(L) Seirei no Moribito (Guardian of the Sacred Spirit)

[wrex_japan]

Originally Posted by wao

EDIT: Just watched it. Not bad at all - if you wanted to see SERIOUS, PISSED-OFF Barsa, this is the episode! I was seriously very very worried for her when she got into bloodlust-mode sort of.

Next episode DEFINITELY looks like they're going ahead with the main story, but I thought this ep was a good way to segue into the action part of the story, because it ramped up the speed/tension but wasn't directly connected into the main plot. So the next episodes' tension and preparation for escape (I assume? I don't know, actually) would not feel out of place.

Ep. 13 screencaps and summary.

I dunno... I thought bloodlust Barsa was out of character... it was good to see some Barsa action again, but like you, I'm glad they're getting back to the main story (hopefully) beginning the next episode.

And happy birthday, btw. ^_^

[MrProphet]

Oi, Barsa's evil eye is certainly terrifying.



I thought the episode was rather average. I certainly agree with wao that it upped the ante to prepare for the eventual plot movement, but I thought the whole letter was somewhat out of the blue.

We don't really know enough of Barsa's character to judge if her outburst was out of it, but hey, she kept enough of her cool not to break her vow right there at the end. So some of that frenzy was probably more of a "being in the Zone" thing. A kind of emotion a warrior submerges himself into in order to separate himself from the distracting environment and do his best.

And yes, the fight was great, perhaps even more intense that the one with hte Hunters. Yes, people will love the increased pace. And yes, the background art looked stunningly beautiful, as we've come to expect from this amazing series.

Taking all that in mind, I still thought that the episode was just slightly above average for a Seirei no Moribito episode. Character animation looked a bit weird in places, not as crisp as usual with lines being a bit sloppy and characters looking somewhat distorted when they changed position or the camera shifted its point of view.

And what's with the eyes? That was rather distracting, to say the least

Spoiler for 13:

Why did Barsa say "I'm the tiger" at the end? After all, there are bound to be many people that are superior to her. And she doesn't need to prove her worth to anyone.

And why did Karbo forget her name?

Anyway, SeiMori still rules the world and is head and shoulders above the competition, despite my minor quibbles.

PS: Happy birthday, wao. Good luck on that adulthood thing. 8)

[NakedAngelX]

Seeing Balsa like that scared me for a minute. (Especially when she yelled that guy's name and asked him to come out... That was poweful i'll give her that..

Spoiler for Tiger:

When they actually saw a tiger, i thought she actually became one with all the fury and all, didn't know it was a metaphor until they showed that again lol. Got me scared alright.

[kujoe]

Yes, it did seem out of the blue. But in terms of quality this seems like a step up from episode 12, not that the 12th is bad in anyway.

Spoiler:

The action is interesting in the sense that we get to see Balsa fighting against another spear user. Pretty intense, but that tiger jumping out of nowhere is a bit overdone in my opinion. I felt that it isn't needed to convey the underlying implication of Balsa "becoming a tiger."

Despite that minor piece of criticism, I still enjoyed this episode a lot. A serious, pissed off Balsa is still a good Balsa in my book after all.

@wao: Belated happy birthday! Growing old up can be fun too, you know.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Oi oi. Show a little more consideration. The discussions outside of spoiler tags are a little bit too revealing don't you think? Not everyone watches SnM raw you know?

Spoiler for my personal impressions of Episode 13:

Perhaps because it's been so long since we've last seen Balsa in action, I was quite pleased with the combat sequence in this episode. Granted, not as exciting as in Episode 3, which featured more tactical manoeuvring, but it's still a well chereographed fight in my opinion.

And yes, any self-respecting wuxia show must have at least one combat scene taking place in a bamboo forest. It's a tradition!

Hmm...as for less-than-average animation/art quality, I have to say I didn't notice them that much, unlike another series I'm following at the moment. I have to say that so far, SnM's animation has been pretty consistent. But that's just my opinion. I could be biased.

