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「封印の巫女」 (Fuin no Miko)
“The Maiden of the Seal”
The sound of a maiden song returns after two episodes, and surprisingly without a trip into Zero Time for only the second time this series. Focusing on the characters instead in the real world, this most recent episode quickly became my favorite thus far, as the story finally shifted towards the conclusion of Mizuno’s arc and the inevitable breaking of her seal.
Gauche or Noir?
「おかえりなさい」 (Okaerinasai)
“Welcome Home”
This was mostly a heartwarming follow-up to the long-awaited reunion last time; however, the unsettling feeling that Gauche may still be Noir that I got from the preview last time prevented me getting too absorbed into the emotional outpouring from Lag and Sylvette.
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「Pandora Mode」
Any consideration for me covering the widescreen censored broadcast of this series was quickly dismissed after I realized how unwatchable it is when the entire screen is black for a lot of the scenes. While it makes perfect sense to cover up the nudity, the gruesome depictions of Pandora getting cut up and their limbs dismembered were deemed inappropriate as well.
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「水の都」 (Mizu no Miyako)
“City of Water”
If you felt this season was a bit short on fan-service, then a certain magical index may just make you feel otherwise. All that stuff about magic and science clashing and a story beginning? That’s just a cover-up to get sisters out of their nun habits for all to see. Stab Swords and Croce di Pietros don’t have anything on this kind of religious taboo.
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「出会い」 (Deai)
“Encounter”
After director Yamamoto Yutaka made a big fuss about putting his career on the line with this original anime project, the start of Fractale may come off a whimper to most. For me, the immersion into a fantasy world and the visual introduction to what I’ve read about has me looking forward to what’s in store, with the only real disappointment being that the series doesn’t look anything like the promotional art.
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「クラス代表決定戦！」 (Kurasu Daihyou Ketteisen!)
“Decisive Battle for Class Representative!”
As the title indicates, this second episode was all Ichika’s IS battle with Cecilia, yet the absolute highlight for me came from his interactions with Houki. He’s not a complete pushover and treats her like the childhood friend that she is, which leads to some interesting scenarios in the face of her tough and seemingly cold demeanor.
LEVEL E may have just premiered a couple of days ago, but the opening theme by Battle Royale/Kill Bill: Vol. 1 actress/model/singer Kuriyama Chiaki, “Cold Finger Girl”, already has a music video airing on television ahead of the single’s January 26th release date. Admittedly, I’m still not that accustomed to seeing Chiaki sing, as the first and only other song of hers I’ve heard is “Ryuusei no Namida” from the first episode of Gundam Unicorn. Much like the music video for that song (included at the bottom of the Unicorn post), this one starts off similarly with her “making love to the camera” before she goes off on some sort of a heist. It’s not exactly the most exciting thing, but as far as Japanese music videos go, it’s a lot better than some other ones I’ve seen. As for the song itself, I’m still pretty indifferent about it one way or another, except for how it showed a different style of music Chiaki can sing. It does seem to fit the craziness that goes on in the sci-fi comedy it’s featured in though. Enjoy.
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「An alien on the planet」
I had a feeling that Togashi Yoshihiro’s decade-old sci-fi comedy would be in the running for the funniest show of the new year, and after this first episode had me laughing just as much as the manga I skimmed through, I’m starting to think it may just come out on top. While Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu and Kore wa Zombie Desu ka bring the slapstick laughs, LEVEL E focuses on humor of the deadpan variety, and I like it!
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「汚れのないその瞳で」 (Yogore no Nai Sono Me de)
“Through Those Untainted Eyes”
It’s been three episodes since Operation Plantagenet was brought up, and it looks like it may be upwards to three more before we actually see the plan to retake North America from the Inspectors take action. The reason being, the fourth enemy faction has made its way onto the stage in the form of Einst Alfimi, further complicating things for our heroes.
