Tenchi's Thoughts: Weekly New Fall Anime Nov. 17th- 23rd

This week had a wide array of anime episodes in terms of themes. Some series are getting into the meat of their season. Some are draggin at a snail’s pace and the viewer has no idea where the plot is heading. And even a few episodes were pretty downright bad. There weren’t any major surprises this week which is slightly sad. :( Hopefully next week will have a few more WOW moments to keep me on the edge of my seat.

I didn’t really reach my goal of getting COMPLETELY caught up on weekly animes. Scrapbooking sucked up a great deal of my time and my husband slightly hogged the good computer this week. Hopefully next week I can get ALL caught up rather than scrambling to get 10 episodes done at the last minute. Of course all my life I have been just on time and rarely early so I might just be dreaming on that goal. Anything is possible though with the holiday seasons holding up subbing though. Anyway, enjoy my reviews. :)

To Aru Majutsu no Index 7

Using your station in life to your advantage=win!

The episode starts off with a young girl surrounded by a bunch of bodies. Lovely. Onward to happier times. Index and Touma are out and about. Touma is having a hard time pretending he hasn’t lost his memories. Index has decided since Touma has forgotten how to give long impromptu speeches, she will pick up the slack and go on and on about things. Touma has a more difficult time when his two friends from school show up and he has no idea who they are. Somehow all three of them con Touma into buying them food from McDonalds. Index decides the only seats that are free….are taken up by a young priestess (the one that was surrounded by dead bodies earlier). Apparently she used all her money to buy 1 dollar burgers and she is short on bus fare. She tries to hit up the group for some money, but she isn’t very bright. It doesn’t matter anyway, as a bunch suits show up and she leaves with her “cram teacher”. On the way home, Index runs off after a stray cat and “mana energy” (although it was probably just the cat). Stiyl shows up and Touma is beyond confused on who he is or why he is trying to fire ball him to death. After Stiyl is done being a jerk, he tells Touma that they have a job to do or Index will get taken away from him. Touma arrives back home…and Index has brought the kitten with her. Touma doesn’t have time to yell at her about it as he has to leave to find “Deep Blood”. “Deep Blood” turns out to be the priestess from earlier, Aisa and the place she is being held captive is a cram school. They arrive at the school and find…a dead suit of armor.

It’s weird how it felt like this was a slower pace episode, but a lot did happen. Nothing as flashing as last week, but it is good it doesn’t have life and death drama every single day.

It’s a trap! She’s a trap, he’s a trap. I have heard people refer to anime characters as traps in their blogs and I thought I had just missed out on some internet term. APPARENTLY “trap” is a real term used in Japan…so I am just so very, very slow. According to the all knowing Wiki, a trap is a male crossdresser whose cross-dressing is so convincing that he is often mistaken for a real girl. So I shall congratulate myself on learning something apparently everyone else already knew. Go me.

I catch on real fast...

I really liked Touma this week. Perhaps all he needed was a complete memory deletion to make him likable. :P Seriously, I liked how he is struggling to keep up his “other self appearance”. It has only been two weeks so I am surprised he hasn’t slipped up yet or hasn’t run into his school friends during that time period (Did he miss that much school?). He seems a little TINY bit gentler with Index, but I don’t know if that is because he is a kinder person or he thinks he use to be kinder with her. I foresee him getting in a lot more trouble…because he is unfortunate that way and he can’t remember what his “self mission” was before he lost his memories.

Ice cream accidentally falls into my mouth all the time :O

Clearly these seats are not taken...

Index once again was SUPER CUTE. She was trying to be brave and pure about not eating ice cream. But I find it hard to resist ice cream, even as I freeze under my blanket. Her explanation wasn’t as annoying as any of Touma’s and it was done with sparkles so of course it was better. I love how she used her status to justify breaking Touma’s no cat rule. Index just seems like a happy kid who really is unaware of what is going on around her. At least she remembers Touma x_X Goodness knows it would have been special had they both forgotten each other.

The church of Tenchi also approves of rescuing cute kitties!

Aisa is super cute and super clueless, even when she is surrounded by tons of dead bodies! Aisa probably hasn’t seen much of the outside world, as her conversation skills are lacking. I am sure that Touma could fix that for her. I am not sure where she put all those 30 burgers, but at least she could walk away from that feast. I loved how she tried using other people’s words to her advantage. :) “I’m cute so give me money, you took my picture, give me money!” I think I shall enjoy Aisa…so that probably means she is going to die or something. :( That tends to happen to me.

The honesty is BLINDING!

Styil let me down slightly this week. I would have thought that he would have picked up on the fact that Touma does not have his memories anymore. I guess he has a lot on his plate keeping Index safe and taking orders from tube man. I got slightly confused with his dialogue with Touma, but he often talks as if the audience should already have an understanding on what is going on.

Styil has no idea what the word over dramatic means...

I am not sure why the Church is focusing on Aisa NOW as she seems to have been under this…alchemists control for quite a while. I guess I will be happy they are leaving Index alone long enough to prove if vampires exist. Because they don’t have enough on their plate going after magicians and scaring little nuns. I look forward to next week’s episode and the all the armor corpses.

Pay no attention to that bleeding mass on the floor!

Tales of the Abyss Episode 8

Forget being a clone! What do you mean I'm a jerk?!

The gang arrives at the mining town Akzeriuth. It is covered in purple miasma and there are people lying all over the ground. The entire gang runs to start helping people because they are kind individuals who care about human lives. All but Luke of course. Luke has decided since he is the ambassador of good will it means he doesn’t have to touch dirty people. The group meets up with the supervisor of the area and leads them to the tunnel where the miasma is coming from. Before the group could go in, Tear is stopped by Moh’s soldier who says they might have found the 7th fonstone. She leaves the party and goes off with them. The rest of the party goes underground where the miasma is even thicker. They meet up with more people/miners who are pretty much out of it. Luke is pissed everyone is stopping to help these people. He really wants to meet up with Van and blast the miasma away. He decides that he knows better and sneaks off down the tunnel. Meanwhile Tear has discovered the fonstone is a fake and the men reveal that they have orders to take Tear away from the area. Before she can defend herself, Asch makes his way through the crowd. He gives Luke a massive headache telling him to stop or he is going to make a huge mistake. Ion comes up and helps Luke with his headache. Van happens upon the scene and leads Ion and Luke to a door/lock thingy. He orders Ion to open the door so he does. Inside is this huge…room with a weird machine in the middle (I am o so descriptive!). Van directs Luke to use his hyperresonnance against the machine and he will be a hero that stops the miasma. Meanwhile Tear and Asch make it to the rest of the group and warn them that Luke is about to destroy the whole town.

