Any Battlefield 4 player who has been playing since the game’s release date, particularly on the PC, has experienced the anguish of chronic rubber-banding and server crashes. Thankfully, most of these issues have finally been ironed out and the game is running as it should have on launch day.
Vice President and General Manager of DICE, Karl Magnus Troedsson, has come out saying he is “extremely proud” of the development studio and those at EA that contributed to the game but is “less proud” of the game’s crippling launch bugs. As a result, the entire team at DICE is working to stabilise the game and not move on to other projects until Battlefield 4 meets the players’ expectations.
As a show of appreciation for the players’ patience, a Double XP event will be held from November 28 through December 5 for all players, not just Premium members which is normally the case for these events. In addition, those who log on on December 5 will be given a special 3x zoom scope for the M1911 pistol that was previously reserved for DICE developers.
It’s a step in the right direction to have DICE come out and accept the extent of the launch issues but we can only hope that the next Battlefield isn’t released until it’s absolutely ready. Is this enough to reassure you for next time? Sound off below! A trailer was recently released of the game’s upcoming expansion pack, Second Assault.
Hajime No Ippo – Rising Episode 8 – The Mad Dog and the Red Wolf
Hajime No Ippo, as a series, has a certain structure; there are pre-fight episodes, the fight episodes themselves, post-fight episodes and then there may possibly be an entirely humorous episode thrown in just to change things up a little bit. Episode 8 is very much a pre-fight episode wherein which Ippo must now train up the Dempsey Roll to be much more than it currently is because, at this point in time, it is almost defeat-able. Shimabukuro has nearly done it and now Ryuuhei is threatening to do it and it seems as though Ippo is being backed into a corner with people coming at him left, right and centre, ready to crush him and his signature move. Ippo, alongside the other gym members, realise this and now must work to make it better but before they can evolve it they must first crush it.
The comparisons between Ippo and his soon to be opponent Ryuuhei have now begun and this time it shows something both incredible and deadly. Ryuuhei visits his old teacher who just so happened to be the first man to ever take him to a boxing gym, the teacher saw that Ryuuhei had a lot of aggression as a child and sought to see it exercised from his body much like demon but, after chatting to Ryuuhei over dinner, he sees the type of ruthless killer he has become and now blames himself for not quenching his thirst for blood and for making his thirst all the more greater. Ryuuhei, over dinner, explains his need to feel flesh crumble under his fist, he counters because it uses the oponnents force aginst them and, to him, gives him a greater sense of satisfaction.
On the other side of the coin, Ippo continues to train, as he does so he meets an old friend, Vorg, who he once used to fight against. Vorg lost to Ippo and retired from the sport for a very long time, he gave his gloves to Ippo and now, many years later, he has come to get them back so that he can finally rejoin the sport. He too hears of Ippo’s opponent and is immediately interested, although he doesn’t play all that big of a role in this episode I feel as though it is ultimately leading onto something. Itagaki Manabu, after a run in with “Team Aoki”, finally realises the trick behind Ippo’s Dempsey Roll; the reason it stuns an opponent is not just because of the impending force or simply the swerving around, it goes deeper than that, it is the fact that Ippo continuously moves in and out of an opponents blind spot that scares them so much.
Manabu realises that a simple step back away from Ippo will not only eliminate the blind spot issue but it also gives the opponent a greater chance to counter which just so happens to be Ryuuhei’s speciality. Ippo knows this now, Ryuuhei clearly knows this and now it’s time to evolve the Dempsey Roll and make it all the more powerful. I cannot wait to see the fight between Ippo and Ryuuhei, it’s going to be one of the biggest fights of the season and we might actually see Ippo fail, the chances are low but the fact is it may happen and, either way, it’s going to be an incredible fight to see. Bring on episode 9! Check out more Hajime No Ippo – Rising Impressions HERE.
