Finally got around to watching the latest episodes. They were good, lots of action to cover. Somehow, I'm still rooting for Arthur to prove his competence against a good opponent. ;)
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Finally got around to watching the latest episodes. They were good, lots of action to cover. Somehow, I'm still rooting for Arthur to prove his competence against a good opponent. ;)
Arawn describes Arthur the same way nearly every fight. Spunky, or enthusiastic, etc. Arthur is a incredibly skilled fighter, he can fights hordes of generic guys far better than all of his tribe, as definitely defeats them faster than any of the Gael's new companions. He even tends to take out more generic guys in a period of time than Arawn does. But he fails against a single style.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraco
Arthur wastes a ton of energy. Arawn ends up the strongest fighter because he uses the least. They showed it quite well in the fighting sequence surrounded by flames. Arthur charges in and slashes three or four guys down in an instant, a couple of spins, blocks and bounces off one sword with a follow-up kill to another guy, spin back and they're done. Arawn uses minimum movement. He dodges blades by mere centimeters, twists his body just enough to move out of the way. He tends to advance more slowly too, and kills with completely utilitarian slashes and thrusts.
Octavia is somewhere in between. She dodges as little as possible too, but she uses flourishes and graceful thrusts. She is elegance to Arthur's fury. She'll expend less energy than Arthur will in a fight. So far, his endurance has kept him out of harm's way, but against a skilled opponent, he will wear himself out.
I really want to see Gaius fight more so we get a proper look at his skills, he seems to be totally badass.
Harsh lessons by Octavia-sensei:
Episode 10 - Solstice
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Edit: This episode wasn't quite as good as I had hyped myself to believe. I guess it contained too much mellow integration of Octavia into the Avalon people and too little swordplay. She didn't even beat Arthur like I was hoping, even though I'll still keep thinking she could have had it been a real fight. Hoping for a rematch between her and Arawn is totally futile now, of course.
Still, it's not like I wouldn't have enjoyed the ep.
I could not help but marvel at how pretty Octavia looks when she is in her basic stance.
Anyhow, I was expecting more of the mellow integration and less swordplay, so I enjoyed this episode a lot. I thought the side plot with Morgan was a little rushed, but that might not be over with just yet judging by the preview. The only thing that disappointed me was that Arawn didn't gain a new wife. He's got three already, so I figured they were going for full harem in this series, but I guess that won't be the case with Octavia.
Yeah. Octavia didn't interact at all with Arawn during this episode. Can't get new wives that way, naturally. Although to be honest he doesn't need any new ones since all the current ones are going unused already. Arthur would still need one so that he would cease to try to be one of Arawn's. I wouldn't be too happy if Octavia was wasted on somebody like Arthur, though, so it would need to be someone not yet introduced, probably.
Hmm, I liked this episode, since the main focus was on Octavia. At least, Arthur got to spar with her for a bit, even if it wasn't a real fight.
As straight as a sword:
Episode 11 - Solstice
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I felt the plot of this episode was a bit rotten. In a way that suggested they wanted to conclude the Lidia-Octavia matter promptly and with style but everything else was thrown in haphazardly just to serve that end. First of all: Why didn't Octavia tell she met the soldiers and what it was all about? And secondly what exactly changed in this battle compared to the previous one to make the Gael victorious? Although we didn't actually see the battle this time, but I reckon it's safe to assume Arawn's side won.
Well, at least, looking at the mushrooms, it's easy to guess why they have such a name. No doubt you will see many phantoms after eating them - if you avoid the fate of becoming one yourself.
Lidia and Octavia's past and present were nice enough, though, I admit that. Much more interesting than I'd have imagined.
One possible reason why Octavia didn't say anything because of her pride. If not obvious from this episode, Octavia has a lot of it. Making excuses (even if they are true) clearly isn't her nature, especially since she is so quiet. That is also the case with Lydia. Instead of telling her way before that it was her that held back in the duel, Octavia simply opted to shut her mouth.
Another possible reason would be she didn't think anyone would believe her, since she is a former enemy. Meeting with enemy soldiers at night is hardly the best way to earn trust, so she probably simply accepted that she lost that trust the moment Morgan etc. found out. Sometimes, it is harder to explain yourself in fear that they still won't believe you after you do, which usually hurts more. This is supported by the apparent joy/relief on Octavia's face when Morgan told her that she will trust her to the end.
The main difference in the battle this episode was that Arthur took command. When they charged, they focused on him giving orders (however simple they may be) to the army. That is a big difference compared to a mad charge without anyone organizing, which is much easier to confuse, scatter, and pick off one by one.
Yeah, it looked really organized this time... I think somebody already talked about it earlier in speculation, but this was the worst way of turning the tables. Basically the only thing changed is that Arthur anymore didn't foolishly believe they can beat any enemy with a berserk charge. Yet still they charged, now only with a few commands given during it but nothing else much changed. What happened to the overpowering skills of the imperial soldiers? In the earlier battle Arthur's troops could hardly do anything against them.
I still don't see how telling early on and truthfully how things stand would have damaged Octavia more than lying. I don't even see how pride would have prevented that. How does being suspected, for a good reason, by everybody around you enhance your pride? I think on the contrary if she had immediately told Arawn about it and then let them judge her intentions, it would have given her a reason to remain proud; no matter what happened, she would have known she did the right thing and hid nothing.
