Sunday, October 26, 2008

New Fall Anime Review Oct. 20th-26th

This week I have d one something amazing: I conquered the evil spoiler tags and now they must do my bidding! So instead of reading possible spoilers for other shows, you can just click on the parts of post you want to read. The computer usually does a great job of kicking my butt, BUT NOT THIS TIME! :) Enjoy!


Yozakura Quartet Episode 2 and 3


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Tree hugger!

Episode 2 starts off with a glimpse of the past. Akina’s grandfather is showing him how to tune (kill) a youkai that looks either like a snake or sperm. Chibi Akina is horrified by the event. The new citizen/fashion victim Rin is being talked to by Hime and two other people in the official hallway area. Rin is less than thrilled that Akina is in charge of the city and runs off when he attempts to show her around. Meanwhile, the white hair cat eared person (the molester from the opening song) is attempting to mess with barriers in the town. Hime finds Rin walking on her own and Kyousuke doubts that Akina can really lead the town. A new character is introduced, Touka and she is Kyousuke’s sister. All the other demons try convincing Rin that Akina is nice and that not all humans are bad. There is a small flashback scene of some kids picking on Rin, so all humans must be bad. Rin decides that Akina is the worse since his tuning actually murders youkai. Meanwhile, Cat Molester has done something to the barriers that affects other youkai’s powers and they go out of control. Several youkai have accidentally blown up buildings. While the rest of the gang is trying to solve the problem, Hime is trying to convince Akina he is not a murderer and he needs to help protect the town. Rin is attacked and her powers go out of control, putting everyone in danger. She starts freaking out when Akina shows up, thinking he is going to kill her. After his long hair grows and he gives a speech about how he has to do unpleasant things sometimes, he destroys the shadow controlling her power and all is safe. Off in the distance, Cat Molester is pleased with his work. Rin is a happy little demon now, delivering fast food and no longer wish Akina would die.

Episode three has Hime working on her awesome fighting moves. She has a minor flashback of her Grandmother telling her she was the new mayor of the town upon her death. In the midst of her practice, a small puppy comes. Fast forward a month and Hime has adopted the dog and takes Silver everywhere (Ao is so thrilled with the dog…). Her master plan is to ride the dog on patrol. There is a small random scene of Akina getting a physical and being told to be more careful using his powers. Kyousuke decides talking about people’s weight is a proper dinner conversation. Akina gets word that people are commenting on the fact that Hime is spending too much time with the dog and he conveys that information to her. Silver and Hime are not happy with his concerns. Cat Molester is messing with the tree barrier again and he slices off a bit of bark and a flower ends up growing from it. One night, Akina falls asleep and Silver bites him (probably because of his rude comments). Hime goes ape *** crazy and slaps the poor thing. SILVER IS SO SAD and leaves. Ao tries to follow Silver and keep him dry, but he runs off. Of course Cat Molester finds him and evilfies him, turning him into a flying demon dog. The team finds him and has to fight him. He transforms into a bigger dog and Hime starts going to town beating him up. Akina tells Hime to step aside and he will do the dirty work. Akina KILLS Silver and it starts to rain. Members from the council are watching and investigating the tree meanwhile and Cat Molester is being a jerk somewhere else.

I am beginning to think every single week I will be subjected to a cute dead animal. Of course, I get animal abuse and death all in one episode this time. Seriously, did Silver have to die? Rin isn't even half as cute as Silver and twice as annoying and she got to live!!! Why couldn't Akina send out the demon in Silver and save the puppy? At the very least, why wasn't there a scene where Silver (puppy form) and Hime had the tearful goodbye? Instead Hime was just hacking away at the larger puppy. It was too sad for me!!!

I thought Ao getting more air time was cute. Her trying to keep Silver dry was endearing. Her dress is still a little bit too short for me, but I try to draw my attention to her hat instead. :P

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Ao is so cute!

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This scene was one of the saddest I have seen in a while. :(

Have I mentioned that I hate Rin and her nasty clothes? She hates humans because they hurt her. Then she turns around and helps a youkai hurt other people. Does that show her that there are bad apples on both sides? Maybe that stupid hat of hers is cutting off circulation to her brain. And isn't she a youkai that use to be a live human being? Whatever her issue was, it is all fixed now since Akina saved her (even though he saved her in episode 1...). Hopefully she will just be limited to delivering food and leave everyone else alone.

