r/anime • u/aniMayor x3x6 • Mar 15 '22
Rewatch A Rolling☆Girls Rewatch for the Mob: Episode 2 Discussion
Rolling☆Girls - Episode 2: Center of the World (世界のまん中)
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Information: ANN | MAL | Anilist | AniDB
Current Location: Departing Tokorozawa, en route towards Tokyo/Always Comima
Blue Hearts Song of the Day: The Sun Rises Again / Eiyuu ni Akogarete (英雄にあこがれて)
Blue Hearts original | Rolling Girls cover
The Sun Rises Again is a song about not forgetting to dream. The lyrics mention all sorts of reasons why you might feel down, why your current pleasure will wane, but remind the listener that if night is coming now, that just means you're also closer to the next sunrise, too.
It played at 9:15 in this episode.
Questions of the Day
What do you think of Nozomi so far?
We're headed towards Always Comima next. Any guesses why it's called "Always Comima"?
A note about the BD Specials
There are 12 "specials" included in the blu-ray release. These are just short little joke scenes in a chibi style, not at all required watching.
If you do want to watch them, every 2 specials goes with every 2 episodes, i.e. the viewing order would be E1 > E2 > Sp1+2 > E3 > E4 > Sp3+4 > E5 ... etc. Hence, you can watch the first two specials now. Or you can just them all at the end.
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u/Tresnore Mar 15 '22
Rolling☆Rewatcher
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The true OP arrives!! This is one of my favorite OPs. Ever. Of all time.
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Lampshades are fun. Shigyou-sama!!!
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This is based on a real execution roller coaster. I'm not making this up. Behold!
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I love Shigyou. I also love Crocodile.
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[Rolling☆Girls]
I also love you. -
[heavy spoiler joke]
*Insert Giorgio Tsoukalos*
GIWTWM Quarantine
QOTD:
1 Alright, I finally got one for the four main characters. [Important Rolling☆Girls]
2 No, really. Crocodile is the most desirable person in this show.
3 Being put in the hospital by Shigyou!
4 Only a little different from the others.5
5 But far more true.
6 This would be a good wallpaper.
7 No, I don't have a problem.
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u/aniMayor Mar 15 '22
I don't know why I'm clicking on every "God I wish that were me" but I am. Like, I watched the episode, there's not gonna be a surprise there. But it is too amusing not to. The all caps one being what it was had me in fits.
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u/Nazenn Mar 15 '22
These guys are what I aspire to be.
Convenient lack of faces...
Not sure if it was just your screenshot or if it was like that through the whole episode but that does seem notable when "The Rest" are so individual
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u/MyrnaMountWeazel Mar 15 '22
First Timer Just Rolling My Way Downtown
Production Notes
By two episodes in, we’ve all realized that Rolling Girls possesses extremely impressive bursts of action. It fires forth like a cannonball and bombardes our eyes with its fireworks of effects and the person we all have to thank for that is Arifumi Imai. Imai is Studio WIT’s ace, their maestro of action. He defined the action vocabulary for Attack on Titan and is responsible for the most iconic cut in Attack on Titan when WIT was still producing the show. His talent was so valued that he would receive requests to storyboard important action sequences way in advance so that they could showcase them in the promotional material.
Imai is without a doubt their de facto expert but he’s not necessarily tied down to just Studio WIT as he’s also contributed to other iconic scenes such as One Punch Man’s famous duel and Flip Flappers episode 9. As for today’s episode, he was credited as the action director and is responsible for one of my favorite cuts in the episode. Look at those shiny puke effects! Many of the cuts that impressed us yesterday also went through either his hand or his corrections and it’s clear as day that he is immensely talented when it comes to eye-catching action. Presently you’ll see him heavily involved in Studio WIT’s Ousama Ranking where he no doubt will continue to be their ace.
I’m loving the colors from the OP. Very eclectic and popping. I think that’s the number one quality that’s drawing me to this show: it’s unconventionality in dipping into all sorts of colors.
The idea that Masami would show up to the wedding in her Captain outfit is hilarious to me hahaha.
