Forum - View topicIshura (TV).
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Edjwald
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I've stuck with it thus far. I also stuck with a show called the Zodiac War which had each episode feature a different protagonist in a prolonged struggle to the death, and I'm hoping this one will leave a stronger impression when it's all over. It's certainly a well done show, and if these "distant folk" indicate that this is an isekai, it's a cool variant. I have to say though, I haven't really invested in any of the characters though, and the part and parcel peck here, peck there strategy is part of that. There's also a whiff of nihilism running throughout. Most of the characters have discernible allegiances or ambitions of one kind or another, but they all give the sense that there's no bottom line in how far they'd sink to achieve those ambitions unless I've missed something.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2858 |
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#4
This episode sacrifices action for exposition: considering how different the magic system in this world is compared to a more conventional template and how the planet's best spellcaster effectively uses it as her USP for the big duel to come it's not surprising so much time is spent fleshing out the mechanics. We viewers see snippets of it in the past three episodes in various combat situations, so having a proper tutorial in "Word Arts" gives more context to the battles to come as many of the combatants are capable users. None will beat Kia in this field, but Erea is very much mistaken she's invincible because of her magic. The bioweapon kept in prison wasn't given much of a background beyond being extremely potent against hordes of regular soldiers. Until we see what she's capable of, viewers just have to take the premise that she's the Capital's trump card at face value. One person who I had expected to be introduced this week wasn't. The man who claims he has an angel on his side is also featured briefly in the OP animation, yet short of looking him up in the credits there's no way of finding out who he is or what he's capable of. How to beat an elf capable of literally wishing people to death? Stop her from speaking. All of the Word Arts require vocalising words, so if she's caught by surprise and unable to speak that's half the battle won. One of the combatants is very good at lightning strikes, so it's a question of whether the mute button can be pressed before Kia wins almost by default. The other thing would be some kind of magic resistance or a sacrificial cover to "waste" her spells while a main attack ambushes Kia. Too early to tell, but a formidable challenge nonetheless. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23803 |
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Episode 5
So all five of the demi-gods have been introduced, although we haven't seen Skeletor in action so hard to say how bad-ass he is. He must be the lancer so swift they can break the sound barrier, so that's pretty bad-ass. Perhaps this means the introductory phase is over and the Big 5 will start competing to see who is the "mightiest of the mighty." |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2858 |
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#5
The final episode introducing the main contenders for the Demon King's throne. The episode also sets up the political situation leading up to the tournament these contenders are supposed to participate in, but details are not forthcoming as of this time. The mandrake is not the only non-human contender, but he(?)/it(?) definitely has the most unique mindset of the contenders. Although a living organism, it doesn't feel "alive" as the other races do and needs something to motivate it beyond a fear of getting killed. It will happily remain a gladiator slave just to train itself on a diet of humans of various skill levels, until the demon king's hordes come and it applies its long years of training to slaughtering just about anything that approaches. A straightforward martial contender, although probably not the strongest overall because it's a tree and can be burned outside of weapon range. The final contender is an exceptional case: the priest I was hoping to see last week actually debuts this week. It's his angel who's the showcase, but unlike the other contenders it requires Kuze to actually take part as a proxy in the tournament before the angel can be persuaded to fight and kill. Kuze himself has no weapons, just the huge shield and prosthetic arms which can absorb sword strikes without breaking. Assuming he stays alive long enough on the battlefield, his angel's invisibility and insta-kill attacks will do the rest. An odd combination, but the contenders in previous weeks might have something to say as far as taking the pair down is concerned. Finally, an episode dealing with the main plot at last. No more character introductions (maybe the undead spear mercenary might get a look in) as far as episode titles are concerned, but the OP animation and the first episode's ramble on the continent's legendary fighters indicate there might be more than just the named contenders to consider for this grand tournament. Not much to go on for now, maybe when the main storyline gets going will the show go into higher gear. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1961 |
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As much as I like getting more lore and learning more about the world and the characters in it, I am starting to feel a bit of a waning interest in it all. Thankfully, it seems like we are now moving beyond the introduction phase, at least, I really hope so. As for the latest episode, I really like the mandrake and his absurd fighting style. I also wonder how they are going to have any semblance of a balance between so many op characters.
