(L) Tatakau Shisho (The Book of Bantorra)

[-Sho-]

Colio was an interesting character but now that he's dead (really?) , its a shame , i haven't a personal liking for the others characters .

Hamyuts used teleport lol dunno why people want to kill her , but it seems a huge grudge .

[wandering-dreamer]

New episode is out and the time line is really throwing me off here. It looks like some of the characters should be way older than they are or everyone ages super fast here.

Spoiler for Also, speculation?:

Is the maid girl in this episode a younger version of Hamyuts?

[kemal_1915]

The graphic in this ep is much better than the last one.

About getting the ability, there is a very good explanation in the novel.

Spoiler for About ability:

It is about the god of the present, Towitorra. It controls all the rules, laws of physics and axioms. E.g. Water falls under gravity. In this world, every people can hack into Towitorra's system (by that ritual). Then, change one and only one axiom related to himself/herself. E.g. Doria cannot fly -> Doria can fly. Once this axiom is changed, info can be added to it. E.g. Doria can fly faster than a bird. -> Doria can fly faster than a plane. -> Doria can fly faster than a plane and perform maneuver with ease. They can increase the power, accuracy, speed, control...so on.

In the last ep, Minth and Matt saw Zatoh's hair and knew something bad will be happened. Because...

Spoiler for Hair color:

Special hair color (other than black, blonde, white, brown) means the person was born with an ability. Examples are Shiron, Volken and Zatoh. Shiron is forseeing the future. Volken is creating illusion. Zatoh is ... watch the next ep. The same hair color represents the same (or simliar) ability. And they also can get one ability from the magic ritual. So, they can get two abilities at most.

Originally Posted by wandering-dreamer

New episode is out and the time line is really throwing me off here. It looks like some of the characters should be way older than they are or everyone ages super fast here.

Spoiler for Also, speculation?:

Is the maid girl in this episode a younger version of Hamyuts?

Aged fast? Who?

Spoiler for About your speculation:

No, she is not. She dies in the next ep.

If anyone still think this series has some commercial value, take a look at this:

Amazon.co.jp　アニメBD一巻予約ランキング

***42位 DARKER THAN BLACK-流星の双子-
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***46位 とある科学の超電磁砲
**126位 そらのおとしもの
**300位 生徒会の一存
**367位 にゃんこい
**408位 サンレッド
**509位 こばと
**548位 犬夜叉 完結編
**701位 クイーンズブレイド 王座を継ぐ者
**708位 秘密結社 鷹の爪 ｶｳﾝﾄﾀﾞｳﾝ
**766位 乃木坂春香の秘密 ぴゅあれっつぁ♪
**880位 アスラクライン２
**885位 ミラクル☆トレイン～大江戸線へようこそ～
**959位 真・恋姫†無双
**996位 夏のあらし！春夏冬中
*1210位 聖剣の刀鍛冶
*1230位 まほろまてぃっく ただいま◇おかえり
*3237位 11eyes
14742位 戦う司書 <--

[wandering-dreamer]

What I meant about the aging fast was

Spoiler for confusion:

it looked like the white haired guy, Zatoh, was the same meat who had been with Colio (who was not that old) and then trained to kill so he could smile. Although I was getting confused because some of that life was obviously from a book flashback, maybe that was the book he read that made him want to kill himself, that would make considerable more sense.

[necrosis6]

Spoiler for Speculation:

My guess is that Zatoh's ability is to take the ability of the people he kills. Since we saw that guy shoot fire from his mouth and Zatoh could do that too. Lightning is his second ability I guess.

[kemal_1915]

Originally Posted by wandering-dreamer

What I meant about the aging fast was

Spoiler for confusion:

it looked like the white haired guy, Zatoh, was the same meat who had been with Colio (who was not that old) and then trained to kill so he could smile. Although I was getting confused because some of that life was obviously from a book flashback, maybe that was the book he read that made him want to kill himself, that would make considerable more sense.

Spoiler for Aging:

The flashback is only one or two year ago. So you think Zatoh is the grown up Enrique. Um... Zatoh is Enrique but Enrique is not Zatoh. You will know why in the next ep. The main mystery in the arc is whether Zatoh = Enrique = "Monster".

