Shichisei no Subaru – Anime QandA

Seven Senses Of The Re’Union – Full Season QandA Rundown

What’s the important information? Seven Senses Of The Re’Union is a Summer 2018 anime that aired 12 episodes from July through September. It is based on a light novel series by Noritake Tao.

What’s it about? Six elementary school friends are a part of ‘Subaru’ an elite gaming group in the MMORPG “Union” but when one of their friends, Asahi, dies during the game and so too in real life the game ends service and their in real life friendship is shattered. Six years later a sequel game is announced called “Re’Union” and Haruto, one of the original members of Subaru and Asashi’s closet friend logs into the game and finds Asahi alive and well in the game, unaware of any passing of time or that she died in the real world.

Why did you watch it? Like most of the shows I end up watching, all it takes is a cute girl (or in this case 3) on the poster to get me to watch the show. Also the male protagonist kind of looked like Kazuma from Konosuba and apparently that was all it takes!

Did you enjoy the show? My thoughts on this show changed as the show went on, from defending it in the first few episodes for having an engaging premise and interesting characters and setting, to the last third of the season where the show seemingly abandoned its central plot of “how is Asahi alive in the game and not in real life?” in favour of stale relationship melodrama. I’m not unhappy that I watched the show as it’s a very good-looking show with likable characters, but I’m very disappointed it so keenly gave up on offering a conclusion to its most valuable narrative asset.

It’s hard to stay mad at a face like that!

What was your favourite episode? It’s hard to pick a favourite as no one episode delivered anything substantially interesting but rather just slowly worked on the narrative (until it was later abandoned—I promise I’ll get over it!) Episode 2 “Untold Feelings” is probably the most consistent in terms of quality.

What were your most favourite things about the show? The animation is consistently excellent throughout, and while the character designs might not be as original as some shows they are still very appealing. Also what minimal action the show does have is also well made and entertaining to look at.

Wbat were your least favourite things about the show? It should be obvious by now that the lack of a proper ending and forcing a ‘happy’ non-ending was quite galling as a viewer. Maybe I should have expected it considering its based on a light novel that’s still ongoing, but it still seems like there could have been a better way to end this even without completing the narrative.

Who was your favourite character? For the longest time it was Satsuki, she’s a fuller looking girl with a good body and feisty personality. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Nozomi and her ‘bad girl’ transformation as something that was very appealing, Satsuki’s still best girl though.

I remember those problems back in the MSN days…

Thoughts on the OP (opening) and ED (ending) and the soundtrack in general? I wasn’t a massive fan of the OP—“360° Hoshi no Orchestra” by petit milady at first but it did grow on me, plus it fits well with the opening visuals. The ED, “Starlight” by Erii Yamazaki however was a little dull but still pleasant enough.

What’s something unique about this show? I spent more time thinking about this single question than I did writing the entire rest of this review. The fact that I still don’t have an answer should tell you all you need to know.

What other anime are most like it for the sake of comparison? I don’t really have any shows that offer an adequate comparison—some commenters online after the first episode aired compared it at least thematically to Anohana and Sword Art Online. I don’t know how true that actually is—especially given how the series ended up but take that if you will.

Who would you recommend it to? There’s ~just~ enough interesting material to make the journey worthwhile its just whether you can justify taking such a journey knowing that there’s not a proper ending in sight.

Sum up the season in one sentence: ‘The questions keep on building while answers remain elusive replaced instead with a sense that Asahi’s not the only thing that’s missing from this fractured reunion’.

Final score? 67 out of 100.

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

Haruto and Asahi’s High School Re’Union – Episode 1 Review
Ghost In The Machine – Episode 2 Review
Promises Beyond The Grave – Episode 3 Review
The Shape of Love – Episode 4 Review
Reviving The Past – Episode 5 Review
Easy Mode – Episode 6 Review
Unjust Desserts – Episode 7 Review
Prophets and Losses – Episode 8 Review
Under The Influence – Episode 9 Review
Bad Girls Have The Best Outfits – Episode 10 Review
Senseless Violence – Episode 11 Review
Fallen Star – Episode 12 Review

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Fallen Star – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 12 (Finale) Review

Fallen Star – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 12

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 12.

