Before I get to the post, I want to say w00t for my college's men's basketball team (Cal Poly Pomona), which will be playing for the NCAA Divison II championship for the first time in school history. The game airs Saturday on CBS at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST if anyone is interested in watching. I know I will! (Also, a hearty thanks to the team for achieving all this the year after I leave the sports editor position. :()
anyway animu lol
EDIT: LOL, I totally forgot to add in spoiler tags. *dumb* I hope no one was viciously spoiled due to my idiocy. >>
Anime discussed: Asu no Yoichi!, Axis Powers Hetalia, Clannad ~After Story~, Kurenai, Kurokami, Lovely Complex, Maria Holic, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 s2, Munto (TV), Rideback, Shugo Chara! Doki, Slayers, Soul Eater, Tales of the Abyss, To Aru Majutsu no Index, Toradora!, White Album
-- Asu no Yoichi! ep11: Bah, I guess this show is entering the classic "comedy is srs biz" portion of the season. There is some funny stuff dealing with Ibuki's regression to a 4-year-old mentality, though. Washizu being all, "OK!!!!!!!! :D" when Ibuki asks him to take her away from the dojo is hilarious, as is the image of him building a sandcastle with her in the park. I also enjoyed Ibuki whacking one of her students upside the head with her sword. Other than that, I am reinforced as a Yoichi x Angela supporter. (Why has this show turned me into a shipper? Jeez. The relationships aren't even interesting.)
-- Axis Powers Hetalia ep9: Decent enough episode, but not as funny as last week's. America taking charge and being a dope got a chuckle from me ("Where is Japan?"). Russia is quite scary at the end.
-- Clannad ~After Story~ ep23: This is a fun episode, very reminiscent of the early parts of the first season. While there is a heavy focus on Nagisa and I enjoyed seeing her in school again, Sunohara and Kyou are the best parts of this one. It's kind of strange seeing Sunohara and Tomoya as delinquents again, though Kyou does her best keeping them in line, haha. Enjoyed some of the Kyou x Tomoya hints (lol @ Sunohara correctly guessing that Kyou thinks Tomoya is kind of cute), as well as Kyou getting her revenge on Sunohara for sending her on a wild goose chase all around the school. The only weird bit with Kyou is her bath scene with Ryou. That just comes off as kind of weird and reaching for fanservice. Best parts of Nagisa's story are the bits where Akio gives her advice, all of which inevitably ends with Nagisa pawning off Sanae's bread on unsuspecting students, whereupon Sanae runs crying from the bakery and Akio gobbles all the bread. Ah, the good ol' days. Nagisa trying on clothes is cute fanservice done right. lolz. And the ending, where she finds the, "Don't lose to the obstacles you face!" message written by Tomoya and gains a friend because of it, is sweet. She is totally destined to be with Tomoya from the start. :)
-- Kurenai eps 11-12: Nice bit of asskickery by Shinkurou and the women. Watching Benika, Yayoi and Shinkurou storm the Kuhouin property is intense. The fights are pretty good here, too, although there are some odd bits in ep11. LOVED the parallel scene with Shinkurou beating the crap out of Ryuuji and Yayoi beating the crap out of Lin. Shinkurou's developed himself some smooth moves; he looks Spike Spiegel-esque in that last fight, haha. The resolution the series comes to is good. I like that Murasaki shows the strength of her will by refusing to run away from her problems. She stands up for herself by refusing to be confined to the Inner Sanctuary, but she also does not abandon the family that had raised. Murasaki is not just doing things for herself -- she is going to fight so that other Kuhouins will have the strength to fight, as well. Renjou's change of heart is also about as realistic as it can be for his character. He's not immediately accepting of Murasaki's desire to go against the ways of the Kuhouin's, but he's willing to let her fight against him and grow into her own woman. Anyway, damn good series in the end. I like the main cast a lot, and the main plot is pretty gripping, although Kurenai doesn't focus on it the whole way through (the standalone episodes are really good, though). Good times watching this in Anime Club!
