Random Curiosity

OP Sequence

OP: 「BLAZE」 by KOTOKO
Watch the OP! Mirror 1, Mirror 2

Summary:

In the aftermath of the festival, everyone helps clean up, and with the exception of Shana and friends, they’ve all forgotten about Konoe because her power of existence has disappeared. In Seireiden, Hecate and Fecor report back to Bel Peol that they weren’t able to destroy Yuuji so that they could transfer the Reiji Maigo. Bel Peol isn’t too worried though, and Hecate then uses her power to bring the silver armor in their lab to life. Back at the school, Keisaku tells the group that Margery wants to speak with them tonight. He notices that Kazumi in particular is looking worried, and though she doesn’t admit it, the reason why is because of the cross-shaped Hougu that Pheles gave her. The Hougu’s function is to summon Pheles, but it does so at the cost of the power of existence of the summoner, effectively killing them. Pheles had felt that Kazumi was the right person for it because Kazumi disappearing wouldn’t inconvenience anyone, and she had told Kazumi to use it if Yuuji was in trouble

That night, everyone heads to Keisaku’s house to discuss everything that had happened. Alastor thinks that Konoe was watching over the Reiji Maigo, and that makes everyone unsure of what to make of all the happy times they spent with her. Margery eventually finishes studying Yuuji and announces that a seal that’s like a transmitter has been put on the Reiji Maigo. As for the Silver, Margery theorizes that Pheles summoned it when she tried to wake Johan. Johan’s own appearance came about from using the unrestricted method that Margery had used on Yuuji. Margery concludes by saying that the Bal Masqué is still after the Reiji Maigo, and Wilhelmina correctly guesses they want to transfer it by destroying Yuuji now that the seal is there. At the end of all this, Alastor brings up how there have been so many special people who have come to Misaki City, making him think that the city might be the Tousou no Uzu (Vortex of Strife) which attracts both Flame Hazes and Tomogara.

The following day, Yuuji, Shana, and Kazumi see off Yuuji’s father who is leaving again. Afterwards, Shana and Yuuji go to see Wilhelmina, and Kazumi is left to head home on her own. As Kazumi thinks about how she wants to stand on the same level as Yuuji and Shana, she admits to herself that she’s jealous of Shana for that. By chance, she happens to run into Ogata, and when the two walk together past a certain park that reminds Kazumi of Konoe, she asks if Ogata really doesn’t remember who Konoe is. Ogata, however, truly doesn’t know, so Kazumi drops the topic. Wilhelmina meanwhile assigns Yuuji and Shana to organize the various documents she’s gotten from Outlaw, and as they work, Yuuji tells Shana that he wants to borrow Blutsauger. Alastor and Shana agree to let him, and they go out that evening to practice with it. Kazumi happens to see them there, and she had earlier been thinking about how she’d disappear if she used the Hougu that Pheles gave her. She had almost thrown the Hougu away, but she had stopped when Shana had activated a fuuzetsu for Yuuji’s training. Kazumi now thinks of how she wants to be in the same place as Yuuji, and she recalls how Pheles had told her to use the Hougu if she truly wanted that.

ED Sequence

ED: 「Sociometry」 by KOTOKO
Watch the ED!: Mirror 1, Mirror 2
Both songs are by KOTOKO and both are pretty good, though neither really stand out for me. The actual OP animation, on the other hand, was really exciting to watch and gets me really pumped up about the rest of the series. Never mind Sabrac – I can’t wait to see more of Yuuji + Blutsauger.

Preview:

For an episode that’s clearly building up to the next arc and lacking any major action scenes, this was pretty good. That may be partially due to the excitement from seeing the new OP and ED, but now that Konoe is gone and the Bal Masqué has reappeared, it also feels like there’s a renewed sense of direction for the series. In particular, I like how they’re involving Kazumi in all this by giving her a life-and-death choice. It seems likely that she’ll use it to summon Pheles sometime in the near future, but I bet that she’ll somehow not die or will get brought back to life.

Production-wise, this episode’s animation quality was all over the place, ranging from the really good (all the scenes with Bel Peol) to the not-so-great and everything in between. Given how some of the past episodes have looked, I’m somewhat impressed that they even managed a few good scenes, and I’m hoping it’s a good sign for the rest of the series. Unfortunately, next week doesn’t look that exciting from the preview, but it does appear that they will be developing the Eita storyline that they’ve been building up ever since Margery almost killed Ogata.

Summary:

After Tomoya and Nagisa bring Mei to her brother’s incredibly messy room, she decides to clean it for him. She gets it done in the blink of an eye, and while Mei is out of the room to do some laundry, Nagisa wonders if they should keep the fact that Sunohara is in love with Tomoya a secret. Unfortunately, Mei overhears her say this, and Tomoya doesn’t try to correct the misconception. Sunohara then arrives back and is shocked that Mei is here since Tomoya never told him about the phone call. Tomoya eventually does clear everything up, including how Sunohara really isn’t in love with him, and Nagisa offers to let Mei stay at her home while she’s here. At the Furukawa bakery, Mei watches Nagisa converse with her parents about the alleged scar on her butt and is quite impressed by how well they all get along. Nagisa’s parents let her stay with them, and over dinner, Tomoya and Nagisa tell her about the basketball match.

The following day, Tomoya runs into Tomoyo on the way to school, and she drags him the rest of the way there because they’re going to be late. Kyou happens to see them and thinks that Tomoya is with another girl yet again. She’s also the person that Tomoya thinks should be the third person for their basketball team, though Kyou first stipulates the condition that Tomoya join her for lunch today. When lunchtime comes however, Tomoyo’s the one who comes to see Tomoya. She doesn’t get much time to talk with him before noticing Sunohara staring at her, so she tells him that this has nothing to do with him. The other students in the class then make snide remarks about Tomoyo being here since she’s an underclassman, and some think that she’s Tomoya or Sunohara’s girlfriend. This leads to Tomoyo announcing that she’s got no interest in Sunohara and is just here to talk with Tomoya about how often he’s late to school.

Tomoyo gets interrupted when Kyou comes in demanding to know what she’s doing here, and Tomoyo starts to think that Kyou is mad because Kyou has feelings for Tomoya. Kyou denies it, and Tomoya claims that he’s not going out with anyone, so Tomoyo feels that there’s no problem here. After Kyou drags Tomoya off, Sunohara asks Tomoyo about having an interest in Tomoya, and she realizes that that is probably how she feels. As for Tomoya, he joins Kyou and Ryou for lunch, and Kyou brings up how he said he wasn’t going out with anyone right now. Kyou dances around what she’s really trying to get at, but Tomoya notices that Ryou gets embarrassed when he looks at her. A little later, Tomoya tries to do some practicing on his own for the basketball match, but he’s still unable to shoot the basketball due to his arm. When the time for the match actually comes, Kyou is the one most intent on winning because of an insulting comment made by a basketball club member.

As it turns out, the basketball club decides to pit the drama club against three first-years because they don’t think the drama club could match up against the regulars. Sunohara, Tomoya, and Kyou get off to a fast start with the two guys blowing past the first-years and with Kyou making a three-pointer. They manage to build a substantial lead against the first-years, but the basketball club’s three regular players standing on the sidelines are able to see all of their weaknesses, including how Tomoya can’t raise his arm. With approximately five minutes left in the match, the regulars come in to replace the first-years and to erase the 11-point lead. Over the next four minutes and forty seconds, they completely outplay the exhausted Sunohara and Tomoya and go on a 12-0 run. With the score 25-26 and with only 20 seconds left to play, the drama club team gets the ball, and it’s left up to Tomoya to make the shot.

