Oh man, yesterday was just what I needed after three consecutive hectic days at work -- a nice day to relax and recharge my batteries. I swear if I had another day filled with making stupid election bio boxes, my brain would have exploded.
Anyway, animu tiem yayz~
Anime discussed: 11eyes, Aoi Bungaku, Axis Powers Hetalia, The Book of Bantorra, Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Genshiken 2, Hyakko, Kaiji, Kampfer, Kemono no Souja Erin, Kimi ni Todoke, Kobato., Letter Bee, Sasameki Koto, Shion no Ou, Shugo Chara! Dokki Doki, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, Trapeze, Umineko no Naku Koro ni
11eyes ep3
This show is totally setting up the female black knight as Misuzu's ancestor. Good at swords? Check. Ancestor name dropped in this episode? Check. Random exposition about the black knights having human lives before? Check. Totally calling it right now. Also, lol @ Yukiko's reveal as Misuzu's friend being the shocking swerve~ at the end of the episode. Yuka and Kakeru are the only two who did not see that coming.
Aoi Bungaku ep1
Like many other people, I can easily see this becoming the Mouryou no Hako of 2009 -- a great show that oozes atmosphere and has an interesting story (or stories in the case of this series) that unfortunately ends up in fansub purgatory. I hope at least ep2 gets subbed so that I can find out how this story ends! Aoi Bungaku's first episode -- based off Osamu Dezai's No Longer Human -- is about as crazy and gripping as Mouryou no Hako's first. It is seamless in how it lays out the life of this screwed up young man, Yozou, who loathes himself and cannot understand why people live the way they do (presumably because he has never really felt any love in his life; his father basically despises him, and Yozou's broken flashbacks hint heavily that he was raped as a child). He floats through life, a failure as an art student and hustling the poor out of money by posing as the co-leader of a revolutionary anti-government group.
After some happenstance involving the police, Yozou meets a bar worker, who goes by Mayumi and is actually named Tsuneko, and they form an immediate bond which culminates in a sex scene that is simultaneously erotic, intense and sad as hell. I love the simple, direct way the story establishes exactly why Mayumi needs Yozou at that moment: She is just happy to have someone who will not abandon her (her husband is a convict for whom she has been searching for a long time). But while Mayumi is someone who can still feel love, even though life has tired her out, Yozou just cannot form that attachment -- she tries to comfort him after he bitterly insults his art talent and his participation in the anti-government movement, and in his mind he wishes he could kill her.
Ironically, he gets that opportunity. They are both tired of life and wish to commit suicide together. Yozou and Mayumi go to a seaside cliff in a scene that is beautiful and frightening. He pushes her off the cliff when she asks him to do so; after a moment of guilt in which he sees a blood red sea, Yozou kills himself ... except he survives and enters an extended, messed up flashback of his childhood, complete with creepy piano music. And our main ends the episode by (I think) remembering Mayumi's body floating to the surface of the ocean while he is still submerged. Cue creepy smile!!
... lol, I didn't mean to write a full on summary of the episode, but that's what happened. I don't think I can do justice to the visual experience and how it takes a seemingly simple story and executes it in such a chilling way. (I imagine Dezai does much the same thing in the book.) Can't imagine Yozou's life will end on a great note from here; despite the creepy smile, there is still the presence of the guilt he felt after killing Mayumi, and he already hates himself. The police probably have a few questions for him, too, particularly since Yozou opens the episode by saying some people called him Mayumi's murderer.
Axis Powers Hetalia ep39
It's amusing to see everyone fight over little America, and England's reaction to America offering to be his brother is pretty d'awwww worthy.
The Book of Bantorra ep3
Hm, I sort of want to drop this, but the story is at least semi-interesting, even if the show takes itself way too seriously (and not in a hilarious Code Geass kind of way). The writing is still sort of sloppy, although it seems to me that the villains may be working toward a resurrection of Ergo Proxy Wizahk, some sort of godlike being (or maybe a straight up god) who spread some good ol' fashioned death and destruction in the past by using the ever-laughing witch as his pawn. I dunno. At least Hamutz is still interesting. She's a huge jerk, but she can also do some good things ... good for her standards, anyway. Colio isn't a bomb anymore, though Hamutz uses a pretty direct method to remove the bomb from his body. (Hint: Hamutz is not an especially skilled surgeon.)
Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini ep2
lol Guess I have to get used to Darker than Black introducing contractors with interesting powers, only to kill them off almost immediately, haha. August 7 has a bizarre remuneration (he has to give away secrets to magic tricks), but his power (he warps the space around him to make it seem as though things -- including himself and weapons -- appear and disappear) is pretty awesome. Too bad Hei owns the crap out of him; however, their fight is pretty cool, as is Hei's short skirmish with another new contractor, Mina Hazuki, who apparently has the power to transform ordinary objects into bolts of energy. But this episode also introduces a cool looking, Jouji Nakata-voiced character (don't know if he is a contractor yet) to balance out any character deaths, so that is good enough for me. I'm wonder whose side Mina's group is on. They attack Hei, but they also are not on the side of the Russian military. They did not appear to be working with MI6, either.
We have a couple of other interesting questions now. I doubt that Yin is dead, but what has happened to her? Is Hei looking for her right now? Could that be why he needs the meteor core, or is there something else to that? Also, Misaki is in Russia now, and while she is busy stalking Hei's star, she notices that it disappears. Normally the disappearance of a contractor's star indicates that the contractor has died, but the episode preview shows Hei alive and well, so I am not quite sure what is up with that. Then again, Hei has always been a different sort of contractor (he actually has emotional reasoning, after all). Perhaps his star works by different rules, too.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood ep28
Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed~ Been looking forward to this episode for a while now. Greed is my favorite Homunculus by a good distance, and the addition of Ling makes him even better. I also love that BONES decided to keep Yuuichi Nakamura on as Greed and leave Mamoru Miyano as Ling. It would have been interesting to hear Miyano's take on Greed, but I love Nakamura, so I am happy he gets a bigger role in the series. The scene where Ling confronts Greed after taking in the Philosopher's Stone is especially awesome. Not too difficult to see why Greed is impressed with the depth of Ling's greed. It is also interesting how the story plays with how greed can be good or bad, depending on the purpose. Ling wants power, sure, but the power he wants is the power to protect his people, and nothing will make him waver from that.
Genshiken 2 eps 9-10
Man, am I ever glad I got a job before we got to these episodes, because watching Sasahara fail again and again in his job hunt would have been too painful to see otherwise. Poor guy tries every trick in the book to make employers notice him; however, nothing works. Even when he goes into interviews with an air of confidence, the interviewers quickly break it with inane questions. But it is not all their fault, though. When Sasahara lands a big interview for a manga editor position at a magazine, he is challenged to state his opinions on several controversial aspects of the job (such as doujinshi based on established properties), and he is unable to come up with an adequate response to any of the questions. Sasahara is just too directionless and lacking in confidence to really grab interviewers by the throat and make them notice him.
Sasahara also has rapidly developing feelings for Ogiue that he has no idea what to do with. Everyone can tell he likes Ogiue, and vice versa, but the two are so thick -- in a bad way, not the funny romantic comedy way -- that they just get lost in their own worlds. Ogiue is stubborn and keeps denying that she won't date otaku, because she hates herself and thinks someone like Sasahara would find her disgusting, and Sasahara is a black hole of confidence. He couldn't tell Ogiue he likes her if she threw him into bed and started screwing him right there. Another aspect of Sasahara that hits a bit too close to home at times, haha.
And Ohno's American friends ... haha. Gratuitous Engrish alert! I also love that Ohno befriended weeaboos in America. Makes me laugh every time I think about it.
