Random Curiosity

「オーバーチュア　後編」(Ōbāchua Kōhen)
“Overture Part 2″

Picking up right where we left off, Shana is continuing her search for the rouge Tomogara that attacked Junko. We got another brief showcasing of Shana using her powers as a Flame Haze to go through Junko’s memories, which still looks as cool and fresh as it did in the previous episode. I’m still a little bullish on the fact that we never saw this kind of sequence in the series before, but better late than never I suppose. As a result of that search, we were teased by a few glimpses of Junko and Yukio’s time together, from the beginning of their relationship when Yukio asked Junko out on a bridge right up to when Junko was turned into a Torch by the mysterious Tomogara. The sweet little date between Yukio and Junko was a delight to watch, and seeing them sit on a bench together planning out their next date made it even cuter. Of course, all this nice chemistry culminated into their first kiss, which Junko’s mother witnessed and promptly went nuclear over. To be honest, I find it a bit strange that it’s the MOM who is worrying over a boy talking up her daughter and not the dad, who is the usual cockblock master when it comes to these sort of things. That’s just speaking out of my own personal experience of course, but it seems damn strange that the dad was pretty relaxed about Junko having a boyfriend last episode while the mom was freaking out, telling Junko to break up with Yukio. I suppose it worked out for a daughter/mother bonding theme, but still an odd choice of context to use. That said, after getting over her boy fear, the mother’s imagination started moving a bit too fast when she imagined the day Junko would be walking down the isle. Well, at least she has mood swings like a mother.

After getting past all of the fluff, we finally get to the meat of Shana’s search, when Yukio meets a disturbing man who calls himself a professional photographer. The shady man asks Yukio if he could spare a bit of time to take a photo-shoot, as he’s been searching for a “beautiful young boy” such as Yukio (his words, not mine) to model for him. Using the rationale that as long as Junko isn’t back yet he can spare some time for the seemingly legit photographer, he accepts the request. Now, I don’t know about you, but the last thing I would do is accept some request from a guy in a trench coat in the middle of the night, especially if that request is to model for him in the middle of a park. Forget that he has a supposedly certified card(after all, anyone can get one forged for the right price) the fact that he’s asking for me to model for him at night in the middle of a deserted park because I’m a beautiful boy should set off alarms. Whatever was coming to him, Yukio was begging for it. Even so, it appears he got off easy, with the mysteriously creepy man asking Yukio to pose for him one more time in a different outfit to better bring out the “beauty” in him. Yes, raging fire alarms should have been going off.

So, following up on this bit of retrieved info, Shana embarks on her set date with Yukio to meet the “photographer”. Naturally, she has her mind so set on the mission that she ignores Yukio, who notices that she is acting weird and suggests she’s not happy to be there with him. I found it amusing that in her effort to not seem strange, Shana thought of something that would make her seem happy and like she was having fun, and the first thing that immediately came to her her mind was holding hands with Wilhelmina, which prompts her to grab Yukio’s hand on impulse. I’m sure the ShanaxYuuji fans were raging at this, but I found it more of an expression of Shana’s naive character than anything. Her grabbing his hand was meant to be completely platonic on her side, with the thought that him and Junko were going out probably never even crossing her mind. It makes me chuckle to think of how the Shana at the end of season two would react to grabbing Yuuji’s hand, in comparison to this one.

Finally, after arriving at the park and losing Yukio when she took her eyes off of him for three seconds, Shana gets her first physical lead on the rouge Tomogara, going into her Flame Haze mode and giving chase. Almost immediately, she comes across a run away truck in which a Fuzetsu activates. Admittedly, my estimation that we wouldn’t be getting any action scenes in this OVA was slightly off, with Shana fighting back the nasty Tomogara who turned out to be the mysterious photographer (surprise). As it turns out, this Tomogara feeds off of the existence of “beautiful boys” and is always in search of them, thus his alias as a photographer. Despite it being a rather weak Tomogara, as stated brilliantly by Shana, it was definitely creepy enough to compete with the best of them, almost slobbering over itself while talking about it’s fascination with beautiful men. Of course, it’s understandable why he’d be so obsessed with beautiful people, considering his own form is hideously disfigured and as a human he was most likely not the best looking guy on the street. It surprised me a bit that the antagonist who caused so much trouble for Shana turned out to be nothing more than a deranged pseudo-pedophile who couldn’t even hold his own in a fight for three seconds, but as I said before, the purpose of this OVA is not to show an epic battle between Shana and an uber-powerful Tomogara, but to show a day in the life of Shana before she met Yuuji. In that context the episode certainly served it’s purpose, with Shana solving the case and continuing onto her next job, but not before reflecting on the “lessons” she learned from inhabiting Junko’s existence.

Epilogue

Final Impressions:

So the ending to this OVA was definitely bitter sweet, with Junko simply fading out of existence and Shana moving onto the next job like it was just another case closed. Judging this OVA purely off of content, it can be considered a let down. We didn’t get any new developments in terms of the story, nor did we get a super awesome finale with beautifully animated battle scenes and an epic conflict. However, judging it that way would be taking the purpose of this OVA out of context. As I continue to say, this OVA is first and foremost a venture meant to explore the characters’ relationships and interactions in the story, not to progress the plot itself nor to provide any amazing action service. Looking at the OVA from that point of view, I’d say it accomplished it’s goal fairly well, fleshing out the dynamic between Wilhelmina and Yuuji and showing us a glimpse of the Flame Haze Shana was before she met Yuuji.

Now, as for whether I enjoyed the OVA personally, I’d say it was a relaxing watch every few months just as a Shana fan, which is really what this is meant for. Watching the characters interact in their day to day lives within the OVA was certainly interesting for me, as usually we’re watching them fight against super powerful Tomogara or entangle themselves in love triangles. It felt as if I was catching a breath from all the drama that took place in the season prior to this OVA, which I can appreciate as a Shana fan. With that said, I would not recommend this OVA to anyone who knows nothing to very little about the Shana series, as you will be lost very quickly and miss many of the nuances between the characters that make their interactions in this OVA interesting in comparison to their usual roles in the seasonal anime. Likewise, I would not recommend this to anyone who cannot appreciate a simple, interval story and only wants pure plot progression and action. This OVA is simply not it. However, if you’re a fairly knowledgeable Shana fan and have no problem with watching a laid back, progression-lite OVA, then this is for you.

ED4 Sequence

ED4: 「All in good time」 by 川田まみ (Kawada Mami)
Watch the 4th ED!: Download, Streaming ▼

*Note: The epilogue contained a slight teaser to a third season, showing Shana reflecting on the events that happened in the first two seasons of the anime and ending with Yuuji and Shana facing each other on opposite sides of a bridge, which is eerily reminiscent of a certain scene in the Shana novels.

With the new fall season starting tomorrow, here’s a quick overview of what the plans are blogging-wise. Please note that this schedule may change in the upcoming weeks, but will likely remain very close to what’s listed here. As usual, I’ll be watching much more than I’ll be blogging, so Suzuku and Takaii have been brought in to help cover some other shows. Prooof is continuing on with Bleach and Nurarihyon no Mago like originally planned, whereas Kiiragi is going back to being the resident One Piece writer. If for some reason you haven’t checked out the Fall 2010 Preview already, all links in the schedule will take you to the series’ corresponding entry. I’ve added a lot of new promotional videos since the preview was originally published, so it’s worth checking out again even if you have.

At the moment, I’m not too keen on covering ten shows, even though it’s one less than this past season and six less than spring. Real-life priorities have significantly reduced the amount of time I can invest into the site, so I need to find a better balance between work, blogging, and recreation. With that in mind, Tegami Bachi REVERSE and Hakouki Hekketsuroku are two series that I really want to cover, but may forgo both depending on how covering two shows a day from Friday to Monday feels. My current plan is to cover them in a slightly reduced capacity as opposed to not at all, for which I’ve been tweaking the filmstrip post format in preparation. I also plan to use this season as an opportunity to try out a more image-oriented version of that format, particularly for comedies where the captions allow me to poke fun at various things that happen and the less rigid flow makes it easier to go off on a tangent with random thoughts. The ones I have in mind are Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai, Shinryaku! Ika Musume, and Sora no Otoshimono Forte. I’ve been playing with the format for the past few days and really like how it looks and reads, so I’m looking forward to putting it into practice and hearing everyone’s feedback.