Ion is o so helpful.

OH TOO LATE he did. Luke destroys the machine as he remembers at the last minute Van put a spell on him. As the machine blows up and leaves Luke and Ion unconscious, Van calls upon two griffins to take him and Asch away safely. Tear uses her fonic hymns to protect the group as the entire town of Akzeriuth collapses and explodes. The group wakes up underground and end up boarding the Tartarus (that huge machine..thing that belonged to Moh’s men). Luke wakes up on the ship and joins the rest of the group. Tear then explains how the world everyone lives in now is actually not the “crust” of the world. They live on the outer layer that is supported by pillars in the underworld/real crust Qliphoth. About two thousand years ago Qliphoth was poisoned with miasma and Julia, reading the score, devised a plan to move all the people above ground. Tear and higher ups in the Order know about Qliphoth (also Tear is from Qliphoth). Akzeriuth has ceased to exist because Luke destroyed the pillar holding it up. Luke tries to make excuses on why he did it and that Van made him….but the rest of the group is really pissed off at Luke. The group makes it to Yulia City to regroup I suppose. Luke is being a little bitch and Tear is trying to get him into gear when Asch comes out of nowhere. Asch is pretty pissed and lets the cat out of the bag: Luke is Asch’s clone. Luke is too shocked to understand what is being said and tries attacking Asch. Asch kicks his butt and goes to stab him with Tear screaming LUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE!

Opps?

Well, that was a lot of information and a lot of :O moments. Had the show done a better job of hiding the CLONE factor it would have been much more shocking. However, I suppose the writers just wanted us to react to Luke finding out he was a clone; we weren’t suppose to find out with him.

Surprisingly not surprising.

Despite the fact Luke has been lied to all his life and he is really not who he thinks he is…WHAT AN ASS! Does Luke even know what an ambassador is? Or rather does he know how to be a decent human being?! What a jerk, leaving all those people to suffer and just to think about himself. There was about one line where he wanted to hurry so he could destroy the miasma all at once. But other than that one line, he was only thinking of himself and how to be a hero. If you have t o try to be a hero, you aren’t.

A loving ruler he shall be!

Asch is looking better and better every single episode. I am not quite sure why he would be leagues with Van still after being kidnapped and all, but then again I don’t know all the background information on that. Next week looks really cute with the two chibi Lukes and how tough Asch had it. I hope that Asch hooks up with the rest of the group as he is much more likeable being questionably evil than Luke being good.

And he has a way with words!

Despite Luke being a major asshole the entire episode, I really do think it is unfair for the group to blame the destruction of the city on him. Okay, yeah Luke sorta blasted away the pillar that was holding up Akzeriuth, but he was being tricked. Besides, he is stupid anyways! You can’t yell at him for being stupid, and then get upset at him for not being smart enough to see through Van’s true agenda. I rather have had the group just been mad at Luke for not helping the people, not for blowing the place away. Hell, Ion was privy to all this outer crust, inner world information and he didn’t stop Luke from blowing up the FON MACHINE! So yeah, there is a lot of Luke yelling going on, but let’s keep it on things that are actually his fault.

It was not totally obvious he was up to no good...

The more I watch this show the more I see the “game aspects”. Not that I have played this game, but I have played similar ones. The whole underground world was reminisces of the Final Fantasy games with the underworld (yes, I am old school). When tear went to go investigate the fon stone, a mental image of “Tear has left the party” popped up in my head. Natalia was running around performing cure 3 on a few people and had the team stopped at a town before Akzeriuth, they could have bought some Phoenix downs for everyone. Of course, I thought the most game like aspect of this episode was the nonexplanation on why the towns people didn’t just LEAVE. Yeah, that part was massively special.

"Tear leaves the party".

So Luke knows the horrible truth: he is a clone and a pawn in the grand scheme of things. So not only is he an asshole, but an expendable asshole. He better start treating everyone better now that people know he is not the real deal. I am all for “loving” a person no matter how they come into this world *snuggles the Syaoran* but they have to at least…but a decent human being. Of course I see Luke as not seeing this truth as an opportunity to change himself and become a better person, but another factor in his quest for the never ending pity party. Other bloggers have been hinting at something major happening next week. That is pretty exciting as I thought Luke being the clone would be the most exciting factor of this show. Perhaps it will reveal how everyone is a clone or something…or at least Ion. Here is waiting 7 long days for answers.

Aw, tiny Asche is so cute when he isn't being an asshat!

Kannagi Episode 7

Repressing...the urge to sing the South Park parody...

Jin is staring at the door handle to his closet. Apparently Nagi is holed up in there, claiming that she will never come out. Jin has wronged her in such an egregious way he shall never be forgiven and she will live off his stolen snacks and be worshipped from the closest. Tsugumi comes over to bring Jin his vegetables and fried eggs when she hears that Nagi has been wronged. Tsugumi tells Nagi that as women they are often wronged and she is on her side. When Jin sees that Tsugumi is failing to make a connection, he calls up Akiba for backup. Zange makes her way over to the house and comes up with an awesome plan to drag Nagi out of the closet. Unfortunately sexing up Jin only makes Tsugumi jealous. Slowly the rest of the art club comes over and hears that Nagi is in the closest. They each offer up their own opinions/useless information about the situation. Akiba finally arrives and there is a dramatic boy love scene. The reason Nagi is in the closet is finally revealed: Jin accidentally recorded over her TV show. Jin was actually trying to record a show he thought she would like, but accidentally used her tape. Luckily Akiba and the magic of SONY has brought over a recorded copy. Later, after everyone leaves, Jin sits in front of the closet and apologizes sincerely to Nagi. Unfortunately she has already left the closet to get snacks…and now Jin is pissed and demands she go back in the closet. During the credits, Nagi watches the tape…and it turns out not to be very epic or worth all the drama that occurred during the episode.

Such true true words!

