Utawarerumono Episode 4 Discussion / Poll

[xris]

Welcome to the discussion thread for Utawarerumono, Episode 4.

Thread Guidelines
No telling or asking for RAWs.
Try to keep spoilers from the Game or Manga out of the anime thread. If you need to in reply to someone with a reference to the Game / Manga, either PM them or use Spoiler tags (see example below).
Discuss your expectations of the episode if not aired.
Be polite to your fellow forum members.
Try to keep the discussion on topic and future episode spoilers out of the thread whenever possible.


Spoiler Tag Usage

Using Spoiler Tags is easy. Using this...

Don't forget to use the spoiler title

....will get you this...

Don't forget to use the spoiler title

[Daniel E.]

Of all the episodes shown so far this one appears to be the best. Really looking forward here.

[Cats]

Of all the episodes shown so far this one appears to be the best. Really looking forward here.

You are talking about the preview... correct... or has the ep aired...

*looks at the poll and sees someone voted :rolleyes: *

[zalas]

Episode 4, "Path of No Return," has aired... Episode 5 airs this coming Monday.

[Vexx]

Serious plot advancement here in terms of character relationship arrangements and the looming of bigger epic stuff. Not a lot in terms of Eruruu and Hakuoro personally but understandable given the situations. Another solid 8 from me.
If the series rates an average of 8 from me thoughout the entire series... my overall rating will probably be 9 or 10 simply from the lack of faux pas.
"A good old story told well" rates highly in my book.

[ImperialPanda]

Can someone please just ban cannon-fodder? -_-zzz

And I gotta say, that must be the stupidest reason to get killed for: because some kid threw a stone. Very dramatic.

[Lost]

Utawarerumono 4 subbed!!!

Looking forward to it. :bow: fansubs

[Onizuka-GTO]

watched the raw ages ago...

catches the fansub just now!!

AARRGGH!! subs here!! BANZAI!

downloads right now

:D :D

[zka]

Ohh the blood.. Anyone else who thinks "kubii" each time he tries to remember his "past" life. I know i do :D

and..

Cant wait for the next episode... It seems that they will build an army and go to war in order to protect the village. So far so good.

[Crimen Scythe]

i really enjoyed this ep....it had good plot development...alot transpired in this ep...and it keeps me thinking what's going to happen next....i cant wait for ep 5...

[Lost]

Oh.. bloodshed bloodshed bloodshed. Poor poor Aruruu. It was sad when that happened. Still, it shows that she has the backbone to confront the-big-fat-oyaji. Seems like a bond has developed between her and the cub, named Mukuru. Both courageous little fighters.

I liked this episode overall.. there was some focus on the relationship between Aruruu and Eruruu, seems pretty obvious to me that soon that sister-bond will be called upon/tested.

Again some issues with plot movement. Seems to be leaving details out, progressing too fast for comfort. How did a meeting to decide village elder suddenly turn into a wordless decision to attack the mansion?

And I really must learn this style of near-horizontal running :twitch:
http://img280.imageshack.us/img280/3400/vlcsnap2408802zz.th.png (http://img280.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vlcsnap2408802zz.png)Oh and I liked the song Eruruu sang at the end, hope we get the full version soon.

[Kensuke]

So this is how rebellions start, I wonder how far things go...
As Hakuoro said, it is fight or die from now on. Good episode even tohught it is hard to believe that just peasants beat trained soldiers.

One thing I noticed, the animators need more coffee. But all in all, this series well animated, big plus for that.

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9058/utaware13ts.jpg
http://img289.imageshack.us/img289/1329/utaware25xl.jpg

[Dagger]

Yeah, this episode was more sloppily animated than the previous episodes. Even so, the art is generally pretty good, and it seems as if ep. 5 will have some really awesome-looking scenes. Maybe they were just saving up money for that.

[KaneDragon]

She just had to throw that stone... The (villagers') attack seemed like a bit much. Good thing that commander dude was too cool to fight...

