiyori for Momo. And so Jin wanted to rewrite the narrative to make Hibiya's actions seem better. *shrug* *speculation*

Yuki: The HibiMomo was revealed after Hiyori's personality was established. She's a little less obnoxious in the manga.

Talon: Well her personality was not established, you've just said it yourself, until Episode 04.

Yuki: But it was in the novels.

Talon: Oh, I see. I see what's happened now. I thought the anime sprung this on you, because my mind went from songs to anime. But you're right. It should go songs to novels to manga to anime.

Yuki: Right.

Talon: And of course it'd have become canon first in either the novels or the manga. Got it. Anyway, with that established then, the point is this -- you've always noted how Jin seems to favor Momo, and did you not tell me his favorite male character is Hibiya?

Yuki: No, his favorite male is Seto.

Talon: Oh, okay. Well, scratch half of what I was about to say. But what I can still say is, if Momo is his favorite girl then it makes sense to me that he wouldn't want fans to revile her as "the other woman" who came in between Hibiya and Hiyori. So if he can establish the narrative in such a way that a) he doesn't invalidate Hibiya's original feelings for Hiyori (i.e. he doesn't invalidate the canon of the song itself) but b) he clears the way for a Hibiya x Momo pairing, he's golden.

Still, I don't know that I like this. Hibiya didn't seem that interested in Momo. And despite the abuse he receives from Hiyori he is clearly head over heels in love with her. She's already done plenty that, were he the type to "snap out of it!" and realize that this is an abusive relationship he's entertaining, he would've abandoned her ages ago. The fact that he's stuck around still even though she's made it *clear* that she'll never return his feelings ... to me, it means that if the two are to separate permanently, it'll be because she abandons him / tells him not to follow, not because he chooses to quit chasing after her.

If that *ISN'T* the case, and if canonically Hibiya *does* "snap out of it" and is the one to dump her first, then to me that just feels like poor character writing. *shrug*

Yuki: It is kinda curious that she is so mean to Hibiya and seems like the type to abandon him, given what I know. There was a chapter written from her POV that I really liked, but probably won't make it into the animé.

Talon: I've assumed they were childhood friends. Don't go and tell me that they're brother and sister too. :P That would make Shaft's line where Hiyori tells Hibiya to try with his parents what she tried with hers (and he remarks that it won't work with his parents) one HUUUUUUUGE case of misdirection.

Yuki: It's not that.

Talon: As an outsider dodging ze spoilers, I will say this: I'm interested to see if Hiyori is a secret Kagerou who isn't a member of Kido's club. Like, I doubt it. But it will be interesting if it turns out that Hiyori has the red eyes too.

Yuki: It's interesting that she's featured so prominently in the ED.

Talon: Right. I agree. If she's utterly unimportant, then it's queer. If she's terribly important, then it's a huge clue that she is. Either way, it's interesting.

* * * several hours later * * *

Yuki: There was an easter egg in Hiyori's uncle's house for those who read the novels/manga.

Talon: *in before Hiyori's uncle is or is related to Momo's science teacher*

Yuki: ... Did they mention the teacher's name yet?

Talon: No, he's just been called Sensei. I think. Can't really be arsed to recheck Episode 02. If I was interested to check anything, it'd be Episode 04 to look for clues. ;p

*looks in all the picture frames*
*is expecting to find the sensei*
*finds THAT DAMN CAT instead*

Yuki: Wait, really?

Talon: No, I'm saying ... as like a joke, it would be funny if that happened.

Yuki: That damn cat.

Talon: 4m14s. Noticing preserved specimens in jars and skeletons of other animals. Seems ... sciencey. ;o

Yuki: SCIENCE

Talon: Thing is, she says here at ~5m10s that her uncle isn't going to be back for a few days and that he "never comes home from work". It gives the impression of a salaryman who has to travel abroad. Not of a science teacher at a high school. Not sure if it's Shaft being Shaft, but whoever this uncle is, he sure does own a lot of computer monitors and/or laptops.

Yuki: Could be Shaft.

Talon: "Uncle Kenjiro". So the uncle at least has a given name now.

Man, I am at 7m57s again already ... and there have been NO picture frames. :x Only thing I've seen in this house that even remotely looks like an identifying clue is the jarred specimens. Am beginning to wonder if that is the clue you had in mind. hahaha

Yuki: It makes more sense given some background. Kinda like the giant tuna sled in Remember11.

Talon: The giant tuna sled? O_o I remember a giant tuna in an ELEVATOR in Ever17. I don't remember a giant tuna SLED in Remember11.

Yuki: It was in one of the extra scenes I found trying to get 100% completion.

One thing that would probably make one of the major clues clearer is where having text descriptions comes in. It's something I theorized about early on (as did others) and turned out to be right.

Talon: 13m13s, the first possible new clue shows up, though it's unrelated to the uncle. Putting aside the indecipherable stained glass, there's something on the upper right-hand corner of the room.

Yuki: The clock? A really weird one.

Talon: Is that what that thing is? The thing is, it has seven hands (if it's a clock).

Yuki: Yeah, they keep cutting back to it.

Talon: And so what I was going to say is, it's possible that the number 7 is significant.

Yuki: That might just be Shaft's design.

Talon: Whether because the kids are stuck in a loop that lasts exactly one week, whether because two of the nine Kagerous dies, whatever. But given SHAFT *eye roll*, I have to wonder if that number of hands was arbitrarily selected or not.

Yuki: Isn't it 6?

Talon: I see three "on top" and four "on the bottom". Do you?

Yuki: I see 3 on top and 3 on bottom.

