Black Rock Shooter episode 2

Forgive me for this late posting. As usual I had grand plans to have this and Guilty Crown blogged before work and Shana blogged afterwards. But due to the fact that I work with INSANE PEOPLE plans had to be changed. I won’t go into great detail but let it be known that no one messes with my momma. And also let it be known if you are on the way to rescue your momma crying helps you get out of speeding tickets.

See don’t I lead an interesting life?...No not really. But I am serious about the girl tears and speeding tickets. Because the day was already going special enough without me being in debt over something stupid.

Poor quality screenies make me sad. Guess it serves me right for watching it via the internets.

So yes. It is time for anime. Let’s end the day on a positive note. Oh it is Black Rock Shooter episode 2? Oh then….well…you know. Spoilers for girls in wheelchairs losing their minds!

Wonderful family love!

Episode Summary: Mato’s momma is busy putting Mato in a summer like kimono so she can go to the festival with Yomi. After some brief little brother antics off she goes. She waits outside the temple for Yomi when her other classmates walk by. They invited her before and are surprised to see her there. When Mato says she is waiting for Yomi everyone smiles and walks away rather quickly. Mato waits for hours and finally she receives a text from Yomi saying sorry. By this time Mato already knew she wasn’t coming but it still devastates her. She cries all the way home and life is awful. Turns out that Kagari “took Yomi hostage” and wouldn’t even let her text Mato for quite a while. When Yomi shows signs of defiance Kagari takes at needle and carves a heart in Yomi’s chest. Scenes from the Other World are shown but Mato wakes up as if it was a part of her dream. At school Yomi and Mato are the last to leave the locker room (which is surprising as I thought most Japanese schools didn’t have any). Mato shows concern over the scar but Yomi is upset that Mato isn’t upset. So Mato decides to get upset. She goes on and on how Yomi is not a little bird and will never go anywhere.

Someone has been smoking the crazy stuff.

Mato leaves upset and ends up going to see the counselor she thinks is a liar (about how someone else handles your pain and hurt). This time counselor lady says that this weird dream could really be connecting them and to not give up. So while Yomi is crying in her room Mato comes over and demands to be let in. Yomi gets so excited until she realizes that Kagari is in the house. Kagari threatens to throw herself down the stairs if Yomi leaves her…and then does so anyway. Yomi’s mom comes up at that time and takes everyone to the hospital. Kagari only sprains her wrist but says she will never be able to move her arm again and now Yomi can never leave her side. Yomi’s mom explains that when Yomi was younger they had to move abroad. Kagari chases after their cab and is hit by a car. So this makes Kagari pitiful and she sees why Yomi has to take care of her. Mato is like WTF is going on with this insanity and goes to rescue Yomi. As this confrontation escalates the battle in the Other World intensifies. Mato tries to convince Yomi to leave and Yomi wants Kagari to come with Mato and they all can be friends. In the Other World Black Rock Shooter manages to save Dead Master from Chariot. But out of nowhere Black Gold Saw causes Dead Master to fall in the middle of the….well Other World. Chariot gets her head chopped off and Kagari stops having a fit…and just smiles. THE END!

Well that was slightly better than episode 1. Slightly. I guess considering how bad the first episode was it could only go up yes?

The stupid Bird of Color book was still prominently featured. And I still find it incredibly juvenile. Like I feel as if this show was created for 8 years. Think of all the places you can go and colors you can see. I say this while wearing a Hello Kitty shirt and after blogging about a plastic action figure. So either I am a huge hypocrite or there is something wrong with this show if someone like ME finds it juvenile.

Which is really weird I guess. Madoka had tons of stuffed animals in her room but I never thought of her as immature. In fact maybe all magical girls (well at least the mains) have loads of stuffed animals in their room? That is all I can think of now. But the difference is they don’t define their entire personality or interests with that one TINY aspect of their childhood. That is how I feel when I look at Mato, that her entire interest in life revolve around this tiny picture book.

The color of her soul is blue.

Maybe she will grow as a person. Maybe she will stop spouting out colors like a 3 year old. Look mommy RED! She is trying to join a club at school and is dealing with hatred for the first time in her life. Maybe that will be another underlining theme to this show? I think I am dreaming on that one though, what with FRIENDSHIP and colors all over the place. I guess I am having a hard time articulating what ticks me off about the coloring book and what not.

Hello. I am here....don't question why.

The Other World scenes are going along perfectly with the Real World scenes and yet they are coming off random to many viewers. A huge disconnect for some reason. Maybe because they are being too literal? Is any of this blog making sense? I am calling something random because it is coming across too literal. Anyway let me try to explain my crazy.

Oh so literal.

