July 30th, 2013 
AstroNerdBoy Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya Episode 03 REVIEW
Fate/kaleid liner プリズマ☆イリヤ
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
With the Class Card captured, Luvia shows up with her fake, slow laugh, irritating Rin. Luvia takes the Class Card from the other magic girl, Miyu, Rin punches Luvia, leading them to duke it out. The mirror world is collapsing, so Miyu sends everyone back to the real world. There, Rin asks Luvia who Miyu is. Luvia concedes that the staff, Magical Sapphire, broke things off with her and now says that Miyu is her Master. Rin understands since that’s what happened to her. Luvia leaves with her fake laugh, Miyu in tow. Rin thanks Ilya for her work, then tells her that they still have more work to do capturing cards, much to Ilya’s surprise.
At school the next day, Ilya is exhausted when Taiga-sensei introduces a new transfer student from Finland named Miyu Edelfelt, the magic girl from the night before. She’s assigned the empty desk behind Ilya. Since Taiga forgot to bring the lesson printout, she declares a self-study period. Ilya takes the time to head up to the roof where she and Ruby can talk. Sapphire also shows up, using polite speech to introduce herself to Ilya and thanks Ilya for taking care of her “Neesan”. Ilya is surprised that Ruby is the older sister. Sapphire has Ruby explain how the Class Cards were detected, the Heroic Spirits associated with each card, and the powerful weapons associated with them called Nobel Phantasms. Explanations done, Miyu shows up, chastising Sapphire for being in the open, hen the two depart.
Class back in session, Miyu shows her genius in math class, where she solves a match problem using very advanced mathematical formulas. She shows her genius in art, where her portrait is done in perfect cubism style. In cooking class, Miyu shows her genius by preparing a perfectly presented hamburger steak meal with only a single frying pan. During PE, Ilya’s friends ask her to not let Miyu win there, but during their dash race, Miyu wins. After school, a depressed Ilya sits in a nearby park. Ruby encourages her when Miyu shows up. Miyu wants to know why Ilya is collecting cards. Ilya explains that she was tricked into this, so Miyu asks why she fights. Ilya says she’s always had a love of games and magic girls, so she’s going along for the ride here. Miyu doesn’t like her reasons and tells Ilya not to fight as Miyu will collect the cards.
Ilya can’t understand why Miyu is so angry as she and Ruby leave the park. Ilya comes home to see Sella standing outside looking across the street. Ilya then notices that a giant mansion is now across the street from her home. Sella explains that a work crew showed up in the morning and somehow built this entire mansion in a day. As they look in amazement, Miyu shows up. Miyu seems embarrassed as she enters the mansion gate and embarrassed to admit she lives there. Ruby and Ilya talk about this in the bath that night. Ilya says that they would have met Miyu again anyway as Rin has left another note for them to meet her at midnight.
Thoughts/Review:
This episode made sure to touch quite a few cliché moments from anime/manga in general, but also took the time for a lengthy, but needed, exposition on Class Cards, Heroic Spirits, Nobel Phantasms, and the like.
First, there was the haughty, spoiled ojousama type character with the annoying, fake laugh — Luvia. Her laugh has been done in any number of series. The one that always comes foremost to my mind is The Slayers franchise, where in the movies and OVAs, the character Naga had that annoying, fake laugh.
Rin and Luvia constantly fighting also smacks of The Slayers franchise, where Lina Inverse and Naga would sometimes fight. It also reminded me of the fights between the ojousama Ayaka and Asuna in Negima! It is hard to say which path this series will choose for these rivals (constant rivals like in Slayers or actual friends like in Negima!).
Then, there was the glasses girl in class who drew the BL image for art class, Suzuka-chan. She reminded me of the fujoshi loving Takako from Kannagi or even Rika from Genshiken Nidaime.
Ilya’s other classmate friends are all stock, clichéd character types from Ilya’s best friend to the sports girl to the girl who’s eyes are always shut (with pink hair as an added bonus).
Of course, the big cliché in the room is Miyu as the rival magic girl, apparently with some secret, showing up as a transfer student in Ilya’s class. It really does smack of Nanoha’s and Fate’s early rivalry in Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. I already know that Miyu and Ilya will become friends like Nanoha and Fate did since I took a gander at the crossover manga special featuring these two series. ^_^;
So, the question I have is why does Miyu fight and gather Class Cards? Why does she have the same last name as Luvia although they do not appear to be related?
Although this episode was full of clichés, I still had fun watching it. I look forward to seeing where things go next.
