himebushou

[himebushou]

I've been watching X-Men Evolution for the last two weeks and I just finished the finale and I'm WEEPING it was so good

#x-men evolution #I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW GOOD IT WAS

[himebushou]

Flipping heck — Episode 4 of The Big O was captivating! My jaw actually dropped at one point. I'm excited for these mysteries to unravel!

Update: Episode 6 hit those emotional beats so well, oh man.

I think the presentation of the series is really good, so far — parts like Episode 5 established thst Roger is perfectly competent on his own while Episode 6 further explored the type of duo that he and Dorothy could be.

It'd be good to get an explanation about how he came to obtain Big O. Hopefully, that's coming soon.

#the big o

[himebushou]

So I watched Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury in 24 hours — some scrambled thoughts below.

Ep 1.  The visuals of The Witch from Mercury... wow.  And I had such chills when Aerial used the shield.  What a gorgeous Gundam!  And ahh — the tomato stuff was so cute.

Ep 2.  The worldbuilding!!  It's amazing that they literally explain nothing to the audience fjdkdm and wow the way they play with gravity is something (though a bit inconsistent).

Ep 3.  I love this soundtrack and WOW PROSPERA IS SULETTA'S MOOOM — I felt sorry for Guel in this ep and I liked the strong stance against AI LOL but wow, Guel taking Suletta extending her hand as an opportunity to propose marriage is just.  BOY.

And phew, the mobile suits are stunning... I really want to know why the Cathedra Agreement outlawed Gundams.  Poor Gundams are always punished for some reason or other.  :(

Ep 4.  Bloody hell Chu-Chu nearly KILLED those girls FUDIKDK

Ep 5.  Some Elan character development and SHEESH IT'S DARK.  Also, I love how diverse the character designs are.

Wait.  HOW is Elan allowed to use a Gundam without people freaking out fhdjd like hello???  And is is a witch anyone who pilots a Gundam?  Who are the enhanced human beings?  What is going on!!!

Ep 6.  Okay I love the little slumber party at Earth House tbh these girlies are so sweet and supportive — WHOA WHAT.  CLONES?  FACE STEALING?  HUHHHHH????

I thought Elan was gonna die in front of Suletta or something but they just killed him??????

Ep 7.  Man, Miorine forming that company and getting investment was really moving... and we finally get confirmation thar Aerial is a Gundam.  Tbh, I'm pretty surprised that the lives of pilots are prioritised so much in this world.  Hmm.

Ep 8.  It was cool to see all the business stuff being taken seriously and to finally get sort of confirmation that a witch is anyone involved with Gundams (honestly the title is a massive chunk of the reason why I picked up the show; it's so cool).  But man, I'm wondering what direction they'll take for the last few eps of the season... that's obviously too short a time to have any significant progress in developing medical tech.

Felt bad for Guel in this ep... and what is Shaddiq's deal, anyway?

Ep 9.  Yahoo, another battle!  All the Grassley House drama was interesting to watch (the name makes me think they should be running a gym in Pokémon).  The nature of Suletta's bond with Aerial seems to be changing... interesting.

Ep 10.  Flipping heck, the new Elan is a lot??  I'm glad that we got this lil timeskip to progress the plot — the prosthetic legs are definitely v. cool.  BUT WHAT IS THIS INTRIGUE with Shaddiq and Nika?

Ep 11.  Hot dig there was a lot happening in this but flipping heck I'm honestly so sad that Suletta didn't get to have lunch... and that might actually impact her piloting skills if she has to use Aerial in the next ep because she needs to be in good physical and mental condition?

Someone save Guel what the heck!

Ep 12.  Wow so much death in this ep!

- Miorine's daddy dies trying to save her (presumably — I don't think he'll live)

- Guel kills his own daddy in a weird twist of fate

- And Suletta???  I'd seen the mentions of Suletta killing someone in cold blood but that was GRUESOME.

What a way to end a season!

Ep 13.  Miorine seems to be keeping her distance following the last ep, which makes sense... Sophie is kind of an annoying character tbh.  I'm wondering how all of these different threads will come together, what with Earth folk vs Spacians, the Gundams' true forms and all the stuff with the Big Three.

Ep 14.  She turned her daughter into a Gundam?!?  What?!?!?

