If your best friend is simply way too naive, so much so that it may cost his or her life, what would you do?
Yeah, it’s true. Maybe you should let it go. Let him or her suffer the consequences. After all, it’s not your life.
But it’s life or death. It is really life or death. You plead and you beg, but her weakness remains. With such a heavy load – a mission to save the entire country – on her shoulders, it’s simply unforgivable.
Shizuka gives up her life and let Tomoe kill her in battle. In older days, sometimes, only the death of one’s closest friend or family member can help one understand the seriousness of it.
The first time I heard Shizuka’s monologue, it was so painful, so painful. It really sounded like Nabame (the seiyuu behind Shizuka) was saying it from her heart. Knowing the fact that there is yuri love going on with Nabame and Ma-chan (Tomoe’s seiyuu), it makes everything so much more poignant.
Yeah, I know. It’s just a show. But for some people, it may be just as painful to see. Maybe there are people out there who asked and begged their best friends to stop dating that person; to stop getting wasted every night; to stop doing whatever the activities or to simply shape up, and fall into utter despair when the best friends do it again and again and again, and just can’t stop…
Moving away from serious stuff. Nanael and Airi have become pure comedic reliefs. Airi really, really likes her shota – hey, she’s found someone to keep her company and to make her feel good, that twin-tailed tsundere ghoul. All the more power to her. It’s so funny and somehow so touching to watch Airi and Lana interact. It’s just awesome to see tsunderes breakdown and turn from tsun to dere. Blushing, going naked from moment to moment dere. Superb.
There is a real human side to every one of these sometimes helplessly naked female warriors. But in a fierce fight, clothing do get torn off. Ah, I digress. It’s surprising how the amount of motivations and characteristics each warrior has.
All the naked boobs are just icing on the cake now. I can’t believe how much substance the writers behind this show pumped into it!
Yeah, I know. It’s just Queen’s Blade and it can’t be taken seriously. Then don’t read any further and thanks for reading this far.
Additional thoughts: All these time, when Shizuka travels with Tomoe, and falling deeper and deeper in love with her, and yet seeing her remain too weak-minded and too believing. It just hurts so much to see. Tomoe has some kind of faith in the goodness in people in general and she treats everyone with strong courtesy. Even with the camel-toe (more like balls, in this episode!) priestess, she took her rather lightly. But the world isn’t pure and things aren’t pretty. It just doesn’t pay to believe that people can be good after all. If Tomoe continues her way, she’d lose the game, and even her life because no one else will be as naive (save Reina) as her in a duel and death will certainly be the result. Shizuka loves her so much so that she feel that there was no other way. It’s just so sad to hear that monologue and I think Nabame really performed well. But I could hear the growth in voice acting skills in Ma-chan, who really is a naive and sweet person in real life and cares about environmental issues and all. She’s a really forgiving person from all the information I found on the net. As her best friend, Nabame must feel that Ma-chan must get out of that naivete.
“I can’t believe I’d love someone so much…I really couldn’t predict that.”
“The life that you gave me that day, I now return it. With it I cut off your (only) weakness…(in return) I only wish you live a long life…”
…It’s the substance that old warrior stories in the East are made of.
Umm
deep・・・you seem to know quite a lot about this anime
It ‘s Light Nobel I often see in book store.
@ こなちゃん – Thanks for commenting! You know this anime is rather interesting and well done even with all the fan service. I don’t really know that much but I still love it!
I need to see this episode. I hope I will be able to find it somewhere now that QB is going to get a US release. Kinda bummed by reading this post though! Shizuka was my favorite character… 🙁
@ Dcbebop – finding it should not be a problem…:)
It is a strongly dramatic moment (for lacking a better term) that is surprisingly effective but owes all its due to the voice actresses behind characters. With so many characters and stories to juggle, it’s amazing how they made it work.
Nabatame Hitomi is around 30 years of age, and in my past experience, that’s when female seiyuus get from good to great, great to superior. But sadly, that’s also when they are placed in mostly secondary or even tetriary roles due to age. There are exceptions but it is generally the case.
Ok, I have now seen the episode. I dunno… I think they could have got that point across without killing her. Tomoe could have realized or learned her lesson before killing her friend.
I dunno, maybe I am just sad my fav character died.
@ Dcbebop – but that’s what dramas are made of. Of course they could just sit down and talk it out, but the fact is that Tomoe’s character is too gentle most of the time that it’s detrimental to her mission.
I’m just so impressed and glad to her Nabame’s voice acting. Her role parallels that of the samurai in the past; when their lords simply didn’t know any better, what could they do? Rebuke them? Not in Japanese culture. so out of purest form of loyalty, they die to demonstrate a point. That said, with a show like this, this is the point where it becomes good.
But I refuse to believe it! >_<
Cuz if she died from getting beat up a little then she shoulda been dead a long time ago. =\
>_>
@ Jubbz -long live Shizuka!
Personally, I felt the battle looked as devastating as it could be, and with the atmosphere and that poignant speech, it’d be anti-dramatic if she lives. But hey, if enough fans want her back, you never know.
Our own Dcbebop felt that she didn’t have to die, as well.
(in unison) Shizuka (Shizuma) sama, banzai!
Shizuka’s also a ninja.
She could come back with some sort of ninja h4x.
<_<
@ Jubbz – Come on! That’d ruin the moment! XD
Let’s see if that becomes true or not.
Bah, it wasn’t that good of a moment anyway.
Who’d wanna sacrifice their life just to make someone like Tomoe break her weakness? <_<