Chrome Shelled Regios

[Ryllharu]

I feel like someone should mourn the fact that with all the different things going on in this series like overpowered monsters, a random English TV show that seems to have something to do with the plot, and evil fairies possessing people, what seems to get the most attention are the dynamics of the undesired harem that has built itself up around Layfon.

While this recent resurgence of discussion is focusing in on that, we've gone so many episodes without discussion that broad trends like romance are really one of the few things to discuss easily. There is Alsheyra's motives, Nina's growth as a fighter and in knowledge of the world, wtf Engrish land, and the romance. You can't really deny it after all this time, Regios is a harem series.

Layfon has garnered the affections of two upper classmen, two members of the "Layton" trio, and left behind another girl (who has now reunited with him).

But wtf is Zuellini supposed to do against Grendan? Was it said that cities in proximity automatically have to fight or can they just meet and say hi and go their separate ways? Even if they don't have an inter-city match though we know Grendan is interested in Haikizoku and Nina is conveniently carrying one around so tension seems inevitable. Hopefully Layfon can avoid being physically and emotionally abused by his 'suitors' long enough to save yet another of them from the next inevitable kidnapping.

The students (and the cities as well) want to fight because the whole point of inter-city matches is control over the selenium mines. Selenium powers the cities and probably feeds the fairies, so both sides are prone towards the fighting.

Somehow I think the other cities don't really want to ever fight Grendan. Made evident by how the one Zuellni was supposed to fight suddenly retreated. It's thus very strange why the little fairy of Zuellni especially steers the city towards Grendan. She shouldn't anymore be affected by the rampant spirit either.

While Zuellni shouldn't be affected by the Haikizoku anymore, those only seem to make the cities go after nests of filth monsters, not other cities.

I agree that the major reason no one wants to fight Grendan is because it not only has the supply of Heaven's Blades, it is also governed by someone that all Heaven's Blade Revievers are deathly afraid to cross, despite their own absurd levels of skill. Savaris and Synola (Alsheyra's double) are both terrified by the thought of Alsheyra's wrath. Beyond the Heavens Blade Recievers, don't forget that (probably due to the Queen) Grendan is also the most besieged city. Layfon mentioned this early on. Filth monsters attack Grendan quite regularly, so their normal fighters are no slouches either.

At the same time, the electronic fairies seem a little like fighters themselves, and often seem to crave that kind of combat interaction. They may be vulernable, but Zuellni especially seems to love social interaction.

[Kraco]

I think it was mentioned Grendan is always looking for filth monsters. I don't know if it works also the other way around. Maybe it does, and maybe it's somehow connected to the Engrish portions, which are seemingly connected to Leerin (and the Queen, I suppose). In any case, Grendan is a military state, whereas many of the other cities are apparently academic cities and, one could surmise, manufacturing ones. As such Grendan needs fights, as much as it can find, to have veteran soldiers instead of green ones. And since they are looking for filth monsters, it alone indicates they offer better challenges than other cities.

[Ryllharu]

It could also be that Grendan is protective of Leerin the same way Zuellni (and other fairies for that matter) are so protective of Nina. We've seen Grendan protect Leerin directly before.

Maybe it is merely coming to pick her up.

[Kraco]

Invincible city Grendan:

Episode 22 LQ - Ayako





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This was an interesting episode and revealed quite a few things. One thing confirmed is that Savaris is a really poisonous dude. Did he utter a single line during his conversation with Goru that didn't contain an insult? Certainly the end result was Goru in pieces...

One interesting fact even if I doubt not very relevant to the bigger plot was the treaty dictating the rules of engagement. Apparently under normal circumstances academic cities don't need to fear military cities. Although it's another question (that might or might not be mentioned) what exactly enforces such rules and treaties. If a city breaks them, what happens? But since we have seen so few cities during the show, I'll boldly say this matter is of limited relevance in general to the plot.

Leerin didn't give Layfon the sword, which is the one thing that mostly annoyed me during this episode. She's one more person, who thinks she knows the best what's right for Layfon - no matter what the dude himself thinks. Of course he hasn't thought overly much in the past, but basically seeking his own path was why he entered Zuellni, so you'd think Leerin of all people would know a little better. Especially afer her speech (that she obviously didn't believe even herself, judging by her actions). Well, I don't hate her character but she should have given Layfon the goddam sword.

Also, was it Nina or who was it that got a headache after the filth monster got hit by the Incredible Death Ray Cannon™?

Far too little Felli in this episode, though. I'm starting to feel like the legendary Felli moments are a thing of the past when the series is nearing the end and the Engrish parts are preparing to coalesce with the rest of the show.