And what happens in this, the series finale? I… I’m kinda struggling to see what the point of all this was…

Oh dear, that bad, huh? No, I’d never call this series outright “bad” it’s got way too much going for it, not only on a technical level but the characters and general ~plot~ too makes it more than passable.

So then what’s got you questioning “the point” of it all then? The series began with a pretty clear and intriguing premise—bunch of elementary school kids are playing a VR MMORPG, one of them dies in the game and ends up dying in real life—something that’s not supposed to happen. Then 6 years later the one “responsible” for her death in the game re-enters its sequel and finds that the dead girl isn’t dead but rather her mind is alive in the game.

Somehow mopey Haruto is *less* obnoxious then “everything is fine” Haruto.

Yep, spare us the synopsis—anyone who’s reading this review presumably knows that much… I only reiterate it because this ending not only doesn’t answer the how of any of that it decides to add more questions on top of it, and then has the nerve to give us a 3 minute montage of all the ‘happy’ things that happened in the show and end like everything’s fine and nothing’s wrong in the world—you know aside from the fact that there’s an organisation who wants to “worship” Asahi as a goddess oh and that she’s still freaking dead in real life!

Smiles all round, but she is still *dead* remember?! Anyone? Hello?

Well you gotta have a happy ending though, right? There’s ‘have a happy ending’ then there’s ‘forget your plot and just shrug it all off’ which is exactly what this felt like. Whatever little urgency they previously had in finding out the “truth” behind Asahi’s condition is completely gone. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill forgetting about the plot to temporarily focus on something else, this is dropping it entirely and hoping the audience doesn’t remember why they started watching in the first place. This show was actually good at conveying a sense of melancholy and leaning into that could have worked with this final episode to show that even though things are happy ‘in-game’ there’s still shit to be done to figure out what happened to Asahi. But nope, here’s your happy montage, thanks for watching, idiots!

You seem mad, are you mad? I wasn’t before I started writing this review! Like I don’t regret watching any anime, even the worst, dumbest crap anime still at least allows me to have benchmarks for ‘bad anime’ to compare others too. But this was just ruined potential and an adaptation that clearly wasn’t intending to adapt what it started. I don’t know, maybe there will be a second season and then my fervent teeth gnashing here will all seem reactionary and premature but when it comes to the world of anime you have to expect each season finale to be a series finale and that there will never be a conclusion short of reading the source material.

So overall thoughts on the finale of Seven Senses of the Re’Union? You’ll notice if you read my reviews back (or just remember them well enough) that my enthusiasm diminishes with each passing episode. It’s easy to say that this was the worst episode of the series and even if the show is given another season I still think that stands. It wasn’t satisfying, it asked more questions than it answered, it was unintentionally funny when it was trying to be serious and it was eye-rolling when trying to be sincere. There’s a scene half-way through the episode that perfectly encapsulates my feelings of the show, a villain is defeated, we cut to him in the real world in front of his computer and he simply turns it off without as much as a second thought. It’s unfortunate that we weren’t afforded any significant answers for the main plot but that’s just how things are sometimes.

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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Senseless Violence – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 11 Review

Senseless Violence – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 11

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 11.

So what happens in this the second-to-last episode of the series? You know, it’s never a good sign when I read that question I sit for a good five minutes wondering what did actually happen…

Oh boy. And it’s not that anything bad happened, oh no, then at least I’d have something to talk about but I just feel like there was so little point to the previous three episodes which had been something of a mini-arc for bringing Nozomi back into Subaru and almost all of it could have been resolved with people just talking to each other and not acting all melodramatic. But it’s not even the good type of melodrama, I mean sure there was some decent visually interesting stuff with Nozomi going evil (mostly the costume if I’m honest) but everything else was at a disservice to the real plot of the show.

Oh and her costume got *more* ridiculous from the previous episode.

And is there any of that “plot” that you keep wanting to come back into focus? A little bit—like right at the start in the ‘real world’ Haruto, Satsuki and Takanori meet a member of Gnosis who can use the “senses” from the game in real life and does so by fluctuating the flow of time. And it’s probably more interesting than the rest of the episode but takes up all of two minutes before the opening credits then the rest of the show is Nozomi being evil and emo about how the boy she likes doesn’t like her back.