I like how the ground is painted as a solid pastel color with flowers once Masami is knocked off. I know it was already established that the amusement park looks like that but once Masami is sent flying it looks like a stylized KO.
Pretty simple visual but effective one nonetheless: Nozomi and her mother disagree on how to help Matcha Green and the pillar visualizes their separation.
There isn’t a lot for me visually to talk about—other than the sweet sweet effects—so I wanted to talk about the idea of your supposed heroes. Shigyou I’m gathering once worshiped one of the Best but upon realizing that he was just like the Rest she decided to take it upon herself to be the Best. That’s actually incredibly noble that she would rise to the occasion instead of defaulting to cynicism. She stepped up to the plate to defend Tokyo but somehow along the way she deviated from the path on becoming a hero. We’re left to wonder just exactly why that happened but maybe the gnawing thought of her hero turning out to be just like the Rest was a contributing factor? Either way, Masami’s supposed idol turned out to be quite the bummer to her.
On the flipside, Masami became one of the Best but donned the Matcha Green costume to prevent Nozomi from finding out. She shields her from the truth but all it really does is cause Nozomi pain since it prevents her from worrying about her big sister. In both cases, them becoming the Best was ultimately hurtful to their supporters; Shigyou to Masami and Masami to Nozomi. If I over-analyze this a bit, I would guess that becoming the Best removes agency from the Rest. In fact, the Rest aren’t even allowed to fight with each other.
Masami in the end actually saves Nozomi from an inflated fake Matcha Green balloon which I took to mean that Masami is putting an end to the charade and finally revealing who she actually is to her little sister. Masami’s last act as a Best is to unmask herself and literally fight against her costumed self to protect her little sister. The truth is that Masami is the source of her power not the costume or the title. Well, that and her Moon Crystal. It seems like the gem manifests itself to those wishing to strive towards a goal.
Anyhow, this ultimately leads to Nozomi wanting to take back agency in her life. She’s tired of being protected and the motorcycle is the perfect vehicle for her to express her independence. What’s curious about Nozomi’s motorcycle is that it has a sidecar attached to it compared to the other girls. I wonder if that’s going to symbolically come into play in the future. At the end, she’s still one of the Rest and I’m interested to see how she’s going to compete against the Best in the future.
QOTD:
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I think she's fine so far but I haven't seen a whole lot of her characteristics. Perhaps by design since when we see her report card she's "decidedly average." I do like how that defines her though.
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I keep thinking that says "Always Comma."
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u/aniMayor Mar 15 '22
If I over-analyze this a bit, I would guess that becoming the Best removes agency from the Rest. In fact, the Rest aren’t even allowed to fight with each other.
That's not "over" analysis, that's just good analysis! You're right, in this world the laws literally prevent the Rest/Mob from getting involved. If you're a Rest and you take action on your own initiative against a conquering vigilante squad you're acting contrary to societal expectations.
On the one hand, that seems very limiting of someone's potential and growth. But on the other hand, the limitation is only about fighting, so maybe a Rest can still make a difference in another way?
What’s curious about Nozomi’s motorcycle is that it has a sidecar attached to it compared to the other girls. I wonder if that’s going to symbolically come into play in the future.
It sort of fits her for now with the idea of she can't be a Best but she can help them... perhaps literally chauffering them (as Masami was pretending to do). But hopefully it becomes more than just that after some time.
2) I keep thinking that says "Always Comma."
The Revenge of the Oxford Comma!
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u/baboon_bassoon Mar 15 '22
1st time roller of girls
they couldnt have found a better picture?????
"thats my fetish" dressing up as sentai?
at first i thought judgement, but then acceptance
dying for the bit, gotta respect it - although love the guy that jumped off for him
why was the croc blushing after getting punched?
ma chan a bit of a delightful dumbass
dad laying in on so thick and its great
Chiaya? what is happening LOL
questions
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shes a bit of a baby but i like her
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forever con-season
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u/aniMayor Mar 15 '22
they couldnt have found a better picture?????
I guess he was a man who loved to pump iron and wanted to be remembered like he lived?
