|
http://www.crunchyroll.com/the-unlimited-hyobu-kyosuke Zettai Karen Children is a series I have mixed feelings about. There’s a lot about the plot and characters that I really like…but be warned that the manga does give off  vibes sometimes. (There probably won’t be much of those in this anime.) The fact that it’s a shonen manga rather than a seinen manga causes me to give it the benefit of the doubt in that regard, though. There was a previous anime (based on the early parts of the manga) and an OVA with an original story (which wasn’t very good). This show is also an original story. Here’s a primer on the characters and setting for those unfamiliar with the manga: The world of Zettai Karen Children is like our own, except that people with psychic powers openly exist, and have for some time. Espers are a minority, however; people without these powers, known as Normals, often fear and discriminate against them. Many powerful Espers work for national governments, and are considered valuable military assets. (In other words, it’s somewhat similar to the setting of a lot of other superhero stories.) Esper powers are rated on a scale from Level 1 to Level 7, with 7 being the strongest. Psychic powers can take several forms. Many Espers have unusual special applications of their powers, known as “synthetic” powers, but there are a handful of basic forms they can take. Psychokinesis is another name for telekinesis, Psychometry lets you read the thoughts or history of people or objects you touch, Hypno creates illusions or (at higher levels) outright mind control, Teleportation lets you teleport yourself and other objects, Precog sees the future, and Telepathy lets you communicate from a distance (and is often a base for synthetic powers that involve other people’s powers in some way). Except for Japan, all ZKCverse countries are known by parody names (such as Comerica for the United States, Roviet for Russia, Chena for China), which injects an odd note of levity into things like exposition about the ZKCverse version of World War II. (The series has a weird sense of comedy and drama, where it can be hard to tell how seriously you’re supposed to take something. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.) The setting also contains at least one completely fictional country: Impalahen, a small island kingdom with powerful Espers and lots of a valuable substance called Raremetal, which can be used to store or amplify psychic powers. ECMs (Esper Counter Measures) are devices that seal the powers of Espers in the vicinity. However, they can only partially seal the powers of more powerful Espers, such as Kyosuke. They can also be negated by ECCMs (Esper Counter Counter Measures). The main character in the spinoff, Kyosuke Hyobu, is an antagonist for much of the manga. He’s sort of like Magneto, except he’s a goofy manchild. Although he has some long-term plans he considers very important (like ensuring that The Children will join PANDRA in the future but that Kaoru won’t be killed by Minamoto), he tends to do whatever he feels like at any given moment. As a child, Kyosuke was a member of the Japanese military’s Special Esper Unit in World War II, but was shot in the head by his commanding officer, whom he trusted, when the war ended. He has distrusted Normals ever since. He leads the criminal Esper organization PANDRA, which theoretically seeks to take over the world when the inevitable (in Kyosuke’s view) war between Espers and Normals comes; in practice, it does whatever its members feel like doing, from bank robbery to saving children from the unambiguously evil Black Phantom. Although PANDRA are initially enemies of BABEL, and in many ways remain enemies, they have increasingly cooperated due to the threat of Black Phantom. He also essentially controls the nation of Roviet, which he basically took over on a whim. He has a wide variety of powers, including Teleportation, Psychokinesis, and Hyno, their unifying principle being that (fairly recent but fairly minor manga spoiler) they were originally the powers of the comrades he saw die in World War II. His powers keep him eternally youthful-looking, and he always wears a school uniform. In the current manga storyline, after Kyosuke chose to be teleported into an “imaginary space” to escape from Gilliam of Black Phantom, Feather’s body has transformed into a child version of Kyosuke, who lacks the older Kyosuke’s bitterness. Apparently, this anime is set before these events. Kyosuke’s flying squirrel is named Momotaro. Momotaro is an artificially created Esper with Telepathy and a somewhat human-like mind. He’s squirrel-like enough that he’s easily excited and distracted, but