Even Soyon's smiling at Kemono no Souja Erin's ending!

Katt: I have both anticipated and dreaded this day… Yes, my dear bloggees: Kemono no Souja Erin has come to an end. I’ve spent a good part of the day checking to see if the sub had been posted yet and am sorely disappointed that I’ve only gotten to watch it now, at midnight! Because of the combination of tiredness and a lil’ bit of alcohol in my system, I can’t be sure that I’ve experienced this finale to its fullest. But I’ll just continue on and pretend that I have, so play along with me, okay?

Honestly, I expected more of this. That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I definitely did! But…I guess I was expected more of an emotional impact? A little more struggle before the ‘happily ever after’ that I knew would come. Instead, things went a bit too smoothly in this series that has stood out for me as never taking the easy route.

Om nom nom?

The beginning…was not to my liking

The first half of the episode had such a foreign feeling to me. I’m sure it had something to do with the mix of a different style of graphics and new background music–there was an element of comfort in the consistent style and mood of this series that this spontaneous change threw me off in a bad way. I can understand wanting the final episode to stand out as being better than the rest, but I don’t think that it was approached in the right way.

Added to the more superficial level, the plot itself seemed a little weird to me. The approach of the cavalry was built up in the last episode, but I just found their decision to start shooting at Lilan completely, hm–how to put this?–moronic. There might have been a purpose in that (I mean, we obviously weren’t meant to understand where these goons were coming from), but really, they have a huuuge target to aim at and they still manage to hit Erin instead of Lilan. By no means am I saying that I wanted to see Lilan get hit; I am just saying that a little bit of logic behind the miss would have been nice. Even an, ‘oops, my finger slipped’ moment. Thanks to that ridiculousness, I didn’t have much of an emotional response to Erin getting hit. More of an, “Uh…what?” reaction at a moment where I should have been crying out, “Noooo!!”

Erin’s helpless action of removing the mute whistle was one that I should have loved, thanks to my fondness for symbolism in this series; instead, I was left a little confused by it. I couldn’t decide if Erin was doing it as a threat to Lilan, or as a message of freedom…or both? In retrospect I’m pretty sure that the ambiguity was the point. To Erin, it was probably a way of freeing herself from that shackle, but she intended for Lilan to perceive it as a threat so that she would fly away. And then when Lilan did fly away, it was…what? Two whole metres away? Here I was anticipating Lilan dropping Shunan off by Seimiya and then flying off into the wilderness, never to be seen again in the tragic parting of human and wild animal. Instead, it was rather anti-climactic. I was just not hugely keen on this beginning portion of the episode.

YES.

As it went on…it definitely got better

When the typical ‘something dramatic is about to happen’ BGM starting playing, I felt in my comfort zone again. The regular feel of this series was back and I was very, very pleased. The entire scene where the tohdas rise and swarm towards Erin, paralleled with Soyon’s demise, did its job in raising anxiety for both Erin’s literal impending death and her emotional instability when she finds herself in her mother’s execution situation.

Though unlike Soyon’s execution, Erin is saved before the tohdas reach her. Without even using the player’s technique as Soyon had resorted to doing to save Erin so many years ago, Lilan flies in rescues Erin of her own will. It took half of the episode to get there, but when Lilan flies down and gently picks Erin up in her mouth, I finally felt strongly moved. One of the most impacting moments for me was seeing how, even though Lilan was using her teeth to hold onto Erin, she was careful not to hold on too tightly or hurt Erin in any way. Remembering the two past events where Lilan has seriously bitten Erin, this scene is really touching. It wasn’t an easy road by any means, but at this instant the strength of Erin and Lilan’s bond has undoubtedly been proven, described by the characters as being like a mother and child.

As lovely as this pleasant moment is, I would have been annoyed if the happy ending had been reached already. After all, there is one more thing needed for this to be a typical Kemono no Souja Erin episode: Damiya ruining a good resolution! While his schemes are usually drawn out over a long period of time, there is hardly any time left here, which sadly makes this speedy scene not too dramatic. Damiya grabs knife, runs at Shunan and Seimiya, and Ial stabs him. And that’s the end of Damiya. After all of that manipulation, him suddenly being killed seemed too simple…though I’ll admited that I wanted to shout a, ”You go, Ial!!” when he actually stabbed Damiya. I was expecting him to just knock the knife out of his hands and seize him again–but no, he went in for the kill! A pleasant surprise, finally putting an end to everyone’s favourite creeper, Damiya.

The epilogue-ish ending…

Because just leaving it at Damiya being killed wouldn’t have been satisfying at all (and that isn’t sarcasm); this is the type of series that needs a ‘what happened to them?’ ending. As it turns out, everyone gets their ideal endings, pretty much. The only person who doesn’t really get any answers is Nugan, but I suppose we can just assume that he was scared straight when Lilan ate up his tohda.

