Episode 356 part II

Disappointing that we got such a short episode this month. I thought that the previous one's less-than-average length was partly a result of the longer-than-average 355, but I guess that isn't the case. If this really is the result of an episode being split in two, I really would like to hear the reasoning for it, and if it's going to be a more regular thing from now on, but I doubt we'll be getting any answers on that front.

Cool to see the hydra again in any case. This guy seems like he's bigger than the one we saw in Volume 34 though, considering how tiny the Jotunn look next to him. Now, I don't know if it's a malevolent creature or just an animalistic predator, but I can't help but feel a bit sorry for it after all the crap it goes through here (and likely before, when the big hairy guys captured it).

Zodd leaping into the fray the second it appeared amused me more than it probably should have. I can't help but think he's all like: "Oooh! Oooh! I call dibs on this one!"

Griffith certainly took down the chieftain in style, though I was kinda hoping the big guy wouldn't quite bite it just yet. I thought maybe we'd get a bit of insight into he and the Jotunn's perspective on this new world, the puny little monkeys that suddenly showed up, and those big freaky things are now killing them. But maybe they're just too primitive to be worth reading into.

Ah well, this is all just setup for the next plot development. Hopefully, we'll start to see where things are going next month.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Cyrus Jong said:
Cool to see the hydra again in any case. This guy seems like he's bigger than the one we saw in Volume 34 though, considering how tiny the Jotunn look next to him.

I think the scale is off in the first two pages. The giants should be roughly the same size as Zodd, but here they look minuscule next to the hydra.
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Aazealh said:
I think the scale is off in the first two pages. The giants should be roughly the same size as Zodd, but here they look minuscule next to the hydra.

That's because they're teen warriors. They're not fully grown yet.
:ganishka:
 
jackson_hurley said:
That's because they're teen warriors. They're not fully grown yet.
:ganishka:

Even though that was probably a joke it kinda makes sense that the ones with the Hydra would be younger and the ones fighting in the front lines are older.
 
Just to be sure, the "ominous large shadow in the thicket" Sonia mentioned in the previous release was definitely referring to the Hydra correct? We shouldn't expect some other entity to still be lurking about, right?
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Theozilla said:
Just to be sure, the "ominous large shadow in the thicket" Sonia mentioned in the previous release was definitely referring to the Hydra correct? We shouldn't expect some other entity to still be lurking about, right?

I think so..
 
Glad to see another Fantasia beast show up--almost like checking off the list introduced in volume 34. Hopefully this means a dragon's up next :ubik:
 
Theozilla said:
Just to be sure, the "ominous large shadow in the thicket" Sonia mentioned in the previous release was definitely referring to the Hydra correct? We shouldn't expect some other entity to still be lurking about, right?

I would only expect another critter to show up if it's meant to be a narrative twist. And it's way too early to pull that sort of thing off.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Theozilla said:
Just to be sure, the "ominous large shadow in the thicket" Sonia mentioned in the previous release was definitely referring to the Hydra correct? We shouldn't expect some other entity to still be lurking about, right?

Yes.

NightCrawler said:
Pure filler, even if pretty.

This is the continuation of what we saw last month, and its purpose is still the same: setting the scene of Griffith's military campaign before the story develops from here.
I get how the release schedule can be frustrating, but this is actually the opposite of filler.
 

Faded

Your time is the most precious gift of all.
Epic art work, I don't feel as concerned as others about pacing.

I'll take what I can get, and if doing a half-episode release every now and then helps fill in the gaps then so be it.

Do you think that with the resolution of this battle, that we have a change on PoV for next episode? I know that Muira likes to show a little bit of action regularly so maybe this Griffith battle was a way of getting some of that in before flipping back to a mountain of Guts and Casca dialogue?
 

Aazealh

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Staff member
Faded said:
Do you think that with the resolution of this battle, that we have a change on PoV for next episode? I know that Miura likes to show a little bit of action regularly so maybe this Griffith battle was a way of getting some of that in before flipping back to a mountain of Guts and Casca dialogue?

