Tag: Episode 19

Animini: That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime -Episode 19- Charybdis

Steam Powered Salutations and engine sounds driving out my frustrations. Slime has been in a slump during this whole Charybdis mini-arc and in this episode we get the finale. One big final battle filled with cool visuals and people making their last stand.. Let’s close this arc off in style… or turn Charybdis in Sin from Final Fantasy X and have the OP character that is NOT the main character oneshot it..that will close it off as well. The weird thing is .. I kinda like that it went this way.. but also not?!

The Summary

Rimuru’s troops fight Charybdis and the Megalodon in this episode. Along with some troops sent by Gazel Dwargo on Pegasi the final battle goes relatively smoothly showing how far everyone has come along. Turning those Megalodon into mince meat within the first four minutes of the episode. Only Gobta’s group of tiny goblins  struggles and a disappointed master looks onto him, finishing the creature off. Shion, Ranga, Souhei and the Pegasus Knights take down the other Megalodon and Souhei is called a dreamboat again. I love how into him Rimuru is still and he is an insanely capable guy!   When everything is said and done and the sharks lie in defeat Sin.. I mean Charbdis is beginning to shoot it’s scales at people swarming them and cutting them up.   It is time for Rimuru to step in.

Rimuru fights Charybdis on his own but doesn’t manage to do enough damage because this monster has “ultra” regeneration.  Rimuru uses a new ability called gluttony to absorb all the cells and the group now can go for all out attacks… which is skipped.  We see people laying on the floor all tired out and Rimuru guesses that they did no more than 30% damage to  the thing. The monster yells the name Milim in frustration and Rimuru realises the thing is not here for him but for Milim.. seeing that Phobio is inside he now asks Milim to join the frey and take it down carefully.  Trying to save Phobio.. she one shots it and saves Phobio and Demon Lord Carrion shows up t o take back his apprentice.. after shoving his head through the floor hard.  He seems like a swell guy and calls himself the king of all beasts and happily enters a non aggression pact with Rimuru. Milim is happy she did Milim stuff. So all is well that ends well.

The Positives

By the brief summary and some critical lines you may have already noticed I was not the biggest fan of this episode, but in fairness.. I do like this episode best in the current mini arc. There are lots of satisfying actions and Milim is actually fun in this episode and USED for what she is set up to be used for. I like how she is eager to fight and the irony of Rimuru denying it from her because he suspects the creature is after him. Rimuru has been very central and this form of “arrogance”  is somewhat entertaining. I don’t like it from his angle..  but more on that later. I do like this episode from Milims angle though.. her apathy and not caring if people die is something I kind of enjoy! She can sleep while peoples life are in danger.. because Rimuru orders her to stand down. It’s on him.. and because of this weakness on his side I really liked it as a positive on hers.  I also quite like how Charbdis who is said to have the strength of a Demon Lord gets squished so easily.. showing that that analogy might be true.. but demon lords vary so much in power.. it does not say anything. I do enjoy that kind of power scaling. Especially since RImuru was not good enough to face it. It implies higher stakes later on.

I really enjoyed a lot of the fight scenes.. though most of the truly satisfying action was against the Megalodons instead of against Sin.. I mean Charybdis. Glutonny was sweet to see as well and Carrion’s raw physical strength also had a nice impact. I was not bored this episode. Shion Souhei and Ranga making a stand against the scales wasn’t bad either.. so in terms of events.. all of them provided ample entertainment.  Milim’s final attack was a bit lackluster.. but hey she was holdhing back so  that actually works for me.. it can be lackluster if it’s meant to be I guess. Though it did not feel satisfying.. I can live with this .. I think!  The fact that Clayman is being outed as the possible instigator in this event is also interesting and will help drive the plot further. So there is excitement on both a visual and narrative level. However.. there is a big problem.. with the engine that drives this episode.

The Negatives

Where this show really fails for me is with consequences.. there are non.. for no one. If Rimuru  was not in this episode nothing would have really changed..okay Phobio might be dead.. but he would not because that is not how this show is written. Rimuru makes a tactical error in this episode assuming it is him the calamity creature is after.. as a result HE wants to be the one to deal with it. I already think this is a bit out of character for RImuru because the entire idea of all these alliances and bonds and stuff is so he can keep everyone safe and the reason he adopted Milim in his village is to keep the village safe from big threats beyond him. Yet for some reason he wants to fight for himself..  his followers kind of made him. The fact that Phobio is inside does not change that image so letting Milim fight now.. fits neither mindset. Not the mindset to look like a strong leader, not the mindset to keep everyone safe. To make matters worse they make a joke that people do not believe Milim is a Demon Lord and she is just one of the tools at Rimuru’s disposal.. so this plan was useless TWO TIMES over. 