PROLOGUE.  I'm a goof djdjd I skipped the prologue because I figured it wouldn't really add to the story but I just watched it and everything makes so much more sense now fhdj what a dummy

Ep 15.  Man, Guel is shaping up to be a rly interesting character.  I feel for this boyo.

This ep was good; it was interesting to see the Earth stuff (although I am losing track of ppl's motivations).

NOREA IS SCARY.

Ep 16. Guel is back and taking matters into his own hands!

Man, seeing the extent to which Suletta is brainwashed is pretty scary.  I'm glad that Miorine confronted prospera directly...

Ep 17.  Oh geez, that duel!  Definitely emotionally-charged...

I really want everyone to find out the truth about Elan already...

Ep 18.  The Elan reveal dropped like a lead balloon and I'm mad that they didn't do more with that moment.

BUT WOW.  When the Gundam itself is accidentally the villain...?

This anime has so many themes linking to a notion of people only being important when they have utility and it's just so sad...

Ep 19.  I'm feeling a bit frantic because there are only 5 eps left and these chars are so bad at communicating with each other djdjjd like to this point there isn't anyone who knows the full story.

Ep 20.  Whoa... whoa.  The level of destruction in this episode?  All the feelings being aired?  All the death?  This was so —

And man, I didn't realise that I had been missing out on end of episode illustrations! This one of Norea and the fifth Elan is heartbreaking...

Ep 21.  Petra is alive!  For now, at least.

I cried a few tears when Suletta told everyone the truth about herself — and whoa, the power of Quiet Zero was SOMETHING.  But damn, I think they really wasted the Elan revelation AGAIN: Nika's outburst was so vague and there was basically zero reaction from the others, even when he barged in.  Considering the horror of Number 4's death sceen, they really just... kind of shrugged it off?  Even though there are so many parallels between Elan and Suletta.  Sighs.

Ep 22.  Finally... a conversation between Suletta and Elan, mostly off-screen, but at least it happened.

One thing that's odd is how everyone seems to have a secret Gundam hidden up their sleeve. Like it was weird enough to find out about Schwarzette but Calibarn literally came from nowehere lol

Ep 23.  I feel a bit dopey because a lot of technical stuff happened in this episode and I didn't really follow/understand it, lol... like Miorine recoding the password?  Huh?

Man, when I thought Landa had killed Guel I was SAD but then I was pleased to see Felsi for like the first time lololol

Ep 24.  A very flashy ending — the visuals were super cool!  And things ended well for everyone (except Shaddiq); the epilogue demonstrated that there was still work to do.  Guel working for OG Elan Ceres is pretty hilarious

AND MAN, dead Elan appearing was a welcome surprise!

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Hmm.

So yeah, on the whole, it was a very good and enjoyable show, though not one that really gripped me, I suppose (though I did watch the whole thing in a day, so maybe I didn't give myself enough time to absorb what was happening).  Some things felt a tad convoluted towards the end.

I thought the scenes where the characters were crying or having difficulties in their Gundams were really, really well done. And there was a lot of sweetness between different characters, especially Earth House. But yeah... I guess it felt like there were some missed opportunities (like we probably could have looked at the events of Episode 12 a bit more — there were some viewer theories that "Gain two" was some sort of trigger phrase for Suletta that sent her into a trance and this idea was glossed over pretty quickly, despite Suletta and Miorine having a heart-to-heart in the greenhouse).

The tech was freaking cool, so I enjoyed that aspect a ton!

It might just be that I'm currently on more of a nostalgia kick, lol.

#mobile suit gundam: the witch from mercury

[himebushou]

Okay, so since I'm currently in 'I Dig Giant Robots' mode, I'm watching the dub of The Big O. It used to air on Cartoon Network way back when, but I didn't get into it at the time. I think I was probably too young to appreciate the art style and humour.

I've seen two episodes so far and... man. Roger just casually destroys half of Paradigm City whenever be summons the big guy? That's pretty incredible.

#the big o

[himebushou]

I watched TTGL over three days (Friday to Sunday; it's now Wednesday) because one of my students set it as my holiday homework (she's going to watch Buddy Daddies before next term, LOL).

I feel a bit bizarre following the ending...