Tomoya, however, is unable to jump over his opponent and finds himself falling backwards with the ball in hand. In the space of a split second, he thinks about how they can’t win against the regulars who practice every day and how he has personally idled away the past two years. Just as Tomoya is feeling pathetic about how much he tried, Nagisa yells out for him to shoot. Tomoya does, and as he falls to the ground and realizes that there is a place he wants to reach now, the ball falls through the net, scoring the final two points to end the game. Unfortunately, the drama club doesn’t get too long to enjoy the victory though because the basketball club’s adviser comes to break things up, but before he runs off, Tomoya is told by one of the basketball club regulars that he might still be able to play. Tomoya, however, taps his shoulder and dismisses the idea. In the aftermath, Mei returns home, though she promises to come to visit again. Sunohara wonders if the choir club will give them Koumura now that they’ve seen the victory against the basketball club, and Tomoya feels that whatever happens, happens. They then head off to a victory celebration with Kyou and the others.

Preview:

Maybe I missed it, but was there any real point to having Mei’s character around (other than for a few laughs)? She showed up, cleaned up her brother’s room, watched the basketball game, and went then back home. I know she plays a part in the visual novel for both Sunohara and Nagisa, but for this anime adaptation, it feels like they kept her in the story just to appeal to those who are familiar with the visual novel and wanted to see her appear once. With all the other characters left to be developed, I can’t help but wonder if the time spent on her would have been better used on someone else (like Tomoyo or Kyou/Ryou).

Having said that, it’s hard not to come out of this episode without feeling really good about it since it ended on such a high note. The music in particular helped this a lot, especially the piece that played after the winning shot. That plus the way they panned over the stills plus Mei’s departure all make this feel like we’re at the end of another arc, even if we’re not really. And with the basketball match now finished, the choir club’s probably going to give up Koumura or share him or something, and the story for next week appears to be shifting focus towards Tomoya and what his future aspirations are.

Summary:

As enraged Machina lashes out towards Jin, Toa is forced to use more of her own power to stop Machina. Gio then steps in and tries to reason with her as he fights her, and Machina reverts back to her old self long enough to tell him to run away. She struggles to explain that the Resonance is unraveling, and shortly after she states that she’s not free like Gio is, her power flares up again. Meanwhile, on the moon, Howling Star, Amadeus, and Laura all sense what’s going on, and it reminds them of what happened to Spirytus. Sieglinde decides on her own to head to Mars, but to everyone’s surprise, Raina decides to go too. Back on Mars, Yonamine – who is an agent for some agency – arrives at the Girouard palace and forces his way into a meeting with the Girouard king. Yonamine demands that the king remove Asim from being the person in charge of Girouard military affairs because Asim is playing with fire, and it might burn all of mankind. When the king balks at this, Yonamine threatens the prospect of the entire world opposing them.

Back at the mine, Asim gleefully explains to Jin that, when a dragon loses its master, the dragon’s true nature is exposed. Asim can’t stand seeing how dragons have been polluted by man, and though he admires the power of love between Jin and Toa, he views it as Jin having dirtied her. He then has Garnet transform into a dragon, and after firing an energy blast at Jin and Toa, he knocks Machina out by having Garnet smack her with her tail. When Jin, Toa, and Gio follow Asim back to the surface, they find a huge Girouard force waiting for them. Toa wants to fight alongside Gio and Jin, but the two of them insist on protecting her, and so Toa rides with Jin inside the cockpit. Gio is able to handle all of the ships and Agathions that Asim can throw at him, and it’s only Garnet that gives him any real challenge. As they battle, Asim mocks Jin and Toa about their love, but when he tries to have the Agathions gang up on Gio, Toa uses her power to push them off. Garnet then prepares to fire another blast at Gio, however Machina then enters the battle in dragon form and hits Garnet.

Asim responds by having Garnet fire on Machina instead, and as a result, Machina falls back towards the planet’s surface in Communicator form with Akira in her arms. Toa jumps out of Jin’s cockpit and tries to catch the pair, however she fails to reach them in time and they fall into a ravine. With Toa out in the open now, Asim has Garnet fire another energy blast at her, but this time Gio flies in to take the hit. At that very moment, Gio’s power also flares up, and it causes all of the Agathions to run away in fear. Still refusing to accept the power of love, Asim has Garnet charge Gio one more time, but Gio’s power is so overwhelming that Asim’s cockpit is ejected from Garnet. As the cockpit breaks up, Garnet reaches for her master and grabs him shortly before both get vaporized. Gio also eject Jin’s cockpit, and Jin pilots it towards Toa to grab her. The two are then saved when Howling Star arrives and flies them to safety. Gio meanwhile creates a fiery maelstrom that’s visible from as far away as Earth, and Raina wonders if this is the true power of dragons. Reporting to his superiors elsewhere, Yonamine hears them worrying about the dangers of this power, and he thinks that only a dragon can defeat a dragon.

Preview

When I saw this scene, all I could think of was the Star Wars line “I felt a great disturbance in the Force…as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.” That aside, I think the important thing to take away from that scene is that Laura felt it too, so it would seem to confirm that she’s indeed a Dragon. As for Machina and Akira, their conclusion was rather unsatisfying, even with that post-ED part showing them encased in ice. Machina essentially got swatted aside by Garnet, came back to save Jin and company at an opportune moment, and that was it for her. Ultimately, it felt like she was used for nothing more than as an example to show that dragons go crazy when their masters die.

The most interesting aspect of this episode for me ended up being the fact that Yonamine Kou isn’t just a mild-mannered reporter. It’s unclear what organization he’s a part of, but it seems like they’ve got a lot of pull in world affairs. Asim dying was also a high point, but I mention that mainly cause he was a whiny character I grew to dislike. And on that note, the immortal Kazuki made an appearance again. Widow apparently saved him, and from the preview, he’s going to be returning in next week’s episode with a really stupidly-placed eye patch on his forehead. More importantly, next week’s episode is supposed to take place after a one-year jump, and I’m curious to see how they handle that, though I’m not expecting much.

Summary:

With his new arm, Sado explains that he had felt a stir in the power inside of him when he came here to Hueco Mundo – something that he hadn’t felt when he went to Soul Society. This feeling kept growing while he was here, and it wasn’t until Gantenbainne attacked him that the feeling started to subside. It made Sado wonder if the stir was that of joy – the joy of his power returning home to Hueco Mundo. Ever since he obtained this power, Sado had questioned it because it wasn’t the same as a Shinigami or Quincy’s power. He now feels that he’s found his answer: his power is closer to that of a Hollow than anything else. Sado then demonstrates the power of his Brazo Derecha de Gigante by smashing Gantenbainne through a wall. Gantenbainne attempts to counterattack, but Sado’s reactions are now fast enough to block him. In fact, Sado is now fast enough and powerful enough to force Gantenbainne to release his zanpaktou Dragra. In his transformed form, Gantenbainne creates and fires a huge energy blast at Sado that vaporizes everything in its path.

Unfortunately for Gantenbainne, Sado is still standing afterwards, and as the dust clears, he apologizes for not telling Gantenbainne something. He feels that the soul of his grandfather is in his right arm, and what his grandfather had taught him was how to use his power to protect. The power to attack, on the other hand, is something he finally found inside of himself, and he calls it the Brazo Izquierda del Diablo (left arm of the devil). Indeed, Sado’s left arm is now armored too, though unlike his right arm, it’s colored white and dark red. Gantenbainne responds by throwing a dragon-head-shaped energy blast at him, however Sado easily catches it with his left arm and dissipates it. Surprised, Gantenbainne then tries to put everything into a punch, but Sado easily blocks it with his right arm and counterattacks with his own special punch that he calls La Muerte. This knocks Gatenbainne through a wall and outside to the area with blue skies. With Gantenbainne defeated, Sado decides to let him live because it was through Gantenbainne fighting at full strength that Sado was able to discover his own power.

Sado then notices where he is and finds it strange that he appears to be outside in the daylight even though he should still be inside that huge dome of Las Noches. Lying on the ground, Gantenbainne suddenly notices that someone else has arrived and urges Sado to run away. That someone is Nnoitra, and Sado immediately retransforms his arms because he knows a fight is inevitable. Despite Gantenbainne yelling for him to run away, Sado decides to try to settle things with a quick first strike since Nnoitra’s movements appear to be slow. He succeeds in hitting Nnoitra right in the gut, but to his surprise, Nnoitra is completely unfazed and questions if that’s everything Sado’s got. Nnoitra then strikes back.

