Sekirei

[Buffalobiian]

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/5012/8000bt9.jpg


Alternative title:
セキレイ (Japanese)

Genres: action, comedy, romance

Themes: Harem

Plot Summary: Minato Sahashi is extremely intelligent, yet due to his inability to cope under pressure has failed the college entrance exam twice. As a result he has been branded an idiot and loser by many. One day after talking to his yet again disappointed mother he comes into contact with a girl named Musubi who was under attack. The girl runs but takes him with her and soon finds that Minato, while unknown to him, is an Ashikabi, one of the mysterious set of masters that have the genetic trait that can become partners with some of the 108 cute girls, buxom women, and bishōnen called "Sekirei". The reason for the partnership allows the Sekirei to use all their power to win in the competition held by the mysterious MBI corporation.

ANN Encyclopedia (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=9561), AnimeNfo (http://www.animenfo.com/animetitle,4270,ksfypi,sekirei.html), AniDB (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=5786), syoboi (http://cal.syoboi.jp/tid/1427/time?Filter=ChUser&Filter2=All)

First episode out by Musubi:

[Musubi] Sekirei - 01 (xvid HQ 704x400 AC3).avi (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=24885)
[Musubi] Sekirei - 01 (x264 (HD 1280x720) Vobis).mkv (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=24884)

[Ryllharu]

I watched the [Ayako-Chihiro] version (http://tracker.anirena.com/download.php?id=9177). Sure, Chihiro sucks, but Ayako is good most of the time. Perfectly watchable, and I didn't notice any overt errors.

I had horribly low expectations for this series since Seven Arc was animating it, and the last thing they did that was 26 eps long was Nanoha StrikerS. If you didn't watch it, it suffered some really bad animation in certain spots. They had done such a great job with Nanoha A's, and StrikerS was just really inconsistent.

I also thought most of the characters here were miscast when I looked over the casting on ANN several weeks ago. It seemed like some VAs should switch roles here and there.

Yet, I was pleasantly surprised with the first episode. Great casting for Hikari/Hibiki (the twins, Hikari being the larger of the two), and while I was a little reluctant about Musubi, it turned out well. Minato still sounds weaker than I expected, even considering he's supposed to be that way.

No overly noticably bad animated sequences, and I did like the way they were able to streamline the content of this episode.

I'll stick with it, and quietly await the appearance of my favorite Sekireis.

[MFauli]

Is this another series of hundreds of gorgeous girls wanting to get fucked by the main character, but that main character is too big of an idiot and doesnt do "it"?
If so, thanks no, enough of that crap >_<

[Kraco]

The first ep was decent enough, although I somewhat detest series where only women have special powers and men and either losers controlling them or villains controlling them. It sounds so artificial as a plot and idea. Well, I'll have to see how this turns out.

[NeoCybercoin]

Yeah I did enjoy the first episode. I think they left some minor stuff out in the first ep but it's not relevant to the story so I guess that's ok. Minato does sound weak but yeah he is supposed to. I shall watch this and wait for my fav Sekirei to show up.

[Buffalobiian]

I found this episode quite enjoyable, partly because it reminded me of the first two fansubbed anime I saw (which subsequently brought me here :D). The way they introduced Musubi, especially how it got them kicked out of his house sent off all the AMG sensors in me. (They're even moving in to a bigger, older fashioned place with more god.. err Sekireis).And how can you not think of Fate/Stay Night when they talked about forming a contract and battling out other Sekireis for the Holy Prize?

All in all, it gave this show a very good head start in my books, I'm watching :).

I don't know what these guys are doing, picking this up when they're so behind on Ghost Hound, but here it is:
[Genjo-Subs]_Sekirei_-_01_[576p][ED3A177A].mkv (http://a.scarywater.net/genjo-subs/%5BGenjo-Subs%5D_Sekirei_-_01_%5B576p%5D%5BED3A177A%5D.mkv.torrent)

[Shadowflame]

I definitely had a F/SN flashback pretty much during the entire episode, but it's not as dark/subdued, so I'm okay with it. It's definitely brighter, and I like the animation style for some reason. I'll definitely be watching this one.

[Kraco]

FSN, eh? This was too comedic and big boobied for such a similiarity to visit my mind but now that you mention it, some basic elements certainly are the same. Let's hope the similarity goes so far that the dude grows some balls along the way. Now he can barely handle his own imagination, much less the reality.

[Yukimura]

Now everyone and his brother seems to want in on the Sekirei action...

Sekirei - 01 (H264) - [Titanium] (http://www.datorrents.com/download/37048--titanium-sekirei-01-h264-704x400-dd40b496-mkv/)

Sekirei - 01 (1280x720 H264) - [Titanium] (http://www.datorrents.com/download/37049--titanium-sekirei-01-h264-1280x720-c1ce0e3d-mkv/)

I've never heard of them but they called out Moetaku in their torrent comments

Sekirei - 01 (1280x720 H264) - [Moetaku] (http://tracker.anirena.com/download.php?id=9679)

Sekirei - 01 (XviD) - [Genjo] (http://a.scarywater.net/genjo-subs/%5BGenjo-Subs%5D_Sekirei_-_01_%5B400p%5D%5BB296FEB9%5D.avi.torrent)

[Besu]

