Itβs incredibly important to me that the anime decided to include this scene that wasnβt in the manga. In the manga, Maomao does pass out in Jinshiβs lap after saving him from what was obviously an assassination attempt.
HOWEVER, the manga cuts off at this point, keeping strictly in Maomaoβs perspective, and cuts straight to when she regains consciousness in bed after being treated for her injuries. The manga doesnβt show how she got back. They SAY how, and she briefly mentions, βwow that must have been embarrassing; he carried me back,β but we donβt SEE it. We donβt get to feel the true impact of what that means. But the anime DID show us, and holy shit.
They SHOW us how taboo this is. They show Jinshi carrying her out of the temple, after a public attempt on his life.
They show us the shock and horror on Lakanβs face as Jinshi silently walks past him. Horror at the state his daughter is in, horror at another manβa man with a status he could never dare to questionβstaking such a public claim over his child, horror at the fact that he could never have this level of closeness with her (as Maomao would never allow it).
Everyone hides their gazes, as is their custom when someone of his rank passes by, but the air is different this time. Jinshi is furious, heβs terrified, and he could not give a single shit about how inappropriate it looks to these palace officials.
The shot that slowly follows her trail of bloodβeven though itβs a small detailβthat in particular leaves such a intense impression of how poignant this is for him.
Maomao talked about this scene in the manga like it was nothing to her. She did what she set out to do: she saved the person who was targeted by the attack. She didnβt even know the target would be someone she knew. But she has no idea that this happened afterwards as a result of her bravery. To her, it likely wasnβt even an act of bravery at all. She acted on impulse; she did what she knew was the right thing to do.
The anime didnβt need to include this, because the manga didnβt show it. But damn, Iβm so glad they did.
Bucchigiri?! Episode 1 Review - Hiroko Utsumi Is Back
After the success that was SK8 The Infinity, Hiroko Utsumi returns with another original anime. She sets aside the skater boys and goes for delinquent boys and genies this time around. Will it live up to the hype surrounding her name and trajectory? Itβs only the first episode, so I need to see if itβll be as great as SK8.
From the first episode alone, I liked it. Itβs pretty zany, as true to the Hiroko Utsumi formula of having very illogical premises work. The story is about Arajin Tomoshibi transferring to a delinquent high school in hopes of getting a girlfriend and losing his virginity. He then gets involved in school gang fights. Oh, and he finds a djinni who wants to grant his wish. The genie then gives him tremendous strength as a condition to his wish.
You can see that there are a lot of references to Arabian Nights. Other than the concept of djinns and wishes, you can see that Arajin is very Chinese-themed from his outfit to his familyβs restaurant being a Chinese one. This is because the original story of Arabian Nights had Aladdin, the character heβs based on, as a Chinese boy. The buildings in this story are all Arabian-inspired buildings. So, this is actually a very creative part on Utsumi. Iβm not too familiar with other Arabian Nights stories, so Iβm not sure what other references there are.
There are so many characters to keep up with. However, I do like what Iβve seen so far. Arajin is arguably a bit one-sided at first glance as his only defining trait is his desire to get laid, but there could be a reason why he does this when heβs with Matakara. Matakara is this showβs version of Makoto Tachibana, a nice beefy dude whoβs childhood friends with the black-haired MC. However, they had separated for five years before reuniting. Matakara seems like a nice guyβthe ways Utsumi writes nice guys is that if theyβre nice, theyβll always be nice. The other characters are pretty one-note, but Iβm sure Iβll see more later on. The character Iβm most interested in is Marito, who is very sultry. However, the best character so far is Arajinβs mother. Sheβs so cute and a super embarrassing but loving parent.
The djinn is actually a lot cuter than I expected. The trailers had him as this hulking spirit that looks all serious and straight-laced, but heβs very cute. Like, he hangs around Arajin and even watches TV in his house. Heβs super chill and friendly, contrary to his appearance. Like, I think he might be the dark horse in terms of stand-out characters because I didnβt expect this character to be so freaking adorable.
What surprises me the most is that Utsumi is actually using a female lead, or a heroine, for this story. If youβre familiar with Utusumiβs works, she really likes βfujo-baitβ shows. With Free, there are a few female characters but none of them are too significant other than Gou who isnβt the female lead; the main characters are all male. With Banana Fish, there arenβt that many female characters as the main characters are primarily male; Eiji, a male, is arguably the heroine of the show. With SK8, there are some females, but theyβre mainly supporting characters as the show is about guys who like skateboarding. I think this is the first time Utsumi is using a heroine for her works. Mahoro is so important that sheβs even the main focus in the endingβthis has never happened before. However, how important she will be will depend as sheβs mainly a sadistic brocon who gets turned on by her brother Marito beating up her potential suitors.
Because this is animated by MAPPA, the animation is very good. I just hope theyβre treating their animators well this time. Workplace abuse is a huge no for me. The anime feels very over the top, but also well-animated in that regard. The fights are handled great, but thereβs also the mix of the classic Utsumi fan service sprinkled in; she clearly loves back muscles as she emphasized Matakaraβs a lot.
The voice actor choices are actually very surprising. Youβd assume there would be a cast of new faces, but not exactly. While there are some new faces like Anna Nagase, there are a lot of veterans and voice actors who arenβt well-known. For example, Arajinβs voice actor, Genki Okawa, was in Yugioh Zexal as Mizael, but other than that, he isnβt a big name. Some big named veterans in the cast are Nozomu Sasaki as Marito; he voiced Johan Liebert from Monster, Eriol Hiiragizawa from Cardcaptor Sakura, and Yusuke Urameshi from Yu Yu Hakusho. Other big names like Kappei Yamaguchi (Inuyasha, Ranma Saotome), Makoto Furukawa (Saitama), and Ryota Takeuchi (Elias from The Ancient Magusβs Bride, Ushijima from Haikyu) are casted here but I donβt know who their characters are because there are so many introduced from the get go. The other voice actors are small names, but I do hope they get big. Everyone deserves a chance at the spotlight!
