Subculture Anime Blog

Kannagi After Story.

Summary:

Jin wonders why Nagi takes so much such interest in the strange mahou shoujo anime she is watching, and as she imitates the heroine’s moves, this eventually leads Nagi to requesting that her magic stick be upgraded. This causes Jin to bring up the fact that Nagi has been doing nothing but playing recently, which the two argue about until being distracted by Zange on the TV as usual. As Nagi bathes later, Jin recalls how much time has passed since she first appeared to change his life. By the time Nagi gets out of the bath, she sees that Jin has repaired her magic stick. Jin even suggests that they can buy a new one when she meets him in the kitchen, but Nagi replies that the one she has now is just fine.

Jin assists Nagi with catching an impurity at school the next day, but this causes him to fall out of a window and gain slight injuries. Rumors continue to spread through the school about Jin as he passes in the halls, which Shino even comes up with a theory about once he reaches the art room. When Nagi appears, Jin finally drags her out to talk with privately. Seeing that he may even be killed eventually while putting up with her, he finally asks for Nagi to clearly tell him her reasons for staying with him. Nagi simply reaffirms that she is busy taking care of impurities, then restating the strange fact that there are several gathered in their town alone. As Nagi continually seems like she is hiding something, even implying that she does not know exactly why she is taking so much effort in clearing impurities, Jin finally asks for a clear explanation. He even fights through her usual angriness, but when he does, Nagi surprises him by running away in genuine tears.

Jin meets Suzushiro-sensei in the halls later, then clearing up the misunderstanding about himself and his daughter. Jin takes the chance to bring up Nagi’s position as a goddess, but Suzushiro only comes up with other explanations in reply. As there does not seem to be strong proof that Nagi is a goddess, he suggests that she and Zange may just be spirits claiming to be goddesses for their own purposes. Elsewhere, on the school rooftop, Nagi struggles with her thoughts and what Jin had talked with her about. Nagi loves the city that she protects as its goddess, but the impurities seem to interrupt this. Nagi eventually realizes that she does not know the reasons for her actions, however, saddening her and causing her to take action. Jin leaves Suzushiro in a rush after talking to him, then going to the library to look up lore. He cannot seem to find the information he is looking for, but when a check out card falls out of the book he is looking at, he realizes that Nagi had been looking through the same one not long ago.

Impression:

Great, now they’re trying to turn Kannagi into mindfuck anime. I’m sure the television static and related imagery would have been effective in its own right, but I guess I’ve just been so jaded by the likes of Eva and Lain that I can’t see all of this as an original feat. Luckily, this portion of the episode was really the only thing that bothered me. After a few episodes of playing around (yes, Nagi, you have been doing too much karaoke.), we’re finally back to the plot dealing with why exactly Nagi does the things she does. Being the third time that she has run from Jin after he has asked for her reasons, but actually taking action this time, I can only wonder if we will learn all of the facts before the first series ends in two episodes. I mean, with the manga on hold, doesn’t that mean we could possibly be waiting years for the sequel? Agh!

Notes:

• Mahou shoujo anime has really degraded in quality these days.
• Jin and Nagi have some “hands on” play.
• Poor Jin having to deal with Zange/Daitetsu psychos.
• Nagi sliding out!
• Aw~ masking tape. A true sign of love!
• Takako would play a Kannagi vn….