Autopsy: Regarding Shuffle Memories 12

Report No.: 75
Date of Report: July 17, 2007
Time of Report: 11:22 AM

Subject: Shuffle! Memories the 12th
Age: 25 minutes
Sex: Unstated. Tests report "Yes, please"
Race: Japanese animation

Background: Known history of insanity in family, especially in earlier Shuffle! generations 1 through 12. Fanservice abuse often common through the years, leading to unhealthily low amounts of plotline and occurances of Type-II (a.k.a Hit or Miss) Humor. Suffered from Beach Episode Disease.

Cause of Death: Appears to be natural causes. Many suspicious suspects, better known as "main characters", are currently being investigated as possible contributing factors to death, to be explored in "after jump" segment.



Subject A: Rin Tsuchimi
Possible leader of crime group known as "The Harem", considered highly dangerous. Suffers from a affliction of the Tohno Gland (named after infamous criminal Shiki Tohno of Tsukihime) which causes him to exude pheremones at unstoppable rate, attracting many females of various background, but not their clothes. Prone to hideous facial contortions due to typical attack pattern of these "Haremettes" which involves many socially awkward but highly fanservicey situations.
Verdict: Possibly guilty, cleared due to proof of insanity


Subject B: Kaede Fuyou
Has exhibited close, perhaps obsessive ties with Subject A in the past, leading to suspicion by authorities. Suspicion confirmed with background check revealing many charges of aggravated assault with deadly weapon including but not limited to I) boxcutter, II) cleaver, and III) physical force. Charges have not yet been pressed due to said charges increasing subject's controlling power over defense force which protects her from authority. This factor is understood by scientists to be a result of "psycho moe."
Verdict: Guilty, cleared of all charges...for now


Subject C: Lisianthus
Extremely unstable personality exhibited, with obsessive and sometimes suicidal tendencies noted. Has a past of being schizophrenic, and as thus very dangerous to approach. Known to use force of the sexual manner to get her way. Has been previously arrested for assault with a pair of deadly weapons on one (1) Rin Tsuchimi, but was released on parole after the conclusion of a good arc. Now considered once again highly dangerous, and all citizens are advised to use extreme caution, especially if they are named Rin.
Verdict: At large


Subject D: Nerine (Not pictured)
Possible partner in crime with Subject C (Lisianthus). Subject appears innocent to the outlook but is currently under arrest for charges in drowning of Mayumi Thyme (pictured). Alibi of not being near victim at time of death checks out as plausible but is under suspicion of using magic powers of 'bouncy' type to drown victim from long range, in addition to causing massive damage to any male beings in a 5-mile radius.
Verdict: Restraining order issued for Nerine and her chest region.


Subject E: Primula
Scowling, purple-haired criminal arrested recently under many more charges than can be listed. Primary accusation is identity theft of one Yuki Nagato, with both eating and vocal habits being lifted directly from the victim. Also charged by lolicons for evasion of fanservice, made mandatory in compliance with the laws of Harem Anime, rule 95 part IIIa (page 496, Beach Episode Corollary).
Verdict: Currently under test tube arrest.


Subject F: Mayumi Thyme
Long-time reporter often infamous for lack of boundaries. Has been noted to suffer from many mental afflictions, including the Daidouji Camera Complex (note the digital camera grafted to Mayumi's hand) the Flat Chest Complex, and the Eroge Complex (part IV, Obsession with Genitals). Extreme care is advised when handling.
Verdict: At large, currently being sued by one Konata Izumi for violating trademark on Haruhi references.


Subject G: Itsuki Midoriba
Infamous pimp known to deal in both genders in order to fill his harem. Wanted for violation of anime guidelines which state, in part, "No male shall perform acts of fanservice (including but not limited to, jiggling, shaking, groping, squeaking, or skirt lifting) in any anime expressed declared to be of the harem variety."
Verdict: At large, possibly in the Middle East searching for his harem (see Shuffle! 24)


Subjects H and I: King of Gods and King of Demons
Shown to exhibit tentacle fetishes common of many people their age. As such, study was prematurely concluded before more info could be obtained
Verdict: Currently contesting charges of Being Useless Under (and Over) the Influence.


