(L) RDG : Red Data Girl (General/Pre-Airing Web Streams)

[mistress_kisara]

Episode 9
- I agree best episode!!!!
- The godess is from the future!?
- and Yay for the hug at the end

[kuromitsu]

Tanaka Rie is awesome, but I wish they used the same seiyuu for both characters. It's kind of distracting how the voice doesn't match the body.

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I loved the Himegami's delight in her new body. Perhaps that means it's one she has never really inhabited before? How does that go with them being the same person?

In her first scene she mentions that finally she managed to "sync" with this body, and what a great thing it is that she's managed to come this far. If the Izumiko = himegami theory is true, it's technically her own body, but this is the first time she's been in it in this particular timeline.

(1st future: Izumiko destroys humanity, dies, but due to her powers her spirit(?) travels back in the past to find a way to avoid the tragedy, becoming the himegami in the process; this culminates in the 2nd future where Izumiko/himegami manages not to destroy humanity but dies in the name of science, and someone else destroys humanity anyway. So the himegami travels back in the past for the second time, creating the third future which is our current timeline. This is her last try.)

[Grifis]

Well, the voice isn't supposed to match with the body especially when the body is being possessed by some old spirit.

I can't feel the hime=Izumiko theory yet. If this is her third time traveling back in time I wonder when she "landed" that she's been known in the family for quite some time. And I thought she's currently using Izumiko's mother's body. Anyways, I've been skipping so I may have missed some clues.

I don't care what people say, I'm loving the hug. I watch it like 3 times. Loverboy Miyuki can be so sweet. Can't wait to see more of Miyuki and Izumiko couple. The hime is so ruthless. She can find another body and leave my couple alone (well hopefully at the end anyways).

[MogMoogle1]

Quite an interesting episode indeed. Not sure if it meant anything, but Miyuki snagged Himegami's left hand and ran off with her after the scene where she speaks about what each of her hands signified.

As for Himegami=Izumiko, it is quite possible, even though their personalities differs greatly, Izumiko has gradually developed in to a more confident(or rebellious) person than she originally first started. Not to mention the titles of each episodes revolves around her first times.

[phmn]

Originally Posted by Grifis

I can't feel the hime=Izumiko theory yet. If this is her third time traveling back in time I wonder when she "landed" that she's been known in the family for quite some time. And I thought she's currently using Izumiko's mother's body. Anyways, I've been skipping so I may have missed some clues.

Yes as much as I find the theory that Izumiko=Himegami exciting, I don't feel there is any strong basis on this, although I may be ignoring some details.

For those that support the theory, are there any specific incidents that hint to that theory?

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by phmn

Yes as much as I find the theory that Izumiko=Himegami exciting, I don't feel there is any strong basis on this, although I may be ignoring some details.

For those that support the theory, are there any specific incidents that hint to that theory?

For me, as I wrote in my ep reaction post, what seems the biggest clue is how the himegami talks in the first person about having been dissected in the name of science. Which means that although she's been a spirit for thousands of years, she has an actual body somewhere (otherwise it wouldn't have been her body, just that of the person she possessed). That the body was hers at first, then in the second timeline it was occupied by her then-self until she took over/merged with it. So this must be the case in the current, third timeline as well. The body and the person in it must be special in their own way since that's how the himegami destroyed humanity in the first future.

We also know that she belonged to Izumiko's family.

In this light, many things seem to make sense:
- Izumiko's innate powers.
- The talk between Yukimasa and Izumiko in the nurse's room. "Are you talking about me or the himegami?" "The two are one and the same." Yukimasa never answered Izumiko's question about when the himegami chose Miyuki, but I bet it has something to do with Izumiko herself falling for him.
- The himegami's joy at having taken over Izumiko's body, saying (I paraphrase) "finally I've come this far" and "today is a special day, I've become able to easily sync with this body"
- The talk about becoming a world heritage in the 2nd timeline. Mayura and Takayanagi fighting for exactly this in the current timeline makes me think that the future events the himegami was talking about are set to happen in the near future. If that's true, the himegami "reclaiming" Izumiko's body as her own means that it was the one she occupied the first and second time as well.

Of course this is just speculation, and with spiritual entities and time travel everything is possible... But it makes sense to me. :3

[kuromitsu]

Ep 10

Spoiler for ep 10:

So, even Miyuki thinks Izumiko and the himegami may just be the same person. :3 By the way, that conversation was so jarring. There's the whole himegami situation, taking over Izumiko's body, potentially destroying humanity, etc., and yet all Izumiko seems to care about is Miyuki liking the himegami more? Seriously? OK, I know the point of the scene was making Izumiko drop the "I don't like talking about other women" line, but it was just so forced. (When did the two of them get so close so she can talk to him like this, about such a topic?)

