Escaflowne Episode 6 and SMC Episode 13 Liveblog Chat Thingy!

How to participate in the liveblog chat:

Option 1: Whenever you watch the episode, comment on this post as you watch with whatever responses you feel like posting!

Option 2: Go to http://webchat.freenode.net/. Enter a nickname, then for the Channels field enter ##rabbitcube, and finally fill in the Captcha and hit Connect! We'll be watching Vision of Escaflowne and commenting there starting at 2:00 p.m. EST. We will then be watching Sailor Moon Crystal at 2:30.

Chatlog below the cut!




Escaflowne
 
[14:05] <@Sylocat> These awesome credits
[14:06] <@Sylocat> All right, when we left off, they had just rescued Van from his brother on the floating fortress...
[14:06] <@Sylocat> (oh, right, they do a recap)
01[14:06] <Froborr> Yep.
[14:07] <@Sylocat> The capital is called "Palas"
[14:07] <@Sylocat> "Hate you?" He was gushing over your abilities in the previous episode
[14:07] <Arrlaari> Well that reading did involve things he didn't want to hear
01[14:08] <Froborr> This has been your daily dose of sexual harrassment.
[14:08] <@Sylocat> Wait, who did that? I missed it
01[14:08] <Froborr> Allen. To Hitomi. Just now.
[14:09] <@Sylocat> Yeesh
[14:09] <@Sylocat> Van, angsting
[14:09] <@Sylocat> (granted, he has actual reasons for it)
[14:09] <mere_oblivion_> Sorry, right now mine won't play for more than a few secs at a time. I shoulda run it through ahead of time.
[14:09] <@Sylocat> Dang... next time, you should just play the VHS
[14:09] <Arrlaari> Yeah, learning that your older brother is guilty of actual for serious treason is something to be sad about
[14:10] <@Sylocat> Ah, and now the one character in the credits we hadn't met yet shows up
01[14:10] <Froborr> "The seas smells the same everywhere you go. Except the dung planet. We don't talk about the dung planet."
[14:10] <@Sylocat> And she's a Princess, because of course she is
01[14:10] <Froborr> Wait, doesn't she have green hair in the opening?
[14:11] <@Sylocat> That was a trick of the light, I think
[14:11] <@Sylocat> There were all those long shadows in the opening
[14:11] <@Sylocat> Oops, she mentions his brother
[14:11] <@Sylocat> So Hitomi and Van both don't like her
01[14:12] <Froborr> "Such a nice person. Like someone who would never join the evil empire. Nope, just a really nice, good person. How is he doing?"
01[14:12] <Froborr> That is a really weird horse.
01[14:12] <Froborr> Did it have cloven hooves? It looked like it.
[14:12] <@Sylocat> Oh, Merle
[14:12] <@Sylocat> MERLE!
01[14:13] <Froborr> She assumed Hitomi's school uniform is some kind of fetish outfit, that's hilarious.
[14:13] <@Sylocat> A little meta-commentary on anime tropes
[14:13] <@Sylocat> That's a weird hat for a king
[14:14] <@Sylocat> Oh boy... he's here
01[14:14] <Froborr> Pretty sure I've seen a painting of Henry VIII with a hat like that.
[14:14] <@Sylocat> So, Folken goes through legal channels AFTER using brute force
01[14:15] <Froborr> Or possibly every painting of Henry VIII, yeesh. https://www.google.com/search?q=henry+viii&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=oj-oVOzXMIafggTCo4DYCA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=634
[14:15] <@Sylocat> Millerna... yeesh
[14:15] <@Sylocat> "stinky commoners"
[14:15] <@Sylocat> Whoa
01[14:16] <Froborr> Yes, Hitomi. Yes, Merle is trying to pick a fight.
01[14:16] <Froborr> Also, wow, she looks cute like that!
[14:16] <@Sylocat> Yeah, that's a really good dress
[14:16] <@Sylocat> Millerna always knows the right thing to say (not).
01[14:16] <Froborr> Millerna is giving me evil vibes.
01[14:17] <Froborr> Then again, so did Allen.
[14:17] <@Sylocat> Musketeers!
[14:17] <Arrlaari> He still does from time to time
01[14:18] <Froborr> Why do misketeers in movies and shows never, you know, carry MUSKETS?
[14:18] <@Sylocat> Yeah, it's always rapiers
[14:18] <Arrlaari> Well, they weren't called musketeers just now
01[14:18] <Froborr> Da fuq, there are DOLPHIN PEOPLE in this world?
[14:19] <@Sylocat> Ohhhh yeah
[14:19] <@Sylocat> Not just cat-girls
[14:19] <@Sylocat> And dog-people, as you can see now
[14:19] <mere_oblivion_> The OTHER mere oblivion quit, I'm still here. (Long story.)
[14:19] <@Sylocat> Ah yes, I'd forgot about the CD
[14:19] <Arrlaari> Yeah, Van, heading towards the guys who you are running from is a good strategy
01[14:19] <Froborr> What.
[14:19] <@Sylocat> Well, it's Folken
[14:20] <Arrlaari> My guess is that her mom brought that cd here
01[14:20] <Froborr> No, I mean. What. CD!?
01[14:20] <Froborr> Her mom?
[14:20] <Arrlaari> Her mom was seen breifly in an earlier episode
01[14:20] <Froborr> Oh, right, there's a family connection to this world! The pendant!