Like, damn.  There were lots of things I DISLIKED and I think the main reason I didn't drop it in the early stages is because TTGL has a rep as being pretty legendary for its plot.  I think that largely holds up!  There were definitely enough twists and turns to keep me intrigued!  However, in the first 20 or so episodes, it didn't really feel like the team were challenged that much because they always miraculously had the methods to upgrade their mechs... I think the constant upgrading is probably a feature of mech anime (and yeah, it ties in with TTGL's themes of humanity's capacity to constantly move forward, so that makes sense). I guess I just like a bit more jeopardy, sometimes.

The visuals towards the end were stunning and I loved a lot of the animation.  This anime is BRIGHT — I adore the colours!  And the soundtrack is solid.

Overall, the characters are great... I have a special soft spot for Viral.  He goes through so much — but the bit where he's aghast that Kamina has died and he's been losing to Simon was superb.  I love that Viral didn't need to redeemed. He was just allowed to go on with his own principles and that was pretty special.

Lordgenome also turned out to be an unexpected fave! His scientific talks with Leeron were superb.

Man, I loved baby!Rossiu but the older Rossiu was??  Burdened by his responsibilities BUT HE NEEDED A KICK (he received a punch).

Man poor Yoko must've felt bad when Kittan died.  Like literally going the same way as Kamina... and man, I wanted to like Kamina more (he was way too much in certain episodes). He was an amazing brother and his love for Simon was incredible and in particular, THE FREAKING DREAM SEQUENCES filled me with a lot of Emotion.

WHEN THEY SAID THE SERIES' NAME IN THE LAST EP... YEAH!!!!

So... yeah. I think the test of how much I actually enjoyed the series will be whether I'm still thinking about it in a few months' time. It's definitely relaunched my love of mech anime (hence the Zoids rewatch).

I guess that's it for now?

#tengen toppa gurren lagann #still can't pronounce it properly

[himebushou]

So... there's a slight hole in my heart now that I've finished my Zoids: New Century Zero rewatch.

Man, it was so much fun! Overall, the pacing was excellent — but being the big tournament fan that I am, I definitely would've welcomed more episodes being dedicated to the Royal Cup. I was a bit baffled that it all got wrapped up in just three eps... it would have been a great opportunity to introduce another solid team rather than focusing purely on the four rivals we saw (the Lightning Team, the Champ Team, Naomi's team and the Fuzzy Pandas Zaber Fangs). However, to dedicate another ep to the Royal Cup, we would have had to drop a filler and the only real contender I can think of is the Sebastian-has-a-crush episode. I would be slightly reluctant to drop it since it gave us some sweet moments where Bit helped out Harry and the gang so it was sorta cute in its own way.

Still, some of the Backdraft's motivations were a bit whacky and needed more exploration. There doesn't seem to be much correlation between shooting down the judges' satellites and taking over the Zoid Battles Commission. And Altile being ready to kill a 10-year-old in order to undermine a colleague was definitely a theme that could've used some expansion! Nevertheless, the tension was effectively built up all the way through and seeing Bit win the final battle with the original Liger Zero was lovely.

Though the poor Panzer unit only got two outings!!

It was bizarre/incredible to hear so many people from the Gundam Wing dub! Picking up on Duo's voice was definitely a bit of a shock, lol. And man, all the DBZ voices... we always had a huge laugh in our household about Harry and the Great Saiyaman having a voice actor in common.

/looks up Scott McNeil

WHAT? He voiced Stoeller too?!? Oh wow oh wow —

I think the women in Zoids were all great: Leena was obnoxious, brash, loud and trigger happy (big heart emoji); Naomi was cool, calm and collected; Mary Champ was materialistic, refined and caring; the Tasker sisters had incredible battling skills (though very little development, sadly); Pierce was cool; Fuma was super cool and Sarah was ambitious and motherly. I loved that they all had very different roles and character motivations. And man, even the comic relief ladies were sweet — like the poor Royal Cup reporter and the woman in the parts shop who was rightfully terrified when Bit couldn't find the order form, lol. They all had autonomy and a part to play... and they all had a very deep appreciation for Zoids.

(Some sports anime could take note.)

And, once again, there's a tenuous link between a series I love and Sengoku BASARA. I came to know of Fuuma Kotarou through Basara — and, given that the Fuma team were super stealthy and could suddenly appear like ninja when Altile summoned them, I'm assuming the leader, Fuma, was based on the historical figure. So that was fun!

