Of Swords and Parasols

 Finished Utawarerumono.

Shortversion:  Toss Scrapped Princess(esp end revelations) and Juuni Kokuki into a blender, pick up the pace quite a bit and take out any tendency by the leads to be annoying or whine, and you'll probably end up with Utawarerumono.  (As a warning, it's also one of those that thinks it's fun to rip out your heart, stomp on it a bit, then shove it back in your chest.  But that's ok, I was expecting it.)

To reiterate a few good points:

*Interesting story.

*Amnesiac masked hero who may or may not actually be the greatest evil ever.

*Strong female characters who kick butt.

*And aren't whiny.

*Or Mary Sues.

*Or require rescuing, most of the time(Karura and Touka, never...they do the rescuing.)

*Male/Female relationships that aren't JUST romantic, or important because they are(and only one is.)

*Giant killer kitty.  Used as a sofa.  Owned by a very stubborn little girl.

*Hakuoro.  Denawi.  Karura. Kurou.  Touka.  Oboro. Mukuru. Eruruu.  Aruruu.  Trust me.

*The rare mecha I don't mind.

Probably one of the top 5 animes(barring rewatches) that I've seen this year, though I'd have to go back and look to see what all I watched earlier in the year to be sure.

Instead of meta, I bring a picspam.



note:  There are a lot of pics under there, and they aren't in chronological order.

I wonder if he thinks it was worth it?

Whilst I wait for megaupload to give me more eps, I shall go ahead and make a proper Utawarerumono post, as at 15 eps in, I think I've finally met everyone(btw, if you watch, don't get scared off by the animation in ep 14...it's very, very bad but goes back to great in ep 15)

Random reasons to watch:

1. Unlike many epic fantasy anime(or epic fantasy in general), which centers around the hero beating one villain and then we assume things are for the best after, the Evil Emperor is overthrown early on(fortunate, as his Very Unfortunate Afro kept distracting me), with the rest of the series focusing on whether or not the new government can last, especially as other empires come to try to take over before the new government is strong, as well as the secret of Hakuoro's identity, and whether or not he's actually the greatest evil of all.

2. Karura: The biggest buttkicker on the show? The one the most legendary candle in the land couldn't take down? The laid back sake lover? The walking army? A female escaped slave.

3. For that matter, pretty much the entire female cast. For such a large female cast, I'm surprised that I either like or don't mind pretty much all of them. There's also Touka, an enemy warrior who initially wants to kill Hakuoro because she has been told that he was a murderer(including of his own wife and children) in his previous life, but who tries to take her own life in penance when she learns she was used, only to be stopped by Hakuoro. There's also the sisters who become Hakuoro's family, Eruruu and Aruruu, characters who could easily annoy(especially Aruruu, who possibly has a bit much of the "shy kid" thing going at first) as well as the sister's of a winged race, Urutori, an ambassador(who is either involved with Karura or likes trading knowing glances and drinking sake in the moonlight with warrior women) and her flighty younger sister, Kamyu, who, again, could annoy but doesn't. There also the twin archers, Dori and Gura, who, granted, don't do a lot outside of battles but are great when they do.

4. Hakuoro: He may be the great hero and leader, but he's no simple man. When called on to lead, Haukoro does so, and he makes no apologies for what he has to do, nor does he dissemble. He may not WANT to be the leader, or the emperor, but he understands that he is the one best suited for it. There is no ego to this, just acceptance of the fact. He also wastes no time pondering right and wrong, only what is needed. He is aware at all times that his force is the smaller one, and the one with more to lose. To win, he has to be crafty, underhanded and smart, and he is. He also sees no problem with accepting forner enemies as retainers, and most members of his inner circle started out as his enemy, or at least, opponent.

5. Oh heck, most of the male cast too. You want your noble, obligation driven, kickass general bound by duty even when it's to the wrong lord? Benawi. You want the loyal, open, laid back big guy who'll become your friend even as he's trying to kill you and also kicks butt? Kurou(actually, he reminds me a lot in character and design of Dokugakuji in Saiyuki.) The young but loyal hothead who's not half as rough as he seems? Oboro. Sure, they're the well done cliches, but when they work, they work, and they definately work.

6. The relationship between Hakuoro and Eruruu and Aruruu: where most anime would simply forge a romantic relationship between Hakuoro and Eruruu, and make Hakuoro and Aruruu bickering sibling, Utawarerumono takes another path. Eruruu and Aruruu become Hakuoro's family, his only family, with Aruruu adopting him as her father, and Eruruu filling the roles of mother, sister and wife(but not lover) for Hakuoro. While there is potential for romantic development down the line(and Eruruu does seem to have at least some romantic interest in Hakuoro...a good bit, actually) the point of the relationship isn't whether or not they'll get together, but that Eruruu and Aruruu are his home.

