Utawarerumono Episode 23 Discussion / Poll

[leaf.]

Er, yes...I'm chinese ^^ I come to this forum from my website...
A pat = 八一!? So stranger...“八一” means "eight one"
BTW I have recorded the Imageshack~ 3Q

[Renegade334]

...Eh? Okay, wait a minute...
Either that (Chinese simplified): 轻拍
Or that (Chinese traditional): 輕拍

I used http://www.worldlingo.com/en/product...ranslator.html as converter/translator, this time. -_^

[leaf.]

= =|||
I know certainly the meaning, My English also not that too bad...
That's all. Because the topic is about Episode 23 of Utaware (Eulogy)

[Flame-X]

OMG!!! thanku for all those screencaps!!! im so excited for the next ep
*shakes the monitor*

[Newprimus]

Genjimaru is the man.


And I'm so looking forward to their confrontation with Kuuya next ep.

[Renegade334]

BTW, Omniscient's screencaps are already up. Looks like next ep we'll be greeted by Av Kamuu bashing, judging from the first pic of the preview. Hmm~ I wonder what that means... -_^

Looks like Dii is scared to death of Hakuoro seeing how he's clutching Dii's legs.

[Zaris]

How in the world did all these screencaps come out before the episode aired? (well technically it aired 13 hours ago, but man that's plenty fast)

EDIT: As I figured, BOTCHED.

Should I write my synopsis anyway? I'm so slower than the rest. :/

[Newprimus]

Originally Posted by Renegade334

Looks like Dii is scared to death of Hakuoro seeing how he's clutching Dii's legs.

You mean Hauenkua.

[Srin Tuar]

this ep

Spoiler:

Well, this episode wasnt the bloodbath of retribution I expected, but the emotional mending with Eruru was important. Urutori seems to know everything about Hakuoro already, and she even knows exactly what to say to eruru to cheer her up. (I guess Eruru was depressed about the aparent loss of her free will)

Genkimaru is a fairly awesome warrior. Its too bad that he still seems like a pawn in comparison.

The preview for the next episode looks good.

[Flame-X]

aww the ep ended already

Spoiler for 23:

hakuro goes flashback on the 2nd time period which introduces Mikoto, hakuro's first lover. genjimaru defeated 2 of those giant armor guys while he and sakuya runs to tuskuru. eruru goes angst from that contract. the Onkamiyamukai dude comes back. eruru goes angst from that contract.

next ep... hakuro, eruru and genjimaru meets dii face to face. genjimaru might meet his death.

[Zaris]

Originally Posted by Lost

...from the title (Where the Heart Lies) and with that look on Eruruu's face, I got the impression that this episode would be focusing mainly on Eruruu's relationship with Hakuoro now that she knows that he is the demon. Or rather, thats what I hope they will develop on in this episodes. Needs more EruruuXHakuoro!

This makes me think of a question at this stage. From the start, did Eruruu know that the demon she made a contract with and the man she healed were the same? Or did she not know until episode 22?

I dont think she knew from the start, because in 22, she didnt make the connection straight away. (22; Time 19:45)

This was one of the things that disturbed me the most, and it drew a line away from how the game went in terms of sequence of events.

It's pretty obvious that Eruruu knows Hakuoro and the anomaly to be of the same now (the juxtaposition of 「まさか…そんな…！」 translating to "It can't be...Is that...?!" and Aruruu's trademark "Daddy..."). But yea, the question in dispute now is to what extent does she know? From what we've seen, Hakuoro was just a random stranger she found in episode I that Eruruu could see no tie between the anomaly and Hakuoro. So what happened in that contract? Aruruu was healed, so what became of the anomaly? Just shake hands and disappeared? Where did Eruruu's portion of the contract take place? If it hasn't happened yet (at least to her knowledge), then what's her feeling on the monster? Was a a dream? An imagination?

In short, something doesn't add up or there is a new unanswered question that's been thrown into the series. But the series isn't over yet, and episode 23 may answer some of them from the looks of things.

It is quite ironic how Hakuoro shares everything with Eruruu, and confesses to her that there's nothing going on between he and Karura, but Eruruu keeps her sercrets from him. But there's a logic to everything...most of the time...

[leaf.]

I have finished watching Episode 23 ...I'm so sad not only disappoint, many expecting plots are cut
I just give 30 points!