A bad plan I am fine with.. but then let there be consequences.. let Ranga die in the attack , heck even Shion or Souhei, let the city of Dwargon be mad that he risked their lives while he had such a weapon. Let there be something.. but no everyone gets neatly potioned up and when Milim one shots the monster everyone is okay with it. So what is the point of this episode then?!  Rimuru doesn’t seem to learn from his misinterpretation, Milim doesn’t change and no one is hurt and no trust was violated so the status quo has not changed at all since they met Milim.. everything is still the same.. like we are trampling water. To add insult to injury we also see Treyni walk up to the group unscathed. Her sister told them they were fighting the calamity but would lose.. but losing against a giant calamity style creature .. apparently also means walk away unharmed.  So all we get is entertainment ..but with no impact.. I am happy to be entertained. I also like the intro and outro.. that keeps me entertained as well.. and this last arc is basically just like a 60 minute intro song.

The Score

I did like what I saw.. I just did not like what I saw between the lines.. and for an episode it was still entertaining.. it just was very superficial and empty.. like the eggshells of a cool painted easter egg sitting on your plate in pretty colours. This episode is really greasy Kebab.. as long as you eat it you enjoy yourself.. but as soon as that final bite has been taking the regret and the slightly icky after taste comes in. Does that make Kebab bad food.. no  not really!  So I don’t think it is really a bad episode either.. It’s just a bit to fillery for my taste. Not as in.. not relevant to the plot.. but it has the same circle of no consequence a filler arc has.

 I am happy this did not turn out to be the final story in the first season because if that was true I will be honest I would probably not return for season two. So I am kind of happy this stuff happened the way it did now we can move on , into better and more epic things.  I love that it’s light.. but I also loved that I cried for Shizu.. I love when the village grows and when new monsters get added and I want more of that.  So all in all I have very mixed feelings about this episode. It serves my needs very well.. but it is also nothing. So  I will just say that it is okay. Depending on your mood and your need for continuity this can either be a perfectly fine episode to turn your brain off… or a frustrating one if you want to see anything in terms of character growth or overall development. It exists.. and for a show you hold dear just having an extra episode can be good enough.. for me  that sentiment went out of the window with the last two episodes though.

Animini: Samurai Flamenco – Episode 19 – The Quiet Life

Konichi-holy-doodoo! I did not expect this episode of Samurai Flamenco to go as dark as it did my dear Island guests.. I mean Digimon bummed me out.. but beaver-dam I did not see this one coming. I expected a nice slice of life episode with maybe some elements of boredom.. but this… eeek! Unlike Digimon I did end up enjoying myself more.. though I still feel the series should have ended after last weeks episode.. I mean I did get closure for that thing I wanted closure about earlier.. I just did not expect that closure to be sledgehammered in.

The Summary

This episode starts with a 6 month time skip after the defeat of Alien Flamenco and Masayoshi’s  encounter with the Will of The Universe. Like the latter said the universe has returned to normal.. or did it? The world is so peaceful that we are moving into some advanced negotiations for a joined “world” government. The one that enjoys the most votes to be it’s president is Masaysoshi himself.. even  though he does not seem interested in the job .. Everyone else wants him to be the president of the world due to his heroic antics.  While he is still training his combat skills, we see him discuss “settling down” with the rest of the cast. His agent and Mari in particular. With no more enemies to fight, the idea is brought up that Masayoshi should find a girlfriend, his agent should date Kono and Mari even suggest Masayoshi to date his agent himself. He doesn’t know what to do.. and he doesn’t want to be world leader so he goes to his best friend Goto. He sees on the calendar of the cop that it’s soon to be date night .. he finally goes to see his girlfriend.. whom he is in a long term relationship with.  Curious Mari and Masayoshi plan to chase him to see if they can help.

This leads them to travel to Goto’s home town.. they lose track of him because they can not board the same train, but since Mari lived in his closet for a while during her great depression she snooped around and found his home address and remembered it. So she moves to the Goto family residence. Here they talk to Goto’s mother in the hope of figuring out where Goto went. Telling her he is on a date. The mother looks shocked and tells a story that Goto had a girlfriend only once in his life.. one day she disappeared while waiting for the bus.  The bus was found empty with no driver.. evidence showed a single passenger had boarded the bus, leaving only an umbrella with a Takoyaki Tako strap behind. Goto’s girlfriend disappeared many years ago.. and he was never able to let it go. But who has been sending him these text messages then? Could it be some kind of trap?! Mari and Masayoshi go to find out.. Mari .. who feels a bit  lovescorned, snatches his phone crossing the street when a bus blocks Goto’s path to find out who is responsible.. it turns out Goto had been pretending to be his own girlfriend all along.. unable to let her go.. he just imagined what she would text him back.  Mari gets bummed out and invites the girls to stay with her at the inn she is staying at while Masayoshi wanders the streets.. bummed out he could not be there for his friend.  A young boy shakes his head.. when suddenly an explosion goes off behind him.. This young boy.. seems to be A new enemy!