sometimes plays the voice of reason to Kyosuke. He has some trouble getting along with most humans, but respects Kaoru. Shiro Magi is a high-ranking PANDRA member. He is a very serious person who disapproves of Kyosuke’s whimsical behavior, hates Normals, and wants PANDRA to actually take over the world. He was an orphan who was raised by Kyosuke, which is probably the only reason he puts up with Kyosuke. His power is manipulation of the carbon in his own hair. Momiji Kano is another high-ranking PANDRA member, also raised by Kyosuke. She is an essentially reasonable person, sharing some of Magi’s frustration with Kyosuke but more able to get along with Normals. A Teleporter, she can gain super strength using “spatial fixation.” Yoh Fujiura is the youngest of the high-ranking PANDRA members, also raised by Kyosuke. He’s an rear end in a top hat who is almost as irresponsible as Kyosuke himself and doesn’t get along with The Children. He apparently uses a sound-based form of Psychokinesis. (There are several other noteworthy PANDRA members; I’ll add them here if they appear in the anime.) Andy Hinomiya and Yugiri do not appear in the manga. Muscle Okama (not his birth name), another PANDRA member, is an over-the-top gay stereotype. His powers are burrowing through the ground and petrifying people with energy blasts from a gemstone on his belt that just happens to be very close to his crotch area...yeah. As long as he's forced to wear a non-ridiculous outfit, he's actually a very competent diplomat. BABEL is a Japanese government agency that employs Espers to deal with problems such as natural disasters and Esper criminals (like PANDRA). It is led by Fujiko Tsubomi, who served in the same unit as Kyosuke in World War II, but has remained youthful through her energy vampirism and hibernation powers (she has other powers as well, much like Kyosuke). She is about as irresponsible as Kyosuke, but BABEL puts up with her because she founded BABEL and gives them funding. She and Kyosuke have some lingering familial affection for each other. I won’t try to cover all the BABEL members here, just the ones most important to understanding Kyosuke’s motivations and relationships. The most important of these is Kaoru Akashi, Level 7 Psychokinetic, member of The Children, future Queen of Catastrophe, and main character of the manga. Kyosuke is rather obsessed with her, to the point where the other characters often accuse him of being a , although he’s really more obsessed with her adult future self, who is seemingly destined to join PANDRA, then die by Minamoto’s hand. Irresponsible parenting by Kaoru’s mother and older sister leads to Kaoru initially (she’s 10 at the start of the manga) being violent, disrespectful of authority, and having some messed-up attitudes regarding sexuality; she’s become better behaved over time, mostly thanks to Minamoto. Most of what I’ve said about vibes concerns Kaoru; the aforementioned messed-up attitudes and her obvious crush on Minamoto, combined with the irresponsible attitudes of people like Fujiko, lead to some uncomfortable moments. When her powers are combined with Aoi's and Shiho's via Minamoto's Triple Boost device, she gains the synthetic power Force of Absolution, which can reverse Black Phantom's brainwashing. Shiho Sannomiya, another member of The Children, is a Level 7 Psychometer. Her ability to read people's minds by touching them makes many people uneasy around her, and although she places some ethical limits on this power (especially when using it on her friends), she loves making people uneasy. Her twisted personality makes it hard to tell when she's serious and when she's joking. The daughter of a cop, she loves solving gruesome crimes. She uses a gun, and her powers allow her to shoot with perfect accuracy. The remaining member of The Children is Aoi Nogami. A Level 7 Teleporter, Aoi is the most well-behaved, book-smart, and innocent of The Children (although she still gives Minamoto a hard time on occasion). She's from Kyoto and has a Kansai dialect. The handler and guardian of The Children is Koichi Minamoto, a Normal. It’s not just Kaoru who has a crush on Minamoto; almost everyone seems to be in love with him at times, including the male characters. Minamoto is an expert on Espers and all-around genius, an excellent cook and housekeeper, and the only responsible adult at BABEL. Dealing with people like Fujiko and Kaoru on a regular basis is such a stressful job that even Minamoto feels overwhelmed sometimes, though. He hopes to turn Kaoru and the other two Children into responsible people who would never join PANDRA, and is horrified by the idea that he might kill Kaoru in the future. He hates Kyosuke. Shuji Sakaki is Minamoto's friend. He is a medical doctor and a Psychometer. Like many other ZKC characters, Sakaki is somewhat irresponsible (especially around women). He doesn't get along with PANDRA members. Silver2195 fucked around with this message at Jan 29, 2013 around 06:16 |