They could have even captured a couple of imperial scouts if the others had known. It's possible she met them the first time by accident but then she met them a second time purposefully to give the negative answer.
I agree with you that it is unfortunate how it was not shown. But it is hardly impossible for them to win if they are more organized this time. It just means they executed some brilliant tactic that we weren't privy to, probably because the author got lazy. Oh, and let's add that the enemy leader left their ranks and got killed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraco
It was never about enhancing her pride. What I am trying to discuss is how a prideful person reacts to certain circumstances. Such reactions are not necessarily (or even usually) positive, as illustrated by Lydia and Octavia's story.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraco
Octavia probably didn't tell on the soldiers because she was previously their ally. She is technically the one who betrayed her country in this case. Saying that she should rat out her previous allies who are proposing what they did will damage her pride. Octavia probably considers slyly capturing them now to get trust points from her new comrades quite cowardly. That is why she simply declined the proposal, and told them about her defection.
Octavia didn't know that someone saw her contacting those soldiers. She probably thought that she could simply reject their offer and that would be the end of it, partly out of respect for their former alliance. When she found out that Morgan knew, she either didn't want to make excuses for her careless (easy to misunderstand) actions, or she didn't want to explain then still not be believed. Both of these possibilities are speculation, but they are hardly unlikely considering her character and current circumstances.
I still won't agree with you. First of all, she wasn't the one betraying but the one betrayed. She was clubbed in the head in a dark storage room, closed into a box, and worst of all had to suffer through Lidia's speech gagged, unable to offer a single opposing argument (that's torture already). If she had told those imperial soldiers when they met for the first time (for whatever reason) that she wouldn't guarantee their safety the second time through, it would have been alright to "betray" them. That's what she should have done in order to remain a prideful, honourable swordsman.
You can't serve both masters of two parties in a war.
Whether she knew or not that she was seen has got nothing to do with honour or righteous pride. Well, in the end with Arawn as the leader everything's possible. The dude is too relaxed to overly worry about the past or the present or the future. Which remind me of the fact that there's still very little Octavia-Arawn interaction. I wonder if Octavia can't handle a man like that due to her upbringing and all the time in the military.
Hey, it is speculation so you don't have to agree with me at all. All I am saying is we should use some imagination in such cases.
About the betrayal thing, again you speak from a detached point of view. Have you forgotten how Octavia acted when she fought Arawn for the first time? She was already "betrayed" then, yet she still wanted to sacrifice her life just to kill as many of the "enemy" (including Arawn, who practically saved her life twice and she knew it) as possible. She did eventually decide to side with Arawn, but that doesn't mean that she has completely cut off all ties with her previous allies. That is just the type of character she is, extremely loyal, mainly stemming from her pride as a warrior. Is it correct? Maybe not, but that is not the issue.
I agree with you that it would have been perfectly alright to betray those soldiers if we are talking about what is "just", but we are talking about why Octavia did what she did. Acting out of pride is not equivalent to acting just. Heck, Octavia and Lydia tried to kill each other because of their pride, and one of them died because of that same pride. I would hardly call their actions righteous (especially Lydia's). I mentioned this from my first post, so you can't say that you mistook my saying pride as only righteous pride.
EDIT: By not killing those soldiers the first time they met (probably by accident), and agreeing to meet them again, there is already an unwritten agreement that she cannot betray. Meeting them again with an ambush party would have soiled her warrior's pride forever, that is unless they don't keep up their end of the bargain as well (which they didn't by trying to coerce Octavia by kidnapping the kid). Octavia would never do what you suggested (ask them to meet again then capturing them with a group). It just doesn't fit her character at all. If she wanted to capture an enemy soldier, she would have done it the moment they first met, killing most of them and keeping one for interrogation.
Her decision to not report the enemy soldiers and meet them again is not equivalent to serving two masters. She did that to completely cut off her ties with her previous master. She was probably trying to sort out her feelings after they made the proposal, and knowing that it is her decision to stay with Arawn's side that brought upon such a situation, she was just trying to take responsibility.
Anyway, that is enough from me on this matter. I just wanted to show why I like Octavia as a character so much. She isn't "pure" or one-sided. She hated Lydia for going easy on her, enough to do the same to her and insult her pride in the worse way possible. She doesn't always make the best decisions (contrary to what one would expect from her character type). Yet despite all this, she still has a kind, caring and undeniably mentally strong side.
Might be enough from you, but I still feel like I need to point out a strange assumption in your theory: That Octavia actually wanted to meet those bullies for a second time. I think it's more like they came to hang around the castle and Octavia sensed them and went to ask what they want again (though she obviously knew what they wanted, but I don't think it was really an arranged meeting as such). Who knows, but if someone tries to extort you, isn't it harder on the pride not to do anything about it?
Well, I do get your point partially. It wasn't probably that easy for her to let go of her background, even if these secret police dudes aren't exactly her former comrades.
I can totally understand why Octavia didn't speak up. I'm sort of that type as well. While not always the smartest thing to do, I don't always feel like explaining myself for the simple reason that it can look bad. Sometimes if you're overexplaining, it's like you're begging someone to accept your reasons and believe you. You might also further extrapolate that to mean you did something that required you to explain yourself, almost like you did something "wrong".