The serie is very.... bouncy. I want to see a few more eps to know if a decent story develops. But it was very.. bouncy

[Buffalobiian]

[Chihiro] Sekirei 02 [XviD][BBEFF368].avi (http://tracker.anirena.com/download.php?id=10035)
[Chihiro] Sekirei 02 [h264][40591FE9].mkv (http://tracker.anirena.com/download.php?id=10034)

[Chihiro] Sekirei 03 [h264][3CD57354].mkv (http://tracker.anirena.com/download.php?id=10011)
[Chihiro] Sekirei 03 [XviD][82928F92].avi (http://tracker.anirena.com/download.php?id=10004)

[Titanium] Sekirei - 02 [H264][1280x720][B1F155C0].mkv (http://www.datorrents.com/download/37358--titanium-sekirei-02-h264-1280x720-b1f155c0-mkv/)
[Titanium] Sekirei - 02 [H264][704x400][C5873AA0].mkv (http://www.datorrents.com/download/37355--titanium-sekirei-02-h264-704x400-c5873aa0-mkv/)

[Musubi] Sekirei - 02 (x264 HD 1280x720 Vorbis).mkv (http://www.datorrents.com/download/37065--musubi-sekirei-02-x264-hd-1280x720-vorbis-mkv/)
[Musubi] Sekirei - 02 (xvid HQ 704x400 AC3).avi (http://www.datorrents.com/download/37018--musubi-sekirei-02-xvid-hq-704x400-ac3-avi/)

[Musubi] Sekirei - 03 (xvid HQ 704x400 AC3).avi (http://www.datorrents.com/download/37369--musubi-sekirei-03-xvid-hq-704x400-ac3-avi/)
[Musubi] Sekirei - 03 (x264 HD 1280x720 Vorbis).mkv (http://www.datorrents.com/download/37398--musubi-sekirei-03-x264-hd-1280x720-vorbis-mkv/)

With Ayako out of the picture now, I'm not sure which is the best. I'm giving Titanium a go for now.

[Ryllharu]

Well, Chihiro still sucks, lots of typos and typesetting erros without the benefit of Ayako's joint efforts. However...Sekirei does not exactly have language intensive dialogue, so it's more than acceptable. It's hard to screw up a translation that simple. I'll stick with them for now frankly because I don't think the other groups will do any better.

At least I have heard of Chihiro, their poor reputation notwithstanding.

At least they are fast.

EDIT:

[Avoiding names for the sake of spoiler avoidance, basis from eps 2]
The casting really seems hit or miss. Yukana as the drunken Sekirei in purple (right at the beginning when Musubi and Minato were still airborne) is perfect. Sayaka Ohara as Miya is another great choice. Homura is fine, Hitomi Nabatame as Uzume is fine. Aya Endo is another great choice for the Sekirei hidden away with all the TVs. Kana Hanazawa (Sora from Sketchbook, Yuka from Kyouran Kazoku) as Kuu-chan, the loli plant-girl Sekirei, is a good choice too.

But Musubi just sounds a little off. I expected her to be a little cuter sounding, her voice is certainly deeper-toned than I expected. More of my own perception than an actual issue.

However, I have a real problem with Marina Inoue (Kana from Minami-ke, Yoko from Gurren-Lagann) playing the white and black water-using Sekirei towards the end. Her voice doesn't fit the role at all. I could see Kana Ueda (with her Rin from F/SN voice) or Hitomi Nabatame playing her much better (in the style of Kan'u from Ikkitousen, Arcueid from Tsukihime, or April from Coyote Ragtime).

EDIT: I guess Eps 3 answers why Kana Ueda isn't playing one of the main Sekirei from the OP. She's just some minor character...

[Buffalobiian]

I watched Titanium-subs this time. I can't speak for translation accuracy, but everything flowed quite alright with their subs. No typos or typesetting errors, but this at 14:40 did make me scratch my head:

"Musubi, do you want anything to be done for you with cool people like him?" ....:confused:

I find that good subbers also take care to not only time their subs to the natural rhythm and flow of a conversation, but also that the on-screen time corresponds to the length of the phrase displayed. I can imagine that could take a lot of tries to get right, and hence why some groups release so much later. Titanium doesn't quite nail this down, with some long sentences flashing across the screen, while some short ones leave you with nothing to read for a second or two. I have yet to try Chihiro first-hand, but it does sound like Titanium come out better.

As for the episode itself, I thought it was a nice intro. For someone who hasn't read the manga, these episodes did quite well in expanding the Sekirei universe, dropping hints of hidden motives and introducing new characters. And of course, plenty of fanservice.

[Ryllharu]

I imagine that that particular line works far better in Japanese language structure than it does English. The only difference is Chihiro used:

"Musubi-chan also wants to be done that by that kind of person?"

It would work better as a whole if the line was translated into English as "Musubi, do you want anything to be done for you by cool people like him?" This would fit much better with the follow up line from Musubi, "If it is Minato, I don't mind anything being done to me," bringing together the sexual joke. I know the whole thing is wordplay with the to/for making all the difference.

English doesn't need that twisted version of the translation because the dative case can be either "to" or "for," creating the approrpriate misunderstanding.

/language lesson.

Moar seki-boobs!

