hontou ni
2Dec/0915

Kampfer 09

Your entrails awaken my inner youma.

Your entrails awaken my inner youma.



Summary:

Natsuru x Akane's date at the water team park is gatecrashed by the Shizuku x Mikoto Conspiracy. And Sakura who has been lured with the promise of Natsuru Girl-Type. There's plenty of bikini fan service (though the art/animation quality is very uneven) and antics. Even as harem hijinks ensue, Natsuru notices Sakura's ominous sideway glance towards some friends but has been hurried by Shizuku to change into Girl Type.

Sakura's steamy swimming lesson with Natsuru is interrupted by Akane. While stuck between two soft and bouncy places, she is rescued by Shizuku but is soon attacked and cornered by White Kampfer trio of tsundere sworduser Sayaka Nakao, shy Uzi-packing Ryouka Yamakawa, Zauber user Hitomi Minagawa who are all team members with Rika Ueda. It's a set up by the Moderators to get Blue and Red to play according to plan. Although the tables are turned with the arrival of Akane and Shizuku, the latter who had planned this trap and used Natsuru as bait, White Team manages to escape with a simple lighting trick. Shizuku had left Mikoto behind more as an observer, rather than a bodyguard, for Sakura.

After wringing the Entrails Animals (who have not heard from the Moderators in a while) and hanging them out to dry, the gang are waiting for the fireworks when the metaphorical fireworks erupt with more pressure from the Natsuru Male Type x Shizuku front and the revelation about their previous kisses, leading to the third right in front of everyone. When Shizuku acknowledges that it's unrequited love, Sakura says she can completely understand and then Natsuru out of the room and seductively leads, complete with Bible Black eyes, him away in a trance-like state.

Reaction:

Natsuru quickly shows that while girls find it annoying to be leered at, it's much much worse when it isn't them who is being leered at. I also loved differing reactions to Girl Type and how Sakura unwittingly delivered a KO to Natsuru who should just give in and date/sleep with Sakura in girl form already. I was also LOL at Natsuru's moment of panic (partly triggered by Kampfer Akane's foulmouthed word choice) when she thought that Akane had shot his penis off and their subsequent argument.

I can also report that I have finally given in and accepted Shizuku as BEST GIRL. What got me wasn't the third kiss per se but the crucial 30 seconds showcasing her keen awareness that Natsuru is still fixated on Sakura, her assessment that this is the most viable way to create progress and then implementing her plan with energy and verve. And this is so even with Bible Black Eyes Sakura powering up considerably in terms of power and interestingness.

What Others Are Saying:

  • Author expresses his appreciation of Shizuku's charm rather differently and Ep 9 was great not just for what the furious gear turning produced but also that succinct explanation of gearing process.
  • Of course the big question from this episode is: "How much of Bible Black Eyes Sakura is the real Sakura?" Those tending towards Yes, like Steve and Aizen, also seem to have react unfavourably to Sakura hereon. Or as divine puts it so well, Sakura is "now the antagonist of the series, which should make all her haters out there happy." I'm personally more with Rozza C in assuming that Sakura is being controlled though not all the time and more via manipulative suggestion than robotic mind control.

Anyhow the Really Big Question for me is: Without Moderator influence, would Sakura still prefer Natsuru Girl Type??

Related posts:

  1. Kampfer 10
  2. Kampfer 07
  3. Kampfer 08

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Comments (15) Trackbacks (1)
  1. Rozza C
    December 2nd, 2009 - 20:47

    Hey! Thanks for the mention in your blog!! ^_^ <3

    The best thing I could think of at the time of writing was "mind control" when I was talking about that…

    I still believe that it is mind control to some degree, however you are right when you say it only kicks in periodically.

    But it's not literally someone behind forcing Sakura pulling her strings, as if she's a puppet.

    Just thought I'd clear that up.

    Thanks again for the mention! ^_^

    ( REPLY )
  2. Kabitzin
    December 2nd, 2009 - 22:50

    Your entrails awaken my inner youma.

    LOL that is so awesome! Don’t do it, though, it makes the face ugly!

    ( REPLY )
    • Mentar
      December 2nd, 2009 - 23:07

      Oh, I wasn’t aware that you’re on the show too. Back then I was planning to plug Kämpfer on your next monthly ratings post (you might remember that I had Kämpfer as my “black horse guilty pleasure” before it started airing), but somehow THE REVIEW WAS MISSING! Bad Kabitzin ;)

      So what do YOU think about the show?

