First Impressions / MM!

MM! – 10

「サディスティック嵐子嬢」 (Sadisutikku Arashiko-jou)
“Sadistic Miss Arashiko”

After the most recent episode of Oreimo, I couldn’t help but picture Ayase when Arashiko starting taking the sadistic approach to try and win Tarou over. It sure doesn’t help when Mio is sounding more and more like Kirino either, and the only major difference at times being that the main protagonist here actually admits he’s a masochist.

PV / To Aru Majutsu no Index

Kurosaki Maon – Magic∞world PV (To Aru Majutsu no Index II ED)

[flv:Kurosaki_Maon_Magic_world_PV.mp4 550 310]

In what could probably be summed up with the phrase, “There’s no way my anime song singer is this cute”, Kurosaki Maon manages to appease a wide variety of fans with the PV for her first single, “Magic world”. In addition to featuring an overly geeky glasses look with her rooftop dance performance, Maon sneaks in brief cosplays of Index and Uiharu Kazari from To Aru Majutsu no Index, Kousaka Kirino from Oreimo, Shana from Shakugan no Shana, and Miyamoto Rei from HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD. Now how’s that for a PV for an anime song?

Of those, the last one is especially meaningful, considering she made her singing debut with her “H.O.T.D.” album that is comprised of all twelve ending themes for that fan-service/horror series. Even after getting signed by Geneon Universal, Maon is still a member of the Dear Stage live bar in Akihabara. As you can probably imagine, this means she’s also a fan of anime herself, with her favorite works including Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru, SEKIREI, Fushigi Yuugi, Strawberry Panic, Double Cast, Air, Kanon, Negima, Ayashi no Ceres, and Rozen Maiden. Quite a diverse taste if I do say so myself, which is always cool to see in an anime fan regardless of whether or not their songs get featured in the shows themselves.

… More after the jump, including the “making of” video.

First Impressions / To Aru Majutsu no Index

To Aru Majutsu no Index II – 09

「追跡封じ（ルートディスターブ）」 (Tsuiseki Fuuji (Ruuto Disutaabu))
“Pursuit Prevention (Route Disturb)”

Whether you care for long expositions not, they’re one of the defining points of this series and we’re given a big dose of it this week. Personally, I’m not a fan of it being overused for story progression, but surprisingly didn’t mind when a good chunk of this episode was devoted to explaining Oriana’s abilities and why she has the nickname “Route Disturb”.

First Impressions / Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai

Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai – 10

「あたしの中の……」 (Atashi no Naka no……)
“The Inner Me……”

Visually, Shiori’s arc is undoubtedly the slowest and most uneventful one thus far. However, despite the absolute dearth of things happening on screen, I still find myself amused by how long Keima will stand quietly in front of her, trying to figure out what she’s thinking, only for her to eventually walk off without a word.

First Impressions / Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo – 10

「失意の果てに～告知～」 (Shitsui no Hate Ni ~ Kokuchi ~)
“The Limit of Despair ~ Announcement ~”

Coming down to the final stretch, Yakumo is on its final arc. While the amount of information they packed into this episode was staggering, I hope that all of this buildup is leading to a GREAT finale for the series. Three more episodes to go!

First Impressions / Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls – 10

「魔眼の牢獄」 (Magan no Rougoku)
“The Evil Eye’s Prison”

Who would’ve thought that this would turn out to be one of the sleepers of the season? Ever since the second episode, this series has far exceeded my expectations for a high school comedy set in a fictional alternate universe where the Tokugawa shogunate won the Boshin War (unlike in Hakuouki), and now it goes a step above that by mixing in a fair degree of interesting plot to go with all the laughs thus far.

First Impressions / Shinryaku! Ika Musume

Shinryaku! Ika Musume – 10

“Booyah! Who’s the squid!? Who’s the squid!?”

「てるてる坊主じゃなイカ？／好かれなイカ？／野球しなイカ？」
(Teru Teru Bouzu Janai ka? / Sukaranai ka? / Yakyuu Shina ka?)
“Isn’t that a Teru Teru Bouzu? / Aren’t I Liked? / Won’t You Play Baseball?”

Ika may draw like a two year-old with her hands, but it’s a completely different story when her tentacles grab hold of a pencil and she churns out masterpiece after masterpiece. Best of all, her drawings were in “squid vision” and gave us an inside look at how she perceived everyone. Eiko and Chizuru’s amazement over her artistry combined with their shock from her perception of them as a killer robot and demon respectively resulted in some priceless reactions.