Kanojo ga Flag wo Oraretara (Gaworare)

Actually it was a light novel first (the title made it pretty obvious), then it got a manga adaptation. Obviously it's more relaxed in how it's paced, but as mentioned, some stuff stick out for those who got introduced to the story first via the manga.

For example, the box they found under the Quest Dorm hasn't even appeared in the manga yet, and as mentioned, the assassin was someone else rather than a production-series Ruri-bot.

Eighth Flag: Now with extra Ruri flavouring.

• Lazy Souta amused me.
• Then he got kidnapped by Ruri! No, Akane just wanted to see him. So...it was a kidnapping, as told by Okiku.
• Mei really is powerless against Kuru.
• Sleepover at Akane's. Nanami wasn't invited, though.
• As compensation, sleepover at Nanami's. Have a Souta-pillow to the face as a greeting.
• Mini-Ruri's cute.
• Hakua has the same verbal tic as Rena, just like Akane saying desu a lot like Suiseiseki. Sweet.
• Terminator Ruri, an unexpected surprise. Ruri comes in different styles and flavours.
• Those maids packed a lot of heat, and they gonna burn some muscle.
• Noes, mini-Ruri was totally powerless against Terminator Ruri! The height difference made it an easy win for the terminator, after all. And not a single punch was thrown.

edited 28th May '14 6:56:38 AM by Diamite

Episode 9. In which there's popcorn.

Interesting story. I wonder how it applies.

She's a little bit dramatic. A little bit.

"Aren't you a bit close to her?" She asks the one who has someone attached to him.

He's tall.

Oh, she wasn't taller than that.

A TV is new? A TV?

Interesting sort of twist.

I like the Ruri Eye Catch.

Why would you deny being sad that someone died? It's probably the most acceptable time to be sad out of everything.

Why is it that they don't question being dressed up like that until after they've been dressed up like that? And then there's the bride...

Rin sure likes to pop her flag here.

She actually expected not to be seen at a parade? Posing as one of its highlights? And Megu, you're denying your own masculinity there.

She's popping her own flag. Her grey flag.

It's quite skilled of her to launch a flying glomp at that height. It's even more skilled to stop dead without tipping her target over.

Yeah, she's an ally. An ally.

Those sort of look like runes I kind of recognise. Maybe some southeastern European style.

Another interesting twist.

So next episode we're going to have a transfer student. A transfer student.

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So, wait? Nanami and Hakua's older brother is actually their father?

---

And with this anime, the amount of darkness, misery and despair I watch in a week is now three: Kanojo ga Flag, Black Bullet and Brynhildr (the latter two being more consistant, the former flipflopping between light and dark). It's a starting to get a bit...much.

What was in your right hand is hope; And in another hand is something else to fade.

I prefer this show for its stylish dark. It gives you what's happening in the present, while also giving you what the past really meant for the plot.

Also, Number Zero is a serious hypocrite behind a mask. And also I love the way the stained window glass arts carried the plot significance.

Same as usual.... Wing it.

Ninth Flag:

• Things that go pop: Very dangerous.
• The Council of Seven Virtues, paragon of peace. Uh-huh. Right. Even the brother smelled the hypocrisy.
• ...Except he's their dad. I wonder why such information was kept under wraps...
• Hakua lived a very isolated life thus far. Thus far.
• Megumu makes a fine bride. Should he take that as a compliment, or...?
• Rin loves raising her flags a lot. A lot.
• Souta's very reliable. Reliable.
• Ah, a Poneglyph!
• Souta, you are to be a flag. The Death Flag on your head...
• ...A Sole Survivor Souta ain't.

In this episode of 10, the whirlwind makes a triumphant return

Same as usual.... Wing it.

Episode 10. Which is more of a farce than usual.

So noble, that prez. Picking fights with couples, little kids, and innocent insects.

Late to the party, prez.

Randomly (and by that I mean it's not something new, just haven't mentioned it before), while it's not normally my thing, I don't really mind the high-heel boots Nanami wears in the intro.

Is tht the first time she wants to be called a princess?

What's wrong with a haunted yakisoba café? Sounds like something normal anime students would come up with. Or your average college student.

You know, if you want someone to sign something, isn't it usually better to actually say what it is, rather than flirt around? Then again, cute harem anime. And why would it be annoying to be with her? With her?

Do you even need to ask why you're a maid? Gotta love the look, though.

That is annoying. Annoying.

Why is she banging on the painting? Sure, if she's nailing something, but that's not usually the spot to aim for then.

Akane being awkward like that certainly is unusual. But honestly, that looks more like surprise than a smile.

Nanami is cuter while loooking half asleep. Then again, that goes for just about anyone.

Yeah, I think she's overdone it a little with the nails.