[kron]

: O they skipped the prison scene. and yay Genjimaru didnt break sakuya's legs. over all good episode

[Kyero Fox]

Genjimaru is now my Fav guy character lol He kicks ass and is strong as hell ... he could take on Karura and touka or w.e her name is one on one

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Zaris

It is quite ironic how Hakuoro shares everything with Eruruu, and confesses to her that there's nothing going on between he and Karura, but Eruruu keeps her sercrets from him. But there's a logic to everything...most of the time...

Thats woman logic.

Whats yours is also hers and whats hers is hers alone.

[vietpimp]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Thats woman logic.

Whats yours is also hers and whats hers is hers alone.

LOL thats so true; don't ever get married until u have nothing else to give

[Zaris]

I must say, translating this episode threw me in a downward spiral through Japanese Proficiency Hell. But I did my best, and I hope I can make contact with my buddies so I can rework the mistakes in the summery, because I'm sure there's more than one. :/

But I think I got the overall point across. Click here for the Episode 23 Synopsis.

I'm not really certain what to say since I don't understand half the things that are going on. So I'll start by voicing my opinions on what I do know.

Spoiler for my thoughts:

Hauenkua is in a miserable state, and it's just as well considering his pride has been beaten and broken. Hein is there to fill his place. His intentions are different, yes, but war is war, and Kuuya will follow his advice to advance in her misguided endeavors of protection and justice.

We got a lot out of Dii than I anticipated. He's able to mend and do things to dead and tramatized individuals, and his display of powers already suggests that he's not somebody you want to mess with. Curiously, he is allowed to freely roam about the palace, making me wonder if Kuuya is aware of his pressence or if he's just very good at hiding. The former may not be the case because if she knows about Dii, she would be seeking his council as Niwe did. Also, our buff Evinkuruga seems to have a connection with Dii, if not serve him. What goes on between them might be revealed in Episode 24 judging from the previews.

I certainly hope that this isn't the last time we see Hauenkua. He was ruthless and a very concrete evil. Dii just screws around with the order of things, but if you think of him as Kuja from Final Fantasy IX like I do, then he's pretty evil in that sense as well - starting bloody wars and toying with the nature of life. You start to see the similarities that make both Dii and Kuja witty (yet mysterious) antagonists. And that approach works well as long as the mystery does get carried away. There comes a point where the audience starts wanting answers and the more the producers keep it from you, the more strained they'll feel about the series as a whole.

Hakuoro's vision does seem a little out of place (I mean, it certainly didn't fit with the overall nature of things in episode 22), but from how they portrayed it, I believe the producers were careful not to bombard the viewers with too many obscurities in that scene. What ties Hakuoro to the vision is Mikoto's striking resemblance to Eruruu and the mask that Iceman wears (which any logical person can deduce is the same mask Hakuoro wears). Thus, we're literally left with a minute amount of questions, such as "where is this place?" and "when is this place?" If we could answer the "when", we'd resolve many other questions, I'm sure. And I can guarantee that we're going to get a lot more vision quests as the series concludes. But the big question that lies in my mind is, "Is Hakuoro going to tell anyone, especially Eruruu?"

I was a little disappointed with the Waabe portion of this episode, mostly because I feel they didn't show enough. No prison, no fighting. Just a, "Go. Save the man. We don't need your V.A. for the rest of this episode. See you at the end of the show." It says to me that Waabe isn't an important figure in the series, and by the time we see him again, he no longer is. This is one of the signs that to me, Utawarerumono is rushing the ending, otherwise we'd get a lot more out of the father of our two winged beauties.

I've studied Japanese for four years in high school and three years in college. But I guess I need to study a little harder because I couldn't effectively translate the portions that I wanted to get out of most - Eruruu and Hakuoro.

Spoiler for Hakuoro and Eruruu:

Is it just me or does two seem very distant from each other all of a sudden? If that's what they were trying to convey, then it certainly gave me that impression...that or they're just being more quiet then usual. Hakuoro is in his room and Eruruu is in hers. Hakuoro is working in one place and Eruruu is working somewhere else. In fact, the only time they actually talk to each other in this episode is when it's job-related. He wants tea? Eruruu will make tea. Eruruu needs to wake Hakuoro from strange unconsciousness. Eruruu needs to check on his bandages. Everything about the two has suddenly been reduced to an absolute minimum of contact and dialogue that it's impossible to make small talk last more than two sentences anymore.