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Ungrateful MUCH?!

I was glad to read other people find the lack of information a slight problem and that the manga explains the plot more/better. When Cat Molester was messing with the barriers/trees, I didn't really understand what he was trying to do. I thought he was somehow opening the gate to the other world and drawing out spirits. Also, the people Hime associates with in the ominous hallway are not well explained either. Sometimes it is hard to tell their intentions or who they are really supporting. Of course when they smile all evil like, can you blame someone for being confused?

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Just what are you planning? Can I have a small clue?

I love how Hime was practicing her moves and she got tangled up in the scarf. Not so practical now IS IT!!!

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Sorry, Silver deserves more screen time!

These two episodes left me with a few questions: Why did Hime's grandmother have to die to protect the city? If Akina's grandfather made it to his older years, why was I left with the feeling AKina powers might end up shortening his life span? Why can't youkai sense other youkai? And if these trees are so important, why aren't they protected a little bit better so they are not hurt by Cat Molester? One question that I think will get answered next episode is how Kotoha was once human and now is youkai. I think that is the most important question out of the bunch so I am content for next time....except the dead cute puppy.

Skip Beat Episode 3


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Looks can be deceiving....

The mystery of the knife and the onion has been answered. Kyoko starts off her audition by explaining that she is going to turn the onion (or maybe it was a radish...) into a rose. As she is unleashing this skill, a flashback reveals that she has honed this skill because she wanted to be useful to Sho's family. The judges are very impressed (and slightly scared) of her skill and she moves on to the next level of competition. Kanae is a little smug and says that Kyoko will not make it passed the next round. The next step in the audition process is to pick up a phone and have a reaction to the person talking to you. Kyoko is impressed that Kanae is able to turn on a different emotion so fast. When Kyoko picks up the phone, it is a message from an ex-boyfriend who treated his girlfriend like crap and wanted a second chance. The dialogue was too familiar for Kyoko and instead of crying tears of joy like the other girls, she turns into demon child and smashes the phone. Despite impressing the judges Kyoko does not make it to the next round. Mr. Sawara explains that Kyoko is lacking something very important to be a star: love. A star has to love their fans and wants to be loved in return. Since Kyoko is only joining this industry out of revenge, she knows she is lacking in the love department and leaves dejected. Later that night, she thinks over her life and realizes she has never really served people with the love she was meant to and she has lost her ability to love because of Sho. She cries that night and the next day seems to accept that she is not going to be a star. Her boss is upset at her quitter attitude and challenges her to keep moving forward. That is a smart idea, as the president of LME has decided if Kyoko comes back demanding a second chance, he is going to give her one.

I have to give Kyoko courage points for actually trying to pass that skill off at an IDOL audition. She really got through based on her....well balls, not because awesome knife skills is a marketable skill at this place. Despite all that, I was amused at everyone's reactions.

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And she does it so gracefully.

The best part of the whole show was when Kyoko had to do the phone conversation part of the audition. All the other girls were crying tears of joy that the ex boyfriend scum had come crawling back. I would have told him to hit the road. It is a shame that Kyoko was the only one who stood up to the exboyfriend, but it was highly amusing. The buildup was perfect and there was a brief moment where you thought Kyoko was going to conform with the rest of the girls then BAM broken cell phone! GO KYOKO FOR STICKING UP FOR ALL WOMAN KIND!

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Kyoko is full of forgiveness!

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See, the forgiveness is overflowing!

I am pleased that Sawara and the president are giving Kyoko a second chance. I am also pleased on how they are going to give her a second chance. Instead of giving her the job/chance, they are going to make her prove she is serious about this business. I am curious on how Kyoko is going to be a profitable star, but I suppose having drive is the most important part to a successful person.

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Show Biz is very serious!

I enjoyed seeing Kyoko's venerable side. Yes she is a tough girl with a demonic side, but behind all that tough front is a girl who got seriously burned by a boy. She has dedicated her whole life to one person and the transition from love to nothing can't come easy. She needed to break down and cry, because that is a part of being human. No one can be tough all the time.

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Get the tears over with so you can CRUSH Sho!

Japan: The best country if you are a down and out teenager. There is a family on every corner to take you in. Heck, sometimes they don't even know the kid and they take them in any way! Kyoko is the poster child of this, being taken in twice!

