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The Flowers of Evil (Aku no Hana) |OT| There's a rotoscoped SHIT EATER in all of us

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D

daakusedo

Member
It gets really awful after what happen at the end of the episode 10, based on that pic and if they don't change things. After that, I don't understand anymore Kasuga nor Nakamura and I didn't find them really believable to begin with. At least, Nanako will later say to him the most sensible thing of the whole show but disappointingly go unheeded.
 
C

CornBurrito

Member
This is really something special. Episode 10 was just amazing from start to finish. I can't wait for next episode. I really can't. This is anime is a work of art that comes only once in a blue moon.
 
T

TCRS

Banned
God what a wimp Kasuga is! Almost painful to watch. Also, Nakamura showing feelings? Not sure.

(better put this in spoiler tags)
 
H

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
YoungBlade said:
I think they would need at least 3 seasons to even get near the Manga...
Click to expand...

Three is I think a good number. I expect (MANGO SPOILERS)
two, at least, to wrap up the first arc. I doubt they'll get to the double suicide at the festival this season, which is why they need a second season.
 
S

sonicmj1

Member
Episode 10

I'm shocked at how good this show continues to be. It's remarkably consistent, despite how melodramatic everyone acts.

Maybe this is just my inexperience, but what really shocks me, even now, is how unflinching the direction is as it shows the characters at their lowest and most pathetic. Plenty of anime star stupid protagonists, or frightened protagonists, but I don't feel like I've ever seen anything shy of Evangelion so focused on someone with such crushed self-esteem. The whole primary cast are young, flawed, and foolish, and Nagahama makes us watch every last flailing of their bare, brittle selves.

In lesser hands, all the histrionics would feel either trite or hilariously over-the-top, but this show actually makes me empathetic to all of it. Even if the last episodes suck (which would shock me at this point), this would still be one of the most special anime to come along in a long time.
 
A

Awful Falafel

Banned
Copy pasta from my Animegaf impression.

Flowers of Evil 1-10

So I'm expecting a show that's different from most anime and what's the first plot point? It's freaking agonizing over stealing a gym uniform! That was so goddamn ridiculously anime that I couldn't help but laugh. So as silly as that premise was (seriously just put it back! It would've been that easy!) every work of fiction needs a pass on that to suspend your disbelief because otherwise there would be no show. Early on it's like a shitty telltale heart and while the struggle to confess to something terrible is compelling I don't think that aspect is really this show's strong suit, especially when it's tied to something so flimsy. So as well done and supposedly shocking the library stripping and dressing in the school uniform scene in episode 3 was I couldn't get much out of it because I wasn't really invested in anything so far.

Then comes the DATE-O! I guess there's some fun in seeing someone so spineless being so thoroughly blackmailed but the wearing the uniform under your clothes thing just felt like the twisted thing to do in a show about being twisted rather than anything shocking at that point. Crazy things shouldn't feel so status quo, Nakamura's SA SA SA SA was pretty great though. Things did start to pick up in episode 7 though. Kasuga's got full blown Stockholm syndrome at this point with his hilariously pathetic breakdown full of begging and even depending on Nakamura. The cathartic trashing of his class room had me hoping for the consequences to catch up to Kasuga and lead to a significant change in his character. This turned out to be partially true and helped accelerate the plot but the lucky ink splatter over his name was an unsatisfying aspect to an otherwise good development.

Next up was the dreaded walking in episode 8, I was expecting Ingmar Bergman levels of super long static scenes but this had multiple cuts, decent framing/angles, motion, and background music! While not to this level it did remind me how much praise the "silent" portion of Wall-E was getting for being so bold when I found the hyper active pace of cuts and motion silly in how afraid it was of you getting bored. So yeah I liked the walking scene and found it struck a decent balance, sure the point could've been made in less time but this show hits you over the head with a lot of things so it seems kind of odd to single out this scene.

Episode 9 is mostly setup so let's just skip straight to 10. It's great to finally feel the other shoe dropping with confrontations about things that were long overdue. NO SHIT YOU DON'T KNOW FUCK ALL ABOUT BAUDELAIRE YOU PRETENTIOUS SPINELESS DICK. How Saeki can forgive him I'll never know but it gives her an air of crazy to match with the other two I suppose. It definitely shows how laughably pointless Kasuga's turmoil was though. But hey instead of resolving everything and ditching the girl who's been torturing you let's chase after her because I'm clearly a masochist with none of my own best interests in mind. Being taken by the cops could lead to interesting things but with the track record so far I have my doubts.

