Kaiba Episode 4 - Grandma's Room of Memories

Summary: Kaiba lands on a tiny planet with minimal gravity, and manages to lose Vanilla by entering into his plushie body for the time being. He finds a lighthouse manned by two young men and their grandmother. The grandma repairs the gaping hole in kaiba's side. Vanilla finds the home and zaps Kaiba with the memory-viewer. What he finds inside startles him, as it's filled with hallway upon hallway of what appear to be large metal doors. An avatar of Kaiba in his original body is running around carrying a small stack of new books. Just as Vanilla is about to confront him, he's thrown from his mind and Hyo-hyo freezes him in place with his own weapon. A verbal slip by a returning grandson about the death of their grandfather causes grandmother to fall into a deep sleep to cope.

This old lady holds the secret of some valuable treasure, so the greedy grandsons ask Kaiba to enter her mind and find out where it's hidden. Inside, Kaiba searches through an entire shelf of books until he finds the secret entrance to her vast shelves of knowledge and memories. There's also a copy of their humble house inside where grandma's mental avatar is seated, waiting for grandpa to return. The memory of his death, which is a book that's been clamped shut, is thrust open when a mental image of granpa shows up and explains he fell from the top of the lighthouse attempting to pick her favorite flowers which were growing there. In her mind, grandma crosses over to the other side with grandpa, meaning that she's passed away and Kaiba has to get out fast. He leaves with the knowledge that the treasure is stored in the top section of the light house. When the greedy grandsons go up there, all they find is a box of old photographs and memorabilia, a treasure which has no value to them.

Thoughts: While not quite at outright sad as the previous episode, this one still had its twist ending which spelled out a harsh message about placing value in the wrong places. On the one hand, the grandsons got what they deserved by ignoring their responsibilities and trying to enter into a world they weren't ready for, but what a painful lesson to learn. Maybe I like this show because it really works to draw those emotions out for me.

I have to admit that Vanilla is growing on me. He started off as this lusty unpredictable bastard who seemed to be focused on shooting first and maybe asking questions later, but he seems to really have fallen for Chroniko, which is kind of creepy but sort of sweet at the same time. I mean, we all know that it's really Kaiba in there, so it's kind of icky to think about, but Vanilla doesn't know that. It's situations like that which really get one to thinking about what it would be like to live in a world (or set of worlds, anyway) where you could never really be sure that the person you were associating with was who they appeared to be on the outside. Nevermind if you start switching between bodies of different sexes, which in addition to Kaiba/Chroniko will most likely show up again, at least I hope.

I hope that this planet-hopping doesn't turn too much into "depressing planet episode of the week", especially since there's a lot we still have left to learn about Kaiba and his relationship to some of the characters we met in the first episode. I'm wondering what the nature of his memory loss is, though. If he truly had more memories that would have made his body about as functional as a corpse, yet he wakes up and can function well enough. This leads me to believe that his memories are merely locked away somehow, which would make sense considering that Vanilla found himself in hallway upon hallway of metallic vault-looking structures while inside Kaiba's mind. I don't think I want to speculate much more right now, though, since I'm hoping to learn more from watching the show.

Kurenai Episode 4 - Talented Person

Summary: Shinkurou walks to an office building to confront the Yakuza boss who's been harassing the principal of a local kindergarten and trying to buy off the land rights. Without his knowledge, Murasaki follows him there and ends up interfering in the mediation. Though Kunou, the Yakuza, claims that he'll stop the harassment due to Shinkurou possessing information that could be show to the police about it, but Murasaki calls the man a lier causes a fight to break out. She's knocked out until Yayoi comes to rescue her, and Shinkurou releases his hidden power to defend himself. The car ride back to his apartment is uncomfortable since Yayoi completely reams Shinkurou a new one due to what she sees as his negligence in guarding Murasaki. Benika still trusts her intuition, however, and returns Murasaki to sleep in her futon.

The next morning, Murasaki acts as if everything is fine, and then spends the day, With Tamaki's help, cleaning the apartment and airing out Shinkurou's smelly futon. Later that night, she asks him about his past and he explains that he was orphaned in an attack on an airport and then kidnapped with a group of children. It was Benika who saved him, thus resulting his desire to work for her and become stronger like her. This is also the reason Benika trusted him with watching Murasaki - he, having been alone in the world is really the only person who understands what she's going through.

Thoughts: While it's nice when the explanation of a story trickles down bit-by-bit, sometimes you just need that deluge to clear up a few big things at once. This episode was a flood of new information that also brought up some more questions to carry the show on its merry way. First of all, we finally get to see a glimpse of Shinkurou's frightening power in action - he can release a horn-like protrusion from his elbow area which is able to deflect bullets and the like and also seems to increase his strength quite a bit. So this is the Houzuki assassination technique that was hinted at earlier. Kind of like Wolverine, though Shinkurou doesn't have any special mutant healing ability, so the aftermath of utilizing this power is a bit more painful.

Getting to know Shinkurou's back story was kind of nice because it helped to tie him into Benika a bit more. I've always sort of been wondering why a professional like her would have hired a high school kid to work for her, and the situation make a bit more sense now. This also tied him in more closely to Yuuno, who's now more than just a friend at school - she's virtually his sister and also his adviser in the way of her family's brand of martial arts. She helps him out when he shows up to school after his fight still injured from the horn having pierced his skin, and advises him that he shouldn't be using it so much. Or better yet - that he shouldn't be getting into so many fights where he has to use it to survive the ordeal.

While there's a bit more revealed about how Benika was connected to the Kuhouin family and thus how she was asked by Murasaki's biological mother to take her daughter to the outside world, I'd sure love to know more. It seems to be some weird family tradition that the women of the Kuhouin family aren't able to leave their home's inner sanctum, but I'd really like to know more about the situation because I'm really intrigued. Especially since it seems like such an ancient tradition and this takes place in modern-day Japan, a time and place where one might assume a situation like that would no longer exist.

I was a bit irritated with Murasaki at the beginning of the episode when she intruded on Shinkurou's work and put herself into danger, but by the end I could see how much she had grown in just the few episodes so far. She tries her hardest to do things that her servants normally would have done for her, like washing her hair and cleaning up the apartment. I'm hoping that maybe next time we'll learn a little bit more about her history to balance out all the new insight we have about the other characters.

Golgo 13 Episode 4 - Pretty Woman

Summary: A prostitute-turned-mob-wife named Linda is getting tired of her husband's borderline abusive treatment. With the knowledge in hand that her age will eventually make her unappealing to him and he'll probably "get rid" of her, she hires Golgo 13 to shoot him so that she can take what she has of his money and move to Florida to live out her life in peace and luxury. Of course, things become complicated when she becomes attracted to Golgo. When her husband Marty's assistant discovers that she rented a hotel room under an assumed name, and her husband suspects one of his subordinates of having an affair with Linda, so he tosses the guy out the window. He's obviously a jealous man.

Some surveillance footage from the hotel confirms to Marty's assisstant that the man in the hotel was Golgo, and when he brings the bad news to Marty, he's enraged. Marty asks him to kill Golgo in front of Linda, but an attempted coup by some other members of the mob interferes with things and Golgo gets his chance to shoot Marty between the eyes. There's a standoff between the assistant and Golgo in a parking lot, with Golgo the victor. He begins to leave and Linda is angry that he doesn't seem to want to be part of her luxury escape, and pulls a gun on Golgo, forcing him to shoot her as well.

Thoughts: I'm not quite sure what to make of this episode. It trended towards showing less of Golgo himself which is what I had been hoping for, but that sort of removed any opportunity for much sweet gun play, so it was kind of a tradeoff. Also the main character of this episode was a little iffy in my opinion. The prostitute raised up from nothing to become a mob woman seems like a character cliche to me, but I can't think of where I might have seen anything similar before. They keep referring to the film "Pretty Woman", since Linda's ambitions are to become the young wife of a rich man, but that's a movie I've never seen so I'll leave any comparisons to someone else.

I was also kind of WTF about the fact that she was so horny for Golgo. It was suggested by Marty in one scene that even if she thought of herself as a high class woman, her body would always betray her, suggesting that sex was just part of her existence as a former sex worker. So I guess her fantasizing was a continuation of that idea, but that's something I don't think is really true. I don't think a man coming up and squeezing boobies in public would make the owner of the boobs all that aroused even if she were a former prostitute.

With kind of an obnoxious character, I can't say that this episode really tread any interesting ground. Every show has its missteps, so I'll chalk this episode as one for this show. It's no deal-breaker, but it was overall pretty bland and kind of irritating. There weren't even any cool gun facts to speak of, which was one of the things that drew me to the show in the first place. My desire still stands for some multi-part episodes in the future, as well.

Itazura na Kiss Episode 4 - Exciting Summer Vacation

Summary: It's Summer vacation, and even though she and her friends from class F have extra classes and homework to deal with, Kotoko makes a plan to go to the waterpark at the end of August. Irie-kun's younger brother Yuuki has begun his summer project - a daily observation of Kotoko and journal entries about what he sees as her stupidity. Kotoko is about ready to move out, and goes to see how construction on her family's new house is coming along. For some reason, nothing's been done in the four months she and her father have lived with the Irie family. It seems the Irie family have their own special plans.

After classes are done the group goes to the pool where Kin-chan makes an ass of himself constantly, and Kotoko gets poked fun at for wearing her school swimsuit. And to top it off, Irie-kun and his bratty little brother have followed them there. Yuuki's plan to continue his observations goes awry when he follows her into the big pool and ends up nearly drowning. Luckily, Kotoko is able to rescue him and despite his brattiness invites him to go down the park's big waterslide with her. On the way down, she gets a cramp in her leg and is rescued from drowning by Irie-kun, who in spite of his annoyance with her, treats her nicely and helps her leg.