Preview

This was another good fight episode that let Sado show off his stuff. Like previous weeks, it covered two chapters (260 and 261) with some more anime original stuff in the beginning between Ishida and Pesche. I really don’t have much else to say about the actual episode other than the fact that I noticed all three of the Privaron Espada were portrayed in fairly positive and sympathetic lights (even Cirucci towards the end). As manga readers might know, this won’t be the case with the actual Espada, and Nnoitra’s crazy grin (akin to Ichimaru’s) is a good indicator of that. In any case, we can move on now to the good stuff…theoretically anyway. There’s still the conclusion of Rukia’s fight with Aaroniero, and I’m very curious to see if they actually start the Szayel battle like the preview hints the next episode might. That battle lasts for a long, long time and could technically carry us all the way to the latest chapter of the manga, though I suspect it won’t quite happen that way. We’ll find out next week…

Watch the PV! Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Mirror 3, Streaming

The official CODE GEASS website released their first promotion video today, and it included several new shots that weren’t in the DVD Magazine trailer. This has a couple more shots of Rollo (is that him narrating?), more shots of the Chinese Federation guy, and a shot of Viletta jumping down the side of a building among other things. Speaking of the Chinese Federation, this new character looks like he’s from there too, based on the way he’s dressed. This shot might also (somewhat) answer the question of why Kallen was kicking this guy in the face in the other trailer. Suzaku meanwhile looks a lot meaner and determined, making me think he’ll be pretty ruthless if the situation calls for it.

The question I have now is how Lelouch got out of that situation at the end of the first series, and what his relationship to the Black Knights is. In relation to this particular PV, it’s the question of whether he’s surprised when the Burai appears here or if it’s something he planned all along. And finally, where is Nunnally in all this? She’s been absent from all the promotional material so far, and I’m beginning to wonder if there’s some big plot twist involving her that they’re trying to keep under wraps. In any case, this was an exciting trailer, and, as I mentioned last time, I’m looking forward to April.

Summary:

Lawrence and Horo meet with Zeren again, but this time, they’re under watch by someone from Milone trading company. Earlier, Lawrence had gone to the Milone company with information about what was going on, and they had figured out the scam. By getting merchants to amass the silver coins that were supposedly going up in value, the scammers would buy up all the coins when the merchants realized the values were actually going down and tried to get rid of them. The cheated merchants wouldn’t let anyone know about this in order to protect their own honor. The Milone Company is now investigating all this, and for the time being, Lawrence and Horo return to their room. There, Horo wonders if the Milone Company will act quickly enough, but before Lawrence can really respond, she starts laughing at how he’s leaning backwards in his chair because it reminds her of someone she had known from Pasroe. Horo then recalls that she had something important to tell him, but she can’t remember what it was, so she goes to sleep.

The next day, the two go to see the Milone branch office manager named Marlhait who reveals that they’ve found out that the Medio company is behind Zeren. He suggests that there are also nobles supporting Medio, and Lawrence is willing to come up with a plan with him. Lawrence is excited about the deal because he stands to profit enough to open his own store, and he later produces a drawing of what he wants it to look like. Hearing how much he wants to open a shop, Horo quietly says that it’s troublesome because it means that he won’t be able to journey with her if he does. Lawrence thinks that she’ll be fine, but Horo claims that she’s tired of being by herself. Realizing how Horo feels, Lawrence offers to go with her until she returns to the north, and because she still looks a little down, he hugs her. Horo then reveals that she always dreams that she wakes up with no one around, and though she and her fellow wolves started this journey because they have such long lives, she feels lonely without her companions now. To make her feel better, Lawrence offers the paper with the sketch of the shop on it for her to blow her nose with, and he points out that their deal with the Milone company hasn’t succeeded yet.

After blowing out the candle so that they can get some rest, Lawrence finds that Horo has crawled into his bed. He hugs her and almost kisses her, but Horo is paying attention to something more important. She now remembers what she was going to tell him earlier and quietly tells him that there are three people outside their room. Lawrence figures out that these are people from the Medio company, and the two of them decide to escape through the window. The thugs give chase, and as the two run through the streets, Horo gives Lawrence a handful of wheat just in case. Lawrence also promises to buy Horo something she wants – a comb for her tail – once this is all over. Shortly before they reach their destination of the Milone company though, Horo stops Lawrence because she senses that there are Medio thugs ahead. Horo’s plan is to use herself to attract the thugs’ attention while Lawrence gets away because she knows that he’d get captured if they split up any other way. Lawrence refuses and points to how the Medio company would take her to the church once they saw her ears and tail, but Horo thinks that she’ll be able to hide them long enough for him to come rescue her. She also wants to pay him back for earlier, and when Lawrence still protests, she hugs him, says that she believes in him, and runs out into the open.

With no choice, Lawrence makes a dash for the Milone company and is allowed inside right before the thugs catch him. A combination of the Milone men talking about this being under the protection of the archduke and a whistle from the other thugs causes the thugs to retreat. Lawrence then goes to Marlhait to ask for help getting Horo back since she’s been captured. He insists that the Medio company did this to thwart them, but Marlhait finds that claim strange because there’s nothing Medio can do now that Milone has moved forward with their plan. Because the Milone company has already gotten all the information they need, what happens to Lawrence has nothing to do with them. Lawrence is initially shocked, but Marlhait then continues on with how he finds this all strange since the Medio company should have been able to anticipate this, yet they came after Lawrence anyway. Marlhait suspects that Lawrence knows the reason why, but before Lawrence can respond, they get a letter from the Medio company. Inside of it are locks of Horo’s hair and a note indicating that the Medio company has the wolf. With this, Lawrence decides to come clean by revealing to Marlhait that Horo is the incarnation of a wolf that governs over good harvests.

Meanwhile, in a Medio dungeon, Horo being threatened by men who want to tie her up when someone familiar suddenly shows up.

Well this was a much more interesting episode as things finally do start to happen, both between Lawrence and Horo and with the companies. I think the trade talk is still a bit too complicated at certain points (I understood what they’re saying, but it’s still not clear to me how the silver cheat scheme works), however the introduction of an antagonist plus Lawrence being forced to reveal Horo’s true nature more than made up for it. I also like how they’re developing Lawrence and Horo’s relationship, though sometimes I wonder how sincere Horo is being when she acts vulnerable. That is to say, she’s shown more than enough intelligence for me to think that she could be faking it, even though I know that’s probably not true.

In any case, it’ll be interesting to see who the person is that Horo recognizes at the end of the episode. My gut feeling is that it’s Chloe if it’s a character we’ve already been introduced to since the shoes would indicate that it’s a woman, and Chloe’s the only other major female character so far.

More likely than not, you’ve probably never heard of this group before. RADWIMPS is a rock band consisting of four musicians who are apparently all fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They got their unusual name when they combined the English words of rad and wimp – their official website even defines this as “excellent weakling” and “superlative coward”. In any case, they’ve been steadily growing in popularity, and this past week, they had their first Number 1 single on the Oricon charts, beating out even the release of Koda Kumi‘s latest single. And it’s for good reason too because Order Made is a great song. The lyrics (translation here) are about love and putting together the different parts of a person, and unlike some PVs, this one actually tells the lyrics like a story. Put together, I found it to be beautiful, and the part about tears even reminded me of the series true tears. I liked it so much that I’ve been scrambling to find more of RADWIMPS’ music, and Order Made has been on repeat on my playlist for several days now. Even if you don’t like J-Rock songs, I’d recommend at least listening to this one.

The Order Made single was released on January 23rd, 2008

Summary:

Sitting on his bed, Shin contemplates whether or not he should get a copy of the “A” list for the inspector. After Ryou’s words pop into his head, “You and Jun need to move away immediately,” he decides to copy the files. Standing in front of Ryou’s computer, Shin begins to hesitate as he pulls out his memory stick. All of a sudden, he hears a loud crashing sound from the shed beside the house and runs downstairs to see if Jun is alright. There, he finds Jun rummaging through their childhood belongings, and Jun finds an old test of Shin’s that had a hand drawn picture of Eiko on the back. Embarrassed, Shin grabs the test and tells Jun that he will find something to embarrass Jun.

