Anime

Re:CREATORS Episode 16: Preparing for Battle and Baiting the Trap

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Quick Summary of Re:CREATORS Episode 16

In Re:CREATORS episode 16, “This is the actual beginning, isn’t it?”, Selesia Upitiria and Souta Mizushino discuss writing philosophy as Selesia drives a sports car — at a high rate of speed. Later, at the hot springs, Selesia has to practically drown Marine to keep her from embarrassing Hikawa Hikaru with memories about a steamy high school trip. Aki Kikuchihara gives her team an inspirational pre-game speech, but it wasn’t tea she’d been drinking. Later, Team Kikuchihara kicks off their plan on a much larger scale than I anticipated — with the voice actors making an appearance! Yes. The real voice actors. In the episode.

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious!

What’s In This Post

Quick Episode Summary
What I Liked in this Episode
Thoughts about the Episode
Related Posts

What I Liked about Re:CREATORS Episode 16

Selesia Behind the Wheel

Of course Selesia earned her driver’s license! A car’s easy to drive compared to Vogelchevalier! Capture from the Amazon Strike stream.

I think the look that Selesia gives Mizushino had just the right amount of annoyance (0:17). After all, he’s ridden with her before (in episode 1), so he knows she can drive. He should show a little more faith! I also loved how proud she looked (and sounded!) when she showed him her license (0:27).

Mizushino and Selesia’s discussion about writing hit really close to home (starting around 0:48). I don’t know for sure — I’ve never met Rei Hiroe, much less talked to him — but it sounded autobiographical. Almost like he was laying out philosophy of writing. Selesia might think it’s weird, but the idea that writing stories is like “viewing this world through a different lens” is compelling. What’s more human than the desire to know and understand? I also love the song playing in the background, which was “E:verydaytor 2” from Re:CREATORS Original Soundtrack. It’s a soundtrack that I assume I’ll stop listening to everyday at some point!

Matsubara has to wear his glasses even in the bath! Getting old can be a real pain (though it certainly beats the alternative!). Capture from the Amazon Strike stream.

Takashi Matsubara even wears his glasses in the bath (4:43). I’m not sure if he’s being prepared or just forgot he had them on.

The Worst Fan Service Ever

I love how unconcerned Rui Kanoya was when he learned his voice actor was a woman (5:22). He didn’t get upset. He just wanted to meet her!

I think Kanoya wins “Most Meta Moment in a Meta Series” in this episode. When Nishio Ohnishi arrives at the bath, he flashes his bottom at the other men when he spins around. Kanoya says, “If this was an anime, that would have been the worst fan service moment ever” (5:52).

Moments, later, Yuuya Mirokuji wins “Most Extreme Contrast of the Episode”* when, dressed in only a towel, he walks past Ohnishi and complains, “I’m beat. Crowds of girls follow me wherever I go here” (6:02). I also have to be point out that the women and those inclined to enjoy the male physique get the fan service first in this episode. I think that’s very fair-minded of this show!

Poor Marine! She was about to talk about a scene that would have embarrassed Hikaru, so Selesia had to act quickly! Capture from the Amazon Strike stream.

Before stepping into the bath, Hikaru reminisced that she hadn’t been to a hot spring since a camping trip in school. Selesia had to practically drown Marine to keep her from doing her own reminiscing of that scene, which apparently included some moments not suitable for prime time (6:54). I wonder if that means Selesia has played the game, or that she’s just astute and figured it out from context? Probably the latter…

Meteora’s Awesome Sense of Humor

It’s hard not to adore Meteora Österreich and her sense of humor. Unseen by anyone in the bath, she slowly surfaces and extols the importance of surprises in life (7:20). Of course, she’s very monotone and wry as she says it.

he idea of nude scenes self-censoring with random bars of light has become a trope. Aiming as it does for a more realistic approach, Re:Creators uses reflective water (7:39)! The light reflecting off the water protects Selesia’s modesty as she talks to Hikaru. It conceals Meteora at another point (8:37). I’ll skip making a joke about the two workloads being different for reflection-kun!

No convenient wisps of light or drifting steam for Re:Creators. It’s reflective water surfaces for the win! Capture from the Amazon Strike stream.

The “calm before the battle” vibe was strong in this episode, especially as Selesia began talking about how this might be the last time she gets to enjoy the aroma of a hot springs (8:33). It starts to drive home the idea that events are about to become even more unpredictable and dangerous. I’ve really gotten to like these characters, and this talk made he reflect that I’ll have to say goodbye soon.

Drunk Kikuchihara is Best Kikuchihara

Kikuchihara’s melt down was epic (starting around 11:22). The points she made of project management and motivation were spot on. On one hand, I was embarrassed on her behalf as she slammed down oolong tea cocktail thinking it was only oolong tea. On the other, I think she needed the release. She’d been working as hard as any of them, but unlike the artists and writers who could point to work they created with their own hands as their achievements, she could only show success through them. That can be frustrating! I think it’s a tribute to their respect for her that the male writers and artists immediately fell into postures of respect when she began yelling at them (11:57). Marine sat there trembling, and she wasn’t even in Kikuchihara’s sights!

