Random Curiosity

Summary:
With Mashiro missing, Arika is chosen to replace her in front of the visiting prince, who introduces himself as “Tokiha Takumi”. Nina introduces herself to him as Arika. The real Mashiro is having a dream where Nagi professes that he’d die for her and she starts whipping him (S&M style). She wakes up to see a guy playing with Mikoto in a place she’s unfamiliar with, a slum of sorts. The guy introduces himself as “Okuzaki Akira”, and Mashiro decides to use the name of Nina Wong. Meanwhile, Arika and the real Nina are riding in a procession through the city. Nina mentions that she knows about the contract between Arika and Mashiro. In order to keep that a secret, she asks Arika to forget everything that happened today (regarding losing the watch). Nina then notices that there are posters everywhere showing what the real Mashiro looks like. In fact, the real Mashiro tries to motion towards one of the giant posters, but it gets removed before “Akira” can see it. She mentions it’s her birthday, so “Akira” buys her a flower and pins it in her hair.
The royal procession makes their way to Garderobe, where Natsuki and Shizuru greet “Takumi.” Shizuru notices something about the prince, but doesn’t say anything. Sergay, who is walking with Arika, wishes her a happy birthday. In the city, “Akira” and Mashiro go and have fun, doing things that would be done on a date. Resting on the bench, Mashiro sees “Akira” taking the last of his medicine, but he assures her that he’s ok. He tells her that he’s searching for a person, but he knows that this person isn’t here. Instead, he’s in this city to experience what this person saw and felt. This person is, of course, his sister.
In her room after the tour is over, “Takumi” is revealed to be really Akira, a girl. As she starts undressing, Shizuru appears, apparently knowing that Akira was deceiving everyone. Arika opens the door and sees what looks like Shizuru and the prince kissing. Akira takes the opportunity to jump away and use a smoke bomb. Shizuru activates Arika’s robe and the two chase after Akira. The “Akira” who is walking around with Mashiro is of course the real Takumi. He makes some comments about the city, noting that the queen is having a birthday celebration yet there are people in the slums who have to worry about having bread to eat the next day and some even need to steal. Mashiro, holding up her lollypop, responds that they can eat candy if they don’t have bread. Takumi, seeing her naiveness, tells Mashiro that she seems happy. Suddenly he keels over in pain.
Akira, who dodges an attack from Arika, spots Takumi on the ground beside Mashiro. She goes in with weapon drawn and gets stopped by Nina. Nina grabs and pulls Mashiro away while Akira reveals who Takumi really is. Seeing Takumi in pain, Akira takes one of his pills and administers it mouth to mouth. Of course, the girls still think that Akira is a boy, so it looks like a boy on boy kiss. Later, Natsuki and Takumi discuss the Otomes, with Takumi taking a negative stance towards them. He feels that it’s wrong for an entire country’s fate to be burdened onto a girl. Natsuki replies that the current peace brought by the existence of Otome. Takumi then says that that power is what people are after, and the Otomes themselves suffer. Natsuki answers that they have a strict selection process, but then Takumi demands an explanation for the 「炎珠の紅玉」 (Enju no Kougyoku – Ruby of the Flame Gem). Takumi speaks of her as a strong person who was torn over love and her dream. The purpose of Takumi’s trip, however, is to convey Zipang’s non-intereference policy with all nations. Elsewhere, meanwhile, Sergay reads a letter with the Tokiha seal. That night, Natsuki stares at a picture of long ago when she was still attending the academy. The next day, Takumi and Akira leave, but before they do, Natsuki asks Takumi something about Mai that we don’t get to hear.

For anyone who was confused at all, or doesn’t know the HiME characters so well, the names traded are (Real Name -> Borrowed Name):
Takumi -> Akira
Akira -> Takumi
Mashiro -> Nina
Nina -> Arika
Arika -> Mashiro

I really can’t say enough good things about this show. This episode had me laughing so much, yet there’s so much plot development. Most of that development is from Takumi, who seems to have matured quite a bit from his days in HiME. He leads thoughtful discussions about the poverty in Vintoblum with Mashiro and then about the Otome with Natsuki. In the former, Mashiro says something that’s reminiscent of Marie Antoinette’s “let them eat cake” statement, though it probably wasn’t meant in the same manner. It really does show how naive she is towards ruling her people and the divide between the rich and the poor. I find it quite ironic that Mashiro was skipping out on a marriage interview, yet she ended up going on a date with Takumi, who is really the prince, anyway.
And just as much as Mai was all about Takumi in Mai-HiME, Takumi is all about finding his sister in Mai-Otome. This episode gives us a lot of information about Mai, the most we’ve gotten since the series started, including what appears to be her title. So let’s see, if Mai is a Pillar, then that makes all five: Mai (ruby), Natsuki (quartz/silver-ish crystal), Shizuru (amethyst), Rena/Arika (sapphire), and Haruka (topaz). Those are all people who have actual gems. And that photograph that Natsuki looks at features four of the five future Pillars on it.
Next episode is Akane-centric, and the preview has a very interesting shot of a shocked Shizuru getting part of her hair vaporized, but unfortunately there’s no Otome next week. Episode 13 will air on January 6th, 2006.