Across the city on a rooftop, the inspector tells his partner that he asked Shin to get the “A” list. The inspector believes that the series of murders were not random acts, but rather targeted at specific people and that all of the information that they have so far has been fabricated by Chief Kanzato. Back in the shed, Shin and Jun look through their family album, and when they find a photo of Ryou with Shin on his shoulders, Jun wonders if they would ever become a happy family again. He walks over to the bookshelf and picks out the book Kujira no Hane (Whale Feathers), the last book that their parents wrote. Jun then hears the sound of Ryou’s car, puts the book down, and goes downstairs to greet him. Ryou had come home just to change clothes, but Jun insists that he stay home for dinner since the three of them had not eaten together since their arrival to the city. As Shin and Ryou sit silently in the living room, watching TV, Jun chatters away while cooking in the kitchen. Shin then starts to ask Ryou a question, but Ryou hands him floor plans of various apartments that he wants them to move into. Shin feels that the house belongs to all of them and not just Ryou, however, Ryou coldly tells Shin that he wants them as far away as possible. This causes Shin to stand up angrily, but in doing so, he accidentally knocks into Jun who was carrying over their dinner. Ryou then gets up to leave when he receives a phone call, and Shin tries to go after him, but Jun pleas for Shin not to fight with his brother.

Later that evening, still mad over the night’s events, Shin downloads Ryou’s list into his memory stick. He goes back into his room and begins to dial the inspector’s number but stops as his stomach growls in hunger. Shin goes to the kitchen and eats the untouched dinner that Jun made for them earlier. He then heads to Jun’s room to thank him, but he finds it empty. This causes Shin to panic, and he runs outside looking for his brother. After looking around, he calls Ryou in a panic and tells him that Jun is missing. Elsewhere in the city, Jun wanders aimlessly with his hand clutched on his chest. By now, Shin is waiting at a bus stop contemplating where he should look next when a white feather falls near him. Looking up, he sees a red hair girl floating in front of him, and so he picks up the feather and walks towards her. Meanwhile, the inspector following Ryou around gets caught up at a red light and loses sight of Ryou’s car. Ryou is at this moment rushing around trying to find Jun, and a whirlwind of white feathers suddenly appears before him. As the feathers disappear, Shin appears in front of his car, and Ryou slams on his breaks just in time. Shin then climbs into Ryou’s car and tells him about the feather girl. He also questions why Ryou is looking for Jun if he wants them to move out so badly, and Ryou replies that he is merely fulfilling his brotherly duty. Because of this, Shin reveals that they didn’t move because their aunt wanted them to, but rather because Jun was being bullied at school for acting weird. Jun was lonely in Tokyo, and Shin was often worried about him because he would speak in different voices. Shin also admits that all Jun wants is to get along with Ryou like they used to in order to become a family once more.

Meanwhile on the beach, Jun walks towards the ocean with his hands still clutched on his chest when he gets a memory of Yuki with their mother walking along the waterfront. Yuki had asked their mother what the whale feathers were, and her mother had explained that it’s the story of everyone precious to you becoming happy. She had then given Yuki a feather that she referred to as a happiness charm. Back in the present, Jun reaches into his shirt and pulls out the feather that he had been wearing around his neck. As he lets the wind carry it away, Shin and Ryou arrive at the waterfront and run towards him. They now see Jun as Yuki, and a Persona emerges from her. Looking at her brothers, Yuki says that Ryou’s voice is the only one that she cannot hear. As the Persona disappears, she collapses and returns to being Jun. Ryou then runs to Jun, holds him in his lap, and strokes his hair while covering up a scar on Jun’s forehead.

When morning arrives, Shin leaves a message for the inspector telling him that he did not find the list that he was looking for.

Preview

Thank GOD this episode finally had some real substance. I’m relieved that the writers are finally focusing on the Kanzato family and how their lives are intertwined with the Persona. The lack of action in this episode is made up by some intense dramatic suspense – I was literally at my seat’s edge when I saw Jun turn into Yuki. Now there have been speculation amongst you kitties on whether Jun has been Yuki all along, but here’s my insight: I think that Jun is really Jun, but that somehow when Yuki died, she became his Persona (hence her reflection is the Persona) to protect him. Let me know what you guys think? Am I going to tune into next week? If it continues like this – hell yes! Also, if anyone knows anything about the little chickie in red, please share.

Sanada_kikyo

Summary:

Yahiro Ran is a high school girl who plays tennis and is very popular with the first-years. Her friend Nanae suggests that she get a boyfriend, but the truth is that Ran and Nanae are already very, very close. Ran lives with just her father, and one morning, Fumika shows up at her home. Fumika’s earlier encounter with Kaname after the hostage situation had ended when she ignored his questions and had teleported out of there. She now tries to give Ran a Shigofumi from someone named Tateishi Naoko. Hearing that name gives Ran pause, but she ends up just slapping the Shigofumi out of Fumika’s hands and running off. On this particular day, Ran and the tennis club are going to a training camp in the mountains, and because it’s outside the city, Fumika is forced to make a business trip request in order to follow them. After the tennis club reaches their destination, Ran and Nanae go to buy some refreshments for everyone, and while at the store, Ran thinks she sees her mother with a man, but it turns out to just be a random couple.

On the bike ride back to the school where they’re holding their training camp, Nanae wonders if Ran thinks that girls who go out with guys are dirty, and she suggests that Ran really hates men. Fumika then appears on the dirt path and shocks Ran into stopping the bicycle, but when Fumika tries to give her the Shigofumi again, Ran brings up how Naoko abandoned her. She feels that there’s no reason for her to accept the Shigofumi, however Fumika claims that there’s a reason to deliver it to her. Ran guesses correctly that the reason is because it’s Fumika’s job, and she once again runs away without taking the Shigofumi. Afterwards, another Shigofumi courier named Chiaki appears with her staff Matoma, and Kanaka remembers that this is Chiaki’s delivery area. Chiaki has a particular interest in Fumika because those who deliver Shigofumi are usually dead, so they don’t get older. Fumika is different because she ages.

Back at the school, Nanae asks Ran who Tateishi Naoko is, and Ran finally admits that it was her mother. She had left Ran’s father for another man, and Ran hated her for that. That’s why when she found out that her mother had been tricked by that guy, she felt that her mother got what she deserved. Later that night, Fumika pays another visit to Ran and finally gets her to take the letter. Ran, however, promptly throws it into the garbage, and Fumika concedes that Ran can do whatever she wants with it once she’s accepted it. The following morning, Ran is thinking about her mother so much that she doesn’t look where she’s running and injures her ankle. After helping bandage it up, Nanae urges her to read the Shigofumi and promises to always stay at her side. Ran still doesn’t though, and she tries to get some rest. Sometime later, Nanae and the rest of the tennis team notice that there’s smoke coming from the school. Unbeknownst to them, the sunlight focused through a plastic bottle had set a shirt on fire, and Ran is now trying to make her way out of the burning building.

Ran gets all the way out to the courtyard, but her injured foot prevents her from going any further, and she gets caught in the middle of the blaze. She had brought out the Shigofumi with her, and as she quietly cries out to her mother, it miraculously starts raining. Lying on the ground, Ran can only think of how her mother had abandoned her all those years ago. Watching from a distance, Chiaki questions Fumika about what just happened, but Fumika claims that it wasn’t her doing. She attributes it to something else, and she refers to the rain as gentle. In the aftermath, Ran does end up reading the Shigofumi, and in it, her mother apologizes to her and expresses how proud she is of all of Ran’s achievements. She had ended the Shigofumi by urging Ran to do her best, and Ran feels a lot better towards her mother afterwards.