      ( REPLY )
      • Kabitzin
        December 3rd, 2009 - 08:26

        It’s not bad, and yeah I haven’t been doing monthly rating posts this season because I haven’t watched enough series to make a top 5 list T__T. Hopefully once my kid starts sleeping regularly and what not, I will have enough time to go back to my usual anime load.

    • Zyl
      December 3rd, 2009 - 08:41

      Don’t do it, though, it makes the face ugly!

      That’s why we all love Galatea.

      ( REPLY )
  3. Mentar
    December 2nd, 2009 - 23:05

    Muarharhar ^_^

    Feels like having successfully managed to convince someone to change his vote during his election. ZE POWAH RUSH! Seriously though, welcome to the Shizuku boat, take a seat, but quickly, the ranks are filling up!

    To be honest, I’m not even sure that it was some kind of planned thing in order to evoke any reactions from Kaede. Look at her partly amused, partly pitying and partly wistful smile at Natsuru squirming to Kaede’s “I wished the female Natsuru was here” stab right before she decided to go for it. She wasn’t looking at anyone else, she was looking at _him_. I think offering the indirect kiss was a gesture to _him_ first and foremost, sending the message “Kaede might not love you, but I do”. However, when chaos erupted, she was just improvising and playing it by the ear, _after_ he dissed her (gg’s translation was a bit sketchy here, he used “warui” on her, which marks Shizuku’s efforts as really unpleasant). That was when she first angrily made a face for a second, and then smoothly switched into sweet smiling revenge mode. THEN she buried him by skillfully shaping her answers to be perfectly truthful, yet causing max damage on his end towards Mikoto/Akane.

    (I’m pretty sure it was not aimed at Kaede. Shizuku doesn’t know of “Inner” Kaede yet, she only has suspicions so far)

    About your main question: It’s hard to tell. There is one tidbit from the novels which might be relevant: We know for a fact that Kaede can manipulate memories of people too. In one chapter Natsuru asked Shizuku whether she has met Kaede’s parents so far, and Shizuku hesitated for a second before she admitted that she didn’t know for sure (to which Natsuru answered incredulously that he could barely believe that SHE of all people couldn’t answer this with authority). In general, Natsuru realizes that his emotions are affected when he’s close to Kaede. My call: It might very well be caused or at least significantly amplified by mind messing.

    One final question: Where do you find the cross-links to other blogs? I’d really love to know!

    ( REPLY )
    • Rozza C
      December 3rd, 2009 - 01:10

      It’s obvious that Shizuku actually does has feelings for Natsuru. I don’t think anyone can deny that. I have to admit that at first, I thought that Shizuku was just messing with Natsuru, but after watching episode 8, I thought that she does actually have feelings for him.

      Episode 9, however, was just Shizuku doing what she does best: causing trouble! Which I think was great! At the end of the day, it’s just one big tug of war between Shizuku, Akane and Mikoto and Shizuku seems to be the only one “bold” (using Kaede’s words here) enough to make her intentions and feelings known to everyone else.

      I haven’t actually looked into the manga or light novels so I didn’t know that Kaede has some kind of special ability. But I guess that will be addressed at some point in the anime….at least I hope it is.

      ( REPLY )
    • Zyl
      December 3rd, 2009 - 08:55

      Where do you find the cross-links to other blogs?

      You mean the links in the WOAS section? I sampled the Kampfer entries aggregated in AnimeNano.

      ( REPLY )
  4. Nazarielle
    December 3rd, 2009 - 02:22

    I have finally given in and accepted Shizuku as BEST GIRL.

    Mission Successful! :>

    Honestly, I want to hate Sakura and believe that she’s a completely two faced liar with the straightest poker face of anyone we’ve seen, but I just don’t quite buy that. I’d lean towards, as you paraphrased from Rozza C, a sort of remote manipulation that is used only when they (whoever is controlling her) need to use it. For instance, to force her to pass out more Messengers.

    It’s so easy to hate Sakura for just being a total bitch, so I’m wary of believing that she’s the true mastermind behind it, because that’s what I’d like to do just based on emotion.

    ( REPLY )
  5. Epi
    December 3rd, 2009 - 14:17

    I don’t think I’ve ever thought much of Sakura… Clearly Shizuku is the best girl by far, followed by curry loving Mikoto who’s just awesome. Akane kind of annoys me though.

    I’m really starting to believe that Sakura is totally being manipulative in this whole thing, perhaps even ‘liking’ the female Natsuru just to piss off the male version. We’ll see!

    ( REPLY )
  6. asdf
    December 5th, 2009 - 00:34

    If you are watching this for the plot or action, be prepared to be disappointed.

    ( REPLY )

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