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「映すもの」 (Utsusu mono)
“The Picture”
For the first time one of Natsume’s friends can truly understand his world, and that’s a pretty important moment for the series. This whole season seems to be building towards the crucial moment when Natsume tells his foster parents the Fujiwaras – the most interesting of Natsume’s human companions – about his gift, but whether that long-awaited event occurs in the last two episodes remains to be seen.
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「悪魔狩り」 (Akuma-Gari)
“Demon Hunt”
There’s a definite sense of irony to what’s happening on Ao no Exorcist as we enter the final stretch. After all the debate about anime-original material, it looks as if the series would have been better off diverting from the manga sooner.
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「黄昏の書」 (Tasogare no Sho)
“Book of Twilight”
I hope no one gave up on Dantalian no Shoka, because if you’ve stuck around through a somewhat uneven run you were rewarded with by the series’ best episode – a glorious burst of GAINAX ingenuity and a treat for the eyes.
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「奈落にあるもの」 (Naraku ni Aru Mono)
“What Lies in the Abyss”
For such an earnest and seemingly old-fashioned anime as this often seems to be, No. 6 has quite the talent for slapping the audience in the face occasionally. Seeing a baby being nursed by a dog is certainly a first for me, anime or otherwise – and that’s just for starters.
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「境界面上のシュタインズゲート」 (Kyōkaimenjō no Shutainzu Gēto)
“Open the Steins Gate”
I’m going to go against character and make this post a brief one, which is fitting I think in that this penultimate episode was one that pretty much speaks for itself. And I’ll start with a confession – I finally caved and re-watched the first episode before I watched episode 23.
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「割れた鏡」 (Wareta Kagami)
“Broken Mirror”
Over the course of three seasons Natsume Yuujinchou has consistently delivered superb examples of what is generally referred to dismissively as “filler”. Except that the filler for this series – such as the previous two episodes – is very often among the best the show has to offer.
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「秘密の花園」 (Himitsu no Hanazono)
“Secret Garden”
Take a good studio, add a good director, throw in some good characters and an ongoing manga and what do you get? From the looks of things, the potential for a very good anime-original ending that just might satisfy some very nervous fans.
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「等価の書 / 連理の書」 (Tōka no Sho / Renri no Sho)
“Book of Equivalence / Book of Connectionr”
Well, there’s no denying that this was a pretty lightweight pair of stories for Dantalian no Shoka this week. But you know, I think this is a face that the series wears well – I find the series quite charmer when it shows its warmer, funnier side.
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「災厄の舞台」 (Saiyaku no Butai)
“Stage of Disaster”
Even though it isn’t always working for me, in a way I really admire NO.6 to sticking to its guns. Nine episodes in and it’s still preposterously theatrical, comically sincere and terribly muddled. But at least it doesn’t sell itself out and try to be something it’s not.
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「存在了解のメルト」 (Sonzai Ryōkai no Meruto)
“Being Meltdown”
There should be something to please everyone in this week’s Steins;Gate. It’s a near-perfect blend of the hard-core character drama of last week and the plot-driven intensity that marked the end of Suzuha’s arc.