(L) Shikabane Hime Aka

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep9:

Well, the anime has definitely started to pick up now. It's a pity that it started out so slow and is only getting better now... And of course, the voices are a pity too, but let's just put that as the director's spite towards the manga-ka and leave it as that.

Background on Ouri, and possibility that the cat can't be trusted are revealed in this episode, which is a good thing, but half of the episode or so are still wasted on some throw-away big-breast character that pretty much didn't do anything except stalk Makina (who, as always, is an irritating heroine) and bounce her breasts needlessly.

ED seems to have completed itself now, coming along with spoilers that Ouri will become a priest in the future... Which was predictable, thanks to the OP foreshadowing the only good voice's death.
Though... still... what was that last shot of the Shikabane Himes doing a ridiculous pose?

Preview: Evil~~~ Evil is coming~~

[Guido]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Spoiler for ep9:

half of the episode or so are still wasted on some throw-away big-breast character that pretty much didn't do anything except stalk Makina (who, as always, is an irritating heroine) and bounce her breasts needlessly.

I'm of the same opinion.

Spoiler:

I could barely took Keisei's dialogue exchange with Rika seriously in episode eight, because it became difficult to me to take my eyes off from Rika's abnormal bust size onscreen.

[Deathkillz]

ep 9

Spoiler:

Interesting catch with the new ED visuals.

So when Ouri becomes a monk out of angst I guess that only means one thing...

Anikiii!!!!~ ;_____;

Sadly, he is still bed ridden and hasn't seen much action...Though I can't see what the problem is with his condition.

Makina loses her arm again at the start which was unexpected...does this mean her powers are weakening because of Akasha's state?

I didn't think this episode was anywhere as good as the previous one and was only save from being complately pointless with some background on Ouri.

The cat is evil? I am sitting on the fence for this at the moment. But back in those days Ouri sure looked like a psycho killer

[mandarb916]

shikabane sentai unite!

aside from the horrible VA's, this is turning out to be a pretty decent series.

[Guido]

Well, things do not look bright on either side.

Spoiler:

The Kougon sect is no different from what Akasha is doing.

They employ Shikabane Hime and restrained them on contracts.
On the other hand, he takes advantage of people's regrets to mass produce Shikabane. The only difference is that Akasha has his eyes very open and sees Shikabane Hime for what they are.

I think if there's any reason why Akasha killed his own Shikabane Hime was because he witnessed what the Kougon Sect, in reality, did to make or summon Shikabane Hime, and both the trauma and angst took an abysmal toll on him in emotional terms because he loved his Shikabane Hime.

Now, I think the Kougon sect went over-the-top deciding to keep a watchful eye over Keisei and Ouri, who was naive and ignorant about the whole picture at that time.

I know that Akasha took an interest to make contact with them, but that's no sane excuse for the Kougon sect use it as liability to suspect Keisei and Ouri and have them executed on the spot, if their suspicions turned right (which they did not).

[Guido]

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

ep 9

Spoiler:

Interesting catch with the new ED visuals.

So when Ouri becomes a monk out of angst I guess that only means one thing...

Anikiii!!!!~ ;_____;

Sadly, he is still bed ridden and hasn't seen much action...Though I can't see what the problem is with his condition.

Makina loses her arm again at the start which was unexpected...does this mean her powers are weakening because of Akasha's state?

I didn't think this episode was anywhere as good as the previous one and was only save from being complately pointless with some background on Ouri.

The cat is evil? I am sitting on the fence for this at the moment. But back in those days Ouri sure looked like a psycho killer

Episode nine was somewhat strange.

Besides that there were no major battles except for the one at the very start and both Akasha and the Kougon sect made no moves whatsover, it felt out of place that at the very beginning the story focused on a brand-new, civilian character, Kasuga Nozomi.

Well, maybe that reason is that since we're on December, and season two is right around the corner, the animators want to give a fresh feel for the remainder episodes of the current season.

Spoiler:

The rundown is that Nozomi got some sort of infatuation after Makina saved her life and attempted to get hold of any clues to find out about her.