X_X Seriously? Did that just happen? Did that whole episode just take place over a tape and a closet? I suppose the episode really seemed bizarre and overdramatic after watching Tales of the Abyss. It is hard to compare the tragedy of taping over a taped over show to the destruction of an entire city.

Kids these days have nothing better to do than hang out in front of closets.

I am actually happy we found out WHAT Nagi was so upset about. I have known some series to just let us keep wondering about those stupid little details. Viewers will imagine the worst or the craziest scenarios. Given Jin’s perverted nature I assumed he had done something “accidental” sexual to her. On remembering that Nagi really does not have modesty, I thought perhaps he has broken her magic girl wand. I really wasn’t disappointed in the lame reason on why Nagi was in the closet as I was expecting it to be stupid.

How very understanding of you...

The product placement in this episode was pretty special. I highly support product placement and think they should take it one step further. Code Geass had pizza hut, this week’s To Aru Majutsu no Index had McDonalds. I think it is high time for Nagi the goddess to get some Nikes or eat some Eddy’s.

It's a SONY!

You have to appreciate Jin’s natural…boyness. He probably could have cared less about Nagi being in the closet at first. He is mad that his efforts to be kind have failed and now he is being called evil. Instead of wanting Nagi out of the closet, he wants her to stop stealing his drinks and save his pornos in the closet. He is such a typical male…and that is what makes the scenario more fun.

And in typical boy fashion...he will always lose.

The rest of the art gang coming over during the Closet incident was a typical anime ploy. Everyone just randomly shows up at a character’s house with no real explanation. The writers just have to get them there so everything can be more chaotic and unbelievable. Akiba’s dramatic arrival was the best moment of the show. The weirdest/crappiest drawn episode of the show was when the impurity/spider was trying to attack everyone.

Such love between men...

The writers MAKE me see the yaoi I swear.

At the end of the day, Nagi is a special SPECIAL little god. Once someone who guarded the land and made sure all her people were protected has been reduced to a silly child who gets angry when her TV show gets taped over. The plot seems to be going rather slowly, but Nagi’s antics make it worthwhile!

The Nagi god is displeased!

Yozakura Quartet Episode 7

THE CAKE IS A LIE!

Rin the stupid is asking her boss what all the food is for. He explains to her that the festival is coming up and he must be prepared...and so should she. It turns out it is the Nana-gou Festival in honor of the...Nan-gou. Most of the townspeople are either helping with the festival or enjoying the booths/food. All the "main characters" (including the stupid) help out in some way. Yuuhi even shows up....to stare at girls in their priestess outfits. After all the playful preparations are over, things take a more solemn tone. Akine and Hime take part in a ceremony involving the dragon spear and praying to the Nan-gou. It was very dramatic and rehearsed ceremony. After the very somber experience....everyone but Akina gets sloppy drunk. And I mean EVERYONE! It was pretty hilarious watching everyone lose their minds. Hime drunkenly told Akina later she hopes everyone can just be happy. Which of course are the magical words you say right before something goes wrong. Eijin is up to no good and kidnaps Ao. Inozuka comes over to the hangover gang's office to tell them of the kidnapping. Ao wakes up to Eijin taunting her. Eijin tries to stab himself and force Ao to kill him, but she can't do that to her brother. The hangover gang show up and it is face down time!

This episode was pretty good. It was sorta typical in the sense oh, it is a festival and everyone is having a great time. That means trouble is around the next commercial break. So it really wasn't SUCH a surprise when the tone got down right serious. Despite it being obvious, it was still well done.

Aw, how can you not like that face!

I always like festival episodes. I enjoy seeing everyone dressed up and having a great time. It sorta makes me want to go to Japan even MORE. Parties here in the U.S. just seem too loud and annoying compared to those in Japan. I suppose the closest thing to a festival we have here would be a carnival...and that is nowhere near as cool as a festival. So this episode automatically got cool points in my book just for that factor alone.

Hime is much cuter than Akina in her traditional outfit.

The funniest drunkie was Kyosuke. That probably has to do with the fact he is also the most serious out of the main characters. With any scenario the serious character is more amusing when they are falling down drunk and being what they try so hard to be above. Kyosuke and his sister complex is also amusing and how he hates Akina solely for that reason. Akina is LIKED by his sister, thus he must be a bad leader. Of course Akina played up Kyosuke’s headache and got back at him, so it was more or less even at the end of the episode.

Clearly this is a serious moment.

I really liked Hime this episode. She was a very serious as her official role as mayor, but still knows how to have a good time. It was amusing to watch Hime get ignored at the party. She truly experienced something magical and spiritual and yet everyone wants to talk about the food. It was cute how Hime wanted Akina’s attention more than anyone else’s…or was that just me? Okay, maybe that was just me but I can pretend. Now if we could just get an explanation about that scarf…..

HELP! Delusions of self importance!

Poor little Ao has been kidnapped. I am not sure why Eijin wanted so long to kidnap her, but he has finally gotten around to it. The cheesecake scene was so cute and bittersweet, as the viewers knew it was either a memory or not real. Gin was probably a very sweet brother (minus the molesting opening scene) and it is sad to see him turned into such a twisted character. I truly hoped he will have a happy ending and not go the way of Silver.

We aren't good enough to get a face to face death threat?!

There was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much Rin in this episode. How many people live in this town?! Aren't there plenty of other people who have lived there longer than a minute who could have helped with the ceremony? No, of course not. Rin had to be right in the midst with the main characters. The only saving grace was that her ugly hate was apparently run over by a car and eaten by a car. Maybe next time she will be too.

No, changing your outfit doesn't make you cute!

So Eijin and Inozuka are up to no good. It is too early in the series to have the epic showdown so I am not expecting the grandest of battles next week or any casualties. I am curious what Yuuhi meant by not getting involved or what Eijin plans to accomplish with this little stunt. Perhaps Gin can be saved and Eijin can go possess someone else. Or maybe Eijin was feeling left out and had to remind the drunkie gang he is the bad guy. Way to go spoiling the good time and cheese cake you evil, evil Villains!

They will just stand by and do nothing apparently..

Vampire Knight Guilty Episode 7

Oh…I guess since I just wasted 22 minutes of my life watching this episode. Might as well spend the rest of the hour blogging/warning people about how LOVELY my experience was.

And why is this series popular again...

