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People are complaining much too much about the first half of episode 15. I, too, was thrown by it at first, but did find it amusing and thought it made total sense as the episode played out. spoiler[What we saw was partly an exercise in wish fulfillment on Ascoeur's part and partly a result of the influence of the guy who was spying on Ascoeur's dreams; I got the impression he was triggering some of the dreams to see her reaction. It also sets up Ascoeur's closing comment for the episode: "I was having a bad dream." Without doing the dream sequence, that comment would have made no sense and had little impact.] I did also find it interesting that the gravestones of spoiler[Trixie and Troisienne listed them as Eclair III and Lumiere III, respectively.] Still think there's something more to that which we haven't seen yet.

I found the revelation about Ascoeur's past to be rather interesting, too; it certainly explains a few things. Pieced together with the revelation about Q-fueille's background in episode 14 and you have an awful lot of coincidences all happening seven years ago. (And BTW, the whole business with spoiler[Q-fueille having trouble remembering things] in ep 14 is not trivial; that's one of her primary abilities, so if it starts acting up then her whole identity as an ES member is in doubt.

I had my doubts about this series in the early going (but then, I did about its predecessor, too), but I like the way it is shaping up now.

I think my mistake is comparing it to it's predecessor. I enjoyed Kiddy Grade immensely, it's one of my favourite series. I think I'm using it as a yardstick with which to measure the new series, and that's why it irritates me so. That said, sequels will invariably be compared to the original, the makers must have had this in mind.

I don't mean to be so negative, though I often am. I find it easier to find things to criticise than praise with this series, I think an exercise in posting restraint is in order.

This'll be my last post in this thread til the season finishes. Then I'll recap, and judge it as a whole, instead of bitching at every new release for not being Kiddy Grade.

Over and out Very Happy

I still don't like it. Expecting a show to be the same genre as the one it is a sequel to isn't too much to ask.

Regarding the first half of 15, I get Key's point about wish-fulfillment, but it was so inelegantly executed. They just took all of the characters and shoved them into another story without really thinking about what the best roles for them were, like jamming a bunch of square pegs in round holes. The execution was too heavy-handed. (And why were they wearing gym outfits to rehearse? Creepy fanservice factor?)

I want the revelation in the second half to be a lie, which wouldn't be out of character for pretty boy, who is quite manipulative, but Oscar's flashbacks seem genuine, as Shade or whichever one didn't seem to have been under orders to insert memories, just examine them.

*sigh*, ep.16 and 17 suddenly got subbed, and they started very good...but then they ruin it with spoiler[q-fiuelle being kidnapped, and the predictable very boring and not original "amnesia"]. really, they improve the series, and then drop using spoiler[amnesia] in its most non-original, and non-enjoyable form! i held my hopes up for the rest of the series, and found the comedy enjoyable, but they get back and ruin it!

Key wrote:

spoiler[What we saw was partly an exercise in wish fulfillment on Ascoeur's part and partly a result of the influence of the guy who was spying on Ascoeur's dreams; I got the impression he was triggering some of the dreams to see her reaction. It also sets up Ascoeur's closing comment for the episode: "I was having a bad dream." Without doing the dream sequence, that comment would have made no sense and had little impact.]

spoiler[I think he was showing her illusions within her dreams to investigate her memories(and perhaps something else?) to know whether she still remembered her past or not.]

It's getting even crazier. I do see some sort of Johan and Anna Liebert going on there. "What you're doing is wrong, and I must stop you before you cause too much destruction".. I can see that happening.

So episode 18 is out now and it explains a lot, including the naming conventions, especially Q-Fueille's curious name. spoiler[It's short for Quatre-Feuille, which not only denotes her as Eclipse's fourth-generation replacement for Lumiere ("quatre" is "four" in French) but translates as "four-leaf," suggesting that she is intended to be lucky. The computer screens Ascoeur was looking at also showed the names of her predecessors, indicating that each generation had a naming theme dependent on the French word for the number of their generation (e.g. "trois" is French for "three,"and Trixie and Troisienne were third-generation).] Very clever, actually. Explaining Eclipse's situation through that was also a welcome touch.

Lots of goofiness and excuses for fan service here, too, as well as a few genuinely humorous moments. spoiler[Q-Fueille's personality change seems a bit extreme for the degree of tampering done to her, though. Not sure if I like her as much in Girlishly Playful and Sassy modes, since it denies the series its essential Straight Woman role. Still it will be interesting to see how her "reunion" with Ascoeur goes under the circumstances.]

And while the theme of partner-based companionship certainly carries over from the first series, I am increasingly finding it interesting how spoiler[another key theme seems to have reversed. The original series had characters being far older than they appear as an important theme, while this one seems to have characters being much younger than they appear instead.]

This series may not have increased its game in its middle stages to the degree that the original did, but I'm still finding it worthwhile to follow along.

I'm mostly just bored watching these last couple episodes. Letuchia's childish pranks spoiler[on Q as revenge for usurping the "little sister" role] are just bland. And Q's new vapid personality is far less interesting than her original one.

So, the naming convention makes it clear spoiler[we're just ignoring the clones from the first series. Maybe they're all dead or something, who knows. That's where I would have gone with the plot. It seems like Eclipse really is dead, too. That's kind of a disappointment, that she just died off-screen between the prologue and the series start.]

I'm kind of suspicious of the maid; she seems a little smarter than I'd expect of the villains' domestic help. Of course, she hasn't done anything, really, so she could just as easily by just G-society's counterpart to the two girls from the GTO help desk that I don't care about.