[Yukimura]

Agreed. Random poorly translated jokes are merely distractions for the bouncing orbs of delight that make up the bulk of this show. I'm sticking with Titanium, though I may check out Moetaku if they manage to catch up.

The plot points seem a bit canned, but I don't mind that much, I like the stock scary landlady who punishes people with kitchen utensils (that scene was surprisingly hilarious) and who doesn't like the laid back warrior can, or the loli-in-need-of-rescue can, or even the androgynous 'male' hanging around a bunch of suped up females can?

If they mix the fighting and the absurdity well this should turn out to be a pretty entertaining show, if notit could turn out to be another Rosario+Vampire :(

[Shadow Skill]

There is a proper way to translater Japanese and for it to be a for or to, you have to change, the I forget which, but it's like Te, Ga, Ha, Wo, Etc which is what makes up the Past, Present and Future particles in the Japanese language. You can't just go around saying "Oh, he said this, so it should be this way," in the English Language. So, from my point of view, it's actually correct.

[Buffalobiian]

Watching Musubi's episode 3 gave me a better impression than Titanium's work's, but I probably just like their translation style. Ugly, contrasting karaoke fonts though, as well as too many TL notes for my liking .

That landlady is one heck of a kenjutsu practitioner. I'm leaning to think she may be a winged Sekirei, since she also mentioned her deceased husband.

[Buffalobiian]

[Titanium] Sekirei - 03 [H264][1280x720][1DDC05C2].mkv (http://www.datorrents.com/download/37878--titanium-sekirei-03-h264-1280x720-1ddc05c2-mkv/)

[Nipponsei] Sekirei OP ED Single - Sekirei [Various].zip (http://tracker.minglong.org/torrents/%5BNipponsei%5D%20Sekirei%20OP%20ED%20Single%20-%20Sekirei%20%5BVarious%5D.zip.torrent)

[Besu]

Chihiro

Sekirei 4 (h264) (http://tracker.anirena.com/details.php?id=10961&hit=1)
Sekirei 4 (Xvid) (http://tracker.anirena.com/details.php?id=10398&hit=1)
Sekirei 05 (XviD) (http://tracker.anirena.com/details.php?id=10840&hit=1)
Sekirei 05v2 (h264) (http://tracker.anirena.com/details.php?id=10975&hit=1)

Hatsuyuki
Sekirei 4 (704x396) (http://tracker.anirena.com/details.php?id=10532&hit=1)
[Sekirei 4 HD (1280x720) (http://tracker.anirena.com/details.php?id=10631&hit=1)
Sekirei 5 SD (704x396) (http://tracker.anirena.com/details.php?id=10841&hit=1)
Sekirei 5 HD (1280x720) (http://tracker.anirena.com/details.php?id=10911&hit=1)


Tracker @ Anirena (http://tracker.anirena.com/browse.php?search=sekirei&cat=1)

[Buffalobiian]

[Titanium] Sekirei - 04 [H264][1280x720][6646EB29]... (http://www.datorrents.com/torrent/38491--titanium-sekirei-04-h264-1280x720-6646eb29-mkv/)
[Titanium] Sekirei - 04 [H264][704x400][5381A1F0].... (http://www.datorrents.com/torrent/38492--titanium-sekirei-04-h264-704x400-5381a1f0-mkv/)

[Titanium] Sekirei - 05 [H264][704x400][EF529EE5].... (http://www.datorrents.com/torrent/38567--titanium-sekirei-05-h264-704x400-ef529ee5-mkv/)
[Titanium] Sekirei - 05 [H264][1280x720][146FC6D2]...
(http://www.datorrents.com/torrent/38568--titanium-sekirei-05-h264-1280x720-146fc6d2-mkv/)
[Musubi-Weib-yesy] Sekirei 04v2 + Extra (http://www.datorrents.com/torrent/38503--musubi-weib-yesy-sekirei-04v2-extra/)

[Besu]

Buffalobiian who do you find has the best subbing so far or all group involved?

[Yukimura]

Sheeah, Musubi's ep4 is 396MB... I really wish I knew why HD eps need to be so damned big these days.

[xtallography]

Sheeah, Musubi's ep4 is 396MB... I really wish I knew why HD eps need to be so damned big these days.

Any idea what the "+extra" is for that file compared to the others? Or is it just + extra Mb on your hard drive.

[Buffalobiian]

Buffalobiian who do you find has the best subbing so far or all group involved?

------------------------------------------
Both Musubi and Titanium are decent subs, not much to complain about. I watched Titanium's 4&5 this time.

Personal impressions: Titabiums uses slightly more intrusive font (similar to ariel/impact), which might stick out a bit if you're not used to it. You get used to it soon enough, so it's not a big deal. Titanium also edits their subs a little, such as flipping around the sentence structure from Jap to Eng, and perhaps not translating everything "word for word" from the dialogue, but that's perfectly fine, and up to personal preference.
Same deal with proper nouns. Titanium drops the -chan, and -sans, while Musubi keeps them in.

At first, Musubi's style of translation (exact wording, -chan included) appealed to me more, but I'll get which ever seems to keep up with their schedule.(and perhaps file size)

My only real complaint will be Musubi's choice of font for the OP Karaoke. It's horrible.

