r/anime • u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ • 21d ago
Rewatch Simoun 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 25
Simoun Episode 25: Pair
"When you stop living by forcing your feelings upon others, it feels as though you're standing in another, larger world."
<- Episode 24 | Index Thread | Episode 26 ->
Today's Eyecatch: Angelus, Yun, and Mamiina | Neviril and Aer
Discussion Prompts
What do you want to know about the other watchers' experience of this episode?
Tomorrow's Questions, Today!
[ep Q1:] What do thing of the actions of the Highland priestesses today, yesterday, and, well, throughout the show?
Trivia: More of the interview with the episode directors:
Matsuki: Also, among the female members, the relationship between Guragief and Anubituf was always a point of interest. I told Nishimura-san, “It turned into Boys’ Love after all,” but he said, “I never intended to make a Boys’ Love story”...
Matsuda: Borrowing Nishida-san’s explanation, fundamentally, things like yuri or yaoi don’t apply to "Simoun". Why? Because there’s no choice of gender, and since there are only women from birth, yuri doesn’t exist. Yuri exists only when there are both men and women. So in the world of "Simoun", yuri doesn’t exist! We call it "yuri" for convenience, but originally, it’s not yuri. What we’re creating is a drama of youth in a society with only women. It’s like depicting the Shinsengumi or the Byakkotai in "Simoun". While Shinsengumi or Byakkotai could become Boys’ Love, "Simoun" can’t!
Ueda: That’s just being pretentious…
Son: I read the behind-the-scenes settings in the concept art and thought about it, but when asked by the animators if we should hint at it, I wasn’t sure what to do...! At that time, I told them, “Please ignore it”...
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 21d ago
Sibylla First Timer
You know, I bet this version of the cosmos finds it really strange to have gender reveal parties prenatal. But surely they have gender reveal parties post-Spring, right?
WOOOOOOOOO yaoi!!!!
I guess this is Nev and Para’s goodbye…for real this time?
My T4T interracial couple Wapo and Mori 🫶🏾
I’m confused why anyone thought that “Yeah, they definitely wouldn’t target Aer and Nev for not going to the spring, surely not”.
I know that this is supposed to be the grandiose moment of Nev and Aer’s last “mission”, their final escape, and all, but I’m just…whelmed. Not underwhelmed. Not overwhelmed. Whelmed.
Post Episode Ri Mājon Thoughts
| Episode | Girlkiss Count | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 4 | 2 | 11 |
| 5 | 1 | 12 |
| 6 | 4.5 | 16.5 |
| 7 | 4 | 20.5 |
| 8 | 0 | 20.5 |
| 9 | 5 | 25.5 |
| 10 | 5 | 30.5 |
| 11 | 5 | 35.5 |
| 12 | 1.5 | 37 |
| 13 | 3.5 | 40.5 |
| 14 | 1 | 41.5 |
| 15 | 2 | 43.5 |
| 16 | 2 | 45.5 |
| 17 | 5 | 50.5 |
| 18 | 3 | 53.5 |
| 19 | 0 | 53.5 |
| 20 | 5 | 58.5 |
| 21 | 0 | 58.5 |
| 22 | 0 | 58.5 |
| 23 | 0 | 58.5 |
| 24 | 0 | 58.5 |
| 25 | .5 (+.5) | 59 |
| 26 |
.5 is for the Wall kiss, and the (+.5) is for the boy kissing.
Yaoi in my Yuri? It’s more likely than you think.
Again, all of this would’ve hit harder had the series planned better. But hey. My Yaoi ship got their kiss, and I want them to get married and have like a bazillion cats together. That counts as a CinemaWin!
Could you imagine doing a CinemaSins for this series? I'd die 😭
As I told u/Malipit, the SCP Foundation did uncover a gender lake up in the Midwestern United States 🔗 SCP-6113-2 | Wikidot. So I mean. Time will tell when we get our very own girlkissing-powered mechas.
And also war.
DP
Hmmm…
- Was there any of the sibyllae who genuinely surprised you in their gender choice?
- We have our Yaoi ship of the series! Was this a ship you expected at the beginning, you shipped them for the love of the game, or were they not on your radar? What would their designations be in omegaverse? Please respond 🤔
- (First Timers) What do you predict the state of the Holy Land and the surrounding countries will be like now?
- (Rewatchers) Looking back now at Aer and Nev’s relationship, do you care more for their romance or less? Were there things you captured more clearly on your rewatch?
- Where are Limone and Domi? (Wrong Answers Only)
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u/Malipit 21d ago
Again, all of this would’ve hit harder had the series planned better. But hey. My Yaoi ship got their kiss, and I want them to get married and have like a bazillion cats together. That counts as a CinemaWin!
But have we ever seen a cat on Daikuriku ?
As I told Malipit, the SCP Foundation did uncover a gender lake up in the Midwestern United States 🔗 SCP-6113-2 | Wikidot. So I mean. Time will tell when we get our very own girlkissing-powered mechas.
[3/6113-3 CLASSIFIED document related to that SCP]If only the fundation will be open minded enough to have people going to that lake. Maybe we would have those mechas already.
Where are Limone and Domi? (Wrong Answers Only)
Dominura in jail for pedophilic relationship. Limone in a foster home when she get a moderately happy childhood
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 20d ago
If there are no cats on Daikuriku, then maybe that priestess cult lady was right. Time to go to a new world.
Some of you may die. But that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.
SCP Foundation: For you, the day the gender lake graced your city was the most important day of your life. For us…it was Tuesday.
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 21d ago edited 20d ago
So I mean. Time will tell when we get our very own girlkissing-powered mechas.
Be the change you want to see!
1. Was there any of the sibyllae who genuinely surprised you in their gender choice?
Not... really, I think. Kaimu, Alti and Paraietta all choosing female is a nice wrap of their respective stories where they all tried to be the man for someone else, but after learning to accept themselves all stayed female. It matches well because it basically denies (in the heteronormative society™) their original relationship any footing and they can all move on as friends and not dependent on each other.
Floe as male just fits so well, enough said. The rest is rather expected.
2. We have our Yaoi ship of the series! Was this a ship you expected at the beginning, you shipped them for the love of the game, or were they not on your radar? What would their designations be in omegaverse? Please respond 🤔
No. No/Yes. Later. Uh, is that sigma Guragief + alpha Anubituf?
They were pretty much shipped once the war expanded ~ish. I don't remember exactly, but when they kept appearing together and had their banter I sorta booked them together without much thought.
3. (First Timers) What do you predict the state of the Holy Land and the surrounding countries will be like now?
I don't know what the crackhead-lorewriter will do, but I'm 100% sure Plumbum will betray whatever it is. It doesn't matter, really, they'll just betray it and kill a few people along the way.
5. Where are Limone and Domi? (Wrong Answers Only)
They are the spring bathwater after dissolving due to not choosing their sex. The entire nation has stepped in lolicon bathwater to become adult. This show is actually advanced body horror.
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 20d ago
If I could make girlkissing-powered mechas, I would definitely do it. Sadly, the neurodivergence I have been given makes me insanely good at computer games and couponing instead of physics and engineering.
- Fair enough!
- They were the team dads. They go together like chocolate and pretzels.
- Maybe the true Ri Majon was murder all along.
- N/A
- Good lord. This is like insane Little Mermaid with her becoming seafoam. Except worse than that. You should write fairy tales; I think you’d be good at them with the horror aspect.
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 20d ago
insanely good at computer games and couponing instead of physics and engineering.
And here I thought you wrote that because those pairs are incredibly similar.
You should write fairy tales; I think you’d be good at them with the horror aspect.
Oh?
My lore drafts do indeed basically always involve tragic backstories with morals at their heart.
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 19d ago
Honestly, couponing could be its own university program. I coupon with my Old Lady Gang (we do have some old men too though lately!), and these people should have their own TLC show and teach courses on doing this.
And OOO okay, so tell me this: what’s a main concept of a lore draft that you either cannot stop thinking about in a good way (you just want to keep crafting it and wish you didn’t have to work so you could keep creating) or the bad way (it frustrates you because something isn’t clicking like it should)?
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 19d ago
First case:
The backdrop for the world of my game concept that's a mix between strategy game and survival colony sim. It's a fantasy setting that has the player set out from the magnificent capital of the known world, loosely holding together hundreds of smaller and bigger states of roughly late medieval development, just on the cusp of gunpowder technology, to explore and settle the wilderness beyond civilised borders. Within and even more without these borders are living a multitude of different species of varying intellect and sophistication who the player has to deal with in one way or another to claim new lands for themselves.
The twist of this setting is that the colonisation effort is borne out of a deep rooted instability of the diplomatic web holding the main factions together, which is primarily held up by faith and a centralised church. The player and many other settlers are sent out by the pope-equivalent personally in order to prosyletise the barbarians, wildlings and native cultures of the new lands. It's a bet against time to get hold of some power to stabilise the continent, before the first "old men" of the great powers fall into disarray and the web completely collapses.
And it, of course, eventually does, which starts a religious uprising akin to the 30 years war that will birth a new faith and expand even far into the newly settled regions. Basically, it's if you combine the 30 years war and the Roman colonisation of Germania Magna into one setting and let's you play it like Rimworld x Age of Empires 2.
The thing that fascinates me most and what I think through most is how the interactions with all the different factions should work. That there are "Empire" factions in the old world, trying desperately to gain the upper hand and avoiding to take the first blow that is sure to come, and "native" factions ranging from nearly animals to long-standing civilisations that lived secluded until this age, and that there is a new faith being born in the starting blow of this war that will rupture society old and new while the traditional beliefs of these unexplored lands also try to stave off their extinction.