Hyakko OVA ep1
Not bad for a 10 minute short. There are some funny moments as Torako and Touma plow through a series of cakes. The way it ends feels like it amounts to half an episode instead of a fully realized short, though. I expected an ending like Torako's coupon isn't valid at the cake shop, so she tries to guilt Tatsuki into covering the bill, or something like that, but instead the episode ends just as Torako calls Tatsuki and Touma buries herself into her book. Guess this is a literal slice of life episode. Haha!
Kaiji eps 1-5
This series is way more addicting than I expected it to be, and I thought it would be pretty damn addicting. It's about a jobless drifter, Kaiji, who spends (and loses) his spare money in cheap gambling and releases his frustrations by randomly destroying fancy cars. One day a man comes to Kaiji's door and informs him that he has an enormous debt due to a loan he co-signed on with a co-worker at one of his old part-time jobs. The loan is of course way too much for Kaiji to pay off, so the man makes an offer to Kaiji: Kaiji goes on a boat with more than 100 people who have also incurred serious debts and plays them in a game of chance for the opportunity to not only erase his debts but also leave the ship with more money than he could possibly earn on his own. After some subtle cajoling by the man, Kaiji decides that between the ship and working 10-20 years to pay off the debt, the ship is the preferable option, so he takes the man up on his offer and enters an insane, dangerous world.
Part of what I like about Kaiji so far is that it has no qualms with presenting Kaiji as a lowlife. He's a layabout, a liar and a leech. It takes the threat of a mountain of debt to get him to improve his life. But despite that -- at least right now -- Kaiji has at least some sense of justice and loyalty in him. He sees two guys who are in equally terrible situations as him and quickly devises a plan to help them all beat the game. Kaiji even teams with the guy who thrust the debt upon him in the first place! This situation also shows the kind of man Kaiji could have been if he had any ambition at all. He may be a deeply flawed person, but Kaiji is not an idiot. His mind can quickly and rationally analyze what the men in charge want to happen and also come up with several plans about how to get out of the mess. Even when the game completely changes, and Kaiji temporarily loses his cool (which happens often), he is able to calm down and think well about how to approach the new angle. It's a wonder that he was not a more successful gambler outside of this place.
The story is built and paced very well, too, even if it is easy to tell that you are waiting to see how Kaiji will be screwed over yet again each episode. I'm just impressed that it takes what is essentially Rock-Paper-Scissors (the game is played with cards, but it's the same thing) and makes it into an exciting, thrilling life-or-death game of chance. It's freaking awesome, and I now wish I had watched this week-by-week when it first aired, because the wait between episodes would have been amazing and excruciating at the same time lol.
Also, I LOVE the OP. It's as if The Ramones decided to sing in Japanese for no reason and then ripped out a 45 second tune. It rules.
eps 6-9
Holy hell, I am loving this series. This is not really surprising for a show about gambling, but it is not at all afraid to delve into the darker parts of humanity -- there are some real pieces of shit around Kaiji on this boat. Time and again, Kaiji must re-evaluate each strategy he employs, because someone on this ship of gamblers steps forward to screw things over for him. The final twist is particularly heartbreaking, because while it is understandable why it would happen, at the same time it is absolutely despicable, especially since Kaiji puts his life on the line with his final, desperate gamble. All the twists are awesome, though, and they also hurt because, again, they reaffirm that Kaiji could have had a hell of a life if his circumstances were better.
What makes Kaiji especially amazing is how he sticks to his convictions even after being betrayed left and right, suffering through mislaid plans and being confronted with the absolute greed of his competitors. Kaiji's final act is the perfect way to end this first arc -- it is an act of true kindness without any expectation or repayment, and it is also a huge "FUCK YOU" to the people running the boat, who are all taking huge pleasure in watching the gamblers betray each other and sink to the lowest depths so that they can survive. Unfortunately, Kaiji cannot do much more than make empty gestures at this point, because even though he has escaped the ship, he is still in debt to those in charge.
eps 10-15
Plot-wise, this arc, which has Kaiji and others risking their lives by walking over a couple of chasms, is not as interesting as the first, but it is nonetheless interesting because it casts a much harsher light upon humanity. (And it is not as if the first arc is all sunshine and rainbows lol.) The first arc forces the players to collude and fight among each other for victory, although, really, the ultimate purpose is the drive a bunch of people even further into debt, which is exactly what the game accomplishes. This second game is a pure, sick horror sport, though -- the first a simple walk with a fall that could hurt, and the second a walk on an electrified beam with a fall that can kill. Both games are put on for the amusement of rich elites, who bet on certain players to win and who jeer those who will not shove aside people for the chance at victory. And the players accept it and move forward, simply because they really need the money.
