May 05, 2004
Saikano Episode 04
"Fuyumi"
For an episode called "Fuyumi", she sure doesn't show up, or play a very big part in it. Which is too bad, because I really hope her story isn't over, as I like the wrinkle messing around with Shuji's emotions presents.
One thing that Saikano does really well is tell a lot of story and deliver a lot of exposition in very short amounts of time. Through offhand comments and careful delivery of information, one or two lines can fill in a lot of stuff about the characters, what's going on and more.
One of the things that I don't like about Saikano is Chise's character, as I've mentioned before. She seems like she's an eight year old or something (both in appearance and in attitude). In this episode, she spouts off about how she'd like to try and protect everyone in the world if she could, of course completely missing the fact that the people she's killing are part of the world. She doesn't even come to that particular realization, though she does think she's not able to protect anyone, being a weapon. So, somehow she came to the right conclusion, just by the wrong reasoning. I would say her character design is pretty uninspired, also. And unappealing, unless you're into that sort of thing (which you shouldn't rush to admit). Then again, Fuyumi, who's probably supposed to be around 30, looks about 16, so whatever.
This was kind of a slow episode, rehashing a lot of what's already been gone over. How Shuji and Chise are trying to escape the military, but can't, and anyways, Chise knows she can't hide, because if she does, many people will die. Oh yeah, and Chise's friend probably has some secret love for Shuji, which would explain (stereotypically) why she treats him so poorly.
A lot of what happens is genuinely emotional, though I can't really take anything that Chise feels seriously, since she's such a ridiculous character (what with the huge mechanical wings and all). The other characters all work pretty well, though.
Oh, and I have to also mention that this war really could use some explanation. Sure it's not the focal point of the story, but when your setting is so insane (Japan is getting wiped off the face of the earth, why doesn't anyone care?), you should have to explain yourself, or pick a more generic story.
Rating: C+
Posted by Kei at May 5, 2004 12:02 AM