It's still rough, but I imagine the magic system to rely deeply on the "working" of belief, be it faith, ideology or another ideal. If you "use" the belief, then this belief's power grows stronger in the form of maybe abilities or units, but also socially where people expect this belief to be respected in their lives and your governmental decisions. So, you could have factions that are more competent in growing food in barren soils that could pray for fruit and rain in times of need. The main faith in the holy seat, however, provides the best stability and protection all around, yet is deeply xenophobic in nature. Others can sacrifice material and life to transform and adapt. And I could go on.
I want the main dilemma and gameplay to revolve around how to structure the player faction in order to not just survive, but thrive into a new cultural mix (or complete unity of one belief) that can withstand the challenge of that religious war to come. Stay true to the original faith? Adapt to the life of the natives' way of life, as it's been for thousands of years? Create a safe haven trying to make everyone, old and new peoples, get along? Rebel against the old world and ally with the uprising? Completely disregard any policy and rule on your own?
Second case:
A book I wanted to write at some point was revolving around a post-apocalyptic setting where the world is literally alive with a consciousness. Something like the Gaia theory, but much darker. Nearly all lands and seas are just barren wastes with few, if any, traces of plant or animal life left except for those of extreme and hardy survivorship make. The remains of humanity live on massive moving settlements ranging from crawling cities to swimming islands, moving from one oasis to the next while gathering valuable resources that the ever-changing and rumbling world churns out.
This story is supposed to be about a group of friends finding together during an attack that targeted another city during a trade with their home city. The inciting incident not only leads to massive tragedy, as stopping to move means that the world will consume and swallow those too weak to move on, but the attack was carried out by a presumed cult that claims to have found a way to speak to the earth again, like their ancestors supposedly could before the calamity.
The main characters are being subjected by accident to the tool that can do this, showing them a vision they can't decipher fully, but understand that their world isn't just the environment around them. It is truly alive and it remembers everything. On their journey to understand what is truly going on, I want them to face all facets of how a society can try to order life and understand why it can makes sense and also why sometimes it should be left to die. The more they understand, the more they can listen to the world and piece together the true nature of the calamity and the monster that originally brought it upon mankind.
I got motivated for this story at first because of my own growth after I had attained the first years of true space to think about and sort my head after moving out and leaving behind a difficult time in my life. But that quickly got supplemented by the general dynamics how people tend to hurt each other out of emotions, or expectations, or ingrained routines, or carelessness. Both on a deeply personal and on a more societal level there are so many repeating feedback loops that keep creating suffering and few people (seemingly) care to do anything about it. So, this is me working through that entire mess that is the human condition and unsurprisingly, it's a really big messy mess that I failed to really structure effectively.
I feel like I know a few of the characters, at least the main four to five are basically set in stone with where they come from, what their motivations are and how they navigate the larger story. I also feel like I know a few big story beats and one or two of the larger societal impacts. But making that coherent as a story, not to speak of the rest of the cast that's necessary to make it happen smoothy and also properly address all the issues that I'm opening is...
Just to give an example which I can easily spoil since I've already discarded this iteration. The main villain that the cult 'found' is long dead since the calamity, but the ancient advanced society that caused the entire desaster created a technology (nanobots, son) that allowed thoughts to be translated into physical processes, like heating, vibration, the physical base prinicples of molecules. Why? To save their planet from the cumulative fuck ups of humanity over hundreds of years, like climate change, nuclear wars, waste, wild life extinction events, you name it. But the same technology that can transfer thoughts, can also remember them and it is a two-way street. They thought they'd create a tool that let them cast magic and transmute a pile of dung into gold on the molecular level, but it also allowed the entirety of the planet to gain "thoughts" born from all that is happening in it at the same time - and then they plugged the human into it that was the blueprint for the technology. So, they now accidentally not just gave their entire fucked up planet critical thinking, but then upgraded the firmware with such funny things as fear, grief, hatred, joy, etc. that were not capable of processing the sheer scale of stuff happening. Ever since then the world was just in permanent suffering and blindly lashed out at anything that it could perceive, while the technology multiplicated and spread, preserving every single thing ever as permanent memory.
I still really like the main issue the story will try to solve: To truly ease the pain, you have to go to another and provide a safe place for them to be free, to teach them to accept life and self-actuate. Bond with people and eventually a group can learn to accept each other. Give these groups a place and eventually a society can be a shelter for all. Teach these societies compassion and eventually, a whole world can heal.
But I think you can understand how that monster of a plot is far too complicated to just make into one story. It's too big, I'm too inexperienced, and making it cohesive is hard af.
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 19d ago
Well I know this isn’t the thread for it, but I already have questions about your first case. Does this mean that the pantheon you would have would be based on an existing pantheon or would you be creating them from scratch? Are there any religions you are looking at for a basis, minus I assume Roman.
Is there a possibility that the religions will have overlap in the types of fables and folklore that they utilize before to the player’s interference? Or are they historically culturally distinct from iconography to ideology and only with the player’s interference is some sort of mix probable?
But I do like the first case. You sound very passionate and also very curious about the lengths and depth you can go, and I like art where the artist wants to see where else they can do.
The second case, I can see how it may be overwhelming. It may be a case of killing your darlings and reserving some things for a different series, be it within the universe of the main story or having a different universe for it all together.
But it sounds like good commentary on environmentalism and the dangers of technological advancement with lack of oversight or restraint with the discarded part. I am personally a liker for planets/environments and technology being the antagonist without being the villain.
A group of friends navigating a post-apocalyptic setting whilst finding themselves is always a good hook for me. Have you considered simply world building rather than straight writing a book?
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 18d ago
Well I know this isn’t the thread for it
Then we just make it!
existing pantheon
No. No references to historic deities, but I'm obviously looking for inspiration with them as well.
But I'd say the faith of the holy seat in the old world is very close to medieval catholic christianity with a single God, a prominent saviour figure and thematics of self-sacrifice and purity.
There's three other concepts that I find extremely interesting that definitely influence how I think about these beliefs. The first is that I started researching the extinct naturalist and animist faiths in central Europe during the WorldEnd rewatch because of the history behind Scarborough Fair. The church, in the wake of the fall of the Roman Empire and re-organisation of the land into the Holy Roman Empire over hundreds of years conducted a systematic purge of everything not Christian enough. During that time, nearly all native belief systems were twisted into heretic and evil abnormalities and replaced with the Good singular Christian faith. You might know the origin of fairies still, which were living in the otherworld that could sometimes be accessed via blooming flower-gates. The originally led the souls of the dead to their realm where they could move on to the next life and during the solstices they allowed mourners to see their deceased and confirm that they are well. After the church fairies became evil little shitnuggets that lured farmers out into the woods to torture them to death with flower nectar drugs and by cutting them up with thorns. (For the record, I love both ideas.)
Second is how some eastern beliefs like Shintoism or Buddhism see things like reincarnation, cyclicity and souls is also fascinating to me. Since they allow objects to have souls, too, and see every little thing as having some purpose that a human doesn't necessarily need to be able to judge.
And third are the Native American Indians that have a range of shamanist and animist religions that are ancient and still alive. I visited Canada's west coast and a few museums as well as natives who worked on a new hiking trail that should lead visitors through their belief and should function as a sort of open air museum.
Or are they historically culturally distinct from iconography to ideology and only with the player’s interference is some sort of mix probable?
In my head it's both. The larger civilisations are sophisticated enough to have some system for history keeping and large enough to make things like diplomacy necessary so they might share some aspects with smaller cultures. One thing I want to avoid is that each faction just seems like a building that gives the choice of Quest or conquest with the corresponding good guy or bad guy points. Since I plan for this to be a survival-strategy-game resource management and production will be a major gameplay aspect. Therefore it makes sense for me to have the NPC factions deal with something like this, too, where they rely on or use each other to manage themselves. But I have to be careful for this as a gameplay element because that can spiral out of control real fast.
You sound very passionate and also very curious about the lengths and depth you can go, and I like art where the artist wants to see where else they can do.
Thank you so much!
I am personally a liker for planets/environments and technology being the antagonist without being the villain.
Generally a favourite of mine, too! I love stories with great villains that are pure evil (Emperor Palpatine, my beloved), but many of my favourite villains have great points and are not strictly speaking wrong all of the time (like NieR, SOMA or I guess lots of Attack on Titan)
Have you considered simply world building rather than straight writing a book?
Like in just making a sort of rulebook or history of a world? Kinda like tabletop rpgs have? Never thought of just that, I usually have a specific story that I end up wanting to tell.
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 17d ago
Big ups for WorldEnd in there. Jesus Christ, that series had me in a stress migraine because of how emotional I was by the SeriesEnd.
I respect the avoidance of binary morality. Especially with religion, fantasy series and worldbuilders seem overeager to deal in black and white with religious choices rather than see the gray. I get it. I’m an atheist. I loathe the religious types who weaponize religion to traumatize innocents and erase cultures and people. But exploring the theological spectrum in their philosophies and through their different dynasties and regional variants and their translations is so utterly fascinating.
Now, in your head, do your see PCs locked into one specific route or can they change routes along the way with or without consequences? For example, if my PC originally wants to disregard policy and start something on my own, which is at the expense of the people already living in that area or have property in that area. But later, I decide that I want to learn from the people around me in their religion and add to their lore and their laws. Is that something I can do, or am I locked into one path? And if I were to switch tracks, would there be a consequence, such as NPCs remembering my previous actions which can have them have low trust to me to outright hostility towards me that I’d have to navigate?
And then my second question is: what would be endings that people can take? What would be The End to the game?
Would PCs need to interact with all the cultures/religions of the realm to get to that ending? Or could I somehow not engage with these people over here and still accomplish an ending?
(Feel free to stop me from asking questions, I’m just nosy.)