Closing Thought: Arika looks better with her hair down. She should keep it that way. Nina too…

Summary:
After she fainted in his apartment, Rin delivers Asa to the hospital, where she is not faring too well. After Rin gets angry at the doctors, Ama takes Rin out and asks him if he likes Asa. He affirms that he does, so she decides to tell him everything. She takes off her hat to reveal the ears, and tells about her involvement in the Yggdrasil Project and how she was found after the failed experiment, and subsequent explosion, by Asa’s father. Asa is therefore human, but inherited the magical powers of her mother. Those magical powers are building up in her human body and are threatening her health because she’s not using them. After learning this, Rin tries several times over several days to convince Asa to use her powers, but Asa refuses each time. She promises that it’ll be ok and that she won’t die. She tells him that she has a dream of them growing old together, and then going to the place overlooking the city where he confessed to her so that they can confess again. Asa then tries to untie some string on a present that Sia and Nerine delivered, but can’t, so Rin borrows a box cutter from a nurse.
Asa has another attack as Rin is talking to the nurse. Ama leads Rin out of the room, and Rin asks if Ama isn’t worried about her daughter. Ama turns around and tells him that she’s a mother, so of course she’s worried. But then she confides in Rin that she’s thinks he’s strong enough to save Asa. Later that day, when she finally wakes up, Asa finally tells Rin why she won’t use magic: because she considers herself to be human. She recounts her mother’s tears back then when Ama revealed her ears to her daughter and couldn’t stop apologizing. She wants to lead a normal life and doesn’t want her mother to be sad like that again. Rin is thus at a loss for what to do. When he’s getting a drink from the vending machine later, he still has the box cutter and briefly stares at it. Asa wakes up in the middle of the night and sees Rin muttering in his sleep. She apologizes to Rin, kisses him on the forehead, and leaves the hospital. Rin wakes up to find her gone, and he runs outside yelling her name.

There was this little gem too during the sponsors screen (with the boat).

We get to see Asa grow frailer and paler by the day, and she looks downright scary with no color in her skin and large bags under her eyes. Ama, who cares greatly about her daughter, finally reveals to Rin about her own past and the way for Asa to save herself, which Asa refuses to do. Ama tells Rin that she’s basically counting on him to save Asa, and Kareha tells him the same thing when she comes to visit. So Rin’s got a lot of pressure on him to save her, and that’s not even including his own love and how time is running out. But since he can’t convince her to use her magic, he’s at a loss about what to do. I’m glad they worked in the box cutter, because as a lot of people know, that’s gonna become pretty important next episode.
I loved Asa’s monologue about being human and lead a normal life, but I honestly just don’t understand why Asa refuses to use her magic. The ability to save herself, so that she can be with the one she loves and live her dream, is at her fingertips, yet she refuses to use it. And as a result, she’s putting herself through so much suffering and putting Rin and her mother through so much anguish. And her running away from the hospital will only result in Rin worrying and looking for her.
We’re now up to the final episode of SHUFFLE! Sadly, this is the only show that’s ending this season, yet taking next week off (the other shows ending being Suzuka, Lamune, and Paradise Kiss, all of which will air final episodes next week). The finale of SHUFFLE! will air on January 5th, 2006.

Summary:
Kazumi is having trouble sleeping because her mind is on Yuuji and Yukari/Shana, so she takes her dog for an early morning walk. She just so happens across the two of them, who are up admiring a view of the stars together after a training session. Meanwhile, Tiriel and Shudonai have a strategy meeting about the Cradle Garden, which Tiriel feels is invincible. During lunch, Ike, who had heard from Kazumi about what she had seen that morning, raises the subject with Yuuji, but Kazumi stops him and then runs off crying. Yuuji later guesses (correctly it seems) that Ike likes Kazumi. Meanwhile, Kazumi is crying to herself when Shana walks by. Kazumi calls Shana unfair, and accuses her of liking Yuuji. Kazumi then herself declares that she likes Yuuji and then effectively declares war over him. Under pressure, Shana almost admits that she likes Yuuji, but then a fuuzetsu envelopes them and freezes Kazumi. Even though Kazumi can’t hear her, Shana declares that she won’t lose.
But there are more urgent things at hand as Tiriel and Sorath have summoned the Cradle Garden in order to draw out the Nietono no Shana. Since it’s too dangerous for Yuuji to go, Shana enters the battle alone. After some introductions, Sorath and Shana lock swords. Shana loses that round, and then gets caught by the plant tentacles. Meanwhile, sneaking through the city, Yuuji is surprised when someone puts their hand on his shoulder. Back in the battle, Shana breaks free and seems to kill Sorath with a head on charge, but he turns out to be fine and grabs Shana’s leg as she tries to rush Tiriel. Searching for the root of their power, Shana flies up and spots the plant in another area. She gathers her power to strike it, but falls into Tiriel’s trap and gets captured.