Subject J: Asa Shigure
The seeming odd character out of the group, showing strong signs of sanity, including logical reason, common sense, and a lack of a need to strip, kill, drink, copy Nagato, have a harem, be gar for Rin, or make funny faces.
Verdict: Innocent

---

...in the end, I'm not sure quite where this blog post was going. I was watching Shuf!Memo 12 and basically was contemplating just how insane every character was (due to their personalities getting dragged to the deep end), with the exception of Asa, and as such, an insanity check medical report blog post ensued. I can almost see where the Asa fanboys come by now - I used to not really like Asa too much but I seem to find that sanity just might be a good trait in people.

This episode actually was a pretty amusing one, though, once you get past all the fanservice. The plot was funny, it was hilarious to see all the characters be really insane (especially Kaede's segment. I was waiting for her to scream, "Heeeeeeere's Johnny!") as well.


...but what's with Mobius being in the god world? (Hint: play Sonic Boom.)

-CCY

Shuffle! Memories 2 - Yay for Kaede?

Not quite the same ring as Wai for Mai~ , but Kaede's a strong character with a strong story and a strong runner-up for best Shuffle! character. So, catchphrase'd for the token witty title.

And now, time for some time paradoxing.

So, Shuffle! Memories is a recap series, half the length of the original with the story split up into multiple parts. Each main heroine gets 2 episode for a total ten, there's one intro episode (the previous one), and one new episode (finally!) at the end for a total of 12.

However, the dividing up of the story does strange and awkward things to the flow of the plot. Kaede Fuyou, the first girl featured in Shuf!Memo, was one of the last to get a story arc in the original series. So now, instead of starting out with some of the lighthearted stuff and then going into the more serious plots (I think the arcs built off of and eclipsed each other in the original), we're going straight into the deep end.

Each character is split up into two parts, so Kaede's entire story isn't laid out at once, but we get a significant enough chunk of it that I'm forced to issue a spoiler warning for through Shuffle! 21 or so. Somehow, I've managed to overtake my blogging of the entire Shuffle! series with the 2nd episode recap of its...recap series.

Not to mention...a recap of a recap? Strange, isn't it.

On the plus side, since it spoils that far in the series I can talk about all the tangentially related stuff in the series now, without spoiling the poor newbies.

There is some vaguely new scenes in this episode, although a large amount of it is in the OP sequence. There's another good thing about Shuf!Memo - there' s a different opening and a different song for each character. Pretty neat!

Look! It's smiling Kaede!


OK, it's gone now. Kaede really doesn't have a lot of that 'smiling' thing going on in the later parts of Shuffle! and through a lot of this recap episode. Her plot's a lot heavier than all the others, and sometimes I wonder if even her smiles during the lighter parts are true smiles - I bring up this topic a lot to relate it to a Tsukihime character with a similar fate and a fake smile... I wouldn't be surprised if Kaede's like "I have to be very happy and stuff around Rin because I owe him after all those years" and all.

Anyway, the intro features a wide range of Kaede. We have happy Kaede, killer loli Kaede(a.k.a. why do I look like Ayu gone crazy Kaede) ...

...'I'm being ignored in favor of two princesses, an upperclassman, and a loli. A loli, for crying out loud!' Kaede too.


Oddly enough, we also get shown a picture of the wreck, presumably. I'm not sure what retcon'ing they had to do to get Kaede into the shot while it's still burning - not to mention whatever stupid logistical decisions they made to show her the wreck (just about beats Kanon's similar event). And finally...


Kaede ending. Yes, the OP ends with the two kissing in a sort of 'what if' scenario - what if they went down the Kaede path? Spoilers a bit, but if you've done Shuffle! 21, you should know where it's headed. Unfortunately.

We start, oddly enough, with the car accident itself. It's a new record, with the adults lasting
about 5 seconds. I hope you enjoyed your happy Kaede while it lasted, as she's already gone into shock at her mom's death and goes catatonic, pretty much.