[Ryllharu]

I thought this episode was a bit of a letdown.

Leerin not giving Layfon the sword was one of the most aggravating, but Layfon kissing her on the cheek when she was clearly indicating lips was also somewhat disappointing (then again, it also means Felli's chances are slightly raised).

Furthmore, after seeing all of the Heaven Blade Recievers lined up on the edge of Grendan, the only ones we see this episode was Savaris and Synola, and the latter for only a few seconds.

But to be honest, what really let me down was they are still focusing on the goddamned Haikizoku. In fact, I suppose I was wrong in my previous post, Zuellni is still being affected by the infernal goat, and they actually brought its influence back into the forefront as a plot device. The whole storyline with it is frankly, really annoying or really boring (not sure which is stronger). Zuellni (the city, not the spirit) and the viewers are really getting screwed by this constantly being an issue. We haven't seen the military artists that aren't supremely dominating (Layfon, Heaven's Blades, etc) have a chance to really show off at all. They'll die against the filth monsters the Haikizoku runs Zuellni into, and they can't fight against other cities because Zuellni is driven away from fights she could possibly win.

Characters like Sheena, Sharnid, and Shante are supposed to be some of the greatest military artists outside of the mercenaries and the Heaven Blade Recievers (and certainly inside Zuellni), and they've never gotten a chance to fight effectively.

An irritating plot device that has already gone on far too many episodes.

...and the spectral goat mask Nina has on...no words can describe how stupid that looks.

(Nina got the headache.)

[Kraco]

You say they are stretching the Haikizoku issue as an artificial plot device but in reality what concrete and essential has it yet done? I don't think the Haikizoku case as such has even fully started yet, or perhaps it would be correct to say this is where it begins. I'm hoping it will reveal something deeper about the inner workings of that world before the end.

Yeah, it's quite sad about all those other fighters. You'd think they could have invested one episode in a decent, normal, fight against another city. But it seems to me the emphasis was more or less on the monsters, not city fighting, so I'm not overly surprised that didn't happen, despite the fact everybody but Layfon was mainly thinking about city fighting as the real thing, not monster fights (but then again, Zuellni always kept avoiding monsters, so they were only the norm for Layfon).

[Idealistic]

I'm enjoying this show a lot at the moment. Caught up to ep 22 last night. I like the setting of this show and the plot is ok I guess. There are some cool characters, but I agree with the whole not a lot of character development. Anyone know if this show is going to be just 1 season? Perhaps a 2nd season with more character development. I'd also like to see some more filth monster fights.

[Kraco]

I have got a feeling they are wrapping this up in one season. I have no idea how far the manga has proceeded, but it seems to me like all the ends are beginning to get together in the anime. Even all the characters seem to be gathering in the same place.

[Kraco]

Dream of Ignasis

Episode 23 LQ - Ayako





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Well, quite a lot happened in this episode, and lots of masked folks hanging around as well, but nothing definite happened yet, except for Nina getting kidnapped. Looks like Layfon will need to fight some heaven's blade receivers, or at least one of them. Nevertheless, Grendan's Queen's words, and also the masked people's, surely make it clear this is the showdown.

Poor Felli is getting less and less screentime. I guess her time is over, although it's not like any single girl would be getting attention overly much anymore.

[Kraco]

End of Regios:

Episode 24 Final - Ayako





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I still haven't got a clue what it was all about. Apparently there was some dimensional stuff involved. I'd guess the weird powers and monsters are leaking from another dimension. Though who and what Saya is... Who knows. This whole series was like a scrape of the surface. I don't necessarily mind as such, because it worked like this as well, without explaining pretty much anything.

The conclusion was also almost a complete reset. I can't say I wouldn't have expected that, but it's still just a bit surprising, especially in matters other than romantic. While I hoped there would be a female character X - Layfon pair formed, in the end this wasn't that manner of a story. The surprising factor was rather that there was no difference made in regard to the monsters, contamination, and whatever is behind them.

At least Felli is back to kicking Layfon's leg (in absence of metal poles) if nothing else.

[Ryllharu]

I saw the ending as very open ended, and with any luck, set up for the next season.

It was also nice to see that while Layfon had the big reunion scene with Nina midseason, and the embrace with Leerin here (which I saw as the two taking it very different ways, Leerin romantically, Layfon more like a sibling), Felli is still very much the jealous wife type. Layfon seems to view Leerin as a sister, and Nina as a superior and close friend, so he's a bit set apart from them. In constrast, Layfon is very much aware of Mei-Shen, and he speaks in a very relaxed manner with Felli (partially because she demanded it). He seems a lot closer to Felli after the hostage incident, but perhaps that is only him being more relaxed with her and wishful thinking.