Originally Posted by necrosis6

Spoiler for Speculation:

My guess is that Zatoh's ability is to take the ability of the people he kills. Since we saw that guy shoot fire from his mouth and Zatoh could do that too. Lightning is his second ability I guess.

Spoiler for His ability:

Close, very close. Think more about what this series is about.

The next ep is the conclusion of this arc.

[kyouray]

We have nice Noloty shots in this episode

about necrosis6's speculation :

Spoiler for episode 7:

As kemal_1915 says I think it's related to books. Books are kind of second life for beings and I think Zatoh has the capacity to receive into him the contents of a book.
Remember the old guy with a hat said that to kill is fun as Zatoh says at the end of episode 7. Zatoh's sort of container and the old man controls him via books. Zatoh should be a result of his experiments.
First the old guy lives down meats and select the best meats. Then he can teach him magic, his ideas and his rules in order to create a powerful book when the meat dies. Afterward he collects many books and transfers them into Zatoh so Zatoh'll be able to use meats' magic and will do what the old guy taught to the meats : to kill and specially to kill Hamyuts Meseta. Zatoh seems to be able to resist sometimes but he loses his mind and the old guy can cantrol him by his meats'books.

[KariOhki]

Reading all the speculation makes this make more sense, because goddamn was ep 7 confusing. Too much jumping around between reality and flashbacks and flashbacks-inside-flashbacks.

[hello_ct]

Nolty is really sweet - it was hilarious when she told Zatoh/monster at the end that he could smile if he surrounded himself with fun things, oblivous to the fact that he'd changed and had become bent on bloodshed and carnage

Although he was trying to remain in character, it was also a bit harsh of Mince to headbutt then later slam Nolty against the wall when confronting Zatou! It seems she's tough enough to handle it though, as she emerged without a scratch.
And I hope she manages to succeed by sticking to her morals in the face of what everyone tells her (though her failing would probably be more interesting )

[Doria]

lol, I can fly? That's awesome! This is the best show ever~

Kemal, do they explain, though, why only one hacking? I understand the modifications to the ability (I think), but if you can modify it, why can't you add more? I'd like to fly and possibly teleport, please~~

Yeah, I saw those numbers for the show. The DVD/blu-rays have also been announced on Amazon.jp. 9 disks, so probably looking at 24-26 eps, depending on how many extras they put on the disks and whatnot.

[kemal_1915]

Originally Posted by kyouray

about necrosis6's speculation :

Spoiler for episode 7:

As kemal_1915 says I think it's related to books. Books are kind of second life for beings and I think Zatoh has the capacity to receive into him the contents of a book.
Remember the old guy with a hat said that to kill is fun as Zatoh says at the end of episode 7. Zatoh's sort of container and the old man controls him via books. Zatoh should be a result of his experiments.
First the old guy lives down meats and select the best meats. Then he can teach him magic, his ideas and his rules in order to create a powerful book when the meat dies. Afterward he collects many books and transfers them into Zatoh so Zatoh'll be able to use meats' magic and will do what the old guy taught to the meats : to kill and specially to kill Hamyuts Meseta. Zatoh seems to be able to resist sometimes but he loses his mind and the old guy can cantrol him by his meats'books.

Spoiler for speculation:

Almost correct. His ability is eating (actually absorbing) books and getting the abilities. You are correct about this and you are also correct about what the old man wants. He wants to collect a lot of books (dead people) with ability. But about Zatoh's split personality... Think about the influence of books. Books are souls. What happpened if you absorbed people's soul?

Originally Posted by hello_ct

Nolty is really sweet - it was hilarious when she told Zatoh/monster at the end that he could smile if he surrounded himself with fun things, oblivous to the fact that he'd changed and had become bent on bloodshed and carnage

Although he was trying to remain in character, it was also a bit harsh of Mince to headbutt then later slam Nolty against the wall when confronting Zatou! It seems she's tough enough to handle it though, as she emerged without a scratch.
And I hope she manages to succeed by sticking to her morals in the face of what everyone tells her (though her failing would probably be more interesting )

The setting in this world is - if you get an ability, your body also will become stronger. Power, speed, endurance... will be increased.

Noloty is awesome, isn't she? She will have another arc - arc 6. She will do something wonderful.