Rin makes a move towards a Kaede ending, but wisely moves away from the misleading screenshot and decides to own up for causing the fatal accident. It's odd that Rin is so mature early on in his life, as he puts himself in quite the perilous position just in order to make Kaede feel better, or at least... to have a reason to live.

But as you should know that reason becomes to wreak revenge on Rin, as our first interaction between Rin and Kaede turns out to be Kaede choking Rin. How loving.

Next up is the montage of scenes proving that Kaede, really, really hates Rin. The most important one, as always, is the one where Kaede drops the box cutter on to Rin at an extremely improbably angle - straight down, yet it falls diagonally down the staircase - injuring Rin's eye. No permanent scar is left, even though that would make a great plot device. This scene also shows up in the intro, which should be noted.

The second important scene is the other one, in the rain, which was flashed back to multiple times over the course of the original series, but is shown in full the first time in Shuf!Memo. The scene I am referring to is of course the one with the iconic line "You deserve to die!", with strange-eyes Kaede. Amusingly enough I am reminded of vaguely similar events...

You think that this is a joke? Because I truly want you to die.
(...I don't understand the concept of death for organic life forms...)


Flash forward to the next plot point, middle school, where Kaede finds the important card from her mother, sent the day she died. She learns that everything is, technically, her fault, for being sick and having her mother come home early to take care of her.




Rin tries to stop her from reading the card for some reason - perhaps he doesn't want her to learn the truth, that he would rather have her blame him for it than herself. It seems a stretch at best, but both character are really the type to take the responisbility all the time, even when they shouldn't really. So Kaede takes all of the blame onto herself for everything as always, and runs off to go get pwned by a truck.

Rin stops her with the interests of harem++ in mind, and Kaede finally breaks down (as opposed to just going stoic) for the first time in, I imagine, a while, apologizing at least 10 times.


Back to the present, finally, about a third of the way through the episode. Kaede's back to 'normal', and we get some more of the lighthearted scenes, featuring Kaede's grade-A cooking. There are some important clues left lying around for the plot to pick up later, such as the innocuous sounding "Taking care of Rin is my purpose in life" and the shot of a black cat crossing Rin and Kaede's path as they walk to school.


Some h-game hijinks ensue as Rin talks very nonchalantly about Kaede's fathers approval for Rin to take his daughter and 'plant his seed in her'. Subtle. I wonder at what point was that point though, that Kaede began really falling for Rin (like every girl in the series, for crying out loud) instead of just, uh, pity loving him or something.


Gah. The annoying, ugly, yet amusingly titled fanclubs show up again. Kaede makes a bit of a Freudian slip, saying that she's already given her body to Rin, when she really meant something different. Somehow I wouldn't doubt that they've already gotten to that point in the h-game, if you told me that was true. Sure Kaede, you said your goal is to serve Rin, but in what way exactly now?

Some more scenes are rescreened from episode one, such as the entertainingly dramatic door opening, with a glomp-happy Itsuki on the other side. Clearly this was not one of Itsuki The Harem Master's more shining moments, as his first appearance makes him look more like a common fan club member.

Also, we finally get some non-Rin and non-Kaede characters to show up, with all the usual school suspects like Sia and Nerine. They exist in this episode primarily to undermine Kaede and her Rin-serving interests. We get a lot more of the 'I'm not important anymore' looking Kaede now.


Amusing translation of very true Sia line. Don't worry, your story and your alter-ego still rocks.


Check it out, new eyecatch, with the usual ol' happy eyecatch music! I never understood what was with the cats in the original one. They had some connection to Rimu - one was the cat Lico gave her, and the other might've been from Rin?


Lunch scene comes up after the break, with the return of Nerine's "quantity over quality" omelettes. You know how the gag goes. Nerine has a strange expression on her face here, to be honest, and to say the least about it. It's strange how fragile the girls are in the beginning, both Nerine and Kaede (maybe others), how much offense they take to...uh...not having their omelettes eaten.