What happened first? Oh yeah, I wasted like 10 minutes trying to find a site that didn’t hurt my eyes. Most of them had the same awful quality video, but one sucked less than the rest. Then I got some tasty ice cream to make the experience much more enjoyable. Ice cream can make almost everything better.

So it turns out that Shiki is not possessed by his father, but Kaname’s Uncle. Kaname tries to kill Uncle Meanie, but Ichijo protects him. He really is just trying to protect Shiki and his body, but Kaname is all upset that Ichijo is “supporting” the council. Rima knows something is up, but won’t tell the others. Uncle Meanie calls Ichiru a loser for failing to give Yuki his blood, but he can still use him. Oh and Yuki is still having her nightmares and visions of blood. Zero is getting increasingly worried for Yuki. Ruka gets a visit from Uncle Meanie and he manhandles Ruka in her room. Kain apparently has super senses and comes to Ruka’s rescue. Ichijo then steals the super senses and comes to Uncle Meanie’s rescue. Ichijo convinces Kain and Ruka to not tell Kaname about this tiny little misunderstanding. Yuki confronts Kaname again and demands answers. She starts having more flashbacks and passes out before Kaname could make up more excuses not to tell her. Kaname then takes Yuki to the headmaster. He seems very pensive and apologies to Kaname’s dead mother. Uncle Meanie and Ichijo have a HAHA meeting outside (Yuki’s room I believe). Kaname breaks it up, but Uncle Meanie gloats and says even without his blood, Yuki will still turn. Yuki is having a rough night sleeping again with random flashbacks and the room covered in “blood”. Zero tries to comfort Yuki and tells her the person she really wants and needs is Kaname. He leaves Yuki and Kaname appears in the window sill all dramatic like. Yuki goes cries into his arms. Zero runs in to see Kaname doing something weird to Yuki’s head and whisking her away. Yuki is in and out of consciousness and Kaname tells her it is time for her to awaken. He bites her, and then kisses her with a mouth full of blood. Everyone on campus seems to know what is up except Yuki. Zero appears out of nowhere and is pissed Yuki is now a vampire. Zero goes to blow Kaname’s head off, but Yuki begs Zero not to kill her brother.

Woohoo. We found out part of Yuki’s past. Yay. Oh praise the suspense and melodramatic last 7 episodes.

Blood scares Yuki, but not vampires. Makes perfect sense.

Yeah, that sounds a little bitter. I suppose that it would have been better for me had asshat losers on crunchyroll not ruined most of the surprise for me. But that is only part of the reason really. Instead of wanting to know the secret because I wanted to REALLY know, I was more like….can you please just tell us to move things along? It wasn’t an anticipated MOG moment. It was more like thank GOD Yuki can stop crying all over the damn place.

So Kaname is Yuki’s brother (maybe). Not that it was a HUGE secret since Yuki kept having visions of Kaname’s mother. Oh and yeah, Yuki looks exactly like her. Anywho, I am glad Kaname’s last line was about how he wished he was her real brother. That lets me know that they aren’t real siblings and I don’t need to barf at the fact Yuki has been pinning over Kaname forever and that they just made out. However, the asshat spoiler people opened their gums about more spoilers so I might barf before this series is done!

Don't kill my brother who just made out with me!

Yuki….is the biggest idiot on the face of the planet. I am pretty sure I already said that or greatly implied that, but anime Yuki is so not likeable to me. She is just pathetic. If there is a stronger word for pathetic please let me know. Not to mention dumber than a pile of rocks. “What is in my neck?” Um, let me see. You go to a school full of vampires, you have let Zero suck on you before…yeah, those would be teeth. Manga Yuki should be pissed off at this weak version of herself. There have been other “vulnerable girls” in anime before and if they are written correctly, I feel for them and their pain. Yuki is not one of them.

What could POSSIBLY be in my neck?!

I think there is hope for Aido! Ichijo might be top on Kaname’s s*** list now. REJOICE FOR AIDO’S SAFETY! Thank you Ichijo for giving Aido even 5 extra minutes of life. Your sacrifice will not be in vain! If Aido plays his cards right, he might even LIVE at the end of the series. The rest of the Night Class ain’t looking so hot, but he is no longer Kaname enemy number one. That alone might make the 22 minutes worth it.

Poor Ichijo will lose because he protects his friends...

Zero is slowly losing his mind. Perhaps it is prolong exposure to Yuki that is causing his brain to melt. I could understand if that was the case. But I am pretty sure that Zero told Yuki that all she wanted was Kaname. He didn’t seem to be overly upset over that fact; more like he was accepting reality. So not ten seconds later when Yuki GETS a Kaname hug, why did he freak the hell out? She did just strangle Zero…perhaps he was suffering temporary memory lose or some jazz like that. Regardless Zero, stop pretending to be the martyr. I understand you have flat out told Yuki you love her and she still doesn’t get it. You need to step it up and ….ignore her at every turn and never answer her questions. Then she will fall in love with you!

Just be like him and she will love you in no time!

This series is turning into one huge let’s all have a secret party. Kaname is hiding (or was hiding) a whole lot from everyone but the headmaster. Aido is hiding that he knows the truth about Shizuka’s death. Ruka and Kain are now hiding the fact Uncle Meanie attack Ruka. Ichijo is hiding his loyalty to Kaname apparently. It will be amusing next week if all these secrets blow up in everyone’s faces next week! That would be entertaining!...But I doubt that will happen. I just hope this whole Uncle Meanie/Shiki’s dad/Kaname’s real parents issue is explained next week. If it’s just 22 minutes of Yuki screaming Kaname is her brother and Zero and Kaname pissing on each other I might just scream. Let’s hope the neighbors aren’t light sleepers.

Because having secret meetings are no fun!

See, just a little misunderstanding! Nothing to see here!