Anyway, more Takayanagi vs Mayura maneuvering, plus the ghosts from Hachiouji - I bet everything that the latter are Takayanagi's doing, especially that the next episode is going to be Takayanagi's big day anyway (being an onmyouji). And I bet Masumi is going to be involved. Maybe he'll bitchslap Takayanagi some more. xD

I liked the part with Masumi at the end - him not really understanding humans and their feelings, but trying anyway, or appearing when Mayura & Manatsu call for him, even though he could appear by himself, just because he finds it entertaining to indulge them. What he said about Mayura makes me wonder if there's a discord among the triplets (well, Mayura and Manatsu) and if yes, over what... I also wonder how Masumi feels about the situation. After all, it seems he has real feelings for the other two, and likes their current relationship, even though he knows that it's untenable in the long run.

And as funny and endearing as Masumi is, ever since the Togakushi incident I can't help but feel he has this vaguely ominous air. Maybe it's the whole non-human aspect - he may not have any bad intentions, but he's an immensely powerful being with an alien way of thinking. Likening the concept of love to devouring spirits to become one with them is funny (and it puts him trying to eat Manatsu and then Izumiko into a somewhat different light, though I still think that at that time he was "attracted to" Izumiko's power), but thinking about it - what's the guarantee that one day he won't decide to eat Mayura or Manatsu as a sort of ultimate display of affection?

The Soudas should have their own show...

[witchhuntress]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Ep 10

Spoiler for ep 10:

So, even Miyuki thinks Izumiko and the himegami may just be the same person. :3 By the way, that conversation was so jarring. There's the whole himegami situation, taking over Izumiko's body, potentially destroying humanity, etc., and yet all Izumiko seems to care about is Miyuki liking the himegami more? Seriously? OK, I know the point of the scene was making Izumiko drop the "I don't like talking about other women" line, but it was just so forced. (When did the two of them get so close so she can talk to him like this, about such a topic?)

Anyway, more Takayanagi vs Mayura maneuvering, plus the ghosts from Hachiouji - I bet everything that the latter are Takayanagi's doing, especially that the next episode is going to be Takayanagi's big day anyway (being an onmyouji). And I bet Masumi is going to be involved. Maybe he'll bitchslap Takayanagi some more. xD

I liked the part with Masumi at the end - him not really understanding humans and their feelings, but trying anyway, or appearing when Mayura & Manatsu call for him, even though he could appear by himself, just because he finds it entertaining to indulge them. What he said about Mayura makes me wonder if there's a discord among the triplets (well, Mayura and Manatsu) and if yes, over what... I also wonder how Masumi feels about the situation. After all, it seems he has real feelings for the other two, and likes their current relationship, even though he knows that it's untenable in the long run.

And as funny and endearing as Masumi is, ever since the Togakushi incident I can't help but feel he has this vaguely ominous air. Maybe it's the whole non-human aspect - he may not have any bad intentions, but he's an immensely powerful being with an alien way of thinking. Likening the concept of love to devouring spirits to become one with them is funny (and it puts him trying to eat Manatsu and then Izumiko into a somewhat different light, though I still think that at that time he was "attracted to" Izumiko's power), but thinking about it - what's the guarantee that one day he won't decide to eat Mayura or Manatsu as a sort of ultimate display of affection?

The Soudas should have their own show...

Spoiler:

I thought Izumiko doesn't know about the human destruction thing? Because although it was said she can remember later on after being taken over, she should have said something about knowing it after ep 6(?)...But she seemed to not know...or perhaps it was divulged in ep 10 and I just couldn't comprehend it?

She still seemed at a lost and all...

=.=

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by witchhuntress

Spoiler:

I thought Izumiko doesn't know about the human destruction thing? Because although it was said she can remember later on after being taken over, she should have said something about knowing it after ep 6(?)...But she seemed to not know...or perhaps it was divulged in ep 10 and I just couldn't comprehend it?

She still seemed at a lost and all...

=.=

Spoiler for ep 10:

Well, she tells Mayura that she's an "enemy of humankind" so if she didn't know about it before she knows now.

Actually, she remembers after a while, doesn't she? I don't have the episodes at hand atm, but I remember either her or someone else saying that she remembers what she does as the himegami, but only with a time lag. So she's known she was the enemy of humankind for quite a while, she just never spoke about it to Mayura or anyone else aside of Miyuki, because, well, it's a bit awkward.

