Indeed. Clear dungeons. Get magic items. Create household items for new characters you add to the group. THAT is shonen power!
Indeed. Clear dungeons. Get magic items. Create household items for new characters you add to the group. THAT is shonen power!
HS - S2 Episode 06
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At first, Morg being all cute and flustered from the confession was great to watch. Her rather tackless "stop it".. not so much, but not out of character. She did say she was happy to hear it, but it was (unfinished: troublesome for her?).
I really do like Hakuryuu's execution. They're showing him as being rather unbalanced and extreme, but I prefer watching that to Aladdin's wishy washy goody attitude. Aladdin's perhaps "wiser" in that he's seen that such direct, confrontational methods have nasty side effects (read: hatred), but the way he does his job just isn't smooth. Hakuryuu may be making the wrong choice, but he's doing it with conviction and confidence which is what I like. Granted, it's pretty obvious that the mother only saved the children by marrying.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Yeah, if the didn't live in a world where negative feelings turned into dark magic, I'd say Hakuryuu made the right decision for sure.
But since they DO live in that kind of world, it probably wasn't such a good idea.
Tangible manifestations of karma are a bitch.
I was happier that Alibaba was the one to break the formation of black Rukh, instead of Aladdin. He's seen it firsthand, experienced it firsthand, and knows the right things to say to the kids to keep them from following Kassim's path.
I don't think Aladdin would have been able to handle it nearly as smoothly.
Oh. Replace all mentions of Aladdin in my previous post with alibaba. I messed up.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Alibaba is all about idealism and happiness, but he has no tools, or wits, to make it happen in reality. Even now it looked like he would have preferred even Madaura to survive this. The most difficult part with the kids, to give them a future, he also pushed to Sinbad. It's bloody frustrating to watch him.
Even if he's motivated by revenge, Hakuryuu still advocates realpolitik and realistic approaches in general to all things. It doesn't look like he wants to destroy his mother's empire but rather save it. Maybe his mentality indeed wouldn't work with all problems with the black rukh a constant danger, but on the other hand, a dead person won't generate even that.
No, but as this episode shows, anyone who's attached to that person when you kill them still will.Originally Posted by Kraco
So every time you try and kill off a real villain, anyone with any regard for that person generates hate and grief and whatnot and just gives the big bads a bunch of evil mana.
Which gives us two options: do not kill the villain, or kill the villain and their entire family. See, I thought that the children all came from that very village and I expected the spell to be lifted as soon as the witch died.
In case it didn't though, seeing the parents stoning Madaura sparked the idea that the kids could end up hating their own parents, which was why I totally approved of Hakuryuu taking the initiative to kill her too. Then it turns out that the kids would have all gone son Sindria anyway..
I do feel slightly disappointed that Aladdin didn't disclose this discovery of Magnostadt having a hand in this. It would have given a more worldy feel to this arc and highlight the fact that they're brewing trouble all over the place.
Last edited by Buffalobiian; Mon, 11-11-2013 at 09:48 PM.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Disclose to whom? He's going to the very place himself, so the knowledge might serve him personally, but it would be of little use to the others. The country was apparently in a war with Magnostadt as it is, so it wouldn't really make any difference to them, perhaps it would be even demoralising to know Magnostadt was practically ruling a portion of their seas.
Disclosing to anybody really. There's no real sense of responsibility here. It wasn't really about one random woman who wanted little children for herself. There's a darker power behind it, and I feel that it should be acknowledged to make things "fit". You know, like "damn these Magnostadtians" or "Them again? They played a part in somebody-Onee-san's death as well" etc. Just something said explicitly to tie all this together for the sake of narrative.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
I don't really see your point, at all. Aladdin is a magician and if magicians across all stories and lore share one thing (aside from magic), it's that they are secretive folks and not blabbermouths. Besides, there's not really anybody to tell about it. He wants to go to Magnostadt by himself and thus giving Alibaba and Morgiana more things to worry about would do no good. Like he told Hakuryuu earlier, he doesn't want to choose sides and wage wars for anybody's sake, though he would defend his friends, so telling the local authories to make them hate Magnostadt even more wouldn't be his style.