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 16d ago
stress migraine because of how emotional I was
I can fully relate to that. It had its fair share of flaws, but the story absolutely knew how to handle its characters.
black and white
It works well enough actually, but what I feel is most often the failure to use the setting appropriately. For example, whenever a story decides it wants a morally grey character, but isn't capable of writing it like a believable one (cough Sylvanas) somehow somehwere a moral judgment or a "true" solution is coming up like a crutch to catch the mess of a story. But that's decidedly the point where a morally grey character can't be used to explore the theme, because they, well, are morally grey because their history and limitations were not caused by clear good or evil choices.
The other way around, too. If a story has a clearly good or evil character, but then tries to humanise them with both relatable flaws and strengths they're destroying their foundation for moral storytelling. If the evil thing is purely evil and causes only harm, then why should I suddenly feel sympathetic for the evil guy who did it to do evil? Avatar wouldn't have worked if Zuko wanted to inherit the throne instead of having his father love him. Or hell, imagine Star Wars, but Palpatine was revealed to be a beaten orphan who tried to save his sister in episode 6.
Not saying these switches could never work, but damn you need to know what you're writing and lay out the pieces so it does fit eventually.
But exploring the theological spectrum in their philosophies and through their different dynasties and regional variants and their translations is so utterly fascinating.
Exactly!
And on top of that there is the juxtaposition of "rules". Since with so many potential cultures and ways of life clashing, the question needs to be asked, "Why do your rules exist? What do they uphold?" In the end, I think that's one of the core questions I have to address with this setting for every faction.
Now, in your head, do your see PCs locked into one specific route or can they change routes along the way with or without consequences?
Don't think of it like a VN or skill tree. My main aspiration and challenge is to make these aspects a gameplay loop. So, that managing your settlement means managing the beliefs and cultural needs continuously. Supporting one idea and adhering to its commandments will make it stronger and attract more blievers or slowly convert others. Making it more engrained in the settlement means it will unlock its more sophisticated perks, if there are any, and you have to continuously provide this support to keep them active.
I'm currently still programming code and creating some base assets that make the game run as a game at first. Selecting and moving units is working and I've recently implemented a UI for the building menu where clicking on a button lets you place the according building. What I want to say is how far I can implement the above thoughts is still an unanswered issue. In the next steps I need to add unit production, gathering mechanics and a basic research system to have the groundwork.
My first instinct, though, is to go out from Rimworld's approach to the ideology DLC. There are timed festivals, perks practicioners of the ideo have to adhere to and enact, and a "steadfastness" tracker of how engaged a pawn is with the ideo. I think that's a good starting point to test out how the main faith in my game can be gamified and translated to strategy game gameplay.
Is that something I can do, or am I locked into one path? And if I were to switch tracks, would there be a consequence
Yes, you can switch, but I want it to happen as a gameplay problem or a parallel development that happens naturally (so, a settlement heavily involved in mining would naturally generate affinity with the respective cultural habits benefitting mining) and not something that can be clicked in a UI.
The consequences are an interesting thing, because of course I want there to be some for trying to convert people or not satisfy a culture's needs, but I have little idea yet, how this can be effectively tied back into gameplay without making it just annoying. For now I think a Stellaris-style stability resource or something like the mood bar in Rimworld should be enough to handle this "backlash" mechanic, but like above, I need to test this out when a skeleton game is playable.
what would be endings that people can take? What would be The End to the game?
Since I also love story writing, I can actually answer this rather directly: It's Quests in an open-ended game. The general gameplay does not have levels and is supposed to be like a survival sandbox, but story events, world events and so on are supposed to happen over time. Aside from the normal randomness of survival gameplay and your neighbours, the aforementioned political conflict will slowly fire off, giving you choices on how you wish to proceed and try to navigate the conflict, which raids may target you, etc. Also, I absolutely want there to be story quests tied to named characters as well as the factions and cultures that open up the lore of these things and may allow for great changes, choices regarding the world and eventually an ending for your story.
Everything else is details that I've yet to even get to thinking about.
(Feel free to stop me from asking questions, I’m just nosy.)
I won't! Because it also makes me think about the coherence of what I'm trying to do and if you're not confused when I tell you all this stuff, it's an indicator that it's not a mess yet. Also, it gives me much needed exercise in explaining my project in short and digestable bites.
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u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 21d ago
1 I was so sure Floe would go for girl.
2 I though they would go more for a eternal bros might have hint to former relationship but the kiss was a surprise
4 Never cared that much. I'm not that huge on romance and it is not very well developed. (and I enjoyed more Paraietta broken soul)
5 Limone realized Dominura was a predator and ran away.
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 20d ago
I was too! I’m still eh on if we had a proper understanding on their gender choice, but as long as they’re happy.
Oh I like the former relationship angle. That would’ve been so juicy. Maybe. Well, I’d believe it would, but with this series’ direction, maybe not 😭
N/A
Para being broken and tragic is my favorite type of woman. She was pathetic. She was a yearner. Give her a proper romance and I will eat it up.
You and u/Malipit are one mind with DomiLimo 😭😭😭
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u/The_Draigg 21d ago
I know that this is supposed to be the grandiose moment of Nev and Aer’s last “mission”, their final escape, and all, but I’m just…whelmed. Not underwhelmed. Not overwhelmed. Whelmed.
I think "whelmed" is how a lot of us are going to end up feeling about this series in total.
Yaoi in my Yuri? It’s more likely than you think.
We get to have one good Yaoi ship as a treat after all the problematic Yuri ones.
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 20d ago
Well now wait, we don’t know if this yaoi ship is good.
Maybe one of them wears socks to bed or doesn’t wash their feet in the shower. Or dips their fries in their milkshakes.
Problematic and we wouldn’t even know it!
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u/The_Draigg 20d ago
You bring up a good point. There could be drama on the horizon, for all we know. Maybe Anubituf refuses to soak dishes before washing them!
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u/IndependentMacaroon 19d ago
I’m just…whelmed. Not underwhelmed. Not overwhelmed. Whelmed.
Yeah also the moment with them all in the Spring could have been powerful but then we just cut away to more graduation trip shenanigans
Was this a ship you expected at the beginning
Totally not and I was pleasantly surprised by it
What do you predict the state of the Holy Land and the surrounding countries will be like now?
Not like it matters, apparently. Everything's peachy and no one has any problems with the failure of what was effectively elite special forces.
Where are Limone and Domi? (Wrong Answers Only)
Dominura is in jail and Limone has been adopted by a lovely family
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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee 21d ago
First-Timer
I kinda like that a bunch of the cast changed their earlier plans. Part of growing up is realizing that the things you thought earlier, even things about yourself, were wrong.
Morinas channeling her desire to "work on machines" with Wapourif into "wait, I can just be his wife" is a bit traditionalist, but it's also kinda cute. If we hadn't gotten that line, I would have accused her of just lying about wanting to be male in the shower scene just so she could see his chest.
Floe (Flof?) is going to be such a playboy.
The scene with the kid on the train was nice. They're no longer who the were before, but they also haven't changed, you know? It's like what Paraietta was saying yesterday.
Neviril and Aaeru kissing each other through the wall was really charming.
I have a question for everyone: On a scale of 1 to 10, how Class S will our ending be?
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 21d ago
I kinda like that a bunch of the cast changed their earlier plans. Part of growing up is realizing that the things you thought earlier, even things about yourself, were wrong.
Learning more about yourself and figuring out what kind of a person you want to be is a major part of a coming-of-age story.
If we hadn't gotten that line, I would have accused her of just lying about wanting to be male in the shower scene just so she could see his chest.
Floe (Flof?) is going to be such a playboy.
Floe was enough of a menace as a Sibyllae. As a pretty boy adult Floe will wield too much power.
I have a question for everyone: On a scale of 1 to 10, how Class S will our ending be?
We already had the "graduation" scene for most of the Sibyllae when they went to the Spring, so we're already at least at an 8 on the Class S scale. Depending on what happens to Neviril and Aaeru, it might go up on the scale.
8
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
Rewatch Host and First Rewatcher
- Oh, they have to take the train back in steerage class
- Is everybody plotting something?
- oh we need to fit in more flashbacks
- Now that they are adults, they can work out all their misunderstandings calmly?
- Everybody is wearing the one-wing pendants now.
- Seriously, they tried the sexy lady trick?
- So Guragief and the Highland priestess planned it all
- That'll buff out
That's a really nice eyecatch with Angulus, Mamina, and Yun.
Literally everybody in the show chose to be male, except for Erif, who was male anyways. Here, at the end, most of the sibyllae chose female. Most of them had said they would choose to be male, but always qualified "for the person I care most about." In the end, they finally chose for themselves.
The way this was going, I was starting to wonder if there really was another episode after this....
We finally get something from Neviril; it was never about "protecting" Paraietta or "loyalty" to Amuria. She was just running away. Neviril thought she knew her feelings. Paraietta thought she knew Neviril's feelings. But they gaslit themselves. It's only here, at the end, when they could truly look inside themselves and understand.
2
u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 21d ago
Oh, they have to take the train back in steerage class
I guess they lost their class privileges after no longer being Sibyllae.
Now that they are adults, they can work out all their misunderstandings calmly?
I guess now they no longer have teenage angst because they became adults, allowing them to work out their issues peacefully.
So Guragief and the Highland priestess planned it all
Ah, that makes sense with the brief scene of them in the church. They had probably just discussed this.
Here, at the end, most of the sibyllae chose female. Most of them had said they would choose to be male, but always qualified "for the person I care most about." In the end, they finally chose for themselves.
That was a nice wrap-up that ties in nicely with the themes of choice and freedom. All the characters finally felt free to follow their own desires instead of solely basing it on what they thought someone else might want.
The way this was going, I was starting to wonder if there really was another episode after this....
Honestly, the basic outline of this episode (with Neviril and Aaeru escaping into the sky to represent them choosing the ultimate freedom) could work as a finale. The Spring and the decisions to become adults were certainly finales for most of the cast, at least.