Hakuoro's metal fan has fully redeemed itself. Fighting with fan = new hotness.

[zalas]

She just had to throw that stone... The attack seemed like a bit much.
The retaliation of the guards shows nicely the relationship between the ruling class and the peasants. Besides, I'm pretty sure if you lobbed a projectile at any head of state, the secret service/bodyguards would be totally onto you in a second.
Aruruw's decision to throw that stone draws parallels with The Emperor's New Clothes. Out of everyone, only Aruruw doesn't really know the consequences, and isn't fully indoctrinated into the "be subservient to the ruling class" creedo. She is acting purely on her own reasoning (and naivete), something the adults have a really hard time trying to do.

[Trax]

My main gripe: Nuwangi survived, and frankly I don't understand how he slipped away. He needs to die, I'll cheer when it actually happens.

[Kamui4356]

Again some issues with plot movement. Seems to be leaving details out, progressing too fast for comfort. How did a meeting to decide village elder suddenly turn into a wordless decision to attack the mansion?
I would imagine that in choosing Hakuoro as village elder, the villagers made their desire for revenge known. After all, oyaji would have been the logical choice, if they had decided to let it go and continue their peaceful lives. Hakuoro was chosen because he showed greater tactical ability when dealing with the mutikapa. With that, and knowing how much Tsusukuru meant to everyone, there was no need for words.

[Shiroth]

What i've been waiting for since i heard about Utawarerumono becoming a anime was to see the style of action, and imo the anime really does show it perfectly - a lil' but upsetting about the elder dying.. even more so for seeing Eruruu & Aruruu so upset like that. ;_;

Also, i like the part where it looked like Hakuoro seemed to get some flashbacks to hid past life - looks like we'll be seeing more soon.

The nexted episode looks to be really interesting. Looks like we get to see Benawi's right hand man in action.. hope we get some action from Benawi too. ^^

[Shini_GamI]

ahh.... its sad to see that the grandma died

[Daniel E.]

As Hakuoro said, it is fight or die from now on. Good episode even tohught it is hard to believe that just peasants beat trained soldiers.

Probably the soldiers were not very good to begin with.

Plus, the poor bunch had to deal with:

- Their best two soldiers leaving without helping.
- Taken by surprise.
- 'Probably' lacking any real combat experience.
- Hakuoro & Oboro on the other side killing more than a +dozen soldiers on their own.

With all that added up, I think it's not very strange to believe that the soldiers actually lost.

Of course, this is just what I think of that scene. :D

One thing I noticed, the animators need more coffee. But all in all, this series well animated, big plus for that.

Gaack... two heads !!!!

[monstert]

I was surprised this anime got its own series discussion subforum now. It's a nice surprise, but then I'm even more surprised that the grandma died:upset:, I thought she was going to be there for the kids until the end. Not what I was expecting, but it's still a fun show overall.

[Sorrow-K]

What I really liked about this episode is that we're starting to see glimpses of a really strong, yet realistically human character in Hakuoro. I thought the way Tusukuru fell was a bit trite, but I have to admit I was moved byher death (though not quite moved to tears),even if they did linger on it a tad too long and overdid it a bit.

The villagers taking down the fortress was cool, but the action sequences themselves weren't very impressive. I'll forgive it by saying this series is probably more story-intensive than action-intensive but I can't say the way the fights are animated are a high point.

[zalas]

So this is how rebellions start, I wonder how far things go...
As Hakuoro said, it is fight or die from now on. Good episode even tohught it is hard to believe that just peasants beat trained soldiers.

Never underestimate the power of morale/fanaticism/anger.

[masakenji]

how did trained soldiers lost?

1. Oboro at the start charged in by himself, which is possible in all aspects. he single handedly demoralised the soldiers, but was captured.

2. Even though not in detailed, i say the soldiers got caught by surprise.

3. We all know our main character is a great strategist and leader.

4. After having the face off against the soldiers, Oboro appeared. The soldiers were pincered and since these soldiers previously saw Oboro's skills, they got demoralised.

