Before I begin the post, I want to remind everyone involved with the Anime Club to nominate a show to be voted on for watching after Lovely Complex and Kurenai end. I've submitted ef - a tale of memories, and Ryo has submitted Bounen no Xam'd. The more choices, the better! Get to nominating!
EDIT: Also, due to some finangling from the Bossman, I submitted a fan comic challenge with an appropriately epic, self-advertising title. Give it a shot if you're into fan comics!
Anime discussed: Asu no Yoichi!, Axis Powers Hetalia, Clannad ~After Story~, Code Geass R2, Cowboy Bebop, Kemono no Souja Erin, Kurenai, Kurokami, Lovely Complex, Macross Frontier, Maria Holic, The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan, Minami-ke Okaeri, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 s2, Munto (TV), Nyoro~n Churuya-san, RahXephon, Rideback, Shugo Chara! Doki, Tales of the Abyss, To Aru Majutsu no Index, Toradora!, White Album
-- Asu no Yoichi! ep8: Not bad, not bad. I think this episode made me a supporter of Washizu x Ayame, haha. (Sorry, little Tsubasa. Her misunderstanding is pretty funny, though.) Washizu is pretty badass taking all that punishment from those delinquents and then teaming up with Yoichi to dish out some pain. Awesome. All for the sake of Ayame, too! Aww. (Well, technically, they were threatening the rest of the dojo, too, but I shall conveniently forget that.) I laughed when Washizu ditched Yoichi right after Ibuki showed up to give Yoichi his weekly beating. Haha. Only thing this episode failed with is not delivering a random scene with Torigaya and Chihaya. I'd like to know exactly how they teamed up to make that manga, haha.
-- Axis Powers Hetalia ep6: lol, Austria is kind of funny. "I'll express how angry I am through this piano!" Italy is kind of sweet looking all happy roasting marshmallows with his buddies. Not at all surprising that he enjoys smores, haha. America taking a cue from Italy and forcing his brethren to also eat smores is funny, too.
-- Clannad ~After Story~ ep20: Gosh. Ushio and Fuko are so damned cute. I just about well up with tears whenever Ushio does something adorable -- I am going to be such a doting father, haha. And, man, Tomoya needs to find some way to adopt Fuko so that Ushio can have a doting big sister. But, yeah, all the scenes with Tomoya, Fuko and Ushio are great. It's fun to hear Tomoya and Fuko banter like the good ol' days. It's been so long since Fuko was around that I almost forgot how weird she is. Good to see Kyou again, too! Nice to see that she got her dream job. Overall, this episode isn't as emotionally powerful as the previous ones (though I did like that the Furukawa family location is ingrained in Ushio's mind); however, it's still a lot of fun. But OH MY GOSH @ THE CLIFFHANGER. Please let Ushio be OK. :(
-- Code Geass R2 ep14: Solid episode with a really good ending that makes me want to watch the next episode now. Man, as goofy and strange as Code Geass is, damned if it isn't great at getting you excited for future episodes. I like the way Lelouch toyed with Rolo's feelings here. Usually I'd despise that sort of thing, but Rolo is a dick, so whatever. It's a pity Lelouch didn't get to follow through completely on his plan, but it's due to Cornelia, so hey. I'll take that. It's pretty much a sure thing in my mind now that V.V. had something to do with the death of Lelouch's mother. I'm also getting strange vibes regarding the relationship between Charles and V.V. There is something strange going on there. But, yeah, definitely looking forward to next week, with Charles confronting Lelouch for the first time since he wiped Lelouch's memory. Should be excellent. (BTW, I am still not completely trusting of Jeremiah, but I am getting there. It's probably 75-25 in favor of him at this point.)
-- Cowboy Bebop eps 19-26: What can I say that hasn't been said a thousand times before? It's Cowboy f'n Bebop. My favorite episodes from this batch are "Pierrot Le Fou" (a good tribute to the style of Batman: The Animated Series), "Cowboy Funk" (Andy is hilarious) and of course, parts one and two of "The Real Folk Blues." Those last two episodes with the set-up of Vicious' coup in the syndicate, Spike reuniting with Julia and Spike's emotional departure from the Bebop, all culminating in Julia's death and Spike's furious battle against the Red Dragons ... damn. I love the final fight between Spike and Vicious more than ever, and the ending ("Bang.") still gets to me. Also, Shin is ftw. You know it. Rhyming = truth.
