I don't have anything particularly witty or interesting to say in this intro, so enjoy Noches de Pasion Con Señor O'Brien:
Anime discussed: Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, Cross Game, Dance in the Vampire Bund, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OVAs, Hanamaru Kindergarten, Shugo Chara! Party, Simoun, Sora no Woto
UNMEI KAIHEN: Durarara!!, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Kimi ni Todoke, Nodame Cantabile Finale, Ookami Kakushi
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu ep5
An improvement on the last couple of episodes, I think. Usually I don't really like the "throw a bunch of random references at the wall and see what sticks" approach to anime comedy, but the references fit in with the characters and what they're doing, so it's cool to me. I laughed a lot at Voyeur turning into a Gundam SEED Coordinator in the girls' dressing room (along with his droopy camera lens, haha), and Kubo imitating the famous image of Oscar in the rose vines image at the beginning of the Rose of Versailles OP (way to respect your elders!). There are probably plenty of other references I didn't catch, too.
Cross Game eps 30-37
The new girl who has moved into town is named Akane Takigawa, and her Wakaba-esque ways have certainly shaken things up a bit around Cross Game. It seems as if the baseball aspect of Cross Game will take a backseat until the summer tournament; bits and pieces of games and whatnot are going on in the background, but it's definitely all about the romance and developing relationships right now. The series is pushing Azuma x Aoba and Kitamura x Akane right now, but neither of those relationships have a chance in hell of ever happening for real, although if I had to pick one to actually happen it would be the latter, if only because Akane is so much like Wakaba. However, if there is one theme Cross Game never lets up on, it's how much Aoba and Kitamura understand each other, inside and out. Everyone says that neither Kitamura nor Aoba is truly honest with their feelings; however, I would say that is because both have such an innate understanding of each other that they can tell what the other means even when it is covered up with lies. And they can definitely tell that they like each other, even if neither wants to make a move yet.
I feel kind of sorry for Azuma. He's got balls enough to tell Aoba straight up that he likes her, but he's also realistic enough to know he does not have much of a shot at her -- and he's also man enough to let Kitamura know he likes Aoba instead of dancing around the issue. And then the whole thing with Aoba's fractured leg happens, which just crushes Azuma. It's kind of amazing how restrained the show is in dealing with the enormous guilt Azuma must feel, first with his brother, and now with Aoba. And Aoba has it pretty bad, too, since she was on the cusp of doing great things with Japan's official all-women baseball team. She would have torn apart the other countries. She has a great amount of loyalty, but someone with Aoba's talents should not be sitting around wasting him, so it's undeniably frustrating for her to miss a chance to be on a great team while she waits for her leg to heal. But those are the breaks of the game, so to speak, so she doesn't feel any real animosity toward Azuma.
eps 38-42
Not too much to say about this run of episodes -- they're fun, and they help set the stage for the last run at the Koushien. The most overt development is with Aoba's feelings toward playing on the women's national team versus sticking with Seishuu and supporting them all the way through to the Koushien, even though she cannot play in the games herself. She ultimately chooses Koushien, saying that she'll have no regrets supporting Seishuu. As long as she is happy with her choice, I guess. More subtly developed is the potential relationship between Kitamura and Akane; it seemed as if Akane was the strongest contender to break up Kitamura x Aoba, but I think Akane will act more as someone who can help everyone finally make peace with Wakaba's death. She is a lot like Wakaba, but at the same time she isn't Wakaba; she's a different person. Just the shock everyone needed.
One random moment I like: Ep42 subtly shows Senda's growth (in skill, not maturity, haha) by having Azuma actually recognize what Senda's strength at the plate is, and giving him tips as to how he should best utilize his talent. Before, as Senda painfully remembers, Azuma just would not have known who the hell Senda was. (Although this short scene also continues the running gag of nobody remembering Senda's name correctly. :P)
Dance in the Vampire Bund ep5
Man, I think I'm actually starting to enjoy this series now. When the hell did THAT happen?? Mina is the only really interesting character to me, but I like some of the ideas and whatnot, and the juxtaposition of the classroom scenes and the political scenes is actually clicking for me now since the idea that Mina is the foreign visitor to both places and is taking over is more strongly asserted than in prior episodes. I don't think it's a great show yet by any means, but I'm starting to understand why a small minority is swearing by this series right now.
Durarara!! ep5
If there weren't already enough mystery in this show, there's a new character introduced in this episode -- a serial killer/attacker/whatever called the Slasher. However, what makes this more mysterious is that, as I point out in my post, there are clearly two different Slashers in the episode. Look at them. They are not the same at all. Are there two different Slashers? Or are they somehow the same person? Why for you screw with me, Brains Base?!
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood ep43
I would like to dedicate this entry to Marcoh being a badass in this episode. That is all.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OVAs 1-2
Decent pair of OVAs. The Blind Alchemist is interesting mainly as a story that gives Ed and Al yet more evidence that human transmutation just does not work to resurrect people. Also a pretty depressing story. Yeesh. The second OVA is a fun look at how Hawkeye and Winry's brief meeting influenced their lives, even if they were in small ways.