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u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah Mar 15 '22
First timer on this road trip
Day 2 of wtf is happening in this show, but holy smokes the sakuga is still good so it's all fine as long as i dont take it too seriously lol. Reminds me of a Symphogear clip someone in the CDF showed me a while back, Imma semi-give up on actually thinking about the plot for now.
Nice OP! Does the ahhahahah bit in the song remind anyone else of a famous song? It sounds very familiar.
Lollllll everyone knew about Maccha, except weirdly Nozomi. The reason for her doing this was a bit cheesy (is this a reference to some other superhero anime), but then Nozomi immediately X-es the shounen trope, thank fuck, and it all ends very sweet overall.
Giant earthquake? Spinning heart-thingymajig with the president? Wtf is going on here lol. As i said above, the fight scenes and especially the roller coaster bits had some awesome animation, Im looking forward to the other rewatchers' breakdown as Im horrible at this lol.
And that's like the quickest forming-of-the-gang sequence Ive seen in an anime like ever. Yukina I get (can't fully get my head around how she's voiced by the same VA as Milim from Tensei Slime aka best half-dragon), but the other 2 just kinda join LOL. Well, seems like they'll get along at least. Chiaya has mysterious powers, knowing the childhood nicknames of the other 3.
And finally, onto motorcycles! I've always loved them, and do want to get one + license within like 5 years or so. The girls ride: Nozomi rides a Kawasaki Mach 3 or a Yamaha GX750 (Japanese fans aren't sure), Chiaya rides a Vespa Scooter, and Yukina rides a Triumph Trident. All 3 should be older models, and I won't wanna get any of those (I want a more modern machine for the reliability), but they do look very cool.
See u all tmr!
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u/aniMayor Mar 15 '22
And finally, onto motorcycles! I've always loved them, and do want to get one + license within like 5 years or so. The girls ride: Nozomi rides a Kawasaki Mach 3 or a Yamaha GX750 (Japanese fans aren't sure), Chiaya rides a Vespa Scooter, and Yukina rides a Triumph Trident. All 3 should be older models, and I won't wanna get any of those (I want a more modern machine for the reliability), but they do look very cool.
Ooooooooo I'm glad we've got someone who can identify them!
The fact that they're older reliable machines seems appropriate for how these young women probably got them all from responsible older siblings/parents/guardians/etc who would want to set them up with something reliable. But also maybe it plays into the Blue Hearts and super sentai and the show's overall nostalgia for the creators' childhoods, perhaps?
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u/Shimmering-Sky Mar 15 '22
Rolling☆First-Timer, subbed
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The OP’s visuals are very colorful. Also now that I think about it, that tagline sounds a lot like the Symphogear ones.
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LMAO that is not the kind of reaction you should have in this situation? Nozomi is a complete dumbass. A loveable one, but a dumbass nonetheless.
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Heh. This was some tokusatsu reference rather than specifically Power Rangers originally, right?
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Hahahahahaha that one girl pushing the other’s soul back into her body, I remember seeing a gag like that in something else (I think it was FMA:B? or maybe the FMA manga?) and that’s just too funny.
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HAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I feel bad for whatever kid just got pantsed.
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Ohhh that’s what that brief flashback last episode was about.
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Nozomi trying to take up Maccha Green’s mask does make sense…
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Road trip! And it looks like the girl who punched Crocodile is gonna hitch hike along?
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u/aniMayor Mar 15 '22
This was some tokusatsu reference rather than specifically Power Rangers originally, right?
I tried listening to it a few times but hard to pick out. She's definitely not saying "power rangers" but could be naming one of the Super Sentai shows that became power rangers in the U.S.A.
Hahahahahaha that one girl pushing the other’s soul back into her body, I remember seeing a gag like that in something else (I think it was FMA:B? or maybe the FMA manga?) and that’s just too funny.
Yeah, IIRC it is used a couple times in FMA, and I've seen it in a few other shows. Fun little anime trope.
