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EP. REVIEW: Blade of the Immortal


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Panino Manino



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 734
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2019 9:10 pm Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
Panino Manino wrote:
Is just the beginning of the story and justified when you don't forget the things the girl is seeing.

Well, I don't think it is justified. If she can't live without revenge but can't cope with getting it, she really should just off herself. She's already told people more than once to just kill her. They should've complied with her wishes.

You left off the part where I said I didn't need her to be rock-stoic and untouched by the horrors she's seen. But collapsing in a boneless heap of weeping uselessness is...useless -- to her, to her goal, and to Manji. She could at least wait to cry until the immediate danger has passed.

This isn't "get in the robot, Shinji." She chose this path. If she has the will to follow it, then she needs to exert some of that will on herself to keep it together until it's safe to go to pieces.

You're asking too much.
We are in the beginning of the story, what you have now is just a young, weak, fragile, emotionally unstable and traumatized girl.
Yes, she decide to seek revenge, but "resolve" isn't "emotions".
The path Rin choose is difficult, and is being difficult. Takes time to get used and gather strength. She never hurt anyone, even Makie have a hard time dealing with killing people. Even Makie didn't had the "resolve" to follow and help Anotsu the way she can and retreated .

You may not like it by "makes sense", more than what you're asking.
Rin not becoming so simple is a good part of her character, allows her to witness and judge better.
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AiddonValentine



Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 2201
PostPosted: Wed Oct 30, 2019 3:44 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
Panino Manino wrote:
Is just the beginning of the story and justified when you don't forget the things the girl is seeing.

Well, I don't think it is justified. If she can't live without revenge but can't cope with getting it, she really should just off herself. She's already told people more than once to just kill her. They should've complied with her wishes.

You left off the part where I said I didn't need her to be rock-stoic and untouched by the horrors she's seen. But collapsing in a boneless heap of weeping uselessness is...useless -- to her, to her goal, and to Manji. She could at least wait to cry until the immediate danger has passed.

This isn't "get in the robot, Shinji." She chose this path. If she has the will to follow it, then she needs to exert some of that will on herself to keep it together until it's safe to go to pieces.


You're missing the point about the series, and the point is this: revenge is never, EVER simple. It is messy, painful, and people who go through with it will realize it was never going anything but that. This is not a simple revenge story, it's a story about honor-bound revenge itself.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Wed Oct 30, 2019 4:33 am Reply with quote
AiddonValentine wrote:
You're missing the point about the series, and the point is this: revenge is never, EVER simple. It is messy, painful, and people who go through with it will realize it was never going anything but that. This is not a simple revenge story, it's a story about honor-bound revenge itself.

No, you're missing my point, so I guess that's my fault. I never said her revenge should be simple, or neat, or painless, or even easy. If it were, we wouldn't have a story. I just said that her collapsing in a heap of tears at every horror, setback or minor inconvenience is stupid and irritating, and frankly, unrealistic. In reality, someone would've killed her by now, and she would've been too busy crying with her face in her hands to even see it coming.

Again, it's fine if she breaks down and cries over every horror, setback or minor inconvenience when it's relatively safe to do so (though I guess the latter would still be kinda irritating). My objection is that she can't even keep it together when her life is in imminent danger and not collapsing at that moment is critical to her survival (or should be, realistically).
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#894822



Joined: 08 Apr 2019
Posts: 111
PostPosted: Wed Oct 30, 2019 12:24 pm Reply with quote
I really like the soundtrack.
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Panino Manino



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 734
PostPosted: Wed Oct 30, 2019 1:18 pm Reply with quote
#5

When this character was "cut" there was still this possibility that he could still appear a little later, and here he is.
For the anime this change makes sense, to leave this character that's an isolated case for a bit latter after the core characters were presented.

Mixed feelings if his presence makes any difference, because this vulnerability that was reveled has zero importance in the story in the end. Who beyond this character would go to Tibet to obtain that poison, just for Manji?
But by moving he to here, maybe, he become a bit more relevant.
This character was turned immortal by the same person, the same way as Manji. This encounter may make the carefree Manji reflect about the long term consequences of his mortality.

But this is Rin's story, and Anotsu's, so the most important part is the perspective of living an unworthy life. The amount of time makes no difference, when that time comes to an end how will it be?
Anotsu, will he died without realizing his dreams?
Rin will live but with the realization that she can't reach her goal?
Which one is worse, and for whom?

Anyway, good to see that this episode was not ugly like the last one.
I hope that the majority of the episodes will keep this quality.
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Cam0



Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 4884
PostPosted: Wed Oct 30, 2019 3:46 pm Reply with quote
Episode 5

Whelp. Lemme just stamp this episode with Gina's seal of approval because I know she'll like this episode. No need to thank me.

Rin being a blubbering mess for pretty much the entire episode started to annoy even me a tiny bit.
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RedSwirl



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 344
PostPosted: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:45 pm Reply with quote
Huh. So they put that guy I said they skipped earlier back in. I thought it was a good episode.