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So many caring couples ready to help the homeless teenagers!

Hopefully next week Kyoko's I can't be a star funk doesn't take up the whole episode. I want to see her get back into the game, preferably with another knife!

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Got to love the demons!

Hakushaku to Yōsei Episode 2


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Time to investigate the magical land of FAERIES!

So Lydia has decided to follow Edgar back to his room while the "enemy" ship pulls up. He produces a coin to Lydia that has fairy writing on it. After looking at a translated version of the message, Lydia tries to solve the riddle and narrows down the locations the sword could be. She decides that since the inscription mentions merfolk, it should be near a body of water. At that moment, men enter the room claiming to search for the same criminal as before (aka Edgar). After sweet talking his way out of the situation, the men leave the room. Nico overhears the men talking in the hallway that to identify the suspect John, they would need to see his tongue as it has a cross tattoo on it. Nico tells Lydia to try to see the tattoo, but Edgar wakes up and causes a scene. The end result is Lydia burning Raven with hot water. Somehow Raven brings up that he is has fae powers and he serves Edgar because he accepts who he is. After that rather impromptu speech, the group arrives at the train station. They are quickly surrounded by Huskley and some henchmen. Edgar and Huskley get in a pissing contest about the past, but Raven shows up. He turns on his green eye of doom and handles the men while Lydia and Edgar run away. Lydia falls because she is a girl and all girls have to fall while running from the enemy and Huskley catches up. Edgar then refers to Huskley Gotham and throws himself in the middle of the fight to protect Lydia. Both men end up with wounds, but Edgar and Lydia manage to get away. They find shelter in an abandoned house where Nico gives Lydia pills to make Edgar fall asleep. Inside the house, Edgar explains his sad past while tending to his wounds. After his sad tale and explanation on why he needs this sword, he ends up drinking the tea, knowing it is spiked. He tells Lydia without her he will just kill himself. In the morning he wakes up and she is still there. Edgar now has renewed spirits and Lydia is probably regretting her decision.

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Happy kidnapper is happy.

Sometimes I have the opposite reaction to a scene than what the writers were going for. If someone’s dad is accused of a crime, it is sad. If someone’s dad is accused of a crime and then kills his whole family and himself, that is sad. If someone is sold into slavery and branded in a cruel way, it is sad. If someone escapes that horrible situation and has to steal to survive, that is sad. If someone is kidnapped and has experiments are performed on his brain that is very sad. HOWEVER, when someone has their name dragged through the mud, their father kills every living relative, you are kidnapped and sold on the white (which was EMPHASIZED) slave market, you have to steal to survive, AND you have been kidnapped for the sole purpose to have brain experiments done on you…it is FUNNY!!! Seriously, the story got more ridiculous by the second. All he needed was a dead dog and he could be a country song (there are several animes in the past week where he could borrow the dead pet from too!). The only way to make the story even better (stupider) is if it was all true! I would laugh my head off if at the end of the series, he takes the sword and stabs Lydia with it and tells her it was all a lie. Unfortunately, the story might be true and the over the top WOE IS ME TALE does not make me feel for Edgar; it had me worried my eyes had rolled into the back of my head.

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It felt like it was.

I found the scene where Raven explained himself forced and out of left field. I guess in this anime having green eyes means you have magical powers. Or it better, as that is why the entire conversation started. And oh, Raven has known this person for 10 seconds; you are allowed to keep things from her. So is Raven part demon or is he like Lydia with special powers. And what was up with the green gooey eye? I mean, I understand activating your power with your eye, but how does a laser show kill people? It looked like the camera was moving too fast!

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I would get that looked at if I were you.

I am glad that Edgar did not really kill that man in the first scene. I am showing my utter dorkiness, but the son shooting his father accidentally reminded me of SAW (Get off my back! SAW 5 is out!!!). However, I wonder why Gotham is trying so hard to get Edgar arrested when CLEARLY he is the shady one. Did he cover his tracks that well he does not fear the police? Just seems odd to me.

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GAME OVER!

I wonder what Lydia is going to do at this point. She knows that Edgar does not deserve the sword. There are crazy people trying to kill them. She is traveling with someone whose eye leaks green. And she is with a bipolar crazy man with the “saddest” back story ever. Clearly she is going to continue on with them, as there are still 10 or so episodes left. PLENTY OF TIME LEFT TO KILL A PUPPY!

