current favourites: medalist, hirayasumi, yomi no tsugai, witch hat atelier, ikoku nikki, yanisuu
forever favourites: slam dunk, haikyuu!!, fma, barakamon
currently watching: (seasonal) yomi no tsugai, wha, akane-banashi, mao, nippon sangoku, otonari no tenshi-sama S2, marriage toxin, liar game, awajima hyakkei || (catching up/non-seasonal) trigun stargaze, jjk s3, wandance, rock wa lady no tashinami deshite
I loved the showdown in Nippon Sangoku ep8 between Wajima and Ryumon. Both sides basically did everything right, but Ryumon had just a little more luck on his side. And now, because she'd only just lost out marginally, the audience feels for her and has become more invested in Seii's side (at least I have)
Let me explain gush about this in the super long text below
Wajima did everything right:
when she saw Ryumon's lone, unarmed appearance on the bridge, she considered it may be a trap, but also clocked that it may be the 'empty fort stratagem'
therefore, she was careful when deliberating whether to advance or retreat, and consulted her strategist as a good commander would
she then made the right call to advance
when Yayakichi advised that she be the one to kill Ryumon personally, she humbly and wisely listened to sound advice
(personally, I think that was still the right thing to do despite what happend next, because what Hei said about her soldiers potentially not respecting her is true - we already saw that she somewhat felt that she couldn't punish those who deserve it for fear of decreasing morale among her men)
Had Wajima acted differently on the above, Ryumon could have died by this point - either trampled by an onslaught of advancing soldiers (if she wasn't wise enough to consider a trap or a bluff), or by a barrage of arrows (if she didn't listen to Hei's advice). But she actually made all the right choices.
But unfortunately for her, luck was on Ryumon's side - there was a sudden strong wind, which knocked over the lantern, which spooked the horse Wajima was on, which caused her to miss her shot. And we saw earlier in the ep with the snake how good she is with a bow and arrow.
The flame from the fallen lantern then set Ryumon's body on fire, which added to the psychological mind game when she saw that he was unfazed even while being burned. It led her to believe that the fire must have been a signal for those in ambush to action, so she ordered retreat immediatly. And then the timely rain fell and put out the fire on Ryumon's body.
Without the wind spooking the horse, I think Wajima definitely would have made a clean shot to the heart, seeing as the missed arrow landed on Ryumon's left shoulder. Even if she did miss, I don't think the psychological mind game would have got to her as hard without the fire (which was also caused by the wind).
Just before the showdown, Kaku commented "the east wind is here" - it reminded me of the story of Zhuge Liang 'borrowing the east wind', where the battle was won by thorough preparation, followed by the desired perfect weather conditions. The wind and the rain in this showdown were honestly the lifesavers for Ryumon.
Not to discredit him though! The composure this man held was absolutely crazy. The plan was very high-risk, and I was so relieved when he survived. My appreciation and respect for Ryumon was already high before the episode, but it skyrocketed after this. And that's my favourite thing about this showdown - it shows us how capable both commanders are, and manages to increase our emotional investment in both sides from now on.
i'm so scared about Kaku's coughing (twice!) in Nipppn Sangoku ep8 - i'm pretty sure it means he has an illness, and i really don't want him to die so soon :(((
I knew that Haruo's daemons are from The Tortoise and the Hare, but I just realised that even their personalities are similar to the characters from the fable - in ep 5 after their fight, Torty just silently looked/smiled at up Left, while Bunbun gave a smug smirk to Right! (and she also referred to Yuru as kozou in the previous ep)
i need fellow witch hat atelier manga readers to gush with me about how well ep4 used colour saturation -
the association of 'greyscale = the brimmed caps' was established so well throughout the ep, that when we saw Tartah's POV of Coco chasing the brimmed cap witch in greyscale at the end, it was completely natural (but also clearly a 'hello manga readers!' moment for us to enjoy)
BUG FILMS are putting so much care into this adapataion, and im so so happy <3
Witch Hats Atelier ep3 anime-only/extended scenes that stunned me:
The adorable flashbacks of toddler Coco and mum (I rewound several times during the ep)
Mum's ghost hand that guided Coco as she drew at the start, and then beautifully floated away
Coco saying she got her arrow the wrong direction - this was a small extra detail, but so effective in showing how Coco passed this test: innovate problem solving, a bit of luck, and a lot of grit. Because if she had drawn the arrow the 'right' direction, the whole boat probably isn't streamlined enough to rise up and sustain the altitude for her to get to the diadem herb
Coco trying and failing to grab hold of the herb, then being brave to dangle her whole body outside of the kite-flyer in her final successful attempt
The way she put on her new uniform! The movement in the fabric, fastening the buttons, everything!!
(also, our favourite fluffy Brushbuddy was animated ^^)
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