You know, this Crown Game has been going on for a while now. Almost three weeks and yet I am still enjoying it. Well I was. I mean it’s over now. But t was a fun ride and congratulations to the production team for keeping up the tension and interest for so long. I read just about up to this point in the webcomic and they really did a fantastic adaptation here. They fleshed out these chapters so much and edited them perfectly for anime without departing from the original story.
Speaking of webtoon readers…Â smooooth segue. I don’t usually mind spoilers but readers of th webtoon have been telegraphing the Rachel turn so hard ever since episode 1 that it has made the character a bit less fun for me. So far, Rachel seems like a fairly selfish and manipulative girl. Like just about every other character in this story with the possible exception of Bam. But since her presentation and design is associated with specific presumptions and ropes, selfish acts that would be par for the course for 90% of characters will probably seem crueler coming from her and the audience will react more viscerally. At least that’s the picture we’ve been given of her since episode 1.
And I am fine with this simple trope subversion. I’ve been cheering it on and would have been thrilled by just that. As long as they don’t turn her into an actual antagonist, an apparent damsel trope with frankly unlikable traits is a rarely used archetype and I think it has a lot of potential.
But after weeks of having all sorts of people hinting about Rachel, wait till you see Rachel, the fans are going to go nuts about Rachel... well she better rip open the main characters with her bare hands and start eating their entrails before declaring that they’re too bland and throwing them away in a not environmentally friendly manner. Or she’s actually a slightly older Sailor Venus and this is the first series in the Magical Girl Extended Universe (the MGEU), with shows of varying francises weaving everything together, scheduled well through 2035! At this point, anything less would be a let down!
I was kidding but now I really want a Magical Girl Extended Universe. Or at least a crossover….
Oh yeah…the episode… I’m going to say what happened in it now:
Bam and company managed to hold off the next wave of assailants through some very well planned trickery on Khun’s part. I actually really liked that ace up his sleeve. It was smart and functional. But in the last round some unexpectedly strong opponents showed up. It seems that Rachel’s team weren’t going for the crown (which makes the can we kill them all comment from last week sort uselessly inflammatory fake cliffhanger) although we have no clue why. Alin ninja girl up there does manage to break through and alost injure Rachel but of course that’s when Bam coes to her rescue and explodes? Like literally. Fortunately his hot sword lady friend cams hm way down before he can do something he regrets and next thing you know, Bam is waking up in a hospital bed and the game is void.
Some of my favourite moments were seeing Kun pull out the bleu handkerchief and tie his hair with it. I do not know why I like that so much but I do! And hearing Rak call his bag, a bag of infinite chocolate. I want to say great minds think alike but it’s more like the opposite. Slow minds end up n the same place? The innocent state the obvious? Yeah, that sounds better.
Although it was just fo a few seconds, Yuri’s scene really caught my eye. Or rather her party. We had already met her long suffering dwarf guide Evan and the two had an amusing odd couple dynamic going on. But now it seems they’ve acquired a gant and a cool teenager as sidekicks. And although I really can’t say much about this whole party, they just looked like a lot of fun. I hope we get a Yurri episode soon.
Are you guys enjoying the series still? I am. I really look forward to the next episode. Do you also want to see more of Yuri & co?
“Although it was just fo a few seconds, Yuri’s scene really caught my eye. Or rather her party. ”
I thought you had it right the first time! It’s not just that she’s do darned attractive. She has a ton of personality that makes it hard to look away from her.
Kidding aside, Evan’s a very interesting character, too. And who was that giant? It seems like ever scene in this show makes me want to know more, in a good way.
“Are you guys enjoying the series still? … Do you also want to see more of Yuri & co?”
Yes and yes! I’ve managed to not read most of the posts/tweets from the folks who have already read the Webtoon. It’s hard, but I think it’s worth it.
It’s one of those stores that’s fun to gradually uncover isn’t it!
Yuri’s party looks fun. I like Evan; he does the resigned-suffering-normie-in-a-world-of-weirdos pretty well.
And Khun looked pretty good with a ponytail.
Also some interesting behind-the-scenes politicking.
The potential in this one is palpable. I hope they don’t get lost along the way