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EP. REVIEW: The Morose Mononokean II


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Raebo101



Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 792
PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 2:30 pm Reply with quote
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The Morose Mononokean II is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.


This series is also streaming is English on FUNimation on the same day as the sub: https://www.funimation.com/shows/the-morose-mononokean/?qid=f4d3ba7cb5bcd531
It's interesting that they're doing the same-day thing for this and not a more popular show.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 7:56 am Reply with quote
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The yokai world suffers from some pretty serious educational deficits

Well, we already knew that from Gegege no Kitarou. "Ghosts (or youkai) don't have school or tests or anything." Wink

If anyone is coming into this new for the first time, while it's not necessary, I highly recommend at least watching the first few episodes of the first season, where Fuzzy is introduced (and the main characters' relationship is established). Not only does it help to understand where he's coming from, but you can't have too much Fuzzy.
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rahzel rose
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Joined: 19 Apr 2011
Posts: 823
PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:03 am Reply with quote
Episode 4 was super charming. I think everyone got some good points in like Ashiya being firm with Yahiko or Haruitsuki asking Kinako if she wanted some company part way. Overall it was just a good show of everyone's character.

A bit of a random aside, but IMO, TMM2 has one of the best sets of OPs and EDs this season for me. I think the ending is fantastic, and while I love the opening musically more than vocally, I still think it's also a solid song. Normally I start to scroll through after a few episodes of a show, but with this one I always watch all the way through.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:50 am Reply with quote
Could someone remind me why Yahiko can't go to the Underworld? Abeno punishing him appeared to be a fiction, but is it related to all the mischief he caused when he was lonely? Can he even go visit?

This was a very nice episode. I liked how Yahiko reeeeally wanted to be brushed, but gave up his brushing time to Kinako who didn't have much longer to get to enjoy it. There were many neat little bits of body language that really communicated the characters' feelings well.
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rahzel rose
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Joined: 19 Apr 2011
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 4:38 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The most interesting thread comes from Ashiya's comments at the end. He's still mystified by the Executive's powers and deeply curious about them. He even wonders if as a human who is able to see yokai, if he might be able to use similar powers. I don't follow what led Ashiya to that conclusion, but I'm sure he's not bringing that up for nothing.


I think you mean Haruitsuki’s power to subdue the Executive? At least that’s how I read it.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 5:45 pm Reply with quote
^ Same here, what with the flashbacks to Abeno subduing the Executive.

I love Ashiya's mom. Very Happy
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chocorade



Joined: 05 Jun 2016
Posts: 50
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 5:51 pm Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
Could someone remind me why Yahiko can't go to the Underworld? Abeno punishing him appeared to be a fiction, but is it related to all the mischief he caused when he was lonely? Can he even go visit?


As far as I can remember (read that manga chapter a while ago now), it still hasn't been explained why he can't go to the Underworld. My guess is that we will get some of that info hand in hand with more info on Itsuki's past (or maybe Wazawa Kiri wants to make it a whole arc for that)
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sailorstarsun



Joined: 07 Apr 2006
Posts: 170
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am Reply with quote
Now that's how you write a review. Surprised
Thank you, Rose. I wish you were the reviewer for all of the series I'm following.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 12:01 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
He's having a nightmare about the Executive, and mistakes Yahiko for him. While Ashiya was using his ability in self-defense, it terrifies the innocent Yahiko

Well...not exactly. Yahiko wasn't so innocent. He turned off the lights and impersonated the Executive to deliberately scare the bejeezus out of him. Twisted Evil

What interested me was that he seemed to know it was Yahiko ("Revert.") while not quite grasping that he wasn't the Executive ("You're the one who tried to kill me, Executive." In that order).

The other thing was that Fuzzy was afraid of Yahiko while he was plotting his prank and ran for the hills corner. So that just adds a little more to the mystery around Yahiko.

