Zero: Dragon Blood

[Dr Kain]

I swear OT is trolling us. I really want to watch the final episode before I head out on Wed, and every week they have done Zero before Kyuranger, but this week just happen to have Kyu out first. I know it's really a coincidence, but come on!

 

[lazycoconut]

Gonna keep it under spoiler tags cos subs aren't out yet:

Spoiler

Seriously, the amount of fan grief and exaggeration I'm seeing over Alice from both English-speaking and Japanese fans is annoying me:

Alice isn't the only person Rei has ever loved or the only one he's lost tragically - SHIZUKA EXISTED, like it or not.

It is not necessarily true that he'll never have another relationship. He's still only about thirty years old! He may not have ever settled down, since in Makai no Hana he didn't seem to have a wife or kids - otherwise he probably wouldn't have been so quick to go chasing after Kouga and Kaoru. But it still doesn't mean he will never meet anyone ever again or should live like a monk because of Alice.

It's not true that Rei had no happy times in his life between Shizuka and Alice (he did; we saw some of them in the first two series) and probably not true that the only happiness he will ever have again will be training Raiga. He, as this show makes clear has always known what he was getting into as a Makai Knight and he accepts that. Also, not everyone's path in life has to be just like Kouga and Kaoru's.

I get it people are sad about Alice. Even though I don't like her, I do like Rei, and I'm sorry for him. But things are BAD ENOUGH for him at the end of the show; why do his fans want to make it worse for him by proclaiming he is not allowed to move on or have any joy in life again now she's gone?

 

[Toku Prime]

Eh, it was more that they suddenly seemed to crank up his attachment for her at the end just for the sake of melodrama. I'm not opposed to him finding a significant other but on the other hand I cheered when Alice died. If it had been, say, Kagome I probably wouldn't have minded so much.

With regards to the other main conversation that's been going on, let's be honest the franchise's forte is pretty imagery rather than original story (or even logical sense - if they're always meant to be within a few miles of that quiet little seaside town why does it seem like all the scenes with the adult dragon take place in Mordor?). I think dragon knight is the fourth evil knight? I admit most of my initial dislike for Rekka was because I felt that her and Leo basically took up Jabi and Rei's roles within the story and gave the established characters nothing to do but be extra bodies in mass brawls. Thankfully she's found her own niche now.

Also, while I enjoyed the return of the timer visual in this season that's the third time (fourth if you include the anime) that it's been overrun without any lasting consequence. It's more or less a power-up now.

Overall I think that there's a lot that this series did right, but sadly I suspect frustration with Alice will be my main memory of it.

Honestly, I feel like Garo has never been as good as the first season.

Yeah that's probably a fair statement - with the usual caveat that it's now been years since I've seen it, so maybe I've got rose-tinted glasses for it? I think the first anime season got close though, at least as far as my enjoyment went.

 

[lazycoconut]

I wouldn't have so much minded him having a love interest if not for Alice being a horrid character, inappropriately young for him, the apparent retconning of Shizuka out of existence or Rei just plain not caring about her any more, and the whole thing being the franchise's third attempt at Kouga/Kaoru. The ending even goes so far as to imply he is suicidal over Alice - although at least that's counteracted by Makai no Hana showing him to still be alive 18-20 years from now.

I still don't get the idea in general that Rekka is a copy of Jabi. Their core philosophies are opposites: Jabi thinks that there is more to life than being a Knight/Priest (which is why she is used to contrast with Tsubasa), whereas Rekka's entire raison d'etre is her desire to be a Knight. I agree she was a lot better used in this series though and think she deserves a better show - which is why I'm hoping that she and Rei will both get the chance to return for another installment of the franchise

 

[Dr Kain]

Well I watched and finale and what a piece of **** that was.

I'm going to cover my thoughts through how I was feeling throughout certain points, so there are some spoilers:

- Good god, why does she look like she is all CGI?

- Well the fight was lame.

- Girl, you got stabbed in the ass, STAY DOWN! Annnnnnnnnnd she's healed. Well that certainly took all of the suspense out of the situation. This makes the whole point of nearly killing her pointless because there's no consequence for it.

- YOU JUST DESTROYED THE BEAUTIFUL CASTLE!!

- Oooooookay, and the point of the naked women was...

- Zero's getting on his inner Animality and looks down right badass.

- Okay, this fight is pretty cool. Not the best the franchise has ever had, but still cool nonetheless.

- Now THAT is awesome!

- Okay, what the hell are you doing back? YOU DIED LAST EPISODE!! Man, the script to this episode must have been so paper thin they didn't have enough material to fill up the entire running time.

- Is he seriously crying like a ***** right now? "Oh I'm supposed to be a dragon, how can I die?" Wahwahwahwah.

- And thus the Molesting Tree was born.

- 13 episodes in and she STILL isn't trying to show any sort of emotion whatsoever.

- Oh no, Alice died. So tragic. Can you tell how saddened I am? I think I'm about to cry myself... WITH TEARS OF JOY!

- Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd that's it? That's how it ends?

- Oh, there's more? Seriously, was the script so paper thin they had to add on this little after credit sequence?

- IT'S OVER!!!! Now I can delete this waste of time off my computer. YAY!!!

This series needs to just stop. I can not believe that Amemiya actually made this thing. It's like he forgot how he wrote and developed his own characters. Go away before you become the Tomino of the live action world.

 

[Dr Kain]

although at least that's counteracted by Makai no Hana showing him to still be alive 18-20 years from now.

Where do you get that this show is before Hana? Rei and Rekka look older in this show than they did in Hana, so it has to be after.

 

[lazycoconut]

Where do you get that this show is before Hana? Rei and Rekka look older in this show than they did in Hana, so it has to be after.

Well, it could be, but that would gloss over a whole lot. How did Rei get out of the dimension he and Kouga and Kaoru were stuck in? If he did, why was it not mentioned even casually - the fate of the franchise's original protagonist is a pretty big deal, and it might impact on the Raiga movie that is due to be released this year?

Although it would make the whole Alice thing worse, since that would mean Rei is in his early to mid 40s and in a relationship with a girl who is visibly still high school aged ...

 

[Dr Kain]

Rei was never trapped in the same dimension as Kouga and Kaoru. If he was, he wouldn't have shown up in Hana.

As for the age thing, it's Japan. We're talking about a nation that throws incest in almost every one of their stories. I'm still surprised they haven't made a Char on Sayla action hentai.

 

[lazycoconut]

Rei was never trapped in the same dimension as Kouga and Kaoru. If he was, he wouldn't have shown up in Hana.

Didn't he (if I recall) only show up in flashbacks to the past? He said that he'd go to look for Kouga and Kaoru after Raiga completed his training. It was suggested that in the present day he was now in the same dimension as them, although I guess it's possible he didn't ...

 

[Dr Kain]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, now you have me second guessing myself.