Later on, the truth comes out without your active "explaining", and they find out it was their own fault/ovethinking that screwed shit up.
Of course, "later on" doesn't always happen, nor are you "fault free" for not dispelling the suspcion, hence it's not exactly smart. But proud? Yes.
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Not that the other wives are clinging to Arawn much save for Rhiannon, but Octavia never clung to her at all to begin with. From what I know, that's slightly different from the source material. It's a good thing though. For now at least, I can't see Octavia being submissive to anyone else.
Her pairing with Arthur would just be plain weird. There's no match at all. I've read some people speculating a pairing here due to their previous duel, but that was more a "warriors-accepting-each-other" thing to me.
Regarding that fight, though it was a little disappointing Octavia didn't win, it boosted Aurthor's reputation as a swordsman. Octavia found it very difficult to win outright against Aurthur despite her theoretically superior style because of one thing - Author's got an absurd amount of stamina and strength. It's like telling Naruto rasengans aren't energy efficient - that's not an issue.
Still, learning from Octavia can only do him good.
I'm not even counting Octavia as one of Arawn's wives, and by the looks of it she might never become one. So, I'm not actually talking about any romantic interaction. After her fight with Arthur I'm not even wishing for another bout between her and Arawn either, because it wouldn't anymore mean anything seeing how she's barely better than Arthur.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
However, since it is like that, Octavia showing no interest in entering Arawn's bedchamber, I think their interaction could be even better occasionally. She would see Arawn for what he actually is, not as a hubby.
I wasn't sure in the context, did Octavia imply she was in love with Lidia romantically, or as very close friends?
To be totally honest, I got lesbian vibes from that scene, which is also one reason why I judged she won't become one of Arawn's wives in the anime. On the other hand, Lidia is now dead, so any manner of development could happen. I'm also sure that if there really was (romantic) love there, it was all platonic and nothing concrete ever happened.
Gimme some Octavia & Morgan lesbian action, w00 w00 ;p
I thought it was, which is why I'm glad Octavia's the the sword Master. Without any potential romantic interests, at least we'll see the affectionate side of her when she's handing the kids. (worded kind of strangely there, but whatever.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraco
Octavia action? Certainly, though if I got to pick, I'll take any elf other than Morgan.Quote:
Originally Posted by Penner
Octavia and Lydia made the best pair. I just really don't like noisy, and dumb characters like Morgan.
I disliked Lydia at first because I thought she was bat nuts, but after her story was explained, I kind of sympathized with her situation. I also extremely hate it when people go easy on me, especially if it is a serious competition. There needs to be a doujin with those two as main characters. Heck, if they don't make one soon, I might as well make (a very very short) one myself.
I'll miss not having any more chances for more crazy Lydia speeches but the yuri vibes now associated with her memory will ease the pain of her passing.
Octavia's behavior did get on my nerves and hurt her standings in my mind though. Pride is an understandable explanation but I don't consider it an excuse for such recklessness. It would have been nice to hear the conversation between her and the soldiers the first time, especially if they threatened something if she told anyone about encountering them. Without something like that to latch onto my natural pessimism makes me see her behavior as callous disregard for anyone else's say in their own safety because she was so confident in how speshul she was that she believed she could handle it all alone. Seeing it like that I can't help but remember Arthur getting handed a hearty slice of humble pie for a similar attitude not too long ago.
Quite a good episode, although Morgan's jump to conclusion was a bit hasty, but at least she still trusts Octavia "till the end".
Quite an irrelevant episode. Although it did build Riannon's (foolish) character. I guess she did buy her easy escape with her stew and saving that one wounded man, but otherwise it was a dodgy show. Like how she got caught in the first place. It's supposed to be her own forest already, the Imperials being the strangers, so why did she get caught so easily? She must possess zero forest and ranger lore, after all. A damn city girl. A fairy? Give me a fucking break.
Once again I'm getting tired of Arthur. Arawn is a real saint of infinite patience.
The next ep is potentially better, based on the preview.
Well, not such a bad episode of talking between Riannon and Gaius, but I really liked how she just totally skipped over Arthur, making him a sad man once again. :p
I look forward to the next episode, too. It has been a long time since we've seen Arthur do something good other than the "light victory" over Octavia (can't find another word for it).
I didn't really mind all the Riannon development. IIt reinforced that Gaius isn't that much of a bad guy, but more a "rival" type of enemy without all the hate.
By far the most interesting development comes with the return of Taliesin. He's screaming "I'm a historian" like Arawn. Either that, or he's naturally shrewd with both words and swords. If there was a word to describe them from the preview it would be flamboyant.
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About Gaius wandering in, that's a huge insult to the Gael tribe. You'd think after the episode with Lydia's troops spying around they'd dispatch patrols or something.
Edit: And was there even a need for bandages??
Ye why did she send that guy for bangades 'n stuff, wasnt even a tiny scratch left after the healing, maybe the bandages was for wrapping around his torso for support incase hes still sore or some such -.-
It was probably in case she failed to heal the wound completely.
Meh, decent ep.
