UNMEI KAIHEN ahoy! Ep10 of Aoi Hana and eps 9-11 of Kare Kano. The latter is easily the longest post I have written for my site so far. More than 3,000 words of Kare Kano goodness. Afterward, my brain felt like Little Mac after going 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.
Anime discussed: Aoi Hana, Axis Powers Hetalia, Bakemonogatari, Canaan, Cross Game, The Daughter of Twenty Faces, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Genshiken OVA, Hayate no Gotoku!!, Kare Kano, Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, Shugo Chara! Doki, Spice and Wolf II, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou
-- Aoi Hana eps 8-10: This is the big drama arc of Aoi Hana, although it is handled as subtly and gracefully as one would expect given the tone of the series up until this point. The most obvious thing this arc shows is how much Fumi has grown throughout the series. In the beginning, she is very emotional, incredibly shy and just confused in general, and she has little self-esteem to boot. While her romance with Sugimoto crashes and burns (maybe set up purposefully by Sugimoto, and maybe not), Fumi really learns a lot about the ebb and flow of relationships and gains a strong sense of self-worth in the process. I'll be real here: Even though I can't completely hate Sugimoto, the way she dumps Fumi is kind of mean. There's no easy way to do something like that, but she leads Fumi on so much, and then dumps her after Fumi tries to make a connection with her. (Sugimoto initially tries to put it on Fumi, but after being guilted by one of her sisters, Sugimoto realizes that it is she who is preventing the relationship from working.)
Things happen, and in ep10, Sugimoto is finally able to move on, somewhat, from her crippling crush on the drama teacher and goes back to Fumi to patch things up. The old Fumi would have immediately accepted those advances, despite being treated like dirt before, and she probably would have cried a hell of a lot. But the current Fumi isn't having any of that shit. I don't think she is being unfair when she rejects Sugimoto -- rather, she is challenging Sugimoto. Her actions and words combine to give one clear message: Show me you have grown up, and maybe then you will be worth my time and love. It's harsh, but it comes about because Fumi finally has a sense of self-worth. She is not someone to be trampled upon and then coddled with some sweet words afterward. Sugimoto takes a serious look inside herself and does her best to resolve her past and present, but there is still more work to be done, because she follows Fumi around like a puppy, even though she realizes she acted that way with the drama teacher before.
But I think Sugimoto does learn enough from all this to be able to move on. I think she really has closed the book on her former crush -- at the very least, she has accepted that he loves Kazusa, and not her. She has also made up with her family a bit. The reveal of Kuri's love letter to the drama teacher is both hilarious and something that gives the two sisters something in common. They both realize they made dumb mistakes in the past and had trouble moving on. Having someone with you who is also going through the same troubles makes it a bit easier to move forward yourself, I think. That is what happens with Kuri and Sugimoto. They are both so damn competitive that I bet they could not race each other fast enough to see who could get over her past crush first, haha.
-- Axis Powers Hetalia ep35: LOL, the yaoi fangirls will jump for joy after this episode. :P France being so enthusiastic about the prospect of a naked Olympics is pretty hilarious, though. England's reaction after seeing France on the first day of the Olympics, all nude and ready to go, is priceless. Nudity makes everything funnier.
-- Bakemonogatari ep11: Definitely the best arc-opening episode so far. Hanekawa's arc has a really sinister feeling to it so far -- the fact that the problem is seemingly solved before the arc even begins, only for it to come back near the end, just adds to it. Can't wait to see how the series turns the idea of Hanekawa's stress on its head, too. (It's inevitable that something(s) will come up that I just cannot see, since there are four episodes remaining in this arc.) The idea of Hanekawa's stresses building up and manifesting themselves in an alternate personality is neat but also used quite often, and in a series like Bakemonogatari, that tells me there is another, more insane element waiting to rear its head. But, yeah, the whole Hanekawa flashback is cool. I wonder if the cat will manifest itself in the same way in the current time, or if it will be something completely different? Also looking forward to seeing Shinobu finally jump into the action more.
