Let’s settle in for another episode of Simoun! The show’s last several episodes have done tremendous damage to the underlying fabric of this team, all while further elaborating on the individual motives of all our sybilla, and even reflecting Simoun’s overarching preoccupation with the natural conflict between faith and military pragmatism. They’ve frankly been one of the best stretch of episodes this show has seen yet, and have clearly demonstrated that the show’s consistent weaknesses in terms of pacing and narrative structure haven’t done anything to undercut its fascinating ideas or gripping character work. “Gripping ideas or characters, wibbly-wobbly narrative foundation” is pretty much how I’d characterize both Sho Aikawa and Mari Okada’s work more generally, but now that we’ve gotten out of the early episodes and their sometimes frustrating aimlessness, the show’s strengths are coming entirely into focus. We’re currently juggling close to a dozen individual character conflicts, and all of them are resulting in natural flare-ups of drama all through Chor Tempest, as personal motivation and public duty clash again and again. With most of the team gone and Neviril close to despair, is it Dominura’s turn to save the day? Let’s find out in Simoun #16!
Tag Archives: Simoun
Simoun – Episode 15
Let’s continue our journey through the captivating Simoun! The show’s last episode was one of its all-time best so far, an unexpectedly focused exploration of the relationship between Morinas and Wapourif that doubled as a very personal articulation of the show’s conflicted thoughts on faith and duty. Once again, the contradictory framing of sybilla as holy icons and sybilla as soldiers resulted in painful friction, this time for Wapourif, as he was forced to grapple with his feelings on both Morinas personally and the nature of the simoun more generally. A tender romance was thus naturally contrasted against a brutally pragmatic order from Dominura, resulting in an episode whose major dramatic beats played into the show’s character arcs, thematic conflicts, and overt narrative all at once. It was a phenomenal episode, and I only hope it’s not the last we see of Morinas and Wapourif growing closer.
That episode was great in its own right, but its implications for Simoun’s ongoing narrative are just as exciting. The episode concluded on Wapourif eventually consenting to dismantle a simoun, which he saw as empty except for its central helices, but which Dominura apparently saw as something truly horrifying. Based on the episode also casually hinting that a sybilla’s body disappears if she dies in combat, it seems reasonable to assume that the sybilla themselves somehow provide fuel for the simoun, in a manner that’s much more gruesomely literal than any of them expected. How this will tie into the fact that simoun work better when their partners are in love, I don’t really know, but I’m excited to continue discovering where all these mysteries lead. Let’s jump right into another episode of Simoun!
Simoun – Episode 14
At long last, we’re returning to the high-flying Simoun! It’s been a little while on my end since we checked in on Chor Tempus, and I’m very eager to return to this strange, uneven, and endlessly compelling series. The show’s last episode was a roiling sea of emotional turns, upsetting the relationship between Neviril and Aaeru while also offering more dark hints at the true nature of Dominura. “Aaeru and Neviril can’t get along” has been one of Simoun’s most enduring conflicts, but the nature of the relationship is definitely different now – it’s no longer Neviril retreating into her shell that seems like the problem, it’s Aaeru trampling over Neviril’s feelings with her own fanatical desire to fly.
The end result of this miscommunication was Neviril’s unhappy realization that she’s actually afraid of Aaeru, which doesn’t surprise me at all. Most of these priestesses fly because they’ve always assumed this is what they’re supposed to do, because they genuinely believe in the sanctity of their mission, or because they’re not ready to visit the spring. Aaeru has stated she’s not ready to visit the spring, but her love of fighting goes beyond that, and seems to be something Neviril finds fundamentally disturbing. I imagine their disagreements will be approaching a head in this episode, if only for narrative spacing reasons; we’re over halfway through this series, and if anything regarding this society’s fundamental nature is going to actually be resolved, we kinda need to get the band back together soon. Either way, Simoun always finds a new way to surprise, so let’s see what episode fourteen brings!
Simoun – Episode 13
Let’s continue our rambling journey through Simoun! Looking back on our recent history, it feels like the show’s last couple episodes have neatly demonstrated Simoun’s extremely variable dramatic range. At times, like in Floe’s focus episode, Simoun rises to become a simultaneously immediately thrilling and thematically rich war thriller, exploring the complexity of individual motivations within an oppressive social order, and smartly contrasting Class S yuri melodrama against a searingly appropriate dystopian background. At other times, like in Kaimu’s episode, the show can get lost in awkward digressions, center its emphasis on drama we’ve been given no reason to invest in, and essentially forego anything resembling a coherent dramatic structure. Simoun’s first act was deeply constrained by this messiness, and it’s only been in the last few episodes that things have pulled together into a propulsive story.
Series composer Sho Aikawa and script writer Mari Okada are both infamous for exactly that kind of narrative incoherence (well, at least they are to me, and I’m the one who gets to make all the damning declarations here), but each of them have also written true masterpieces, and are absolutely writers worthy of respect. I’m guessing Simoun will continue to bear both the messiness and the brilliance of its creators, and am excited to see it all unfold. Let’s jump right into one more episode of Simoun!
Simoun – Episode 12
Let’s continue our journey through the strange and fascinating Simoun! Last week offered our first Floe-focused episode of the show so far, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Floe has always been one of my low-key favorite members of the cast, not necessarily because she herself is charming (I mean, it’s obvious she’s kind of a pill), but because she’s willing to be expressive and needy and petty and generally a full-fledged person in a show where so many of her compatriots work hard to maintain their above-it-all priestess persona. The cast of Simoun are teenage girls who’ve been taught to present themselves as flawless religious icons, and Floe refuses to stop being a teenage girl.