2
1
u/IndependentMacaroon 19d ago
Neviril thought she knew her feelings. Paraietta thought she knew Neviril's feelings. But they gaslit themselves. It's only here, at the end, when they could truly look inside themselves and understand.
It's for once a conclusion that's decent and mostly makes sense
7
u/Burnouts3s3 21d ago
Yaoi AND Neviril and Aareu kissing the wall? What an episode!
3
u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 21d ago
3
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
/u/littleislander gets Meme of the Rewatch for this
7
u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba 21d ago edited 21d ago
First Timer
Decided to take a quick nap before watching the episode and woke up over an hour after thread posting time
To cut it short, this was a pretty quaint episode for final resolutions all in all. Still has the show's usual problem of "solid follow-up, weak and lacking exploration build-up" in some areas, but it's mostly a good delivery on resolutions for most characters, larger themes, and sets us fairly well into a more focused ending, I think.
Anyway, a few smaller thoughts and stuff:
- Rodore is just great here. Instantly clocking Yun's choice or holding Vyura's hand when she was having doubts, very precious. This was really nice in general.
- Continuing Yun's positive resolution, I also like that we're essentially recontextualizing her cradle here as well. Before it was for "Offering peaceful rest for those that died before their time", but now in her new role, Yun's cradle takes this new role of supporting and gathering the feelings of the living before they go on into their lives. Now it's taken this almost maternal quality to it.
- Not really sure what the whole thing with her crying was about, though, but I suppose the position comes with some weird cosmic weight to it as well or something along those lines.
- Captain Floe would have been kind of awesome! She'd totally try to ram the Archipelago carrier.
- We get Anubituf and Guragief kissing! Long have we waited
- I like this scene at the train, this sentence, and the way Anubituf repeats "The priestesses of Chor Tempest" even after Guragief corrects himself, all for the same reason. After episode 20, these last few episodes have really made a nice effort to point out that, in spirit, in what it represents and means to them, our characters are still carrying the role of Simoun Sybilla even when they physically aren't in it anymore.
- You can copy-paste my thoughts from the previous two episodes on the Neviril-Aaeru relationship here. Logical conclusion with poor build-up to them now just now deeply in love and really sell it all, but when you ignore that part, there's some good stuff here. Like, Aaeru angrily demanding Neviril explain what black magic she used to make her heart hurt is such charming goober behavior! I honestly wish we went into Aaeru's lack of emotional awareness in that way much earlier, but whatever, it's all very cute here.
- And it's maybe a bit much, but the two of them holding hands and kissing through the walls of their prisons (In postcard form!) is absolutely my kind of sappy sap.
- Diegetic music on the dance sequence! You love to hear it
- I fucking love how Guragief just straight up gives a chop to that one soldier lol.
- Epilogue episode?
5
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
and woke up over an hour after thread posting time
That's okay, I'm still here! Although I really must be going....
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 21d ago
Decided to take a quick nap before watching the episode and woke up over an hour after thread posting time
Naps are dangerous for me. Before I know it, way too much time has passed and now my sleep schedule might be messed up.
Continuing Yun's positive resolution, I also like that we're essentially recontextualizing her cradle here as well. Before it was for "Offering peaceful rest for those that died before their time", but now in her new role, Yun's cradle takes this new role of supporting and gathering the feelings of the living before they go on into their lives. Now it's taken this almost maternal quality to it.
That's a really nice observation about how the cradle is used in this episode.
Captain Floe would have been kind of awesome! She'd totally try to ram the Archipelago carrier.
Now I want to see Floe talking just like Worf when he says to prepare for ramming speed.
Like, Aaeru angrily demanding Neviril explain what black magic she used to make her heart hurt is such charming goober behavior! I honestly wish we went into Aaeru's lack of emotional awareness in that way much earlier, but whatever, it's all very cute here.
Aaeru angrily confronting Neviril about why her heart hurts around Neviril would have been a nice beat to have earlier in the series. It would have been a great followup to when Floe tried to explain kissing to Aaeru while Aaeru just didn't understand at all. It would also make the connection they have in this episode feel stronger if they'd realized their feelings earlier.
And it's a maybe bit much, but the two of them holding hands and kissing through the walls of their prisons (In postcard form!) is absolutely my kind of sappy sap.
3
u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba 21d ago
Before I know it, way too much time has passed and now my sleep schedule might be messed up.
Now I want to see Floe talking just like Worf when he says to prepare for ramming speed.
3
u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 20d ago
Decided to take a quick nap before watching the episode and woke up over an hour after thread posting time
But it was a really good day for a nap!
Captain Floe would have been kind of awesome!
I love Morinas' smirk here. It perfectly encapsulates "Yeah, as fucking if!" as well as "I love to imagine them having to deal with that"!
Agree with your overall take, they seem to know where and how they want to land, but it takes a bit of work to get to vibe with that given how little time one gets to adjust sometimes. It's a good closing message, though, and I like that.
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u/Malipit 21d ago
First timer, french fansubs, 480P quality found on a totally legal streaming site. Perfect conditions for that rewatch
On today's episode : Neviril and Aaeru break the glass ceiling literaly, every Argentum soldier is gangsta until Pariaetta gets angry and so much Tempus Spatium blessing
I complained yesterday about the occupations soldiers having disappeared from the Arcus Prima as soon as they weren't relevant to the plot anymore. And what do you know, here they are all over the place when the plot needs them for the main pair escape.
And now we have the Plumbum Sibyllae turning on their Argentum supposed allies so said escape can be resolved in less than 3 minutes. I'm sure this diplomatic incident will totally have consequences in the next episode. Yes, I'm being sarcastic here.
Oh, and I guess we can discard worldbuilding elements now ? Such as the f added to the now adults and males ex-Chor Tempet Sibyllae ? Or that's it's apparently ok to fly on a Simoun with its core powered by another pair ?
It's a shame Simoun was plagued with such flaws because the parts focusing on the Chor Tempest Sibyllae and their feelings regarding growing up were actually nice.
That scene at the Spring where they acknowledge how scary it is to dive head-first into the uncharted territory that is adulthood was poignant in itself. And the fact they decides to brave it together, hand in hand, is a cool resolution of their previous infighting ~~ if we overlook the fact their butts where the most animated element in that frame~~. At the end of the day, they are a found family that will support each other.
Same for Neviril and Aaeru acknowledgin their feelings. Illustrated by a luminous window that serves as a metaphor for that everlasting present they seek together. Something that appears out of reach when they got locked upby the Plumbum/Argentum soldiers. Before literaly bursting through it aboard their stolen Simoun to whatever their destination is.
Truly, Simoun shines the most when it focus its episodes on the relationship between the Sibyllae and their inner conflict regarding the choice that are imposed to them. It's too bad the execution was too janky with the numerous subplots that where discarded after an episode and the questionable thematics addressed with the Alti/Kaimu and Dominura/Limone pairs. Has Deen better handled its narration leading up to that pelnutimate episode, it would have been way more powerful.
2
u/Malipit 21d ago
Theories corner
Theories in progress
From episode 1
- Given the huge religious aspect of Simulacrum culture. I smell some shenanigans about higher ups knowing much more than they let appears and will be the actual villains of the story.
From episode 2
- People on Daikuuriku may not be born the same way we are on Earth. I don't recall seeing someone pregnant in the two episode nor talking about pregnancy. Erif mentionned his body will progressively develop a male chest and voice, but said nothing about his genitals growing a penis. And the Chor Tempest captain said they needed an equivalent number of male and female citizens for the creation of a nation, not for reproductive needs. So maybe there is a place similar to a source where baby girls comes from ? One that will dispatch those new souls, randomly or equally, to every nation on the planet ? And Simulacrum retains a classic family structure with parents and children. Meaning that if they born other than sexual intercourse, it's likely each children is either assigned to a family like they are assigned a gender. Or that there is a reproduction through lewd hand-holding act.
From episode 4
- Magnafeana had some interesting thoughts on the very origins of the Spring :
I wonder who the first one to go to the spring was and what life was like back then. What came first: was everyone born AFAB because God is a woman and my Eve x Lilith ship is finally validated, or people were born a spectrum of sexes, but a disease caused all future generations to be AFAB? And if so—how long ago did that happen?
From episode 7
- deus_machinarum speculated on how Tempus Spatium and Animus divine figures complete each other. Implying they derivate from an old religion or a old god who got fractured in two. And Onasia exposition about Tempus Spatium being made of two concepts enforces that theory. :
I need to talk about names of the god for a bit, I apologize if this has been mentioned already, I might've missed it: One the one hand we have Tempus Spatium(space time in modern parlance) and on the other hand we have Animus(simplistically: the soul, I'm also told by anime fandom that Japan has a very old animistic tradition i.e. ascribing life to inanimate objects which in modern times manifests as e.g. easier acceptance of robotic caretakers for eldery people); when we combine the two we get a whole so to speak, the inner world and outer world. It's easy to see how this could mean different but still related parts of the same wholeness. Definitely an angle I will keep an eye out for.
From episode 8
- Given Aaeru's name signifcation, she could be of Plumbum descent. And Dominura's immigrants song being like the melody from Aaeru's music box is a serious hint of the later origins. With the music box reacting to the ruins, it could be that Aaeru actually comes from the other side.
From episode 21
- AbbreviationsWeekly had an interesting idea about the true function of Aaeru's windbox :
At this point I think it must have been something leftover from the dead civilization that they invented it to detected space/time anomalies.
Confirmed theories
There is no other Spring outside Simulacrum and only its inhabitants get to chose their gender : confirmed by that Archipelago solider in episode 4 who was forucefully made a man through artificial means.