Maybe the most sickening part is the claim of the ringleader, Tonegawa, that the death-defying gamble is meant to put such fear into the participants that they re-evaluate their lives and live like true humans. It is extreme, yes, he says, but the shock will make them realize they have wasted their lives and that they must make a change for the better. But that is pretty much a load of shit. The players are put in an impossible situation from the start; even when Kaiji wins, he gets nothing for his efforts aside from a chance at even bigger money. The promise of wealth is not the same thing as actually having wealth, however. Plus, the elites watching don't particularly give a shit if any of these guys improve their lives. They want to see someone fall and die. (And most of them do die.)
What's interesting, though, is that it is in these situations only where Kaiji seems to realize what is important to him and what holds value in his heart. During the first gamble, Kaiji is a noble man; he is betrayed, and yet he trusts again, and when he is betrayed once again, he is still able to free a man whose life is meaningless to him. When Kaiji is freed from this situation, he goes back to work and is frustrated day in and day out by the lack of progress in his life. He regrets his decision to save the old man and shifts back into his angry ways. But when Kaiji takes part in this second gamble, everything changes. He becomes a leader. He encourages the others, even though he feels fear deep in his heart. He refuses to push people even though he admits it would probably be the best thing to do to ensure his survival. Kaiji looks deep within himself to pull out strength he never knew he had. Even though I think Tonegawa is at least half full of shit when he says the gambles are for the benefit of the participants, this gamble makes stronger everything that is important to Kaiji.
Kampfer ep3
I want to drop this so badly, just because I have less time now to watch and write about shows, but this is morphing into such a bizarre trainwreck of misunderstandings and Natsuru having to juggle life as a girl and life as a boy, that I cannot look away. It's just blatantly trashy and fanservicey (there are a couple of scenes that actually made me uncomfortable while watching them because they're so over the top with the fanservice); however, there is something about it that is preventing me from dropping it. If you looked up "guilty pleasure" on Wikipedia, there would probably be a .gif of Kampfer.
Kemono no Souja Erin eps 37-39
I accidentally watched ep38 before ep37. lol @ me. Erin starts her tenure as a teacher, Lilan delivers her baby (GO LILAN!!!111!!!!1!1!!1!) and Damiya turns the sinister dial to 11 to the 11th power. My favorite part of ep37 by far is Eku waving his wings around like a doofus when Owl is born. I can just imagine him shouting, "FUCK YEAH I'M A FATHER WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" and planning a big night of drinking with his best buds. Ep38 made me lol because apparently everyone in the place -- including the queen -- expects Damiya to flirt with every woman within a 500 mile radius. How dumb is this queen, btw? I hope she is really good at acting dumb, because otherwise, good lord. Now the cat is out of the bag regarding Erin's ability to control beast-lords without the mute whistle; the queen doesn't seem to give a shit, but Damiya is very interested. Uh oh.
And holy shit ep39. The title gives away that Damiya's plan of attack is to set Touda against the queen, and I knew as soon as Kiriku brought it up that Erin would use Lilan to fend off the Touda. But Erin gets so much more than she bargains for ... Lilan taps into long dormant instincts and goes absolutely beserk on the Touda, ripping them apart and leaving pools of blood running all through the river, as a horrified Erin can only watch and beg Lilan to stop. That this bloodsoaked episode comes just a few episodes after the beautiful celebration of life that is Eku and Lilan coming together to conceive a child makes it all the more stunning. This series really knows how to play the viewer like a fiddle. Erin has once again been shown the limits of friendship between human and beast; try as she might to eradicate it, there is a clear wall between the two. But that will be the least of her problems soon -- Damiya looks positively orgasmic as he sees Erin flying in the skies atop Lilan. The queen is not dead, but something much better has fallen into his lap.