I'm wondering if what I watched was the HD version, after all? The episodes included scenes that hadn't made it to the dub — there were only about 4 or 5 in total, and with the exception of the scene where Laon was in a bar and then approached by the Backdraft Group, the cut scenes didn't really add anything.

It's a shame that Zoids: New Century Zero didn't get a second season because wow, I definitely could spend more time with these wonderful characters. At the same time, the whole series was incredibly satisfying to watch, so I'm not too torn up, I suppose.

But scenes I'd like to see!

- Bit taking a break, as promised, and returning in Episode 3 or 4 to save the day and join the series properly

- Top-notch warriors in S Class; the Blitz Team losing a few battles

- A new armour for the Liger Zero

- More exploration of Organoid systems

- Definitely some more stuff with Vega, Stoeller and the other cool folk from the series... I think the Lightning Team would make it to S Class, but I'm not sure about Naomi

- More battles being won by Leena, Brad or Jamie — one thing that disappointed me in Zoids a little was that Bit was the deciding factor for too many battles

- A short tournament for Brad and Naomi to participate in, since they made that promise?

- Absolutely no change to Steve Toros; I LOVE HIM

- Please... cool new Zoids...

- Something cool to replace the Backdraft Group... or maybe Toros goes on a wild hunt to find another Ultimate X (in which case, we'd need a new character to pilot it).

I think that's it for now!

#zoids new century zero #i think i got through this show in 5 days

[himebushou]

Phew!

So I'm rewatching Zoids: New Century (which is one of my favourite anime and honestly just a huge comfort show — I love the characters and the comedy and the voice acting and the soundtrack and the Zoids so much) and boy, I didn't realise just how late into the series the Panzer unit is actually used? It's introduced for the first time in Episode 19. In a series with 26 episodes! That's... late.

I'm looking forward to revisiting some of the moments that have stayed with me for the last 20ish years, when I last watched Zoids: New Century from start to finish — like Harry getting kidnapped by Dr Laon, lol. Brad doesn't have his Shadow Fox yet and Vega Obscura hasn't made an appearance. So man, the last part of the series is going to be packed with fun!

Today, I watched the Wild Eagle episode during my lunch break and actually felt a chill go down my spine when Jamie pulled out of that nosedive... again, what a great episode; it's one of my absolute favourites.

I understand that Zoids: Chaotic Century is the ultimate Zoids series for a lot of people, but since I watched it when I was a kid and the war themes were pretty heavy, it's just... never been a show that I wanted to revisit, even though it's really great. Then, when New Century was advertised on TV, I remember wondering what kind of show it was going to be — and it was really lovely to find that it was a light-hearted adventure with some poignant moments (Leon using the phrase, "Unlimited potential," has just been stuck in my brain FOREVER).

There's something special about Zoids: New Century.

Though man, as an adult, I am thinking about the environmental impact of the Zoid battles and worrying about the logistics of the Zoid Battle Commission and wrinkling my nose at the way Harry squanders his wealth. And I'm even trying to work out the nature of the Backdraft Group's corrupt activities...

Maybe I just like to overthink.

A few years ago, there was an anniversary edition re-release of Zoids: New Century in HD. Someone on Etsy painstakingly replaced the Japanese audio with the English audio and it was apparently a stellar job (I only know of this because of some Reddit threads). I've been trying to find some HD clips just to compare the difference but wow, they're so hard to track down? And it's also really hard to find the original Japanese audio! I want to hear Takahiro Sakurai as Bit Cloud...

Boy. I love Zoids.

#zoids new century zero #nonsensical rambling basically

[himebushou]

I keep seeing people talk about 'LA Luffy' and every time I'm like Los Angeles Luffy?!?

#one piece #opla #damn some thoughts on this soon because i watched it and loved it

[himebushou]

"The Boy Who Dances with Ghosts"

But did we see Yoh waltz? Did we see him tango? Did we see him perform the macarena?

We were robbed.

#shaman king #asakura yoh

[himebushou]

And here we are... at the end...

(I'm actually posting these write-ups several months after watching Aim to be a Pokémon Master.)

Maybe I'm taking a moment to absorb but Episode 11 didn't feel like it was the end, just... a new beginning. And I know I'll be a fool and watching Paldea waiting for Ash to turn up...