The hugely popular franchise directed at young girls, Monster High, has been getting more and more popular ever since it was first released as a line of dolls. From there many different branches of the franchise were created and began to grow and it’s exactly the same for the video game side of things. The Developers over at Game Machine Studios and the Publishers Little Orbit are both very excited to announce that “Monster High: 13 Wishes” is now available all around Australia and New Zealand, it is available on the Nintendo DS, 3DS, Wii and Wii U and can be found at any good game retailers.
After years of being under her popular older sister’s shadow, Howleen WolfTM finds an ancient genie lantern hidden deep within the attic of Monster HighTM. The genie grants her not 3, but 13 wishes! With great power comes a great responsibility… Each of her wishes is brought with a dark side!
Players can take the control of their favourite character; Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, Draculara, Abbey Bominable and many more characters all have a role in the game. Howleen is in trouble and the Monster High crew must now work to save her! This new game will take players on a ghastly journey through 10 different magical levels all of which lead to multiple endings! It’s set to be a great game for young girls who are fans of the franchise and for those of you who don’t have the game there’s a trailer for it in our featured video section just below.
“I thought they talked like us?…” How the bloody hell are ya Australia?! We’ve got a new Anchorman 2: The Legend Continuesclip to share today, courtesy of Paramount Pictures Australia, and it will be of particular interest to our Aussie readers.
The clip is embedded at the bottom of this article and shows the moment Global News Network‘s (GNN) founder Kench Allenby (Josh Lawson) is introduced to the news crew. The Australian character proceeds to speak in a thick accent, using slang terms that absolutely no one on the team can understand. “Does anyone else speak Australian?!” Brick (Steve Carrell) has an especially funny verbal reaction when Allenby asks the guys to repeat a phrase after him.
Check it out below. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues releases nationwide on December 19.
Steam Punks Developer: Monster Robot Studios Publisher: Monster Robot Studios Platforms:iPhone(Reviewed), iPod Touch, iPad, Android Release Date: 21st November 2013 Price: $2.59 – Available Here
Overview
Platformers are the types of games that can really be enjoyed by anybody, they’re fun, they’re difficult and, most of the time, they look great. Monster Robot Studios have created a game for mobile devices that shoots all the way back to the basics of platforming but puts a spin on it, it is a game that is very similar to the Megaman series, so much so that the developers themselves have stated that the games are very similar, that’s not to take away anything too much from the game though because we see stuff like this all the time. A nice action/platformer with good controls and a lengthy story is exactly what mobile devices need, does Steam Punks make the cut? Read on to find out.
Story
I want to begin by stating that I feel as though the story behind Steam Punks is a very basic yet good, it is both extensive yet small and works on a very fundamental level. You’re an Enforcer named Dunn Calhan who witnesses the theft of a great and powerful invention; The Grand Reactor. Now The Grand Reactor is exactly how it sounds, it’s a device that has many different uses but it’s most needed use is power, much like a normal reactor it generates power and can run cities, machines, anything you’d like, unfortunately the Bowler Gang have stolen it and it is now up to our hero, Dunn, to get it back.
That is basically the story layout for the entire game and, like I said; it’s not ground breaking but it isn’t nothing and it works for exactly what it is. You go around as Dunn Calhan, fighting your way through the bosses, all of which are incredibly powerful members of the Bowler Gang, as you attempt to take back The Grand Reactor and ultimately save the day.
What I enjoyed most about playing through the story of this game wasn’t so much learning why exactly the Bowler Gang stole the Grand Reactor, nor Dunn’s past, what I enjoyed was the locations it takes you to, the people you meet along the way and enemies you have to overcome to eventually save the day. It was pure adventure and it really felt that way, look I did honestly want more out of the story, I hoped that some particular aspects could have been fleshed out more or built upon, but no game can be perfect. Even its story was similar to that of a Megaman story, not in what the story had to tell but the layout of it; it gives you a reason to travel and to fight and, essentially, that’s all you really need.