After this, Mrs. Irie and Yuuki have to rush off and visit her sick mother, so Kotoko and Irie-kun are left to their own devices at home. Dinner is a disaster for Kotoko so Irie-kun has to cook it. Kotoko also hasn't started on her Summer homework, and so once Irie is asleep she sneaks into his room in order to steal his notebook. He wakes up and discovers what she's doing, then teases her. She takes his notebook (and his help with the homework) as an apology.

Thoughts: As usual, it's two steps forward and one step back for Kotoko and her uninterested object of affection. While Irie-kun demonstrates a bit of warmth towards her, the high school genius still acts like a kid, picking on her and acting like a jerk whenever the subject is brought up about their non-relationship. It doesn't help that his mother seems to think the two are absolutely perfect for each other and bound to end up married, and so she tends to stoke the fire a lot of the time. I have to admit, though, she's a rather funny character, making up an excuse to leave the two of them alone in the house together, even though she and Yuuki end up doing nothing more than spending some time at a bath house rather than visiting a sick relative. She seems to be scheming in larger terms as well, helping to plan the house construction in such a way as to take into account Irie-kun's and Kotoko's future, even though their future is decidedly in question at this point.

I'm feeling a little bad for Kin-chan, since he tries to hard to get Kotoko's attention and we all know that he really isn't "the one" for her. In this episode he makes a big show about going down the big waterslide and demonstrating his swimming prowess, but she just doesn't seem to notice him in that way. I'm kind of wondering if Irie-kun will piss her off to the point that she might briefly date Kin-chan for a while just to spite him, which would be sad but understandable when the one you really like is constantly yanking your chain.

Once again Kotoko manipulates Irie-kun into helping her with homework, which is pretty amusing because you know he'd rather be sleeping than teaching someone of her density level about mathematics. If the whole Kin-chan situation doesn't pan out the way I suggested, I'm assuming the relationship between these two will grow with little things like this. And heck, Kotoko might get her turn sometime to help Irie out with something, because I'm going to be really irritated if she has no talents whatsoever. There's nothing that I dislike more (well, there is, but anyway) than a female character who's completely helpless and ditsy. Everyone has a talent, in my opinion.

Anyway, predictable but fun as usual, and Irie's creep level seems to diminish with each passing episode so that's a definite plus.

Himitsu: Top Secret - The Revelation Episode 4

Summary: A group of elderly gentlemen is drugged with sleeping pills and loaded into a van which plunges off a cliff into the ocean. The only clue to the culprit is found while scanning one of the brains of the deceased - the leader of the "trip" is a man with glasses and an odd star-shaped mark on his arm. While he's helping to investigate this case, Aoki gets some bad news - his father collapsed at home and was taken to the hospital. Though he offers to stay late and help write his report, Maki essentially orders him to go home and be with his family. Luckily it seems like his condition isn't the result of a stroke as had been assumed.

When the investigation continues it becomes more clear that these elderly men, non of whom knew each-other previously, volunteered to take the trip that ended their lives. And there's a clue in the memories of one of them - a cleaning person at a ward office has the same star-shaped mark on his arm that the trip leader has, and this connects the men to each-other. The reason why these men would choose to die becomes clearer as well - judging from the observed behavior of their families in the memories, it seems like each of these men was treated as a burden to their families and they were choosing to remove that burden. Setting up a sting operation, the officers are able to arrest the "trip leader" and take him to jail, even though the real culprits are the families who would allow their elderly grandfathers to feel useless and unwanted. Aoki also finds out that his father's condition is due to the spread of a tumor that originated in his brain.

Thoughts: While I was originally disappointed that this episode was only a one-parter, I quickly forgot about it once I began watching. The show is beginning to strike a good balance between featuring the cases, which are often interesting but not enough so to carry the episode on their own, and the personal life of Aoki, whose situation is often connected to the cases he's working on and is often more compelling than the cases themselves. In this case, the situation of the old men on the trip and the leader, a cleaning man by day willing to "take out the human garbage", is simple enough that it only needs to be touched on throughout the episode. The real "meat" involves Aoki and his family. They're prodding him for information about which section he works for and before he can answer his sister and his mother both express disgust about Section 9 and how people change once they're assigned to that section. There's a great stigma about being privy to people's deepest secrets, and Aoki can't bring himself to tell the truth.

Once the real deal behind the dying old men is revealed, it's both shocking and pretty depressing at the same time. It highlights one of the issues that's becoming more and more pressing in Japan, that of having a population that skews old since many people aren't having many children, if any, leaving no one to care for the elderly. One of the most affecting scenes in this episode was buried in the memories of one of the men. At home, he witnessed his grandson and daughter speaking to each other. The grandson is upset that he can't have his own room, and his mother tells him that once grandpa dies, he'll get to have his own room, so he should pray to God that grandpa dies faster. It was a shocking and sad scene. I know that people say things in stressful situations, so it's difficult to feel anger directly at the woman for trivializing her father's life like that, but still, when you can wish death on the person who helped to raise you just because you now have to take care of them in return is really low and disgusting and sad.

I don't mean to digress too much, but I often go looking for message boards about shows that I like just to see what other people are saying. There are people who seem to have a lot of vitriol for this show for being melodramatic and not following the manga. I'll probably go into this in some more detail another time, but one thing I can't tolerate very much is manga elitism. I think general complaints are that Aoki is characterized differently in the anime and that the melodrama is played up a bit in the show. Give me a break. Admittedly I haven't read any of the manga, but I try to keep both versions separate as a rule. Just because a movie doesn't follow its literary inspiration to the letter doesn't mean that it's going to turn out poorly, they're different media with different ways to convey an idea. And I'm personally really enjoying the show so far, especially since it seems to be coming into its own as far as characters and over-arching storyline are concerned. I'm still waiting to hear more about what's going on with Maki and his personal past, especially since the last episode suggested there might be a bit of explanation in this episode, but I'm willing to hold out to find out and it's a small complaint.

Another thing that kind of piqued my curiosity was a friend's insistence after watching the first episode that the story was absolutely leading into boy love territory. I was curious to find out about this, because I felt like there was a bit of that subtext but not to the point that it would become a yaoi anime. As it turns out (from people who've read the manga) that the boy love stuff stays as a general but untapped (haha) theme throughout the show. So no hot man love, but it's easy enough to imagine. That ought to attract a few people, right?

Allison and Lilia Episode 3 - Walter's Fight

Summary: Allison and Wil, dressed in Sou Beil military garb, infiltrate the base in which the old man is being held. They discover him locked in a basement dungeon, and try to help him break out. As they make their way out, they run into an acquaintance of Allison's - Second Lieutenant from the air force, the man who wrote her a love letter that she never answered. The old man manages to open his cell door and the alarms across the base start to go off.

They meet back up with the old man and make a break for a plane hangar. As they're running, he tells Allison and Wil directions on how to get to the treasure, and tells them to borrow one of the sea planes in order to fly there. As they're flying away, the old man meets his end and Second Lieutenant Ker is given orders to capture them or shoot them down before they cross back over the border.

Thoughts: Well, anyone who was disappointed in the lack of epic action in the previous episode can take heart in the fact that this episode contained quite a bit. Not only that, but now Allison and Wil are in a race to get to the treasure before they're dispatched in some way. The old man's death wasn't entirely unpredictable, but at least he got a decent send-off and managed to blow some stuff up before succumbing to an enemy bullet.

The biggest point of interest in this episode was probably Second Lieutenant Ker. So he's a "friend" of Allison's... just what is he doing hanging out in enemy territory and being a part of the enemy army? I'm wondering if he's either after the treasure himself and in the area incognito, or whether he was always a native of this land and his stint with Allison in the Roxche Air Force was just a sham. Either way, this has intrigued me and I'm waiting to find out just what the real situation is.

Otherwise, not a whole lot was introduced in this episode that was worth touching on, though the suggestions of just what the treasure is has left me speculating about what we're going to find out in episode 4. My prediction? Based on clues I'm thinking it must be some archaeological evidence that the two continental civilizations originated from one place, and that their war over who's the real origin of humanity will be made moot once this evidence is uncovered. "Look, we're all the same so there's really no reason to fight amongst ourselves."

Real Drive Episode 3 - Re-Dive

Summary: After their experience restoring the power to the island, Haru and Minamo Aoi are taken away to remain under observation by Dr. Kushima of the EISF. While in the underwater headquarters, Haru, who entered the Metal under unauthorized circumstances, is given tests to see if it could become an official diver. He fails trial after trial, and Dr. Kushima (who we find out is actually 82 years old in spite of his appearance) tells him to rest. They'll test him one more time after the noise clears from his cyber brain.

Minamo tries to do some research on diving to help him out, but it dawns on her after seeing an advertisement that what Haru really needs is to remain relaxed and feel safe while he's diving. Before Haru can be tested again, there's an emergency - another diver has fallen unconscious and lost his connection, and is being drawn deeper and deeper into the metal. Haru is the only one available to help, so with Aoi's advice in mind he dives in to rescue the other man. As he goes deeper, the link between him and the lab is lost, until Aoi rushes into the room with Haru's body and seems to strengthen him somehow. He retrieves the man, and, though the two of them believe they're being taken to jail for doing something that's obviously illegal (unofficial access to the Metal is serious business), Haru is given an office and asked, with the help of Aoi, to be an investigator for the EISF.

Thoughts: You know, I really love this show. It's not just the animation and the compelling story, both of which are great reasons by themselves. It's the fact that Aoi and Haru have such a great relationship. It's like a non-creepy friendship and partnership between someone who one might think ineffectual because of his advanced age and someone who might be dismissed because of her youth, working together and doing things that no one could have expected. While I was never uncertain about liking Haru as a character, I'm surprised at how non-annoying Aoi has been so far. The whole schoolgirl thing usually annoys the heck out of me, but she's proven to be smart and quick-thinking so far, even while still displaying that teenage "charm" she has. It's a tough balance to maintain but it's been successful thus far.