I mean, what to say? Pokémon shaped a large part of my psyche. When I felt down, I'd sing through the theme songs to cheer myself up. They instilled me with these ideas of heroism, resilience, self-belief. And I learnt a lot of that through Ash and Pikachu and their interactions.

I love Pokémon a lot. And Ash is one of my favourite characters ever.

#pokémon #aim to be a pokémon master

[himebushou]

Wow! Episode 10 was definitely action-packed!

This bit was so cool.

Pikachu gets the VIP seat.

Just hand-feeding legendary Pokémon...

#ClassicAshHours

He's a baddie but I really like this guy's design?

Pretty nice that Latios allowed Ash to heal his wounds!

EFFORTLESSLY LIFTING SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE WAY TOO HEAVY?

#CLASSICASHHOURS

I have a feeling that this is the last battle of the series and whoa, what a cool battle it was — we see Ash's cunning. I'm really glad that we get 'one last big battle' in.

This moment was... wow.

A lot of Aim to be a Pokémon Master has been about reaffirming how well Ash understands Pokémon and gets on with them — so seeing Latios reject Ash here and Ash accept that rejection (his had dropping to his side!) was really... something. Like there's always more. I've advanced so far / but still there's always more to come.

Feeling super emotional about watching the finale... here I go, I guess.

#pokémon #aim to be a pokémon master

[himebushou]

Episode 9 brings us a Team Rocket episode — which is fun because I've been preoccupied with these fools, lately!

Wow! Look at all their Pokémon!

It was lovely to see a flashback to the other Pokémon they've had along the way like Arbok, Weezing and Chimeco. Since Ash is having a grand tour with his team, I'm glad Team Rocket get this, too.

Pikachu is full of DOUBT and his expression is PERFECT.

They're adorable???

Once again, Ash is babying the baby! I love how that became a fundamental part of his character as the series went on.

SO CUTE! Love how James dotes on Mime Jr., haha!

Just jumping into the air to save an errant Pokémon.

#ClassicAshHours

OH I'M SO GLAD HE REALISED?

Ash just casually befriends legendary Pokémon now. There she is!

And uh —

She is full of wrath, lol

Okay, so I'm 100% sure that this isn't the end of the line for Team Rocket because you can't leave them like THIS. Everything will be alright in the end!

Though it looks like there's a big plot in relation to Latios... he's trapped somewhere?

But Latias, girl... you've spent literal months following Ash around while Latios was in trouble?

It's getting exciting!

#pokémon #aim to be a pokémon master

[himebushou]

Episode 8 of Aim to be a Pokémon Master was more people-centric. I enjoyed it a lot!

What a bizarre collection of thinga to have, lol

Whoa, that is one grimy photo! I love how the gang are putting things together.

Oh geez. Although Pokémon perform a lot of manual labour in the series, something about this scene just made me!! A bit. I suddenly felt kind of shocked?

WOW that is genuinely distressing!

AND IT GETS WORSE? YIKES?

Imagine realising that you're a ghost!

I always found Banette TERRIFYING in the games, so seeing this one being so cute is really... my stance may have changes completely...

(Side note say that Gengar is so huge and so funny. What a goof.)

Look at Ash having to baby the baby. I'm —

HO HO HUM I KNEW IT WAS JOOOY!

So fun to see her as a kiddo!

IT'S HIM!

The big guy!

Dragonite my beloved!

(Ooh, Ash's Greninja has yet to appear... he'll definitely pop up soon, right?)

This was actually super emotional and I nearly cried, too.

#pokémon #aim to be a pokémon master

[himebushou]

So I watched Ep. 7 of Aim to be a Pokémon Master and wow, I love Pokémon.

Lapras is back!

Honestly, the Orange Islands episodes were so much fun — I loved seeing Ash, Misty and Tracey ride around on Lapras. And Lapras was always such a sweetheart so I loved seeing this reunion!

HERACROSS MY BELOVED!!!!

Also, this was the first episode of the season where Ash showcased all six Pokémon!

It's pretty cute to see that Bayleaf's feelings are as strong as ever, lol

This... was legit hilarious.

EVIL!PIKACHU IS BACK AND I LOVE HIM!!

Dang! It's so cool having Ash be the brains of the operation and wow, he coordinated such a brilliant rescue!