Kimi ni Todoke ep3
It seems that with each episode I am admiring Sawako and Kazehaya more and more as a really cute couple, and I do not mind that at all, which is why I am sort of wary about the approaching storyline. It is one of those misunderstanding dealies among friends, where Yano and Yoshida are (presumably) tricked into believing Sawako is spreading nasty rumors about them. Hopefully the series throws a curveball like Yano and Yoshida immediately discredit the source and work to find out who started the rumors. I don't want to believe either is dumb enough to believe Sawako would (or, really, could) spread rumors about people. The episode seems to hint that the new, Aya Hirano-voiced character is the source of the rumors, though I again wonder if a curveball will be thrown here, too. We'll see, I guess. In the meantime, more of Sawako and Kazehaya being adorable, plz~
Also, more Ryu. That guy barely does anything, and yet he cracks me up whenever he is onscreen. The best part is when he slowly wakes up during the montage where Sawako helps her peers with some math problems. He has this totally confused look on his face, like, "Wait, why are so many people around here interrupting my sleep time?"
Kobato. ep3
Hm, nothing much to say here: Another episode where Kobato helps a person through strange means -- this time a girl who thinks the boy she likes has a girlfriend -- and some funny stuff where Kobato moves into an apartment and gets free stuff from like five bajillion people. The umbrella switching is a weird subplot. I wonder if that will come up later, or if it is just there for the hell of it? There are some hints of a larger plot now, too. Two people come by at the end, one of who can sense Kobato somehow. Maybe she is the same type of person as Kobato? Or more advanced, maybe? There are also some hints as to the problem that plagues Sayaka, the school teacher. It seems she has been hurt several times in the past, and Fujimoto is rather protective of her. Hmm.
Letter Bee ep3
Do the Letter Bees run some sort of bizarre orphan taxi service? First Lag, and now Niche. What other kids will they be delivering in this series? Do they deliver babies, too? Dumb puns aside, there isn't that much to this episode, but that is OK -- it mainly serves to set Lag off on his journey to become a Bee and to introduce Niche (more strange names!), who in all likelihood will become Lag's partner. She is kind of interesting in that she is human but has animal characteristics (her eyes, her advanced sense of smell and her leaping ability). I wonder if Niche is some sort of hybrid, or if there is something else to her?
Sasameki Koto eps 2-3
This is about what I expected going into Sasameki Koto -- there are still dramatic moments in this episode (particularly Ushio carelessly saying that Murasame is not her type, and Akemiya being relieved that Murasame is not disgusted by his cross-dressing), but a lot of the episode is also lighthearted and funny. As serious as Akemiya is about going after Murasame, it has to be said that his plan to capture her heart -- lure her in by cross-dressing and figure everything else out later, basically -- is completely idiotic. He's playing it by ear because his sister sent those photos in to the magazine, and they liked them, but still. There is no way in hell that plan could have ever worked. However, Akemiya is a teenage guy with a crush, and therefore he does not think in rational ways. That said, Murasame is also being irrational, because 1) she totally misinterprets Akemiya's statement that she is cute (poor guy lol) and 2) When she still believes the model is an actual woman, she chases her down for Ushio's sake even though Ushio has just admitted she has no romantic interest in Murasame, and also despite the fact most people would probably assume the model runs away because she thinks crazy stalkers are after her.
Ep3 is a good episode -- it really uses its humor well as people who are trying to be serious, because they are seriously in love, but who act in silly ways because they don't know how to approach their feelings. I mean, Murasame gets jealous of a freakin' skeleton. Totally ridiculous, and yet it is something I could see myself doing in my dumber years. Ushio being all spacey and dreaming about practicing the perfect scenario for her first kiss is funny, too. This episode actually went a decent way toward warming me up to Ushio. It is the fact that she is so exacting when planning her kiss that gets to me. Most of us have been there, even if in passing, right? Even if it might not come true, there's always that one scenario that strikes us as absolutely perfect.