A.k.a the girl I *really* like rejected me so you’ll do.

I thought you said you were going to stop complaining about the ‘romance’ aspect of the show? Did I? I don’t remember that and as I’ve said multiple times I don’t have a problem with the way the romance aspect is handled, these are kids dealing with messy feelings of course it’s going to be dumb and melodramatic but this isn’t the show I thought I was getting into based on the first few episodes. We didn’t need three episodes dedicated to Nozomi’s ~struggles~ with her feelings for Takanori. Just like we didn’t need however many multiple were spent on Satsuki’s feelings for Haruto and Takanori’s feelings for Asahi. Condense it down and spend an equal amount of time on the actually interesting parts, even if it had been 50/50 that would have been an improvement, whereas it’s been more like 75/25 in favour of the romance stuff for more than half the season.

If I do my math right that means it has in-fact been 50/50, it’s just the earlier episodes were more plot heavy whereas the later ones were more romance? Such are the perils of watching week-to-week I suppose. But seeing as how we’re at the penultimate episode of the series and we spend 15+ minutes on making Nozomi feel better about how Takanori didn’t notice her when they were elementary school aged it just feels like it’s poorly dispersed. If this had happened around episode 9 and been confined to one maybe two episodes it would have been so much better!

There you go again, pretending like you know how to make an anime better than a bunch of qualified professionals… I never said I was an expert, I was just giving my suggestions, damn it!

Fine fine, so anything else you wanted to add? Not really, the episode ends on a cliff-hanger with Haruto being shot by a partially brainwashed Asahi and I’m guessing some sort of time travel shenanigans will quickly retcon this next time. But here’s hoping the next episode can deliver a satisfying conclusion of sorts and if not, well, at least the girls in this show were pretty to look at?

Is Haruto dead? Find out next time! If you can still be bothered…

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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Bad Girls Have The Best Outfits – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 10 Review

Bad Girls Have The Best Outfits – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 10

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 10.

So what happens in this episode? You know, I actually had to think for a moment ‘what ~did~ happen in this week’s episode?’ and it took me a while before I remembered.

All that drinking affecting your memory, eh? Ha-ha. No, it’s just despite all that’s going on in this show there’s also so little forward plot momentum that I wonder if the people responsible for this adaptation are going to even bother having a satisfying conclusion—because at this point, I don’t see it being possible!

That bad, huh? It wasn’t even that terrible of an episode—this show is if nothing else pretty consistently ~okay~ which I know doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement but on the technical side it’s always top-notch and in today’s crowded and hurried anime world that’s become something of a rare thing. But the plot is so meandering I wonder if time wouldn’t be better spent setting up the end-game. Of course given that this is based on an ongoing light novel series it could be that the end game is as far of as it feels and we shouldn’t be expecting a conclusion at all!

You can do so much better Satsuki, forget about Haruto!

Would you be upset about that? Eh… I mean, I wouldn’t say it’d ruin the show.

So then why all the complaining about it? It’s just the lack of forward plot development is hampering my enjoyment of the series—which admittedly has ebbed throughout—besides, like I commented last week the relationship stuff, which took a front-seat last episode still seems to be the focus in this week’s episode and I kinda couldn’t care less…

Why? Don’t you care about these characters? I do, and I’m not going to be one of those people who complains about “why are these characters acting so immature about relationships”, I’m not that blind to realise that 16-year-old’s are ~terrible~ at relationships, especially ones that are being resumed from when they were 11 years old. Their feelings are complicated and dumb and messy but likewise, not at all interesting. What is interesting is the central idea that sold me on the show in the first place, a girl who’s dead in real life but alive in a video game. But if we’re going off the last two episodes it’s almost like they forgot that is even a priority!

I could ask what happens but I feel like that’s kind of pointless at this stage. Oh I can tell you. Haruto and Satsuki are working through their awkward feelings for each other after Haruto chose Asahi over her. Meanwhile, following on from last-week Nozomi has disappeared, with the help of Clive’s cyber-sleuthing they find her in-game character is in a sky castle and so they go to see what’s happened. Inside they find that Nozomi has gone dark-side after having her feelings hurt by seeing her crush Takanori dancing with Satsuki at the Ball. Nozomi’s joined forces with the evil faction Gnosis and as ‘revenge’ Nozomi puts a curse on Asahi.