As for some other tidbits, I originally planned to let Suzuku cover To Aru Majutsu no Index II, but have also reluctantly let him cover STAR DRIVER in the highly coveted 5pm Sunday time slot, previously occupied by the likes of Macross Frontier, Gundam 00, and Fullmetal Alchemist. The reason being that I want to see Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls covered in an objective and unbiased light that looks beyond the surface, and didn’t want either him or Takaii to take a stab at a show that tends to attract “less agreeable” comments. I don’t feel too bad about leaving out the Arakawa Under the Bridge sequel, but do wish that I could make time for Kuragehime. Even without them, the 22 shows of coverage will be more than enough to keep the site bustling with impressions, plus there are three manga series on top of that. Please note that I’m the only one who will be covering off raws, so there will be a bit of delay for the other writers after something airs. I am pushing Suzuku to try and cover STAR DRIVER unsubbed though.

As always, comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome. I’m also willing to listen to requests (complaints?) to a degree if you really want to a series covered that isn’t listed above, though it would have to fall under the list of ones I’m planning to watch to be considered.

Notes:
- Crunchyroll has added Otome Youkai Zakuro to their line of simulcasts for the season.
- Aniplex USA will be streaming Oreimo and Togainu no Chi.

Updates:
10/3: Suzuku has decided not cover Motto To LOVE-Ru anymore, as he has more shows than he can handle.
10/5: Hakuouki Hekketsuroku moved to Mondays as the first day it airs, in light of AT-X premiering a double-header of the special and episode 13.
10/15: Kiiragi has decided to drop One Piece in favor of covering currently airing series. He’ll be taking over coverage of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt from Suzuku and picking up Kuragehime as well.
10/20: Prooof has decided to drop Nurarihyon no Mago.
10/30: Suzuku won’t be covering Togainu no Chi after all, as he’s reached his limit on the number of shows he can cover concurrently.
12/09: Suzuku will no longer be writing for RandomC, so I’ve picked up STAR DRIVER, To Aru no Majutsu no Index II, and MM.

「Over the rainbow」

It was pretty ambitious of the writers to slip in one more arc for Mario and go from start to finish in a mere episode, but they managed to pull it off and wrap up the second of four major manga arcs with this adaptation. Thanks to the established characters from previous arcs and the lead-in from Suppon and Lily’s arc just prior, this finale also brought some nice closure to Sakuragi’s story. Starting off with Jeffrey introducing Mario to a Japanese-speaking boxing trainer named Jimmy (Utsumi Kenji) and the subsequent referral to Higashida (Ishizuka Unshou) — the same doctor who examined Suppon — the eventual surgery on Mario’s right-hand for a slim chance to box again brought memories of Sakuragi back into the picture. It’s no secret that they’ve been playing up Mario as the successor of An-chan’s spirit and his love of boxing, so it was nice to see the story come back to that aspect. Mario’s encounter with An-chan’s mother provided a touching side to the story, as did the boxing shoes she bought for her son that he never got to use. All that proved to be beautiful setup to my favorite part of the episode — Mario’s return to the ring.

The instrumental version of coldrain’s “We’re not alone” played upon Mario’s entrance to the ring got me pretty pumped up, and everyone’s anticipation over whether Mario could throw a right punch resulted in some awesome build-up towards it. I just loved how everyone was freaking out about Mario not fighting back at first too, except for Heitai who calmly realized that Mario was smiling and enjoying every second of it. When Mario actually went on the offense and started with his trusty left, Kyabetsu’s scream for a right punch led to quite the spectacle as the music continued playing in the background. It literally felt like a lifelong hurdle had finally been overcome when Mario destroyed his opponent and didn’t have anything holding him back. Coupled with the memory of An-chan, the crowds shouts of excitement with Akito, Tanaka, Jeffrey, and Higashida looking on made Mario’s convincing win feel like the culmination of everyone’s bonds and hard work had reached its highest point. Simply awesome.

I honestly had no idea how the producers would conclude this adaptation in one episode, but they sure as hell didn’t disappoint. Just when I thought things were over, they slipped in a scene with Mario at their tree of dreams, where he was reporting to An-chan on how well everyone was doing. While there is still much more story to be told from the manga, the appearance of Sakuragi in spirit and Mario telling him that he’s inherited his dream of becoming a world champ gave a lot of good closure to the series. Leaving off with Sakuragi’s rhetorical question about what life without happiness is, the ending reminded me exactly what I loved about this series — the powerful depiction of bonds in a very cruel world.

Final Impressions:

Back when I was writing the Spring 2010 Preview and read through a bit of the RAINBOW manga, I felt like I had found the hidden gem of the season. As such, I really wanted pass on that finding to readers and give it some well-deserved limelight, particularly to the viewers who feel that anime has degenerated to nothing more than “moe crap”, “naked girls”, or “fan-service garbage”. Given the lack of discussion my posts generated over the course of its six month run, I’m inclined to believe that I was unsuccessful for the most part; however, the type of discussion that they did generate usually made up for that, since it showed that there were some viewers out there with the open-mindedness to give a series of this kind an honest chance and were getting into it as much as I was.

Beginning with the dark prison-like setting in the Shonan reform institute and Sakuragi showing the boys some tough love to teach them how to survive, the series got out the door on a drastically different foot than anything that the was airing at the time (and probably most of the anime out there). Naturally, the appeal wasn’t in watching Mario and the others continually suffer in such dire times, but overcome them despite how everything was against them. The powerful story following the seven guys from Block 2 Cell 6 who supported one another in the face of corrupt jailers and doctors was unlike anything that I had seen in an anime. It was verging on drama levels that I’d expect from a live-action series or a movie, and had me as captivated as I was disturbed by how they didn’t hold back in the depiction of torture or rape. Props out to MADHOUSE for throwing up a disclaimer at the start of every episode and adhering to the source material in that regard.

The first half of the series involving everyone’s time in Shonan and the hardships they endured usually had me on the edge of my seat every episode. The fire caused by Baremoto in episodes three and four, the inmates of Block 1 Cell 8 crushing Mario’s right-hand in episode five, the torture Sakuragi endured in episode seven, and the prison break in episode eight. It was one hell of a roller coaster ride every step of the way, which left me in disbelief when it came to a crashing halt in episode twelve with Sakuragi’s needless death. I wasn’t the least bit happy about that turn of events, but the fact that I was so emotionally caught up should say something about how caught up in the story I was at the time. By the time the second half of the series rolled around and the boys were all released, I was actually relieved that the drama had dwindled a fair bit. As a result, the latter half of the series wasn’t quite as compelling as the first half, but still had moments of desperate struggle that were strikingly reminiscent.

If there’s one thing to tell people who are considering checking this series out, it’s to not let the title fool them. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows here, but the bonds of these seven teenagers go on to show that brighter days are within their reach. Interestingly enough, I sometimes get criticized for covering too many fan-service-filled shows in my attempt to showcase them in a proper, unbiased view that looks beyond the surface, yet those same critics don’t seem to look at shows like this that I watch and cover right alongside them. So the next time anyone gets on my case for being open-minded when approaching all series — no matter how cliché they may seem — I’ll have to ask them if they’ve seen RAINBOW. It is one of the most un-anime-like anime I’ve ever seen and deserves praise for breaking free of the stereotypes that are generally associated with the medium. If you know someone who wants a heart-wrenching yet inspiring anime series, you can’t really do them wrong by suggesting this one.

Summary:
Komamura releases his bankai, Kokuju Tengenmyo, against Tousen who claims his powers have surpassed all the Espada and shinigami. Tousen states that it is easy for him to target Tengenmyo’s weaknesses, and that Komamura never believed that an enemy couldn’t be defeated in one blow. In flashbacks, it is shown that both Komamura and Tousen were in squad five at one point under lieutenant Aizen. Komamura states that he became a shinigami to repay a debt of gratitude. However Tousen reveals that he joined the Gotei 13 for the purpose of revenge, and never intended to be loyal. In the past, a close friend of his became a shinigami to fight for peace, but was killed by her husband (who was also a shinigami). As a result he wishes to destroy Soul Society. Komamura states that he has forgiven Tousen but still must kill him for Soul Society’s sake; Tousen is angered and releases his resurreccion, Grillado Grillo, which gives him his sight.

Shinji, who is facing off against Aizen, explains that Aizen does not know his zanpakuto’s power, and that he also has a sword which can control his opponents senses completely.

Preview

Impressions:
If Komamura could swing his bankai as fast as he could swing his sword in his normal form, it would be extremely deadly given the destructive power. However he seems to only be able to make a single attack every few seconds, which is strange since his bankai is supposed to mirror him, and not hinder his movement. Not only that, but it gives him many more openings and weaknesses, with much more surface area to attack. As Tousen states, it’s quite an inconvenient bankai. Tousen himself is much stronger now with instant regeneration and high movement speed. He is able to block Komamura’s bankai, making Komamura’s powers ever more unimpressive.

Tousen has a strong sense of justice, but seems a bit misguided. He believes in fighting for peace, and wiping out evil “like the clouds in the sky”; in this case it is the shinigami. It wasn’t the organization that killed his friend however, but a single unsavory member. His philosophical ramblings have some sense to them, as justice and mercy/virtue can lead to two different paths. It is righteous to forgive, but punishment is only fair. However, Tousen believes that one must avenge the dead— an idea I don’t completely disagree with, but still his way of doing it is just wrong. Komamura’s logic is more sketchy, as he states that he will kill Tousen because their beliefs incompatible. The only reason he is fighting is for Soul Society, and without a rationale he is fighting for no good reason. Regardless, the dragged out conversations and arguing was long-winded even by Bleach standards, and the whole episode was pretty boring, especially for those who have already the manga. Like many previous incidents, their past could have been sentimental, but lost much of their emotional impact due to low quality, poor dialogue, bad-buildup, among other things.

As for Tousen’s resurreccion (not surprising he had one), I have to say it’s pretty disgusting. He transformed into an ugly looking bug, but also is able to see with equally-disgusting concave eyes. From his reaction of “I CAN SEE I CAN SEE” I’m inferring that this is his first time going into resurreccion. Being blind all one’s life then suddenly being able to see must be an incredible experience, and Tousen’s reaction doesn’t really make sense seeing him able to identify everything in the surrounding environment pretty much immediately. There’s only so much someone can learn by hearing descriptions alone. Color, perspective, and “ugliness” are not things he could get used to so quickly after coming into contact with them for the first time.

The short segment in the middle about Shinji and Aizen had me beating my head on the table as I did during this part in the manga. Shinji completely gave up the advantage of keeping the opponent unaware of one’s powers. Clearly he was too cocky and was trying to rub his powers in Aizen’s face. However by explaining exactly how his zanpakuto works, Aizen once again has the upper hand— complete hypnosis combined with an insurmountable power and skill advantage. The vizard have so far been quite disappointing.

「番外編 訪問！」 (Bangai-hen – Houmon!)
“Extra Chapter – Visit!”

The second bonus episode of K-ON takes place some time after the girls get accepted into the same university but before their graduation ceremony. Focusing on the yearbook photos and the vast majority’s discontent over their picture — particularly Yui — this final showing brought both sweet and funny moments to help tie-in the actual ending. Oh yeah, a surprise announcement about a K-ON movie was made at the very end too. Exactly what the movie will entail and when it will be released is anyone’s guess at the moment, but the official site has been already updated to indicate that one’s in production. As for the episode itself, the sweet moments came from Azusa reminiscing about a photo she took with her seniors upon joining the club, which had goofy-looking eyes thanks to our ever-so-reliable club leader but sentimental meaning nonetheless. The other one was during a house visit to Sawako’s apartment, where the photograph she envisioned for the light music club didn’t quite turn out the way she had hoped. Both were nice trips down memory lane and showed us a bit of the club’s past that we’ve never seen before, so that was nice touch for a bonus episode. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t strike any emotional chords with Azusa nor Sawako, since we all know that happened after the graduation ceremony.

As for the more lighthearted side of things, there was Yui’s floating oranges with her amateurish slight of hand, her dismay over seeing her grad photo and how it will be immortalized, Ritsu and Mugi faking out Azusa by making it sound like something happened to Sawako, everyone hiding from Sawako for no particular reason when they went to visit her, Mio suspecting that Sawako might have a secret boyfriend, Sawako shooting down Yui’s request to have her photograph retaken, and everybody freaking out at the mysterious hand on Yui’s shoulder in their class photo. Quite honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I laughed this much in a K-ON episode, with the last bit being one of the funniest moments since Ritsu even forgot that it was her doing. Sawako’s reaction in particular was absolutely priceless, but Mio coercing Ritsu to fess up on hands and knees was right up there. For whatever reason, I also got a good chuckle out of Sawako hoping and praying that Mugi would win rock-paper-scissors and be the one to cook dinner, likely because it showed how much little faith she had in the others’ cooking. Last I recall, Ritsu’s actually pretty good at it.

Given how this episode suggested that the light music club will live on with Azusa, Ui, and Jun trying to recruit one more member, I can see the justification behind leaving it off as a bonus episode at the very end. Having a bit of confirmation on that would’ve probably taken away from Azusa’s eventual emotional breakdown, especially when Yui and the others were aware that they were practicing for a live performance for new members. It was kind of cute how Azusa tried to keep it a secret, even though there was really no reason she had to. Somehow, it felt befitting that they ended off with the new club’s version of “Fuwa Fuwa Time” as Yui, Mio, Ritsu, and Mugi ran through the hallways and outside for a simultaneous jump, which Mio was overconfident about once before and was late when it counted. Things just had to end on Mio slip-up in one form or another, but at least this time she stayed on her feet! :)

Movie Announcement

Final Impressions:

It was the best of times, it was the cutest of times. K-ON was never be about the worst of times, as the high school days of the light music club simply don’t allow for it. All the time spent drinking tea and eating snacks in their clubroom was slice of life at its finest and had an almost inexplicable charm that extended well beyond the cute characters. At times it was the way Yui and the others lazed away without a care in the world, while at others it was Mio getting her uniform ruffled up and showing us some of her innocent yet-not-so-innocent neckline. More often than not it was the former case, where the extent of their problems involved career choices and entrance exams. None of them could ever be considered dire by any stretch of the imagination, but that’s the beauty of this genre and what K-ON took to ARIA-like levels with a comedic spin. Then there’s the actual music of Houkago Tea Time on top of the cast’s career-defining performances, which made me as entertained listening to it as it probably did Kyoto Animation, Pony Canyon, and TBS rich. It says a lot when an anime that airs 1:25am in the morning does as well as K-ON did in both Blu-ray and CD single sales, and even more so when they can sell out Yokohama Arena for a live concert event. More so than having a faithful following, the unsuspecting 4-koma manga by Kakifly has been transformed into a sort of cultural phenomenon among anime fans both in Japan and worldwide. People can call it “moe” and not like it for that reason, but the series’ popularity among all types of audiences both young and old is pretty undeniable.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly trace the steps that took the series to what it is today (nor would I want to try), but I can explain why I personally enjoyed it. As alluded to above, the music will always be one of the big K-ON things to me. Their cutesy songs are probably not the coolest thing to be listening to while one’s cruising around in their car, but whenever a song is performed for the first time in the actual show, it almost always becomes a memorable one due to the immediate association wth the series. The songs themselves aren’t bad by any means either, seeing as Pony Canyon specializes in composing music for anime and Toyosaki Aki and Hikasa Youko have proven themselves as capable seiyuu who can sing. Incidentally, I’ve been a fan of Youko’s singing ever since I heard “Don’t say ‘lazy’” back in season one, and have nothing but utmost respect for Aki’s seemingly limitless talent in everything whether it be singing, acting, or even hosting concerts. With those two, Houkago Tea Time’s live performance at the school festival was always one of the big highlights in both the first season and this sequel. As for the absolute best part of the music in K-ON? It’s not even the main focus of the series.

With all that going for it as merely “bonus”, the amiable cast of characters and all their various nuances are the real appeal of the series and make it really easy to get into. It didn’t really matter what they were up to as long as they were in it together, because their everyday interactions and fairly laid-back outlook on life were always relaxing to watch and would often put a smile on my face. It was never really about making the viewer laugh until they cry (even though it was close at times) since the innocent type of humor was usually played up more. However, that seemingly uneventful depiction quickly became the series’ defining aspect to me and what I loved watching. Even when an episode was about nothing more than looking for a place to practice, there were all the little things going on that made it much more than it appeared on the surface. I never really knew exactly what I was in store for each week, but I almost always chuckled my way through it. On top of the lighthearted laughs, there were also times when the unsuspecting story would go for the more sentimental side of things, which provided an unexpected yet much appreciated depth to the characters and the series as a whole.

Admittedly, I’m not as sad as some viewers probably are about this series ending, as its 26-episode long run already provided much more than I was expecting after the first season’s 13-episode one. It ended on a high note with the live performance at the school festival and provided closure with the girls graduating and getting into the same school together, so I didn’t feel like there was a need to drag it out. Production-wise, Kyoto Animation upped the bar this time around with all the funding they likely got, whereas TBS’s recent changeover to 16:9 widescreen broadcasts right from the get-go saved me from watching this in butchered 4:3. At this point, I wouldn’t mind seeing some sort of sequel down the stretch should Kakifly get enough money thrown his way to make one, whether it centers around Azusa and the new light music club with Ui and Jun in their senior year of high school, or Yui and the others in their first year of university and reforming the club there. To tide me over until that or the movie rolls around, I think a re-watch is in order in the near future. The six month period that this series aired over made the earlier episodes but a distant memory, so it’s going to be fun going through the first half again. Keion daisuki!

「空の音・夢ノ彼方」 (Sora no Oto – Yume no Kanata)
“Sound of the Sky – Beyond the Dream”

What better way to mark the end of the third Anime no Chikara series than with the second bonus episode of their first one. Unlike episode 7.5, this latest one takes place at the end of the series, after the ceasefire was called between Helvetia and the Roman Empire. As seen in the final episode of the series run way back in March, Rio is back at the base with the rest of the girls as per her special request to the Roman Emperor she’s engaged to, and it’s like nothing has changed at all with the girls “playing” war again. In Kanata’s case, she’s now the designated trumpet girl every morning, which is nothing compared to the way she calmed an entire battlefield with Amazing Grace, but still not good enough to get Mishio off her back about not having any sort of a dream in life. Subsequently, most of the episode revolved around Kanata’s search for one, which was cute in that slice of life kind of way, but not nearly as enjoyable as the girls playing war and Noel whipping out her Gatling gun-equipped push cart. Oh how I loved that push cart and the melodramatic deaths. In comparison, one of funnier moment came from Kanata’s horrible driving and inability to keep her eyes on the road that Yumina almost feel victim to in the passenger’s seat.

Clearly, the lighthearted side wasn’t what they were going for this time around. What was surprising though is how the legend of the fire maidens was brought up again, in addition to Rio’s belief that the world seems to be slowly dying and that humans can’t afford to be fighting among themselves. The latter made it feel like this episode was setting the stage for a continuation where bigger problems need to be addressed, and the map she received from the emperor charting their best understanding of the world seemed to support that idea. Rather than simply leaving us with that depressing feeling with no plans on depicting a resolution, I was happy to see them turn it around as an encouraging outlook on the future when Rio told Kanata of her dream to fly through the skies in an airplane like the ancients did so that she can seek out new thriving lands. In turn, Kanata decided on a dream — to follow Rio in her pursuit of hers — which her senior decided to let her do in hopes that she’ll truly have a dream of her own one day. The sound of that gave off a somewhat strange yet uplifting feel that I wasn’t expecting in this bonus episode. As such, it truly came off as the epilogue it was likely intended to be, particularly with Rio’s monologue at the very end about seizing the future before them. Things came full circle as well, with a whole year passing since Kanata’s arrival, who now has the unfortunate honor of taking on the fire maiden role at the water festival.

Overall, this was a nice, proper conclusion to the series that made up for the somewhat abrupt ending in episode twelve. As for some tidbits, I found it interesting how Japanese is seen as a lost language to them, yet the use of Shinto ema managed to survive as part of some old religion. There was also Seiya’s ema wishing to marry Kanata one day, which was kind of cute because she didn’t really know how to react to it in front of Yumina aside from saying she’s honored. Other than that, I don’t recall ever hearing that Carl from the glass factory had a fling with Naomi from the glassware shop at some point and gave birth to Maria as a result, but it was pretty funny to see the latter take pride in being a love child. Lastly, the absolute funniest moment came from none other than Noel herself, when she started tearing up up on the spot because Kanata and Kureha weren’t receptive to her ema wishing to be a cute wife. Are they crazy!? Noel’s adorable! Those animals.

「マヤの文明」 (Maya no Bunmei)
“MAYA’s BUNMEI”

Just when we thought it was all over, the writers slip in another huge twist at the very end by reviving the threat of Nostradamus’ Key. Rather than blaming the alien invasion and the subsequent destruction of the world on a witch — which didn’t make that much sense anyway because it’s witches and aliens — they go for a scientific theory where space and time get distorted if two identical existences are superimposed. The cause of that? Going back in time and coming into contact with your former self. Admittedly, I wasn’t banking on the photo Maya took last time with Fumiaki and Mikaze in the same shot leading viewers astray, even though the thought had crossed a lot of people’s minds. I figured alien technology would be advanced enough to isolate one of the two objects in the picture or that Maya was specifically thinking about destroying Mikaze, but evidently that wasn’t the case. As such, I couldn’t help but think of the irony in how Mikaze would have been doing the world a favor by killing Fumiaki had she not been stopped by him and Maya. Of course, there’s always the possibility that Mikaze would unleash a similar hell on the world if she did survive, which would make it a matter of picking your poison.

Anyway, what did kind of throw me off was the adherence to the single timeline theory. It’s easier to grasp than the split timeline, and the one I’m personally inclined to believe since it seems more plausible than an infinite number of timelines in existence, but the writers decided to take a spin on it where the sole future can be changed. While the possibility isn’t a new concept to time travel, I always find it creates a time paradox much like it did here. As noted, Fumiaki ends up being the key and is unable to avoid meeting himself after Maya calls his mother to bring “Bunmei” to the school’s closing ceremony. In accordance to the single timeline theory, their attempt to prevent the two of them from meeting ends up being in vain when Bunmei decides to go explore Waldstein Academy on his own. The eventual encounter between Fumiaki and Bunmei and the opening of a dimensional rift that aliens started pouring out of paved way to a bad ending, but an ending that made perfect sense in my eyes.

As I mentioned last time, this outcome sticks to the theory that any attempt to change the past would lead to the very same future a person came from, because the history that’s already been written is what led to them traveling back in time in the first place. With that in mind, I was somewhat pleased when it looked like they were adhering to this theory despite the bad ending the story was headed towards, as odd as that may sound. Because of that, I had pretty mixed feelings when Fumiaki overcame his trauma by confirming with his former self that he came here on his own accord (i.e. that this was all his fault to begin with) and then using his recovered psychokinetic powers to send the aliens back where they came from and close the rift. It was pretty cool seeing him kick some serious ass and sacrifice himself to change history — with “Flying Humanoid” playing in the background as he took to the skies — plus the way he left Maya with a lasting impression of his manliness in the process. The only problem I had with it was how it totally messed up the concept of time.

In the future, Junichirou — who was finally confirmed to be the commander and sent into hiding by Chihiro — wasn’t even aware that the future had changed since his memories hadn’t realigned accordingly. When he finally stepped out of his underground bunker with his men, he found himself in a thriving future and a cafe behind him replacing it. The apparent time lag from his memories aligning with the new future is one aspect of the single timeline theory that makes it suspect, as the disappearance of the world as he knew it and the recreation of it where he has no recollection of Waldstein Academy being destroyed on July 21st, 1999 would make more sense. The real time paradox though is exactly who saved the world to begin with. Assuming this is now the future, the Fumiaki that sacrificed himself never existed to begin with. There was no barren future to send him back from, nor a need for Junichirou to create a time agency to try and correct the past. From July 22nd, 1999 onwards as the world knew it, there was no alien invasion. If we go back to July 21st and the one month leading up to that, this Fumiaki from that nonexistent future is still there though and Maya is well aware that he traveled back in time to help her save the world. In the actual future, she’s supposedly married to the one who grew up, which is not the same Fumiaki who was sent back. (What a cougar!) So, where did this Fumiaki who saved the world come from?

The short answer is that he never existed in the first place, much like Junichirou never went into hiding for the past thirteen years to come up with a countermeasure to save the world, hence the discontinuity in time. If there was never an alien invasion on July 21st, 1999, there definitely wasn’t a time agency in 2012 trying to save a future that was already safe. The only way one could fathom this working out is if the future happened before the past, but the mere sound of that should go to show how preposterous that thought is. So yeah, this time paradox is why I prefer the theory where the past can’t be changed if there’s only a single timeline. This series decided to follow it for the most part and eventually break away from it to give a good ending, which should leave viewers with mixed feeling if they actually stop to think about it. Regardless, it’s how these paradoxes are handled that always has me interested in any series or movie — anime or otherwise — that tries to tackle the time travel idea, much like Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin did.

Epilogue

Final Impressions:

“Believe in Anime no Chikara.” It’s a mindset that’s grown on me over the past three seasons and one I plan to stick to whenever their next project rolls around. After blogging for some time, one of the things I’ve grown accustomed to hearing over and over again is how an anime adaptation isn’t faithful to the original source material and some people raging over it just because they’re instinctively biased towards what they were exposed to first. Because of that, original series such as the ones produced by the Aniplex, TV Tokyo, and A-1 Pictures collaboration are always a breath of fresh air in more ways than one. It’s a lot of fun covering a series where no one knows what’s going to happen and everyone is just as excited about the next episode as the next person. There are no expectations of adherence to source material and no disappointments stemming from that either. It’s pretty much the same as covering manga, except talking about an anime is generally much more involved due to the presentation aspect. In this particular case, there were a lot twists that added to that enjoyment, which nobody who wasn’t working on the series could have definitively foresaw.

Seeing as I enjoyed both So-Ra-No-Wo-To and the much underappreciated Senkou no Night Raid, I was convinced I’d be watching Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin before I even had any idea what it was about. Upon doing my season preview “homework”, the idea of a sci-fi paranormal comedy had my interest piqued as soon as time travel came into play. News that K-ON‘s Hikasa Youko would be starring in it made it almost an immediate sell, but what really surprised me was the quirky cast of characters that accompanied the tsundere-like Kumashiro Maya. Breaking away from the norm of pretty boy character designs, Smile and JK showed just how awesome they can be despite their unsuspecting appearance, which went on to reiterate the comedy side of things. To a lesser extent were Ami and Kozue, who were still a lot of fun to watch since they were Maya’s closest friends. To a surprisingly larger extent was Chihiro, whose obsession with Abe-sensei is seen in an all new light following the revelation that she’s actually a white mage on Maya’s side. Finally, there’s Fumiaki himself, who started out as a pretty wimpy character yet managed to go out in a blaze of glory. I was never annoyed about his character like some people were, simply because I saw it all in good comedic fun, but he even surprised me with how cool he turned out to be. On top of the quirky characters themselves, there were the overexaggerated facial expressions that I just loved seeing, most of which stemmed from Maya herself.

Every since the second episode, I made mention of how this was the show I was looking forward to the most on a weekly basis. Now almost three months later, that sentiment hasn’t really changed all that much. Sure there were other good shows right up there this past summer, such as K-ON, Amagami SS, Mitsudomoe, and STRIKE WITCHES 2, but none of them had quite the same kind of appeal that left me eagerly wanting to see where the next episode was headed. The overarching story surrounding Nostradamus’ Prophecies and the destruction of the world really helped in that regard, and I absolutely loved how all aspects of the story came together in the end — especially the parts that were seemingly unrelated at the time. I could probably go on and on about how much I enjoyed this series, but I’ll just leave off with the recommendation that original anime series are the way to go, and everyone should be checking out Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin if you haven’t already. It takes a seemingly normal anime premise and makes it not so normal at all. It’s the occult!

「#26」

It almost pains me to have to refer to this as my last post on GIANT KILLING, because this is only the start of much more awesome things to come for ETU. Unfortunately, none of it will be animated, at least not anytime in the immediate future. What did surprise me about this finale though was that it entailed much more than the curry party the preview from last time had me believe. Not only did it include scenes from various matches that ETU had, but also showed them riding the momentum from their huge upset win against Osaka. In the midst of their three game winning streak, it was nice to see Natsuki finally score a goal as well. It’s probably worth noting that he was still struggling with putting key scoring chances away, but at least this served as a sign that things were headed in the right direction for him. ETU wasn’t shown to be completely invincible however, as the loss of Kuroda due to a one-game suspension and Akasaki to the under-23 Olympic national team resulted in a scoreless tie. However, that didn’t take away from the fact that ETU finally had some sort of national level representative, who went on to help win the game against Hong Kong.

With ETU making it through the Japan Cup preliminaries and into the top eight for the first time in three years, the little bit of drama from Gino asking for a maintenance day off in their next match made me wish I’d get to see what Tatsumi had planned for their match against Kawasaki without his star playmaker. From that, the door was already left open for the next episode, before the episode drifted off to a curry party team-building type of event that Tatsumi decided on a whim. Of course, no one saw it that way with how he dragged everyone into helping instead of practicing like they were supposed to — particularly not Kuroda for having to hand out fliers. Regardless, it did change the mood into a more lighthearted one and gave off a sense of a well-deserved rest for the team, and gave us a glimpse back to the very start of the series with a bit of reminiscing between Tatsumi and Gotou. The latter almost gave off a sense that they’ve accomplished what they were both after, but the change of gears back to a focused and recharged team ready to finish the second half of the season strong sure showed otherwise. Season two please?

Final Impressions:

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never really been into sports anime; however, there really isn’t any particular reason for that other than a tendency to overlook them. Quite frankly, I probably would have done the same with GIANT KILLING, had I not taken the time to find out for myself if it’s a series I would enjoy. When I was in the process of writing the Spring 2010 Preview, that fairly ignorant outlook on the genre was quickly turned around when I started reading through a bit of the manga and found that I couldn’t put it down until I finished the entire first volume. There was something extremely captivating about the underdog story it portrayed, where a soccer team in a slump was banking its future on a former star player of theirs who had left for England and started coaching amateur clubs to “giant killing” results. Without any understanding of exactly what Tatsumi’s strategies entailed or how he was able to pull off the huge upsets he did with the players that he had, there was also a mysterious aspect to his character that kept me reading so that I could find out. It didn’t take long for me to become a believer in Tatsumi’s ability to think outside the box either, as I was immediately hooked when he took a bunch of ETU benchwarmers and upset the starters in a scrimmage. The best part of it all was that Tatsumi never seems to exude seriousness or any sort of authority, yet produces undeniable results that no one — not even the hot shot teams in the Japan Football League — can even ignore.

Upon getting into the anime, I was always looking forward to seeing what new and interesting strategies Tatsumi would come up with, but also found myself taken in by all the character development in the players as well. The initial tension between Tatsumi and Murakoshi gave a good taste of some of the people problems that would be encountered in the series, with Tsubaki’s subsequent arc showing just how much depth there are to some of the characters. On the field, this translates into all the internal thoughts running through the players minds, which coupled with the slow motion action, really helps bring out the suspense and excitement in the series. Some of the close matches and timely goals even gave me goosebumps with how awesome they were portrayed, plus brought out a sense of jubilation that I would have never expected to get from a sports anime. It was that intense at times, particularly on the matches that spanned several episodes, and is one thing that I will sorely miss having on a weekly basis. I never once enjoyed having to wait an entire week to see a game play out, but the series almost always made the tease worth the wait. In terms of testosterone-filled, adrenaline-pumping rushes, this series provides that and much more.

With only half the season covered in this 26-episode adaptation and ETU making it through the Japan Cup preliminaries and making the top eight for first time in three years, it goes without saying that I’d love to see a continuation produced so that I can see these boys go all the way. The victory over Osaka Gunners was a defining point that showed how far the team’s come along, and this finale went on to reiterate that their hard work continues to pay off, but I’m still left wanting more. Be that as it may, I don’t think I could ask for anything more from an adaptation. It was an awesome ride through and through, ended on a high note, and left me looking forward to more of the story. The production quality by Studio DEEN wasn’t anything to write home about — as is usually the case with educational-like series airing on NHK — but it wasn’t even close to being poor enough to take away from the series in any way, shape, or form. Given all of the above, I’d recommend this series to any viewer who can enjoy watching or playing sports, regardless of whether or not they’re into sports anime or even soccer in particular. If the mere thought of an underdog story piques your interest, you can’t do yourself any wrong by checking out GIANT KILLING. Give it a chance and you’ll likely be glad you did.

「丸井さんの家庭の日常」 (Marui-san no Katei no Nichijou)
“Everyday Life at the Marui House”

There’s a second season coming in the near future, but Mitsudomoe concludes its first run with an incredibly strong showing that had me laughing helplessly on one particular skit. It was possibly one of the best comedic pauses I’ve ever seen in anime, which had me laughing more the longer I watched at it. Oh how I love Hitoha. She takes profound shock and disappointment to new levels with the way she kept filling the cat’s food tray over and over again. I just loved how Mitsuba and Futaba were looking on and at a complete loss on how to help her, before coming up with the idea to make Futaba a replacement cat. I had to actually watch the scene where she inadvertently took out Mitsuba’s knee a couple of times too, just because it happened so quickly and I didn’t get a chance to laugh to my heart’s content in one go. Seriously, there’s comedic gold, and then there’s Mitsudomoe comedic gold. This show just rains it down like there’s no tomorrow.

Leading up to the kitten adoption skit, it wouldn’t feel right without another Chikubi one for the road. To that end, we had a sickly Futaba who looked like Hitoha and gave off a similar aura — the sight of whom makes me laugh even now. Chiba’s confusion over it being Hitoha and only being able to detect the real one from her evil aura was too damn funny, as was Chikubi’s similar confusion over whom he believed was Hitoha. It was hilarious when they were imagining an all new type of evil when Hitoha caught Futaba’s cold, only to find out that she turns a sexy babe because of it. I was hoping she’d say a few words and have a sultry voice to go with it, but Chiba’s reaction made that entire first skit pretty priceless nonetheless. Incidentally, it appear that Futaba has a newly acquired aura ability because of the ordeal.

In terms of sheer slapstick laughs, Yabecchi’s visit to the Marui household for a routine parent/teacher meeting took the cake. On top of featuring a quirky insert song by him and Futaba, “Sensei wa Kodomo? Kodomo wa Sensei?”, the misunderstanding over the Marui’s new pet cat was so well scripted that the predictability of the outcome didn’t take away from the enjoyment the least bit. Seeing Soujirou opening an absolute can of whoop ass on Satoshi under the assumption that he’s some pedophile was too funny, as was his terminator-like search for him. As for the final skit with Mitsuba being the better person and giving up the amusement park tickets that she won in the shopping district lottery, it helped showcase the nicer side to some of these girls that’s often lost amidst all the gags. Of course, in only led to more gags in the process when she found out that each ticket is valid for two people, but did allow the series to close off on a very sweet note when her father bought one more.

Final Impressions:

For a new studio, Bridge sure delivered one heck of a first production. While the production team behind Mitsudomoe was comprised of all the key members from Daume‘s Minami-ke team, there was still a need to establish themselves as a capable studio. In terms of material, the promising impression I got from the manga while writing the Summer 2010 Preview showed no signs of letting up over the course of the anime adaptation. Over a mere thirteen episodes, I’ve grown so accustomed to all of the characters’ antics and various nuances, which extended well beyond the Marui triplets and their teacher like I originally thought. Back then, I compared this series to Kodomo no Jikan due to the slapstick comedy where they drive their teacher up the wall, and while I still feel that comparison is valid, it only ended up being the tip of the iceberg.

The classmates in this series took the comedy to hilarious levels beyond the confines of what they could pull from Yabecchi alone, and made for some of the best moments when the guys — Shinya and Yuudai — got pulled into the mix. Let’s not forget the helplessly in love trio — Airi, Shiori, and Mayumi — who started breathing new life on the series when they were brought into the picture. Then there’s Mitsuba’s rival Miku and her crew of Yuki and Miyashita, who quickly became some of the core characters right alongside the triplets themselves. When they all get together, stuff starts gets pretty idiotic and there never seems to be a dull moment. From everything to Gachi Ranger misunderstandings to just pure slapstick humor with urine samples, the remarkable amount of sensibility depicted in these sixth graders makes elementary school look like fun again. Unlike Seitokai Yakuindomo, the material in Mitsudomoe wasn’t simply strung together in the order they appear in the manga (for the most part), so some decisions were made by the screenplay writers to make it work as an anime. On top of making the previous skits have some bearing on future ones, the screenplay itself was one aspect that I found particularly well done.

Also noteworthy are the portrayal of the characters by the cast, with Takagaki Ayahi, Akesaka Satomi, and Tomatsu Haruka all showing me a side of their voice acting that I’ve never heard before. I originally thought that Ayahi and Haruka should have swapped roles considering they both had experience playing the other type of character, but they went on to completely surprise me with their performances. It’s so ingrained into my mind now that this is how Mitsuba and Hitoha should sound that I can’t even recall what I had in mind before. Shimono Hiro on the other hand is a complete shoo-in for hysterical roles, and one to watch for in this upcoming season’s Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai and Yosuga no Sora, because he can change personalities in a flip of a switch if needed. You don’t often see him in more serious roles, but he’s more than capable to play any type of role, much like all professionally trained seiyuu. Of course, rounding out the cast are a bunch of big names such as Saitou Chiwa, Toyosaki Aki, Sanpei Yuuko, Chihara Minori, and Iguchi Yuka, who take an already good cast and makes it even better.

Quite frankly, with a hilarious gag manga as the source material, writers capable of transferring that well on screen, and a cast that is beaming with talent, the only thing that could have possibly gone wrong is poor animation to bring it all to life. Well Bridge made no mistake on adding a quality comedy to their resume with Mitsudomoe, because not once did I ever find any scene poorly animated or noticeably skimped on. I praised their work in the early episodes and started feeling like a broken record repeating myself every week, so at some point I figured it was time to stop stating the obvious. I stressed in the season preview that one shouldn’t be turned off by the quirky character designs if they’re looking for potentially the funniest show of the season, and I can now safely say the same as a wholehearted recommendation. The announcement of a second season coming winter 2011 is a statement to that fact, so if you’re into comedies and have been doing yourself a huge disservice by ignoring Mitsudomoe, be sure to check it out before you’re left wondering what everyone is looking forward to in three months. You’ll laugh until it hurts at least once, if not several times over. :)

OP Sequence

OP: 「Red Fraction IO Drive mix」 by MELL
Watch the OP!: Download, Streaming ▼

「Collateral Massacre」

After a nearly four year hiatus, we get the glorious return of Black Lagoon with this OVA series, titled “Roberta’s Blood Trail”. Even though I say it’s an OVA, this is in fact the third season of the series, which is indicated further by the episode itself being counted as #25 of the anime. With the lack of material from the manga to base a complete season off of, MADHOUSE decided to use the recently completed “El Baile se La Muerte” arc, compile it into a 5 episode long OVA, and label it as the third season of the anime. Obviously, taking this approach is a bit controversial. On one hand, we can’t enjoy the nail biting, stomach churning story of Black Lagoon on a weekly basis, but on the other hand the budget obviously prospers from this format, and it shows in the action sequences and lighting effects. Compared to the first two seasons, this OVA is like night and day as far as art and animation are concerned. Taking into account the quality benefits that the OVA format awards to anime, I don’t mind waiting a month between episodes if I get to enjoy this type of quality consistently this season. Speaking of that, it’s great to see our favorite characters like Rock (Namikawa Daisuke) and Revy (Toyoguchi Megumi) sporting 2010 quality, which is only augmented by the glorious Blu-ray HD the episodes are released in.

It seems fitting that the third season focus on Roberta (Tomizawa Michie) and her Young Master, Garcia Lovelace (Ikura Kazue), as we haven’t seen the pair since episode 10 and yet the battle maid probably left one of the biggest impressions on the fanbase in the series. Certainly on Revy at least, considering the beating she gave her is pretty hard to forget, I’d imagine. This time around, it appears Roberta’s become even more insane after watching Garcia’s father and her employer/protector, Diego Jose San Fernando Lovelace (yes, that’s his name), be blown up right in front of her. This event causes her to take up her old “Bloodhound” persona again and go on a hunt to find her benefactor’s killers. If nothing else, she proves very successful in this endeavor, tracking down, maiming, and torturing her pray in order to fulfill her lust for vengeance. I definitely got a chill down my spine watching Roberta twist her face into that shit eating grin that you would expect to see out of a psychopath, and yet I also found it strangely sexy. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind being the poor bastard chained to a boiling pot if it meant being raped by THAT. I mean, who could honestly resist that? Anyway, her streak of terror doesn’t appear to be ending soon, with her entering Bao’s (Saitou Shirou) now totaled bar and demanding a location where she can purchase all the tools necessary for war. Yes, my first thoughts were also “Holy shit”. I can’t begin to fathom exactly what kind of horror Roberta is planning to bring down onto Roanapur’s unsuspecting villains, but whatever it is it’s guaranteed to bring hell with it.

Over on Lagoon Company’s side, Rock is still trying to get over the unfortunate fate of Washimine Yukio, which he was a direct witness of. It’s nice to see they pick up right where season 2 left off, despite it being aired almost four years ago. It’s unrealistic to think Rock could just get over something like that easily, and it’s obvious the ordeal scarred him significantly. Of course, life goes on in Roanapur and there is work to be done for Lagoon Company, and as long as there is money to be had personal conflicts come second. Although, just as quick as life moves, it ends in this city of thugs and warlords. As Rock and Revy arrive at Bao’s bar and begin to exchange information with Dago, we’re introduced to yet another battle maid (this time of the loli persuasion) in the form of Fabiola Iglesias (Yukino Satsuki). This one’s definitely a bad bitch, kicking thugs in the nuts with hidden shoe knives (cue every man’s reaction) and laying waste yet again to Bao’s beloved bar. Her action sequence was a great showcase of the improved budget and quality in this third season, with the movements being more fluid, the guns being far more detailed, and even the gunfire looking that much more realistic. I got goosebumps watching that little girl take on an army of men by herself and then blow the bar and a mini van sky high with a concealed rocket luncher. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’s even better than Roberta. Of course, all that fire power can’t save her from looking a child in the face of the Chang (Morikawa Toshiyuki) (a.k.a. Neo). As you would expect, Fabiola is one of the Lovelaces’ maids and was sent to track down Lagoon Company to request their assistance in tracking down Roberta. In particular, they want the kind-hearted Rock’s help, who they believe will offer it without requiring money be paid for services. It’s quite obvious Rock will accept their plea, but whether or not he can actually save anyone remains to be seen, as he hasn’t been exactly good at that since arriving in Roanapur.

All in all, it’s just good to see Black Lagoon back after four years and looking better than ever. I sorely missed the gun fights and raunchy atmosphere that no other anime seemed to be able to mimic. This story is most certainly not your usual light hearted anime with unbelievably uplifting outcomes and unrealistically optimistic and idealistic characters. This story is built off of the idea that all humans are scum on the inside and can only go deeper into the gutter once they’ve stepped in it; a psychological analysis of what makes “villains” tick through the eyes of a “normal” person looking in from the “twilight”. No doubt this season will be a sobering experience just like past seasons of Lagoon; I don’t expect to come out feeling good about the world or the possibilities of the future after watching this, but I’m sticking with it until the end. Will you?

ED Sequence

ED: 「When Johnny Comes Marching Home」 by EDISON
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Preview

「真実ノ絆」 (Shinjitsu no Kizuna)
“True Bonds”

Following the collapse of Teito Tower and the conclusion of this second season, the “to be continued” message at the very end left the door open to a possible third adaptation. Things were left pretty open-ended with Musubi and Karasuba’s exchange at the end, though it was pretty cool to see Yume awaken within Musubi and kiss Minato so that she could unleash the powers of a Norito. While nothing came from their fight, I did get caught up in the helpless feeling that had taken over Minato’s Sekirei. It may have been six on one, but no one was really in any condition to help out after miraculously surviving the tower’s collapse, so all they could do was look on as Musubi struggled against Karasuba alone. Nearly half of the episode was dedicated to that scene, so it was nice to see them make it pretty suspenseful with the music and Musubi’s shirahadori (barehanded blade catch). There was also Matsu’s analysis that Musubi has no chance of beating Karasuba in her current state, Kusano’s earnest cries for them to stop, Karasubi thinking about cutting up Minato to drive Musubi’s anger over the edge, and everyone trying to intervene to no avail to really give off a sense of a hopeless fight. I was seriously having a case of déjà vu from seeing Karasuba take the same approach that Cell did to awaken Gohan’s Super Saiyajin 2 in Dragon Ball Z, complete with a “Change the World” insert song as soon as Musubi kissed Minato and powered up. (Sung by none other than Musubi’s Hayami Saori.)

While I held onto the firm belief that Karasuba wouldn’t take advantage of the situation and actually kill anyone, I loved how the desperate feelings quickly turned into ones of hope when Musubi went flying towards her to end their fight with the very next exchange. Musubi only managed to break Karasuba’s katana before her sudden burst of power faded; however, everyone rallying to her side after Minato dove in to try and protect Musubi was pretty moving to see with the song playing in the background. Also, Matsu adding that an attack like that would be enough to take out Karasuba gave the impression that the tides had turned. It was a bit anticlimactic to simply see the leader of the Disciplinary Force just walk away right after, but not so much in my case since I was expecting her to do so at some point. There were simply no signs leading up to this finale that either Musubi or Karasubi would be severely injured, and no time to show what happens after even if there were. In terms of providing a big battle at the end of this second season, their fight did provide just that though. Minato also managed to get the data needed to cure Chiho, so the actual arc revolving around her regaining the ability to walk did come to a close.

Given how the rest of the episode went, there was more than enough indication that a third season is in order to address some of the new things that came up. As expected of Higa, he sent Seo in to try and steal a bunch of M.B.I.’s alien technology during the confusion. What wasn’t expected though was how Seo asked Matsu to give him dummy data after he gave her the twenty pass codes to unlock the computer system. While trying to disable the self-destruct, Matsu was also notified that the third stage has begun, which suggested that all of this was going according to Minaka’s plan. The only thing that wasn’t specifically planned was destroying Teito Tower in the process, since the self-destruct was for taking down the building if plans were ever made to build a new one. Last but definitely not least were the crystal containers that Matsu managed to get a hold of and Minaka has on board the spaceship he escaped in, which are numbered eight and one respectively. Eight I can understand since Yume is no longer around, but the fact that Miya’s still around left me wondering if there was some truth behind what she said before about Sekirei No.01 being gone. In any case, lots of new questions were raised on top of the various subplots that need to be explored (e.g. Karasuba’s grudge with Yume), which I hope to see answered in another sequel down the road.

Epilogue

Final Impressions:

When word of a SEKIREI sequel reached my ears, I wasn’t eagerly looking forward to it but was intent on watching it whenever it showed up. When it finally premiered this past summer, there had been a long two-year gap since I watched and covered the first season, so naturally the anticipation dwindled over that time. However, the long break was kind of nice in retrospect, since there was almost a sense of nostalgia to see the same cast of characters back on screen and the story picking up from where it left off. As a bonus, the shift to high definition allowed Seven Arcs to produce a much better looking series as well, which was the same welcomed improvement seen in STRIKE WITCHES 2. The end result was a sequel with much better looking production at a much more interesting part of the story — the latter of which didn’t feel nearly as open-ended as the first adaptation.

For me, the most satisfying moments of this sequel were the winging of Kazehana and Homura, seeing as the prospect of that happening was hinted at several times in the first season. I’ve been long since aware of who Minato’s six Sekirei are, so never getting a chance to see them all come together back then made the eventual bridge escape conclusion feel even more open-ended. This time around, I’m actually much more content with the conclusion of Uzume/Chiho arc, simply because the main cast of characters have assembled alongside Minato and the story can advance whichever way it needs to. Going forward, the formal introduction to Higa resulted in the vast majority of the plot in Pure Engagement, but leaving Sanada fairly sidelined for the most part. As such, Sanada is one character who I would like to see fleshed out more in another sequel. Higa himself also works in very mysterious ways, so there are definitely a lot of plot devices that haven’t been touched upon, which hopefully come together in some significant way.

As things stand now, another chapter of the story feels like it’s been closed, with another one expected to pick up where it left off. This proved to be a pretty enjoyable sequel as a result, and surprisingly satisfying in light of the fact that there’s no indication of the Sekirei Project concluding anytime soon. Thus far, it’s all been about approaching it one stage at a time, with confirmation of the third one starting leaving me curious as to what Minaka has in mind. Needless to say, a sequel is in order to answer all those questions surrounding the president of M.B.I. and the project as a whole, so I’ll be watching for sure if/when one is produced. I’m not dying to see one anytime soon given how things ended off here, but I do want to see where this story I’ve been following on and off for the past two years is headed.

「死んでも助ける ルフィVS海軍戦闘開始」 (Shindemo Tasukeru – Rufi VS Kaigun Batoru Sutāto)
“Even If It Means Death! Luffy vs. the Navy; The Battle Starts!”

After telling Whitebeard of the new execution schedule, Luffy promptly rushes into the battlefield to save Ace. He smashes a bunch of fodder along the way, then meets some old enemies such as Fullbody and Jango. Of course, they’re still as stupid as ever, so Hina steps up for some challenge. Luffy pulls out his Gear Second and easily escapes, leaving Hina, “Hina owned”. Moria then raises his zombie army and stalls for more time until Jinbei arrives, easily destroying his zombies. Man, if Jinbei were there back in Thriller Bark, the arc would’ve ended in 5 episodes. Anyway, Ace soon begs Luffy to stop and go back, because we all know that’s really going to work. The drinking sake scene is a bit intriguing, but more so for manga readers, as only they would know what I’m talking about (don’t spoil though, obviously -_-).

Two things were revealed to the world this time, one being Luffy’s relationship towards Ace, and the other being Luffy’s relationship to Dragon. However, we as an audience already knew these, so it wasn’t as big of a “reveal” to us as it was to everyone else in the OP world. This caused quite a stir within people, and oddly enough, even elevated Boa’s infatuation. I feel like this scene was a lot less epic than I remember, but it’s probably just me. They ended the episode with quite a bang, going with a sketchy style of Gigant Rifle. Sketchy style apparently makes things seem “so insane that the lines of this dimension that hold this character together are starting to become weak under his/her epicness”. It was done a lot in TTGL. ‘Nuff said. Has the animation ramp up begun?

Next episode seems battle ridden, and with a title of “an army of devil fruit users vs an army of devil fruit users,” you know some serious shit is going down.

Preview

「生徒会役員共！乙！」 (Seitokai Yakuindomo! Otsu!)
“Student Council Executives! Yeah!”

After faithfully following the manga for the past twelve episodes, the series finishes animating the second volume’s material and throws in an anime original look back on the days of SYD. Best part is, it’s nothing like we and Tsuda remember. Before getting there, the last bit of manga material from volume two may have very well explained where Shino’s sex-plagued mind stemmed from. To her, straddling a monkey bar while an earthquake took place may have been a traumatic experience, but I’m inclined to believe she probably enjoyed it more than she was letting off. It probably opened a gate in the darkest reaches of her mind where all her sexual thoughts poured out from, giving us the Shino we know today. More specifically, we have a student council president who doesn’t mind the idea of an S&M relationship with Tsuda, like newcomer Todoroki Nene (Shiina Hekiru) of the robot research club believed.