I know it was meant to be all noble and all, but to me, Arthur's "victory" over the Minstrel felt cheap. It's funny how the same could be said about the Minstrel's trick with the wound, but to me, that felt more cunning and smart. I think it's got to do with how "pure" Arthur was acting. He's almost like a child, and it feels bad to take the victory from them when they (foolishly) act like that.
The Minstrel, on the other hand, told you he's good to go, so it would be the Gael's fault for underestimating him.
He's too dense to notice the Minstrel's the next-in-line, aka Chief.
I'm starting to get tired of not seeing Arawn fight. He could have massacred that guy easily.
I would understand if he wanted to keep himself safe since he is the leader, but betting his own life on the duel contradicts this.
I would also understand if he was betting on Arthur's naivety to win over the hearts of the onlookers, but Arawn's surprise when he realized Arthur dislocated his own arm contradicts this.
I would also understand if Arawn wanted Arthur to grow as a warrior so he let him fight, but Arthur's naivety (a negative trait for a warrior) was only reinforced with what happened, so unless Arawn horribly failed in his prediction, this is also unlikely.
What logical reason would there be for Arawn to not fight in such cases? It only makes sense to send the best warrior to fight the duel, and Arawn is hands down that person/demon lord.
I'd guess Arawn expected Arthur to settle it in a manner resulting in neither getting killed. Maybe he simply was surprised by the method. He might have thought Arthur would beat the dude yet let him live without humiliation. He told Arthur to kill the bard, but that could have been just building pressure to help Arthur come up with an opposite solution. In the end they were seeking allies, not vassals, like was demonstrated by how Arawn so quickly turned around and left.
What exactly is Gaius waiting for? That all the rebellious tribes gather together and he can slay them all in one fell swoop?
[SubSmith] Tears to Tiara - 14 - White Spirit [720p][A3F040AE].mkv
Ogre fight was sweet, kinda short tho ;P
Looks like things are heating up for Gaius, and i get the feeling Arawn and this Myrrdin fellow was more than just BFF's ^_^
Seems like Octavia still lacks power in her swings when it really counts. Not surprising for one of her build though. The ogre fight was indeed pretty cool, but I'm not sure what to think about Octavia getting splattered all over her face withwarm body fluidsblood.Adding realism to the fight was a nice touch, but at the cost of tainting Octavia
Now that we've moved on from expanding Arawn's female harem to something bigger, I find it much more enjoyable to see how Arawn and Rhiannon are really the only "real" couple. Rightly so too, since Arawn got the title "Chief of Gaels" from her.
I guess after everybody's "ZOMG, it's Arawn-sama" frenzy, she's the only one that cares.
I know what I think about the whole blood splatter situation, it was hot. While I certainly find Octavia's typical icy demeanor and fighting style awesome seeing her get kind of 'ragey' and brutal had an appeal all its own. The blood splatter was like icing on the cake and then her sort of shocked reaction helped to transition her back into her normal mode.
As to the plot that is apparently emerging Myrddin AKA Merlin is usually a pretty interesting character and hopefully that trend will continue in ToT. I would hope we'll learn more about the relationship between Arawn and the other apparently magical beings on that mural.
The animation was better than usual in this episode, and it was well-made, especially the battles that proceeded after entering the tomb. Poor Gaius gets ridiculed about Arawn being a "normal human", though he certainly could have acted earlier.
woot! so soon after 14 :P, awesome!
Not really. Ep 14 was out a week ago on the 7th. I was trying to hold out for Solstice, but I gave up.
They had to ruin a cliffhanger. Were they really that desperate for another 10 seconds of footage?
Even if afterwards we realise Arawn *can't* possibly die halfway through the series, it was still appropriate to end it there.
As for the story.....what the hell?
So Arawn was good during the Elves' Age, died, turned white and killed Arthur's dad, died, rose from the dead and became tribe leader. :confused:
At first I was thinking Arthur shared Pwyll's memories like Rhiannon did, and got confused between the two. Thing is, Rhiannon could tell which was real and which wasn't. It doesn't make sense that Arthur couldn't neither, unless their (Arthur and boy-in-flashback) fathers looked the same, leading to the wut-da? timeline above.
The easiest solution is that whoever killed Arthur's father disguised themselves as Arawn. Not that it makes much sense neither.
Or all the Spirits are considered the same, and are nasty folks. Arawn turned black, becoming good. Still, he held himself accountable for all that the Spirits did. Who knows, maybe they all were called Arawn...Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
Due to the fact Arawn was supposed to have died ages ago and was only resurrected a little while ago, it's hard to believe he could have personally killed Arthur's dad. Regardless, unless it was some witless plot of his, it's hard to imagine he would have risked the life of his body for nothing.
One thing is sure, though: Arthur reached an all time low once again. That dude never ceases to amaze.
About the time Gaius actually launches his attack. Was he seriously just waiting for the never-to-come reinforcements all this time? He's not nearly as tough as I thought.
Solstice - Episode 14 for those who care.
Building up to some Gaius action, ive looked forward to seeing him fight since we first saw him, so they better fucking deliver.
Arthur is really ruining my attachment to the name (mainly coming from King Arthur, and Arturia from FSN). He is simply retarded, and yet gets so much screen time. Reminds me of Shirou all over again.
