Arum Journal

The Shiguma scenes are really nice! Despite being an accomplished rakugoka, he’s still a friendly old man. I like that he’s friends with everyone in the nearby neighborhood and they like him too! It showcases that even if Shiguma is a famous performer, he’s still very humble. I think it’s cute that he has a sweet tooth and likes gelato. There’s also the scene where he goes to a place that I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s where people associated with rakugo go as he has to give Akane a stage name. This honestly made me realize something important: all of Shiguma’s apprentices’ names are stage names—those aren’t their actual names! I always thought how unique their names were so it didn’t occur to me that they’re all stage names—though, Kyoji is the most ‘normal’ name of the four. I wonder if we’ll ever learn their actual names in the story since Akane is the only one of the five using her actual name as her stage name. Wait, does that mean Shiguma is also a stage name?

The school scenes are mostly expanded as the scenes were brief in the two manga chapters this part took place in. I do like it, however. It gives Akane’s victory more impact in a way. Her pursuit of rakugo inspires her friends to pursue what they want in life with Lisa, the blonde girl, wanting to be a stylist and Yuka, the black haired girl, wanting to be an illustrator. It’s nice that the girls are going to pursue stuff related to the arts when it’s ‘safer’ to study a convenient major and get a regular job. Jumbo is also inspired by Akane’s victory as he does seem to want to pursue judo and take it more seriously. The graduation scene was also an added anime-original scene which is nice because it might be the last time we see Akane, her friends, and even Iwa-sensei.

The reveal of the Rakugo Federation does make it seem like there will be a continuation, which has been announced. I just hope they’re not as stubborn as Issho. Also, their voice actors are some of the biggest names in the industry, so it’s basically a group of all-stars for the all-star rakugokas. 

Ryu’un Kenputei, the first one introduced, is voiced by Shinichiro Miki who voiced characters like Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Ivan Yosano in Daemons of the Shadow Realm and James in the Pokemon anime. Shomei Tsubakiya, the one with the glasses, is voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu, who voiced Miyuki Hebinuma in Kowloon Generic Romance, Kokushibo in Demon Slayer and Byakuya Kuchiki in Bleach. Chocho Konjakutei, the one with orange hair and sharp teeth, is voiced by Tomokazu Seki, who some might recognize as Yotaro from Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu; some of his other roles include Sanemi Shinazugawa in Demon Slayer and Kanji Tatsumi in Persona 4. Urara Ransaika, the only lady of the group, is voiced by Mutsumi Tamura, who is mostly known for voicing young boys like Hiro Amanokawa in Digimon Ghost Game, Tartah in Witch Hat Atelier and young Kakashi in Naruto, but she has been branching out to voice female characters lately like Mio Kagawa from A Star Brighter Than The Sun and the Pristimon line in Digimon Beatbreak. Enso Sanmeitei might be name you might recognize as he was mentioned in the previous episode from Shohei when Karashi asked him who one of the rakugo bigwigs are aside from an Arakawa. He’s known for voicing a lot of old man characters like Monkey D. Garp in One Piece; he also voiced Gamabunta in Naruto. Lastly, Miroku Kashiwaya is voiced by Hochu Otsuka who voiced characters like Urokodaki in Demon Slayer and Jiraiya in Naruto. 

As a whole, this anime was quite fun! It does have its issues here and there, but I mostly enjoyed learning about the origins of rakugo and how there are many styles and stories. I also really like listening to the voice actors perform as their character does. It gives off clarity that these people are very experienced. Anna Nagase basically solidified herself as a young talent to watch out for after her superb performance of both Jugemus. I honestly can’t wait to hear more of her in the second season. Overall, this was a solid 7.5/10 anime—I would’ve given it an  8 if the Hikaru-focused episode was better paced. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

The story is Taichi Sagawa, a broke and hot-headed college student who is trying to find jobs to earn money. One day, he accidentally fell over a fence and stumbled across fellow college classmate Kouhei Sugihara who gives him his lunchbox but is mostly antisocial. This is when Tachi learns that Kouhei is hard of hearing and sees how people treat him, which causes a budding friendship and romance to bloom between the two.

I’m not someone who has a disability, so I can’t relate, but I can sympathize. I do feel like people do treat others differently if they’re inherently ‘different’, which can cause negative repercussions. For Kouhei, he’s not completely deaf, but he is hard of hearing, so it gets him pitied by those around him. The treatment he gets from both genders is actually interesting to look at as girls see him either as a handsome guy they want to get along with or someone to romanticize, while guys see him as a depressed freak vying to get attention. Fortunately, Taichi isn’t one of those male jerks as he never once treats Kouhei differently and even tells him it’s not his fault for being unable to hear.

