Sunday, November 9, 2008

New Fall Anime Nov. 2nd-9th

This week I had my husband READY to fix all those stupid end tags and massive spaces. YOU SHALL NOT WIN COMPUTER!!!

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*has no idea how her husband understands html....*

I would like to say YAY for no cute little pets being hurt this week. There were still a few tears, but thankfully all the furries lived. I couldn't find Kuroshitsuji Episode 4 this week. :( I will try to find it by next week. If anyone knows where to watch the latest Kuroshitsuji episodes, please let me know. My goal for next week is to be ALL caught up on the current animes. x_X Me thinks blogging so many animes was a little bit too ambitious...but I do love anime. :) Anyway, please enjoy.


Kannagi Episode 5


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Quick save the princess!

Despite being star struck, Tsugumi is not thrilled at the thought of Jin living with Zange. Nagi is already mad about her sister anyway, so the three girls decide to have a cook off to prove who gets Jin (Jin is THRILLED by this). Well, Hakua’s soul decides she is against cheating so Zange loses. Nagi’s meal looks amazing, but tastes like crud. You would think that means Tsugumi wins by default, but she doesn’t. Anyway, the next day at school Jin learns that Nagi has a following at the school for being a mysterious non student that hangs around for no reason. Zange is a little upset at this as Nagi is encroaching on her popularity, but her hands are tied as the fan site lists Nagi and Zange as siblings. Nagi is approached by a teacher at the school and thinks the jig is up. The student body learns that Nagi has been taken down to the office and have a little sit in protest to protect her. With all these fans worshipping her, Nagi gains more powers and beams the principal in the head. Turns out none of this is necessary and the teacher from earlier, Suzuhiro, has pulled some strings so Nagi can attend the school legally. Suzuhiro has an ulterior motive as he is really Hakua’s father and he wants Nagi’s help to get his daughter back. The episode ends with Zange and Nagi arguing and Jin wondering why he feels so attached to Nagi.

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Instantly nightlight!

This episode was almost as good as last weeks. I think now I realize that this show might not focus on getting rid of impurities and protecting the land, but will instead focus on a young “girl” trying to keep her existence. I am sharp like that.

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The best way to gather up followers: Youtube.

The cook off contest was interesting. I figured that Nagi was a lazy, but talented. It is ironic that she can make wonderful LOOKING dishes, but they taste like crap. Zange is a bad cook and Hakau refused to cheat (but she allowed Zange to molest her sister last week). And Tsugumi already has stated she can only make simple dishes. So all three girls have shyed away from “all girls are great at cooking” aspect animes often insinuate. Kannagi makes me happy in that sense.

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Delicious!

Japanese children scare me. Real children annoy me, but Japanese ones are x_X. When I was in school, there was never a group or cult following for students on campus. This seems to be an ongoing theme in many animes. Zange is famous for standing on street corners and giving out phony confessions. In America, we call that a homeless beggar. Nagi hangs out at a school she does not attend and acts like a weirdo. In America, we have kids skipping schools, not trying to sneak in. And if we did it is off to juvenile hall for them. But in Kannagi, Nagi and Zange are worshipped as goddess, which I can’t really blame the student body after seeing some of their girls….

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It's LOVE Nagi!!! Pure....crazy....undeserved...love?

I have a serious problem with Hakua’s dad. He comes around the corner when Zange is yelling at Nagi. Zange runs off while Suzuhiro talks to Nagi. Now…isn’t Hakua still hanging around in her body? Shouldn’t Zange know that OH CRAP her dad is here, we shouldn’t go to school anymore? The mere fact that Hakua just assumed that Nagi was also a body snatcher was just weird too. They try to pass that off by saying he has study religion and different cultures, but that is just too convenient for me. Hopefully next week they will show a nervous Zange around Suzuhiro and they explain that Zange/Hakua ran away from home. A lot of details were left out and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

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I like how he knew exactly who she was....

The best part of the episode were the crazy cult lovers of Nagi. The little tapped moments from all the students were hilarious (if not scary at the same time). Clearly none of these kids have a life and their entire being is focused on worshipping Nagi. That is okay with me, as we need Nagi around to keep up the antics of the show! Oh and a notable mention for funniest scene was when Nagi gains a new power and it turns out to just be a very useless beam of light. :)
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Yes, high school was just like this kids...

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At least the ugly trolls aren't crying....
Yozakura Quartet Episode 5

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You can't yell at me! I'm Adorable!

The episode starts off with a few slice of life scenes: Ao trying to wake up the sleepy Kotoha, Hime humming along to her new town song, and people goofing around at the office. Meanwhile Akina is trying to talk to the elders/council people about sparing Gin’s life. The nun tells Akina that he should be honest with Hime, but Akina does not seem very receptive to that idea. Due to Hime’s insane ideas, the entire gang ends up watching a bunch of elementary school kids. Most of them are demon child (literally), but Ao uses her mad mind reading powers to find out what the kids wanted. One of the kids, Junta, is being all emo in the corner. Ao tries to comfort emo boy and when that doesn’t work, she uses her powers to find out what is wrong with him. Junta runs off all upset and Ao feels bad. Meanwhile, Enjin is confronted by nun lady and they have a mini battle. Ao tries apologizing the next day, but Junta doesn’t accept. Hime walks on by and asks Ao to use her mind reading powers to help out with an issue. Ao gets all upset, saying she hates her powers, and runs off. Ao then has her own little flashback about her BROTHER Gin and a discussion about her powers. Akina shows up and Ao is conflicted about whether or not her powers are good. Junta is practicing his awesome skills and it is revealed that the promise Ao “saw” was his father leaving town to find his mother and he would return once Junta mastered a certain technique. Junta goes out and masters the technique and MAGICALLY his father and mother appear in the back yard. The Scooby Gang helped out Junta’s father and now they can be one big happy family again. Ao seems to be okay with her powers now and goes to remise about her brother on the barrier tree when Eijin appears!

