(L+CR) Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (The World is Still Beautiful)

[ellessarr]

Originally Posted by bakaouji

I can really do without the loud manga touches that almost ruined the scene when Livi was having his revelatory moment. The show must think it's being subtle by expressing Nike's feelings by flashing giant white words on a black background, but that completely pulled me out of the moment because it was so unbecoming and out of place. The show excels best when its simply emotionally honest with its characters and premise. Therefore, any stylistic touches just come off as unnecessary embellishments that reek of pretentiousness.

The show's at its best when it's having fun with itself and keeps it simple even at its darkest moments. Which is probably why I was relieved when Nike forgave the priest and lightened his punishment and pretty much all but changed him with her little enlightening monologue even though I wanted him either banished or executed. It shows how much Nike's influence has changed Livi as he has let go of his vengeful attitude. Also, that scene made me realize there's no one dominant in this relationship, which is a rarity for shojo shows. It's even more surprising given the obvious age difference.

Anyway, I enjoyed the episode despite some stumbles and I hope the next one isn't the travesty I expect it to be.

the end could be really fun if their followed like i told in previous post their changed little things, like she not "full forgive him" she give a big offscreen punishiment could be fun following the manga the end but looks like their make him looks more "serious".

and dont worry will be really fun if their follow exactly the chapter, because really was and we gonna learn a few more about livius.

the only thing who still bug me is niki "too old" look, is very hard too see her as a 15 or 16 years old girl specially when she is close to livius, she still too tall for him(like i told in other post in manga she looks much more young and small).

the next episode was supposed to come before this arc but their changed the order(who at this point not gonna be really a problem).

[Flower]

Actually I think Livius and Nike are officially engaged, not married.

Overall I thought it was another pretty good ep, even if a little rushed and heavy handed in places for my tastes.

Even so Livius and Nike continue to be a excellent dynamic character wise on screen.

By the way, as a teeny side note, am I the only one who is reminded of the LotR movies depictions of the elves chanting spells when Nike does the same? Like when she summoned the fog in this ep?

[ellessarr]

Originally Posted by Flower

Actually I think Livius and Nike are officially engaged, not married.

Overall I thought it was another pretty good ep, even if a little rushed and heavy handed in places for my tastes.

Even so Livius and Nike continue to be a excellent dynamic character wise on screen.

By the way, as a teeny side note, am I the only one who is reminded of the LotR movies depictions of the elves chanting spells when Nike does the same? Like when she summoned the fog in this ep?

to be fair, afar as i remember never was really showed when their become married, after this arc their alread be called married and peoples already started to call her queen, i really dont recall their have a "proper marriage" or something better than what happened on this arc.

[Anime299]

I guess I'll find out when I watch ep 5, but when I saw the ring gone, I immediately suspected that it was the one on the chain around her neck. We'll see if I guessed right.

[PreSage]

Just finished ep 5, and I must say Nike is by far better than Misaki (of Kaichou wa maid-sama) as a strong female lead! She is now one of my fav strong female anime characters! I love how she kept a level head, fought against those assassins in that catacomb and smartly sneaked past them, then later figured out a way to save both her and Livi out of the catacomb. Nike doesn't fall into the same faulty cliche of being too hotheaded - she is hotheaded at times but she can also keep her cool when most needed.

I also find the way it was set up to have Livi save her in a way that does not turn her into a damsel-in-distress. Livi still gets to save her and at the same time Nike can still be strong. Perfect set-up for these two. And for a youth of his age (and height), I'm surprised at how well Livi can fight. It looks like he didn't conquer the world by sitting pretty on his little throne.

So Nike can manipulate any type of water form? Didn't figure she can make fog as well (forgot about it from the manga).

Okay...onto ep 6...this series has become my absolute favourite of the season! (Although I wish they'd give her another different rain song, instead of rehashing the same one each time - that's the only downside.)

Does anyone know how many episodes this series will get? I hope 26 at least!