I haven't touched Chihiro since they broke the joint, and I'll give Musubi's 05 a go, since I have some free quota.
----------------------------------------------------

Regarding the episodes themselves, I hope to see the plot rolling a bit faster with #09 joining. It's been fine so far, but I really want to dig deeper into the MBI and Sekirei Project now that we've seen it's not a mere game (it always hasn't, but it's blatantly obvious now), as well as meeting this mysterious collector. I'm guessing he'll be our main antagonist.


Sheeah, Musubi's ep4 is 396MB... I really wish I knew why HD eps need to be so damned big these days.
And Musubi's Sekirei 05 is out. All 454MB of it.
[Musubi-Weib-yesy] Sekirei - 05 (x264 HV-HD AAC 5.1ch) [E010AFC9].mkv (http://www.datorrents.com/torrent/38601--musubi-weib-yesy-sekirei-05-x264-hv-hd-aac-5-1ch-e010afc9-mkv/)

[Kraco]

This is turning out to be quite an enjoyable series. Light for sure but entertaining enough.

Gotta say my favorite Sekirei is Kuu. She somehow doesn't seem to fit there at all, as was made evident by her reactions when watching the practice fight, and I can't say she was filling anybody with much confidence when she was assigned to bodyguard Minato against Tsukiumi... But she's all the more cute and funny because of that.

[Buffalobiian]

Kuu is definitely cute, and I love how her reaction to the "ghost". I didn't think Minato would get all four sekireis so soon, but now that I think of it, they all have to have wings for the real deal to start.


Buffalobiian who do you find has the best subbing so far or all group involved?

I just watched Musubi's Episode 5. Picture quality was disappointing, especially for such an absurd file size.

Final thoughts, get Titanium.

[Ryllharu]

I'll stick with Chihiro. They're shit, but the filesize is reasonable, the encode fine, and the audio/video pretty well done. I read the manga, so I don't really care all that much about the translation to be honest. Sekirei is certainly not penned by Masamune Shirou, so the langauge doesn't really matter.

My favorite Sekirei has always been Matsu. I can't really pinpoint why she's my favorite, but Aya Endo certainly makes her that much better. Then Tsukiumi (though Marina Inoue still doesn't fit), and Kuu a close 3rd.

EDIT:
On second thought, she was much better this episode, but maybe I'm just getting used to her now. (Now I can waste brain power on being worried about her playing the lead in Skip Beat.)

They said in the last eps that because Tsukiumi is a single digit (09), that makes her extremely dangerous. We certainly saw what kinds of massive displays of power she is capable of. So, with that in mind, if Tsukumi is that powerful and is Number 09, what is Matsu (02) truly capable of?

I also wonder how long it will take Yukari to find out Minato also knows about the Sekirei (or vice versa). Probably a long time, since they made such a big deal about Kuu being sad she was separated from her compliment.

[Buffalobiian]

Titanium Episode 6 (http://www.datorrents.com/download/38662--titanium-sekirei-06-h264-1280x720-263dce81-mkv/)

[Kraco]

Kuu! ("Kuu" means "moon" in Finnish, just so that you know):

Episode 7 HD - Titanium (http://www.datorrents.com/download/38976--titanium-sekirei-07-h264-1280x720-a7e0dae2-mkv/)
Episode 7 SD - Titanium (http://www.datorrents.com/download/38977--titanium-sekirei-07-h264-704x400-03b642dc-mkv/)

[Buffalobiian]

They said in the last eps that because Tsukiumi is a single digit (09), that makes her extremely dangerous. We certainly saw what kinds of massive displays of power she is capable of. So, with that in mind, if Tsukumi is that powerful and is Number 09, what is Matsu (02) truly capable of?

I don't know about that, but knowing Landlord Miya is #01 is making me really anxious to see her in battle. We already know her sword skills would be uber, but just as alluring is her persona that she uses when the talks to truly dangerous peers.

Meanwhile, we had a lot of information thrown at us this episode. Sekireis' mystery hasn't been cleared up, but we know now that they're not human (if it wasn't obvious before :p). The project seems to be something akin to reviving this godly race, or rather, eliminating all the weak ones, and granting the remaining one a godly power. Why a human would want to do that, I don't know.

I just thought it's quite powerful to have the black choppers flying in like scavengers to "collect" the corpses after a battle. Makes it hard to think the MBI, and their "dogs" as anything but bad guys.

[Kraco]

The MBI leader is completely crazy, that much is clear, so being a badguy isn't really an issue to him. And apparently he was a lunatic well before this all started. Like his assistant tried to say: The line between a genius and a madman is very thin indeed.

I'm still hoping Minato would get a grasp and start to plan something. He's not as bad as his sister but he's still acting like a happy-go-lucky dolt considering the place always was a battlefield and now it's one also officially.

[Ryllharu]

I'll try to stick to episode 7 because while 8 is out (by Chihiro) I know you two will never touch it.

Minaka (MBI president, not to be confused with Minato) said that he and Takami were touched by the gods and became game masters, but there was an earlier part where they alluded to Takami being the kind one and Minaka being the counterpart to that. Homura was attempting to rely on her until Tsukiumi had to save him. If Minaka (or people beneath him) are in control of the disciplinary squad, Minaka is the agitator forcing the Sekirei to fight, and Takami is attempting to keep most of the harm from the Sekirei.