Gameplay
The way you go about playing the game is the same way you’d play any platforming game and while that may seem annoying to some I pose this question to you; “Why fix what isn’t broken?”, Megaman does it, Castlevania does it, Metal Slug does it, why change it? Mobile devices need a good platforming title and if it’s pure gameplay that you’re looking for I guess you don’t have to look any further.
You run, you shoot, that’s the bulk of it. Much like Megaman you have a health bar and the ability to scale walls by continuously jumping, you begin the game with nothing but a pistol yet the more boss characters you beat, the more weapons you get, in fact, you take their weapons once you beat them. What I enjoyed about taking an enemies weapon wasn’t just the satisfaction of utterly defeating them but it was also going back to other stages with the weapon allows you to break down certain walls and access different areas, it gives you a huge reason to go back and replay levels which ultimately leads to a longer gameplay time.
It is actually a very long game with a great deal of weapons to unlock by defeating bosses, there’s also a lot to see and if you’re good enough at this type of game you’ll be able to see them with no problems whatsoever. It is a difficult game, I’ll say that much, I died many times but I wasn’t too upset because you’re given a fair few checkpoints in every level so you can easily bounce back once you’re killed. There are so many crazily-designed weapons to unlock from mechanical gauntlets to gigantic swords, there’s armour to find an equip and just so many items to unlock that will help you get through the game easier. It has a very extensive set of unlockables for what seems like just another basic platformer, never judge a book by its cover I guess.
Audio and Visuals
Visually this game has its ups and its down, for every great looking piece of scenery or enemy there is a dodgy piece of scenery or enemy, it just seem to goes both ways, luckily it’s easier to focus on the good rather than the bad. A great deal of the enemy characters are very reminiscent of the Megaman games, I know I’ve spoken a great deal about Megaman in this review but when the developers have clearly stated it was their inspiration it’s hard not to.
I have to say though the animation throughout the game was actually done very well, it was fluid in motion and it seemed to have a certain flow about it. Scenery looked beautiful, it would have to be the best aspect of this game visually. Some character and enemy sprites didn’t look to well but for the most part the developers did an incredible job. Colours throughout the game are very earthy which isn’t a bad thing because it represented the Steampunk sub-genre in a very good way. One thing I have to say though is that the dialogue boxes throughout the game were oddly out of place and incredibly hard to read, they were yellow text on sky blue text boxes.
It didn’t fit into the colour scheme in any way and caused a slight visual illusion that put a certain small strain on the eyes, it was nothing too huge but it was entirely noticeable. Characters were designed well, clearly the developers did their research into the Steampunk genre because they represented it very well. While the sound effects were good in this game they didn’t leave much of an impact on me, not when I was quite taken by the music that played throughout the entire game.
Steam Punks has a soundtrack that is made up entirely by chip-tunes, 8-bit sound populated the title and I really couldn’t have thought of any type of music that would have been a better fit. I found myself turning the sound up on multiple occasions despite my public location simply just to hear the music. This would probably have to be my favorite aspect of the game in its entirety and I think because I believe a good soundtrack really does make the game. The sound effects were very traditional, a great deal of “bleeps” and a fair amount of “bloops” which is exactly what you’re looking for in a game that longs to be a retro title.
Overall
Steam Punks is an all around great game, it IS lacking in several different aspects but as I’ve already said; no game can be perfect. It brings Megaman-style platforming to mobile devices in a way that has surprisingly never been done before. The controls are tight, the animation flows and, for the most part, it looks pretty good. If you’re a fan of platformers than I guarantee you’ll love this game, if you’re a fan of the Steampunk genre than you too will enjoy this game, it really is a title open to a wide audience.