I don't feel that Balsa acted out-of-character at all. Rather, I think this episode demonstrates that her feral nature still lies quite close to the surface. Bear in mind that she's 30-years-old, and has been a warrior since she was a young girl, trained with the intent to kill. It's only been two years since she has taken the vow not to kill, so, as she admits to the teacher, she still has much to learn.

In fact, as far as we can see, Balsa tried to keep her cool throughout the episode, but was eventually goaded into anger by Karbo. Not through cheap taunts, mind you, but by frustrating her attempts to protect the teacher and her aide. Balsa tried her best, but was outmanoeuvered in the end. That, in my opinion, was what finally made her lose her temper.

As for the Balsa "turning into a tiger" -- I actually liked it very much. It's one thing for a by-stander to exclaim, "She's like a tiger!" Quite another to see it graphically displayed. It makes the metaphor more explicit, more feral, which is a nice touch, I felt.

As for why Karbo didn't die, I'm not sure if Balsa realised that she didn't actually kill him. Perhaps the "ultimate blade" kicked in and did it's job of cutting Balsa free from her karma? (That could also be a possible reason why Karbo "forgot" Balsa in the end.)

More realistically, Karbo's "amnesia" was probably caused by the shock of facing, and surviving, an encounter with a truly feral monster. (Granted, that's a bit lame, but I'm willing to suspend disbelief in this case, because it had been a gripping fight, heh.)

And, oh noes! Torogai, what are you trying to do to your rodent?! Oookaay, so now we know it isn't just some crazy hat decoration that eccentric shamans like to use.

Looks like Torogai has finally arrived at the Knot. So it seems that the main plot is about to move again. Phew, at last!

PS: I'm not sure if Karbo was so "random" after all. If you pay attention to Episode 6, at around 12:16, I've always wondered who that guy was. He didn't look like a typical militia-man. And given the focus on his face, I've always wondered whether he is some hidden character who would eventually reveal his identity later in the series. I'm not sure if that was Karbo, but it certainly makes you wonder if there are other people pursuing Balsa in secret.

Happy birthday wao. Now you can legally watch M18 films! Congratulations!

Only three more years to R21 films, which are usually screened in Chinatown, and are in, any case, unlikely to be shows you'd like to watch. Unless, you happen to think like those old men who frequent that cinema with umbrellas in hand.

[Sorrow-K]

Ep 12

Good ep, but not much to comment on, since not much really happened. This show has slowed down a bit, but I'm sure it's just a temporary lull.

[SeijiSensei]

Ep. 12 is subbed. As Sorrow-K said, another quiet episode, though we do get to see Balsa fight without a spear; she's pretty impressive in hand-to-hand fighting, too.

[Dextra]

Originally Posted by Sorrow-K

Ep 12

Good ep, but not much to comment on, since not much really happened. This show has slowed down a bit, but I'm sure it's just a temporary lull.

I know what you mean. The series started off with a lot of action balanced with story progression, which is a rarity in any show. Even the "Wow, Barsa is awesome" in the ring wasn't all that great. It seemed like a basic mix of Judo and Aikido, nothing really special either.

The next episode looks good though, the preview has me rather excited.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Awww...nothing much to discuss after watching Episode 12? Admittedly, it wasn't the most exciting episode, and it does feel a bit superfluous compared to preceeding episodes, but I feel that there are still a few points worth pondering over.

(1)
For starters, hands up anyone who thinks Balsa is a really cool parent? I felt she handled the entire situation between Chagum and Yarsum very well. Balsa behaved admirably for someone who has never been a surrogate mother. She knows when to let children settle their own disputes, and also when to step in when an injustice is being committed. Of course, it helps that she is a strong fighter to begin with, but that's besides the point. The real point is that she knows when to stand up for her child when the situation demands it. What more can you ask from a parent?

She also demonstrates very sharp insight on how children behave. She knew very well that Chagum, being the headstrong kid that he is, did not intend to keep his promise to avoid the festival. However, instead of forcing him to stay at home, she chose to let him decide what to do. (That is, she is willing to let Chagum make and learn from his own mistakes.) What's more admirable, even though she is fully entitled to berate Chagum, Balsa was quick to point out that she caused a far greater commotion than he did. She even praised him for defending his parents' honour. Heck, Balsa personifies the kind of parent I'd like to be some day.