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What a feel good moment.

Well, I have mixed feelings about this episode. On one hand I am really happy that it was Ao centric, but then again…it was kind of boring.

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What do you mean BORING?!

Reading people’s minds sounds like a cool power. However, I am sure among people who have powers there are unwritten rules about just invading people’s brains. Sure you CAN do it, but then again they can verbally assault you with nails or fly you off the nearest cliff. There has to be an understanding that they just don’t use their powers over every single issue.

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My powers only bother me now!

This is typical of anime: person has been doing something for a long time, but they only NOW have a problem with some aspect of it. Ao has been able to have read people’s minds for a while (if not her own life) yet it is only now she thinks that there is some moral issue behind this power. It was a magical coincidence that she has an issue the week AFTER Gin’s past was revealed and her moral confusion was a stepping stone to add more information about Gin. I would think that Ao would be missing her brother MORE than Hime and Akina, but she seems to just think of the happy times. She seemed rather SHOCKED that his “body” was still alive, so I hope the entire back story behind that issue is explained (and what the heck a Satori power is).

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X_X HER BROTHER!?

Gin is her BROTHER?! Her brother!? *rewatches the opening song* HER BROTHER?! I am sorry…but I don’t affectionately molest or grope and do cuddly/borderline sexual things WITH MY BROTHER!!!! Gross, my eyes need a good bleaching. There are other ways to show that you love your baby sister than INCESTOUS PDA. I might just back to referring to him as the Cat Molester again.

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How many Hail Mary's for molesting your sister?

Why was Rin even IN this episode? We could have had a very nice episode without her ugly hat self appearing out of nowhere. Really she added NOTHING to the episode besides me wishing ill upon her.

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Go suck Rin dry next time!

There was happy feeling to this episode which I found odd after such a serious episode last week. Akina was the only one really focusing on the issues. Eijin made a brief appearance in the episode, but I was focusing more on the nun acting weird (almost like the council “tolerates” Eijin or something). I would think Hime would take the job of being mayor a little more seriously, but she seems to think her staff can waste time babysitting a bunch of kids. The ending was very cheesy as well. The kid balanced the soccer ball 20 times and his father is magically there as promised (a stupid promise to make anyway) AND his mother returns as well. No explanation why the mother disappeared, why the father didn’t ask for help, ect. Just the OH everything magically worked out for the perfect happy ending. The gang was able to track down the mother in 5 seconds and had the typical feel good watching over the family scene. I prefer American over Swiss please. Here’s hoping next week’s episode takes it up a notch..and kills off Rin.

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One big happy family!
Skip Beat Episode 5

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This week on DRAGON BALL Z: Vegeta has a sex change!

This episode picks up directly where the last one left off. The president tells Kyoko that she has to learn to love her fans and vice versa. She isn’t really thrilled about this whole LOVE ME group, but she wants revenge so she will stick by it! Her first glorious task is to scrape gum off the floor. She decides to focus her angry energy on the task at hand and ends up with a floor no one can walk on. She is pissed off that she only earned 10 points from this task (putting her net points at ZERO) and is a little down. She runs into another talent at LME and she (Ruriko) decides to ask for Kyoko’s services. Elsewhere, Sho is trolling around his agency, basking in the fan praise. When Ren comes by and steals his thunder, Sho decides to be a little brat. Ren doesn’t take the bait and Sho has a Kyoko inner moment. Meanwhile, Kyoko and Ruriko are being driven to a film location. Ruriko misleads Kyoko into thinking she has a heart/skin/various body aliments that makes Kyoko want to protect Princess Ruriko. After carrying Ruriko up a moment side and struggling to carry all the stuff along with Princess’s weight, Kyoko falls and twists her ankle. Ruriko gets up and simply walks away. She gets to the film location and the viewers learn she is just worried about tanning her perfect white skin and…is just lazy. Kyoko is dying in the sun waiting for help. She thinks that she has learned how it is to care for someone but it will mean nothing if she dies in the sun. Ren comes along and decides to help Kyoko out.

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Do you realize how ridiculous you look?

I must start off my commentary with…HAHAHAHA! Oh, Sho’s suffering was great! The greatest thing about this episode! He has put down Kyoko and acts like he is better than everyone else, yet he acted just like her (even thought Kyoko’s melt downs are much better). He really is self deluded on his own fame…and I look forward to him crashing and burning.

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Someone more AWESOME than me?!

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I sense chemistry between them!

I really think the writers were stretching Kyoko’s failure at the hallway cleaning task a bit. I mean, the task was to leave the hallway nice and sparkly. I don’t think her intent behind it (aka her wanting to crush Sho) should have any bearing on her performance. It was a simple mistake, yet the President blamed her not on loving people. By the way, it is hard to LOVE people when they sit there and throw gum on the ground for not getting their way.

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What a lovely shot.

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This can all be blamed on the shoe industry.

I really liked Ruriko. Not liked as in I think she is a good person, but liked the accuracy of her character (of course, the same could be said about Ren and Sho…). I can totally picture certain DIVAS in my head and Ruriko could fit in just fine. She played the sympathy card to a T and treated the help like trash. She was written perfectly and I love to hate her.

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I hope I get to hate you again.

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Have some turtle love!

Ren was just meh again. He is going to play up having a rough past/being a rough person for sympathy, I can feel it! He thinks he is above people too…it is just a sham he has the popularity to back it up.

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Sorry, I still hate you.