5. They did say the soldiers outnumbered the rebels, but they never said how much. Also, two generals that supposed to help left and its a high probability they took some troops with them.


Remember, Liu Bang started out as a repel against the Qin. From a peasant he became the ruler of the Han Dynasty.

[Cats]

I rated it as Very Good... since this was a action packed ep not really much to comment on... nice to see Hakuoro is the leader now... too bad the granny had to die :(

As for why the soldiers got defeated part...

Since it's stated that most of the rebels suffered in wars... its no surprise they would be more skilled at this compared to the soldiers... not to mention the revenge factor...

Well seeing a anime with some bloodshed is really nice...

[Lost]

Speaking of which, I wonder if any of the village fighters died. It seems that it was a 1:0 ratio for guard casualties:village casualties.

I thought the way Tusukuru fell was a bit trite, but I have to admit I was moved by her death (though not quite moved to tears), even if they did linger on it a tad too long and overdid it a bit.
I felt very sad for Aruruu, coz even if she's young, she understood what she did and will have to live with that fact for the rest of her life. But oh shes so young!! :sad: Tho, yeah, it didnt move me to tears. But it was close.

[Vexx]

I guess we'll call it "long enough" since the fansub released.... but you guys need to some effort into spoiler tagging major plot points. If you're smart enough to post, you're smart enough to know how to tag spoilers. I always try to wait at least a week after release before I stop tagging my spoilers.

There are still a couple of thousand people downloading this ep, eh?

[Shiroth]

This is a episode 04 talk, i don't think spoiler tags would be needed for talk about episode 04 - now if people started to talk about past that, then yes i agree.

[Lost]

We should put a big SPOILER warning at the title of each thread like this; like they did in the MO subforum. Nonetheless, I apologise.. Fixed :)

[Vexx]

I'm kind of undecided on series with full subforums like this. Angelsama is relatively correct in that this is ep4 and therefore one should expect ep4 spoilers but I still take the personal tack that *major* spoilers (like character death) should be tagged for at least a week after release. Otherwise it is kind of like yelling who died in Serenity to the crowd outside the theater waiting for the next showing.

Its more of a problem with series that only have a single thread. I've said my preferences and will be quiet now :)

[Shiroth]

If you haven't seen the episode - then why would you go into a thread about that episode, and there for know you're going to be spoiled?

[Daniel E.]

If you haven't seen the episode - then why would you go into a thread about that episode, and there for know you're going to be spoiled?

Totally agree !!! :D

I understand it when people try to be polite and use spoiler tags when the eps. in question is only available as a RAW; Even so, the moment someone comes into a specific thread or section whithout watching the latest episode, is the moment they are asking to get spoiled.

[bento-cube]

Methinks Vexx has a valid point, since he's looking out for those who don't want to be spoiled by major plot changes such as character deaths. I personally feel the same way, and will continue to put spoiler tags if I have any plot stuff to share.

With that said, of course, you guys have your own opinions, and I don't intend to force my own on you. (Just expressing mine.)

[Cats]

:hmm:... how many of the characters in the op have been introduced this ep...

I say that :
http://forums.animesuki.com/images/icons/icon2.gif The little elf girls are the archers in the op... the one CatGirls made a sig from... Link Here (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=546273&postcount=2)
http://forums.animesuki.com/images/icons/icon2.gif The big demon before the end is probably An-chan... since we have the flashback or whatever it is after he kills the fatass-bos :D...
http://forums.animesuki.com/images/icons/icon2.gif The villagers have already been introduced
http://forums.animesuki.com/images/icons/icon2.gif I think boss-ass son is an important villain since we see him in the op as well... maybe that's why he escaped... then again granny appears in the op... maybe she gets revived... yah right :rolleyes:
http://forums.animesuki.com/images/icons/icon2.gif General’s captain ... he's a captain right :confused:
http://forums.animesuki.com/images/icons/icon2.gif WHN sister has already been introduced...