Some more scenes that are vaguely important but I didn't find interesting enough to screencap follow, such as Kaede being annoyingly nice and spoiling Rin, Kaede learning to cook with the Shocking Shigure, and Kaede being sad that it rained and she didn't bring an umbrella to walk with Rin (he ended up sharing with Sia if I recall correctly).


The next big scene is the one from circa episode 5 or so when Kaede falls ill. She continues to fighto dayo~ and tries to keep cooking and keep the household running, but of course Rin and the rest of the harem (who of course have nothing better to do than gain points with Rin) know better and try to let her rest. This, funnily enough, is the last thing Kaede wants to do, and we get a lot more sad Kaede in snow bed scenes, listening to the 'happy' conversations outside. The road to Kaede hell is paved with good intentions.

Asa's the only one really who is smart enough to tell Rin to pay attention to Kaede as well, or else there will be severe consequences. Despite her morality, Asa still won't escape these, as will probably be shown in Kaede's second episode.


I still don't understand the random earthquakes that plague some of the early few episodes but it gives Kaede a moment to be clingy to Rin. It's rare for her, despite all the troubles she has, to appear so self-doubting, as she almost always seems to put on a good face when Rin is looking.


Still, it's obvious that she herself is beginning to see her own paradoxes, beginning to question her use. Is she, by pampering Rin, by clinging to Rin, by being there for Rin, perhaps, helping or hurting him?

This is about all the storytelling we get in the first of two presumed Kaede episodes, and although it may not be the groundbreaking spoilers that I claimed it to be - oh no, Kaede's got plenty of aces up her sleeves - a lot of her backstory is revealed early.


The episode ends with some narration by a (temporarily) happier Kaede - which doesn't seem familiar from the original, although perhaps I simply forgot it - who speaks of the typical Tomoyo Theory, that as long as she can always be with Rin, that as long as he is thankful for what she does, that it's OK for her to not have Rin to herself, or at all.

As you likely know by now, that theory won't stand up for very long. Next episode appears to be an Asa episode, and I've got no clue how the ordering is going to work, but given the heavy plot twists and interlinked qualities of the two friends' arcs I'd guess we're not going to get closure on Asa or Kaede until the very end. Until then, it's time for the split-personality characters to shine - Sia/Kikyou, Nerine/Lico + Rimu tag team arcs, go!

-CCY
(here's a closing screenshot which was going to go somewhere useful but instead is being construed for yuri possibilities)

Shuffle! Memories 1 - What's new is old, and what's old is...old

Mayumi reveals she is actually an angel from heaven. Paradoxes and intense fanboying ensues.

What?! Another series!?

Yes, it's another anime I'm watching.
Yes, it's another anime I'm blogging.
Yes, it's another Shuffle! But not really - it's mostly a recap series, but I've heard there is some minor new content in there.

Still, Shuffle! is Shuffle! and one of the more interesting eroge adaptations comes around for its second shot. Although perhaps a Tick! Tack! or Really? Really! anime adaptation would be interesting - but I don't per se know the actual stories behind those games. If there are any.

P.S. Dear Navel, stop using punctuation in your game titles.

OK, technically, I haven't finished blogging the real Shuffle!, but I've finished watching it and I think that merits a Memories watch and recap.


The intro is mostly cut and pasted clips - for now anyway - but there are a few new and or important shots. For example, Primula is on the ceiling at the end of the intro. Why? Because. I only wish there was some plot to give away.

Hit the jump for spoilers for the Shuffle anime plus recap. If you're a purist, stay away.


We get a very nice new scene in the intro, of either Nerine or Lico (can't quite tell with the resolution) spreading wings and flying with Rimu. You could almost draw the connection between the two, although the whole 'Rimu in a test tube' shot was dropped this time around.

Also, bonus points for very topical lyrics; such as when they start talking about 'past remaining in the heart' we get shots of Lico and Killer Loli Kaede.


