How Does The Heart System In Sugar Sugar Rune Work?

Sugar Sugar Rune is an anime and manga series by Moyoco Anno. Watching episode 3 of the anime brought a lot of questions about its heart system. What are some of these questions and how come the heart system in this show is so confusing?

In Sugar Sugar Rune (#ad), magical people, like Chocolat Meilleure / Kato, the main character, can get the hearts of humans or non-magical people. These hearts can turn into different colors like pink, orange and red, depending on the person's feelings.

For example, in the 3rd episode of the series, Nishitani, one of Chocolat's classmates, had a crush on her and so his heart turned orange for her. Kato could and should have gotten his heart as soon as possible, however, due to various reasons (which seem highly contrived, to say the least), she wasn't able to.

Kato says she'll just get his heart the next day (seriously, she just keeps putting it off and it doesn't seem believable at all since she needs hearts to win the contest to become queen of the magical world). The question now is: can anyone else get Nishitani's heart or does Chocolat have dibs on it for being the one to change it to orange?

How does this whole hearts system work anyway? Is it that the only one who can take a person's heart is the one who changed its color? Or is it that anyone from the magical world can take a person's heart even if they weren't the ones who changed its color?

What about the heart itself? Can it disappear? What if Nishitani gets a crush on someone else? Does this mean that Chocolat can no longer get his heart because he no longer has feelings for her? Or is she still entitled to get his heart even if it's no longer orange because or for her?

Another thing that I wonder about was when Kato was finally able to get Nishitani's heart. By then, the boy's heart had turned pink for her. After the heart had been taken, he no longer has any feelings for her. Other than that, he seemed perfectly fine, which led me to wonder if it was possible for Chocolat to just keep on making him fall for her again and again.

She can then just keep on taking his heart again and again. Doing this should make it easier for her to win the queen selection contest. But is this possible? Can she do this? What's stopping her from doing this? Or if this isn't possible, then why not?

After all, the hearts of humans get taken all the time, but nothing bad seems to happen to them. They don't get sick or anything, so what's stopping magical people from just repeatedly taking their hearts over and over again?

What do you think about this? I talk more about this issue in this post here on my Tumblr blog. I'd have moved this one here on Anime Archives (Anime Meta) too, but it's already got some comments and notes there, so I decided to keep it there indefinitely. I'm mentioning it here for reference as the rest of the anime posts on there will eventually be moved here.

*Notes:
- Pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above

The World Tree Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game Trivia

The World Tree is one of the many cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! game. What is the meaning of this card? What interesting trivia is there about this card? To see an image of this card as well as what its effect is and what it does, refer to the photo below:

What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase 'world tree,' aside from the aforementioned card, that is?

We'll be focusing on Norse Mythology though since this particular card pertains to the world tree that appears in said mythology.

That's not surprising at all since it can be said that the Norse world tree is really quite well-known, probably more so than the other world trees out there.

The World Tree in Norse Mythology is known as Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil is an ash tree, which is supported by 3 main roots. Its branches stretch out to connect the nine different worlds.

The 3 roots of this tree can explain why The World Tree Yu-Gi-Oh! card (#ad) gives you 3 choices on how you can use it, depending on which condition you have fulfilled. If you fulfilled all the given conditions for all three choices, you can choose what you want to do.

The first root of the tree is in Asgard, the realm of the Norse gods. The second root goes to Jötunheimr or Jotunheim, the land of the Frost Giants and Rock Giants. The third root is in Niflheim, the land of the dead or the Norse Underworld.

Let's now take a look at what has to happen first before you can make use of any of the 3 choices offered by this Yu-Gi-Oh! card.

First of all, before you can do anything else, a plant-type monster on the field must first be destroyed. Only then can you place a Flower Counter on The World Tree.

The fact that a plant-type monster has to be destroyed can be linked to how Yggdrasil is also being destroyed. Níðhöggr or Nidhogg is the name of the dragon that gnaws at one of the roots of Yggdrasil, specifically the one that reaches into Niflheim.

