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Old 2003-11-05, 16:11   Link #1
boneyjellyfish
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Musings of an Ultra Maniac Watcher -> Part Deux

With the end of Ultra Maniac in sight, how will it all turn out? There are only two episodes to finish this "epic story" and it looks like it will be wrapping up any time now. Well, it probably won't be a GOOD ending but it will at least be an ending that we so desperately need in this series.

Now then, let's continue where part one left off! Let's... MUSE!

Sorry I didn't save a copy of the musings post for episode 24, but I did keep a copy of the image that I used to display the rating.
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Old 2003-11-05, 16:42   Link #2
saku~ya
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I even made somewhat of a long post about last week's episode as well. I'll just go over some points

1.)The prince looks more manly in short blond hair

2.)Maya looks better as a brunette. I probably would have liked her better if she was; seriously.

3.)I wonder who will be sucked into the great void. I know!! Its gonna be Tsujiai, Kaji and even Ayu!!

4.)But before Ayu gets sucked in she tells Maya that she likes her as a person.

5.)Maya finally realizes that she did a terrible thing, but can't for the life of her figure out how to stop herself.

6.)Yuta is here just to coach Maya into closing it. Everyone will come back and tell everyone that they had the same dream.


I just saw somewhere the the 25th episode raw is out. So it should be out to us soon. I wanna lulu avatar. Its too bad I don't have a capture thinger
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Old 2003-11-05, 17:34   Link #3
boneyjellyfish
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saku~ya
3.)I wonder who will be sucked into the great void. I know!! Its gonna be Tsujiai, Kaji and even Ayu!!
Since the only void in the show is the one between Nina's ears, Tsujiai will probably get sucked in

I don't know... I still think that first Nina will get sucked into the void. Then Yuta will come to her rescue and in turn be sucked into the void. Then Maya will realize her feelings and get trapped in it as well.

Then we get a really corny ending.
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Old 2003-11-05, 22:38   Link #4
JaeRoler
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Like Nina and Maya combining their stones and power to stop the void...
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Old 2003-11-05, 23:25   Link #5
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Wait anint the prince of the magic kinhdom in the human world as well,Corniest ending will come about.He see that Nina and Maya are in "danger" spends almost every last bit of his magic to save them,but somehow he chooses maya over nina,in turn allows her to stay in the human world,living out her life happily at tusjai side.
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Old 2003-11-06, 18:58   Link #6
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UM25's out. Lots of stuff, lots of plot. Lots of Kawanakajima. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY~~~~~ is Kawanakajima a character in UM -_-
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Old 2003-11-07, 01:23   Link #7
Go-lytely
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Well, now that the whole dark zone subplot is resolved, I am wondering how the show will end. Nina and Tsujiai confess to each other but will Nina stay or will she go?
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Old 2003-11-07, 06:09   Link #8
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I say "stay".
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Old 2003-11-07, 10:51   Link #9
Ori
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Finally, finally Maya gets to look totally goth. I have been waiting for this day for a long time...

Maya is pretty as a goth.

I am glad this series is ending. If there's any more episodes I would have gave up on this series.
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Old 2003-11-07, 13:13   Link #10
boneyjellyfish
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Well, my fellow watchers of ULTRA MANIAC, the show is nearing the end which means that soon I will be free at last from the shackles of Ultra Maniac. Freeeee at last!

Now then, here's today's rating:


Yep, there was a biiig plot hole today, but it wasn't by any means a BAD episode, it was actually prety good. Yes, that's right. Today's episode was actually, dare I say, a little enjoyable! Not only do we see Maya for almost the entire episode, but we also see Maya as a brunette for almost the entire episode. Mmm... that's some sweet stuff right there, folks. Anyway, without further ado, here are my muzings!

1) The way the plot moved during the episode was a pretty lousy way to move it along. Let's take a look at what happened, shall we? Nina, who is an idiot, has the holy stones. She begins to use her magic computer despite Yuta telling her not to and thus has her holy stones stolen by Maya. The holy stones leave Maya later in the episode to get everybody out of the Dark Zone.

Alright, now what would have happened if Nina HADN'T been a total airhead for once and actually left her holy stones in her computer? Well, it would have been very nice character devlopment for her, very nice indeed. Yes, the holy stones would not have been able to escape from Maya's computer and rescue everybody from the dark zone, but there are many other, better ways to tell this story...

a) Maya fails to get all of the holy stones, but Nina gets trapped in the Dark Zone. The white holy stone reacts to the love between Nina and Tsujai and appears for Nina. Maya's holy stone leaves her and goes off to Nina and all of the holy stones come together to save the gang as well as everybody in school.

b) Kawanakaboogala gets trapped in the Dark Zone and only Maya survives. Mmm... that's a good ending right there.

c) Nina and company get trapped in the Dark Zone. Yuta comes to the rescue and gets everybody out of it, but loses consciousness while saving everybody and in turn gets trapped in the void. Maya goes into the Dark Zone to save Yuta, but also gets trapped because she has been devoured by the darkness. Nina opens her computer to save them, but her stones get taken out by the dark zone. All of the stones gather in the dark zone and everybody gets freed. Excellent character development for everybody, and there isn't an ounce of a corny ending.