As much as I disliked Shirou, he was never as bad as Arthur. At least Shirou gave everybody the benefit of doubt, sometimes far too much so, but Arthur, however, simply wants to kill everybody he suddenly doesn't like for arbitrary reasons, even if that person happened to be the savior of his tribe and his leader and killing him might ruin everything he has worked for... The man is a psychopath, loud and clear. Actually he's a psychopath with a split personality. That could be even a cool trait in certain kinds of characters but no trait is cool in Arthur.Quote:
Originally Posted by shinta|hikari
Yeah, because he almost killed his leader because of those traits. LOL
I find it incredibly weird how none of the people watching from behind thought of trying to stop Arthur, especially when he started mumbling "I will kill you." towards their leader. Octavia could have easily knocked him out considering his enraged state.
I wonder how much of Arthur's actions were his own thoughts, and how much was influenced by the surrounding magic. They only mentioned Gravitron or whatever his name is that effects elves, but given how someone might well be framing Arawn for the ex-leader's murder, who knows if that spellcaster was giving Arthur that little push into the murderous state he was in.
Not that it changes anything, I still hate Arthur for being a dumbass all the same.
It should not be forgotten the attack only happened because Arawn let it happen. Maybe even wanted it to happen. Clearly he is in some way connected to Arthur's dad demise, though whether he did it himself (despite lying in a grave) or whether it was done by another spirit, is yet to be revealed. If he just wanted Arthur to have his revenge and thus get the matter out of burdening Arthur's pitifully small mind, it was surely a personally painful way to do it...
If some outside force was driving Arthur forward, it still doesn't change the fact he was so ultimately weak he allowed that force to take over himself and attacked his leader. It's not enough for a good warrior to have strength and speed, also a solid mind is needed and that's where Arthur has failed through-out the whole story.
Aaaw YEAH, thats the shit!
Decapitations, splitting bodies in two, dragon transformations!
Kick ASS!
indeed. It was bloody mess and I liked it.
Bloody good action. I guess when it comes to hacking up humanoid pig-beasts, the studio has no qualms about dicing them up however you like.
Ogam's transformation was a surprise. I was expecting it to be big, but more of the generic, leaner, scaly type. Instead we got a treat seeing a Super-Sayan-esque bulk up of something best described as demonic.
That was pretty cool.
Personally, I wouldn't have liked a leader like Rhiannon. That whole Genki attitude just doesn't quite cut it for me. Leadership aside, I think it's important knowing what instructions to give, not have them follow it.
Octavia has much more charisma than Rhiannon in my opinion, as well as the military knowledge to back it up. I'll just have to settle with that the Gaels actually know how to protect their own ass and just needs their First Lady to tell them they'll be fine.
Arthur....man, it's like those pledges corrupted up his brain capacity and gets a write-error malfunction if you tell him otherwise. They should have left out all the headache parts. If he doesn't understand anything outside of honour, that's fine. He's narrow-minded.
But to have him get a headache from it...what is he, retarded?
My favourite part would still have to be Octavia and Morgan's tandem gate climbing. There was a nice shot of Octavia's legs without feeling it was out-of-place fanservice.
Points for the improvised rusty missile too.
Edit: [Solstice] Tears to Tiara - 15 [1280x720 h264 AAC][364F8001].mkv
Ogam being a dragon, that was a bit of a surprise, but a lot about him made sense after hearing it. His appearance on the other hand, was not a surprise in the slightest. If you've seen the other Leaf series, Utawawerumono, it is all too familiar. They even show what Ogam's dragon form resembles in the Utawawerumono OP.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
[ Those responding to or agreeing with me: I chose my words carefully,keep it spoiler free please ].
I disagree with Octavia potentially being a better leader than Rhiannon as well. Rhiannon possesses a great deal of aspects that make her far more worthy of the Gaels respect so that she might lead them than Octavia. On the base level, she's is a Gael, rather than a conquered tribe former citizen of the Empire. She's also the first daughter of the tribe. That and her demeanor has made her like a mother (or older sister) to the entire tribe. She has never shown anything less than absolute compassion, concern, and care for her people. She projects an aura that she will do everything in her power to keep them alive, and on more than a few occasions, that is precisely how she has exerted her magical abilities. The tribe in turn can put their faith in her commands because they know she would never throw their lives away with a foolish decision.
Rhiannon also has all the power to back up her command of armies. Her brother, Octavia and Arawn may all be able to strike down enemies with their blades, mostly in a clean and efficient manner, but Rhiannon can crush every bone in her opponents' bodies with a brisk wave of her staff. She is also the tribe's Oracle, and has foreseen a number of events. I really wonder how many of the tribe could actually defeat Rhiannon one on one if both sides were serious. Rhiannon has not simply sat at home while her tribe goes off. She fights with them, hunts with them, and takes care of them on and off the battlefield.
She was not simply telling them that everything will be alright. She did that to revitalize their morale. Rhiannon commanded the troops on the battlements, and it is clear that since no troops of the Empire have yet to breech Avalon's walls, that she is quite the competent leader.
I agree with the fact that Octavia is not a good candidate simply because she is not a Gael. The other factors are generally equal, balanced by the two girls different strengths and weaknesses.
