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Another briefer than usual dispatch from the road.
Servant X Service – 06
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They moved Servant X Service again? I can’t remember another recent show that seemed to hop around the schedule like this one does, but better today than Saturday night/Sunday, I suppose.
I confess I’m still not sure just what the heck is going on with the whole Momoi-san/stuffed rabbit thing. Is he doing all this with electronics? Is he really a rabbit? I know we’re not really supposed to ask, but it still feels a bit out-of-place with the rest of the series to me. That said, Rikiya Koyama camping it up with this performance is surely worth the price of admission. In a week where unintentionally insulting people seemed to be the dominant theme, Momoi-san got it kicked off by telling Saya that he liked riding on her shoulder while she worked because the view wasn’t blocked by any… protuberances.
The Momoi storyline just gets weirder with the addition of his daughter Kanon (Hidaka Rina). What do we read into the fact that she plays right along with the whole usagi bit, even covering for him when Touko shows up for her daily terror attacks on the office? Hard to say for sure what that implies about the whole weird business, but the fact that Kanon also happens to be a friend of Touko will surely be of interest to Ichimiya, who’s suddenly worried that she doesn’t have any friends. His real worry should be that his staff is still in terror of her daily visits, and that she wastes an enormous amount of their time almost every day. But then Ichimiya is a pretty pathetic boss (among other things) so his missing the boat on this isn’t too surprising.
Finally, it was nice to see an with a lot of focus on Saya generally. A Nakhara Mai-voiced character always has a chance to stand out, but she’s been pretty quiet since the premiere. Saya especially seems to have a talent for that unintentional insult thing – it’s no wonder “9 out of 10” of the guys she turns down end up crying, and she manages to lay waste to the unflappable Hasebe’s psyche like none before. But her biggest problem here is that Tanaka-san has decided she’s to marry her Grandson, and doesn’t appear likely to take “no” for an answer. Given that there’s an obvious stormy history between Hasebe and Tanaka’s grandson, I presume this is a character who’s going to be joining the cast in short order.
Rozen Maiden Zurückspulen – 06
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The question of the relative “realness” of reality has never been far from the surface in Zurückspulen, but it was addressed more openly this tome around than it has been before. There are deeper philosophical matters in play here, of course, and there seems little doubt that unwound Jun’s reality feels every bit as solid to him as wound Jun’s does. Yet, to listen to Shinku it appears that his world is a fragile and transient thing – a mere “twig” against the massive tree the reality of “her” Jun represents.
The texts from middle-schooler Jun that end the episode are especially interesting. He confirms that he’s been the one sending his older self the doll parts, and implies that if that older Jun makes his very own doll, he can change his world – in fact, turn it into a tree itself. I don’t know who to believe here and I don’t know how unwound Jun always seems to know what wound Jun is thinking at any given moment, but what’s happening here seems clear enough – Jun the elder is slowly gaining a will to live, both through his connection with Shinku and his growing affection (shared) with Saitou. Even his growing anger at his scumbag boss reflects a developing commitment to interact with his reality – to care about it. And that would seem to make this Jun less likely to willingly give up his own existence to save his younger self, should it ever come to that.
Meanwhile Shinku and Sugintou continue to go at it like cats and dogs, though they do manage to spare Jun’s apartment if not their clothes from the worst of it. Shinku is having nightmares about Hina Ichigo, and seems to have an almost fatalistic view on her future and how the current crisis will end up being resolved. To be honest for me the real drama here is in Jun’s classic tale of disillusionment and loneliness, not with the Alice Game and the dolls playing it. That said, the name of the franchise is still “Rozen Maiden” and their story seems likely to take center-stage, sooner rather than later. Whether it can do as well with that thread as it is with Jun’s daily struggled with adult life will determine just how far this series is able to go.
ishruns
August 9, 2013 at 4:13 pmI admit at that Touko is getting on my nerves. I don'r really mind her brocon as I take it for laughs rather than reality but harassing the rest of the office and getting away with it, along with having a constant anger cross, is beyond annoying. I'd say everyone who's worked somewhere like an office for more than a year will have some experience dealing with the brats your boss brings to work sometimes. They don't want to be there and after they trash your cubicle neither do you. Still SxS is still quite funny and building a plethora of relationships to rival two seasons worth of Working.