When you have at least 1 Flower Counter, you can now activate one of the possible effects of The World Tree by removing said counter.

The first possible effect is how you can choose 1 face-up plant-type monster and have it gain 400 attack and defense until the end phase. This can actually be likened to how one can gain wisdom from Mímisbrunnr or Mimir’s Well.

This well can be found beneath the root of Yggdrasil that is located in Jotunheim. Since it is said that the water in this well is filled with wisdom, it can also be called the Well of Wisdom. Whoever drinks from this well will gain wisdom, but not without paying a price.

The king of the Norse gods, Odin, wanted to gain wisdom so he went to Mimir's Well. In order to be allowed to drink from the well, the price he had to pay was his right eye. He gave up his right eye in exchange for wisdom.

In the same way, The World Tree card allows one of your cards to gain a considerable increase in attack and defense points, but it doesn't come without a price. This is why this effect can only be used on a face-up plant-type monster and why the increase in attack and defense only lasts until the end phase.

The card's second effect can be activated if you remove 2 Flower Counters on The World Tree. Once you do that, you can destroy 1 card on the field. This particular effect can be likened to some of the 9 worlds in Norse Mythology, particularly Muspelheim, which is the realm of fire.

The beings who live here are known as Fire Giants. They were known by many other names, one of which is Rjúfendr, which means 'to break, tear asunder' and 'destroyers of doomsday'.

With the realm of fire being connected to Yggdrasil, it's no wonder that one of the effects of The World Tree Yu-Gi-Oh! card is the ability to allow its user to destroy one card on the field.

Now, let's look at the third and final effect of this card. If you remove 3 Flower Counters, you can choose 1 plant-type monster from your Graveyard, which you can then Special Summon.

This particular effect can be related to another of the 9 worlds, specifically Niflheim, which is the realm of the dead. The ruler of this place is called Hel. One of the Norse stories that she appears in is the one about the death of Balder (also known as Baldr or Baldur), an Aesir god.

When Balder died, one of the Norse gods journeyed to Niflheim to speak with Hel and ask her to allow Balder to be brought back from the dead, which can be likened to how The World Tree card can also do the same. However, this can't be done without paying a price.

Just like how you're required to remove 3 Flower Counters from the Yu-Gi-Oh! card before you can Special Summon a plant-type monster from your Graveyard, Hel gave a condition that must be fulfilled before she would allow Balder to return from the dead.

She said that she would let Balder go only if everyone would cry for him. If even one single thing would not cry for him, then Balder cannot return to Asgard and must continue to stay in Niflheim. Unfortunately for Balder, there was one person who would not cry for him so he couldn't return.

The World Tree card is very useful on decks that make use of plant-type monsters. What do you think of this card?

*Notes:
- Pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above

Why Layfon Wolfstein Alseif From Chrome Shelled Regios Is A Gary Stu?

Do you think that Layfon Wolfstein Alseif, the apparent main character from this anime called Chrome Shelled Regios (#ad), is a Gary Stu / Marty Stu / Mary Sue? What would make people think such a thing?

Layfon Wolfstein Alseif really seems like a total and complete Gary Stu because:

• He is so popular with women. Seriously, it’s like the entire cast in this show loves him / are all in love with him. For example, there’s: Nina Antalk, Felli Loss and Mayshen Torinden.
• Yeah, you see that? He’s got no less than 3 women who are all fighting over him. Who knows who else is in love with him? Probably a whole lot more
• He is so super special awesome. Seriously, everyone is going on and on about how powerful he is, how strong he is, how much of a good and brilliant and excellent fighter he is.
• He’s also apparently one of these things called a Heaven’s Blade Receiver or whatever they call it

There’s likely more, but, yeah, you get the point. He seems way too perfect. Haven’t seen all the episodes yet, but what are his weaknesses? And why are all the women flocking all over him?