I haven't seen many of the shows this season but is this one the best? Most likely but considering the general standard that's not really saying much. I'm glad I poopsocked it, not because I would've been dying to see what happens next but because I doubt I could keep my interest every week for the first half of the show. If the remaining episodes keep this up it could be the exact opposite of Chuu2 in tone and aesthetics with a shitty first half and a great second half.

So TL;DR Unsatisfying in a lot of ways but watch it anyway.
Click to expand...
 
H

hosannainexcelsis

Member
Awful Falafel said:
Flowers of Evil 1-10

So I'm expecting a show that's different from most anime and what's the first plot point? It's freaking agonizing over stealing a gym uniform! That was so goddamn ridiculously anime that I couldn't help but laugh. So as silly as that premise was (seriously just put it back! It would've been that easy!) every work of fiction needs a pass on that to suspend your disbelief because otherwise there would be no show.
Click to expand...

Of course there's no physical reason why he couldn't sneak the gym uniform back, or throw it away, or whatever. But there's a psychological impediment. Kasuga wants to adhere to his sense of moral purity, but at the same time he is irresistibly attracted to the illicit and forbidden. At the same time he reaches out towards the clothes and inwardly screams at himself for doing so. It's a twisted pleasure in self-loathing that I am intimately familiar with, and that is why I find Kasuga's story so compelling.
 
A

Awful Falafel

Banned
hosannainexcelsis said:
Of course there's no physical reason why he couldn't sneak the gym uniform back, or throw it away, or whatever. But there's a psychological impediment. Kasuga wants to adhere to his sense of moral purity, but at the same time he is irresistibly attracted to the illicit and forbidden. At the same time he reaches out towards the clothes and inwardly screams at himself for doing so. It's a twisted pleasure in self-loathing that I am intimately familiar with, and that is why I find Kasuga's story so compelling.
Click to expand...

I guess the pragmatist in me can't help but scoff at the situation. Realistically though I think such cognitive dissonance is usually accompanied with some sort of excuse but I can see value in the clean heat of the moment way they did it. For someone wavering so much between acting on pure impulse and total passivity nothing is really shown about this affecting him in the past nor a coping mechanism that's kept him so stable and out of trouble thus far if a bit gloomy and lonely. Not really a criticism but an observation though.

edit: Actually on second though the unhealthy obsession with books is probably his coping mechanism so if nothing else he's well thought out. I'm still not sympathetic towards him or find him interesting but I can see now why one would.
 
C

CornBurrito

Member
Aku no Hana episode 11

I don't like this new opening at all.

1. Saeki's opening
2. Kasuga's opening
3. Nakamura's opening
4. This... thing

Who the hell is this song supposed to represent. Kasuga I assume, but why not have him do it again...
 
Sylverstone14

Sylverstone14

Member
hosannainexcelsis said:
I believe it's supposed to represent the city.
Click to expand...

No, the OP represents all three main characters.

Note that the title sequence's color scheme has green, pink and blue - and each OP for each character had a title sequence that had green (Kasuga, eps. 1-3), pink (Nakamura, eps. 4-6) and blue (Saeki, eps. 7-9).
 
H

Hellsing321

Member
Episode 10&11


Both these episodes were just amazing. Episode 10 especially so because they managed to create tension and drama so well without any music the whole episode. The show has used its effective and moody low hums to create a sense of unease throughout its whole run. Taking it away for one episode made me feel even more unease at its absence. Going to be really hard to top this show for me for AOTY. I can't see anything else coming close to it.

The imagery of the dream sequence in episode 11 was so haunting the sea of flowers of evil lit but a blood red sky was just out of this world.
I know I'm gushing but I just can't see to praise this show enough.
 
Z

zerodayPopbot

Member
That was an amazing sequence visually. So far my favourite part of an excellent series.

Can't wait to see what is in store for the final two episodes.
 
