In the Japanese original, he says "guts" (¥¬¥Ã¥Ä¡Ë
Yah, I noticed that (unintentional?) translational gag there, too. Would have been pretty darned funny if it actually happened, but I'd imagine that's too much of an English figure of speech there to have a literal equivalent in Japanese.
Huh, what's all this talk about Akira erasing his memories again? I rewatched the final scene and I can't pick up anything of the sort. If anything, he says he wants to stay this way.
Overall, I consider it a very good ending, if a bit inconclusive--understandable if you think about the movies. What happened on Careless Monday with all the NEET was a better resolution of that event than I expected, and the "rehash" of the ending was even better. I'm still trying to figure out what this "king" business means--maybe, if we go by Saki's "prince in a country with no kings", it might mean that he just wanted to be relieved of his responsibility (by spending all his cash on a ridiculous wish), which would be an ending I would find very fitting.
If it's to be taken more literally... then I don't know what to say. It would surely disappoint me. But going by this series' masterful script, I think I can be very confident in the subtlety behind the term "king".
For now, I think this just needs a little extra push to become one of the best series of the decade--I hope the movies will do the trick.
And the ending song was beautiful. Perhaps I'm calling a long shot but I wish that's Mai Yamane singing (too lazy to figure out the credits for the song).
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Wow, i'm glad even the subber was thinking that Takizawa watched too much Code Geass to think about those plans, well... It was nice. I don't have much to say about it, because of the endings. There's not much that they could do in just one episode, so it satisfied me in the end, even if the moment when Akira turned into the king was a big WTF and now that he doesn't have any money, the supporter will kill him, prince or not, but i'll see in the movie...
There's just something that i didn't liked it in the whole series: A lot of the selected didn't appear at all and i don't think that just two movies will develop them(if they ever appear at all) in a good way, having to already deal with the other plots. A shame.
In the end, it wasn't the best ending... In fact, it didn't even looked like an ending, but it was nice. Il'l give 7/10 for the final episode and 8/10 for the series.
I knew no Production I.G. show will go without awesome military scenes. That was great, almost poetic, to watch with the ending theme.
The ending was a bit confusing. I assume that by somehow making himself king of Japan, he puts the Supporter indefinitely at bay, because he'll have all the time in his regime to complete the mission.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WanderingKnight
Overall, I consider it a very good ending, if a bit inconclusive--understandable if you think about the movies. What happened on Careless Monday with all the NEET was a better resolution of that event than I expected, and the "rehash" of the ending was even better. I'm still trying to figure out what this "king" business means--maybe, if we go by Saki's "prince in a country with no kings", it might mean that he just wanted to be relieved of his responsibility (by spending all his cash on a ridiculous wish), which would be an ending I would find very fitting.
I don't know, he stated that Japan had every bit of competence necessary to be great, but nobody great wants to take the ruling spot, so he has to do it. To relieve himself of his duties is contrary to that.
Perhaps he brainwashed himself so that he can begin his princely duties with a fresh mind and least distractions - no allegiance, no animosity, and most of all with no clue that he loved Saki. He gave her his Noblesse phone because now that he has no more money to command Juiz with, he no longer has any use for the phone, and it will be a tool for her to guide him as a representative of Japan's NEETs and intellectuals on the road to save the country.
I think it's key that he doesn't remember anything. Emotions are a terrible drive that can ruin everything, as shown in side characters like Ohsugi and Kuroha, and he wouldn't have prevented the missile strikes if he remembered that he was betrayed by everyone. All of his actions are based on his gut feeling with (supposedly) no ulterior motive, and as stated by Saki, just because it had to be done.
I ask once more, when did he brainwash himself again?
I still can't see it.
Either way, the "no one to take up on it" might be interpreted in many ways. It might just mean that he believes in them enough to succeed on their own.
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For now, I think this just needs a little extra push to become one of the best series of the decade--I hope the movies will do the trick.
Agreed. However, I do think it will be hard to beat Texhnolyze and Ergo Proxy for me .