I'm only happy we, the audience, learned it (although I suspected as much even before), because it makes Magnostadt look all the cooler.
This is a completely ridiculous statement.
I'm surprised anyone sees Hakuryuu as anything decent after this episode.
Alibaba owned him in every possible way.
Hakuryuu fell to the hypnotism, killed out of misguided vengeance and did not care about the consequences, kissed Morgiana without consent, left his party without proper explanation, and is overall an ass.
Alibaba managed to defeat the berserk Harkuryuu, saved the pirate children (physically and emotionally), was chosen by Morgiana instead of Hakuryuu (because everyone knows she likes Alibaba), tried to stop Hakuryuu from going off on his own, and is overall a shounen hero.
Hakuryuu doesn't have conviction or confidence. He is blinded by vengeance (as Aladdin pointed out), and is like a headless chicken running around desperately but without thought.
Hakuryuu's line at the end, when he was expressing his feelings about his time with the group, felt so fake that it made me want to throw up. If he meant even half of what he said, he would not have acted and parted with them the way he did. He just wants revenge, and everything else can be sacrificed for it. He makes for a cool chuunibyou emo antihero, but just that.
Last edited by shinta|hikari; Wed, 11-13-2013 at 10:24 AM.
Peace.
He declared his intentions to go to war with Kou. He's pretty dead set on it and doesn't seem too worried about it not working out. I'd say that's conviction and confidence right there. You can argue that he's on the wrong path and misinterpreted the actions of his mother (and along with that his vengeance), but what he's gunning hard down the fate he chose.
His conviction itself earns my respect. It comes from my perspective that right and wrong aren't always clear, and people will always have different opinions.. whether interpersonally, intrapersonally or across time. A correct choice today may be the wrong choice tomorrow. To get anything done though, you need to turn your throughts into action. While Hakuryuu is arguably wrong, he makes it happen.
As for Alibaba defeating Hakuryuu.. I didn't actually like that. Why's Amon's sword so much better than Zagan's? They're both Djinns, as far as we know.
I think I like watching Hakuryuu because he's a sort of rival/anti-Alibaba person. Alibaba waits around too much. When that happens, Hakuryuu jumps in and says "Hey, I just fucked some shit up because you were too slow. Didn't like the way I did it? Well too bad, should have done something before."
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
It's not about being wrong or misinterpreting. Hakuryuu is NOT thinking. He is just going straight ahead. That is not conviction or confidence. Blindly doing whatever you want is neither of those. He does not think that his path is right. He isn't thinking at all. That is what makes his actions stupid. Did he look mature enough to understand his actions? If anything, he just looked like a child throwing a tantrum. Like Madaura said, he is still a boy.
He does make wrong happen though. If making anything happen is enough (which Alibaba actually did this episode, like saving his party and the pirate children from death), then I guess Hakuryuu makes the cut.
Peace.
He secured Sinbad's support for his cause of toppling the Kou empire that's backed up by the evil global organization al Thamen. His own, personal motivation might be revenge, but it'd be 100% idiotic to say that good things born out of the actions of a person motivated by revenge would be automatically stupid and bad. Humans wouldn't even have the emotion of vengeance if they didn't care for justice and fairness.
Hakuryuu slaying Madaura right then and there was the best thing that could have happened, for three reasons: It freed the children from her "protection", forcing them to either give up living or make a life for themselves (Alibaba bettered the chances of the latter); it assured Madaura indeed did die for her sins and isn't taken somewhere by shady government officials for underground deals; and lastly it meant the beggars of the city didn't have to become murderers in front of the children. The kids would be free to hate Hakuryuu all they wanted, if they wanted, not the beggars who were their own community before the pirates snatched them away.
Like I said before, Hakuryuu is an extreme realistic next to the foolish idealist Alibaba and the newbie Aladdin, who's too green to try to make a difference. Hakuryuu doesn't believe everybody can be happy, so he's out to make sure in the end the right people will be happy, the rest preferably dead or banished.
