10 Second Anime - UQ Holder! - Episode 6

Kuroumaru and Touta face attackers while sight-seeing in the new capital.

Episode 6 - "Kuroumaru's Dark Days"

Hmm.

I suppose we have to talk about transgender issues after this episode... Actually, no we don't. From a Japanese perspective, which has a long tradition and history of gender bending and cross dressing in literature and media, there is nothing controversial about neuter Kuroumaru exploring gender roles.

In the recent Western pop culture, we've gone overboard in pushing transgender issues to the forefront of political and cultural attention. The population actually struggling with gender dysphoria or conflating sexual fetishes with identity is very small. Very small. The mass media obsession over the issue comes from a large dose of the old liberal value of "freaking out the squares," pharasaic tribal signaling, and harnessing the power of the "Two Minute Hate" that was used in the novel 1984 to assign opponents and redirect frustration away from matters that actually mean something. These are the West's hangups, not the East's.

In the specific case of Kuroumaru, using gender identity as a filter, we have an interesting way of looking at burgeoning feelings, growing up, whether friendship has deeper feelings than romantic love, and whether girls are stronger than boys. Well, that last one actually doesn't matter for manga and anime anyway, since just in this story alone the female characters seem to be the strongest beings.

The problem for Kuroumaru was that he appeared to have already chosen a gender and had trained his martial arts skills with that identity in mind. Being forced to fight as a girl didn't mean that his girl form was weaker; it meant he had less experience with it. The point is that femininity channels strength differently than masculinity.

The other point with Kuroumaru, which is always a big theme in Japanese pop media, is that people fight better when they are honest with their feelings. Kuroumaru never fell in love with anyone before, so he had incomplete information about which gender was best for the rest of his life. Japanese culture is renowned for late bloomers because of how repressed and conservatively expressive the accepted social norms are. Now that Kuroumaru has acknowledged he likes Touta, maybe he can find a middle ground of loving like a girl but fighting like a boy? Well, he's got a year or so to figure that out.

Heh.

Kurobo the Sword is feeling lonely. Why is Touta leaving him lying around?

Kuroumaru voiced his doubts about how Touta actually got Magia Erebea. It's going to be central plot point, I suppose.

Kurobo knows about girls love and boys love, he just doesn't know which one Kuroumaru has.

That harem is starting to build. Kuroumaru showed a look of jealousy at the attention Touta is giving Shinobu.

Ah. This is going to be side story with a small helping of overall plot development. It's about time we address the elephant, or lack thereof, in the room.

Karin has a problem with what she didn't see under Kuroumaru's towel.

Kuroumaru is a demi-human that chooses gender at the age of 16 as a sign of adulthood. That's been done before. But if he's neuter (I'm just going to keep calling him "him" at this point) then I have a lot of questions about his excretory biological processes...

This yatanokarasu (八咫の烏) has two meanings. One is the Japanese version of Yatagarasu, the Chinese mythical raven who helped Emperor Jimmu during his eastern expedition. The other is a mythical three-legged crow inhabiting the Sun in Chinese mythology. Kuroumaru's problem is that he only has two legs... But he does have wings!

Karin wants him to be a girl so "she" can take Touta and Karin can have Yukihime to herself. Good luck with that, Karin. Eva might still be in love with Nagi Springfield.

Oh, somebody is losing a fight because he's not honest about his feelings... It surely can't be because somebody has a sword and a hammer, has 150 more years of fighting experience, and started the sparring without asking first. Not possible.

Ikku is a cyborg of some sort. Thanks for reminding me that ChachaMaru is no longer with Evangeline.

Ha! I love this convention of characters responding to the inset reaction shots.

A d-d-d-d-deito!? Yes, of course, a date. Geez.

Touta must like blondes since he likes Yukihime... he's not the only airhead in this show, Karin.

Oh, listen to Kuroumaru talk all politely as the "cousin" Kuryuu.

Hey, there's that glasses girl from the opening and end credits. That funeral ritual looks kind of creepy. I assume it's for her own brand of immortality. She supposedly lives on the top floor of the Tower. Hey, that's where Touta wants to go because the ghost of Negi Springfield told him to go there. This is important! Which means we'll let it slide for three episodes or so as Touta drops his sword and goes on another date...

Look at all this sight-seeing of New Tokyo that looks like Old Tokyo.

Well, I guess that Chao guy survived. He just didn't leave with the blind guy and the wolf guy. They also didn't mention him after Karin joined the fight.

Eva is worried that Fate Averruncus will do something because of the spectacle Touta made when he first manifested Magia Erebea. She's still being vague about how he "inherited" it, but she plainly knew he had it beforehand.

Yup. That white haired dude from last episode is Fate Averruncus. All grown up, still the same fashion sense.

Anyone related to Kuroumaru must be cute, according to Touta.

Ha! niconico comments all over the screen.

Touta really does have good battle instincts. Nobody can sneak up on him without a fist to the face.

That Chao guy is immortal too, or at least has fast regeneration. That was cut out of his fight with Karin.

According to Chao, his job was supposed to tail Touta, not capture him. What a stupid criminal. What if the boss wanted to follow him back to another boss's lair, or something else? Well, we can guess who is going to be pissed off at Chao's actions.

This Asura guy has 6 arms.

Uh, Kuroumaru has a nice ass... Does she get rapid chest development when she becomes a girl? This is also important!

Well, that was over quick after Kuroumaru started fighting like a boy. Maybe he just needed to cover up one eye...

This kiriE girl has a strange spelling for her name. Robot of some sort? Also, that second ritual has a different set of initials. MBS for the first one, and now MFS for the second one. Is the story going to go right into her introduction for next time?

Evangeline again for the end card. There's other girls in this show, you know...