I've been throughly impressed by how this show just seems to flow. Often times in anime, you can get that sense of episodes being disconnected, as if you were traveling through bumps on a road. But in Eden of the East, everything just connects and flows smoothly.
It's unfortunate that I have to wait for yet another anime to reach its conclussion. I seem to be doing this a lot these past couple years (Haruhi, DTB, Evangelion, Black Lagoon, and much much more...).
EDIT: Yeah, I totally didn't catch him erasing his memory again... We know he made one last request, but how do we know that was it?
The sound he listened to before giving the phone to Saki is the same sound as the brainwash program, and the way he opened his mouth was the same way he did in the first episode in front of the White House.
Though how he remembered to give her his phone breaks it.
I ask once more, when did he brainwash himself again?
I still can't see it.
Either way, the "no one to take up on it" might be interpreted in many ways. It might just mean that he believes in them enough to succeed on their own.
The sound from the phone, the confused expression, and well there is one more clue. First, I don't think memory lost is done instantly, so I think as it started to kick in, he dropped the phone into her coat. And then she noticed he had an odd look.
To me, the biggest hint and the one that made me realize what he was planning on doing before the sound or expression was when he said " When the time comes, I'd like to be the same person I am now" referring to there will be a change in who he is.
Heck, even if the Supporter comes after him, it can't be that easy to kill the King of Japan, haha.
At first that's what i was thinking, but i don't know... The Supporter got the power of Mr. Outside behind him, and Outside looks like a god in Japan, with power to do anything and everything. I don't think that his new status protect him that much from the Suppoter's wrath.
Besides, i think his new brainwash will only make things harder. How ee is supposed to be the king, when he doesn't even know the rules of the game he was playing and anything else? Right now, he came back to the way he was at the first episode: No clue of everything at all. I don't think that helps him to keep him alive against the supporter.
In the Japanese original, he uses the word "guts" (ガッツ）
Yeah I've thought it's probably not the same in the original, but I still found it funny though. (Probably that was the only point where I actually chuckled a bit, while some of the jokes made me go WTH. Like why are the NEETs are so interested in obtaining the clothes of the Eden group, despite that we've already seen that Akira's mall is full of new clothes!)
Spoiler for saving some space:
As for why did Akira raised his memories I haven't got a clue. It doesn't really makes any sense after he "made himself" as King. I mean who would follow an amnesiac King anyway?
It's possible just as Kaoru Chujo and some others speculated that he actually returned his memories, but then that last conversation with Juiz is kinda illogical IMO. Additionally if he returned his memories now instead of erasing it again, then for what reason he hasn't done so earlier? There would have been no real reason to visit Pantsu if he could do that kind of thing. His sole reason to visit him was to find out what has he done in the past, but he would be able to remember his own past deeds by returning his own memories.
The only logical solution I can come up with is that he tried to quit the game by spending all his remaining money => but obtaining "something" in the end which would let him survive and prevent the Supporter to kill him (being the King, albeit I still think the Supporter would kill him regardless of his newly acquired Royal position) => and forget everything of the game (erasing his memory) => Plus with his very last "will" shove the telephone away from himself, so he won't try to investigate again who exactly he is for the third time.
The problem is that theory is kinda weak and meh, and it's full of holes. Not to mention it's almost ridiculously illogical.
So yeah I'm indeed somewhat disappointed that series turned out to be another of the unresolved series. I was hoping we will get a conclusions for most of the mystery, but the balance of the series is a bit off I think. I mean we were chasing a pointless Oosugi <=> Rapist case for like 3-4 Episodes (quarter of the whole series), despite that it actually has ZERO revelance to the main issue, and it was closed down with a lame conclusion in the end. I honestly don't even know why.
And the problem is (I'm pessimist all the time) that I reckon even the movies are going to leave many loose ends, and to be perfectly honest the main interest for me in this show was to see them revealed.
