Sproing? Yes. Sproing is the correct response.
Time skips in anime are nothing new. They advance the story a specified period of time and make characters older when necessary. In the case of Phantom though, a certain character somehow time skipped more than everyone else in the show’s alloted two year time skip. This post contains spoilarz (o-em-gee) for Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ episode 21. Don’t enter if you don’t want to be spoiled.
While little Cal did transform from an adorable loli sidekick into a kickass, totally tappable (if mentally unstable) young lady, the transformation into Drei defies common logic. I mean, come on. Just two years ago she looked like this.
Anime age is a touchy subject when no age is given. I originally thought Cal was about 10-11 when she came into the story, but that would consequently make her 12-13 after the time skip. So in hindsight I’ve raised her pre-timeskip age to 13 maximum, which would still only make her 15, but how many 15 year olds look that slammin’ except Yoko Littner? Cal’s physical development in this two year span is pure BS. I guess for all purposes and intents we’re not supposed to question Cal’s ambiguous age and simply place her in the same range as Reiji and Ein (17-18), so that she can stand on equal footing with her predecessors more easily. The inevitable duels between Ein/Drei and Reiji/Drei wouldn’t be nearly as gripping if Inferno’s two previous Phantoms were duking it out with a girl that still looked like a child. It’s also an excuse to have another blonde fanservice character since the token blonde fanservice character from the first two acts is dead. Aye, Claudia will be missed — Such a great character in her own right. But we have Drei now. She’s hot and mentally unstable. That’s even better.
In the off chance this does have something to do with experimental aging drugs, please don’t tell me else I snipe you from an undisclosed perch for spoiling the story. It would explain a lot though since Cal’s still basically a 12 year old in an adult’s body.
Minor nitpick aside, Phantom keeps getting better as it slowly builds to its climax and is the best show currently airing not named Bakemonogatari. For once in a long while Bee Train hasn’t dropped the ball. I’m eagerly anticipating the next episode and the duel between the contrasting beauties, Ein and Drei. I’m genuinely conflicted who to root for, so I’ll support both sides. Go Ein! Go Drei! Fighto dayo!
PS: Scythe Master is still a douchebag. His death will bring me immense pleasure.
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I’m more bothered by the facial re-construction. You know, the creation of cheek-bones, the elongation of the face, etc…
BTW, not a small number of girls reach their maximum height and bone construction around 12-14, and then they only flesh out, and sometimes they do even that in this time allotment. It’s not that rare.
BTW, I remember watching Oprah with my little brother half a decade ago or more, and there were 4 girls who were 14 years of age there. They all looked 18-22. We so couldn’t believe it when their ages were given.
Guy´s last blog ..My Room, July 2009.
she’s over nine thousand now <_<.
It actually didn’t come as a surprise to me – how Cal looked so different – until I remembered that it was only two years later. And Reiji and Elen look the same! Which means that they were 16~ish at the time they were in America, and that Cal was probably 12~13. And it all still feels weird because now Cal looks even older than Elen.
Which boils it down to two things: either
1. Not much concern is paid to time continuity/consistency when it comes to the characters, or
2. American girls really are something else.
Zeroblade´s last blog ..New Project…?
@Guy: But didn’t Scythe say Drei was au naturel, as in no modifications whatsoever? It’s entirely possible that face reconstruction happened, but it seems unlikely. You are right that some girls mature very fast and look older than their real age, but Drei’s growth was a bit ridiculous.
@Nosferato: If you mean her hawtness points, yes. It’s over 10,000 even.
@Zeroblade: The funny thing is that Reiji and Ein looked significantly older in the second act after the first time skip, and then they went back to how they looked during the first arc after the second, more major time skip. And yeah, Drei actually looks about 19 or 20 right now while Ein still looks 16-ish. We’re really, really grasping at Cal’s/Drei’s age more than we probably should be.
1. Bee Train and Nitro+ can screw continuity rules because they have money.
2. Kids grow up so fast these days! Drei is one hot piece of jailbait though. >_>
“Sproing”? I thought the correct answer was “Boing”!
She looks like a 20 something not 15..
And nope, not enough for a sproing from me lol
otakubaka´s last blog ..Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
You people skipped biology class or something? Or maybe you ‘ve never been on a date with a 15 years old girl? Girls grow faster than men, you know. Well, physically at least. I still remember when i was 21 and dated a 15 year old girl, which i got to know from HI5 and that very first date would be the first time to see her face to face. First of all, i couldn ‘t find her, because no girl around seemed to be 15 years old. Thankfully, she recognized me and came to talk. I was dumbstruck. She was taller than me (i was and still am 1,83 m), with larger breasts than even girls of my age at university, and a body that even mature women would be jealus of. And YES, SHE WAS 15!
So, what if Cal was 13 when Zwei first met her? She seems in the anime to be around that age! After two years, she could obviously be 15. And comparing her with real life 15 years old girls i have known, THIS TRANSFORMATION IS COMPLETELY NATURAL! Don ‘t forget that in the visual novel zwei had an option to sleep with her. Starting early accelerates growth, i guess…