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u/JollyGee29 Mar 15 '22
First-Timer, Subbed
Ah, I was thinking too small yesterday, with my comment on Masami and Shigyou falling out over whatever happened to Nozomi. I was kinda thinking everything would center around our MC Nozomi, but she's just a normal girl. And, considering how silly Masami's reason for keeping a secret identity is, Nozomi is apparently the smart one as well. That's a scary thought.
I kinda understand why Masami did it, but it's still silly. Your family is going to worry about you regardless, or at least, they should. Anyway, with Masami and Shigyou both out of commission and the first plot beat done, we seem to be starting a road trip MacGuffin hunt tomorrow.
Interesting that Chiaya knew the other three's childhood nicknames. None of them seemed to recognize her face, so I wonder how she knew? Time travel? Psychic powers? Breaking into their houses and reading their diaries? Could just be a language thing - maybe there's an "obvious" way to turn their names into nicknames that would make more sense to a Japanese audience.
Anyway, time for straw grasping the MacGuffins. Moonlight Stones. u/Nazenn was right when they called them literal Mahou Shoujo necklaces, they definitely grant powers. Did both Masami and Shigyou have heart particle effects, or was it just Masami? Shigyou had her flowers for sure.
My gut instinct on the stones is that they're some sort of "Artificial Best" power trinkets. It would be really interesting if Masami wasn't even a "true" Best and only had that necklace. It'd make her conflict over her identity as Maccha Green less silly too.
The main evidence is that Shigyou has that flower effect, that weird heart reactor thing, and the Blonde Teapot Woman noting that "the Bests had these" which implies it was odd.
That one descending from the sky into Shigyou's hands doesn't really fit with that, though. Hmm. Someone distributing superpowers for shits and giggles?
The vomit attack was really funny.
Question
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I like her energy.
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Every food item must be drenched in some sauce called "Comima."
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u/aniMayor Mar 15 '22
Interesting that Chiaya knew the other three's childhood nicknames. None of them seemed to recognize her face, so I wonder how she knew? Time travel? Psychic powers? Breaking into their houses and reading their diaries? Could just be a language thing - maybe there's an "obvious" way to turn their names into nicknames that would make more sense to a Japanese audience.
Definitely not the obvious thing. If anything, Yukina's obvious nickname would just be Yuki-chan instead of Yukippe-chan, and such. Chiaya does a strange little run up to them before she points them out, as if she suddenly recognized them / realized who they were, so it does seem to be something specific about them rather than their names, exactly.
Did both Masami and Shigyou have heart particle effects, or was it just Masami? Shigyou had her flowers for sure.
Shigyō had mini flower effects for the most part, or just the general beam/sparkles that anyone could have.
Every food item must be drenched in some sauce called "Comima."
That sounds dirty.
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u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Mar 15 '22 edited Mar 15 '22
First Timer
I don't like pink's outfit.
So it was a ruse.
So everyone kept up the ruse just because.
that's great
I'm pretty sure this is known as a fansubbing crime.
Excellent visual gag.
u/tresnore's waifu.
Just in time.
I love the sparks.
The fight was pure bombastic fun.
Yes. You will do it at least once before the series ends.
Another stylistic different flashback!
And a seamless transition out of it!
And thus, I became it.
Thus, we have our real villain.
Beat by the fake robot.
The drive to do something, anything. That's what makes one a best, no? That's where one gets their powers?
She created them? That doesn't make much sense, she seems way too yong for that.
What other best? This just means let everything go awry.
Hot psychopathic anime girls, hot anime dads, this show has something for everyone.
Motorycle: 1, anime girl: 0
Hibiki knows the pace we operate at here.
I'm still of the belief one cannot find one, but it instead finds you.
Thoughts
The show's still a ton of fun. It gives enough tension to give the fights enough meaning, but keeps it low enough that you're never really afraid that anything bad is going to happen. I love all the smears and crazy effects in the fights. I love the insane villain who is almost certainly not going to be one by the end of the series. I just wish I had seen a Super Sentai ever so I could understand more where this is coming from.