The quick way to enjoying Steam Punks is to look over the fact that it has flaws and to just play it for what it is; a brilliant platforming game set in a Steampunk world, any deeper thinking and you will find that you’ll look for reasons not to enjoy yourself. Monster Robot Studios have done a great job in creating and developing this game and I honestly cannot wait to see them hone their talents and their styles and, one day, make a perfect game, for now though we can all enjoy the simple fun that is Steam Punks.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Library Wars Studio: Toho Publisher: Toho Format: Cinema (Japanese Film Festival 2013) Release Date: 15th November, 2013
Overview
Sometimes a film doesn’t have to be all that logical, sometimes being fun is enough. Such is the case with Library Wars, a live-action adaptation of Hiiro Arakawa’s high concept action-romance novel of the same name (which has also spawned a manga and anime). The film strained credibility with its preposterous concept of a world where censorship has gone so far that libraries have taken up military retaliation against the government agencies that seek to burn the books they hold so dear. It is enough to raise an eyebrow or two, but what Library Wars succeeds with is its sense of playful fun that underpins the more ridiculous aspects of its story.
Story
While Library Wars’ setting tends to be looked at as the main through-line thematically for the film, the real story at the heart of things is protagonist Kasahara’s search for the supposed ‘prince’ who saved her and her cherished book from the villainous censors. It is heavily evident that Kasahara’s prince is none other than main man Dojo. The film doesn’t exactly try to hide this fact either, quickly revealing the identity of the prince in order to progress the character dynamic.
Dojo is a very interesting character to say the least. He is a hard as nails kind of cop (if you want to call him that) who describes himself as a loose cannon several times throughout the film. There is a lot of cliched moments with Dojo but Junichi Okada rises above the weak material he is given (throwing in his badge and going rogue) with superb commitment to the character, giving life to Dojo in a way that very few could have.
There is also Kasahara, the leading lady portrayed by Nana Eikura in a frenetic yet playfully adorable performance. Kasahara deeply believes in the cause of the Library Defense Force but is often sidetracked by silly things like finding the prince who saved her book on a certain fateful day. She quickly gains a reputation as a bit of a silly goose around the Library Defense Force, but ultimately proves her worth and earns the respect of Dojo.
The film explores themes of censorship and the way it can impair freedom of speech. As far as execution of these themes go, Library Wars is sloppy at best. The concept itself is preposterous in every regard. It is very difficult to believe such laws would ever be passed or that libraries would become military units. Because of the lack of believably in the concept, there are instances where the film is unintentionally funny when it is trying to ponder deeper themes. At times you get the feeling that the people working on the film are aware of the silliness of the plot and they play it out for all the humour it is worth. Because of this a lot of the messages about censorship and freedom of speech are lost in the shuffle.
One other issue with the film is how it stages all conflicts as a losing battle for the Library Defense Force. The members of the force are trained not to shoot to kill, but rather to shoot to preserve. Because of this, there is never any sense that the Library Defense Force will ever defeat the enemy, rather they are merely holding them off until both sides agree to cease fire. It makes all of the ‘wars’ fought in the movie simply besides the point. The Library Defense Force is almost always on the losing side and it makes for frustrating viewing at times.
At its core, Library Wars is a fun film that won’t provoke much thought but it will entertain you for better or for worse. The story is silly but sometimes silly can be fun and with Library Wars that much is true. Its a fun little romp of a film and is a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half.
Visuals and Audio
The aesthetics of Library Wars are impressive to say the very least. The film features extensive pyrotechnics as well as high-octane combat sequences that are well-captured and conveyed. The lighting changes throughout the film from darker to lighter signifying change from hopelessness to hopefulness. The visual style of the titular libraries is a mix between old and new in what comes off as a 70s meets now mix of browns and oranges, it works well for establishing the library as a tenet of a time now gone, but also as a place that holds hope for the future.
As for the soundtrack, Library Wars features a solid set of compositions that complement the action on screen quite nicely. Unfortunately however there are times where the music has little to presence, making some scenes fall flat. On the flip side of that however there are some tracks that elevate scenes to great heights. All in all it is a hit and miss musical effort for Library Wars.
