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「変態ざかりの君たちへ」 (Hentaizakari no Kimitachi e)
“At the Height of your Perversion”
The never-ending jokes that come at Shinya’s expense will never grow old. It’s a shame that his easy going personality lets him get into such suggestive situations — usually letting Futaba’s personality just engulf the situation ending up with Shinya just coming along for the ride.
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「タクトのシルシ」 (Takuto no Shirushi)
“Takuto’s Mark”
Just like it was foreshadowed, this episode marks the completion of Mizuno’s arc and the breaking of her seal, for which we’re treated to a dramatic depiction of exactly what that entails. This includes how she’s forcibly dragged into Zero Time and her maiden Cybody is destroyed, unlocking the highly sought-after third phase for Kiraboshi.
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「壁とキス」 (Kabe to Kisu)
“Wall and Kiss”
I didn’t think Bakuman could have any significant plot twists. Since the beginning it’s been the same wash and rinse sequence of writing mangas and getting pretty close to winning, but never winning. While it didn’t feel overused, I thought it was starting to feel a little old. Which is why I was surprised to see a huge cliffhanger right at the end of the episode.
Roda was absolutely adorable when she was younger.
「ロダ、彷徨う」 (Roda, Samayou)
“Roda, Wanders”
With all the suspicion surrounding Gauche and how he might still be Noir, I would’ve been more surprised if all that foreshadowing wasn’t made good on. All it really took was one shot of Gauche lying in bed to put a lot of doubt about his return to his former self, so I was more taken in by the focus on Roda and her loneliness without him around.
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「野兎(のうさぎ)達は朝陽の下で約束をかわす」 (Nousagi-tachi wa Asahi no Shita de Yakusoku o Kawasu)
“The Hares Break a Promise Under the Morning Sun”
The first half was an absolute thrill, with BONES action, high flying emotions, and some actual suspense. Although, I am curious if a tennis ball in an armpit can really halt your heartbeat in your arm even momentarily, so I will try it later for science.
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「Accelerating Turn」
Covering what I deemed the most hazing-filled and risque part of the story in the first four volumes of the manga, this episode surprisingly didn’t come off that poorly in taste. I was actually anticipating it to be much worse than it was, even though I still feel that if this is the episode that’s most likely to turn off many viewers.
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「女王艦隊」 (Joou Kantai)
“The Queen’s Fleet”
They say payback’s a bitch, but from my perspective, I was happy seeing Touma take a right punch to the face for a change. Granted, Agnese’s punch didn’t quite have the same oomph as the one she received during the Book of Law arc, plus Touma returned the favor by shredding up her nun habit like only he can. First Index, now Agnese, and later Lucia and Angelene in his sleep. Touma’s an animal! Can we get some more safety pins over here?
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「夢の向こうから」 (Yume no Mukō Kara)
“From Beyond the Dream”
With a little thought, I suppose I could have seen that Yumeji’s near useless power of seeing dream colors through the hole of an “a-okay” sign would be the red string to tie with Merry. It’s also a little funny how he believes in fortunes, and goes around showing kids his own fortune telling act. He’s also a bit of an artist. What can I say, the guy’s pretty awesome.
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「転校生はセカンド幼なじみ」 (Tenkousei wa Sekando Osananajimi)
“The Transfer Student is the Second Childhood Friend”
If an anime is only as good as the sum of its parts, then Infinite Stratos’ formula is pretty sketchy with the inclusion of two childhood friends. What’s more, the recipe seems to go on the assumption that one tsundere isn’t enough, and adds two more for good measure. The setup sounds ridiculously lopsided, but it’s executed well and surprisingly works.