ETA:

Spoiler for Izumiko's memory issues:

I remembered: it's after she becomes the himegami in front of Honoka and Ishida Akira's character (what's his name again?). She wonders what she'd done this time, and Miyuki is like "oh yeah, it takes you a while to remember" or something like that. And in ep 9 he even asks the himegami why.

ETA#2, Actually, the first time it was mentioned by Yukimasa in ep 2, when Izumiko first became himegami. When she changed back she was all confused, and Yukimasa told her not to worry, she would eventually remember.

[Grifis]

Skimmed through the raws. And I thought they would pick up from the hug from last ep. Well I have no idea what happened but I like the moment when Miyuki laughed at Izumiku's new do. Miyuki did have a flashback with Hime after Izumiko said something so maybe he was thinking they're the same person. I'm not crazy about this possibility. I don't have a problem with their progress in relationship. Miyuki cares more for her than he would ever show. It's like they've been thinking about each other since they know they have to be partners. (Heck, I have no idea what's going because I've been watching it on and off but I still want to follow this to the end to see the "big picture". I'll be satisfied to see some kind of ending between Miyuki and Izumiko.)

[Kaoru Chujo]

Spoiler for ep10:

Hayami Saori's broken voice at the beginning of ep10 was outstanding. A dart to the heart.

It seems likely that her barely explicable feelings for Sagara-kun will somehow be what rescues her from becoming the destroyer if mankind. I look forward to it.

On another note, I am usually very forgiving of animation/drawing problems. But the awkwardness of the drawing of the figures in the scene in the dorm room between Izumiko and Masumi was really off-putting. She looked like a dwarf and his neck tendons were enormous. I wonder who was responsible for that scene: some people at PA Works or one of the many subcontractors?

[HandofFate]

Just watched episode 8.

Spoiler for episode 8:

Man, I really had a hard time keeping track of Masumi and Manatsu. Even when they reveal who it really is, I go "which one was that one again?" Guess that's actually the point of the whole thing, and if so, it did a good job at it.

The reveal @ the Celestial Rock was pretty interesting with who's who. And the conflict behind this arc. Kind of surprised that Izumiko was fooled, though she had strong spiritual awareness about that. Or maybe that just further empathizes the blending of the Masumi/Manatsu personality and identities.

The connection with Masumi and the snake thing is some crazy level stuff.

HOLY CRAP @ Sagara sprouting wings. Did not expect that.
Then Izumiko separated appears. Throwing a bunch of twists in. And saving the day.

The mom appearing there too. lol. What a climax to this arc. Lots of semi-answers, tons more questions.

Episode 9
Seems to getting into the heat of things.

Spoiler for Episode 9:

Its kind of interesting, but I'm slightly bummed.

It seems in any anime where there's some kind of mystical mystery going on about.
It ALWAYS comes down to time travel.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by HandofFate

Man, I really had a hard time keeping track of Masumi and Manatsu. Even when they reveal who it really is, I go "which one was that one again?"

Manatsu is the human brother, Masumi is the snake/dragon kami "brother". XD

Originally Posted by HandofFate

Kind of surprised that Izumiko was fooled, though she had strong spiritual awareness about that. Or maybe that just further empathizes the blending of the Masumi/Manatsu personality and identities.

I don't think she was fooled, it was Masumi with her all along, until Manatsu changed his mind about offing himself.

Originally Posted by HandofFate

It seems in any anime where there's some kind of mystical mystery going on about.
It ALWAYS comes down to time travel.

Yeah, I'm not very happy about that either... But at least this time it's creative enough to make it interesting.

[Bern-san]

How comes that episode 10 still isn't subbed? Just when things started to get interesting...

EDIT: It's subbed! This felt like a set-up episode but I did like it. Suzuhara was really cute during the episode.

[Kazu-kun]

Welp, shit hits the fan in episode 11.

Spoiler for spoiler:

Takayanagi brainwashes Izumiko to make her believe that she's allied with his faction. He fucks things up when he makes an off-hand comment about Sagara though. Idiot, that makes Izumiko snap out of it and she reveals her true powers. That scene is pretty awesome and it seems she's going to kick their collective asses but.... just then one of Takayanagi's minions (who are shitting their pants at the moment) says there's no way Izumiko can be human.

This makes Izumiko freak out and pushes her over the edge. Will she destroy the world now that she's seemingly lost control of her powers?


