So we’ve reached the climax of the build-up episodes. This was probably the weakest episode of everything I saw so far, but for a series like this, that still makes it pretty good. The story was basically just Kurenai and his little gang try and break into the Kuhoin residence to get to the inner [...]
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One of the things I like most about Kure-nai, aside from the adorable Murasaki, is its slice-of-Japanese-life elements, a topic which has already been discussed to no end by other bloggers. It's a [gaijin's] window to the Japanese culture, providing insights on the Japanese way of life of characters like no other animes I've watched. That said, I find it surprising that despite the number of people who mentioned the Japan-esque aspect of Kure-nai, no one seemed to have bothered looking into the significance of the Hina-doll and why the Kuhouins found it detestable that Souju died while holding onto this doll. Oh wait, there's one, Teeif. Even Japanese blogs never seemed to have mentioned anything about this, I guess this was no longer a mystery to them since they're, well, Japanese o.O Nonetheless, I found this subject fascinating enough to take a plunge into the Hina festival, to find out what the Hina doll really symbolizes.
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Kurenai 11th nightI think. I think this was a great episode/ I think the snow and the Kuhouin estate is a cinematic backdrop to Murasaki’s rescue. I think the fight scenes were beautifully reminiscent of Trust and Betrayal or Kill Bill. I think Murasaki looks very cute in her Kimono. I think Murasaki looks refined in her beautifully rendered [...]
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I predicted episode 11 would be violent and I was looking forward to it very much. What I didn’t like though, is the sentimental parts. I feel they were overplayed. The feelings of the characters were already clear in my opinion and there was no need to masquerade further. Kurenai is at its best when [...]
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Just how do they manage it? Each episode, I expect Kurenai to somehow slip up, to lose its way, change its focus in a detrimental fashion or just plain screw up. Yet every time, not only does this series manage to keep itself on an even keel, it actually just gets better and better.I've talked about this show in the past in terms of expecting it to be action-packed before I began watching, then finding myself hoping for a lack of action once it had begun. Well, with Shinkurou on his way to try and save Murasaki along with Benika and Yayoi, the action-centric episode I'd been quietly dreading for some now finally arrived - Yet despite my concerns, it was magnificent.Perhaps one of the joys of this show is that, despite its quite sombre core subject matter, it has never ceased to be not far short of rolling on the floor hilarious, and even this episode takes joy in those little exchanges between characters that can't help but bring forth a laugh or a smile, often due to their absurdity or ironic meaning when passing from the lips of those involved. It's a very subtle kind of comedy, but it works wonders here.Beyond that, this episode of Kurenai is simply so many things that it's hard to pin-point a single positive badge for it to wear with pride. Its fight scenes though are perhaps the best epitome of the episode of the whole - Intense, elegant and claustrophobic yet at the same time swift and absolutely brutal. Make no mistake about it, no punches are pulled here be they emotional or physical, hence that intensity I just spoke of. Given how we've been drawn so tightly into the lives of so many of these characters (and indeed we learn yet more snippets, about Benika in particular, during the course of this episode), watching these urgent, penultimate moments is actually quite an intense and sometimes harrowing experience.In other words then, Kurenai simply goes from strength to strength. If its finale can keep up this fantastic level of quality, then this is easily going to be the best anime to come out of the Spring season, if not 2008 as a whole.
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Best episode of Kurenai so far! Albeit it was quite a sad and depressing one.
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Just like xxxHolic, after two weaker episodes, Kurenai is totally back on track. The finale might be a bit shorter than I expected (only two episodes), but this episode was an excellent conclusion, and it made up for a lot of time that got wasted on the previous episode. In this episode, Shinkurou, Yayoi and [...]
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