Iceman asks you all to watch his amazing performance
While I’d admit that this wasn’t as good as the previous episode where it was all just gun-ho exciting to watch, this was still a solid continuation of the series and brought us some significant development for Iceman and quite a lot of foreshadowing to come for our little princess basketball player.
So after all the trouble Dan and the others have caused back in Rollingtown, they have decided to make like the wind and move onto another place to avoid capture as well as finding some strong players to go up against, killing two birds with one stone (or basketball).
But as you can guess Iceman still isn’t going to get out of his habit of throwing DESTROY (death) balls anytime soon and this isn’t only restricted to his opponents as Dan so painfully knows. But being an Iceman insight episode you wouldn’t expect anything other than the best throws right? This episode did a great deal to give us a glimpse of Iceman’s past and I can honestly say that it doesn’t seem like he has had a nice one either. Throughout the episode we get pieces of flashback showing us a lonely and rejected Iceman due to his unnatural behaviour of destroying people which is strengthened with the comments of his former team mates. It seems like Iceman has pretty much been a lone wolf in the past which isn’t surprising at all but you have got to feel sorry for the guy since all of those negative opinions towards him is just a misunderstanding…and an underappreciation of his love and passion towards basketball.
I can see that there is still a lot of his background to come and all of this was just a taster of what’s to come. This is what’s so amazing about this series is that the characters all have a hidden side to them and that their surface characters are just a cover up for something fragile and delicate. They all feel so human and alive and hence enjoyable to watch (not to mention that I am a sucker for tragic types). Sera will be another character to look out for if any of you have noticed a nicely placed flashback scene within the OP theme, I’m drooling with anticipation already.
On the other side of the episode we also have emphasis on Flora’s 6th sense for feeling changes in the air. This also brings about a sort of “mysterious side” to the series and adds another interesting dimension to an already fantastic genre. There is clearly a lot of foreshadowing for something big to come in the future as throughout the episode we have Flora hearing some creepy voice in the wind and noticing some remarkably familiar shapes dotted around in the desert town where they are at. There is clearly a mysterious and creepy connection with the Earth and the Moon but so far there isn’t enough information around to pull out any theories or connections. So while we are here happily enjoying the series on the surface (a group of heros travelling around and challanging others to matches) there is definitely a bigger picture to all of this to think about and THIS kind of multi-layered plot is exactly what I love to see.
Meanwhile, the humor and quirkiness of the series is still very amusing to watch, in fact it could possibly be the best of its type for this season which is my silver lining amongst all the medicore series I am currently watching aswell. The idols also make an appearance here and the preview is generous enough to show us that they will be focused on. Wohoo!
In other news, I’ll be doing some ratings for the spring season later on…oh boy…
Flora and Iceman’s highlights:
So upon wandering through the desert Flora, sees this mirage and hears voices…suspicious? They look like some ancient ruins to me.
*rubs rubs*
And here is our official destination for the day; Float town.
Dan squares off with Iceman but what do you know…
The gentleman over there is enjoying a spot of Earl Gray and throws back wise cracks like it’s completely normal.
More creepy voices…maybe this can turn into something like the X-files.
Note: remember the two lizards on the bottom left corner.
*Fangirl mode ON*
“Kyaaaaaa, he’s such a cool and hot guy!!” ^____^
Those lizards…
Apparantly these goons are former team mates of Iceman, before he got kicked out.
*kira kira kira~*
So it seems like they have an extreme case of DESTROY-titis
…are Iceman’s sun glasses. Now I wouldn’t be surprised if Coco’s wheelchair is alive aswell.
Some mysterious symbol
Which only Flora can sense (see) plus more voices.
Iceman just couldn’t help it.
But it seems like he has a fan already though I would have never guessed that the fan would be the loli of the trio ^^’
*Sweatdrops*
So here is a glimpse into Iceman’s past…
…looks quite dark, dreary and tragic to me.
FINAL DESTROY CRUSHER!!!
But Dan bravely takes the death ball head on, the animation quality of this series is also something to take note of. Simply eye candy :3
Dan! Sugoi!
Now Iceman is going to get a taste of his own medicine…
“eh?“
“EEEHHHHHHH?????” So with that the cat is out of the bag and everyone realises that his DESTROY balls are his passes. Maybe he should have at least told them but I suppose he doesn’t want to spoil the surprise.
It feels like I’ve seen these shapes somewhere before…hmm…
But to Flora, those shapes glow like the are radioactive O.o
And so the mystery…
…continues…
I like how Flora makes such a convincing Shouta. It’s not even the Rie Kugimiya factor, she just manages to look like one even though she had a petanko in an earlier episode.