Zero no Tsukaima: The Familiar of Zero

[Death BOO Z]

which is exactly why you need to focus on all the small parts, since the charecter based plot was so inexistent...
I'm not saying that it was good, or even made on purpose (more likely that they were just lazy about trying to get the plot somewhere), but it's still a chance to focus on less relevent (or less intersting) points, which was the overall politics of the anime.
the fact that the queen gave in to the army's idea of being offensive, the fact that she used civilians in order to attack and spy at the enemy (I can't remember the exact term, but i'm pretty sure it's condemed by the Genova treaty), the fact that the bad army took the food with them (I thought that they wanted to make the tristan army steal food from the citizens and create a rising against them), and the nobles unexplained desire to get themselves killed for no good reason...

sure, It's been a turn for the worse from the first season (which wasn't a masterpiece by itself), but it's not completly horrible...

also, the part with Anies riding Colberts back was a complete ripoff/homage/remake of Trigun 06 - when the girl from July is taken by Vash.. Trigun is probably the best anime ever...

[animus]

Because carrying a girl on your back from a destroyed village is totally original?

[Death BOO Z]

I'm not sure what you're remarking off, so I'll answer anything..
it's an homage/remake/ripoff becuase it feels the same way, I can't pinpoint everything, but I think it's something about 'camera' angles, or lengh of 'shots' inside the panel, I'm guessing it's more a technical/visual recogniziton than anything else...

I'm not sure the Trigun was the first series to use this plotline (hero 'accidently' destroys city, hero saves girl, girl comes to kill hero later on), but I cannot remember any other series to do so..

and Trigun is the best simply becuase it is the best. and probably since it was the first serious anime i've seen after Dragon Ball Z...

[Kraco]

the fact that the queen gave in to the army's idea of being offensive,

They were practically speaking in a war already. Albion had tried to kidnap their ruler (the queen), which under absolute monarchy is the same thing as attacking the country itself. It is said that offense is the best defense. And furthermore, some wise man has once said that in a war making no decision is much worse than making the wrong decision.

the fact that she used civilians in order to attack and spy at the enemy (I can't remember the exact term, but i'm pretty sure it's condemed by the Genova treaty),

Civilians in a total war is a pretty hypocritical idea anyway (just look at Iraq). And it's not like spies could wear uniforms anyway. They are spies, after all. Besides, I doubt that medieval alternate dimension has ever heard of any Geneva Convention.

the fact that the bad army took the food with them (I thought that they wanted to make the tristan army steal food from the citizens and create a rising against them),

That would have been nice. But in reality they probably only wanted to deplete Tristan's resources and make their supply lines more strained as they knew they wouldn't let the conquered citizens starve. The Queen is a much nicer person than the witch ruling Albion.

and the nobles unexplained desire to get themselves killed for no good reason...

They had a good reason. It was to fight for their Queen and their country. If you get familiar with the concept of Noblesse oblige you will understand why, idealistically, they behaved just like nobles should have.

Saito was written to be too stupid here (it could have been he was too worried for his loved one, Louise, and lost his mind, but it didn't give me that kind of impression. After all, he was chasing all the women all the time, so he's not that much in love with Louise, just somewhat). In Japan that Noblesse oblige was probably stronger than anywhere with the samurai who were a social class of their own above the mundane people but who were always willing to lay down their life for their daimyo and their honour without a moment's hesitation (idealistically anyway but oft in practice as well). Makes Saito a pretty poor Japanese not to know even that...

[Death BOO Z]

Civilians in a total war is a pretty hypocritical idea anyway (just look at Iraq). And it's not like spies could wear uniforms anyway. They are spies, after all. Besides, I doubt that medieval alternate dimension has ever heard of any Geneva Convention.

well, neither Satio nor Louise were 'drafted' to the army, and she did tell them that they could use thier identity as students to get themselves out of trouble. don't forget, the two kingdoms were in a state of truce.
I'm not innocent to say that they should fight one-on-one at the battlefield like idiots, and I'm not saying spying is 'bad'. I'm just pointing out that the good kingdom is just as "cheap" as the bad kingdom. which means that Saito has no moral reason to become an offensive soldier for the kingdom.

They had a good reason. It was to fight for their Queen and their country. If you get familiar with the concept of Noblesse oblige you will understand why, idealistically, they behaved just like nobles should have.

stupid nobles and thier inbreeding, it makes them stupid.

Saito was written to be too stupid here (it could have been he was too worried for his loved one, Louise, and lost his mind, but it didn't give me that kind of impression. After all, he was chasing all the women all the time, so he's not that much in love with Louise, just somewhat). In Japan that Noblesse oblige was probably stronger than anywhere with the samurai who were a social class of their own above the mundane people but who were always willing to lay down their life for their daimyo and their honour without a moment's hesitation (idealistically anyway but oft in practice as well). Makes Saito a pretty poor Japanese not to know even that...

actually, he did the smaurai thing. he saved his master's life, and then got himself killed for disobeying her.


Saito was hardly wrriten this season, other than the usual pervertness, which is a shame, but it's not like he was the deepest charecter before...

is there a 3rd season planned?

[Kraco]

actually, he did the smaurai thing. he saved his master's life, and then got himself killed for disobeying her.