(2)
This episode further shows that Yogo people genuinely respect and revere their Emperor. I'm not sure how this reflects the opinions of Japanese people, as their attitudes towards their Emperor today is a fairly modern development. On the other hand, it feels more similar to how the Thai people regard their current King -- a mixture of both fierce pride and reverence. (I'm not entirely sure that modern Japanese regard their Emperor with quite the same passion.)

(3)
I'm a backpacker by preference, and I'm a total sucker for local festivals no matter where I travel. So, the humble spectacle of a summer solstice festival was quite a treat for me.

(4)
We gained some insight on the country called Rota. It seems to be a multi-ethnic country, and by Balsa's description, its people are more "touchy" than the people of Yogo. To be sure, that's merely a throwaway detail. But coming from a multiracial society, I found myself thinking privately, "How true!" You don't usually come across such remarkable insight in entertainment programmes.

(5)

Spoiler for Episode 13:

Pay close attention at 21:12. Do you notice a certain warrior in the background? Yup, Balsa's worst fears came true -- there were people in the audience that she would rather have avoided.

(6)
And finally, now that I've watched Episode 12 more closely, I realise I have to take back my words about consistent animation quality. The quality did drop slightly in this episode. The animation wasn't as fluid in some places, and the proportions were slightly wrong in others. The flaws were perhaps a little bit more noticeable because it's a "slow" episode, but overall, I can easily forgive the lapses.


I wonder if there is any symbolism intended in the final scene, with the snake about to "munch" the unsuspecting frog. It could be foreshadowing the events of the next episode. We'll soon see.

[kujoe]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

And finally, now that I've watched Episode 12 more closely, I realise I have to take back my words about consistent animation quality. The quality did drop slightly in this episode. The animation wasn't as fluid in some places, and the proportions were slightly wrong in others. The flaws were perhaps a little bit more noticeable because it's a "slow" episode, but overall, I can easily forgive the lapses.

The animation may have dropped, but I think the drop wasn't that low. The thing that gets to me is the line art. The whole episode looks different, as if it were drawn by a completely different group of people. Actually, the same can be said of some scenes in episode 13, though I prefer the style there more than the one in episode 12.

[ssfsx17]

The thing that gets to me is the line art. The whole episode looks different, as if it were drawn by a completely different group of people.

Welcome to Production I.G.'s typical practices for "filler" episodes & scenes. They seem to be getting better at hiding it, though.

[wao]

The actual animation wasn't done by such a vastly different group of people, as I remember - but keep in mind that when it comes to the overall look of the drawings in the episode, you're better off looking at the animation supervisor rather than the actual animators, as he/she is the one who modifies the animation drawings, most of the time to make them fit the model sheets. In this case, the episode's animation supervisor was Yoshihiko Umakoshi. Perhaps you'll recognize his way of drawing as a little similar to the lines found in Mushishi, which he was the character designer and overall animation director of...

[kujoe]

Originally Posted by ssfsx17

Welcome to Production I.G.'s typical practices for "filler" episodes & scenes. They seem to be getting better at hiding it, though.

I think that's pretty common in anime. Normally when it's this obvious, I begin to suspect that some staff members are taking a break and there's a different team, or something was rushed somewhere.

However coming from wao's statement, it seems that different people were assigned specific tasks for certain episodes. Again, it isn't totally unheard of, but when differences become this apparent, a few alarm bells just start going off in my head.

[wao]

If alarm bells start going off in your head just because of an episode like that, then I guarantee you about 90% of TV anime should make sure you have a Big Ben in your head... I think for this show's case, rather than a different team or the staff taking a break and shoving it to another studio (which is what I would have expected), I personally think it's either the fault of the animators or somehow the schedule was tight (which happens all the time in anime...) and they would have done a more "satisfying" job but there was no time (ala what happened in Ergo Proxy).
Even if you say "fault of the animators", it's not easy to say who - sometimes it could be because the key animators were such bad drawers that the animation director simply couldn't fix all of it, sometimes it could be because the animation director sucks at correcting pictures to look like those designs, sometimes it could be both... and I don't know enough about the animators here to say which it was at all.

