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

[NoemiChan]

What a mysterious anime.... episode 2 made me more confused..

[Kanon]

Is nico going to keep streaming each episode two weeks in advance? That's bothersome... I don't want to watch the episodes in that poor quality, but I don't want to risk getting spoiled and miss out on all the discussions either. What to do, what to do...

[Kagura89]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Is nico going to keep streaming each episode two weeks in advance? That's bothersome... I don't want to watch the episodes in that poor quality, but I don't want to risk getting spoiled and miss out on all the discussions either. What to do, what to do...

http://cal.syoboi.jp/tid/2921/time?Filter=136
It seems that NicoNico is streaming all the episodes until 1st June and by the time 1st episode is aired on TV (3rd April) it had already passed 3rd episode. Pretty weird decision to aired the show in advance from TV airing.

[Grifis]

This anime I like a whole lot. It's the only one I'm following right now. I like both main characters and can't wait to see how their relationship will develop and how the story will unfold. Everything is shrouded in mystery right now. I'm confused about it but at the same time it piques my interest.

Let me try to understand ep 2. So the reason why Izumiko is special is because her body is chosen to be possessed by some royal spirit. And it also seems that her body is vulnerable to being possessed by other spirits as well. She was scared by these shadows/spirits. Maybe she was so scared in Tokyo because her possessed self was scared of the monk's chanting. Or maybe the monk was pulling something. This monk guy is ruthless. (He beat the kid to a pulp an ep earlier.)

I totally hated how they kind of cliffhung me with the ending. Now that the monk guy told Miyuki he's free to go, I'm sure Miyuki wants to be back in the game. I like how it rolls.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by Benigmatica

This anime seems to remind me of Code-E or Mission-E. But with Shintoism thrown at it, I think I'm confused on what's going on with Izumiko and why she's being hunted by those shadow beings from Ep. 2. Maybe they need to elaborate a bit so that the viewers can understand the plot better.

I think this show is about twice as good as that comparative train-wreck, Code-E. The drawing and animation alone are in a different league altogether. As for plot, this has drawn me in in two episodes as that never did.

I don't think we need to be fed information so we are never confused. I enjoy being confused. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? Who or what was Izumiko perceiving as an evil aura? Will she ever gain strength of her own when she is not being visited by the goddess? Who is the goddess and why does she think Izumiko will be her last vessel? What dealings have the goddess and Yukimasa had before? Will Izumiko stay in Tokyo or return to the shrine? I am excited to learn these things and see the plot evolve.

I feel some confidence that we will get interesting answers to our questions, since this is from a novel by a popular and experienced author (Ogiwara Noriko), not a PA Works original cobbled together for the anime. I'm not an Okada-hater, but I do feel more confidence with this set-up than with Okada's original work. Anime writer Yokote Michiko has adapted Princess Tutu, Genshiken, and XXXholic (as well as Squid Girl and Joshiraku).

And maybe it should be mentioned that the novel was written by a woman and adapted by a woman, and the lead character is a woman. We may be getting shoujo tropes here that some people aren't as taken by as I am. The nervous and un-self-confident heroine, for one thing. Maybe some people find it hard to identify with her, for whatever reason.

I've made a characters/seiyuus page with pics of the characters and their seiyuus, and info about each seiyuu. I'll add characters as new ones appear (and they will).

Anyway, I'm excited. Seems like a terrific show to me so far.

[FredFriendly]

What? Wait a minute, am I watching the right show?? Oh, yeah, that's it. We are already being shown a Miyuki that "isn't such a bad guy" so we will forget all that hate and verbal abuse he laid on Izumiko just last week. This is quite the accelerated pace of turning the bad boy into a good boy.

Like "Stockholm Syndrome," there must be a trope name for what will most likely happen between Izumiko and Miyuki, I just can't think of it (if there is one), at the moment. Nice girl gets treated like crap by cruel and abusive abductor protector, yet she falls in love with him anyway. He has a tragic past which is supposed to make us sympathize with him and forgive him for all the abuse he dumps on the leading lady because he really does have a heart of gold. Really.