The harem is far from concluded, espeically with Naruki showing a greatly increased affection towards Layfon.


My guess is that Saya is exactly what she appears to be, a fragment from the world which they watch through the television in ungodly Engrish. In the tv, towards the end of those segments, they were mentioning that Saya is similar to the guy with the thousand mouths. Something like they both hold things within their body, and then there's a bunch of energy mumbo jumbo and other Star Trek technical jargon that doesn't make any sense at all. So here's my theory in how they are connected. Total speculation and guessing, bear in mind.

"Regios" is the world inside Saya's body or perhaps her mind. She's deeply troubled by something, either external attack from the creepy mouth guy (where we were left off with that side story) and that manifests itself as the filth monsters as well as the unbreathable miasma outside of the cities. As we saw here, Saya is more or less a Goddess in Regios. The Queen was keeping her safe in the depths of Grendan, but she woke up and removed herself so that she could cleanse the air around Layfon and the two cities, as well as "hand deliver" the Heaven's Blade to Layfon once more.

The cities exist as safe havens for whatever the people of Regios represent for her, and the Wolf's Brigade, being from another dimension, are part of the attackers (maybe even the Mouth Face's mind), attempting to steal away the Electronic Fairies that serve as the foundations of the sanity the cities represent. The cities themselves run off Selenium, which has many biologically related effects for both plants and animals.


Well...that's my own mind's attempt at making any sense of the overarching plot to this series. The downside is that it is based off the Engrish segments, which don't make a damn bit of sense themselves, even when viewed in sequence.

[Shadow Skill]

I'm not happy that it ended without Layfon and Felli-Chan getting together.

They need a season 2 or movie that centers around Fonfon and Felli-Chan.

Leerin's Eye is the key to some doorway that leads to where the Filth monsters come from, What can this mean? I have many theories, after what Saya and Layfon did. :/

What is this Zero dimension Dick talks about? Another Mytsery. This is why they need a season 2.

[Buffalobiian]

Is Ayako's HD really HD? I'll wait for a batch torrent to archive while I get through this in eye-bleeding LQ....

[Kraco]

It's quite fuzzy, but it's certainly not the LQ scaled up, for sure. The series never had such amazing graphics quality anyway (though Felli looks good in any resolution). Fortunately it looks like Ayako intends to release the rest of the HD versions soon, so I can burn this off my HD. According to their web site, that is.

[Buffalobiian]

-I just powered through this in between exams. Action-wise, it was pretty entertaining. Like Kraco said, simply "unlocking" rather than "gaining" potential makes this so much better.

-I didn't really try to understand all the stuff going on. I don't even remember what the OP sounds like since I only watched it 4 times.

-The English bits were so serious they were hilarious, until the end anyway. After that, the guy stopped being badass.

-His katana got taken away since it combined with the Heaven's Sword? That sucks. Hopefully he managed to unfuse it or something if there's a second season.

-I really liked Fon Fon. Not talking about Layfon here, but "Fon Fon", the way Felli pronounces it. Needless to say, I like Felli too .

-They so should have followed up that X-ray scene with the Student President in a cast.

-Most memorable shot:

[NeoCybercoin]

I thought the ending was awesome though. Seeing how there is an open ending there should be a second season.

Heaven's Katana skating looked awesome XD

[Munsu]

Just finished this series a couple of days ago, and enjoyed it quite a bit. In all, a good cast of characters, and I think all that needs to be said has been said. I think Ryll's theory is a good one. It was a confusing series, which lacked focus on what is was doing and trying to do, but it was still quite entertaining in various fronts.

Any news on a second season? I read that apparently the anime was being faithful to the manga, but to the end, so I wonder how it'll affect a potential second season, if any is being planned.

[shinta|hikari]

This was based on a light novel, and it was mostly faithful. A sequel could definitely be made, and it would even more epic action than the first, but I have no news about that either.

[Ryllharu]

Mostly, but there are some subtle (and not so subtle) key differences in characters. It really changes the mood of the series.

Layfon's thoughts in the novel give me quite a different opinion of his personality than the impression the anime gives.

Felli is a much more enjoyable character in the anime. She's a great deal colder in the novel, but as a trade, you do get a better idea of just how overwhelmingly powerful she is. It puts her strength more in line with Layfon's. Sadly, there is none of the playfulness about her, and there are no shin kicks.

Naruki (the police girl), Mifi (photo girl), and Meishen are a bit more assertive as well, though Meishen does turn into the lovestruck shy quivering mess she is throughout the anime fairly quickly.

[Munsu]

I'm a big fan of Naruki, I hope Meishen gets killed off rather quickly, I hate those types of characters.