It goes without saying this pretty much confirms that Izumiko is the himegami.

EDIT: I just learned the last episode of the anime will cover the climax of volume 5, which unfortunately means volume 6 of the novel won't be animated. We're going to miss out on the real ending of the story, including the final battle. This sucks.

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Bern-san

How comes that episode 10 still isn't subbed? Just when things started to get interesting...

EDIT: It's subbed! This felt like a set-up episode but I did like it. Suzuhara was really cute during the episode.

Yeah, it definitely took the pace down a notch from ep 9. I was a little disappointed at first, but I think with the upcoming battle in episode 11, there will probably be another goddess appearance.

Now that it's pretty much been confirmed that the goddess is Izumiko's alternate self from a parallel timeline, I wonder if her picking Sagara in the first place and her jealousy when he 'discusses other women' hints that the two are indeed destined for one another.

By the way, what's up with Izumiko dropping this big hint to Mayura that she's an 'enemy of mankind'... and then no further elaboration? How'd she get out of that conversation without explaining herself? And why does Mayura seemingly not care? Considering her ability to brush that aside and focus on her comparatively unimportant battle with Takayanagi... her ego is truly a force to be reckoned with .

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

EDIT: I just learned the last episode of the anime will cover the climax of volume 5, which unfortunately means volume 6 of the novel won't be animated. We're going to miss out on the real ending of the story, including the final battle. This sucks.

That's kind of ridiculous. I understand they have time constraints, but what does this mean for the anime's story? It will just end without a definite resolution?

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

It will just end without a definite resolution?

Most likely.

Spoiler:

I suppose the last episode will cover Miyuki trying to snap Izumiko out of her destroyer-of-the-world mode.

But the real climax of the story in the novel is the final showdown between Izumiko and Takayanagi, and I don't see how they would have time to cover that in the anime. They'd have to rush through a whole volume worth of content in 10 minutes.

[Johnny]

Don't really care about the romance between Izumiko and Sagara since it's been done half-heartedly. All I want to see is Sagara get one over on his bastard of a father just once...

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

EDIT: I just learned the last episode of the anime will cover the climax of volume 5, which unfortunately means volume 6 of the novel won't be animated. We're going to miss out on the real ending of the story, including the final battle. This sucks.

Where have you read this? Anyway, if it's true then I think there will be an OVA.

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

By the way, what's up with Izumiko dropping this big hint to Mayura that she's an 'enemy of mankind'... and then no further elaboration?

Editor's scissors? At this point it's clear that there are huge amounts of material cut especially where the Soudas are concerned... (There's no way there isn't any conclusion to the whole Togakushi incident, also there's no way the scenes with Mayura & Miyuki in episode 11 weren't at least twice as long in the book, etc.).

Originally Posted by Johnny

Don't really care about the romance between Izumiko and Sagara since it's been done half-heartedly. All I want to see is Sagara get one over on his bastard of a father just once...

Yeah, same here. I've looked around and the Miyuki x Izumiko pairing seems to have many fans so it's probably done better in the book, but in the show their relationship is part really cliché, and part really choppy... to me they still don't have any real chemistry, they're just destined to fall in love because the plot says so.

Anyway, ep 11...

Spoiler for ep 11:

So the gloves are off on all sides, I guess. I didn't think Takayanagi would try to do something directly to Izumiko. For all the good it did for him. At least we've got some light on Takayanagi's goals and motivations, which are nothing surprising (him being an onmyouji and all), but make sense. I kind of expected Izumiko snapping out from under the spell by remembering Miyuki, I guess if their relationship had been done better the scene would've been stronger, too... anyway, Izumiko going all "himegami" (as her own self) on Takayanagi was pretty cool.

Again, the most interesting part for me concerned the Souda triplets, who really, really need their own show. So basically, Mayura wants Miyuki to play the role of her future husband, so her family would finally get off her back and she wouldn't have to separate from Manatsu. But her equating her position with that of Miyuki's wrt Izumiko... what with the whole "as she's the most important to you, he's the most important to me" and "I can't ever marry", it comes across as there being more to the issue than simply "I can't be separated from him because he may die anytime, also the whole Masumi thing." Then again, the triplets' relationship is so involved (to the degree of being a bit unhealthy) and further complicated by Masumi being what he is, that I think there's a little bit of everything here.

I really wonder what Manatsu and Masumi think. Especially with Masumi mentioning a "crack" in their relationship in the previous episode.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Where have you read this?

Somewhere.

If you want to confirm it I can send you the raws. I can't read them myself so I don't know if it's true.