*** Yuki sent Clockthing.png ***

Yuki: You're talking about this?

Talon: That's from later. Look at the time I specifically told you. :P 13m13s. Yours is from 13m45s. In between those two time stamps, the clock is shown to have a moving hand. But then on the clock you provided, the camera stays fixed on it for a bit and the audience can see no movement of any hands. Indicating a) a hand's gone missing and/or b) time has frozen.

Yuki: Huh. Interesting. It's back to 7 later. Dunno whether it was deliberate or just a mistake.

Talon: Rewatching this Groundhog Day bit, I'm now left wondering (and I should probably bring this up in the thread) if Hiyori was experiencing the same exact thing as Hibiya. And so like ... the Hibiya that sees Hiyori die for the first time is analogous to the Hiyori for whom Hibiya dies. And vice versa. Because as the truck comes to hit her, she's smiling contentedly and mouths some words to him. And of course there's the role reversal with their hatred of summer. Initially, Hibiya says he doesn't mind it while Hiyori gravely says she hates it. Then later they swap. ARGH, SHAFT, YOU AND YOUR ARTSY FARTSYNESS GETTING IN THE WAY OF ME BEING ABLE TO TELL HOW MUCH IS ME INTELLIGENTLY SLEUTHING AND HOW MUCH IS ME BARKING UP THE WRONG TREES. >_<

Yuki: ^^;

Talon: And of course there's the red-eyed cat.

Yuki: That damn cat.

Talon: Crow-wise, noticed that he saw one crow the first time and now it's his second day experiencing this hell and he sees two crows on the way there.

17m02s. I had the CRAZIEST thought earlier. ^^; This will either make you laugh in the 99% likely case I am wrong or make you go WTF HOW DID YOU KNOW in the 1% chance I'm right. I noticed that the cat's eyes reminded me of Kano's (and Kido's when she does the similar narrow-slit eye thing as Kano does). So here I am wondering to myself, "What if this 'cat' is actually Kano and he's using his powers to make Hibiya and Hiyori see him as a cat instead of as a person?" Laughed at myself. Then 17m02s comes. And the cat's shadow on the ground ... looks like a hooded figure's. No cat ears. Shaft being artsy and Talon barking up the wrong tree? ^^; Or ...? ;o

Yuki: You should post these in the thread. They're interesting to read.

Talon: Do you mind if I copy and paste the bulk of these rather than rewriting? Would probably be easier that way.

Yuki: Go ahead.

Talon: And then yeah, 18m53s BIRDS EVERYWHERE. Implying he's been through this routine god knows how many times.

Yuki: In the song it says "decades". Although that could be a translation thing. Either way it's implied to be a long time.

Talon: Yeah, and here at 19m48s (or just before, technically) he says "I have to go" just as Hiyori did on Day 1. Their roles really have reversed. I got everything with Hibiya the first time, but I'm surprised I didn't notice the deal with Hiyori the first time. And the episode ends at 20m. And it's like, Already? :O

Yuki: Inorite. So many abrupt endings.

If that is far too much for you to read or even skim through, I can provide the less fun Cliff's notes version below.

Spoiler: show
1. When Yuki suggests that Hiyori's uncle's house contains a clue, Talon speculates that Hiyori's uncle is none other than Momo's science teacher.

2. While rewatching the Groundhog Day portion, Talon proposes a ludicrous theory that the cat might in fact be Kano based on the shape of the cat's irises and the cat's earless shadow which vaguely resembles a hooded figure.

3. While rewatching the Groundhog Day portion, Talon proposes the less ludicrous theory that Hiyori actually experienced the very same thing as Hibiya -- and that when Hibiya witnessed Hiyori die for the first time, that was her pulling the very same stunt that he would later pull when he attempted to break the cycle and save Hiyori's life.
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Old 05-10-2014, 01:08 PM   #39
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Arguably the most fanservice you'll ever get from Shin

Episode 5:
Spoiler: show
Man this episode was such a huge improvement to four. The characters all seemed real and realistic, and there was a whole lot of humor. Though, there was a lot of hints, and they were blatantly OBVIOUS. Like, they pretty much made one of the saddest and most plot relevant songs in the entire series moot because of this episode. Other than that, I'm curious on the loose ends they'll touch up on. Can't wait for the Yuukei Actor/Headphone Yesterday episode next week! We'll finally

Character spoilers
Spoiler: show
Learn about Ene and Konoha's past as Takane and Haruka, and how they're related to everyone else in the cast.


Also man, I did not expect them to reveal

Character spoilers, again
Spoiler: show
Ayano is Mekakushi-Dan Number 0. They also finally nam dropped her. So whee for her not being creepy scarf girl anymore
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Old 05-10-2014, 03:35 PM   #40
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Episode 05:

This was a nice episode that gets the main plotline back on track. A welcome change of pace after 04. (I'm sensing a pattern here...)

Spoiler: show

"Look Ma, I've made friends!" *sparkle*

First off: Shin stripping half-naked in Marry's bedroom. And prancing in a field of flowers... *facepalm*

After some amusement at his expense, Shintaro escapes and runs into Konoha. The poor cutie has no idea what the police is... *facepalm*


I can see why Shidu (one of the PV artists) nosebleeds over this adorable derp.

With that, we also get our first flash of a number of hints to be revealed this episode. I know I was worried about the slow pacing of the story, but I'm surprised at the speed major plot points are being dropped now. Like Lost, I'm a little concerned this will render the impact of later episodes less powerful, but I respect if the author wanted to present things this way in the animé.