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I think he likes killing puppies.

Shugo Chara Episode 52


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The episode where nothing happened!

Well, the first episode of Shugo Chara Doki was pretty disappointing. It was just a recap with no new information at all. And 53 is suppose to be a recap episode as well. I know this show is aimed at younger viewers, but can’t 5th graders retain information? There is no need to keep repeating all this information.

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Question: When is something going to happen?

The episode was about Dia coming out of her egg and the Shugo Chara’s explaining how they are important to Amu and random flashbacks. Then Dia goes back into her egg and the author cries and cries.

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AUTHOR ABUSE!

So….yeah, not much to talk about for this episode at all. ENJOY THE RANDOM DIA SCREENIES!

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The others know she is the best too.

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She is praying for me.

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DON'T GO BACK IN!!!

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A promise of things to come!

Tales of the Abyss Episode 4


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It's FABULOUS!

Well, this is the part of the summary where I would write an informative plot review of the episode….but I can’t. MY BRAIN HAS EXPLODED!! So, let me write what was going on in my head while I watched the show.

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He isn't having a good day either...

So they all made it to a random house? Where are they? Oh Tear is up from her nonfatal flesh wound. WTF?! She is healing herself? I know this is based on a game, but can we leave out the random cure moments? Or if you do have them, the MP bar should at least have been depleted. I love how everyone in the gang is jumping on the “they must be in love” bandwagon. Guy seems to have extensive knowledge of “enemy territory”. Darn, Anise isn’t dead, that totally ruins this episode. And then there is another random game scene with fighting monsters; I wonder if they found any items. Master Van has showed up…. WHY WAS HE SLOWER THAN LUKE?! Tear is going to tear him up! Or not….whatever, lose all your cool points. Err, what are they talking about? WAIT! Stop flooding me with information! WHY CAN’T MEGAVIDEO PAUSE SO I CAN READ!!!! *rewinds* Tear is in some sort of great denial about this Mohs dude. MMM sign me up for a bird collar too, very stylish. Wait…so…they have to board a boat to get back home? How did Guy manage to get to Luke’s location so fast? And how did he happen upon the area JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME?! That boat is huge and only one person can work on it, not to mention the damage looks so extensive anyway….Tear’s logic seems to be a little off; they have to follow the score or it will not come true. How doesn’t she know them interfering will cause the problem? Oh, what a magical coincidence, this is the house where Luke was brought back after being kidnapped. WTF, stop listing all these characters names X_X although Van does not seem sad his minion is dead. We now interrupt our mission to have a back story moment for Guy, whom sees dead people. Oh, that animal chick is there. Oh, she was raised by that giant wolf in episode 2. Yes, I think it is an awesome idea to bring your huge monster friends to a fight and get sad when they die. Oh, there goes Luke. That house must be huge if the bird can fly around like that. WTF? Is Luke the thingy thing Tear is looking for? I am sure it has fon in it? Yeah, I am sure he is the the 7th fonthing or at least has the information imprinted in his brain. Flying chairs are so menacing. OH MY GOD how many more “GASP I know who you are and it shocks me that you are here moments” is this show going to have?! It is getting SO annoying. Why are Jade and Guy acting like they have known each other longer than a day? If they know what is wrong with Luke, it would be nice if Luke knew too…Mmmm, let’s all stare at Van so the audience knows we all think so we think suspicious is up.

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Time to level up.

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I enjoy her pain!

I understand this anime series is based on a game. However, I am watching anime. I am not playing the game. Please do not feed me information off handedly as one would in a game. The group goes to a certain point, meets someone, and that person tells them all the information for the next part of the quest. It’s not happening very smoothly as characters seem to almost being reading from a book when talking to people. I don’t really know how to explain it, but it isn’t enjoyable to be exploding with this much information.

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So many crises, so little time.

Speaking of being like a game, what was up with Tear healing herself? We left off last week with a dramatic cliffhanger (for her flesh wound). She has a CUT on her arm, but she had to be rushed to bed. Then after all that nonsense she just gets up and heals herself. Can we say convenient (and anticlimactic)? Games are unbelievable because when characters get hurt or killed, they will be healed/brought back to life in one turn. While I know anime is supposed to be fantasy, can’t we apply some common and sense rules? Because it won’t be very suspenseful when someone gets hurts or dies if in the back on my head I am thinking, Oh, Tear can heal them later.