-- Kemono no Souja Erin ep4: An OK episode. I dunno -- I couldn't get into the story of the sick little girl for some reason. The most interesting part, to me, is the deeper look into the interactions between the villagers and the Mist People. There are rigid restrictions even to things such as trade. Makes me wonder what the Mist People are like. Obviously they're not all bad, and there is an element of racial prejudice to this, but something must have happened for them to be ostracized in this way.
-- Kurenai eps 5-6: Couple of good episodes here. More relationship building between Shinkurou and Murasaki in ep5. I liked the scenes with them in the grocery store and then dining with Yamie and Tamaki. Those were really cute. I also like that we see another side of Yuuno that does not really come across in her interactions with Shinkurou at school. I like her much more now. Ep6, on the other hand, is an inspired WTF episode. Basically some guy comes to Shinkurou's apartment building scouting for people to be in a play ... and the normal crew is hired to be actors. Cue Yamie and Yuuno singing horribly as they desperately try to find someone to play the lead character. Yayoi even comes in and displays her mad karaoke skillz. But that isn't even the best part. No, the best comes when all the characters inexplicably launch into song for a good four or five minutes. I couldn't even say anything while this happened, because I was enjoying it too much. Really awesome stuff. I am loving Kurenai right now.
-- Kurokami ep8: Not bad, but not really a good episode either. Just kind of there. The fight in this episode is OK, and we know everyone of consequence is invading Okinawa now. That is basically all that comes out of this episode.
-- Lovely Complex eps 17-18: Man, just as I begin to think Lovely Complex is growing a bit stale, it throws two great episodes at me! Ep17 is another in a long line of Risa/Ootani bonding episodes, but it's really well done. Nobuko is hilarious in her aggressively over the top attempts to get Risa and Ootani together. (She is also clearly the voice of audience frustrations, which is amusing.) Risa getting behind Ootani and forming a cheering section for him during the big basketball tournament is a sweet moment. The ending is a great switcharoo on the situation with Ootani and Risa on Ootani's birthday, haha. And what can I say about ep19? It delivers the big moment everyone has been waiting for -- namely, Ootani reciprocating Risa's feelings and giving her a romantic birthday kiss. Aww. This big ol' sap quite enjoyed that. I'm looking forward to a big, awkward mess as Ootani freaks out about actually DATING someone. I also cannot wait to see the reaction of all their friends. That is going to be a great moment. Nobuko alone will probably be amazing.
-- Macross Frontier eps 1-5: Haha, EVERY TIME I tried to watch this series, something interrupted me, and I never got to watch more than one or two episodes in a night this week. Anyway, I am enjoying this series so far, although it is taking its time jumping into the main story (not really a problem, though). The action is really nice. I guess that comes with the territory when the mecha fly at supersonic speeds. The series hasn't even shown any truly crazy battles yet, which has me salivating for when that eventually goes down. And DAMN is this show ever loaded with seiyuu I love. Yuichi Nakamura, Hiroshi Kamiya, Jun Fukuyama, Houko Kuwashima, Tomokazu Sugita, Kikuko Inoue, Aya Hirano, Rie Tanaka ... that is a murderer's row of talent. My god. Nothing but the best for the 25th anniversary of Macross, I see! I like Kamiya's character (Michael, I think), Alto could be a decent hero, and since I already got spoiled that Grace is the main villain, the show needs moar EVIL KIKUKO INOUE. I am not lying when I say that is the main reason I decided to watch this. Please let Kikuko Inoue be as evil as possible.
-- Maria Holic ep8: lol, I guess religion is one of the things Mariya is semi-serious about (aside from the whole people calling him the "reincarnation of Jesus fucking Christ" bit lol). She certainly bit Kanako's head for not being more aware of the basis behind the Virgin Mary festival, haha. I liked getting a bit more of the backstory between the student council president and Mariya. It seems as if the prez is generally a decent person but just really cannot stand Mariya lol. Matsurika is right when she says Kanako isn't protesting quite as hard when she is called a pervert; she's definitely becoming more open with her perversions. (Kanako at the beginning of the series would NEVER have asked the prez how big her boobs are. xD) At least a third of the episode must have involved Kanako drifting into her own perverted delusions. The random cosplay angels were the best, haha.