I'm interested in where the next storyline will go. Will it pile more misunderstandings onto the misunderstandings, or will the girl who sees Murasame and Ushio practice kissing be more like, "Hey, your secret's safe with me. ;D"
Shion no Ou eps 18-19
In true shogi fashion, the board has been turned upside down -- turns out Satoru is a red herring, and in all likelihood (unless the series tries for a truly absurd ending), Makoto is the true killer. I had my suspicions early on; nothing strong enough for me to have suspected him of killing Shion's parents, but I didn't buy into him for a good while. (Was it really Makoto who sent the information over the 'net, then?) With this revelation, of course, comes new perspectives on Satoru and Makoto.
This does not really excuse Satoru's actions as much as they explain them. Really, Satoru is like a hurt child -- he is stuck in the past, as Makoto says. Everyone who brought some semblance of love into Satoru's life is either dead (his parents, Kazumi) or has abandoned him (Makoto). Satoru wants to play against Makoto not so much because he wants to defeat Makoto, but more so because he wants to show Makoto he has the strength to keep up in shogi, and thus be deserving of Makoto's love. It is pretty damn sad in its own way. And Makoto ... what I like most about this development, is that it is the capper to the last few episodes subtly shifting how sympathetic Satoru and Makoto are. As more of their past has been revealed, Makoto has been shown to be a truly cold person who does not particularly care for anyone except those who can challenge him. Nikaidou does not interest him, because she has hit the wall for now. Satoru does not interest him because he has beaten Satoru countless times. Ayumi interests him, but mainly because, I think, he can take something from Kamizono, who slighted Makoto by not taking him on as an apprentice.
I really fear for Shion in this final match. Makoto is going to pull out every possible bit of psychological warfare to use against Shion; as childishly callous as Satoru could be, I suspect it is nothing against how cruel Makoto is capable of being. Stay on your toes, Shion!
eps 20-22
From what I heard about the ending, I expected to hate it, but I actually like it a lot. The actual murderer is obvious going in to the finale, so I wondered how the series would make the climax exciting, and Shion does it not by offering any surprises, but by executing the endgame incredibly well. Shion vs. Makoto builds in intensity through the prior episodes until it comes to a head in the finale, with Shion turning the tables on Makoto and blowing all his plans up in his face. Makoto shows just how deep his lust for power and competition runs when he reveals how he has abandoned everything in life that held any meaning to him so that he could be the best shogi player ever. His motive might seem incredibly silly at first, but he is so deadly serious about grooming Shion into becoming the type of player he is through the means that forged his game. (i.e. EVERYBODY MUST DIE and CAST OFF EVERYONE WHO MEANS ANYTHING TO YOU.)
My favorite scene in the whole series has to be in ep21, I think, when Makoto tells Shion that she wears the magatama he left her on the night he murdered her parents, so she is immediately like, "OH HELL NO" and rips it from her neck, tosses it at the wall and puts on the star necklace Ayumi had given her before the match. Not only is it completely badass, but it is also highlights some solid symbolism. There is actually a subtle pattern to the way Shion uses those sources of strength. The magatama is of course a murder relic. Shion keeps it close to her heart and draws courage from it (totally ironic by the time the audience learns of its origins), but there is some interesting foreshadowing with how Shion uses it throughout the series: The magatama is always hidden underneath her shirt, as if there is something about it she cannot (or should not) see. Whereas with Ayumi's gift, Shion pulls it out right away and displays it proudly, because it represents strength she can rely upon without pain or sorrow -- the strength of those who support her.