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Tear has learned Cure 2!


Guy’s character was acting weird in this episode. Unless there was some major time gap between Tear getting hurt and the team arriving at the ship harbor, Guy has been with the group less than 48 hours. However, he is acting very familiar with the group, even commenting on how they never see Jade frazzled. Again, this could be blamed on the game aspect. Usually when you play these types of games, you gradually pick up new players and you ‘level up” on monsters in between storylines. So while it might have taken several weeks of “game time” to get to this point in the show, it was really no more than 2 days. The same with his “girl phobia”. I am really interested in how the writers are going to explaining how murdered family= DO NOT TOUCH ME GIRLS!

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Because they know each other so well.

As I already mentioned, the GASP moments of the show are funny and annoying all at once. Everyone seems to already know everyone else. This is getting very incestuous. However, I actually enjoyed everything being connected together, so I may let that slideeeeeeee.

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It's YOU!

The episode ends with Jade, Guy, and Tear all staring at Van with Luke being oblivious and happy. Clearly that means that Van is the enemy. That or he belongs to the church of necessary evil too and has to pretend to be evil to save them ALL! Regardless, there will probably be more information and side changing people next week. I will have to pray my head can keep it all together.

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Very subtle I must say.

To Aru Majutsu No Index Episode 3


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Cute figurines are no longer safe!

This episode picks up right where the last one left off; Index is slowing bleeding to death in Komoe’s house. After a useless conversation about what time it was, Robot Index sets to work making a miniature set up of the room. None of the items used are actually bear a likeness to the thing they are portraying (as frog figurines are representing the girls); they are just suppose to represent them. Index uses her blood to draw spells on the table and tells Komoe to follow her lead. Some chanting and angel summoning occurs and Index is healed. Robot Index refers to herself as John’s Pen and then goes to sleep. Komoe watches over Index during the night and Kamijo checks on the girls the next morning. Komoe wants to know what is going on and demands answers when she comes back from the grocery store. Index then tells Kamijo her back story. She belongs to the Church of necessary evil (Necessarius) and their job is to hunt down magic users and get rid of the impurities in the world. However, to do this, members of this church has to dip their hands into the evil so they can conquer it. That is why Index has all the magic books memorized in her head. She feels that Kamijo would hate her if he knew the truth and that is why he tried to hide it. Kamijo thinks it is a little unbelievable, but is more upset at those who hurt Index. They two decide to have a weird playful moment and Barcode Man (Faltis 931) and dog at my clothes girl are talking about how happy Index looks, but they must ruin that happiness. Komoe returns from her shopping, but does not press the issue of who, what, had how all that happened last night. Later Index and Kamijo are walking towards the bathhouses and she reveals to him she has no memories of England or the church; that her first memory was from about a year ago when she realized she was in England. She says she only has these facts floating around in her head about the church and stuff like that. Despite sharing personal information, Index and Kamijo get in a disagreement and she runs off on her own. Kamijo is then confronted by dog at my clothes girl Kaori who probably wants a fight.

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Magic that makes no sense!

So…..to heal a wound in anime magically now, you either get the CURE 3 game option or this complicated process that takes up 1/3rd of the show? When Index said that magic was needed to heal her wound, I pictured something much, much different. Instead, we get a little diagram of the room and a thought up angel? Where exactly was the magic? I thought something was going to take over Komoe’s body and magic would enter her. This seemed more like a reflection spell, that the spell was really being cast on Komoe, but the angel bounced it to Index (is a firm believer in magic users should not be allowed to heal themselves). There was no real explanation on what was going on and it seemed….just very different from what I expected.

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Very reassuring.

I decided that there is hope that Index is not a robot. Given she has memory lose, yet still knows things about her “past” gives me that hope. I know that this hope is probably very flawed, as that means there is more evidence pointing to the fact she is a robot, but let me have my moment please.

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Index is cute even if she is a robot!

Kamijo is handling the situation pretty well in my book. Granted saying comments about pedo bodies was rude, he still is in strange situation and he is handling it the best he can (because you know how WEIRD magic users are in a world of psychic users).

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Clearly the more mature of the two.