I am not sure how making Kyoko be a goffer/slave is going to help her with her people skills. Often people in those types of jobs end up hating people. Goodness knows if I had to deal with demanding people I would not be learning how to love. That and since her only talent is peeling a radish, you would think they would be training her how to do something profitable. But if they did not make her a slave…we couldn’t see her suffer!! :O
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DIE MY ANGELS!
To Aru Majutsu No Index Episode 5


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I will continue to look shocked over information I already know!

Touma is watching Index sleep and having a flashback of Kaori and Stiyl promising to return at midnight. Kaori ends up calling Touma and the most BORING and useless conversation in the world takes place. Basically it is Touma saying he is going to stop Kaori from being a big meanie and Kaori telling him to suck it. Touma decides that he is going to phone every single teacher/institution on campus to find someone who knows about perfect memorization. He finally gets a hold of someone, but discovers it is already midnight. Kaori and Stiyl show up and Stiyl is a little harsh with Touma. Kaori realizes that Touma is special ed and gives him 15 more minutes alone with Index. Touma decides that something is not adding up with this whole losing memories thing and calls Komoe (who has randomly left the house while all this is going on). Komoe confirms that while perfect memorization does exist, the human mind has the ability to have 140 years worth of memories. Touma decides that there must be something hurting Index and he will use his right hand to negate the magic. He finds one of the seals in her mouth and suddenly Index goes haywire and tries to attack Touma.

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Index just wants him to shut up too.

X_X I am sorry….what the hell? Seriously…what….the…..hell….. Touma touches Index’s face and suddenly the only place left to touch her is her vagina? PLEASE EXPLAIN THAT TO ME PEOPLE!! Wouldn’t you try a few more places before you had perverted thoughts?! Hideki from Chobits spent 4 HOURS looking for the switch before he even thought of looking there. Granted Touma had a bit of a time restraint, but he ONLY touched her face. I think that was a giant leap…and I really didn’t find it humorous. Of course there are 2 more magic spots left so maybe one will be there after all!

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Yes, the rest of her body. But feel free to assume it means her vag.

As much as I love this series, I am getting tired of the whole meaningless conversation bit. We get it Touma; you are against the way Kaori and Stiyl are doing things. I am not quite sure what Touma wanted to accomplish. Did he wanted to find a safer way of erasing Index’s memories or did he want to find a way for her not getting hurt? He actually flat out said that he was trying to be a hero, which just proves how self righteous he is.

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Congratulations! You is a jerk. :)

Of course, now Touma is going to look like the awesome questioner now since Index doesn’t have to have her memories erased at all. Who would have thought the Church of Necessary Evil would do evil things?! :O I AM SHOCKED AND AMAZED! Although I am not sure why the Church would make Index lose her memories each year or what purpose it would serve in the long run. It sounds like she could be more helpful if she remembered everything. An alley who can memorize enemy locations and tactical plans sounds like something I would want on my side. I am sure it will be explained later, that Index saw something she wasn’t suppose to and they had to make up with elaborate lie. But right now, it seems pretty x_X to me.

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I has all the answers!

The more I think about it, the more Touma makes me mad. He just assumes that he can figure out a way to save Index that Kaori and Stiyl haven’t thought of yet. He also thinks he can do this within a few hours. He acts like this erasure is going to kill Index. I mean, he has only known her for like a week. They have had to suffer through this more times than he has. I rather my friend be alive and I can have a chance to make things right LATER than risk her life because I think I know better. The conversation he had when they walked into Komoe’s house at midnight is the conversation he should have had on the phone with Kaori. Honey and vinegar my friend.

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Over dramatic enough?

I am not really thrilled about how the magic is portrayed in this show. While I appreciate it being more than POOF magic, it doesn’t seem very convenient with the drawing of all the runes and making diagrams of rooms. If a magician was in a fight, they would need to unleash their magical instantly. When someone knows every single magic spell I expect to see some flashy stuff. Perhaps that kind of magic will happen once the gang gets closer to the Church and those members don’t mind using the DIRTY tactics of magicians.

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MMMM Touma abuse!

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Not as flashy as I would like...

I think it is safe to say now that Kaori and Stiyl will end up helping Touma protect Index now. After crazy personality Index melts down or they subdue her, they will all go into hiding. Then it will turn out that the girl floating in the jelly tube is actually the robot synced up with Index’s brain. She is the one protecting all the secrets and will go A.I on your butts if you get close to Index’s brain (or vagina apparently). Which, I am okay with as Stiyl is now growing on me. I would be more okay with it with Touma would issue an apology to Kaori and Stiyl, but I can’t use up all my wishes on anime.

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That could be a problem....
Hakushaku to Yousei Episode 4


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But I still hate you.

So while the boys are off fighting each other, Lydia and Nico are confronted by some monster. Lydia is so awesome as a fairy doctor, she knows right away it is a Unseelie. Before she could get munched, Raven and his oozing eye appear and Lydia escapes. SOMEHOW Lydia gets kidnapped by Huskley and she is placed in a cell with her father. Raven whispers through a window that Edgar wants her to play along with Huskley and Lydia becomes concerned about certain information that Edgar is keeping from her. Huskley and his gang take Lydia out of her cell (leaving her dad) so she can lead them to the sword. Raven and Edgar show up and knock out Huskley and his men. Edgar wants to blow Huskely’s brains away, but Lydia stops him. The trio follows the rest of the clues and eventually make it to the room the merrow is in. Huskley and his men have caught up by then and Edgar blocks them off, despite Huskley taking Lydia’s father hostage. Edgar runs off with a pissed off Lydia who feels betrayed that he did not protect her father. They reach the merrow and Edgar reaches for the sword: however it was only an illusion and Lydia obtains the true sword. There is some jazz about no star on the sword and how the true Earl has the star on his body. Lydia threatens to kill Edgar if he takes the sword. Edgar apologizes for thinking about using her for the sacrifice of blood, puts his hand on the sword, and is caught up in waves. Huskley and his gang catch up AGAIN, but Raven and the little fairies everywhere attack them. Lydia is happy that her father is okay, but she feels as if she has to go and save Edgar. Magically she is underwater where the real merrow live. She finds Edgar and I guess the merrow queen. She is willing to give the star for the price of Lydia’s soul. After some dramatic speeches, Edgar uses the CROSS tattoo on his tongue as proof he is the real Earl. All is well. Edgar is recognized by all as the Earl, yet Lydia is pissed that he publically declared her HIS fairy doctor.