-- Kurokami eps 10-11: Meh, once again it's just the fights that are the interesting parts of the episode. The backstory with the doppeliner of Keita's mom is ridiculously overdramatic, and I didn't care for it at all. However, the fight between Kuro and Hiyou is reasonably good and hard-hitting. Also, apparently I am an idiot and Kuraki is not a Keita doppeliner -- but he does have a connection to Keita. Huh. Ep11 is in parts interesting and dull. I sort of enjoyed the backstory between Kuraki/Sawamura and Keita, although given his call to Yuki and the fact he's kind of an arrogant dick, I don't completely trust Sawamura. This is more of a story episode, and again, I think the fights are more enjoyable, so this episode really does nothing for me.
-- Lovely Complex eps 23-24: Man, I am SO GLAD Lovely Complex did not end with the Kohori storyline. That would have been beyond terrible. Instead, the show ends on a more fun, lighthearted note, and I think it fits well. I like Risa supporting Ootani in full after they make up -- the bag o' stuff she makes for him is kind of cute -- and the whole "Ootani has to shack up at Risa's place before the test" thing is amusing. lol @ Risa's family ribbing Ootani. The short story with Chiharu and Suzuki is fun, too, mainly because Risa and Ootani benefit others with the vast experience they've built frustrating the hell out of each other, haha. And OF COURSE Risa and Ootani are late to the test and their graduation. Their sense of timing is as sharp as ever, I see. Risa's epic kick to Ootani before the test is great. The graduation speech is a nice moment on which to end the series. Very enjoyable, silly and fitting for the show. Overall, I liked watching Lovely Complex. The romance is solid, the drama is solid and the comedy is pretty damn funny. Risa is an awesome main, too, and Ootani got cool, himself, by the end.
-- Maria Holic ep11: Pretty good episode. I love Tomokazu Sugita as Father Kanae; I'd listen to Sugita go insane all day, haha. Of course he ends up being in love with Mariya. If he's going to adore an underage school girl, then it might as well be the trap, right? And, poor guy, Mariya and Matsurika notice right away and take complete advantage of it, feeding Kanae a bogus story about Kanako that explains her poor grades and her sickness. It's hilarious watching Kanae's mind go bonkers as he completely overthinks every situation and desperately tries to make sense of Mariya's lies. ("Tchaikovsky Syndrome?!" "Yes, in B minor.") And, of course, all of God's ridiculous demands on Father Kanae, just so that he can have some time with Kanako, are hilarious. She gets a sweet flatscreen TV and a DVD player, and he gets ... roughly five minutes of time. Seems to work out just fine. The tsundere workout omake tacked on at the end gave me a chuckle. "Don't get the wrong idea about this."
-- Mobile Suit Gundam 00 s2 ep24: Lots of excitement in the penultimate episode of Gundam 00. There's a lot less death in this episode than I expected. Tieria dies (as expected :(), and Ali Al-Saachez is also aced (w00t Lyle), but Setsuna saved everyone else who was in trouble with his godlike Innovator abilities. There's now a clear disconnect between the manufactured Innovators (as represented by Ribbons) and the natural Innovators (as represented by Setsuna). It's a bit too convenient to have Setsuna save everyone at once with his abilities, but it does lead into the theme of everyone needing common understanding to truly evolve. People like Setsuna who can connect humanity with their Innovator abilities can truly lead people farther into the galaxy. Plus, it's not as if the Gundams aren't already crazy overpowered, haha. Not really sure how Ribbons stands a chance against Setsuna, especially since Setsuna's natural Innovator abilities have been shown to be ahead of even Ribbons' advanced abilities, but we'll see. His Gundam is ass ugly, though. Yuck. This battle is also in dire need of Graham. Hope he makes an epic entrance in the finale. Tieria's death is sad, especially for how suddenly it happens. One second Setsuna is battling Revive and Hilling, and then BOOM! Ribbons shoots the crap out of Tieria. Boo @ him. Sort of a cop-out with Tieria's consciousness being uploaded to Veda (along with Regene?), but with the way Tieria and other Innovators are able to access Veda, I cannot say it is something that comes out of nowhere. Not surprising that Ribbons has power enough to at least override restrictions placed upon him by Veda.