| # ? Jan 8, 2013 17:17 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2013 11:20 |
|
|
Would of not minded a time skip anime. Really I liked the thing before because I tend to like things that execute X-men without any of the stupid X-Men tends to bring to the table but the time skip really kicked things up a notch. On the other, Minamoto is in this anyway so really all is right in the world. ConanThe3rd fucked around with this message at Jan 8, 2013 around 18:51 |
| # ? Jan 8, 2013 18:45 |
|
|
I've seen it suggested that this anime takes place during the timeskip between the first season and (if it ever happens) second season. It's too soon to tell for sure, but I like the theory. quote:Would of not minded a time skip anime. Really I liked the thing before because I tend to like things that execute X-men without any of the stupid X-Men tends to bring to the table but the time skip really kicked things up a notch. Post-time skip the manga is much much better, certainly. Not least because it ages everyone up to at least teenagers. quote:Probably not Shiho, though, and she's probably the coolest character in the manga. Shiho is awesome for sure. I'd be shocked if The Children didn't have at least one appearance by the end of the anime, though. Even a spin-off still exists to promote the main story. Also, Sakaki is a confirmed character. You might want to add him to the OP. madmac fucked around with this message at Jan 9, 2013 around 04:33 |
| # ? Jan 8, 2013 20:50 |
|
|
ConanThe3rd posted:Would of not minded a time skip anime. Really I liked the thing before because I tend to like things that execute X-men without any of the stupid X-Men tends to bring to the table but the time skip really kicked things up a notch. Probably not Shiho, though, and she's probably the coolest character in the manga. I agree that it got better after the time skip. Silver2195 fucked around with this message at Jan 8, 2013 around 23:17 |
| # ? Jan 8, 2013 23:15 |
|
|
Even if the plot turns out to be incredibly moronic it will still be worth watching if they give us more scenes like the opening.
|
| # ? Jan 8, 2013 23:31 |
|
|
I liked the show as I had just finished Nanoha and Madoka (at the time) and needed some more and this had just about the right balance of well, everything. There's action, character development, some of that anime semi philosophical naval gazing that got me into Anime from Gundam Wing, humor, and that the powers have some flexibility to them so they can do interesting things every so often. Also I love catching the references. e: Really digging the up to date animation. e2: Holy poo poo, when did Hyoubu get this competent? Raenir Salazar fucked around with this message at Jan 9, 2013 around 06:19 |
| # ? Jan 9, 2013 06:05 |
|
|
Raenir Salazar posted:e2: Holy poo poo, when did Hyoubu get this competent? It's the old "Team Rocket are actually quite good at their job when they stay the hell away from the twerps" thing. You remember that whole todo when he up and out destroyed Not Al-qaeda for getting a young girl who looked like a tanned Kaoru involved in their terrorist attack? That said, is this the first time we've seen him with a limiter? ConanThe3rd fucked around with this message at Jan 9, 2013 around 07:35 |
| # ? Jan 9, 2013 07:26 |
|
|
Would you recommend watching the first ZKC anime before this?
|
| # ? Jan 10, 2013 15:12 |
|
|
It's not entirely necessary from what's been shown here bar a couple of references here and there, but if you can get over Karou's nonsense it's recommended. Though it doesn't deviate much from the Manga so there's that path too.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2013 08:01 |
|
|
Second episode is up. It was better than the first. Andy must be be new to his job; he doesn't seem to be used to the stress of being a secret agent. Minamoto and Sakaki show up at the end, but alas, still no Shiho. Incidentally, Carlo is a new character.
|
| # ? Jan 14, 2013 22:14 |
|
|
Can you edit the OP to link to its page on Crunchyroll?
|
| # ? Jan 15, 2013 00:08 |
|
|
Doctor w-rw-rw- posted:Can you edit the OP to link to its page on Crunchyroll? Done. It's hilarious how much Engrish text there is in this anime. There's a great scene in the second episode where we see Andy reading a file about Hyobu; it summarizes his backstory and personality quite well, despite the bad grammar.
