Arum Journal

The mother who called Sano on the phone last episode is actually his stepmother and that his biological mother passed away long ago. He still has a good relationship with his stepmother, but why his relationship with his father is still bad is unknown. However, I did feel bad when it’s revealed that his brother Shin is a delinquent who beats up others. Imagine not seeing your family for a while and suddenly, your younger sibling started living a destructive lifestyle. I’d be heartbroken. The next episode preview does seem to indicate some family drama…

Anyways, aside from the Sano family drama stuff towards the end, the episode overall is a lighthearted and comedic one. Nakatsu starts having fantasies about Mizuki and it’s to the point that he can give Nakamura from Go For It, Nakamura a run for his money. I also like how Julia’s short appearance gave him so much trauma that he freezes the moment he hears any woman speaking English. Julia is just “her”. Sorry, Nakatsu, but I’m glad that Julia shows up again! She’s just too cool not to be utilized often. Aside from them, I do like how distinct the main friend group is personality-wise…even if Sekime and Noe’s entire personality trait is that they’re obsessed with girls… Umeda getting a lot of action and Mizuki stumbling in every time is a funny running gag, honestly. I don’t know if she has good or bad timing. Also, I’m not a fan of how Nanba shows up. Dude, she’s not interested; get a reality check!

Also, is it just me or did the animation quality drop? The first three episodes were fine, but suddenly, the characters look a little derpy in this one—it’s mostly in the lighthearted scenes, though… I wonder if it’s because of the lightheartedness that they didn’t prioritize it all too much. Because this is mostly the beginning of the Hokkaido arc and the Sano family drama, I’m going to end the review here. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

Other than that, this episode is mostly just Lara being accustomed to the “strange” world of Shiga, Japan and how the world has changed in the past 234 years. I also like that because Lara couldn’t talk before when she was in 1792, she can talk this time around and the scar on her tongue is proof of that. However, she did lose her ring which is very important to her as it’s a symbol of her status as a royal princess and also a key to the power of light she supposedly has that can activate via true love.

Because of the new setting, there are a lot of new characters like Mari Otsu, the girl who punched her as she was falling but also rescued. She’s a stoic, aloof girl who’s into boxing, but she’s also surprisingly caring as she rescued Lara from drowning. She lives with her family which consists of her brother, grandmother and father; I wonder if the two will bond over not having a mother in their lives? She has a pet named Gon-chan who happens to be Grace, the witch; why is she a fish? *shrugs* Also, Lisa, the youngest of Lara’s blue sisters, has also maintained a human form, but for what reason? I do not know. However, why does it seem like she’s here for nefarious purposes? Her pet anglerfish also maintained a human form; I do wonder what sort of role they’ll play later on…

I’ve seen people think Goodbye Lara is yuribaiting or something. While it’s never stated that this is officially a yuri, it’s probably as gay as Cosmic Princess Kaguya or Buddy Daddies can get. However, why are people aversive against the idea of Lara possibly falling in love with Mari? True love’s gender is never specified. I’m honestly fine with a yuri route and would rather prefer it.

Other than that, the voice cast for the characters is interesting. Mari’s voice actress Nana Kawaishi makes her debut in this anime and it’s also her first ever role. There’s definitely going to be a lot of high expectations from her since she’s with more seasoned and experienced voice actors. I do like her dialect; she doesn’t have a particularly high pitched voice but it’s not too low either. Her brother Yotsuya is voiced by Tomohiro Ono who voiced Odawara in the Yohaji anime. Her father Makoto is voiced by Mitsuaki Madono which is surprising to me because he usually voices villains like Ogino in Buddy Daddies and Adachi in Persona 4; he also voiced Usagi’s dad in Sailor Moon Crystal. Her grandmother Ema is voiced by Nanae Sumitomo who mostly had supporting roles.

Because this is an original anime, it’s unpredictable, so I can only wait another week to see how the story progresses. Regardless, I am enjoying what I am seeing so far. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

Inako is honestly growing on me. She appeared to be a bit too naive at first, but she got a lot of pluck and she’s also cunning in that she hid the catalog in her sleeve before throwing the box out of the window. She’s also the one who believes in Kihachi’s inventions and even guides him through the dark house they went into. She wasn’t kidding when she said she’s good at believing in things. Her existence definitely makes one feel like you can do anything. I just feel bad that she lives in an era where women are treated as lesser, which is why Jinemon easily handed her off to marry Yosuke just to pay off debts because he assumed no other man would take Inako as a bride due to her clumsiness. Inako even mentions that whenever she rebels against her father, she gets put in a storeroom, showcasing that women who talk back aren’t seen as appealing back in the day—the fact that she has to be the one to apologize and not her father really frustrates me as someone who understands how that feels; I’ve had my own fair share of instances where I fight with my dad but I have to be the one to apologize and not him when it’s mostly his fault.

