SCREEN SHOTS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Bold text within spoiler tags are links.
Tales of the Abyss ep20
This episode was really heart wrenching. I knew Arietta had a tragic past but wow. And then, on top of that, she didn't deserve what happened to her at all. The whole time while she and Anise were fighting I had a bitter feeling of sadness in the pit of my stomach that very nearly burst out into tears when she died. She was still just a child, clinging so hard to the memories of the few people who showed her real warmth that she was driven to fighting to the death for them. Before this I only had the usual amount of evil villain disdain for Van but now I hold a deep loathing of him for using Arietta like that.
Some other pretty important stuff happened in the episode but, after the above, I couldn't even remember any of it until I sat and thought for a minute. I did get lots of good shots, though.
Aria the Natural ep4-5
Like with the Aria the Animation box set, I've been slowly savoring each episode. Aria is a great series to watch when you want to relax and let a warm, fuzzy feeling spread throughout your body. It's very soothing and heartwarming... Perfect after having watched TotA ep20. Besides Akari, these two episodes showed more of the mailman and Alicia, plus another glimpse at the mystical side of Aqua. Though it's mainly a slice-of-life series, the little touches of science fiction and fantasy blend in perfectly.
Hayate no Gotoku! ep4-5
Yays, new characters are being introduced and, judging from all of them in the OP, it looks like there'll be quite a varied cast to keep things interesting. Plus each episode continues to be chalk full of references (so many I can't even fit 'em all in!) while breaking the fourth wall at every opportunity. Characters talking back to the narrator while others wonder WTF they're going on about is amusing. I'm glad that there's also been plenty of humor outside the references, though. While those are always good, it gets a bit old when that's all there is. And the same can be said for the show's various types of moe. It's good to see plenty of variety since this thing still has another 47 episodes to go.
To Aru Majutsu no Index ep20
Finishing up the two part Accelerator and MISAKA-20001 arc, this episode was mainly just Accelerator showing off how badass he is. It seems like we won't see him much after this, which is a bit disappointing though I'm more looking forward to getting back to Touma and Index. But I hope MISAKA-20001 will serve some purpose later in the series because, not only is she cute, otherwise these two episodes will have been completely pointless.
Hayate no Gotoku! ep6-9
The show's been adding more and more of everything. More laughs, lots more references, more moe (in oh-so-very-very-many varities), more borderline obscene bits... Yes, in case you can't tell, that is indeed Hayate in a catgirl outfit. Nagi and Maria also dressed him up in a sailor uniform and whatever the heck this is; lolis may be cute but give them power and they turn scary fast.
I'm finding it very easy to plow through a few episodes at a time since it's just stupid fun (until someone gets hurt) that I barely have to think about yet it's funny enough that I don't get bored too fast. It's been striking a nice balance that way, which I hope holds throughout the series.
Cardcaptor Sakura ep11
Sakura captures the Shield card in this episode but it's really all about the delicious cake and equally delicious lolis. Kero knows it, Sonomi knows it, we all know it, and there's no denying it. Also, Nadeshiko is freaking beautiful. She's a prime example of how to do gray hair on a girl well.
Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya ep4
Oh my, poor Mikuru had to see it too. I'm just counting the episodes until she breaks down and cries... Ryouko "Achakura" showed up and OMG I want to take her home. A little Churuya and Achakura running around together would be all kinds of awesome.
Shugo Chara!! Doki ep71
Kairi, the former Jack of the guardians, showed up again in this episode. I'm not sure if it really served any purpose or if it was just filler to remind us that, yes, he's still out there, he still has the hots for Amu, and he's still cool when he's not being emo. This was the first time we got to see his new character transformation scene, which was nice. On the other hand, there wasn't a ? egg of the week so maybe this is real progress rather than filler? It's hard to tell... All I know is that I love the sparkles.
Slayers Evolution-R ep1-2
Random anon, I don't know who you are but I love you for finally getting some subs out. I've been waiting far, far too long for more Slayers, since Dark-Rebirth is apparently more interested in over-subbing White Album than subbing Evolution-R. If you can't tell, I'm in full fantard mode right now because, even with the crappy AT-X source and less-than-perfect subs, Slayers is just that freaking good.
Minami-ke Okaeri ep7
Mako-chan came back in full force this time, resulting in many lulz. And also one bit that was a ittle ldisturbing, but I guess that's to be expected any time you're dealing with traps. It's funny how Kana treats Mako-chan as her little pet project, making sure he doesn't get discovered yet also poking at him about cross-dressing and hiding his true identity. Kana rarely has the upper hand on anything so watching her take advantage of her control is a treat.