Hanamaru Kindergarten ep5
Hiiragi is totally the star of this series. Anzu is fun and all, but she is pretty much a one-trick pony at this stage in the series. Hiiragi is the real deal. I crack up whenever she does anything, whether it's her adult reactions to things, or her childish excitement, or all the dressing up she does, or whatever else. She's funny as hell. Also loved the Evangelion and Fullmetal Alchemist references in this episode, although the FMA reference is a bit less overt than the Evangelion reference, for obvious reasons. :P
Kimi ni Todoke ep18
Doesn't Chizuru know she's asking for trouble by pining for a friend's older brother? No way this ends well. Also, I am pretty sure 99 percent of fans can spot from a mile away that Ryu's brother has a fiance. Wish I could bet on this.
Nodame Cantabile Finale ep4
More of drunk!Chiaki and jealous!Chiaki plz. And more of Nodame egging on Chiaki with naughty phone conversations. That is hilarious.
Ookamikakushi ep5
So, this series is pretty much about wolf STDs. I'm guessing speficially wolf herpes, except instead of weird growths it makes you unbelievably horny. And also makes you into Spider-Man, apparently.
... Best disease ever??
Shugo Chara! Party ep16
Arrogant!Rikka is kind of awesome. She should unleash the ego more often, especially when it's about dumb things like picking up garbage and planting flowers. I wonder if her Guardian Character will be some arrogant ojou-sama type.
Simoun eps 17-21
Oh man, Mamiina shot way up my favorite characters list in this set of episodes. I should have been suspicious that something big would happen with her, though; she grows and matures so quickly, and the only thing left for her is to be seen as an equal among the members of Chor Tempest instead of someone who was able to join the group solely because she had the backing of an important political figure. The scene where she sacrifices herself not just to save Neviril but also to save the enemy priestesses who had been willing to sacrifice their own lives to get Neviril and Mamiina out of enemy control is such a powerful scene. Mamiina cutting off one of her braids is an especially great way to close the circle; what I got from that is that Mamiina took inspiration from Rododreamon's willingness to change who she is to get closer to someone with whom she wants to be friends. And if Mamiina truly wants to be equals with her peers, she must cast aside the part of herself that still bears a grudge against the upper class and force them to see her as herself instead of someone trying to imitate a rich girl.
And the episode where the Sibyllae band together to give Mamiina the proper funeral and honor she deserves but doesn't get because of discrimination? Oh man. Not afraid to admit I teared up. What a beautiful scene. There had been so many problems with everyone in the group -- Paraietta in particular is just run through the wringer as she comes to terms with the selfishness of her love for Neviril and how it is actually distancing herself from Neviril instead of bringing her closer -- but their mutual admiration for a comrade who sacrificed her life to save others (although it is not even explicitly shown if they are saved) unites them and gives them the strength to say, "Fuck you" to the retarded military commanders, while the smart military commanders just shake their heads and go, "Oi." Anyway, that whole scene may have been my favorite in Simoun so far.
Speaking of awesome scenes, how about when, I think, ep21 shows Rimone playing with a bunch of little kids out of nowhere, and Dominura is cooking in some cabin, and the show plays it off like a normal scene? Such a great, "Wait ... WHAT?!" moment there, perfectly played Studio DEEN. Well done. The mystery of the Emerald Ri Majon is partially solved in these episodes (performing it warps the Sibyllae to an alternate world, perhaps as a result of time travel), although I am guessing there is more to it that we are not being told right now. Is there any possible way to know what world the performers are going to, or is it a total crapshoot? I assume they have a way to get people back, because they seem pretty confident that Rimone and Dominura will return. How the hell does that work? What is the real purpose of using the Emerald Ri Majon? As the legend goes, the original Sibyllae came to the current world and spread the Good Word, so is the Emerald Ri Majon supposed to be used for propagation when things get especially bad in the world, and they need to get the hell out of Dodge? My head hurts.
No rest for the weary right now, though, since everyone is pushing Neviril and Aer into performing the Emerald Ri Majon so that they can hopefully stop the war from ever occurring. Who knows if they'll go along with this plan, but they probably will. There's also the interesting issue of Aer's grandfather (who apparently was one of the members of Chor Dextra, the group dedicated to performing the Emerald Ri Majon; if that's the case, then how old is Dominura??) and Aer's music box, which plays at specific moments for currently unknown reasons. Methinks something weird will happen should Neviril and Aer successfully perform the Emerald Ri Majon.
Sora no Woto ep6
Turning four of the five girls into complete gangsters without any prior warning would have been pretty silly, but I have to admit, it was pretty awesome for a couple of minutes there. Filicia would make a pretty kickass Mafia don, and Rio is a pretty great Dragon already. But it was just a ruse, so oh well. This episode isn't too bad; I cared more about the gangster side of things than the Kanata side of things, but the two stories do blend well toegether, even if it is pretty obvious what the story is going for once the rocks fall.
There's also another bit of interesting world building going on with the brief mention of the "invisible reaper". People are currently speculating on whether this is part of a military unit, or if it is a nuclear/biological weapon of some sort. I'm not sure myself, but I'm leaning toward military unit at the moment. Just feels right.