-- Canaan ep12: I wonder if the series will have the balls to kill off Maria. It seems to me that she will die, but there were a few things pointed out to me after I watched the episode: 1) The bomb could be a dud. Alphard doesn't need to actually kill Maria (no matter how much I wish for this to happen). She just needs Canaan to believe Maria is in mortal danger so that all her latent power will manifest itself to protect Maria. 2) Alphard lacking the killing color could apply not just to Canaan but to Maria as well. 3) Alphard didn't really shoot Maria in a place that would give her a mortal wound. She's bleeding a hell of a lot, but it does not appear as though she hit any major organs. So, yeah, now I am 50/50 on Maria actually dying. Maria sucks, though, so I am on Alphard's side this go around. Sure, she can be plenty evil, but she is so good at it, and it's not as if she has not done anything good throughout the series. I'm guessing her ultimate goal is to completely kill off the threat of enhanced soldiers. The "despair" she refers to is the despair of having people with supernatural abilities all over the battlefield, kicking the asses of regular Joes and Janes. Therefore, Alphard will beat the shit out of Canaan at her strongest and prove once that regulars pwn Innovators Coordinators Borners. Alphard can't have some fancy pants super soldier taking the name she earned by being a self-made badass.
-- Cross Game eps 22-23: After a lot of practice time and focus on relationships, Cross Game gets back to baseball with this two-part arc concerning Aoba playing in a game against the toughest women's high school team in Japan. Don't know what I expected going in, but this is definitely the best game in the series so far. What makes it especially good is that it really shows that Aoba has an amazing baseball mind to go along with her excellent physical abilities. The way she rallies the Satomi High team against Ouka is amazing, and she takes advantage of everything she sees, whether it is personality quirks (Ouka's ace pitcher is a hothead, so Aoba subtly pisses her off, which causes her to make a dumb error on a throw to first base), wandering minds (Aoba picks off an Ouka runner who drifts off from first base) or potential counters to adjustments (Ouka sees that Satomi's captain is calling a predictable game, so Aoba takes over and mixes up her pitches). Awesome work from Aoba here. Her great strategic play totally got me into the game, haha. I even called the umpire an asshole after he makes a terrible call on an obvious ball. :X
These two episodes, particularly ep22, also highlight the frustration Aoba must deal with when she is not able to play for Seishuu. (Girls are not allowed to play on the men's teams.) Aoba is so good, but she deals with these setbacks with such grace. I am glad Midori shows Aoba that the women's teams are not chumps, though. It's a tough decision for her, but I think Aoba should go where the competition is, and where she will be able to showcase her skills. It's not as if she is "giving up" if she plays against the women's teams. The best women's team kicked the ass of a team that Seishuu allowed a run against. They are not scrubs.
-- The Daughter of Twenty Faces eps 1-4: This series is pretty badass so far. The plots of Twenty Faces (no, really, that is the main thief's name) and his crew to steal various priceless relics make up the plots to each episode, but it is the growth of young heiress Chizuko "Chiko" Mikamo that forms the soul of the show. Chiko falls in with Twenty Faces' gang after the eponymous thief spirits Chiko from her mansion. Initially, Chiko appears to be kind of a brat, but that characterization is turned on its head when it is revealed her foster parents (in reality her aunt and uncle) are slowly and secretly poisoning Chiko so that they can get their hands on her inheritance. It's the first of many hints that viewers should not take anything at face value in this series. (Also, the aunt and uncle are even bigger douches than what you see in this episode.)
But, yeah, it is fun seeing Chiko grow into a little badass while keeping the charm of her youth. She'll cook for the guys, clean around the place ... and learn how to throw a knife into a bullseye while blindfolded. Damn right. Watching Chiko use her quick wit to get out of jams, along with her increasingly awesome physical abilities, is a lot of fun as well. The part in ep3 where she catches onto Twenty Faces' bluff and goes all Rika on the submarine captain with her adult voice to fool him into thinking they brought bombs onto the ship? Fantastic. And, uh, Twenty Faces is the master of appearing in the most random ass places in the most random ass disguises. He has Dark Knight!Joker levels of Xanatos Hax, I swear.