Two exciting halves to this episode, the first culminating in a confrontation between Shana and Kazumi and the second comprised of the Shana vs. Sorath and Tiriel battle. They’re really packing a lot of plot into this episode, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Shana now has to fight a war on two fronts, one versus the Tomogara and the other versus Kazumi. As for Yuuji, the hand we see on his shoulder probably belongs to, based on the sleeve, Shudonai. What he’ll do with Yuuji, I dunno, but I doubt he’s hostile.
In her fight versus the siblings, Shana’s seriously outclassed by them and their (*laugh*) tentacle monster. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen blood in this series, but I do think this is the first time Shana bleeds like that. And now that the siblings have her, maybe Margery’s interference is needed to prevent them from getting her sword. From the preview it looks like she does indeed join the battle, but it also looks like Sorath gets his hands on the Nietono no Shana. We’ll see what happens, though not next week. Shana is taking a break next week, so episode 13 will air January 4th, 2006.

Summary:
Sitting alone, Suzuka remembers when she learned of Kazuki’s death. She had been so excited about his running that her sister accused even her of liking him. But then she got a call from Miyamoto telling her that Kazuki died in a traffic accident. After the memorial service, she went to pick up his stuff from the clubroom, but got emotional after seeing a message he wrote on the table about them aiming to be number one. She started crying after drawing a love-love-umbrella above their names, and lamented that because he died, she couldn’t answer his confession anymore.
Back in the present, Honoka finds Suzuka sitting on the steps outside her home and realizes that something must have happened with Yamato. Suzuka denies being involved with him, saying that they’re only friends, but Honoka knows better. She blames Suzuka attitude for being too wishy-washy. Suzuka counters by saying that Honoka doesn’t know what it’s like to have the person she likes die, to which Honoka replies that Suzuka doesn’t know what it’s like to have the person she likes to be taken from her. Suzuka runs away after Honoka tells her that Yamato will always wait for her. Soon after, Yamato arrives wondering where Suzuka went, and Honoka tells him to hurry towards the park.
Just as Suzuka is calming down and thinking that she’ll apologize to Yamato tomorrow, he shows up behind her. Wanting him to leave her alone for now, she runs away again, but slips and falls. She yells at him until he apologizes and says that he was worried about her. She tells him to stop, and says that if he’s nice to her any further, than she’d… She never finishes her sentence, but it’s clear that she wanted to say “like him”. When Suzuka says that she doesn’t want to go through this a second time, Yamato realizes that she’s still hung up over Kazuki. At wit’s end, Yamato pulls her in and kisses her. She’s shocked at first and eventually pushes him away. Several slaps later, she calls him the worst and leaves. Left alone, Yamato thinks that this is probably the end.

And we’re here, the climax of the series – the kiss (finally) between Yamato and Suzuka. Yamato realizes that if he doesn’t do something drastic, then their relationship won’t progress. Granted, he gets five slaps and feels pretty bad afterwards, but it’s definitely not over yet. Suzuka herself needs to get over losing Kazuki and move on to thinking about the present. She doesn’t want a repeat of last time, but I would think that she should have learned a lesson to be more honest with her feelings. As for Honoka, she tries to make it so that her relationship with Yamato didn’t end in vain with her conversation with Suzuka, and even tells Yamato where Suzuka went. She really deserves her own happiness (making me wish they had kept in the photo shoot stuff).
Next week is the final episode! Theoretically, the end of chapter 72 would be a great place to end the series, but that doesn’t seem like enough material for an entire episode. Hopefully they’ll do a good job with it regardless.