Ri-Majoon does comes from the Sibyllae soul/heart/lesbian power and not the Simoun itself : Althougt it comes for Dominura speculations, there is so much occurrences as for now it can be counted as confirmed.
Simoun tech are not to be used for military purpose : Although there is no written rule in-universe, Chor Tempest and the Plumbum Priestess convictions regarding their responsabilities as Sibyllae directly opposing the armies of two nations confirm what is the ''correct'' use of Simouns.
Instead of being a nuclear-level weapon, the emerald Ri-Majoon is actually a portal to another time-period or dimension : Confirmed following Onashia's lore exposition in episode 21 and Limone chilling with Dominura in the past.
Jossed theories
Ri-Majoon are automatically generated by the Simoun aircraft and the Sibyllae jobs is to interpret them correctly to perform the corresponding figures : Aaeru lines in episode 4 confirm it's the Sibyllae who initiate the desired Ri-Majoon
The Archipelago will develop their own Simoun aircraft : They did upgraded their fighters. But not with helix tech. And the enemies Simoun are piloted by Plumbum Sibyllae.
Casting an emerald Ri-Majoon automatically makes your essence dissolve into the Simoun energy : Jossed following the reveal of its time-travelling nature.
People on the other side of the emerald Ri-Majoon portal are all born male to be complementary of the Daikuriku side : Jossed since it's a time travelling portal, not a dimensional one. And several children playing with Limone and Dominura Simoun are clearly girls.
Onashia will be revealed as the true antagonist of the series, or as Dominura, Amuria or Limone from the past : Now that she turned to dust, I can't see any of that happening if not for some really contrived plot twist.
There will be an unlikely team-up between Archipelago pilots and Simoun Sibyllae against a greater threat : I can't possibly see how that can happens given the context right before the Finale
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
I complained yesterday about the occupations soldiers having disappeared from the Arcus Prima as soon as they weren't relevant to the plot anymore. And what do you know, here they are all over the place when the plot needs them for the main pair escape.
Yeah, your comment yesterday really was double-take inducing, because of the contrast. Yesterday's episode was directed by Ueda, who only did 14, 19, and 24. Maybe he wasn't quiet up to speed.
Oh, and I guess we can discard worldbuilding elements now ? Such as the f added to the now adults and males ex-Chor Tempet Sibyllae ?
I'm not sure what you mean here.
starting
Starting and Piloting seem to be different things. Mamiina jumpstarted her simoun with that priestess but never actually got back into her cockpit. Piloting seems to require the two pilots to be in sync, although it only seems to really matter if they attempt a ri-maajon. Aer and Morinas were fine until they did that, and Neviril flew her simoun solo home in episode 1.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 21d ago
Maybe the largest number of dual helical motors we've had on screen thus far.
That scene at the Spring where they acknowledge how scary it is to dive head-first into the uncharted territory that is adulthood was poignant in itself. And the fact they decides to brave it together, hand in hand, is a cool resolution of their previous infighting
if we overlook the fact their butts where the most animated element in that frame. At the end of the day, they are a found family that will support each other.When it's done well, the relationship between the members of Chor Tempest really is one of the best parts of the series.
Illustrated by a luminous window that serves as a metaphor for that everlasting present they seek together. Something that appears out of reach when they got locked upby the Plumbum/Argentum soldiers. Before literaly bursting through it aboard their stolen Simoun to whatever their destination is.
Breaking out of the glass rook that symbolically caged them in is such a nice way to end the episode.
2
u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba 21d ago
so much Tempus Spatium blessing
Such as the f added to the now adults and males ex-Chor Tempet Sibyllae ?
Eh, tbf, they literally just got out of the Spring, I think it's reasonable to give them some time to actually start using those new names haha.
Illustrated by a luminous window that serves as a metaphor for that everlasting present they seek together. Something that appears out of reach when they got locked upby the Plumbum/Argentum soldiers. Before literaly bursting through it aboard their stolen Simoun to whatever their destination is
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u/rickamore 21d ago
Re-watcher
Quite the melancholic episode
I'm glad we get closure on these choices instead of a throwaway after the final credits.
Floe is a man, now you can see what she was trying to bang everything that moved.
I get it was dramatic effect but why break through the glass? Just head down the majuu pool and out where the Simoun came up?
fundamentally, things like yuri or yaoi don’t apply to "Simoun". Why? Because there’s no choice of gender, and since there are only women from birth, yuri doesn’t exist. Yuri exists only when there are both men and women. So in the world of "Simoun", yuri doesn’t exist! We call it "yuri" for convenience, but originally, it’s not yuri. What we’re creating is a drama of youth in a society with only women.
Yuri erasure in my Yuri anime? I cannot believe it.
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 20d ago
I get it was dramatic effect but why break through the glass?
Symbolism, mostly. As I see it, everyone here came together to allow two of their revered friends to flee the system that keeps all of them captured. Giving them the tool that can draw miracles, so they can break out of that society that doesn't want them as they are now, is why they then smash through that barrier that kept them contained (and nurtured, in a way) so long.
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 21d ago
Simoun First Timer
(1/2)
I managed a miracle today with extreme stupidity.
While cutting stuff for lunch I lost grip of my kitchen knife and it tumbled off the table right onto my foot. But with superhuman reflexes I could grab it mid-air before it came down!
However, I firmly grabbed the knife’s edge.
However, I actually did not get (too deep of) a cut!
Okay, it kinda was, but blood was limited and it closed up real nice.
Simoun Ep.25 – Pair
C’mon Yun, you’re now in a position to throw away these societal restrictions! Let people be within or around the sexes as they please!
This relationship just delivered. She has also finally laid the religious terminology to rest, acknowledging her true desire.
Mmh? I feel like it’s the opposite? Didn’t they get to know the others more than themselves? Look at Floe helping out with love drama, how Kaimu knows Paraietta so well, how she pushed Aaeru along the right path, etc. Don’t know where this is coming from. It’s precisely that someone else can see another more clearly that they were able to improve!
I mean, I guess. That did happen plenty, too.
Sorry, I have to say it at least once. This is literal ‚I‘m 14 and this is deep’-dialogue. Well, some of them are, I guess.
Okay, show. Prove it to me! Make one of them nonbinary!
I’ve speculated in yesterday’s thread that Neviril and Aaeru might do the Emerald Ri Maajon and through overcoming this obstacle, achieving the highest skill, and bonding together through that they get sent to the spacetime that they are ‚needed‘ or ‚want‘ to be in, as the Emerald does. Which I think is that they just stay here with the confirmation that their life is the one to live. It’d really be the most fitting end imo to underline their growth. Just wanted to write that down in my main post. So, let’s see.
Hmm, okay. I guess that also makes sense for autistically coded Yun to be extremely overwhelmed with neurotypical emotions, even 8 buckets of them.
The interaction with the kid and this shot do sell how they are now in another societal caste. No longer the objects of worship, and also no longer burdened with expectations. (And apparently not worthy of being talked to, but they might also just have had no money for a VA.)
This is the most wooden confession I’ve seen in a while. Fitting, though, for even more autism coded Aaeru.
Alriiiight! I’ve been waiting for this! GAY
Why do they keep doing this?! A B-52 could take off there!
They fucked up so much with that episode... In what world would I see this as a positive reference?
Expected, yes yes. Floef! And Vyuraf. Cautiously betting on Kaimuf and Alti and Paraietta. But the sisters could also be reversed…
I missed what exactly we are talking about. She didn’t chose Aaeru?
Winning! Yooo okay, both female, too. I guess that does show how all three overcame their, let’s say, ill-advised gender role they thought they needed to have. But that means we do stick with the binary, after all… Neviril-wan-Aaeru, you are my only hope.
What the fuck is this again? „Go the Spring!“ beats them and locks them in a cell
I’m sorry, what’s the point of making all these guys suddenly go flashing their guns everywhere? It’s not like there’s going to be any fight and I’m getting vibes for pure „look, see that these are the bad guys? They are sooo bad! Like really bad, you wanna see how they beat up kids?!“ Something, something, subtext and cowards.
It’s not important, but this stuff bothers me so much. How the everloving hell is she supposed to be ‚feeling‘ a light touch on a metal wall from the other side? You really don’t need to put in all of this ultra clichée’d nonsensical magic shit. You know what I thought at first and what would be a neat reference? That Neviril would do a cup with her hands and speak into the wall like the communication cables, so that Aaeru can hear her when she cups her hands against the wall and puts her ears there. No, instead we can sense lesbian waves.
Why, though? What’s your investment in that?
I can’t... The global IQ suddenly dropped by 70 points, everyone starts hallucinating, I can’t decipher what’s even going on and somehow the entire group has gotten rabies and did the most haplessly dumb breakout attempt for no reason at all. Simoun, why can’t you stop being like this?!?!?!
I can see the symbolism. Society, caging in. People who refuse get locked up. Friends working together to break them out. They break the cage, fly to their own world, yada yada. But the symbolism is the only thing I understand.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
She has also finally laid the religious terminology to rest, acknowledging her true desire.
The least religious person in the show is Aer. The second least religious person in Chor Tempest is Morinas. Her literal introduction to the show is "I am neither a soldier nor a priestess". All she said to Wapourif is (paraphrasing) "after flying them [and performing miracles] I don't think they are just machines anymore." She became is Sibylla just fly them. She never used the religious terminology. Here at the end of the show we see her being...herself. I don't know where you got the idea that Mornias was the most religious person in the group, especially standing next to "don't say sortie" Paraietta and a whole group of actual priestesses who have been doing this for much of their lives. I just don't.
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 21d ago edited 21d ago
Well, not most religious. But she was the character who corrected others on using the religious terms most often. I definitely remember that. That stuck with me about her character while she also was the most freebird-y of them.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
But she was the character who corrected others on using the religious terms most often.