01[14:20] <Froborr> I'd forgotten abaout htat.
[14:21] <@Sylocat> How can you not see that floating fortress from the marketplace?
[14:21] <@Sylocat> But oh well
[14:21] <@Sylocat> And now Folken is trying to talk to him
01[14:21] <Froborr> Wait, but if this show is presumably set in the 90s, Earth time, that means her mom went to this world *during Hitomi's lifetime*.
01[14:21] <Froborr> *winces*
01[14:21] <Froborr> Dilandau is going to get SO infected, ew.
[14:22] <@Sylocat> Oh, he's not being metaphorical? He LITERALLY died fighting the dragon, I'd forgotten that
01[14:22] <Froborr> *Is* he being literal? I don't see any reason to think so.
[14:23] <@Sylocat> And now Folken's trying to talk to him. Isn't he going in reverse order? Negotiation first, then legal channels, then violence
[14:24] <@Sylocat> "Fighting to end fighting." What a brilliant plan
[14:24] <@Sylocat> "I've got a bad feeling about this."
01[14:24] <Froborr> Nah, Van is pretty clearly a shonen character, and shonen rules say you can only have serious conversations *during* or *after* mortal combat.
[14:24] <@Sylocat> Was that a purposeful translation?
[14:25] <@Sylocat> Wow, those guymelef extendable claws have serious range
[14:25] <@Sylocat> They just, y'know, overload if you do that
01[14:25] <Froborr> Though that was apparently too much.
[14:25] <@Sylocat> So, Dilandau finally noticed Hitomi... that can't be good
01[14:25] <Froborr> Oh NEAT, it must be taking the material to form the claw from the rest of the mech, and so making the claw too long caused the mech to just... dissolve.
01[14:25] <Froborr> That's a cool concept.
[14:26] <@Sylocat> Back to HIs Corrupt Majesty
[14:27] <@Sylocat> Yeah, Millerna, I totally buy that
01[14:27] <Froborr> Hmm, guess this is the local equivalent to "welcome to my country brave night, let us have a jousting tournament in yoru honor"
[14:27] <@Sylocat> You don't need psychic powers to determine that there's something wrong here
01[14:28] <Froborr> Except it's going all Westeros-shaped
[14:29] <@Sylocat> And there's the cliffhanger
01[14:30] <Froborr> It's a good trap. If Van kills them he's being dishonorable and a bad guest, and the King has an excuse to kill him and take his mech, but if he doesn't they'll "accidentally" kill him.
[14:31] <@Sylocat> Yep... though it's still a bit shortsighted, since Zaibach wants Van alive
01[14:31] <Froborr> True. Maim him, take Escaflowne and give Van to Zaibach?
[14:31] <Arrlaari> Considering it from Folken's perspective, if a Dragon took his arm off and the next thing he knew he was in Zaibach's care, if they tell him he was literally dead he'd just have to take their word for it
[14:31] <@Sylocat> Ah, good point
01[14:32] <Froborr> Good point Arrlaari.
[14:32] <Arrlaari> I think they're banking on him chosing to kill one of the combatants
[14:32] <Arrlaari> that's why they are sending "criminals" instead of knights
01[14:32] <Froborr> Which, given what we've seen of Van's temperament, isn't a bad bet.
[14:32] <Arrlaari> Once he does that they have cause to surrender him and Escaflowne to Zaibach
[14:33] <mere_oblivion_> Sorry to be so out of it today. Next week I'll get set up in time.
[14:33] <@Sylocat> Yeah... Van's clearly always been SOMEWHAT of a shounen hero in terms of temperament, but now that he watched his home country get burned by his treacherous brother, he's going to be extra cranky
[14:33] <@Sylocat> Dad, maybe next week you can just watch it on VHS?
[14:34] <mere_oblivion_> Excellent plan, aka capital notion.
[14:34] <Arrlaari> The mech failure when Dilandau overcharged for the sniper attack looked like an overheat. The machine literally melted and Dilandau only survived because the emergency water tanks cooled him
01[14:34] <Froborr> That makes sense.
[14:34] <@Sylocat> I'm not sure they ever go into that much detail on how the Crima Claws "work."
[14:35] <Arrlaari> They had a technobabble name for the red gems in the shoulders, they appear to be the power supply
[14:35] <@Sylocat> But yeah, that's what it looked like
[14:35] <Arrlaari> When Dilandau melted his mech they glowed and the meltdown spread from where they were
[14:35] <@Sylocat> The "Energists" are those dragon-heart things, I think
[14:36] <Arrlaari> Well, Escaflowne's energist involved a dragon's heart
[14:36] <@Sylocat> That's true, we don't know that they're all powered the same way
[14:36] <Arrlaari> One who is without spoilers assumes that they aren't all powered by dragon bits
[14:36] <@Sylocat> And the one of us who is with spoilers can't quite remember
[14:37] <Arrlaari> Although, did Van call it an energist when he pulled it from the Dragon's corpse?