-- Marimite 4th eps 7-8: Poor Yumi. I had a feeling Touko would not accept Yumi's rosary the first time around, though. That would be too easy. I am wondering how much of what Touko said to Yumi is an act. Her response to the introductions is key. Instead of saying anything about herself, she launches into a monologue that is genuinely acted but seems as though it is a sarcastic jab at Kanako. Whatever is going on at Touko's home is shaking her up, though, which is part of why she's closing herself off from people. Aside from that, Yumi is too adorable, as usual. Yumi really overshadowed the Yoshino/Rei story this week. For me, part of that is because I don't really think their relationship is that interesting, although I like the two of them a lot as separate characters. Ep8 is what Yumi needed after being turned down by Touko -- just a good, fun party with her friends. Good food, good games and good times. I feel about a quarter as manly as I did before after watching this episode, and liking it, but whatever. But right after that, Touko pushes her way back into Yumi's heart. This is where the season is really going to get good. I can feel it.
-- The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan eps 5-6: Haha, two very funny episodes here. Haruhi being super enthusiastic about dodgeball is great, and infusing everyone with superpowers is even better. I loved Kyon fearing for his life on the battlefield. The second episode, with Mikuru and Yuki becoming rivals in the field of cosplaying, is almost as funny. Yuki loves dumping Kyon with random things, doesn't she? He'll be busy for quite a while, haha.
-- Mobile Suit Gundam 00 s2 ep21: Hahaha, really good episode here for various reasons. First off, NENA TRINITY IS DEAD, W00T. Dumb and hypocritical to the end, I see. "That's what you get for treating people like playthings!! Also, I am totally going to gloss over the fact that I slaughtered an entire wedding for my own amusement! I suck! Tee hee!" Nice bit of poetic justice with Louise laying the smack down and Ribbons doing the only awesome thing he has done this season (Evil Ribbons Haro ftw). Man, really sad right afterward with Louise slipping further into madness. Forced innovation does not suit her well, methinks. Then there's the other bit of cleaning up with Nena offing Wang Liu Mei. She ended up being a selfish, petty loser, so I am not at all sad to see her go. It's too bad Hong Long had to be sacrificed for all this to go down, but you gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette, eh? (Plus, could he have really done anything more awesome than setting the stage for Nena and Wang Liu Mei to die? I think not.) I am enjoying the Setsuna/Graham fight so far. In a way, I do think Graham has been a bit of a wasted character this season (more could have been done regarding his obsession with Setsuna), but he is awesome in this episode, though undoubtedly (as Setsuna points out) he has been twisted by the existence of Gundams. I find it interesting that Graham knows of the Innovators' existence. How many others among their group know about them? Then there's Setsuna's path to innovation -- he is not ignorant to this process. It appears that Ribbons, Regenne and now Setsuna are all following Aeolia's plan, but they are doing it in different ways. There is definitely going to be a conflict among them regarding who will lead humanity toward innovation (if indeed that will be the final goal of the series). I am intensely interested in Regenne's methods and personal goals regarding the plan.
-- Munto (TV) ep6: OMG YUMEMI IS FINALLY IN THE OTHER WORLD. Jeez. Took long enough. So, I guess it's all new scenes from now on? Hooray. Just give me lots of purdy battling, and I will be happy. Actually, let's specify that to more of Gass fighting. That guy is awesome. He had better survive until the end of the series.
