Forum - View topic(The) Morose Mononokean (TV).
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2842 |
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#7
Another two-part arc, but it looks like a good one as viewers finally learn a bit more about Abeno's background and how a human became the master of the Mononokean. Now that I think about it, Zenko's flashback scene must have been when she was still in secondary school as she still had a standard issue uniform. Since the High School Abeno and Ashiya attend has a free dress-code, it makes sense she would be a student there. Since Ashiya is perpetually in the infirmary and Abeno doesn't mix with people at all, it's not a surprise it took her so long for her to find them. Now that she has the "gift" of seeing inhabitants of the other side, Zenko will probably get mixed up more with the shop. Abeno did promise that he would tell her more about matters once she believed in the existence of Youkai. Almost all of the characters featured in the OP have made their appearance, the only exceptions being those in the Youkai train following Abeno. Yahiko is almost certainly the Youkai who was stalking Abeno and co. last week during Manjirou's commission; but his innate nature as a fox spirit makes him more whimsical than the other Youkai featured thus far in the series. Good job seeing through the disguise Ashiya. He panics easily and is scared of graveyard walks, but he's got good attention to detail and is a fast learner when it counts. Going by next week's trailer, the bird pair in the OP will make their bow shortly. If I had to make a guess, the main plot line is likely to revolve around Abeno and his status as the shop master as well as the rumours surrounding his attainment of it. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2842 |
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#8
Well that cliffhanger ended surprisingly quickly. If Abeno is that strong then the horde from episode #2 most likely got their way because of the element of surprise. The take-away from all that being Abeno was on good terms with his female youkai master but she's now gone and he's taken over unexpectedly giving rise to all the malicious rumours against him. Zenko asked for a month's help, she got a year thanks to the whimsical nature of Yahiko. Although the mark on her arm is gone, she appears to have gained the ability to see supernatural entities for at least a year while Yahiko remains under indenture. Speaking of Yahiko, he has some kind of complex against moving permanently to the world beyond. Both times he's been invited to leave by Abeno but the defensive reaction he displays each time indicates something more serious than a childish refusal of change. Like the story arcs before this, the series moves on very quickly to its next set of characters. I found this pair more of a silly diversion than anything else as it looks like Abeno's main job which took priority over the birds is a serious one involving humans. Aside from Ashiya way back in episode 1, this is the first time this series Abeno is being commissioned by human clients so his reactions and temperament should be an interesting watch. Abeno's throwaway comment about how Ashiya was able to resolve the problem on his own without assistance being an irritation did raise a chuckle, considering how Abeno constantly complains about how much extra work his assistant leaves him with. |
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Sobe
 Posts: 881 |
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I literally choked on my saliva laughing so hard when Ashiya spoiler[found Yahiko]. LOL I haven't laughed like that in such a long time when watching anime. I love a good twist especially when it's a genuine surprise.
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Gina Szanboti
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That picnic cloth sure is getting crowded.
 The lovebirds are a nice addition.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2842 |
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#9
More and more of the cast shown in the OP have now had their bow on stage, very soon we should be seeing a denouement closing off this adaptation. Compared to the other supernatural entities introduced thus far, this week's one is the closest viewers will see to the other side of the coin regarding Youkai; namely those who are suspicious or downright hostile to humans and who convey those feelings loud and clear via physical phenomena. As for this week's episode, viewers can understand why Abeno has the attitude he has when he has to deal with clients like the ones we meet today (it's notable they aren't even given names, just client and client's mum). He's obviously displeased with such unpleasantness but has long since taken it in his stride and continues his work for the sake of the Youkai rather than for humans (human clients being unable to see are no better than unpleasant ingrates to him). Rippou was right about the advantages of having a Youkai as part of the staff, Abeno on his own would probably have taken much longer to finish the job and have to put up either with more abuse whilst completing his commission or leaving without finishing the job because the owners lose patience and accuse him of being a charlatan. As cute as the furball is, this is probably the first episode in which I couldn't easily identify what he was trying to convey via body language. I'll probably need to watch the segment again and pay closer attention to the dialogue to get a better sense of it. It seems even Abeno is beginning to understand the comment made in episode 3 about the danger posed by Ashiya. It's not related to his capybara-repelling powers but the strength of his emotional attachments to a case. Abeno is now coming round to the idea that Ashiya frightened by Youkai is an easier one to control compared to the current Ashiya who can get along with Youkai but gets easily frustrated and angry when faced with unpleasant clients. As usual the pace of the series shows no sign of slowing down. Viewers are made to wonder what's wrong with the freeloading Yahiko while the scarecrow Noubo appears to be another Youkai in need of a ticket to the other side. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2842 |
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#10
So the mystery character from last week's ending scene now reveals himself, and his journey has been a long one in the making. Although Yahiko's plight was amusing, it was the effects of the mud of despair that made for interesting viewing. Another point I found fun was Zenko's inability to sense the same smell which Abeno and Ashiya found absolutely reeking (likely because all she acquired from the bite was the ability to see, not the whole package of senses like the other two possess). Nobou's story follows a similar pattern to Mouja in the first episode and the youkai from last week, but the overarching theme this time is guilt and self-pity. For once Abeno comes up with the right solution rather than his emotional part-time worker and it eventually succeeds (although anyone who watched last week's trailer would have seen the end). Next week will close out the remaining Youkai who have yet to make an appearance in the show yet feature in the OP. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2842 |
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#11