Preview

Well this was a sweet episode that ended on a high note for once, but it was probably the weakest of the ones so far because it lacked any real surprises (unless you count divine/motherly forces causing it to rain). The first three episodes kind of spoiled me in that sense because the appeal they had for me was in the way the story weaved in plot twists, and this episode really didn’t have any. The most interesting parts this week were related to the first appearance of Chiaki and her staff Matoma (who kind of have reverse personalities compared to Fumika and Kanaka). Though she didn’t really play a big part in the episode, Chiaki’s revelation that Fumika is different from the other Shigofumi couriers seems to support the idea that Mikawa Kirameki became Fumika under some unusual circumstances while still being alive in that hospital bed. I’m hoping next week’s episode will shed more light onto it since the preview shows more of Mikawa and Kaname (and Chiaki).

Summary:

On the way home, Hiromi reveals to Shinichirou that it was last year during an interleague basketball game with Hotarugawa High School that she met Noe’s brother. At the time, she thought he was a good guy, and she came to be attracted to him. Hearing all this makes Shinichirou think that this is not the Hiromi that he knows, and he feels that she’s shackle-less in a world that he isn’t familiar with. The next morning, Shinichirou runs into Hiromi on his way out, but he purposefully seems not to say much to her. He ends up going to the waterfront to lie around, and it’s Aiko who finds him there. When she notices that something is wrong and asks him about it, Shinichirou blames the false hope that she gave him. To cheer him up, Aiko suggests that he go shopping with her, but because he assumes that this means bringing along Nobuse too, she claims that Nobuse had something else to do. At the shopping center, Shinichirou barely pays any attention to the clothes Aiko is looking at, though he seems attracted to a particular purple sweater. Aiko thinks that it’s plain looking, but after Shinichirou walks off, she decides to buy it.

Aiko treats Shinichirou to lunch because she feels responsible, however Shinichirou attributes it to his own misunderstanding. He knows now that there’s someone closer to Noe than him, and that was the person Hiromi that was interested in. Trying to console him, Aiko says that the time will come when he’ll naturally forget, and he needs to cheer up because he’s like a little brother to her, so she worries about him. Back at home, Shinichirou runs into Hiromi again, and this time she directly asks him if he’s avoiding her. Before he can say anything, she goes ahead and apologizes for what she asked him to do. Shinichirou claims that he was merely surprised at how she wanted to be friends with Noe so that she could hit it off with Noe’s brother, but he blames his own foolishness. Hiromi looks ready to cry as he talks about how he wishes that she had told him this from the beginning and his calling it unfair. Their conversation, however, is interrupted by Shinichirou’s mother, and as soon as she appears, Shinichirou runs off. As Hiromi excuses herself too, Shinichirou’s mother coldly comments on how Hiromi’s eyes are just like her mother’s.

After school the next day, Noe finds Shinichirou and presents him with some berries that she refers to as the day’s serving. Shinichirou brings up how he can give her the tears she wants right now because he feels like crying, but when he refuses to tell her why, she claims that his tears are worthless right now. Noe offers to clean them for him, however this turns out to involve dunking his head into a cold fountain. Afterwards, she gives him her coat to warm him up and reveals that it belonged to her grandmother – the same grandmother that took Noe’s tears to the heavens. Years ago, Noe had been crying at her sick grandmother’s bedside, so her grandmother had talked about taking her tears with her on her trip to the sky. Noe’s brother had spoken up about tears not being something that could be given away, but their grandmother had explained that it could be done if it was someone precious to you. True to her word, Noe’s grandmother took Noe’s tears, and Noe’s been unable to cry since then. Noe feels that she’ll want to cry some day, and she’ll need someone’s tears for that, but it has to be someone precious to her. What’s more, she wants it to be someone who looks upwards and has tears close to the heavens – that’s why Shinichirou’s ordinary tears right now are no good.

Nobuse and Aiko meanwhile are on what Nobuse thinks is a date, but Aiko is not really interested in what he wants to do. After two spot Shinichirou and Noe walking together, Aiko comments on how cute Noe is, so Nobuse says that Aiko is cute too. Seeing the look on Aiko’s face makes Nobuse want to hold her hand, but him trying to do so shocks her and causes her to pull away. After a round of apologizes, the intersection light turns green, and Aiko surprisingly takes Nobuse’s hand to cross the street. As for Noe and Shinichirou, she figures out that Hiromi is the reason for his tears, and she attributes this to her sincere imagination and how she uses it to think about why people are suffering. She goes on to say that she’s okay with helping him to hit it off with Hiromi to raise his spirits, surprising him a little. Shinichirou then brings up how he can’t eat the berries and gets her to try them when she asks why. Noe does just that, and the pained face she makes afterwards makes Shinichirou laugh. On the way home, Shinichirou wonders to himself if he can give up on Hiromi, and though he still doesn’t know, he feels the need to shout at some crows.

At the supermarket with her brother that night, Noe tries to decide on vegetables because she intends to cook for Shinichirou. As her brother tries to put a helmet on her to go home, Noe can’t stop talking about Shinichirou, but her brother focuses his gaze on her chin and neck. At his own home, Shinichirou goes in to see his father in the brewery, and his father asks about his picture book. His father saying that he wants to see it next time makes Shinichirou smile. Shinichirou then starts working on his picture book again, and in it, the red snow turns white and accumulates until everywhere is white. The following morning, he runs into Hiromi just as she’s finishing washing up in the bathroom, and he apologizes for how he spoke to her earlier. Unfortunately for him, he accidentally tries to use facial cleanser as toothpaste, and Hiromi runs to get her cell phone so that she can take a picture of him. She laughs at how he looked, and though Shinichirou is embarrassed, he feels that even he can make her laugh. As Shinichirou is leaving the house, he’s surprised to find that Noe’s brother Jun is waiting for him. Jun has a favor to ask: he wants Shinichirou to go out with Noe.

Preview

My oh my, there are so many potential relationship links now. This episode alone adds at least three more to the mix, with Hiromi and Jun, Jun and Noe, and Aiko and Nobuse. You could argue that Hiromi and Jun was introduced last week, but I didn’t think it was viable until Hiromi explained the background behind it this episode (and she does apparently know that he’s Noe’s brother), showing that she probably didn’t just pick a name out of a hat when she was talking to her friend. Still, it’s pretty clear that the majority of her feelings lie with Shinichirou.

Aiko and Nobuse has also been mentioned before, but this is the first time she’s really actually shown feelings for him, even if they were somewhat misdirected in the sense that he’s like a consolation prize and she really still likes Shinichirou. And then there’s Jun and Noe and what could be interpreted as a siscon moment when he was trying to put the motorcycle helmet on her. That could be a false alarm, but I’m also a little bothered by the fact that Jun told Shinichirou that he’s not at all like his sister – it brings back memories of not-related-by-blood stories.

There’s also the prospect of what happened between Shinichirou’s mother and Hiromi’s mother, and more than one person has pointed out the possibility of Hiromi being Shinichirou’s half-sister or something. I’m a bit leery of that idea (two possible siscon elements seems like too many), but I admit that it’d make an interesting twist. I also have to applaud the production team on ending the episode on what I thought was a funny, yet cliffhanger moment with Shinichirou’s reaction to Jun’s request. The overall production on this series has just been incredible. Anyway, I’m very curious to see what happens now between Noe and Shinichirou, and what next week reveals about Shinichirou’s mother’s (seemingly bad) relationship with Hiromi’s mother.

CODE GEASS – Best Phrase Award

Of the second half, the best phrase was from the end of episode 23 when Lelouch talks about how he doesn’t care if he has to face Suzaku and welcomes it because they are friends. I was more amused by the fact that they chose Orange-kun’s “Ohayou Gozaimashita” for the number 3 spot – the way he says that line makes me smile every time.
 
Secret Note

Details revealed this time include the steak in warm milk dish that Cecil cooked in episode 14, how Ougi kept Viletta under house arrest because he didn’t want to let someone who knew Zero’s secret go, how the Black Knights organization restructuring led to Diethard rising through the ranks, how Suzaku started suspected that Lelouch was Zero in episode 18, and how C.C. actually talks to different people each time she appears to be talking to someone who’s not there.
 