Anyway, definitely enjoying this right now. I figure it won't be episodic forever, so I can't wait for the larger story to reveal itself.
eps 5-7: And literally right after I write the above sentiment, there is a two-episode arc that completely changes the direction of the series, and now I am totally hooked. What I really like about that short arc is that it really makes Chiko question what she is doing. Before then, the thought that she could possibly be hurting people by stealing things never enters her mind, because she is too busy focusing on finally belonging somewhere. But it's yet another reminder for her to always be thinking, no matter what. I also like the irony that Twenty Faces' band of thieves is actually helping the person Chiko believes they are hurting, if only because the Mayor is willing to sacrifice his position to keep the town's relic out of the hands of people who probably want it just as a vanity piece. The end of ep5 makes it pretty obvious where the arc will go, but the series makes up for it by committing completely to what should logically happen. I did not think the show would have the balls to have The Tiger's gang kill off even a few members of the group, much less all of them (save Twenty Faces, who is MIA), but I was proved wrong. The death that makes me most sad is Muta's. He is a badass and teaches Chiko basically everything she knows up to this point. :(
Now Chiko is back in the situation she was in at the beginning of the series, except this time around she has much more hope. First, she has some support in the maid, Tome, who is actually a genuinely kind person, unlike Chiko's evil aunt. Without Tome, Chiko would have starved by now, although Tome is not really aware of how evil the aunt is. There is also Akechi, a detective who believes Twenty Faces is still alive and who gives Chiko the Anastasia Ruby she originally gave to Twenty Faces. I didn't think Twenty Faces died for even a second, but it's good to see Chiko have some real hope. It helps her be a total badass at school -- which she goes to so that her aunt will be pissed off -- and now she is dedicated to looking for Twenty Faces on her own. Hell yes.
There is one thing I am convinced about right now: Twenty Faces is Chiko's father, or at least a relative. Me being a dumbass about Tsukasa and Tadase in Shugo Chara! taught me to pay better attention to small details, and Twenty Faces and Chiko's aunt have the same lightning bolt-shaped curl that falls over their forehead. Also, while Chiko and Twenty Faces don't look exactly alike, there are another similarities to their appearance where I could buy that they are directly related. The aunt seems to be interested in Twenty Faces to a degree where he appears to be more than just a famous thief to her. I'll be shocked if Twenty Faces and Chiko are not related.
I'm also intrigued with that one lady who desperately needs to find Twenty Faces, and Twenty Faces' references to "the war". Is this, like, WWI/II period? Some heavy shit went down there, I bet. The way two years passes by surprised me too. Chiko is 11 when the series starts, a couple of episodes later she is 12 and turns 13 in ep5. Hubbawha?!
eps 8-13: And, wow, the tone of the series takes another big shift, introducing supernatural elements to the mix. It feels kind of weird at first, especially since the first kind of out there thing is a drug-enhanced man in a giant mecha suit, but you get used to it pretty quickly. I'm interested about the wartime experiments conducted on these people -- the two scientists in the beginning say it is evolutionary research, but I'm guessing the military looked at it more as a hunt for "super soldiers". Just a hunch. :P From there, a character known only as the White Haired Devil starts going after Chiko. I like that every time she and Chiko face off, Chiko has to really use her brains in combination with her physicality to defeat the Devil, since WHD is just leagues beyond Chiko in physical strength and agility. (She also has bendy bones!) Their battles are all really fun and interesting to watch until Chiko and a returning Twenty Faces finally defeat WHD.
It's not just the pure physical strength of WHD that Chiko has to watch out for, though. WHD has some psychological warfare going on, as well, since she is able to exploit the fears of people to get them under her control. In this way, she is able to turn Tome, Shunka (an initially bratty girl who becomes Chiko's friend) and Akine (a detective hired by Chiko's aunt to keep an eye on Chiko) against Chiko. The creepiest part about all this is the glassy-eyed look the victims develop when they are under control. Chiko sees Shunka at school when she is hypnotized, and she looks plenty weird. In this way, WHD also makes Chiko believe Tome is dead (and I completely bought it, too) so that Chiko will unleash her full rage at WHD. That is such a cruel trick, and it had me reacting like, "OH SHIT" when WHD first pulled it out.
When Twenty Faces confronts WHD for the final time, a flashback reveals their past. Is everyone in this series a scientist? Haha. I sort of feel sorry for WHD, but it is only to a point because she continues the experiments when Twenty Faces realizes they should probably stop, so she brings everything onto herself. And then she is super jealous that Twenty Faces chooses Chiko to continue his legacy instead of her. Who would you choose, though? Normal girl who shows intense devotion and a desire to improve herself, or the crazy lady who experimented on herself despite the protestations of common sense, and who did evil things because of it? WHD can't be surprised that Twenty Faces chose to outsource. Hypnotizing Chiko and getting her to literally stab Twenty Faces in the back (real subtle there, lady) probably did not persuade him to change his mind about WHD, either.