-- RahXephon eps 1-19: Man, it's nice to watch the story slowly unfold and be able to appreciate all the hints and foreshadowing because I know exactly what is going to happen. RahXephon really knows how to dole it out -- there's just enough information to get you thinking about certain things, but there's not so much that you know exactly what is happening at any given point. The relationship between Haruka and Ayato is the theme that's hinted at most often. The gloves Haruka always wanted to give her boyfriend, the fact that if Ayato were not in Tokyo Jupiter he'd be the same age as Haruka and Itsuki, the fact that Tokyo is Haruka's hometown and the way she interacts with him in general. I love Haruka, and watching the show with this information already in mind actually makes me feel for her even more. She lost the boy she loved for 12 years, and when she finally rescued him, she had to pretend she didn't know him, because he didn't remember a thing. And she has to balance TERRA's plan for him with her feelings. Ayato is of course mistrustful of her because she does deceive him to an extent, but some of the insults he gives her really cut to the core more than he realizes. All the relationships in general are good, though. I feel really bad for Megumi. She loves Souchiro, but he's already taken by Kim. Then she develops feelings for Ayato; however, he leaves for Tokyo Jupiter, and when he returns, he is pretty much destined to fall in love with Haruka again. Poor Megu gets the short end of the stick. Itsuki and Makoto's interactions were sinister the first time I saw the show, but now they are on another level of seething hatred, haha. I actually feel a surprising about of pity for Makoto this time around. Yeah, he is a douche, but he had his ideals stomped on at an early age and was brought up to believe he is inferior to his colleagues. Itsuki's situation is sort of like Makoto's but on a smaller scale: He is doomed to be inferior to Ayato, despite being a clone of him (that isn't revealed in these episodes, although Itsuki's buried contempt of Ayato is hinted at a few times). He cannot pilot the RahXephon, and he failed in capturing Haruka's heart. I get chills when Itsuki kisses Haruka, Ayato walks in on them and then Itsuki coldly stares into Ayato's eyes. Just freaky.
I could go on and on about RahXephon (and I'll continue to do so next week, haha), but just so this does not get too long, I'll keep the rest of my talk to the most heartbreaking episode of the series, ep19. Those who have seen the show know it as the episode where Asahina dies. It's just ... man. She goes through a lot of the same things Ayato does once he learns he is a Mulian -- she wonders if she is less than human, why she was born, etc. The only thing she knows in this new, frightening world is Ayato's friendship. Much of her fear can probably melt away if she opens up to Ayato, because he can surely understand her situation, but she is too afraid of what he will think if he discovers she is a Mulian (even though he already knows). I believe it's the episode before where Maya reveals that Mulians come to life when humans are synchronized with Dolems. Blue blood is the signifier of this. And, unfortunately, Asahina's Dolem comes out just as Ayato pledges to protect Asahina. Ayato pummels the hell out of the Dolem, and Asahina strugges to keep herself going, but when Ayato kills the Dolem, she goes with it. My throat got choked up and my eyes got teary all throughout that scene. Asahina communicating her thoughts in her diary and then transferring them to the building lights is a great emotional technique. It's so hard to watch when she's begging Ayato to stop, but he doesn't because he thinks he is protecting Asahina by doing this. The moment at the end when he sees Asahina saying good bye and realizes what he did is so, so gutwrenching. It's amazing that the series takes someone who is relatively inconsequential at the beginning of the series, makes her utterly sympathetic and delivers a hugely emotional moment like that that ends up being very important to the series. This is when Ayato realizes that destruction is not going to work. He has spent the series defending Earth from the Dolems, but with the death of Asahina, he sees the human sacrifice inherent in killing Dolems. This action sets him on the path of saving the world by tuning it and bringing it back into harmony, as he was raised to do.
-- Rideback ep7: Oh ho, the plot thickens. I suppose Rin isn't going to be a superhero -- at least not for now. Nope, the terrorists just wanted to draw out Okakura, using Rin as the bait. Those bastards. Interesting that the one creepy looking dude ended up being on the side that kidnapped Rin. lol @ the military running around like idiots. Also, poor Rin's brother getting shocked a bajillion times in the beginning. Yeesh. Not completely sure where everything is going, but I have a sneaking suspicion the show is angling for a second season.
-- Shugo Chara! Doki ep20: Woo for my boy Kairi! Not really too surprising that he went a bit emo, but at least it lasted just the one episode instead of one-fifth a season. In the end, he helped save Amu and came out looking like a badass. Then he totally made a direct challenge to Tadase for Amu's heart. Man, I am sold. I support Kairi x Amu now more than ever. (I am commenting on pairings more than normal this week. Jeez.) Kairi isn't the only person bringing the awesome in this episode, though. Amu is very funny losing herself in lala land and imagining a nice, romantic vacation with Tadase. Speaking of Tadase, I had a good laugh when he went into King Mode and demanded Kairi fetch him a drink -- and then Kairi actually bows and responds to his wish. Haha. I forgot that Su could speak to animals. At least she made friends with a deer.