Skip Beat Episode 7

Kyoko has scared Ruriko into thinking her job is in danger. Kyoko starts off by lying in pain on the ceremony floor, but once ACTION is screamed, Kyoko slipped into perfect hostess mode. The crew is in awe of how Kyoko can remain so calm under such pain. Ren might be in awe, but he decides to bully Kyoko instead. Kyoko gets lost in his serious demeanor and finds herself reacting correctly according to the script, but only because Ren lead her that way. Ruriko starts getting pissed and really worried. Suddenly the director calls cut as it is clear Kyoko is about to pass out. Kyoko is so focused on maintaining a calm face in front of the customer, just like Sho’s mother use to tell her. The second Ren leaves the set Kyoko passes out and all is frantic. While Kyoko is being wheeled away, Ruriko goes up to the director and begs for another chance. While Ruriko recovers, the director reveals that he was never going to give Kyoko the role. This was all just to light a fire under Ruriko’s butt and to have her really appreciate her job. As a result, Ruriko gives Kyoko 100 LOVE ME points. Kyoko thinks she doesn’t deserve them as she was trying to steal Ruriko’s job out from under her. Ruriko insists she did as Kyoko made her see the light. Kyoko insists she did not deserve to win as she passed out and wasn’t as strong as she could have been. Ruriko starts admiring Kyoko so she has to stomp off before she admits she likes Kyoko. The director gives Kyoko a picture of her in costume and she acts like that is the best gift in the world. Kyoko tells the director she did not deserve to win as she was only following Ran’s lead and she must become a great actress with her own abilities. Ren and his manager take Kyoko back to her room. She has a mini melt down as she realized she succeeded in the tea ceremony due to Sho indirectly. Ren tires to cheer her up, but he only ends up taking away 10 of her LOVE ME points when she states she is still out for revenge.

This was another excellent episode. Not as good as the last one, but it is never as interesting when two girls start getting along than when they were trying to claw each other’s eyes out. :) But Kyoko is enjoyable whether she is succeeding at life or blindly devoting herself to a diva.

Kyoko can only be Kyoko.

Kyoko mastered the outdoor tea ceremony. I never doubted Kyoko for a second as she gets beyond determined when she sets her mind to the task at hand. She remained focus and probably could have finished the scene. She might have DIED but would have died knowing she did her best.

Picture perfect!

I think Kyoko did a lot of growing in this episode. Instead of getting a big head about the acting scene, she gives props to Ren for pulling out her emotions. She is using techniques that she learned because of Sho and moving closer to defeating him using said skills. She realizes that it is not going to be a walk in the park and that she is going to have to work hard to become a star and in the end, she will be a much better talent than Sho because of that.

YAY for realizing that dreams take hard work!

I am still not a fan of Ren’s. I am not sure when he starts becoming likeable, but it wasn’t this episode. His acting technique is too overwhelming and causes his coworkers to feel uncomfortable. Kyoko did everything in her power to succeed at this task and he STILL takes away her LOVE ME points. Who cares if Kyoko’s reason isn’t the BEST reason in the world?! It is still HER reason. Sometimes people start things for “lame reasons” but later change their resolve. Taking away Kyoko’s points isn’t the way to show her the light.

Kyoko is great at resisting his charms!

Ruriko is still a pretty good character in my mind. She realized a little too late that Kyoko is a demon will stop at nothing to reach her dream. Ruriko had a few selfish moments, but she realized that she does suck at life and ends up giving Kyoko props later. She even gave Kyoko 100 LOVE ME points! I suppose that is the most important thing after all. I wouldn’t mind Ruriko being around more, but not at the expense of Kyoko’s career.

Kyoko still steals every scene!

I was very disappointed in the director. :( I am sad this entire competition was just a way to get Ruriko to stop sucking at life. I really thought Kyoko really had a chance of staring in this…um…what it was. …It is just sad that Kyoko keeps trying her best and she is just a pawn in someone else’s game. Kyoko really deserves her own chance; she shouldn’t be a stepping stone for other people.

The best part of the episode is Kyoko’s simple loves in life. Something most people take for granted like make-up is cherished very dearly to her. She thought an awesome consolation prize was a picture…OF HERSELF! She really is a simple girl at heart and probably would have been happy just being Sho’s wife. Hopefully she will experience more of the world and learn she is worth more.

Kyoko is too cute for this industry!

Clannad After Story Episode 8

Bonding with your boyfriend: fail.

Yukine is pretty tired after all that drama that went on with the other gang. Nagisa gets the bright idea that Yukine should rest all over Tomoya. Sunohara is a little jealous of Tomoya getting more girl action, but his rant is cut off because of Tomoyo. She really doesn’t have much to add to the plot except that if things do not get under control soon the police are going to arrest everyone. Kazuto’s gang gets beat up because of a rumor Kazuto beat them up that night (even though it was Tomoya). Everyone is getting riled up and Yukine wants to go talk to the other gang members in hopes of calming them down. Tomoya goes with her because that is the sensible thing to do. Even though the other gang members like Yukine, they can’t back down because Kazuto is such a threat. They do however agree to settle things in a one on one with the gang leaders. So…Yuu decides that since Sunohara sorta started this mess, he can continue pretending to Kazuto and do the one on one fight.

Now would be the time to run....

On the day of the fight, Nagisa gives Kazuto’s gang her mother’s special bread. Everyone but Tomoya has a piece and everyone but Tomoya falls on the ground and nearly dies from grossness. Tomoya steps up and decides he will get his face pounded to obtain peace. And his face pretty much gets pounded into the ground, but he manages to get a few good hits to the rival gang leader. Tomoya and the gang leader think things are settled now, but Sunohara and the others wake up…and decide to run and protect Tomoya. The other gang doesn’t want their boss to be hurt so they start running to the fight too. Suddenly a silhouette of a boy appears and everyone is like :O Kazuto! The rival gang leader punches the shadow in the face…and it’s Yukine. Everyone is like x_X and she starts crying and crying. She just wants the fighting to stop and only “Kazuto” could do so. The next day (or so it seems) everyone gathers at Kazuto’s grave. Yukine reveals that her brother and his friends often scared Yukine and she wanted to find out more about them at her brother’s funeral. She and others concealed Kazuto’s fate to somehow hold the peace together. Yukine said she was trying so hard to bring harmony to their town. As everyone pays respect to Kazuto, Tomoya seems a bright light flying towards the sky. Yukine explains later that there is a legend in the town. Whenever someone experiences a moment of happiness, it turns into a bright light. If someone can gather that light, their wish will be granted. Yukine says that few people can see the light and if Tomoya can see the light, it means that he is a very special individual. The episode ends with Yukine happy that everyone is getting along and Kazuto’s wish has been granted.

Because....they have penises.

But you still get your bitter sweet ending Yukine!