Anyway, cool episode. Smile
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
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Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:01 pm Reply with quote
If I remember correctly, Ashiya knew he was never really "allowed" to go to the Underworld to begin with. They made a big deal about him hiding his "human" status last season, although Abeno implied it was for Ashiya's protection, rather than the yokai's best interest. But Ashiya (and presumably any human with a spiritual sense) being dangerous to yokai certainly explains that dynamic, while knowing that going to the Underworld was taboo to begin with eases the blow of Ashiya being expressly forbidden from going (not that I think the prohibition will last!).

Yahiko is an adorable brat, and I loved how Abeno described his game with Ashiya as "a five-year-old vs. A three-year-old." But he has a tendency to take pranks dangerously far and be unaware of his own abilities and the negative effects it can have, scaring humans and yokai alike. I wonder if this is what got him banned?
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 7:46 am Reply with quote
I was a little confused by the box test. It seemed to be implied that adding the tadpole was cheating, but without it, was there any difference between the two boxes? Was the Executive just making a 50-50 bet on which Ashiya would choose? That seems kind of pointless.

Having forgotten most of the details of the first season I was reviewing some of the early episodes, and I realize that all of this was foreshadowed almost from the start. Smile We even saw Ashiya use his power as early as the 3rd episode, when he got angry at the capybara youkai for hurting Fuzzy. I wasn't sure then that Abeno saw that, but given his abilities to sense it even when it's not manifesting, and at a distance when it is, he surely must have known something was going on.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:33 pm Reply with quote
I never forget Fuzzy!

I guess it was the half-episode treatment maybe, because I kept expecting Keshi to trip on her yukata (since they kept show us how it covered her feet) and knock her mask off and create chaos at the festival and then dramerz and stuffs until happy resolution, but that was because I expected the story to last longer? But it was a nice story.

Still the smash cut from passed out Abeno at night to out and about Abeno at high noon was really jarring. It felt like a whole scene had been cut out. At first I thought it must be a flashback or something. Surely there was a more graceful way to segue between scenes. The kids were fun though, with their Kid Vision of yankee Abeno and Ashiya. Very Happy
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Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 05, 2019 1:34 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
it made me wonder if his sister is around much, since we barely see her. That would be interesting given her own resentment toward their father for abandoning them.


Even without knowing the reasons for Sakae leaving, comparing him abandoning his wife and two small kids to the sister leaving home to live her own life, is hardly fair...

As for this season being better, i've never minded the more episodic structure of the first season, but i agree that it's interesting to find out more about our protagonists backgrounds and how they might be tied together.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:03 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
It's kind of interesting that he didn't notice it before; it made me wonder if his sister is around much, since we barely see her.

It appeared to me that she's been away at college, so he wouldn't really have had an opportunity to notice. And we don't know for sure that she lacks the potential to see youkai. Hanae couldn't see them either until Fuzzy awakened his ability.

Quote:
I'm sure some shippers won't be pleased if that's the case.

Are you kidding? That would be an extra draw for a lot of them. Laughing

It's not new information, but the way they laid out how youkai misjudge human time was somehow really poignant here. Like the reverse of how little kids reckon adults to be ancient based on their own short years. Except the youkai kind of seem to know they don't get it, so they just guess times longer than how they perceived it so they won't look stupid.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 5:49 pm Reply with quote
It's funny, but I kept feeling like Komon was male. Apparently I wasn't the only one, since the subs used both pronouns to describe them. Smile

Quote:
Then there's the other big question; if his dad did "go bad," what led him down that path? Is this why Aoi had to select a new apprentice in Abeno?

Well, Komon said he was bad before becoming Aoi's apprentice, which suggests he reformed, or Aoi reformed him. He could have reverted to his old ways, or just decided to go off on his own. Maybe he met Ashiya's mom and that's why he left. Hard to say without knowing how long it was between Sakae leaving and Aoi taking on Abeno. But while that could easily have been several years, the youkai wouldn't think it was very long between.

He might not even have been "bad" before he was taken under Aoi's paw. He could have been acting in what he saw as self-defense against the youkai only he could see, when he had no one to teach him other ways of coping with them.

I'm guessing he was in the White Sands prison during the years he "abandoned" his family. He's probably been on the run since escaping, with just the brief visit home. Why he was there and why it's classified, I can't guess.
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