:hmm: ... anyone else this ep... :dots:

[Daniel E.]

The little elf girls are the archers in the op... the one CatGirls made a sig from.

Are those two actually girls??

Somehow, I get the feeling that at least one of them is a boy. :confused:

EDIT:

Just watched the eps. again and those two certainly sound and look like boys.

[Vexx]

I'll probably take flack for this but I thought Oboro was a girl for a few seconds when I saw his character design with that little summer halter blousey thing he was wearing :)

edit: I thought at least one was a girl based on this pic:
http://img84.imageshack.us/my.php?image=uta131024x7680na.jpg
however, now I'm not sure thats even the same character because the hair designs are different (though she's an archer too if the clothing means much).
Perhaps someone who's played the game can enlighten.

[Erroll]

At first I thought they were girls but looking at it again, I decided they were boys. I'm going with boys until someone comes up with definite proof.

[Daniel E.]

One is a girl for sure and I think both are but I'll have to browse a bit to be sure.

Eh!? now I am starting to have doubts again :eyespin:

I always wondered why one of them always appeared to be blushing in a lot of the pics I have seen.

EDIT:

Ooops sorry about taking down the pics. I am not sure about hotlinking images, even if they are extremely small and are hosted in a place such as imageshack.

[zalas]

At first I thought they were girls but looking at it again, I decided they were boys. I'm going with boys until someone comes up with definite proof.
Well, hehe Hakuoro in the game thought they were girls, too, until this one time when Oboro explained that they were boys. There's definitely some shounen-ai hints in the game, as they are totally thrilled to carry a tired Oboro off after a battle. Later on, Hakuoro asks them if they are boys, and they said "well, normally we are a bit shy to show you proof, but since it's you, Hakuoro, we wouldn't mind." XD
edit: I thought at least one was a girl based on this pic:
That's Karura. She's the one swinging the huge sword in the opening.
I always wondered why one of them always appeared to be blushing in a lot of the pics I have seen.
Haha, I am glad they did that, or I would have had a hard time in the game differentiating the two based on their mugshots.

[Vexx]

And the gods of bishie win again...... eek. Okay... I guess I need to keep an eye out for that young lady.... I hadn't even noticed her because she only gets a few frames before the interesting redhaired trenchcoated swordswoman is given her sequence.

[Onizuka-GTO]

bit strange. i though only female fox-people had tails. not one fox male have i seen has a tail.

it could just be that males find it embarassing.or social customs to hide it. after all the males do occasional wear those funny thing around there heads to hid their ears....

[Vexx]

You beat me to it... same here... I've not seen one male with a tail... not even a bump. It looked like if it had a tail, t'were a girl.
I guess they come from far enough away that there are some racial differences.... they did say they came from far away, so the racial difference might be the ticket.
I suppose they could also have been driven away from their homeland because of those "false accusations" (medical differences ->hermaphrodite?).
The voices are ambivalent ... boy-ish, but not much more so than the anime "tsundere" type growly voice (I'm watching Petopeto at the moment and the very lovely kappa girl, Sahara has such a voice -- a mermaid named Sahara... heh).

Ah well.. not really relevant to the story yet but interesting "sidestory"...

[Daniel E.]

bit strange. i though only female fox-people had tails. not one fox male have i seen has a tail.

it could just be that males find it embarassing.or social customs to hide it. after all the males do occasional wear those funny thing around there heads to hid their ears....

If wing people (or whatever they are called) can have different types of wings, it wouldn't be surprising to see several different groups or species among fox people.

Like the tailess male group and so on....

[Onizuka-GTO]

i suppose that's possible, i mean there is the racial difference in ear types already.....

[bento-cube]

And the gods of bishie win again...... eek. Okay... I guess I need to keep an eye out for that young lady.... I hadn't even noticed her because she only gets a few frames before the interesting redhaired trenchcoated swordswoman is given her sequence.

That would be Touka. I'm rather partial to her Iaijutsu style of fighting (reminds me of creaky old Citan from Xenogears...)