Overall
Library Wars is a silly film at its worst but it is a lot of fun at its best. It is a mash up of high concept action and fluffy romantic comedy in what amounts to a sloppy haphazard story-telling effort. The film’s strong suit is its playful sensibility and is an enjoyable ride because of it.
This is certainly not a film for everyone, it is far from spectacular in actuality. In spite of that however Library Wars does succeed on some level as an entertaining film in its own right. If you’re looking for some silly fun, Library Wars will do the trick, just don’t expect anything thought-provoking because Library Wars is simply not up to task.
Ultimately the film adapts Hiiro Arakawa’s popular novel quite well and instills a sense of fun to proceedings making a worthwhile watch. If there is anything to take away from Library Wars it is a good laugh and a smile across your face.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
October 31 saw the beginning of Disney Infinity’s Second Wave, starting with the infamous Jack Skellington. Well later this week Disney are unleashing the rest of Wave 2 into the wild, ready to join the Pumpkin King in Disney Infinity’s Toy Box Mode. From November 28th, there are six new figures available;
Anna (Frozen)
Will use her grappling hook to get to hard-to-reach places and use her shovel to defeat enemies.
Elsa(Frozen)
Will utilize her magical ice abilities, such as using the Freeze Ball to stop opponents in their tracks.
Woody (Toy Story) – Also playable in the Toy Story in Space Play Set
Rustle up some action with the rootenest-tootenest cowboy in the Wild, Wild West as he uses his shoulder charge to knock villains clean off the range or into outer space.
Ralph(Wreck-It Ralph)
The classic 8-bit character is making an appearance in a new video game! Ralph uses hiswrecking abilities and 8-bit Cherry Bombs to defeat enemies.
Vanellope Von Schweetz (Wreck-It Ralph) The Sugar Rush racerbrings her amazing Glitch ability that will allow her to teleport short distances and glitch out characters that come in contact with her.
Rapunzel(Tangled)
With her beautiful long locks, fierce determination and signature frying pan, “Tangled’s” Rapunzel is a powerful Princess, whose unique style of combat will add exciting new creative play options.
In addition to the single figures, the second wave of Power Discs will also be available. Like the original set, these will be purchasable in blind packs of two. There will be 20 new Power Discs in Wave 2, bringing the total number of unlockables and character upgrades to 40. Anna and Elsa are also available together in the Frozen Toy Box Pack. The pack includes both figures, and two Frozen themed power discs to change the appearance of your Toy Box.
These figures will work on all versions of the game, and bring some impressive girl-power to the Disney Infinity lineup. We managed to get our hands on the Wave 2 figures and will be posting our impressions over the next few days, but in the mean time, check out our gallery of the new figures in their packaging below. As always stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Disney Infinity news as it becomes available.
Virtual Adventures are an indie games developer and publisher and they have announce the development of a PC gameStar Quest 2: United Galaxies. There are currently on Kickerstarter seeking development funds and it is an immersive and incredibly large genre-mixing game. It is the 3rd game created by ‘Virtual Adventures’ and is the sequel to their first game which they created back in 1995.
This game is combines the very best of space combat, real-time strategy and racing in space with endless hours of game play. Gamers can guide their own gaming experience by choosing to play as deadly gunner, ace pilot or even fleet commander to explore unknown galaxies. You can even play multi-player and co-op missions in 1st or 3rd person perspective as you battle for your life.
With its massive universe, great graphics, and ‘out-of-this-world’ action, Star Quest 2: United Galaxies is envisioned to become a classic upon release.
The Reject Five: A group of beautiful students, ostracised for their abnormal behaviour. Perverted, inappropriate, and just downright strange; this band of outcasts was been challenged by a team of their polar opposites. Those with style, flair, and who are adored by all around them – the five most popular students in school threw down the gauntlet several episode ago and this week’s episode finally saw yin and yang face off in one of the most strange competitions I have ever seen. Who would win, the Popular Five or the Reject Five?