Well, I really love Clannad. The episodes draw me in and I feel close to the characters like their pain is my own. With that said…this episode felt pretty weak to me.

What do you mean weak?!

Knowing how Clannad works, Kazuko couldn’t be in the hospital. I mean Fuko is in the hospital, but she is also a creepy ghost kid running around with star fish carvings. If Kazuto really was around he wouldn’t let his gang or his sister suffer like that. It was pretty obvious that he was dead. Well, maybe not so obvious as there was the chance that Kazuko really was Yukine. Have we had a crossdressing this series yet? ..Well, regardless the TWIST was not as dramatic as the last arc. That is okay since Clannad isn’t supposed to be about the twists. It is suppose to be about how these kids deal with troubles in their lives.

Behold, I am Kazuko!

It is odd really. I felt sorrier for a cat last week than I did for dead Kazuko. I just didn’t feel as connected to Yukine. Her issues did not seem that big to me when in fact….her issue sorta affected the town. But really, when you got down to it, it wasn’t her issue. It was a bunch of guys her brother knew getting into fights. I would have felt more for Yukine if she was sad about HER brother’s death. But his death seemed to take a back seat to the fighting issue. I am not about to feel sorry for a bunch of boys who have nothing better to do than pound each other into the pavement. It’s not something that HAPPENED to them, something out of their control. Tomoya got hurt and couldn’t play sports anymore. Kotomi’s parents died in a plane crash, Shima is a CAT. These boys…just wanted to cause problems. There was no reason these “loners” could get together and make a family unit in a much safer way.

They aren't worth your tears.

I feel as if Yukine’s arc was there to explain the orbs to Tomoya and the gang. It was a small step to getting the show to the “main plot” and planting seeds in viewers minds (the ones who haven’t played the game of course). I can see why Yukine wasn’t made a “main girl” as I feel her storyline wasn’t strong enough. It just seems that everyone gets to have their own arc in this anime and Yukine could not be left out. She does seem the more logical choice as she is the more …well, logical person out of the whole series.

Tomoya is pretty calm even though strange things ALWAYS happen to him...

Nagisa seemed very useless in this episode. In fact, she was UNhelpful as she nearly killed a large group of people with her mother’s magic bread. I am not sure I could just sit there and watch my boyfriend get pounded in the face FOR NO REASON! She hasn’t been acting like a main character lately and this episode I really didn’t like her at all. :( Sorry Nagisa.

What part of that looks safe?

Sunohara really stepped up his game this week. Okay, so he is a womanizer and was jealous of the lap scene. And yes he did start most of this crap by lying about who he was. But he was willing to get his face pounded to “protect” the town. And when he woke up and saw his best friend was hurt, he didn’t even hesitate to help him. Yes, he was MISTAKEN but he didn’t even stop to think about his own well being. Just a few episodes ago he was the one pounding Tomoya’s face in and now he is back to defending him. That is how true friendship should be.

Maybe he is taking after Tomoya instead?

Overall I was just not feeling this episode. I don’t understand why school council students have any interests in what students due after school (and when they aren’t even students of that particular school). I wasn’t feeling bad for these guys potentially going to jail. Just because you have a “broken” family life doesn’t mean you have a pass at being stupid. I didn’t really see nice guys, just a bunch of potential bullies. I wasn’t feelings that importance of Kazuko either. I realize that this series is supernatural. However, the slice of life moments just felt too overdramatic and stretched. This was probably the weakest episode so far from this season. Which all and all it wasn’t that bad. If it ends up being truly the weakest, Clannad still has a lot to be proud of. I just hope next week is more interesting.

Let me feel bad for morons who fight for no reason....

Hakushaku to Yousei Episode 6

Woot for caring so much about doing a task right!

Sweet Pea, another fairy, has arrived at Edgar's place and is upset at Marigold for not bringing the bridegroom to the queen. She really doesn't really care that the ring ended up on Paul's hand and is content with taking him to the Queen instead. Lydia and Edgar have a problem with that scenario and tell them to bounce. The argument is cut short when Kelpie shows up and declares the ring is for Lydia instead. Instead of being jealous of Kelpie, Edgar sends Lydia to get her painting done by Paul. During the session Paul reveals that when he was younger, there was a young nobleman who told him he had great potential. Paul wishes that kid was still alive so he could proudly show him his works. Later in a conversation Edgar practically admits that he was the young boy. Kelpie shows up during lunch and Lydia fends him off with a bible. Edgar later poisons him with liver or something. Raven finally shows up and he has been investigating Red Moon and Paul's past. Edgar seems vaguely concerned about what is going on, but he rather pick on Lydia instead. He keeps insisting that she is in love with Paul, but Edgar loves her. Lydia tells him to stop playing games and Paul shows up. Edgar then pretends to admit defeat. Kelpie shows up later at Lydia's place with a baby chick as a peace offering and she seems rather calm with him. Edgar meets with Lydia’s father later and they discuss the moon ring and the Queen. Edgar seems to gain a lot of information from this meeting even though nothing much is really said. Elsewhere Paul is meeting with shady person telling him that he has to poison Edgar so he can get revenge on his father. Edgar goes over to visit Lydia, but she really isn't in the mood for his games so she sends him on his way. Edgar confronts Paul and asks him why he was pretending he couldn't remove the ring. Paul gets flustered and tries to feed him the poisoned tea. When Edgar reveals that he was the young man who gave him hope to be a painter, Paul flings the tea away from him. A stranger then runs into the room and stabs Edgar. Raven explains to Lydia later that there was snake poison on the end of the knife and nothing can be done. Lydia says she knows what she has to do and leaves. Outside a girl who looks a lot like Raven is staring at the mansion and Raven senses her presence.

Well, if I had complained about this show needing to pick up the pace, I do take it back now. Apparently they heard me loud and clear and jam packed this episode for with information and lots of plot...maybe too much but it wouldn't be fair to complain about everything.

Edgar is either the master of mind games or really is in love with Lydia. It honestly gets annoying sometimes when he keeps telling her he loves her, but in such an insincere way. I wouldn't believe him either and it has nothing to do with the fact he is a con artist. There is just something inherently off about him. I really don't know how he gets pleasure from telling Lydia she is in love with other men, but apparently he does. Perhaps this is just part of his grand master plan to win Lydia's heart. It certainly is a new approach...