Summary:
We start with a girl in the yard of a rundown mansion, clutching the mark on her chest. Flashback to when this girl, named Sawai Akane, is in her room with her teacher Fukasawa Yoshiki banging on the door asking her to go to school. Apparently he comes every day, rain or shine, but all she does is stay in her room and talk to her internet buddy, whom she confides in. This person, who goes by the screen-name cheppo, agrees that Akane should use the Jigoku Tsuushin. After a day of thought, the constant noise of banging on her door – in her mind even when he’s not there – causes her to input the name.
The next day, Hajime is a guest speaker in Fukasawa’s class, but the teacher seems to have no control over his students. At the end of the day, he’s even scolded by a superior about Akane’s absence. As a result, he goes to Akane’s house and actually manages to have a talk with her, convincing her with his honest feelings to show up the next day. While talking with him in the teacher’s work room, Akane is momentarily left alone when Fukasawa gets called out. She decides to message cheppo, but is surprised when her teacher’s phone starts to vibrate. After sending another one just to make sure, she opens it and sees her screen-name, anemone, on it. She feels angry and betrayed, but after returning, he calms her down and later explains that he didn’t know that it was her. She tells him that their talks saved her, and she apologizes for putting his name into the Jigoku Tsuushin. After Fukasawa expresses interest, Akane tells him that the Jigoku Shoujo seemed lonely. Feeling tired of life himself, he then asks her to send him to hell. For the next several days, she thinks about it, noticing ever more the unhappy life her teacher is leading. Of course, she also remembers Ai’s conditions.
She finally does the deed and pulls the string one afternoon. Fukasawa wakes up on Ai’s boat, and realizes that he’s going to Hell. Ai shows him a vision of Akane and says that because of him, she’ll also be going to hell. After he hears Akane telling him to wait for her in Hell, Fukasawa starts to cry. Back in the real world, Hajime learns about the disappearance, but doesn’t think too much of it. More importantly, after he gets back into his car, Tsugumi starts to channel Ai again, repeating Ai’s words asking her grandmother if Hell is becoming paradise. What they don’t hear is Ai’s grandmother replying that it’s ok if the people involved are ok with it, and how it isn’t necessary to think about it any more than that. Meanwhile, alone, Akane feels strangely at ease standing by the abandoned mansion where she and her teacher talked.

Wow, just wow. This series continues to impress me when I least expect it. The art and animation for this episode is almost movie like, and they used several BGMs that I haven’t heard before. But the main draw is the plot and there’s so many themes going on in this episode. We start with a girl who has basically gone hikikomori, and a teacher who has trouble controlling his students. Fukasawa manages to redeem Akane, and then the themes change. When Fukasawa asks Akane to send him to hell, we’re confronted with a suicide/assisted suicide theme, and maybe even group suicide if you consider Akane to be killing her own soul’s future, since Akane knows all along that there’s a price to pay. But she willingly pays it because she can understand how her teacher feels. In his own selfish thoughts, Fukasawa didn’t know about that price, which makes him regret his request after the fact.
And then there’s the conversation Ai and her grandmother have at the end of the episode. They sent an innocent man to hell, but her grandmother justifies it by basically saying that he wanted it. Ai’s grandmother’s statements have been growing increasingly alarming, making me wonder if there’s not something greater at work here. As for Hajime, unlike previous episodes, he doesn’t catch on about what’s happening, despite having spoken about the Jigoku Shoujo with Fukusawa. And next episode does indeed look like it will be devoted to Ai and/or her past. Maybe it’ll be the first episode where no one goes to hell, except maybe Ai herself.

Well, my internet died around lunchtime today, and still hasn’t come back – Comcast is so unreliable – so I haven’t been able to really do anything online (writing this from a different connection at the moment). Jigoku Shoujo will get posted whenever the cable line decides to come back up. Hopefully this won’t drag into tomorrow and affect anything else.

Summary:
Komamura remembers when he first met Tousen and when he was first introduced to then vice-captain Aizen. In the present, after Aizen stops his sword, Komamura initiates ban kai. However, it never completes as Aizen appears in front of him and uses a blast spell to incapacitate him. With that out of the way, Aizen continues on with his explanation: he killed the entire Central 46, but he did so as soon as he heard about Rukia being found. Then he used his zanpaktou’s power to create the illusion that things were normal in there – Ichimaru, Tousen, and he all took turns giving orders in place of them. Aizen had decided to use the execution and the Soukyouku to get to the Hougyoku inside Rukia. However, in case that plan failed, as it did, Aizen prepared a back-up plan. After digging through Urahara’s research, he found an extraction method. Aizen pulls out and uses a device that transforms his hand, and plunges it into Rukia chest. Fortunately for Rukia, the hole created by the procedure heals after Aizen extracts the Hougyoku.
Aizen orders Ichimaru to kill Rukia, so Ichimaru shoots her. In an instant, Rukia is out of Aizen’s grip and in the arms of her brother, who took the hit from Ichimaru. Byakuya falls over soon after, and Aizen prepares to deal with this himself. That is, until Kuukaku and Jidanbou interrupt him, and then Yoruichi and Soi Fong appear out of nowhere, putting a sword at his throat. In fact, captains and vice-captains including Yamamoto, Kyouraku, Ukitake, Matsumoto, Hisagi, and Iba soon surround him. But Aizen has one more card up his sleeve. A light suddenly envelopes him, and a claw opens the sky to reveal numerous Menos Grande. As he is also engulfed in the light, Ichimaru turns around to say farewell and sorry to Matsumoto. Captain Commander Yamamoto tells them that it’s useless to try to penetrate the field, meaning that Aizen and company have effectively made their escape. Komamura suddenly bolts forward and asks Tousen where his justice is now. Tousen replies that whatever path he chooses is the path of justice. Aizen claims that he’ll now take his place in the heavens. His last words bid them goodbye, though he singles out Ichigo in particular for being an interesting human.
With the battle over, the fourth division squads rush in to treat all the injured. Captain Unohana arrives to see Inoue using an unknown healing technique on Ichigo. She herself goes to treat Byakuya, and then calls over Rukia so that her brother can tell her something. The sixth division captain explains that after his wife Hisana passed away, Rukia was adopted not because she looked like Hisana, but because she was Hisana’s sister. It was because of her dying request that he find and protect Rukia that he broke the rules and took her in. However, he swore that that would be the last time. When Rukia was sentenced to death, Byakuya had to decide on protecting her or following the rules, and it’s clear which choice he made. Because of that, Byakuya expresses his gratitude towards Ichigo, and apologizes to Rukia.