Barring a schedule problem, I'm inclined to say it was Umakoshi's personal way of correcting the characters because it looks a bit like the kind of line he'd adapt nowadays. But who knows... maybe the number of animators assigned to the ep has to do with it as well.

At any rate, while it does look "off" and different enough to affect peoples' viewing pleasure, it's really nothing compared to a lot of anime out there. I.G. has its other projects and limits...

[MrProphet]

By the way, do you know which team is working on SeiMori, Goto's or Kise's?

[wao]

I'm fairly sure it's Goto's, he's one of the main animation directors for this show to begin with... and I think the animation directors are largely from Studio 1, not 2. But from what I remember looking at the key animation credits when I used to (first few episodes), a good amount of the actual animation for this series is given to P.A. Works, one of I.G.'s frequent subcontracting studios. A good chunk of IGPX was animated by them, I entered all the credits for that so I remember seeing a lot of those names. Aya Takada and so on.

I think I.G. Niigata's also been handling part of it but I'm not 100% sure. I figure Kise's studio is working on Ghost Hound or something. I was really disappointed to not see Tetsuya Nishio in a single ep of this series so far though, I swear I thought he was doing some of the animation for the pilot film... But he's busy with Oshii's new thingy.

Either way Kise's studio doesn't strike me as the type that would enjoy working on this all that much. Although I really would like to see his next projects...

[kujoe]

Originally Posted by wao

If alarm bells start going off in your head just because of an episode like that, then I guarantee you about 90% of TV anime should make sure you have a Big Ben in your head... I think for this show's case, rather than a different team or the staff taking a break and shoving it to another studio (which is what I would have expected), I personally think it's either the fault of the animators or somehow the schedule was tight (which happens all the time in anime...) and they would have done a more "satisfying" job but there was no time (ala what happened in Ergo Proxy).

Those alarm bells can get pretty loud sometimes, but knowing how things roll around, I'm pretty much used to it. However while I could easily expect something like this happening in other series, for a title which one holds in high regard it's another pressing matter entirely. Nothing like disappointment (or a drop in quality) after a good run, in other words.

Yes, it still looks pretty. It's just that the apparent difference is enough to make me wonder. But as long as the overall quality holds up, I'm more than satisfied with it.

[ssfsx17]

I think that's pretty common in anime.

Perhaps, but Otogi Zoushi was the first time that it really jumped out at me and screamed so very loudly. And then there was the Russia arc of Le Chevalier d'Eon. Conversely, Reideen is actually looking better now than when it started.

[Kaoru Chujo]

I thought episode 13 was outstanding. Actually, it reconfirmed my admiration of this show. The backgrounds, the animation, the story. Sure, I want to go on with the main thread of the tale, but this was a start...

Spoiler for ep13:

...the outside world began to find them. And perhaps the egg is what prevented the warrior from dying?

The backgrounds knocked me out. The scene at 4:11 (in my dmxf Chinese sub) of the clouds and trees above the area where she went to meet her enemy. The two levels of misty trees and dark sky at 7:40. The fight goes without saying, especially the final attack. And the whole tiger thing worked beautifully for me, from the story to Balsa's roar and her stalking away -- the way her stride was animated, the sound of her footsteps.

I liked it that they didn't bother showing us the student telling her the warrior wasn't dead: the kind of economical storytelling that is more effective than something more direct. The warrior's forgetfulness was a bit of deus ex machina, but so be it. I was wondering how she could get away with not killing him, since he would have just gone back and started killing travellers at that gate.

I thought the warrior was well played, by Ootomo Ryuuzaburou, who was a character called Crocodile in One Piece. And I think Yamaguchi Kappei played the student, who was a very effective character, I thought. Frustrating, but effective.

This was written by the same person who wrote eps 1-5, Kamiyama Kenji, along with the person who did 2 and 5 with him, Okada Shunpei.

[karumofin]

im a little confused about this series... its based on a series of books right? if theres 10 books, how many of them have been covered so far, by ep 13?