Still, I feel like being in each other’s presence helps the other grow. Taichi learns to calm down a bit and be more aware of his surroundings due to Kouhei while Kouhei learns to be more confident thanks to Taichi. I also think Taichi’s presence is very important to Kouhei as it’s in the title. I Hear The Sunspot is equivalent of Kouhei being able to hear Taichi well despite his hearing problems (the Tai part of his name means sun).

The first volume mostly revolves around the stigma Kouhei faced and still faces in his life as it hasn’t been too long since his diagnosis and he could see how much the world around him changed in a short period of time and not the issues deaf people face in general, which I believe will be a topic in later volumes in a way, from what I remember?

I think the best part about the episode is that the rules of Unite Battles are all explained at the beginning and that’s it. No one explains the other rules in the middle and it’s mostly the characters showing off how they work without info dumping interruptions. I’m honestly impressed because anime has a tendency to do that. Because this isn’t a traditional Pokemon battle episode, the animation quality does feel like it is better than before, but it still has some cases of slideshow montage, which can’t be helped due to the run time.

And because Unite battles aren’t traditional Pokemon battles, the kids and Friede are basically doing whatever they want in the battle. However, the major difference between them and Shining Oceans is that the Rising Volt Tacklers aren’t as united in teamwork as they are; it’s definitely a major difference. Regardless, the RVTs still have good teamwork without anyone being a nuisance, but it was mostly shown towards the end.

I think the coolest part was that the Pokemon used by RVTs and Shining Oceans are all part of the Unite roster with Toxtricity being added as soon as the episode ended. In a way, it does feel as if they were actually playing the game in a way. Regarding Shining Oceans, I do like that the Pokemon choices weren’t strictly based on gender as the orange-haired guy was the one who used Clefable and the girl with the buns is the Zoroark trainer.

The leader of Shining Oceans, the Sirfetched trainer is voiced by Toshiya Miyata who is an idol from the group Kis-My-Ft2. He has been doing a lot of voice acting in addition to his idol activities, so this is a bit of a celebrity casting in a way. Some of his roles include Akina Myodo in Cardight Vanguard Divinez and the Kasai twins in Delicious Party Precure. Not only that, Miyata is also an author as he is the creator of the story Melody of the Boundary which will be receiving an anime adaptation with its released date yet to be announced. He’s a multitalented person. The other members of the group are voiced by people who have voiced characters in the anime.

I guess my only gripe for the episode is that Professor Phorus doesn’t play much of a part despite showing up in the opening. Her voice actress isn’t even credited! It’s a shame because she has such an interesting design; I don’t think her assistant Erbie spoke at all. The only other Unite character who showed up in the episode is Zirco who appeared in a bonus segment. Other than that, it was an engaging episode from start to end. Let me know your thoughts on the episode!

Miharu and GIFT’s entire goal is to make Wong reveal the existence of Digimon to the world. In a way, her goals and Glowing Dawn’s goals are inherently the same, but the execution  and methods are much different. GD wants coexistence between humans and Digimon; because of that, they won’t delete a Digimon and do things as nobly as possible; they also don’t hurt humans as their biggest threat Klay was handed over to the Ministry and not eliminated. For Miharu and GIFT, she also wants coexistence, but she wants it so that Digimon rule over the humans as she thinks they are superior. Because of that, she doesn’t think twice when it comes to hurting other humans—GIFT has killed people. In a way, GIFT and GD are shadow archetypes and Miharu and Tomoro are as well.

Apparently, e-pulses can show other people’s memories and that’s what Miharu’s does when hers and Tomoro’s resonate. Miharu’s past is shown. She had an older sister named Chifuyu who worked as a Sapotama AI engineer for the World Union. She also had a Wizardmon as a partner. She was bright and loving. However, when she suggested to reveal Digimon to the world, she got scorned by her coworkers and got called insane and mentally unwell. This caused her mental health to deteriorate and her partner got confiscated. Unfortunately, she took her own life before she could be reunited with Miharu, causing Wizardmon to dark digivolve into Mephismon with the help of Miharu’s black e-pulse. Miharu’s actions are justified, but the execution is not.

Chifuyu’s existence is like a foil of Asuka’s impact on Tomoro. Chifuyu revealed everything about Digimon to her sister while Asuka hid their existence to Tomoro until his life was at risk. Chifuyu won’t come back, unfortunately, while Asuka can. Chifuyu had a Digimon, but we still don’t know if Asuka had one. Since Mephismon isn’t Miharu’s, I think it does make a good contrast.

I do like that Wong’s abduction is divisive in the story. Kaito and Honoka aren’t in the mood to rescue him as Kaito thinks Wong deserves comeuppance and Honoka is just following Kaito as she’s a simp. Rose is trying to rescue Wong with her subordinates, but we still don’t know what Genjo is up to. Tsukasa, who’s now in charge of Kuonji Industries, is the one to inform Glowing Dawn of Wong’s abduction and also told them the risk of GIFT’s methods. In a way, he’s not exactly on Wong’s side, but knows that losing him will be risky.