This episode covers four chapters, from 176 to 179, and they actually kept in all the Tousen parts this time. Actually, the biggest changes in this episode turned out to be the omission of the three gate guardians, and as a result of that, Kuukaku and Jidanbou made their entrance earlier than they did in the manga. Fairly minor, though the pacing for that scene did seem a little on the fast side.
So we get to hear the rest of Aizen’s story and also why Byakuya acted as he did. Not only was Aizen the bad guy, he was in cahoots with, surprise surprise, the Hollows and what appears to be a greater power. Aizen has now figuratively (and literally) ascended to power, and he’s definitely going to be one of the major bad guys after the current arc ends. Still, the crushing his glasses and changing his hairstyle part is a bit over the top. As for Byakuya, we learn of the promise he made and the decision he had to make. In the end, he decided on the side of the rules, but Ichigo’s interference saved Rukia. And despite not really being featured in this episode, Ichigo is the guy everyone has their eye on, from Aizen to Byakuya.
No Bleach for the next two weeks. Episode 63, a one hour special, will air on January 10th.

Summary:
When they were young, there was a typhoon during which the power went out, and Kenji jumped the gap between their houses to comfort a scared Nanami. It was at this time that Nanami showed Kenji that her fish hairpin glowed in the dark. Fast forward to the present, and another typhoon is coming. Kenji and Nanami, who are working in the fields after having returned from their trip, get caught in the storm. Nanami’s stomach started hurting earlier, but she assured Kenji that it was nothing. At home, Kenji is thinking about giving Nanami the other hairpin when he hears her yell from outside in the rain. He opens the balcony door to see her jumping across the gap. After she begs him, Kenji decides to let her stay for the duration of the typhoon. A lightning strike once again takes out the power, and Nanami jumps on top of Kenji out of fear. But soon after Kenji gets up from the bed, Nanami starts to have stomach pains again, this time much more severe. The telephone lines seem to be out, and Kenji is panicked about what to do. He finally decides to personally pull the horse-cart, with Nanami in it, to the hospital.
The next morning, Nanami’s mother wakes Kenji up in the lobby to tell him that it was a case of appendicitis and that Nanami is ok now. When Kenji goes to Nanami’s room, the first thing he does is hug her. As she recovers, Kenji goes to work out in the fields, re-growing all of the damaged plants. The days go by until Nanami is finally released from the hospital. Kenji fixes up a Nanami-special watermelon and tapes the blue hairpin onto it for her. However, on the way back, the side of the hill gives away, causing a landslide. Kenji spots the gap in the road too late, and goes flying off his motorcycle and bouncing on the concrete. Back at the fields, Nanami arrives looking for him. She spots the hairpin on the watermelon and happily puts it on. But when she calls out for Kenji, he’s nowhere to be found.

Quite an impressive episode – animation is superb – with a few twists I wasn’t expecting. Nanami’s the one who is hospitalized during the typhoon, but Kenji’s the one who looks like he’ll need the most help after what happened at the end of the episode. I do have to say that Kenji has one heck of an endurance, able to pull a cart with Nanami in it all the way to the hospital during a typhoon – and he isn’t wearing a raincoat, nor does it appear that he gets sick afterwards.
As for their relationship, Nanami and Kenji are acting more and more like a couple, even snuggling a few times during the episode. Kenji puts so much work into their garden so that Nanami doesn’t have to see it ruined. And now that he’s had an accident, I assume that it’s Nanami’s turn to show her dedication for him. It’s interesting to note that she isn’t wearing the blue hairpin in any of the preview shots, so maybe she’s saving it for when he recovers? Anyway, Lamune has gotten pretty darn good these past few episodes, and there’s only one more week of it left! :)