I can't quite spot this Mayumi scene, but I'm pretty sure it's old footage and not new. Nevertheless, it's Mayumi, so you get more pictures of her. She is also notable for being the only character with major fanservice in the intro (the 'I'm rubbing my ass in your face to punish you [yeah right]' scene from episode 11). ShuffleMemo seems a lot toned down with the fanservice; perhaps because they no longer have the R-15 rating.

Anyway, Rin's narrating from 10 years into the future. I have no idea if we'll ever get back to the present or if that's just an arbitrary number; but the thought of a twentysomething cast certainly is interesting.

He does his best to explain the merging of the God and Demon worlds, and why magic exists now, but it's really a stopgap explanation at most that really needs to be at the beginning of the original series as well. I've heard there's more explaining in Shuffle! Prologue, so I'll have to check that out.

It's brought up that interracial marriage is common within the worlds now, and there are plenty of halfbreeds out there. This overall turns out to not be important to the plot as only special halfbreeds like Asa have even the possibility of using magic. It's a recessive gene, I suppose.

Also, of note: Mayumi's the only other half I can think of at the moment. Suddenly her dual eye color seems to almost make some sense; the red + blue reminds me of Sia + Nerine as well.

Pretty much back to square 1, as we begin introducing all the characters, beginning with Kaede, who wakes Rin up in bed as always.

We get a large part of Kaede's story, although a lot of it remains hidden for the sake of Shuffle! viewers new to the series. The 'you deserve to die' flashback is shown, and Rin also mentions the uber-fatal car accident, but that's all. If that can be considered all.


Of note: Kaede's either a really good cook or Rin's really a suck-up. Although she apparently pales to the Shocking Shigure and...

Kareha the Cure. I must say, not the same ring, in English anyway. But, wow, 3 good chefs in an anime? That's above average. Now where's the Ayu-class cook of the group?


Rin retcons a bit when he references, I believe, a scene from the original eroge that never appeared in the anime. Which is rather strange, as the anime very rarely pulled punches when it came to fanservice - a sharp contrast with comparison to many other purified h-games-turned-anime, such as Kanon, AIR, Tsukihime, To Heart (technically)...

Kyon's Rin's wit is what is saving ShuffleMemo right now, personally. He's very tongue-in-cheek about describing all the characters in his life. Because they really are people that are crazy to know and to explain to others...

Not pictured: the fanboy "secret service". Burn and die.


Rin says he and Kaede are living very happily together. Which, is a lie and not a lie, in that whole psychology "happy...but not really happy" delusion.

Next is Sia with her own wake-up scene, from her first date with Rin. He says he doesn't even want to mention the mess her lovesickfest caused. XD Truth in that - Sia is arguably one of the more energetic and genki Shuffle! characters, not to mention committed.


Speaking of energetic, how about her dad and the ensuing "chair-fu"?

Rin also mentions the 'bridal training regimen' of Sia, which he equals to Kaede in status. Not sure if a method such as that is entertaining or scary - just be glad he doesn't know of her 'battle panties'.

Or does he?

Anyway, we introduce both parents, the God and Demon, and their amusing relationship both with themselves and their daughters. I always wonder how the two worlds came to peace with each other - perhaps it's just a competitive peace.

But then we get the Haruhiist scenarios where the world is thrown into chaos if Rin picks the wrong girl.


Demon Guy (er, Forbesii) has a lot of interesting character traits, apparently. He's a flirt with both genders (suiting of his looks), and he's also a versatile parent, given that he hand-sews all Nerine's clothing. Which is neat, scary, and neat. But mostly scary.


Speaking of Nerine, whose bright idea was it to have two Rins in the same series?

P.S. Nerine doesn't have an waking-up-Rin intro (shame, too) so we cut to the fanservice of many, many full body pans of her in the swimsuit. And also her squishing Rin.

Rin continues to hide secrets - he compliments Nerine's beautiful singing voice; but if this is 10 years later he should know the true origin of that voice...unless he forgot! Alzheimer's is kicking in earlier and earlier apparently.


New eyecatch! With the happy music and happy girls, without fanservice! Approve.