I'm still wondering if Kushima and his apparent agelessness will be explained soon. This being a Shirow production, it could be something like an artificial body (we already know that there are very humanlike androids around) or possibly something to do with cloning himself. Since there are people with cyber brains it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for the show to pull a Kaiba and have those sorts of things be transferable between bodies. Of course that begs the question, why not give Haru a new body to exist in so that he can walk on his own? I'm hoping there's a good reason for both situations because otherwise it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

I'm also kind of beginning to wonder whether the ocean as a representation of the Metal has some deeper meaning, or whether it was just a convenient metaphor considering Haru's experience as a diver. Either situation would be fine with me, since I don't think it's necessary to have a deep and intricate reason for every choice made in the construction of a television show, but it would be pretty cool if there was something more to it. There was actually a bit of dialogue about the ocean itself this episode, where Kushima (I believe) talked about humanity continuing to expand even to previously inaccessible domains, eventually building beneath the sea, so in that sense there might be a connection.

Chi's Sweet Home Episodes 20-28

Summary: In this batch of episodes, Chi has her first visit to the Vet, which is complicated by the fact that Dad has to sneak her out of the building in order not to alert the landlady that they own a cat and the secret is nearly revealed. She has a pretty terrible time there, being scared by all the other animals and having to have her temperature taken in the most uncomfortable way possible. This leaves her hating Dad, to whom she'll no longer give the time of day to. After this she gets into trouble when she tries to sharpen her rapidly-growing kitty claws on the family's expensive sofa. The problem is temporarily solved when Chi falls in love with scratching on Dad's expensive vintage designer jeans, but this can't be a permanent solution. Dad buys her a scratching pad, which she mistakes for a bed. So the time comes where they have to break down and trim her nails, which leaves Chi angry at everyone for holding her down.

Thoughts: This is going to sound pretty corny, but it's amusing to me to see a vet visit portrayed from an animal's point of view. I mean, we can all imagine how nerve-wracking it can be for an animal to go to a place where they're exposed to so many weird smells, other animals, and experiences which can only be described as undignified, but I think the writing captures these things in a truthful but obviously quite amusing manner. The funniest part, in my opinion, was Chi's flashback to the experience, where the probe thermometer was portrayed as an invading fleet. Poor Chi *snicker*

The scratching thing... well I'm going to sound a little bit opinionated here (like I haven't for the entire time I've been reviewing anime...), but I'm really glad that the solution to Chi's scratching in the wrong places wasn't to immediately cart her off to get de-clawed. I don't know how common of an option that is in Japan anyway, considering that many cats are left to wander around outside and need their claws to defend themselves anyway, but it's such a different response from what would commonly happen around these parts. Sure, clipping a cat's nails is an ordeal until the cat gets used to it, but overall I think it's better for them. Ahem, anyway, enough of my mild form of animal activism.

One thing that my friends and I found shocking was the offhand comment that Dad's jeans, the designer ones that Chi loved to scratch, cost more than the sofa which cost the family close to $500. I know that designer jeans can cost a lot, even more than that in some cases, but why would a family who seems to be pretty average as far as income is concerned, buy something frivolous like expensive pants? Considering how focused Japan is on consumerism and how often we hear stories about women pining for expensive designer handbags and stuff like that, things that I as an Average American (tm) might scoff at (though of course I live in the midwest where shopping at Macy's is often a big deal), it turned out to be not that shocking once I thought about it. Of course I agree with Chi - it's not the label that matters, but how nice it feels :D

Nabari no Ou Episode 3

Summary: After arriving at Fuuma village and finding that the village's guard has been mostly defeated, Shimizu, Rokujo and the others go in search of who could have infiltrated the village's defenses and why. It turns out that a group of five ninjas, following the orders of a mysterious older man, are after the village's secret technique scroll. One of the village ninjas very nearly escapes, until the ninja leader and a rather stylishly-dressed young man named Yoite confront him and Yoite uses a technique to injure the guy from inside his body.

While the group is able to dispatch three of the rival ninjas rather easily, the ninja leader and Yotei are another matter all together. The leader, who refrains from revealing his name, eventually leaves of his own accord because the retrieval of Rokujo's Shinrabanshou isn't his immediate concern, but Yotei hangs around and uses his devastating power to hold everyone at his mercy. Just as it appears he's about to murder Thobari-sensei, a giant cat appears from within one of the buildings and smacks him around a bit. This is no ordinary giant cat, however. This is Fuuma-sensei in disguise come to rescue them.

Thoughts: This episode was packed to the gills with action. Seriously, there wasn't a boring moment to speak of. And it's funny - the show's only three episodes in and there's no way they would kill off any of the main characters, but I was genuinely worried about the group when they were all confronting Yotei, because the man is a frightening guy indeed. With interesting fashion sense to boot. And of course this episode had its share of fancy ninja techniques. While the whole "ninja magic" thing is something I've always kind of rolled my eyes at, I have to give the show credit for making them at least somewhat non-flashy and as realistic as could be expected. Kouichi performs some sort of ninja star technique where he melds two shuriken together into one bigger one, but the extent of the technique is that it makes the thing fly like a boomerang into the back of an enemy ninja. I found this acceptable, in my extremely subjective opinion.

I'm also liking how the show hasn't really been too "monster-of-the-week" so far. While there seem to be excuses to get into battles fairly frequently (these are ninjas, after all) each episode seems to lead directly into the next. I might be wrong, but hopefully this will prevent a lot of the silliness that tends to crop up when there's room for filler, like hot springs episodes, beach episodes, etc. Not that I haven't seem shows where even these cliche elements are entertaining, but more often than not they're just extremely silly. Minimal fanservice is happy fanservice.

Rokujo displayed his cunning personality again this time around, racing towards a group of enemy ninjas and giving them a sweet smile which threw them off, allowing him to disarm their leader. Too cute :) What's been good though is that he actually displayed a bit of backbone in this episode and stood up for his companions, in spite of the fact that Thobari-sensei was urging him to run away and take his secret technique with him. Maybe the boy who doesn't care about anything might be growing to give a crap about someone other than himself. I'm glad to see some changes, since there are so many shounen shows where the main character is just this unflappable "gee whiz!" type person who doesn't grow or change even after about a million story arcs where they've experienced things which would logically affect anyone.

The Daughter of Twenty Faces Episode 3

Summary: Chiko has settled into her life amongst thieves, even though as basically the "intern" she's relegated to the uninteresting work like mending shirts, cooking dinner, and cleaning the hideout. She does the work happily, however, since she's living the life that she really wants to live. Just as news spreads about Twenty-Faces' latest conquest - the theft of some European crown jewels - we find out that Chiko's aunt has hired a private investigator to find her and bring her back "home".

The next job is a bit more complicated. Twenty-Faces has hired a submarine crew to take them down to the ocean floor to investigate the wreckage of a huge airplane. Chiko makes a basketfull of rice balls for the group of thieves to eat while underwater. She offers one to the captain, but he refuses. Skipper goes outside the ship in diving gear and returns with a box full of treasure - bars of pure gold. Soon the crew turns on them and wants the treasure for themselves, but Twenty-Faces and Chiko are able to fool them all into thinking that the rice balls were explosives that had been distributed throughout the submarine, and they're able to negotiate their way out.

Thoughts: I like how the lessons learned in the previous episode - that it's important to read beneath people's outward actions to see what they're really up to - became important here. Just as Skipper was returning to the sub, both Twenty-Faces and Chiko cast sideways glances at each-other as if they pretty much expected the captain to betray them at the last second (which seems to have become a theme of this show so far). It's nice to see a little continuity in this show, although I'm really waiting for Chiko to come into her own. While she makes steps with each episode, I'm about ready to see her do something else than mend shirts, cook, and try to get the grumbly old thief Muto to warm up a little bit.

I was getting a little irritated that it seemed like none of the other female characters that appeared in the opening/ending were being introduced, but it seems that we got a glimpse of one of them briefly this time around - a woman working for Chiko's aunt who seems to have something else on her mind. I'm betting the next episode will be more revealing as to this mysterious person's role. On the one hand I'm a little annoyed that Chiko's aunt is even still playing a recurring role in the series, because I'm more interested in how Chiko's life will unfold being away from that (literally) toxic family and I don't think that the aunt or uncle really have a role to play anymore, but I could be wrong.

I usually refrain from spending a lot of time talking about specific fansub groups because I like to turn the focus away from the dubious legality of what I'm doing instead of advertising the fact that there's anime for free on the internets, but I find it interesting that Live-Evil, the group subbing this show, has done quite a few shows that have female-character focuses. Sisters of Wellber, Shion no Ou, Rose of Versailles, Utena... I could go on. With all the fly-by-night fansub groups popping up and subbing one or two episodes of a series, it's cool to have a group which doesn't necessarily sub the "big" shows. I can think of quite a few groups who I've never heard of before working on Soul Eater, but without groups like this I think there are a lot of smaller, quieter, less flashy shows that wouldn't have a chance and I like that. And with an eye to classic-feeling shows, this seems to fit well into their lineup.

*cough* well anyway, I like how this show has kind of a kids' show feel without being zany and wacky. It's just simple and entertaining with some larger-than-life but still appealing characters.

Toshokan Sensou Episode 3

Summary: While Iku is still reeling over the unexpected confession of love she received from her superior officer, Tezuka, she's assigned as the special escort for Commander Inamine during a special transfer of books from the private collection of a man who recently died. She's perplexed as to why she alone is assigned to this duty when everyone else will be a part of the actual transferral operation. Dojo is straight with her - he doesn't feel that she's capable of it. While she mopes her friend explains that she's seen as an immature baby who can't even manage to break it to her parents that she's in the Library Task Force. So she asks once again for help, this time in training her to do her very best at the escort mission, even though she'd rather be in potential combat than anything else.

While she's practicing pushing her friend in a wheelchair, a photographer manages to take a picture of the two of them not looking quite their best. She's a member of the media there to cover the big event. The next day, the Cleansing Force arrives as expected outside the information museum which is closing. A battle breaks out almost instantly. After defending their helicopter and allowing it to remove a crate of materials from the building, the Defense Force abandons a second container to the cleansing force, though this container has materials inside that the Kanto Library has backups for. Just as they're pulling out, Iku and her elderly charge are confronted.