Definitely curious about where the series goes from her -- WHD is kind of, er, dead, so she is not the Big Bad. Did she act on her own, or is there someone else above her who prodded her into it? Twenty Faces appears to be going straight to the source, but he might have changed his mind about Chiko being his legacy, since he is trying to push her out of the whole deal now (for fear of her safety, I suppose). He should know that Chiko is not going to sit still for a damn moment, though, haha. She is way too stubborn.
One last thing: Ken is back! Yay! At least one other person survived the attack on the train! (I refuse to believe The Tiger is dead unless he does not show up anymore for the duration of the series. No body = no evidence of death.) Ken is a bit bitter at first, because he believes Twenty Faces and Chiko abandoned him, but he goes back to his awesome, knife-throwing self soon enough. He can't be with Chiko in the open; however, he'll continue to support her from the shadows, I expect. Chiko is lucky to have a lot of awesome allies.
-- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood ep24: Pretty solid episode. Envy is such a little shithead. I'm glad to see the guy back and getting some significant screen time. Can't ignore him anymore, BONES! I love how everything Envy does -- from refusing to fight Ed at first, to mocking Marcoh, to complaining about Lin using cheap tricks and then pulling out a vastly cheaper move in return and so on -- pisses me off and makes me want to see him die that much more. And we have not even seen the worst of Envy yet! Interesting that the series is still keeping even the basics of Pride's appearance under wraps, but I figure it is the Jaws theory at work: Show as little as possible and let the audience's imagination do the dirty work. I actually approve of this decision. BONES so much of the series left, after all. It doesn't need to be in a rush to blow its wad on everything when it can milk things a bit. Also, when I got to this point in the manga, the only thing I could think of was, "... Damn, Mustang is fucked." Boy, that planned backfired like crazy, didn't it?
-- Genshiken OVA eps 2-3: LOL, poor Ogiue. First Saki totally rips apart her fashion sense -- and then she ends up dressing like a hooker at the end of the episode. (Madarame has much more success choosing a new wardrobe.) The Saki completely manipulates her into cosplaying during the club festival. Let's be real here. There is no way Ogiue can hold up under Saki's mental onslaught. Ogiue has built up an effective wall, but it mainly works against ineffectual dorks. (Like, uh, Genshiken.) Against someone like Saki? Doomed to fail. Even if Kohsaka has shot Saki's confidence to hell, there's no way a strong woman like her will be kept down for long. I notice that Saki never dresses in cosplay even though she promises Ogiue she will if Ogiue joins her, haha. Can't wait to start Genshiken 2. More Ogiue~
-- Hayate no Gotoku!! ep25: Not a bad episode at all. I guess it's kind of appropriate that this season of Hayate ends on a somewhat silly episode with no real huge plot/romance implications. It is pretty fun, though, so I don't mind. (And it's packed with Gundam 00 references, strangely enough. I guess it shouldn't be too surprising, though, since Nagi has revealed herself to be a Gundam fan in the past!) The best part of the episode is the beginning, where Hayate tells Nagi a story to get her to fall asleep (because she is sick), and it ends up being a totally random version of Alice in Wonderland with Hinagiku as Alice and her friends as bunny girls. And Hinagiku takes over Wonderland. Best story ever for me, but for Nagi, it just annoys her. Then Nagi has Hayate go out to buy some "Packy" (is Pocky a copyrighted brand, or is the series just being silly?), and she puts a hidden camera in Hayate's tie so that she and Maria can be entertained by Hayate's journey. And, of course, Hayate's terrible luck contributes to everyone having a severe compulsion to buy and eat Packy. Just one of those fun Hayate episodes that puts a smile on your face.
Overall, I like the second season more than the first. It's about as funny, and it's much more focused and consistently entertaining. (The fact that the second season is a bit less than half the length of the first helps that a lot.) Plus, the bizarre butler backstory and in-fighting is almost completely done away with this season. Instead, J.C. Staff focuses mainly on the romance. It's a change for the better, I think. The butler stuff is only occasionally entertaining and funny -- when it drags, it really drags. The romance isn't amazing, or anything, but it is fun and sometimes quite sweet. I'm looking forward to more should the series get a third season as hinted by the epilogue.