I don't know about that, but knowing Landlord Miya is #01 is making me really anxious to see her in battle. We already know her sword skills would be uber, but just as alluring is her persona that she uses when the talks to truly dangerous peers.I think there is proof enough to make my assessment. Matsu has stated that single digits are stronger and more dangerous, and we've seen proof of it. The single digits we know about, Tsukiumi and Homura (#09 and #06 respectively, though self-introduction) both create their powers out of thin air. Homura has his fire, strong enough to incinerate himself, and Tsukiumi can create tidal waves of water with enough force to crush buildings.

...and these two do it without the pledge. The strengthing of their powers to use the true extend of their ability is what makes single digits that much more impressive. Musubi's gives her super-strength, enough to jump higher than rainclouds. Hikari and Hibiki together can create a lightning storm that can rival Tsukiumi's destructive force. That, is the key point, "can rival." Tsukiumi already exceeded the destructive force those two can produce just by being pissed off. Not even winged and without the pledge, both of which make her much weaker than she is now that Minato has claimed her.

Most of the other sekirei we've seen with double digits need weapons or some other thing to qualify their power. Scythe girl, whip girl, Musubi needs to make physical contact, Kuu needs plants, etc. Shiina (#107), Yukari's Sekirei to be, and Ukitsu (the "broken" Sekirei) seem to the exception, but Ukitsu should not follow the convention anyway.

Karasuba (#04 the Black Sekirei) should rival Miya, and they said as much. If Miya is #01, and one of the strongest, and Karasuba is #04, what powers does Matsu (#02) have, as she falls in the middle. We've seen her hacking, and pulling guns out of...somewhere for comedic effect, but we've never seen her use her powers and she obviously hasn't made a pledge with Minato yet. I'm not sure she's combat oriented, or she would not be hiding, but I am willing to be her powers are impressive.


I'm still hoping Minato would get a grasp and start to plan something. He's not as bad as his sister but he's still acting like a happy-go-lucky dolt considering the place always was a battlefield and now it's one also officially.I believe Minato is a lot stronger than he comes off most of the time. Sure, he's wishy washy about his Sekirei (should tell Miya to go away and make love to his entire harem, minus Kuu). We'll pass that off as "being kind." However, Matsu has said some strange things about him. He's excelled in school at their hometown, only to show the exact opposite in the Capital. The way she said it implied he had exceptional grades, and is actually very smart. He may not want to fight, but he's gone directly into dangerous situations in order to save the Sekirei tied to him. First with Kuu, going into the forest unarmed and without Musubi, only to be injured by the scythe-weilder. Then once more when he rushed in to save Tsukiumi from Hikari and Hibiki's lightning storm. No hesitation, he just goes for it.

Minato just doesn't want to go on the offensive. His goals coincide with Musubi's. He wants all Sekirei to live happy peaceful lives with their own Ashikabi's. Musubi wants to reunite them all after she destroys them all, and Minato would much rather just leave well enough alone. If pushed, I imagine he could plan, coordinate, and execute a mission, as Matsu aided him with capturing Tsukiumi. He didn't run from that threat, and ensured that she wasn't attached to a pervert like Seo. (Though I am sure Seo was just bluffing anyway, he has his own twisted sense of honor).

[Kraco]

what powers does Matsu (#02) have, as she falls in the middle. We've seen her hacking, and pulling guns out of...somewhere for comedic effect, but we've never seen her use her powers and she obviously hasn't made a pledge with Minato yet. I'm not sure she's combat oriented, or she would not be hiding, but I am willing to be her powers are impressive.

Hmm... I seemed to recall she had. Maybe I remember wrong.


Minato just doesn't want to go on the offensive. His goals coincide with Musubi's. He wants all Sekirei to live happy peaceful lives with their own Ashikabi's. Musubi wants to reunite them all after she destroys them all, and Minato would much rather just leave well enough alone.

This is exactly what's so bothersome. The sekirei themselves are all about fighting and winning. What right does Minato even have to go against that? He has his own opinion of wanting to avoid fighting but even he knows they are fated to fight, and even if there was a loophole that would avoid that fate, he hasn't exactly done anything to find it, has he? So, even if he doesn't want to fight, he should still be damn well ready to fight because it takes two to start a fight.

I hope there was someone to set him to the right path. His sekirei are useless in that respect because while they want to fight, what comes to Minato they only want to get to the same bed...

[Ryllharu]

A bit of clarification. Matsu has sealed the contract with Minato, thus becoming winged, but we have yet to see her actually perform a "pledge." Pledging, as descibed by Musubi, is when a Sekirei makes contact with her/his Ashikabi, usually a kiss, then recites a short verse, unleashing the totality of her/his powers. We've only seen two. Musubi's in the first or second episode, and Hikari and Hibiki's. Matsu hasn't done anything to Minato since she was winged.

I don't think Minato avoids fighting when he has to at all. He just wants to make sure his Sekirei are safe. I can't really complete my arguments without referencing episode 8, but Minato has not, unlike protagonists in other series, expressly refused his Sekirei from fighting. If they want to go at it, they do. Minato does not like senseless fighting, but he's in no position to stop his Sekirei and he knows it. He appears to be content with that as long as they come back safely.

