@Jesus159159159 OMGWTFBBQ Did you see what @Epitaku just posted?!
Summary:
Don't hate the playa, hate the game
This episode is mostly just a retelling of the first episode from Kamichika “Miss Magenta” Rio’s point of view. One day she got an envelope with pictures of her dad cheating on her mom and a letter asking, “Can something like this really be forgiven?” Rio eventually mailed the evidence to her mom, and yet nothing ever changed. Rather than consider the possibility that her dad was bringing back a stranger for a threesome, Rio starts texting emo messages to Nakura-san. Nakura-san suggests they disappear to see if things will change then, and this leads to Rio getting kidnapped. Interestingly enough, Izaya was behind everything from the texts to the kidnapping to the Black Rider’s rescue of Rio.
The Black Rider delivers Rio to a rooftop were Izaya is waiting, and there Izaya taunts Rio with the truth merely to see the whirlwind of emotions reflected in her face. Rio then tries to become the 4th person to jump off the building to her doom, but the Black Rider uses shadows to form a web and slow Rio’s fall. The Black Rider tells Rio that the world isn’t really that cruel, and there’s nothing wrong with getting a little action on the side. The next day, Rio is happy to see the beauty in the mundane world, because the pressure of being chaste and faithful has been removed from her shoulders. As Rio ponders skanking it up, we also get brief scenes of Yagiri Seiji entering class late to announce he will no longer attend any class, and a teacher checking out Sonohara Anri’s assets.
Reaction:
Why can't you just get one of those text to voice things that Stephen Hawking has?
Obviously the coolest part of this episode was watching the Black Rider’s amazing typing skills. I found it interesting that she didn’t have any Bluetooth accessories, and had no issues reading her cell phone even while driving a speeding horsecycle. I guess anything is possible when you put ya guns on! Apparently she likes to hang out with Dr. Kishitani Shinra, and I noticed she had to take her horsecycle down on the elevator. Do they not have parking in that apartment? Is this common in Japan? I remember Akira kept his yellow motorcycle in his room too, but it’s really hard to remember where you parked at the mall.
As for the stuff about Rio, I’m generally pretty upbeat so I couldn’t really relate to her whole emo dilemma. What I could relate to, however, was her incredible chick-flick transformation! The episode was a little slow overall, but we got a little taste of how the same scene can be shown from different perspectives to give a complete idea of just what happened (very Baccano-esque). Izaya was much more interesting, and I look forward to finding out what his overall plan is and how twisted he really is.
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This post was written by...
Kabitzin – who has written 1937 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
One of the founders of Sea Slugs, I handle most of the blog admin tasks while wearing my I AM BOSS shirt. I like my action series well choreographed, and my romance series extra trashy. I also have a soft spot for puns.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I was glad to learn more about Izaya here, though I find Miss Magenta to be boring, and I hope she doesn’t keep appearing. orz;;
The Rider typing was amusing. I hope she keeps doing it, myself.
Rio was really boring, but I figure she will be out of the picture for like 10 episodes then come back later and play some important role in a small arc and then disappear again. Black Rider types FAST!
I think that will happen too, but…I don’t want her to come back at all. :d
There was a Tiger joke in this?
Having been depressed (though not suicidal) before, I can somewhat relate to Rio. Although, now that I’ve pulled myself out of it, I was thinking to myself, “NO don’t fall into that trap!” when watching.
Izaya is going to be an incredibly fun character. I hope he is one of the main characters and we see a lot of him, because he’s very entertaining and has lots of potential.
Kabi-tan made his own cell phone translation on the pics above…
I only read US Weekly because my wife makes me, I SWEAR!!!
The whole episode, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that chick-flick transformation Rio looks just like Rise from Persona 4. It’s that bobbed twin-tail thing she’s got going… For whatever reason, I have to say that Black Rider hasn’t interested me too much. Personally, I can’t wait to see Izaya and Shizuo battle it out.
She tried to off herself too, all Persona-like. The fact that the Black Rider doesn’t talk makes for huge comedy potential. I can basically alter her texts to say whatever I want ;P .
Your new format is growing on me. I thought I’d really miss the strips, but everything is here, just arranged a little differently. Plus now I can save my lazy self 3 mouse-overs. I approve.
So that’s why Rider rear-ended the van last episode… she was too busy sexting to watch where the hell she was going. That makes sense. And maybe she keeps her bike upstairs because she really LOVES her bike (ala Golden Boy).
I am somewhat disappointed that Rio’s transformation didn’t involve a random dance sequence, but I am relieved that she has been freed from the shackles of sexual oppression. Maybe she can borrow Tiger’s number from Rider.
And I totally cracked up at the teacher scoping out Sonohara’s assets. Anyone that unsubtle should look into mirrored shades. Or a sweet bike helmet. It’s all starting to come together….
Yeah I decided that since WP captions and media have gotten to the point where they’re convenient, I should use the new features. I rarely go into HTML view anymore, except when the WYSIWYG editor messes something up. It’s not any harder to use bigger images, and the captions avoid the problem of readers not realizing there are snarky mouse-overs.
Woulda been hilarious if Rio’s new look was stolen from her dad’s mistress.
This show’s pretty good… feels like a combination of Pulp Fiction and Boogiepop haha. Although I only ever saw the first episode of Boogiepop cause it was kind of weird.
Izaya feels like what you get from mixing Ladd and Claire and taking out the physical violence, so he’s the one I’m expecting the most out of.
According to some anon, Mikado kind of turns into Jacuzzi. If that’s true, I won’t be dismissing any character for their actions so early on.
Ugggghhh, Jacuzzi was one of my least favorite characters in Baccano. I cannot accept that crying + spray and pray would ever result in a favorable outcome, especially when friendly fire is turned on.
Yea but you cannot deny that its an incredible anime. Baccano had everything needed to make a great anime.
Oh, I liked Baccano, just not Jacuzzi.
So Izaya is like the Prophet of Sleeping Around? I guess he makes sense as a silver-tongued devil.