Don't I look believable?!

I had sensed that Paul was really up to no good. I am slightly jaded when it comes to anime now. If you seem like a nice guy, you must be working for evil. But Paul is the kind of bad guy who has just been misinformed and really is a sweet guy at heart. He is "bad" to avenge his father's death which is fairly excusable in my book. But I am sad that Paul is no longer engaged to Kelpie.

Poor confused bishie!

Kelpie grew on me a little bit this episode. Sure he is a not so nice "fairy" but he seems very loyal to Lydia. He is not flip floppin all over the place and saying things to confuse Lydia like some Earl I know. And look, he even brought her a present. Sure he ate the chick’s mother, but it is the thought that counts right? I am not sure why Edgar tolerates Kelpie's presence as he is more of a threat for Lydia's affections that Paul is. Perhaps that IS why Edgar is pushing Paul onto Lydia for that very reason....

Who doesn't love a man who brings you poultry?

Lydia is the same old Lydia. She feels strangely conflicted when it comes to Edgar, but I am not sure why. She is free to feel confused, but I don't know why she is so desperately trying to convince herself that Edgar does not like her. Perhaps she is afraid to love him herself so she rather give herself the excuse that it is just not possible. She seems rather wishy washy at times and I wish she would stand firmer in her beliefs.

Just one big happy love triangle!

There was a lot going on in terms of the plot. I am not quite sure why Pal would pretend the ring couldn't come off. I have no idea WHO this prince is. And I am beginning to think I have no idea what happened in Edgar's past either. Hopefully as the show progresses these things will be answered.

Answers are not available until next week. Please hold for answers.

Kuroshitsuji Episode 7

WTF IS GOING ON WITH THIS EPISODE?!

This episode was like the worst one so far for me. Not because the storyline or plot was bad; I just hate animal cruelty! I am not even a fan of dogs and this episode made me sick to my stomach.

Ceil has gotten an assignment from the Queen about a village that use to torture bears. Once that was outlawed, they decided to focus on torturing dogs. So Ceil and the gang head over to creepy village. They meet up with the lord of the land Henry and his servant Angela. This episode is really laying on the abuse as Angela is beaten in front of Ceil and Sebastian. After Henry is done making crack pots at Ceil for being so small, he tells Ceil that he is not interested in selling the land. Henry decides to threaten the gang with a curse that the demon dog will get them if they make him angry. Stupid maid later sees Henry licking Angela’s legs and almost passes out. Finny is too smitten with Angela to see some naked dog man hanging out outside. Suddenly danger is afoot and all the villagers gather outside. Earlier in the day a young man was happily playing with a kind and gentle dog. Well, now that guy is dead because apparently he has 6 dogs instead of the allowed 5. Sebastian and Ceil exchange a look. Despite the corpse and threats on their lives, they all head out towards the beach.

Ceil tells Sebastian to go get the evidence on the real demon dog. Sebastian leaves and the villagers get all in an uproar. They have found James dog and decided that it needs to be punished too. They tie it to a wall and let the other dogs attack it. Finny has a flashback of something horrible in his past and can’t stand by and watch the dog be killed. He goes to save it, but that ends with the entire gang being captured. Before the dogs can attack Ceil, Sebastian appears to protect them. Sebastian then reveals that Henry has made up the legend about the demon dog using simple tricks. The entire village mob turns on Henry and they take him to prison. Finny mourns the loss of James’ dog and commends him on protecting his master to the very end. Angela is seen later that night acting weird as the naked man dog is outside her window again. Henry is screaming for the villagers to let him go before the real demon comes and gets him. The last scene shows Henry lying dead in the same fashion as the dogs were.

And the true mystery is....

This episode was very disturbing. This entire village should be wiped off the map as every single one of the citizens are disgusting creatures. There is no excuse for animal abuse. Hell, one could argue that dog fighting has more honor that what took place in this episode and dog fighting is BEYOND detestable! At least in dog fighting the dogs have a chance! James’ dog was tied up and left for dead. Just simply disgusting.

A moment of silence for James and his dog please.

One could argue that Henry was really the main villain in this episode. It was no shocker that he turned out to be the bad guy (as the real shocker will be in the next episode, like in the Ripper arc). I really do hold all those villagers responsible for that gross display of animal abuse. Unless the villagers all the I.Q. of gold fish, why couldn’t they question why a demon dog would ALLOW for the punishment of DOGS! Wouldn’t demon dogs protect their own? They could have stood up and overthrew Henry a long time ago. Instead of being innocent, tricked victims they are just a repulsive mob who probably got off on all the blood and gory.

Mindless mob can turn on you in less than a second.

Finny’s random flashback was…well random. Seeing how this arc is not over yet, perhaps more will be explained. As it stands now, it just seems way out there and did not flow into the plot well at all. I am not sure what human experimentations have to do with dog killing, but I suppose Finny just felt the dog’s pain of being tied down. I SUPPOSE Finny is not as stupud as he has been previously. When he is not in the trio, he seems much more likeable. Of course next week his little heart will be broken when it turns out that Angela is a demon or something.

Random flashbacks are available for all scenarios.

Again, the mystery seemed kind of weak. Of course earlier in the episode Sebastian did comment that this case was not worthy of Ceil’s time and he was right. A drunk rookie cop could have figured out this mystery in less time that it took for Ceil to travel there. That is why Ceil stated there was another reason why he was going there (which would be the half naked dog man). It just seems like the first episodes in arcs are there to make sure Ceil gets to a certain place so he can uncover the MAIN crime.

Chibi is not impressed.

I am really glad there wasn’t many “comic” moments this episode. Last week when Ceil’s Aunt was lying there dead on the sidewalk, it was inappropriate be making jokes. Likewise this week it was inappropriate to be making small dog jokes and Ceil to be offended while a woman was being WHIPPED on the floor. This episode was really not a dark comedy as much as it was flat out socially uncomfortable and morally wrong.

Women getting beat is the perfect time for jokes!

If I had to pick a best moment this week, it would be when Ceil barked at Sebastian. It was both cute and a tad bit yaoi-like. But I am not a pervert you know. I swear it is all there if you watch it.

Okay, that was just too cute!

