Forum - View topicKatanagatari (TV).
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One-Eye
Posts: 2260 |
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Marathon Ep 4:Hakuto Hari
Did I mention that I really like the OP? And the ED has a different song every time. Once I'm done with this set I'm going back to re-read the lyrics. This was another solid episode with some interesting possibilities where the story may go. First Togame notices what she calls Shichika's spoiler["ruthlessness"] from his encounter with Meisai from last episode. Something that we as viewers picked up on and she acknowledges. Then there was Nanami which was a bit of a surprise. I thought spoiler[she might be strong, but because of her sickly condition I kind of expected her to die. I had no idea she was that strong! Usually at that point an enemy character yells out "monster!" and in this case they would be right]. One thing to take away from this is that living like hermits on an island far from people is not good for people's psychological health. The battle for Hakuto Hari against Sabi reveals a critical bit of info that, spoiler["Kyoto Ryo is a keepsake of Shikizaki Kiki". This goes along with my thoughts about Shichika being Togame's sword and perhaps poisonous to its wielder. But perhaps he is an imperfect blade and its his sister that is the venom to be feared, particularly since she is considering leaving the island too]. I was surprised at how early this info was revealed considering how much further we have to go or is this just a red herring? Interesting... Also, while the show is very nice looking I notice that it seems to be conservative in its use of animation for the fight scenes. Not that the fight scenes are boring or ugly, just not a ton of fluid action. |
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Alan45
Village Elder
Posts: 9809 Location: Virginia |
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@One-Eye
The ED not only has different songs but different graphics as well. The type of tree changes, the flowers change and the couple gets closer together. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2260 |
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@Alan45 You know I didn't even notice the couple getting closer. I'll have to watch the clean EDs in the bonuses on the discs. I watched the first ED and expected the rest to be the same, but as I was looking at the hardback book that NISA has with its release I noticed the lyrics and went back to look at them. I'm really enjoying NISA's release. I love having books like these. My only beef is that the subtitles don't always seem to be translated well and there are at times some awkward lines and I think I saw one or two spelling errors. Still so far enjoying the show and the set.
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Alan45
Village Elder
Posts: 9809 Location: Virginia |
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@One-Eye
I didn't notice the change in the EDs until I got to the extras. Note: to the right of the extras entry on the top menu there is an X. If you highlight that and hit enter you will get a clean version of the animation that underlies the Top Menu. I noticed in the book that they did not pick up on the meaning of "caltrop". This is the Bee ninja's throwing device. A caltrop is a real thing. It is usually four spikes welded together on one end so that no matter how it lands, one spike sticks up. It is used in multitudes to be anti personnel as well as anti-horse or vehicle depending on the era. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2260 |
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Marathon Ep 5: Zokuto Yoroi
The episode was a little long-winded, but it seems that there are other groups maneuvering in the background and it was necessary to start building that up. I wonder if Togame is having a humanizing effect on Shichika? Maybe a tiny bit? The show has done a fairly good job of having some of the opponents have their own motivations and even be sympathetic. This episode was another example of that.
I'm familiar with caltrops and I just assumed that his projectile weapon could either be thrown or laid on the ground. If I recall right they could also be poisoned. I also thought that they might just have been looking for an English word to approximate or just sound cool. Then I looked at the Glossary in the back of the book and found Ninpo Makibishi Shidan (caltrop finger bomb). I tried using google translate but they gave me a different Japanese text than what was in the book, so I thought they might have made a mistake. Then I tried Makibishi on Wikipedia and found that it can be written 2 different ways in Japanese plus I got this interesting tid bit: "...sharp spiked objects that were used in feudal Japan to slow down pursuers and also were used in the defense of samurai fortifications. Makibishi were one of the items supposedly used by ninja...Makibishi could be thrown like a shuriken..." So actually its a Japanese caltrop, supposedly used by Ninja and could be thrown, so it was appropriate to call it that. Wow, kind of neat. |
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AKS-Jack
Posts: 14 |
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There's a wax and waning to this. Episode 6 has them sitting closer than episode 7. Same to episode 8, compared to 9. I thought perhaps the latter might have been an implication for what was coming in episode 10 (the return to Togame's ancestral home), but the ending in that episode had them once again sitting close to each other. |
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Saffire
Posts: 1255 Location: Iowa, USA |
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If you're skipping the episode previews, make sure to watch the one at the end of episode 3. spoiler[I don't think Episode 4 uses a single frame of it, it's a fantastic troll.] |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2260 |
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Marathon Ep 6: Soto Kanazuchi