Summary:
Ryo and Shanin board Lee Taijin’s boat for a funeral service for Chengda, Lee Taijin’s brother. Lee Taijin remembers how his brother was the one who brought him and his wife Shanpin together, and then later convinced him that he should have a child. The crime boss is saddened that his brother sacrificed himself, but Ryo tells him that Chengda enjoyed his life and smiled often. Chengda even told Ryo that he considered Shanin to be just like his own daughter. His will asked for his ashes to be spread out at sea, and Lee Taijin, Ryo, and even Shanin grant that request. Shanin’s participation brings tears to the old man’s eyes. On the way back, Shanin tells Ryo that she wants her ashes thrown out to sea when she dies, but Ryo tells her that it’s too early to be worrying about that. Their destination is home, and apparently Shanin instinctively knows where home (Ryo and Kaori’s home) is. After she takes in Kaori’s room and tells herself/Kaori that she’s back, Shanin heads to the roof where Ryo welcomes her back to the place where she belongs.

The first part of this episode serves to show some of the past of Lee Taijin and his brother, though it doesn’t feel all that important to the overall story. But I really like how they stylistically did the second part, Shanin/Kaori’s return to “home.” The insert song, 「Rebirth」 by kitago-yama, seems to have been written specifically with this in mind and I think it fits the scene perfectly. There’s actually two insert songs this episode, with 「Wings of Love」 by TOKU being the other one that’s played during the flashback scene.
Shanin returning home, and saying that she’s back to the reflection of Kaori seems to show that, for the first time, she’s at peace with herself in a place where she feels she belongs. This is a great place to conclude the first set of episodes, and ironically enough, there’s no Angel Heart for the next two weeks. I say ironically only because this is a period when other shows take breaks too, so it’s not just because they’re at a good stopping point. But anyway, Angel Heart will return January 9th, 2006.

「一輪の花」 (Ichirin no Hana), performed by HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, is Bleach’s 3rd OP song. To be frank, I’m not quite as excited about this song as I was when I first heard it, probably because it’s been several months since it premiered, but as usual, it’s nice to hear the full version of the song. The PV features the group standing around and singing in black and white, which eventually becomes color. Nothing terribly exciting, but it’s a good watch for fans of the song and the group.

Special thanks to doobie for uploading the PV.

Summary:
Elis has been busying herself with housework, although she screws up at vacuuming and forgets to buy meat for the sukiyaki. After dinner, Hiroki answers a call from a relative who wants them to baby-sit her daughter Haruna. When she arrives the next day, Haruna is more interested in her book than playing with Hiroki or Elis. Elis asks Haruna if she wants to go somewhere, and Haruna decides that she wants to have an adventure based on the book she’s reading – The Secret Castle of Gandhara. The three dress up and traipse to the park, to a gashapon vending machine, and to a cafe. At the gashapon machine, Haruna’s searching for the yellow capsule reminds Hiroki of Elis doing the same when she was young.
Haruna gets tired by the end of the day, so Hiroki carries her up to a place overlooking the city with a view of the sky. On the way up, Hiroki recounts to Elis how she always wanted a piggyback ride too. Hiroki feels that he’s always been the princess’ bodyguard, to which Elis replies that she’s always been brother’s little sister. After Elis pretends to say an incantation, the moon appears, dazzling Haruna. The little girl decides that Hiroki and Elis should kiss, which freaks Elis out. She prepares herself, but Hiroki lifts Haruna between them so that they both kiss Haruna’s cheeks. The three return home to clean up and have dinner. Haruna ends up sleeping in Elis’ room, so Elis sleeps on Hiroki’s bed, and Hiroki sleeps on the floor. After Haruna leaves the next day with her mother, Elis apologizes to Hiroki for making him worry before, and says that she’s ok now.

What a waste of an episode, only scene worth watching was the kiss part, and that alone is not enough to keep the episode afloat. After rewatching this, I realized it’s not quite such a bad episode. The main point of this episode, behind all of the Haruna adventure stuff, is to show Elis realizing what type of relationship she has with Hiroki, which would be a brother/sister one as she states. The Haruna adventure stuff showed her that she can have fun with Hiroki without needing to be his lover, though I do wish that they had chosen another method to convey that message.
Elis doesn’t explicitly say that she’s giving up on Hiroki, but I do believe that she has more or less let him go. That leaves him free for the next arc, starting next episode, with Kiri. The preview was comprised entirely of the Kiri’s high school confession to Hiroki, and so next episode should have lots of interesting scenes, especially since it introduces a certain someone…