I find it odd to walk so far apart.

Akane has no directional hearing.

No one gets excited over silly things as Akane does.

Wasn't he supposed to be fair to everyone? So him as a judge would be against that. But more importantly, no one else entered?

Now prez is someone it's even more unusual to be awkward.

But why are they all saying that they like Souta?

She got hearts from the male audience. Poor manliness...

He should spray them in their face. And also no innuendo here. None at all.

I must say, the most refreshing part about this is that everyone doesn't seem to hate Souta for being popular with the girls.

Broke the limit. Just over 9000.

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Tenth Flag:

• Mimori had a nice summer break. She must've been annoyed at the lovey-dovey couple. Flaunting their love in her face like that...!
• Hey Mimori, meet the new face.
• Hakua's more regal than Nanami. Fact. Fact.
• How sneaky of them. Then again, Souta didn't read the fine print.
• You're gonna carry Hakua's weight, Souta.
• Yeah, Megumu! Show me a manly maid! ...It ain't working.
• Nanami sure was working hard. Some of the nails are clearly in the right place.
• Okiku, stop being so coy and admit you enjoy being Hakua's pillow.
• The kyuns! The laughs! They're contagious!
• The Beauty Contest was clearly tailor made for the Quest Dorm. I'm convinced it was just as planned!
• Elder, if you were 50 years younger, you'd be old.
• Being a judge will not stop Ruru from making her rounds.
• 'Sides, Ruri's a much better judge.
• That swimsuit competition... Really crafty, classmates. Really crafty...
• Nice speech, Nanami. And with that, we have a winner! It was even at first, but that speech was riveting!
• Good. Now do the Friendship Ritual again!

edited 14th Jun '14 1:15:47 PM by Diamite

Eleventh Flag, where we get to see Souta gain his 11th-Hour Superpower, but at a terrible price.

In context, this is The Matrix, and he is The One

Same as usual.... Wing it.

Episode 11. In which there's a shining idol.

Shiny, sparkly eyes. And we have a fangirl in our midst.

Love her hair.

Why is it always so surprising when people don't follow idol trends? Why is she surprised he isn't?

She's oddly clingy. Not actually that hard to imagine her having lots of fans, if she genuinely is like that. Especially since she just said to work harder since she wasn't recognised by him, rather than get upset about it.

Wait, who is that in a Playboy Bunny outfit?

Prez with glasses and twintails is very cute.

Yeah, of course. Can't have a girl like that having a backstory without him being involved.

And of course she'd figure it out. Immediately.

So jealous, that girl.

One of them doesn't have a <3 flag. Well, him aside. And the one sulking in a corner aside. But she's never had one anyway.

And then she figured it out as well. Probably.

Light orb GET! Or not.

Is it possible to not compare it to The Matrix?

No surprised that she is immune. After all, have to have someone react to him being gone for a proper cliffhanger.

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Eleventh Flag:

• A switch flipped inside of Nanami. Her spazzing out was epic!
• Mimori's disguise was perfect. But not quite as perfect as Serica's. Really, I'm surprised Mimori got found out, yet Serica wasn't! She didn't change her hairstyle! People, were you not looking!?
• On that day, Souta rekindled her fire. And he planned on dousing his. But no dice.
• Oh, Serica. If only you knew that it was Souta who saved you that day. He also never listened to any of your songs, but that's not important right now.
• Nanami totally understands. Won't stop her from tearing Souta to pieces, though.
• Time to get pumped for Serica's concert the after-party! Sob sob, sob sob.
• What a light show. Oh, looks like Serica put two and two together.
• What do you know, rekindling Serica's spirit that day unlocked the path to unlimited power. Souta now has access to the database. But in the process, he has become a dangerous existence. Yes. He is the Singularity...
• And so, he must go. No one remembers him anymore... Except Nanami. He didn't see her flag at all, after all.

This is the sort of thing you expect when a mysterious waif asks you to find out the truth behind the world.

Episode 12:

You know, I will just spare you all the details. Another Duck will get to them eventually anyway.

If TvTropes is to be made an action premise, Souta in this episode would be the prime example of how things are done. He's using trope conventions as weapons.

Same as usual.... Wing it.

I don't actually have that much to say here. And I tend to avoid plot-comments a little more than gag-comments, since the former tend to be more spoilerific, and what I write is generally not supposed to make sense if you've not seen the episode.

Episode 12. In which there's a reinforcement flag.

I recognise that crossing.

The digital world, where you can use fiction logic and apply it practically. Well, it's not like Neo couldn't bend the laws of reality.

That laugh is somewhat disconcerting.

Ruri really is a guardian.

So that's who she really is. I think it's rather fitting.

"Yes or no?" Wasn't she the one who said there was no need to ask before?