[Anime Online]

If the approval of the clergy must be secured before royal weddings in the Sun kingdom could be held, shouldn't the court get that approval before they sent for one of the princesses of the Rain kingdom? The way they are going about is like, "Oh yeah, we kinda took for granted the clergy would say okay. But we kinda forgot they don't like the king and would look for the first opportunity to make things difficult for him. Oops."

It seems kinda odd Livius knew the clergy would send assassins, but didn't warn Nike. All he needed to do was to bring a few more men, capture the assassins, and parade them before Aristes to declare the trial was a sham. Of course, then we'll miss out on Nike's cloud-ring trick and how everything else falls so nicely into place.

After Nike was introduced as the king's wife at the party at episode 3, it is a slap to the face for both king and princess that Nike becomes the king's fiancee instead. An engagement may be broken at any time. A marriage may not (not without incurring a lot of scandal anyway). When a king is unable to keep his word, he either looks weak or loses his diplomatic standing. If he can't keep his word to the one he's marrying, how can he be expected to keep faith on diplomatic treaties? Of course, we know this is all done to lengthen the show and show the various trials the couple will face.

[Myssa Rei]

Originally Posted by Anime Online

Of course, we know this is all done to lengthen the show and show the various trials the couple will face.

Except they'd actually cut out two whole arcs. How can that be called "lengthening"?

[kk2extreme]

Originally Posted by PreSage

(Although I wish they'd give her another different rain song, instead of rehashing the same one each time - that's the only downside.)

me too May be not enough budget for another song

[U<3Anime]

Originally Posted by bakaouji

I can really do without the loud manga touches that almost ruined the scene when Livi was having his revelatory moment. The show must think it's being subtle by expressing Nike's feelings by flashing giant white words on a black background, but that completely pulled me out of the moment because it was so unbecoming and out of place. The show excels best when its simply emotionally honest with its characters and premise. Therefore, any stylistic touches just come off as unnecessary embellishments that reek of pretentiousness.

I don't mind the quotes that much, but they really should have chosen a better font. Don't know what in the world they were thinking because the spunky looking fonts looked hilarious. Seriously, they could have chose a more elegant looking font instead of breaking the tension with some ugly spastic-looking font.

[ellessarr]

Originally Posted by Myssa Rei

Except they'd actually cut out two whole arcs. How can that be called "lengthening"?

i think you are missundertood, their only cut a little arc of one chapter and their really dont cut he comes next, their just changed the order, the 2 first chapters of the manga where introduction like the 3 first anime episides, then come the third chapter with the loli rival, then come the ring arc, their put first the ring arc then the loli rival come next.

now their really great cut the ring arc which was 3 chapters of 100+(f50+36+28 pages + or - their turned in 2 episodes(with some cuts).

Originally Posted by Anime Online

If the approval of the clergy must be secured before royal weddings in the Sun kingdom could be held, shouldn't the court get that approval before they sent for one of the princesses of the Rain kingdom? The way they are going about is like, "Oh yeah, we kinda took for granted the clergy would say okay. But we kinda forgot they don't like the king and would look for the first opportunity to make things difficult for him. Oops."

It seems kinda odd Livius knew the clergy would send assassins, but didn't warn Nike. All he needed to do was to bring a few more men, capture the assassins, and parade them before Aristes to declare the trial was a sham. Of course, then we'll miss out on Nike's cloud-ring trick and how everything else falls so nicely into place.

After Nike was introduced as the king's wife at the party at episode 3, it is a slap to the face for both king and princess that Nike becomes the king's fiancee instead. An engagement may be broken at any time. A marriage may not (not without incurring a lot of scandal anyway). When a king is unable to keep his word, he either looks weak or loses his diplomatic standing. If he can't keep his word to the one he's marrying, how can he be expected to keep faith on diplomatic treaties? Of course, we know this is all done to lengthen the show and show the various trials the couple will face.

to be fair in the manga actually is a few confuse about their current status, because also in manga their dont really explainn when their gonna marry, after this arc some chapters laters their already stated as a married couple, she already started be called as his wife and queen and and he her husband, everyone already act like then already married and almost everything point for this, she is officially his wife and queen.

