Asakomi

Final Episode!

Ok, now that it’s over I have some questions. Aside from Creed needing a reason to be jealous and hateful, and the fact that Train liked her - what was Saya’s role? I guess she was a catalyst to changing the way Train thinks about killing people. But I kept waiting and waiting for her to come back though. Well ok, it’s just that I wanted Saya to have more of a role in the series, instead of making such an early exit. She should’ve come back from the dead or something. However, I think it would’ve bugged me more if she had. Dead people should stay dead.

Another question I have is - what the freaking heck was the point of the Saki episode? They never went anywhere with that. Did I miss something?

Anyway, everything works out in the end, of course. Everyone is happy. I’m glad that they saved Eve, I’m glad Eve chose to stay with Sven, and I’m also glad that Train went off on his own because if he’d stayed with them it would’ve seemed too happy familyish.

I just think they some things unresolved, and that bothers me. But, imperfections aside, I can’t deny that Black Cat was a fun ride from start to finish. Great music. Great animation. Enjoyable characters. Interesting plot. Good stuff! And I can keep hoping that there’ll be a second season, right?

I’ll definitely be buying the R1’s, and you should too!

One final note: How cute is Eve with short hair?

You know, I don’t like the watercoloury effect they use in the Eden scenes. It’s not as pretty as, say, Honey & Clover. It just looks too washed out and kinda blurry. And I wasn’t crazy about some of the music this time around. Plus, I’m a little confused as to what is actually going on. (Maybe I’m not paying close enough attention). But I’m entertainaed nonetheless.

As far as Eden is concerned, biblical references continue to abound. Let’s see… We have Adam and Eve, and the animals who are trying to tear Eve from paradise are serpents. There were more, but I can’t think of them at the moment.

Even though it’s supposed to be the most intense part of the series, I find that it’s mostly just hilarious. Such as Eve using her “previously acquired knowledge” to destroy the armed helicopters. Sven swears he didn’t teach her how to do that. Who’s the real culprit, you ask? Well she learned it by watching TV. SEE! Turns out all of those overprotective parents were right: television IS corrupting our youth.

I was also chuckling through the scene where they all try to figure out what Eve likes. If it was me, it’d definitely be takoyaki. Rin was the only one who hit the nail on the head when she said “Sven”, but Sven insists that it’s fireworks that she likes best.

Random exclamations while viewing:

Eden became a giant woman? What?! The writers of this series must be male.

How cute is SDblushingRin!

Anyhoo… This show just amuses me to no end. It’s so weird and funny and cool all at the same time. I’m looking forward to the final battle next episode. Too bad it’s the last one! *Crosses fingers for a second season*

It was sweet to see Train say to Sven that Even is important to him too. I’m glad that they left this arc until after the Creed arc was wrapped up, because now they have actual experiences that would bind them together and make feelings of affection understandable to those of us who are watching. They’ve been through a lot together, and in many ways they are a family. They’re even dysfunctional like the majority of us!

We also had the return of two great characters: Rin and Kyouko. Well, Rin was back last episode but at least she had a few more lines this time. And Kyouko! I love Kyouko! There’s just something about her, which is odd, actually, since characters of her ultra-genki nature usually annoy the crap out of me.

Anyway… The bad guys continue their quest to achieve “world peace”. But apparently their idea of peace is to turn everyone into mindless robots. So is that really peace? Does peace mean the absence of conflict through absolute control? Or does it mean a place where conflict is acceptable but gone about in such a fashion that always considers the other party, where there is mutual respect? Personally, I would choose the latter. But hey, that’s why they’re the bad guys! If their intentions and methods were good, BC! & Co. wouldn’t have a reason to fight them, and then we wouldn’t have a reason to watch the anime, and where’s the fun in that?

Ps. “Adam” looks like a girl. ^_^;;

Well Well. It’s been a while since we last saw what Rin has been up to. Good to have her kinda back.

With Creed all full of inner healing I was wondering where the series was going to go for the last four episodes.

Eve is adorably sad as she thinks about the meaning of “family”. Since the big battle is seemingly over everyone is pondering that big question, “Where do we go from here?” Eve’s wish is to stay with Sven, but when she tells him this he starts talking about sending her to school and simply doesn’t get what she’s trying to say. So she runs off and ends up returning to the same people she previously escaped from.

And now we have the answer to everyone’s question! We’re revisiting the “Eve is a weapon made for destruction” plot thread that we kinda lost when Creed took centre stage. And we apparently still have some double-crossing Chronos members and the Apostles of the Star to deal with.

Mmmm… I like a series that tries to tie up loose ends.

The sweeper alliance fights outside, while Sefiria tries to take on Creed by herself inside. Once again the animation reminds me of Gankutsuou, which is always a good thing.

Turns out that Creed has obtained the powers of a god and can’t be killed. Creed wants Train to be his partner in creating a utopian world. He’ll become immortal like Creed and together they will choose who lives and who dies.

Now I have all sorts of problems with this idea. Creed is obviously not in his right mind, so how can he make balanced decisions? Heck, what makes him think he has the right to decide such things? Granted Train would probably balance him out. But still, humans, even humans who have achieved god-like powers, should not be messing with such important decisions as life and death. Our narrow-minded human mindsets will always prevent us from being objective or unbiased.