Originally Posted by Kismet-chan

Okay, Episode 2 didn't make me want to throw things at my screen -- Miyuki seemed a little more tame this time around. I also like how both Izumiko and Miyuki still interact with one another a fair amount despite their high amount of dislike for one another.

I, for one, found the interplay between the two, after last week's episode, quite unbelievable. Izumiko running to Miyuki for help? Did I miss an episode or two? No, this is just to much. Maybe we are supposed to be clairvoyant enough to imagine what has happened in the interim that would so drastically alter the way they now interact from the last episode (assuming this really was the 2nd episode I just watched).

Originally Posted by Grifis

Now that the monk guy told Miyuki he's free to go, I'm sure Miyuki wants to be back in the game.

No doubt you're right about that, and that will be yet another unbelievable turn of events. The Miyuki in the 1st episode would definitely jump ship, given the opportunity, in the 3rd episode. Once again, I feel that I've missed something.

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I don't think we need to be fed information so we are never confused.

I agree with this, to an extent. But some shows don't feed enough info (or skip over too much of the source material) which results in an end product that is very unsatisfactory for the majority of viewers. Just look at the comments in the R;N thread after the last episode just aired, for example.

I've made a characters/seiyuus page with pics of the characters and their seiyuus, and info about each seiyuu. I'll add characters as new ones appear (and they will).

Your character pages are always appreciated. Thanks.

[Master_Yoma]

Wow machines do not like Izumiko

[X207]

i dont particularly like the witheld info but its right down my alley. i know it will be revealed with due time. the show has vibes similar to Shiki. Another, Ookami Kakushi and Higrashi and those are some of the favorites in my list. i love the supernatural/horror mysteries series. the unanswered questions in ep2 have solidly put this on my watching list. i like seeing the mystery slowly unwind and it doesnt seem like it will be the overly cheerful run of the mill series. the mystery adds some dark elements which is much my preference for certain shows.

[Henshin_Datenshi_Kal]

is there such a thing as too much mystery in a show? it could be good or it can totally backfire in their face if you ask me

[X207]

Originally Posted by Henshin_Datenshi_Kal

is there such a thing as too much mystery in a show? it could be good or it can totally backfire in their face if you ask me

it sure can, looks at the show "lost." there were so many poeple who just got lost trying to find answeres only to get more mysteries. it depends on how long the creators decide to string thr audince along. its more a battle of balance in the first 2 thirds of the show and revealing all in the last 3rd. Lost went on for 5 seasons?? and they only started answers after 4 seasons, by then most got lost and stopped watching.

personna 4 personally was a case of too little and too weak mystery. the supernatural section seemed run of the mill and mildly cheesy/repetetive. even the "final" mystery conclusion of the series was weak. i just dont like the repetetive villian of the week formula.

Higurashi se1 did have the repetitiveness of the arcs but they did a great job of explaining the reasoning behind it in se2 and made se1's struggles a pursuit of change to solve the main problem in se1 and se2.

Shiki, Another, Ookami kakushi initially offered mystery and slowly revealed hints while presenting the other mysteries. they told all within the last few eps about the mysteries.

[finalfury]

I REALLY like this show. But I can see that there will many people who hate the guy due to his abusive behavior. I feel more desensitized to him since I've seen his character type before. I'm gonna categorize him in the tsundere category for now.

[Kismet-chan]

Originally Posted by FredFriendly

I, for one, found the interplay between the two, after last week's episode, quite unbelievable. Izumiko running to Miyuki for help? Did I miss an episode or two? No, this is just to much. Maybe we are supposed to be clairvoyant enough to imagine what has happened in the interim that would so drastically alter the way they now interact from the last episode (assuming this really was the 2nd episode I just watched).