There are a couple of hook-ups, namely the obvious Seimiya and Shunan marriage that we can all hope will be as ideal as it seems. And then it looks like Yuuyan got together with her Kazalm crush in the end, too! Kazalm itself can obviously return to its peaceful ways (and poor Tomura gets to spend his career stuck with a bunch of men), and even Erin’s hometown of Aka village will get the chance to improve with its new veteranarian, Kilik, who I’d expect would bring Erin’s ideals to the village. The spread of Erin’s ideals of freedom for the beasts can be seen in effect with the tohdas swimming freely and the beast-lords being kept by Erin and her family, instead of caged. On the note of Erin and her family…

We get to see Erin’s son, Jesse, who kind of made me giggle with his hilarious face, but…NO IAL?! Okay, this is not cool at all. WHY would they not show us who Erin’s husband/this kid’s father is? We KNOW Ial’s the daddy and YOU know it too–so show us a cute family scene! What’s wrong with you people?! Waaah, the fangirl in me is displeaaased!

Aww, Erin's a good mommy!

…’kay now make the next two novels into a series too, okay? Because even if this final episode wasn’t as great as I expected, I did love it and I love this series as a whole. Undoubtedly one of my favourites, if not my new all-time favourite anime!

Katt’s rating for Kemono no Souja Erin episode 50: 8/10
Katt’s overall <3<3<3 for Kemono no Souja Erin: 10/10 (I WENT THERE!)

I like seeing a resolved Erin, but this... this...

Katt: I can’t stop cryiiiing! Well, okay, I’m fine now, but during pretty much this entire episode I could not hold back the waterworks. While almost all Kemono no Souja Erin episodes are emotionally charged, this one has got to be the winner up until now. My soul is hurting right now–that’s how intense this episode is! Erin, why must you break my heart? No amount of Miracle Train can lift my spirits after this. But an episode that has gotten me so sad obviously has to be blogged, no hesitation. So let’s walk through the major events and the moral choices that Erin has had to make (and that have consequently made me bawwwl).

First of all, I know I’ve neglected the past two episodes. There are a couple of major points, so I’ll just say them briefly before getting into more of my misery. Erin told the queen all about the Great Crime and managed to gain the queen’s sympathy; just when everything was looking like it would be alright, the head injury that Shin-Oh endured during the tohda attack catches up to her and causes her sudden death. This means that the young Semiya rises to the throne, and her easily-influenced nature leads to major manipulation on Damiya’s part. Shunan once again proposes a union between them, but the ignorant bitch Semiya will hear nothing of his logic because she blames him for her grandmother’s death. Shunan announces a date when Semiya must either agree to his proposal–or the military will genuinely turn against her and overthrow her by force.

Now onto more of my misery. While the episode starts off with more flashbacks to the aforementioned queen’s death, it doesn’t take long to get straight into the devastating drama: messengers from the new queen have been sent to bring Lilan and Erin back to Lazal where they can serve as protection against any future tohda attacks. Maybe if they had been slightly smart and waited for Erin’s arrival before going to Lilan, things would have been as okay as they could be in such a terrible situation–but they didn’t, and so Lilan gets defensive and enraged. Okay, fine, Lilan has growled a little before, but Erin is on the way so she’ll be able to calm Lilan down, right? No, and hence the first dramatic event…

One of the unique surrealistic violent scenes happens as Lilan attacks both of the beastlord keepers who have come to take her away. This scene was so effective in its shock value that I must have felt as lightheaded as Erin does while she watches her beloved beastlord companion turn violent once again. The whole scene becomes an emotion blur as Lilan leaves the men bloodied on the grass and Erin does the one thing she vowed she would never do:

Erin blowing the mute whistle was equally, if not more, shocking than Lilan’s violent outburst. The tears that rolled down Erin’s eyes as she did it made the scene one of the saddest of the series thus far, too. This was really the moment in the episode that broke my heart. Like, what would I do if my dog viciously attacked someone? What could I do? What a feeling of helplessness, the guilt of having to betray someone you love, human or not. Erin did the right thing in saving those men, but what a cost for her to pay.

This whole situation is a parallel to Soyon’s decision to raise the tohda the dictated way instead of the natural way. If we didn’t realize that on our own, it’s made clear in Erin’s dream sequence where she, as a child again, meets with her mother and spills her heart out about all of the things she hadn’t realized while Soyon was alive. Soyon never responds in the dream, but when Erin wakes up, her mentor Esal is there to comfort her just as well as a mother would. Erin makes the decision here to take the same path as her mother, even if she had so fervently objected to it in the past, because it is the only way that she will be able to continue on living with Lilan. She calls this the path of the Beast Healer–it isn’t magical like the title of Beast Player; it’s entirely based on a harsh reality in which she will suffer, and the beasts will suffer, but the people around them will be kept safe, which Erin has decided in this episode is the most imporant thing.

By the episode’s closing, we see some changes in Erin’s appearance, each extremely significant of the changes she has undergone from being the whimsical Beast Player to the broken Beast Healer.

The glove: to cover up the fingers that Lilan bit off in her fit of rage, a constant reminder of why she is following the tragic road she has chosen.