Thoughts: This episode was definitely a bit heavier on the drama than the previous couple, which was refreshing. It's also the beginning of a multi-part (I assume 2) story, which is something that might drive a lot of people nuts, but I enjoy since it usually means more in-depth stories (and since I'm a bit behind on most of the releases I'm watching, if I really need to know what happens I can just pop in the next episode, hehehe). Ahem, well in any case, I was assuming from the setup that this would be just another chance for Iku to learn a little humilty and impress her superiors even while doing a decidedly less prestigious job than physically defending the premises, but considering the ending of the episode I feel like things are heading towards a more dramatic resolution which might provide a little more character growth for Iku.

Speaking of which, the previous episode's confession from Tezuka was briefly brought up this time, with a bit of poignant reference to it just as he's prepared to go off to defend the Information Museum. I find myself almost disturbingly focused on how this relationship situation will pan out, even though I'd prefer to be more interested in the overall world of the story and the conflict that's occurring. Should I feel guilty to want to know how the sort-of love triangle will resolve? It's not like I don't want to know how the conflict over media will turn out, but I'm beginning to think that's something which won't be completely resolved over this 12 or 13 episode series and so I don't want to expect too much from the show and end up disappointed like I have in similar situations.

One thing I've noticed about this show is that I just don't really have a whole lot to say about it after I finish watching it. It's good but it's fairly straightforward so far and so I find that I can't just dive in and talk about the minutiae like I can with, say, Kaiba or Kurenai. I think it's something a lot of people would enjoy, though, which is partly due to the fact that it isn't too heavy. I had expected something that dealt more with media censorship but got something with some good action and character interaction that was better than expected. As long as I don't think too long about how ridiculous the premise is at times (would Japan really allow that kind of censorship to occur in the first place? Didn't they kind of have to be convinced to outlaw child porn back in 1999?). It's not like they're in the Middle East or highly religious or something. Well, I just have to turn off that little part of my brain, now don't I?

Kurenai Episode 3 - The Fraud's Face

Summary: While Shinkurou is at school for the day, Murasaki spends the morning watching trashy dramas and discussing men with Shinkurou's neighbor, Tamaki. Tamaki wants a real man who will take care of her, so she and Murasaki leave the apartment in search of one. Meanwhile, Shinkurou is at school enjoying a handmade lunch from his friend Yuuno, when he receives a call from his other female friend Ginko. She's been looking up information for him about the Kuhouin family, but wants to provide him info about another job. Murasaki arrives at Shinkurou's school and explores the grounds, and mistakes an anatomical model for a person who's suffering. She phones Shinkurou, and he assumes it's some nasty thing that Tamaki's keeping in her apartment. While running around, Murasaki meets Yuuno, and they begin walking together. Yuuno recognizes her surname right away and lets on that she knows a bit about the Kuhouins, and is rather surprised that there's a Kuhouin that doesn't recognize her family's name.

When Yuuno tries to borrow Murasaki's phone to talk to Shinkurou, she runs off and all three meet in the hallway. After a confusing conversation in which Yuuno completely misinterprets the relationship between Murasaki and Shinkurou. After school, they take the train back home, and Murasaki witnesses some thugs picking on an old lady to get her to stand up. Murasaki confronts them and Shinkurou has to diffuse the situation before a fight breaks out, which Murasaki doesn't understand. She hates the phony face Shinkurou put on in front of the thugs, since it reminds her of the way her mother would smile even while being abused by the other woman of the household.

That night, when Shinkurou leaves on the job that Ginko gave him, Murasaki follows him out. Yayoi, another of Benika's subordinates, follows the two of them out.

Thoughts: For a show that's mostly focused on drama, I have to admit that I got a good laugh out of the scene where Yuuno, Murasaki, and Shinkurou were trying to explain or figure out just what the "relationship" between Murasaki and Shinkurou entailed. Especially since Shinkurou had been lying about this particular job, claiming that he was in charge of watching an elderly man, not a young girl. This is about as close as this show has gotten so far to suggesting something of a lolita-complex plot element, and I can't help but think that they did it as a joke, since the natural assumption of most people, myself included, was that having a little girl would lead the story in those sorts of directions, which it thankfully has not.

I like how they've started to reveal a bit more about Shinkurou's past, including the fact that he used to live with Yuuno's family and learned the martial arts he uses in his job from her grandfather. Yuuno no longer seems like some random girl from his class who assumes she has a closer relationship to him than seems logical. They're actually close to being siblings, though who knows if romantic overtones will develop from this point on anyway. I'm still a little confused about Ginko, who I thought was just a well-informed classmate of Shinkurou's until she hands him a job involving the Yakuza and their former elementary school. So they've known each-other for a long time, apparently. I'm not sure how this gives her authority to hand out missions to him, but it may be just a favor for the help she's been giving him in trying to locate some solid information on the Kuhouin family. It's hard to say, but I'm betting there'll be more info in the next episode.

I also enjoyed Murasaki's confrontation with the thugs on the train. I think that it did a good job of pointing out some of the issues of the way that Japanese people normally handle situations like that. While Murasaki instantly sees the injustice and rudeness of the way that the guys made an old lady give up her train seat, Shinkurou instantly responds in the most Japanese way possible - by apologizing and trying not to cause a scene rather than to take care of the guys like they deserve. When the old woman thanks Murasaki after they leave the train, this causes Shinkurou to stop and think a moment about what happened. I'm sort of left wondering what might have caused Murasaki to come right out with an attitude like this, especially since what we know of her upbringing seems to suggest that she's been raised in a very traditional atmosphere and probably wouldn't have come up with this confrontational attitude on her own. Perhaps it's her late mother's influence? I'm hoping that we learn more about this later, because it would be kind of lame if the show didn't try to examine this.

Gyah! This show can be so difficult to summarize. There are so many things going on at once and not everything has been made quite clear yet. So all my summaries sound kind of lame.

Golgo 13 Episode 3 - Masterpiece Assault Rifle

Summary: The best mercenaries in France, the Savine Brothers, are testing out assault rifles with a new kind of laser sight - one which factors in distance to a target and air resistance, allowing previously impossible shots to be made. Using these new rifles, the Savines intend to get rid of Golgo 13 and become the best snipers in the world. In the meantime, Golgo is hired by a French auto maker to take out some Japanese cars in a rally race in Niger. The Japanese cars are favored to win, but if that happens the French auto industry might be in danger. Golgo invites his favorite gunsmith to Niger to help him fit his rifle with a custom barrel with the job, and they talk about Kaiser, the developer of the new assault rifles being used by the Savines.

Golgo takes out his first target, but is nearly shot by some adversaries hiding amongst the desert rocks. Adversaries who happen to be the Savine Brothers. They believe they're at the advantage because the super sights on their guns are meant to work in the dark as well, and the sun is nearly setting. Golgo gets his enemies to shoot at him, from that he learns how many adversaries he's facing, where they're located, and the capabilities of their firearms. Standing with his back to the rally course which bathes him in headlights, he takes out the first brother. The second is defeated by his gun's weakness - the fact that the super sight isn't calibrated to fire on a gradient. With Golgo having slid down a ravine, he's able to pick off the second brother.

Thoughts: I always want to finish these Golgo summaries with the phrase "another job well done", which may reveal one of the this series' weaknesses - Golgo always gets the job done, no exceptions. So, knowing this, there has to be something compelling to keep the viewer watching other than the main character always winning. I can't judge just on three episodes, but so far the stories involving the incidental characters have been hit-or-miss. While I'd love to see more of the police inspector from episode 2, maybe holding a major grudge against Golgo and gathering as much evidence as possible to finally convict him, all of the other characters in this episode, save the weapon smith, end up dead. I'm not going to bash a show for setting up the abilities of a character with a few stand-alone episodic episodes, but I can pretty much sum up Golgo already: He's a super-human shot, he likes to have relations with hot women, and he always gets the job done. Maybe it's time for the stories to revolve around him a bit less.

I make a big deal about this complaint, but for the most part I enjoy watching the show and getting to see people shoot at each-other with neat guns. While Golgo is more or less just an empty shell of masculinity, there's something nice about a man who's always on time and finishes what he starts. And who apparently has a large... gun. I've got to wonder, though... does the expression on his face ever change? It's kind of creepy. Even when he's getting it on, he's still got a scowl on his face. Maybe halfway through there'll be a chibi episode or a fanservice beach episode where he can let his hair down and possibly crack a smile. On the other hand, that might be creepy.

Not that I'm going to get on someone's case for having sex, but I was kind of relieved that this episode, as well as the last, didn't have any goofy sex scenes in it, both for the aforementioned reason involving Golgo's emotionless mug, and for the fact that, much like in James Bond (to which this series often seems to be compared), I don't usually see the point since, more often than not, the women he sleeps with aren't really characters in the "well-written-and-interesting" sense of the word. I'd like to see a woman who's his match in some sort of skill. But that might be too wishful on my part.

Itazura na Kiss Episode 3 - Romantic Baton Touch

Summary: Kotoko and Irie-kun are back to square one after he discovers that someone leaked the secret of their study sessions and has jokingly written graffiti about it on the school bulletin board. Kotoko is disappointed that she can't just let it go, since she realizes she actually really loves Irie. That week is their school sports festival, an event in which even the rather remedial class F excels to some extent. And wouldn't you know it - both Kotoko and Irie are in the mixed relay, with Irie and Kotoko's friend Kin-chan running anchor. Things look hopeful for class F, until Kotoko gets lovey-eyes for Irie and botches her baton hand-off to Kin, causing class F to lose the race. To add injury to insult, the crowd pushes Kotoko into Irie's path and he trips and falls on her.