Chifuyu is voiced by Saori Hayami who voiced Quantumon in Digimon Ghost Game. Outside of Digimon, she’s known for voicing Yor Forger in Spy x Family, Shinobu Kocho in Demon Slayer and Yachiyo in Cosmic Princess Kaguya. Honestly, I was shocked when I learned Hayamin was voicing Chifuyu. This means that Beatbreak now has all the modern Sailor Starlights’ voice actresses. Mephismon and Wizardmon are voiced by Urara Takano who makes her debut in Digimon. She’s known for voicing Weevil Underwood (Insector Haga in JP) in Yugioh and Joyboy in One Piece (she was also the first voice of Luffy back in the 1998 OVA). Honestly, Mephismon having a feminine voice does make it more creepier.

There is a break next week, so the next episode will air July 5th. I wonder if Episode 37 will be the conclusion of the GIFT arc because it has been the weakest one so far. I just hope it concludes well. Happy Fathers’ Day to all the dads and to Kyo Sawashiro! Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

Honestly, the reasoning is logical. It could be seen as illogical as he could’ve just not promoted them and then have them hone their skills until they get promoted, but this episode also reveals that the expelled futatsumes could have gone to different masters and schools. The only reason Shinta/Toru decided to quit was because he only wanted to be Shiguma’s apprentice as he took the parent and child dynamic very seriously. Still, this only motivates Akane even more. She definitely will become a rakugoka and prove him wrong once and for all. In a way, it’s also a fuel for motivation for her.

The second half of the episode is mostly the Shiguma apprentices celebrating their youngest apprentice’s victory at the Karaku cup. It’s full of hilarity as Maikeru just wanted an excuse to drink and we finally see what Kyoji is like wasted. I honestly like how Akane, who’s normally pretty crazy herself, is the most rational person aside from Iwa-sensei. I like that Shiguma also joins in on the craziness, showing that he isn’t just a stern old man and that he has his own fair share of silliness.

Maikeru may not have a lot of screen time until now, but he does showcase that rakugo isn’t just a performance with dialogue but it’s entertainment itself. Musical elements can also be showcased in rakugo, as seen with Kaisei back in episode 2. It was honestly nice hearing Nobunaga Shimazaki singing a traditional Japanese way. The post-credit scene also implies that Maikeru is trained in all sorts of instruments, dances and other types of entertainments. I wonder if the unicycle will ever be featured in a performance…

I also like that Akane’s victory caused Hikaru and especially Karashi to lock in and start taking rakugo seriously. They put a target on her back in a way. I like that. It shows that they’re not one-time characters and that Akane has become their rival in a way. Hikaru seemingly got scouted by Ikken Arakawa while Karashi is looking to be an apprentice under a non-Arakawa shin’uchi.

I like that Kashio is not making an article out of the stuff he eavesdropped after being told to leave with other reporters, but making one to hype up Akane as a upcoming rakugo talent. He has integrity as a journalist and I like that! Normally, journalists in stories would use the forbidden information to cause trouble, so I like the subversion! Akane will definitely be someone to watch after this! Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

For those not familiar with Abyss’s story, it’s basically about a world called Auldrant that relies heavily on these special magic rocks called the Score where it can forsee the future of the world. Because of this, the world becomes too reliant on these magic rocks to the point that there is a religion centered around them. Anyways, the main character, Luke fon Fabre, is a young man who appears in the Score’s prophecy. Like what the Score predicts, he’s a young man with red hair and possesses royal blood, but he is far from anything considered royalty. He has been sheltered for the past seven years of his life due to being kidnapped and getting amnesia because of it. His life has been full of boredom until one day, a young woman named Tear intrudes into his residence to kill his sword teacher and the two accidentally cause a magical reaction that causes them to be blown away from the manor. That’s how Luke’s story of identity and mystery begins.

Tales of the Abyss is considered the franchise’s magnum opus in a way. It is the darling of the franchise and the one every fan wants to see a remaster of (but we got Eternia instead, who was the first Tales darling before Abyss). It’s a beloved work, so the anime should be the same, right? To be honest, while there are things the anime does better than the game itself, I would advise to see the anime adaptation as just an adaptation. It’s not perfect. There are things I do like and dislike about it.

First off, I do like that they kept the iconic Karma as the opening song. You know the game is beloved when they keep the opening song when the other anime adaptations don’t. It’s just that good. I also like the ending song! Second, I do like that the anime does expand on a few things that the game doesn’t do like flashbacks of the characters’ pasts. The anime does help flesh out these characters more because some of the backstories for a few characters as well as some of the villains can only be found in side quests that are very hard to find. The third best thing about the anime is definitely the voice cast as most of the major characters reprised their roles for the anime except for Ion who had to get a different voice actress due to her being on maternity leave at the time of recording; the cast is pretty stacked with Chihiro Suzuki voicing Luke and Yukana voicing Tear. There’s also the well-known Takehito Koyasu as Jade. The villains have a good cast too with names like Jouji Nakata and Kazuki Yao amongst the list. Unfortunately, that’s where my praises for the anime ends.

