Random Curiosity

「サマーウォーズ」 (Samaa Woozu)
“Summer Wars”

There’s only one thing I’ve wanted to really see happen this season, and I’m so happy to see that it somehow managed to happen right at the very end. Like, it literally happened within minutes before the episode ended.

「宇宙人 – Anytime」 (Uchujin)
“Alien – Anytime”

In a sort of anti-climatic way, A-channel comes to a close. But I suppose going out on such a low key fits this show perfectly. With the main cast of characters all getting at least a few seconds of screen time, it felt pretty satisfying for an ending.

「Control（未来）」 (Mirai)
“Future”

Perhaps the crisis became so severe that the situation of the Financial Districts leaked out to the general public, but I’m not sure why the news media are reporting on C when only entres and certain organizations are aware of Midas money and Financial Districts.

「あの夏に咲く花」 (Ano Natsu ni Saku Hana)
“The Flower Blooming on That Summer”

Two weeks ago, I dreamt up Anohana’s finale. It was completely random and unexpected. Sadly, I also completely forgot about it, and I wish I hadn’t. Partly because it would’ve been hilarious to write about here, and interesting to compare it to the finale we’ve come to today. Such a storm of tears with the emotional weight of a freight train has inevitably left me battered, like the stillness you experience when your mind is still processing a shock, and it takes a little while just to take it all in. But you know what? They pulled it off. They really did.

I wasn’t planning to take part in the monthly posts during my break, but I figured I should at least chime in for this April one since it coincides with the start of the new season. Whether or not I’ll be taking part in the later ones this season is up in the air at the moment.

That said, I should also point out that this Retrospective Look is being published later than we would’ve liked due to all the writers’ personal schedules, meaning there’s a bit of overlap with May. Most of us have already watched the latest episodes from this past week, but the impressions below only include episodes that aired up to and including Sunday, May 1st. The one exception is Moshidora, since it made more sense to talk about all ten episodes in one go. Please refer to the episode numbers if there’s any confusion as to which episodes are being discussed.

As per the updated season schedules, the included schedule now provides a quick overview of which writer is watching what series, in addition to the total number of shows being watched for each writer in the legend.

For this April edition in particular, other changes compared to last month are listed below.

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.

「最後に残った道しるべ」 (Saigo ni Nokotta Michishirube)
“The Only Way Left”

In a world where the final outcome will always be one where someone loses, no one will ever feel that they have completely won. It’s that feeling that pushes certain individuals to strive and move toward finding that one possible solution to conquer a never ending vicious circle.

After further health-related delays on top of the endless wave of new spring shows, the last monthly post of the winter 2011 season is finally here. Included are mostly final impressions, along with some quick thoughts on the episodes leading up to a given series’ conclusion.

Changes for each of the writers over the course of the season are listed below.

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.

「夢ふたたび」 (Yume Futatabi)
“Dream Again”

Warning! This impression contains maximum rage! For the faint of heart, please do not read on! If you liked the anime and do not want to see it being torn apart, please do not read on! You have been warned.

「Satellizer vs. Pandora」

Who says an anime can’t improve upon its manga counterpart? Just when I thought Freezing was going to ride out the remainder of this arc and conclude around Satellizer’s battle with Cathy, it throws in an added twist that further develops her connection to Kazuha, shows the entire Pandora cast banding together, and foreshadows what’s to come with cameos from the most powerful Pandora in the world, Yi Suna (Saitou Fuuko), and Kazuya’s grandfather, Aoi Gengo (Ono Atsushi). Sequel please.

「ありとなし」 (Ari to Nashi)
“Yes and No”

That was amazing, simply freaking amazing. After what felt like the longest episode throughout its entire season run, Bakuman goes out with an amazing bang. For all of you manga readers out there, I can’t believe how long it took for our duo to finally reach serialization!

「僕たちのアプリボワゼ」 (Boku-tachi no Apuribowaze)
“Our Apprivoise”

It was a bit abrupt, but this was a finale to remember. Unexpected twists and a galactic battle in space are just some of the things that had me on the edge of my seat. While there was little doubt about Head’s plan to use Sympathy’s ability to make Samekh his puppet, Keito’s revelation that she’s the one who sealed off the King of Cybodies was the first of many surprises.

「貫け、奴よりも速く」 (Uranuke, Yatsu yori mo Hayaku)
“Pierce, Faster Than Him”

It took twenty-six episodes, but we finally got to see the long-awaited Aussenseiter and Dygenguar “Tatsumaki Zankantou” combination attack where “real men ride one another”. It was the perfect follow-up to SRX’s Hyper Tronium Buster Cannon failing to kill something in one-shot like it’s known for, and brought about “Einst Beowulf” emerging from Stern Regisseur’s ashes.

「武装集団（スキルアウト）」 (Busou Juudan (Sukiru Auto))
“Armed Group (Skill-Out)”

For a short two-episode arc that coincides with the conclusion of this second season, there was actually a fair bit of lead-in to what’s around the corner, suggesting that this is the foundation for a third season sometime down the road. We’ll probably be seeing more of GROUP after Touma and Accelerator cleaned up most of Skill-Out, after the latter cornered their leader Ritoku and caused him to commit suicide over being killed.

「楽園」 (Rakuen)
“Paradise”

There was definitely no shortage of surprise developments to make this episode befitting of a finale, but I admittedly found the impact of them all much less than it could have been. I attribute that primarily to quickly tying up all the loose ends and leaving little time for anything to sink in, such as the deaths of various characters.

「放浪息子はどこまでも ～Wandering son’s progress～」 (Hourou Musuko wa Doko made mo ~Wandering son’s progress~)
“Always a Wandering Son ~Wandering son’s progress~”

This was certainly a satisfying finale. Slice of life doesn’t really ever conclude since there is no central plotline to start with, but there was some closure and previous events were alluded to, making it feel somewhat like the conclusion of an essay. For one, I would say the three main characters Nitori, Takatsuki and Saori have definitely made up, after their friendship broke up before the events of the anime.