7. Mukuru. What can I say? I have love giant deadly pets in anime and manga. Especially when they come equipped with cute little girls who orders him to defend her "daddy."

An MV:

In the non-manga arena: tonight is the  church Thanksgiving meal.  This will be Thanksgiving meal #2 of 4.  The first was work, the third will be with Dad's family on Thursday and the fourth Mom's family on Saturday.  Thank goodness it was agreed on year's ago that the Saturday meal was a no-turkey meal.

In other news, megaupload is evil and keeps cutting me off after one or two eps of Utawarerumono, making me wait 8 or so hours before I can have another(yet another argument to stick to my "dvds only" thing...)  If they announced a thinpak tomorrow I'd just wait the 4-5 months until I could get it(since I'm getting it anyway...)  I'm on ep 12 now and it's great, but one I think I'm better off waiting to really talk about until I finish.  I'm having to pace myself because of megaupload's meanness, but as soon as I get the whole thing...

Also, the online manga community has let me down thrice in the last week:  no scanslations to be found for Night of the Beasts, Qwan or Hikkatsu! Strike A Blow to Vivify?  I can find scanslations for every endless hearts and flowers and giant eyes love triangle shojo and every endless shonen action manga, but those?  Nowhere to be found.  Not even raws.  (Though, if anyone with mightier googlefu than mine wants to be nice and try...?)  At least I did find Togari, though I don't plan to read ahead there atm, just use for posts and maybe icons.  I have also decided to catch up with Bleach.  No idea what chapter/volume I left off at, so I'll just skim until I get to where I was.

[And since I'm talking a lot about downloading stuff:  I utterly despise reading manga/books and watching anything but youtube vids on my computer screen(though I have nothing but love and respect for scanslators and subbers.)  Especially reading.  I do it only to feed addictions, or if there's no other way to get it.  If I download it, I consider myself committed to buying the licensed version when/if it comes out.  The only exception is if I get completely fed up with something, at which point, I'll drop it...this has happened exactly once, and as I'd already given the US publisher a ton of money, I didn't feel real guilt over not paying for EVERY volume I read...]

On the printed manga front:

1.  I have vols 2-6 of xXxHoLic and vols 1-3 of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle waiting for me.  Do I need to read them in any specific order(since I know there are crossovers) or can I just catch up with xXxHoLic and then worry about Tsubasa?

2.  Anyone want me to try to create a comprehensible, semi-logical explanation of the plot of Hikkatsu! Strike A Blow to Vivify?  I feel compelled to pimp it more and since I can't provide scans...

ETA:  And if anyone wants to see the status of the "planned reading for the rest of the year" post I made a couple weeks ago:

Have your respective second in commands hold off the respective opposing armies so you can duke it out in relative privacy.

Literally.

A clip from episode 1. Probably a small remnant of the series's origins(eroge to all ages game to anime)




What does it say that i knew there was no way youtube would let me down when it came to having a clip of this?

I have found my cure.

Here is a nice little description for the series that I am shamelessly stealing:

Man with No Past May Hold the Key to the Future.

Everything about him is shrouded in mystery... The mask he can't remove, the past he can't unravel, and the very survival of the people who have chosen him as their leader. But what Hakuoro does know is this: He was gravely injured and left for dead in a forest. A kind young girl, named Eruruu, found him and nursed him back to health. He was welcomed into a barren land where strange creatures roam, an angry god seeks vengeance, an oppressive government slaughters the innocent, and a bloody war looms on the horizon. Will the masked hero liberate the people who saved him? Can he unlock the memories that elude him? Or will he remain a stranger, even to himself? The answers are right here before you in this thrilling, killing, pillaging first installment. Or are they?

I have little beyond that of substance beyond that to add, save that "it's good." It reminds me a bit of Juuni Kokuki/Twelve Kingdoms, only faster paced, with more action, and the main character tarts out cool, instead of making you wait a while for that to happen. Sadly, megaupload cut me off after 3 episodes.

I am also amused that, once again, Japan seems to think the best physical support for a tall guy is a girl who barely tops his shoulder and looks like she'd have trouble lifting a log. Though Kakuro eem more concerned about the posibility of toppling over than most of these guys are.

I'm also amused by the folktale behind the names of Eruruu and her little sister, Aruruu. They're both named after flowers and the Eruruu flower is named after a girl who left home(for reasons stated in the ep but I can't recall now) and never returned. Because it grows close to the Eruruu flower, the Aruruu flower is considered to be it's sister, making the Aruruu flower a flow that waited forever for her sister to return. They aren't dropping hints or anything...

Really, though, we all know I'm in it for one thing right now, and that's this: