Random Curiosity

「饗宴・砦ノ戦争」 (Kyouen – Toride no Sensou)
“Banquet – The Fortress War”

The only thing better than trumpet girls playing war are DRUNK trumpet girls playing war! And in 1080p no less, in this first of two DVD/Blu-ray only episodes. After how this series came off as nothing more than that to me the majority of the time, it was good to see them actually do so as a result of Kanata prying into Filicia and the others’ secret underground Calvados distillery. What’s even more criminal is how Filicia spiked everyone’s tea with the apple brandy to get Yumina off their backs about drinking under the age and catching onto how they’re actually making it themselves. It doesn’t look good when Filicia, Rio, and Kureha are making some good cash on the side from their operation either, but I can’t really blame them for being opportunistic with all the free time they have at the fort. One can only pretend to be stationed in the army post for so long before boredom kicks in and the urge of actually doing something worthwhile comes along, so what better way than to make your own alcohol, pocket some good cash, and get drunk whenever you want?

If it isn’t apparent already, this was a gag-filled episode full of melodrama as a result of everyone under the influence of good ‘ol alcohol, thanks to our always “trustworthy” platoon leader Filicia Heideman. Remember when senior officers were supposed to be the most responsible ones? Well that sure as hell doesn’t apply if they’re the COOL ones. Anyway, with Yumina all enthusiastic and joining in on the mock battle to determine if they’ll let Kanata in on what’s stored in the basement, Kureha served as the voice of reason in all this to provide the tsukkomi (comedic jabs) since she was the only one with a high enough tolerance to remember the atrocities that took place. In her retelling of the incident that Filicia swept under the rug in hopes of it being forgotten forever, this battle with water guns and blood-dyed ammunition was absolutely hilarious with Noel showing the fools the power of science, water Gatling gun style!

I can’t even describe how much I laughed my ass off at Noel all sadistic over the prospect of testing out her new toy, but this goes to show exactly why Yuuki Aoi is just as awesome when she plays a green-haired android or a purple-haired girl from a family of strict customs. I honestly have no idea how she and the other seiyuu can keep a straight face voicing some of these scenes, because after seeing hints of lesbianism followed by Filicia charging in to act as a diversion and getting gunned down, I couldn’t stop laughing. Rio getting all emotional about losing her lifelong partner and Noel getting hit unexpectedly after running out of ammo had me laughing to point that it hurt, especially when I saw the latter rolled over on top of her Gatling gun. I could watch that scene over and over again and be just as hilarious as the first time. Hell, even looking at that screencap now makes me laugh. Then there’s Yumina succumbing to the fires of war just as quickly, along with her teary-eyed departure where she entrusts the outcome of this battle to Kanata. Not too long after, the final showdown between Kanata and Rio in the distillery where Kureha couldn’t be bothered nor allowed to take part in just added to the laughs with the goofy yet workable script.

The comedic melodrama was absolute gold in all these scenes and it was all summed up perfectly with one quick glance from Kureha. In other words, “…” With the subsequent fan-service-filled bath scenes after the mock battle, I somehow saw that as a befitting end to this bonus episode, but it went on to surprise me with Yumina coming back completely wasted and slogging directly from the bottle. Somehow, that was a green light for Filicia to go all out with the underage drinking, which resulted in a mix of emotional drunks, talkative drunks, and sleepy drunks. The true victim in all this ended up being Kureha herself in her still sober state, as she got stripped and ravaged endlessly by a bunch of drunk girls. Needless to say, those were some traumatizing details that Kureha couldn’t even document in detail.

Anyway, assuming that a series didn’t have any major loose ends that were begging to be tied up, I love it when bonus episodes just take a comedic spin on things like it did here. It’s even better when we see all everyone completely out of character too, so this lighthearted one is definitely worth watching if you enjoyed the series. The second and final bonus episode won’t be out until September 22nd.

* P.S. SEKIREI fans might get some Matsu vibes from Endou Aya portraying Filicia in a sly and cunning manner.

「バカと不良とヒーローと」 (Baka to Furyou to Hiiroo to)
“An Idiot, A Delinquent, and A Hero”

Oh how the mighty have fallen. To think that the once renowned and feared “Tornado White Demon” of Seisen Middle School would become nothing more than the happy-go-lucky “Shiro-yan” after entering high school. While mostly due to his fear of his mother and his new-found interest in Misa-chan, Naoya left his delinquent juniors utterly speechless strolling into Maid Latte with his bubbly otaku-like personality. I can’t really blame their new leader Aratake (Kakihara Tetsuya) for being disappointed about the “Shironi” he once looked up to and is out to challenge in a one-on-one fight is nothing more than a figment of his former self. Interestingly enough, this episode didn’t go the way I was expecting it to after Yukimura was forced to cross-dress so that Hagimoto would have a girlfriend to show his mom and get her off his back.

Yukimura’s subsequent kidnapping due to a misunderstanding that he’s Naoya’s girlfriend was right along the lines of what the preview showed last time, but everyone getting completely sidetracked because they can’t locate Aratake’s secret base resulted in some unexpectedly quirky humor. This includes Ikuto’s disbelief that the Shiroyan he knows was some gang leader in middle school, Misaki’s remark about how Seisen’s full of weakass delinquents, and Aoi’s return where he gets everyone to dress up as a bunch of gangsters so Seika’s image isn’t affect by this. None were hilariously funny, but I found myself amused by the subtle humor that comes at our three idiots’ expense. At the same time, they surprised me with how cool they can look smoking their Pocky and getting back to their roots, without the typical cocky attitude to go along with it. After being bored to death by Suzuna‘s lengthy explanation on all things gyoza and further delays by Satsuki, Shizuko, Sakuro, and even the Inuyama quintuplets, I did get a good laugh out of Usui wondering if Yukimura’s still alive.

Anyway, I thought it was rather odd or just plan stupid that Naoya and Ryuunusuke didn’t figure to check out the secret base that was once theirs, but when they finally stumbled there, a conversation with fists helped settle things “peacefully” between Naoya and Aratake. I didn’t care too much for Aratake’s backstory about being weak and picking fights to become strong hero like Naoya is in his eyes, but I am surprised by how well Kakihara Tetsuya portrayed him here. Even with Aratake in tears and happy about Naoya realizing he’s the kid he saved before, he didn’t come off as the whiny characters I’m accustomed to hearing Tetsuya play. That turned out to be a big relief, as things wrapped up on a comedic note with Misaki seen as the female “Maid President” gang leader that Naoya now answers to. That was funny to see simply because everyone misunderstood “meido” as 「冥土」, which has the same pronunciation but means Hades or “the underworld”. Ikuto being all emo about feeling left out gave me a good chuckle too, only because he got a good slapping from Naoya for losing focus on the Speed training to win a photograph with Misa-chan.

Unsurprisingly, everyone forgot all about Yukimura in the end. However, with the way Naoya, Ryuunosuke, and Ikuto have become nothing more than cheap comic relief in this series due to their obsession of Misa-chan, it was nice to see them get some semi-meaningful attention for a change with an episode of their own. Incidentally, they’re getting outed just as quickly based on the preview, as a new hooded character will be introduced next time, which I believe should’ve made an appearance much earlier from if my memory from skimming through the manga serves me correctly.

Preview

「Graduation」

The graduation ceremony was down to the five shown in the preview last time, but that didn’t take away from the bittersweetness of it all. Surprisingly, I managed to hold the waterworks back this entire finale, though I felt a little of it coming on during Otonashi’s valedictorian speech. Leading up to that, Yuri’s new-found girlish tsundere self and Kanade’s excitement over having her first graduation ceremony was so lighthearted that I found it difficult to feel sorry about everyone choosing to disappear. The only thing I was sad about was seeing all of this come to an end after all the laughs and tears this series brought every step of the way. I was expecting some sort of a twist before this was all said and done however, and felt the episode’s progression was doing a good job of trying to divert the viewer’s attention away from that — something I like to refer to as the “Maeda Jun teary-eyed sneak attack”.

Before getting there, it was cute seeing Yuri’s reaction to Hinata telling her she’s cute that even had Kanade chuckling about it. Then there was the school/SSS song prepared by Kanade with mapo tofu lyrics that Hinata flipped out about over how it managed to pass any sort of screening, followed by Naoi getting on his case for singing out of tune with everyone for the Aogeba Toutoshi graduation song. In other words, even though this was supposed to be a bittersweet graduation, the laughs and quirkiness were still plentiful like the series has become renowned for. Of course, there were still those near tear-inducing moments from the graduation diplomas prepared by Kanade, where Yuri’s one commended her ability to give it her all for the sake of everyone. She looked like she was on the verge of tears upon reading that, so I felt pretty much the same after seeing everything she’s gone through. Along the same lines, surprising Hinata with a diploma after he lost rock-paper-scissors and had to take on the principal role of handing them out was something I had faith in Otonashi doing. I would’ve really liked to read what sort of praises were written on the others’ diplomas as well, but everyone’s last words before departing more or less helped fill the void of emotions that would’ve developed from doing so.

In typical Naoi style, he had to cast off going first as not wanting to see other people’s teary-eyed faces, before doing so himself in front of Otonashi. I was surprised to see Yuri volunteer to go next, though I still feel that her sudden change of heart towards Kanade in the last couple of episodes has been a tad bit forced. In any case, it was still nice to see her apologize for attacking Kanade all this time and tell her how she wishes she got to spend more time together before giving her a hug and saying farewell. The instrumental version of “Brave Song” was absolutely beautiful for that scene and had me pretty choked up inside watching it play out. Hinata of course wouldn’t let things go out on a somewhat depressing note, so it was uplifting to hear him and Otonashi part ways in style. With only Otonashi and Kanade remaining, the idea that myself and various other viewers had about Otonashi choosing to remain in this world to help other people move on made headway here. Quite honestly, it wouldn’t have been the ending I would’ve liked to see, but I didn’t rule out the possibility either. Otonashi’s confession to Kanade and desire to remain together in this world forever reminded me of the bug the developer of the Angel Player system tried to amend, so I’m glad that both of them did end up moving on like they should.

However, what I totally wasn’t expecting was Kanade revealing that she was the girl who received his heart from a transplant and prolonged her life because of it. As it turns out, the rest of Otonashi’s memories shown in episode nine came about because he had an opportunity to reconnect with his heart at Kanade’s bedside. Her reason for staying in this afterworld was in hopes of running into the person who selflessly gave her a renewed life — if only for a while longer — and thank him for that, which she realized was Otonashi because he doesn’t have a heart now. In light of that and his confession, my feelings go out to Otonashi for giving Kanade the means to move on in that heartfelt scene despite how much he didn’t want to part ways with her, which was beautifully done with a kuruta sung version of “Ichiban no Takaramono” playing in the background and extending right through the credits.

Much to my pleasant surprise, the ending that I figured would’ve been most fitting in this series proved to be true, as the new Otonashi is reunited with Kanade after overhearing her humming Iwasawa’s “My Song”. Ever since the idea of moving on changed for the better in recent episodes, this is honestly the only way I figure would’ve given us a happy ending. All I can hope is that Yuri, Hinata, and Yui were reunited as well in their newly reincarnated lives, but it’s good to know that Otonashi and Kanade have been.

Notes:
* Hearing that Takamatsu recovered from being an NPC and moved on as well felt like a bit of a cop out though.
* At two episodes per DVD/BD release, the seventh volume looks like it’ll include an extra fourteenth one.

ED and Epilogue

Final Impressions:

Back in the Spring 2010 Preview when I was recommending this series to all audiences, I used the line “Key and P.A. Works” as the main reason. Incidentally, “Key” is simply a reference to Maeda Jun‘s renowned ability to write moving stories and compose beautiful music as we’re reminded of again here in Angel Beats. Having seen the full series now, I think it’s safe to say that he delivered. The tone for the series was set ever since the second episode, where things got unbelievably funnier than every other comedy airing yet managed to mix in some drama through Yuri’s past, giving it a unique flair that I immediately took notice to. While some people may feel the emphasis on the humor is too prominent a lot of the times, I find that it made the characters more amiable and easier to get attached to (e.g. the TK phenomenon), plus showcased the enjoyable times they spent together — the last of which is one of the key aspects of the overall story.

I never felt that this series was as moving as CLANNAD or Kanon, but that was likely due to thirteen episodes being insufficient for telling the story that Jun had written. It was a problem identified when he met with director Kishi Seiji and the P.A. Works’ production staff, which forced them to supplement the story through other mediums such as prequel manga. However, in light of the challenges they faced from the time constraint, I feel that they’ve done an impeccable job putting together an original series that’s funny and moving at the same time. Looking back, it puts a new perspective on the work they put into producing this series, as seen in one of the promotion videos I included in the preview. That said, I do feel that the way the series jumped around to new focuses and new “final bosses” may have came off a bit too convenient way to keep the viewer guessing on the direction of the series, but the same can be said about CODE GEASS and all the twists it had for what seemed like the sake of having a twist.

There are clearly some holes in the plot of Angel Beats as well — which may or may not be due to its inability to spend time to explain things better — but it’s been a fairly smooth ride most of the way through for me. Sure, if you want to pick it apart under a fine microscope just because the series is popular, you could probably do so, but that still doesn’t take away from the fact that this is an awesome series that a lot of people enjoyed and will continue to enjoy. I think the main disappointment will stem from how this wasn’t a two-cour series, but I actually love how it was short and sweet in its thirteen episode format. I can’t wait to see what Maeda Jun’s next original piece of work is and hear whatever new songs he composes as well. Overall, it’s just as I said three months ago: This is a series that’s safe to recommend to all audiences, so if you’ve been living under a rock and avoiding it for the past three months, it’s really time to go check it out!

「失礼つかまつった」 (Shitsurei Tsukamatsutta)
“Pardon My Rudeness”

Durarara may have just concluded, but Souji’s revelation of Yaichi’s past with the Bakuro gang had me more shocked and on the edge of my seat than that finale. The reason being that the Yaichi we know now is nothing like the Seinoshin of the past. It was somewhat disturbing seeing Yaichi burst out into a sadistic laughter upon learning that Five Leaves’ most recent abductee wasn’t wanted by his family either and how they were given half of the ransom money to have them kill him off. I figured Yaichi would be a bit compassionate about finding someone in the same situation as him, but it’s almost like he’s been kidnapping all this time for this very moment — to feel what it’s like being on the other side of the situation. I’d almost say it’s a rather pitiful life he’s been living if that’s what’s been driving him to this point, and Masa’s sentiments seem to be the same. It looks like this proved to be a breaking point for Yaichi as well, since everyone was at a loss for words after seeing him not like his usual self and wake up the retainer’s son just to see how he’d react to being told that his parents paid to have him killed.

With the arrival of Jin, Yaichi’s even more riled up about his past now, so much that Masa’s mere mention that Yaichi’s caught up in it caused him to lash out at him. I thought Masa did a good job of relating to Yaichi’s situation by explaining his own first, but evidently it’s not something that Yaichi can forget so easily. Judging by the preview where Yaichi’s crying over the real Yaichi’s grave, I gather that’s one part of his past that he can’t get over. Then there’s Souji’s flashback depicting how “Sei” killed Ryu in atonement for unknowingly attacking him and Ichishi gang co-leader “Demon Spider” Benzou (Ishizuka Unshou). The fact that Sei somehow instinctively interpreted Bakuro leader Kuhei‘s (Nishimura Tomomichi) orders to “settle things” as killing Ryu instead of just chopping off one of his fingers as Souji suggested left me in awe at how heartless Yaichi was before. As Jin noted, he didn’t show a single sign of hesitation or remorse over decapitating Ryu even when the latter was scared to death about losing a finger, which even caught Souji’s attention.

In any case, I’m still not sure if Jin’s simply out to kill Sei for his betrayal of the Bakuro gang at some point that got them all arrested by police. Monji was clearly upset about Sei killing Ryu, but Jin was only really bothered by how he didn’t show any hesitation, suggesting there’s more to Jin’s character than a merely harboring a grudge all this time. In the present, he didn’t appear to be armed when he approached Sei either and was quick to leave without a fight when Masa stepped in, so I get the feeling we’ll learn more about what’s actually on Jin’s mind in the series finale next week. With the disbandment of the House of the Five Leaves looking like it’s imminent as well, it should be a good one as all of the questions surrounding “Yaichi” finally get answered.

Preview

It seems Ace is the one that mostly gave Luffy’s ideas of living his life, with the whole “living without regrets” motto. So basically, most of Luffy’s behavior is a strong influence of Ace, who has Roger’s blood. This explains why everyone who meets Luffy think of Roger…

Don’t know what was up with Dragon being in Zoro’s hometown, it’s probably just a coincidence, and to show some Zoro fanservice (yeah.. weird idea of fanservice).

The montage throughout the rest of the chapter with the rapid movement through their lives was very awesome, as you knew the flashback was closing up. Funny how those two created their own “countries”, and Luffy even kept building his after Ace left.

Because of Sabo’s words that people turn into a noble when they’re 18, Ace and Luffy decide to leave when they are 17, as a sort of an honor to Sabo. Seeing Ace and Luffy finally grow up was really great, with that shot of Ace in his traditional attire being very nostalgic. They didn’t explain the hat though. Oda including the after effects of Luffy’s punch to that sea dragon which occurred way back in the first chapter was pretty cool. With this chapter, the past of Luffy is finally sealed and complete, which I feel ends the “old and past” to begin the “new” adventure in the New World.

On a final note, this was the first Luffy’s ever negatively thought of himself as incompetent enough to be the Pirate King.

「則天去私」 (Sokuten Kyoshi)
“Selfless Devotion”

Good eye to those who caught Kadota easily infiltrating the ranks of Horada’s Blue Square revival last time, as he and the other Dollars members lying in wait totally crashed the party. Not only that, but Masaomi got to give that bastard exactly what he deserved after learning that Horada was alongside Izumii when Saki was kidnapped and one of the key perpetrators behind it. I was really looking forward to seeing Celty and Anri kick some Blue Square ass here, but it turned out they didn’t need to get involved at all and focused on getting Masaomi to the hospital instead — the same one where Saki’s staying at his request. It was good to see Shizuo get some payback by stopping Horada’s escape on the freeway though. I was hoping he’d get some payback and boy did he ever by scaring the daylights out of Horada and his goons when they were the ones in the car going full speed at him. It’s pretty hard to overlook that street pole Shizuo was flailing around after all. It’s still a shame that he didn’t really get a chance to beat the crap out of Horada, but at least the scary motorcycle cop Kinnosuke showed up right after to haul their butts off to jail.

As befitting as all that was, the highlights of this finale had to be Anri trying to cut Izaya and put him under her control, followed by Simon laying the smack down after learning everything from Saki’s phone call to Russian Sushi. In the former case, I had my suspicions about Higa after seeing how troubled he looked when Horada was talking about the gun and the cops last episode, but I wasn’t expecting him to be working for Izaya of all people. What’s more, he turned out to be a Slasher under the control of Anri, which Izaya was already aware of even when he had Higa retrieve the gun that was used to shoot Shizuo. For the first time in this adaptation, Izaya made mention of the Awakusu group too and how he was hoping to be rewarded for arranging the attack on Shizuo (even though he survived), setting the stage for the next arc of the story (if it gets animated). Incidentally, I was pretty surprised at how well Izaya fended off Anri’s attacks and how he was expecting her to show up here so that he can make a declaration to her that he loves (manipulating) humans and won’t hand them over to her. It was a sort of an, “oh shit, now it’s on” type of moment, but I did get a good laugh out of how Izaya added that she can have Shizuo since he doesn’t need nor want him.

In the latter case with Simon, I can’t even describe the joy I felt when he appeared in front of Izaya and punched him in the face right away. Seeing as this is Izaya we’re talking about, I think the hit him first and ask questions later approach is rather suitable. Anyway, after all this time with our Ikebukuro information broker claiming he’s doing all this out of his love for human beings, it was pretty cool how Simon saw right through his lies and pinpointed the cause to his “Shizuo complex”. At the same time, it kind of took away from all the talk about Dullahans and seeing if Celty really takes warriors to Valhalla as per the legends, which I felt was a more outlandish yet interesting motive for starting a gang war in Ikebukuro. Regardless, this finale did wrap things up for our three main protagonists with everything finally coming to light between them. Upon learning that Saki purposely let herself get kidnapped by the Blue Squares as per Izaya’s instructions and knew Masaomi didn’t come to rescue her, and seeing Masaomi realize that he’s been manipulated all this time and confess to Saki, it was nice to finally see those two love birds get back together too. I know a lot of people find Saki creepy, but she’s still adorable to me with Fukuen Misato bringing out her girlish side really well. She’s grade A girlfriend material.

Looking back, I still wonder if Izaya really had a plan in all of this or if he just used the Dullahan legend as a guideline to manipulate everyone for his personal enjoyment. Evidently, he wasn’t the least bit frustrated nor disappointed when things went bust, so I’m leaning towards it being the latter. That was true even after he learned that Namie was the one who tipped off Horada about Mikado being the leader of Dollars and friends with Masaomi. In any case, Namie said the best line to Izaya this series by telling him that he may love humans, but she’s pretty damn sure they all hate him. Oh Namie, you’re the best! In terms of the wrap up for this arc and series as a whole, it was kind of sad to learn that Masaomi and Saki took off and disappeared without a trace, leaving Anri and Mikado behind, but Mikado reviving Dollars as a transparent existence of the city itself did let him know that Masaomi’s doing well at least. I got a good laugh out of how Masaomi was pretty unrelenting in making fun of Izaya in the chat room as well. Last but not least, Celty finally gave Shinra a little bit of a “reward” following the break up of the remaining Blue Squares. If Celty ever does get back her head, she would be even hotter, but Shinra doesn’t seem to mind one bit. I gather he’s a T&A kind of guy. =P

ED Sequence

Final Impressions:

I think what surprised me the most about this series is how vast the story feels a lot of the time. The huge cast of characters alone give an immediate impression of that and is a bit daunting at first, but once you get into it and realize how everyone’s stories are intertwined to form a bigger one, it’s really cool seeing it all come together. One of the things I particularly liked about this series is its tendency to show parts of the story again from another character’s perspective and develop things further that way. This wasn’t limited to just our three main protagonists either, as the unique assortment of characters — large role or small — all seemed to have something different to add to the overall story. Admittedly, I find this format a bit hard to get into at first, but once you get caught in the flow of the story it really takes off from there and has you looking forward to the watching the next episode. Compared to Narita Ryougo‘s Baccano series, I found Durarara much easier to get into simply because it eased me in with an introduction to Ikebukuro from Mikado’s perspective. From the onset, the actual premise is very unassuming and unpronounced, but quickly starts taking shape as more and more things start happening — often concurrently.

As weird as it may sound, I feel this slightly convoluted storytelling with a huge cast of characters is what we need to see more of in series today. It doesn’t rely on an overabundance of action or fan-service to attract the viewer’s attention and lets the story do all the talking (like it should). Quite frankly, I’m kind of sad to see Durarara end all of sudden when there’s clearly more story to be told, but sales of the light novels have gone up dramatically during the airing of this anime adaptation. Hopefully this means we’ll be in store for a second season by Brain’s Base sometime down the stretch, whose production work here has been quite a treat. As in most cases, novel, manga, and DVD/BD sales will probably decide if a sequel will be created, so it’s nice to see that things are already looking up in that regard. For now, I plan to get back to finishing Baccano since I never got around to doing that. For anyone who hasn’t checked out this series, I find it pretty easy to recommend, especially if you’re tired of the usual overused themes in anime. So yeah, do yourself a favor if you need a completed series to watch and pick up Durarara!!

「仲間達の行方 巨大の墓標とパンツの恩」 (Nakama-tachi no Yukue – Kyodai no Hakajirushi to Pantsu no On)
“The Friends’ Whereabouts! A Huge Tomb and the Panty Debt!”

So as Zoro was running through the giant castle, I was thinking maybe he got sent here to improve his directional skills… but man, Zoro trying to get back to Sabaody is just plain impossible no matter how you think about it. Because of Zoro’s dumbness when it comes to everything except swordsmanship, Perona believes she can manipulate him into getting her back to Thriller Bark. Why is she so attached to that place anyways? In any case, Zoro’s sense of direction has never been this bad, as he couldn’t even follow another person without going in a different direction… but it’s hilarious that you actually feel bad for Perona, who actually has some sense in her (although in One Piece, that may be a bad thing).

So the giant cross from the manga cover story is explained to actually be a gravestone. The surrounding is like a battlefield, so my imagination tells me that maybe giants used to be here? Then again, why would they be in such a creepy atmosphere? It seems like an epic battle happened here, and the gravestone was part of an end result.

However, before Zoro and Perona get cozy, a bunch of primate looking enemies appear and are quite fast. They’re also apparently good with weapons. Maybe Zoro gets some training techniques from these primates? At this point, I’m starting to think that some of these guys are really not going to get much out of the islands, other than “not being with Luffy”. However such a cliffhanger of Zoro’s story arc begs the thirst for the inevitable sequel. I still don’t have an inkling of how Oda’s going to bring them all back in the story.

On the other flip side of the coin (which makes no sense), Brooke’s island really makes no sense at first (so I guess that phrase worked). With an explanation of a “kingdom” being oppressed by another, and consequently them resorting to black magic and coincidentally Brooke landing in their circle… It seems some of these arc stories are rather nicely developed. It’s weird how they all dress like a satanic cult, even though it seems as if they just thought of black magic as a their last desperate move against the other tribe. Anyway, being a musician myself, I found it quite funny how Brooke can write perfect sheet notation with just a quill. I thought perhaps maybe the song is a new battle technique, but has Brooke ever battled with music before? I think he lulled some people to sleep in the past, but battling with music kind of oversteps the boundaries of realism even in One Piece. And again, another cliffhanger. Why’d they have to end both Zoro’s and Brooke’s story arcs with cliffhangers?

As for next week, I actually don’t remember there being a flashback somewhere before the Whitebeard arc, so I have no idea what it’s going to be about.

Note: Having written over 4000 words today for finals, and now being almost 6 AM, I decided to finish up this post. So if it’s a little sloppy and nonsensical, I think that’s just my deliriousness and me slightly losing it spilling over. Expect the manga post later today… *yawn*

Preview

This chapter had some nice artwork, coinciding with the revelation of the spirit of Ichigo’s bankai, Tensa Zangetsu. Seeing new characters is usually pretty exciting, and I’ll admit, he (she?) is pretty bad-ass.

Anyways, now that Ichigo is in his inner world, yet again he ends up in battle- this time against the manifestation of his bankai. He really should have learned by now that to gain any new power he’ll have to go through some inner turmoil. From his initial bankai training to his various hollow masks, there has been no free lunch for Ichigo. And now for this Final Getsuga Tenshou, the ability may have a larger impact than I previously thought; main question right now is what the zanpakutou are trying to protect, and why they don’t just teach everything to their shinigami.

We still don’t have any answers for why Isshin’s “Engetsu” has the same attacks as Zangetsu, but I’m sure his past and relationship to Ichigo will be revealed later on. Back in the real world, Aizen has already started doing damage to the town just by walking around. Now that he meets Tatsuki and Ichigo’s other friends, we will soon see whether they can do anything to slow Aizen down or just get KO’ed.

In the past, only the Reader’s Choice poll for the year-end Best of Anime post got an real sort of attention, but I’m leaning towards having something similar every season to see what our readers are looking forward. In any case, I hope the Summer 2010 Preview was helpful in sifting through all the new shows and finding the ones that interest you. I already have a really good idea of what I plan to watch (and of those which ones to blog), but here’s your chance to voice your picks and compare them with others. As always, comments are welcome if there’s anything you want to add about a particular show or the summer season in general.

Note: The same poll will also be available on the sidebar.

What do you get when you combine one of the hottest shows of the season with one of the coolest themes and most distinct opening sequences? The best of both worlds in this exceptionally well-done MAD movie for Angel Beats inspired by Durarara‘s stylistic touches and featuring ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D’s “Complication”. With both of these awesome series coming to an end in the next couple of days, now seemed like the perfect time to post about this. If you haven’t seen this yet, you might be surprised how talented (i.e. hardcore) some Japanese fans are. As a bonus, this video even helps you get Angel Beats’ character names straight if you had any difficulty doing to. Of course, it’s even COOLER if you do a side by side comparison with the original and sync them up, for which I’ve provided the option to do so below. Now how badass is that?

「Promise」

It wasn’t looking good for Sakuragi last time and the preview suggested he wasn’t going to pull through either, so I can’t say I’m too surprised by how things unfolded. More than anything though, I’m just bothered by how it came down to this. An-chan, you idiot. Why god damn it? Why believe that Ishihara is worth saving and that you were going to be the one to do it? I would normally call this a tragedy, but I just couldn’t feel the least bit sad about Sakuragi getting shot to death by the American soldiers when he didn’t drop the knife coated with his own blood. Instead, it was absolutely frustrating to see because it was a stupid and meaningless death that could have easily been avoided. What’s even more annoying is that Sasaki arrived just in time to witness him getting killed to revel in the sight of it. Sakuragi paid the ultimate price for being too trustworthy and foolishly believing he could change even the likes of Ishihara. If there’s a lesson to be taken away from his death in this series, that would be it in my eyes. It’s hard for me to feel sorry for someone who put saving his friend’s killer before those that he’s now left behind, despite how much I like An-chan for everything he’s done for Mario and the others thus far. Then there’s Setsuko too, who he made cry her eyes out at the sight of his lifeless body. Sigh… Did the soldiers really have to unload that many rounds?

I was a bit surprised to see the story time-lapse to the promised day under the tree on June 6th of the following year, but relieved at the same time because I really didn’t want to see what Mario and Setsuko went through emotionally for the next while. Also, most of the others still had a fair bit of time to serve in the Shonan juvenile corrections facility, so I could only imagine their frustration being stuck in there and catching word that An-chan was killed. Now that they’ve been released and are back together, at least they can do something to calm the burning unrest they all feel. However, I can’t say I’m not too fond of them taking on murderous roles and plotting to kill Ishihara and Sasaki, the latter of which is running for mayor now. I did appreciate how Suppon and the others were quick to notice that Mario was planning to take revenge on his own and choose to help out, but I have to agree with Setsuko (in her lovely long-hair look) that this vicious cycle of hatred is not what Sakuragi would have wanted. Unfortunately, slapping Mario didn’t seem to be enough to get that point across; He headed off to Numazu in Shizuoka prefecture right after to kill a drugged up Ishihara, who’s deteriorated into nothing more than a mentally-scarred bum waiting for Sakuragi to come kill him.

Had Sakuragi actually survived, I think this would of been a rather befitting punishment for Ishihara, as he’s mentally unstable and delusional to the point that he thinks Mario is Sakuragi himself. I honestly don’t care what happens to Ishihara at this point should Mario decide to kill him or not, but I do hope that one of the many bullets pulled from Sakuragi’s body saves him from being consumed by hatred. It may already be too late though, as he gave Setsuko all the earnings he made from working as a bartender for rent and everything else she’s provided him with up until now and abandoned the idea of having a future for himself. In contrast, I’m not opposed to Baremoto devising a plan to smear Sasaki’s campaign and start it off by scaring him with a disturbingly warm welcome. At least this way they aren’t soiling their hands with his tainted blood. Ishihara has already gotten what he deserves whether he dies or not, but Sasaki still needs to be driven into a corner to the breaking point for being the true culprit in all of this. Seeing him run for mayor is even more of a kick in the face to everyone as well.

From a broader perspective, I love how this series continues to depict that the world isn’t as rosy as stories tend to be. Bad guys don’t just suddenly become good when you give them a second or third chance. Reality is cruel, harsh, and most of all unforgiving, particularly in the post World War II period they’re living in. With that said, next week is a recap episode looking back on the life of Sakuragi and everything he’s done for the other guys. It’s probably better to dwell on all the positive ways he influenced them rather than how his death has caused them to spiral down the path of vengeance.

* For those wondering how long this adaptation will run for, syoboi calendar has updated their schedule indicating that it will be at least 26 episodes. There’s always the possibility that it will run longer than that, but two-cour sounds about right for a MADHOUSE studio project.

Preview

「迷い猫、決めた」 (Mayoi Neko, Kimeta)
“Stray Cat, Decided”

While I’ve enjoyed the randomness of this series, super robots and all, I admit I wasn’t expecting much more than an open-ended finale to this twelve episode adaptation. To my pleasant surprise, it focused on Nozomi again and had Fumino and Chise admitting they have feelings for Takumi, making it much better than that. In addition, I got a bit teary-eyed watching Nozomi break down in tears in front of Shimako and Takumi after being reminded of how she was told she’d always have a home at Stray Cats. In terms of story, it turns out the Murasame Academy that Nozomi ran away from is a prestigious institution for orphans and children under welfare, where the smartest and most talented students adopt the “Murasame” surname and become a family of sorts. Shimako happens to be the forth one accepted into the Murasame family (perceived as a homage to Four Murasame in Zeta Gundam) while Nozomi was expected to be the thirteenth.

Up until now, I’ve been wondering why Nozomi has been shown to be so smart and well-versed in baking cakes despite her cat-like personality, so this pretty much explained why that is. She went on to explain how she left because all the other children were sad about not being selected instead of her, but what really caught my attention was the unique legal spin this episode took on exactly what it means to be “family” or a “relative”. In particular, how Nozomi felt that the Murasames may be relatives to her, but if family is something she decides for herself then it would be Takumi and the others. Hearing that and seeing how happy she was spending time with Takumi during the school sports festival, Shimako went on to report back that Nozomi would be staying at Stray Cats for now, leading us that simple yet sweet type ending. So with that, the whole orphan bit that this series started out on and made a really strong impression with all the way back in episode three made a return here in the finale. That wasn’t all however, as Nozomi was able to clearly tell Fumino and Chise that she likes Takumi — after he told Shimako she’s like family and everyone loves her — which in turn got the two of them to admit they like him as well (…more or less). The metaphor Nozomi made last time about one plate of food and four animals to feed was in reference to Takumi’s harem situation after all, to which Nozomi decided to be a bit selfish by being honest with her feelings. =)

The ending was far from having any sort of complete closure, but it was still more than I was expecting from the orphan-related drama and relationship aspects. It was a rather nice conclusion after things started off on a comedic note during the sports festival rehearsal anyway, where Nozomi put a stop to Fumino and Chise’s fighting by starting the one-girl “Bloots” team and steamrolling the Bloomer and Tights factions. In turn, her victory also led to Fumino and Chise letting her participate in the open division three-legged race with Takumi and the eventual conclusion mentioned above. Funny, cute, and even a bit emotional. I don’t think I could have asked for more from an ending in such a short series.