Sayoko’s Diary

This was about how Diethard introduced Sayoko to the Black Knights as S.S. and how C.C. was the one who ultimately let her in. It wasn’t quite as funny as the first one, though I did laugh at the manko (vagina) joke during the quiz game.

 
Lelouch’s Britannia History Course

Lelouch and Suzaku go over how Alwyn the First was the person who started it all during the time of Roman Emperor Augustus, though there is no concrete evidence of Alwyn’s existence. The current Britannia started with Ricardo van Britannia in 1813.
 
Hangyaku Nikki on DVD Magazine

I didn’t think they could make it any better after the first half of this on the first DVD was such a riot, but they did. The highlights here are Lelouch’s voice actor Fukuyama Jun arm wrestling Sayoko’s voice actress Arai Satomi (and losing when the girls gang up and tickle him), Rivalz’s voice actor Sugiyama Noriaki pretending to be Lelouch, and (the best of all) Fukuyama Jun pretending to be the Emperor of Britannia. I couldn’t stop laughing at the latter because Fukuyama’s Jun’s impression of Wakamoto Norio is absolutely hilarious.

 
Sequel Trailer

Watch the trailer! Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Mirror 3

Of course, the main draw of this DVD has to be the trailer for R2 even though it clocks in at less than 30 seconds long. In order, the trailer shows: the Guren Nishiki, a Gekka jumping out of a transport, a bunch of Sutherlands crashing into a building, the Lancelot cutting through another Knightmare, a list of all the Black Knights arrested, bunny costume Kallen doing some crazy kick against a burly looking dude, Rollo taking off a helmet, Rivalz, Milly, Shirley and Rivalz cooking, bunny costume Kallen talking to someone who looks like Lelouch, Suzaku, Marianne, the Emperor, the guy from the Chinese Federation, naked C.C. floating through GEASS space, Lelouch holding a chess piece, and a new Knightmare frame.

Overall, this DVD has a lot of fun stuff on it, and like the first one, it’s definitely worth watching if you’re a GEASS fan. The trailer does a good job piquing my interest (Why is Kallen in a bunny costume? Who’s the Chinese guy?), but I’m trying not to get too excited since there’s still over two more months until the spring season. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 starts in April in the new Sunday, 5PM slot.

Summary:

When the pilot of the Gundam that saved him checks to see if he’s okay, Setsuna questions who she is. Without hesitation, the girl answers that she’s Nena Trinity – a Gundam Meister just like him. Her Gundam is called the Throne Drei, and her brothers pilot the other two Gundam Thrones. At this very moment, Patrick and his AEU force are returning with the Virtue to their base when they suddenly start getting picked apart by sniper fire. Patrick’s Enact is the first to get hit, and the Virtue is soon free because the Hellions that were keeping it confined have now been destroyed. The Gundam pilot that was doing the firing doesn’t stop there though and continues on with his mission. In another part of the desert, Soma is wondering why the pilot of the Kyrios attacked the facility of the superhuman organization and killed her brethren. She suddenly senses something, but by the time she reacts, several of the Human Reform League Tierens have been destroyed. They are being attacked by several slender objects flying around that aren’t missiles, and these objects eventually return to the Gundam where they came from. What they are facing is the Throne Zwei Gundam, and its pilot is Michael Trinity. Michael refers to the weapon pieces flying around as Fangs, and they score multiple hits on both Sergei’s Tieren and Soma’s Tieren Taozi.

By now, the Gundam that freed the Virtue has begun picking off the Union Flags around the Dynames. Losing more men with each passing moment, Graham has no choice but to order a retreat. Lockon is surprised to see a new Gundam, and his Haro doesn’t even have any information on it, but he finds out about it soon enough when its pilot introduces himself as Johann Trinity and reveals that the Gundam is the Throne Eins. With all of the Meisters safe, Johann then tells Nena to scatter GN particles over a maximum area, and so she has her Throne Drei completely cover the sky in those particles. At the AEU base, Kathy is just now learning of the new Gundams and their failure to capture anything. With the GN particles everywhere, nobody’s communications systems work, and Sergei questions why Celestial Being didn’t do this earlier if they had the ability to do so. Back at Wang Liu-Mei’s place, Christina gets a coded message from Haro about the four Gundams being okay. Sumeragi is a bit surprised by this, but she feels that this is a case where she should be happy that things didn’t go according to expectations. All across the world, leaders of the superpowers are reacting to the news of three new Gundams, upping the count to seven total. Even Setsuna and company are still in shock as they safely return to their island base, particularly Tieria who knows that such Gundams didn’t exist in Veda’s plan.

Sometime later, Alejandro Corner arrives in a theater-like room that has each of its balcony spots occupied by a piece of artwork that represents a person. The voices behind the artwork discuss the new Gundams being part of a secret second team and how they weren’t described in Veda’s plan. Addressing all the observers, Alejandro asks about acknowledging the new Gundams, but the voices behind the artwork first want to re-evaluate the results of everything that Celestial Being has done. Alejandro thus launches into an explanation that starts with Celestial Being’s first mission against the AEU and against the terrorists, and he and the other voices go on to discuss all of the subsequent missions and events. When they work their way back up to what happened in Taklamakan, they wonder where the GN Drives for the new Gundams were created because they thought that there were only five in operation. Alejandro eventually brings the discussion back to the question of acknowledging the three new Gundams or not, and the group agrees to do it.

Meanwhile, the Trinity siblings have also been discussing the Celestial Being missions, and Johann thinks that the Gundam Meisters will have an interest in them and the Gundam Thrones. As their ship nears a rendezvous point, the three get ready to meet their fellow Gundam Meisters.

Preview:

Despite what the Newtype spoilers had hinted at, I had thought last week that there wouldn’t be any recap this episode because there was so much to cover with Setsuna and company being saved by the new Gundams. That turned out to be not quite true because it was a very lopsided victory on the Gundam Thrones’ part. I had really hoped that it wouldn’t be quite so easy, but maybe this just proves that regular forces can’t stand against the Gundams without superior numbers and planning. Or perhaps the Gundam Thrones are just that good. In any case, it was all over before the mid-episode mark, and the latter half ended up being mostly recap. It wasn’t all bad though because they framed it as a discussion between the Illuminati-like Observer organization that Alejandro appears to be part of. I’ve currently got Alejandro pegged as the eventual bad guy, so anything he does I see as being up to no good, and I’m just waiting for him to backstab someone.

Anyway, the “good guys” currently have too much power on their side with no one to really oppose them, so unless something big happens to change things, I expect that the Trinity siblings will eventually have to fight Setsuna and company. It’s more a question of when, and I’m willing to bet that it’ll be sooner rather than later.

Summary:

Standing in a field of wheat, the robot sees lights rising around him and remembers that he was in a different world either a long time ago or in the distant future. When the girl next to him asks him about what kind of place it was – if it was more wonderful than here, if there were a lot of things there, and if it was not lonely like the world they’re currently in – the robot thinks that all of these were true. The robot observes that this girl has been alone for a long time in a world that’s ended, and he thinks that he was born here because he knew that this place has nothing, is joyless, and is lonely. The girl then asks him if he wished to be born in such a world, and instead of answering, the robot holds her hand. Back in the real world, Sunohara brings up the idea of lending his name to the drama club so that Nagisa will have enough people to be recognized by the student council, but it turns out that Kyou and the other girls had already thought of the exact same thing. They go to Koumura to ask him to be their adviser, but Koumura refers them to Nishina Rie – the same girl who lent Kotomi her violin. As it turns out, Nishina had asked Koumura to be the adviser to the choir club, however since he was originally the adviser to the drama club, Nishina is willing to let Nagisa have him.