Oh, I certainly didn't find it to be believable, either. I go into every anime I watch nowadays EXPECTING them to fail on that front, actually. I was just trying to look at the episode from an extremely less jaded point of view than I usually do, I suppose. Although I will admit that I preferred the way they decided to make them interact as opposed to an episode chock full of Izumiko consistently going "eto..." and hunching her shoulders as Miyuki pummels her with full-blast assholery. I don't think I could stand that. =_=;

[Dop]

The thing that got me about the second episode was that while she can make phones and computers go wrong somehow, they're letting her go on an aeroplane.
"Do you think that's wise?" I thought.

Not quite made up my mind about this show yet, but I think if I'm still watching by episode 4 I'm going to skip the SupaFuzz-o-Vision version and wait for a more quality release, which is what I did with Seitokai

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by Dop

The thing that got me about the second episode was that while she can make phones and computers go wrong somehow, they're letting her go on an aeroplane. "Do you think that's wise?" I thought....

Lol. I was quite worried. They made the plane wiggle a bit in the air (intentionally or not) and I thought: "It's going down!" I thought of it as an additional bit of interest, rather than an inconsistency, however.

As for Izumiko wanting to hold Miyuki's hand, that was consistent with her personality and experience, and with her reaction to the situation: she was shivering with fright, barely able to hold herself together, and certainly had no confidence in her ability to get through this on her own. He was the one point of familiarity available, and she had already had the experience of having him hold her hand and lead her to safety through the streets. She might "hate" him, but in this situation, she feels she can trust him -- at least in the absence of any other candidates for trust, lol.

Certainly, I find his dismissive and overbearing attitude hard to take -- and I think Uchiyama Kouki may be overdoing that aspect of the character -- but it's at least explicable. He was ripped out of his life, which may have included going out with girls who were a lot more beautiful and capable than Izumiko, and made to babysit this very plain girl with her braids and her extreme lack of self-confidence. They both have to (a) get used to each other, and (b) have their attitudes and personalities evolve.

Having now realized that she is someone very, very special, he may learn to be more accepting. Especially since his father is telling him to go away, a suggestion which he will of course resist. Anything to keep her from the clutches of that shadowy-faced guy trying to insinuate himself with her at school, is what I say. Part of the supernatural conspiracy against her, no doubt.

One of the features of this show is how extreme the emotional reactions of the two main characters are. Both Uchiyama Kouki and Hayami Saori are playing their characters in a quite extreme way: extremely nasty (or perhaps tsuntsun) in the case of Uchiyama, and extremely lacking in confidence in the case of Hayamin. That they both are like this makes me think that the director or sound director has instructed them to play the characters that way.

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by Kismet-chan

Although I will admit that I preferred the way they decided to make them interact as opposed to an episode chock full of Izumiko consistently going "eto..." and hunching her shoulders as Miyuki pummels her with full-blast assholery. I don't think I could stand that. =_=;

I was very wary of watching another episode after being so repulsed by the last half of the first episode (having first been very intrigued by the first half). But I suffered through the second episode, absurd as it was, and I will probably watch another episode merely because Miyuki was toned down by about 80%. If he had treated Izumiko the same as he had in the first episode, I wouldn't be warily waiting for the 3rd. I just wouldn't be watching this series again.

After watching the second episode, it seems like I shall have to put my soothsayer's hat on if and when I watch the next episodes. I expect that there will be further bewildering events, circumstances, and changes in attitude that explanations for which are, at best, only vaguely hinted at, leaving the viewing audience in a perpetual state of, "Huh? What? Why? Did I miss something when I sneezed?"

Originally Posted by Dop

The thing that got me about the second episode was that while she can make phones and computers go wrong somehow, they're letting her go on an aeroplane.
"Do you think that's wise?" I thought.[/I]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Lol. I was quite worried. They made the plane wiggle a bit in the air (intentionally or not) and I thought: "It's going down!" I thought of it as an additional bit of interest, rather than an inconsistency, however.