[zalas]

Touka has an awesome sequence in the promo video where she slices sakura petals on their dance down into the water.

[Green²]

To remember back when the villagers accepted the taken goods from their overlords. The old lady knew what would happen should they return to find it. In all likely case, she may have also seen it as stolen. The old lady knew that she was well respected within her village and around. The old lady knew that she was too old. With the growing wars & battles drawing even closer to the village, the old lady knew that they would soon have to rise to battle. With her death, perhaps she knew that it would bring conflict with her village and the overlords. And perhaps, with Hakuoro, that she knew that he would be strong enough to lead her village into that battle.

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/6493/snapshot20060502140927b8rc.th.jpg (http://img330.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20060502140927b8rc.jpg)


But for Aruruu,

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/3690/snapshot20060502140019b1hg.th.jpg (http://img330.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20060502140019b1hg.jpg)

...the pain seemed more than physical.

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/2175/snapshot20060502140113b3qs.th.jpg (http://img330.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20060502140113b3qs.jpg)

That perhaps, `If I didn't throw that rock, would grandmother be still alive today?` ...for with that pain, sears the soul. For that to heal, may never be known.

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/3743/snapshot20060502141327b4qr.th.jpg (http://img330.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20060502141327b4qr.jpg)

Nor for Hakuoro, who must also help bear the pain, as an leader, as a father.

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4907/snapshot20060502142308b6uj.th.jpg (http://img138.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20060502142308b6uj.jpg)

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/3759/snapshot20060502142303b6ut.th.jpg (http://img330.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20060502142303b6ut.jpg)

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/8216/snapshot20060502142314b5gd.th.jpg (http://img138.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20060502142314b5gd.jpg)

`This is for Tusukuru. Fuck you and die!` (♫I think we know who could make a good english voice artist.♫ ...for now. :p )

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/4541/snapshot20060502142342b0kw.th.jpg (http://img330.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20060502142342b0kw.jpg)

And with that, a new path for all to walk, with no turning back. Perhaps for the old lady, a fulfilled life now lived.

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/6352/snapshot200605021430130yd.th.jpg (http://img330.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot200605021430130yd.jpg)

[Furudanuki]

bit strange. i though only female fox-people had tails. not one fox male have i seen has a tail.

it could just be that males find it embarassing.or social customs to hide it. after all the males do occasional wear those funny thing around there heads to hid their ears....
They do not exactly leap off the screen, but I have seen some examples of males who have tails. BTW, the time references I'm giving are for the yesy subs:

Episode #2 - A young boy runs into Teoro (4:32). I'm pretty sure this child is a boy anyway...
Episode #2 - Mutikapa is climbing out of the water pit (16:28). The man in a gray tunic with a pitchfork, second from the right.
Episode #2 - When the villagers have speared Mutikapa (16:41). Two of the men on the left side of the screen.
Episode #3 - The villagers are putting goods into the storehouse (13:22). The man shown backing up the stairs carrying one end of a chest.

Maybe we see a lot more female fox-people with tails because there are a lot more rear-angle shots of the females. Can't imagine why... ;)

[Catgirls]

bit strange. i though only female fox-people had tails. not one fox male have i seen has a tail.To add onto what's already posted above me, this image is from Episode 5. Don't worry: it isn't a spoiler. It's completely out of context, innocuous and cropped.

http://i1.tinypic.com/x2tamo.jpg

Those are all men from the village. As you can see, some have tails and some don't. I think it depends on the species or clan that they're from (as it is in nature).

[Onizuka-GTO]

oh well, it was a nice theory, and it was cute. but now that tails seem to be a normal thing, well....where are the tail-less fox ladies then? O_o

[Daniel E.]

I pray to the gods that Hakuoro never feels the need to touch the tail of a male-fox. :nono:

[Onizuka-GTO]

you see?! now this happens! they should of left the tails to the females.... (<.<; )

[Vexx]

ah well... I guess a lot of us are focused on those feminine tail swishes. I will say that anatomically they seem placed a bit high but that falls under "animation shortcut 101".