2) Would somebody mind explaining this scene here to me? Someone? Anyone?

Is it just me or does it look like Maya already has the white holy stone before she even gets Nina's stones AND the white holy stone? Holy continuity, batman! We gots us a plot hole here, we do!

3) Today we FINALLY learned what Kawanakajima-kun's purpose in the series was: to be annoying. Wait, no... that can't be right. Oh, wait a second, his purpose was ACTUALLY to lead Maya in the right direction following the climax. In other words, everybody who liked Maya as a brunette now has my permission to hate Kawakajima. If you weren't a Maya-lover, then I give you my permission to hate the guy. He's just really annoying. I'd even go so far as to say he was irritating or maybe even *gasp* aggravating!

4) Yuta had less of a use throughout the series than Kawanakajima did. I can't quite understand why... he helped Nina get a holy stone, but... it was eventually returned to Maya. He loved Nina but... he was pushed aside for Tsujiai. He put Tsujiai and Nina on the swan ride but... nothing came of it. He went into the dark zone but... he didn't do a damn thing. At least Kawanakajima was able to persuade Maya to return to the good side. Yuta accomplished absolutely nothing throughout the series and was ultimately a truly useless character. Also, he looks like a girl in the opening movie.

5) Maya > You

6) After I write next week's musing post, I'll write up a review for my website. The link is in my signature. If the ending is good, the rating will be around 2.75/5.0. If it isn't... well, I guess it's time to test how low the 5-star rating system can go.

7) From the looks of the episode preview for episode 26, Nina will go to the magic kingdom. The time before she decides to go to the magical kingdom will be very, very long and I expect it to take up around 2/3 of the episode. 1/6 of the episode will be showing Nina in the Magical Kingdom, 1/12 will be of Nina deciding what she's going to do, and the last 1/12 will be a total rush as Nina returns to the human world and gets her picture taken. The End.
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Old 2003-11-08, 11:15   Link #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Small One
Okay, I've just seen the episode and now there are two things that I really like to know:
  1. Who got all the people out of the Dark Zone? It definately wasn't Nina, and also not Yuta probably; was it teh Prince? After all he was also at the Party. Or maybe Nina's Grandfather?
  2. Kawanakajima could see the hole stone? Humans aren't supposed to see them and even under the people from the magic kingdom not everyone could see them, so why could he?
1. The Holy Stones did I'm pretty sure

2. You can see them when they're in the magic computer, like in that earlier ep
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Old 2003-11-08, 13:03   Link #12
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I'm pretty sure it was Nina who got them out the first time. Even without the Holy Stones there was the some foreshadowing that Nina's magic was strong even without them.
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Old 2003-11-08, 13:07   Link #13
Ori
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I must say after I thought episode 24 was worth a watch, episode 26 became an utter disappointment. AGAIN! This series needs serious help.

I am definately going to write a review for this series and it will not be pretty. (probably getting around the same mark as Pokemon - at least Pokemon makes sense).

They could have at least stretch that dark hole thing by another episode to help the plot! BUT NOOOO they have to end it so quickly and that stupid ugly guy has to be the one to pursuade Maya. They could have at least use Yuta to pursaude Maya, I mean he is pretty and we all know Maya likes him. That would have made him at least a little bit useful but no again! They decided to make him completely useless and stupid!

Maya once again fails miserably and no one is going to comport her. Yuta will just continue walking around like an idiot jealous of Tsujiai.

And those plot holes! Those stupid plot holes!

Episode 24: 7/10
Episode 25: 3/10 (it gets three becuase Maya did looked nice and powerful for a short while)
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Old 2003-11-08, 13:50   Link #14
boneyjellyfish
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ori
I am definately going to write a review for this series and it will not be pretty. (probably getting around the same mark as Pokemon - at least Pokemon makes sense).
Cool! *shameless plug* Hey, did you know that I have a review website?

Quote:
They could have at least stretch that dark hole thing by another episode to help the plot! BUT NOOOO they have to end it so quickly and that stupid ugly guy has to be the one to pursuade Maya. They could have at least use Yuta to pursaude Maya, I mean he is pretty and we all know Maya likes him. That would have made him at least a little bit useful but no again! They decided to make him completely useless and stupid!
Maya liking Yuta was a big possibility way back when we were still discussing episode 16 and 17 or so. However, I really, REALLY doubt that she likes Yuta. There was definitely a chance in there, but the creators just didn't grab it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Small One
Yes, but I think it was the first time he looked at the computer... but wat I mean wasn't this time. He made a comment like "This looks like the things Sakura always hunts", so this means he has seen the stones, at the time Nina was trying to get them.
Aye, he was able to see the holy stone when they went to the beach a few episodes back. However, this particular plot hole isn't really very important to the overall plot. The one I mentioned in my musings post is far more important... (and I'm surprised that nobody has commented on my post yet).

