Miharu heads off by himself to find Yoite, his grandmother commenting on how much he's changed as he goes.
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A loli rival appears!
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This show continues to leave me terribly confused, and not in a Kara no Kyoukai “this dialogue makes absolutely no sense whatsoever” way. I just find Miharu so utterly enigmatic - I have no idea what he wants or why he does the things he does. At least Yoite, King of Emo, sort [...]
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Perhaps its just that I got far too excited about it during its early episodes, but as time has gone on my enthusiasm has dampened somewhat towards Nabari no Ou, as it seems to have lost a little of that early spark. Thankfully, episode twelve at least goes a little way to rescuing that feeling for me, with Raimei out of hospital and offering to help Miharu despite knowing that he's talking to Yoite and thus, to some extent, working for Kairoshuu. Indeed, that 'some extent' appears to become outright working for them, as he meets with the group's leader to offer his services. After the last couple of episodes have given us at least some action for our troubles, this particular instalment was basically excitement free in this discipline, continuing this show's tradition for mixing more action-oriented episodes with action-free ones. On this particular occasion, the lack of fighting was actually quite welcome, as it allowed for some reasonably subtle focus on the relationships between certain characters. For starters, Raimei's relationship towards Rokujo continues to be rather interesting - Is it still her promised loyalty towards him that drives her, or is there a little more to it than that? Similarly, is her offer of help despite knowing that it may benefit Kairoshuu in any way due to her recent meetings with her brother? Then, of course, we have Rokujo and Yoite's relationship, which is as hard to pin down as ever and again begs questions aplenty. Is Rokujo helping Yoite to save his friends, or Yoite himself? Is Yoite grateful for this but unable to say so, or is he really as cold-hearted as he appears? There's certainly an interesting dynamic between the pair, with plenty of space for further investigation. As the series progresses, Rokujo's initial characterisation is looking to be an increasingly smart one. While he is rather prone to indulging in bouts of what I can only call 'Shinji Ikari disease' (i.e. either running away from his problems or deciding that the world would be better off without him), his skills when it comes to emotional manipulation and deception adds an extra layer to everything he does, particularly now he is getting far more focus as time goes on. This doubt surrounding his motives at all times leaves you watching closely for any signs that he's going to turn things around out of the blue, and to be honest I still don't have a clue as to whether that will happen or if I'm simply reading too much into things. Either way, and despite it not quite matching my early expectations, Nabari no Ou does continue to have some real positives stored in the bank, and if it can keep things interesting as far as the concept of Nabari co-existing with the real world and some good characterisations go, then it still has the time and ability to dissuage some of my concerns.
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She's at it again… O_o Ehhhhhhhhh?!?!?!?! Yes, please do. Ok…. ……wow. If she's suppose to be black over the on the right….good job. ^_^ Summary: So Miharu is talking to Raimei in this one from the beginning. She just [...]
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「意志」 (Ishi) "Intent" Episode at a Glance: Realizing that Miharu plans use the Shinrabanshou powers to help Yoite, Raimei insists on lending a hand in some way after coming to terms with what happened between Raikou and her family.
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Off to yaoi land for some BL.
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You big bully! That would be a pretty useful Technique. Yeah, and you put him in a coma….great friendship there buddy. Summary: Miharu, Juuji, Kouichi, and Saraba are all at the hospital trying to stop Raimei from going out and getting herself [...]
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Swordfights and flashbacks and hospitals, oh my!
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Angsty sibling Love Well, this episode brings an end to the whole Shimizu backstory and even had me a little teary in the end. What I don’t get is why Raikou still tried to kill Raimei in the end … I mean, what the hell for? Or maybe he wanted Raimei to kill him but that’s [...]