We cut back to the main members of the Mekakushi Dan, and after some more banter, things take a somber turn when the late "founding commander" is brought up. (Come on, CR, Kano was calling the commander "dumb", admit it.)

Back to Shintaro and Konoha, we see Hibiya and Hiyori again... Getting kidnapped? And Konoha goes into RAEG MODE and shows off superhuman abilities. (Clearly SHAFT would rather spend their budget on him. I'm sure Shidu approves.) Then a truck comes and SUDDENLY SNAKES EVERYWHERE.


You don't want to mess with this guy. He will rip you to shreds.

Closing out the episode is one more big reveal when the gang reaches the commander's grave. We finally get the name of the scarf girl we've been seeing: Ayano. Not only was she associated with the three original members of the Dan, but Ene seems to know her as well...


I feel at this point I should probably come clean with something I've been hiding since I was afraid it would give too much away early on, but if the animé wants to play the "commander" card at this time there's really no point in keeping it a secret anymore. There was in fact a 10th character CM featuring Ayano.

Last edited by lilboocorsola; 05-11-2014 at 06:31 PM.
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Old 05-10-2014, 08:20 PM   #41
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My Imomouto can't be this cute.
Episode 5

A welcoming change from Episode 4. Hopefully this doesn't equate to even episodes being terrible and odd numbers being their saving grace.

Spoiler: show
So wow, this episode had lots of reveals. For example, the scarf girl = Ayano. No huge surprises for me, since I watched every Character CM lots of time.

So the first part is Shintaro stripping to his underwear to beg Ene, who requested him to do so, to tell him info. Then Marry comes in and FLYING LIQUID IS A GOGOGO. She screams. Opening.

So this episode had its fair share of comedy. Kano vs Ene was hilarious, and Shintaro's secret folder exposed and used as weapons, while Kano uses Marry's poem. He would've went on to use Kido's stuff if she didn't kick him in the face hard. Ouch. Also, ED Insert while Momo threw up the phone. Hilarious =p

Shintaro's unwillingness to join the Mekameka Dan. Com'on, isn't your sister and your pet robot joining enough of a persuasion that they aren't trying to kill you or something. Though it's understandable - he's been locked in for two years and he doesn't seem to have any eye-power, so it's no wonder he's suspicious. I don't even know how he didn't get convinced by Momo's eyes though. Shintaro is weird.

As the rest of the Mekakushi Dan move off, unfortunately due to Shintaro leaving the Amusement Park plan was cancelled, they were planning to visit the grave of the 'founder' of Mekakushi Dan.

On the other hand, Shintaro meets Konoha. Konoha super strength doe. And HUGE SNAKE. Not sure if SHAFT or real.

Anyways, back to the Mekakushi Dan. One thing that struck me was Ayano being dead. It came as a surprise to me, because I thought the Ayano girl from the PV would be dead. But at the same time, she was 'alive' talking to Shintaro? Is it a dream? Seems confusing.

So apparently...

Ayano knows Shintaro. Ayano knows Ene. Ayano knows Hibiya (?). Ayano knows Kido/Seto/Kano. This brings up a huge question mark - how do they all relate?

Ayano - Ene: "Ayano-chan" suggests they could be pretty close. And with next episode introducing new characters, I think we might be able to get Ene's past and how she relates to Ayano - especially when a girl, strikingly similar with Ene. Idk, Takane and Ene. Possibly a short form?

Ayano - Shintaro: Nothing to say on that one. Apparently Ayano remembers Shintaro but Shintaro doesn't. And he forgets their meetings (?)

Ayano - Hibiya: They don't see all that familiar at all. But with Ep 4 being so confusing and not linking up to Ep 5 it's eh...

Also, in the preview card for Ep 6. There's a Konoha and something under the red line. Perhaps this is Ene and Konoha? I have no idea, but the voices do sound pretty similar.

Well, a pretty great episode that is. A lot of comedy and yet introduced some suspense. Let's hope Ep 6 will be good. The even numbered curse shouldn't continue.
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Old 05-12-2014, 04:52 PM   #42
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Episode 05:

Spoiler: show
This week's episode had an annoying first third, an acceptable middle third, and a strong better final third. While I'm still optimistic that Mekakucity Actors will prove to be a wonderful experience, I haven't really felt it so far. At least, certainly not to the extent that several of you seem to have. Maybe it's one of those things where if you're a preexisting fan of the franchise then getting to see it animated is so much more kickass for you than it is for the rest of us. Maybe it's one of those things where teen identity (and all that that entails) has to really resonate with you for the show to be powerful. I dunno. It's not enough to throw a teen suicide here or a divorce there at me to make the show meaningful. The only thing keeping me engaged is the threadbare mystery side of things. If that weren't there and you guys weren't there either, then this is probably the point where I'd politely table the show for other pursuits.


Marry was pretty cute this week. Like, not in the "nauseatingly unnaturally cute" sense of Episode 03 but in the "charmingly cute" sense that I imagine Jin and Shaft have been aiming for since Day One. While the part with her throwing the tray of iced tea up into the air was a bit of an eye roll inducer, almost everything else with Marry this week was satisfying. I loved both her own sense of modesty and naivety about adult things (as depicted in such scenes as her reaction to the half-naked Shintarou) as well as other characters' reactions to her naive understanding of sexual concepts (as depicted in the scene, pictured above, where Marry asks Seto, "Being tied up makes you a pig? ^-^").