The mute whistle: always seen on other characters raising beasts, now showing how Erin has resolutely joined them in their ways.

The bracelet: once worn around her neck to symbolize that she’ll follow the path her mother wished that she could live instead of the path of the mute whistle, now on her wrist just as Soyon wore it when she reluctantly conformed.

This episode closes with a departure from Kazalm, so we have to tearfully say goodbye to Esal and Tomura (and other less endearing characters). Kilik is going along with Erin, undoubtedly by Damiya’s orders, and for some reason Nukku and Mokku are joining her too. And, of course, Lilan and her family will be there as well, but their relationship will never be the same as it once was. At Lazal, I expect we’ll be seeing more of Ial, Semiya, and Damiya. The next episode is also looking like we will be able to once again see the tohda breeding town that has disappeared since Erin’s departure from it. Only seven episodes left, and I don’t expect to be disappointed.

Katt’s rating for Kemono no Souja Erin episode 43: 10/10
Katt’s anticipation for Kemono no Souja Erin episode 44: 9/10

The swirling pit of despair...No, Erin, no!!

Katt: Kemono no Souja Erin is still, no doubt, my favourite currently airing series. With the erratic subbing, I’d fall behind and then watch like four episodes at a time…but I’m all caught up now and–sigh–Crunchyroll has licensed the subs on this one. Thankfully, Static-Subs is continuing last I heard, though because CR’s subs will be out faster I will probably just watch them even though they aren’t as good. Life’s complicated. The point of all of this, though, is that I want to make a better effort to blog KnSE regularly! It deserves it.

Katt’s thoughts on what has happened since episode 30:

Some characters shift to the background while others are introduced and gain importance. Erin is consistently my favourite, of course, because she is still totally my hero. I have a lot of love for the boys Tomura and Ial, too–Tomura, I can’t for the life of me explain why because he isn’t all that important, but his presence always makes me smile. Then there’s Ial who proves himself to be both a really competant character and nice guy time and again. (I noticed that some commenters on recent episodes want Erin to hook up with Ial, hahaha!) Esal also gets a lot of points from me because she is really living up to her John-replacement status as Erin’s mentor.

And then there are the new guys. Namely, Kirik and Shiron. A lot of people foresaw that the new teacher would be a bad guy, and it’s still a little vague, but they are most likely right. From what I’ve gathered he has some kind of tie with the Saigamul, as well as with Damiya. Is this a sign that he is playing both sides, or is it Damiya who is the ultimate traitor to the queen? The new student is a more lighthearted character introduction. She has a rather frustrating I-have-to-be-the-best attitude when she’s introduced, but through just a bit of time observing Erin, she grows a lot. I just kind of dislike her motives for going to Kazalm; yes, prove yourself–but does she even care about the beast-lords? If she doesn’t now, she had better grow to care for them! (I’m kind of doubtful that she’ll have much significance beyond episode 37, though.)

The encounter that Erin has with Nason–a.k.a. the Mist man who was supposedly engaged to Soyon–gives us a long-awaited explanation for Soyon’s final action when she controlled the tohdas. Apparently there was a peoples who had the power to bond and communicate with beasts, specifically beast-lords, though they overused their powers, which led to a slaughter of tohdas and people. Because of this, the Beast-Lord Imperatives were put in place to avoid such an incident again. Erin, of course, had no idea of such a tale and so was breaking the rules without understanding the severity of the consequences that could possibly arise. Upon learning of the ‘Great Crime’, however, she doesn’t change her ways. She continues onwards to test how far her bond with Lilan can go…

So after Lilan learns to fly, Erin learns how to tame that skill in the way that people ride horses. She goes even further than that, using her harp to soothe a wild beast-lord that arrives at Kazalm, proving her ability to connect with beast-lords even stronger than she thought imaginable. The wild beast-lord and Lilan hit it off, if you get what I’m sayin’, and in due time Lilan gives birth to a baby, which Erin manages to help deliver when the birthing process is complicated. With each new feat she manages, Erin amazes everyone around her, but also tests Nason’s warning that she must stop communicating with beasts immediately.

The last thing that I really should touch upon are the political matters. I am pretty bad at this stuff, but I’ll give the bit of background that really has to be known before I jump into episode 39…..’kay so the royal family is messed uuuup. With the grand duke bed-ridden, his power is out of his hands and really left to Shunan who doesn’t seem to have all that much control on things. Saigamul plots seem to be more and more of a threat, such as a poisoning attempt that was made on Semiya, and we as viewers are left to wonder about Damiya’s stance in this whole state of affairs. I’ve already brought up questions surrounding Kirik, a character we suspect of being a Saigamul, and there are just about as many doubts surrounding Damiya…and then some.