‘Kay… I loved Nozomi’s ‘bad girl’ outfit, she’s sexy as heck.

Glad you got something out of this episode—man this review kinda just died didn’t it? It’s hard to talk about something that’s not actually bad, but isn’t that interesting either. It’s competently mediocre with dashes of interest thrown in, I don’t know—it’s something to pass the time I suppose but ultimately, as things are now, it’s pretty damn forgettable.

Except Nozomi, nothing forgettable about her! Shame she’ll probably end up reverting to her boring self at the end of next episode…

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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Under The Influence – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 9 Review

Under The Influence – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 9

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 9.

So what happens in this episode? See, this is why I don’t like romance anime!

Sorry, what? I mean when I started watching this show I didn’t even realise it was one, let alone how big a factor it would play in the overall narrative—I might not have even watched it had I knew!

I take it something has happened that you don’t agree with? I may or may not have mentioned that I generally don’t watch romance anime because I don’t find the genre as interesting as others—a more accurate reason is that if there’s a male protagonist and if there’s multiple girls vying for his heart, he’ll always pick the wrong one! (In my opinion, of course.)

And what do you mean by “the wrong one”? Well the one who isn’t my best girl of course! Duh!

Right and so how and why does this transpire in this show and in this episode? Well, it’s a sort of in-between the action type episode and there’s a dance going to be held in the video game ‘Re’Union’ and apparently this is the moment where romances are solidified or nullified, this is the time for confessions to be made and feelings to be bared. And of course best girl Satsuki gets up the bravery to confess her long-held feelings for Haruto only for him to chose Asahi instead and it’s like Re:Zero all over again! Why are the protagonists in these shows always going for the boring blonde haired girls over the much more interesting other girls! I blame Hollywood’s influence over the anime industry!

dl4uc0jw4aifp56 — I think you’ve had too much to drink if you’re that committed to the beer, oh you mean the *girl* named Asahi…

Of course you do. Now, are you actually made about this or is it just like your Re:Zero review and you’re intentionally blowing it out of the water for comedic effect? Shhh. But yes, while I would have liked for Satsuki to be happy I don’t really care enough to be invested in any of the relationships in this show. It’s not that the show is bad at writing characters for me to be invested in, it’s that the show doesn’t pace itself well enough for me to form a connection with anything other than the superficial—and when it does delve deeper it’s often too late. Also we’re introduced to a “new” character.

dl5yigaw4aagcar — Anyone else getting an Emma Watson vibe from Satsuki? Maybe *that*‘s why i like her so much…

Sprung that on me late, who are they? It’s Nozomi, the sixth member of Subaru and she’s super cute! Though personally I preferred her look back in the day what with the glasses and shy personality and all! Funnily enough I feel like the show is doing a better job at establishing the one-sided romantic connection between Nozomi and Takanori than it did any of the others respective romantic connections. The little flashback to their elementary school days spoke volumes in such a short span of time. But alas, things aren’t that simple…

dl3ymaiu0aalsyl — Nozomi is pretty cute!

What happens? Well Nozomi, after much convincing and reminiscing finally logs back into Re’Union—only to arrive at the dance to see Takanori dancing with Satsuki (they’re at the dance as friends, nursing each other’s broken hearts) but of course she misconstrues this and storms out of the dance only to be kidnapped by a busty woman and a creepy clown. Or rather more accurately, Gnosis—the evil guild who wants Asahi’s prophet art power for themselves!

I see… Hey, at least the plot is going again and we can hopefully forget about the whole ‘romance’ subplots for a little bit!