As with the situation with Tsukiumi and Kuu, if he doesn't think something is right, Minato does not hold back. I wonder if he will have a different opinion of the cloth-using Sekirei (obviously Uzume) and her tactics of nearly killing other Sekirei.


Since you brought it up, I think Yukari is pretty much the same. She didn't care why the Whip-Sekirei was attacking Shiina, she stepped right into the middle of it and grabbed him. It's too early for Yukari though, we really don't know how she will act until she claims Shiina and joins in.

[Buffalobiian]

Hmm... I seemed to recall she had. Maybe I remember wrong.

Yeah, she did when she sneaked into Minato's room in episode 5.


I think there is proof enough to make my assessment.

Haha, I actually agree with what you said. I guess I should have replaced "I don't know about that" with "I don't have a clue what powers Matsu may have, but.......". My bad expression.



This is exactly what's so bothersome. The sekirei themselves are all about fighting and winning. What right does Minato even have to go against that? He has his own opinion of wanting to avoid fighting but even he knows they are fated to fight, and even if there was a loophole that would avoid that fate, he hasn't exactly done anything to find it, has he? So, even if he doesn't want to fight, he should still be damn well ready to fight because it takes two to start a fight.

I hope there was someone to set him to the right path. His sekirei are useless in that respect because while they want to fight, what comes to Minato they only want to get to the same bed...

From what I see, it's like as Ryllharu says, Minato just doesn't want to go offensive. He's the type who's sitting around, literally "trying to live a normal life" as instructed, while waiting for whatever's thrown at him. As for his rights, his Sekirei seem happy enough to follow his lead, and they probably know, even if they don't got and hunt, others will find their way to them.

Though not aggressive, Minato doesn't plan to lose. When he saw Scythe-Girl go down, he asked Musubi if that will happen to her if she was ever defeated. That was also the time that he showed his rare determination so far. When the fight comes to win, he'll protect his sekireis no matter what.

But that then leaves the question about what to do if his four are the only ones left. Inevitably, they'll have to fight, but that doesn't seem very likely. The way I see it, I think Minato will lose his sekireis one by one, to be left only with Musubi. It's then that he'll truly will himself to fight and win, so Musubi can "unite them all and live in peace."

As for Minato being smart, I don't know about that. (I mean it this time). Matsu may have hinted something, but Yukari doesn't seem very surprised as she labelled his brother as a "college droppout". That seems a rather strange reaction if her brother has been academically great until he graduated.

It's possible, but from the last 7 episodes, I'm not really bought by the idea. If he is smart, I'd see him as the sharp type, like Yuuji from Shana, noticing enemy weaknesses and pointing out flaws in their actions, as opposed to a strategic planner (Lelouch) or one with extensive foresight (Light).

I would definitely like to see his sekirei's working under his command like a well-trained SWAT team though.

(Edit: I took too long, so Ryll answered first.)

[Ryllharu]

I wouldn't count on Minato being any one of those really. Matsu plays the strategist role, as well as the "sharp" leader sitting in her room hijacking MBI assets. She already knows all the abilities of the Sekirei that are published, and in many cases, appears to know which Ashikabi has which Sekirei.

Sekirei aren't pawns like the BK in Geass or the moron cops in Death Note. Minato's Sekirei have a lot more autonomy, and are not blindly following their leader. In fact, they never seem to obey him, but listen to him and try to align themselves with his ideals when they do not conflict with their own.

- Tsukiumi is led by an overwhelming sensation of justice, and that was part of the reason she was averted from being winged so much. Tsukiumi seems to be led by order, again perhaps the reason she insists on being the "legal" wife so much. Fortunately that aspect is more or less aligned with Minato. She hates sneak attacks and stupidly always announces herself before fighting.
- Musubi on the other hand, is a lot more like the Black Sekirei. As they showed in that quick flashback, Musubi and Karasuba both love fighting, and also have vowed to be the final two. Of course their ideals are total opposites. Karasuba wants to kill everyone, and Mububi wants everyone to be together, even if some have to be apart for a time. Fighting is Musubi's only apparent motivator.
- Kuu lastly, just wants everyone to be together, but more like Minato, doesn't like fighting at all. I wonder if she even thinks there are justifications for it as Minato does.

I suppose there are many cases where Ashikabi abuse their Sekirei, but Minato is almost certainly being used by his. He provides more of a moral direction, but I don't think he's stupid by any means, and there might just be proof enough already. They've already hinted at what his relationship to certain other characters is many times, much to my chagrin. It was a lot more secretive in the manga. I suppose it explains why he is such a wuss.

[Buffalobiian]

I wouldn't count on Minato being any one of those really.

That's what I said too, save the Sakai Yuuji type. You can't see him as that?

[Ryllharu]

Nope. As I said, Matsu already fills that role.

I think the decisive difference between him and the other Ashikabi's will be how close he stands to the front line, side by side with his Sekirei. The other major ones we've seen all hide on the sidelines and led their Sekirei do all the dirty work. Minato and Seo are both there right on the lines, which also means they are more readily available to perform pledges.

