Hiiro no Kakera - 03

 

Now that all five guardians have been introduced, as well as the villains, it's time to get the show on the road!

I, for one, appreciate that they managed to do all that in just three episodes even though they're planned for a full 26 episodes (compared to a show like Brave10).

The fifth guardian, Inukai Shinji, returns home after leaving because his powers didn't manifest and he needed to train.  While the other guardians seemed to welcome him back, there was some bitterness in the return.  This episode, more than the first two, illustrated the fact that the guardians are bound by some sort of ancient history to always protect the princess.  They aren't told anything, yet are expected to fulfill their duties.  Takuma and Mahiro obviously resents their roles, and Yuuichi understands.  I'm not sure what to think about Suguru though, but if there was ever a person who resents their role so much that they would turn out to be an antagonist, my bet is on him.  I could be completely wrong though.  In any case, Shinji was able to break free of that, yet still returned, and I don't think the other guardians can understand why.

One of the things that occurred to me while watching is how rigid the environment is that the guardians and Tamaki are expected to live in.  Tamaki still hasn't been told anything about her grandmother, and the guardians aren't much help because they don't know anything either.  Then there's Shinji; he left to train because his powers never manifested.  What if the powers never did?  Would he be expected to be a guardian still, or would they have cast him out?  I'm not sure if we'll ever find out the answer, but it seems like a harsh reality, especially since the other guardians are very bitter about not getting to lead their own lives the way they want to.

The enemy, who's names are Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier (German for the numbers one, two, three, four), are lead by the holy Monado, who I can only assume is the blonde girl.  Their motives are still a mystery.  I have a feeling, though, that Tamaki's fight to give the guardians a life of their own might be the overarching plot point.  I could be wrong; I almost always am!