[Mangaka-chan]

Spoiler for Preview for episode 6:

So Luna (I think that's her name?) didn't get axed from the anime? She was suppose to appear before the Sun Trial arc but I guess Studio Pierrot just shuffled her appearance to after the engagement ceremony. As much as I don't like the whole hidden fiancee cliche she does show up again later in the manga, so if there's going to be a second cour/season of this show Luna will still be important.

[Von Himmel]

I was happy when I thought they axed her arc for the anime.. turns out I was wrong. By looking at episode title, I guess she'll only appear for 1 episode? Hopefully they won't drag it too much.

Spoiler:

she does show up again later in the manga

Oh she will? Oh well I guess it can't be helped. The whole fiancee trope might be painful but she's not really a bad character now that I think about it..

[RX-78GP04G Gerbera]

Originally Posted by Mangaka-chan

Spoiler for Preview for episode 6:

So Luna (I think that's her name?) didn't get axed from the anime? She was suppose to appear before the Sun Trial arc but I guess Studio Pierrot just shuffled her appearance to after the engagement ceremony. As much as I don't like the whole hidden fiancee cliche she does show up again later in the manga, so if there's going to be a second cour/season of this show Luna will still be important.

I can only guess because of "better drama" or something given all the feels we got his episode.

[Mangaka-chan]

Originally Posted by Von Himmel

Oh she will? Oh well I guess it can't be helped. The whole fiancee trope might be painful but she's not really a bad character now that I think about it..

I don't like the whole surprise fiancé as a love rival cliche, but Luna does get better later on, and it was a one chapter thing in the manga, thankfully.

[Haruyasha]

Ho ho, a challenger appears.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Von Himmel

I was happy when I thought they axed her arc for the anime.. turns out I was wrong. By looking at episode title, I guess she'll only appear for 1 episode? Hopefully they won't drag it too much.

That preview was a real heart-attack moment, coming as someone who hasn't read the manga. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, I suppose.

[lalunafelis]

Dat crying Sugita. This has to be one of his most interesting roles to date. Am I the only one who thinks that Neil is reminiscent of Ashiya/Alsiel(Hataraku Maou-sama)?

I've noticed that lots of people have been complaining that the relationship between the two was too rushed for their liking, but as I have said in other forums I've been to countless times, it doesn't really strike me as rushed(and even natural, when put in the context of the situation) and is far better than 3 seasons' worth of episodes before the couple could even recognize their feelings for each other. And when others see as "heavy-handed", I see as the show choosing to be being straight to the point over using "beating around the bush for DRAMA and DEVELOPMENT" gimmickry. Although I do agree that it could have been done better.

And am I glad that the upcoming "love rival" only lasts for 1 chapter, and it wasn't that bad. Can't say that she'll last only for 1 episode, they might drag out the thing in the worst-case scenario.

[Top Sergeant]

I have been liking this series from Ep. 1 and this one raised my enjoyment another notch. Livius' shell really cracked, and I think that really drew them even closer together.

[Nightengale]

This series makes me feel so strangely conflicted.

There's something about the setting, atmosphere and vibe of the series that makes me think that if the direction of the show went 100% serious without any of the comedy vibes ( but still keeping the light touches of the romance/relationship ), it could be a very beautiful drama story.

But at the same time, there's something about the way it is right now that also allows it to be endearing, and maybe it's what gives the show its sweet and fluffy vibes that makes it enjoyable to watch.

[PreSage]

I don't think the speed of their relationship is any faster than what was shown in the manga. The manga itself didn't beat around the bush to get their relationship going, which I find to be a nice change from many other shoujo that take nearly half the story to reach that point. This way we get to see how they build on their relationship and not simply see them actually realize they love each other, a theme that's been used a bit too much.