Kami nomi/TWGOK II - Episode 7 Discussion / Poll

[Master Chibi]

How was this dragged out?

I didn't feel it was dragging on at all, in fact I've never felt that the entire time I've been watching, including all of season one.

Three episodes is generous, I mean they could theoretically knock out one girl per episode if they wanted to, but two is average at this point, isn't it?

There's no need to rush anything either, the quality has been top notch from day one.

[MeoTwister5]

The subdued melancholic presentation of the entire first half just blew me away. Combined with the most impressive music in the entire series so far and a second half speech from Keima that puts my heterosexuality under attack, this episode and arc is probably the best one of the entire series run so far.

[monir]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

The subdued melancholic presentation of the entire first half just blew me away. Combined with the most impressive music in the entire series so far and a second half speech from Keima that puts my heterosexuality under attack, this episode and arc is probably the best one of the entire series run so far.

I whole heartedly agree about the music. The music composition at times was mindblowing with this series. One of the reason why I highly enjoyed the library girl arc from the last season was the music. The Chihiro arc had equally placed music to enhance the mood and capture Chihiro's melancholy, especially in this episode as Chihiro makes her way to KamiNii-sama's location.

Originally Posted by LKK

I have mixed feelings about this episode and the arc as a whole. I didn't like Chihiro at all. The more I saw of her, the less I liked her. But I really appreciated the way the animators told her story, especially in this episode. I guess you could say that I liked the way the story was told, but I didn't like what -- or rather who -- the story was about. Still haven't voted yet because none of the ratings seem appropriate.

I agree that Chihiro wasn't very likable of a character compared to some of the other girls who have made their appearance already. Not only that, her story had to be a challenge for the script writers considering how little there was to work with. One of the manga readers has already commented in the thread that how uninteresting her story was when he/she read it. And yet I feel this arc is one of the two best arc of this series. Library girl arc is the other one. The pacing set the tone which was very deliberate and the amazing composition of music simply contributed to the pacing. After that the story took care of itself. The audience simply had to sit back and let things unfold on its own pace. I loved it.

Originally Posted by Decagon

It's been nipping at me, but does Elsie's flying sound sound a bit like Lum's from Urusei Yatsura?

I looked at it and it is indeed somewhat similar to Lum's. I also think Goku's cloud in Dragon Ball is a better comparison to Elsie's flying.

[Bafflement]

Originally Posted by monir

I agree that Chihiro wasn't very likable of a character compared to some of the other girls who have made their appearance already. Not only that, her story had to be a challenge for the script writers considering how little there was to work with. One of the manga readers has already commented in the thread that how uninteresting her story was when he/she read it.

That's hardly a universal consensus. I considered her arc one of the best in the manga, and I'm very glad the same held true in the anime adaption. The episodes are very faithful to the manga, and the padding in this arc of the anime was mainly atmospheric stuff, aimed at emphasising the themes.

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by Bafflement

That's hardly a universal consensus. I considered her arc one of the best in the manga, and I'm very glad the same held true in the anime adaption. The episodes are very faithful to the manga, and the padding in this arc of the anime was mainly atmospheric stuff, aimed at emphasising the themes.

I think it's more of how the comical atmosphere of the manga didn't match the contents. The anime version was much better at bringing out the depression that Chihiro was in, thereby actually overcoming the problems of the manga version.

[Flower]

I re-watched this episode last night.

It really struck me that it was very artistically and effectively done!

I would even give it 9/10....

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

I think it's more of how the comical atmosphere of the manga didn't match the contents. The anime version was much better at bringing out the depression that Chihiro was in, thereby actually overcoming the problems of the manga version.

I think it's a matter of how much you read between the lines. I never thought that the manga failed to bring out her depression or anything. If anything, the anime was a bit too unsubtle for my tastes. If nothing else, it makes it much harder to sympathize with Keima's dilemma when the answer is being constantly blasted in your face.

The anime is definitely an excellent adaptation of this arc overall though. I just don't think it changed my mind about one of the original best arcs.

[kitten320]

I had read this arc in manga and I didn't find it boring back there either, duno why so many people seemed to be bored about it there.

[Bafflement]

Originally Posted by kitten320

I had read this arc in manga and I didn't find it boring back there either, duno why so many people seemed to be bored about it there.

I think Clarste made a good point: you had to read between the lines a bit to appreciate it, since the characterisation for this arc in the manga was a bit more subtle.

[Haru~]

I was laughing so hard when Keima ate the pork buns.