Normally, when a character outlines their plan on-screen it all goes pear-shaped, so I loved seeing everything come together!

(I'm surprised that Misty wasn't cooing a lot this episode considering how many water Pokémon were about!)

SO GOOD!

And having Team Rocket be part of the rescue? I loe it!

Guh. The love between Ash and the Pokémon who were with Ash is so special. I really love this series as a farewell tour; it's underlining, again and again, that Ash is special for so many reasons. And it's highlighting how much love he's given and received... sighs.

This moment was so sweet, especially against the sunset.

And super cool that this episode used a take on a track from the video games!

I'm glad Misty addressed the Phanpy in the room!

#pokémon #aim to be a pokémon master

[himebushou]

Episode 6 of Aim to be a Pokémon Master is basically a celebration of Ash and Pikachu's friendship — and boy am I here for it!

SO SWEET! I love that they can finally just relax a bit —

Oh man. I love the episodes where the gang have to team up with Team Rocket. Pikachu and Meowth have always had an interesting dynamic.

SCREAMS

A reference to the first episode?!? WHAT!!

Look at Ash now versus the Ash of back then! Looking after the injured Spearow! I'm crying!

Another nod — and this time, he willingly shares his food with Rattata! Wow, I love that these normal Pokémon are being given a chance to shine!

SPIDER-MAN HOURS

I wanted a bit of jeopardy in this episode and boy, I got it!

The insert song and the two of them looking up at the moon and reflecting on their friendship... whoa...

JUST HOW IN-SYNC ARE THEY?!?

And the Latias that has been watching over Ash all this time comes to the rescue! How sweet!

#pokémon #aim to be a pokémon master

[himebushou]

I finished watching Shaman King 2021 yesterday! Some scattered thoughts on Episodes 38-52!

So much happened in this episode but absolutely everything has been wiped from my brain because WHAT is Marco's battle outfit —

Episode 38

Episode 39

I really need Team The Ren to win this fight!

Yoh finally gets to share his big news, lol

Man, the X-Laws' reveal was a big deal but again, it went at a 100 miles an hour so there wasn't much space/time to absorb everything... and I can't believe how huge that table has gotten, lol

Marco is. A dope.

Episode 40

For me, a Team Horohoro fan, this episode was... truly a lot. I want to know his full story (and despite what Yoh and Ren say, I know that they do, too). He was seriously amazing and guh, just such a fantastic character. I loves the kanji and etymology lesson from Hao, too.

I'm still kinda shocked that Yoh is back in the Shaman Fight as I thought that his being out of the game was a massive divergence that was going to set the series apart, but the way things have worked out is pretty cool!

And the Five Elemental warriors are gonna come from Gandhara, huh? Nice!

The new ending is GORGEOUS. Whoa whoa.

(Also, finally getting some closure for why Yoh has felt so off — poor chilled boy is so stressed.)

Episode 41

hjdjd THIS OST IS OUTSTANDING

I think Marco is dead dead (unless he'll be revived?) and phew, the stuff with the X-Laws' satellite was cool! ALTHOUGH. I'm wondering what the heck they saw that made Hao so damn angry.

Sati doesn't waste any time taking prisoners fjdk

YOH VS HIS ANCESTOR? NICE NICE NICE!

Honestly, some moments have been jawdropping fjhfh

And Oh!Oni was back! And beloved Matamune!

I love this Yoh and Amidamaru focus, eee

Episode 42

I am just becoming increasingly incoherent EVERYTHING IS SO EXCITING but phew, so many people kicked the bucket in this ep?

I am emo about Yohsen oh maaan

I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE HAS BEEN THIS BIG SECRET ALLIANCE BETWEEN GANDARA AND THE PARENTS AND MATAMUNE FHDJ YOWWW

Episode 43

And now one of Manta's relatives is getting in on the action and trying to nab the Great Spirit PHEWWW

Jun having trained with Sati? Whoa! And having the mana to resurrect THREE people? When Faust could only do one? I have some questions, but I'm happy my girl is involved!

But since Anna has also mastered the Ultra Senji Ryakketsu, surely she should also be able to resurrect people?

This is so wild but it's exciting so I'll roll with it!

Episode 44

ANNA VS HAO and there are still so many secrets there? THE TENSION.

And then the coffee!! I'm so glad that Yohsen is somehow still around fjfjf

Though damn, Hao, you cheapskate: pay your damn bill!