And as a final note before I move on, the queen has become more of a genuine character in this series as opposed to just an elusive figure. She has a very naive personality because of being cooped up in the castle all of her life, so with her venturing out to see the newborn beast-lord, there is bound to be trouble. Her heart is in the right place, I am sure, especially when she mentions her dislike of the mute whistles. It’s implied that she doesn’t really know the roots of things like the Beast-Lord Imperatives or just how strong the division of the court and the military is.

Lilan gets the artistic violent-tohda treatment.

Onto episode 39…

While I should be placing more importance on blogging new series like Fairy Tail, I couldn’t wait another episode before writing up a Kemono no Souja Erin post. I knew that that would be the case as soon as I saw the preview at the end of episode 38. This episode…it’s a dramatic one with a feeling of helplessness that hasn’t been felt since Soyon’s execution. Erin’s personal battles, the political struggle, and the history of the ‘Great Crime’ all converge and cause an incident that I can’t neglect blogging. I am going to do my best to make sense of it all.

This entire situation comes about because of the conflict that is seemingly between supporters of the queen and supporters of the grand duke. At this point, I think it’s safe to say that the grand duke and his sons (though Nugan is a little questionable) have no influence on the attempts on the queen’s life. In this case, it is made blatantly obvious that Damiya is ultimately the one trying to have the queen assassinated, though why is still a mystery. He seems to have an odd idealization of the first queen, who had control of the beast-lords, as Erin does now. When characters refer to ‘those who would use Erin for her powers’, they are inadvertently saying, “Don’t let Damiya see!!”

When Erin, the other teachers, and the students happen to see the tohda attack on the Royal Yacht, they are all in shock. No one can doubt that Erin has the most emotional reaction to this situation thanks to its similarities to her mother being surrounded by tohdas before her execution, a long eight years earlier. Nonetheless, it is Erin who reacts quickest and resolves to use Lilan to drive the tohdas away. The person to try to stop her? The mysterious Kirik, who at first comes off as a good guy by telling Erin to stop for her own sake, so that no one finds out about her communication with the beast-lords–but when we get a snippet of inner monologue, we learn that Kirik is actually in on this assassination plan. Right now, his loyalty lies strongest with Damiya, though I wonder if he is a character who will be able to be swayed to good in the future.

Erin’s plan backfires horribly when the ‘Great Crime’ repeats itself on a smaller scale, with Lilan becoming blood-crazed and massacring the tohda despite Erin’s cries that she stop. The feelings of helplessness in this scene are so powerful…Erin can only hold on tightly and let Lilan kill them all, the students and teachers can do nothing but gape, and even the usually-influential Ial is left powerless. Worst of all, Damiya wakes up just as Lilan finishes her tohda-killing spree and witnesses the end, immediately likening it to the stories he has heard of the country’s founding. He will want to use Erin’s “control” over the beast-lords even more than he already has, and I dread to find out in what ways.

Katt’s rating for Kemono no Souja Erin episode 39: 10/10
Katt’s anticipation for Kemono no Souja Erin episode 40: 8/10

The aftermath of the tragedy (?) and some interaction between Ial and Erin. It should be good, as every episode is, though nothing special. Not after an episode like this one.

Hang tough, Erin!

Katt: Hoooly crap, I haven’t blogged in forever. Literally over a month. Ridiculous! My excuses: work overload at the end of July, Otakuthon at the beginning of August, more work after that, and now an addiction to Persona 3. Oh, and not to mention that my consistently-updated series, Hanasakeru Seishounen, hasn’t been subbed at all. And my new series, Bakemonogatari…I lost interest fast. Then Tears to Tiara, which I need to catch up on watching… BUT it’s not all bad since there have been a few recent updates with good ol’ Kemono no Souja Erin.

So what have I missed since I last blogged this series? The political episode that showed a growing dispute between the brothers Shunan and Nugan, the filler that gave Nukku and Mokku an episode of screentime, the trippy episode that I just had no clue what to say about. And now…well…

Symbolism makes me cry.

Episode 28: John? Jooooooooohn!!

Just an episode after Erin has a sort of dream sequence in which she calls John ‘Dad’, she receives the terrible news that he has passed away from heart disease. It pretty much comes out of nowhere, and that is really the point. The news is sudden and Erin’s reaction is nonexistent when she first hears it. I know that I am the same; a sudden death doesn’t hit me nearly as much as a death that I’ve seen coming for a while. It doesn’t sink in right away. This episode wonderfully depicts Erin’s gradual reaction to the news of John’s death and let me tell you why I think that is.

It’s very real, Erin’s whole process of mourning. My mom was in the room as I was watching this episode and everytime Erin laughed or cried, my mom made some sort of remark, which forced me to realize just how much Erin was laughing and crying. Oddly enough, both of those make a lot of sense in a character who is dealing with death. Laughter, in one way, shows how Erin is uncomfortable with John’s passing, how she doesn’t know how to react, or she doesn’t want to react in a certain way, so she laughs–or it can also show that she is thinking on good memories like she does with Esal when they go on a ‘pilgrimage’ of sorts in memory of John. Then there is the crying: it comes very sporadically. Her first cry seems to come out of nowhere right after she laughs at Lilan biting off the beast-lord sculpture’s head, which I found powerful. Erin’s reaction to Soyon’s death is still being drawn out to the present episodes, but now that she is older, her reaction to John’s death is more sudden, stronger. The switches between laughter and tears show that so well.