-- Tales of the Abyss eps 21-22: lol, set-ups that don't have much to do with the overall episode. I should have seen Sync's "resurrection" coming from a mile away, considering the other God Generals lived. Then the anime tries to make me feel better for being so dumb by making it obvious to everyone except Natalia that Largo is her father. Wonder how she'll take that news? Also, needs moar Legretta. I keep forgetting Miki Itou plays her. She sounds so different from the characters I have heard her as before (Sachiko from Marimite, Miyo from Higurashi and Fuyumi from Saikano). Meanwhile, Asch is clearly on his way to death and is trying to save the world with suicide. And also homicide, because he is going to take 10,000 replicas with him, the crazy fool. Madness, I say. Madness! I keep going back and forth on whether Asch will actually have a chance to act on his plan, but if he does, I doubt it will work.
And lol @ me for that last sentence. (I wrote the first paragraph before watching ep22.) So, Asch and Luke combined their super fonic powers to own all the miasma ... and Luke does not have long to live (neither does Asch, but they don't even need to explicitly state it at this point, aside from what Asch said). And of course Tear would hear that conversation at the end -- should've seen that coming, although I knew Luke was lying to everyone once Jade continued to look suspicious. Other than that, Jade beating the piss out of Dist is awesome, and I like the scene with the three emperors. That really got across how difficult a decision it was to have Luke (seemingly) sacrifice his life for everyone.
-- To Aru Majutsu no Index ep21: Kind of a weird, expository episode that is setting up the final arc of the season. Mostly I enjoyed the comedy -- Index coming to Touma's school and pretending to be the transfer student for a few seconds, Touma stumbling into the room with Hyouka, Touma chatting with Misaka, etc. The series is at its worst when it slips into technobabble expository mode, so I hope there is not too much of that near the end.
-- Toradora! ep22: Ryuuji is full on down the path to Taiga now. But with three episodes remaining, he of course has to work through some messy emotional things. What he is going to realize, I think, is that what makes Taiga happy is what we'll make him happy. Taiga wants Ryuuji to be with Minorin, because she still believes he loves her. Clearly, though, his heart is set on Taiga now. Ryuuji isn't bumbling and nervous when he interacts with Minorin now -- it's more of a natural friendship. When Taiga realizes Ryuuji has fallen in love with her, well, we'll see what happens. I don't want to assume it will be a clear cut happy ending. I liked the inclusion of worries about entering college and framing that with worries of the heart. That intensifies the seriousness of the love these people feel. They're not dealing with simple high school crushes now. This is the kind of love and choices that could impact the rest of their lives. The last point of interest is Minorin's conversation with Ami. First off, Ami is being quite bitter and unfair with her comment to Ryuuji when she passes him in the hallway. Before she could clearly see Ryuuji's feelings; now she is making assumptions and is looking foolish because of it. Then there is Minorin's conversation about the ghosts, which is a recurring theme with her. She doesn't want to get swept up by love (something intangible and ever-changing) if it means losing something that is important to her (i.e. her friendship with Taiga). She also says that she is no longer going to hesitate and will move forward in pursuit of what she wants. What does she want more? To realize her feelings for Ryuuji, or to see Taiga happy? Ami thinks it's the latter, and she does not seem fond of that idea.
-- White Album ep9: The webs are becoming increasingly tangled. Misaki's play finally gets onstage -- although not without the lead theater douche acting like an a-hole yet again -- and, after some reminiscence and an accident, Misaki pours out her feelings for Touya, but once he repays them in kind, she backs out of it and says she used him so that her play could get made. I'm glad Misaki's arc is over; before, I didn't find her interesting, and now she makes my head hurt. As for Touya ... I have no idea why he is even keeping up a pretense of caring for Yuki at this point. Why even bother hanging around outside her home? Ugh. Your indecision angers me, you bastard. I am very curious about what Yuki announced, though. It was clearly unplanned. Hopefully it isn't something that hinges upon Touya liking her, because that would suck. Poor Yuki.