Back at home sweet home, Irie's mother keeps re-living the moments of their sports festival on video until Irie uses a bit of ammunition (his memorization of the love letter written for him Kotoko kept and left out while she was sleeping) to completely insult Kotoko. Kin-chan, watching from outside, bursts in and declares his love for Kotoko, making things even more awkward. At school the next day, there's more graffiti pertaining to the young non-couple. It seems that someone is leaking information and creating rumors.

Thoughts: While I can't say that I expected much better than this, I'm a bit irritated at how Kotoko went all goofy during the relay race. She knows Irie-kun is a jerk, she knows that he doesn't like her, and yet all it takes is for her to look at him reaching out his hand (to collect the relay baton from his team-mate, obviously) for her to break down into a puddle of goo. Of course, if she told him to kiss-off, this show would only be about four episodes long. While I like shoujo romance shows simply for what they are, I also get irritated with the limitations of the genre at times. Like I said, if the romance was handled realistically, then things might be said and done pretty quickly. Of course, I'm thinking like an American here; maybe romantic high school entanglements in a Japanese high school really are this convoluted and immature. Back in my day people would just admit to liking one-another and that would be it.

If a side situation involving Kotoko and Kin-chan wasn't obvious in the previous two episodes, it certainly is now. I don't really know how far this aside will last or whether it'll pan out into anything but a comedic side-step in the series. I'm not particularly interested in seeing Kin-chan get hurt, but even clowns have a sad side, I suppose.

I can keep hoping that Kotoko will tell Irie to screw off and that's when he'll realize how much he misses her, but if my assumptions are correct, there'll probably be a lot more hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and ultimately changes of heart as each episode goes by.

At least this isn't based on a dating-sim :D

Soul Eater Episode 3

Summary: Death the Kid, Shinigami-sama's son, and his two buxom pistols named Liz and Patty are out hunting for Kishin eggs. The only problem is that Kid has an unreasonable obsession with bilateral symmetry which often seems to cause their quarry to get away. Because he wants to get his soul-collecting done quickly (wielding two weapons requires twice the souls, after all) he takes on a mission to destroy a necromancer witch who controls an army of mummies. They arrive at the tomb of Anubis, with Kid commenting on the wonderful symmetry of the building of course. He becomes obsessed with the thought of a picture frame at his house being crooked, and leaves to check just in time for Liz and Patty to be confronted by a group of the creepiest mummies imaginable. Deep inside the tomb, the witch in question is using her power to revive the Pharaoh and ends up melding with him.

After dispatching the mummies and each consuming an equal number of the corrupted souls (Kid would be angry if they didn't, after all), Liz and Patty enter in the inner sanctum and become entangled in the Pharaoh's bandages. They can't transform until Kid comes to the rescue. Instead of fighting the Pharaoh, Kid is entranced by the symmetry of his sarcophagus and almost ends up dead because of it. Luckily for him, the creepy body that emerges from the tomb is anything but symmetrical, and so Kid has no qualms about taking him out in the most savage manner possible.

Thoughts: While out of all the three main characters so far I'd have to say I like Maka the best, Death the Kid comes a close second. I know, his obsessive compulsive disorder is completely pasted on and becomes a major hindrance at certain points, but while I sometimes found this obnoxious, his complete personality switch from cool, suave guy to complete mental breakdown was just so, I don't know, endearing. Those of you who've seen Ouran High School Host Club might be reminded a bit of Tamaki, which is appropriate considering they share a voice actor. Patty and Liz make quite the duo too, with Patty being more ditzy and weird and Liz being the older, more cynical one.

While the fight scenes in this episode still don't live up to Maka and Soul's exploits in the first episode, there's still some memorable action in this one. I definitely appreciated the part where Patty and Liz alternated wielding each-other to battle the mummies, which I thought was a clever use of Kid's absence from the scene. At least the girls aren't helpless without him, though the scene of them tied up by bandages was stupid. I got over it, though.

I was a bit cautious at first about the soul-collecting aspect of the show, because I was worried it would turn the whole production into just another average shounen epic with no real goal in sight. However, from what I hear things tone down and veer away from this "thing-collection" aspect after this prologue, which would make me really happy, since I would truly love to find a show from this genre that I can recommend to people without feeling too dirty inside.

Kaiba Episode 3 - Chroniko's Boots

Summary: After escaping from the ship, Kaiba lands on a rather bland little planet, and is rescued from capture by a young, beautiful girl named Chroniko. It's her last day in her body, which she's selling to provide money for her stepmother and step brothers. Her memories are going to be saved and given back to her family so that they can give her a new body in the future, or so she believes. The doctor doing the procedure removes Chroniko's memories and sends them off into space so that he can sell her body to someone else for a high price. Luckily, Kaiba finds Chroniko's empty body after the losers transporting it get lazy, and so transfers his own consciousness to it, allowing him the ability to speak again.

In this new body, Kaiba returns to Chroniko's house and spies on her Aunt, who seems to be all too happy to get rid of Chroniko. With the money she received she's able to buy all sorts of treats for her own children, and also buy back some of the memories she herself sold in order to make ends meet. Kaiba enters the mind of the Aunt while she's sleeping and uses the thought device he stole from Vanilla to enter her mind and experience the memories that are returning to her mind. Ironically, the memories that she bought back using the money from Chroniko's stolen body remind her of the wonderful memories that she shared with Chroniko and her mother.

Kaiba attracts Vanilla's attention with his attractive borrowed body and gains somewhat more legitimate passage on the ship as it leaves planet.

Thoughts: Wow... this is one of those anime episodes that reminds me why I love anime in the first place. Whereas the first two episodes of the series provided a lot of setup for the workings of the anime's world, this episode took those concepts and revealed the particular tragedy of a world where one's memories can be bought, sold, and stolen, and where bodies don't quite belong to oneself if someone else really wants them.

I have to admit that I've watched this episode in particular about four or five times now. This is one of those shows that I have to watch just about the minute it's finished downloading, though often at that point I don't feel fit to write about it since there's just so much going on that I need to absorb it all. Sometimes I'll go and read some forum posts about it to see what other people's thoughts are on the episode, and I'll re-watch after that to see if I really agree or not. I've seen it once with Boris and I watched it again right before making this post. Considering how little time I have and how difficult it is to keep up with all my anime watching as it is, I think it says a lot that I make the time for multiple viewings of this series. I find it just so... compelling, I suppose.

I know there are people out there who are going to say that I enjoy this show just because it looks weird. I can honestly say that I don't necessarily notice the character designs as being the main draw to the show following this episode. The writing is so good that they could portray the show with animated feces and it would still be amongst the best of the year so far. Unfortunately, the writing, which I think is uncomplicated but still sophisticated and multi-layered, isn't for everyone either. Much like shows such as Denno Coil, which is well-written but comes across initially as being aimed at children due to age of its characters, and Mononoke which tends to resolve its stories in a rather ambiguous or esoteric way, Kaiba is a show which is bound to be misunderstood by many people who might give an episode a try.

As for this episode's specifics, I particularly liked how the characterization of the Aunt was handled. She could so easily have been portrayed as the "evil" character, selling off her adopted daughter for some momentary cash. However, any sentiment didn't last long once the truth of the situation was revealed and the Aunt became a truly tragic character. I also enjoyed the symbolism of the Aunt's memories being restored, like shelves and shelves of books filling up to full capacity. I think it's a simple and elegant way to represent that.

This is definitely a gem of a show, and if it can be this emotionally involving only three episodes in, it's really surpassed all my very high expectations.

The Daughter of Twenty Faces Episode 2

Summary: After being rescued from her ill-intentioned aunt, Chiko and her savior, the thief Twenty-Faces, make their escape via airship to the thieving group's mountain hideout. Unfortunately the police are close behind, and they have to sacrifice their hideout and take to the skies once again. Upon landing in an isolated location, an informant named Chen clues them in on a treasure up for grabs - the hand mirror of a former Chinese Empress. Chiko, eager to please and to become like her mentor Twenty-Faces, wants to participate, and she's allowed to be the lookout as Twenty-Faces bags the goods.

Though the original information led them into a trap, Twenty-Faces saw through it and got his prize, though during his escape he was shot in the side. Luckily a kind Chinese woman takes him in and, along with Chiko, nurses him back to health. She's not quite the kindly woman she claims to be, however, and Chiko and Twenty-Faces narrowly escape before the men she called arrive to claim their bounty. Chiko learns a lesson about trusting people and learning to listen for the things that they don't say.

Thoughts: There's something about this show that kind of reminds me of stuff like Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water because of its earlier time period and the sense of adventure in the writing. I think I like the show for it's pure sense of fun, and also the bit of tragedy in Chiko's past that's driving her to become a thief like her hero and rescuer. So far there hasn't been a lot of dwelling in the past, but I can sense just how much Chiko's past is driving her to move forward and learn from what she's experienced.

Other than that, I don't really have a lot of meaty comments to make about this episode. It's adventuresome, fun, standard enjoyable stuff with what's shaping up to be a pretty good ensemble cast. I'm only wondering when it'll transition into Chiko being the "star" and Twenty-Faces being absent/in trouble/whatever happens to him later on.

Real Drive Episode 2 - Little Girl

Summary: The first half of the episode provides a bit of background on Aoi. As a young girl she was also fascinated by the sea because of her Grandmother's history as an aquatic researcher (who was coincidentally stationed on the same ship as Haru in her youth) and since the sea is something that connects her to her mother, working in Japan, to herself staying with her Grandmother in Australia. We also get to see the circumstances behind Aoi meeting Haru, from her perspective as a student assigned to help an elderly person.

The second half of the episode picks up where events in the first episode left off, with electromagnetic abnormalities having taken out the island's power and some of the elderly people in the hospital in danger due to lack of life support. Haru is trying to do his part by "diving" into the Metal, the network connecting all people. However, the problem can't be solved until power is restored out in the real world, and as Aoi races to the island's power station she discovers that the transformers have all melted in the main part of the station. Luckily there's one line that still works that's connected to some off-line windmills that were formerly used to collect wind energy. Aoi races along the surface and reactivates each of the windmills with Haru, within the Metal, helping to guide her. The power is restored and Haru, again an old man in the real world, and Aoi go to watch the sea at night. Their quiet observations are interrupted by an airplane landing and a voice familiar to Haru.