Originally Posted by Doria

lol, I can fly? That's awesome! This is the best show ever~

Kemal, do they explain, though, why only one hacking? I understand the modifications to the ability (I think), but if you can modify it, why can't you add more? I'd like to fly and possibly teleport, please~~

Yeah, I saw those numbers for the show. The DVD/blu-rays have also been announced on Amazon.jp. 9 disks, so probably looking at 24-26 eps, depending on how many extras they put on the disks and whatnot.

You can only get one. Don't be greedy!
Why they could only change one? The novel states that "Your mind will become chaos if you are so close to it." So, I think it maybe the god's rule.

Spoiler for Remember this:

Only that person can make himself/herself an ability, i.e. Doria cannot rewrite a statment "Kyouray can control paper". Only Kyouray can make such change. This hints how this arc resolves.

It is a sale disaster. I believe it will be better as the story progresses but still can't compare to others.

[necrosis6]

Originally Posted by KariOhki

Reading all the speculation makes this make more sense, because goddamn was ep 7 confusing. Too much jumping around between reality and flashbacks and flashbacks-inside-flashbacks.

Well about the flashbacks. It seems to me that we're seeing Zatoh and the Old Man with the war machine after everything is over talking. Then you have the "now" which is the Zatoh/Nolty story. Last you have the past, where we see Zatoh being trained. Of course, if I'm right about the part with the Old Man and Zatoh happening in the future, that means this arc has a somewhat happy ending where neither Zatoh or Nolty die.

[Doria]

Hm, yeah, actually, the answer to my question was possibly part of Kyouray's speculation, in a practical sense. This arc is pretty interesting--I like that we get to see more of how the world really works. It seems to cohere pretty well, so far.

Hopefully, sales will improve. Although I don't have any numbers to compare it with, I'd guess that viewing has gone up with this series (my general intuition is that for most new series, viewing numbers probably drop over time, for the vast majority--people will try out new series, but only keep watching a couple). Whether they've gone up a lot, though, and whether that's true worldwide or just in the US, I don't know. My impression is only based on looking at things like related internet traffic.

Honestly, I loved the concept from the get-go and felt a little let-down by episode 1, but since then, with a couple minor bumps, I've felt like it's just gotten better and better. I'm really hoping that continues. It can be a little jarring to switch arcs, after I've gotten used to the last one and attached to the characters in it, but then the new one wins me over (I guess I'm fickle--that probably explains my greed with the abilities...right? no? oh, well...haha).

And yes, though I didn't like her before episode 7, Noloty is awesome. Her looks don't hurt anything, either.

[SuperKnuckles]

Now I finally know what a female Vash would look like.

[AnimeFan188]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

Now I finally know what a female Vash would look like.

Rushuna (Grenadier) is closer to a female Vash than Noloty:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ency...me.php?id=4443

[SuperKnuckles]

Yeah, at least in the motif. But the way the world in Bantorra is just so... fatalistic compared to the one in the Grenadier, it just scream 'Vash' to me. Even though Noloty obviously is averse to using guns.

[Doria]

Yeah, I agree about the tone. "Fatalistic" is a good word for it

[kyouray]

Originally Posted by kemal_1915

Spoiler for speculation:

Almost correct. His ability is eating (actually absorbing) books and getting the abilities. You are correct about this and you are also correct about what the old man wants. He wants to collect a lot of books (dead people) with ability. But about Zatoh's split personality... Think about the influence of books. Books are souls. What happpened if you absorbed people's soul?

You can only get one. Don't be greedy!
Why they could only change one? The novel states that "Your mind will become chaos if you are so close to it." So, I think it maybe the god's rule.

Spoiler for Remember this:

Only that person can make himself/herself an ability, i.e. Doria cannot rewrite a statment "Kyouray can control paper". Only Kyouray can make such change. This hints how this arc resolves.

It is a sale disaster. I believe it will be better as the story progresses but still can't compare to others.

Spoiler for ep 7:

Yeah that's why I mentioned "second life" but I was not sure : that's too much for him all these souls !
According to your answer for Doria, only Zatoh can save himself ?
Maybe Noloty's words will work...
Is it possible to hack Towitorra's system like "to die -> to not die" ? That'd explain why he can't die.