The most heartwrenching moments of this whole episode, though? First of all, Erin coming across the dead bee and burying it. I won’t go into any analysis of this since it’s straightforward; I just want to say that if you weren’t sad watching this scene, I’m quite positive you have no soul. And then, all of the moments when Erin refers to John as ‘Dad’. It leaves that sort of bittersweet feeling–it is so sweet that Erin has fully accepted that she views John as her dad, but she was never really able to let him know that even though we got the feeling that she intended to the next time she saw him. The confrontation with John’s spirit gives a sort of closure, but was that real? Or an imagined source of comfort for Erin? Ah, just a very emotional and amazingly-executed episode overall!

Katt’s Overall Rating for Kemono no Souja Erin Episode 28: 10/10

It's all fun and games until someone gets bitten...

Episode 29: If you play with beasts, you’ll get bitten

It’s another example of how things never go all that smoothly in the Kemono no Souja Erin universe. Trial and error, loss of people dear to Erin, and now a bite from the beast she had formed a bond with. This situation can kind of be related to the relationships that people have with pets in our world, yet it is also very different. Yes, the sort of automatic fear that Erin develops toward Lilan can easily be likened to, say, people who have a phobia of dogs because they were bitten when they were younger; at the same time, Erin is already a big animal lover–and I know from my experiences being bitten or scratched–so it seems a little strange that she deterred to such an extreme from Lilan’s bite. But okay, here is where it can be justified: a bite from a tiger is going to be a helluva lot more painful than a bite from a tomcat. That level of pain would put a shock in anyone’s system.

In case you haven’t realized it yet, though, Erin is all kinds of awesome. She has already overcome the odds and befriended Lilan–this is the first major setback that she has encountered during the whole process. If she lets this incident separate her from Lilan forever, then how could she ever hope to keep moving toward her goal of being a beast-lord vet who doesn’t play upon fear? She couldn’t, and she doesn’t. Erin faces Lilan once again and decides her fate for herself: she will continue along the path she has chosen, even if it it ends the way that her mother’s did, killed by the beasts she wanted so badly to protect and save. Ah, so beautiful. <3

In the next episode–Erin is now 18?!?! When the hell did that happen?! Whoa now, time jumps. But okay, I will accept this because it means that Erin will be closer to her goal of being a vet, and will probably at this point be old enough to get involved in the bigger plot going on in this series. I think that with this time jump, Erin will finally get involved in the politics we’ve been learning of every now and then (though I probably said that the last time we flashforwarded four years). On other notes of curiosity, though: how strong has her bond with Lilan remained? Are the other students still going to be around? Have Nukku and Mokku aged at all? Does Erin still not notice that Tomura has the hots for her? Oh, the questions are endless! I’m excited, guys.

Katt’s Overall Rating for Kemono no Souja Erin Episode 29: 8.5/10

Age has given Lilan facial hair, but thankfully it has not done so to Erin.

Episode 30: Aw man, it’s another clip show…

Took too long to post and episode 30 has been subbed! But yeah, the title says it for me. I should have seen it coming since the other time skip in this series had a clip show before actually getting into the ‘four years later’. As such, I won’t say much about this one aside from Erin is still at Kazalm, still hanging tough on her ideals. Go Erin!

Next episode–a new professor shows up at Kazalm, and he is a strapping young buck! Okay, well, based on the preview, I think I’ll like him. He seems like a fun, lighthearted guy. Glad to see that Tomura is still around, too! Probably still crushing on Erin. But even more importantly than these boys is the fact that Erin’s goal has become to find out why beast-lords in captivity and in the wild have differences between them (namely the ability to fly and probably their colour, too); I’ll be waiting patiently for Erin to figure this one out.

Katt’s Overall Rating for Kemono no Souja Erin Episode 30: clip show/10
Katt’s Anticipation for Kemono no Souja Erin Episode 31: 9/10

Random afterthought: What is up with Lilan purring when she’s happy? Last I checked, wolves and birds don’t purr. Are beast-lords part cat, too? Admittedly I do love that cats purr. Whenever I pet my dog, I expect her to purr and she never does… This just makes beast-lords all the more amazing.

Bonus screencap: Esal and John, the young days!

