Xam'd Lost Memories ep.08-09

September 15, 2008 | 15 Comments

I really hate Furuichi that the part of the episodes which contain his character is almost unbearable. On the positive side, Raigyou turns out to be a good character so that kind of even things out. Speaking of the guy, for some reason he sounds a little bit like Shuuji from Honey and Clover so I wonder if they have the same VA. Anyway, the series still feel directionless but at least more details finally emerge. Like I said before, we finally find out more about Raigyou and judging from the photo on episode 9, we'll find out about Kujireika. One thing that I'm having problem with is the amount of terms that are being used in the series. It's really hard to keep up with all of the new words the show invented, especially since they all sound the same to one another. For example, there was an Ongoro-user but as it turns out, the thing that they control doesn't look like the Ongoro that Nakiami has in the postal ship (the translucent creature).

Episode 8

After descending into the island, Nakiami realizes that Akiyuki is still alive so she decides to go to Tsumebara pass. Meanwhile, the new ASP recruits are already in Tsumebara Pass, ordered to look for old ASP members. Unknown to them, what the military really is looking for is an object called the green soulstone. On their way to the mine, the group notice that there is Ongoro user, a person who's capable of differentiating Prana from Humanform users using some kind of worms. Judgmental Furuichi tells Haru that it's just a humanform users who sell their service to the South. Meanwhile, Isshu decides to punish her crew members because they're refusing to tell the truth as to who let Nakiami out on her own again. Back to the ASP recruit, a bitter Furuichi asks Haru if she's still waiting for Akiyuki, claiming that she doesn't need to beat around the bush to spare his feeling. Ooh, this grape is sour. What a loser. When the Ongoro user detects something, Furuichi decides to follow him and orders Haru to stay behind because she likes waiting. Asshole. Heh, I really hate this character.

As for Akiyuki, the father of the little girl explains that Roppa's seemingly tired condition is probably an effect of the redcloud, which apparently can cause dementia. Animals are particularly sensitive to this. Akiyuki then go on his separate way from the father/daughter team because he still insists on meeting with Haru. Inside the cave, Furuichi and the ASP team encounter the green soulstone, which is their real intention. As for Haru, she stumbles onto the dead ASP user but when she gets closer, she realizes that there's no mainsoul in it. When Furuichi arrives, the mainsoul appears behind them as humanform weapon. The humanform knocks the Ongoro user out so Furuichi in his sexist way, order Haru to get out. Haru get out of the cave in time to meet Akiyuki. All of a sudden the humanform weapon appears and attacks them so Akiyuki transforms into Xam'd and gets into fight with the creature. He manages to turn the humanform weapon into red stones, in time for Furuichi to arrive. Asshole Furuichi immediately points his gun at Akiyuki upon seeing Akiyuki's Xam'd hand.

Before Furuichi can shoot Akiyuki, however, another Xam'd shoots a laser beam. The Xam'd then pins Furuichi, telling Haru to ask Akiyuki to escape. The Xam'd then transform into a human again and jumps off the bridge. In the aftermath, Furuichi reports the situation to Kakasu like the traitor that he is, while Haru gets slapped by her superior for failing to heed order. Akiyuki, on the other hand, is reunited with Nakiami and the father/daughter team. The father informs Akiyuki that the little girl is actually not his daughter but a girl whose mother was attacked when going to town. Because of this, he decided to save the daughter. Before Nakiami and Akiyuki left the two, Nakiami gives the girl a pill which she should give to her father so it'll heal his Xam'd hand. Later on, inside the the postal ship, Nakiami assures the terrified children that Akiyuki won't turn to rock since the Xam'd has calmed down. Before the ship can take off, the bearded man who saved Akiyuki earlier jumped into the ship using his motorbike. The guy turns out to be "Raigyou" that Akishiba mentioned not too long ago.

Episode 9

In the aftermath of the incident, Furuichi is still acting like the ichi-ban douchebag that he is. Meanwhile in the postal ship, everyone is excited with the souvenir that Raigyou brings for them. Nakiami then brings Raigyou to see the old madame who asks him what does Xam'd seeks. Raigyou then pays a visit to Akiyuki, causing the later to realize that Raigyou was the guy who saved him. He also makes Akishiba jealous by telling the poor guy that Akiyuki has a hot girlfriend. Back to the ASP recruits, Furuichi continues to be the biggest douchebag who tells Haru that they're not friends anymore. Meh, the guy is probably crying at night because he can't get the girl. After Furuichi left, Prois comes over to tell Haru that Kakisu wants to see her. Speaking of Kakisu, he's followed the crazy professor order to use the green soulstone along with the Hiruko that they sampled from test-type Xam'd. Their plan is to make humanform weapon to rival the North's humanform. Back inside the postal ship, Raigyou has decided to shave his beard and dazzle everyone with his bishounen looks. The only one who's not impressed is Akiyuki since Raigyou keeps ordering him around.

Back in the army, Kakisu tells Haru that he knows she met Akiyuki in the Tsumebara Pass. He pass on his condolonces since Akiyuki is no longer a human now. Haru argues that Akiyuki/Xam'd are human but can't seem to provide a reason why she thinks that way. After Haru left, Prois point out that it's dangerous to probe Haru too far but Kakisu disagrees. Prois, however, is far more interested in Haru's sister for some reason. Meanwhile, the old man tries to convince Ishuu that whether he's is Xam'd or not, Raigyou is still Raigyou. Ishuu, however, is not convinced since as she points out, she's not Nakiami. Meanwhile, Akushiba becomes jealous because Raigyou spends a good amount of time in Nakiami's room and wants to investigate...while carrying a wrench. This won't end well. As it turns out, Raigyou is just taking photographs of the Ongoro that Nakiami has. Raigyou has also bring a souvenir for Nakiami: a picture of the new Tessik leader, Kujireika. Raigyou doesn't understand why the normally peacefull Tessiks want to go into war. So he thinks Nakiami has to investigate. Nakiami argues that she can't come back after leaving the village for 2 years.

Impression

It's not even halfway through the series and I'm already thinking of creative deaths for Furuichi. Hmm, how about getting ceremoniously shot by his comrades as he turns into a humanform weapon? Or even better, getting roasted as humanform weapon before someone strips his skin and decapitate his head. I kind of suspected that he'd turned out to be a douchebag but I didn't expect that he'd be a major tool that he is now. I think the most face-palming part of his douchebaggery is that he doesn't even bother to hide his jealousy. That's pathetic! Speaking of douchebags, Kakisu and his secretary are lining up to be eager applicants as well. I have no idea what Prois has in mind for Haru's sister but she turns out to be far more devious than I thought she would. It makes one wonders what Haru is doing in that place. Sure, she wants to see Akiyuki but surely there are better ways to meet than joining the army. On the other hand, I am surprised to see Raigyou turns out to be a good guy. The way he was described and from his mysterious, dark profile on the OP, I thought he'd be Akiyuki's rival. In reality, while Akiyuki might feel that way, he's actually a nice guy who went out of his way to help Akiyuki when the later was in trouble.

© memento 2003