Kihachi still needs some time for me to get used to him, but I love how inventive he is. All of his inventions are really unique and are helpful in some way like the grappling hook that stops the car and the paraglide kite. He definitely has a promising future as an inventor once he knows how to control electricity. Still, I do find it funny that a lot of his dialogue is just him screaming, but other than that, he definitely is the weakest character so far. Though, I’m surprised that Kuga didn’t realize Kihachi was Seiroku’s brother. I thought he knew since he went to the fair four years ago with him? Or is it the case where he never met Kihachi before in person and only through word of mouth by his friend?

I do wonder what’s up with Seiroku. What sort of connection he did he have with the Momokawa family that he’d entrust Noriko with the catalog. How does he know her? I wonder if he was her original fiancé but after dying, she got engaged to Kuga instead. In any case, Noriko is definitely a major key player because of this.

Gosh, the animation was so beautiful in this episode. I loved the scenic shots like Kihachi and Inako staring into the city and the shots of them soaring through the sky. KyoAni really upped their game. Also, I did notice a lot of their budget did seem to go to…Yosuke’s butt because it’s very prominent and there are some scenes where it’s emphasized a lot. It’s funny because there are some incels who hate the fact that Yosuke is “female fan service” as if KyoAni hasn’t done female fan service in the past in the form of Free and Tsurune. One was even arguing that Yosuke’s outfit is anachronistic, but that isn’t the case since western clothes were a thing in Taisho era. I honestly think these incels who get riled up over Yosuke’s prominent ass are just gay men in denial or something. You can focus on other things about the story but if your major complaint is Yosuke’s butt…well, that’s your problem.

Anyways, I do find it funny how Kouki Uchiyama is killing it as Yosuke since he’s usually typecasted as moody emo boys. I think it’s because he got good English pronunciation that he got the role; I did praise his English once in Buddy Daddies where he was narrating the preview. Also, his butler Izo is voiced by Daisuke Hirakawa who voiced Rei Ryugazaki in Free; Uchiyama was in several KyoAni titles like Free and Amagi Brilliant Park.

I do wonder where the catalog went if the one on hand is fake. Did Seiroku really die or is it a fake out? I think Seiroku is the most mysterious character as he haunts the narrative. I do wonder if the plot is going to drag out until the end or if things will get answered each episode. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

Kai is an interesting character. He’s a little sh*thead who keeps getting Iwamoto into trouble due to his fondness for observation and research and also because he had a small, petty grudge towards Iwamoto for getting a spot that he was gunning for. He’s like a brattier version of Nirei from Wind Breaker in a way. I also find it funny how he looks more like a middle school student than Iwamoto and they’re only a year apart. Also, Kai doesn’t have an ability, so his role in the story will be interesting…

But, it does seem that the concept of a middle school in Taisho era Japan seems to be like a combined junior high and high school as Kai did mention fourth and fifth years. The school also has three divisions—research, frontlines, and quarantine. The research facility is mostly dealing with research; frontlines is where the recruits train rigorously; quarantine is where students with abilities lie in wait to do something. Most of the recruits have an ability.

Kai is voiced by Yuki Sakakihara who voiced Hirose in Go For It, Nakamura and Lize in Champignon Witch. The umbrella boy Ryu Sazame is voiced by Gen Sato who voiced Lee Minsung in Solo Leveling and Minato Wataya in Cherry Magic. The doll boy Mizuhi Awadama is voiced by Shinnosuke Tokudome who voiced Wada in Let’s Go Karaoke.

Anyways, Ryu and Mizuhi do seem like interesting characters and I can’t wait to see what abilities they have. I wonder if Mizuhi will be involved with the next case as his dolls got caught in whatever transpired at the end. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

Anyways, Glowing Dawn is celebrating its two-year anniversary. I’m actually surprised that the group has only been around for two years. Though, it makes sense since Kyo and Reina wore the same clothes as they did in a flashback that took place two years ago, which indicates that it wasn’t that long since they formed a group together. But since Maki had also met Kyo in a flashback where he was wearing his default outfit, that would imply he left the Five Stars at 20 years old and then started GD in the same year.

Some of Kyo’s past was revealed in that he used to have friends during his time as a Five Stars but they died. They were the reason why he has that gold-colored bracelet on him; it’s a memento of them. It makes me wonder if Nirinsou was created in memory of them. Also, I was wondering about Kyo’s childhood and it does seem that he had been an orphan. I’m not sure exactly when his parents died, but since he was two years old when the Kano Island incident happened and eleven when he joined the Five Stars, it might have been sometime after the incident but before he became a Cleaner. The orphanage seems to be run by Dr. Tenma. While he looks like a friendly guy, I honestly do not trust him. Why is this man, a former scientist involved with the Kano Island incident, running an orphanage? Maybe it’s atonement, maybe it’s just a front for something nefarious…

For the darker aspects of the episode, I was wondering where Kishiwada had been since he was MIA towards the end of the previous episode… it turns out that he was the true brains of GIFT in a way. He was even able to create a White Core that seemed to have formed from Mephismon reacting to Tomoro’s e-pulse. Given that core is what Genjo and Dr. Wong is searching for, this indicates that Kishiwada is not on their side; maybe he could be the true final boss of the story? Anyways, he’s also able to set a man jailed five years ago free. I wonder what the importance of that core is since Dr. Wong needs it for the Shangri-la Project alongside Asuka’s e-pulse, meaning both of the Tenma brother’s e-pulse is special.