I found the Church of Necessary Evil humorous. I find their title refreshingly honest. At least they know that they are doing “bad things” to catch bad guys. Nothing is more annoying that the good guys being all self righteous when they are doing the same thing as the enemy. Here we have a church that is being upfront with by saying “Hey, yeah, we think magic is bad, SO BAD that we will learn magic and use it against you!!!!” Thank you, thank you for your honestly.

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10 bonus points for such honesty!

The best moment for this episode would have to be the dramatic button toss. Just what do the buttons represent? The beer cans OF COURSE!

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Such a dramatic yet pointless moment.

Clannad After Story Episode 4


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High School: The best time of your life!

So Tomoya, Nagisa, and Mei are still going to try to get Sunohara on the soccer team. However, that is hard to do when he skips school. Mei is determined to, even after hearing that the soccer team is made up of rough guys. After they go and get turned down by the soccer team, Tomoya tells the tale of how Sunohara got kicked off the soccer team. When he was a freshman, the seniors ordered the new guys around like slaves and one day Sunohara snapped and fought the whole team. This conversation takes place in the reference room and Yukine tells Mei her brother use to be (or still is) rough around the edges, but he is still someone she loves. The next day, Tomoya tries to talk some sense into Sunohara, but it doesn’t work and they both end up shouting at each other. Nagisa, Tomoya, and Mei once again plea with the soccer team to give Sunohara another chance. This time the team sort of agrees, but makes the three run around and do their chores. After the chores are done, the team laughs and says they were never going to let him on again anyway. Tomoya gets pissed and Mei starts to cry. One of the members decides to start manhandling Mei and Sunohara comes out of nowhere and starts beating everyone up for messing with his sister. Tomoya joins in the fight and they are both left bruised. Then the boys decide they are going to pound on each other. Nagisa and Mei watch as the boys beat each other up and their tears seem to end the fight. The next day, Tomoya and Sunohara laugh at each other’s wounds and all seems to be well. Mei goes back to her home and Tomoya continues to pick on Sunohara. This time, Tomoya sets it up so Sunohara asks Akio permission to date Sanae. While Sunohara is getting beat up, Tomoya reminisce about how he and Sunohara met and became friends.

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Flashbacks are always better when they are in black and white.

So…………….I thought this episode was very, very special. Don’t get me wrong, I love the series and think the emotional aspect of it is really well done….but yeah, this episode was special.

Mei thinks that getting her brother back on a team that KICKED HIM OFF will make him a better person. Fine, we can pretend that he has been a delinquents for some time now and she found him BARABLE; it was just when he got a girlfriend he became a jerk. So, after pretending that, why on earth would she want her brother to be on a team full of JERKS?! Not only are they jerks, but they HATE HIM. Tomoya even explains later than they treated him like crap and pushed him to the breaking point. Why after knowing ALL THAT would you then go back to the soccer jerks and beg for a second chance? Do you hate him that much?! Do you want him to be around a group of guys that despise him? She even suggests that he doesn’t even have to play a game, he can just practice. Now what fun is that?! Anyone with brains should have realized that getting kicked off this team was probably better for him in the long run.

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Yes, I would be crying too if I caused all this mess.

Speaking of brains, why didn’t Tomoya speak up? He knew what happened 2.5 years ago. He knew these guys were trouble and no good. So instead of saying, no, this is a bad idea, let’s think of some other way to get Sunohara back on the slightly bent and crocked, he just lets them fail. After their first meeting with the soccer team, he wants Nagisa to stay behind in case she gets hurt. That would have been noble and all, had he suggested THE SMALLER GIRL stay behind too. 5 seconds into that “practice” Tomoya knew what was up and yet he still allowed the girls to stay out there (why he didn’t insist Nagisa go in the shade and call the other girls over to help I’ll never know). Then he LETS Mei get manhandled. Now, perhaps he really thought Sunohara was going to show up and he wanted him to shine in his big brother glory. However, the second Mei was grabbed like that; Tomoya should have kicked that guy’s ass. End of story.

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WHY DID YOU KEEP DOING IT THEN TOMOYA?!

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Little sister abuse!