Of course, Floe’s actions aren’t some thoroughly intentional choice designed to undercut the sanctity of her position – she simply does what she wants to, and doesn’t really consider the consequences. It was thus the same qualities that make her such a welcome antidote to the usual priestess image that also put her in a terribly vulnerable position last episode, where she was forced to reckon with the immediate consequences of what priestesses do after developing feelings for an ordinary soldier. Floe has been able to maintain a certain distance from the reality of her situation, but having now destroyed her lover’s home town, I’m guessing she’ll have to finally reckon with her unconsidered feelings on the nature of priestesses. Floe is certainly headstrong, but I feel that her act first, think later philosophy could actually help characters like Neviril, who have many of the same disagreements with Simulacrum society, but less willingness to break protocol in order to voice them. And with Kaimu also being shaken by last episode’s violence, it seems likely the whole team will have to question how they feel about their own work. Let’s dive right back into Simoun!
Simoun – Episode 11
Let’s get back to the fascinating Simoun! With the show’s episode nine peak having represented its first major turning point, we’ve now finally arrived into much sturdier territory, where the melancholy and dramatic ambiguity of the first episodes has been replaced by a much more propulsive focus on Chor Tempest actually regaining their throne. Of course, Simoun is far from a straightforward action platform, and the ambiguity of Simulacrum society, along with its thorny class dynamics, lent a welcome moral complexity to last episode’s conflict between Mamiina and Rea.
In my mind, the first act of this show ended up serving as a somewhat awkward demonstration of the fact that a show needs to make you care about its cast before it can accomplish anything else. Simoun’s concepts have always been interesting, but they haven’t always been grounded in relatable emotional stakes tied to characters we’re actually invested in. With the team now having pulled together and pretty much every episode celebrating one of its internal relationships, Simoun has finally arrived at the emotional grounding necessary to drive its very compelling themes home. Whether this episode continues to bolster the show’s relationship dynamics or returns to interrogating the assumptions of its world, I’m excited to see whatever’s next!
Simoun – Episode 10
Let’s check back in on Simoun! Episodes eight and nine represented the show’s first major turning point, as an attack on the ship prompted Neviril to finally redon her leadership mantel, and even choose Aaeru as her pair. Aaeru’s uncertainty seemed to be what ultimately tipped her hand, leaving Neviril resolved to embrace her own uncertainty about the world and society they inhabit.
Having finally returned to the skies, Neviril then brought that heretical uncertainty before the holy council, and was ultimately rewarded for her honesty by the shrine guardian Onashia. Chor Tempest live, but the resolution of episode nine also prompted a variety of new questions about how this society functions. Onashia seems to exist outside of the law – while those beneath her are traditional priests and politicians, Onashia appears to be an actual living embodiment of their religion. It’s clear that Simulacrum is hiding a variety of secrets from its own people, and if Onashia is who she appears to be, discovering her nature and motivation will be crucial to uncovering the truth of this world. That said, I’m not even sure right now if the “scale” of this show will involve challenging Simulacrum society – after all, we’re almost halfway through, and we’ve pretty much just spent this time dealing with Chor Tempest’s immediate personal problems. But with Neviril back in the saddle, I’m excited to see the whole team working together. Let’s see what’s next in Simoun!
Simoun – Episode 9
The moment has arrived at last! In the midst of an attack by the fierce savages to the north, Neviril has finally been forced to make her choice. Of course, “forced” is the wrong choice of word there – one of the key recurring points of the show so far is the importance of being able to make your own choices, and make them in your own time. Nevertheless, the violence of the highlanders’ actions seems to have shaken Neviril awake, and driven her to recapture the confidence and air of authority that once made her such a natural leader. And Aaeru’s corresponding admission of uncertainty, her fear in the face of this horror, ended up being exactly what Neviril needed to hear. The two are different in every way, from their outlook and attitude to their upbringing and reputations, but both of them are driven by a fundamental uncertainty. That uncertainty may eventually lead them to question the assumptions of their rigid society, but for now, I’m content to let it inspire them to kick some serious highlander ass. With the dream team finally assembled, let’s see Chor Tempest take flight!
Simoun – Episode 8
Let’s return to Simoun! We’re really in the thick of it now, with the last several episodes having firmly established Chor Tempest as a meaningful team. Key character-building episodes have built up Para, Kaimu, Limone, and Aaeru, and the overall volume of ensemble scenes have made sure we also have reasonably strong impressions of the team members who haven’t been specifically highlighted. The ultimate effect of all these episodes has moved Chor Tempest from our emotionally neutral vehicle into Simoun’s worldbuilding to a group I personally want to see succeed, just in time for Neviril’s father to threaten the team with total dissolution. I’m guessing this will be the point where Neviril herself returns to being an active part of the narrative, but the show has essentially cleared all its initial hoops of investment, so I’m happy to follow wherever this story leads. Let’s get right back to Simoun!
Simoun – Episode 7
Let’s continue our journey through Simoun! Episode six was one of the most important episodes so far in a viewer-investment sense, as it gave us some desperately needed insight into the feelings of Para, Kaimu, and even Neviril. After several episodes of feeling stranded in something close to a dramatic stasis, we now have an emotional understanding of not just those three, but also Limone and Aaeru, meaning we can meaningfully perceive the dramatic push and pull of their various desires. On top of that, Para is actually working on the same side as Aaeru now, and has given Neviril her blessing to find a different pair. Simoun has been a slow burner ever since its dramatic first episode, but it feels like things are finally coming together now, and Neviril may actually come out of her shell. Almost all of these characters bear some kind of trauma that inhibits their freedom, but now that we actually understand their feelings and goals, it’ll be much easier to sympathize with their struggles. Let’s get right to it!