 

Katt: Toward the end of the winter season, I wrote up an entry talking about all of the animals who appeared in various anime that were airing at the time. Though I’d intended to make another post looking back on some memorable animals in anime from the past prior to the end of the spring season, I never did–whoops. I will have to wait a little longer for that post. For now, however, I want to pay homage to the wonderful animal characters that have been introduced in anime airing this spring! Yes, this means it is time for my second edition of Animals in Anime~

Mameshiba – Eden of the East

To start things off, it’s Mameshiba the shiba inu! Last season I mentioned the kitty-cat Madara first, so a dog gets his turn this time around. The shiba inu is one of the few dog breeds that were originally bred in Japan, so it is unsurprising that this breed appears in an anime. An attribute associated with shibas are their difficulty to train–the same can be said of many dog breeds, like huskies, but as I’m sure we’ve all gathered from recent films showing well-behaved huskies, even the tough-to-train dogs can become impressively obedient! Akira evidently did a good job training Mameshiba because this relatively small dog shows lets Akira put wings on him, causing an adorable breed of dog to be even cuter. (Maybe Juiz helping with the training, though? Maybe she used her connection to get Cesar Millan?!) Mameshiba shows that his needs come first, though, when it comes to retrieving his own food and pestering Akira to give him more. Way to use those brains, puppy!

Mustafa – Hanasakeru Seishounen

Snow leopard~ <3 I have a biased love of kitties above all else, but big cats like Mustafa leave me more in awe of their beauty than with the temptation of going, “aww, so cute!” I was distracted looking at a bunch of snow leopard photos for this post because they are so mesmerizing. These creatures demand so much respect and admiration with their appearances alone, and Kajika shows this in the series. A snow leopard, though…doesn’t belong on a Caribbean island. Although these felines do live in an environment with both summer and winter, these regions are very mountainous and so they can avoid the summer heat by climbing higher up the mountains. Apparently there are no records of snow leopards attacking human beings; however, livestock and other animals are another story… I still find it hard to believe that Mustafa would cuddle up to little Kajika, though, whether snow leopards are aggressive or not. Then again, ‘wild’ animals have been known to behave differently when they are raised in captivity, so maybe it isn’t that much of a stretch!

Canada’s polar bear — Axis Powers Hetalia

Honestly, Canada’s polar bear doesn’t even look much like a polar bear. It’s just a typical teddy bear coloured white. But okay, I’ll bite: it’s a polar bear. Now why, oh why, is this polar bear associated with Canada? I personally have lived in Canada my entire life and yet have yet to see a wild polar bear. Since Hetalia plays on stereotypes, however, it makes plenty of sense for a polar bear to be in Canada’s company. The stereotype is that it’s always cold in Canada, so we live in igloos in the presence of polar bears. In truth? Polar bears are pretty much limited to the land touching the Arctic Ocean, their main habitat–and not at all the main habitat for the majority of Canada’s human population. With the exception of people who opt to live in the northern territories, the only odds that Canadian citizens have of seeing polar bears are during winter and near the large bays, which are still further to the north than most people live.

Burupya – 07-Ghost

Oh Burupya, what are you? Aside from cute, of course. Looking at the different physical characteristics of Burupya, I am going to say that he is a hybrid of a jerboa, bunny, and sparrow that was dyed pink upon his birth. It is mostly the jerboa that stands out, I find, in the long ears and long, thin tail with a little tuft at the end. But truth be told I find jerboas pretty creepy-looking, and yet Burupya is adorable. I attribute this to his fuzziness, which is where the bunny comes in in my imaginay hybrid. There are very few things in this world as soft as a bunny’s coat of fur! Then last but not least, we have the sparrow, which is added into the mix because of the wings, of course. I could have picked pretty much any bird, but sparrows are small so there wings would fit on a little rodent, right? Now that I have established what animals combined could possibly look like the cuddle-able Burupya, let’s get to work on our genetic alterations, okay Miken? Burupya shall be ours!

Yumekichi – Sengoku Basara

I am nowhere near being an expert on monkeys, so my attempts at finding out what kind of breed of monkey Keiji’s little pet monkey, Yumekichi, is supposed to be have run up empty. No existing types of monkeys that I found on searches looked much like Yumekichi, especially not those native to Japan. He probably isn’t based on a real breed. If he were, though, it would have to be a small breed–like the pygmy marmoset, the smallest monkey breed in the world! Since these tiny animals’ natural habitat is in South America, it’s safe to say that there wouldn’t be any in Japan during the Sengoku period. These days, though, pygmy marmosets are seen all over the place in zoos and even pet stores. I remember that for a long time there was a pet store in Montreal that had a couple of pygmy marmosets on display at the storefront. They were cute, there’s no denying that, but exotic animals are always best off in their natural habitats, even if Yumekichi seems to get along just fine with Keiji.

Wolfis — Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica Crimson S

Wolfis–the spirit contracted with Eufinley in this series–is quite obviously based on a wolf. Wolves, the ancestors of dogs as a whole and incredible examples of canine behaviour. Honestly, to talk about wolves would be similar to talking about the basis of training a domestic dog. It is all about the hierarchy with these beautiful beasts. Contradictory to the commonly used expression ‘lone wolf’, wolves are almost always found living in packs, which is where the tie to dog training comes in. Wolf packs have leaders and subordinate members, usually divided between parents and pups. The basic rule of canines is that what the alpha says goes, and this is most recognizably present in wolves. In households, the division might be a little less distinct because some dogs, like my mutt, just love testing their boundries and talking back if they’re told to do something they don’t like.  She’d get put in her place pretty fast in a pack of wolves, I’m sure, that back-talking mutt.