I still think Sunohara is a jerk. However, when he HAS to be a good big brother, he is. So I guess he is more of a part time jerk. It is hard to only blame Tomoya with the Sanae mix up because I feel even if it had been another girl, Sunohara would have acted the same way. Face it, part of the problem is Sunohara is growing up. All older siblings go through that stage where it is all about ME and they forget about their siblings (actually, any sibling can go through this; it just seems to affect the youngest ones harsher). Sunohara was only OBSESSED with this ‘girl” for a short while, it might have been a little too premature to get THAT upset about the situation. In the end, I suppose Sunohara handled the situation poorly, but not very unusual.

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That is true friendship.

I actually liked the fight scene in the episode. Not because I enjoy seeing people get beaten up (well, maybe I do), but the way it went down. Sure Tomoya was mad at Sunohara, but he wasn’t going to let his best friend get beaten up (alone). Then, promptly after they lose the fight, they resume their own fight. At first the reason behind the fist fight pissed me off, as they were based on misunderstandings. After thinking about the episode for a while, I decided I liked it. People often get in fights and realize later it was over something completely different. That fight was something that needed to happen. Sometimes people can’t move on until they let it all out, as seen the next day when they were back to being friends.

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Guys are simple, simple creatures.

Tomoya always seems to get the last laugh. I have no idea how Sunohara can’t understand his friend is ALWAYS lying to him. Since it was a great laugh and caused Akio to fly off the handle, I will overlook Tomoya’s inability to tell the truth and laugh at Sunohara’s pain.

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He will never learn.

I was left wondering if this episode is going to affect Nagisa’s heath for the rest of the season. She was outside in the heat running after soccer balls. Then she is standing in the pouring down rain, undoubtedly getting cold. I would think someone in her situation would really be careful about her own health, but she is far too kind and worries about others more than herself. She has great motherly instincts.

I wonder if Yukine is going to get her own storyline due to the conversation in the research library today. She seems to be one of the most stable people in the series and it would be nice to see what she has to deal with in her life. I hope her conversation with Mei was not only to connect with her about “bad brothers” but foreshadowing that somehow she will have an issue too and others can come and help her. That and she is just so cute, I want to see more of her!

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Such a calm person surrounded by crazy people.

Next episode looks like it is going to focus on Misae. I was pleasantly surprised by that (as I did not play the video game). It is very nice to see that every single character in this show gets their own ‘air time” instead of being furniture around the main characters. Her cat better not end up dead or something….I swear I can’t handle any more dead cute animals!!!!!

Vampire Knight Guilty 3



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Really, it will be okay Aido! (We hope anyway)!

The episode starts off with 5 of the Night Class members going off to Aido’s (summer) home. Aido has decided to not attend and Shiki is going home to see his mother. Aido has decided not to go to his own home because has asked Kain to research the Kaname’s past; more specifically, research what happened to Kaname’s parents 10 years ago and what Kaname is hiding. Aido has gone over to see Zero when Yuki catches him. Aido decides to throw a huge fit about not going back to his room instead of telling Yuki and Zero why he was there in the first place. Yuki and (mostly) Zero prepare dinner and Aido proceeds to eat it all. While Zero is off making more, Yuki and Aido have a talk about Kaname. Aido admits that he does not know what Kaname is thinking protecting Yuki and defying the council. Yuki says she has loyalties to Kaname because he saved her life, yet sometimes he confuses her too. Aido starts thinking back to his childhood and how he met Kaname. Aido was a proud little child who thought he was the best and would not accept the pure blood Kaname to be his friend. Kaname was a shy little vampire without many friends. Aido rejected him, knowing that he was being unreasonable. Aido doesn’t see Kaname again until after his parents are killed. Even though Kaname is acting like a different person, Aido tells him he will support him no matter what. While Aido is thinking of the past, Yuki and Zero are cooking in the kitchen. Yuki ends up getting cut and Zero bites and sucks her blood, right when Aido comes by and witnesses it.Aido run off, to what one would assume is to investigate Kaname. Yuki confesses to Zero that she had considered becoming a vampire and Zero swears he will never let that happen. Meanwhile, Kain is trying to research the past at Aido’s home and Shiki arrives home to see his mother.

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No spoilers at all!

I would like to confess now that I am special. The whole time I was watching this episode I thought “Wtf, is this a recap?!” Earlier this week I got the latest Shojo Beat and the manga chapter and this anime episode were the same. So…yes, I am that special. :P But in a way I am happy, as I will soon have NOTHING to go on for the anime and I can pretend that no one spoiled the plot for me.