|
| # ? Jan 15, 2013 00:46 |
|
|
^^^ Thanks. Just watched episodes 1 and 2. I initially dismissed ZKC as trash but if it can produce something like this I wonder if I ought to go back and check it out for once. Does it get to be serious business, or is it light and fluffy?Also, Hyobu gives off some serious Lelouch vibes.
|
| # ? Jan 15, 2013 01:00 |
|
|
Doctor w-rw-rw- posted:^^^ Thanks. ZKC definitely gets serious sometimes, although it's mixed with humor/fluffy stuff in weird ways, as I've said (although I believe the first anime, which I haven't seen, has a slightly lighter tone than the manga; this one seems to have a darker one). Hyobu is less Lelouch-like than he comes across here, to be honest; Lelouch is much more focused on long-term plans, while Hyobu does crazy things on a whim a lot of the time.
|
| # ? Jan 15, 2013 01:36 |
|
|
Silver2195 posted:(although I believe the first anime, which I haven't seen, has a slightly lighter tone than the manga; this one seems to have a darker one). The first anime was a Sunday morning kids show - this airs late at night. That said, the first anime had a tremendous amount of swearing and more sexual content than a late night anime - it's as if, for some reason, TV Tokyo weren't really monitoring it's content at all, and when they realised, pulled the whole thing.
|
| # ? Jan 15, 2013 11:35 |
|
|
ookiimarukochan posted:The first anime was a Sunday morning kids show - this airs late at night. And yet that is better than the once over they gave Hayate. Boy did that show sour me on that franchise. Stupid "NO LOOKING!" troll.
|
| # ? Jan 15, 2013 19:44 |
|
|
ConanThe3rd posted:And yet that is better than the once over they gave Hayate. TV Tokyo bowdlerise the poo poo out of anime they have a hand in - they're tight with Ishihara. They managed to gently caress up the first version Negima so bad that a guaranteed hit bombed hard. I'd love to know how the first anime got made as it was just so out of expectations.
|
| # ? Jan 15, 2013 20:23 |
|
|
TV Tokyo is like the Computer in Paranoid; it's afraid everyone's out to pull an Evangelion, and they are. As for Negima, that show was doomed the moment Xebec got it's hands on it. Doods lost their collective minds after a point (roughly after Zoids: Chaotic Century). Then again, Negima just sort of farted off into subspace after the Mars arc. ConanThe3rd fucked around with this message at Jan 15, 2013 around 22:41 |
| # ? Jan 15, 2013 22:37 |
|
|
quote:Andy must be be new to his job; he doesn't seem to be used to the stress of being a secret agent. Minamoto and Sakaki show up at the end, but alas, still no Shiho. Looks like you get Shiho next week. Sooner then I expected. Given how obviously aimed at fujoshi this show is, I'm rather curious to see how they handle The Children.