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We found the sword...already?!

This episode was made of special. Sometimes I enjoy special. If I didn’t experience special things, what would I comment about? :O

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Surrounded by special.

Is Lydia that amazing? And by amazing I mean stupid. Edgar is fending off Huskley and Raven is fighting off the Unseelie….yet she still manages to get captured? How does that work? Can’t she even hide properly? If I were Edgar or Raven, I would be pissed I am constantly saving her and she can’t even run away right. And how did she get captured anyway? Even if Huskley took out Edgar, her father was still there. Maybe Huskley’s gang grows exponentially! That could explain the discrepancies!

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Well, if she needs help walking....

I really wasn’t following this star on the sword conversation very well. From what I gather, the TRUE Earl would have the star on his body and that would allow him to identify the sword as his own. I understand that much. But when Lydia was trying to make a deal to get the star, what was that all about? Why did Lydia need to get the star at the cost of her own soul? Why did the merrow queen want her soul over Edgars? And the inscription on the coin said BLOOD would be spilled (which could be a small amount of blood, but we can pretend they went all Jigsaw on us and wanted 5 pints), no a SOUL! The whole star issue left me confused. This is one time where straight forward dialogue wouldn’t kill the show.

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I would love to be Earl of these LOVELY people.

Raven’s oozing eye makes me laugh and roll my eyes at the same time. Does the oozing eye activate his powers to be really fast and leap like Special A students? The most special part of this episode was when he was confronting Unseelie and his eye made a horizontal line. I had a Residential Evil moment. I wanted that line to cut the dog thing up or even better, turn into the grid and make him into diced tomatoes. Sadly I was denied that moment and the animal walked away before we could see what Raven’s line of doom could do. Way to disappoint your viewers!

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It's the Red Queen's doing!

Huskley gets the “Just won’t stay down award”. He is constantly CATCHING UP with the “heroes”…so much so that I wonder why they are surprised. At this point I would be like “shouldn’t we wait for Huskley? He’s running behind today.” MMMM I love quotations so very much. Huskley is losing his scary villain mojo. He needs a team rocket song and he should blast off when knocked unconscious.

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We meet again!!! AND AGAIN!

There were some minor plot holes in this episode. Lydia is never showed getting kidnapped; she is just thrown in a cell. It is never explained what happened to Edgar while Lydia and her father were being kidnapped. We never knew what Edgar was doing while Lydia and her father were locked up and talking about her pending marriage to Edgar. And Lydia just magically was able to walk and breathe in a magical water wonderland we did not see her enter. While I don’t need to see every single part of a show to understand what is going on, some necessary flow is…..necessary?

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WTf, how did this human get here?!

This is only the 4th episode, yet Edgar has already cleared his name, gets to be Earl, and Lydia is safe (with her father I presume). With 9-10 episodes left, what are they going to do? I felt that finding this sword was WAAAAAAAY too easy. When you are trying to find such an important relic, it shouldn’t only take…TWO EPISODES! It felt rather cheap and really…anticlimactic when by episode 4 they already obtained their goal. Makes me wonder why other people couldn’t succeed; surely there are other fairy doctors out there! Since Huskley sucks at being a villain, we have to rely on Unseelie’s owner to carry the rest of the season. I have my doubts, but hopefully this show can remain interesting.

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Aw, poor sad Edgar.
Shugo Chara Doki Episode 55

Two weeks…in a row…with plot?! Is the world ending?! (Well, for about 40 percent of Americans it is….but that isn’t really nice to say…then again I am not very nice…mmm dots).

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Apparently this is better than sky dancers?

Lulu goes to the sorta of in charge person at EASTER to show him awesome screenies of last week’s Sky Dance attack. Lulu is introduced to Ikuto, but he really doesn’t seem to care. Elsewhere in the city Amu runs into the friend of the week. Her name is Hitomi and she is a music loving, tennis playing girl. After she finds out Amu know Utau, she demands that Amu introduces her to Utau, because that is what I demand from strangers. Lulu had dinner with her special ed family and it is revealed that the reason she wants the Embyro is so her mother can keep winning awards. Awesome. Amu is panicking about how she can make Hitomi and Utau meet. Her day doesn’t go well when she runs into Hitomi AGAIN, gets turned down by Ms. Utau’s manager, and Utau herself isn’t very thrilled with the idea. Hitomi is having a dilemma whether she should stick to tennis or become a singer. Lulu shows up at Hitomi’s house and Shabon Spray Freezes her into the dull eyed enemy. She runs around and starts singing Utau’s song. Eru hears the song and Amu and Utau take off to find Hitomi sucking the life out of everyone. In the background Ikuto, the idiot trio, and Lulu are watching this awesome plan unfold. Amu transforms and tries to fight off spider eyed Hitomi. Eventually Utau talks some sense into Hitomi about following her own heart song and everything is cotton candy and kisses. The Embryo appears, but Ikuto has already left so it is not captured. Ikuto has actually gone back to his home and has found GASP his violin is missing!!! OH THE HORROR!!!!

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EASTER is so evil it steals candy AND violins from children!