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Unfortunately the anime left out the part from the manga where Illya guessed that Miyu would be a mysterious transfer student due to all the magic girl series she has watched.
On another note I do find it amusing that the opening for this is sung by LiSA who also sung the first Fate/Zero opening
Disregard that last part. I was mixing it up with Sword Art Online for some reason (I blame the Whiskey)
Sorry disregard the last part, I was mixing it up with Sword Art Online for some reason.
>Unfortunately the anime left out the part from the manga where Illya guessed that Miyu would be a mysterious transfer student due to all the magic girl series she has watched.
Thus making fun of the cliched elements, eh? ^_^ Yeah, that is a bummer.
As the anon above me mentioned, Ilya was in the manga genre savvy enough to realize that to fulfill the cliché, Miyu would join her class the next day as the new transfer student.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I really enjoyed the manga and now the anime because of the details and references to the Nasuverse, the Fate franchise and FSN. Obviously, everyone who has seen FSN immediately recognized the infamous “I ask you. Are you my Master?” scene between Rin and Ilya in episode one. But there is also Waver and Rin’s letter in episode two, Rin getting Archer first and her first “enemy” having Lancer, Rider being fought on the school grounds… I could go on forever.
In the manga it was also explained why Rin’s magecraft was utterly useless against Rider. Rider had in FSN a Magic Resistance skill of Rank B, being on par with Lancer and only losing to Saber’s Rank A. Her stats remained in this universe. Oh, and Rin and Luvia’s rivalry from Fate/hollow ataraxia and their constant bickering was kept. That’s what I expected from the very first scene they appeared. ^_^
I am also very impressed with the casting of the voice actors. Yu Asakawa voiced Rider last episode, only to make some growls and say Belle- before getting cut off by Miyu.
Sapphire also shows up, using polite speech to introduce herself to Ilya and thanks Ilya for taking care of her “Neesan”. Ilya is surprised that Ruby is the older sister.
The twin Kaleidostick sisters are actually a clear reference to the twin maid sisters from Tsukihime, Kohaku (energetic and enthusiastic, sometimes so much that she starts to annoy the characters – well, at least in Kagetsu Tohya) and Hisui (the younger one, calling her sister “Nee-san”, while being more quiet and reserved).
http://images.wikia.com/typemoon/images/e/e4/Kohaku%26HisuiRemakeConcept.png
Here’s a scene from Carnival Phantasm how the two sisters basically act in general. It’s pretty much Ruby and Sapphire in human form:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w9x1ArSkTw
Kohaku even has an alternate Magical Girl identity as Magical Amber and both Kaleidosticks are voiced by Kohaku and Hisui’s voice actresses, Takano Naoko and Matsuki Miyu, from Melty Blood and Carnival Phantasm. Btw, I loved it when Ruby basically said: “lol, forgot to mention how the cards and all that stuff actually work.” Focused too much on making Ilya cute. ^_^
As an anon said in last week’s review, the 3 great arcs of kaleid liner pay homage to the three routes of FSN. Going in detail would be a spoiler, though, but it’s still nice for those who have played the VN I guess.
Another fanservice is the music actually. I wasn’t too sure a week ago, but the studio Silver Link is actually using remixes of the VN tracks. But not the iconic and famous ones like “Emiya” or “Sword of Promised Victory”, they remixed slower and/or lighthearted tracks like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ndIxIGtfow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZFH2QR-Vbc
Feels kinda nostalgic to hear them in this anime… ^_^
Btw, I don’t want to hear any more comparisons between Madoka Magica and Prisma Illya. There is a reason why Miyu is perfect in everything, but it’s not the same one from Madoka. :p
>Oh, and Rin and Luvia’s rivalry from Fate/hollow ataraxia and their constant bickering was kept.
Ah. So Luvia isn’t a new character for this series then. Interesting.
>The twin Kaleidostick sisters are actually a clear reference to the twin maid sisters from Tsukihime, Kohaku (energetic and enthusiastic, sometimes so much that she starts to annoy the characters – well, at least in Kagetsu Tohya) and Hisui (the younger one, calling her sister “Nee-san”, while being more quiet and reserved).
Heh. So this series is really doing a big time parody job on the entire Type-Moon universe, eh? Cool.
Thanks for all the great info. ^_^
Yeah, there is a feud between Edelfelt and Tohsaka. I guess it’s a bit funny because Rin and Luvia are possibly blood related. ^_^
Now about Zelretch. Well, I mentioned him a few times in the F/Z reviews, but I guess I never really explained who he is and so on.