Supposedly, she feels she needs to protect Makina.

However, on her usual and nonchalant self, Makina brushes off Nozomi to make her forget about herself (Makina) and the Shikabane.

The focus for the rest of the episode returned unexpectedly to explore Ouri's past.

Spoiler:

After being for standstill and useless character, his past let me saw more than meets the eye.

The cat supposedly belonged to him back from his childhood days but was killed during an accident.
For Ouri that experience was his very first contact with death.

Some time later at a night, the cat returned from beyond the grave in flesh to remind Ouri something he must not forget, flashing upon the scared boy a myriad of eyes.

This raises the question whether Shikabane can also be borned from the souls and anguish of dead animals.

But the most disturbing fact was that Makina was able to see the cat, and Ouri pointed it out with few to scarce surprise, and Makina never felt that the cat could be or not a Shikabane at all.

PS.

Spoiler for new images on the ED:

No surprises in there that Ouri one day will replace his brother as a monk, and hopefully, he'll cast away his emo side and role as a standstill witness.

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep10:

...With this kind of "good" organization (the monk one), I'd rather cheer on the bad guys... Pretty much all of them are irritating, especially that loli. Well, I guess I can look forward to some of them dying... Kuhuhu, though the Shikabane Himes are already dead.

Anyways, the story started to get interesting as the big bad organization of evil has appeared, some group of Shikabanes who seem to tag up with that evil monk this episode.
Overall, it was just a build-up episode. Not much really happens, but the shadows start to close in. And what convenience, the person responsible for killing Makina are the current antagonists!

The scene in the middle where the two girls suddenly get killed... left me sick... Uee... Damn it! Switch them with some boys...
Thinking about it, the scene really was clearly to scare the audience, since it was all that needed.

That stalker girl from the previous episode had to appear again... As always, a loose screw or two in her head... Oh well...

Preview: Most decent voice actor in this anime is finally going to die?

[darkchibi07]

Man, with all this talk with some of the Japanese VAs being mediocre, FUNimation definitely has the advantage of one-upping it in their English dub.

[Deathkillz]

ep 10

Spoiler:

Oh my here it comes...the big bad organisation that will oppose the monks of justice. And clearly it was well demonstrated that they don't have any intentions of backing off their evil deeds by killing two random schoolgirls...just like that...poor girls ;_____;

Apart from this though it was a rather slow and boringly confusing episode. One minute you have Ouri poisoning himself with some home cooking and the next he is strapped between some fugly old ladies watching some monk produce some miricle.

But at least the story is coming along with revealing the evil organisation. Lets hope the decent fighting starts next week...but Aniki seems to have a worse off fate ;_________;

[RDNexus]

Guys, I know this may sound a very delicate question here, but...

Can't somebody get the funimation eps and then post DDL links of them for everyone (inside and outside U.S.), while we wait for the fansubbed ones?
Those bitches are going pretty well and pretty fast, already on Ep07!!!


BTW... I DON'T WANT KEISEI TO DIE!!!!
And it's not because of the voice acting...

[Wargumm1i]

I have a question, has there bin any info on the cat? I mean im so curious about that cat and his relationship with Ouri. I mean is Ouri special in some way or what? there are so many questions and yet so little time but thank god there is a second season.

But still the cats and Ouri´s relationship is what im curious about.

[Yu Ominae]

Has the names of the Shikabane hime protagonists revealed aside from Makina and Keisei with Itsuki and Sougi?

[RDNexus]

yep, check ANN and also www.gainax.co.jp/anime/sikabanehime/index.html.
you can the names from there. ah, but only if u can at least read katakana & hiragana, lol.

And plz, someone answer to my previous relpy...

[Chrno2]

It's been fansubbed till ep 7.

[Guido]

This episode gave hints foreshadowing that Keisei might not survive towards the end of season one.

Spoiler:

The highlight of the episode is that the other antagonists made their act of presence by killing right off the bat the fake monk who was employing Shikabane to work his "miracles" on TV.