Okay, I'll agree with most of the good points Ryll has managed to bring up about Rhiannon, in particular her birth status and as the Oracle.
I've got somewhat mixed impressions about her offensive abilities though. She's shown she's capable of using that spell in battle, but the rare occurrence of us seeing it might say something about the mana it requires.
That, or she's usually playing the medic role.
In either case, the fact that we don't see her in action much compared to everybody else makes me doubt her combat experience. That old Gael probably has more.
In my eyes, her role should be somewhat similar to what she played while in the Imperial camp. She should have no problems with easing people's feelings, but leading a battle is another.
Reason why I said should is because this episode showed her spilling out a few "tactics". (stick together, lower/retrieve drawbridge). Again, this is where I'm comparing with other candidates, and wonder if that old Gael could've done an equally good job.
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My other "issue" with her is as Octavia says, her leadership lacks a tense atmosphere. While being too tense will lower performance, being tense to a degree could increase awareness and caution, while a complete lack could lead to carelessness and overconfidence.
That (^) argument is probably much more subjective than the rest though. It just rubbed me the wrong way.
I do think that a gentle and lax military leadership is unheard of (because it won't work), but hey, this is TTT, where a general lets the enemy leader's 1st wife go even if she could have been a precious hostage.
Hoho, a bunch of fights going on at once! I wasn't surprised at Ogam's transformation due to the fact that he used magic and had a dragon staff as his weapon, but it did look cool. Looks like Arthur will be rejoining them for combat before that huge siege weapon hits.
I wonder what manner of reinforcements Gaius will get this time. Whatever he thought he'd get last time, it wasn't zombies.
[SubSmith] Tears to Tiara - 17 - For Friends - Torrent | MegaUpload
-The ram wasn't exactly a very exciting surprise, but it must have been a nice gift for the assaulting soldiers.
-Honestly, if Gaius could detect that guy snooping in his tent, Arawn must have noticed him snooping around his lands too. It's not like he had spies in the Empire to tell him it would stir up shit though, so in that sense it was a pretty bold (or stupid) move not to kill him when he had the chance.
-Electrum Golems must be hard to defeat.
LOL HAYS GUYZ I GOT A GREAT IDEA! IMMA LEAD A REVOLT AGAINST THE EMPIRE BUT FIRST I AM GONNA KILL OFF A SIZABLE AND FORMIDABLE FORCE THAT WOULD MOST LIKELY HELP ME DESTROY THE EMPIRE!!! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
/sarcasm
It's not like it makes zero sense, however.
Defeating Arawn is the only way for Gaius to go back to the empire with power.
A powerless man gathering troops is bound to be suspicious.
You could argue that siding with Arawn would give him better chances of succeeding, but:
a) He's interested in ruling, not letting Arawn/Gaels rule
b) Siding with Arawn would mean an all-out war against the Empire. Going back, then starting a revolution would require less troops and allow him to situate troops around the capital undetected before the revolt.
He is trying to be like Caesar (obvious parallel btw). With victory in the field, he will have the backing of the common people for being a returning hero, and (hopefully) a great deal of respect with the army because they know firsthand that he is a capable leader. With those two groups backing him, he could overthrow the senate and possibly the aristocracy.
However, I wouldn't count on the military backing him after the tremendous losses he is incurring against Avalon. This is one of the reasons the senate is shaming him, and it is especially bad because they are "uncultured barbarians" who have neither the percieved organization nor technological advantage when it comes to war machines. I guess most aren't considering magic or the fact that many of the living elves have sided with or sent representatives to Arawn.
One counterpoint to all this.
The Gaels are a long ways from the empire, and Gaius just killed off their only set of eyes and ears. What would keep him in this situation from just getting the Gaels to join up with him, head back to the empire in glorious victory and just say he slaughtered them all. At this point I get the impression from the soldier he was talking to that all his men are behind him, also fed up with the empires shit, would be willing the not open their mouths (at least I assume that was the point of that whole scene). I'm just saying theres a much larger tactical advantage to be given by allying with the Gaels instead of wholesale slaughter.
But wouldn't all it take to ruin that is a very generous "pay raise" from a senator to some random dipshit greedy soldier who isn't quite so behind Gaius? Gaius' soldiers aren't like Lidia's Rublum soldiers, who were fiercely displined and zealots to her leadership.
Gaius would have to be absolutely certain in his men if he was going to try that angle.
[SubSmith] Tears to Tiara - 18 - Return [720p] - Torrent | MegaUpload
Gaius is an Empire man, not interested in allying with savage tribes if it isn't for simple tactical advantage after which he could easily get rid of them. Gaels, on the other hand, have an eternal tradition of trying to stay away from the Empire. The last thing they would want is to try to replace one emperor with another that even has a history of harassing them and kidnapping their precious Riannon, no less. Gaels would have nothing to do with Gaius, most likely, short of an armistice to get rid of him, even if just for a while.Quote:
Originally Posted by EpyonNext
So, I don't think an alliance theory of any kind has much basis at all. These aren't chess players but peoples with long histories and different cultures, like their oft irrational actions have quite forcefully proven.