[14:39] <Arrlaari> I opened episode 1 and he calls the dragon's magic rock an energist
[14:40] <@Sylocat> Ah... well, that answers that... although maybe various guymelefs are powered different ways? Maybe it's only Dilandau's squad and Escaflowne who use dragon bits
[14:40] <@Sylocat> (again, I can't remember)
[14:43] <@Sylocat> But, we'll see

SMC
 
[14:46] <@Sylocat> I love the Toei logo
[14:47] <@Sylocat> Ah yes, when we left off, she had gone all Romeo and Juliet on her brainwashed lover
01[14:47] <Froborr> Oh right, last episode Usagi was TOTALLY METAL for about 30 seconds, and then ruined it.
01[14:47] <Froborr> He's not worth it, honey.
[14:47] <@Sylocat> Of course she's going to Get Better, but still...
[14:47] <@Sylocat> Oh, right... they can reincarnate as many times as they want
[14:48] <Arrlaari> I believe you had decided that they were a good fit after she kissed a dude right after killing him
[14:48] <@Sylocat> I forgot that part
01[14:48] <Froborr> Yes, but he's still not worth dying for.
[14:48] <@Sylocat> Maybe he'll turn out less of a jerk next time?
01[14:48] <Froborr> *cue cheery upbeat music*
[14:48] <@Sylocat> Madoka had upbeat theme music as well
[14:48] <@Sylocat> Of course, that was supposed to be a deliberate dissonance trick
01[14:49] <Froborr> Anyway, yeah, I know they don't do it, but given that reincarnation is an established thing in this show, they *could* have everyone fail and die and then pick up again a generation later with their reincarnations in the post-apocalyptic wasteland.
[14:49] <Arrlaari> Madoka's theme was a jpop song, this is rock n roll
01[14:49] <Froborr> Good point Arrlaari!
[14:49] <@Sylocat> That'd be a pretty decent concept for an expy/AU spinoff
01[14:49] <Froborr> Ad.
[14:50] <@Sylocat> Act 13: Final Battle
[14:50] <@Sylocat> Does Queen Metalia finally go down now?
01[14:50] <Froborr> Final Battle -Reincarnation- no less.
01[14:50] <Froborr> So Ic ould be right!
01[14:50] <Froborr> Ad 2 jus started.
01[14:50] <Froborr> Ad 3.
01[14:51] <Froborr> back
01[14:51] <Froborr> What in my viewing habits could POSSIBLY make you think I care about American idol and chapstick, Crunchyroll?
01[14:51] <Froborr> *has only ever used it to watch magical girl shows*
01[14:51] <Froborr> ...Oh.
[14:51] <@Sylocat> You could make a great sci-fi series with the premise of "The magical girls lost in their previous life and now the tyrants have ruled for a generation"
[14:51] <@Sylocat> Ah, that revivification was quick
[14:52] <@Sylocat> Wait, the crystal has turned malignant?
[14:52] <@Sylocat> Oh, it's just made itself vulnerable to her
01[14:52] <Froborr> Substitute "super robots" for "magical girls" (which is pretty much always a substitution you can make without changing anything else) and you have the plot of Gurren Lagann, Sylocat.
[14:52] <@Sylocat> Uh, Luna? Not a good idea
[14:52] <@Sylocat> Attack on Titan as well, to some extent
[14:53] <@Sylocat> Is Luna getting attacked going to be her berserk button again?
[14:53] <@Sylocat> "Protect them?" Metalia just demonstrated she can control the thing
[14:54] <@Sylocat> Does Luna think she's about to have a tearjerker death scene?