So…..Doki had decided to market this show to a younger crowd. While I am not really happy with that, I can accept it. What I am not happy with is the message this show is now sending these younger viewers. The first 51 episodes focused on a kid having a dream and being told they were not good enough to reach said dream. Amu would swoop in and say don’t give up on your dream. I understand from time to time EVERYONE experiences those I am not good enough moments. It shows kids hey, it is okay to have some self doubt, but never give up on your dreams. But Doki is promoting the idea that having two or three dreams is somehow NEGATIVE! That I have a big issue with. I realize they needed to make the show more interesting and different from the last season, but this was not the way to go. Implying that kids are weak for having many interesting is stupid reasoning. I suppose at first glance telling a kid they are a loser for having one dream and telling them they are “lost” for having many dreams may seem like the same issue, but not to me. I feel sad if any child walks away feeling they need to DECIDE what they have to be at age 11 or else they are somehow inferior to kids with one dream.

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And wtf is in her hands?!

The friend of the week didn’t really impress me this week. Probably because it really wasn’t a friend? Had Amu just kept her mouth shut, the happy cell phone girl would have gone on her way. Even then, Amu was commenting to a stranger about her cell phone ring. I often tell people their shirts/purse/whatever is cute. Are those people my friends? No and neither was Hitomi. She was just using Amu to get something she wanted. That really isn’t a friend/acquaintance. Hitomi was just an excuse to get Utau in the episode.

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I just met you fool!

I also had issues with the “friend of the week” being not very genuine. I understand that kids want to meet their idols. But this kid sounded like she wanted connections. She wants Utau to hear her sing….why? Oh, so you want my help making you debut. So that is asking TWO strangers for help. And really, at the age of 11 and you are already thinking about connections? Sad sad sad.

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Utau is not impressed.

I did however enjoy the random new item Amu received with Miki. I think she should have gotten that conducting wand much earlier as there are more singing episodes than art episodes, but that is a small point. I am just glad that the power up this time wasn’t limited to only sparkles.

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Okay...there were still sparkles...but sparkles+ magical item=win!

Perhaps the most annoying thing about this episode was learning Lulu’s intentions for gathering the Embryo. First off, it would have been nicer to keep that under wraps for a bit longer. Dear lord we still don’t know Ikuto’s reasons! But perhaps we are told right off the bat what it is BECAUSE THE REASON SUCKS! Okay, so Tadase wanting the Embryo to be the king of the world might not be the most..wise thing to wish for and Yaya wishing to be a baby is just plain stupid. But…wishing for your mother to keep winning awards? Five seconds after hoping your mother hasn’t changed from winning one award?! Am I missing something here? I am really not seeing the urgency of the wish. At least the dumb wishes are for things people do not have. Your mother already HAS an award, IS already famous. Again, it is hard to pin down in words why her wish sits weird with me, but it just does.

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My evil intentions are OH so evil.

Lulu’s jewelry making talents were touched upon this week. Yet it was not mentioned how her penchant was magical. 5th graders are just more special in Shugo Chara. Probably because they didn’t have Sky Dancers to bash each other in the heads with. Oh and if Lulu is the new transfer girl…why hasn’t she attended class yet? Don’t be lazy with the plots writers!

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STOP BEING LAZY!!!

EASTER is getting sadder and sadder each episode. They can’t employ anyone who wants to actually work to get them the Embryo or aren’t total morons. I don’t really understand why they keep cutting Ikuto so much slack: HE NEVER DOES ANYTHING TO HELP THEM!!! However, him ignoring Lulu was amusing so he can stick around.

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Why does anyone count on Ikuto?

So just bleh was this episode. Bleh and more bleh. I know this is a magical girl show…but can’t they pretend to care? Why not wait for the manga to come out instead of creating anime only material? This nonsense plot only pisses off long time fans, not encourages them to keep on watching.
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What? You think next week will be better?
Shugo Chara Doki Episode 56

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Even I am in shock of how stupid things are getting!

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A good way to get over your identity crises is to continuing to cross dress.

The long waited moment as arrived! Nadeshiko has come back to us!!!! Of course now it is Nagihiko and the entire episode wasn’t even focused on this joyous return…..but I can still feel happy.

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But I love you anyway.

The episode starts off with Nagihiko arriving back and home and being awesome. Amu, Yaya, and Rima are all chillin in the gardens when the friend of the week shows up looking for the planetarium. Meanwhile Kukai is called away from his school to see TADA Nagihiko….yeah, he’s a guy. Anyway, the first king and Tadase and his massively stupid flyaway need Kukai’s help in convincing Nagihiko to come back as the new Jack. Nagihiko is very reluctant to take on this roll. Amu spends about 5 seconds with the friend of the week, Mamoru. She learns that he wants to be an astronaut..and that is basically it as the first king comes and takes him away. Amu walks up and is beyond happy to see Nagihiko, but is still under the impression that he is just a twin and that Nadeshiko is still in Europe. Not to mention that Nagihiko mentions that he is back in Japan because he started to doubt himself and Temari has gone back into her egg and a NEW egg was born. So the entire gang gets together and Rima is a little jealous. She digs in that Nagihiko doesn’t even have a Chara and shouldn’t take on the role as Jack. She is allowed to get away with this as she is cute apparently. Kukai had to TRAIN Nagihiko to be a part of the team since they are pretending this twin scenario in front of the girls. Amu has a useless scene with Lulu that amounts to nothing. Mamoru comes out of the planetarium, confused on what he wants to be when he grows up. Lulu comes and does her rip off move to turn him into Buzz Lightyear on crack. The group catches wind of this and all transform besides Nagihiko. They have to fight off Mamoru and save the playground apparently. During this fight, Amu gets a new power up! She gets rocket powered roller blades and she eventually talks Buzz down and heals him. Lulu glares off into the sunset and Rima decides to treat Nagihiko more like a second class citizen now instead of dog poop. YAY FOR HAPPY ENDINGS!!!!