-- Kare Kano eps 9-11: I think I'll just link to my UNMEI KAIHEN posts on Kare Kano each week and leave it at that lol. There is just so much to write about regarding this series, and I honestly believe I am barely scratching the surface, and that still takes it out of me whenever I post. It's just too much to try to condense it all here. xD
-- Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ ep25: Gah, Cal's death is such a tragedy. Just one little thing done differently, and she and Reiji could be happy. (Then again, where would that leave Ellen? Would she be cast in Cal's role? You never know.) Instead, she is left completely alone to deal with the feeling of being abandoned, and her only outlet is being subtly prodded into killing people by the Scythe Master. Cal tries to put up a tough front, but she is pretty much on a one-way train to self-destruction, since the pain of loneliness eats her up inside. She is basically like a scared little kid at the end, just trying to lean on the person she loves for some protection. Maybe a bit melodramatic at the end, but it works. Sort of disappointed there isn't a big fight between Cal and Reiji, but Ellen taking out all of Saiga's crew on her own makes up for that. Damn, she still has it. But I am really fearing for Ellen's life in the next episode -- I'm pretty sure she and Reiji will live to take out the puppet parade and give Scyther the end he deserves, but there's this little nagging feeling in the back of my mind that Ellen will die and serve Reiji a melancholy ending on a silver platter.
-- Shugo Chara! Doki ep50: Man, as Doki comes to a close, I cannot help but wonder what the hell the series will pull out for the second season. I mean, so many of the mysteries are solved now: The Humpty Lock and Dumpty Key have been used, the Embryo has been captured, Easter's leader has been revealed (and we know his retarded reason for desiring the Embryo), Nagihiko has come to terms with his true self, Ikuto's backstory has been worked through and so on and so forth. What the hell is left?! I hope the third season is not where Shugo Chara! takes a complete nosedive in quality.
Anyway, this isn't bad, but I hoped for something better in the penultimate episode. Ikuto and Amu teaming up to kick some ass in their new Character Transformations is pretty badass, and I enjoy everyone else showing up to save the day, but it does not last too long, since the Easter dudes catch the Embryo and take it to the boss. My prediction that the kid -- named Hikaru -- is Easter's president turns out to be correct (although I can't pat myself on the back too much, since it is a logical assumption, I think), although he is a more ... normal character than I thought he would be. After all the build-up, Hikaru's story is actually kind of a letdown, although it fits in with all the themes of Shugo Chara! thus far. (Growing up without a chance to develop one's dreams, the whole Ikuto family drama thing, and so on.) Hikaru's reason for wanting the Embryo is petty; it fits with how he is raised, though. He wants it merely due to the value he perceives in how it looks rather than the power it holds inside -- to fulfill the wishes of children. I felt sort of bad for Hoshina for a moment, because Hikaru tosses aside all the work he has done for two freakin' seasons trying to get the Embryo, but then I remembered that he practically raised his grandchild like a Nazi, so I felt less bad afterward. The guy had it coming.
Good on Tsukasa for coming in and laying down the law. He'll show Hikaru the worth of dreams.
-- Spice and Wolf II ep11: Damn, way to drop a bomb just before the finale, Spice and Wolf! What I like most about the revelation of the rebellion is that there is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction in the town that can be sensed in every episode, but because the focus is on Lawrence/Horo and Abe so much, it is easy to let it go by without thinking much about it. Hell, the church guy passes through the town with four armed soldiers, and I didn't bat an eye, because I was still thinking about a Lawrence/Horo scene that had just happened! lol @ me But everyone in town is constantly trying to leave, so I guess I should feel dumb at not paying much mind to the element of anger coursing through the town. (Seriously: Abe wants to leave because her relationship with the church has gone sour. The old man believes it's his time to move on. The merchants hang around the front of the town like vultures. The fur merchants have no way to peddle their wares. These townspeople have a lot to be pissed off about.)
Lawrence and Horo's relationship is interesting as always. I feel bad that Horo believes her only course of action is to split with Lawrence so that they can each preserve their precious memories before they "inevitably" go sour. Glad Lawrence speaks up against that a bit. The rebellion conveniently pops up and prevents Lawrence from being able to set up a shop in this town (not that I thought he would, anyway), so hopefully he can use this time to change Horo's mind a bit. After all, people change. Horo has changed because of Lawrence, and vice versa. Who is to say Lawrence's dream is still the same now as it was when he first met Horo? You never know what might go through his mind once he and Horo finally make it to Horo's homeland. He might want to stay there with Horo, or Horo might not want to stay there at all. You just never know.
-- Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 ep11: Agh, such a beautiful ending to the best series this season. ;_; (Oh, it's true. It's damn true.) As expected, I cried many a manly tear not just for Mirai coming to terms with Yuuki's death, but also her family and Mari. One subtle thing that I really like about this whole thing is that Mirai's parents aren't suddenly all ZOMGPERFECT. I mean, they're not terrible or negligent, or anything, but they have a tough time really consoling Mirai and helping her move on. But I do give them credit for giving Mirai some space and time, and having the strength to behave as normal so that Mirai has some rock to fall back upon.
So much of this episode is so emotional because of the simplicity of Yuuki's feelings and Mirai's memories of him. I teared up so hard when spirit!Yuuki says he stayed with Mirai because he wanted to be with her. Just a simple, beautiful statement about how much he loves his sister. And when Mirai gets her cell phone back and reads the text Yuuki sends her about wanting a cell phone himself so that he could message his sister, even when she is away ... I totally lost it. It's just so ... Yuuki. Even after suffering so much pain and trauma, he's still thinking about things that will allow him to have as much fun as possible with his sister. As tough as the little guy is, and as much as he helps Mirai survive throughout the series, Mirai's memories remind her that, at heart, Yuuki was just a sweet little kid, and that is how she will remember and appreciate him.
It's so horribly sad, but this episode also highlights how much Mirai has grown. Before, she would have resisted all attempts to air out her feelings, but now she is able to tell Mari how she feels about Yuuki and how much she'll miss him. Having someone, in Mari, who has been through a similar event is also very helpful to Mirai. She can see how Mari was able to become stronger after her husband's death and find happiness in life through her daughter. Mirai has the happiness of her life and her renewed relationship with her family. She has grown so much. It is not just a matter of becoming less of a jerk and appreciating life. For Mirai, it's more like she gains a sense of strength and hope. This earthquake is just about the worst thing that could happen to Tokyo. And yet people survive. She survives. Yuuki is gone, but he lives on forever in Mirai's heart, just like he says.
The very end, with Mirai continuing to nurture the plant Yuuki and his friend planted, is a perfect ending. Mirai will continue to honor and cherish Yuuki's memory, and the love he stood for, for the rest of her life.
-- Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei ep10: Not a bad episode, especially after the series hit a lull the past couple of weeks. I really like the first skit, where each character muses on various "chicken and egg" questions, and of course they become progressively more ridiculous as the skit moves on, with Nozomu and others arguing to Chiri about common sense answers to these questions. My favorite is when Nozomu argues that tea was invented because there needed to be a drink for people to consume during tea time. Then it switches a sub-skit with two polite English cavemen inventing tea. LOL The second skit is really funny, too. It involves Nozomu's belief that anyone who causes even a tiny inconvenience for people is a spy who has come to raise unrest in their country. Then it runs through several examples of tiny inconveniences overblown into sabotage conspiracies. The funniest is when Ai cannot use a pen, and Nozomu determines that the pen was made in another country, which means -- yes -- sabotage! Also love that Nozomu refers to Nami's example as "textbook" sabotage. A good, subtle joke there, haha. The last skit is a clunker, unfortunately. It's just a continuation of the range skit from an episode or two back, which is still really dull.
-- Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou eps 1-5: Good start to the second season! Ep1 does a solid job of easing newbies into the premise of the series while also being entertaining enough for vets to enjoy. But my favorites in this run of episodes are ep3 and ep4. Ep3 has moar Natori, so of course I am going to enjoy it. It's really interesting how the isolation caused by people like Natori and Natsume leads them to be naturally defensive and lie almost unconsciously to protect themselves and have themselves look more normal. It is something Natsume constantly struggles with, although I cannot really tell how much Natori struggles with the same thing, and how sincere he is actually being when he tells Natsume he is trying to be more truthful (lol irony). (Lying to people not long after you tell them you are trying to be more truthful is not a great way to gain their trust, haha.) Ep4 has Natsume and Madara become surrogate parents of sorts for an egg. Madara complains about it, but he definitely likes helping the egg to hatch. The little guy is so cute when he snuggles the egg. <3 And Natsume being protective toward anything in general is heartwarming. Damn, that creature is ugly as hell when it hatches from the egg and then grows up, though lol.