Another point that I think is important to look at is why Creed wants to be a god in the first place. Based upon the images we saw of his childhood it’s quite clear to me that for Creed this is all about protecting himself from hurt - physical or otherwise. To prevent himself from ever being in a position of vulnerability. The essence of being human is being vulnerable, risking the possiblity of hurt by those you care about the most. His vision of godliness is one of dominance and absolute power over others. And while he believes achieving this sort of power will free him from his past, if he were to really sit and think about it he would realize he’s just continuing the same abusive cycle.

Anyway I do believe I am getting a wee bit psychological. This is only anime, after all. *eyes dart from side to side*

People keep seeing Saya everywhere. WHY IS SHE SO IMPORTANT? Why was the image of Saya superimposed onto Train? Was it because Train holds the key to the friendship element that Creed wants, and his relationship with Saya is an example of that? Is it because Saya is still alive somehow? Or is her spirit somehow part of Train? Does this mean Saya will make a non-ghosty reapperance before the end of the series?

Soooo many unanswered questions. I can’t wait to find out the answers. They better not use Saki as some sort of cop out though, or I’ll be right mad.

We finally, finally get to see the big fight between Train and Creed and … it… is… AWESOME. But Train refuses to kill him. He’s trying to capture him like a sweeper, but also so that Creed can have a chance to live differently, live better, like Train himself is trying to do.

Showdown on Kraken Island. Lots of awesome fight scenes. Not much going on plotwise but Eve. Is. Awesome. I love love love that she’s not a helpless little girl, or an ‘ultimate weapon’ who never gets to use the very skills she was engineered to have. She’s awesome! And and and… she’s smart too! “Real friends have something that is more than power… The will to think of others.” Exactly Eve. Exactly.

Oh my did things ever become intense by the end! This is heating up to be quite the final battle. Can’t wait to see what happens next!

Awesome fight scene to start off this episode, though to be honest I have no idea who was doing the fighting. I’m having issues keeping characters straight. Heck, I’m just having issues. But the fight between Train and No. 10 was kickass, including the music.

We learn that the Chronos Organization, lead by Number 10, is behind gathering the sweepers to wipe out Creed and the Apostles of the Star. Train is upset by their “whatever it takes to get the mission completed” attitude, which to me shows how he’s different now than from the beginning episodes when he first met Saya.

Seems his few conversations with her really changed him. I guess. Thinking back, it was a pretty quick turnaround in my mind. I know that sometimes one conversation can be life-altering but, you know, I don’t think I like how little explanation/struggle we got to bring Train from being a so-called “dog of Chronos” who doesn’t care what he has to do to get a mission done, to being someone who’s offended by that very idea.

Stunning episode however, with a lovely cliffhanger at the end.

I continue to love the colour palettes used in each scene. The reds, the blues, the greens and purples… the glittering shells that the little girl was holding on to… it’s all so gorgeous. The use of light and shows lends a wonderful depth to the animation. I am sometimes it reminded of Gankutsuou in a way.

How happy am I to read that Black Cat is only 24 episodes? Don’t get me wrong, I love this series, but I was a little overwhelmed at the thought of blogging 50+ episodes.

I love how Eve gets different hairstyles and clothes. In this episode her hair looked like a kind of homage to Princess Leia and was adorable and hilarious at the same time.

Now, excuse me while I freak out. OMYGOSH! SAYA! Not having read the manga, I really thought it was her. She had the same kimono and everything. My heart did a little jump and I felt a stab of pain when seeing her walking around.

I have to say I don’t quite like the “I’m not Saya I’m her… ” what, sister or something? thing. Seems to me just a way to get Saya’s face back into the story and twist the knife in Train’s heart a little every episode. I mean, really, he angsts enough on his own he really doesn’t need this. His reaction to first seeing her - dead silence and blank stares - was priceless though.

Argh! I don’t want Saki singing Saya’s song (alliteration - woot!), I want Sayaaaa. *stomps foot in a childish fit*

This is going to take some getting used to.

So, the moral of the story? 1.) I feel that this entry is very random so I’m going to stop now. 2. This episode seems to try to teach us that you can’t fight alone. awwwwww. *tear* Maybe I’m just bitter, but by the end I had Barbra Streisand’s “People, people who neeeeeeeed people” running through my head and that is not a fun thing.

Another batch entry for your reading (dis)pleasure. This time around it’s Black Cat episodes 12 to 15.

12:

Heavy on the drama, light on the comedy complete with bittersweet flashbacks of saya and a fight between Train and Creed. Beautifully animated, fast paced episode. I much prefer these episodes to the silly ones.

13:

That being said, Kyouko is pretty funny in episode 13. I don’t know how I feel about the new ED. I want to like it because I really didn’t enjoy the first silly ED, but this one seems just a little too.. soap opera theme songish? I don’t know how to describe it.

14:

What the heck? Train is a little kid suddenly? Ah, who cares. At least we get some backstory for him!

15:

Not much besides silliness takes place in this episode except at the very end when Train takes off to go hunt down and kill Creed on his own.

Black Cat remains entertaining and engaging. Until next time! (Uh, might be a while)

Tired.. sick.. busy.. no feel like bloggy.. Ren go sleepy now.

Ps. Black Cat rules, and not only because Train sings, in english(/engrish), a song all about milk.

Trust me. It’s hilarious.