That night, Tomoya is in Sunohara’s room when Misae comes looking for Sunohara because his little sister is calling on the phone. She has Tomoya answer for him since he’s not around, and Tomoya jokingly pretends to be Sunohara over the phone. Sunohara’s sister, however, believes him, tells him that she’s coming the day after tomorrow, and hangs up before he can reveal the truth. The following day, Tomoya and Sunohara find Nagisa reading a threatening note that tells her to give up on the drama club. Sunohara thinks that the culprit is someone from the choir club, but Nagisa refuses to believe this without proof, especially since those girls were so kind to Kotomi. Because of this, Sunohara decides to investigate on his own, and he reports later that it was a girl named Sugisaka from the choir club. His proof comes from the fact that someone had seen her putting something in the desk of a third-year student. Sunohara even called her out, and she arrives alone to face him, Nagisa, and Tomoya. Sugisaka takes responsibility for the letter, saying it has nothing to do with Nishina or the others, but when Sunohara doesn’t believe her, Nagisa personally steps in to talk with her.

According to Sugisaka, Nishina has played the violin since she was young and had won many competitions. Nishina was set to go study overseas, but she was then involved in an accident that weakened her grip and prevented her from playing the violin as well as she used to. Sugisaka notes that Nishina was lonely when she entered this school, and they want to create the choir club so that she can sing even if she can’t play the violin. She begs Nagisa not to get in the way, but before Nagisa can respond, Sunohara angrily tells her not to listen to Sugisaka. He feels that someone who tries to get sympathy like that is a coward, and he’s angry with her for using the handicap. Nagisa, however, decides to give up on the drama club because she believes that, in comparison, the choir club is more serious about what they want to do. This frustrates Sunohara, and Tomoya privates explains to Nagisa later that Sunohara is the same as him in how they both entered the school on sports recommendations but had to quit the sport. In Sunohara’s case, it was fighting with an upperclassman in the soccer club and being forced to leave. Because Sunohara had to give up his dream halfway, he can’t forgive people when they try to take advantage of circumstances.

When Tomoya asks Nagisa about being happy with her decision, she starts talking about how much fun it was working together up to now. Though she couldn’t reestablish the drama club, she found many more important things, including becoming friends with him, Kyou, Ryou, Kotomi, and Sunohara. She attributes her being able to work hard until now to Tomoya, but he feels that she’s personally become stronger compared to how troubled she was when they had met at the bottom of that hill. Nagisa still thinks that she wouldn’t have been able to do anything without him, and she starts crying, so Tomoya tries to comfort her. Unfortunately, as soon as he touches her shoulders, the two get interrupted by Kyou who had heard about what happened. Kyou scolds Nagisa because she thinks that Nagisa’s dream won’t be realized if she’s only considerate of other people. A little later that afternoon, Sunohara expresses his frustrations to Tomoya and talks of destroying the choir club. Since Sunohara wants to go have some fun somewhere, Tomoya takes him to the see Miyazawa Yukine in the library reference room so that they can have coffee and kill some time.

While they’re there, Yukine pulls out an astrology book and starts reading out stuff from the entry corresponding to Sunohara’s constellation. After she mentions that his lucky word is “basketball” and that people are moved when he challenges the impossible, Sunohara realizes something and runs off. Leaving the reference room, Tomoya then runs into two members of the judo club trying to recruit Tomoyo. Before Tomoya can step in though, Fuuko suddenly appears to help because Tomoyo came to her sister’s wedding. However, Fuuko quickly realizes that the two judo club members also came, meaning that she can’t take sides here, and she vows to show up again some other time. After Fuuko walks off, Tomoya gives a threatening glare to the male judo club member before pulling Tomoyo away. Tomoyo is impressed that he stood up to the judo club captains, and she goes on to explain that she’s going to be busy with student council president elections. Hearing this, Tomoya thinks about how it’d be easier to reestablish the drama club if someone like her was the student council president, and Tomoyo then compliments him on being a good guy.

The next morning, Tomoya and Nagisa find out that Sunohara plans to play a game against the basketball club. Remembering what Yukine had read from the astrology book, Sunohara thinks that if he can win against the regular players, then he can make the choir club understand that handicaps don’t mean anything. And with Sugisaka and Nishina emotionally moved, he thinks that they’ll hand over Koumura. He needs Tomoya to help, but Tomoya ignores his repeated requests to play basketball. It gets to the point where Tomoya has to run away after class to escape from him, and he drags Nagisa with him. The two of them don’t stop until they’ve gotten some distance away from the school, but seeing that Nagisa is worried about Sunohara, Tomoya pretends that the truth is that Sunohara is in love with him. Tomoya matter-of-factly states that he can’t fall in love with another man, and he claims that getting Sunohara to give up quickly is for Sunohara’s own good. When Sunohara catches up with them, Nagisa misinterprets everything he says in the love framework that Tomoya just created, and she uses the excuse that Tomoya is her boyfriend to get Sunohara to give up. This succeeds in causing Sunohara to run away crying, and afterwards Nagisa apologizes to Tomoya and explains that she felt that she had to protect him. Tomoya thanks her, saying that he’s happy, but their moment together is once again broken up, this time by the arrival of Sunohara’s younger sister Mei.

Preview:

So why can’t they just share Koumura or something? I don’t think that being the advisor for two small clubs would kill the old man, and they could avoid this zero-sum standoff. On the plus side, this situation gives Sunohara’s some more character development, and it appears to reinforce Tomoya and Nagisa’s relationship. Perhaps not as much as the game though since I’ve been told that Tomoya actually confesses to Nagisa in in this scene in the game. The animated version probably can’t do that since it’s trying to cover as much as possible and not just focus on Nagisa’s story path.

On a different note, I wish they would stop having these random Fuuko moments. They’re only mildly amusing (Tomoya claiming Sunohara loved him was tons funnier), and I still think it takes away from the ending to the Fuuko arc. Tomoyo, on the other hand, is someone I’d like to see them spend more time on (the summer uniforms incidentally make me think of Tomoyo After), though I’m not sure that they will at the rate they’re going. From what (little) I know about the overall story, there’s still a lot left to cover, and not that many episodes left to do it in. For now, next week looks like it’ll be about the basketball game and probably Mei (Tamura Yukari is perfect for that role).

Summary:

Everyone, including Yuuji himself, is shocked at the sight of the armored arm that’s sticking out of him and into Pheles. It starts to suck up her power, so Yuuji cries for her to get away, but she refuses because of Johan. When the hand finally pulls out of Pheles, Wilhelmina grabs her with ribbons and drags her down while Shana and Margery fly up to Yuuji. Margery activates an unrestricted method around him, and, unlike last time, she’s calm and collected. More of the armor then emerges from the dark hole, including a head and torso, and unbeknownst to everyone, Konoe and her butler are walking through the school towards the rooftop, unaffected by the fuuzetsu. Meanwhile, at the Bal Masqué base of Seireiden, the mad scientist Dantalion, the winged Fecor, Bel Peol, and Hecate are gathered in front of a silver armor that’s missing its head and left arm. Hecate thinks that the original owner of the Reiji Maigo has shown up, and Fecor worries that their plan has been discovered. Bel Peol, however, suggests that the Itsuwari no Utsuwa (lit. False Vessel) has already served its purpose.

Back in Misaki City, Margery succeeds in wrapping up the armor with an unrestricted method, but before she can do anything else, Konoe and her butler appear on the rooftop. Both of their bracelets suddenly disappear, causing the butler to explode and Konoe to power up. She then flies up to Yuuji, brings out Hecate’s staff, dispels Margery’s unrestricted method with it, attacks Shana to keep her at bay, touches the armor with the staff to make it disappear, and finally stabs Yuuji with the staff to seal it. Shana tries to rush back towards Yuuji, but she has a hard time doing so because huge cubes suddenly appear from nowhere and nearly crush her. This is followed by a hail of smaller pieces, and Alastor recognizes the ability as Magnesia. Shortly after the hail stops, a bright light appears near where Yuuji and Fumina are, and Hecate emerges from it along with Fecor. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Shana again tries to head for Yuuji, but Fecor’s ability stops her once again. Hecate meanwhile refers to Konoe as the Itsuwari no Utsuwa and has her open her vessel and transfer everything over. What Konoe gives to Hecate are her memories of Yuuji and friends, and Hecate then proceeds to absorb Konoe too.