As for Nene herself, her introduction to the series may have been late, but the thought of her creating a supercharged dildo sure had impact. It definitely put new meaning on a “practical” application of a hobby. Other than that, I did get a good laugh from the yandere-style observation Shino, Aria, and Suzu gave Tsuda while he was working on another article. Also, I don’t think I’ll ever look at the number “3″ the same way again though thank to Aria’s spiel about how she was once “innocent” because she believed she could get pregnant from the “backdoor”. Admittedly, the inclusion of a Kotomi-focused ending sequence in the middle of the episode threw me off a fair bit. It looked like another skit at first, but the first bit with full-blown credits had me thinking otherwise and checking the remaining time in the episode. It sure gave a different feel to the Kotomi we saw last episode and made her seem like an innocent teenager falling in love for the very first time. Of course, I couldn’t help but think about what that baseball boy would be been in store for if he accepted Kotomi’s feelings.

The anime original half with a last episode meeting actually turned out funnier than I thought. I actually had to do a double-take on Tsuda’s disbelief over the erotic novel souvenir turning into the comparatively innocent keychain twisted the story to. The student council retreat wasn’t bad either, since they were quick to make Tsuda out as the one who pranced off with their bikini tops. Coincidentally, I got to hand it to Shino and Aria for making themselves come off as the innocent ones, even when it came to the Kinkaku-ji that the prez loved to associate with bondage play. Mutsumi’s dream about her judo club kicking ass was just random in comparison, though the joke about “Magical Mako” being the new show taking over Seitokai Yakuindomo’s time slot next week was right up there. It did lead to a nice plug for Hakuouki Hekketsuroku when Tsuda pulled out an Animage magazine to check, which got me a bit more excited about the sequel.

Despite the lack of a finale-like feel, the ending with everyone looking towards another year did make me kind of sad to see this series end. It’s probably safe to say that the gag-oriented nature makes it really easy for a sequel to pick up from volume three onwards though. The fourth manga volume was recently compiled and released back in August, so there are currently two more volumes of material out that can be animated into another 13-episode series. Whether or not we’ll see one in the near future is another matter.

Final Impressions:

Admittedly, while I have no problem enjoying the wordplay type of jokes that this series entails, I never really found myself laughing helplessly because of them. More often than not, I was only mildly amused by the sexual subject matter in all of the material. However, the unique spin of pushing the boundaries with ecchi fan-service in jokes instead of actual depictions had me coming back week after week to see how far they’d go with it. At times, some of the jokes were still pretty hit and miss with me even though I knew exactly what they were alluding to, but the amiable characters with their distinct nuances helped bring it all together. Evidently, this isn’t a series that I can simply recommend to anyone just because they’re into comedies, but I’m hard-pressed to think of any anime that provides adult humor the way this one does. The format never really leaves one anticipating the next episode, yet makes it easy to start watching on a complete whim, so I find Seitokai Yakuindomo is one of those shows that are appealing because it’s so easy to get into.

As I mentioned back in the Summer 2010 Preview, I was getting into this series primarily for the quirky humor starring Hikasa Youko, Satou Satomi, and Yahagi Sayuri. Much like I was hoping, they were one the highlights of the series throughout, so what surprised me was all the support cast that expanded the humor beyond the student council members. Arai Satomi as Hata Ranko from the photography club was probably the hidden gem among the cast, since her eccentric behavior and obsession with the latest scoop could even rile up the likes of Shino. The other big surprise was Shimoda Asami as Takatoshi’s younger sister Kotomi, who put the “dayamn” in “damn” in the latter episodes by being on par with Shino and Aria in terms of masochistic and sex-crazed thoughts. Then there was Kobayashi Yuu as the Yokoshima Naruko, whose poor role model behavior draws as many wary eyes as it does because she’s a teacher obsessed with younger men. Of course, none of the comedy would have worked as well as it did without Asanumu Shintarou as Takatoshi to be the voice of reason in the predominately female Ousai Gakuen, regardless of how fruitless his efforts may have been. Without his comedic jabs, the jokes just don’t click as well, as seen in trip to Kyoto back in episode three.

As an adaptation that literally transcribes the content right out of the manga skit after skit and pieces them together as sensibly as possible, this series pretty much replaces any need to check out the source material. Production-wise, GoHands didn’t have to do a terrible lot on the writing side of things to make this show work as a series, but I appreciated the animation side for the mix of normal and super-deformed scenes to bring out the humor. A lot of the work was in the delivery of the material, which is one aspect that I didn’t find lacking whatsoever. Because of that, I sure wouldn’t mind watching a continuation by them at some point, but wouldn’t really be disappointed if one is never made either. After all, this is a series that doesn’t leave you anticipating much, but makes it easy to just dive into. That is, if you’re into the adult-oriented humor that comes with it.

During the 114 or so episodes of Shippuuden that I watched, I can’t even recall a single track that’s been memorable enough as this one I heard back in 2003. As such, I’m not expecting much to come from Konan’s death and the feeling that she was reunited with Yahiko, Nagato, and even Jiraiya in their small house in Amegakura. I do hold onto some glimmer of hope that I’ll be pleasantly surprised whenever the anime gets to this point, as this latest chapter did make me feel more attached to these Akatsuki characters than I ever thought I would. It may have become nothing but a distant memory by the time it rolls around — just like Jiraiya’s death that was animated not too long ago — but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a need to do the original material justice for anime-only viewers. If I can actually remember to do so, I’ll be checking out this part of the story when the anime reaches this point in the story. I loved the symbolic meaning of the nameplates showing that they had all returned “home”.

As for the other symbolic aspect to this chapter, it would be none other than Madara’s new mask. From the looks of it, it’s a combination of a Rinnegan and a Sharingan, with two eye holes now so that he can likely use one of each or some fused combination of both. Much like I was expecting back in chapter 506, the scroll with the information Kisame stole does make its way back to Madara to give some meaning to his sacrifice, so it should be interesting to see what comes from that. For now, it would appear that we’re going to finally see a showdown between Naruto and Madara, which has me excited because we still have no idea exactly what these two are capable of with their recent improvements. I haven’t counted Sasuke making an appearance at some point either, seeing as he’s been noticeably absent for the past twenty-five chapters or so.

Continuing on from last time, Rikuo, Yuki-onna, Aotaba and Kubinashi notice the distressed Karasu Tengu, but he flies off without noticing them. Later, Gozumaru and Mezumaru reveal that the Supreme Commander Nurarihyon has disappeared and they are searching for him. It’s interesting how Gozu was secretly happy to be able to be trusted with such an important matter in the family. Like Gyuki, Gozu and Mezo seem to be loyal to the Nura clan.

As usual, Kana is still gets very jealous over Rikuo and Yuki-onna. I think subconsciously she is slightly aware of a deeper connection between Rikuo and his mysterious night form and as a result is infatuated with both forms simultaneously. I swear though, Yuki-onna is seriously trying to provoke Kana, e.g. snuggling up with Rikuo. I sense some jealousy coming from Yuki as well after their escapade in the Bake-neko bar, which had resulted in Kana beginning to find youkai “appealing”. Yuki of course knows full well that Kana is head over tails in love with Night Rikuo, leaving Rikuo himself in a bit of a pickle. Sometimes it’s just better to have one girl :)

As I suspected last time, Yura stopping to smack talk after defeating some small fry turned out to be trouble for her. She even got a pose scene with cheesy music, but the leader of the pack, Muchi, easily dispatches her shikigami and lands a hit with his poisonous wind. He then flies up to the top of the building where Nurarihyon is. By defeating him he hopes to destroy the Nura clan and their Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. This guy is just pure evil, and with his crazy demeanor, he really acts like the Joker as well. Unfortunately for him, Nurarihyon (who is similar to Jedi Master Yoda in several aspects) manages to not only block the wind, but deflect it back. Then he uses Meikyoshisui: that scene was pretty damn awesome, as Muchi is completely paralyzed by fear, only seeing the dagger coming at him in the dark. Watching an old and frail-looking character kicking ass is pretty fun, and Nurarihyon does just that, defeating Muchi in one strike and barely moving at all while doing it. Yura finally makes it to the top of the building after the battle is over, and she has no clue what is going on. The interactions resulting from the difference in experience between the two is hilarious to watch, but I see potential for her to become stronger as she gets older and her personality matures.

The main villains in this arc seem to be the shikoku yokai: Tamazuki, the “Inugamiyobu-tankuki”, leads the Seven Phantom Travelers. Now that Rikuo has stepped up to the position of Third Heir, it’s unsurprising that rivals are showing up. The villains look pretty much like the standard, shady, evil bad guys (with one pervert puppy). However, the situation is compounded as Nurarihyon has left on a trip without telling anyone, so it’s up to Rikuo to lead the situation. I’m expecting more battles to be fought and mysteries to be solved.

Note: Next week’s episode is more flashback about Gyuki.

Preview