The romance aspect was indeed nice, and I agree it attracted many of the viewers, but it was also undetermined in the end. Actually the romance aspect was mostly in the background in the past few episodes, which might be misleading for some of the viewers who have been only interested seeing their dream pairing becoming true.
I probably not going to be able to resist buying the DVD when it's going to come out, but the way that show was "sewn together" kinda prevents it to be a masterpiece in the end.
There is an Eastern European proverb matching it actually IMO: "one cannot ride two horses with one ass", but that's exactly what the series tried to do with more than "two horse".
Quote:
Originally Posted by k//eternal
Heck, even if the Supporter comes after him, it can't be that easy to kill the King of Japan, haha.
edit1: Whose "powerlevel" is bigger:
a newly proclaimed amnesiac King without any significant group under his command (20000 is not that many considering the population of Japan), <=> or a Selecao with most of his 100 billion and a helpful, loyal, and ridiculously efficient and powerful Juiz under his/her control?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo
[*]the Emperor is seen by everybody as a figurehead -- as opposed to how they saw him 70 years ago -- maybe that's why the king/emperor thing is not a disconnect.
edit2: Just for an interesting comparison: What would happen if that selecao game would take place in the United Kingdom instead of Japan, and one of the participants would proclaim himself to be the emperor while there is already a Royal Family? (in a sense they are similar to the Japanese Emperor.)
Would the citizens follow him? Wouldn't they try to "backstab" him somehow? For what reason they'd have to obey a self-proclaimed someone anyway? Just imagine what would happen if people would see his teenish face at the Christmas Speech instead of the Queen? The tradition is 77 years old, and then someone comes and he'd turn the whole thing upside down?
No I don't think Akira would do so well as the Emperor of Britain (hm... another Code Geass reference ) . But then why exactly would it be different if he's the King of Japan?
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Last edited by izmosmolnar; 2009-06-20 at 01:16.
Reason: spoiler
The guts -> balls thing was a joke of the qc'er and I. Seems accurate enough + bonus joke.
About Akira mind wiping himself, his dialogue implies that he somehow got un-mindwiped (or that Mononobe told him everything 100% accurately and he was just like "sure okay" and believed it which is ?-ish), so if he mindwiped himself at the end, I'd say he got rid of his memories again like he did in ep1, and just turned himself back into the guy we've known for the series. Alternatively, the noise gave him back his lost memories. Idklol.
I just find it hard to believe he would really mindwipe himself after he says, "When we meet again, I wanna be the same dude I am right now" to Juiz. :V
a lot of people keep taking the whole "king" thing too literally... I'm wondering if it's just a figure of speech. Basically a "king" is a position of power that would be able move the country in the most simplest terms. ( They could have used the "president" (or other titles for people with power) but that wouldn't be appropriate as he doesn't have complete monarchy as a king does?) He doesn't have to be a actual king to be a "king" (one who has absolute power to move the world)
And I think a memory wipe was NEEDED for Akira as he was transitioning into becoming a "king". Sort of like a rebirth stage. Starting off with a blank slate is much more easier than a messy one. especially if you're headed into a messier situation.
Also, I believe the reason Akira wiped his mind the first time around wasn't just so he could escape the betrayals but was a method in which he could CONTINUE to save Japan and CONTINUE to save his betrayers. Even the second time around, he was willing to take up the unwanted position of "king" for the NEETs and willing to be seen in a bad light. So I don't think the memory wipe was because he was weak or escaping from his situation but just a method to transition from this stage to the next.
After all no matter how strong Akira may seem like he's still human (at least... i think so...) and humans usually can't be 100% effective when there's situations or feelings or events holding them down.. so the memory wipe was the best way for him to tackle this problem of becoming someone with power.
Some people might argue being a Selecao is someone being with the power to change the world. But they can do only so much besides issue commands. They can't change people's hearts or change their perspective on things. They can't move the people like robots to be productive and successful.
Ah but anyway, like everyone else, I fully enjoyed this series and can't wait for the two movies<3
at least in the subs Takizawa says use "all" my money to make me prince. Not just make me prince.