Thoughts: I'm having a hard time voicing exactly the specifics of why I enjoy this show. Sure, it's got great animation as usual - I'd expect nothing less from Production I.G. - but there's just something so far about the story that's really drawn me in.

As far as this episode is concerned, I liked how they spent the time to go into Aoi's past a bit. Sure, there was some content overlap with the first episode, but I really think that helped to flesh out the story quite a bit. And I just like Aoi, I think. Sure, she's your average high school student who has issues with eating her veggies and caring about certain subjects in school, but she's athletic and smart when it counts. Whereas the others in her group weren't able to do anything useful beyond comfort their senior-citizen charges, Aoi got the job done.

Which really makes her a perfect match for Haru. While he seems like a kindly, handicapped old man, when it counts it's him who used his previous experience as a diver to help repair the problem from within the Metal.

Now that I think about it, it might be the odd-couple dynamic between the two characters that I really enjoy. It's all too easy to write a futuristic story driven by a bunch of brash young heroes, but how about a heroic duo of an old guy and an average young girl? It's definitely something I'll enjoy seeing more of assuming the relationship keeps being developed along this vein.

One thing that I'm not too sure about are all the pantsu that I saw this time around. While the show itself isn't fanservicey at all, in my opinion, there sure are a lot of situations that can't avoid showing panties. When Aoi is skating around the power station, she uses great form, which of course means bending forward with her skirt flying all over the place. Actually, this isn't really a complaint I have with the show, but a complaint with the general design of female school uniforms in anime. They're so impractical! How about some shorts instead?

All joking aside, I'm intrigued and want to see what happens to Haru after this episode, since it seems he'll have to face some stuff from his past as a result of his involvement in helping to solve this crisis.

Nabari no Ou Episode 2

Summary: Rokujo, despite constant prompting from his friend, Kouichi, and his teacher, Thobari-sensei, doesn't seem to be particularly interested in training in the techniques of the ninja in order to protect the secret power he possesses. When an energetic girl named Shimizu shows up from another village hoping to discover what the new leader of Nabari will be like, she's a bit disappointed to find out that he's extremely apathetic and occasionally manipulative, utilizing his youthful good-looks and cuteness to their full potential to get what he wants. Shimizu offers to take him to her village, the Village of Fuuma, to learn some advanced techniques from their village leader.

When it's time to leave, we find out that Thobari has a fear of vehicles and almost causes them to miss their train. Fuuma, the leader of the village that bears his name, is the famous author of many ninja technique books, and is also a master of transformation, so no one really knows if the attractive portraits on his books are really what he truly looks like. When they arrive by bus to the forest, Shimizu informs them that the village is veiled in a mist controlled by its inhabitants, and only residents know how to find it without getting lost. However, as they descend they're able to see the village in the distance, and the village's ninjas, which were stationed in the trees, seem to have been defeated. It seems as though something much more sinister reached the village first.

Thoughts: I probably wouldn't care as much about this series if the main character wasn't such a manipulative little devil, since most of the other parts of the plot are fairly standard fare that I've sampled many times before. I can take or leave ninjas, ninja magic, and high-school hijinks, but I'm still able to be amused by characters that go against my expectations and I can respect that. The show also seems to be travelling at a substantial clip. I won't name any names here, but series with stories like this can often take too long to tell a story. This show, on the other hand, seems to be moving quickly enough to keep things interesting, while still being able to introduce the other characters and include some action.

One thing I am a bit worried about, however, is the number of characters appearing in the opening of the show. It's got the cast size of your average shounen epic, but the episode length of a standard show, so I'm wondering if that might become a problem as things move along. I'd rather not have a lot of shallow characters comprising the cast - instead I'd prefer a few core characters that get developed a bit. I'm hoping things don't get confusing like they did with Baccano!; I enjoyed the show but I barely remembered any of the secondary characters and in a show like that with an unusual plot structure, it became extremely confusing after a while.

I'm glad they didn't overload the action in this episode, but I'm hoping for a bit more sweet ninja fighting next time around. I don't necessarily think the battles need to be the centerpoint of the show, but since the fighting was animated so well the last time I'd certainly like to see more. There's nothing wrong with eye-candy if the plot can back it up, I say.

This show isn't really one of my top priorities, but it's certainly fun and doesn't require a lot of investment to enjoy, so I'm sure I'll stick around until it either a) jumps the shark in some way or b) does something to completely insult my intelligence. Let's hope neither comes to pass.

Golgo 13 Episode 2 - Room Number 909

Summary: Golgo is hired to murder a member of the Mafia whose actions are threatening to affect some key financial markets. Though a routine job for him, things are thrown for a loop when he accidentally allows the used bullet shell to fall to the road below, where it's found during the murder investigation. That and some other clues from the crime scene lead the investigators to the building in which Golgo was staying, in spite of the fact that it is over 500 meters away and thus a highly improbable location from which to shoot.

Though the detective finds the gun that was used in the trash chute and truly believes that he's found the culprit when he pieces together a lot of other circumstantial evidence, others refuse to believe that the killing shot could have been pulled-off with the distance and weather conditions taken into consideration. Only a monster among men could shoot with such accuracy.

Thoughts: Once again, Golgo defies all odds and demonstrates shooting skills that shouldn't exist. While he's around for most of the episode, it seems as though the focus wasn't so much on Golgo this time around and was pointed towards the investigators. The hit is committed early in the episode, and Golgo spends most of the time he's on screen the rest of the episode sitting silently while the investigation team works to try and find damning evidence of his crime. This alternative perspective livens things up a bit like I hoped it would, since Golgo in all honesty isn't really that interesting of a character. He's there to provide a catalyst - to get the story moving, but if it's depth you want you're more likely to get that from the secondary cast.

This will be a plus for some and a minus for others, but Golgo doesn't get into any sexual escapades this time around. The sexual content in the show doesn't bother me personally, but if Golgo were just doing an endless stream of women it might become a little annoying. Along those lines, if all the female characters in the show are nothing but sexual partners for our well-endowed hero, I'll get tired of the show pretty quickly as well. There hasn't really been an interesting female character so far, which isn't necessarily good or bad either since shows like Akagi do just fine without any female characters in the show whatsoever, but since we've already seen a couple of women (a prostitute in episode 1, and a secretary and an investigator in this one), it's not like I can pretend they just don't exist in this show's universe.

Don't get me wrong, though. I enjoy this show and most of my criticisms are more like minor quibbles. It's certainly not for everyone, though. I'm still holding out for some two part stories, because I think it would be way more interesting to have a situation where most of the story unfolds and then we only see Golgo long enough for him to take out whoever it is he's supposed to kill. I hear the manga's like that more often than not.

Toshokan Sensou Episode 2

Summary: After being unexpectedly transferred to the Library Special Forces, Iku is sent to a training camp in the forest where, amongst other things, she inadvertently demonstrates her laziness by not being able to properly finish the group hike without help (she's very good at tripping and falling). However, she's excellent at repelling down a rope and manages to punch a bear right in the face - a bear that happens to be one of her superior officers in a bear suit playing an unfortunate joke on the new recruits.

Back at the library, Iku's lack of studying is painfully obvious - while retrieving books for customers, she can never remember how the aisles are numbered and where each subject is located. After another humiliating scolding, she gets down to business by asking her friend to help her study up. Her dedication from that point on is obvious. When the library is attacked by the enemy who tricked them into providing some controversial books for review, Iku becomes the star when she realizes that the enemy isn't heading for the book vault and climbs down the side of the library to grab the duffel back with the books in it. Afterwards she receives an unexpected confession from Tezuka, her superior officer.

Thoughts: Well, after the buildup in the first episode and this one that seemed to be leading to lovey feelings with Dojo, Iku's "nemesis", it was pretty surprising to get a love confession from a character newly-introduced this time around. Though thinking about it, a lot of time seemed to pass in this episode between the training camp and Iku's feverish studying sessions, so it's not quite as unrealistic as it seemed to me on first viewing it. I feel kind of guilty focusing so much on the romantic comedy aspect of the show when it's dealing with serious subjects like media censorship, but darn it, that little core of shoujo/josei entertainment enjoyment inside my normally icy heart just can't get enough.

Speaking of dual-personalities of this show, at first I wasn't sure I was going to like it because I tend to dislike the mix of wacky comedy with something that's supposed to be serious and dramatic, you know, like war and all. But I find that this series so far has struck the delicate balance it needs to make both sides work. Iku's humorous exploits are funny but not too over-the-top. Even though it's funny when we realize she slept through the applicable lecture that would have her understanding the serious things the other members of her military force are talking about, it's quite clear that the other characters consider this an extremely serious oversight on her part, and she makes efforts right away to remedy the problem. It's more about growing up and learning to take responsibility for one's actions than it is to be all about the lulz. And for the most part, the seriousness of the censorship issues is made apparent quite frequently, so even though there are comedic parts of the show, the main issue at hand isn't made light of or diminished to the background for very long.

One thing I'm not sure what to think of at the moment is something which may very well have been a throwaway comment in the show. When Iku's group finishes their hike, the person in charge congratulates them for only taking a day, even with a woman on their squad. Normally I feel like this kind of comment would be used as something to light a fire within a character like Iku. I truly expected her to hear it and get angry, but instead nothing really happened and the story just went right on by it. So I'm sort of torn as to whether I as a viewer was supposed to pay that much attention to it or whether it wasn't supposed to be a huge issue, and it's a bit confusing.

In any case, this was a solid episode that kept the quality of the animation high and provided a good balance of not-too-zany humor, action and drama, something that many shows try to do but too often fail at. I'm excited to watch some more.

Himitsu: Top Secret - The Revelation Episode 2 and 3

Summary: While throwing an anniversary party, President Reed of the United States is murdered by an unseen assailant. It's up to Section 9 and its memory-projecting MRI to investigate the crime and solve the case.