With all this over, Fecor notes that they’ve succeeded in safely recovering the Itsuwari no Utsuwa, suppressing the materialization of the tyrant, and sealing the Reiji Maigo. All that’s left for them is to break down the container, referring to Yuuji. It is at this point that Shana springs into action, and before Fecor can respond, he gets double-teamed by Wilhelmina and Margery. Shana goes head to head with Hecate, but Hecate is able to hold her ground, and Yuuji suddenly feels something happening inside of him. He loses consciousness and starts to fall out of the sky, but Shana doesn’t notice until she’s been blasted by Hecate and is falling downward too. She watches in shock as Yuuji turns into Johan, and Johan then floats down towards Pheles. Reunited, two lovers become surrounded by powerful winds that even Fecor’s Magnesia and a blast from Hecate’s staff aren’t able to break through. As they float up above the fuuzetsu bubble, Wilhelmina hears Johan apologize to her. Shana flies out of the fuuzetsu in pursuit, and she cries out because she’s worried about Yuuji disappearing when she sees Johan kiss Pheles and start to give her his power of existence.

A bright flash of light coming from the two causes Shana to lose consciousness and fall out of the sky, but she wakes back up before hitting the ground. When Pheles loses her grip on the unconscious Johan, he too falls, changing back into Yuuji in the process. Shana rushes to catch and hug him, and, seeing her in tears, Yuuji reassures her that he’s okay. Watching from the rooftop, Kazumi wishes that she could go up to the same place as Shana and Yuuji, and she’s surprised when Pheles comes down to talk with her. By now, Hecate and Fecor have also left the scene because they accomplished what they set out to do. Everyone then regroups on the rooftop, and Pheles is happy that she was able to reach Johan. She won’t be going after Yuuji again and has somewhere she has to go, though she doesn’t reveal where. Wilhelmina seems to want to go with her, but Pheles says that she’s no longer qualified for that and disappears. In the aftermath, everything returns to normal, and Shana is bent on protecting Yuuji. When Keisaku wonders if things are over, Margery suggests that they’re probably just beginning.

Preview:

This episode had a lot of great action scenes and appears to conclude everything with Konoe and maybe Pheles too, but not with Hecate or the rest of the Bal Masqué. I’m really just glad that the Bal Masqué is playing a part in the story again because its been so long since we last saw them, and I had been wondering if they wouldn’t show up again until the end of the series. The revelation of what Konoe is was interesting (I had originally thought that it was Hecate in disguise), but it makes sense since this kept her from being detected by the Flame Haze. Regardless, Hecate got what she wanted, and she even showed off that she can go head-to-head with Shana and stand her ground.

Speaking of Shana, I thought she missed a good opportunity to say she loved Yuuji right after he turned back to himself and she was hugging him. Kazumi technically still has a chance, though I’m more interested in what the hougu that Pheles left with her does. That looks like it’ll be explained next week, though the preview doesn’t appear to be terribly exciting overall. This past arc has been pretty good, so my expectations for the series are a little higher, and I’m more curious than ever now about how it’ll end.

Summary:

After laughing maniacally at the power of love, Asim sends Garnet forward to attack Jin and Toa, but Gio blocks her way. With Garnet unable to beat Gio, Asim orders her to show her true strength, and Garnet’s left eye glows red. Remembering how, 15 years ago, she had gone through a Resonance when a very young Asim, Garnet now unleashes her power and stabs Gio right through the gut. She then tries to get Jin to hand over Toa, but when he refuses, she calls the power of love a sham and charges them. Gio, however, gets in her way again and manages to both break her sword and knock her into the wall. This gives everyone the opportunity to escape, but Gio is too injured to make the trip back to Earth, so they instead head to a nearby Girouard mining facility. There, Toa offers to heal Gio, and after expending a lot of energy – which in turn causes her back to glow red – she’s able to close his wound. Toa feels a bit light-headed afterwards and has a hard time staying on her feed, but she claims to only need some rest. Gio then apologizes for her having to do this for him, however Toa points out that he’s always been protecting her, so she wanted to save him.

Jin decides that they should rest here until Toa and Gio recover, and just as Akira is wishing for a hot springs, they find one. It’s actually the by-product of an ice melting system, and the two pools allow the girls and the guys to bathe separately. As he sits in the water with Gio, Jin recalls all their times together and attributes where they are today to Gio. Jin thanks Gio, and after the two tap their fists to the other’s chests as a sign of unity and camaraderie, Jin talks about them protecting Toa together. On the girl’s side, Akira notices Toa experiencing some pain, but Toa claims that she’s fine. Akira then brings up the topic of what was glowing on Toa’s back when she was healing Gio earlier. Toa says that it was nothing, however Machina reveals that it was a stigmata. Machina knows that Toa’s death draws near and explains that Dragons live longer than humans, but they’re not immortal. When it comes about time for them to die, the stigmata appears, and it gets brighter as they get closer to death.

Toa doesn’t want to tell Jin about this and explains that she knew it would happen from the beginning. As original dragons, they are part of Thanatos, and when they finish their duty of bringing their comrades back, they approach death. Toa believes that this is a fate that they cannot escape from. Akira then remembers how scared she was when she first met Machina. She had thought that Machina was beautiful and saw her as the ideal woman because Machina was in every way the opposite of her. The two of them quickly became like old friends, and Akira began to love her, but in her heart, she reminded herself that Machina wasn’t human. That’s why she always felt it was weird to love a dragon. It wasn’t until she met Jin that she felt differently, and she believed that he could change the relationship between man and dragon. She thought that if she was with him, then she might see something new, and it was the earlier scene of Jin and Toa together that finally convinced her: if two people accept and believe each other, then it doesn’t matter if they are human or dragon. Machina then recalls what Toa had said about not being able to change your fate but being able to change your destiny, and she feels that Toa and Jin have proven this.

Gio and Jin then rejoin the girls after having finished their bath, but before they leave this place, Akira brings up how this particular spot looks like a church altar with how the light shines on the nearby ice blocks. She suggests that Jin and Toa have a wedding here, and Machina makes a pair of rings out of ice for them. Shortly after Jin places the ring on Toa’s finger though, Asim interrupts them with his clapping. Seeing Garnet suddenly leaping down to attack, Akira jumps in her way, and the result is that she suffers a deadly blow across her body. Machina counters by elbowing Garnet in the face, and once Gio takes over to fight, Machina rushes to Akira’s side. Struggling to speak, Akira urges Toa and Jin to make a new human and dragon history, and she utters Machina’s name and touches her face one last time before dying. Overcome with grief, Machina starts screaming and going berserk, and unlike everyone else, Asim is ecstatic about this. Red markings appear on Machina’s skin as her clothes turn black and her hair darkens, and one more scream confirms that this isn’t the same Machina as a moment ago.

Preview

Holy crap, did they throw enough plot twists into this episode? There were at least two or three episodes worth in here, from Garnet being a dragon (is she a full dragon though? she only has one red eye) to the fact that Toa’s going to die soon (no indication how soon) to the wedding to Akira death (they brought out the good animation team for that scene) and finally to Machina going berserk. As fun as it was to watch everyone happen all at once, I can’t help but think that the pacing could have been better – they could have gotten rid of some of the repetitive capture/escape stuff from the beginning and spread the current part of the story out a little more.

I got a bad feeling about Akira’s future as soon as she started making a speech about her past with Machina (as my friend pointed out, in game-terminology, that was the death flag), but I didn’t seriously think that she’d die. A part of that I think was due to the relative lack of death in the series so far, particularly if you consider how Kazuki seems to survive everything. Unfortunately, Akira’s death and Machina subsequently going berserk probably means that Machina won’t live much longer either. It’ll be interesting to see what (and how much) happens at the end of this arc next week because there’s now the Machina stuff plus the escape from Mars plus whatever the Lindwurm Unit ends up doing. At least, I assume next week is the end of this arc since episode 18 is supposed to take place one year after. In any case, if there’s one thing Gonzo did right with this episode, it was that it made Dragonauts pretty exciting to talk about again.