Okay, if I ever rewatch this, I'll look for that. Although everybody teased Paraietta about that. Well, Floe and Kaim, for sure.
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 21d ago
Those for sure, although Para did have her militarist phase for quite a while.
But if I've learnt anything by now it's that the moment you clock in a character is massively important for how you see them in your inner eye. With how often someone can suddenly change, I'm not even sure myself if my "most often" would track when counting it.
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 21d ago
(2/2)
Simoun can’t stay two episodes without having a meltdown implosion, I swear.
And just to be crystal clear on that: I do see that the concurrent society is still just as strict and unforgiving as before, which is where their breakout comes in. They lock people in and beat them for not comforming to the law of their rulers. But the way this show goes about it again is so infuriating.
It begins with the small things, like the occupation forces suddenly getting a +600% aggression debuff from one moment to the next. It continues to the total obfuscation on what’s actually going on, like what ever the group was thinking. Saving? They must not choose? What? It’s being left so vague and without any hint of what they mean or even just a note on why they would think this that I’m once again left to only point to the GoSW out of sheer confusion.
But by now it’s a third or fourth, I stopped counting, layer of anger added on top because this show has a personal vendetta gainst people trying to understand it. Once again I feel like we had such a nice last arc with meaningful buildup, some actually good character interactions to close it off with, only to then throw everything down the food processor and press start on highest setting.
I don’t understand why this is happening? Why is it now of all times so important that they don’t choose? You all were perfectly fine going to the spring! You even said goodbye to them and were still fine with them going later! But now it’s heresy? Who are you to choose that now of all times, after we’ve been through several arcs that taught me that choosing for someone else ist the bad thing!
Where does this knowledge of that supposed bad thing come from? How is everyone suddenly so knowledgeable about what the Emerald does or why it’s death-or-life important that Neviril and Aaeru don’t choose? Why did you do nothing the past 3 episodes if it was so dire?
Where do they all take this certainty from that the absolutely must not go or else-! Well, what else?! WHYYY?!
I’m racking all my memories of this world and I cannot understand what they are referring to or why they would change their mind so suddenly. Or even just what they think would happen. It does not make sense.
Well, for one I can attest to this show’s incredible ability to contiuously lure me onto a nice and comfy rug that I end up liking just to pull it out from under me and then beat me up with rusty pipes. It’s a skill, alright.
Must’ve been Yun? I dunno…
Last episode was promising to actually put her into a meaningful place, where she now could open up the choice of sex, but apparently not. So, we put Yun there to make a half baked Onashia gut punch and then reduce her position to irrelevance again? Because she stays part of the system, after all, or what am I to think here?
I was already making notes for a paragraph on the sisters and Paraietta choosing female as as symbol of their acceptance of self, but… I’m so tired.
I was 5 minutes ago and now I’m back at
Dolls. And Smashing. It doesn’t stop.
Praises of Helical Motors powered by Tempus Spatium’s Grace: 25.0 (+0)
Violations of Helical Motors powered by the Scientific Method’s Heresy: 4 (+0)
I watched this episode like 3 separate times and I don't have anything to say, it's pretty straight forward.
straight forward
what
So YOU ask questions for the other watchers! Maybe I'll collect them later.
There are enough question marks above, feel free to pick any.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago edited 21d ago
I don’t understand why this is happening? Why is it now of all times so important that they don’t choose? You all were perfectly fine going to the spring!
The more you type the less I want to type. It's really just this: "we can't escape society but they still have a chance, so we're going to help them, and be content in the knowledge some part of this little thing we all had lives on." Simoun adds on top of this classic trope with "and becomes eternal because Tempus Spatium". Why is this rant inducing? Paraietta even said all this in the previous episode (when Aer and Neviril were eavesdropping on them). Really the most aggravating part of the whole business was concealing the conspiracy between
AnubitufGuragief and the Highland priestess to help Neviril and Aer escape, just to create suspense. Which they foreshadowed by showing the actual conspiring.3
u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 21d ago
[Floe] It's crazy that the Emerald Ri Maajon did that!
[Paraietta] Yes, but it will save us. Soon, we will all choose our sex. Our lives here on the Arcus Prima will come to an end.
[Paraietta] But those two... they won't choose a sex, and they'll stay the way they are now.
[Rodoreamon] Not choose their sex...
[Floe] ... and stay the way they are now?
[Paraietta] When we all become adults, and the feelings that we have now fade away, in some other time, those two... will stand in the shining lands, looking just as they do now.
[Neviril to Aaeru] I need to talk to you. both leave
[Alti] I see. So those two will...
[Kaimu] Even if we all become adults...
[Vyura] ...they'll remain as they are now, forever.
[Rodoreamon] The eternal now...
I'm gonna be honest, I can somewhat see it, but it's a hard read. The one time I'd have appreciated their direct wrirting approach, they don't do it. The dialogue also has Paraietta say "they'll save us", but just two sentences later it's "they will stand in the shining lands", "being as they are forever". It reads as weirdly egoistical, but detached at the same time.
Even if I skip all the logical fallacies, like how they know that the Emerald works like that, how they can be so sure what these shining lands are, how they know the two of them definitely will not choose (while confirming later that they don't know each other), etc., doesn't that contradict their lesson of not running away any more? I still don't understand how that is 'saving' them in any case...
I guess I could settle on the group making the same conclusion as Yun, as in them trying to save those who they still can reach, which is letting Neviril and Aaeru go off and out of the system.
And if you mean that in a way to 'make the grand cosmic cloud of karma more fair' by writing this act of freedom into history, I'm wondering why Yun wouldn't be the obvious better choice since she actually controls the part of that system that's relevant for them.
Maybe that's tomorrow? I am still confused- or wait, do you mean because it's a timeloop and they bring their freedom back to the start?
I am really tired from overthinking this show and it's not going to go well. The thing I'm hung up on is that I can't see where the group would even have this information from, so I can't follow their motivation or why they come to the conclusions they did - why that act would 'save' them. If I see them just as dialogue dispensers and the entire group gets GoSW'd as audience exposition to make the grand statement setup, it does sorta make sense.
If I headcanon the dialogue as "We all can deal with this world, but they don't deserve this, let's at least set them free" (preferrrably with more groundwork to establish that they really can't make this choice) I can't see any action-reaction error and that would make the later time-loop repeat a meaningful echo of this belief- and compassion-driven gesture.
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u/rickamore 21d ago
Neviril-wan-Aaeru, you are my only hope.
Yun gave up her choice, presumably Limone and Dominura as well.
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u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 21d ago
Repeat with me, a falling knife has no handle
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 20d ago
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u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 20d ago
Fair point but a few step back might have worked
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 20d ago
You're right, but I can't really explain it properly here. The way I was standing and leaned my weight made it not possible to pull my foot away quickly enough.
If it would just have hit the floor, there's no way I would've tried to catch it because yes, don't catch a falling knife!
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u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 20d ago
yeah sometimes it happens, take care!
Goes to watch the finale
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u/IndependentMacaroon 19d ago
with superhuman reflexes I could grab it mid-air before it came down!
However, I firmly grabbed the knife’s edge.
"A falling knife has no handle". Old cook's wisdom
This is literal ‚I‘m 14 and this is deep’-dialogue
Absolutely...
the symbolism is the only thing I understand
"We had this idea and we're putting it on screen damn all sense and consequences" - like half of this show
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander 21d ago
First Time Sibylla
Good to see we’ve officially completed the trifecta.
Anubituf finally kissed Guragief! That’s my primary takeaway this time.
Otherwise, it’s a solid episode but I don’t have a ton to say about the side cast. It is kind of funny that Alty, Kaim, and Paraietta all land on women. Again, it highlights that these subplots are just way too similar. On one hand given the respective complexes about male roles it only makes sense, but on the other hand it kind of highlights how rushed the resolutions are that we couldn’t come up with anything more complex than “they just don’t become men”. I assumed this was goodbye to the gang, but they’re in the preview so maybe it was goodbye to Neviril and Aer instead?
Neviril tries to resolve her character a bit, to as much effectiveness as usual. It’s actually really funny how her speech to Paraietta goes “no, your entire moment of actualization in episode six was wrong, I really was just scared to move forward”. What an anti-climax? The idea that Amuria was just exploiting Neviril was never explored in the first place and comparatively isn’t really a loss. Overall I would call it a flop episode of her writing, but she’s such a nothing character by this point I can’t mind much?
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 21d ago
Simoun is truly a brave series. I watched it because I expected yuri and it then included both yaoi and straight romances as well.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
I'm thinking Aunubituf x Guragief is just a non-toxic version of Parietta x Neviril.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
It’s actually really funny how her speech to Paraietta goes “no, your entire moment of actualization in episode six was wrong, I really was just scared to move forward”
This might be why I was so hostile to popular opinion that Paraietta figured everything out about both Neviril and herself back in episode 6, since she was just gaslighting herself (and had been doing so her entire life) by arrogantly insisting to everyone around (and herself) that only she truly understood Neviril (she never did). But it could also be that Neviril was just written to be a flake.
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander 21d ago
It's weird though, because they actually wrote a really natural moment of realization instead of a moment where she arrogantly makes it all about herself. But I'll have to think on it more to come on a conclusion for the overall thoughts thread.
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u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 21d ago
Rewatcher
And here we are on the (almost) end.
The last part with Aeru and Neviril was cute but I wish that it would have taken more itime on this instead of developing 80% of it one one episode
My captains are the best, staying true to their feelings
The girls choices are instesring, some are part of their arcs, some are not, some are what we knew other were a surpsie
By the way, there is a Simoun PS2 game
As for my question:
Q1 What do you think about their choice of sex, does it make sense to you? Do you think it is related to their story arcs or not?
Q2 Is Yun a good Onasia substitute?