That creepy-looking cat — Cross Game

I have to admit that I’ve never watched Cross Game despite all the good things I’ve heard from my blog-mates. It was Minnie who mentioned this creepy-looking cat to me and I have to say…a creepy-looking cat? Blasphemy! Such a thing is unheard of! And this is coming from someone who has met quite a few cats with strange attributes while volunteering at an animal shelter, but none of them have made a cat look creepy like that feline from Cross Game. Take Penelope, the kitty at the right here; she’s missing an eye, though that doesn’t stop her sweet temperment from shining through and making her beautiful. Then there are others like the cat with fangs who always has his tongue sticking out; he looks a little goofy, but people love it. Or the fatty cat missing half an ear, what a cute face he has! This creepy-looking cat in Cross Game? A gross misrepresentation of feline-kind.

The Beast-Lords — Kemono no Souja Erin

As I looked at the touda from KnSE in my first Animals in Anime post, it is only fair that I look at beast-lords in this one. I recall one episode explaining the sort of mix that these fantasy creatures are, though I haven’t managed to find that scene so perhaps I was imagining it. In any case, there is no doubt that the face, teeth, and fur are meant to be features of wolves. But I finished talking about wolves when discussing Wolfis; let’s look at the bird part of these beasts. To be a carnivorous flyer that is that big, I can only guess that there is some bird of prey in this fantasy hybrid. Or a dinosaur. Okay okay, seriously–judging the largest bird is difficult because some have larger wingspans, and others are bigger in body. The beast-lord seems pretty damn hefty in both regards, much like the Andean condor. Its wingspan tends to be about 10-feet and males apparently weight 20-27 lbs on average. Hmm, maybe it’s just me, but that doesn’t seem all that big when compared to beast-lords. I’m pretty sure even the baby beast-lord Lilan could show up the largest Andean condor to ever live.

Well, anime fans, that is all that I have to say on animals for this season. I swear one of these days I will write a post and acknowledges the animals of animu past; however, if I don’t, you can at least count on me making a post for the summer animals in anime! There haven’t been many in the series that I’ve had a look at thus far, but I’m going to keep on hoping that this season brings us some memorable animals. You can bet I’ll be sad if it doesn’t! So who was your favourite animal this season? Did I miss any that you felt deserved a mention? For now, this edition of Animals in Anime is done~ 

Erin finally gets to show off her great skills with animals!

Katt: Three episodes of Kemono no Souja Erin at once again! Well, it was actually two, but my internet was screwing up for a while so by the time I actually got around to watching them, a third episode was posted too. I am not complaining; I can easily marathon a few episodes of this series because it is so engaging. Each of these episodes managed to make me tear up at some point or another…wah, so good! I feel like Nukku and Mukku are becoming representative of my feelings as I watch these episodes, only exaggeratedly, hahaha.

Erin, you're making me cry. =(

Episode 21: Human and beast, two different languages

This episode shows Erin taking charge of the duty of caring for Lilan, the baby beast-lord that was injured at the queen’s birthday celebration. The upperclassman Tomura is initially upset because this was his responsibility to start with, but he failed. At first it seems like he is upset more in regard to grades and being on the head teacher’s good side; this, however, is not really the case. Erin caught onto this even before I did. Honestly, I was annoyed with Tomura when he went on and on about his assumptions that Erin was doing all this for grades, for school–”Is that all this guy thinks about?” I wondered. But it wasn’t that at all. He wasn’t projecting his motives onto Erin; he was actually concerned that she would be so shallow because he genuinely cared about Lilan. All of his past jealousy and anger are somehow justified by this. It was all for the beast-lord’s well-being, which Erin approves of–and I do too! Now the two can work together for Lilan’s sake and Lilan’s sake alone.

The scene that makes this episode absolutely memorable is when Erin breaks down because she is unable to understand what Lilan is crying for. I’m sure anyone with pets understands the frustration of the human-animal language barrier. Dogs don’t understand when you tell them, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon!” and cats won’t stop meowing to go outside just because you tell them, “Listen, cry all you want but I’m not letting you out.” The reverse is also true–that we can’t understand when animals talk to us. Sometimes it can be obvious like when a dog woofs at someone eating food, but other times, especially the times when animals are suffering, it is just so hard. I know that I have caught myself asking an animal or two to speak in English, but unfortunately life doesn’t work that way. They speak their language and we have to rely on things other than speech to help them, particularly when they are suffering and we have to decide whether they want to be helped or not. “Please tell me how to help you. Do you want me to help you, or…?” It is so hard to deal with, having their fate in your hands. This hurts Erin so badly because she just wants to understand what it is that the beast-lord wants when he finally finds his voice. Such a powerful scene, which I find stands out even more than when Erin finally succeeds in a sort of back-and-forth dialogue with the beast-lord using her harp, although that is beautiful too. Just a beautiful episode all-around.