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2013 22:09 |
|
|
I'm really glad you created this thread, OP. I was thinking of making one myself. I watched the first 13 episodes of the original anime and then skipped to episode 51. I will probably go back and watch the rest as time permits as it seems a lot of development occurs. According to the previews for episode, we're going to see at least one of The Children next week. I love it that the same VA is voicing Minamoto. Whenever he says "Sze Childrren", I'm taken back to the older show. Seems the first animated series was done in 2008-2009, but the artwork looks 80'ish to me. Old vs New Minamoto:  Old  New Also, as a side note, I can't for the life of me figure out what it is about talking, flying squirrels that's so animate-able. Does every anime have to have one now-a-days? Where's the girl with the eye-patch too? Flying Squirrel Parade  Rocky  No Clue What The Hell His Name Is  Momotaro Momotaro is definitely the bad-rear end among these three, here. He's probably been through the most as well, so he deserves the top spot. Episode 3 Discussion: So, what was the deal with the video game that Minamoto and Sakaki played? Did anyone else get the impression they weren't really playing a video game? They were hypnotized into believing it was a game but all the while they were actually somehow solving the mystery of who was behind the assassination attempt? I thought that was an interesting twist.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2013 01:47 |
|
|
quote:Seems the first animated series was done in 2008-2009, but the artwork looks 80'ish to me. This is easily explained when you know that the manga is written by Takashina Shiina, aka the guy who drew Ghost Sweeper Mikami from 1991 to 1999. He kinda of puttered around for a couple years not really accomplishing anything until he started drawing ZKC around 2005ish.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2013 02:22 |
|
|
Since they appeared in the next episode preview, I'll add Aoi and Shiho to the OP. I liked the way this episode showed how goofy Kyosuke can be. I like that he made a video game (more likely hacked an existing one, but still) just to annoy Minamoto and Sakaki.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2013 04:09 |
|
|
Posted just because it deserves emphasis that Shiho is a rather special character: There's also an omake of when the girls were 10 years old and wanting presents in exchange for being good girls at school. Little Shiho was so sad she that Minamoto instituted an immediate "No WOMDs" rule after seeing her wishlist.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2013 05:26 |
|
|
Dan7el posted:Episode 3 Discussion: So, what was the deal with the video game that Minamoto and Sakaki played? Did anyone else get the impression they weren't really playing a video game? They were hypnotized into believing it was a game but all the while they were actually somehow solving the mystery of who was behind the assassination attempt? I thought that was an interesting twist. I'm going to put that down to Kyousuke's pathological want to screw with Minamoto more than anything else. It's part of what made him a great antagonist to The Children in the first series. Speaking of which: Oh man, the next episode preview  I guess we'll see if Hirano kept her job.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2013 12:20 |
|
|
The OP has me interested in this, but one point of constructive criticism: it refers to characters and organizations that it hasn't introduced yet. I kept trying to go back and find where things were mentioned, thinking I had missed something. You'll probably hook more newbies if you fix that up.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2013 15:27 |
|
|
quote:The OP has me interested in this, but one point of constructive criticism: it refers to characters and organizations that it hasn't introduced yet. I kept trying to go back and find where things were mentioned, thinking I had missed something. You'll probably hook more newbies if you fix that up. Honestly, the only characters in the OP that haven't shown up yet will be in the next episode, and the show is just now introducing us to BABEL. Pictures to go with the characters bio's would probably be more newbie friendly, though. I know I never remember anyone's name until at least a few episodes into a new show.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2013 15:32 |
|
|
Edit: Never mind.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2013 23:45 |
|
|
I think the OP is really good. I was actually working on one myself but imagur was bugging out on me, so I couldn't upload my pictures. I hope you don't mind if I post some pictures. Here are a few: Zze Childrren (in order, Aoi Nogami, Kaoru Akashi, Shiho Sannomiya )  Graduation Photo (Episode 51 -- I liked this because it showed the girls grew up a bit across the series)  It'll be interesting to see what the girls look like in the new series. Andy Hinomiya -- he just flat out has a really cool left eye.   I suppose it beats Skype. I keep waiting for someone to overhear him or find him doing this in the bowels of the ship. I can only imagine how he'd explain it. "Uh...I was watching CNN on my eye. Yeah." Kyōsuke Hyōbu and Yuguri  Original Anime Kyousuke  He hasn't really changed all that much  Shiro Magi  Apparently, these wings are really his hair? Really? Momiji Kanou  Andy was supposed to do something for her in this scene. I'm guessing rub on some suntan lotion? They didn't really say. She's like, "Well, get on with it." and he approaches her. Then she tells him to go away and stay away. She made him back away after his presence caused her discomfort. Yoh Fujiura  I don't think Kyouske actually ever says Yoh's name in the anime up to this point, so I had a hard time tracking this one down. I believe he's in the later episodes of the original series, though.
|
| # ? Jan 24, 2013 00:11 |
|
|
Thanks. I was having trouble with Imgur too.
|
| # ? Jan 24, 2013 00:13 |
|
|
I guess they didn't include Muscle Okama (yes, that really is what he goes by) even though he is one of the few adult members of Pandra. But then, he doesn't really fit the mood of the show.