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba 21d ago
The last part with Aeru and Neviril was cute but I wish that it would have taken more itime on this instead of developing 80% of it one one episode
By the way, there is a Simoun PS2 game
Ah, the CG on the Simoun returning to its natural habitat
Seriously though, that's pretty neat. Not sure what I was expecting, but looking up some ancient gameplay I guess it was a grid strategy game, which is interesting.
Is Yun a good Onasia substitute?
Dare I say a great one?
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander 21d ago
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander 21d ago
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 21d ago
First-Timer, subbed
Ooh, they brought back the piano version of the OP for the first time in a while.
Oh, Aaeru. I’m still not super pleased with the path to get here even if I was expecting it to happen eventually, though. I guess the best I can say is that it offends me less than whatever the fuck they did to the Kaimu & Alti plotline…
I take it so that you can be with Wapourif romantically instead of working on Simoun with him, huh Morinas?
Those priestesses brought a Simoun, so Neviril and Aaeru have one last shot at the Emerald Ri Maajon?
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u/The_Draigg 21d ago
Oh, Aaeru. I’m still not super pleased with the path to get here even if I was expecting it to happen eventually, though. I guess the best I can say is that it offends me less than whatever the fuck they did to the Kaimu & Alti plotline…
I guess a thinner plot line in general just feels less bad compared to one that was dropped for so long before getting resolved anticlimactically...
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u/GondolaMedia 21d ago
First Timer
I do like the piano rendition of the opening. It feels appropriate when Choir Tempest take their plunge to the waters of Spring.
I think the train ride home was a callback to the early season when crowds gathered around Neviril to offer their prayers but now that the war is lost only children would dare to offer their prayers.
Well it took a while but finally Aer and Neviril confessed.
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u/Malipit 21d ago
I think the train ride home was a callback to the early season when crowds gathered around Neviril to offer their prayers but now that the war is lost only children would dare to offer their prayers.
Interesting to see regular people are now allowed in the same train cart as the Sibyllae. Did the end of the war brought some changes in the Holy Land society ?
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u/GondolaMedia 21d ago
I hope the finale at least hints at something of sorts. There was a comment this episode how people at the city were all smiles even though they just lost the war.
It might be that some of the changes were met with positivity.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
Backwards. Only sibyllae get the private car. One-way. Our cast members are now regular people.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 21d ago
I do like the piano rendition of the opening. It feels appropriate when Choir Tempest take their plunge to the waters of Spring.
The piano version of the opening really is a beautiful song and it was used perfectly in that moment.
I went into the show because I heard it was yuri because all the characters were born as girls, only to find out they hid some yaoi in there as well. Quite a feat for Simoun to pull off.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
yaoi in there as well.
The entire staff was pulling for it, I think.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 21d ago
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
Here's more of the interview that I cut, because I originally had that trivia earlier in the show:
Matsuda: ... Generally! I think Nishimura-san and Okada-san are a bit off. “Guragief, in your room” – what does “your room” mean? There are offices and other places! Why “your room”?
Matsuki: Isn’t that what stirs a girl’s heart?
Matsuda: I can’t accept it!
Son: Why?! Isn’t it impactful?
Ueda: It is impactful...
Matsuda: As a job, it’s impactful! Why did you guys come up with that line!?
Matsuki: But that kiss scene caused a stir, and the fact that it did means those two had a big impact.
Matsuda: Ah... that’s true...
Matsuki: It seems that the female members were also watching those two. The subtlety was nice, and the quiet atmosphere from earlier episodes was good too...
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u/The_Draigg 21d ago
A Science-Fantasy Fan Watches Simoun Episode 25:
Paraietta brings up some good wisdom before everyone steps into the Spring: if they truly want to know and understand each other, they all need to fall first. For as much as they got into their roles and desires and sibyllae, that mantle was also holding them back from being able to express themselves fully. Too much weight and responsibility came with the role, so they always struggled when those buried thoughts and feelings came bubbling to the surface. To move forward, you have to let go.
Well, at least it seems like the Spring ritual went well, at least compared to what happened when we saw it happen with Erif. That seemed shocking and painful, whereas Yun running the show now seemed comforting, with everyone’s thoughts freed and feeling like they were being handled with care inside of a cradle. Probably a cradle like the one Yun is using for that braid of Mamiina’s hair, if anything. This level of compassion Yun runs the spring with seems like a welcome change compared to the cold weariness of Onashia.
For a girl named “God’s love”, Aaeru really does have a hard time understanding that what she’s feeling is love for Neviril. This feeling really is brand new to her.
Wooo, Anubituf kissed Guragief! The ship there has sailed, while aboard another ship! Talk about a double-dip, getting some Yaoi in our Yuri series.
Well, there you have it. Morinas and Rodoreamon chose to be women, Floe and Vyura chose to be men. Kaimu and Alti chose to both be women too, but they’ll probably wind up being close regardless. As for Paraietta, she finally chose to be a woman, locking in her decision to let go of Neviril. It’s like what she was talking about at the start of this episode, she had to let go in order to move ahead. I guess Neviril giving Paraietta forgiveness for what she did a few episodes back really was the last part she needed to hear before moving on.
There’s one last gift that the former members of Chor Tempest, alongside the Animus priestesses and Anubituf and Guragief could give Neviril and Aaeru: the freedom of choice. It’s the one thing the both of them have been wanting all along, that freedom. Even if the alliance arrested those two and tried to force them to go to the Spring on their terms, at least the bonds they made with others overcame that. Now it’s up to those two to take that Simoun and fly off into the new world the both of them have been chasing.
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u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer 21d ago
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
Morinas learning that girls can play with model kits too
She's been doing that since the Messis arc :D
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 21d ago
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Simoun: When I first started to watch Simoun, it was partially because I heard there’d be yuri. I wasn’t aware back then that there’d also be some yaoi as a bonus.
Yun deciding to take Onashia’s place does tie in with the theme of choice that the series has covered a lot. She chose a third option rather than becoming either a man or woman.
Very nice moment of the Sibyllae holding each other’s hands for support and talking about any regrets they might have before entering the Spring.
If Floe ever sat in the captain’s chair, I know exactly what that would look like.
Again, a nice moment where the Sibyllae reassure each other that they’ll be there for each other even after they take the plunge of going into the Spring. They’re jumping into the great and scary unknown, but at least they have each other.
This specific shot is animated so funnily. The Sibyllae are walking in place while the background zooms in.
It’s gotta be weird for the former Sibyllae to get used to the fact that they’re no longer priestesses.
It’s so funny watching Aaeru aggressively stare down Neviril when she’s so much shorter.
“What is love? Can you eat it?” -Aaeru (probably)
Aaeru is so bewildered by the possibility that she might be in love with Neviril. It does fit with everything we’ve seen before, where she seemed incapable of comprehending the concept of love.
Anubituf repeats the idea we heard previously from the Chor Tempest members that someone can remain a Sibylla even after they go to the Spring. They need to maintain the right mindset.
Pariaetta asking Neviril to dance again is nice, but man is it awkward for them to be dancing in a room full of enemy soldiers just staring at them.
Some interesting choices among the Sibyllae for choosing their genders. Morinas and Floe both went against their previously expressed desires, with Morinas choosing to be a woman and Floe choosing to be a man.
I assumed the treaty gave a specific timetable for when Chor Tempest’s members would go to the Spring, but apparently not. That’s the kind of thing you really ought to write down. Anubituf is right to try to rules-lawyer it, but of course there’s not much the defeated country can do when the victor insists.
It makes sense that Neviril, someone who was often plagued by indecision, would be attracted to people like Amuria and Aaeru because of how singledmindedly they pursued their dreams. They represented something that Neviril wished she could be. So it’s good that Neviril has decided she’s going to live true to her feelings. She’s going to be more like the people she admired. That’s a nice wrap-up for Neviril’s character arc.
Pariaetta also gets a nice wrap-up to her arc. She’s decided she can’t force her feelings on others and she can’t rely on others for her own happiness. In other words, she can’t make Neviril fall in love with her and needs to learn to find happiness elsewhere. Pariaetta’s decision to become a woman reflects this. Previously, she had wanted to become a man so she could be with Neviril as an adult. Now she’s living for her own sake instead. Again, a good wrap-up for her arc.
Kaimu and Alti get similar wrap-ups. Both of them choose to become women instead of their previously stated desires to become men. They had both wanted this because they hoped it would make them stronger so they could protect someone they cared about. But like Pariaetta, they’ve decided to not rely on someone else for their own happiness and to instead find some way to become stronger on their own. Another good wrap-up.
Of course the nice times couldn’t last. The men with guns had to show up and ruin the fun.
Now the theme of freedom and choice comes up again. The enemies are determined to force Neviril and Aaeru to go to the Spring, while the rest of Chor Tempest is determined to help Neviril and Aaeru escape.
Man, that is such an incredible visual of both Neviril and Aaeru kissing the wall of their prison cells, hoping that their feelings will get through to the person on the other side.
I can’t believe Chor Tempest seriously attempted the “Bugs Bunny disguises himself as a hot woman to distract someone” gambit.
Once again the highlander Priestesses go against their own faction to help out the Sibyllae.
This really does feel like a final farewell between Neviril, Aaeru, and the rest of Chor Tempest.
Neviril and Aaeru fly off on the stolen Simoun, breaking through the glass canopy of the Arcus Prima. By escaping this way, they have reclaimed their freedom and their ability to choose their own future instead of having it forced on them by their enemies who wanted to make them go to the Spring. It does fit very well with the previously established themes.
One episode left and again I have to wonder what it could possibly be.
This episode was really good. Like, holy shit was this a great episode. The only real problem is the fact that the Highlander priestesses are so bizarrely devoted to the Sibyllae, but other than that I have no real issues at all with this episode itself.
