Month: January 2023

The Legend of Heroes – Sen no Kiseki (Trails of Cold Steel) – Northern War – episode 3.

Posted on by animebloggernonichijou

In this episode, Lavi and her squad infiltrate the Western Erebonian city of Ordis. They came to learn about their enemy only to see that there is quotidian peace as well as civil unrest. And despite being in enemy territory, they save the day. It’s a classic storyline of learning that the peoples of the enemy state is not too different from you. I see this commonly in Japanese anime and such perhaps more-so than American such and such (but I don’t really watch much American stuff at all). It leads me to recall recent writings I read about describing the Japanese psyche as being multi-perspectival at baseline which yields a different foundation and process.

We also get to see more of Lavi being かっこいい　. We also have “cameo” appearances of Crossbell’s mascot character Mishy.

But what excited me the most was the first appearance of a character from the original tetralogy. And loveliness, it was one of my favoritest, Altina Orion. She’s my PICK in Sen no Kiseki IV. She is one of the characters that get one of the most (and better) character developments and frankly I just like her.

I think I should just focus my anime blog writings on the series/shows that I like the most.

This makes me want to go back and replay all the games to prepare for Trails into Reverie in July. (And engage with all of the side content such as the drama CDs).

Though honestly, this show isn’t that great by itself and would not do well as a standalone. It must be enjoyed as part of the bigger series.

Lavi being かっこいい

‘

My fav Altina.

The Legend of Heroes – Sen no Kiseki (Trails of Cold Steel) – Northern War – episode 2.

Posted on by animebloggernonichijou

The Legend of Heroes – Sen no Kiseki (Trails of Cold Steel) – Northern War – episode 2.

The eastern psychology (as opposed to the western) demonstrates a predilection for the multi-perspectival with Japanese Jungian analysts suggesting/supporting models for the Ego not being the center of the psyche and a more porousness between the boundary of the conscious and unconscious.

This series – the Legend of Heroes, more specifically the Kiseki/Trails subseries that I engaged with – demonstrates this so well as the overarching story is told from the perspectives of Estelle and Joshua … and Kevin… in the Liberl arcs, Lloyd Bannings and the SSS in the Crossbell arc, and Rean and class VII in the Erbonia arc, and that’s not even including the upcoming (english localization) of reverie with three protagonists and the Calvard arc… and of course the ever-present Ouroborus society.

This anime highlights Lavi and comrades as the protagonists while Rean is seen as the enemy, representing the colonial prowess and progress of the Erebonian empire. I have it quite commonly how in JRPGs where you fight friends, you fight enemies as people with the opposing view. This is perhaps while I really liked Duvalie, as a major boss/enemy you face in Trails to Azure and in Trails of Cold steel II and III while being a conflicted ally in Trails of Cold steel IV fighting against her master to find her way and own answer.

Back to this anime – episodes 1 and 2 were the prologue, exposing the context from the perspective of Northern Ambria and introducing Lavi and party. It’s appropriate Campanella representing Ouroborus shows up at the end of the episode considering his presence in every single arc and country.

This all makes me very excited to learn more Japanese and for Trails into Reverie’s English release in July 2023. In fact, I’m going to review some more Japanese vocabulary tonight before going to bed.

The Legend of Heroes – Sen no Kiseki – Northern War – 01

Posted on by animebloggernonichijou

The Legend of Heroes – Sen no Kiseki (known as Trails of Cold Steel in the West) – Northern War

The Legend of Heroes / Kisseki-Trails subseries is one of my favorite JRPGs (or games in general) of video games of all time for me. It has surpassed Final Fantasy and others to reign high on my list for awesome video games. I played the first 9 installments of this series last year 2022 during the summer.

It’s not an understatement that this series REVIVED my motivation to study Japanese… as the next three games are out in Japanese but not yet translated to English. Yes, the immediate next one is coming out in July (and I plan on taking vacation when it comes out to play it) but I DONT WANT TO WAIT FOR TRANSLATIONS.

I was ecstatic to hear that there was an anime installment to this series and telling the story between Trails of Cold Steel II and III as the North Ambria jaegers play an important role in the story.

The thing about the Trails/Kiseki series is that everyone has a story. Even the NPCs have stories that progress over the years which makes it quite remarkable and sets it apart from other JRPGs.

This anime installment tells the story of North Ambria immediately after Rean helps Erebonia “annex” Crossbell and eventually does the same to North Ambria. This episode also referred back to the Salt Pale Incident which is important to the lore in general but also to the Septian organization and some parts of Trails in the Sky chapters 2 and 3 (especially Kevin Graham’s part of the story).

The first scene had background music from the games which brought me into the zone.

I wish I could replay all of the games (some on nightmare mode) to prepare for Trails into Reverie coming out in July in the US. Or I could get into listening to all of the audio drama CDs and side-manga stories.

This super motivates me to study more Japanese. Besides my work in my business/practice this is one of my top 4 foci of 2023.

TRIGUN STAMPED 01

Posted on by animebloggernonichijou

Anyone in the US who watched the anime-icons of the latter 90s and early 2000s know them:

Cowboy bebop
Sailor Moon
Dragon Ball (Z)
Trigun
(and maybe a few others like Cardcaptor Sakura)

Trigun is so iconic in anime especially for its status in this wave.

Why is there another anime series 25 years later?

I don’t know, and I don’t feel like looking it up right now.

But I am excited to watch TRIGUN STAMPEDE.

The CG animation is a hit or miss though – some scenes are spectacular and some are clunky. For me it’s reminiscent of “Hi-Score Girl” but without the same charm.

The initial scene of episode 1 was really rushed and probably would have done better as a flashback in a later episode.

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san S2-01

Posted on by animebloggernonichijou

This is the best romantic comedy. Way better than rental kanojo, Aharen-San Wa Hakarenai, Komi-san, Sono Bisuku Dōru wa Koi o Suru, and whatever.

It has a running gag but it is very endearing and there is a relationship development that you really want to support. It also helps that both protagonists are so awkward. The instantaneous shifts in sexual, emotional, and other tension is done so well. Looking forward to this show every weekend.