Primula, she of the purple hair who 'doesn't know how to interact with humans', is next up in introduction order. Nagato Rin makes very optimistic assumptions of Rimu, blaming her lack of social skills on lack of social opportunities.

And, y'know, not that whole 'test tube experiment' issue.

Although, the test subject theme IS brought up.


And now for really annoying Engrish HALLOOOOOO person with awesome >_< onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DYlIBdRBtyvOSYMkGcN27wdUXMAoPmleqZJgeaBk0isCsb8YP636o9FSJo1yuA_p6gQvcfFvjKkgMwCQCFzkE6EH3ZIkSHN1pS2Om9jz_P8pUZgxq3hoqh7FP_j3tgeAjbGlUx9yCyyf/s1600-h/shufflememo-1-1.png">
And also whatever face this is. Diamond face?

Funnily enough, Rin has nothing but good things to say about this "Wonder Woman." You wonder why, hmm? It couldn't be that he likes her, no, no way...

Although, he does a good job at playing that possibility off by characterizing Asa as the person who would rather be friends than lovers - which is very true, since she does technically the least Rin-chasing in Shuffle!


In fact, Kaede x Rin seems more apparent from the recaps, as we go back to the first episode where Asa compliments that shipping.

Also, the first fanservice recap shot, not counting the intro: Rin getting shoved under Asa's skirt when hiding from the annoying fanboy secret service.


Rin mentions nothing of Asa's past but does discuss Ama, and her relations with her daughter, which apparently are very good. But, as a second-time viewer should know, they weren't always.

He brings up two very important things about Ama: her Ayu hat and her connection to Rimu - both vital to the test tube plot.

With the main characters run through, we now move on to some of the secondary, such as Kareha No Last Name (and definitely not Misaka for sure this time).

Apparently she's got quite the following too - although rather illogically, as her romantic visions are, as Rin puts it 'peculiar'. I'd call it 'crazy.' But at this rate, what Shuffle! girl doesn't have a following?

(P.S. Rin mentions Kareha's little sister Tsubomi by name and name only)

Although, Rin does mention that Kareha can be very mature at times, which is very true - but seriously, all the shiny and mymymy-ing is a bit of a detriment.

Itsuki's up next, with the hilarious music.

He's apparently a genius, which is really surprising coming from someone named Itsuki, not to mention a Second Male Character. Must be the glasses. The awesome, awesome Eriol-shiny glasses.

Itsuki, who is strangely popular with the ladies, is like that way because of his h-game-mimicking Nice Guy personality, which draws them in, until they're in his grasp and then...snap! He scares them off with the Harem Pervert mentality. Wait, that's not how it's supposed to work, is it.


And now for Mayumi! Finally! Flat chest alliance fighto!

Anyway, we get more Mayumi fanservice (making up for lost time, apparently). Rin describes her as an energetic girl, which quite possibly could be the worlds' biggest understatement.

She carries a camera around all the time - Tomoyo type plusplus! Just what we needed to hear! Also, as mentioned, she's a crossbreed that used to live in the demon world. Wonder how immigration requirements work in between the two worlds.


She lives in a public bath? Is this some sort of translation error? That's a rather strange fact - I suppose she lives by herself then, although I would prefer a house to a bath personally.

Also, insert pedophilia joke with the naked little kids. Beats the adults, at least, I would imagine, and Mayumi wouldn't be able to handle the women on the right side (with, y'know, breasts) so she sticks with goggling at little boys.

Nadeshiko the teacher is the last character introduced, and I really have nothing interesting to say about her. She's your stereotypical hard-exterior soft-interior with the bust size of a typical anime teacher (which is to say, scarily large), and...uh...who cares?

Rin ends the episode on a card-drawing analogy, which I'm sure has something to do with the Shuffle! name. Also, he calls his life 'crazy', 'without a break', and a 'soap opera'.

That's a QFT post if I've ever seen one.

Well, the recap episode's over. Tune in next time for...a recap episode. Gotcha!

-CCY