As for the actual method used to capture Makoto, it is OK; it is somewhat tough to believe such an observant person could be caught via such tiny details, but it's not such a trying point that it makes me angry. I look at it this way: Makoto probably knows he will be caught once he finally decides to make his move. It is inevitable. There are just too many unpredictable elements all around him (Shion's memory, Satoru's desire for vengeance, the police, and so on). He sees Shion playing shogi in the women's league, and he thinks she is developing just fine, although maybe not enough for him to do anything. But Satoru kind of forces Makoto's hand when he puts together the tournament, and this is when Makoto decides to push Shion as far as she will go. (All the petty stuff beforehand had been done by Satoru, but Makoto is behind the really evil, serious things like telling that one kid to make the king sign on his forehead.)
These factors cause Makoto to move sooner than he would like. However, he probably would have moved relatively soon, anyway. If he wants too long, Shion may be too set in her ways to take the course Makoto desires, so he prods her along with Saori, Ayumi and Satoru, until he takes advantage of the tournament to mold Shion into the player he wants her to be, with his methods -- pain, loss and the single-minded desire to be the best at shogi. Makoto's plan is never to get away with the murders scot free. Rather, his plan is to raise someone to be his mirror in shogi so that he can play and beat himself, and thus truly reach a new height in shogi. That is all he has; he can think of nobody but himself, so it is appropriate that he beat himself. Satoru is right when he says Makoto has led a far shittier life than Satoru has. (And that is saying something!)
A couple more points: My opinion of Satoru and Kamizono completely flipped by the end of the series, haha. Again, not going to forgive Satoru's many assholeish actions in the first two-thirds of the series, but he is way more sympathetic at the end, and Kamizono is kind of awesome himself. I like him as the old timer who makes knowing comments on the games. Also, I was yelling the whole time for Shion to verbally own Makoto, haha. "TALK ALREADY FOR GOD'S SAKE, SHION ARGHGHGHGHGHGGHGHGHGGHGH"
I really loved Shion no Ou by the end. In the middle I was like, "This is pretty good, but I'm not sure if I will like how obviously it will end" and then it surprised me by being super dramatic and exciting despite laying out its moves beforehand. That is pretty damn impressive.
Shugo Chara! Dokki Doki ep3
LOL, Hikaru is going to "observe [Rikka] thoroughly". Isn't that how serial killers get their start?? I would watch out if I were Rikka. Good to see Utau make an appearance, too. It's always cool when the show lets her sing. Otherwise, this is just an OK episode. Maybe Rikka will start to realize it probably is best to let Amu handle the X Eggs (because it's not like she harms them, or anything), but I doubt it lol.
To Aru Kagaku no Railgun ep3
The best part of this episode is Miho revealing the grand reason for her plot (which involves drawing silly eyebrows on Tokiwadai students) via an over the top flashback about a boy spurning her because of her own strangely-shaped eyebrows. "But ... Spring ended." Haha. A close second is Saten trying to go all Amu on Miho (Saten is voiced by Kanae Itou, who voices Shugo Chara's main character) by saying half-heartedly that Miho's eyebrows do not look silly at all ... which leads to Miho developing a crush on Saten. A mostly silly, fun episode, although there is one interesting detail that comes from it that could lead to an interesting mystery down the road. (Miho is only a Level 2 esper, which means that her powers should not be very developed ... except she is able to turn invisible and hold it for a decent amount of time, though she can still be seen in mirrors and via CCTV. The question is who might have helped her strengthen her powers without the knowledge of the school and the city.)
Trapeze ep1
I have no idea what to think about Trapeze, which apparently puts me in line with the rest of the Internet! On the one hand, the visual style is definitely eye-grabbing. Lots of bright colors, polka dots, a mix of animation and live action, and overall it has a very surreal tilt to it, which fits with the general feelings of the show's first patient. Yamashita is the best trapeze artist in Japan, but he has trouble working with his teammates and cannot sleep well at night, so the world around him is a cracked-out mess and the paranoia runs quite thick. Even simple things like walking down a hallway turn into terrifying experiences for Yamashita. There's also this weird sense of eroticism running through this episode, with the nurse, Mayumi, administering a very sexy injection. No wonder Yamashita gets a good night's sleep after that! I kind of like the weirdness of Ichirou Irabu, the lead psychiatrist, too. He apparently has three distinct personalities -- a crazy stuffed bear, a more laconic kid genius type (reminds a bit of Near from Death Note, actually, and is voiced by Romi Paku) and an older, fey sort of personality.