Tao Ran and Tao Yúan on screen together, yahoo! (Flipping heck, I loved those moments when Ren was so embarrassed about his family cheering him on, lolol)

BUT BLOODY HELL THIS BATTLE. TBH I really want Team The Ren to win because I do feel that they've got Yoh outclassed... the Ren/Horo lightning/ice combo is just too good. Though wow, Horohoro is MAD.

Episode 45

I'm so close to the end and I'm so sad!

Phew, so we find out which elements the boyos are going to have! I was fully expecting Yoh to have fire, so I was super surprised that it'll be Lyserg instead. Joco with the 'Wind of Change' makes sense, as does Ren with lightning (though I'm surprised that this was an element over metal, tbh, especially since Ren made some comments about Yoh's mastery of metal where Spirit of Sword was concerned) and Horohoro with water. Yoh as the sturdy earth guy is good.

(I'm slightly angsty for Ryu... there wasn't much of an explanation from Sati and Gandhara about precisely why the Elemental Warriors had to be kiddos, apart from the established conversation about adults knowing their ceilings. I assume that there's a bit more detail in the manga.)

This fight against the rest of the world, though? Huh, dramatic! I'm a bit sketchy about the whole laser thing becaaause I thought that was spiritual energy that was fired at the island, but it couldn't have been if the whole world is aware of it? So I have questions!

Everyone chillding in the hot spring is so cute, good gracious.

Episode 46

Wow, show's over. Hao is the Shaman King.

Episode 47

HOW is this going to wrap up in a satisfying way when we still have another 8 Patch Officiants to get through djdjd the Lyserg OST hits so haaaard...

Episode 48

Waaaa the adults are having a barbecue and the kids are fighting for their lives and we are losing healers left and right and Opacho can read minds and there are still SO MANY REVELATIONS crikeyyyy

Episode 49

The tone changes are so odd to keep up with; one second, Redseb and Seyrarm are dying and the next, Kalim is bringing everyone dinner and the guys are taking a break to recover mana when it's been explicitly stated they have 15 hours to save the world! This is so whack to me.

WAIT I nearly missed that there was a ton of stuff after the credits and djhff Horohoro doesn't like his full name?

TIME FOR MY BOY'S BACKSTORYYYY

Episode 50

Oh man, the way Tamiko died was actually harrowing and then she's revealed to be Kororo and Ren's just like. Horohoro is now in dope mode we must ignore him fhfjjlfj

Ren has been taking on most of these fights and his battle against Nichrom was swift, but cool; I loved Joco vs Thalim though — and Thalim himself was adorable!

Episode 51

ALL THE ELEMENTAL SPIRITS VS HAO!

I'm weeping Shaman King is so special the whole thing is just WE WILL DEFEAT THE BADDIE WITH THE POWER OF LOVE.

urgh urgh this OST!!

I'M NOT REAAADY DOR THIS TO END

Episode 52

I definitely cried during the last episode because parts of the ending were so beautiful; everyone coming together to show Hao that he could be saved — that salvation is in accepting your humanity and believing in the humanity of others. And I found Hao's mother's words so freaking soothing... I'm glad that Hao missing his mother was foreshadowed earlier, but we could have had more of that, I think.

And sure, they haven't fixed the world by 2007, but that is OKAY — most of them are around 22 and at that age, I was a wreck! So they have time and their lives to look forward to and... and I guess I disagree with the folks who say that the end of Shaman King is bad because they feel 'everything was pointless'; there's a lot to do and, even with guardian ghosts, shamans can't do everything alone.

I think this is an anime I could definitely rewatch, at some point. Wow. I love these characters and, as much as I griped about this, that and the other, I loved this story.

And I think it's so interesting that Yoh just. Didn't end up as the Shaman King djbdfh that;s definitely not what I was expecting!

#shaman king #wow my feelings

[himebushou]

These really are beautiful 😭

Off I go to scour the internet!

Why did I decide to get into Shaman King 2021 in 2023 and therefore completely miss hearing about Funbari Chronicles... I am so sad that I didn't get the chance to play... 😭

#shaman king #oh i am REALLY GLAD to have come back in time for flowers #i don't know that much about it but the preview was so good #and it should be fun to experience the fandom's explosion of feelings!