It still isn't clear what Marry's relation to Seto is. Is she his sister or half-sister? Is she his cousin? Is she his childhood sweetheart? Childhood best friend? Childhood stranger? No idea. It's made clear(er) this episode that Seto likely has feelings for Marry, but it's still not clear what the specifics of Marry's joining the Blindfold Brigade were. What is clear is that even if Marry is a member of Seto's biological family, the two did not remain together throughout their early years: Seto was placed in an orphanage at some point (where he met Kido and Kano) while Marry was either placed in a separate orphanage or else was adopted quickly. Who knows. We'll just have to wait and see.


This week's episode sees Konoha being the most interesting he's been yet. Summing it up succinctly:
  1. he instinctively seems to recognize something about Shintarou despite not remembering who Shintarou is
  2. he has superhuman strength when people he cares about are in danger
  3. Konoha's character design isn't just Shaft being Shaft -- he actually does look like a robot to people on the outside
First, the bit where he dashes over towards Shin. Shaft obscures whether Konoha subconsciously recognizes Shintarou himself, whether he recognizes something about Shin (like red eyes, maybe?), or whether he was just bolting over towards Shin because he would have done the same to anyone who was nearby. But I think it's implied that Konoha and Shintarou have met before -- and not just because Shintarou makes a small deal about remembering the name "Konoha" either. Konoha as a character seems to fast be evolving from "the amnesiac of the group" to, more socratically, "the only amnesiac of a group of amnesiacs who recognizes he has amnesia." Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I'm definitely starting to pick up some Endless Eight (Suzumiya Haruhi) vibes from this story.

Konoha's powers seem to throw a wrench into the works for my "everyone's powers tie in to vision in some way" theory. I mean, Seto's had already thrown a wrench into them too, but at least his I could try to weasel out of through wordplay. Konoha's just flat out seem to have nothing to do with vision unless we're going to be told "He only can have super strength against targets in his line of sight" ... which, if that is the case, is kind of a dumb way of trying to justify that the power still ties back in to vision. ^^; It's superhuman strength. Period. Let's not kid ourselves that it has anything to do with eyes. ^^;

That is -- assuming these even were his powers. It's still not clear whether Konoha is even human or not. He's been acting catatonic since the day we met him, behavior which we often see in textbook robots in fiction. Then you add in his electronic decals all over his face and the "headphones" over where his ears should be. Then you add in how his eyes look less natural than the others' eyes. Then you add in his displays of superhuman strength, so strong he can keep a minivan from moving an inch forward despite putting on the gas, so strong he can crunch the rear door with his bare hands. Is Konoha a human Hercules? Or is Konoha an android? It remains to be seen, but consider me officially advancing the android theory at this point.


The girl with the red scarf finally gets a name. Ayano. She's also revealed to be the founding member of the Blindfold Brigade. Someone whom Kido, Kano, and Seto all knew. Someone who likely knew Shintarou. And someone who ended her own life two years ago according to Kido. It'll be interesting to see what Ayano's relationship was, more specifically, to each of the characters in this series. It'll be interesting to learn why she killed herself. (Was it because her powers were driving her mad? Causing her pain? Was it because of torment from peers at school? Family at home? What?) I can't help but to want Ayano to not really be dead -- for her "suicide" to have been something she had to do to get herself from Dimension A to Dimension B and that once she assists Shintarou in completing some interdimensional mission she's going to reappear in Dimension A once again. Probably naive of me to hope for such things. We'll just have to wait and see then why she died and whether the circumstances of her suicide make us angry at her, feel sorry for her, or what.

Ene's recognition of Ayano seems to be soft confirmation that Shintarou knows Ayano outside of the dreams he's been having recently. Of course, it could also be the case that Shintarou doesn't know Ayano yet (if this series does weird things with time travel *shrug*) and that Ene does. For now, I'm assuming Ene recognized Ayano because Shintarou has pictures of her on his computer, thus signifying that Shintarou knew Ayano before she died.
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Old 05-12-2014, 10:23 PM   #43
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In my haste to publish my post earlier today, there were a number of things I neglected to mention. Some I had intended to include in the post; others, I'd recognized at the time but had decided against including; and still others I didn't realize until later. Some things I couldn't have included at the time because I didn't connect the dots fully until I read some of the things you guys said.1 Well, in this double post I'd like to try and cover as many of those neglected areas as possible. So sit back, relax, and enjoy Part II of my thoughts on Episode 05.

Spoiler: show

I mentioned in my original post that I found Marry cute in this episode, but I neglected to talk in detail about one particular moment that I'd found quite cute. It was the part where Kano starts reciting a poem of Marry's about sunfish. Up until this point, I really hadn't been enjoying the episode, I'll be quite honest with you. ^^; It'd felt like a huge annoying waste of time, like the worst aspects of Ene and Momo comedy rolled into one. But the idea of a world overrun with sunfish .... I thought it was both cute and absurd. It reminded me of my own daydreams. I liked how it showed an added dimension to Marry that could take pages to discuss but was transferred into our brains in just a few short seconds: the idea that Marry can rationalize death. The idea that Marry -- sweet, sweet Marry -- is a gentle soul who doesn't wish death upon anything, not even ugly sunfish (which she considers cute! ), yet realizes that if nothing ever died, then the world would soon become overrun with lifeforms. Thus Marry rationalizes the innate "goodness" of such a superficially obvious evil as death.

We haven't had any signs in a long time that would indicate that these children are immortal, but I'll go ahead and throw out there that if down the road there comes a time where we're informed that the children are indeed immortal in one way or another, this fish poem will gain an added dimension. For it will then serve as a scene which hints at the melancholy the children suffer from their immortality.