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Can't you feel the happy?

So…before I go into berating this episode into being very, VERY special… Nagihiko is back!!! At least Doki didn’t wait until half way through the season and realize OH YEAH we need Nagihiko back! So let’s give this series a few points….before we take them all away.

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It looks like he is dreaming of donuts....or cutting his hair.

Where is Nagihiko?! Nadeshiko was cool, calm, and most often the voice of reason (not including when she/he was doing a character change). Now I understand that Nagihiko is going through some goal problems, but that doesn’t mean his entire personality has to change! Nagihiko hung out with Amu just fine before he left on his trip. Amu likes Nagihiko too. And since Nagihiko is Nadeshiko, I don’t understand all the angst over telling Amu the truth. Sure she would do her typical freak out “I told a boy all those girly things” moment, but she will get over it. It makes me sad that Nagihiko has lost faith in his dancing skills and feels insecure in his relationship with Amu.

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This is not cool or calm!! :(

Perhaps I am ready too much into the situation. Nagihiko is apparently going through identity crises as he has two of the same eggs, just different colors. Perhaps he felt more at easy being a “girl” with Amu and now it is hitting him all at once. I just am sad not to see a strong Nagihiko like I am use to. I am sure that Nagihiko will come around and one of my favorite characters again. I just hope that he stops lying to Amu sooner rather than later.

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Tadase likes to encourage the competition.

Wtf was up with Mamoru’s character change? That is the UGLIEST one I have seen so far. I know this show mostly focuses on girls and their transformations. Kukai and Ikuto have nice normal transformations and Tadase’s is FABBBBBulous! ….what the hell was that hot mess? X_X some sort of fat, middle aged Buzz light year? There wasn’t any way to make Mamoru to look….like a cute kid in a space suit? He looked…ridiculous. Really…there are no words to describe how awful this outfit was.

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Doesn't anyone want to be a garbage man? I WANNA SEE THAT!

I think Shugo Chara Doki has decided that it’s new audience is a tank of goldfish. Or mildly stupid 5 year olds. Nadeshiko/ Nagihiko has only seen Amu character change. Yet he isn’t shocked when everyone else is transforming all over the place. Also, he knew of their attacks…without seeing them. We didn’t even get a friend of the week. We instead get a cheap ploy. Anyone with a brain could realize that a GARDEN is not a PLANETARUIM. Amu is not even meeting people anymore; they are being thrown at her with the laziest reasons ever. Why did Kukai even have to be in this episode? I do like his character, but it seemed very pointless. Nagihiko has already been a guardian before; I don’t see what had to be taught. Why would Kukai have any more power to persuade Nagihiko than anyone else?

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You ask a lot of questions....

So where did Rima’s unreasonable jealously come from? I would understand if “Nadeshiko” came back she would be understandably jealous. But this is “Nadeshiko’s” twin BROTHER. Amu is still Rima’s bestest best BBF FRIENDS FOREVER girlfriend right? It just really seemed unnecessary, even if Rima was cute while doing so. I would have thought Amu would have been more proactive in telling Rima to cool it but beh. The more Rima in an episode the less Yaya and that makes me happy. :)

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Jealous freak is jealous.

Lulu was pretty much useless in this episode. Apparently that cool new French exchange student they were talking about was not her AS SHE IS NOT GOING TO THEIR SCHOOL! I mean, most sneaky villains are busy hiding behind buildings and trees…not eating lunch where the enemy could see them. Why don’t they suspect Lulu? EVEN THE GOLD FISHES DO!!! Just…bleh. She seems like a very lame villain with lame reasoning and even lamer way to hurt people’s dreams. Please tell me next week’s episode isn’t so lame?!

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Really?! NO WAY?! Tadase is so quick about these things.
Clannad After Story Episode 6


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No harming the cuties this week!

Misae takes the news of Igarashi having a girlfriend hard as she misses the next day of school. Her friends Saki and Yuki ask Shima to talk to her and they tell Shima that they think he is a better fit for her romantically. Shima tries to cheer up Misae in the park but she sees he is not being himself. Shima then confesses that he really likes Misae, even if she violently throws him around all over the place. Cue the cute blushing moments. Misae seems happier now and even becomes the class president. Shima wants to see Misae in action as president, so Saki and Yuki dress him up as a girl to sneak him into school. There we get a brief glimpse of Yusuke as a rock and roll student. Shima meets up with Misae as a female which lead to another accidental lesbian moment. Later Yuki and Saki want to go see Shima’s house. Shima starts having problems on remembering where his house is but the group find it anyway. A woman answers the door and asks if they have come to pay respects to Shima’s memorial. Shima suddenly remembers that he is really not Shima, but actually……Afterwards, the girls tell Shima they don’t care who he is. He is Shima to them and they will not tell Misae his secret. The next day (after she teases him about dressing up as a girl) Misae invites him to Fall festival thing. He agrees and they have a good time. Misae tells Shima that the wish she has is for him to stay with her forever and ever. Shima starts to cry and Misae runs off to get them some drinks. When she returns, he is walking away in the crowd and eventually disappears. Tomoya then wakes up from his dream and he and Nagisa go home. The next day while they are at the fair, Misae’s cat comes running by. They stop and wait for Misae to catch up. While she is trying to get the little guy from out of the bush, Tomoya explains that the person who went with her to the fair long ago is sorry he had to leave. He just wants her to be happy and that he is hoping he is granting her wish. Tomoya goes on to say that this person just wants to be with her. Misae seems to be a little shocked…but she states she will try to once again find happiness and takes her cat home. The scene then turns into the cat’s prospective. His master, the real Shima, was dying yet still wanted to grant Misae a wish for being so kind to him. His cat sought out and found Misae. He felt conflicted because he fell in love with her and he was suppose to grant his master’s wish. In the end, when Misae wished for him to stay forever with her, he got to fulfill both. The episode ended with both Misae and the kitty smiling at one another.

