Japanophile Isle

I’m in the middle of my work on Japanese History within that very period, it’s amazing what I’m learning even though I consider my general education to be generously wide. In short, that time-span is the modernization and westernization of Japan. Japan as we know it is only 130-some years old. As close from now as 1867, the Tokugawa Shogunate was ruling Japan. That’s right, we’re talking Samurais and Shoguns here, it was a feudal military dictatorship. Guys like these:

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Kure-nai has hitherto been an easygoing anime, full of lighthearted fun. These last episodes, we have seen things thicken, problems of great proportions arising. In this 12th episode, we see the final resolution.

(Note that I will not use pictures for this final review so bear with me, I’ll give full attention to the text)

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I predicted episode 11 would be violent and I was looking forward to it very much. What I didn’t like though, is the sentimental parts. I feel they were overplayed. The feelings of the characters were already clear in my opinion and there was no need to masquerade further. Kurenai is at its best when there’s mystery, it knows when to tease, make you hungry for more. However, the last three episodes were redundant because there wasn’t enough canonical action. The pieces have been set and all that needed to be done was the ultimate showdown at the Kuhouins.

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Stuff was mad last episode, this episode is one about cleaning up.

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Shinkurou finally learns the truth about Murasaki during his talk with Benika.

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Now, kurenai got over the musical real quick, it’s like it never happened. Now that I think about it, you could almost watch Kurenai as you would watch The Simpsons. Up until now, you didn’t need a lot of information to have a good idea of what’s going on. The plot doesn’t seem to be evolving much at all. That’s not to say it’s stagnant, we barely know what’s going on anyways. Each episode does give some hints of the big picture though.

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To start talking about episode six right away wouldn’t be completely fair. Kurenai comes off an incredibly solid episode 5 of which I attributed a perfect mark. It was extremely funny and well executed. Following that, I was eagerly looking forward to episode six. Expectations were high.

Episode 6 starts out quietly enough, some guy is at the door, wanting some performers for a his festival. Shinkurou doesn’t even consider it but Tamaki overhears them talking and soon the whole apartment is in on the action.

As I giggled through the opening scenes, I started laughing hysterically when the gang started rehearsing.

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Up until now, I didn’t fully realize how warm Kurenai was, how believable the characters were. I hinted at it last episode but, in this one, it’s obvious. As you may or may not know, the voices in Kurenai are recorded before the animation, as opposed to plastered on afterwards. Which makes for great acting. Supposedly though, I’m no expert on the subject, but if Kurenai is to be believed, it’s a stroke of genius.

For this episode, we were properly introduced to the Houzukis, Yuuno’s family, as Shinkurou and Murasaki paid a visit to the Houzukis’ mansion. Which happens to be Shinkurou’s foster home. Before arriving, Murasaki was ill at ease. She kept asking weird questions about the Kuhouins and Yuuno. When they finally met the Houzukis, the atmosphere was a little tense but they all warmed up to each other gradually.

While Yuuno and Shinkurou were sparring, Murasaki and Yuuno’s little sister played around. Chizuru-chan is a bit younger than Murasaki but that didn’t stop Murasaki from being interested in her Nintendo DS. She had never seen a games console before. Her technological knowledge barely extended to cell phones and televisions. If you take Murasaki’s personality into account, it comes to no surprise that she ended up breaking the poor girl’s game. That’s not where the carnage ended though, she managed to mess up the operation on Chizuru’s doll, followed by a beheading of the said doll. That scene may appear insipid at first sight but it was executed so brilliantly, it was so warm, I felt Murasaki’s guilt so badly, I felt Chizuru’s sadness. The acting is just phenomenal, everything comes to life perfectly.

Next up was the obligatory old and bald wise guy of the dojo. He basically made a fool out of Shinkurou for being so stiff. Old geezer had a point. Shinkurou tried his best to loosen up after that. He even told Yuuno he liked her. He just had to cover it up with the obligatory “Well I don’t like you particularly, I like the Houzukis”. You’re a wuss Shinkurou, grow a pair. Nedless to say, his “Mental powers” aren’t developing too well. Despite actively seeking to better them.

The episode ended with a reunion at Shin’s place. The two odd-ball neighbors were drunk as shit, having a party at shin’s place for no apparent reason. Shin got pushed around again, Murasaki joined in too in what I would qualify as the most comedic scene of the season so far in any anime. Those jokes were some RISKY jokes let me tell you. I didn’t care too much at first because I was folded in half while laughing my ass off. But GOD DAMN it was funny.

Kurenai keeps it fresh yet again, I absolutely LOVED this episode. The acting is some of the best you will ever see. The humor was through the roof. Did all that and remained classy.

Simply wonderful, 5/5 for this episode 5.

Episode 4 picks up where ep. 3 ended, when Murasaki decides to secretly follow shinkurou on a job. This scene is great, Murasaki gets in danger, we see shinkurou trying to make things go smoothly, we see the mafia pulling the classic “goon in the elevator”. Not only is the action great, it’s believable, you can feel the tension leading to the fighting scenes. (Well, believable insofar as you discount shinkurou deflecting bullets with a bone extending from his elbow ;D )




The second part of the episode is very information rich. We get to see the past events, explaining much of the current situation. However, there’s still a lot of mystery to go around. They didn’t reveal to much too make things uninteresting.

Shinkurou and the girl with glasses as kids. Shin was some apathetic fool as a kid. Benika “saved his soul” if you will.

Benika’s promise, the reason she gave the responsibility to shinkurou.

Excellent story-telling so far. Episodes can’t come fast enough!

4/5

Kurenai’s third episode was a little more of the same. Characters are getting fleshed out, the bitter girl in the picture below turns out to be Shinkurou’s informant. She’s jealous of the attention shinkurou gives to the girl above (Yuuno). Also, we learned that shinkurou got his powers from Yuuno’s place and that he was living with her for a while.

That’s a lot to take in but, for the second episode, I complained that the school scenes were rather bland but this episode fixed that. This time around, we know who the characters are and what their relationships are. Makes the school life more relevant to the story.

Now, for the reason we all watch this show, Murasaki Kuhouin’s spotlight. This time around she’s running around Shinkurou’s school and learning about the culture, making for some really comedic remarks. As you must have picked up by now, Murasaki had nothing in terms of standard Japanese education.

Taking her time to congratulate the guys who take care of their bodies.

Learning about Baseball, hilarious misunderstandings in that scene. “Are those maids?” “Well I suppose they do serve so you could call them that”

The reunion scene, pretty funny. Yuuno seems to know about the kuhouins though, something is up. She acted like Murasaki should have recognized her last name. She also showed a suspicious smile.

Vile woman

While Shinkurou explains himself, Murasaki listens and she’s deeply saddened by the situation. She now believes she’s a burden to shinkurou. With her pride, it’s hard to take in. Especially with the ruckus she made at the train station.

She finally gives in, ending this episode.

I can’t find anything bad to say at this point. Things move along quick, there’s some funny scenes here and there, we see the plot thickening. It’s all good if you ask me. I’ve seen people complaining that it’s hard to keep up with. My advice is that you don’t need to ask yourself too many questions. Things that don’t quite make sense now will be revealed in due time. Just make sure you pay attention and try to fit the new information in the big picture. (Or you could just laugh at Murasaki’s antics. That could work too.)

4.5/5, WATCH IT!