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After Raimei's hunt for her errant brother Raikou reached a bloody climax in episode ten, you could be forgiven for thinking that would be the end of the matter, for a little while at least. However, you'd be wrong, as the eleventh instalment of Nabari no Ou focus solely on that duo, and quite deservedly so if you ask me as their relationship got pretty short shrift time-wise in the last episode.Despite being defeated and injured last time around, Raimei predictably isn't going to sit around sulking or waiting for her wounds to heal - Instead, she wants to pick up where she left off and find her brother straight away. Fortunately for her, she's found by his companion Gau first, who then proceeds to unravel the whole story abour Raikou and the sluaghter of the Shimizu clan, which turns out to be very different from the version of events Raimei knew and her brother had done nothing to correct.In essence, the Shimizu clan's downfall was not far short of a civil war regarding whether those from the world of Nabari should use their powers in the real world - A recurring theme of this anime it has to be said, but one that has proved to be suitably intriguing so far.I must confess, I'm not 100% convinced by Raikou's reasoning for not telling her sister the truth behind her family's slaughtr, it just seems like the kind of thing no sibling would do no matter the circumstances. Regardless, it made for a reasonably powerful episode emotionally, which did plenty to highlight Raikou's emotional instability throughout, something that it seems that even reconciliation with his sister might not change.That aside, this episode was also notable for suffering from the 'horrible late edit to remove violence' disease that seems to be becoming more prevalent in anime these days. I would wager the recent tradgedy in Akihibara has something to do with it, but the edits here were as ugly as they were odd - Why cut some scenes of profuse bloodshed but not others? It makes no sense, but then again censorship rarely does.Anyway, despite not really focusing on what you could call the main story too much, this was a solid episode of Nabari no Ou, which rectified my feelings last time around that Raimei's story had been glossed over - Now I see why, and everything has fallen into place. I can't really pile on any superlatives for the episode, as it was good without being anything close to spectacular, but if nothing else this series continues to be eminently watchable even it isn't quite at its best.
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Having just rewatched Kung Fu Hustle, I was just LOL at this scene: Dance the dance of the Axe Gang, Shimizu-ke! ©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved..
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It’s very strange, but mentally I’ve almost totally blanked out this episode. I’ve not forgotten what happened in it (well, partly that, too, it was a few weeks ago that I watched it) but I mentally skipped straight from the end of episode 4 to the events of episode 6 in my head. I think [...]
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Bother the neighbours they say…sheesh. Well, she tired. Someone else also is having some problems… Summary: Miharu and Yoite find each other by Hana. Kumohira is against it, but can't argue with her. We also see the fight between Raikou and Raimei. It doesn't go [...]
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I told you that boy is crazy! Summary: This one focuses on the other side alittle as we get to see more of Raikou and others having a little chit chat in the order. We also meet Gau and Kazuho. The point [...]
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I told ya about that crack… What did you say about my mama fool?!?! Summary: Miharu and the others continue there assault on Mr. Frosty. We find out about Yae's true intentions for this mission as well. She wants revenge for her daughter [...]
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「カーテンコール」 (Kaaten Kooru) "Curtain Call"
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Irony.
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I’m not normally one for using memes, so I apologise in advance, but this whole episode can be summed up as “MY PARALLELS. LET ME SHOW YOU THEM.” The whole thing is deliberately constructed to show how both Kairoushuu and Fuuma have exactly the same goal in mind - gather the forbidden techniques of all [...]
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After appearing to set things up nicely in several respects last time around, episode ten of Nabari no Ou actually doesn't deliver to quite the same action-packed degree as you might expect.While Raimei and Raikou's battle upon finally meeting again after all these years seemed likely to take centre stage, the actual fight itself was a rather brief one, with far more time committed to its fallout for both Raimei and, to a greater extent, her brother. We also learn a little more about the reasoning behind the killing of his entire clan, although this is more or less what has been alluded to already.Another point of focus for this episode is the continued pact between the ever-weakening Yoite and Rokujo, with the pair continuing to plot a way that will allow the latter to use the Shinrabanshou to make Yoite disappear.While the series is continuing in much the same vein I've been expecting, I can't quite put my finger on it but something felt slightly 'messy' about this episode. Perhaps it's the fact that so many of the major characters are keeping their secrets and emotions hidden from one another, but it's almost serving to make watching the show a little frustrating at times. Certainly, the tone seems to have been set regarding the action to dialogue ratio in recent episodes, a tone confirmed again here with the obvious flashpoints surrounding Ramei and her brother and Yoite and Thobari coming to very little in terms of any jaw-dropping action.Having said that, I have to commend the series for pulling no punches in this episode, with the aforementioned Raimei versus Raikou situation finished in a chillingly clinical fashion, and the episode ends in similarly bloody circumstances. There's nothing worse than major plot points coming to half-baked endings, and it seems that on this occasion at least this has been avoided here.Despite my reservations about the amount of important facts that we don't seem to know, this was another pretty solid episode to keep Nabari no Ou moving on its merry way. It seems that this series isn't going to be quite as all-out action-packed as I perhaps expected from some of its early skirmishes, but it still offers up an intriguing and well-thought out slice of ninja life in a contemporary setting.
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