Yeah, I am not seeing the whole Hakuryuu being more 'realistic', while Alibaba and Aladdin are the only ones that are naive.
Good things can be born out of revenge circumstantially, but that doesn't mean Hakuryuu should be getting any credit. I honestly don't think Hakuryuu gave a shit about the repercussions of his actions at that instant, or if he even thought it through. He probably just killed Madaura he felt like it, and then came up with some bullshit post rationalization. The fact that he was manipulated by Madaura more so than the others is proof that, if anything, he is less mature than them. I still haven't forgotten how big of a crybaby he was before he obtained Zagan's power.
Also, him securing Sinbad's support doesn't mean much because Sinbad is most likely playing him for his own reasons. He has probably been looking for a way to strike at Kou (and Al Thamen) first without having Sindria appear hostile. Aiding the 'rightful' prince who makes the first move is tactically and politically a lot better than having Sindria directly attack.
But the reason that Aladdin turns everyone down who asks him to be their magi and stands by Alibaba is exactly because they are all pragmatists, while Alibaba is an idealist when he is at his best (i.e. he's not being a coward or just plain dumb).
Only Alibaba could figure out the way to save his country from a revolt was to declare democracy. It didn't work out because the Kou denied it, but the people still back Alibaba's suggestion, and now they hate the Kou Empire for denying them, not Alibaba's half-brothers. They became a nation united in a single day, with very little bloodshed.
Aladdin is a pretty good judge of character, he knows that the world might not be the best place it can be behind Sinbad or some of the other people.
edit:
That's not to say that any character in the series believes themselves to be above killing others (something I particularly like about the show). The premise recognizes that pacifism generally fails (you might be morally superior, but you're still dead). Alibaba looks to it as a reluctant last resort, where Sinbad or Hakryuu find it too frequently be the most efficient method.
Last edited by Ryllharu; Wed, 11-13-2013 at 04:49 PM.
It has been scientifically studied and concluded that no matter how highly educated a person is, they still make a significant portion of their decisions based on a gut feeling, that is, instincts. It's an evolutionary adaptation to the need of making instant decisions as the predators of old didn't care to wait for a committee resolution before attacking cavemen. But it's okay, since in many situation doing anything is far better than hesitating and doing nothing. Hakuryuu is simple enough, in his lust for revenge being free of idealism and hesitation, that he could act while others just watched. Surely you aren't saying the mob brutally beating Madaura to a pulp in front of the children would have been better than the clean cut by a single person?
Now, I'm not saying Hakuryuu would be anything close to admirable, wise, or even intelligent, but at least he's got a goal. Aladdin is also working towards building himself enough to have one, thus he's going to Magnostadt to learn and see things for himself. Alibaba is out to apparently save the whole world without anybody having to lose or suffer in the process... But at least he realises he hasn't yet got the powers of a god to make it happen, but apparently he thinks he will, despite being so incompetent he can't even djin equip.
Fortunately I don't need to hate Morgiana. She's cute and can kick ass. That's enough.
Actually, Alibaba still does not have a concrete goal, except saving and coming back to Balbadd. Anything farther than that is still murky to him, which is probably why it makes it seem that Hakuryuu has a more solid purpose (because he actually has one).
I am not even criticizing Hakuryuu's goals. I am fine or even prefer avengers and pragmatists compared to idealists (which I usually hate). But the way Hakuryuu is going about it is too childish. He thinks he has Sinbad's support from just a verbal promise, kills a mother in front of her (albeit brainwashed) children causing needless hate, he acts like a dick and hurts his friends because he suddenly remembered that he was an emo avenger, and he steals Morgiana's first kiss just because he wanted to take her away. If he had been stronger than Morgiana, I actually think he might have tried to take her by force.
Everything he did this episode just screamed immature and petty.
Sinbad is also a pragmatist and is pretty much not above more despicable methods to achieve his goal, but the difference in how they handle things is immense.
Last edited by shinta|hikari; Wed, 11-13-2013 at 08:12 PM.
Peace.
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