There really isn’t much to say about this episode. I think the gang’s reaction to James’ death verses his dog says a lot. There is just something really REALLY upsetting about an animal being abused/left for dead. I remember watching I am Legend and 95 percent of the ENTIRE human population died. The main character’s wife and daughter were killed right before his eyes. Yet what scene had everyone bawling their eyes out? That is right, Sam’s attack/death scene. That is how I felt this entire episode. I hope next week it is not as gruesome.

Shugo Chara Doki Episode 59

And so do bad writers!!!

Ikuto is at the planetarium looking up at the stars and pretending he doesn’t care about his missing violin. The first king shows up and tells Ikuto he needs to free himself from EASTER as his star is going in a different direction. Then the first king chara changes Ikuto because he has a cat fetish. Elsewhere Amu is chillin at home watching TV. They are broadcasting Utau singing in a mall somewhere. Eru pops up and tells Amu that Utau is having a concert…TONIGHT and she needs to go and help her get a big audience. Of course Utau tells Amu she doesn’t want her help. She changes her mind when Amu tells her the plan is to get Ikuto to come help by playing the violin. Utau too overjoyed to protest Amu’s help if it included Ikuto. Amu locates Ikuto in the park and learns…again that Ikuto’s violin is missing. Ikuto decides to pretend to be big and bad and teases Amu a little bit too much. Yoru is sad that Ikuto has to pretend he doesn’t care about Utau as he is trying to protect her from EASTER. Utau is sad that her brother isn’t coming to her concert, but she has matured a lot and has decided the show must go on. Amu is touched by Utua’s maturity and decides she is going to drum up some attendees. Meanwhile Ikuto has broken into EASTER’s lab to get his violin back. He gets caught and is unable to escape. Amu isn’t have great luck getting people to buy tickets, but Tadase, Yaya, and Rima show up to help. They all chara change and get attendees that way. Utau’s manager is pleased at the crowd and Utau is even MORE pleased when Ikuto shows up. Even though both Amu and Utau spot him, they fail to see he has been injured. The concert goes on and everyone is happy, even the hurt Ikuto.

I would like to start this review by asking a simple question: WHERE THE F*** WAS NAGIHIKO?! Since when has Nagihiko been an expendable character?! Did the writers just bring him back as a backup plan?! WHAT THE F*** IS WRONG WITH THE WRITERS?! Nagihiko is a guardian too! Even though Amu does not know the truth behind who Nagihiko really is, that is no excuse to limit his guardian activities! If the only reason Nagihiko was not included in this episode was the mere fact that that he can’t transform…then F*** you writers. Let’s just forget the fact that the Guardians transforming was beyond stupid and pointless anyway. Nagihiko is the brains of the group and could have helped out in other ways. This episode would have been better had Nagihiko been included and it is insulting to think that Nagihiko is a second rate character like Kukai. Kukai has an excuse for not being in every episode: HE IS NOT A GUARDIAN ANYMORE! …There are no words to express how disappointed I was in the writer’s decision to not include Nagihiko. So just…F*** you will have to do.

And what is MISSING in this picture?!

Was it just me or did everyone’s head look a little big this episode? It really reminds me of the days of Sailor Moon. Some episodes had perfect art and others looked like the entire A team was killed in a tragic bus accident and the B team was mauled by wild turkeys and the only team left was the C team. The art in this episode was definitely C team quality.

Quality art has taken a back seat recently...

Despite there being very little plot and the horrible quality of the art, this filler was more enjoyable. Anything that doesn’t involve a friend of the week or GOD FORBID Ami is okay in my book.

Cue the dramatic hurt scene!

This series really is getting geared towards kids. Only kids would not question why all the Guardians transformed in front of a huge crowed street like that. Every other shojo anime out there has them transforming in private at least. Only kids would not question why a manager would not do ANY advertising for her client and wait until the last minute to ask a 6th grader for help. And only a little kid would not question why Ikuto didn’t just JUMP away like he can when transformed and instead got beat up instead….That or I am truly am jaded and expect more from anime shows.

Ikuto can jump this...but not escape from EASTER goons.

The truth still remains that any episode with Ikuto in it is better than others (Of course I would say the same about episodes involving Nagihiko but the writers hate my soul). He just seems like a very tragic character, well as tragic as this show can be. He is the typical tough guy who doesn’t want to ask for help and you can’t help but feel sorry for his sad little life. Not that I enjoyed his best impression of TO CATCH A PREDATOR audition, but he still is a good fit with Amu. Much better than the boring Tadase who doesn’t even like her for who she really is. Ikuto is truly a good guy at heart and it baffles my mind how Tadase can be so stupid and not see that.

Hello my name is Chris Hansen with Dateline Japan.....

Despite Utau’s hair looking a hot mess, I really enjoyed her presence. She is the shows prime example about growing as an individual (which is much better than the shows other underline theme of too many dreams=bad). Sure she was disappointed that Ikuto couldn’t show up to her concert, but she didn’t let that keep her down. Before she might have just had a fit and not gone on, but she has realized if you really want to reach a dream, you have to grab it for yourself. I just feel bad she has a very lazy manager.

Woot for someone realizing their faults and GROWING from it!

I already mentioned how stupid the chara changes were, especially in front of all those people. It just seemed like a cheap ploy. Apparently the writers think it is not a true Shugo Chara episode if there is not a transformation scene. Call me silly, but I thought that is what character changes were for. The small things are for the magical hair pin changes and the enemies get the full on change. Not to mention they all looked like a bunch of circus freaks trying to beg people to attend a concert. That is not the kind of audience I would want for my friend. Utau deserves better than cheap gimmicks and fan boys/girls who think Amu/Tadase are just so cute.

I suppose this episode was also okay based on the fact that Lulu was not there. She really does not add anything to the plot and isn’t a very memorable boss/enemy. Ikuto and Utau were much better at demanding attention and being sincere in their reasons. Lulu is just bleh in my book and really isn’t worth much. The episode was much better without her there.

So yeah, there were some really great things about this episode and some really lame things. My favorite part would be Ikuto and the first king’s cat fetish. That scene was really too cute. Of course my least favorite aspect of the show as the great lacking of Nagihiko. Next week looks more like it takes place in school so there is a greater chance Nagihiko won’t be forgotten this time. However Nagihiko and Ikuto’s story will be put on hold for this new filler character. *sigh* Oh well….it can’t be any worse than last week’s episode I guess.