Katt’s Overall Rating for Kemono no Souja Erin Episode 21: 10/10

With so many people behind her, how could she fail?

Episode 22: No hesitation, just go for it!

I am pleasantly surprised with the way that this series deals with Erin’s communication with Lilan using her harp. Based on the summary, I was expecting this to be some pleasantly convenient discovery–oh hey, the beast-lords respond to my harp! That isn’t the case at all, though. Nothing has really come so conveniently in this series and I love it for that; every time there is a little breakthrough, things don’t come together all at once. It’s one step at a time. This is true of the harp, as well. Erin has managed to make a unique sound, similar to a mother beast-lord’s cry, with her harp by change, but reproducing that sound is an inconvenience. Erin really has to work to tune her harp to make that sound and ideally other natural sounds of the beast-lords. She, Tomura, Nukku, and Mukku get permission to go to the harp repairman/maker to see if he can help out in making this sound. He has business elsewhere, however, so the four are left to their own devices in the shop. None of them know anything about harp-making, so this will be another obstacle…

But it’s Ial, the musically-skilled Sezan who gave Erin his harp four years back, to the rescue! Ial, Ial, Ial… His character is gradually getting fleshed out, but he still has a mysterious air about him. He is a good guy, I’m sure, but actions like killing his mentor and protecting the queen make him more complicated to understand. In this episode, he is caught up in a fight with two Saigamuls that causes his wound to re-open, though thankfully Nukku and Mukku find him and Tomura manages to take care of his wound. Oh hey, Ial is pretty harp-savvy, maybe he can help Erin…? He doesn’t make the harp for her, though; he only gives her the advice of… oh hey, I’ll type the whole thing out because it’s a really nice quote:

“Don’t hesitate. The path you choose is not always correct, but to save a life, there are times when you mustn’t hesitate. That’s all the same for Sezans and doctors.”

Hm, well we know that Ial practices what he preaches since he did jump in front of an arrow aimed at the queen, after all. Love his connection between Sezans and doctors (or in this case, vets!), and I have to say that I enjoy the trust shown between Ial and Erin in this scene. She confides in him her hopes for communicating with the beast-lord, and he tells that he was the Sezan who was hit by the same arrow as Lilan. Even though the two barely know one another, there is an odd understanding bond between them. Maybe this is why I like Ial? He doesn’t talk much, but he is still a very strong presence with a lot of emotion tied to him. Here’s to more Ial in the future!

Katt’s Overall Rating for Kemono no Souja Erin Episode 22: 8.5/10

Tomura's got a cruuuush~

Episode 23: Fighting the system one school at a time

The first thing I want to consider about this episode is the bond developing between Erin and Tomura. Is it possible that there is going to be some element of romance slipped in here? I don’t know how to feel about that. As of now it is nothing more than a crush on Tomura’s part (it’s pretty safe to say), though if Erin will ever find herself in a relationship with someone in this series thus far, it would be sensible for it to be Tomura. He shares her passion for the beast-lords and is closer to her age–more a peer than a mentor–than any of the other great guys she has met up until now. I can’t say that I want to see anything happen between these two during the course of the series, but I wouldn’t complain if they are still close by the series’ end. I’d like this to be more of a ‘what could happen’ than a ‘this is happening’, if you know what I mean. To toss romance in now would kind of detract from Erin’s amazing character. She is too busy saving the beast-lords to be concerning herself with boys! Unlike Yuuyan, whose talking in her sleep made me snicker, I must admit.

Of course, the major development in this episode is the Kazalm school’s decision to keep Erin’s communication with Lilan a secret. Yes! Finally someone has the balls to step up against the system! In this case, the system is a book called the Beast-Lord Imperatives that cites all of the obligatory guidelines in raising captive beast-lords. Erin’s methods, needless to say, weren’t at all included in this book. Trying anything outside of these guidelines, however, is completely taboo and could either 1) get Erin into a lot of trouble, or 2) earn her more attention than she wants, bringing her to the main beast-lord rearing centre. After Esal looking at the pros and cons with the other teachers, and after hearing Erin’s own wish to keep quiet about it and stay at Kazalm, Esal decides that Erin’s communication with Lilan will remain a secret with Kazalm. This decision made me gain a huge amount of respect for Esal. Up until now, she almost always had a grave expression on her face and never showed any warmth to Erin or the other students, but this selfless gesture for Erin…what a great woman. She is a completely different character from John, but an incredible mentor nonetheless!

The next episode returns us to the political realm. Sighhh. It was inevitable with the little scenes here and there, but I am not paricularly thrilled to see that the next episode will be showing us more of the Grand Duke’s kids than Erin. I won’t be expecting too much out of it, but let’s hope it proves me wrong and is a great episode in any case.

Katt’s Overall Rating for Kemono no Souja Erin Episode 23: 8.5/10
Katt’s Anticipation for Kemono no Souja Erin Episode 24: 7/10