Soul Eater ep34
It looks like the fighting between Shibusen and Arachne's forces is finally going down in earnest now, which is nice because it seems like not much has really happened since the Kishin was freed. There's been plenty of planning, training, skulking, and investigating but not a lot of fighting. I'm especially loving the Sid vs. Mifune skirmishes; a samurai going up against a sniper and having it actually be an even fight just screams awesome.
Hetalia Axis Powers ep5 (web source, no screens)
Italy's sand sculpture was amazing. It made me want to eat it. Yes, I mean eat the sand.
Kurokami the Animation ep6
This episode's story as told through screen shots and memes. It's actually just as good this way.
Steiner: "All your base are belong to us."
Kuro: "Can't let you do that, Star Fox."
Punipuni: "You go, I'll guard the hot chick."
Mikami: "Stop feeling at my bobs!"
Kuro: "FALCON PUNCH!"
Slayers Evolution-R ep3-4
I'm all but sure now that Nama is actually Naga, from the Slayers OAVs and movies, who is Amelia's long lost older sister. There's just way too many little hints pointing towards it. They even threw in a white serpent... As such, Amelia getting stuck inside Nama (who's been transformed into living armor, fyi) and watching the two attempt to cooperate was funny. Even moreso was Zelgadis getting all psyched up about their moves, for no apparent reason, while fighting the dragon at the end.
And then there was ep4, which was one of the series's totally weird and random episodes that ends up having nothing to do with the plot but is freaking hilarious. I had to pause several times to stop and laugh. Now, one of the races in the Slayers universe are the fish people. They're large fish that have arms and legs and can live on land and pretty much anything involving them is absolutely crazy. Ep4 was a huge romantic melodrama involving them. You can see where this is going.
Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai ep6
Finally, new content! And it was indeed mostly of Munto and the other magicians kicking ass. I'm mainly interested in learning more about Gass and Irita and how this whole Outsider thing works, though. Seeing more of Leica would also be nice; the way she just casually side-stepped through that hail of bullets from nearly point-blank range was pretty awesome. Gridori is, like, one step removed from being a tentacle monster, which is kind of creepy. And Yumemi must be the only anime girl ever to not object to being carried in a guy's arms. She didn't even say anything when Munto passed her to one of the other magicians and then flew off to fight.
The Tower of Druaga ~The Sword of Uruk~ ep3
Ah, Melt, I never get tired of his pragmatic and underhanded scheming. He's my favorite character in the series (he even comes with his own personal loli!) so I'm glad he's back for the second season. Of course his loyalty always laid on the side of money, but it's interesting to see him opposing Jil's groupies this time. I get the feeling that won't last forever, since he lost his new fortune in the avalanche and is now back to square one, as he was in the first season, but until then it'll be fun to see how he deals with things.
On a technical note, I'm disappointed in the video quality of this episode. This sort of eyecancer is the sort of thing I expect from Crunchyroll and speed subs and isn't what I'm used to from Nova's previous Druaga releases. They were doing a joint with Furukawa before this so maybe that has something to do with it, but I hope they can do a better job of cleaning up the frame bleeds with future releases. On the plus side, though, I like that the OP and ED are soft-subbed now.
Clannad ~After Story~ ep13
After all the heart wrenching drama in the past few episodes it was nice to get a break with this one being lighter and balancing its serious parts with some humor. Akio sticking his foot in his mouth over Sanae's bread never seems to get old and drunk Nagisa was absolutely hilarious. And I guessed from the start of the episode that this would happen, but Tomoya and Nagisa got married! Nagisa is so incredibly cute, adorable, and beautiful all at once...
White Album ep5
Oh my, things are becoming even more dramariffic. Yayoi trying to seduce Touya and get him to break up with Yuki came as a surprise. I knew she took her job seriously but I didn't think she'd go that far. It looked like it almost worked, too. I get the impression that Touya's a bit of a closet pervert, despite his best efforts to stay faithful to Yuki. Not that I can really fault him too much, considering that he's got, like, three other women coming onto him in various ways.
Lovely Complex ep17-18 (Anime Club, no screens)
I feel sorry for Ootani. Everyone in Anime Club hated him for being so dense about Risa's confessions and then rejecting her. Then when he finally came around and accepted her, they hated him for that too. He just can't win.
Kurenai ep5-6 (Anime Club, old screens only)
Murasaki was absolutely adorable in ep5 and also quite funny when playing with Yuuno's little sister Chizuru. Poor Chi-chan, though; Murasaki broke her DS while playing a game uncannily similar to Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Ep6 had absolutely nothing to do with the series's plot but was, nevertheless, the most epic episode in the series.
The chat log from during the big scene is on the next page.