So, a final opinion on this episode? It’s well made as all the episodes have been but I don’t know, I just didn’t care about a lot what happened in this episode. Worst of all Takanori who’s been pining over Asahi and likewise Satsuki who has been likewise for Haruto both have their hearts broken by their respective interests and yet kinda just shrug it off? While it certainly helps to move the story forward I don’t think it rings true—rather it seemed like an opportunity to get two spurned lovers “together” to hasten the Nozomi subplot which will undoubtedly drive the rest of the season. And expediting the plot is fine and all but if it’s at the expense of believable character reactions then I wonder why so much was crammed into so little when previous episodes could have accommodated a better paced ‘grieving period’ for each respective lost relationship. Ah well, whatever, it’s still a decent show—just lacking the sheen it once had…

dl3tc1nucaanpjf — You can put all the damn sparkles you want on the screen I’m still not going to root for Asahi and Haruto!

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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Prophets and Losses – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 8 Review

Prophets and Losses – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 8

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 8.

So what happens in this episode? If I recall last week ended on pretty dramatic cliffhanger?! Indeed, last episode ended with Haruto being stabbed in the back by ol’ mate Clive—this episode opens with Haruto waking up in a hospital in the real world, Asahi walks in and tells him he’s been in a coma for the last 6 years! What a twist!

If the protagonist says it I can’t complain about it in a review, right? That’s how this works?

Really?! No not really, while that does ~appear~ to happen, Haruto isn’t buying it and sure enough mysterious loli Elicia shows up to give Haruto a giant exposition dump! What’s actually happening is that the ‘Senses’ (the unique powers some people have in the game) can be used in real life and that’s what’s happened here. When Asahi was so upset that she thought Haruto had died in ‘Re’Union’ she used her ‘Prophet Art’ Sense to change to an alternate universe in order to keep them together (because in this alternate universe she didn’t die in real life 6 years ago after dying in the game, Haruto was the one who died in the game but went into a coma instead). Do you follow me?

Eh, kind of, but not really. I hardly follow you at the best of times if I’m honest… That’s fine, this world doesn’t really matter as after a few minutes things are as if Haruto was never stabbed in the back by Clive and the big fight on the frozen sea continues!

Wait, so Haruto wasn’t stabbed in the back by Clive? The ‘Prophet Art’ negated it somehow so I guess that means the game isn’t permadeath anymore as long as Asahi is nearby? But it’s not really about that right now because the group realises that this ‘Clive’ isn’t the real Clive but rather a shape shifter pretending to be Clive and so the battle continues. The group seems to be doing pretty poorly against this over-powered villain, they’re on the ropes, that is until the real Clive shows up—having disguised himself this whole time as the busty Pirate woman from last episode!

*This* Clive touches his chin, that must mean he’s the *real* one!

My head hurts. So with the real Clive on hand they beat the imposter (who works for Gnosis—an evil group after Asahi’s ‘Prophet Art’ Sense) and with the help of his friends Haruto retrieves his legendary sword!

Right… so uh, let me ask you this question real quick, is this any good anymore? You didn’t let me get to the best part. The real Clive brings with him a piece of the red stone that restores memories and we get yet another titbit about where Asahi has been the past 6 years, turns out Elicia tried (and succeeded?) to rescue Asahi from her captors but I’m not sure if this is the real world or ‘Re’Union’ and gosh, I swear this show used to be easy to understand!

Having troubles? I think the biggest problem I have with this show is that it’s needlessly complicated—like it thinks in order to be a smart and sophisticated show it needs to have twists and turns and slow reveals and shock betrayals and yes, while all those things are interesting in the moment, unless they’re carefully considered and intrinsic to the arc—then they don’t ~actually~ matter! Like the stuff at the start of the episode with Haruto waking up in hospital that stuff was brilliant had me right there with them, eager to see what the heck was going on! But the pay-off, returning to ‘Re’Union’ within 10 minutes, and more or less continuing as if it didn’t happen. Poor form, anime, poor form…

That’s right Asahi, you shoot that snake in the mouth! Not the other way round!

But overall? Overall I like this episode more than I have liked an episode of this show for a while, talking about alternate realities and game powers working in real life—that shit is interesting! But the action-y stuff back in the game, while competent and kinetic, still doesn’t really hold a candle to whatever is happening outside the game. I hope this show can strike a balance, because at the moment it seems far too invested in the stuff in-game, to make the more interesting stuff in the real world feel to matter.

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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Unjust Desserts – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 7 Review

Unjust Desserts – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 7

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 7.