Epilogue

Final Impressions:

Much like all my final impressions this season, I’ve been using a “look back and reflect” approach to try and make an informed judgment of a series. As per my initial impressions back in the Spring 2010 Preview, I can now definitively say this series turned out more or less the way I thought it would. It was fairly lighthearted, focused on the comedic aspect for the most part, and featured harem-like relationships with a victimized male lead. Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting it to get as outlandish as having full-out parody episodes though. I figured the harem angle would take off and make the series come off as a slapstick affair and detract viewers because of that, but it turned out to be completely over-the-top randomness in general.

While clearly not for everyone, I have no qualms with either case and honestly enjoyed the goofiness and artistic touches brought in by the different directors and key animators every episode. I found it reminiscent of how Sora no Otoshimono got a bit out of hand when everyone was tried to expose Ikaros to new things, except we had a cat-like orphan girl here instead of an angeloid from the sky. To top it off, Ieyasu stole the show for me a lot of the time with his otaku flair, thanks to Yoshino Hiroyuki‘s hilarious portrayal of him. When Hiroyuki’s not busy playing crazy state alchemists, Gundam pilots, or Japanese secret agents, he can usually be found causing a riot in comedies (…and I love it when he does).

Anyway, those would enjoyed SoraOto and how the story came together in a semi-meaningful way in the end will probably enjoy this one as well. Mayoi Neko was never anything overly profound, nor do I feel like it ever tried to be in this adaptation, but it did provide the type of anime entertainment I was looking and for and ended up better than I was expecting well. That said, I realize that series that has a tendency to get really off track isn’t everyone’s cup of tea — hence why I felt that this series would be difficult to recommend three months ago — so you have to go into this one with the right mindset or you’ll be sorely disappointed.

* Note: There’s an unexpected recap episode next week. If nothing new is shown, I’ll likely just have a short post about anything new that’s said.

「夏フェス！」 (Natsu Fesu!)
“Summer Festival!”

For an episode centered entirely around attending a huge summer music festival where tens of thousands of people camp out on a mountain, things were surprisingly uneventful in K-ON land. There were some quirky moments after Sawako surprised everyone in Yui’s home with six tickets she had after her friends bailed on their yearly event together, most of which revolved around Mio’s eagerness to attend every single performance and run back and forth between each of the stage areas if need be. Logic totally went out the window for Mio in her trance-like state, as seven hundred meters of distance didn’t even deter her from trying to do so in the middle of performances. Remember when Mio used to be the level-headed one? Anyway, her excitement was mildly entertaining to see, whereas Mugi’s one over eating yakisoba just made me damn hungry for some.

Unfortunately for Mugi, the yakisoba food stand was extremely popular and sold out before she could buy any, so they resorted to Yui’s plan B marinara rice option only to find out that it’s sold out as well. Given the lack of gags compared to last week’s episode with exploding fans, Yui’s whiny reaction of all things ended up being one of the funnier moments. I’m never really expecting this series to be funny all the time, but this summer festival proved to be a little dull even by K-ON standards. It was still cute to see and had a nice change of scenery with Sawako sort of leading the humor with her summer festival experience, but not too eventful even with Yui’s antics. Seeing Mio react to a sight of one of the male musicians may seem like a turning point in her character, but sadly it stemmed purely from the fact that he’s left-handed too. I guess that goes to show you need to be a southpaw to have a remote chance of getting picked up by Mio’s radar. Azusa on the other hand proved that she tans really easily even with sunscreen on — much like in the first season — though given how she’s all ganguro now I’m more inclined to say she’s sunburned than suntanned.

The scene at night with them all lying on the grass together had a really nice ambiance to it, which somehow spurred Yui to say that Houkago Tea Time is better than the bands here. Apparently she thinks their cutesy aura has more oomph, but regardless of whether she’s delusional or not, it did serve to get everyone excited about performing again. Who knows, we might see another performance sooner than later at this rate. The next episode looks like it’s going to be a pool one where Ui and Jun will get some more screen time, but has me wondering exactly how much more sun Azusa needs. Oh well, swimsuit episode it is! I’m not complaining.

* syoboi calendar‘s been updated indicating that K-ON will run for 26 episodes. It was uncertain whether it was going to be 24-26 episodes but now it’s been confirmed.

Preview

「夜襲」 (Yashuu)
“Night Raid”

I’ve been wondering what the significance of the series’ title is all this time and it looks like I finally got my answer upon learning Isao’s true motive — the sight of an atomic bomb going off in the middle of the night. According to Ichinose, the atomic bomb demonstration that Isao threatened the Lytton committee with in the Taklamankan Desert was nothing more than an illusion shown with his powers. In reality, Ichinose is still struggling over the mathematical formula for the detonation mechanism and doesn’t have a weapon of mass destruction fully developed. Quite frankly, that comes as a pleasant surprise to me, simply because it means the story is adhering closely to history admist all the fictional aspects. Much like Metal Gear Solid 3, I absolutely love stories where it’s possible that a conspiracy like this could have taken place and historians just weren’t aware of it (minus the superhuman powers). They tend to get me thinking about other potential untold truths leading up the historical facts that have been recorded and are taught today. By no means do I believe that something as extravagant as this took place, but the whole “what if” factor is cool when the story fits seamlessly into our time line. That’s the main reason why I enjoy Hideo Kojima‘s MGS series so much and why Senkou no Night Raid’s been just as entertaining in anime form.