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1961 |
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Yay, the introductions are indeed finally over. We are now seeing several of the mc's setting their plans in motion and before long a few of them will probably meet and clash. As for the actual main tournament, seems like that is not starting anytime soon.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23803 |
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Episode 6
Lord, we are entering the halfway mark of the "new" season, already. In any case, yes, intros are over and poop is gonna get real. I feel this is an interesting cast and I'm intrigued by how they are going to interact. Bring it on. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2858 |
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#6
Having taken the time to introduce the contestants and their abilities, the franchise promptly brings them together not at the tournament, but to the rebel capital city and sets it up so they are likely to come to blows. The only one not present is the Dragonslayer Wyvern; everyone else is in place and it's just a matter of guessing who strikes first. The hapless spy was supposed to be eliminated by her erstwhile ally to further the chances of success at the tournament, now the plan is to make her a victim of collateral damage and complete the empire's original mission of assassination as part of the scheme. Soujirou is supposed to be the one doing the deed, but he'll get his pound of flesh anyway regardless of what situation the target is in. The two mercenaries hired by Lana will likely fight to stay alive as they'll be accused as accomplices, leaving Taren and her subordinates fending everyone off if all hell breaks lose. I'm not expecting a plotline as outlandish and unpredictable as Undead Unluck, but the animators will need to deliver as the setup for the first set of main story action scenes has taken a lot of time and ruining the buildup with a weak end product would be hugely anticlimactic. If all of the named contenders somehow survive to proceed to the tournament, it will make things more interesting as any draws from previous encounters will make rematches more unpredictable as combatants adapt to their opponent's trump cards. Hard to say right now, so might as well see how it all unfolds and how far the adaptation will go. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1961 |
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Welp, war time it is. I do have to admit though, I did not expect to see Yagyuu backed into a corner like that, he simply does not have the speed or eyes to deal with mr skelly who really is crazy fast. As for the magic city, it seems like their fate rests upon Vortical Stampede and her spider robot, she gives me flashbacks to Ghost in the Shell.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2858 |
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#7
War begins, but not in the way it appeared to be telegraphed from last week's episode. Will the change in the narrator's opening spiel portend something more significant moving forward? Also, his comment about Taren's rule is at odds with what we've seen so far, which hints the narrator is telling this tale from the viewpoint of the capital without objectivity. Soujirou against Shalk is actually previewed in the ED animation, which might indicate more impending matchups for those who bother to look. Despite the vast disparity in speed, the battle was even before the scout reported no survivors. I'm expecting Soujirou to win because he was given the bombastic introduction in his debut given to the other contenders but Shalk was not, but it won't be a cakewalk. It's interesting Shalk volunteered to stall Soujirou instead of letting the mandrake fight him; although he claimed it was a bad matchup it's probably better to see them clash at the tournament rather than some random border skirmish. The old general is off to hunt wyverns alone, but I'm guessing he won't get to. If that ED still is any indication, the battle will be between the empire's handpicked Shura against the Lythian wyvern expeditionary force. The monster Kuze was guarding up to now has permission to deploy, and perhaps next week we'll see what she can do when fully equipped for war. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1961 |
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My man Higuare was done dirty. He was up against someone who basically nullified his every move with just a few words and his poison activated the one hit kill angel without him even knowing that Kuze was present and what his deal is. I do wonder how a fight between the word and the walking disaster would go. Kuze would die after hearing the words telling him to do so, the elf girl would be shanked soon after unless she knows that the angel is coming for her. That also assumes her words would even effect said angel.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2858 |
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#8
It's all hitting off, and with the first matchups against the named characters we finally see fatalities before the tournament even begins. After all of the setup to get to this point, it's pleasing to see some matchups live up to the hype. Shank and Soujirou not fighting to a conclusion might be anti-climatic, but they'll face each other again soon after once Soujirou finds his way back to the scene of the action. Shank may think Soujirou is decent given his handicaps, but letting him off might prove to be his undoing if Soujirou finds a way past the speed which he couldn't handle in the first battle. As for Yuno, she's always had that nihilistic streak in her and for all the goading Nakai forces on her, she's not stupid enough to attack when she has 0% chance of success. She'll try again, but she'll also need to prepare more thoroughly and find a way to catch Nakai by surprise to have any chance of success. Wyvern vs Wyvern isn't a surprise, since it's the only fair matchup for the respective contenders. Alus is doing very well despite the needle his former compatriots were sticking him with, but it's probably going to come down to a duel between the two alpha males to decide the contest. Alus has better gear but is badly outnumbered, and if Regnejee keeps him surrounded it's a war of attrition Alus will eventually lose. On the other hand, if it's 1 on 1 Alus has every chance of killing Regnejee and forcing the rest of the swarm to back down. The way the series is building things up, Kia and Kuze have top billing because of their respective powers. Higuare had the one chance to end Kia, but failed to take it as he hadn't caught her completely by surprise. Once she paid attention and started speaking, Higuare would have lost. All Kuze's angel did was hasten the inevitable (even without Kia in the mood for murder). The narrator hints a clash between Kuze's angel and Kia would probably kill a lot of bystanders in the process, and it's an outcome which isn't as clear cut as it would seem because of the way Kuze's angel goes about its business. Assuming this goes on for just one quarter, there should be enough airtime to resolve the first set of skirmishes before the tournament to select the champion even beings in earnest. The war with Lithia has to end first, and there's no telling how that's going to conclude even with Lithia making the first move. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1961 |
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The anime saying of old applied yet again this week: talk too much during a fight and you will get your ass handed to you. Seems like the Lithia situation will take up the remainder of the season, hopefully there will be a second one to show some of the actual tournament.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23803 |
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That's of course assuming that any competitors other than the World Word or Angel of Death are still alive...
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2858 |
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#9
Soujirou survived, perhaps unsurprisingly. Being the maverick that he is, it only means he'll just head to the target and kill anything that looks worthy. Unfortunately for his employers, that object is another of their assets, Nihilo. Her introduction as a contender has taken the longest time, but she's dangerous in her own right though probably not in the top tier of contenders. As expected, she's suited towards mass destruction rather than one or one duels; faster and more nimble opponents like Soujirou and the Magpie will kill her if they breach her defences with a clean strike. The main event is the anticipated Alus vs. Regnejee horde showdown. As mentioned by others, the latter talked far too much in his overconfidence and was undone by the one weapon he failed to brief his mind-controlled subordinates about as he himself had no information on it. Alus himself made hard work for it, and with his injuries the human general who has been humiliated by him for so long finally has a glimmer of opportunity to avenge the many losses he's endured over the years. It would be ironic if Regnejee met his end at the hands of the blind girl he's take a fancy to. She could never touch him, but with his condition she can not only do that but also finish him off if her suspected treason is genuine. If both wyverns are taken out before the tournament proper begins, then the playing field is more level as their flight makes matchups too uneven. |
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