Aoki is having trouble dealing with his job in Section 9 - having intimate knowledge of the secrets of the dead leaves him feeling stigmatized, and he still hasn't told his parents that he's assigned in that department. Never mind the fact that his beloved sister, a woman who he secretly has more than brotherly feelings for, is seeing a married man and comes home drunk and distressed from being toyed with.

The investigation into the President's murder doesn't seem to be going anywhere either, especially since President Reed, unlike many other presidents, doesn't appear to have anything to hide and was a particularly upstanding individual. The only thing that seems to catch anyone's eye is an odd instance of the President getting out of bed to watch from the window as his daughter is dropped off by her boyfriend after a date. Right before his death, he also seems to tear up a piece of paper, a photograph. Since this may be important, the image is sent for analysis.

Analysing the President's memories further, they find that he met Matthew Harvey, his daughter's boyfriend, three months ago at a dinner party. But Matthew wasn't the man he said he was - a handwriting analysis of a note in the President's possession reveals that Matthew Harvey was really a foreign terrorist hoping to get near the President. One would assume that President Reed had some idea of this and that would be the reasoning behind his odd monitoring of his daughter's dates, but the real reason is deeper, darker and definitely not what anyone would have suspected.

Thoughts: While the first episode of this show was interesting, it also seemed very poorly-paced since the investigation took all of one short episode to complete. This story, being spread across two episodes, seemed like it was more meaty and had time to develop, which was good. Secrets, mostly very dark ones, obviously play a big role in the series as a whole, but these two episodes really tied the theme in well, relating Aoki's uncomfortable feelings towards his older sister to the President's rather surprising and completely unsuspected inner emotions. I'll refrain from spoiling this point since it would probably ruin the episode for those of you who haven't watched it yet, but I will say that any similar real-life situation would be completely scandalous, especially if the real U.S. President were even half as upstanding as the one in this show.

I've had at least one person say to me that the technology in this anime, which obviously plays a pretty large role in the plot, is so silly that it's turning them off to the show. While I agree it does things in a way that aren't exactly scientific, I find that in this case the technology is something which allows the characters themselves to shine. In other words, I'm not watching the show because I get to see a futuristic brain-scan machine do its job, I watch the show because the stories seem pretty compelling and Aoki, the central character, is likeable and flawed.

Seriously, though, I want to know what's up with Maki. You know, other than looking extremely feminine and having some weird habits. Based on how episode 3 ended, it seems like he has a dark past that will get explored some more. Specifically, his best friend who he shot and killed and the story behind that.

Call this show cheesy and unrealistic if you like - once I start an episode, I get into the mode of really really needing to know how it finishes. It seems like it has some mainstream appeal, and if you're not the type of person to get too hung up on little details, it's definitely an entertaining and surprisingly involving watch.

Allison and Lillia Episode 2

Summary: We meet back up with Allison and Wil as they fly their "borrowed" training plain in pursuit of the kidnapped old man. They find themselves crossing the river that divides their continent in half and suddenly they're in enemy territory, where they're shot down. Their plane destroyed, they live off of rations and reminisce about their shared childhood at an orphanage run by an old woman named Moot. Then, Wil is kicked in the head by an angry mother deer, and has to be dragged to a local woman's house to rest. The woman, named Travas, threatens to take them to the police the following day, but asks Allison why they're there. Allison answers her truthfully about the old man and the supposed treasure that exists.

That night, Travas hears the two muttering about Grandma Moot in their sleep. Grandma Moot was originally from the West country of Sou Beil, but moved to Roxche to open the orphanage where Allison and Wil met as children. Travas realizes that the war, which took the lives of her two children and also Allison's father, affects families on both sides equally. This causes a change of heart and she decides to help the two by offering up her sons' military uniforms as disguises so Allison and Wil don't get caught during their mission.

Thoughts: This episode isn't quite as action-oriented as the first. Instead, it focuses more on the characters and provides a little bit of back story for Allison and Wil. I can understand how this could be off-putting to people expecting some more rip-roaring high-flying fighter plane action with our heroes, but in this case the more important aspect of the episode is the "lesson" about how war affects both sides and that neither side is all good or bad. It's sort of a simplistic thing to mention, but one that's often forgotten in our particular era.

There's really not a whole lot else that's not completely straightforward about the episode. It seems like a little intake of breath before other more dramatic things start to happen, though I haven't gathered how well the show is paced yet so I could be wrong.

One thing that I was discussing with my comrade-in-arms Boris is how similar/not similar the show is to the author's other work, the wonderful Kino's Journey. His opinion was that he hoped this show might turn out to be more psychological like Kino was. After considering that, I'm not sure that I completely agree. While the good name of Kino was what originally got me hyped up for this show, I'm not sure if this type of adventure story really lends itself well to the more psychological, episodic tone that was featured in that particular series. Simply put, I'm not disappointed that the two are different types of stories. Boris, any thoughts?

Soul Eater Episode 2

Summary: Black Star and his weapon Tsubaki are in the perfect position: they're about to get the jump on Al Capone and his gang, nabbing them all the corrupt souls they'll need on their quest to make Tsubaki a true Death Scythe. There's one problem, though - Black Star considers himself a "big guy" and can't seem to suppress his boisterous nature long enough to be a stealthy assassin, and their presence is given away instantly. After their falure, they slink back to Shinigami-sama, who clues them in that Al Capone's gang is about to go kidnap a witch named Angela so they can have more power. 99 souls and a witch? This sounds almost too good to be true, but they take up the assignment.

When the two arrive, they find a bunch of corrupt souls floating around already, and no sign of the witch. However, the witch's bodyguard, a scruffy man named Mifune (*chortle*), is there to defend Angela's castle from any and all comers. And the man is good - he very nearly knocks Black Star out with the blunt side of his blade. A little trickery on Black Star and Tsubaki's part at the last minute helps them nail victory. They realize there's a problem when Angela shows up, however - she's a half-pint little child witch who Black Star doesn't have the heart to defeat. It seems like he'll have to work on his stealth techniques and go about things the hard way from now on.

Thoughts: While this show contains significantly less action than episode 1, there was still a good amount of excitement and some impressive animation to show off. The battle between Mifune and the Black Star/Tsubaki team is definitely the centerpiece, and Black Star's finishing move is dramatic and over-the-top. Even better than the animation, however, is the relationship between this episode's protagonists. They're kind of like that odd kind of couple - the really hot girl with the kind of nerdy or weird guy. Everyone wonders why she's still with him because she seems so out of his league, but she obviously sees something that others don't. In this case, Tsubaki tries to nudge Black Star in the right direction even though his wild nature tends to counteract most of her efforts. She has some affection for him in any case.

I've been kind of wondering whether the wielders and their weapons are assumed to be in some deeper relationship, or whether it's more of a business partnership. From what I remember, Maka's father was her mother's Death Scythe, and her partnership with Soul as well as Black Star's partnership with Tsubaki seem affectionate. However, Death the Kid, introduced at the end of this episode, wields two pistols who turn into two cute girls. So either it's just a business arrangement or he's really big pimpin' up in there. He is Shinigami-sama's son, after all.

Once again I count this show as "good shounen fun" which is something I don't normally go for, mostly because in the past I've only heard about these types of shows from mega fans who pimp it to me so hard-core that I get sick of it before I've even seen one episode. Shounen entertainment tends to take a long time to get going as well, I've found, but I'm hoping this show's relatively short length (51 episodes is pretty short for this type of entertainment, in my opinion) will keep it from lagging or wandering off into "stupid filler" territory.

By the way, is it just me or was Mifune's name a play on Toshiro Mifune, and actor who played the title character in Yojimbo? If so, that's some lulz right there.

Kaiba Episode 2

Summary: Kaiba escapes off-planet on a transport ship Neuron, his true memories stored inside a body which looks like a giant stuffed animal, and his real body in the custody of Paam, the woman who smuggled him aboard the ship. Paam copies her own consciousness into Kaiba's body and uses it for sexual pleasure (masturbation?) while, in the meantime, Kaiba meets a stowaway and her boyfriend in the cargo hold. It turns out that this boyfriend, a guy named Butter, is actually a memory chip smuggler who's duped quite a few women into helping him out. A confrontation between his "girlfriend" and a huge-busted lover of his ends up revealing Butter's plan and their bodies get vaporized by Vanilla, the ship's security officer.

Paam's sexual exploits turn sour when her body is overloaded and then explodes, leaving the copy of her personality in Kaiba's body. This calls Vanilla's attention, leaves the real Kaiba in danger, and forces him to escape in his borrowed body aboard an escape pod.

Thoughts: Have I mentioned just how much I love this show yet?

And if you didn't believe me before, then it should be apparent by now that this is no show for kids. I personally haven't been able to decide yet whether the odd character designs help, hinder, or do nothing in particular for the writing, but I'm positive that it was a very bold choice that put the show on my radar even before the first episode was released. A lot of people might take a look at the first episode, see the childlike figures and creatures, and assume that the show wasn't sophisticated, but it's truly a gem. And looking at the actual animation, well, it's plain to see that simple characters don't necessarily mean skimping on the action or movement.

Once again I'm enjoying the way each episode unfolds, since I find myself learning new and different things about the universe in which the story takes place, though there's very minimal if any actual exposition being given. At the beginning of this episode (and I assume each following episode) there's a brief explanation of memory-storing and that sort of thing, and it put me off because I thought that it was kind of a cop-out to spell everything straight out like that, but that's the only portion presented in that way. "Show, don't tell" has been a real strength of this show so far and I'm hoping that it stays that way.

There's a bit of humor in the episode, mostly revolving around Vanilla being a bit over-the-top, and I'm not sure yet how I feel about how the humor and minor instances of wackiness are incorporated. Granted, even in funny moments the show has been fairly subtle and subdued, and I'm hoping that it stays that way, since going the wacky route would really be playing into people's expectations based on the show's look and I would be sad if that happened.