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That is a weird mother/son bond.

Aido lives for another episode!! Yet if he keeps up his snooping ways, he may not live much longer. That really bums me out, as he is one of my favorite characters. His back story just proves how cute he is and how similar vampires and humans really are. Chibi Aido was arrogant and stubborn, and then learned how to be more honest with himself. Aido is conflicted with being loyal to Kaname and finding out the truth. They can argue all they want, but humans and vampires have more in common than they realize.

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CUTE LITTLE AIDO!

I think Yuki really needs to be more careful in regards to letting Zero drinking her blood. She just got caught by Aido and she will probably be caught again! She needs to watch out, since her blood is so tasty!

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Who needs the use of one's hands anyway?!

Kaname always has that “I know something is going on look”. I am sure he knows that Aido realizes the truth with Shizuka and is researching him. I am also thinking he knows what is in store for Shiki (RUN SHIKI RUN!!) and that Kain is digging into his past too. Hopefully Kaname really was kidding about killing people for knowing too much and he can forgive his little gang for their curiosity. Otherwise the “important” Night Class members will be down some numbers.

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Kaname loves all the little vampires!

This episode toned down the SUPER angst and had a normal level of angst for this series. Yuki showed her vulnerable side without being annoying and overall I was pretty happy with the episode. Here’s hoping that Aido survives another week!

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We all notice how important you are!!!!




Kannagi Episode 3

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Magical girl to the rescue!

Jin leaves Nagi home as he heads off to school. He runs into Tsugumi, who is still suspicious of Jin's relationship with Nagi. The audience is then introduced to the art club member: Shino and Takako, the upperclassmen girls who are overly critical on everyone's work, Daitetsu the art genius whose light bulb might be a little dim, and Akiba the manga artist who may or may not be obsessed with anime (because he name did not give it away at ALL!). The two upperclassmen instruct the others that they must go clean out a building that may or may not be haunted. Tsugumi heads off with the boys and they explore the old building. Jin thinks he saw an impurity, but Tsugumi scares the entire group with her ghost story of a dead student under the building. They run out and the upperclassmen are not impressed. Jin debates whether or not to tell Nagi about the impurity, but decides against it. Nagi senses he was hiding something from him (or a lucky guess) and shows up to school the next day in Tsugumi's spare uniform. While explaining who the "beauty" is to his classmates, Tsugumi has a flashback to the uniform scene and how she questioned Nagi about her relationship with Jin. Nagi decides to have fun with this and tease Tsugumi. Nagi and her magic girl stick lead the way to the old building as she senses an impurity. She builds up all this suspense about the ghost and it turns out the older class men were playing a prank of them. Knowing she was right, she ends up in the school's chapel where she meets...her sister?!

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The boys are so very VERY brave!

The art was slightly disappointing with this episode. It did not seem as fresh as the other two episodes. Parts of the episode seemed unfinished and I absolutely HATE IT when unimportant characters are drawn so ugly. I get Nagi is suppose to be the hot girl, but the students looked beyond hit with the nasty stick.

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Are those even girls?!

The two upperclassmen girls were really rude, but I guess every club/school has to have them. It was just odd they trashed Jin's work, yet one girl loves him for his "pure pure boy" persona. I enjoyed the prank they played though; as long as no one gets hurt, right of passages into clubs are highly amusing and encouraged.

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I especially enjoy the horns on the side of her head.

Tsugumi is weird, seriously weird. I know we in America has our fair share of step sibling loves on Jerry Springer, but the issue is not that huge. Tsugumi is acting like two non blood related siblings living together=sexual tension. Perhaps it is a cultural issue I am pissing, but she seems to be overly concerned about the issue (ignoring the fact she might be right as they are not related anyway). I think Nagi handled the situation perfectly; flinging one's half naked self on someone is a sure way to make an issue disappear.

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Fan service anyone?

This episode was more of a slice of life than anything mystical. It was almost boring to a point, but the ending saved it. I always love and hate a good cliffhanger and having one's sister appearing out of nowhere can do that. I wonder how this person can be her sister so I suppose I will watch next weeks episode soon rather than later.

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Real supportive sibling right there.

Kuroshitsuji Episode 2- I was unable to find this episode on the web and it seems other people are having that problem too. I will try to watch episode 2 and 3 this next week if i can.

Thanks for reading. :)

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