|
| # ? Jan 24, 2013 00:15 |
|
|
Serious Frolicking posted:I guess they didn't include Muscle Okama (yes, that really is what he goes by) even though he is one of the few adult members of Pandra. But then, he doesn't really fit the mood of the show. Muscle is probably busy being Roviet's greatest diplomat.
|
| # ? Jan 24, 2013 00:45 |
|
|
Serious Frolicking posted:I guess they didn't include Muscle Okama (yes, that really is what he goes by) even though he is one of the few adult members of Pandra. But then, he doesn't really fit the mood of the show. I think I recognize him in the last shot of the ED, but yeah, probably won't have more than bit parts. A shame, because he's probably the organization's most competent member (heh heh). I'm really liking the use of music in this series so far. The director seems to think that no music is better than boring filler music for normal scenes, and I'm inclined to agree. Makes the music more effective when it is used.
|
| # ? Jan 25, 2013 05:37 |
|
|
quote:I think I recognize him in the last shot of the ED, but yeah, probably won't have more than bit parts Hmmm...  Yep, he's there. Now that I recognize the design I think he was in the background of episode 2 as well. They all have background cameos except maybe Patty Crew that I keep getting confused with the on ship bartender. Really, they've got every notable Babel character in that shot except Mio, Kazura and Kaguri. Who are all way more involved with the Children anyway and unlikely to show up even as background characters. On the Babel side you still have Teams Shadow Decoy, (TEAM NERD BROS BEST TEAM) Hound, Double Face, Little Mice, and Wild Cat. All of whom will almost certainly not show up at all. Maaaaaybe Tim and Barret, but it's still a long shot.
|
| # ? Jan 25, 2013 06:16 |
|
|
ConanThe3rd posted:I'm going to put that down to Kyousuke's pathological want to screw with Minamoto more than anything else. It's part of what made him a great antagonist to The Children in the first series. This. I don't fully understand it myself but nothing would give me more joy than to see it; something about the whole ordeal has me rooting for Hirano, at least she was in Girls Und Panzer  .
|
| # ? Jan 25, 2013 06:29 |
|
|
Raenir Salazar posted:This. I don't fully understand it myself but nothing would give me more joy than to see it; something about the whole ordeal has me rooting for Hirano, at least she was in Girls Und Panzer Really, she's probably served her sentence if she was doing Girls Und Panzer. Wouldn't wish that fate on even the crappiest of the non-ocean group Canadian VA. madmac posted:On the Babel side you still have Teams Shadow Decoy, (TEAM NERD BROS BEST TEAM) Hound, Double Face, Little Mice, and Wild Cat. All of whom will almost certainly not show up at all. Maaaaaybe Tim and Barret, but it's still a long shot. I get the awful feeling that, between her being an anime original character and her design, that she's related to Black Phantom and will probably cork it before show's end. ConanThe3rd fucked around with this message at Jan 25, 2013 around 14:56 |
| # ? Jan 25, 2013 14:12 |
|
|
Ok, after episode 4 I officially love this show. Kaoru singing the original the theme song at the start was such an awesome bit of fanservice.
|
| # ? Jan 28, 2013 19:03 |
|
|
Kyusuke Is a cheater!  Was that Aya Hirano? It sounded like her when singing but I couldn't really tell after that 
|
| # ? Jan 28, 2013 20:03 |
|
|
Raenir Salazar posted:Kyusuke Is a cheater! Oh man. The next episode preview . With Muscle Okama I think that only leaves Mio and the matter conversion girl unaccounted for.
|
| # ? Jan 28, 2013 22:38 |
|
|
The omake of the most recent manga chapter ties into the anime. http://mangafox.me/manga/zettai_kar...v34/c336/2.html (Patty is a former Black Phantom agent who is now a PANDRA member. Like most former Black Phantom agents, she's an otaku; more specifically, she's an obsessive yaoi shipper.  )
Silver2195 fucked around with this message at Jan 29, 2013 around 06:02 |
| # ? Jan 29, 2013 05:59 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2013 11:20 |
|
|
Patty is also hilarious.
|
| # ? Jan 29, 2013 06:21 |
|