Hmmm...found some banding in the video in both episodes 5&6. Nothing disastrous, but a minor annoyance. There was also some music with vocals playing in the background when Lady/Princess Denial was speaking with her Henchman and it was so low I couldn't make it out. Don't know if this was intentional or accidental. So, as suspected from the previous episode Shichika spoiler[seems to be humanizing a tiny bit even finding some sympathy for Itezora Konayuki which Togame notices and makes her wonder if it will blunt her Katana]. Will the preview for the next episode be trollish (similar to an earlier one) or are they spoiling us? There has to be a twist no? One would think that Konayuki might need to meet Shichika's sister, maybe? To a certain extent this episode felt like set-up for a possible future conflict, but who knows maybe they will zig when I expect them to zag. Well, this finishes the first set of Katanagatari. I find myself missing these large size releases of NISA. I know they weren't popular with everyone, but they ended up growing on me. Anyways on to the second set! |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2260 |
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Marathon Episode 7: Akuto Bita
Didn't really like this episode. Story wise it felt forced. I get that spoiler[the sister wanted to be recognized as a Kyoto Ryu, that she wanted to die (as a Katana) and perhaps also sharpen Shichika]. I just didn't like how they went about doing this. Also the spoiler[video game visuals] annoyed me. I felt a little let down, but at least it wont be an unresolved plot thread I guess? |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2260 |
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Marathon Episode 8: Bito Kanzashi
Well a little playing around with Lady Denial, but it looks like we may have to wait her backstory. It seems I was right about Shichika spoiler[becoming more human as the show went on. Even he admits that he has a soul and that previously he was more like the automaton that he fought in this episode]. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2260 |
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Marathon Episode 9: Oto Nokogiri
I'm not sure I was too crazy about this episode either. I'm a little disappointed in Togame's strategy, I guess. It just didn't feel totally inventive. I also feel that the show may be suffering from the writer putting out a book a month. The episodes have felt a little padded and at this time they don't feel like they have as much connective tissue between them. The opponents and stories don't feel as memorable in this second set of stories. Well, let's see where it goes from here. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2260 |
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Marathon Episode 10: Seito Hakari
Well "digging" into one's past in order to unearth something was a little better. I'm not sure how I felt about the variation of "If you seek it, you cannot find it," or "if you have one eye on your goal, you only have one with which to find your way". However, I can't help feel that there's been a fair amount of oversimplification in the translation. Its days like this that I wish I understood the language and culture better. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2260 |
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Marathon Episodes 11-12: Dokuto Mekki, Entou Ju. End
I'm not sure how I feel about this show right now. I'll have to wait to absorb it more. First, I liked most of the music, except Ali Project (not a giant fan it all sounds alike to me). Second, I really liked the art I found it very attractive. On the other hand, I found the animation to be kind of meh. There were short cuts taken and while there was some creative shots this wasn't a fluid ballet most of the time. Part of me wonders if besides cost cutting it was intentional. I get the feeling that the fights weren't supposed to be extraordinarily awesome which goes along with what I sort of took from the story. Reading some previous posts in this thread it seems that some people interpreted this show as purely a tragedy. I don't know, it has some surface elements of a tragedy but it feels more like a rebuke aimed at samurai or action stories. After all, most people spoiler[who die in this show kind of die pathetically or at least they aren't particularly glorious or heroic deaths. We have patricide, sororicide, regicide, genocide, killing children, etc. Some of the people who die are even sympathetic. We even find out that ultimately the Ninja want the swords so they can financially support their village that has fallen on hard times. Even Togame who dies, which I didn't mind and I felt was telegraphed from early on, dies because her journey was about revenge and she killed many people to get the tools of her revenge in hand. Shichika and Togame's journey was ultimately a failure. He was an unthinking tool who most of the time didn't question his orders and she was revenge obsessed for the sake of a father that she had been indifferent towards. All the killing seems meaningless and perhaps that's the point. What's sad is that Shichika says at the end that the Japanese people in the future would probably fight the invaders. He seems proud of this, but the thing is that killing eventually leads to more pain, more deaths, and more bitterness]. Maybe that's what the tragedy is. I kind of wanted a little more drama. I would also maybe have liked a little more philosophizing, but maybe some of this was lost in the translation? I thought that some of the opponents in the second half of the show were not as compelling. I also felt that spoiler[Princess Denial and Togame had the same goals, plus Princess Denial didn't care either way whether things worked out according to her ancestors plan or not so why kill Togame]? There were other plot points that felt a bit ludicrous without the aid of humor. Again not a bad show, but it lacks something to make it a home run for me. |
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