01[14:54] <Froborr> And then the kitties teleported to the moon, because everyone who isn't Fedora Mask can teleport.
[14:54] <Arrlaari> The arctic circle should be floating ice or open sea
01[14:55] <Froborr> There are islands in there, aren't there?
[14:55] <@Sylocat> So, does Metalia have a true form?
[14:55] <@Sylocat> Like, did she once have a human shape?
[14:55] <@Sylocat> That went about as well as could be expected
[14:55] <Arrlaari> We haven't seen her drawn any other way than this
[14:56] <@Sylocat> Ah, so she's the Ball of Evil from The Fifth Element?
[14:56] <@Sylocat> Or Homura from the end of Rebellion...
01[14:56] <Froborr> Dude, is she turning random people into zombies? That's pretty hardcore.
[14:57] <@Sylocat> Luna, if it could really do that, why didn't you just ask it to before now?
[14:58] <@Sylocat> Whoa
[14:58] <@Sylocat> Trippy flashbacks
[14:58] <@Sylocat> Of course, her motivational speeches to them focused on their looks
[14:58] <@Sylocat> (well, to two of them, at least)
01[14:58] <Froborr> All of them except Mina.
01[14:59] <Froborr> But I'm just enjoying that this is CLEARLY all of them being energized by thoughts of their One True Love.
[14:59] <Arrlaari> Also she stabbed herself right in front of y'all
[14:59] <@Sylocat> Yeah... I still want to see the lesbian Senshi orgy
[15:00] <@Sylocat> (I hope, but am not naïve enough to believe, that the Rock Knights are Dead For Real)
[15:00] <Arrlaari> AD POWAAAA
01[15:00] <Froborr> Wow, giving up their power to revive her? *nods* Yes, that's a way to do it wihtout being super-cheap.
01[15:00] <Froborr> Ad.
01[15:00] <Froborr> MORE American Idol? Seriously?
[15:00] <Arrlaari> WAIT UP
[15:01] <@Sylocat> At least it's not three ads in a row for Crunchyroll's premium service
[15:01] <Arrlaari> I assume that's what I would be seeing if it weren't somehow broken
01[15:02] <Froborr> back
[15:02] <Arrlaari> This week they found the ad segue, that's nice
[15:02] <@Sylocat> Whoa, it didn't work?
[15:02] <@Sylocat> Or is that what gets through to her?
[15:02] <@Sylocat> Ah, of course it is
01[15:03] <Froborr> See, Usagi, the other scouts! That's what a person who actually values yuo looks like!
01[15:03] <Froborr> Haaaaaaaaaaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[15:03] <@Sylocat> The WATCH caught the sword? How did it go so far into... what the...
01[15:03] <Froborr> The watch? Seriously?
[15:03] <@Sylocat> That's just cheating
[15:03] <@Sylocat> ooh, creepy
[15:04] <@Sylocat> Now she's talking like Kefka
01[15:04] <Froborr> Queen Metalia wants Usagi inside her.
01[15:04] <Froborr> But then again, so does everyone in this show.
[15:05] <@Sylocat> AHAHAH... "My body is getting hot." That subtext
[15:05] <@Sylocat> Yeah, it's not gonna be that easy
[15:06] <@Sylocat> "Usako?" Is that like some corrupted form of "Usa-chan?"
01[15:06] <Froborr> No, it's the false name she gave him back when.
[15:06] <@Sylocat> Ah... right
[15:07] <@Sylocat> Because you need the other four to help you, genius
[15:07] <@Sylocat> Come on, where are they?
[15:07] <@Sylocat> Oh, are the cats going to come back and help too?