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Why can't that be our happy ending?!

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I will be dehydrated after this season I swear.

…This is one of the saddest episodes since episode 9 (or 8 can’t remember) of the last season. WHY?! Why does this show make me cry?! :( My friend tried to IM after I was done watching this episode, but I was too sad to think at the moment.

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:( Just so very sad!!!

I have come to the conclusion when the males in this show start crying, I start feel tears threatening to flow in my eyes. Not to say when the girls cry it’s not sad…but they seem to cry…A LOT. It is just something about when boys are so free with their emotions and it has built up to the point where THEY are crying that it makes me feel so sad inside. Still, Tomoya and his tears are about…half a point above Shima and his tears. Shima was only in two episodes and cried in both. Tomoya tried to put on his tough guy act, and then cried.

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Quick, must think of happy thoughts!

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No..HIS EYES!!! :(

:( Poor Misae. She goes from having a crush on a spineless coward to falling in love with a cat. In her mind, she fell in love with said coward and then a boy who just disappeared. No wonder she said in the last episode she has decided to dedicate her lives to young people and their love. I might give up too with that kind of track record. The whole situation is so sad, her getting her heart stomped on twice in such a short period of time.

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True love...does it know no bounds?

The show ends on a happy note, but I can’t help but feel sorry for the characters. Yes Misae now knows the truth behind his disappearance, but she can’t be with him. Not to mention if it were me, I would be having a major freak out o_O A CAT?!?!? but that is besides the point. Shima is not the cute little boy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, he is a cat. Cats do not live as long as humans (or course this is a magical cat). So she will also have to face losing him a lot sooner than had he been human. Also, putting aside this whole weirdness, can she really bring home a date knowing her cat is her true love? Misae’s happy ending doesn’t seem happy, more like…bitter sweet. It also gives a whole new meaning to cat lady.

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I think she's happpy?

One thing that bothered me about the episode is the relative time period it took place in. Ms Kouko is a teacher at the school while Yusuke is a student. Misae and Kouko do not look older than 30, yet that probably doesn’t mean much as Sanae has a 17 year old daughter. It is just hard to tell if these events all happened 7, 5, or even while Nagisa was at the school and could have met them all. I suppose it really does not matter their ages; I just thought it would be interesting if we could see how everyone really is connected.

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Nothing will top his memory speech. EVER!

I wonder why Tomoya was allowed to have this dream. I understand in the game it is better explained, but I am strictly only talking about the anime. How is Tomoya able to know all these things? 0_0 And why aren’t people questioning he knowledge?...Okay, I fail at asking questions that I already know the answers to.

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I have no pics of Tomoya...so have some random yuri.

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Also have some random cattiness...:( that joke was lame.

To me, this was one of the best episodes to date. I know that making people cry shouldn’t make this episode a positive, but perhaps it is. Clannad has a way of drawing you into the characters emotions so well. This arc was short, sweet, and to the point. I am sad that it was only two episodes, but then again it wasn’t dragged out making the arc boring. Misae always seemed like an interesting character, I am very glad her story was touched upon. I doubt next week can be as amazing, but I won’t hold that against Clannad.
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NO! I said I loved it!
Vampire Knight Guilty 5

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The episode about hugs!

Here is my summary of what happened during this episode:




.

No really...nothing happened during this episode? Don't believe me? Fine, let me try to salvage something from my mind. Yuki is still thinking about asking Kaname about her past. The Headmaster cuts his finger and tells Zero to drink it. The Headmaster goes on to say that he only wants his kids to be happy, then informs Zero of a new transfer student. Yuki meets up with Kaname later and she never asks him about her past. There are just a lot of hugs and Kaname saying he loves her. Yuki sits there depressed on the floor and Zero comes by to tell her it will be alright. Zero then heads over to see Kaname in his dorm room to scream at him about Yuki. Kaname gets a little pissed and pushes Zero through a wall. Kaname starts going on about how they both love Yuki and he only lets Zero stay alive for Yuki's sake. Then Kaname most graciously allows Zero some blood. Aido runs by later and tells Zero to leave (while he is leaving) because the Night Class smells Kaname's blood. Yuki is all "confused" about Kaname's confession and skips home room. The new transfer student arrives and SURPRISE it is Ichiru. Zero and Ichiru have a staring contest later. Mr. Yagari decides he is going to leave to find out what the hunters Association is up to. Later that night, Yuki tells Zero she has always loved Kaname (because apparently it is we hate Zero day) and Yuki runs off to tell Kaname. She actually manages to ask Kaname about her past, but it is a bunch of tears and hugs again. Zero shows up and Kaname is all like HA she is my woman now sucker.

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Yaoi in my mind. :O

Seriously, Yuki is pissing me off. She is CONSTANTLY moaning and groaning about what a burden she is on people, yet never does anything to try to change it. Not that I know why she thinks she is a burden, but her saying she is a burden is so annoying! GET SOME NEW LINES! It is upsetting that Zero is going through more crap than her yet he always has to worry about her stupid self. And why does she feel the need to crush Zero's heart? Is she that brain dead that she has no idea that Zero loves? "Bye Zero, I am off to go confess to another guy!!!" Yeah, that is just cruel in my book.

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I guess saying right through the heart...might be not be appropriate.