Sadly, I have more gripes than praises for the anime. The first being the art style. I’m honestly not a fan. The studio in charge of the anime is Studio Sunrise who have done anime like Code Geass, Inuyasha, Tiger and Bunny, etc. To be honest, Abyss is probably their most unflattering anime in their list in terms of art—and I’ve watched the Scarlet Nexus anime. The art style makes the characters look completely different from their game counterparts and some of the color choices for the characters is questionable like Natalia’s bright blonde hair and Anise’s lack of melanin.

Some of the characters’ personalities have been toned down. If you haven’t played the games, I just want to let you know that Abyss’s cast is a party full of the biggest jerks. Though, they all get character development. The nicest of the cast, Guy, still had his fair share of mean comments here and there. Like, this tweet I made as I watched the anime summarized the party members in the beginning. Luke definitely feels the most different as his post-haircut self is a lot less self-depreciating compared to how he was in the game. The vibe of the party does feel a bit cheerier in a way. Because of this, the interactions between the party members are reduced as they mostly revolve around Luke and sometimes Tear as they are the MC and heroine of the story. It’s a shame because I really liked the friendship between the Abyss girls that you can only see in the skits of the game where the three went from hating each other to professing how precious they are to each other by the end. The anime doesn’t really showcase that…

Some of the iconic scenes from the game also gets toned down so they feel less serious than how the game presents it. Like, I finished the last two episodes yesterday and one of the most iconic scenes in the game got butchered so bad. The last quarter of the story does feel rushed in a way as it is only 26 episodes… Because the anime studio is different from the game’s, the soundtrack is pretty forgettable. Abyss has a lot of iconic soundtracks, but I get that they can’t be in the anime due to copyright and such. But I can’t blame the staff as they did their best.

While I consider it the best of the Tales anime adaptations, I would only recommend it to those who have played the game and know the lore. Going into it when you never played the game is not recommended at all. By the way, the first episode can be viewed on Youtube for free! If you have watched the anime, let me know your thoughts on it!

I was surprised that the breakup between Hirose and Hana was went by fast. I was assuming it’d get dragged a bit longer, but the breakup happens around a quarter of the way through the episode. Then after that, it’s just cute Nakahiro moments. There are a lot of changes from the second half of the Hana chapter that the anime adapted from in that the reveal that the two had kissed was omitted as well as any traces of Otogiri talking to Hirose after the breakup. Some of the things Otogiri said in the chapter are said by Hirose in the episode. The most important quotes are mostly Hirose saying how he doesn’t understand girls and Nakamura telling him how charming he is. Congrats, Nakamura, you just solidified a possible path!

Other than that, I liked the mostly anime-original aspects of the Nakahiro moments. The part where they went on an unofficial date was so cute. I think this is the first time Hirose is seen in casual clothes, which is honestly a treat for Nakamura as it does feel as if his hard work on wanting to be Hirose’s friend and still hanging onto his feelings is rewarded! Honestly, Hirose looked adorable in that sweater and cap and he looks really good in dark blue—it compliments the light brown very well! I like that they didn’t just stop at the movies but also went to the park. It’s like Hirose finds Nakamura’s presence special and it does hone in on how some people have someone they like to hang out with outside of their usual friends.

I do like that the ending is also a montage of most of the characters who appeared in the story both on and off-screen. Poor Matsumura—he still gets forgotten by Hirose. Nakamura definitely has something he can rub in his face later on. Also, I was surprised that Reiko and Tamura are second years? I thought they were third years?

If there’s anything that I don’t like, whether it be about this episode or the series overall, it’d be that this definitely only got an adaptation because it’s a BL that’s not explicit and “easy” to work with. What I mean is that since Nakahiro aren’t explicitly together, the animation staff definitely did whatever they wanted with the source material and even added in original content to add in extra run time for the season. While they’re not bad choices, it does show that the lack of BL anime is mostly due to stigma and other stuff. Regardless, the adaptation was good, probably one of the better BL anime adaptations by far. I love the color choices, voice cast and that the ending song always changes each episode. It was definitely something made with a lot of care. I just hope there will be more BL anime of this quality in this future.

Anyways, it’s also funny how people are begging for a Season 2 when some of them are the ones who bullied Syundei off the internet and caused them to lose motivation in writing a continuation. And those bullies are still badmouthing the author to this day… Will there be a Season 2? Definitely not. Was it worth the delay? Absolutely. Let me know your thoughts on the finale and the anime as a whole!