Ep5 has a nice ending, too. The little Ayakashi getting his first real view of the sea is a sweet moment. Reiko could be kind of a prick, but she hit a home run when she set that up. :)
eps 6-9: Pretty good series of episodes here. Kind of cool to get a two-parter -- it involves a girl, Taki Tooru, a classmate of Natsume's who is looking for an Ayakashi who cursed her. The curse states that after 360 days (the Ayakashi presumably chooses this random number because he is a douche) the Ayakashi will eat Taki unless she manages to find him. If she fails, the Ayakashi eats her. A side-effect of the curse is that the next 13 people whose names Taki says will also be eaten if Taki fails in her mission. Basically this Ayakashi is a complete asshole and loves tormenting people like a douche. What makes it worse is that the curse forces Taki to isolate herself from others so that she does not accidentally say their names. Again: Ayakashi. Douchenozzle.
Taki herself is a nice, cute girl, though, and she and Natsume make a nice team. Also, I totally ship them now. Sorry, Sasada. Madara's continued devotion to Natsume is awesome as well. He always goes, "OMG NATSUME YOU ARE A RETARD I SWEAR" and yet he will always be there to get Natsume out of trouble. What a guy. You know Natsume will survive the battle against asshole!Ayakashi but this arc is better than most at making you believe Natsume's life is actually in danger.
Eps 8-9 are both solid, Natsume-type episodes. Of the two, I prefer ep9. The cherry blossoms make for nice settings, and I connect to that story a bit more. (An Ayakashi speaks with a human only from behind the veil of the cherry blossoms because she is afraid what will happen if he finds out she is an Ayakashi. One day he disappears, and she vows to find him.) The standalone episodes are good, but I really want more episodes involving the larger cast. More Natori and more Taki plz. :D
eps 10-13: Now that's what I'm talking about! Loved the way Zoku ends. Ep10 is one of those cool "develop Reiko!" episodes that I enjoy so much. The way Natsume is now is how I think Reiko would have turned out if she had a good family to nurture her and friends to hang around with every day. You can really get a feel for Reiko's loneliness in how she helps people -- it's almost never direct help (like when she sets up that Ayakashi to see the sea 50 years down the line, or her games in general), or if it is, the help is set up in a way that ensures her continued solitude (such as blowing up the room in Shigeru's home to exorcise the Ayakashi). (For what she sees as good reasons, of course, since she doesn't want anyone to suffer due to association with her.) Natsume is much more gung-ho about helping people and Ayakashi than Reiko, probably because he wants to spread the love. What a guy, that Natsume.
The final three episodes work together to deliver a really good, satisfying season-ending arc. (Ep11 might not seem like it connects to the final two episodes, but the questions raised to Natsume about how he relates to both humans and Ayakashi have a direct bearing on how he acts in 12 and 13, so in my book it is included in this arc.) What is pretty interesting (though not surprising) is that Natsume seems to be alone in his approach to Ayakashi. Most people similar to him are either tough on 'em like Natori, or complete hardliners like that woman whose name I am forgetting at the moment. Poor Natsume just wants to alleviate his loneliness, while most people just want to kill the hell out of rogue Ayakashi.
The Kai arc is really good. I barely realized just before it is revealed that Kai is an Ayakashi. There are some good hints dropped throughout the episode (Kai being a pretty charismatic kid with a lot of friends, him having no house, being able to see other Ayakashi, etc.), but I didn't pick up on any of them until Natori shows up at the end of the episode lol. The big choice Natsume has to make is between humans and Ayakashi -- will he side with the former or the latter? He sidesteps that choice by declaring his affection for both, which seems like a logical choice for him. It is kind of inspiring to see the bravery with which Natsume conducts his interactions with the Ayakashi, because he deals with a lot of hatred on both sides. Kai, for instance, hates many people because, you know, they tend to attack him and lock him in freaking boxes. I wouldn't like people much either if that happened to me. But Natsume frequently has to bridge the gap between humans and Ayakashi, which is one reason why he is so fond of both. He can see the good in them all instead of the bad things most see in each other. The power of Natsume's bodily sacrifice really gets through to Kai, which is cool.
So, yeah, good stuff. I LOL'd at the bad spirits Kai released being so lame. Madara and Natori beat the holy hell out of them. xD
Overall, I like the second season about as much as the first and I demand a third season of Natsume Yuujinchou LIKE YESTERDAY.
