Posts in Futakoi Alternative Category
April 27, 2005
The boss of the Sakurazukis, Zenji, does a bit of dealing (with some big cash) then the scene shifts to the street, where Land Shark Joe from Kansai and his two accomplices.. including one polar bear... go to try to buy out a store with a pile of cash, but the owner refuses to sell. Then two girls in goth loli costumes show up, calling themselves the masked goth lolis. It should be pretty obvious to those that watched Futakoi that the two goth lolis are Sakurazuki Kira & Yura ;) They take on the long-limbed fellow and tie him in knots, deal with the polar bear by giving him a block of ice, and give Joe the good ol' goth loli kick. All while Rentarou, who was riding his bike by, stopped and watched.
Joe and his buddies go out again, this time to get an old lady to sell her land.. but the masked goth lolis show up again and stop him. Well, maybe the third time's the charm? Joe tries to run a truck into a building, but yet again, the goth lolis stop him.
Since some of y'all who watched Futakoi Alternative probably aren't familiar with the twins who appeared, and even some who watched Futakoi might not know so much about the the twins, so I'll introduce them here and tell y'all how to differentiate each set. As more twins are introduced in the show I'll do the same here ;) I'm getting most of the information here from the Futakoi Visuals book (definitely a good buy if you're a Futakoi fan).
桃井愛＆舞 Momoi Ai & Mai
Momoi Ai and Mai are the oldest set of twins in Futakoi and also the newest, added for the Futakoi PS2 game. I'm not really into the sensei thing, so they're not really one of my favorites..
In Dengeki G's Magazine 双恋 Futakoi...
Ai is your (the reader is the guy character) homeroom teacher. She's very popular among the students since she's a person that understands things. Around people at school she's relatively strict with you. However, when the people around leave, she's "The Girl Next Door" just like she used to be and gently dotes on you.
Mai is the counselor at the school you attend. Her displays of affection are very bold and always make your heart race. She rather likes playing tricks on people, so she'll take off her glasses and become Ai, or mess with you. By the way, you don't know which is the older sister.
In 双恋 Futakoi...
Ai and Mai work at the school Nozomu attends, and generally just help him out in various ways. That's about it ;)
In フタコイ オルタナティブ Futakoi Alternative...
Ai and Mai worked at the high school Rentarou attended, and a very strong relationship developed between the three, however, it was one that wouldn't last. Read my Futakoi Alternative 3 entry for more details.
Ai and Mai are introduced this time, and theirs is not a very happy story... there's still some SD silliness (yeesh, Sara is violent), of course, but the overall mood isn't like that. The rest later.
Two years ago, Sara and Souju came to Rentarou to ask him to do something... he embraced the two who were crying...
And 2 years later, now they're sleeping on both sides of him :) Something happens to give him a huge nosebleed ;).. and after he screams, waking up Sara and Souju, Sara beats the crap out of him.. owwww...
Rentarou talks with Mai, a woman he was friends with before. She's got some work for him... She wants to know what her twin sister, Ai, is doing since she hasn't been able to get in contact with her. So Rentarou, Souju, and Sara steak out the place Ai's at to do some surveillance... but Rentarou gets stuck with Dirty Harry, so Sara and Souju have to do it on their own. They follow Ai back to Rentarou's office, where she's got some work for Rentarou..
No where near as hectic and insane as last time, but still enjoyable :) Lots of flashbacks to somewhat explain how Rentarou met Souju/Sara and we also see his very cool dad in action in one (it's the action scene that was in the preview). The rest later.
Okay, now to get to work here. I'm not doing to do a blow-by-blow, scene-by-scene thing here since we were all over the place, jumping back for some flashbacks here and there, back to the present, another flashback, a short thing on those twins who were separated, then when they met again when they were both 40 they had married women who looked the same and had the same name and their kids were born on the same day was thrown in as well, so I'll go the same random-ish route here with my thoughts ;)
Rentarou should not try singing like he did in the baths early this time any more :P Seems he and Sara and Souju are well-known to everyone in the area, though everyone calls him 二代目 ("the 2nd") in reference to his father who was the 1st, of course, and who also saved the city, but that's explained later on.
Sara and Souju were pretty hilarious this time, with plenty of SD for both. They fight over who should answer the phone (for Rentarou's detective work). Sara gives a nail all she's got, just about bringing the house down again (at least it seemed like it would). And Sara tries cooking... that thing she made was not in any way edible... SD Sara crying after that was rather cute ;)
Rentarou first met Sara and Souju 2 years ago, when they came to his detective office.. for something, but before that's even talked about Sara goes full-on ツンツン to Rentarou, complaining that his decorating sense sucks ;) He quickly comes to understand that though they look the same on the outside, their personalities are just about exact opposites of one another.
Otherwise, Sara, Souju, and Rentarou spend the day waiting on a client that never shows up, and after Rentarou goes to sleep... with Sara and Souju by his side... no fair... he dreams about what happened five years ago...
