Xam’d Episode 15 - Claustrophobic Country
I’ve been playing Valkyria Chronicles for a while now; it seems natural given its anime-like presentation, the Sakura Taisen production team, a very nice collection of seiyuu performances, and that it is a PS3 exclusive. Having an anime to go with next year is just a bonus. I mention this because the way some scenes in this episode of Xam’d looked reminds me of all those bullet-dodging and cover-to-cover dashing I have to do in that game.
Oh and it made me less annoyed about the episode not coming out until Wednesday. Boo @ PSN Video Store.
Story-wise, this episode tries to clean up a couple loose ends but it mainly explores Nakiami’s journey to the Tessik home…world/town/village/city/place. We still have no clue what the hell Mr. Bushido is doing.
That eye thing…looks familiar.
I like this WTH face.
I know someone who reads this blog likes feet but I don’t think these are the pair of feet you want to see, at least in that situation. It seems like they’re setting us up the bomb next episode for some nasty Haru moments. It’s not at all like what happened to Furuichi, this not-very-subtle foreshadowing.
So yeah, I will prepare for the worse next week as Haru reaps the consequences of Akiyuki’s visit.
Meanwhile back in episode 15, the star of this episode, logically, you would think is Nakiami. But it’s actually her Beat Kayak.
Which is sad, because it might be the last episode that will feature the vehicle as Nakiami pawns it off to ransom a boy from the streets.
Gosh this was a hot screencap before I uglified it with jpeg compression artifacts and poor color balance.
Anyways, the street kid makes good Mii’s. Out of rocks.
The boy and Nakiami hits it off because he’s carrying a Hiruko. The cityscape is bustling and it’s interesting to see a change. The feel of the town is very different as Nakiami is now squarely in the Northern Continent. It’s a bit like North Korea versus South Korea? Just a thought.
What kind of bread is sold by weight? Weirdness.
Nakiami is fearless.
I guess it’s not that hard given the competition.
Sad Nakiami in snow.
Gadget check!
This piece of gear reminded me of another game–Fallout. The series. It’s that 1960s curve and dials and stuff that cued me in. Akiyuki’s dad is doing some kind of stem cell research or something on his own. It will probably turn out to be a big plot device but who knows what the hell he’s talking about.
The key to Nakiami’s hotel room door is runner up, although I think the real winner this episode has to be the Kayak, so the key ties for second place.
Speaking of big plot devices no one understands, shooting one of these duck-mask soul-suckers probably is one too.
The best landscape scene in this episode is probably this scene. They look like tombstones but are they really?
If they really are then it marks the second elaborate memorial in this anime. What is up with that?
Plot-wise, well, besides the important but confusing bits of backstory/background development, it’s mostly just the kid is now tagging along with Nakiami on her trip to the Tessik place. Armed with wads of money, her non-walking stick and the photo Raigyo took from his journey, the two travels into the unkown.
I suppose I could say something about Akiyuki, but all he does is act weird despite obviously being sold into slavery. And all Haru got this episode was a stupid-lock-up scene, even if Prois gives another cryptic hint that sounds … dangerous.
Well, enjoy the scenery I guess. It’s one of the prettier episodes I thought. And it sets up for the next episode.
I recently finished Valkyria Chronicles. It was a great game. I’m hoping A-1 Pictures handles the anime well.
Yea, I hope I can finish the game soon…just not a lot of free time lately.
“What kind of bread is sold by weight?”
I think the balance is meant to check for counterfeiters.
“Burning in Our Wake”… oh shi-
oh shi- indeed!
psgels: counterfeiters? but they use paper currency!
Heh, Valkyria Chronicles, I really like that ending picture that’s floating around.