While that became one of my personal highlights for this episode, a lot of other key revelations were made to bring together everything that’s happened before. This includes the mysterious disappearance of one of the Kwantung Army’s brigades foreshadowed all the way back in episode two and the true purpose behind creating the Sakurai Kikan secret agency — to prevent them from being found. By now, it comes as no surprise that the missing brigade is Isao’s now independent organization, acting on their own beliefs towards a unified Asia with self-determination, but this revelation that the Sakurai Kikan was devised to keep the Kwantung Army from pursuing the deserters themselves was so sensible but not at all obvious at the same time. Aoi did express that he had doubts about Sakurai before, given how Isao always seems to have been tipped off when they’re hot on his tail, but I still wasn’t expecting him to be on Isao’s side all this time.

Now that Aoi, Yukina, and Natsume have been clearly forsaken by Sakurai, the story fast-fowards to three months later with them acting independently and looking for leads to Isao. However, Isao and his men have stayed pretty quiet all this time, during which round-the-clock construction work has been taking place in Shinkyou in preparation for Puyi’s expedited inauguration ceremony as the new emperor of Manchukuo. All of this is in accordance to history of course, including how the Kwantung Army is displeased about his arrogance when he’s intended to be nothing more than a puppet for them to manipulate. With no real clue on where to start searching, Aoi and the others find themselves in Houten (Mukden) when Puyi’s paying a visit to the ancestral grave of the Qing Dynasty founders, Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, only to find Fuu Lan selling Baozi there. In their “calm before the storm” moment, I found Aoi’s inability to talk about Kazura pretty indicative of how much his betrayal is bothering him, and Fuu Lan made it even harder on him by suggesting that he try to add Kazura to the picture they had taken later on.

I’m still a bit perplexed by why Natsume chose to start working on the dead soil shortly afterward, but I get the feeling he wanted to be reminded of his farmer roots after hearing how the the old man had his land taken over by the Manchuria Temjin Company. It was almost as if it was a mental preparation of sorts for what’s to come. I’m also left wondering if it has something to do with the night of the new moon that was approaching when he’s unable to use his powers. Whatever the case is, Natsume not having his powers on the night that Isao has decided to act is about as bad of a break as he can get, especially when he finds himself up against Kuze. Meanwhile, Aoi has another run-in with Kazura, who’s preventing him from reaching Shizune in the secret underground chamber beneath the yet to be completed State Council.

As for the chamber itself, Isao hasn’t completely spelled it out for us what he intends to have Shizune show all the important politicians who have gathered for Puyi’s inauguration ceremony, but all signs are pointing towards using the ceremonial grounds designed with Feng Shui ideology to channel her vision of the dreadful future. With Ichinose unable to complete an actual atomic bomb, it looks like they’re resorting to using Shizune’s powers to achieve the same result Isao’s after — the creation of a weapon of mass destruction that will act as a deterrent and bring about world peace. Given how the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War spread worldwide fear of seeing a weapon like that ever used again, it’s easy for us to conclude that Isao’s vision of a “fragile peace but peace nonetheless” will work. The one thing I’m sure he’s not banking on though is that Japan would fall victim to its destruction two times before that happens.

While Isao will surely be in for a surprise if he lives to see that day, his decision to have other countries develop the deterrent that they weren’t able to and potentially avoid a second world war is the big revelation here. To that end, Kazura’s already having doubts about how he’s hoping to realize those goals by demanding the release of the Asian colonies from Western and European powers and threatening to drop a bomb on Shanghai at midnight if they fail to comply. Will we really see the “Senkou” (flash) during the “Night Raid” next time? Your guess is as good as mine, but the finale looks like it’s going to be pretty intense.

* I must say I’m pretty disappointed with Yukina’s conservative attire in this series, because some of the promotional artwork and a dakimakura design show just how lovely she is. I expected to see her in a cheongsam at least once!

Preview

Summary:
As Barragan’s Respira is destroying everything around him, Soifon has Omaeda fight him alone to buy some time while she runs off. Omaeda is able to distract Barragan by running and attacking with various projectiles from the environment. Soifon, after anchoring herself to the buildings with a steel sash, reveals her bankai– a long thin weapon attached to her arm. She claims to dislike her bankai as it is too bulky and flashy, then uses it to fire a rocket which creates a large explosion.

In another part of town, Lilynette repeatedly attacks Ukitake, who has taken her sword. Ukitake is able to deflect Lilynette without much effort, although he does not attempt to seriously harm her. Starrk seems to show some concern for her, but continues to duel with Shunsui. He asks Shunsui to release his bankai, and Shunsui responds by asking to see Starrk’s resurreccion.

Preview

Impressions:
Soifon finally reveals her bankai, and it really isn’t that interesting. Like Soifon herself, I don’t really like it. Perhaps asking for one touch kill is too much, but this is really just a slower, heavier version of her shikai… that shoots missiles instead. There are some similarities with Ulquiorra’s Lanza del Relámpago, though Jakuho Raikoben seems far more accurate, with homing abilities. With Barragan’s ability to age anything (even attacks), no doubt the missile will not be enough. Omaeda on the other hand, impressed me being able to bring a building down on Barragan. He might not look too sharp, but can definitely pull his head together once in a while. Unfortunately his power level and abilities are far below captain level, and will probably never be able to do anything significant against enemies of the current caliber. He has managed to save his captain’s life several times however, and remains very loyal even with the poor treatment from her. Not too bad, just need to work on that attitude (his whining was rather annoying) and improve skills (by a lot).

I’m looking forward to seeing more of Starrk and Shunsui, since both of them are clearly very strong. As for Lillynette, she is just annoying, especially with the loli outfit; Ukitake is doing a great job messing with her, though as part of the Espada Primero team she really should be able to do more than get thrown around.