Previously, we discovered that Kanade’s homeroom teacher was also a victim of ‘Absolute Choice’, but today’s introduction hinted that maybe others know about the god-given phenomenon. Seira, the school council president and the last girl that Kanade needed to say, “I like you,” mysteriously knew what he needed her to say and instead of helping him, decided to raise the stakes of the competition that we have been waiting weeks for. In the event that the Reject Five lost, she would refuse to say, “I like you,” dooming Kanade to a life of insane choices and everlasting social suicide. So, their only option was to win the competition and as the rounds rapidly rolled in showering us with a ludicrous display of yandere lolis, breast fondling, and oil wrestling, the Reject Five somehow narrowly came out victorious, preserving Kanade’s sanity for another challenge.
This big competition is what Noucome had been leading up to for 6 episodes and to be honest, for all the waiting, the payoff was really quite poor. A fine example of a main event done well is the school festival in the most thought-invoking highschool romcom of the year, Oregairu (Another series with a hideously obnoxious title). When watched together, it is plain to see that the substance and execution behind Noucome’s competition is barely even comparable. Not only was Noucome’s build-up much less profound, being mostly swept under the carpet in favour of rushed character introductions, but the actual event itself had absolutely no impact at all. Oregairu may have had some of its own issues involving character’s feelings not being addressed in the end, but its showpiece episode really struck home and exhibited its character’s motivations and flaws perfectly. Even Oreshura (Yep, there have been some killer names this year) which was essentially just a harem like Noucome had real emotional substance behind its big showcase episode because it spent a lot of time letting the viewer know why each of the girls involved loved the main character.
This is Noucome’s main fault that dooms it to be an average series at best. It uses its cast to great comical effect, but as far as the rom half of romcom goes, it has fallen flatter than Yukihira’s chest. Some might put this down to the fact that it was given a short run and had to rush through its source material, but then again I could give a strong argument for why Mondaiji was the best anime of 2013 and that was given the same number of episodes by the same animation company so that’s really no excuse.
At its core, Noucome is a harem that is heavily inspired by To LOVE-Ru, and that is made painfully apparent by its rampant use of stock characters and its alien-like lead female. However, To LOVE-Ru has had 3 separate series and over six years of weekly manga releases in Shōnen Jump to flesh out its gigantic cast of females. Noucome, on the other hand, has tried to cram eight love interests into seven episodes and thus far it has only given us reason to care for one and she barely even featured in this episode. Not only that, but the reasons for loving her were only given last week! I’d be willing to bet a small fortune that there will be no continuation to Noucome, so this leaves it underdeveloped, rushed, and painfully lacking half of what it needs to stand its ground in an obscenely oversaturated genre.
On the contrary, Noucome’s comedy focus means that it excels wherever jokes are involved. The scene in which ‘The World’s Little Sister’, Yuragi, had to show off her acting skills and chose to become a terrifying yandere, stabbing ‘Lion-sempai’ in the heart was brilliant and made me both burst out laughing and fear all little girls from now on. Yukihira’s slur match with ‘Silicone Inside’ was fantastic as well even though Yukihira went too far and managed to make herself lose by provoking Ayame too much. Admittedly, not every joke hit home and I still have yet to find a single word said or action taken by Ouka to be funny despite how hard it is pushed. I guess that is bound to happen when the anime is aiming for all types of otaku with its mix of archetypal girls, but even so it is unfortunate.
Next week it appears that we will be given a Chocolat based episode at long last, so maybe by the end of the series we will have more than one scene involving the ‘lead girl’ that has more emotion to it than that of eating sweets. Well… We can hope at least. If a scene addressing Yukihira’s reaction to the school council president and Chocolat confessing their love for Kanade is thrown in then hopefully next week’s review will be a lot more positive than this week’s. Don’t get your hopes up though; I am pretty cynical. Until next week.
For more reviews of this season’s best and worst anime head over to our Anime Impressions page and check them out!