So how is this week’s episode? Man… sometimes writing a review comes easy and sometimes it’s like squeezing blood from a stone—and I tell you this one was a hard one and not for any particular reason either, it’s not a bad episode, it’s actually pretty good—but it’s also kind of just there. While there is some forward plot momentum and a ~little~ bit of character development it’s also clear we’re stretching things out a little—at least in my opinion.

At first I thought it was a beach episode, but the scene lasted like 30 seconds… #feelsbadman

Well what does happen then, maybe start from there and you might organically find something to talk about? Okay, so Haruto, Satsuki and Asahi decide to look for treasure—a place ‘imaginatively’ titled “The Lost Pentagon”—(this anime’s take on the Bermuda Triangle I guess) where they hope to find a rare treasure but it’s not so simple as many players have lost their lives trying to claim it! They charter a ship from a busty pirate woman named Alwida and dive to the bottom of the ocean where Haruto (eventually) finds the treasure—and it’s a sword—but not just any sword it’s his main sword from back when they all played ‘Union’ but collecting it won’t be easy as it’s embedded in the back of a giant sea dragon called Aegir. Things are looking dire for the crew until Clive—their friend and colleague from Subaru back in the day shows up!

Well that seems like a decent amount of story then— That’s only like half the episode…

Oh, I see… what else happens then? Well we get a sizeable scene in the ‘real world’ which I absolutely appreciated—not only did it have a bit of comic relief but also made Takanori a little bit more relatable—as we find out he’s been looking for the other members of Subaru too. And yes, Nozomi has been located—she’s returned to their hometown. But there’s no time for a reunion (pun intended) yet, as we have to pop back into the game to have ~another~ attempt at retrieving Haruto’s epic sword—this time with Clive properly helping them out by lending them his powers that allow the heroes to fight more efficiently underwater. After a genuinely interesting battle they defeat the sea dragon and Haruto retrieves his sword only to be stabbed in the back—literally—by Clive!

That traitor! Indeed and that’s where the episode ends, on a pretty impressive cliffhanger. I mean this is some high-stakes stuff here, if Haruto dies in the game presumably he’ll never be able to return to Re’Union and not be able to help Asahi any more. And while I personally don’t think the show is that brave to do something like that this early (I mean episode 7 is hardly early, but it would be a pretty big deal if Haruto couldn’t log back in), it does make for a riveting place to end an episode.

Anything else you wanted to add? I’ve said it before but irl Satsuki is the best—her ordering four desserts when they’re out at lunch at Takanori’s father’s hotel was an unexpected highlight. But more than that this show continues to just be a really good and entertaining experience. There’s the promise of something deeper and darker and more nefarious what with the whole “maybe Asahi’s body is still alive in the real world” idea that Takanori briefly brings up but it still seems like that’s a little ways off from being fully explored. I can absolutely understand people being impatient with this series as it’s more or less only got one major reveal and it’s going to take all season to get there, but I think Asahi and Satsuki as characters—not to mention the consistently excellent visuals—more than make up for any deficiencies in plot and pacing.

Don’t get between a girl and her desserts!

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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Easy Mode – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 6 Review

Easy Mode – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 6

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 6.

The previous episode ended on a cliffhanger with our protagonist having to face off against thousands of other players all by himself. He gets slaughtered right? Logic would presume so, but no he defeats them all, he does have some help from Satsuki and Takanori but even so it’d pretty unrealistic but at the same time, who cares?

What do you mean by that? Well I don’t know—you kind of have to take for granted the fact that our protagonists, at least where they are in the narrative, are pretty invincible right now because of the nature of this type of story. It’s not trying to tell a story about how this group of fighters defeated a literal army. It’s telling the more personal story of this once unified group, disbanded by tragedy and time—coming back together—slowly I might add.

You thought it’d be quicker? In hindsight, no, it makes total sense that this reunion in ‘Re’Union’ is going to take most—if not all season. But it kinda feels like it’s dragging its feet a little toward the inevitable resuming of the elite squad known as “Subaru” and I guess in that respect it feels slow.

So perfect for a video game! Wait, what?

