(L) Katanagatari

[ac3y]

Originally Posted by Haak

Not really since Mary Sue's aren't meant to be amoral, creepy, willing to torture like it's an everyday thing, and consider ripping their little brothers nails off an act of dscipline.

I still don't like her. At all.
I think we'd better see some rather large weaknesses, otherwise Nanami's overwhelming advantage will drain the series of tension...kinda like how Shichika's (less) overwhelming advantage is already doing.

Fights aren't interesting if it's all one-sided.

[Haak]

^ On the contrary, I found this fight particularly interesting despite being one-sided.

I'd rather her opponents simply get stronger. The whole, "Oh btw, I have one fatal flaw" always seems a bit weak to me.

[SquirrelLuvsPnut]

*drool*

[Sol Falling]

lol, guy. :P Your Koumori-love is taking you some strange places, isn't it?

Which one's the red guy in the background?...I can't recall if I've seen him.

[Vexx]

Random bit... the dangos Togame and Shichika were eating are not anachronistic. Dangos date back to the 1840s or earlier (though I don't know if the coloring dates back that far or not).

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by ac3y

I still don't like her. At all.
I think we'd better see some rather large weaknesses, otherwise Nanami's overwhelming advantage will drain the series of tension...kinda like how Shichika's (less) overwhelming advantage is already doing.

Fights aren't interesting if it's all one-sided.

You seem to be looking at her as a hero, in which case she is boring, I suppose. I saw her a villain though. I don't think there's much implication that she's going to stay on Togame/Shichika's side all the way through. Even if she's not outright against them though, she's amoral enough to get in their way, perhaps.

I certainly don't see her as removing the series of tension though, because she's not nice enough to be considered harmless to her "allies". It's more like making a deal with the devil than getting a reliable ally.

[elindir]

Originally Posted by Clarste

You seem to be looking at her as a hero, in which case she is boring, I suppose. I saw her a villain though. I don't think there's much implication that she's going to stay on Togame/Shichika's side all the way through. Even if she's not outright against them though, she's amoral enough to get in their way, perhaps.

I agree, I also see her as the future final boss or villain.

[SquirrelLuvsPnut]

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

lol, guy. :P Your Koumori-love is taking you some strange places, isn't it?

Which one's the red guy in the background?...I can't recall if I've seen him.

That's Pheonix(?) he will appear in the next episode I think.

[saravis]

I'm strictly an anime-viewer so please don't confirm or deny what I believe. It seems pretty obvious to me that, while she may not be the final villain, she will most certainly be a major villain. The killing of her enemy with a sword at the end cannot be some mere coincidence. She now has sword use under her belt and you can believe that'll go somewhere. I could certainly see her being tempted by the swords and trying to obtain them herself.

[DragoonKain3]

Wow. They knew exactly what they were doing when they casted Nakahara Mai as Nanami.

Which means to say, this is my favourite episode so far of the series, by far and away, as it serves as another example as to why I think Nakahara is the most skilled VA in the business. Screw not watching Shichika's fight... we get to see awesome brutality in the form of Nanami. Her otouto has NOTHING on her lol.

And I praise the authour. He really wanted to point out that Nanami is THE one to beat, and putting into the background the fight against who is supposed to be the strongest swordsman in all of Japan really drives the message home. Such a shame that animation for ep3 preview went to waste though lol.

[Sol Falling]

Y'know. Much as I said before that Katanagatari has been getting better with every episode. And as glad as I am that episode 4 has continued this trend. No matter how epic I think this series would be if it managed to consistently improve over an already impressive first episode all the way to the end. Somehow, I am not sure if episode 5 can top this. I'm not confident episode 5 can really be better than episode 4. It's a bit of a conflicted feeling.

[omimon]

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

Y'know. Much as I said before that Katanagatari has been getting better with every episode. And as glad as I am that episode 4 has continued this trend. No matter how epic I think this series would be if it managed to consistently improve over an already impressive first episode all the way to the end. Somehow, I am not sure if episode 5 can top this. I'm not confident episode 5 can really be better than episode 4. It's a bit of a conflicted feeling.

