Forum - View topicThe Book of Bantorra (TV).
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rainbowcourage
 Posts: 1216 Location: what is commonly known as "hell week" |
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The Book of Bantorra (TV) Genres: action, fantasy Themes: life after death, religion Plot Summary: In a world where dead people turn into books and are stored in the Bantorra Library where anyone who reads a book can learn their past. Bantorra Library is maintained by Armed Librarians who wield psychic powers and their enemy is a religious society known as Sindeki Kyōdan. ---------------------------------- So this is some of the best straight-up fantasy being produced this season, in terms of just about everything. I've watched through episode five and have been increasingly impressed at how they've avoided the tropes of the genre. The premise is that people's souls when they die are turned into "books" or stone-like tablets which people can "read" i.e. view like a movie when they make direct contact with a book. The Library collects and preserves these books, and the main conflict is between the Armed Librarians alongside legendary Acting Director Hamyuts Meseta (a busty, semi-psychotic and totally badass femme) and The Church of Drowning in God's Grace (a hedonistic church with totally anti-ascetic values) who turns people into living bombs called "meats." The episode focal points have switched between Volken, Colio, Hamyuts (who had, by far, the coolest pair of episodes) and now Mirepoc. They've also set up a surprising amount of conflict quite early; we knew that Hamyuts' kill-'em-all attitude would eventually clash with Volken's altruistic nature in a big way, but I had no clue it would be so soon. And then Mirepoc's action was...extreme to say the least. spoiler[She basically wiped her memories of Volken not only for her personal fulfillment, but for her job. I can't wait to see how that unravels.] These are some of the toughest female characters I've seen since Balsa, and in totally different ways from one another. The Colio arc was quite strong, too, and the love story there (spanning space & time of course) was well-executed. David Production is building up a nice little resume (I enjoyed RisPara). The action sequences feel fresh and exciting. And the writing pays attention to the details--for example, since Hamyuts uses sensory threads as one of her main weapons, obviously severe weather patterns are going to affect her usage of them. Gotta say, though, the show's major draw is Hamyuts. I hope they explore her past, and I have a feeling they will. This puppy's off to an awesome start--let's hope she can keep it up. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23769 |
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...or as I like to call it, Armed Librarians: The Boobs of Bantorra. This series is growing on me. I was underwhelmed by the first episode, but I stuck with it and with each episode, my interest grows a little more. I'm still a little confused on what's going on...lspoiler[ike why Volken stole that little statue and took off], but I guess (hope?) things will make more sense as more details emerge.
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LeanGreen
 Posts: 323 Location: New England |
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Nice to know that there's someone else watching this show. It definitely deserves a wide audience.
spoiler[While Hamyuts' episodes were definitely filled with delectable fight scenes, I have to say that at the moment the current arc is my favorite. I'm a sucker for sudden betrayals (even if they make absolutely no sense at the moment) and was impressed by Mirepoc's choice. The execution came off pretty nicely too, as it was one of those moments where you can really tell if you're into a series if you get excited. The tension and sorrow of the whole Mirepoc-erasing-her-memories situation was great.] I've noticed that spoiler[the old man who handed Calico's (the ever-laughing witch) book to Colio was the mythical man mentioned by Mirepoc's friend who gives the books of pining maidens to their loved ones. That was interesting and clever.] But the most intriguing situation in the series so far has to have been spoiler[the love between Calico and Colio, who never meet, but each sees each others actions and become aware of each other. I've never seen anything like it and it really got me thinking.]
Really, though. Does it seem to anyone else that the girls' busts in the ending are larger than normal? Maybe it's just me, but man, Mirepoc in particular. |
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rainbowcourage
Posts: 1216 Location: what is commonly known as "hell week" |
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You know, I had very mixed feelings about that. spoiler[On the surface it seems a very strong and confident move, but it was also a really quick decision. I mean, she's erasing a friend she's had since her training/teenage years. I'm also very against people who can't face their feelings, and the idea of memory erasing in general...that's like encouraging people to not learn from their mistakes and how to deal with the pain in life. So personally I'm against her decision. Plus she didn't even wait to find out if Volken felt the same way, she just went and did it assuming he had no romantic feelings for her.]
Yeah with Hamyuts it gets a little embarassing, but you kind of just have to write it off as, "well, she's so badass she can do whatever the f she wants" and it's part of her eccentricity (I mean, imagining doing all she does without a bra...and with that cup size...oww.) With Mirepoc it doesn't bother me cause they don't show any cleavage and she's kind of butch anyway. Noloty on the other hand...there's just no excuse 
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7983 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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I'm kind of on the fence with this series. The action is pretty nice but then I don't really like any of the characters all that much and all the character names are damn near unpronounceable. Truth be told though, they haven't spent much time developing any of them that much yet really, however. I'll watch the rest because I want to know what's going on but it's not exactly my favorite of the season.