A giant squid attacks Nikotama and sets the whole city on fire. Rentarou's dad, Ainosuke, the guy with the afro-ish hair, is determined to protect the place he loves. Rentarou (yes, that's him with that hair), however, is not... not until after his dad gives the speech about being a man, then he decides to join in, and they glide towards the giant squid. Ainosuke jumps from the glider, runs across the missles the squid launched, then gives the vile thing the good ol' "Detective Kick", kicking the crap out of it. Very cool ;)
And after waking up, for some reason Rentarou thinks he sees a UFO, and he, Souju and Sara run outside all around the area and look like they're having quite a bit of fun :)
Nice change of pace from the hectic insanely paced first episode to a more calmed down, slower look at how everyday life is for the three. It was still here, there, and everywhere with the direction this time with all those flashbacks thrown in, but still very much enjoyable. However... Souju needs more screentime to herself. It seems like Sara's been getting all the attention lately, you know -- and it's almost pushed me over to the Sara side of the fence, lol ;)
There was a next episode preview this time. There's a B&W film filter on the entire time, kinda giving it that old-time detective movie feel. As for what's coming up in "Emerald Mountain High", it seems that the Momoi twins, Ai and Mai will be introduced. Just from the preview, it seems like a serious episode, but we'll see about that ;)
I'm writing about Futakoi too much, aren't I? ;) Since some of y'all who watched Futakoi Alternative probably aren't familiar with the twins who appeared in that episode, and even some who watched Futakoi might not know so much about the the twins, so I'll introduce them here and tell y'all how to differentiate each set. As more twins are introduced in the show I'll do the same here ;) I'm getting most of the information here from the Futakoi Visuals book (definitely a good buy if you're a Futakoi fan).
雛菊るる＆らら Hinagiku Lulu/Lala
The chou-genki and very kawaii Hinagiku Lulu and Lala are the youngest set of twins in Futakoi. According to the Futakoi Visuals book, they're 4th grade elementary school students, so they're around 10 or so. Though they might be a bit older in Alternative. I guess I'd say they're my second favorite set of twins, second to Souju and Sara, of course ;)
I should mention here that the original Futakoi work that the 2 TV animes are based on is NOT a game. It's a monthly serialization in Dengeki G's Magazine (took the place of Sister Princess) as seen in the Lula/Lala scan below and the Futakoi Visuals book, every month focusing on a different set of twins with illustrations and a short dialogue from the twins. Usually very kawaii~~ :)
I neglected to mention something about Futakoi Alternative to those who did not watch the fall Futakoi. You do NOT, I repeat, NOT have to watch the previous Futakoi to enjoy Futakoi Alternative. I see I did not take the time to explain who was who in the entry about the episode so... I guess I'll have to write that up later and tell y'all how to tell each of the twins apart ;)
So they used this for the beginning of the opening. That actually has a title: 「双子の天使達が舞い降りてきて世の悪事をぶっ倒しちゃうぞ！」編. Something like "Angel twins fly down from the sky and kick butt of the evils in the world!" ;)
from February Dengeki G's Magazine
So... Y'all are probably wondering why there was no next episode preview after episode 1. Well, according to the ufotable diary, it seems they made the episode a "special version", that's 90 seconds longer than usual, so there wasn't any room for one. However, you'll be able to see the preview for episode 2 soon at the Starchild Futakoi Alternative website after episode 1 airs on Chiba TV (on the 12th). I have just as much an idea on what it'll be like as everyone else out there, which is to say absolutely none at all, lol.
I'm still kinda reeling from the first episode, but in a good way ;) I did not expect the sweet Futakoi girls (link to scans from Futakoi Visuals book) to be carrying heavy artillery. Especially not these two:
I mean, look at Lulu and Lala. Aren't they so cute and sweet, posing for a picture for onii-chan:
But now, onii-chan should be very scared if he runs into them 'cause he might find this pointed at his face:
Regardless, Lulu and Lala were still cute :) Perhaps エロカワイイ would be more appropriate, with the flashes of pantsu and being covered in that... umm.. ヌルヌル stuff... and such..
Perhaps some of the madness will be explained soon. So long as I get my drama that was shown in the promo trailer along with the action I'll be a very happy camper :)
Opening: "New World" by Be Yumi: Korean singer from what I've read. Awesome action-packed animation showing each set of twins, and the song captures the "cool" feel of the show great.
Ending: "Bokura no Jikan" by eufonius: The claymation ED comes back! Very cool, and nicely done song :)
Wow.. when they said "Alternative" they meant Alternative, lol. Forget everything you saw in the fall Futakoi.. well, except for the twins and their names and such.. but this is a completely absolutely different beast right from the start, just exuding "cool" unlike the other. ufotable has really outdone themselves this time. I like :) Gimme some time to write up a summary here... prolly going to have to watch it again... ;)
A white squid-like tentacle creature attacks a military-looking plane. Lulu and Lala, like you've never seen them before, are onboard trying to keep it at bay with some pretty heavy artillery, and finally get it trapped behind a door and caught in an explosion. And now they're covered in white goo ;) But they didn't quite kill it, so they have make a getaway -- ufotable gives a glimpse of some pantsu as they run away. This ain't no Negima, you know ;) -- and they parachute from the plane, which explodes after they jump, landing in a riverbed.
Change scene.. The town of Futagotamagawa, so named because there are a lot of twins there. And there, apparently the Sakurazukis are now yakuzas, running Nikoniko Financiers. Rentarou -- private detective, 21 years old -- is being held by them. Seems the boss with the robotic arm, Zenji, had a bit of a run in with Rentarou's pop and lost an arm 30 years ago. And he ain't happy ;)
A long trailer, clocking in at just over 5 minutes, is available on StarChild's Futakoi Alternative site now.
The stars of the show this time are the Shirogane twins, Sara and Souju, much to my delight, and ufotable's done a great job with them. The basic premise is that both of them work as helpers for a private detective, Rentarou, a college dropout, with the theme for the show (guessing from how many times it was repeated) being 三人でいたい, "We want the three of us to be together", Souju, Sara, and Rentarou. And it looks like we'll be in for a bit of everything, comedy, drama, and some action as well. The middle part of the trailer with all the action threw me off a bit -- see how that figures into things when the show starts (ed: Apparently Rentarou and the rest get attacked by the Mafia or something), but I'm definitely more interested (if that's possible) now, and judging just from the trailer we should be in for a much superior Futakoi show as compared to the fall's :)