Anyway, this episode in particular was pretty badly made if you analyze it enough. It just goes to show how poorly the plot was constructed, and it falls apart much quicker in episodes that are mostly plot-driven. I never had my expectations too high, though. I knew it was going to be a floater as soon as the holy stone arc began.
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Old 2003-11-08, 17:58   Link #15
Ori
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Boney you have a review site? Where is it? My review site is still really small... I have watched much more than I posted reviews for... But anyway...

I still think Maya likes Yuta... there's nothing there that would disprove this theory. But the creator is just too stupid to do anything about her comments. They are too stupid to ties off loose ends and fix plot holes.
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Old 2003-11-08, 20:06   Link #16
boneyjellyfish
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ori
Boney you have a review site? Where is it? My review site is still really small... I have watched much more than I posted reviews for... But anyway...
See my signature for the link.

Quote:
I still think Maya likes Yuta... there's nothing there that would disprove this theory. But the creator is just too stupid to do anything about her comments. They are too stupid to ties off loose ends and fix plot holes.
Personally, I think that the way they did episode 25 dispelled any thoughts I had toward the matter. She was so focused and determined to get the last holy stone so she could become the princess. If she actually liked him, there would have been SOME hesitation. Then again, it could be like you said. The creator could be a total dumbass when it comes to relationship-building in anime and neglected putting in something for Maya and Yuta.

I really think Ultra Maniac could have been better if it was made for 39 episodes instead of 26. By the time relationships actually began to be built, it was already too late in the series. Thirteen more episodes would have alleviated this problem to an extent (if they had finished the holy stone arc at episode 26) because they would have had 13 more episodes to wrap everything up.
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Old 2003-11-08, 21:39   Link #17
bluemist
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boneyjellyfish
I really think Ultra Maniac could have been better if it was made for 39 episodes instead of 26. By the time relationships actually began to be built, it was already too late in the series. Thirteen more episodes would have alleviated this problem to an extent (if they had finished the holy stone arc at episode 26) because they would have had 13 more episodes to wrap everything up.
It would have been possible, since there are still lots of possibilites (and lots of fillers). And...

...and I just found this out. Ultra Maniac manga will finish soon! The last chapter will be on Ribon #1 (2004), so I'm assuming 5 volumes, 24 or 25 chapters. So it would have been possible that if there would be a second season of the anime they would now follow the manga story, which is IMO way way better than the Holy Stone crap.

But I don't think they'll do it anymore, since the anime has diverted so much.
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Old 2003-11-08, 21:55   Link #18
JaeRoler
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Watched A-Keep's ver and I hav to say...

1) 19.09 - A-keep translated the crow as saying "Counter-spell", refering to the flask that the chameleon brought to Maya. Later 20.18 to 20.20, in the pan-up shot of Maya sobbing on the couch, the flask can be seen next to her, opened. So was it the stones who saved Nina-tachi or Maya? I was pretty sure it was Maya who saved them.

2) The first time I think was a combination of Yuta, Nina and the Principal's magic who saved all the people I think.

3) Kawanakajima did nothing to persuade Maya except give the crow and the chameleon(what are their names??) the chance to put their words in. I think they had more effect on Maya then Kawanakajima.

Edit : I love Dark Maya...why did she have to turn back??! NOOOO!!!
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Old 2003-11-08, 23:43   Link #19
boneyjellyfish
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JaeRoler
Watched A-Keep's ver and I hav to say...

3) Kawanakajima did nothing to persuade Maya except give the crow and the chameleon(what are their names??) the chance to put their words in. I think they had more effect on Maya then Kawanakajima.

Edit : I love Dark Maya...why did she have to turn back??! NOOOO!!!
True, but you have to realize that Kawanakajima has done NOTHING at all throughout the series besides being an annoyance. This is the only time in the entire series that he has actually done *something* that had some effect on the plot.

I like Dark Maya a lot too, except for those blue rings under her eyes.
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Old 2003-11-09, 04:50   Link #20
Ori
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Come on! Everyone love dark Maya she was so pretty and gothic looking with all her super dark power. I can't believe they had to make her change back to normal.

As for Yuta and Maya's exchange in episode 25. I think she was not eactly warm toward him becuase:

1. He is cold and distant and basically being a jerk. "You have sold your soul to the devil didn't you Maya?" is not exactly something flattering.
2. Maya was consumed by darkness by then. I don't think anything but a touching speech would reach her.
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