Now we need some overly obsessive sort to see how the ear-types compare with tail or no-tail and look for correlations :) then we can reverse engineer the racial variant groups :)

[Green²]

The tail thing... I believe that I have an answer for that.

http://rapidshare.de/files/19500000/Crouching_liger_Hidden_tail.avi.html
~1.6MB (Non spoilers)

(Mirror) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EI2H7V1R

Any questions? :)

[Onizuka-GTO]

rapidshare hates me, and i hate it.

so i can't see the video. :(

[bento-cube]

As far as I've seen, there are two types of ears: The pointed type (see Oboro), and the droopy type (see Dorii/Guraa, or those couple of guys in the screenshot above).

However, it can be seen that the first guy (whose face cannot be seen), is of the 'droopy ear type' but has a tail, while the 4th guy from the right has ears like Oboro (the pointed type), and ALSO has a tail.

Therefore, I conclude that there is no correlation between ear-type and tail existence. My guess is that it's something that's drawn up randomly.

[Onizuka-GTO]

Its a random event for males but a certain thing for females? Therefor, males with tails are FREAKS!

Burnn..BUURRN THEM!

:D

[Vexx]

Soooooooooo, I guess guys with tails are considered bishie? :)

[Onizuka-GTO]

Well I guess the lasses need something to keep them watching....
:p

(I still say we gotta burn those Bishie heathens)

:D

[bento-cube]

Bishie eh? I'm sure Dorii and Guraa make for great bishies. ^^;;

[Daniel E.]

The tail thing... I believe that I have an answer for that.


Any questions? :)

LOL, an Utawarerumono fandub. :heh: :heh:

Did you made it?

[Green²]

LOL, an Utawarerumono fandub. :heh: :heh:

Did you made it?
Some were talking previously on how this series compared to Robin Hood. With the missing tail thing, stuff started clicking, and, well, there you have it. :heh:

But with Oboro as Robin Hood. ...as within this fourth episode, not only is he seen as a thief, but we have the captured Oboro, with his merry men that set out to rescue him. ... .. Though I might be reading too much into that. :heh:

[zalas]

Maybe we should have a separate thread for "The Taxonomy of Species Present in Utawarerumono" :D

[Catgirls]

Maybe we should have a separate thread for "The Taxonomy of Species Present in Utawarerumono" :DI was think of something similar: Hmmm...I was almost thinking of starting an "Ears & Tails Appreciation" thread considering the various "clans" & species this show has. Of course, just from the OP, I guess I’d have to toss in “wings” as well. (x (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=31622))
:heh:

[Xellos-_^]

I was think of something similar:
:heh:

How about the Furry apreciation club in the general anime. It would go along great with the loli and MILF and Nekomini and Meido appreication clubs as well. :D

[zalas]

How about the Furry apreciation club in the general anime. It would go along great with the loli and MILF and Nekomini and Meido appreication clubs as well. :D
That would just degenerate into a thread about "I like catgirls!" "No, doggirls are better!"
I'd prefer for some more civilized speculation and discussion-nya.

[Onizuka-GTO]

That would just degenerate into a thread about "I like catgirls!" "No, doggirls are better!"
I'd prefer for some more civilized speculation and discussion-nya.

Yeah! Besides, everyone knows foxgirls are better.
:D

[Vexx]

... and finely bred foxgirls .... like Eruruu and her people's women :)

(thinks he'll just exit the thread a while until ep 6 comes out because this can't go anywhere good :) )

[Jinsoo]

Was I the only one that got teary eyed and cried when Tusukur died? >_>;

Maybe I just connected a bit with my own personal experiences, but yah ;o Sad sad.

w00t for revenge! D:

[Vexx]

It was .... rather unexpected so early in the series. But I also see she went down the way she preferred - protecting her family and before she was bedridden and a burden. We hope that Hakuoro keeps his oath to her in mind and doesn't forget in the all the ruckus.