Does Kaname get off on not answering people's questions? He seriously must get a kick out of watching people beg him for answers and all he does is pull them in for hugs and let's them know how evil he is for not telling them. Okay, we get it. Something BAD happened. You are not telling them for their own good. Just come out and say you are doing this to protect them. MIND GAMES ARE NOT FUN.

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I'll hug you until you forgot the question!

Wtf what up with Aido's scene? I am pretty sure Zero knew that he had to get out of there or else. Poor Aido knows the more he tries to ask questions, the more likely he is going to be killed. :( Sucks knowing a big secret and being suspicious of everything.

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Why am I even in this episode?

I'm sorry...did I miss Shiki's scene? Ichijo's scene? Nope, I didn't blink. They were just not there at all. So not only did this episode fail to answer Yuki's question, it also failed to show what happened to Shiki and Ichigo last week. WTF WAS THE SHOW ABOUT THEN?!

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Father of the year!

Does the Headmaster really hate Zero that much? Knowing all the crap that Zero is going through and that Ichiru is basically working for the Vampire council, he still let's Ichiru come to the school?! I realize that it was Zero's choice, but I think the Headmaster should have said no to begin with and not put the burden on Zero. Loving his children indeed.

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Pay no attention to the evil twin in the corner.

So yeah, in my eyes, nothing DID happen this episode. Just 22 minutes of angsting Yuki and a bunch of other crap we already knew/figured out. Yuki is really coming off unlikeable. She is not some innocent victim; she is just someone who thinks way too much about everything and really doesn't consider the feelings of others. If we don't learn about her past next week, I might just have to chuck my computer out the window.
Tales of the Abyss Episode 6

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Natalia has joined the party.

Ion wants to walk around the city before the journey to...wherever they are going takes place(I cheated and looked it up. They are going to Akzeruith). He only takes two guards with him, so it is no surprise he is captured. The rest of the gang is trying to figure out the best way out of the city when they hear the news. Van decides he is going to go the water route to act like a decoy and Luke doesn't think that sounds fishy. The creepy pirate/carnival freaks give Ion to Asch. Ion is all 0_o when he sees Asch's face. The gang minus Van go through an underground passage way. There they find Natalia and she blackmails her way into the group. Everyone has a GRAND OLD TIME walking through the tunnels, bickering and fighting spider monsters. Ion and Asch meet up with the masking wearing general and Ion has another 0_o moment. The group finally makes their way outside and Luke spots the HUGE boat...ship...truck thing and Mr. Red Hair Asch. Luke runs up to slice him into 432748 pieces and is startled when he sees his own face. Asch and the truck ship get away and Jade decided to pretend Luke did not see something important and asks Luke what he wants to do now. Luke wants to go after them and save Ion. Oh and Natalia has some random flashbacks of her childhood with Luke.

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Aw, cute baby Luke!!

The most very special thing about this episode was the time frame. This problem has to do with trying to make an anime out of a video game. In the video game, I am sure Natalia joined the group and traveled with them for a while to earn their trust and lose their annoyance. A while meaning "days" in game time. This did not translate well in the anime. Natalia joined the group and had to prove her worth in hours? Probably not even that long. It just seemed very rushed, Tear saving her and all the now you are a valuable member of our team moments. OF COURSE this is forgetting that everyone has known each other less than 4 days.....Also, I enjoyed how half the episode was dedicated to bickering about walking faster. Amazing.

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No one wants you around either!!

Do Guy and Jade need a room? I think they do. They seem awfully cozy with each other, always in the back of the pack, talking with their eyes, and the picking on each other. It is all very sweet. And no I am not a yaoi freak. How dare you accuse me of that!

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Secret loooooooooovers.

Luke is still being a very brash person. I would have thought that he would be a little more subdued now that Natalia knows his secret, but he is still barking orders and acting in charge. It's nice to know that the power has not gone to his head...and that he is just acting like himself.

Is ANYONE suspicious of Van? Remember all those shifty eyes they gave Van in episode 4? Yet they are all okay with Van going off on his own to be the "decoy"? Personally I would stay close to Van, but that is just me. Van seems to be staying clear of all the other generals I WONDER WHY!!!! Total shock for me.

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Master...I trust you not matter what!!!

Jade made me laugh in this episode. Luke just saw something that freaked him out, he is laying on the ground in pain, and everyone is fawning over him...and Jade is like SO what are we going to do now? It is hard to ignore the pink elephant in the room when it is dancing on your head. :P

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Jade says to SUCK IT UP LUKE! :O

This is my theory of what is going on. Yet I am not going to be a jerk like some stupid people on crunchyroll and blurt out secrets. So FAIR WARNING!!! Spoilers and speculation are ahead.

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*gasp*

You


Have


Been


Warned.


Okay, so Luke is Asch's twin. Or rather Asch is really Luke and Luke is a clone. Van took Luke to this location 7 years ago, got him cloned, and returned to the clone to his parents so possibly a war would not break out and/or to fulfill a prophesy. However, due to Ion's and Asch's conversation in the kidnap mobile, I wouldn't be surprised if Ion was a clone too. The line "Luke, as I thought, you are also..." could mean simply that Luke is also Asch. However, it could mean that you are ALSO a clone. I mean, there is a reason that little green haired gender is covering his face correct? Of course it could be his brother, but it is more fun to think of the more over the top theories. I really am glad that it was implied that there was SOMETHING up with Asch. Had it not been for the over the top antics, you could just think they look similar...AS OFTEN ANIME CHARACTERS DO!! So in an effort to make things more secretive...it just made it more obvious or at least not as big as a surprise (which does not mean you can spoil the whole series for some people).

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What DO I mean...

So is Asch (the original Luke) being manipulated or is he really putting together a plan to save the world? How many people are apart of this plan? And are they even going to talk about it next week or will the pink elephant keep on dancing?!

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