Random Curiosity

「花咲くいろは」 (Hanasaku Iroha)
“To Bloom One Day”

I’ll just say it now — it wasn’t the type of tear-jerking scene that I had expected but I was shedding some tears by the end of the episode.

「日常２６」 (Nichijou 26)
“My Ordinary Life 26″

It takes something special to give a series a good ending episode — especially for series longer than one-cour and this last episode of Nichijou didn’t just push the envelope. It stared at that envelope, ripped it in half, ate the pieces, and then lit itself on fire in order to make sure that there was no trace of an envelope.

「君と僕と彼女のこと」 (Kimi to Boku to Kanojo no Koto)
“You, Me, and For Her Sake”

I don’t know what the point of luring out your enemies is if you don’t fully intend to have fun with it. When Hakamizaka was threatening to “fly away” if Narumi wasn’t fast enough to catch him, I didn’t expect him to be flying away on drugs.

「ほのかに白い終業式」 (Honoka ni Shroi Shuugyoushiki)
“Pale White Graduation”

For its final episode, Itsuka Tenma went out on a really high note. Not only was there the perfect balance between fanservice and character building, but if the story had been at this point about six episodes ago, it felt like the perfect jumping off point before a big, badass arc.

「おなかのかぜ」 (Onaka no Kaze)
“Stomach Flu”

After finally getting around to watching the final two episodes, I am no less impressed. With the same mood and atmosphere that has prevailed throughout the last three months, Bunny Drop ends on a quiet, sentimental note, with no sign of the much mentioned “controversial” time-skip and ending.

「みんなでポカポカ合宿へ」 (Minna de Pokapoka Gasshuku e)
“A Passionate Overnight Stay with Everyone”

While all the Kyouko melodrama last time would’ve worked fine as a finale, an episode where the Fun Club and Student Council let loose with animal pajamas, reluctant cosplaying, oil barrel baths, and lesbian kissing works just as well if not better.

「屋根の上の猫 Chats sur un toit」 (Yane no Ue no Neko)
“The Cat on the Roof”

It became more and more apparent as the remaining minutes trickled down in this final episode — I’m going to miss watching this show on Sundays.

「セイクリッドセブン」 (Seikuriddo Sebun)
“Sacred Seven”

From the last boss transformations to our hero’s newly acquired power-ups in the final battle, Sunrise threw in just about every single video game cliche I could think of. They did manage to wrap everything up fairly well, but the surprise turn of events one after another didn’t leave a very good last impression.

「伝えてくれ、ありのままを」 (Tsutaete kuru, Ari no Mama wo)
“Tell Me the Truth”

Like it’s NoitaminA stablemate Usagi Drop, No. 6 ends on an understated, restrained and reflective note – a quiet and dignified final episode that reflected the nature of the series as a whole.

Oh, wait – no, it didn’t do that at all. It was a gigantic FUBAR.

「終わりと始まりのプロローグ」 (Owari to Hajimari no Purorōgu)
“Prologue to the End and Beginning”

Tuturu! Finale season is upon us, and it begins with one of the most highly anticipated endings in many a year as Steins;Gate finally concludes its epic journey through time. The obvious question on everyone’s mind – did it live up to the hype?

「慟哭ノ砦」 (Doukoku no Toride)
“Fortress of Lament”

After rewatching the final movie of the Break Blade series almost two months later, I still can’t shake the feeling that it lacks a sense of closure. It wasn’t all that unexpected given that the manga doesn’t conclude where the movies did, but it does leave something to be desired when Rygart, Zess, Hodr, and Sigyn’s backstory is left completely open-ended.

With Kiiragi’s recent departure, I figured I’d better take part in this season-end monthly post so that there isn’t a sharp decline in the amount of shows being discussed. Some readers also expressed interest in hearing my thoughts on the shows that I’m only watching (a good 16 of them), so it was now or never if I was going to say anything about them at all. Of the 30 shows I was personally watching, 22 of them concluded this month. Along with Prooof and Takaii’s input, this is a hefty post full of final impressions. I hope you find it insightful in some way.

Changes since last month are as follows:

Note: Once again, please be considerate of others who may be interested in picking up a series after reading about it here by placing discussion of any major spoilers in <spoiler></spoiler> tags. There will be little to no tolerance for anyone intentionally spoiling the enjoyment of others.

「死神の肩越しに永遠をみる」 (Shinigami no Katagoshi ni Eien o Miru)
“Looking at Eternity over the Grim Reaper’s Shoulder”

This was a finale that played it straight. It quickly tied up all its remaining loose ends, set the stage for the timeskip, and ended it with the classic “and they lived happily ever after.” After a little thought, I think that’s satisfactory enough.

「今年の夏はバスケと超能力と布団と天体観測と祭りと野球と女々たんと」 (Kotoshi no Natsu wa Basuke to Chōnōryoku to Futon to Tentai Kansoku to Matsuri to Yakyū to Meme-tan to)
“This Summer is about Basketball and Espers and Futons and Astronomical Observations and Festivals and Baseball and Meme and…”

I was expecting a more extravagant two-episode finale, which would include the festival that was supposed to come after the baseball game, but it didn’t happen. Instead, what gave the appearance of “closure” that finales typically ensemble was a focus on Niwa, our romantically indecisive protagonist.

「救済（グレイトフル･デッド）」 (Kyuusai (Gureitofuru Deddo))
“Salvation (Grateful Dead)”

Nagi finally goes “sane”, i.e. maximum rage, and starts ripping the guts out of peeps left and right, much to the delight of Genkaku.