H

hosannainexcelsis

Member
Finally got around to watching episodes 10 and 11. Some of this is really hitting close to home, especially the scene where Kasuga's father is telling him he shouldn't make his mother cry. I've been in that situation. Kasuga's confession was an excellent payoff of the character work that's been done up to now, and it looks like he's going to go in the only direction he can if he is going to go anywhere at all. Saeki was never a realistic option, since as he said his vision of her was purely ideal, not something that could survive contact with the flesh and blood. But Nakamura - she offers him the possibility of getting out of the city he loathes, even if only symbolically. She offers him the possibility of being someone different, someone superior to the self he loathes. Of course, the deviant life is as much a fantasy for him as the pure life is, but it's the one that seems to offer more. It's the one that promises to save him from a boring existence by embracing its meaninglessness.

Studio Pablo continues to do a fantastic job. The city in episode 11 looked even more run down than usual. I liked how some of the familiar backgrounds were altered to show the change in season:

FGRpHEz.jpg

Episode 1
kJUO5Xh.jpg

Episode 11
Click to expand...

It's just a difference in contrast, but you can feel the summer heat radiating from the second shot.

Also, the dream imagery was breathtaking.

bGgTeoG.jpg
Click to expand...

The power of hand-drawn art!
 
M

Metroid-Squadron

Banned
That ending. Can't wait for the next episode O_O

Hopefully soon we'll have confirmation on whether there'll be more animated material or if it's truly the end T_T
 
D

drifter444

Member
So next week is the last episode :(

I have a feeling that there won't be a season 2. Anyone know how good (or bad) its doing in Japan?
 
T

TCRS

Banned
Have you ever been so mad that you had to write an essay! lol.

dat ending, can't wait for ep. 13.
 
W

wonzo

Banned
Episode 11-12

akunohana12.jpg


The
dreamscape scene with the never ending field of one-eyed flowers of evil
was absolutely stunning and definitely the standout visual moment for me in this entire series, and that says a lot after the
classroom scene
at the end of episode 7. Bring on the final episode!!!
 
E

Erigu

Member
Erigu said:
The detail that's been bothering me since the very beginning still does: where/how do they intend to end the series? They've been extremely faithful to the original so far, but it seems to me they will have to change some stuff in the last episodes to give this a proper conclusion.
Click to expand...
Well, fuck.
 
D

Dresden

Member
CornBurrito said:
Season 2 of Aku no Hana? How is this studio affording something that probably isn't going to sell at all?
Click to expand...

Increased manga sales and for the sake of art, I suppose. It was mentioned before it aired that the intent behind this project was to create a lasting work, or something like that.
 
F

fertygo

Member
Errr we got S2? The last 5 minute is like good chunk of what gonna happened next.

Although maybe this gonna like Panty & Stocking case :D
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
I never go into the OTs, but I guess I'll copypasta:
Aku no Hana fin
LKT14x5l.jpg

No, don't be sorry. I embrace the shit eating future.

It's insane. For an episode where literally nothing happens, the tension hangs in the air like the most suspenseful horror film ever made. The opening scene is five god damn minutes long, and unlike Attack on Titan which uses five minutes to recap the show in order to fill time, each second of those five minutes feels so purposeful and exacting. Even the placement of the OP is such a perfect beat, because it differs the release of that tension for a further 90 seconds, before we get an extremely powerful and beautiful release.

Then we get a god damn
flashback montage that spills into a preview montage, culminating with the biggest event from the manga and ending with quite possibly the most exciting cliffhanger title card that I've seen in ages.
Spoiler but not really: http://i.imgur.com/mQMLfspl.jpg

I just can't believe it. I talk about adaptations that are slavish to the manga and don't take their medium into account. Aku no Hana just spits in the face of most anime adaptations, playing with the form and using it to tell the story in the way that is best for 20 minute television. Each episode feels like a masterpiece, culminating in a thirteen episode series that is just glorious.

If there are people who dropped this because of the rotoscoping or whatever, then I'm sorry. They missed out on what is basically the Hyouka of this season year.
 
W

wonzo

Banned
Episode 13 END

akunohana13.jpg


There are no words, only tears of pure awe. Season 2 can't come soon enough for this masterpiece.
 
C

CornBurrito

Member
Dresden said:
Increased manga sales and for the sake of art, I suppose. It was mentioned before it aired that the intent behind this project was to create a lasting work, or something like that.
Click to expand...

That'd be amazing.

Also wtf at that last 4 minutes of episode 13. What in the fuck...
 
B

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
Talked to two friends about this show yesterday. One apparently turned it off after a minute the other hadn't even heard of it. Well it's their loss. One of the best shows of the season.
 
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