Closing Thought: I like the eyecatches this week ^_^

Summary:
It’s early morning at the Cat’s Eye and Umibouzu is wakes to the noise of Shin Hon cleaning the cafe. Umibouzu quickly catches on that Shin Hon wants to be hired so that he can stay in Shinjuku with Shanin. Umibouzu agrees, but insists on being called by his real name – Falcon. At the clinic, Shanin laments about not having a name since she hasn’t been told it yet. When Shin Hon visits, he accidentally says her name and then lies by saying that Ryo chose it for her. Ryo later creates the explanation that the characters for Shanin and Kaori are the same and goes on about how Shanin is his and Kaori’s child. Shanin cries tears of joy after learning both her name and its meaning.
Sometime later, Lee Taijin and Ryo meet and Ryo makes sure that he should become her father. After Ryo leaves, Lee Taijin is surprised to see Shanin looking for him. Apparently Ryo told her to show Lee Taijin around the city, but didn’t mention that he’s her real father. Shanin tells him her name and feels that it’s a bit weird, but since he’s the one who originally gave her that name, Lee Taijin really likes it. Shanin’s tour includes the Cat’s Eye and the police station, places where Lee Taijin scares off Shin Hon and Mochiyama with his stare. Shanin tells him that he should smile more, and so he suggests that they practice in a photo sticker booth. The pictures turn out pretty bad, with Shanin and her real father sporting the same dumbfounded look, but seeing the resemblance, a happy Lee Taijin starts to cry.

This episode centers on Shanin learning her name and gives Lee Taijin some of the father-daughter moments that he’s always wanted. Both halves are quite entertaining, funny, and light-hearted, especially considering the string of serious episodes that we’ve seen recently.
I find it quite convenient that Shanin and Kaori share the character in their names. For a made up story, Ryo sure comes up with a pretty believable one. In any case, this just further shows the connection that exists between her and Kaori.
Next week: a trip down memory lane for Lee Taijin.

Summary:
Ginko arrives in a farming village that, as he is told, gets a bountiful rice harvest after a natural disaster. But the price of this harvest is the death of one of the villagers. He meets a boy named Sane who confirms that and explains that someone who eats the rice will develop a tooth in his or her mouth. When that tooth falls out, the person dies, but the village is provided with a good harvest and is dependent on this cycle. The tooth is entrusted to the village priest, whom Sane introduces Ginko to.
Ginko tries to get the priest to tell him about what’s going on, but the priest is reluctant to, particularly on the subject of the tooth. Ginko tells him about a Seed of Narazu which, when planted, can also produce a good harvest, but it also costs a life. The two then debate the scruples of using such a seed for the greater good. The priest doesn’t admit that this is what’s happening, but Ginko is pretty sure of it by this point. He leaves the priest’s house with the intent of helping the villagers, if given their approval. The priest thinks that Ginko is going to burn the rice fields, but faints soon after. Ginko finds out that the priest has been taking medicine, which Ginko identifies as poison. When he wakes up, the priest admits that he wanted to be the last sacrifice for the seed. He explains that this has been going on for twenty years, and when he became priest, he buried the seed just like those before him did. However, his own wife developed the tooth/seed and died. He had kept the seed until this year, when he planted it again.
Some time passes and one day the priest finds himself coughing up blood, with a tooth growing inside his mouth. On his deathbed, he takes the tooth out of his mouth, gives it to Sane, who is his successor, and then dies quietly. Ginko grabs the tooth out of Sane’s hand and puts it back into the priest’s mouth, forcing him to swallow it with water. Much to Sane’s delight, the priest returns to life, but is now a Mushi and immortal. Ginko later hears of a legend of a man who doesn’t age and doesn’t die and travels around teaching farming methods.

I really thought that this story was going to end with the priest dying, but that wouldn’t have resolved anything in the story. The episode ends on a much more hopeful note, with him traveling around helping other farmers. The theme here is sacrificing for the greater good. It’s in the original legend Ginko hears, it’s in the story the priest tells, and you can even say that the priest’s immortality becomes his sacrifice of a normal life for the greater good. The Seed of Narazu deal with having to sacrifice a human life for a good harvest reminds me a bit of Full Metal Alchemist, in the equivalent exchange sense.
Next time, Adashino-sensei returns :)

Mushishi’s schedule gets a bit weird from here on out. Mushishi airs weekly on four channels: KTV, Tokai-TV, FUJI TV, and TSS. Normally, KTV and FUJI TV air the episode before the other two channels, late Saturday night (Japan standard time). Tokai-TV and TSS air the episode late Wednesday night. However, KTV, FUJI TV, and Tokai-TV are putting Mushishi on break for two weeks, returning January 7th, 2006 for episode ten. But as far as I can tell, TSS is not, though their official schedule doesn’t list that far yet. If they are indeed not taking a break, then the first airing of episode ten will be Wednesday, December 28th, 2005, on TSS. If they are taking a break, and the wiki just hasn’t been updated properly, then the first airing will be January 7th.
Edit: Schedule was updated. There’s no Mushishi for the next two weeks. Episode 10 will air on January 7th.