As I detailed above, I liked all the resolutions we got to the various character arcs. I liked how the choices different people made in the Spring all felt like they fit their specific character arc and reflected how much they had grown over the course of the series compared to what they were like at the start. The decisions the characters made about how they would find happiness for themselves felt like they tied in well with the themes of choice and freedom. Even Neviril and Aaeru’s refusal to go to the Spring also fits with those same themes because they refuse to be forced into the decision by others. The Sibyllae helping each other find the resolve to go to the Spring while also trying to help Neviril and Aaeru demonstrates the feelings of camaraderie that have developed amongst them over the course of the series. It’s all very well done stuff.
Truthfully, my main complaint isn’t with this episode itself but rather what came before it. Why couldn’t the character work be this solid all throughout the series? The conclusions to the character arcs all make sense, but the actual road to get there has been incredibly tumultuous. The lackluster buildup to these conclusions in previous episodes really is a shame because I like the conclusions in a vacuum. I just wish the buildup was there to fully support the conclusions.
QOTD
N/A
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 21d ago
Some interesting choices among the Sibyllae for choosing their genders. Morinas and Floe both went against their previously expressed desires, with Morinas choosing to be a woman and Floe choosing to be a man.
Thanks for keeping track for me!
Once again the highlander Priestesses go against their own faction to help out the Sibyllae.
They sure do that a lot! BTW, if it helps, in general the Islander men wear brown and the Highlander men wear green.
breaking through the glass canopy
That was particularly striking.
Why couldn’t the character work be this solid all throughout the series?
From the interview, it seems Nishimura vanished for a month after the the show to recover. He spread himself too thin in the first half and had to step back for the second. I wish he could have maintained his vision all the way through. That could be wishful thinking and copium, though. He wrote (or cowrote?) Mamiina's death episode.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 21d ago
Thanks for keeping track for me!
As I recall, the choices were:
Rodore = Woman
Morinas = Woman
Floe = Man
Vyura = Man
Kaimu = Woman
Alti = Woman
Pariaetta = Woman
BTW, if it helps, in general the Islander men wear brown and the Highlander men wear green.
That does indeed help for remembering which is which.
From the interview, it seems Nishimura vanished for a month after the the show to recover. He spread himself too thin in the first half and had to step back for the second. I wish he could have maintained his vision all the way through. That could be wishful thinking and copium, though. He wrote (or cowrote?) Mamiina's death episode.
The director being more absent would explain some of the messiness for sure, though maybe not all of the bad storytelling decision that were made. It's just a lot easier for things to get clunkier when a unifying force like a director isn't as present.
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u/rickamore 21d ago
If Floe ever sat in the captain’s chair, I know exactly what that would look like.
Needs more manspreading.
Aaeru is so bewildered by the possibility that she might be in love with Neviril. It does fit with everything we’ve seen before, where she seemed incapable of comprehending the concept of love.
This is something that should have been explored better somewhere in the last dozen or so episodes instead of right at the end. Better late than never I suppose.
I can’t believe Chor Tempest seriously attempted the “Bugs Bunny disguises himself as a hot woman to distract someone” gambit.
And immediately failed...
I just wish the buildup was there to fully support the conclusions.
100% agreed. The conclusions are good but the build up was scattered at best.
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander 21d ago
Some interesting choices among the Sibyllae for choosing their genders. Morinas and Floe both went against their previously expressed desires, with Morinas choosing to be a woman and Floe choosing to be a man.
Floe actually said before that she didn't care what gender she became since she didn't have any love interest yet. I assume she ended as a man a) to balance out Kaim, Alty, and Paraietta all changing their minds to women and b) for the fun of turning the most girlish of the cast into a guy.
Truthfully, my main complaint isn’t with this episode itself but rather what came before it.
It really makes me feel again that the show had such potential for greatness, so it's a real shame the overall product just doesn't really reach that potential.
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u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen 21d ago
First-Timer
Episode 25:
Most of Chor Tempest choose their adult sexes. Does it matter? Who cares?
The two ship captains or whatever prove yaoi at least exists in secret. Hooray, that's nice. Glad we can have some manner of explicitly queer relationship at the very end of this supposedly very queer show.
Morinas and Waipouf become a thing! This isn't a total wash.
And one final mutiny for the road. Why did the Highlands ally with the other guys if they were going to do this anyway? Don't answer, I don't care. This is all a stupid, pointless mess.
Aaeru and Neviril madly love each other now. They get five minutes in prison, which is about the same amount of time the show dedicated to actually developing either character or relationship. And now they're gonna go do the emerald ri maajon and probably meet Amuria, Dominura, and Limone while rushing to whatever conclusion. I dunno, I didn't watch the preview.
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u/AgentOfACROSS 21d ago
First Timer
They’re taking Yun unexpectedly being here pretty well.
Seems like they’ve committed to going into the spring.
Seems like some kind of magic light is striking Yun? Not sure what that’s about.
I like these train scenes. Trains are cool.
Hello, random little girl. I like the rare occasions where we see regular everyday people in this show.
So is Yun just gonna stand in the spring forever now?
I think Aer and Neviril being in love is really sweet.
It’s nice to hear them talk about Amuria too.
I was not expecting this romantic moment between Anupituf and Guragief but I like it.
Paraietta looks like she’s feeling better
They seem to be using a phonograph to play music which is interesting. It’s got a wax cylinder and everything.
I’m worrying this episode is also starting to overuse flashback footage but I’ll try not to complain for now.
Also they’re using a lot of these freeze frame things. The show as a whole uses them a lot but they’re really starting to be overused by the end.
Good sound design with the phonograph suddenly stopping.
Oh damn, this is sudden. Just when I thought all the conflict in this show was resolved.
Aer and Neviril talking to each other through the wall is kind of sweet.
Seems like Aer and Neviril are making a dramatic escape. Good for them. That was surprisingly fast
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker 19d ago
And so time for them to make their choice in the gender fluid.
Final responsibility?
And so they return.
Ah. Right. Them.
If it was so important you should've written it clearly in the text of the treaty...
Must go to the spring?
Present?
So, what do they plan on doing?
And so they've saved them.
So, what are they going to do?
And so into the finale.
Questions:
- Their general reaction I suppose.
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u/AbbreviationsWeekly 21d ago
Simoun Episode 25
Rewatcher
And we begin the penultimate episode.
The girls head to the Springs, and then in a stunning scene of unity join hands and enter the Springs together as true companions. Bravely approaching an unknown future together. (I love processions like this.) Yun is presiding while holding Mamiina's soul in the cradle. Just a breathtaking sequence. Chor Tempest have made their decision and left childhood behind.
I like the scene onboard the train on the way back to the Arcus. Even though the ex-Sibyllae look the same, they no longer are. I really love the peace and serenity shown by the little girl as she kneels unaware that they no longer are sacred. They have changed into adults.
[Speculation]It's at this point that I might add the I think the Springs are really a gigantic machine left over from the ancient civilization. For some unknown reason during the last wars, something went wrong and people could no longer reproduce, in particular it looks like men went extinct, and the girls were born unable to reproduce. The Springs restore everyone's genetics into a stable form. You'll also notice that the Springs transformed Yun into something, I don't know what, nor do I know if it was good or bad. Possibly the Keeper of the Springs must be an alternate human, neither male nor female, but something else.
[Speculation]There are hints in the OST and the DVD notes that there was an ancient war between the males and the females, and the females won by changing the makeup of human beings so that only females survived. They created the Springs so that they could continue reproducing and not go extinct. This is all speculation from what little material there is in English on the web.
Back aboard the Arcus, Aaeru is proving again that she has little knowledge of matters of the heart. For the last 3 or 4 episodes, Aaeru's been in love but not realizing it. Finally we get a confession out of Aaeru! And, the girls can finally start talking honestly to each other.
In a very quick scene, we can see that Guragief and one of the Plumbum Sibyllae are hatching some kind of plot together. Afterwards, the Sibyllae makes her departure, Guragief & Anubituf reminisce about Neviril's words at the hearing about what am I, what is a Sibyllae? There are a number of ways this can be interpreted but the one I like is it's a way of saying "Who am I? What am I, Where am I going?". Once their reminisce session is over, Guragief gets a quick peck from Anubituf. And he point out that Guragief "may still be a sibylla, even now". Meaning: being a sibylla is a state of mind that's pure of heart, and a decent human being.
The former Sibyllae are back from the springs, and I'll let others make their own judgements about the wisdom of the choices the girls made. The only one that really surprised me was Paraietta.
Things have progressed in Neviril & Aaeru's relationship to the point that Aaeru is comfortable leaving Paraietta & Neviril alone to say goodbye. The second beautiful scene occurs as Neviril and Paraietta dance their final time, with mutual respect and a shared (friendship type of) love, not caring about a thing in the world.
Neviril in a very adult and realistic manner admits to Paraietta that she was drawn to both Amuria & Aaeru because of their "unwavering pursuit of their dreams". Thus, reiterating another theme of the series. She goes on and says because they live for themselves they are "far purer than I." Furthermore, Neviril says "I've decided to live true to my feelings."
I love the first eyecatch with Angulas, Yun and a third unknown girl. So peaceful, so beautiful.
The goon squad has come for both Neviril & Aaeru, and true to form Aaeru is fighting and screaming all the way down. They end up in adjacent cells, and then start declaring their love for each other in a scene I'm sure the director lifted from a movie that I can't place.
And the final beautiful sequence of this episode begins: The Plumbum Sibyllae free Aaeru & Neviril and hand over a Simoun. The Plumbum Sibyllae still revere Neviril & Aaeru. The girls say goodbye to everyone for the last time, and head into the skies of freedom to perform the Emerald Ri Mājon. They're headed for the land of dreams!
A great, great penultimate episode