The Lyle/Ali fight is pretty good. Wish there were a bit more of it, but ah well. Lyle certainly deserves to be the one who puts Ali down for good. Ali died true to his style: Toying around a bit, splitting when the going gets tough and then trying to pull a fast one on Lyle. Except it doesn't work, and he gets a bullet to the head for this troubles. That's the way for a hated villain to go out. And Louise and Saji seem to be back together again. Man, I didn't think this show could make me happy for Saji, but damn it, I actually am. He's made an effort to become stronger and fight for those he loves. Saji deserves a happy ending with Louise. Not like Billy, who has been a friggin' 'tard all season. If he gets a happy ending with Sumeragi, I'll be pissed.
-- Munto (TV) eps 8-9: Eh. I was actually not too thrilled with this episode. It's just a set-up for the finale, and sort of a boring one at that. None of the battles that are Munto's strong point; just some dull exposition, although Yumemi pulling her friends into the other world is sort of cool. I'm hoping for a cool, kickass finale, but I am not really holding my breath. Actually, never mind, ep9 is kind of lame and boring. Ugh. Best part is Norio Wakamoto being scared for like the first time in his life. I was too weirded out to call sacrilege.
-- Rideback eps 10-11: Poor Suzuri. :( When everyone at the anti-GGP assumed she was Rin, I knew something bad would happen, but I never imagined it would lead to her death. That scene, all done in slow motion with Rin and Tamayo speeding away on the train, with no way to stop Suzuri from dying, is so well done and heartbreaking. Gah. The plot is slowly moving toward the endgame, though. Romanov, as much as he thinks he still has the upper hand, is pretty much f'ed. His closest confidant is working against him so that a new, and presumably better, system will be put into place, and Okakura and Kiefer are ready to wreak vengeance on Romanov for his betrayal. I'm guessing Rin will be the key to it all in the end, though it will be somewhat difficult to convince her to help, with Suzuri dead now.
Or maybe not, after ep11. The whole "ZOMG DID HE HACK MY MISSILES?!?!?!" thing is kind of silly to me, but I like pretty much everything Rin does in this episode. Her dealing with the aftermath of Suzuri's death, and slowly deciding to ride Fuego again because she does not want anyone else to die, is well done throughout. I totally cheered when Rin RIDEBACK'D that automaton. Awesome. Man, I never would have thought this two or three episodes into the series, but I'm actually looking forward to the finale very much. Hope it's really good!
-- Shugo Chara! Doki ep23: Very good episode here, and at least the personal relationships among the mains (Amu, Tadase and Ikuto) are really kicking into gear. Ikuto is always fun when teasing Amu, haha. There's plenty of that in this episode, much to Amu's chagrin but to the assured delight of the audience. Throwing Tadase into the picture by letting him finally decide to truly confess to Amu makes it all the better. Amu freaking out about how to deal with this sudden intrusion is hilarious, as is Amu's dad freaking out about a boy daring to visit the room of his precious daughter. (A look into my future? >>;)
I've made it known that I am a Amu x Kairi fan, but the scene between Tadase and Amu is undeniably sweet. Like Des, I appreciate that Tadase is able to realize how he hurt Amu in the past and wants to make amends. His actual confession is a nice moment. As for the aftermath with Ikuto, I think he is at least somewhat serious with his confession. He definitely feels some sort of connection with her -- and the fact that she holds the lock that is compatible with his key (lol imagery) is of no minor significance -- but whether that connection is love is something else entirely. Some more interesting details about Ikuto's connection to Easter are revealed, too, mainly the fact that Ikuto is bound to Easter so that he can make up for the sins of his father. I wonder when the show will reveal who Ikuto's dad is and what he did? (I think it is relatively obvious right now that Ikuto's stepfather is the Easter guy who answers to the big boss.) The next episode, featuring Utau paying a visit to Amu's house, should be lots of fun.