Last edited by Kruszer on Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:14 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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rainbowcourage
Posts: 1216 Location: what is commonly known as "hell week" |
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Really? They've established Hamyuts as a hellhound with a past, which I'm sure we'll learn more about (the whole Olivia thing); and they took two archetypal characters to extremes, with the altruistic hero (Volken) proving he's more bite than bark by spoiler[ostensibly betraying the organization] and the business-like work-devotee Mirepoc tortured by love and duty to the extent that she spoiler[erases her memories. That's, like, huge!]. Matt and Noloty have the shallowest amount of development but I think Matt's due for some soon. I don't know though, those two big actions by our would-be lovers are very good examples of "showing" not "telling" and that's where it counts in character development. |
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Kruszer
Posts: 7983 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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While that must be mostly post episode 4 development then. I have a non-paying Crunchyroll account which I use to view the series which won't let me see past that yet.
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 7580 Location: Wales |
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spoiler[was that the same man who gave a book to Volken also?] |
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LeanGreen
Posts: 323 Location: New England |
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Yeah, actually, I think it was. I mean, if it was spoiler[another old guy giving out books, how many of them can there be? But now that you've brought that up there's no way that Volken's receiving a book and his betrayal aren't related.]
I can see that. By spoiler["impressed" I think I meant more of a shocked feeling with a bit of admiration, maybe not for the act of erasing her memories itself but for the way she decided quickly what to do and took action.] |
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Eivion
Posts: 569 |
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This is my problem. The only characters I liked are spoiler[the deceased Colio and Calico so it kind of hurts my interest since we won't be seeing them again.] Will admit that the story of Mirepoc and Volken has me somewhat interested though so I will probably keep going. |
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egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
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I'll have to say the same. I thought Shiron was going to be there for the major plot, I was wrong. I mean, come on, that's my favorite character already spoiler[gone]? Other than that matter, episode 4 was fantastic. And from that point, this series became one of my favorites this fall. Despite not liking the characters left, I still hold some interest on Hamyuts, since her spoiler[near death] fight. And, perhaps, Volken, but that depends on episode 6. Well, it's not that I dislike the others, I just think they lack a little depth/looks. Posted it incomplete and accidentally. Gonna leave it like this for now, anyway. |
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Kirkdawg
 Subscriber Posts: 742 Location: California, USA |
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Episode 4 confused me a bit and I was hoping to read some answers here, but looks like I'll have to wait until episode 5. For sure, this is another solid show that I'm enjoying this season. I'm a little surprised that spoiler[meat boy actually died when he killed that 'True man' character.] I mean it looked like they were going to develop him into a major character. Bonus points for being original, creators.
As for the boobs thing, Hamyetsu is just ridiculous. I don't think I've ever watched a series I actually enjoy with such an abnormal bust-I find it unnecessary and actually harmful to her characterization. Little fan service never killed anyone but really? Really? They look like watermelons. Literally. I also found it to be very amusing they are trying portray her 'femininity' via sewing in bed. I mean up until that point, all you ever see her do is trying to play up her badass factor. |
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belindabird
 Subscriber Posts: 134 Location: Minneapolis |
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I've been enjoying the show so far, moreso than many people judging by the ratings for it in the encyclopedia. It has kind of a different atmosphere - part fantasy, a little steampunk, probably a little politics in there somewhere. I watched through episode 4 last night and I'm curious to see where things go from there.
In reply to Kirkdawg, while I would normally agree that a character having a huge bust for no apparent reason would normally be a turnoff for me, I'm finding Hamyuts to be a pretty eccentric character and her open shirt and seeming lack of care regarding this aspect of her body seem to fit with what little we know of her. I wouldn't say that showing her sewing means that there's something wrong; I'm a female who likes arts/crafts but also kicking ass in video games and that sort of thing. I think it's perfectly okay to have a character who could just as easily knit you a sweater as she could send a rock flying straight through your head 
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Kirkdawg
Subscriber Posts: 742 Location: California, USA |
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Hm, Episode 5 seemed rather mediocre. It was focused on spoiler[Volken's Betrayal and how Mirepoc is struggling to cope with it. I guess no matter what the possibilities are and what the excuses he may have had, she made the ultimate commitment to deny his existence. I'm almost positive this is going to leave to some kind of dramatic reunion between the two and she (probably) will regain her memory. The reason I say probably is because Hemyetsu went around to the underlings and told them to specifically not mention Volken around her. Either she's trying to avoid confusing her in the future, or the process can be reversed. I'm going to guess the memory loss is reversible under specific conditions. ]
Again, kind of a lull episode-but not a bad one necessarily. |
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animeboy12
Posts: 160 |
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I wouldn't be so quick to judge a character based on boobs, as contrary to popular beilief a good portion of busty women in anime are extremely serious not-played-for-laughs characters, divergence eve, gundam 00, ghost in the shell, or even witchblade, remember those? Anyway I've just start this series but I can't make a judgment on yet as the 1st episodes kinda confusing to me
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