The Positives

I feel conflicted about this episode again.. because jeesz the truth about Goto’s girlfriend hit me hard! I always had expected her to be the final villain or something and I am pretty sure this new guy will find out and abuse Goto’s broken hard someway later on.. the building blocks are fairly set up for that.. but this?! I was surprised and I think it was a very strong choice to make. It balances out the sugarry , morale victories Masayoshi had lately! That  basically always involved him being such a great hero that the situation he would get himself in more or less resolved itself. We needed a taste of bitter.. but I did not expect it to leave me with this much of a bleeding heart.  I do think this is a great engine to keep Masayoshi , Mari and Goto involved together so as far as continuations go this is actually a quite briljant way to pull it off. Goto finally got his little moment, even showing why he became a cop and why he bites so much onto mysteries. All the events basically take place in the same day, where the sunshine is being used for when everything is perfectly fine. The peaceful world that Masayoshi is going to be president off.. but as they discover someone they love is in trouble we transition into dusk! Not everything is as bright as we would like to believe .. and when they realise Goto can not be helped right now.. we move into night!  Where a terror attack happens as well.. showing things have gone bad once more.. it is all quite beautifully done.

There are also some great character moments for basically everyone that was once relevant , we see where everyone is. Even the Flamengers. Even the pink ranger got accepted back into her home again.. but she has to deal with regret of never getting the love of her life. The other rangers all get a neat little reference to! Kono is bored with the news being so peaceful and our adorable , best dude, gadget guy has become super famous and successful for contributing to Samurai Flamenco’s success so much now becoming the most successful stationery producer, like now one ever was. The episodes manage to nail both the peace and conflict images very successfully and thus doesn’t leave as sour of a taste in my mouth as the Digimon episode! That being said there are some odd choices in this episode I can not really get behind.

The Negatives

While I really enjoy the episode overall, there are a few choices I do not really like. For one the whole “making Masayoshi world president while he doesn’t really want to” thing  I find very stupid and not an interesting conflict. I do get WHY he would get a majority of the votes,  as people would only vote for someone not of their country if it’s a symbol..  Yet at the same time we see Masayoshi is constantly being interviewed and he is very open about not being interested in becoming the President. So I do feel that whole plotpoint really isn’t going anywhere.  If the world is so peaceful.. Why would you make someone president against his will? He makes a fair point that he is not fit for the job.. as he isn’t all that political .. or smart enough to get that done..which again.. is a fair point. Kaname would make a better ruler that way and he would be a much better choice.

The second issue is that this new villain person is something I find very iffy! It’s a bit as if Masayoshi would be the Tony Stark from the Marvel Universe.. and this new guy is Spider-man is he felt inspired by Tony.. but to go in the wrong direction.. we get a little but seemingly very brainy .. kid as a  villain.  I do like the idea of a final villain that is grounded more into a harsh reality.. bringing the series back to the hero in Masayoshi and not in Samurai Flamenco.. but to make it a kid?! It feels like it’s a bit overshot.. like saying Rallo or Rollo or whatever the guys name was from Geass would be the actual final enemy.. or have Selmin Bradley be the ultimate bad guy in FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood. The final thing that got me annoyed is that we do not see Moe react at all when Mari is feeling heartache that the cop she is pursuing dumped her for a figment of his imagination.. She is just supporting..  but she is clearly in love with Mari .. or she used to be at least.. why don’t we see any of that here? 

The Score

For what it is worth, I am happy they went this route for the “epilogue”   of the show, this first episode of the final four does show some very competent writing and offers an idea to close this show out on that is of substance enough to justify its existence.  Outstanding plot points are being resolved, and they are doing this in a bold and exciting way. I really loved this concept of Goto being super broken and his best friends being unable to see it!  He always seemed so composed.  Politeness and etiquette prevented Masayoshi to dig deeper… he wants to follow the rules after all and that fits him so well! It really is a great twist and a legit established conflict. So basically everything that would go into the episode synopsis is very amazing.

It is the rest though that still makes me wish that the show ended last episode. I do not find the idea of Masayoshi becoming world president to be even remotely in character, I do not think the new enemy is as strong as I would like him to be. I think it should have been someone more familiar to the cast.. like Kono wanting to create news, or maybe even Kaname becoming a terrorist because his student pushed him from the spotlight. Heck even Flamen Pink because she blames Masayoshi for ripping her and Kaname apart would have had more of an impact. This new guy now has to be established in three episodes and I feel like I can’t take him all that seriously.  Alien was not build up.. but he was strange.. otherworldly he did not need the build up. Same goes for From Beyond Flamenco.. but .. with a normal human… I feel like they will stumble in the end.  I really hope that Mari and Goto don’t end up together either..  because poor Moe! All in all an episode with a very sweet core but a rough exterior.. and I have just the fruit for that.