Nah, that wouldn't make sense. Like I said in the previous thread, this battle is merely a cool introduction to something else. You should expect there to be at least a few episodes from Griffith's side before switching back.
 

Faded

Your time is the most precious gift of all.
Aazealh said:
Nah, that wouldn't make sense. Like I said in the previous thread, this battle is merely a cool introduction to something else. You should expect there to be at least a few episodes from Griffith's side before switching back.

If that's the case I can imagine Grunbeld squaring off against an actual dragon in the next episode will make for some finger licken' artwork, so I personally hope that is the next Fantasia creature that Griffith encounters.
 

BiQ_

" ... "
Aazealh said:
Nah, that wouldn't make sense. Like I said in the previous thread, this battle is merely a cool introduction to something else. You should expect there to be at least a few episodes from Griffith's side before switching back.

Somehow I have a feeling we're going to check on Rickert & co. before we see Guts & Casca again. I would normally have absolutely no qualms about it, but ... well.. now...
 

Menosgade

Not all those who wander are lost
The drawings on Zodd are pretty powerful. I could feel his savagery right after he reaches the hydra and imagine the heat of battle and blood spilling. Chillling stuff.
 

Faded

Your time is the most precious gift of all.
I like how through out this entire ordeal, the giant king had yet to even stand up from his chair. :ganishka:

There's oblivious, and then there's not realizing you're about to be skewered like a cocktail olive level obliviousness. :rickert:
 
Faded said:
I like how through out this entire ordeal, the giant king had yet to even stand up from his chair. :ganishka:

There's oblivious, and then there's not realizing you're about to be skewered like a cocktail olive level obliviousness. :rickert:

I think another way to look at that is that Griffith and the Apostle's attack was so fast that he didn't have time to stand up. In the last episode we see him drop the bell indicating that he was alerted to danger. However he still couldn't react fast enough to do more than put his hands on the arms of his chair to try to stand up before he got a sword through the eye. I think it seems like more time passes because of the layout of the panels.
 

Faded

Your time is the most precious gift of all.
I think that this was at least a partially planned battle on the Giants part, they had formed a battle line and had ranged units placed in a strategic defensive position, as well as a pet hydra on stand by. He should have known he was in danger and would have had time to react if he had more intelligence than common pond scum.

Not to say that it would have made a difference honestly. Reaching for a weapon would have just meant dying in another possibly less awesome manner. "Even if they are mighty, none can stand in the way of the Hawk!"
 
I don't disagree that they planned the battle or had a strategic reserve (the hydra), but that doesn't mean they could react in time to an offensive push that the Apostles and a member of the God Hand are capable of. I don't think it is unreasonable to assume that the giants were somewhat complacent and used to being the biggest and baddest on the battlefield. All of a sudden they are assaulted by an overwhelming force and caught flat footed. Due to the shock and speed, the King didn't even make it out of his chair. I think you underestimate the speed at which the battlefield can develop and the time it takes to orient to an unexpected situation. That is less dependent on intelligence and more dependent on arrogance.
 
Since its seems to have been confirmed that the most recent release was in fact Part Two of Episode 356, besides renaming the thread, how should it be recorded in the sites' Episode table archive?: http://skullknight.net/images/eps.htm
Should it be counted as two for the "# releases" with a *note stating that one episode was split apart or should it be vice versa?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Theozilla said:
Since its seems to have been confirmed that the most recent release was in fact Part Two of Episode 356, besides renaming the thread, how should it be recorded in the sites' Episode table archive?: http://skullknight.net/images/eps.htm

Pretty simple: Through the magic of merging cells! Also, for convenience, I switched over to this URL a few months back: http://skullknight.net/releases

Should it be counted as two for the "# releases" with a *note stating that one episode was split apart or should it be vice versa?

Boy, that's more thought than I've ever put into that column :ganishka: I think it counts as two releases, yeah. Hakusensha is gaming the system a bit, but it is technically two consecutive releases in Young Animal, even if they add up to one episode at the end of the day.
 
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