Why is he so powerful and special? Because he’s the main character? What do you think about this guy?

*Notes:
- Pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above

1 Reason To Hate Chocolat In Sugar Sugar Rune Episode 3

Chocolat Meilleure / Kato is the main character in the Sugar Sugar Rune anime and manga series by Moyoco Anno. What's there to hate or dislike about her in episode 3 of the show? What did she do?

Who is Nishitani?

In Sugar Sugar Rune (#ad) episode 3, we are introduced to Nishitani. He's the head of the newspaper club. When he saw Chocolat, he got a crush on her. His heart even turned orange for her.

He got the idea to interview Kato for the school newspaper. The only reason she agreed was to get his heart.

Interview in the library

The 2 went to the library for the interview. Since Nishitani had a crush on Kato, he was very enthusiastic in getting to know her.

He eagerly asked question after question and patiently waited for her to respond. Basically, he was very focused on her and getting to know her.

Reason to hate Chocolat during the interview?

But what about Chocolat? What was she doing that can make you dislike or hate her? She was actually looking really disinterested and bored during the interview. It was like she just didn't care.

Why was Chocolat so bored and disinterested
during her interview with Nishitani? How could she be so insensitive?

She didn't even bother to elaborate on the answers to any of Nishitani's questions, like when he asked her what her favorite candy was, all she said was the name.

She didn't explain even though Nishitani was confused by her answer (the candy she's talking about can only be found in the Magical World).

Why is Pierre more important to Chocolat?

What's even more annoying about this is how Chocolat paid more attention to Pierre Tempête de Neige who was just passing by.

The weird thing about this (aside from the fact that Pierre really was just passing by) is how Kato is so interested in this guy when they've barely spoken to each other.

They hardly know anything about each other. Plus, she's an elementary school student (like Nishitani) while Pierre is actually in middle school already.

There's a huge age gap between them, which is made all the more obvious by their height difference. Seriously, it's like Pierre is a giant compared to small, tiny Chocolat Kato.

So, what do you think about this? I talk more about this issue in this post here on my Tumblr blog. I'd have moved this one here on Anime Archives (Anime Meta) too, but it's already got some comments and notes there, so I decided to keep it there indefinitely. I'm mentioning it here for reference as the rest of the anime posts on there will eventually be moved here.

*Notes:
- Pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above

What To Like And Dislike About Kyoukai No Kanata?

Also known as "Initial thoughts about Beyond the Boundary or Kyoukai no Kanata".

An interesting, but confusing anime series

Caught a few episodes of the anime series entitled Kyoukai no Kanata (#ad) or Beyond the Boundary. My initial thoughts about it is that it seems pretty interesting so far though am still rather confused regarding its plot and storyline. Some parts seem kind of weird too. Hope it all gets better in future episodes.

What to dislike about the romance in Beyond the Boundary?

Looks like there’s romance involved too (naturally, that would be between the 2 main characters) though am not too sure about the couple the show is making us root for.

Don’t find this particular pairing believable so far. It doesn’t seem like they have any chemistry at all. I talked more about my initial thoughts regarding the Mirai Kuriyama and Akihito Kanbara romance here.

How does the Kyoukai no Kanata magic system work?

I find myself curious about the magic system of this anime. How does it work? Sakura Inami’s weapon looks pretty cool. Even Mirai’s weapon looks nice. I like the fight scenes that I’ve seen so far too.

What to like about Hiroomi Nase?

I also like some of the characters that I’ve seen so far. For instance, I like the guy that wears a scarf. I initially called him “scarf guy” but his name is Hiroomi Nase.

I think he’s cool, like how he used that scarf of his as a weapon (I like unusual and unique weapons) and how protective he is of his little sister, Mitsuki Nase.

That’s very sweet of him. Can’t say much about his little sister yet though. Haven’t really taken much notice of her.

Thoughts about Sakura Inami

Sakura Inami seems fine so far. Her personality and character comes across as far more likable and nicer than that of the main character.

