This episode was the first one that mostly disappointed me. Not saying I hated it, but it was weird and didn’t feel like it knew what it was trying to do with Zakuro.
First and foremost, Zakuro is now primarily a singer, like in the dub of the original anime, instead of being primarily a model/actress which is fine, but I almost feel like they made this decision purely for OST purposes. I say this because that song she sang during the auditions could not have felt more out of place and commercial. It literally was edited to look like an end credits sequence in an anime. Why would she just break out into song like that?
In the original series, she got up on stage to show the girls, who were dancing, dance moves as an example or inspiration, and she did it on request of the other judges. But their role in this version was to act in a scene, not sing. Zakuro comes in of her own accord, does part of the scene and then breaks out into a long song number. I was so confused when she started doing this. It came off so much more like she was just showing off (and somehow had the proper musical accompaniment on standby) than setting an example for the girls (even if they told her later that her performance allowed them to continue their scene.)
Second, did they completely remove the religious aspect of her character? There was absolutely no hint of it in this episode. She didn’t even wear her cross. Her weapon is a still a cross, but did they just keep it that way because it’s the way the weapon was originally designed?
Third, Zakuro’s actual debut was a little weird as well. A wolf, that was somehow howling on top of a nearby building, is what triggered her transformation? Excuse me? What is that about? I get that she was in danger either way, and that triggers transformation, but they purposefully framed it to make it seem like hearing the wolf put her over the edge.
Speaking of her transformation, it was ridiculously short. Is that all there is to it? It can’t be…..right? It’s not a bad transformation, I just felt like it was super short and like she didn’t get to finish it.
As for her new design…………….I….don’t…..like it. When she’s not transformed, she looks perfectly fine. She barely looks any different from the way she used to look. Transformed, now that’s a different story. I honestly can’t pinpoint anything I really like about her new look, which is pretty damn weird for the model.
Technically, they didn’t change much. She still has basically the same outfit – the tube top, the shorts, the long boots. However. Her shorts in this version seem like they’re way too short. Like they would come off if she actually did run on all fours like she does sometimes. Not that she ever could run like that in those platform boots. Her old boots had a heel to them too, but not a high full platform. Honestly, the running comment is being a bit generous. They pretty much look like they require censorship if she moved the wrong way even slightly.
And why does she get to keep her shorts but Pudding doesn’t?
But what really kills it for me is her hair. Who the hell approved her hair? It is WAY too long and does not, in any manner, convey “wolf.” Granted, her old hairstyle didn’t convey that either, but her hair unreasonably long. It shouldn’t cover the floor when she kneels down. It very nearly touches the floor when she’s standing. That’s so ridiculously non-conducive to battle situations it makes me a little upset. Actually, forget battle situations. That looks like it’d be annoying to deal with just walking around.
I agree that her hair being in a ponytail is a good decision, but that practical decision is ruined 100x over by giving her ten feet of hair.
I don’t even particularly care for the ribbon in her hair. The one on her neck is fine, but the one in her hair just seems unfitting
And to cap it all off, her flute looks weird, too. I guess it looks more like a flute of some kind, but the end of it looks too wide. Unless that was just the animation for this episode making it look particularly awkward.
Kisshu’s attack was pretty pathetic. He comes out of nowhere and attacked with a bunch of Chimera Crows. It was just a bunch of more-or-less regular crows that were controlled. They weren’t particularly monstrous.
Pudding was annoying in this episode too. I get that her ruining the audition was in the manga and the original anime, but that doesn’t make it less annoying. And then they have her ruining Mint’s attack during the battle and acting like it was a good thing. I usually love Pudding, but she was irritating today.
As before, Zakuro’s debut is a two-parter, so maybe the second part will make up for this episode, but as a whole it just disappointed and confused me.
Next time, Mint deals with being rejected by Zakuro.
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The Anime Madhouse 
You’re right, the super long hair does look kind of weird. And I kind of remember Zakuro being older in the original anime. Or at least looking older than the other characters. But in this newer version she just looks slightly taller.
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Agree with you and momomanamu about the long hair. We sure that’s not supposed to be her weapon, like Bayonetta?
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Zakuro’s Christian imagery was something that was added into the 2002 anime. Other than her cross-shaped weapon, she didn’t have any ties to it at all in the manga.
As for her being primarily a singer, I do agree with the whole OST thing, especially since their VAs are also an idol group for the franchise.
Some fans have guessed that it might also have to do with her age, which I can see being a possibility. The staff does know that there are international fans and a lot of the scenes in this version are toned down compared to the manga. In the 2002 anime she was in her 3rd year of middle school, which would’ve made her 14-15 years old. While New did up the ages of some of the characters a bit, it would still make her 16 at the youngest in this adaptation, since we see her driving a motorcycle later on and 16 is the minimum required age to ride one in Japan.
As for her suddenly breaking out into song, I think it has to do with the type of theatre the girls were auditioning for. They were doing it for a stage musical and in a lot of Japanese ones, they tend to sing their lines whether it’s a full song or just saying a conversation. That’s also why the other girls were singing their improv lines at the audition. I guess her being able to implement a full song on the spot was suppose to show how much of a professional she is… Maybe… Just speculation on my part.
I do find it kind of interesting that both anime made the whole thing an audition for a musical, when in the manga it was just a model audition to give new talent a chance to join an agency.
Regardless, yeah that crow attack came out of nowhere, the manga even more so since they attacked in the middle of Zakuro showing her example and none of the aliens were there at all XD.
The wolf was symbolic imagery. It was basically her feeling her powers activate. It couldn’t have been real since wolves are extinct in Japan.
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Ooh I thought I remembered the religious stuff being present in the manga. My garbage memory strikes again lol
That makes sense about the type of theater, and I could get into that, but what still doesn’t make sense to me is why completely unrelated shots were spliced in during her song like it was a music video. Kinda just threw me out of the moment, which is the opposite of what I imagine they were going for if they wanted the viewers to be entranced by Zakuro’s performance.
Must’ve been a hard note for all of them “VITAL SCENE – Suddenly crows! Build from there” lol
Yeah that makes sense for the wolf to be more symbolic than real, especially considering it was on top of a building lol
Thank you very much for your thoughtful comment!
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