Summary:
The reset is complete: Hatsunejima is covered with sakura trees in full blossom, and everyone has forgotten Junichi and Nemu’s relationship. In fact, all the girls are now aiming for Junichi, including Aisia who seems to be enjoying herself. Mako in particular, seems to want to ask Junichi out on a date while they’re walking to school, but isn’t able to because Aisia spots Kotori. During class, Suginami shows Aisia a relationship graph with Kotori having the highest bar.
Mako ends up giving Nemu the ticket and asking Nemu to give it to Junichi for her. However, when Nemu goes to speak with Junichi about it in the evening, she finds him already asleep. She tries again after school ends the next day, but Junichi has already gone out with Kotori. With no other choice, Nemu shows up at the meeting place and apologizes to Mako for not having been able to give it to Junichi. Returning home in the evening after having baked some cookies with Alice, Aisia is confronted by Sakura. Sakura questions if everyone is really happy and explains that, before, everyone understood the relationship that Junichi and Nemu had. Sakura tells Aisia not to forget that a person’s feelings win over magic. Aisia, however, still doesn’t think that she did anything wrong and still believes in everyone’s happiness. But Sakura’s words have their impact, and Aisia starts questiong herself on the way home.
It has started to rain, and, caught in the storm, Junichi and Kotori take refuge under the old sakura tree. When Junichi tries to take a handkerchief out of his pocket, the watch he bought with Nemu falls out. Grasping it, Junichi remembers the kiss he had with her and starts experiencing chest pains. He apologizes to Kotori and runs off. Meanwhile, at home, Nemu opens her drawer and sees the watch and all of the letters she wrote to Junichi. She surprises herself when she starts crying, which is the state a very shocked Aisia finds her in.

This episode ends up being fairly predictable, which is a bit disappointing. The TV turning off last week did indeed signal a complete reset, with the only people who completely kept their memories being Aisia and Sakura. The point of the episode becomes showing how the girls fawn over Junichi, which to Aisia makes it look like everyone is happy. But the Mako trying to ask Junichi on a date angle demonstrates that not all is well. This is compounded at the end by how Nemu and Junichi start to suffer as they somewhat remember their memories from before, helped along by the symbols of their love (the matching watches and the letters).
I admit that I was hoping for Aisia to become a grand villain, but that wasn’t realistically going to happen. Instead, she’s still lead by the everyone’s-happiness belief. I think Sakura basically verbalizes the theme of this season with her “a person’s feelings will win over magic” line. If that is truly the case, as they are showing it is, then the last episode will probably have Junichi and Nemu overcoming the sakura tree’s power with their mutual love and memories, maybe with a little help from Sakura, Aisia, and even their friends. Not really groundbreaking (sequels rarely are), but I’ll reserve judgment until I see it. Onward to the finale!

Summary:
For the dance, Min supplies Saya with a dress. When the night comes, Saya attracts everyone’s attention because she’s the girl Phantom gave a rose to. With Min off flirting with boys, Saya stands by the food table until David and Julia show up. David is going to underground area under the rose garden to investigate that container. A mysterious, well-dressed foreigner with a blue rose soon arrives and makes all of the girls swoon. Much to everyone’s surprise, he passes Anna-Mary to dance with Saya. But they only get one dance in before Van Argeno pulls Solomon off to show him the appearance of their experiment. Before he goes, Solomon gives pins a blue rose in Saya’s hair.
Outside, Saya senses Karl and chases after him with Julia and Hagi. Meanwhile, David has made his way underground to the container, which has been loaded onto a truck. The reporter Akihiro, who was turned away at the gate, followed the truck in, but is caught and knocked out. David tries to stop the truck with his gun, but the bullet is blocked by Karl. Saya, Julia, and Hagi arrive to fight, though they have a hard time with the Phantom. Saya even goes into her killer mode, but Karl is able to easily slash her several times, and then catches her sword in his hand. When he inspects her face, Karl realizes that she’s not fully awoken yet, and so he leaves the fight. Akihiro, who had woken up, had been taking pictures of the battle until he got knocked back into a wine rack. He picks up one of the bottles and realizes that it’s dated 1967. When the Red Shield group makes their way back above ground, they are seen by Min, who is shocked when she spots Saya all bloodied up. Without an explanation, Saya boards a waiting car to chase after the truck, though afterwards she regrets not saying something.

Seems like almost all of the important players are gathered at the dance, including the surprise appearances of Van Argeno and Solomon. I originally thought that Chevaliers might be people who were part Chiropteran, but Solomon, upon closer inspection, does not seem to have any Chiropteran features (like Hagi’s wrapped arm or Karl’s covered . But I guess that could just be well hidden under the suit. And Van Argeno showing up here makes me wonder if he’s one of them too.
Karl seems quite disappointed that Saya hasn’t fully awakened to what I assume is her full killer form. Is Karl thirsting that much for the thrill of killing that Saya? In any case, he’s still on the loose and our heroes are chasing. Next week looks like David calls for some heavily armed reinforcements from Red Shield (who now have character profiles on the official page). I get the vague feeling that by the end of that series, that character list will be incredibly long…