That changes in the last scene between the two in this episode. After finding some reassurance from Urutorii, Eruruu takes her own initiative, approaches Hakuoro, and gets as close to intimacy as she can imagine. But you could just as well assume that it was after checking on Hakuoro's injuries that she places her head against him because it's not often you find the guy resting on his knees like that. However it might be, she's found a new confidence within herself.

So how did everything in Episode 23 lead to such close contact? To answer that, we need to answer a lot more questions that I (if not we) don't have the answers to. Saying Eruruu is having an emotional crisis would be an understatement. She is literally going through a plethora of emotions for reasons I don't even what, and keeping secrets from Hakuoro and us makes analyzing difficult.

First off, we understand that she feels her soul is no longer her own. Some spiritual contract that grants Aruruu's immortal nature in return for her self confines Eruruu in bondage. We understand that it terrifies her, restrains her. The question that remains is, who does she feel she is bound to - the entity or Hakuoro himself? Regardless of the answer, I can't pinpoint what she could be all saddened about. She MUST know that the two are the same people by now (episode 22 was pretty blatant about it. She must've seen the connection), and we know she has a great deal of respect for the man. So Eruruu has to either not see a connection between the entity and Hakuoro, does see a connection but is unwilling to be bound forever to Hakuoro (which would surprise me indefinately), or she troubled with something else.

Yuzuha was able to provide a partial answer with her hightened senses of touch and feeling - one of her few contributing moments. Eruruu says that she is lost, confused, uncertain of herself. Yuzuha replies by (what I think translates into) saying Eruruu wants to be close to Hakuoro.

Key words:
暖める （あたためる） - to warm up
呉れる （くれる） - to give, to let one have

Urutorii probably provided the best reaction to Eruruu in the episode and revealed the real reason for Eruruu's sorrow. The beginning half is vague to me but I got the distinct impression that Urutorii, as a kamunagi, was able to see through her feelings (and I feel that she sees through Hakuoro as well). The second half was more comprehensible to me. Urutorii distinctly tells Eruruu to listen to her own heart, that her heart is unique and can never be anyone elses, and living with her own heart is enough. Afterwards, she crys in joy and sets off for Hakuoro's chambers.

What does this mean? Two possibilities.
- (my initial interpretation) Eruruu never saw a connection between Hakuoro and the entity. Her body is bound to the being, which means she can't devote herself to the one she desires most, which is Hakuoro. Yuzuha told us what she wanted, and Urutorii said that it was ok for Eruruu to do what she wants. With that, she joins Hakuoro in his room.
- (this is the most likely answer) Eruruu sees a connection between Hakuoro and the entity. But because she is bound to him and for reasons of inappropriateness, she is unable to identify and express her true feelings for him. Not after Yuzuha tells Eruruu what it is she wants and Urutorii telling her it is okay for her to follow her heart that the young girl goes to Hakuoro and puts her body against him.

If you want to disprove my conclusion, go ahead! I still think I'm wrong. Most likely lost in translation.

Overall, it's pretty good. As an EruruuxHakuoro fan, this is one of the episodes that I've wanted for a long time. It was nice to reminisce about their relationship with similarly drawn panels and Eruruu mouthing the same words Hakuoro asked of Eruruu at the end of episode 4. If you empathize with Eruruu as much as I do, you'll find it to be a very sad episode in a dramatic way. Portions of their relationship are drawn closer, and yet some things are still unresolved and unanswered. This is an episode where you can't stop thinking, "tell him how you feel!".

My only hope is that Hakuoro eventually sees beyond the surface of Eruruu and goes through a change of behavior as Eruruu did. If he can do that, he'll really start to be aware of not only her heart but his own. Hopefully, Iceman and Mikoto will influence just that. I leave that riddle to you.

Animation was without any major flaws, but some of the content wasn't as well portrayed or clearly stated...obviously. I won't score yet until I can better translate what was discussed in this episode, but it won't be a 10/10 (and it's not getting marked down for its drawing this time).

[Key Board]

I think you're putting too much emphasis on Eruru x Hakuoro which I don't think what this story is about.

But then again, I didn't think Fate/Stay Night was about Shirou X Saber either.

[Kyero Fox]

She loves him I belive, Remember the flash backs Hakuoro had of her and he was smiling after it.

[Kyero Fox]

God ... Aruruu wins the award of cuteness ... My heart melted when I saw her playing in the blankets XD