Also, poor Rose. Digimon Beatbreak has bee doing decently with how the franchise notoriously mistreats their female characters, but it seems that they have been going back to their old, bad habits these days, like how Reina got a rushed focus episode to get her partner to Ultimate and now Rose is supposedly dead despite being a Five Star, aka one of the Top 5 strongest Cleaners in the world. I get that her opponent is a man with abnormal e-pulse that can control as many Utlimates as he wants, but come on… why doe Rose have to be offed like that? She didn’t even do anything in the GIFT arc despite being hyped up as a potential threat.

A new character makes his debut! Souji Kuroshio was the former Water Star and possibly the most dangerous Cleaner by far. He doesn’t have a main partner as his e-pulse has a tendency to brainwash Digimon and control them—he can even take a Digimon from their owner like how he did with Lilamon. He’s obsessed with Kyo, making him the 1314341th man obsessed with Mr. Sawashiro—it’s hilarious how all the people interested in him are men and no women are into him. By the way, the Shio in Kuroshio translates to either ‘tide’ or ‘salt’, befitting his water element. The ‘Kishi’ in Kishiwada can also be read as ‘tide’, so the two are tide together…(that was funnier in my head).

Souji is voiced by Shinichiro Miki who makes his Digimon debut. Some of his roles in anime include Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, James in Pokemon and Revolte in Frieren. Splashmon is voiced by Masaya Takatsuka who voiced Toya Kuga in Digimon Time Stranger, and various mons in Ghost Game. While Marinedevimon isn’t credited, his VA is listed as Yasunori Matsutani in the official website; Matsutani is the voice actor for Etemon in Adventure.

I’m honestly worried about Nirinsou. Souji does seem like the type who’d kill the babies to feed to his Ultimates. I am NOT looking forward to this; on top of that Kishiwada framed Kyo for killing Rose. What’s going to happen in this arc? Well, to end on a lighthearted note, whenever I type Souji, his name keeps getting autocorrected to soup. Let me know your thoughts!

I’m honestly surprised with how intelligent the translator boy Shira is. He stated in this episode that he still doesn’t know how to read or write well, yet he’s the one concocting all these plans to move up in the world with Sitara wanting in on it too. However, it’s unknown if he can be trusted as Sitara only sees him as a necessity and not as an ally; she did say everyone is her enemy, after all. It does make me wonder if she’ll team up with Toregene who doesn’t seem to like her husband, the third princes Ogedei, that much. It’d be a team-up of the century if that’s the case.

Anyways, we also get to see the Mongolian princes aside from Tolui. The way they all act about the damages they caused in the war is scarily composed, especially since Tolui just boasted about how he got his wife book he ransacked from Fatima’s house. The way his carefree attitude about how the book is in a foreign language yet he has no idea if it actually is the book shows how cruel war and the people who cause it can be. Tolui is just basically boasting how he killed people for a random book that might even be the book he’s searching for. It’s honestly crazy; I can see why his older brothers look perplexed. He’s definitely a hatable character with his only one redeeming trait is being a wife guy.

By the way, if you listen to Sitara’s dialogue, she tends to speak in a stilted manner around the Mongolians. This is because she’s still not fluent in the language, so she’s basically speaking a bit childishly like how every person learning a new language does. Remember that she only knows some basic Mongolian at this point because Shira, who’s more fluent, taught her. I honestly like that detail and I commend the subtitles for catching onto that.

The episode also introduces Uyghurs, who are a Turkish ethnic group and Master Changchun, who’s actually a real-life historical figure, Qiu Chuji. The purpose of this scene is to showcase how powerful wisdom and knowledge are. It’s also to showcase that immortality isn’t something to be sought after. Maybe it could be some foreshadowing in a way?

Anyways, the voice cast is also high budget alongside the animation. Now that Tolui’s words are able to be understood, his regular voice actor is Ryota Suzuki who voiced characters like Kurosawa in Cherry Magic, Trey Clover in Twisted Wonderland and Hiiragi in Wind Breaker. The first prince Jochi is voiced by Kenji Nojima who voiced Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon Crystal and Eiji Okumura in Banana Fish The second prince Chagatai is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa who voiced Yu Narukami in Persona 4 and Kazehaya in Kimi ni Todoke. The third prince Ogedei is voiced by Hiro Shimono who voiced Zenitsu in Demon Slayer, Dabi in My Hero Academia and Hakuto in My New Boss is Goofy. His wife Toregene is voiced by Ami Koshimizu who voiced Yukiko Amagi in Persona 4, the spider mother in Demon Slayer and Sailor Jupiter in Sailor Moon Crystal. 

I just hope nothing bad happens now that Sitara met Tolui’s wife Sorghaghtani. She has to be smart to move up in the world, so I’m sure she’s not going to demand the book back. Instead, I am more curious on what she’s going to do. It’s going to be hard waiting a week. Also, I just hope I can spell all these names correctly going forth… Let me know your thoughts on the episode!