Chihiro really is my favorite girl and her arc in anime was executed perfectly.
She actually fits the depressed girl or a parameter with inferiority complex. A perfect example of a "real" girl. What's amazing is how Keima was affected after her, thinking how he is also struggling against reality.
10/10

[Shimapan]

Great episode with a great ending

Keima actually realised that he failed with concentrating on the guy and not caring about how Chihiro feels. Despite never wanting to get close to her before, he jumps over his own shadow, builds her up again from her depression and then even kisses her
Despite his constant complaints about real life girls, he gets better with them with every girl. I'd also say that he improved much more by conquering Chihiro than with every other girl before.
I'm curious how he'll behave around Chihiro now...

[KyriaL]

Originally Posted by Shimapan

I'm curious how he'll behave around Chihiro now...

Probably the same with how he treats the other girls he 'Conquered' ?

Or just goes into a small fit of blushing when he recalls them.

[Bafflement]

Originally Posted by Shimapan

Great episode with a great ending

Keima actually realised that he failed with concentrating on the guy and not caring about how Chihiro feels. Despite never wanting to get close to her before, he jumps over his own shadow, builds her up again from her depression and then even kisses her
Despite his constant complaints about real life girls, he gets better with them with every girl. I'd also say that he improved much more by conquering Chihiro than with every other girl before.
I'm curious how he'll behave around Chihiro now...

Since the girls forget about what happened, I would imagine he'd just pretend nothing had changed. The interesting thing is the promise he made to Chihiro at the end to be there for her if she needed help. Keeping that could complicate things for him.

[chaos_animagic]

Chihiro arc sure is interesting.

And now Kami-sama is thinking about "what about me?... yes... me..."

Seems that Keima is starting to think about his "real life" instead of just his "game life"

[Shimapan]

Originally Posted by KyriaL

Probably the same with how he treats the other girls he 'Conquered' ?

Or just goes into a small fit of blushing when he recalls them.

No, I think it's different here. The point is, he doesn't have any contact with the girls he "conquered" anymore (the only exception being the short encounter with Ayumi).
However, he does have somewhat regular contact with Chihiro. This will make the next time he meets Chihiro so much more interesting

Originally Posted by Bafflement

Since the girls forget about what happened, I would imagine he'd just pretend nothing had changed. The interesting thing is the promise he made to Chihiro at the end to be there for her if she needed help. Keeping that could complicate things for him.

Yes, it surely would make things more complicated for him
We'll see.

[Seihai]

Originally Posted by Shimapan

No, I think it's different here. The point is, he doesn't have any contact with the girls he "conquered" anymore (the only exception being the short encounter with Ayumi).
However, he does have somewhat regular contact with Chihiro. This will make the next time he meets Chihiro so much more interesting

Since Chihiro dragged Elsie into her newly planned band, I guess Elsie will be the one who will add to the interesting flavor instead of Keima. You do have a point though, just don't underestimate Keima's logical coldness, or more like game life addiction.

[Shimapan]

Originally Posted by Vanish

Since Chihiro dragged Elsie into her newly planned band, I guess Elsie will be the one who will add to the interesting flavor instead of Keima. You do have a point though, just don't underestimate Keima's logical coldness, or more like game life addiction.

I think Keima's coldness is crumbling, or he wouldn't have been able to kiss Chihiro that quickly.

[Clarste]

Doesn't that imply that he's more cold than he used to be? He hesitates less to go for the kiss. It's not like he was falling in love with her over the course of the arc: he hadn't even paid any attention to her "parameters" until like 15 minutes before the kiss.

[Shimapan]

Originally Posted by Clarste

Doesn't that imply that he's more cold than he used to be? He hesitates less to go for the kiss. It's not like he was falling in love with her over the course of the arc: he hadn't even paid any attention to her "parameters" until like 15 minutes before the kiss.

lolwut? I hope you don't seriously mean that by kissing her faster, he got colder?
I never said that he was falling in love with her or anything.

It's just that when he noticed that Chihiro *does* have parameters", that triggered somethin in him, which made part of coldness melt away and come up with a plan to kiss her himself.
If his coldness hadn't melted away a bit, he would've simply waited until she falls for the next guy, and tried again to get her to kiss him.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by Shimapan

lolwut? I hope you don't seriously mean that by kissing her faster, he got colder?

That is exactly what I mean, because now he's kissing her without emotion, like a robot or an actor. We were talking about his "logical coldness", remember? He kissed her because it was the best way to get the spirit out. Not because he cared about who she was. No hesitation, no regrets. Coldness doesn't just mean ignoring people, it also means not seeing them as important. Honestly, wanting to avoid her was more emotional than his kiss, and more "connected to the Real".