[Buffalobiian]

[Nipponsei] Seirei no Moribito OP Single - SHINE [L'Arc~en~Ciel].zip (http://tracker.minglong.org/torrents/%5BNipponsei%5D%20Seirei%20no%20Moribito%20OP%20Si ngle%20-%20SHINE%20%5BL%27Arc~en~Ciel%5D.zip.torrent)
[Nipponsei] Sekirei Sound Stage 01.zip (http://tracker.minglong.org/torrents/%5BNipponsei%5D%20Sekirei%20Sound%20Stage%2001.zip .torrent)

lol, I had a wtf feeling when I posted that. Now I know why.

[Buffalobiian]

[Titanium] Sekirei - 08 [H264][704x400][CD5D790F].mkv (http://www.datorrents.com/download/39130--titanium-sekirei-08-h264-704x400-cd5d790f-mkv/)
[Titanium] Sekirei - 08 [H264][1280x720][8F10A5BE].mkv (http://www.datorrents.com/download/39129--titanium-sekirei-08-h264-1280x720-8f10a5be-mkv/)

[Kraco]

Some interesting events in this episode, even though not that much action yet. Next ep should be good in any case.

Kuu continues to be funny. Trying to compete with Musubi and Tsukiumi to get Minato to stare at her (lack of) boobs... And then warming up for a fight. Well, I won't say she has no power but otherwise it's so hilarious how a kid tries to behave like the vixens around her.

Other than that I hope Minato's sister and the sekirei soon get their contract finished. Maybe they will bump into someone and are forced to fight, thus needing the contract to win (or just escape). It's kind of tiresome to have them continue in this state where some scumbag ashikabi could snatch the unwinged sekirei away suddenly, plus having an unwinged sekirei probably means less chances for a fight. And this series could use some more fights already, as funny as those quarrels between sekirei can be.

[Buffalobiian]

Uzume's secrets revealing little by little. It looks like she's blackmailed by the Disciplinary Unit just to save her Ashikabi. Why does having "little time" matter I don't know. My only guess is that the faster she finishes this game and have her wish, the more likely her Ashikabi will survive.

And Kuu does steal most of the laughs.

[Ryllharu]

The guy Uzume met with at the hospital is not the same Ashikabi as the one who was driving the Black Sekirei around. He is a separate Ashikabi, who does not appear to have any connection to MBI. Though he is still blackmailing her for medical care. He seems tied to the hospital somehow, perhaps a director?

[Buffalobiian]

The guy Uzume met with at the hospital is not the same Ashikabi as the one who was driving the Black Sekirei around. He is a separate Ashikabi, who does not appear to have any connection to MBI. Though he is still blackmailing her for medical care. He seems tied to the hospital somehow, perhaps a director?

I wasn't thinking he was the same guy who drove #04 around, but I did think he was also part of the MBI force, since it was they who were interested in taking down the run-away Sekirei.

I guess that explains a fair bit then. To add to her mystery, the "hospital director", lets say, said something about her being worked on by someone, and hence her abilities. That "someone" wasn't the director of MBI was he?

[Ryllharu]

I guess that explains a fair bit then. To add to her mystery, the "hospital director", lets say, said something about her being worked on by someone, and hence her abilities. That "someone" wasn't the director of MBI was he?
I'm not sure where you are going with this. Uzume is a Sekirei. All of them have abilities of some sort or another.

What proves Uzume has zero connection to MBI is how she leaves her victims for dead. That's one of the rules the sekirei abide by, as MBI picks them up after the fight is over. Tsukiumi was bitching about this the whole episode.

As for the MBI director, MBI is the source of all Sekirei because Minaka and Takami are the ones who found the spaceship full of them (or whatever it was).

[Buffalobiian]

I'm not sure where you are going with this. Uzume is a Sekirei. All of them have abilities of some sort or another.

I was referring to when he said "As expected from one worked on by ******** himself."

That hints there's something really strong about Uzume and her abilities. I was simply wondering what significance ********* would have had.

I guess I should have said ".....and hence her more powerful abilities"
(Sorry, I can't look up name right now)

[Ryllharu]

I guess I should have said ".....and hence her more powerful abilities"
(Sorry, I can't look up name right now)
Fortunately, I can.

Asama Takehito, Miya's "husband" (Sekirei seem to like to use that term whether Miya's is actually true or not) and the previous owner of Izumo House. Friends with Seo, and probably friends with Minaka. The hospital guy (who works under Higa, the blond creepy Ashikabi that is stalking Shiina and Yukari) just meant she was one of the Sekirei living at Izumo House.

Not that Chihiro is known for accuracy, but they used "holding on to" instead of "worked on." I'll have to check with the manga to see what they used there.


As a side note, any thoughts on Kuno? She's normally the character type I hate, but for some reason (probably due to her seiyuu) I kind of like how totally worthless she is. There's plenty of klutzy behavior, and the pun with her name makes me laugh.

(Her ashikabi describes her as "munou" = incompetent, and she retorts that her name is "Kuno")


EDIT:
The manga uses "taking care of," so I assume he was just referring to her residency at Izumo House while Takehito was alive.

[Ryllharu]

Asama Takehito, Miya's "husband" (Sekirei seem to like to use that term whether Miya's is actually true or not) and the previous owner of Izumo House. Friends with Seo, and probably friends with Minaka. The hospital guy (who works under Higa, the blond creepy Ashikabi that is stalking Shiina and Yukari) just meant she was one of the Sekirei living at Izumo House.