This next talking point was how I had originally intended to end my post. But as I was wrapping up my post and was asking myself, "Is that it? Have I included everything?", this obvious easter egg of Shaft's completely slipped my mind. Minutes later, I was kicking myself for having left this out of the post.

So what is it? Well, the episode ends with a very obvious visual clue. The graveyard's tombstones are arranged in twelve pie slices of roughly equal size and shape. There are two shadows in the scene, one longer, the other shorter. It's very clear what it is meant to be: a clock. And the most important clue of all comes from what the shadows are doing:

The shadow representing the minute hand is clearly moving counterclockwise.

Given the opening scene of this series ... given the many scenes of this series which have taken place inside of that clock tower, it seems inevitable that time will play a key role in the evolution of this plot. And Shaft's latest clue for us, left in plain sight at the end of Episode 05, is the most obvious sign yet that the children may be stuck in some sort of temporal loop, that time may be going backwards, that one or more of the children may be time travelers, so on and so forth. Some sort of phenomenon having to do with time.

The fact that Ayano's death has been introduced ... and that it was a suicide, no less ... it makes me wonder if this story is going to take the direction of trying to prevent her death (or the events which caused it). And if they're stuck in a time loop as a result. And if the only way out is to either a) accept her death and move on or else b) successfully prevent her from dying and move onto a new timeline.


After I submitted my original post, I read your guys' replies. I also went back through my screencaps and examined them more closely, noticing many of Shaft's artsy farsty clues which had escaped my attention when I watched the episode. In the sneak peek artwork for next week's episode (pictured above; left), we have what looks like an electrical signal near Konoha on the bottom left. Sort of like a pseudo-EKG. And then way earlier in the episode, we have this easter egg (?): a bookcase in Momo's(?) bedroom (pictured above; right) that, when emptied of its books, looks just like the electrical EKG-esque pattern seen near Konoha in the sneak peek. It's clearly not a real-life EKG, so it's probably some sort of other electrical signal. Which leads us down an interesting rabbit hole ...

Remember how in my first post I mentioned how there were signs that seemed to indicate that Konoha may not be human. Add this one to the list. I'm wondering if the pseudo-EKG symbol shown is meant to represent "a robot's heartbeat" and if its reappearance in the form of the bookshelf during Episode 05 is intended as a clue to draw our attention to it.


Another thing I forgot to mention in my first post because I was so focused on plot analysis instead of art analysis was shadows. This, like the clock, was one of the things I'd actually intended to write about in the post but forgot about come time to submit. And while Kano's shadows jumped out at me while I watched the episode, finding them afterward proved difficult. I could have sworn that there were one or two scenes where Shaft depicted Kano looking pretty normal but then he had a shadow that looked rather sinister, yet this (above) was the closest I could find in my gallery of screenshots. There was one false positive later in the episode where Kano faceplants on the sidewalk after Momo completely ignores him and asks Kido a question, but that one wasn't particularly sinister either anyway. I dunno. If someone else knows what I'm talking about and can find the shadow (or shadows) in question, that would be great.


Speaking of sinister, what was up with Kido's smile? O_o When Momo asks about the club's founder, the smile Kido gives looks really scary. It's like the sort of smile you'd expect to see on the sea witch Ursula's face as the little mermaid Ariel asks her questions that betray her willingness to give Ursula what she wants. I don't mean to read into it too much. But I also figure that with the boatload of easter eggs Shaft is hiding left and right in this series, any decision they make in animation is a conscious decision and thus we shouldn't underestimate the importance of anything, however minor it may seem to be.


Lanturn made an observation about the name Takane that was in the sneak peek for next week and started talking about Ene's alter ego or some such. I hadn't picked up on this name or the possibility that the girl in the sneak peek could have anything to do with Ene when I watched, but the idea that there is a human behind Ene has been on my radar since the beginning. (See earlier posts in this thread; I believe it was in response to Blaze.) Looking back at the screencaps, here I noticed what appears to be a jackpot picture: what appears to be Ayano, the girl in the sneak peek for next week's episode, and either Shintarou or Konoha. They're in what looks like a classroom setting and their clothes appear to be school uniforms for boys and girls. Given Ene's demonstrated familiarity with Ayano at the end of the episode and given that the mystery girl in this picture and Ene have roughly the same hair style as one another, I think it's fair to upgrade my position on Ene's knowledge of Ayano from "she recognizes her from Shintarou's computer" to "she knew Ayano personally." I think it's also fair to say that the theory Blaze, I, and other fans have been entertaining -- that Ene has a human creator who is involved in this plot somehow -- is correct. If correct, then what remains to be seen is to what extent Ene is an artificial intelligence who acts on her own and to what extent Ene is nothing more than an overglorified avatar for her creator. Is it "Ene" who has formed a relationship with Shintarou over these past two years? Or is it the girl in this photograph? Also, what relationship if any did the girl in the photograph have with Shintarou before Ayano died?

I mentioned that the boy in the photo is either Shintarou or Konoha. Well, see for yourself. It's hard to tell, isn't it? His eyes, mouth, and towering height holler "KONOHA!" while his hair color and Shintarou's established relation with Ayano suggest that it could be Shintarou. My inclination is towards Konoha right now and I'll tell you why. First off, if the girl in the sneak peek is indeed Ene's creator (and/or Ene herself), then it stands to reason that her foil -- the dark-haired boy on the right -- is Konoha's creator and/or the inspiration for Konoha's design. Like, maybe Ene's creator had a crush on Konoha and created an android in his image. Maybe she created Ene to get closer to her crush. Except ...