Must be that old anime logic. The aeroplane computers are protected by that locked door between the passengers and the pilots. Yup, that must be it.

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

As for Izumiko wanting to hold Miyuki's hand, that was consistent with her personality and experience, and with her reaction to the situation:

I'll agree with this, certainly, but it doesn't explain the drastic difference in the way they behaved with each other between the end of the first episode and the start of the second. Then again, I wasn't wearing my soothsayer hat when I watched the episode.

Having now realized that she is someone very, very special, he may learn to be more accepting. Especially since his father is telling him to go away, a suggestion which he will of course resist.

Reading this I think to myself how very predictable this all seems. And improbable if we were actually to believe what we witnessed in the first episode.

[Dr. Casey]

I suppose one could argue that Miyuki's toned down attitude in this episode is closer to his normal state, and that he's such an asshat in the first episode because he'd had a shitty day and was just a couple hours removed from being beaten up by his dad.

[garbage]

so we get a bit of answers but the mystery deepens, kinda like the slow revelation pace the anime is taking it's somewhat different yet engaging in a way.

seems there is something about yukimasa. Not really liking his character much, not the least how he beats up miyuki in 1st ep ( is he really his kid?). Anyway Miyuki is far far more tolerable now. seems a bit rushed turn over, but anyway.

still finds it weird Shana kugimiya voicing wamiya but weeee Rie Tanaka as the goddess. quite a good set of VAs here.

Originally Posted by Dop

The thing that got me about the second episode was that while she can make phones and computers go wrong somehow, they're letting her go on an aeroplane.
"Do you think that's wise?" I thought.

same thought here...but anyway I suspect we'll get a full understanding of her powers later on. Still wasn't Izumiko herself worried that she might damage the plane and all of them ehhehe

....The ED songs growing on me..

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by FredFriendly

I, for one, found the interplay between the two, after last week's episode, quite unbelievable. Izumiko running to Miyuki for help? Did I miss an episode or two? No, this is just to much. Maybe we are supposed to be clairvoyant enough to imagine what has happened in the interim that would so drastically alter the way they now interact from the last episode (assuming this really was the 2nd episode I just watched).

Originally Posted by FredFriendly

I'll agree with this, certainly, but it doesn't explain the drastic difference in the way they behaved with each other between the end of the first episode and the start of the second. Then again, I wasn't wearing my soothsayer hat when I watched the episode.

I think you're seriously exaggerating here. I personally didn't find the interaction between them all that odd. For better or worse, they're in this thing together, and Izumiko isn't the type that can handle strenous stuff on her own, so she went to him. It's not like they became best friends or something.

Originally Posted by Dop

The thing that got me about the second episode was that while she can make phones and computers go wrong somehow, they're letting her go on an aeroplane.
"Do you think that's wise?" I thought.

I doubt her power works like that. She didn't short out all the computers in her school's lab the minute she went in the room, it was only when she started using one herself that it happened.

[Hilo Hello]

Originally Posted by Dr. Casey

I suppose one could argue that Miyuki's toned down attitude in this episode is closer to his normal state, and that he's such an asshat in the first episode because he'd had a shitty day and was just a couple hours removed from being beaten up by his dad.

Yeah, that was my impression.

Don't know why no-one else in this thread picked that up. Poor critical thinking? Poor socialization?

[Kismet-chan]

Originally Posted by Hilo Hello

Don't know why no-one else in this thread picked that up. Poor critical thinking? Poor socialization?

I wouldn't be so quick to make that generalization.

While I cannot speak for others, I know I definitely had the possibility in mind that Miyuki might've just been rubbed the wrong way prior to his arrival. Not everyone takes having a shitty day or a shitty life well, obviously. I'm sure that others have thought of this, too. But there's only so much that can be speculated with only two episodes out so far and not much depth into Miyuki's backstory and/or thought process yet.