Not that Chihiro is known for accuracy, but they used "holding on to" instead of "worked on." I'll have to check with the manga to see what they used there.
correction:

Higa is not the creepy blond Ashikabi that is stalking Yukari and Shiina. Higa is someone completely different. Creepy blond Ashikabi is Hayato Mikogami. We have never seen Higa's face (unless he was pretending to be someone else maybe?)

As a side note, Sekirei 10 is out by Chihiro, but I know no one else cares. It explains who all these people are quite plainly.

[xtallography]

Ep 10 was very good because of the explanations of who controls what. As soon as I saw Minato pick up the phone when Sao mentioned money I knew who he was dialing... I thought that call was hysterical. Was also good to see the landlady knock Tskumi down a couple pegs.

So far this series has been better than what I was expecting. Maybe that's just because I set the bar low after reading the original synopsis.

[VanoftheDawn]

Episode 11
http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=torrentinfo&tid=32118

[Buffalobiian]

In all honesty, I was almost sure they dropped this. So glad I'm wrong:

[Titanium] Sekirei - 09 [H264][1280x720][8704B3D8].mkv (http://www.datorrents.com/download/39410--titanium-sekirei-09-h264-1280x720-8704b3d8-mkv/)
[Titanium] Sekirei - 09 [H264][704x400][FA9387F1].mkv (http://www.datorrents.com/download/39409--titanium-sekirei-09-h264-704x400-fa9387f1-mkv/)

[Marik]

Sekirei 12 Final by Chihiro

MKV - http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=torrentinfo&tid=32850

AVI - http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=torrentinfo&tid=32887

[Guest82]

Just finished watching episode 12, it was pretty amusing in some ways or another, although I think the series sort of went at a really fast pace. Most likely a second season which I will be looking forward to. :)

[Marik]

New Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ TV Anime Green-Lit

Main staff, cast return for second season based on manga

The official website of the Sekirei television anime has announced on Sunday that production on a new Sekirei television anime series, Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~, has been green-lit. The new anime series is described as the second season of Sekirei.

Director Keizou Kusakawa, writer Takao Yoshioka, character designer Shinpei Tomooka, musical composer Hiroaki Sano, and the Seven Arcs anime studio all return from the first anime adaptation of Sakurako Gokurakuin's manga. Shinnosuke Tachibana (Minato), Saori Hayami (Musubi), Marina Inoue (Tsukiumi), and Kana Hanazawa (Kusano) lead the main cast in reprising their respective roles.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-08-09/new-sekirei-pure-engagement-tv-anime-green-lit

I can't wait to see this. Sekirei is one of my favorite manga series going right now.

[depthcharge]

woohoo, Thanks for the news. This was a random anime that had plenty of fan services. :)

[Nadouku]

I actually liked this anime, so I'm looking forward to the next season. Hopefully, it will clear up on some confusion that I've made (factions and all the other stuff).

[Kraco]

More funny scenes with Kuu. I won't be complaining.

[Buffalobiian]

While I'm not complaining, I'm not exactly excited about this neither. The first season did a fairly alright job at setting the scene, so hopefully S2 will be better, but it was barely engaging. It doesn't help that Minato didn't start taking the game seriously until the very end.

Of the Sekireis, the only one I actually liked both visually and , well, non-visually(?), was the landlord lady, whose fanservice was all by absent.

#4 was pretty interesting (the Black Sekirei).

[Marik]

[Ryuumaru] Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ - 01 (Premiere) [63FA2589].mkv (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=137357)

[Archangel]

Can someone very concisely let me know how the first season varied from the manga so i don't accidentally spoil anyone?

[NeoCybercoin]

Hmmm from what I recall it wasn't all that much. I think just left some things out that they are going to use in this season. Just post it with a spoiler tag or something. Since I'm not really sure what they left out.

[Kraco]

This felt a bit lackluster. They should have introduced something exciting in this episode to get the second season rolling. Instead we got a slice of life day of the sekirei and their ashikabi.

The sekirei vs military was also so ridiculous I yawned through it. I've also been wondering how the president can still be alive. You'd think the crazy dude would have so many enemies that somebody would snipe him since he spends half his time looking down at the city from the highly visible and vulnerable place at the top of his building.

[NeoCybercoin]

Yeah boring episode. Then again most of it( if not all ) was filler. Think it was just to remind everyone what happened. Or slightly anyway. But still...<3 Kuu

[Buffalobiian]

Apparently nothing much happened, but I was pretty pleased with this episode - for the sole purpose that we got a peek into Miya and Kazehana's past as the 1st generation Discipline Unit.

Looking at their robotic past, Miya's words about their body acting involuntarily upon meeting their Ashikabi, and Kazehana's preference to intoxicate herself, I'm really anticipating what backstory these two may have (along with the current #4).

I'm just hoping it really is something and not a poorly written scenario.

[Marik]

http://forums.gotwoot.net/gotwoot/images/reputation/reputation_neg.gif Sekirei (http://forums.gotwoot.net/showthread.php?p=464697#post464697) Tue, 06-15-2010 05:00 PM Mandatory

Mandatory, huh? Video didn't work? Subs not showing up? The link itself was bad? I don't get how it was "Mandatory".

[Yukimura]

I suspect someone has an irrational hatred of the very idea of Sekirei's existence.