Like episode 3, going through a whole tankobon per episode lets each one properly focus on a theme with its own little arc, especially in these early villain-of-the-week sections.
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illustrata



Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 37
PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 9:19 am Reply with quote
For those complaining about Rin, guys, chill, she’ll get plenty of character development. And come on, cut the girl some slack. With the horrors she’s been seeing past 5 episodes (not to mention she’s not a seasoned warrior), I bet you’d be lying if you say you won’t end up a blubbering mess in a life/death situation like hers.

Given the limited budget the series got, still amazed with what Hamasaki has done. Art direction is superb obviously. Whilst I would love to see a BotL filled with sakuga, I agree with a previous poster, Hamasaki gets the spirit of the series. Watching this has been quite a cinematic experience despite its flaws, and Hamasaki’s narrative sensibilities elevates this from what could have been a run-of-the-mill revenge anime.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
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Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16935
PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 12:25 pm Reply with quote
I think some of you need to chill a bit. People can have different opinions than your own.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 6:50 pm Reply with quote
illustrata wrote:
I bet you’d be lying if you say you won’t end up a blubbering mess in a life/death situation like hers.

I'm someone who cries at the drop of a hat. But in life-threatening situations (which I've been in a couple of times), crying was not even an option. I didn't have to think about trying not to cry, it just wasn't among the emotions available to me at that moment. Frantically thinking about how to avoid dying were my only thoughts. Crying comes later.

Cam0 wrote:
Whelp. Lemme just stamp this episode with Gina's seal of approval because I know she'll like this episode. No need to thank me.

::whips out magnifying glass:: Heh. Actually, this one was ok. She cried mostly at appropriate moments this time, and not when her life was on the line in any circumstance in which she could take any action. Crying at the doctor's door was borderline - I could relate, but given that Manji's life was still in jeopardy as far as she knew, it was sort of a self-indulgent time-out.

But I particularly liked it when her immediate reaction to the dango endangerment was being happy she could save it. Priorities! Very Happy
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Jinbei



Joined: 12 May 2014
Posts: 55
PostPosted: Fri Nov 01, 2019 1:41 am Reply with quote
Rin being the nearly same kind of useless as Orihime was in the later stages of Bleach is a passing fad....to an extent. She's still VERY prone to doing stupid shit when she gets (overly)emotional, but 2-3 upcoming major parts of the series give her a good time to actually put her brains and body to use and do some things right. And those bothered by Manji always getting cut to pieces, that's getting a bit leveled down as well. The series really picks up steam after the Maskmaker arc.


So far, I have little complaints... this is very loyal to the manga, except for the ordering of the short arcs. Shizuma's characterization was a few vibes better I dared to expect. I liked how his tone of voice really carries the 200+ years of bloodshed and not just giving a damn about anything anymore. Now i just hope they get Shira right... a LOT will depend on how he's presented. Also, that leaves me a bit worried how they will decipt his love of torturing without going too deep into details and yet not shying away too far either...
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Panino Manino



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 734
PostPosted: Fri Nov 01, 2019 3:18 pm Reply with quote
Jinbei wrote:
Now i just hope they get Shira right... a LOT will depend on how he's presented.

For me the only way to get this character right is... erasing him from the story.
Mad
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Nordhmmer



Joined: 11 Feb 2017
Posts: 1028
PostPosted: Fri Nov 01, 2019 9:27 pm Reply with quote
Flight of the golden wasps... she named her small throwing daggers golden wasps...
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5294
PostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2019 10:01 am Reply with quote
I really like the sketchy visual cut at the end, it was like the death scenes Gurren Lagann had.
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Panino Manino



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 734
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:00 pm Reply with quote
#6
It was good to see in this episode a more conventional animation for the indoor fight scene, and the movements and framing were competent in portraying an indoor struggle.
I'm really happy with this adaptation!

Just a random comment first.
People are judging him from the moments were she lose control of her emotions, but just pay attention to the way she holds Renzo in this episode.
Rin is a dojo girl after all, she knows the techniques and moves and sometimes you can see this knowledge in her movements.

Moving on.
What makes me the most happy is the script and direction.
They're hamming hard the "Cycle" motif, this episode was overflowing with this. But I have to say, did you notice the wind vane that Rin was holding in the end? And how it was switched for one spinning during the final credits? It's the same one at the very beginning of this episode, but in the beginning it starts spinning and then it stops before the opening.
But spoiler[in the end this cycle will end, but for the people who knows this whole story this subtle symbolism isn't as obvious as it may seem, because this episode marks the beginning of a new cycle starting, that's why that wind vane started spinning.]

Despite this being a "story of vengeance", this isn't the true end goal IMO.
That's why for me it's ok that Rin is struggling so much with this. I believe that her wish isn't to "end" this cycle, fulfilling it. I believe that it's "escape" this cycle.
- "What was your wish?"
- "That no one singes us with a fire."

Also, it seems that Rin started to see Anotsu as someone who is trying to do more or less the same to some degree, but of course, in a very wrongful way.

Don't you think that her little flashback when she went to help Renzo showed that she saw the same pain on Anotsu's face during that fateful night?
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