-- Slayers eps 1-26: Des finally got me to watch this series, and you know what? I like it a lot. Fantasy normally isn't my thing (I think I've said this a thousand times before), but I appreciate Slayers' mix of humor and story. The plot is just interesting enough to make you want to watch each episode, and the humor is hilarious enough to make you a fan for life. One thing I especially appreciate about the plot is that it doesn't spend five thousand years explaining why the heroes triumphed over evil. When Lina and the crew defeat Copy Rezo in the final episode, Slayers gets in, delivers a short, sweet, token explanation and gets out while the getting's good. The show knows that 1) Sometimes the plot just needs to make sense while you're watching it, and 2) People ain't watching Slayers for the deep, intricate story. They're watching to see Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis and Amelia kick ass and crack wise. (Well, maybe not Gourry for the second part. Is it possible to crack dumb?)
But, yeah, the humor and ass kickery is definitely the best part of Slayers. Despite my Gourry avatar, I don't really have a true favorite among the cast. They're all awesome in different ways. Gourry is heavily involved in the episode that makes me laugh most, however. It's the one with the lake dragon, where Gourry dresses like a woman and the bounty hunter guy falls in love with him. Like every second of that episode kills me. I especially love the ending, which is sort of like the Slayers version of Some Like it Hot. I am also a fan of Phil's first appearance (Phil is amazing), the play (Gourry getting so into the role of the dragon makes me laugh a lot) and the episode with the chicken demon. ("Do you want me to make you into fried chicken?") Slayers definitely has a new fan, and since Slayers NEXT is also on YouTube, I shall be watching that next. :D
-- Soul Eater ep35: Damn, I almost forgot how awesome the fight between Sid and Mifune is. I'm sad it's over now, though; what a friggin' kickass fight. Some interesting developments in this episode. Looks like ol' mosquito beak is a much more formidable opponent than previously let on. Not too sure about Soul using the power of the black blood to aid his friends in the fight, but I suppose I should have confidence that he will know his limits and not let the insanity overtake him, ala when Maka fought Crona. With Ox and Kilik coming to aid Maka, Black Star and Death the Kid, they should be able to put the hurt on Mosquito. The other interesting development is Stein's continued dip into insanity. That spell Crona put into Stein's brew is working well and infecting the hell out of him; the guy can barely move now, and is slipping further into random bouts of crazy. I'm hoping he'll be able to keep a lid on his sanity, but he'll probably pop sooner rather than later. The next episode appears to be the end of this storyline, so I'm looking forward to seeing where the fight between Shibusen and Arachnaphobia goes.
-- Tales of the Abyss eps 23-24: Sad end to this episode with Natalia killing Largo after it is revealed earlier in the episode that Largo is her real father. That part of the episode is by far more interesting than the storyline with Mohs (who I have never cared for much at all), although that bit also had some interesting parts (another Ion replica, Van's pseudo resurrection). I am thinking I'll have to give up on major fights in this series being too exciting, though, haha. The Mohs fight is horribly anticlimactic, while the Largo fight is solid but not amazing or anything. I guess it's just difficult to really capture the feel of RPG battles outside of the games. Ep24 is a decent enough setup episode. Some nice moments where the characters assess themselves before they head off for the final battle. I actually like the Tear/Luke moments in this episode, and I love Natalia, so I will take any conversation with her. <3
-- To Aru Majutsu no Index ep24: Kind of an eh episode overall -- it felt more like the end to a regular arc than a season-concluding arc. It also has the biggest problem that has plagued To Aru from the beginning: Way too much talking and technobabble. I'm not watching To Aru Majutsu no Index so that I can have a hundred random magical terms thrown at me from all directions; I'm watching to see Touma and everyone else kick ass against entertaining villains. But whatever, once it gets through with the plot in the first half of the episode, a good portion of the second half is spent setting up the second season, with whatever Alestair Crowley is planning and the appearance of Laura Stuart. What could also come into play is what Sherry Cromwell mentioned as part of her reasoning for her plan -- the dangerous mixture of magic and science, and a potential war that could start on those grounds. Hopefully To Aru's second season will take that path down interesting grounds and be able to sustain it for an entire season.
