Fate Stay/Night Ep 18

Wahahaha!!! This is the only ep which I thought was worth blogging, bcos Rin and Sakura's child form is just so kawaii!!! Haha! It's just a pity they glossed over the game's "Heaven's Feel"'s most touching scene like that. And the way they tried to fit the dialogue from the game into the show like that, without the necessary development in the game, just made it sound ridiculous.

Sakura, captured by Castor, is under the control of some spell, that made her wear that stupid SMish costume and attack her sis.


Then, flashback to their past... They had to be separated because a mahou family can only have one successor, hence the other sibling has to be given away to another family. (Not explained in the anime yet though.)








And so Rin, the heroine, rescued her long separated sister, sakura.


Just for comparison's sake:
Rin and dark sakura from the game, after Rin decided to save Sakura at the last minute, letting her sis create a large hole in her abdomen. I thought and still do think that this picture is beautiful. The game's a bore, but the CGs are fantastic.

=======End of comparison========
Sigh... Now the only thing to look forward to is Archer's UBW (How's he gonna come back anyway?)... What a disappointing anime so far.

Review: Gungrave

From the name, we can guess that the genre is abt guns. Men and guns. A story about Brandon Heat and Harry Macdowell's climb to the top of the food chain in a world where everything is about power. From being small thugsters in a small town to their careers in the mafia organisation, Millennion, we are shown how the two friends fight and plot their way up... Well... Brandon's more in charge of the fighting and Harry, the plotting. The story begins by telling us the ending. where Brandon is obviously against Harry, and then bringing us back 20 years. It's an interesting way to start off.

Well, both guys are like brothers. Live for each other and die for each other. Brandon's quiet and reserved, while Harry's outgoing and ambitious. For me, I thought the junction where Harry and Brandon parted was when Harry willingly pulled the trigger against a small thug boss, just to get his money and prove to Randy (one of Millennion's bigshots) that he's capable of entering Millennion. Without remourse. I thought it was a significant turning point.

Throughout the show, we are shown how attached the two guys are, Brandon almost always risking his life for Harry. How Harry unscrupulously plotted his climb upward. How each and every kill affected Brandon and how it did not, Harry.

Brandon's love interest (not official couple bcos Brandon's a VERY quiet guy, but they have very obious undercurrents), Maria, is taken in by Millennion's boss, Big Daddy. For a boss, Big Daddy is exceptionally kind toward Brandon, becoming a friend and sorta father figure. These three have a strong bond. So, when Harry's ambition became humongous, Brandon is forced to make a choice. Because Millennion has an Iron Rule: Those who betray Millennion must die.

And I guess that's the theme of the show.

However, it seems everyone has a different definition for "Millennion" and so the rule is thwarted in their favour. Big Daddy's "Millennion" is family, organization and balance. Harry's "Millennion" is him, since he wanted Millennion all for himself and saw it as his possession. Another guy, Bell (i think that's the spelling), keeps repeating that he's loyal, that he will never betray yadda, when in real truth, everytime he says that "he will fight, kill for Millennion, and never betray", the scenes always flash to his daughter, Sherry, who is Harry's love interest. So what's Brandon's definition? I thought that since he went against Harry in the end, his must be the same with Big Daddy's. But then...right till the end, he could not kill Harry. So, strictly speaking, Brandon is the guy who betrayed both sides.

Thus, everyone had their own set of definition, except Brandon. Which makes the rule kinda stupid. But it makes show have some depth since everything is not on the surface. Brandon's really a good guy, a nice guy, that's why he's the one being tormented. And, well, in this show's world, good guys don't have good endings. Sadly.

Good show. Though a tad bit sad.