So far I've found myself anticipating every episode of this show because it offers me something that I haven't been able to get from other shows this season - a mature story set in a beautiful, strange world that gives me something to think about every time that I watch it. I can't wait for Episode 3!

My Anime List

Many people on my livejournal have mentioned this and now I'm addicted. There's a site called My Anime List, where you can make a profile and list all the anime you've seen and the manga you've read, and look at other people's lists and join clubs and stuff. My username is "belindabird", so be sure to friend me! I still haven't added in all the stuff I've seen, even though I've sunk a good couple of hours into it.

Opportunity for Social Interaction

Just in case anyone in the Minneapolis area reads this who isn't someone I know in real life, I wanted to mention that the Manga Anime Society, the anime club to which I belong, is having its end-of-semester traditional "Craptacular" showing on May 15th (Thursday) from 6:30-10:00pm. There's more info on location here at the website. Basically it's a night of crappy anime where people can heckle all they want. It's free and open to the public, though if you're not a member and want some snacks you'll have to pay 3 dollars. Anime watching is free, though, and the crappy anime is provided by yours truly :) You know you want to come!

Kanokon Episode 2

Against my better judgment, I did something that I don't normally do - I watched another episode of a series that so put me off that I never wanted to see any more in my life. A friend of mine is watching Kanokon for gosh knows whatever reason, so I decided to see once and for all if the ecchi stupidity clears up a bit or if it overflows into something even more strange and terrible. So I tainted my hard drive once again and downloaded the second episode.

Summary: I can sum up this episode in very few sentences. Our hero, the little shouta named, well, Kouta, is still being sexually harrassed by Chizuru, the fox girl. Then, a new girl comes to town - Nozomu, a Wolf girl. They fight over Kouta's affections in ways that usually involve them being naked with their boobs showing. Hilarity Ensues! I go to the bathroom to throw up!

Thoughts: In all seriousness, this is one of the worst shows that I've ever seen in my life, and I've seen quite a few crappy anime. I essentially sat in my desk chair with my mouth agape as my eyes were assaulted by some of the most stupid, inane, sexually-focused "humor" situations that I've had the unfortunate opportunity to witness. I'm not one to call sex and nudity a bad thing, but none of it was presented in a way that made an iota of sense and it mostly revolved around the ampleness (or in Nozomu's case, the flatness) of the characters' breasts. Can someone please tell me why either of these characters give a crap about a pre-pubescent high-school boy? Minus any points for explanations involving "magic" or bullcrap like that which has nothing to do with reality.

I don't have much more to say other than this is one of the smelliest pieces of trash that I've seen lately, and while I normally won't fault people (much) for the things that they watch, anyone who watches this and claims that it's a legitimate show is losing a chunk of my respect.

Now to go dunk my brain in a bucket of bleach.

Haru no Owari

17 new reviews, finishing up what we know of the spring season. New reviews up on the blog, too. Second Opinions, as I have decided to call them, coming soon. Jessi writes the reviews, I edit them. Now I'm going to go back through some shows I watched now, those almost uniformly being Feature Reviews, and tell you guys my worthless opinion on them. I'll be taking a slightly more formal look at them than Jessi, but also a less coherent one, if that's helpful. Stay tuned. Good night and good ruck.

Kurenai Episode 2

Summary: Shinkurou and Murasaki are working out the kinks of their odd living arrangement. Murasaki has to learn to survive during the day alone, though she has problems opening up canned food and nearly freaks out when she opens the door to go to the bathroom and finds one of the building's odd female inhabitants sitting right outside. Shinkurou checks up on her throughout the day, worried that she'll run off on her own again, then returns home to find her trying to bathe in the sink.

The two go to the public bath house where Murasaki learns a few lessons about saying "thank you" to people who do nice things for her (not everyone they meet is a servant, after all), and he buys her a new futon so she doesn't have to sleep on his old smelly one. That night, Shinkurou goes out on another mediating job and teaches a group of thugs a lesson before returning home to sleep.

Thoughts: The reasons I liked the first episode of this show - the story that unfolds slowly, the great character interaction and the odd but appealing style - continue to be present here. The second episode doesn't reveal a whole lot more about whatever is going on with the plot, but there are some extremely brief glimpses into Shinkurou's past via a nightmare, and some of his physical abilities are revealed when he pummels a group of thugs bloody as part of his mediation work. I really want to know what's up with his right arm, since we've seen him clutching at it at least twice and it seems to be pulsating or jutting out in some weird way underneath his clothing.

Murasaki is a pretty unrealistic child since she's so articulate while still being incredibly naive. Even though she's a loli, however, I like her. I thought that her snotty attitude might be hard to swallow after a while, but since she seems to at least be listening to and learning from the things that Shinkurou has tried to teach her so far, including learning to say thank you when people do kind things, so I can forgive her.

Once again, decent pacing, revealing only what's needed, and keeping things interesting are this show's strengths and I'm more than ready to continue with the series.

Itazura na Kiss Episode 2

Summary: Kotoko-chan's living situation is made extremely awkward by the fact that she has to share a home with Irie-kun, who hates her guts. Irie virtually orders Kotoko not to talk to him while they're at school and warns her to keep their situation secret from everyone. When Irie's mother, who's so happy to have a girl under her roof that she treats Kotoko as her own, shows Kotoko some rather amusing baby pictures of Irie-kun, Kotoko has the blackmailing power to get what she wants from him - tutoring, so that she can score well on the midterms and prove that she's not the idiot that Irie assumes she is.

After a couple weeks of good, old-fashioned hard work, Test day arrives. Irie even wishes Kotoko good luck, though it's quietly and not in front of anyone else. And Kotoko does well - she's the only person from class F to make it into the school's top 50, though Irie is at the top of the list and she's at the bottom. Their truce comes to a swift end, however, when the secret of their living situation becomes a rumor amongst the student body.

Thoughts: As much as I normally like really unique and unusual anime, I have to admit there's a certain amount of comfort in watching a show where I can pretty much predict what's going to happen from the get-go. Even in these situations, however, I do hold myself to some standards. As far as romance anime goes, I tend to prefer the shoujo-style romantic comedy stories to the male-oriented dating-sim titles, because I find the characterization to be much less annoying in the former. Especially since the relationships tend to be one-on-one rather than a central character surrounded by a myriad of little obnoxious character archetypes.

This is what I enjoy about Itazura na Kiss. It fits the shoujo romance mold to a T, doesn't do anything particularly creative with it, and I can map out the story's progress in my mind. But the characters are charming, it has a gentle touch of comedy, and it helps me unwind after a long day at work. I may have mentioned this previously, but it reminds me a lot of Lovely Complex, another show which was squarely within the bounds of shoujo romance but had a funny setup and a decently-written story with fun characters.

As far as this episode is concerned, we start to see a softer side of Irie-kun, even though we all know it'll take more than just one episode for Kotoko to break through his icy exterior and reveal the loving man trapped inside. I like Kotoko's attitude here. While her motivation for studying is so that she can prove to Irie (and herself) that she's not the moron that he takes her for, I feel like this may signal an attitude shift as well. Whereas before I feel like she'd resigned herself to being just another low-end student, maybe now she'll start to realize her potential. And of course the confidence she gains from that might help turn Irie's head a bit more in her direction.

Not that things are without their angst, however. When Irie finds out that their living situation is occupying the normal high school rumor mill, he turns completely cold again, and Kotoko is left alone feeling angry and unreasonably rejected. The "two steps forward, one step back" format that these shows take often seems to add unreasonably to the show's length to me. There are times that I want to yell at the characters to grow up and act reasonable, and I imagine there'll be a lot more of that sort of thing before the series is wrapped up. Well, the good always has a bit of bad with it too, I suppose. Hopefully the cute, warm and funny moments will outweigh the mostly -useless angst.

Chi's Sweet Home Episodes 6-20

Summary: Chi continues to pee on her family's laundry until they give her some proper cat litter to use. This habit of his ends up providing her name; "Chi" is roughly equivalent to "pee" in Japanese. When the family can't find anyone to take the cat, they decide to keep her in spite of their apartment's rule against keeping pets.

The Father goes out to buy cat toys and returns with a couple of bags full, only to realize that Chi has more fun with the plastic bags they came in than the toys themselves. Chi plays with Father's graphic design supplies, and when she knocks some stuff over she helps him find the inspiration to complete his work.

One day Chi knocks over a vase and Mother scolds her, so sheruns away. While it's fun to wander the neighborhood and play with random children, and Chi still has a nagging feeling that she's forgetting something, when nightfall comes she's frightened of the dark. Luckily her family has been out looking for her all day and she's reunited with them.

One notable thing about the show that I didn't mention before is that it runs five days a week, but the fifth day is just an episode where people send in pictures of their cats and these aren't being fansubbed. Apparently they're boring, but I don't see how cute pictures of cats with Chi's commentary could possibly be not awesome.

Thoughts: Who would have thought that a three minute show about a cat would become one of the most addictive shows of the season? I still wouldn't feel right giving a broad all-encompassing recommendation to this show because there are still people out there who won't just embrace the kawaii. Just embrace the kawaii, dammit! But I still say that anyone who's enjoyed owning a cat in their lives will love this show because they capture a cat's personality and habits very well.

It's funny, actually. I showed this to some friends and said "well, it's just this show about a cat...", and all of them latched on right away, demanding that I click on the next episode. We plowed through all twelve that I had at the time, and I know this week we'll be watching the other 8 that I obtained. I think a lot of the appeal is that the show isn't just all cuteness, but there's a bit of angst mixed in as well. Chi loses her mother and then in this batch I just watched, she runs away from her loving family and ends up scared and alone in the park. It's that little dose of "oh my gosh is Chi going to be okay?!" that makes this show more than just a cute-fest.

Man, I'm such a softy. Who would have thought that I, a fan of stuff like Berserk and Claymore would fall in love with a show that's completely contrary?