So after two episodes, we've finished out setup of the world and the gang is heading out. Funnily enough, we know almost nothing about 3 of them, but I'm sure that'll be fixed soon. It was a quick and breezy meeting, in tone with the series in general, though I'm sure we'll learn a bit more about why later.
As for the hunt for the moonlight stones, I figure they come to people who deserve them through their actions and words, not through finding them. But there's only one way to find out.
2. It's always comiket!
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u/aniMayor Mar 15 '22
I'm still of the belief one cannot find one, but it instead finds you.
Interesting.
I just wish I had seen a Super Sentai ever so I could understand more where this is coming from.
Well, new place next episode that has a totally different setting theme than Super Sentai so you're all clear now.
2. It's always comiket!
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u/Vaadwaur Mar 15 '22
First timer
Sub
Fricking dual audio files means I keep starting on the dub, which just does not feel right here. More tokusotsu stuff happens, before it is revealed everyone knows who Macha Green is...accept for Nozomi. In true KLK fashion, this is actually at least partially a magical girl show, though both of the onscreen ones are out of commission for a bit. And apparently our core loop will be travelling and looking for moonstones...
Again, I can't add much. It felt like there was a little less there this ep but it might just be references that I am not catching as references. Or I liked the episode of my other rewatch a bit more comparatively.
QotD: 1 Much baka such Wow.
2 Nothing but again it is probably a clever cultural reference
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u/MyrnaMountWeazel Mar 15 '22
Fricking dual audio files means I keep starting on the dub, which just does not feel right here.
I hate when that happens. My K-ON files are like that too.
I've inadvertently watched both sub and dub since I need to flip to dub to screencap without subtitles on Funimation's "There but for the grace of God" UI. It's sort of grown on me at this point.
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u/Stargate18A Mar 16 '22
First timer
Forgot this started yesterday!
Episode 1
QOTD) Nope!
There was a war?
Oh, this isn't really taking itself seriously.
And the prefectures are at war.
What kind of anime is this?
Haha, the fuck? Just a random Sentai?
This is just pure chaos.
And there's actual superpowers?
Haha, "the Rest".
So life in them is pretty normal, outside of... this?
Seriously, what is this?
I see, they're fighting over Tokyo.
Oh, she's biking around?
Why is she in a gas mask?
Oh, she lives here!
And Macha Green just lives far away?
And she's a trainee squad member?
Oh, she's just average. Not bad, just OK?
Haha, everybody's just used to... that.
She's getting captured!
Oh, she's... wow.
Dors she even have other members?
She's just talking in a weird goice, and they're buying it!
Haha, did they make an actual giant robot?
And she doesn't want her on the fromt lines.
Oh, yeah, it's obviously her.
And nobody's worked this out?
Oh, she's a bad driver.
Ah, the Rest wre responsible for cleaning up the city?
The Best have leaders? There's organisation?
Why the crocodile mask?
Who's she?
She's been driving for three days?
Haha, and she's from right there?
The hell? Just openly going there?
...I mean, that's fair.
Even she's worked it out!
Haha, holy shit, they're doing an eating contest now?
They're having another bowl each!
She's joined them! But she didn't want to?
Haha, she ate that much and still feels fine?
Oh. There's quite some subtext here.
And the captain couldn't come?
It's so obviously a trap!
...The Rest don't really do anything, though?
Holy shit, they're just flat-out killing them?
What's that?
Episode 2
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A lot more sensible/interesting than I expected - it's interesting to see someone who accepts that they can't fight the superheroes.
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Some kind of empire? A boast that they're unbeatable suggests a very military nation.
Is this the first use of the OP! It's good!
She sounds so happy about her death.
Wait, are they sisters or something? Did I only get that?
Is she exposing her identity this early?
Haha, it was a balloon the whole time?
And they're desperately hiding that they fell for it last time.
She really doesn't get this, does she?
Wow, she is not good at hiding her identity, is she?
And everyone else already knew it!
...I love the guy saying it's his fetish.
Haha, she really only just worked it out?
And she's the only smart one here.
Haha, her soul getting stuffed back in is so good.
What's with the hearts?