... see, this is where things start to get really weird and mindfucky, and it's hard to tell to what extent I am barking five yards up the wrong tree and to what extent I'm nailing it. The thing is ... I can't help but wonder about Shintarou's and Konoha's relationship. Was it really an accident that Shintarou ran into Konoha this week? Is it really a coincidence that Konoha seemed so determined to approach Shintarou? That Shintarou seemed to remember the name "Konoha" even though he couldn't remember having ever met anyone like Konoha before? I can't help but to wonder ... what if the mystery woman (Takane?) created Ene ... and what if:
  1. Shintarou created Konoha?
  2. the mystery woman created both Ene and Konoha, and created Konoha in Shintarou's image?
  3. the mystery woman, having a crush on Shintarou, used Ene to get closer to the real Shintarou and used Konoha in the meanwhile as a substitute for the real Shintarou?
Something else: if that is in fact Ene's creator in the picture above, then we may have a love triangle between Ayano, Konoha/Shintarou, and Ene's creator. What if Konoha's amnesia has something to do with Ayano's death? What if the reason for Ene's existence has something to do with Ene's creator having gotten very depressed over Ayano's death and holing herself up inside of her house? Questions. Questions that will want answers in the coming weeks.


Two final things. First, the mysterious grade on Ayano's paper. Tell me: what do you guys think the first number (the one currently on our right and, presumably, upside down) is supposed to be? I'll be damned if I can tell what it should be, although my best guess would be a very poorly written 5. It's strange: the Japanese know very well how to write 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 from what I understand, so I don't know why that mark to the left of (to our right of) the 6/9 looks so unlike any of the ten Arabic numerals.

Second, and perhaps more intriguing, the mystery of Ayano's school uniform. While most Japanese schools have different uniforms for the seasons of spring/fall, summer, and winter, typically those three uniforms will match in color and general design principles. They're not usually completely different. Yet Ayano, in the picture two pictures above, is shown wearing the same clothes as the mystery girl -- a red plaid skirt, a pale yellow cardigan, and (presumably) a white blouse underneath. Contrast this with what she's shown wearing in the picture above: a navy blue sailor school uniform with white stripes, a uniform so textbook it seems plucked straight out of the pages of an encyclopedia. I have a hard time believing that the same school would have Ayano dress in one of those uniforms for one season and the other of the uniforms for another season. So either:
  1. Ayano transferred schools and so she has two different school uniforms, one for each school
  2. one of the Ayanos is fake
  3. one of the Ayanos' school uniforms is imaginary / was not worn by the real Ayano
  4. Shaft's art director is behaving irresponsibly
  5. other
It may not be much, but it's something to consider considering how much effort Shaft seems to go to to use art as a means of foreshadowing or hinting at information to be revealed in the future.

1 And by "some guys" I pretty much mean just Lanturn since Lost did not say much that was safe for TV viewers to read while Yuki didn't say much that informed my thoughts here, I think. Sorry, guys. ^^;
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Old 05-13-2014, 12:13 AM   #44
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Wow, Talon, that's a fairly great list of spotting easter eggs, haha. I didn't notice so many of those things. Do you have red eyes? =p

Spoiler: show
Well to be perfectly honest, I think our enjoyment mainly comes from the hype and the Skype group I guess xd It made up a good portion of our anticipation and excitement and haipu for the series. The series itself so far isn't too shabby either, so it wasn't a bunch of people hyping over a terrible anime.

Anyways, I think time is probably an important part in the series, with hints dropping like bomb everywhere. The clock-graveyard was a significant easter egg, while Episode 4 Kagerou Days had Hibiya/Hiyori subplot.

Speaking of "Kagerou Days", I decided to try spotting eggs myself. At the beginning, when Shintaro/Ayano were talking to each other, the background was... clouds of greyness and a general ominous mood. Kagerou meant heat haze, and I google'd Heat Haze, since I wasn't particularly sure as to how a heat haze would look like. Some actually looked okay, but a few were grey and hazy in the air... like the background of the scene. So I think the Kagerou part of Kagerou Days would play a greater significance.

Also, there was one scene where it said "August 15th". I remembered the song "Kagerou Days" from Ep 4, where it started with mentioning how it was noon on August 15th. Later in the scene where Ene crosses out "Amusement Park" on the day August 15th, fully supporting that Episode 5 did happen on August 15th. This is rather confusing, since Ep 4's insert song also mentioned August 15th, except at noon. When we see Hibiya/Hiyori again, they were both together, yet both were alive, despite Hibiya throwing himself in front of the truck for Hiyori. How did he managed to get out of there without even like a bruise or something ^^; Unless the song means moot canon-wise, I find this confusing.

Next - when Konoha jumped on Shintaro, there was a classroom scene where Ayano/Takane/Whoever is in. I'm guessing whoever is Konoha, since the scene wouldn't make sense if Shintaro, the 'main character' at that moment, was the one in the scene. Whatever it is, I noticed how the characters didn't disappear at the same time. Takane went first, then the guy, then the how thing whited out for Shintaro. I'm not sure if this was something negligible, or it's an easter egg in disguised.

Also I'm starting to wonder how relevant "Sensei" is to the plot. He hasn't appeared since Ep 2 and it seems he has eyes power.


just some finds.=p
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Old 05-13-2014, 12:15 AM   #45
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I just watched episode 5 myself. Not really spoilers, but obligatory spoiler box: (episode 5 spoilers)

Spoiler: show
The first part of it was umm....the anime equivalent of scratching a chalk board with a rusty nail. I didn't care for it in the least. The rest of it was okay. I do like seeing things piece together.