Aye, he did at the end, which is of course a good thing. But I find it hard to accept that the very last episode would compensate for all the nasty ones before it. Besides, Saito might have accepted that principle, in a way, for himself but it doesn't really look like he would have accepted it for Louise. That makes sense from the point of view of him protecting his woman but it's unfortunately also very disrespectful, considering she is a noble who knows her own worth and responsibities very strongly.

[David75]

Aye, he did at the end, which is of course a good thing. But I find it hard to accept that the very last episode would compensate for all the nasty ones before it. Besides, Saito might have accepted that principle, in a way, for himself but it doesn't really look like he would have accepted it for Louise. That makes sense from the point of view of him protecting his woman but it's unfortunately also very disrespectful, considering she is a noble who knows her own worth and responsibities very strongly.

In other words, Saito is a macho that doesn't understand women can lead their own lives and go to the front line when needed. Am I correct?

[Kraco]

Nah, I don't think so. I wrote he might have accepted it, but I don't think he really did. He just made an easy and weak choice imagining he did something great. It's well illustrated by the way how he, for most of the series, preached the virtue of not fighting unnecessarily and staying alive but at the end he thought he would randomly sacrifice his own life to save others. That's not any true strength. It just shows he has no bloody idea what he was talking about for most of the time and he was just throwing his life away without a clear plan in a momentary thrill of the idea of martyrdom.

Till the very end Saito just couldn't comprehend that the nobles are privileged under normal circumstances because under abnormal circumstances they must be ready to lie down their lives to protect the kingdom, even against impossible odds. Without second thoughts.

Honestly, macho doesn't represent Saito. A baka dog, though, is very fitting.

[Death BOO Z]

Kraco, you're setting the bar far too high, Saito is a 12 years old idiot, not a 20+ scholar.

as for what you said about nobles, I have to call bullshit on that.\

in the anime, Nobles are mages, who have much better chance of survivng than any of the melee frontline commoners troops.

in the real world, common soldiers would have been lucky to recieve a helmet from the 'army', they'd have to loot one from a dead soldier (friend or foe) after the battle. Nobles, on the other hand, had full plate armor and a medic standing next to them. more so, if they fell in prison, they'd still be given the luxcury of servents, and even that's until the prisoners exchange is done, when they'll be released back to thier families in no time, and transported by the 'enemy'. Normal exchange troops would have to walk back home, a matter of several months, or even years.

Novillity is just a form of the powerful keeping the power in their own hands, there's nothing "noble"about it.

baka dog is fine, but he's just a charecter that never outgrew his initial 'supergift' to make the ending satysfinig.

he came to the world, recived a set amount of super powers, and died when confronted with something stronger, no charecter growth, no perssonal development.

[Kraco]

Heh. What you say is indeed true. I was just talking about the idealistic situation. It's not entirely irrelevant in this case, though, because Louise seemed to honestly believe in that and was trying to act in accordance to it, even if it was in a large scale affected by the enormous respect she had for the Queen.

Still, you are mistaken if you think the wars were nothing but sport for the nobles and nothing changed no matter who lost. The nobles had to arrange the armies to be there and it has never been irrelevant who won and who lost. Nor did the nobles always keep their heads. The real world is no anime where the enemies are left alive as a rule.

[Death BOO Z]

Idealistic situation is when people aren't involved in wars, and when the army doesn't forcefuly draft 12 years old and turns school into a military trainning camp.

compare the war to racing cars, people often die during it (I'm not so much intrested in the sport, but i'm guessing someone dies every two years, on avarge?), but that condition is 'accepted' by the participants and the viewers.

War sucks. even without getting to the argument whether certein wars were justified (and they were).

[jaguar04p]

Third season of 0nT confirmed, Air Date not known

[animus]

Ugh, let's not hope it's the same lame crap for 11 episodes and try to funnel everything at the end to a weak finale.

[Death BOO Z]

third time's the charm?

maybe something good will happen, though not likely.
Jag, can you link to the announcement (english source, not the japanese original)

[Kraco]

The third season started and the first sub is out:

Episode 1 - Minori-Osu!

If Anirena times out, try the Mininova page.

[Kraco]

Isn't this series getting a higher class subber at all?

Episode 2 - Minori-Osu!

[High Wind]

How's the overall quality on the Minori-Osu subs? I haven't seen any other subs by the groups so i have no frame of reference as to their work.

[Ryllharu]

Isn't this series getting a higher class subber at all?

I think after the disaster that was ZnT 2, subbers don't want to bother with this one.

[David75]

I think after the disaster that was ZnT 2, subbers don't want to bother with this one.

Speaking of which, did someone try those first 2 eps from season 3 and have an opinion?
Because even though I have gazillions of disk space, I do not want to spoil it like I did with season 2, eventhough I watched it fully in some kind of masochist state

[Kraco]

Season 2's beginning wasn't so bad, if you check back to the posts from those times. I did and noticed I thought it started promisingly. Likewise, these two first eps of season 3 have been promising and pretty funny in my opinion. However, I will retain the right to be skeptic until I've watched the last episode of the season. The second season taught me that much.

Well, if these two eps hadn't been promising at all, I wouldn't be wishing for a decent subber. I wouldn't be able to speak enough Japanese to save my life if stranded in Japan, and so when I find myself disagreeing with a subber, it's not a good sign.