Gaius talked way too long for a dead guy. Given how hard Arthur sliced him the amount of gore was ridiculously small. That scene would have been much better if he asked for a favour, called him a king and told him to succeed his ambition all in a few words.
The eye-shadow was very off-putting as well. What's wrong with the regular shade of black? Sure, it's been used and reused frequently during these past few years, but turning him into Re-l Mayer (Ergo Proxy) doesn't make it any better.
Arawn's scenes were much better in comparison. Him simply just being there radiates so much confidence that he just needs to blast a door and stand there. Gaius, on the other hand seemed totally out of character.
He completely had the upper hand in that fight too, smashing Arthur all over the place. Him missing that last swing just like that seems a bit unbelievable.
As for Octavia yuri,
You can never have too much Octavia yuri.
Octavia and Morgan yuri was... well YURI. What more can I say?
The whole scene after the fight between Dipshit and Gaius was kind of absurd, and is probably the direction I dreaded the most. Why does Arthur need to be the future King?
The fight was going great, then some random plot device had to make Arthur win without any valid reason or prior indication. This was probably one of the worst executed fights in TTT.
Indeed. I just wish it was with someone else, though. Damn it, why did Lidia have to die?Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
That Lord of the Rings reference was sweet, and I was hoping for Gaius's force to break into the castle before Ogam and Arthur's force came, but oh well, it was still cool. I didn't mind the short battle between Arthur and Gaius, though I wish they did make it longer.
Not that I'd ever desire to defend Arthur, but Gaius's sword was meant for slicing horses in two or five men at once in the middle of a blind charge into enemy rows, not fighting against a single extremely agile and fast opponent. It was a nobrainer Gaius couldn't last long. Although Arthur trying to block all of those rock shattering swings was inane.
A decent episode otherwise, I suppose. Though I'd have liked to see Arawn fight a bit more, but maybe he's saving his strength to be able to beat the dude with a fiery sense of humour...
If Gaius sword was meant for slicing horses, all those times that Arthur took it head on, his sword should have broken and his body crushed, but it didn't. Realism is simply not important in this show. What made that fight look idiotic was, Gaius was completely overwhelming Arthur, then all of a sudden, he dies. How difficult would it be to replace a few of the Arthur bashing scenes (while I like them) with scenes showing him slowly gain the upper hand?
Arthur had an upper hand from the beginning when it was shown Gaius's sword couldn't break Arthur's sword. Arthur took some beating for sure, but it only seemed to make him more determined. So, in short, Gaius had no effective means of attacking Arthur, because the heavy and cumbersome sword prevented him from hitting Arthur directly instead of his adamantium blade.
We all hate Arthur and his new meak friendship attitude makes him no more likable, but it doesn't automatically mean he's weaker in combat than some badass looking enemy. Thinking Gaius must have been stronger and only lost due to story elements is a predisposition, not an objective analysis.
I don't agree that since Gaius couldn't break Arthur's sword that it automatically gives him a disadvantage. Even if it doesn't smash the object, Gaius's swings carried much more momentum and power. Each time Arthur blocks them, the shocks should travel up the sword and damage his wrists. We've also seen him get knocked flying several times. Judging from Gaius's expressions and gait, his own attacks aren't tiring him out like you'd expect.
Gaius never showed much weakness to Arthur's attempt neither. Every time Arthur charged at him, he either hit his blade directly, or kicked up so much debris that it confused and hurt Arthur anyway. There's no proof that Gaius is proficient at his dust-blind-smash tactic, but given he's got experience with that sword, it's not that unlikely.
What's more is that Arthur's comeback was so sudden. The way Gaius so obviously had the upperhand, it's almost like he slipped and missed. If Arthur was becoming more determined with each hit, it certainly didn't show.
How was it sudden? Arthur is now a bit harder to read because he's not anymore as hot-headed and single-mindedly idiotic as he was before his "great revelation", but you can surmise he was learning Gaius's movements and tactics during the whole exchange of blows, and then at a suitable point ended the fight simply and gracefully like we saw. For that is how a fight with deadly weapons optimally ends.
Gaius was so full of his own ambition that he considered Arthur hardly worth fighting in the first place. He was only seeing himself marching to the throne room, getting rid of Arawn and the whole tribe and then returning to the Empire to claim the crown. He only saw Arthur for the first time in the first place when he realised Arawn wasn't interested in ruling but making Arthur a ruler. But it was too late at that point anymore.
Besides, dust-blind-smash tactic not only blinds your opponent but yourself as well. With Gaius having a monster sword like that, Arthur had little worries of getting surprised when he made his own move after Gaius's swing. Gaius was a fine swordsman, but his inappropriate choice for a weapon decided the winner of this bout.
Maybe we just saw it differently, so it would be pointless to argue. I just hope they showed a bit more indication of Arthur realizing something (or any change in battle circumstances for that matter) that allowed him to land that blow after being roughed up so much (yet strangely not getting seriously injured, maybe his body is as tough as his head).
[SubSmith] Tears to Tiara - 19 - Child of the Night [720p] - Torrent | MegaUpload
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I like the new ED.
http://home.comcast.net/%7Esupergote...PosterMini.jpg ................ http://home.comcast.net/%7Esupergote...PosterMini.jpg
Above are the stickup posters for T3’s Blu-ray Vol 1 and 2. Click on each for the gigantic version.