So does the action feel inconsequential to the story? Yes and no. It feels inconsequential in that the conclusion is undoubtedly going to be in favour of our heroes because otherwise there is no story—they literally can’t die otherwise they’ll be logged out of the game forever and if that happens then they can’t contact Asahi, so we know they can’t be killed. ~However~ the action in this episode is legitimately compelling and well put together so that’s points in favour of spending so much time on the battle between our heroes and the guild leaders of ‘Divine’.

Anything else you wanted to add to this review? Satsuki has a nice sort of arc in this episode, so she’s going to be less of a raging jealous crazy person from here on out—also she has a really cool moment where she straight up incinerates one of the guild leaders, who had already surrendered. Not only is it a badass moment but it also means he’s not going to lamely recur like so often happens in anime where the heroes let the bad guy go. Also we get a look at one of the ‘missing’ Subaru team members, Clive, who’s been watching over the battle with Elicia—the mysterious loli.

So you’re still on board with this show, despite its errant predictability? More or less, it’d be silly to drop it now anyway even if I was getting tired of the predictability. Besides, ‘fixing’ Satsuki is going to go a long ways to making this show more enjoyable as she is kinda my best girl—at least superficially speaking. The tease about where Asahi has ‘been’ the previous six-years, what with flashes of doctors and talks of “failed experiments” proves interesting but I think it’ll be a while before we get any concrete answers to those questions. Either way I’m happy to follow this show wherever it decides to take me, just hoping its not a road too well travelled.

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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Reviving The Past – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 5 Review

Reviving The Past – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 5

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 5.

So what happens in this episode? I feel like the biggest problem this series has is that it doesn’t nearly need to be as long as it is, it’s a serious detriment to the overall enjoyment of this show.

…Okay, I didn’t really ask that but sure, what’s got you thinking that? Well that I was kind of bored through a lot of this episode and not because they show is inherently boring or that there’s a lack of interesting ideas but rather that they’re spread thin across far too long of a run-time to the point where I feel like I’m just watching the same conversations cycle in between the actual plot progression!

That’s nice and all except you’re totally a creepy stalker…

Uh-huh, so not a good episode then? Quite the contrary, dare I say that a lot of the complaints I had about Satsuki in the previous episode were actively addressed and all but explained in adequate detail, not only that but the story progresses in a way that feels substantial not only to our protagonists but also our ‘temporary’ antagonist Takanori—as he comes so close to attaining Asahi for himself, only to be betrayed by the other Guild’s which he’d only recently become tenuously aligned.

I’m still waiting to see what’s so wrong with this show? I said already, didn’t I? Despite everything that’s good about this show it feels like we have to wade through a lot of double-talk and I… uh… okay, you want me to be honest about what bothers be about this show?

Of course, that’s the point isn’t it? True. But see here’s the thing… it feels like if Asahi was in any way unlikeable or even in any way ~human~ that she’d be easy to leave behind, to forget, but she’s akin to that ‘manic pixie dream girl’ cliché that draws in every male character regardless of their better judgment…

Don’t imprison your crushes in 20 sided roofie dice.

That seems kinda harsh… Nostalgia’s a funny thing, it clouds our better judgement, it makes things seem better than they actually were—at worst it makes us pine for things that weren’t actually there but were figments of our younger minds. Asahi fits that descriptor, yes her mind may very well be in tact within this game—but she exists as an after image, encapsulating everything that was ‘good’ and ‘light’ and ‘wholesome’ about a specific time period without all the ~reality~ that comes afterward. That so many people are fighting after her is a testament to the staying power and encouraging potential of nostalgia as an ideal.

So… is this a good episode or not? I’m kinda lost, despite all your grand prognosticating… I mean it’s ~fine~, it’s more or less the same as what’s come before—I don’t expect anything revelatory from this series and likewise I don’t receive it. Worst case scenario is I get something dull and repetitive, best case scenario some substantial character development and forward plot momentum. This episode is both… and neither, I don’t really know what it is but either way onward to next week (where a big battle is promised—who knows if it’ll actually be worth the wait)!

1 v 3000, coming up next week! Unless the show cops out and has Haruto avoiding it somehow!

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

Haruto and Asahi’s High School Re’Union – Episode 1 Review
Ghost In The Machine – Episode 2 Review
Promises Beyond The Grave – Episode 3 Review
The Shape of Love – Episode 4 Review

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