I actually wanted her to succeed with her goal of wanting to kill Kuriyama. Since I realized that she wasn’t the main character though, I knew she would never succeed. Too bad, huh?

Thoughts about Akihito Kanbara

As for the main characters - Akihito Kanbara seems okay, so far. I like his friendship with Hiroomi Nase. It seems like those 2 are very good friends.

What to hate about Mirai Kuriyama?

Not too sure about Mirai Kuriyama though. She has this unique ability that allows her to control her blood, like turning it into a sword. I don’t like her so far. I talk more about that here. I don’t like how she seems to be entitled to know what Kanbara’s up to.

And I don’t like the way that she talked to Sakura and outright told her that she wasn’t strong enough to beat her, like, arrogant much?

Maybe that’s true or whatever (pfft, who am I kidding? Of course, it’s true that she’s more powerful. She’s the main character, after all. Typical cliche much?), but she doesn’t have to be so arrogant about it.

Also caught some stuff about Mirai angsting about her powers or something, like she’s so powerful or whatever and that bothers her or whatever. Eh, I dunno, but that rubs me the wrong way. Like, what a special and unique snowflake, right?

Will Kyoukai no Kanata improve in future episodes?

Maybe I just need to find out more about her and this show. Hopefully both will improve and get better. Maybe she’ll be more likable in future episodes.

Right now, though, am hoping that Kuriyama doesn’t end up with Kanbara. But that’s just wistful thinking, isn’t it? I can already see that those 2 will end up together. Sigh. Prove me wrong? Can't we have something different? Wouldn't that be far more interesting than the usual cliche? What do you guys think about the Beyond the Boundary anime?

Side note: yeah, haven’t finished watching this anime yet, but I’ve no problems with spoilers. So, feel free to reveal relevant and not-so-relevant plot points or whatever.

But, as a courtesy to those who may not want spoilers, kindly tell people if your comment, note, message, etc includes spoilers. Thanks. 😊

*Note:
- Pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above

What's So Interesting About Vanilla Ice And Robin From Sugar Sugar Rune?

Also known as "Thoughts on Vanilla Ice and Robin from Sugar Sugar Rune".

Vanilla Mieux / Ice and Robin are characters from the Sugar Sugar Rune anime and manga series by Moyoco Anno. What can we say about these 2 characters? Are they likable or not?

I’ve only seen a few episodes of Sugar Sugar Rune (#ad), but, so far, I’m really liking both Rockin' Robin and Vanilla Ice. They both appear to be likable and nice characters.

I find Vanilla a much more likable character than
Chocolat. Too bad she's not the main character in Sugar Sugar Rune

Why Robin is better than Pierre?

Robin seems like a really fun character and I’m interested in seeing more of him. So far, he hasn’t really done anything to make me dislike him.

He’s pretty cool without coming across as way too perfect unlike a certain Gary Stu (*cough*   Pierre Tempête de Neige *cough*).

I mean, there are people who like Rockin' Robin and think he’s cool, but they’re not like Pierre’s fans who go on about how perfect he is, how he can do all these things, how handsome he is, etc, which just comes across as way too annoying and ridiculous especially since, surprise, surprise, naturally, Pierre really is all those things. He’s too perfect (eye-roll).

What to like about Vanilla Ice?

As for Vanilla Mieux- she’s very shy, but she’s also very nice and kind. I like her and her personality, her character, how she’s gentle and sweet. You can see how she’s a really good friend, how supportive she is, how she tries to fit in with the humans, etc.

TBH, I wish she was the main character in this show instead of Chocolat Meilleure / Kato. I mean, isn’t it kind of irritating how the main characters are usually always the redheads and they all have fiery personalities?

I mean, can’t we have something new? It would have been interesting to have shy and sweet Vanilla as the main character, right? We could have seen her grow up, try to overcome her shyness and win against all odds, etc. What do you think?

*Notes:
- Pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above