In the OVA it wasn’t really clear what was going on and while many viewers wanted answers it also kept us on our toes. In this anime so far everything has almost happened in conjunction to what the girls are going through in the real world. Black Rock Shooter is attacked by Charoit who wants to kill people with tasty treats. Dead Master “hurts” Black Rock Shooter but really she just wants to be rescued. Not sure why Black Gold Saw showed up as that has nothing to do with anything so far but you get my point. It is like the Other World is not real. It is just some place where we can see how cool these conflicts would look if they wore different outfits and fought in the Twilight Zone. In the OVA you were never quite sure if the Other World was real while I don’t think the Other World is real in the anime. If it does turn out to be real….well they should have done a better job of conveying that. We know nothing about the Other World and it hasn’t really taken the show to the next level in terms of plot. I don’t want a retelling of the Real World drama. I want something different.

Our blank little faces are confused. So we shall walk away now.

But the Real World drama was stepped up this week. Last week Mato was slightly picked on when offered the ugly cookies and teased. Of course when you are in 7th grade these are huge issues and this could have been the end of the world. But this week they stepped up the drama quite a bit.

That is super late, even on Tenchi Time.

I think what Mato went through at the festival was horrible. I really can’t blame the other girls for not wanting to hang out with her. She did turn down their invitation and now she is waiting for the class weirdo. But then Mato missed the entire festival, watching people walk in and out having fun….and there she stood all alone. How horrible is that?! She was extending the olive branch to someone who sorta already burned her and this is how she is repaid. Obviously we know what really happened but Mato didn’t and she stood there waiting and finally collapsed into emotional girl tears. Poor girl.

There is some mom fail going on here. A lot of it. And dad fail.

Not that Yomi was having a great time either. We know now the extent of Kagari’s crazy but at the time I was like PICK UP YOUR PHONE! Walk out the door. But even if she didn’t do those things she got carved in the chest. I am not sure if it will leave a permanent wound but what an awful experience. Creepy girl!

Mato finding out about this carved heart via her dream and real life was scary too. Mato has lived in a fluffy world of cupcakes and rainbows all her life so coming face to face with cruelty and rejection is pretty horrible to her. She trusted the adult counselor and yet her advice was pretty stupid. Mato is having a really hard time here folks.

The second chance comes after this of course...

And yet when she tried to give Yomi ANOTHER chance everything went to crazy land. Kagari is so crazy she threw herself down a flight of stairs. And despite only having a sprain wrist home girl is insisting on staying in the hospital and claims she can’t move her arm ever. And no adults are helping deal with this crazy. Not even Yomi’s mother. Instead all the adults are like oh poor Kagari, it is okay she has this sick obsession with Yomi. Yomi can handle her.

Yeah. This is so Yomi's fault.

....Yomi needs to live with Mato's family. Time for more rescues.

And that is when Mato becomes an adult and tries to save Yomi. Because no other adults in the area are capable of doing so. Why do all anime parents suck? I am sure they all don’t but lately they have been. Instead of crying in the corner like a normal kid faced with these crazy facts and stupid adults Mato runs in trying to save Yomi. Oh and did I mention that Yomi is not even responsible for Kagari’s injuries? Yeah I was wrong about that one. Not that I ever thought she did anything hurtful on purpose but apparently kids running in roads and dads getting new jobs is ALL Yomi’s fault.

Just leave her and run!

And yet….Yomi still wanted to be friends with this crazy girl. Maybe she felt responsible for giving into Kagari’s delusions thus making her condition worse. Maybe we are supposed to think Yomi is strong for not leaving behind a friend, that she has a big heart. As for me I would have run out of the hospital and into Mato’s sane if albeit immature arms. Like for a change let someone take care of me, free me from this insane girl! Where the hell are her parents anyway?

Err you still crazy?

So while one might think things have ended on a positive note…maybe they haven't? The real life Kagari is looking really weird. Yomi was screaming and Mato wasn’t in the room to see what happened. A stupid cliffhanger or has Kagari really snapped? So much for that rescue. In the Other World it appeared that Dead Master was rescued but Black Gold Saw randomly showed up and has basically kidnapped her. Oh and Black Rock Shooter now has her glowly eye out now. Chariot does seem to be down for the treat loving count though. What with losing her head and all. Does a defeat in the Other World mean you are “gone” in the real world? Or has the rage in Kagari been released and now she can be a happy girl?

So with my sad little wrist I shall end with post. This episode was better but now I think things are moving way too fast. Unless there are other crazy girls waiting in the wing to take Kagari’s place. I just hope the Other World gets fleshed out more and/or becomes real and that the bird book can go in the garbage. Or at least in the dresser drawer.