I think Kikuchihara earned this rant. I wonder if she’ll remember it? Capture from the Amazon Strike stream.

After her motivational speech, Meteora put her hand out and invited everyone to join in (15:02). It was a nice gesture of camaraderie. Most of them joined in right away, but Mizushino felt like he had to hold back. Apparently, he’s still a little unsure of his place in the group. I have to give credit to Mirokuji, who pointed out that the passed out Kikuchihara couldn’t join of her own volition (15:19). I wonder who picked her up and brought her to the circle? That had to be a tricky operation…

Okay, I was expecting a spectacle, but I wasn’t expecting just how big they’d go with the kick-off (culminating around 17:57 with the fireworks outside the stadium). The two voice actors getting the crowd worked up, the choreographed lighting, the amazing sound system, and the pyrotechnics shows just how serious Team Kikuchihara is about getting this right!

Sora Amamiya is the real voice actor who plays Kanoya. This show dances on the line between reality and fiction! Capture from the Amazon Strike stream.

The show just made me experience vertigo. In the stadium, they displayed a picture of Selesia, then split the screen to show her voice actor, “Mika Komatsu” (18:06). In real life (whatever that means in the context of this show!), the voice actor is Mikako Komatsu. And the picture was the anime version of the real voice actor, who we met in last week’s behind the scenes episode! Same thing with Kanoya’s voice actor, Sora Amamiya (18:09). Has this show no respect for reality? I’m half expecting to check the news tonight and see that this event has really kicked off! My luck, of all the Re:Creators characters, I’ll meet Magane Chikujouin first, and I’m pretty sure she’s more quick-witted than I am…

Meteora Baits the Birdcage

The upgraded Meteora 2.0 begins the chant to bait the birdcage. Capture from the Amazon Strike stream.

I enjoy musical foreshadowing. Remember in episode 10, when Matsubara and Marine worked together to give Selesia an upgrade after she’d been stabbed? The song “BRAVE THE OCEAN” (from Re:CREATORS Original Soundtrack) playing when she transformed as a result of her writer and artist striking a chord with the audience. In this episode, as Meteora is reciting her spell, (18:45), that same song plays again. This time, it’s to commemorate Meteora’s ability to tap into the power of the gods and bring Vogelchevalier into the world — in another attempt to please the audience.

I was impressed by the size of the Birdcage (19:06). I was under the impression that it was just within the stadium, but no, it’s the entire city!

If you’ve read many of my posts, you know that I love little details. When Kanoya powers up Giga Machina, if you look carefully at its shoulders, you can see a flock of birds take off (20:24). It’s not only cool in and of itself, it really shows the scale of that mech!

Look at how happy Selesia is to see Vogelchevalier again! Capture from the Amazon Strike stream.

Selesia’s joy at seeing Vogelchevalier again just flew off the screen (20:50)! She looked so happy!

Mirokuji seemed pretty happy with his power-up, too (21:19). For a second, I wondered if I’d accidentally switched to My Hero Academia and its character Shoto Todoroki, what with all of the ice flowing around. The show’s painted a picture of a capable, powerful Team Kikuchihara. I just hope they’re not playing into Altair’s hands.

Altair and her allies look like they’re posing for a grim family portrait (21:50). Altair knows exactly what Meteora’s doing, and she’s not in the least bit concerned. What could she be up to?

* Yes, I make up these awards on the spot. I wonder if I should start keeping track and displaying them somewhere on this site?

Thoughts about Re:CREATORS Episode 16

“We might fail. Our story might turn out to be stupid. All our work might end up being pointless. Do you still want to do it?”

Watch your hands there, Hakua! Between Selesia and Alicetelia, you might not survive the reaction! Capture from the Amazon Strike stream.

If you’re a writer, if you’ve never thought the same thing that Selesia asked, I think I envy you. Every time I sit down to write anything — a blog post, a piece of application code, a policy or set of procedures for work, or even, heaven forbid, a novel — those thoughts are always right there. I know I’m hardly alone in this experience, but I have to admit that hearing them in this context is a little reassuring.

Hey, watch your hands there Shou Hakua (22:50)! I’m pretty sure Selesia wouldn’t want you to get getting all handsy like that! Alicetelia February doesn’t look pleased about it, either.

I’m still worried about Altair’s plans. Based on what we learned back in episode 10, there’s some relationship between energy expenditure and fragility of the Created’s connection to the world. There also seems to be an ordering component — which Created acts when seems to be a factor. Is Altair planning to let Team Kikuchihara unleash so much energy that this reality rejects them? With the audience that’s assembled, whatever happens will have a huge immediate impact, so the stakes are certainly high!

What do you think Altair’s up to? What do you think of Team Kikuchihara’s plan? Let me know in the comments!

Other Reviews of This Series

Other Reviews of Re:CREATORS Episode 16

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