But what has me scratching my head is the thought that all the craziness may just be for show. I've got nothing against wild visuals, and even if there is nothing more to the show (which remains to be seen), I can at least enjoy 11 episodes of pure surrealism. But this episode appears as though it is trying to say something about a lot of things -- xenophobia, sexuality, psychology and so on -- but little of it actually connects. It's difficult to tell whether the show is really saying something, or if people (including me) are just projecting viewpoints onto it, which is always the danger with this type of show. However, it is at least very different from most series airing this season; I'd much rather watch this, even if it is ultimately shallow, than Seitokai no Ichizon, which is shallow and artless.
(Then again, I am watching freaking Kampfer, so who the hell am I to complain about shallow and artless?)
Umineko no Naku Koro ni eps 16-17
Beatrice's personality shift continues to be interesting -- I don't think she feels completely remorseful for what she has done as much as she is afraid of losing Battler as a participant of the game, and therefore her shot at becoming a bonafide witch beyond the world of the game. Battler's threat to leave the game certainly does make me curious about what would happen if he really did quit. Would one of these scenarios actually happen, and that would be the direction in which the world would move? Or would something worse than that happen? Virgilia is eager to keep Battler in the game, which stands out to me. Is there possibly more at stake (lol) for her than simply defeating her one-time student?
The obvious non-magic explanation for this current scenario is that Eva has some sort of split personality and is killing people under the influence of that personality (explains the headaches, the crazy and why people immediately recognize her as Eva, even though her witch form is a teenage version of herself). I still think this is a huge red herring, however. It is just too easy an explanation. Another part that stands out to me -- and to other bloggers I've read -- is when Ronove deflects Battler's inquiry about whether his parents and Hideyoshi are actually dead by refusing to do it as Beatrice's representative and imploring Battler to acknowledge Beatrice as his opponent once again. This excuse is too convenient for Ronove; it seems to me that he has something to hide. Could one of those three be the true culprit?
As far as the episode goes, it is nice to see some new blood do things for once. Kyrie giving the verbal bitchslap to Leviathan, whose seven days of envy does seem pretty lightweight next to Kyrie's eighteen years of envying the woman who married Rudolf before she could. Evatrice's bunny girl furniture pieces are pretty amusing, too. Those two must catch a lot of shit from others in the demon world.
And ep17 is one of those episodes that makes me want to tear my hair out trying to think of non-magical explanations for what is going on, haha. Every time I think I have the series figured out, it pulls something like Shannon being brought back to life and reunited with George. I guess the non-magic explanation would be that Shannon was actually not killed, knocked out and hidden somewhere, and then George was brought to her and killed. And then all the craziness on the island ... there has to be something unique about the island itself, just as there was something unique about the village in Higurashi. Like, if there is some hallucinogenic gas on the island, that could explain why people are seeing such crazy shit everywhere, haha.
lol Beatrice is kind of darling now; the complete opposite of her murderous self in the beginning of the series. Don't know if everything Beatrice is learning here will actually stick, but it will be interesting to see how the game evolves should Beatrice earn back Battler's trust. Also, I am definitely sensing a furniture revolt with Evatrice. It is clear Lucifer lies when she says she does not sense Beatrice and George leaving the home, and although Ronove is much better at hiding it, he has to be lying as well. Not too sure about the Siestas. But at least half of Evatrice's crew is not too fond of her. Maybe she does not give out enough benefits. If she gave them a halfway decent dental plan, they'd probably sing a different tune.
And, uh, Battler randomly bringing up his sister is going to be important sooner rather than later. She gets a name drop and a picture -- no way she does not eventually appear in the story. How will she change the game? Will someone disappear from the island to keep the numbers correct? Or will Beatrice be forced to acknowledge that there are more than 18 people on the island?