I know, I mean with 12 episodes sooner or later the series can only get so good.

BTW the DVD/Blu-Ray for the first episode was out and it seems to have sold only around 7000 copies. I mean for only one episode I guess that's to be expected. If I were White Fox I would have waited a month or two longer so I could put at least two episodes together.

[Rowan]

Originally Posted by ac3y

This episode just made me a little bit irritated.

Nanami seems like the kind of mary sue that a 12 year old would create. Cute, learns everything pretty well instantly, totally batshit insane, and throw in some bullshit "frailty" weakness-that-isn't-really-a-weakness, and a whole troubled childhood past.

Am I ringin some bells?

Coupled with her amorality, I'd peg her more as a Villain Sue. Definitely broken, though.

[Daniel Lind]

Mary Sue

Please don't bring this nonsense into an intelligent discussion.
"Mary Sue" does not mean "overpowered" characters or characters who succeed at something with relative ease because sometimes, THAT IS THE POINT.
The term's meaning has been long lost and the whole "Sue" thing became a god damn paranoia, no less. What matters is the inner logic of a story. And only that. What's even more baffling is people being afraid of a "bad past" except it's exactly the past that makes us what we are in the present. Where does one draw the line? Wouldn't it all boil down to "I like" and "I dislike"?

Don't forget - Katanagatari is an over-the-top fairy tale with ridiculous clown-dressed ninjas and proud japanese warriors with eccentric clothing and pompous mannerisms. Nanami's power and victory are justified and will not be an absolute during the series. And well, it does play some tropes from similar shows rather well.

You may claim that she is a poorly written character (and granted, Katanagatari isn't exactly a masterpiece of clever writing), but "mary sue"? It's like you asked for this very post to happen.

[SquirrelLuvsPnut]

Nanami as a Mary Sue? No, just no. That term should only be applied to badly written fan fiction or at least my fan fiction.

[Daniel Lind]

That term should only be applied to badly written fan fiction or at least my fan fiction.

Then they would claim that the term "evolved".

Oh and by the way, when you come to watch a show about superheroes, please don't complain that it's about superheroes. It's stupid, don't you think.

[ac3y]

Whatever the term, my complaint stands.

[joeschmoe]

Dang I just wanted to see shichika get the sword and beat the girly looking dude thats so cool. this was completely unexpected.

oh cute, little nanami, why did you have to turn out to be some insanely ridiculous genius fighter with creepy little smiles and a tragic childhood of pain?

[SquirrelLuvsPnut]

Reviewing the first episode with a different sub. I think Koumori may have had a slight love/hate crush on Togame.

Spoiler for big pics:

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Clarste

You seem to be looking at her as a hero, in which case she is boring, I suppose. I saw her a villain though. I don't think there's much implication that she's going to stay on Togame/Shichika's side all the way through. Even if she's not outright against them though, she's amoral enough to get in their way, perhaps.

I certainly don't see her as removing the series of tension though, because she's not nice enough to be considered harmless to her "allies". It's more like making a deal with the devil than getting a reliable ally.

Yeah I definitely got this 'final boss' feeling from her. Can almost see why the island would be kept deserted (other than the whole exile thing). Imagine if she was traveling around the world freely. She can just pick up any move and completely master it after seeing it twice. Only way to beat her would be to hit her with some super move before she could even react to it. Of course the point is with taking in that one move she can now cross to the mainland by herself. The more she travels the more the moves will stack on making her pretty much invincible.

While she's not a villain at this point, she certainly isn't the type you'd trust as an ally. I mean to stop Shichika's nailbiting habit she ripped them out . Effective I grant you, but kind of horrifying at the same time. With that line she will definitely be part of events and with her personality you just don't know what she might end up doing out there.