Now that silhouette ending pic is revealed. Overall, I like the new outfits. And I gotta say, I'd actually use a male pronoun to describe Megu in that outfit.

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Whenever anyone asks you to find the truth behind the world, it's always bad isn't it?

If everything is on the Bladefield server, why does it need to connect to anywhere else?

Who is the brunette in the back with the giant sword? I recognize everyone else.

Homeroom teacher.

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Twelfth Flag:

• Triggering Death Flags have become literal.
• Number Zero, why are you laughing? If Souta were to fall, the Bladefield server would be doomed to be destroyed, you know. And with it, the real world.
• ...Wow. Souta's royalty, Nanami's and Haqua's brother.
• Also, Nanami was the sister that was captured. Except it was a fragment of her memory. I guess that's why Souta was unable to see Nanami's flag.
• I liked how Nanami became whole once more. That burst of confidence.
• Everyone's decked out in their battle gear, ready to help Souta out. But... Aside from that one time, your presence here feels forced, Homeroom Teacher Miyuki. You rarely interacted with Souta! If there was more time, it would've been believable.
• Unleash your roar!

edited 25th Jun '14 1:22:35 AM by Diamite

Heck, this show could have used a lot more polish. The basic plot has potential.

I'm not sure because I stopped reading the manga right after Kurumiko enrolled, but this kinda feels like an anime-original ending...

Give the God Eater game thread some love!

I'm wondering about that as well... The manga adaptation's pace is relaxed and it takes time for plot points to be addressed sometimes. The anime, by comparison, is faster (which is no surprise, since its 13 episodes long) and has gotten to a lot of stuff faster that the manga hasn't even gotten to yet or is getting to(like the aforementioned Quest box being found under the dormitory) At times, I wish that the original light novels were translated so I can compare it to the manga and anime.

But in general, the manga adaptation is closer to the light novels than the anime because it came out first and was created by the same author. It also (unsurprisingly) encourages the readers to read the light novels in the omakes.

edited 28th Jun '14 5:42:34 PM by MacronNotes

Macron's notes

Episode 13. In which there's one flag for all, and all flags for one.

I like how prez still is prez. With exactly the same outfit. Well, it did always look like a fighting outfit.

Not gonna question all the weird magicky-matrixy stuff that happens.

Looks like it would be easier to lift it on the other side.

Well, it really does look too heavy for one guy to lift.

No doubt who he'd get for help.

So, why would not having a death flag be a requirement for being capable of helping someone else?

They look somewhat similar.

Still the same damaged floor. And this time he doesn't need a flag to realise what's going to happen if he doesn't act.

Memories and world synchronisation is a weird thing. And usually doesn't make sense.

Well, gotta say, this series pulled off the teamwork aspect far better than Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky. Also a lot about a beautiful world, but it didn't quite reach up to that series (though honestly that's not saying a lot). This was more about people than the world, though.

Overall, good series. Made fun of a lot of tropes, sometimes to the point where I wonder if someone not familiar with the genre would be completely out of the loop. And a lot of enjoyable characters. Usually when harems get large, I find that most characters are just throwaways and not really interesting, especially past their own arc, but here most of them stayed interesting.

edited 29th Jun '14 11:45:13 PM by AnotherDuck

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Because then he'd be the work's equivalent of Jesus.

Give the God Eater game thread some love!

People are saying that the LN series is still ongoing, but maybe we have a Scrapped Princess-type situation where the author has telegraphed the ending to the production crew, or at least the draft of the ending.

See this picture for example for just ONE change◊. I sure ain't seeing Nanami there, for sure.

In any case, yeah, it DOES feel a bit rushed. Also the headscratcher at the end concerning Sacrament and Laplace, especially since the events before it frame it as it being in the "real" world already rather than still being in the server.

edited 30th Jun '14 8:32:55 PM by myssarei

Final Flag:

• Oh, so it was the same Miyuki from that other timeline all along. ...Wait, what?
• Was throwing magic knives the manliest thing Megumu ever did, I wonder?
• Small bursts of awesome from everyone. And Ruri showed more emotion.
• So the final boss was Strength.
• Oh, so they were all friends. And on the same sinking ship. It's just that making a deal with the devil had everyone mind wiped. By the way, hi, Laplace, you Last Episode, New Character you.
• Very fitting that her codename was Number Zero. After all, Kagura Bladefield created her country.
• Okay, this is the real world...right? Because Laplace and Sacrament are there. And they're just programs, right!? Darn virtual world hijinks!
• Nice save Souta. The VW simulations trained you well. And then Akane remembers. So I'm gonna assume everyone's memories are intact too.

So was this enjoyable, Yes or No? Of course it's yes!

edited 2nd Jul '14 2:30:14 AM by Diamite