RM is as ever melancholic but enjoyable. It says something about Jun's character that I feel his frustration and his infatuation so strongly, not mentioning his doubts or loneliness. I do hope that they tie those parts to the eventual plot of RMZ because it'd be waste to let it go.
litho
August 9, 2013 at 4:16 pmAt first I suspected Momoi's daughter being a robotics nut and designing him. But then I remembered that flashback where he was a rabbit during Hasebe's father's time at the ward office. So who knows. I'll just go with the flow since he's funny.
Anyone take a second look at the face of the kid Hasebe was playing jan-ken-pon with? The most doofus looking face I've seen in anime this season.
Cancer777
August 9, 2013 at 5:41 pmThe rabbit is definitely electronic. He said so when we first met him (something about cameras and modern technology making it possible) plus in the intro you can see a microchip (looks like an Intel spoof) when the camera zooms in to the rabbit's head.
Gary Cochran
August 9, 2013 at 7:16 pmI'm starting to think Jun is going to make either his own Shinku or Hina Ichigo?
Gary Cochran
August 13, 2013 at 3:02 amAm I the only one that dislikes the addition of the rabbit boss? I have enjoyed this series up until the point where it became unbelievable with the rabbit boss. It takes me out of the show. I was hoping we would only see him rarely and now here it is 2 episodes in a row he has appeared for long periods of time.
Ronbb
August 10, 2013 at 12:29 am"To be honest for me the real drama here is in Jun's classic tale of disillusionment and loneliness, not with the Alice Game and the dolls playing it."
I so agree with you. I am not interested in the Alice Game and for whatever symbolic meanings that brings. It's good that the dolls come with personalities and emotions, but it will disgust me if the story starts building romantic attractions between humans and dolls. Call me unimaginative or close-minded, but to me that just fuels the imagination of some with their figurines. It's not about the ability to see beyond the surface but my question of why dolls in the first place. This is why I never wanted to venture RM till Mochizuki Tomomi is at the helm — I love his House of Five Leaves. I am very happy to see how the show has progressed and avoided to even come close to what I don't want to see. I am interested in seeing how Jun tries to change and save himself, and I like how he got pumped up this week when Saito started calling him Jun-kun — that's very cute. The ability to create something gives Jun the confidence and hope to change. I can see that Shinku plays a role in that process, and Saito perhaps can represent the hope or a bright end to Jun's rough road. This may not be where the story will progress, but I certainly hope so.
As for SxS, the dialogue is still as funny as hell, and I like how it talks about being hardworking is a taboo in the workplace. I like seeing more of Saya — love how unintentionally sarcastic that she can be. I am looking forward to the next episode already.
Zeta Zero
August 10, 2013 at 2:42 pm"it will disgust me if the story starts building romantic attractions between humans and dolls. Call me unimaginative or close-minded, but to me that just fuels the imagination of some with their figurines."
It's not going to go that route, the previous incarnations never did that either. It has always been portrayed as platonic relationship between master and servant. Anything else implied was left to doujinshi – and believe me those people need very little prompting to do anything.
Ronbb
August 10, 2013 at 6:27 pm@Zeta Zero: thanks, and that's helpful, as I am a new viewer to the RM story. So far, I have been enjoying the show, and I like that the dolls are not portrayed as cutie loli but real characters.
Ashley Joiner
August 11, 2013 at 4:43 amUnlike the rest of you, I am more interested in the Alice Game then Jun's life. I can deal with watching it but I find it generic and dull. I do find Shinku and Suigintou's fighting hilarious since its so much more playful this time. Anyways I just want Kirakishou to come already, forget Saitou.