Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Snow White with the Red Hair
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mandisaw
 Posts: 140 |
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Yeah, I'm making my way through the manga (up to ch 21 or so) and Prince Izana is growing on me. I don't quite think he's the king of awesomesauce like some chars, but I appreciate his status as not-your-average-shoujo super-rich/powerful guy's designated "protecting you from yourself" person. I loved Hana Yori Dango (Boys over Flowers), but the mom there eventually got really aggravating, even beyond, "well this would be a reasonable and dramatic reaction". Obi is another matter - I know it's not that kind of story, but my alt-universe mind wants him to be an elf Prince on holiday or somesuch.  Maybe it's the way he's drawn, or I just get a Final Fantasy vibe from the anachronistic setting.
My favorite not-the-OTP character is hands-down Mitsuhide. Just the right combo of adorkable and bad-ass. I'm almost at the point of looking for fan art of him... ---------
Yeah, this sequence was actually two full chapters in the manga, and I thought they would make a 2-parter out of it (or at least 1.5eps and fill out with Shirayuki's medicine-shopping). It felt a bit rushed, in terms of editing & plot-progression, but nothing is really *missing*, except for a funny micro-scene/sight-gag with the chief herbalist. Not sure if pacing speculation counts as a spoiler, but I think they might have condensed this part so that they can (a) have plenty of time for chapters that would benefit more from being animated, in terms of action/visual potential, and (b) end the first cour on a very cool, very natural turning point. Merged serial posts. --willag |
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princess passa passa
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*blinks* Now, I can't unsee it... |
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mandisaw
Posts: 140 |
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On paper, Shirayuki sounds like a naive opportunist at best, and a foreign spy at worst. Izana is totally right to want to get to the bottom of what's going on, but seems to be going about it in the most dickish way possible. Don't know if it's the coat or the smirk, but he pisses me off, even when my head's saying, "dude's being totally reasonable". He always gets points for style though 
Honestly don't know what the deal is with their parents, but I get the sense that Izana is as much a father-figure to Zen as a brother. He's older than Mitsuhide, but doesn't seem vastly older, so maybe 6-10yrs older than Zen? Certainly the filial dynamic between them seems complex (on top of the whole "my brother is my future-king" aspect).
It's the damn coat - he's allergic to putting arms in sleeves or something. I always wonder if having it draped like that makes it easier or harder to get to his sword... Also, Shirayuki's agitation seemed to me to be more about (a) deportation, and (b) being handed over to Raj, than about being separated from Zen, specifically. As far as she knows, she and Zen might only ever be occasional friends (she doesn't know they're a OTP  , but she seems pretty stoked about forging a career as a Court Herbalist. If she were sent back to Tanbarun, she'd lose the life she's built for herself a second time. spoiler[Or really, third, if you count her birthplace.]
She's already an orphan and an ex-pat, her sense of belonging/being rooted is very fragile. (I don't think they keep showing her rooting plants just for atmosphere.) ------- Manga vs anime pacing spoiler-ish stuff: So I'm confused, spoiler[they seem to be splicing Izana's introduction together with Raj's visit/re-introduction, and then next week will splice the Izana political flashback with the conclusion of Raj's visit?] This made my head spin a bit, and makes Izana IMO come off as maybe less cruel, and more pragmatic. |
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Merida
 Posts: 1945 |
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Well, fortuantely we didn't get the badfic scenario zensunni predicted, but they sure know how to make a big drama out of basically nothing...
I mean, if several characters have to say "this is bad" multiple times in order to point out that there's "something bad" is happening and you still don't really feel it, the show doesn't do a very good job at building tension... |
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zensunni
 Posts: 1294 |
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While I enjoyed this episode and the subtle political maneuvering by Izana, there were a few spots where I felt the characters missed opportunities to say things that should have been said. Specifically, Izana seemed to imply that Shirayuki was brought to live in the palace by Zen as some sort of "kept woman". Neither Shirayuki or Zen tried to disabuse him of this notion. Especially since the fact that Shirayuki would not accept a "place by Zen's side in the palace" unless she earned it through her own merit has been hammered home time and again over the past few episodes, it seems odd that both Zen and Shirayuki would meekly accept Izuna's statements about Zen placing his new favorite toy in an apartment in the palace without letting him know that he is wrong about that. All it would have taken is for Zen to say:
"I'm sorry brother, but you are mistaken. I did not arrange for Shirayuki to live in the palace and she only moved here very recently. After she passed the examination to become an Apprentice Court Herbalist, she moved here to be closer to work. Before that she lived in town. If you doubt her qualifications, feel free to consult her superiors. They will tell you that she is a highly qualified and valued member of their staff and that she earned her position on her own merits and NOT through any influence from myself." It just rubbed me the wrong way that, after all the emphasis on her independence and refusal to be handed things because she is a friend of Zen, no one would refute it when Izana intimated that very thing over and over. |
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mandisaw
Posts: 140 |
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Ep 6 tweaked my nose a bit too, but I think Shirayuki & Zen did thumb their noses a bit at Izana, during the audience room scene. Basically anything they did or said that wasn't immediate capitulation was their way of saying, "we're here, get used to it". Now, they both are plagued by not knowing what the heck their relationship *is*, so neither has a satisfactory answer for the high prince's interrogations, but that's early-days romance for you. Don't think they ever explicitly said it in either version, but I'm pretty sure Izana has an entire dossier on Shirayuki (and on Obi, Mitsuhide, and Kiki, for that matter). Any researchable facts, we can assume he already knows. (He already knew what went down in ep1, after all, and that was Raj's 'sooper-secret' LOL) |
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sunflower
 Posts: 1080 |
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^I agree. This is a speculative spoiler because I've read a little further in the manga but still am not sure of this: spoiler[ I get the feeling he knows they have no idea what they are to each other and he wants them to *think* about who they are and what they're doing and what that means, especially in terms of what their goals are, personally and professionally. I think he's being harsh to put them on the spot and force them to face these questions. And they aren't caving, they just realized they don't know how to answer at this point. ]
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mandisaw
Posts: 140 |
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No comments, just lots of warm-fuzzies for ep7. The editing/chapter-splicing was much more cohesive as compared to ep6 IMO.
Looking forward to the unexpected inclusion of spoiler[Mitsuhide's flashback] from the ep8 preview, might I dare to dream we could see spoiler[Kiki's flashback] in S2? :hopes: |
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5431 Location: Iscandar |
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Episode 7 has probably been my favorite episode so far. All the best elements of the series seem to have come together beautifully. If Snow White with the Red Hair is able to keep up with this quality, it will surely be among the best animes from this year.
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zztop
Posts: 646 |
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Unfortunately, Izana's scheme of deposing the warring Nobles was not without consequence, especially regarding Zen...
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mandisaw
Posts: 140 |
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Not sure which consequences you mean (there are multiple), but Izana is definitely the master chess-player (or master-manipulator) if you prefer. I don't think I can recall him genuinely being left without a plan - he's always got moves & counter-moves planned and/or ready to implement. He still seems a bit chilly & stand-offish to me, but that could be the job, not the person. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11404 |
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 I went back to review it, but still can't find what you're referring to.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 2612 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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He calls her spoiler[princess], which to me indicated that he could come around to the relationship. (Or he's a sarcastic jerk, which I suppose could also be possible.
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zztop
Posts: 646 |
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The consequence is actually referred to in a future manga arc involving Zen. Sorry I didn't clearly explain that. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11404 |
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Ah, I was looking for a nickname kind of name. The fact that he omitted the -sama makes me think he was being a sarcastic jerk. |
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