[15:08] <@Sylocat> Ah, their ghosts come back to help?
01[15:08] <Froborr> Strike her weak spot for massive damage!
[15:08] <@Sylocat> Ah, so when they help defeat her, they get their bodies back and become the scouts' boyfriends again, amirite?
01[15:09] <Froborr> OH MY FUCKING GOD
01[15:09] <Froborr> ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME
01[15:09] <Froborr> THAT'S WORSE THAN THE WATCH
[15:09] <@Sylocat> I'm trying to think of something to say that could possibly make that twist funnier
[15:09] <Arrlaari> Hey, it's that thing I was wondering if it would come up: The four knights turn into their eponymous gems when they die. I'm told he kept them on a shelf in the manga.
[15:10] <@Sylocat> Was that ever mentioned before in the anime?
01[15:10] <Froborr> You know, for a show where the theme song contains a line about not needing to be rescued by boys, they SURE DO GET RESCUED BY BOYS A LOT
[15:10] <@Sylocat> Well, to be fair, it was the boy who got rescued by boys, in this particular case
[15:10] <@Sylocat> Ooh, some homoerotic subtext on the male side as well!
01[15:10] <Froborr> Yeah, but they gave him necessary information to save her.
[15:10] <Arrlaari> I was going to say, it looks like they have symmetric implied harems
[15:11] <@Sylocat> Oh come on, wake up already, senshi
01[15:11] <Froborr> Yeah, I mean, the whole thing about the generals neatly lining up one-to-one to date the Sailor Scouts is CLEARLY a beard.
[15:11] <Arrlaari> Or a queer-bait
[15:11] <@Sylocat> Lavender Shipping
01[15:11] <Froborr> Okay.
01[15:11] <Froborr> So, thoguhts?
[15:11] <Arrlaari> Huh, one more episode?
01[15:12] <Froborr> Actually I'm pretty sure it's a 26-episode buy.
[15:12] <@Sylocat> I'm still trying to think of any witty comment that could possibly make that "The rocks caught the sword" twist funnier than it is all on its own
[15:12] <Arrlaari> I'm not sure what they're going to do with 12 more episodes after the next
01[15:13] <Froborr> Whatever the next arc of the manga is?
[15:13] <Arrlaari> If they finished Metalia this episode they'd have spilit 13-13 between first and second arcs
[15:13] <@Sylocat> I mean, if it had been something Usagi gave him that caught her sword blow, that would at least be somewhat dramatic
[15:13] <Arrlaari> but I don't think the next arc can fit into one fewer episode
[15:14] <@Sylocat> How many arcs are there in the manga?
[15:14] <Arrlaari> Small stranger...
01[15:14] <Froborr> Well, I mean, *most* 26-episode anime split into a 13 episode piece and a 12-episode piece, plus a recap in the middle.
[15:14] <Arrlaari> I know who that is but I shan't spoil it.
01[15:15] <Froborr> Possible they just cut the recap and had it be a 14 and a 12.
[15:15] <@Sylocat> I guess we'll see
01[15:16] <Froborr> Any other thoughts?
[15:17] <@Sylocat> Not at the moment, on my part
[15:17] <Arrlaari> You two should definitely find time to watch the end of the old anime's season 1
[15:17] <Arrlaari> not before watching next episode of crystal
[15:17] <Arrlaari> but soon after
01[15:17] <Froborr> kk
[15:17] <@Sylocat> I intend to... I've never seen the old anime subtitled, I only saw that absurd dub