-- Toradora! ep25: Toradora! is love. <3 Great finish to an excellent anime that consistently wowed me from start to finish. The show ends with Taiga x Ryuuji, as expected, and I have read a little bit of hate about that "predictable" end, but as I've written before, the "predictable" tag is completely missing the point. There are so many great moments that bring a wonderful close to Ryuuji and Taiga's relationship -- their first kisses (I've read some complaints that the moment isn't "big" enough, but I think it works beautifully as an understated moment that builds and builds), Taiga under the starry sky, Taiga and Ryuuji on the train and, of course, Taiga and Ryuuji in the classroom after spending their entire senior year apart from each other. It's not as if Toradora! is some scrub show throwing a predictable pairing together just to please some fans; Ryuuji and Taiga's relationship has been built incredibly well from the very beginning of the show and written very intelligently and emotionally. There's a difference between predicting something because it is sloppily written and ill conceived and predicting something because it has been crafted well. I hate to outright say someone's opinion is incorrect, but if you are someone who is hung up on the predictability of the ending of Toradora!, then you are focusing on the wrong thing entirely. Period.
Apologies for that rant. I just needed to get it off my chest. (I swear I won't bring this up again when I write about Toradora! again in a couple of weeks!) Getting back to the ending, I of course like that Ryuuji and Taiga came to their senses about the whole "Let's run away and get married!" deal. When Taiga "runs away" in the middle of the episode, I absolutely did not question her choice at all. It seems clear to me that she's not running away from her feelings but instead running away to 1) Reconcile once and for all with her parents (the fact that Taiga's mother delivers the message that Taiga is in a new school basically confirms that for me) and 2) Grow into her own woman. It is important to her that she break out of the rut of loneliness and, later, dependence she built for herself. What the star text message says to me is that while Taiga knows she is finally blessed with many friends, she needs to go off on her own and shine elsewhere, without the help of anyone else, so that she can be a better person when she finally returns. Taiga loves Ryuuji, but she does not want to spend the rest of her life depending on him for every little thing. It's a great cap to the growth Taiga has shown from the beginning of the series. (I especially like Ryuuji's line where he says it looks as if Taiga has grown a bit.)
I like where everyone else ends up, too. Yasuko is reconciled with Ryuuji, and he shows her that she raised him well. Minorin is off to be a ball player. Kitamura is going to America to study abroad (and to be with Kanou, presumably), Haruta is prodding Noto to be with Kihara, etc. I loved all that being set to "Orange." Fantastic. Probably the only aspect of the ending that disappoints me is where Ami's story ends. She does show some good growth of her own (finally accepting that she doesn't have to pretend to be an adult), but it really feels like she gets the short end of the stick. I'm hoping she finds another special person who will understand her. :) And then I enjoyed the bits of comedy in this episode, too. Yuri not knowing how to work the camera made me laugh more than it probably should have (probably because it's such a real detail, haha), and I also like shirtless!Kitamura body surfing during the photo. But for me the funniest moment is the mass texting after Yuri tells the class Taiga has transferred. I don't even know why that's so funny. It just is.
-- White Album ep12: Man, I cannot believe I am saying this, but I am actually considering watching the second season of White Album. Not because I believe it will be good, mind, but I am somewhat curious to see how far it will spiral out of control and how absurd the situations and drama will become. Seriously, come on -- the drama club guy stabbing Misaki with a prop knife (?!?!), only for her to survive because she conveniently had Touya's book with her (?!?!?!). Touya advancing his dastardly, cheating ways by taking Yayoi home for a good, long roll in ze hay, only to have a good cry later when Yuki dumps him via letter. (I had to pause at this point to get over my insane, evil laughter at Touya's expense. The little dipshit deserved that and more.) Touya "miraculously" getting three tickets to Yuki's concert, even though it is too late for him to buy any himself. (Damn it!!) This is such a trainwreck. The only thing holding me back from committing to the second season is that White Album isn't really an entertaining trainwreck ala Code Geass R2. White Album's entertainment value comes from the fact that it's a trainwreck that nonetheless expects the viewer to take it seriously. Code Geass is entertaining and a trainwreck. We'll see what happens after the Christmas Eve concert, which I expect to be epic like a 50 car pileup.