Quite the curve-ball this week with Ashiya's attempt to please the customer more backfiring on him spectacularly. Tomori's inability to see without borrowing the sight of the gifted probably triggered a red flag in Abeno's thought processes but he decided to let it slide to let Ashiya shoot himself in the foot. Ashiya has grown too attached to his part-time job but the connections he nurtured when he was still able to see now present a problem for Abeno who now has to decide whether or not to jettison the at-present completely useless Ashiya from the job. Perhaps this was Abeno's way of ridding himself of Ashiya's increasingly dangerous existence, but next week will provide the answers. Since the series is still going it's easy to figure out Ashiya regains his sight in some manner, but the process by which he does regain it should be interesting. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Honestly, it is kind of Ashiya's own fault, he did not exactly find out a lot of information from the process, including if sending her to the underworld might affect it. Actually she did not even know if her own sight might return if she returned, clearly she did not know a lot about her situation, making the choice to jump into it kind of stupid. Through the series I have grown increasingly of the opinion that I don't like Ashiya. Helping people is fine, but the way he bumbles through it in not using his head has kind of annoyed me. Although on the flip side, Abeno has been a jerk since blackmailing him at the start, and will doubly be so if he just decides by himself for Ashiya to separate from it all.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2842 |
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She made it quite clear that she can see normally when she's on the other side. It's only in the world of humans that she has to borrow the sight of the gifted in order to see. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2842 |
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#12
So Abeno is a bit of a softie at heart, not a surprising conclusion to anyone who's watched this from the start. I prefer to look at it differently and conclude Abeno cannot fire his incapacitated part-timer because it would break the hearts of all of the Youkai Ashiya has helped to date. That would be contrary to Abeno's stated aim of putting Youkai at the forefront of service. Okina and Tomori did not lie when they claimed it was a borrowing for 2-3 days, but the true reason for Ashiya's non-functioning sight is a surprising one given viewers were told he could be dangerous. What kind of placebo effect or shock would be required to get him to see again I wonder? If it involves the fuzzball draining Ashiya to death's door that would be quite the shock therapy. By the looks of things, next week should see normal service resume and this season coming to a close. As a palate cleanser for next season's Natsume Yuujinchou, this has done its job most adequately. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2842 |
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#13
A happy if predictable ending for this adaptation. I didn't think the explanation behind how Ashiya regained his sight was completely satisfactory, but seeing almost the entire cast pull together to repay the favour done by Ashiya over the course of the last few months brought a nice sense of closure to this adaptation. The series is still going strong in print form, so this adaptation will hopefully act as a spur to the viewers to get the books. If the retail sales of this series do well, a second season might well be planned. Considering its similarities with the more famous Natsume Yuujinchou, I still think the series acquits itself well on its own merits. Far more light-hearted and optimistic than the occasional tragic undertones which underpin Yuujinchou. It certainly helps that the mascot character is extremely cute despite having almost no spoken lines to work with. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23769 |
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Well somebody is clearly not watching a legit stream.
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Have not seen last episode yet, and won't until it is on Crunchyroll.
About that.... Why were her eyes closed as if she could not see when in the underworld, huh? Maybe it was because what she said earlier was that she hoped returning would return her eyesight? Truth is that, as I said Ashiya is a dingus who did not think things through past the faintest of guarantee, and Abeno was a jerk who tried making the decision for Ashiya to distance himself for him. The focus of trying to make Ashiya seem like such a kind person and the turn to Abeno asking others for help after they twisted his arm does not change those facts. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2842 |
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By your line of argument, Fushimi is supposed to be blind since he's never portrayed with his eyes open like the other characters. Regardless of what one thinks about how the two protagonists are characterised, I've always thought about this series as more focused on the setting and the Youkai who traverse the two worlds than on the exorcists. Neither of them are perfect, but they're not meant to be after watching the series to its conclusion. For those who have nothing constructive to post about the series here, there's always the review feedback thread to vent away. I don't post over there and don't intend to. If it's such a big problem seeing my posts, ask a moderator to delete them all to give you some satisfaction. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Yeah I understand characters in anime being shown with closed or squinted eyes, yet can see. But blind youkai was shown specifically opening her eyes when she was able to see, and no indication was given that her situation had changed from leaving the human world. The point stands what I was saying that there were maybes.
It does not mean I cannot still talk about these characters so integral to the plot.
So I have nothing constructive to say about the series? I post here over the review feedback thread because I don't have really any comments about the episode reviews, or the comments there. A constructive post does not need to be one that only praises the series and talks about how much they were invested in the story, it can be talking about the elements they do not like. I mean I even kind of addressed my own feelings about how I did not really much appreciate what the characters doing. I have not even mention yet my dislike of the scarecrow story, where it felt frustrating that they were building emotional story on the "death" of an inanimate object that it would feel kind crueller to let the yokai believe it was a person. I will probably be saving that up for my post of the last episode, somewhat similar to what I did with a couple other series, which I think that I actually talk about them in as a constructive way you can talk about Scared Rider and Hybrid x Heart. And I would not even think about telling a moderator to delete your posts, it would be the opposite of the sorts of things I want discussion between what people liked and what others dislike is kind of vital to see where an anime actually stands. To see the elements that are attractive or don't matter to some viewers, and parts that are not liked or do matter to others. Both are important. I probably reacted a bit more hostile than I should have, but I found the response you put that I was simply wrong about what the characters said, was something I could not refute until we saw her again. I was not quite willing to go back through the conversation and grab the exact wording. And lastly, my take on Abeno referring to Ashiya as dangerous was not in reference to any physically dangerous power like he showed a bit near the jerk of a vendor who tried to cut off his hand. Instead I think it was more reference to Ashiya's attitude to youkai and how he could get too involved, perhaps causing something bad to happen because of it. Or it was things like his naïve personality could be a bit infectious and cause scenes like Ashiya tries to Abeno want to do things like help the connection between youkai and human, when he knows from the past can cause pain from getting hopes up. |
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