Overall, Iβm a huge sucker for Hiroko Utusumiβs works so I might be a bit biased in this review. However, I can say for a fact that her works are always entertaining to watch. I hope this one is the same. If youβre watching this show, what are your thoughts?
the afterlife section was insane n almost reads like it was written by a doujin author
i think this is the first time we ever see some semblance of regret from getoβs perspective and it makes it so much more bittersweet when considering that itβs almost certainly just an illusion or a figment of gojoβs imagination as he lays dying.
the FIRST thing he thinks about in his last breath is to imagine a geto who was regretful, while in canon he never showed that at allβ¦saying βno matter what, i hate monkeysβ and βin a world like this, i cant laugh from my heartβ to his best friend AS HE BLEEDS OUT..at least say something nice damn
geto was so afraid of regretting his decision that he made sure there was no chance he could ever go back to his old life again, cutting ties with the home he once found in jujutsu society to create a new home for himself
in that way, i think geto is very future-oriented compared to gojo being constantly stuck in the past; geto was 100% dedicated to his revolution which was (as with most revolutions) all about seeking a new future because the state of the present was unacceptable
gojo on the other hand stuck with the existing system, and weβre shown over and over again how he cannot help but linger on the past. gojoβs present tense βMy best friend, the only one I haveβ to getoβs future tense βHe was my best friend.β gojo who didnt dispose of the body. gojo who made that face when seeing kenjaku. gojo who teleported immediately to kenjaku after being unboxed... his narrative has been very focused on his lingering attachment to the past and his refusal to let go; even his choice in becoming a teacher was influenced by his wish of preventing the past from happening again
back to the recent chapter, gojo imagining a life where geto is there to cheer him on and saying thatβs the only way he could be completely satisfied??? hello πππ the fact that geto is in his gojokesa and not a teacher uniform makes me rip my skin off he really thought abt how things couldβve been with geto and regretted how things turned out so much ahhhhh
imagining geto crying too, the ββ¦β¦.ha haβ I FEEL HOMICIDAL . gojo (presumably) one sidedly wanted geto to feel regret while geto continued to push forward
well its still likely that geto was regretful in some way, hes very repressive about his emotions and never fully expressed how he feels to other characters (which is what led to his downward spiral in the first place) so perhaps he did carry regret that he refuses to think about. but one thing for sure is that he absolutely valued principle and acting with βmeaningβ over the bond he forged with gojo, and i think he felt so cornered by the system that gojo too became a threat to him. while for gojo, his bond with geto was everything to him and completely changed the course of his life. if he never met gojo, he would be more similar to the child gojo, someone emotionless and brutal who followed his old morality
gojoβs perspective on everything is justβ¦ my head hurts agghβ¦..
The record holder for consecutive Black Flash uses, Nanami Kento, speaks
It's not like using Black Flash consecutively is anything amazing.
To do so consecutively more than twice in a row⦠Rather, if not done within the same day it would be difficult. It doesn't matter if the first time is by fluke or skill. Once they land a Black Flash, sorcerers temporarily enter a state athletes call "the zone."
The manipulation of cursed energy that is normally done consciously, comes as naturally as breathing. There's a sense of omnipotence, like everything else revolves around you⦠That might be a good way to put it.
Let's address the MVP in the atom eve special: Zak
He gave Eve an opening to show her interest. And when she got into detail, he listened to every word.
He didn't disregard her intelligence or bitterly called her a "know-it-all" or called her names like "nerd" or "weirdo", instead, he was fascinated with her. He openly showed interest in wanting to know what she knows.
Of course there's a little personal agenda that he needed to learn these things but you can tell that he was genuine with her.
What really made me feel so emotional is that Zak celebrates Eve, he proudly compliments her to her parents. And he's aware/probably aware that she's not a very verbal kid around her parents so he took it upon himself to prove her genius.
He showed every model Eve built and carefully picked them up to show them off. You can even see Eve smile when he showed the magnesium model. And even if he doesn't completely know what the final model is, he still praised it.
And can we applaud this dude? He literally understood what was happening to her, what she was seeing, before her own parents did. And if this was his first time babysitting her? That's just all the more impressive of him to be able to realize.
Even as Zak said all that about Eve being able to see and memorize molecules, you can feel that he was amazed by Eve the entire time.
You can see that Eve was visibly distressed in this moment cause her parents aren't the least bit happy.
But Zak handled it well. Teens would fold or agree when the adults seem to disagree or don't want to hear them out (especially if they're babysitting, wouldn't want to lose that pay). But that's not the case with him. He didn't raise his voice to be heard. But he made it known that he thinks what Eve knows and what she can do is cool.
And most importantly, Zak didn't forget his manners. He thanked Eve and made sure she knows that she helped him a lot by showing that he's confident he'll do well in his test.
He literally did every single thing right. This boy was raised right by his momma. We don't have much info on him but he was a great character in the entirety of his screen time.
I don't think I can stress this enough but his whole scene was amazing.
Eve looks super young here and she might not remember this moment but I'm sure she's glad that at that moment, someone made her feel okay with herself. That what she's seeing is okay. That what she knows is okay. And that it's okay to show it to others too.
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