Considering the fact that he appears very rarely, Zelretch is actually a pretty important person in the Nasuverse. His full name is Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. Maybe you’ve heard “Schweinorg” before. His name is mentioned in the summoning ritual of the Holy Grail War and he oversaw the formation of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War.
Zelretch is a high ranked member of the Magic Association and also the teacher of Tohsaka Nagato, the founder of the Tohsaka magi family. Zelretch is the reason why the Tohsaka family is specialized in jewel magic.
Now you may wonder how old he actually is, since Rin is leader of the family in the sixth generation. Well, he’s a Dead Apostle and actually even part of the elite group, the Dead Apostle Ancestors, but don’t worry, he’s one of the few vampires that you can probably consider as “good”, as he is on humanity’s side.
Zelretch is also one of the last remaining people who are called Magicians, as he can cast one of the five True Magics (Mahou) left in the world, while magi do magecraft (Majutsu). Magecraft can be scientifically realized. Considering mankind’s progress in science, that actually weakened today’s magecraft.
Btw, Reality Marbles are very close to True Magic. The difference is, Reality Marbles overwrite nature with your own. You technically don’t break nature’s rules because you follow your own. True Magic is basically giving the laws of nature the finger. The Magic Association has forbidden Reality Marbles though and you can say hi to some Enforcers and Bounty Hunters, if the MA knows that you can cast one.
Zelretch controls the Second Magic “Kaleidoscope” which allows him to operate with parallel universes. As you can see in the name, he made the Kaleidosticks. Btw, The Third Magic was “Heaven’s Feel”, the Fifth Magic is “Magic Blue”. The Magician who can do the Fifth Magic is actually the protagonist of another Type-Moon story.
>Zelretch is also one of the last remaining people who are called Magicians, as he can cast one of the five True Magics (Mahou) left in the world, while magi do magecraft (Majutsu). Magecraft can be scientifically realized. Considering mankind’s progress in science, that actually weakened today’s magecraft.
When you say “magics”, I presume you mean actual magic spells vs. the magecraft, which I presume uses artifacts to perform magic (or magic-like) abilities?
Again, as always, thanks a ton for all the great info. ^_^ While I like the Fate franchise, I clearly haven’t studied it like I did Tenchi Muyo, but as I know I’ve said before, I love it when people with knowledge reveal these nifty things to me.
To say it in a lame way, Magic > Magecraft.
Magic (well, some say Sorcery) is something that is normally absolutely impossible. You can basically say it’s a miracle and breaks all the rules of physics, biology etc. Every Magic is connected to Akasha, the Root. The Second, Third and Fourth Magic were made to reach Akasha.
Slowing time down or speeding up is theoretically possible, so Kiritsugu’s time alter abilities are very advanced magecraft, but it’s not Magic, as it works as a Reality Marble in your own body.
Complete Time Manipulation like changing the past on the other hand is a concept that is considered as “Magic” if it can be achieved (well, you probably can’t). That’s what Kiritsugu’s father and the rest of the Emiya family studied and researched to reach Akasha.
As far as I know, Shirou’s Tracing is an ability that is considered similar to the First Magic as he basically makes something “out of nothing”. That’s why Tohsaka called him a freak because “Denial of Nothingness” is a concept that can only be achieved by Magic.
What about Rin’s non-jewel attack magic that she does? It is obviously magecraft, based on what you’ve said, but how advanced is it?
The thing that she shoots from her fingers? That’s a Gandr shot, a simple curse from Scandinavia that reduces physical health. However, Rin is using it fairly well, since the Tohsaka family made fast progress in the last few years (there is a theory for this actually, I might add it in the comments for the next episode review).
So Gandr might be a simple spell, but Rin’s one is very advanced actually. She uses her family’s Magic Crest when using Gandr iirc.
If she powers it up with enough Mana it becomes physical and is called Fin Shot. You can compare it with a pistol bullet.
Now that I think about it, I believe you may have talked about Gandr before, but it is always good to have a refresher. ^_^
How could Illya say capturing class cards is like a game when the class cards can actually hurt someone?
Well, there are games now where people can be hurt or even killed. A lot of people get hurt in American football, enough so that I fear the game may cease to exist at some point due to political correctness. While auto racing isn’t called a “game”, it is still similar and people have died racing for sport.
So I can understand why Ilya would compare it to a game because it is like a video game or anime (or manga).
As far as the laugh goes, it is actually so common that there is an entire Television Tropes page on it under the heading “Noblewoman’s Laugh” with dozens of examples. I think it is very funny myself.
I knew it happened a lot in anime, but that list is quite impressive.