Originally Posted by Doria

Hopefully, sales will improve. Although I don't have any numbers to compare it with, I'd guess that viewing has gone up with this series (my general intuition is that for most new series, viewing numbers probably drop over time, for the vast majority--people will try out new series, but only keep watching a couple). Whether they've gone up a lot, though, and whether that's true worldwide or just in the US, I don't know. My impression is only based on looking at things like related internet traffic.

No moe -> no sales. (it seems it's not very popular amongst otaku)
Hamyuts' boobs or Noloty's cuteness are not enough
I don't know for others countries but in France the show doesn't seem popular because of french streaming service (Kzplay) which's expensive (1€/episode for only 48 hours) compared to Crunchyroll. I hope DVDs 'll set up a new deal. I've also noticed that some people reject this series because of Hamyuts' huge boobs which make them think it's a poor show.

[Tale]

In this series, the basic story development device of that despised "meat", whose mind is Tabula Rasa, eventually reaches his/her own truth by touching other people's souls through memories called "books" and alive people seems to be working fine. Although I'm still deciding, I'm happy with the story-telling mixed with various flashbacks and viewpoints. At the moment, I'm inclined to welcome this dark fantasy, where the world setting works as a tool to make the story-telling interesting.

Originally Posted by kyouray

No moe -> no sales. (it seems it's not very popular amongst otaku)
Hamyuts' boobs or Noloty's cuteness are not enough
I don't know for others countries but in France the show doesn't seem popular because of french streaming service (Kzplay) which's expensive (1€/episode for only 48 hours) compared to Crunchyroll. I hope DVDs 'll set up a new deal. I've also noticed that some people reject this series because of Hamyuts' huge boobs which make them think it's a poor show.

Personally I found Moe self-indulgent like other characteristics of Otaku culture in general, which rather limits the possibility of whole anime genre, IMHO.

[kemal_1915]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

Yeah, at least in the motif. But the way the world in Bantorra is just so... fatalistic compared to the one in the Grenadier, it just scream 'Vash' to me. Even though Noloty obviously is averse to using guns.

Fatalistic? Maybe. My feeling is that all charcaters are heavily bounded by the past. The past drives the plot. The past haunts the characters. I think that why people think it is fatalistic.

Originally Posted by kyouray

Spoiler for ep 7:

Yeah that's why I mentioned "second life" but I was not sure : that's too much for him all these souls !
According to your answer for Doria, only Zatoh can save himself ?
Maybe Noloty's words will work...
Is it possible to hack Towitorra's system like "to die -> to not die" ? That'd explain why he can't die.

No moe -> no sales. (it seems it's not very popular amongst otaku)
Hamyuts' boobs or Noloty's cuteness are not enough
I don't know for others countries but in France the show doesn't seem popular because of french streaming service (Kzplay) which's expensive (1€/episode for only 48 hours) compared to Crunchyroll. I hope DVDs 'll set up a new deal. I've also noticed that some people reject this series because of Hamyuts' huge boobs which make them think it's a poor show.

Wait for the next ep to see how this resolves. I don't want to spoil so much.

Spoiler for hacking:

This is an interesting question. I don't know whether it will work or not.
One of Zatoh's abilities is auto heal. That's why he can survive fatal wound. He actually will die if he receives enough damage.

I focus on the sales because we may need season 2 to wrap thing up. No sales means no season 2.
Also, more sales means it is more likely to have a new series from Yamagata-san. And I would like to hear some good news!

Originally Posted by Tale

In this series, the basic story development device of that despised "meat", whose mind is Tabula Rasa, eventually reaches his/her own truth by touching other people's souls through memories called "books" and alive people seems to be working fine. Although I'm still deciding, I'm happy with the story-telling mixed with various flashbacks and viewpoints. At the moment, I'm inclined to welcome this dark fantasy, where the world setting works as a tool to make the story-telling interesting.

A lot of people think this kind of story-telling is too confusing and disorienting. When I read the novel, I didn't have this feeling. Differences in media creates a lot of problems. Pacing, focus, details... are source of problems. The novel is complex and the anime makes it even more complex. I am glad that many people can still follow the plot.