I suppose much of my disappointment is that I expected this to be an action series instead of moe slice-of-life, but even so it's so unimaginative with that aspect, too. Also, ditching almost the entire cast from the first series and then not developing any of the new ones hurts it for me too.

Key wrote:

Q-Fueille's curious name. spoiler[It's short for Quatre-Feuille, which not only denotes her as Eclipse's fourth-generation replacement for Lumiere ("quatre" is "four" in French) but translates as "four-leaf," suggesting that she is intended to be lucky.]

Aya Gouda posted something to her blog last year about being given a present with a four-leaf clover on it after the name of her character.

Quote:

spoiler[The computer screens Ascoeur was looking at also showed the names of her predecessors, indicating that each generation had a naming theme dependent on the French word for the number of their generation (e.g. "trois" is French for "three,"and Trixie and Troisienne were third-generation).]

More than that, Troisienne literally means "third".

Dorcas_Aurelia wrote:

So, the naming convention makes it clear spoiler[we're just ignoring the clones from the first series. Maybe they're all dead or something, who knows. That's where I would have gone with the plot. It seems like Eclipse really is dead, too. That's kind of a disappointment, that she just died off-screen between the prologue and the series start.]

spoiler[The clones from the first series were artificial "gene-tec figures" that were created by Alv anad enver designed to last long. These new ones were created using Eclipse's abilities and the same equipment she used to encode Lumière and Éclair's new bodies - both things Alv didn't have and didn't need for her purposes anyway. Given Di-air's age I wouldn't be surprised if she isn't actually Eclipse, reborn but without her memories.]

Quote:

I'm kind of suspicious of the maid; she seems a little smarter than I'd expect of the villains' domestic help. Of course, she hasn't done anything, really, so she could just as easily by just G-society's counterpart to the two girls from the GTO help desk that I don't care about.

Her seiyuu is the same person who voiced Bonita from the first series - herself a ES-member (although this never came up in the series).

Dorcas_Aurelia wrote:

I'm mostly just bored watching these last couple episodes. Letuchia's childish pranks spoiler[on Q as revenge for usurping the "little sister" role] are just bland. And Q's new vapid personality is far less interesting than her original one. [/spoiler]

In opposite to you, I am quite happy watching the latest episodes. They are filler, of course
(and the production studio have to schedule an episode every week and they don't want to
miss one, so...) but they tells something and are less hollow than earlier ones. Some preparations
are needed so something are not needed to re-tell in later plots.

Before that spoiler[Q went to the other side] I think every one else are just copies
of the same mold - I meant hollow, no expressions, lacking personalities, cold (so I am
quite negative on the drawing quality of the show), the sole exception is Ascoeur.
Q is more competitive as a character now, then.

So the show tends to copy Nadesico in the recent plots - spoiler[like that crews
of the both side being same good people (and it ends up with Geacht'er being the solo
bad guy), the GTO crew are forced to disassemble, some hidden conspiracy, etc.]
Out of these plot similarities, maybe the ending will be somewhat refreshing?

Now episode 19 was VERY interesting. I liked it. It's the only episode so far that was any sort of interesting.

spoiler[ In it the G. Soc. pits Q-F ans Asco against one another, with Asco not wanting to fight her. The interesting part come was Q-F stops Asco in time to stop her heart and kill her, when Di unleashs the ability to control time and space. They tell us Eclipse also had the power and when she died her power was transfered to Di.]

If the rest of the episodes are like this then the series might actually be worth finishing.

I enjoyed the original Kiddy Grade,and at first this was dissapointing that the first half of this somewhat sequel was nothing but pointless Fanservice and filler (with the exception of episodes 10,11 and 12,which I throught were good)

but after watching episode 19,this series is starting to improve a little,but this series would have been much better if only As-cule stuck to the original design like the 2006 DVD piolet showed,I mean the original Ascule design was blue haired and had the personality of a quiet girl but I don't know why they decided to change her into a pink hair obnoxiouse airhead. Mad

ChronoBall X wrote:

. . .but this series would have been much better if only As-cule stuck to the original design like the 2006 DVD piolet showed,I mean the original Ascule design was blue haired and had the personality of a quiet girl but I don't know why they decided to change her into a pink hair obnoxiouse airhead. Mad

You mean "Ascoeur."

And the reason for the change is simple: having a quiet girl paired with a mature girl like that woud, quite frankly, have been boring. Not only does making Ascoeur a hyper ditz make the series more lively but it also creates the contrasting-personalities dynamic which has been a staple of both anime and live-action TV and media for decades - and it keeps getting used because it works, as Lethal Weapon proved back in the '80s and many others have both before and since. We saw that in the original series, too, although the presence and importance of that faded in the middle and later stages of the series.

I just finished this series and I'm really rather disappointed with it. I loved Kiddy Grade and if it wasn't for that fact I'm not sure I would have even finished this series. You could probably cut the series down to 12 eps from 24 and still keep all the relevant plot information. But something that's bugging me is who the heck is Mi Nourose? spoiler["she" is reveled to be a guy but I can't figure out who he is. He seems to be someone of importance but if it's someone from Kiddy Grade or heck even someone from earlier in this series I can't place him at.] Anyone know whats up with this character?

The only person I could think of was spoiler[Dyne, from the Reverse manga - a solo male ES-member]. I saw a comment in Japanese somewhere to the same effect so I'm not the only one to come to that conclusion.

edit: Japanese Wikipedia backs this up with more information that doesn't babelfish well. It seems to be sourced from one of the radio dramas.

Disappointment is not a strong enough word to describe Kiddy Girl_And. It was just that bad. I'd lean more twards "travesty".

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