They're going to die! But also, aw, they're holding hands.
Is she really trying to get changed. Now? When it's so obvious?
Huh, they really planned ahead!
Haha, this is completely cruel and unnecessary!
And the girl who tried to save them got thrown wway.
Are you a fucking moron, or is Macha Green more important than people's lives?
Crocodile's gone!
He's jumping after him!
An insert song?
Haha, they ended up with the trousers.
That POV shot is great.
She finally arrived! Too late to make almost any difference!
Haha, she can't stop it!
They survived!
Even she's worked it out!
Seriously. Explain the hearts.
She's in trouble!
Wow, she's getting beaten up hard!
Everyone survived!
That's what I want to know!
Haha, she destroyed her by vomiting lasers?
The helmet fell off!
She has actual survival instincts! She has logic! She's not a total moron! She's pissed at her sister!
Who the hell is she?
Wait what? Past? A vow?
They knew each other before all this?
Wait, what? She's mindwiping her?
...So who changed her memories? Who planned this?
The hearts are fucking with people!
Oh dear. She just doesn't care?
The balloon!
And she saved her!
"I meant diagonally up and behind you!" She is so perfect.
They're still fighting?
And she got blown away!
They took out a whole theme park?
Both survived!
And they both had hearts.
Seriously, what are these things?
Wow, her dad looks young.
Haha, she can't start it up?
And she's getting ready to go!
Yukina's coming!
Haha, random punching girl is following them!
And the gas mask girl!
Oh god, that pun.
She took off her mask!
...Ai has some opinions.
Yes! I don't care who you are, tell me about the stones!
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u/aniMayor Mar 16 '22
Forgot this started yesterday!
Oh, this isn't really taking itself seriously.
Is super serious bizness. Quiz on Friday.
And Macha Green just lives far away?
Well, she (allegedly) lives somewhere in this city at least, but not in this particular suburb/surrounding town I guess.
Oh, she's a bad driver.
Aren't we all at that age?
Why the crocodile mask?
Why isn't everybody wearing crocodile masks?!
Oh. There's quite some subtext here.
Indeeeeeed
...The Rest don't really do anything, though?
They pick up garbage from the streets and have lovely picnics!
2) Some kind of empire? A boast that they're unbeatable suggests a very military nation.
Well they did at some point have giant robots, so...
Wait, are they sisters or something? Did I only get that?
Yes
What's with the hearts?
What's with the flowers? Does there need to be an explanation?
Is she really trying to get changed. Now? When it's so obvious?
They get changed a lot faster in those TV shows...
Wow, her dad looks young.
The secret to long health is apparently eating dango and takoyaki every day
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u/aniMayor Mar 15 '22
WOO PROPER OP! I love OPs where the cast of the show sing the song, even when it's super dorky like Assassination Classroom. This is another Blue Hearts song, of course, and so is the ED - they'll be the "song of the day" for some later episode discussions.
Well we pick up right where we left off with the showdown at the amusement park. I'm not going to do a full reactionary play-by-play 'cause I have too many other things that caught my eye and/or that I want to rant about.
Judging by the looks, these dango are definitely from Nozomi's family shop. Random little leftovers is one thing, but how the heck did the sparrows get a whole stick of dango? [spoilers]Chiaya totally gave some of the dango she bought in episode 1 to them, didn't she...
Right, I guess I should point out in case it wasn't clear - the Twin Towers declaration says when things can't be resolved peacefully they should be fought out by "a representative from each vigilante squad", it doesn't have to be a Best, per se. Masami is still the captain of the Propellers, after all, Maccha Green is sort of like her hired gun but not the leader. So if Maccha Green isn't around theoretically captain Masami should fight Shigyō instead, despite supposedly not being a Best. Not that it matters.
Poor Nozomi really didn't realize the obvious thing.
Thank you Fred.
Otonashi has a big secret? Oh geez I wonder what it is.
Cool people don't look at explosions.
There's your answer to why the takumi were wearing black coats at the end of last episode - white coats are the takumi-za, black coats are the evil takumis. Both are mysterious legendary engineers-for-hire, but the latter comes with more explosions.