I probably don't think enough to give any worth a crap input other than general impressions. Also I'm lazy.
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Old 05-13-2014, 07:38 PM   #46
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Disclaimer: I am terrible at articulating these kind of things and this will likely come off as a jumbled mess.

Alright so, after talking to Yuki and becoming a little more confident in my thoughts/process, I've come to two main conclusions.

1. Momo's Science Teacher is Ayano's father.
2. He is researching the eye powers to some extent and has links to most if not all of the Mekakushi Dan.

For the first part, my evidence is somewhat slim. My initial thought which spurred the idea was remembering that Ayano's family fostered Kido, Seto and Kano - this part all came together in a bit of a jumbled mess. I realised from the flashback that it was likely that Shintaro/Ene/Konoha all knew Ayano before the happenings of the anime, meaning immediately only Hibiya/Kido/Seto/Kano/Marry/Momo needed to slot into this thought of mine. Momo is evident - the dude is currently her teacher, and he seems to have a more powerful understanding of her misfortunes - it's all well and good saying "I know you're an idol!", but his understandings seems to run deeper - almost as if he understands her eye power itself. This was the main thought trigger, if you would. After realising the connections that the two groups of Ayano/Kido/Seto/Kano and Ayano/Shintaro/Ene/Konoha may well have, I kinda forced into the equation our Science teacher being Ayano's father, since it was a convenient fit and a nice way to slot everything together - bearing in mind here I was somewhat obsessed with the guy's importance to the plot, I think this makes sense.

Anyway, after coming to Yuki with this, she nudged me to notice something else.



See those red things on his shirt? They don't seem consistent with the shirt design, right? Clearly they've been clipped onto his shirt. Something strikingly similar appears clipped to one of our most recently revealed characters.



The clips Ayano wears strike said resemblance. Would it be so ridiculous? A grieving father, distraught after the suicide of his daughter, begins to wear a simple memento on his person?

So that's point one. Now for point two.

I've already established that through Ayano, our teacher friend can be considered to be linked to Shintaro, Ene, Konoha, Kido, Kano and Seto. He currently teaches Momo. This only leaves Marry and Hibiya - the former of which we know was introduced to the Mekakushi Dan following Ayano's death. This somewhat negates her necessary connection - she is arguably as connected as the rest by being known to the rest of the Dan. Hibiya is the big problem. Now, this part is tenuous, so you'll need to make your own judgement. However, I recall someone mentioned that in the apartment which Hiyori and Hibiya reside is a scientific sample, which again, some of you considered to be an Easter egg indicating that Hiyori's mysterious uncle is none other than our resident Science teacher. Well guys - there's your link. Hiyori and Ayano are cousins, and science dude is linked to Hibiya through Hiyori primarily, and the rest of the Dan upon his joining. As for my notion of him experimenting on eye powers, this stems entirely from
  • The fact he is shown in the OP to have red eyes, indicating he may have a power of his own.
  • The fact he seems to be a man of science - he is always shown wearing his lab coat, which I personally believe may well be of significance.

This has been ramblings time with me, Connor. Thanks for tuning in!

Ohgod this is so poorly articulated.
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Old 05-13-2014, 07:48 PM   #47
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Connor View Post
Spoiler: show
However, I recall someone mentioned that in the apartment which Hiyori and Hibiya reside is a scientific sample, which again, some of you considered to be an Easter egg indicating that Hiyori's mysterious uncle is none other than our resident Science teacher. Well guys - there's your link. Hiyori and Ayano are cousins, and science dude is linked to Hibiya through Hiyori primarily, and the rest of the Dan upon his joining.
I'm just gonna clarify this since CR made a translation mistake:

Spoiler: show
Hiyori is not Kenjirou's niece. She just stated she's a relative of his.
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Old 05-13-2014, 07:49 PM   #48
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It would be nice if you said how far into the series your post contains spoilers for. Right off the bat you've made a claim based on supporting evidence ... that has not been revealed yet. First I've ever heard of it. So ... yeah.

The relevant bit, at which point I immediately quit reading your post:

Spoiler: show
Quote:
For the first part, my evidence is somewhat slim. My initial thought which spurred the idea was remembering that Ayano's family fostered Kido, Seto and Kano
Where the hell did you get this idea from? This hasn't been said in the anime and is the first I've heard of it. Because of the way you say it, I assume it's an unarguable fact. But all we've been told so far -- hell, we just learned it this episode -- is that Kido, Kano, and Seto were orphans at an "orphanage" together. I assumed, naturally, that this orphanage was an actual orphanage somewhere in the world, a building dedicated to housing abandoned children. Nowhere was it said, and never did I assume, that Ayano's family fostered these children. What was said was that Ayano came into contact with the children while they were orphans. Nothing more was said. This left me wondering whether Ayano ...
  1. was an orphan herself
  2. had a part-time job at an orphanage in town
  3. other
But now you come forward and give away that it's Other and you explain specifically how and why it's Other.

No harm intended, Connor, so no hard feelings. But let's try to be more careful going forward, guys.


EDIT: It's been brought to my attention that your "spoiler" was stated verbatim at 15:14. My mistake. I guess I completely misunderstood the scene when I watched it.

Last edited by Talon87; 05-13-2014 at 08:00 PM.
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Old 05-13-2014, 08:30 PM   #49
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So with that misunderstanding out of the way ... your post!