[SubSmith] Tears to Tiara - 20 - Lucifer [720p] - Torrent | MegaUpload
Update: There’s a mistake at 20:00 where the script reads just “c”. It should have been “I guess you don’t know of spring.”
That was an eye-opener of an episode that explains .....well, everything. It explains why each age ended as abruptly as it did, why new races sprung up seemingly immediately, why the spirits are siding with the Empire.......
....and why the hell Arawn puts up with a guy like Arthur. Seriously, seeing the young Lucifer was like seeing Arthur. While Arthur was bound by his pledges and ideal as the First Warrior, Arawn was equally blinded by his obsession for the White Spirits.
Arthur seems pretty enlightened by now, so maybe Arawn won't have to die to boost him into kingship. I actually wouldn't mind if Arawn dies by the end though, since I would expect it to be well done.
[SubSmith] Tears to Tiara - 21 - The Song of Origin [720p] - Torrent | MegaUpload
That was kind of random.
It didn't get emotional until the merchant elf started mourning, and when the mood actually started to kic--
-- let's cut to ED2 now shall we?
Speaking of ED2...
[Nipponsei] Tears to Tiara ED2 Single - Weeping alone [Yuuki Aira].zip
[SubSmith] Tears to Tiara - 22 - Dyrnwyn [720p] - Torrent | MegaUpload
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[Solstice] Tears to Tiara - 16 [1280x720 h264 AAC][AD573E35].mkv
[Solstice] Tears to Tiara - 17 [1280x720 h264 AAC][4103E586].mkv
[Solstice] Tears to Tiara - 18 [1280x720 h264 AAC][B30BDD01].mkv
[Solstice] Tears to Tiara - 19 [1280x720 h264 AAC][66740EBF].mkv
[Solstice] Tears to Tiara - 20 [1280x720 h264 AAC][CFEEE7EF].mkv
[Solstice] Tears to Tiara - 21 [1280x720 h264 AAC][DE507BD1].mkv
[SubSmith] Tears to Tiara - 23 - Palladium [720p] - Torrent | MegaUpload
And the randomness reaches a new height.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
Random sword unlocks random structure.
Random lava triggers random teleportation device.
Random mayor starts random battle
Random cauldron is unguarded
Main characters randomly become immune to the effects of Magic Crushing Obelisk in order to leave.
I just thought this episode was really really <<insert "R" word here>>.
Anyway, because of that I didn't like this episode much. It wasn't unwatchable, but there was nothing going for it. The only thing that stood out to me as well-done was the music background when Rhiannon (and I must say it again) randomly got her powers and wasrandomlysomehow freed from the pain spell.
The last few episodes of this show have sucked so badly that no one has commented on them. This show really disappointed me. Everything went downhill after the Octavia arc.
So true. I've lost so much interest in this show that I don't really care how it ends.Quote:
Originally Posted by shinta|hikari
I couldn't agree more with Bill. Random seems to be the keyword of this series these days. Whoever they hired to write the anime script must have quit before finishing the job and afterwards the director has simply tried to heedlessly stuff scenes from the game into the anime (assuming these things happened in the game).
It's a real pity. This show has some promise in the beginning and the setting alone would have allowed much awesome. But in the end it was all more or less wasted. Arawn himself is a completely wasted character.
Everyone, especially Octavia and excluding Arthur, is a wasted character. Arthur was a waste to begin with.
The thing with randomness is, it could have been easily prevented with some foreshadowing. Giving out small clues can separate what will be taken as a cleverly hidden mystery from a twist pulled out of an inept author's ass.
Harsh words harsh words. I have also found myself WTFing pretty much constantly ever since they beat the guy with the Guts sword. Episode 20 actually made some sense as though it seemed to be missing something to really connect Merlin's death to Arwan's complete change of personality. The flashback Arthur had in 22 also made some sense, showing Arwan going through a similar thing with Pwyll that he's been going through with Arthur, but again, they didn't provide much detail on the war that was fought making the flashback feel incomplete ( I get the impression those pillar things were used in the last big war as well).
And then we come to episode 23, with it's high grade randomness. I didn't have much of a problem with Rhiannon's hidden power or the zombie mid-boss squad but what I would love to know is who the actual Big Bad is and what these random pillars are all about. I assume it has something to do with the 12 (11) spirits and their Earthly agents but details on exactly what they do on Earth has been rather lacking.
The only real hope I have for this show is that Octavia and Morgan will share a yuri deep look + kiss moment before it's all over. I also have a faint, foolish hope that Llyr will do actually do something cool and/or useful, (hopefully losing her silly hat in the process).
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[Solstice] Tears to Tiara - 22 [1280x720 h264 AAC][16317307].mkv
[Solstice] Tears to Tiara - 23 [1280x720 h264 AAC][009B6687].mkv
Riannon's space-time tunnel spell was the best move this entire episode, and possibly this entire series.
Yeah. The rest of the episode was so annoyingly pitiful that it was actually very nice to see that one good move.
I'm invincible!!
What's this?! I'm wounded?
Oh Noes!! Eat me!!
-Taliesin makes a cameo (sponsored by Sunrise)
:confused:
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