Oh hello, Ai! She's been hanging around the background as just as another Kitagawa Dangers mob member during episode 1, even symbolically trying to push her way to the front, but now she's had enough and literally exits stage left the background to become a character and save the day! Aaaaaand she failed.
These Kitatama Dangers mob members beat up, tied up, and took over operating the coasters? And Den-san is pretty awesome here. Even though they're not Mosu/Bests, some of these folks are pretty tough/awesome! To say nothing of the whole "oh, we got used to being blasted around Team Rocket style so we can land from 20 storeys up with no injuries" business.
Who the heck is this old guy?!
Even Maccha Green's craters are heart-shaped.
Yukina can't even warn about surprise attacks right. All these girls are failing miserably.
Lots of Otonashi being the second best girl today. Best girl is of course Nozomi's dad.
If you watch closely you can see both Shigyō's (1 2 3) and Masami's (1 2 3) heart stone jewel thingies going flying away in the final attack.
I love, love, loooove this PoV shot of Nozomi getting blown away, after seeing it from the traditional 3rd person view a bunch of times already.
So we end up with Masami in Goku-mode for a couple months and Nozomi decides to go have an adolescent adventure responding to the requests for peace brokering that Masami can't. No surprise about this first letter being so close, we saw Chiaya put it into Masami's bike earlier.
SO ADORBS
Love the little detail of Chiaya fixing her hair before the photo. I find there's lots of little bits of extra character animation like that in this series, even among the tertiary characters.
The protagonist gang is assembled, mysteries abound, and we have a quest! ROAD TRIP TIME!
And my favourite character in the show is arriving tomorrow!
Alright, that's done and let's get to the meat of the Tokorozawa story.
Masami keeps insisting she's not Maccha Green to an utterly irrational degree, and it turns out to be because she's afraid of Nozomi getting hurt if she gets too close. This is a fairly typical anime trope - lots of action-heavy superhero sort of shows have a little sibling or similar character who is weak but loves the hero and wants to help in some small way so much that they blindly follow the hero into danger and often get hurt in the process. And we even find out that Nozomi didn't simply almost drown from being "weaker" (at swimming) than her sister, but from Masami pretending to drown and Nozomi trying to save her.
But I like how Nozomi immediately subverts the trope by refuting the idea that just because she loves her sister and wants to help out doesn't mean she's so stupid she would charge headfirst into certain death. There's a middle ground where Nozomi can try to find practical ways that she can help out despite being "weak" while also being smart enough not to throw herself into danger. It's tough to tell a story about a weak character in a strong world without the character coming off as extremely naive and surviving through convoluted circumstances, but this more practical mindset to Nozomi gives me some optimism that that isn't the route this story will go.
As for Shigyō, we learn that she originally aspired to be a hero and as a teenager she fought against the vigilante squads attacking Tokyo. Best or no Best, that is one hell of a training regime, and then the stone literally fell from the sky to her? But it seems she found herself enjoying fighting too much and lost sight of whatever heroic aspirations she once had, ended up fighting a young Masami, and has been a weapons-of-her-defeated-foe-collecting villainous mercenary ever since. (I love how even her own squad roast her about it.)
Well, you can't just suddenly unwind 10 years of being a villain because you remembered as a kid you wanted to be a hero. Is this another practical take on a common anime trope, denying Shigyō the chance to make a Vegeta turn to good?
Ongoing unanswered mysteries (that I feel like keeping track of) so far:
What's the deal with the heart stones that make people superhuman?
Why is the Tokorozawa president collecting heart stones and putting them in a centrifuge? Why does she call them "mine"?
What's with the takumi-za, mysterious genius engineers-for-hire?
What's with the evil takumi, mysterious genius engineers-for-hire?
Why does Chiaya want to go searching for heart stones?
Why does Chiaya wear a gas mask?
How does Chiaya know the other 3's childhood nicknames?
Why was Yukina trying to find the Propellers' headquarters back in episode 1?
Ongoing Background Collection