Another week, another sensational episode of my favourite romance of the year, Golden Time. This week’s episode served mainly as a fascinating insight into our main character, Tada Banri and the first thing that I noticed that I had never paid much attention to before is his weird habit of running away whenever he doesn’t want to confront something. Not just mentally running away, but literally running away. Last episode he ran from Linda when she wanted to talk to him and in the intro of this episode we saw him do the exact same thing in a flashback. We have yet to see any straightforward signs of affection from Linda towards the current Banri, but through flashbacks we are seeing more and more suggesting that even if she doesn’t love him now, she definitely loved him in the past. One thing is for certain though – that even as a ghost the old Tada Banri hasn’t forgotten his feelings for Linda, but as he says, “that has nothing to do with the current Banri.” For now at least.
Another thing that surprised me was the revelation that Banri had such a funny, on-the-spot sense of humour. When he pretended to be Mitsuo’s boyfriend I lost it. His impression of Kouko was spot-on and it was a nice touch pointing out that he is entirely conscious of Kouko’s flamboyant nature despite loving her. He showed another side to himself as well when he went out of his way to help Mitsuo when we’ve really only seen him help Kouko in the past. Linda’s advice must have really cheered him up and lifted a considerable weight. How dramatically it affected his behaviour though clearly showed how important Linda is to him, even if the reason is not entirely apparent to him yet.
On a side note, I am happy that Mitsuo, 2D-kun, and Chinami aren’t being reduced to simple background characters. Some of the best romance series remain vividly engraved in my mind because of the sub-plots as much as the bulk of the anime. For example, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun has a brilliant main arc and the relationship is really sweet, but the sub-plots involving the love rival, Kenji, and the suggested love between Asako and Mitsuyoshi keep the plot from becoming stale and make the whole series feel more dynamic.
In a world where most of an anime’s plot can be guessed from the outset, something that I treasure is unpredictability. When writers have the guts to stand at a crossroad and head down the path less travelled it inspires me personally as a writer and that is something that Golden Time does masterfully and surprisingly frequently. When Banri asked Linda what she was going to reply to his confession before the accident I was muttering, “Oh, don’t say yes! what are you doing Banri?” I fully expected her to say yes and the resulting feeling of guilt would be enough to tear Banri apart at the seams. Instead, she said no and it actually took Banri ‘falling asleep for a second’ and saying something unexpected to give a lesser sense of guilt without making you hate Linda which I fear would have happened had she said yes. However, I don’t believe that it was simply Banri’s brain lapsing for a second. The spirit of Tada Banri was standing right beside him and although we haven’t seen himactively do anything yet, off camera I think he might have exerted his influence on his current self, forcing him to ask Linda if she wanted to go back. He is forced to walk in Banri’s shadow forever; it makes sense that he wants answers… comfort.
My overall feelings on Banri still remain fairly jumbled and unresolved at this point which I put down to extremely intricate narrative. In a story where a character has amnesia it makes sense that you would find it hard to confirm their emotions because who knows if they even understand them themselves? One second I am surprised by his kindness towards his friends and then the next he is going behind his adoring girlfriend’s back and speaking to Linda which Kouko defined as cheating a little earlier in the episode. Originally, I thought that Kouko was the emotionally unstable one that would tear apart their relationship, but while that still holds to an extent, Banri is the one actively going out of his way to ‘cheat’ on her and in all honesty I am beginning to get the impression that underneath his front of kindness there is a confused and selfish person that doesn’t really know what to do.
Next episode’s preview looked foreboding and left me with a million questions. The episode’s title, “With You Again,” could mean so many things! Is Banri going to get back with Linda? Or is the glimpse of Banri wearing a bandage on his head a hint that he is going to have another accident and the ghost of Tada Banri will become one with him again? Is this small run of love-filled, happy episodes like last week finally coming to an end in a tragic way? I don’t think my heart can take this kind of abuse! I guess we’ll just have to wait anxiously until next week to have our questions answered.
For more awesome reviews of this season’s best and worst anime, head over to our Anime Impressions page.