He wouldn't go through the trouble just to get killed by the supporter. I think we can rest assured the supporter wont kill him for spending his money.
There is also no doubt that he erased his memories. He told Juiz that later he wanted to be the same person (remember in episode 1 when she said he didn't leave any personality to program into him?) and then we hear the all too familiar tone and his face goes blank. I think we can rest assured he did in fact erase his memory.
The real question is why the fuck would he do that? He is standing right next to Saki. There are 20,004 people in the building right now who know him.
But we didn't get to hear the whole conversation with Juiz. Something is planned for the moments after his mem wipe.
What I want to know is how did he talk 20000 people into getting into shipping containers naked? and how come they couldn't find clothes for 3 months? I hope the movies address this fact.
He told Juiz that later he wanted to be the same person
He says, "kono mama de ii yo", which literally means "it's fine this way", or more translatable, "I want to be/stay this way". It doesn't automatically imply that he wants to come out as the same person after a theoretical memory wipe.
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just an observation- the song they played at ep 11 when the missiles were shot down was the same one that was played in Saki's taxi at the very beginning of ep 1 !
and i think the brainwash sound first appeared in ep 1 as well.
If you look closely around 1:39 (I think) into the episode, you can see the side of the taxi that the old man is driving. It says “Ato Taxi,” possibly implying the driver is either Mr. Outside, Selecao #12, or something similar.
they used the term "Prince" in the first ep and again in this episode, anyone got an idea of what it means?
btw, Ohisugi was still kinda an asshole this episode XD.
Prince is more romantic from a woman point of view, Juiz called him prince as she is a woman,
if that was the AI juiz, that would make her very realistic and "human". All kings are princes but not all princes are kings .
also, it seems that the woman we saw is definetely the human juiz, but the juiz AI is needed whenever she is off or not present. she does mention about meeting Akira again.
I was just reading the wiki about the Japanese emperor which is kidnda interesting.
Except that Japan does have a prince. He was born in the year 2006.
I'm sorry for being a bit offtopicish, but you maybe confusing the actual Emperor's (Akihito) eldest son (Prince Naruhito) with the emperor's grandson -son of Prince Akishino, Naruhito's younger brother-: Prince Hisahito.
The one you mentioned being born in 2006 is the emperor's grandson, but actually his uncle is the real prince, and he's the next in line for the succession of the emperor title. The order of the succession is here.
Which means that yeah, Japan had it's first (directly related to the Emperor) Prince in 1960, and counting everyone alive in the Imperial family there is 7 Princes altogether, but Saki most probably doesn't really meant it like that I guess.
And as of recently they also strongly consider implementing the princesses into the succession, as the newest generation only has one male heir, and the Imperial Family didn't have any male child for ~41 years.
Location: <clap> <clap> <clap> <clap> Deep in the Heart of Texas
IX was looking for the golden ring that used to be on merry-go-rounds because he wanted to put it on Saki's finger. Now that's romantic, isn't it girls?
EDIT: In fact merry-go-rounds used to have BRASS rings.
I believe that Akira gave the reason for the White House naked thing as:
He wanted to provide further cover for the NEETS. He planned to have been caught by the police there who would have traced his room and found all the terrorist materials.They would have linked him to Careless Monday and pegged him as the terrorist perpetrator, thus definitely clearing the NEETs of suspicion.
And the (original) memory wipe would have been to prevent them from getting the truth out of him. This implies that Mononobe indeed did lie to him about the reason for the memory wipe, in order to make him feel bad, go away, and stop interfering, or even to make him join the team for revenge, like X.
Maybe IX felt that if he was apprehended by the Americans as a terrorist, he may have ended up in Bermuda.
I believe Mononobe followed him to America to put an end to IX to stop his further interference in Mononobe's plans, but then assumed it unnecessary as he was apparently taking himself out of the picture.
IT Support
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(hm... another Code Geass reference 