(Spoilers through Episode 05)

Spoiler: show
I don't understand how you make the leap from "science man" to "Ayano's father," and so until you pointed to the visual Easter egg, I wasn't really convinced by your theory. I mean, it definitely sounded intriguing, but I wasn't anywhere near convinced. Kind of surprised Yuki felt she should confirm you were right and nudge you in the direction of the imagery you posted.

That stated, the imagery you posted seems to be incontrovertible proof of the theory. Given how much this studio has proven they love their visual easter eggs, I cannot accept for even one second that it is a coincidence that the science teacher has two red clips on his clothes that look identical to the two red hair clips in Ayano's hair. While it doesn't prove that he's Ayano's father (conceivably he could be her uncle or even her older brother), that would seem to me to be the most likely bet too. A grieving father keeps a memento of his daughter with him.

So. Some questions now going forward.

Q1. How many people in the world have these special powers?

Q2. If there are others besides the science teacher and the Blindfold Brigade members, then did the science teacher know about any of them prior to his daughter's suicide?

Q3. What is the science teacher doing overseas/out of town and does it tie back in to the special powers of the red-eyed children? Or does it have more to do with his daughter's death?

Q4. Did Ayano really commit suicide? What can her father tells us about this?

Q5. If she did, then why did Ayano commit suicide? Did her father see it coming?

Q6. Are Kido, Kano, Seto, or any of the other brigade members aware that the science teacher has red eyes too?

Q7. What are the teacher's powers, if any?

Q8. Are the red eyes a genetic thing? (After all, Kido seemed pretty confident that Shintarou would share in Momo's powers ...) If so, does that explain at least in part the connection between Ayano's having red eyes and the science teacher having red eyes?

Q9. Where is Ayano's mother?

I could probably list off a boatload more, but I'm being nagged by a comment Yuki made so I need to reply to it. ^^;

Quote:
Originally Posted by lilbluecorsola View Post
I'm just gonna clarify this since CR made a translation mistake:

Spoiler: show
Hiyori is not Kenjirou's niece. She just stated she's a relative of his.
In Episode 04 at around the 5-minute mark (I'm paused on 5m17s right now), Hiyori specifically refers to him as:

Spoiler: show
Oji-san, "Uncle"

The problem with this, of course, is that:

Spoiler: show
The word can either be used to mean one's biological uncle or it can be used to refer to an older male to whom one isn't related -- and whom one might not even know! In Japanese, the speaker might use oji-san to refer to a friend's father, usually when one is close to that person (and thus he is like an uncle, hence the usage). They use it in some places where in English we use "mister". (Not "Mister {Name}," but just plain "mister" as in, "Excuse me, mister, but can you tell me where the nearest exit is?")

The thing is, though, the way Hiyori uses the word tonally and contextually strongly implies that he's her biological uncle. So I don't fault CR in the slightest for getting this wrong if it is in fact wrong. I would have translated it as "uncle"/"Uncle" myself unless there are clues elsewhere in the episode which give away that he's not her uncle but rather her best friend's dad, her benefactor, some strange old man she decided to shack up with, etc.

At around the 6m40s mark when Hiyori talks to Konoha, you are right that she doesn't claim to be the niece of "Uncle Kenjirou" despite what CrunchyRoll's subtitles say. She says she's his shinseki or relative. So she confirms that she's related to Kenjirou by blood but does not confirm that she is his niece. The word for niece would be 姪 mei and it's nowhere to be found.

Man, though. Rewatching portions of Episode 04 to verify her word choices reminds me of just what a mega bitch Hiyori was. ^^; Poor Hibiya. What a girl to fall for.
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Old 05-13-2014, 08:43 PM   #50
lilboocorsola
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
In Episode 04 at around the 5-minute mark (I'm paused on 5m17s right now), Hiyori specifically refers to him as:

Spoiler: show
Oji-san, "Uncle"

The problem with this, of course, is that:

Spoiler: show
The word can either be used to mean one's biological uncle or it can be used to refer to an older male to whom one isn't related -- and whom one might not even know! In Japanese, the speaker might use oji-san to refer to a friend's father, usually when one is close to that person (and thus he is like an uncle, hence the usage). They use it in some places where in English we use "mister". (Not "Mister {Name}," but just plain "mister" as in, "Excuse me, mister, but can you tell me where the nearest exit is?")

The thing is, though, the way Hiyori uses the word tonally and contextually strongly implies that he's her biological uncle. So I don't fault CR in the slightest for getting this wrong if it is in fact wrong. I would have translated it as "uncle"/"Uncle" myself unless there are clues elsewhere in the episode which give away that he's not her uncle but rather her best friend's dad, her benefactor, some strange old man she decided to shack up with, etc.

At around the 6m40s mark when Hiyori talks to Konoha, you are right that she doesn't claim to be the niece of "Uncle Kenjirou" despite what CrunchyRoll's subtitles say. She says she's his shinseki or relative. So she confirms that she's related to Kenjirou by blood but does not confirm that she is his niece. The word for niece would be 姪 mei and it's nowhere to be found.

Man, though. Rewatching portions of Episode 04 to verify her word choices reminds me of just what a mega bitch Hiyori was. ^^; Poor Hibiya. What a girl to fall for.
Spoiler: show
I heard "oji-san" too. But like you said it might not literally mean he's her uncle. And I know for a fact he's not, so I'm putting it out there now. It doesn't make a huge difference (well, it sorta does symbolically), but just thought I'd make that clear.


Also regarding her bitchiness, I went back to the manga and reread her portions of it, and man she was so much cuter there. ;; I actually thought she was pretty awesome in a way for...

Manga spoilers:

Spoiler: show
Chasing off Momo's obsessed fans. Her dominant attitude comes in handy!
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