First of all, I got right two of my suspicions before episode ten was over:
1. That group of seven are all Shikabane.

2. Most importantly, they are the Shikabane responsible for killing Makina and slaughtering her family.

Due to the language barrier it was hard for me to come up with the dialogue, but there are several things made clear.

Spoiler:

1. Those seven are not your standard and average Shikabane of the week. Those guys are pretty tough and likely über.

2. Akasha and them do not get along with each other. In fact, Akasha felt frustration and contempt, that those seven crossed paths with him.
The only reason they're becoming allies is for the cause to erase all the Shikabane Hime along with the Kougon sect, but that's all.

3. The Shikabane member of the group with the heterochromatic eyes is plainly spooky, brewing a storm of bloodlust and carnage within herself.

Spoiler for My theory about the cat:

My wild speculation suggests that the cat might be involved or has a connection with those seven.

In fact, for a big twister what if it becomes disclosed that the cat is related with the white-haired, multi-colored eyes, member of that group?

[RDNexus]

I was asking to get an answer about "getting the funimation eps and then posting DDL links of them for everyone".
The links could be posted somewhere else, like on Narutofan's Forum of Shikabane Hime.

Also...

About the cat, no idea. I don't even know if it showed up in the manga...
About the Shikabanes with Akasha, if someone were to check the manga raws, maybe we all could get some nice possible spoilers for the anime.
BTW, has anyone checked the Gainax's Shikabane Hime site? at least there they're updating the character arts, lol.
Also, as a request, if there's someone capable of translating japanese, could that someone go check the japanese wikipedia of shikabane hime? even more data could be caught from there.

[serenade_beta]

The characters in this anime really are useless at the most important times...

Spoiler for ep11:

Well, there goes one of the few good voice actors in this anime.
Still... He didn't even realize Ouri's arm and the thing he was holding... (-__-) And it just pierced him like "zzup"... Wasn't he a trained priest...?

Oh well... Considering the characters have always been like that, I think I already got used to it...

Anyways, I guess the first season is going into the climax and planning to end with Ouri joining that monk group?
I guess this is the final fight, with the evil organization.
It wasn't as exciting as I'd wish it was, but it was quite entertaining. I hope the anime can continue this quality until the end.

Come to think of it, where did the evil priest go...

Preview: Ah, he's still alive for now in the preview...

[Guido]

I finally got the chance to watch episode seven subbed from FUNimation's official website.

Spoiler:

It comes all together.

The suppression unit dispatched was to take on the group of seven who at the time slaughtered the entire Hoshimura clan and lay waste the manor to the ground.

As it was expected, those seven literally trashed into bloody packs of meat all the members of the supression unit except for Akasha and his Shikabane, whom later he'll kill her himself and then becoming a desserter to the Kougon sect.

Hence, it was not a surprise to see Akasha's look of contempt and disgust on his face when those seven crossed paths with him again in the tenth episode.

But, it also raises other unanswered questions:
1. Why the seven left Akasha alive and unscathed on that first sortie?

2. And did those seven target the Hoshimura clan in a random act of just rampage? or did they destroy the clan as part of a pre-arranged plan to fulfill certain objective?

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

The characters in this anime really are useless at the most important times...

Spoiler for ep11:

Well, there goes one of the few good voice actors in this anime.
Still... He didn't even realize Ouri's arm and the thing he was holding... (-__-) And it just pierced him like "zzup"... Wasn't he a trained priest...?

ep 11

Spoiler:

But in his defense...the lights were out

Though it was definitely a lame death...and blame the useless Ouri for causing it. I hope he drowns in angst before making a turn for the better.

Overall quite a slow moving episode. Aniki just had the death flag raised throughout.

*sigh*

And just where are all the other shikabane himes >.>

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by xrick

BTW... I DON'T WANT KEISEI TO DIE!!!!

Same here, I like his character and his scenes both comedic and serious, he's got "character." Also, his rather mature relationship/partnership with Makina as the main team is so rare. We always get the the usual half-tension/half-you-know-they'll-get-together-eventually partnership in so many series, I have liked their unique dynamic.