Cross Ange: Tenshi To Ryuu No Rondo

This must be an otaku guy’s ultimate fantasy show. It has everything they dream for. Sexy hot girls in tight revealing outfits. Big robots. Epic mecha battles. Music. Dragons. Sex. Oops! Just kidding about the last bit. But wait. Didn’t it have… Oh gosh. I think so! Anyway… If you are looking for an anime that contains all that elements you ever dream of, then look no further because Cross Ange: Tenshi To Ryuu No Rondo is exactly all that and possibly even more. Initially I was going to give this anime the pass not because of the ultimate all-in-one requirements it had. Heck, they had a maid here but I am sure that is not a reason strong enough for me to go watch. Maybe it is but that’s not the point. The mecha factor should have been a factor turning me off but you know sometimes my closet mecha ‘admiration’ may work a little funny from time to time. So what was it that made me decide to check this out? I noticed that this anime employed lots of recognizable seiyuus to voice the myriad of characters! Oh really?! That’s it?! That was my bloody reason?! Sheesh. The maid reason would have sounded a lot better. Despite that, even more disappointing was that Mamiko Noto wasn’t part of the cast list!!! Boo hoo! WTF?! Oh well, just got to take whatever I can. Girls. Sexy. Tight outfits. Robots. Fights. Music. Dragons. Sex. Oh yeah. Let me have ‘em all.

Episode 1
Ange is seen destroying monster dragons in her Paramail mecha. I guess it’s the only way if she is to survive. Princess Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi and her team are trailing by a point in some futuristic lacrosse final. She saves a comrade instead of going in for the win. Although her team lost, everyone is amazed by her noble gesture. On the way back, she sees a mother whose infant seems to be rejecting Light of Mana. The baby is classified as Norma and to be quarantined. Mother is of course frantic to be separated from her baby but the police keep her at bay. I am sure Angelise means good when she explains how Norma will become monsters and hopes she’ll forget this and have another baby. Mommy doesn’t take that lightly and tries to attack her but the police restrain her. Back home, she talks to her mom about the existence of Norma. They don’t understand much about it except it only occurs in females. She hopes to exterminate them so the world can become more beautiful. Mother gives her the family’s royal ring. Soon, Angelise 16th birthday is celebrated nationwide with all the ceremonies and rituals as this means she will now enter adulthood and participating in politics. During her Baptism Ritual, a sensor detects her as Norma. Everyone is in shock. Her brother Julio, I don’t know how he could usurp the king’s speech so that he could reveal the monstrosity that the royal family had been hiding for 16 years and having a Norma in politics is akin to treason. Angelise’s mom helps her escape although in the end she got restrained by the police and further proof shows she rejected the Light of Mana. It’s confirmed. She’s a Norma. How does it feel to be one now? Still in denial, she tries to attack the officer for pointing his gun at her but her mother protects her and takes the shot. Too late to apologize now. Everyone starts hating this princess now. Angelise is taken away, mother is dead and father arrested, Julio proclaims himself as the new king and will have to rebuild this tainted royal family with his shocked little sister, Sylvia. I hope he isn’t some lolicon. Angelise is sent to an isolated detention facility, Arzenal. Still fussing about who she is, she is made to shut up that she has no more royal or human rights by Arzenal’s commander, Jill. She is no longer all that fancy princess Angelise. Just Ange. Here is another glimpse of reality for her. Jill strips her and proceeds to do what it looks like rape! Welcome to hell!

Episode 2
I’m sure Ange won’t fit into a class of lolis being educated about their role as Norma to kill dragons. So Jill ends her ‘education’ and puts her into the First Squadron. She is being introduced to Captain Zola Axberg who is quite the harasser herself as wells as the rest like vice captain Salia, assault soldier Vivan, Erscha, Chris, Hildegard Schlievogt AKA Hilda and Rosalie among others. Ange is still in denial that she isn’t a Norma like them. Some of them want to beat up this b*tch while some want to give her a chance. It’s training time as she is given a dead Norma’s suit to wear. It’s bloodied all over. She’d rather be naked. Really? Guess not. Heck, Ange doesn’t even know how to dress herself! She gets a crash course in learning how to pilot Paramail. Panic at first but once she realizes how similar it is to that lacrosse game, she rides it with ease. Ange toughs it out through training and her results are pretty impressive, above average. But this doesn’t mean Ange is free from discrimination. Like Rosalie and Hilda taking her food before her eyes. But Ange is not cowed and leaves although is given warning. Like she gives a damn. Fortunately, a couple of young ones, Miranda Campbell and Coco Reeve admire her especially the latter who is eager to hear stories from her ‘magic kingdom’. But Ange is still not going to stay here forever and drafts some petition to Jill to hand it over to her royal family. Zola is going to re-educate her about her position. Uh huh. Another rape scene. Ange slaps her and her fake eye fall out! Before the rape can get real, the alert sounds. Dragons are detected and everyone makes a sortie. When they make their way out, Ange sees this as a chance to break formation and return to her rightful kingdom. Salia goes after her and warns her of her disobedience. Surprisingly Coco wants Ange to take her along too but suddenly a dragon’s blast rips her in half! OMFG! Ange is freaking shocked! The dragons are coming.

Episode 3
Priority is to destroy the dragons. Ange continues fleeing while not heeding Miranda’s words that she might not have enough fuel or even know where her country is. Suddenly a dragon bumps into Miranda’s Paramail and as she falls off, the rest rip and devour her!!! OMFG! What a violent death. Zola is up against the big boss dragon when Ange turns back and in her fear she bumps into her, pleading to be saved. In this confusion the dragon attacks. By the time Ange wakes up, she is in a wreckage and Zola’s corpse right above her. Oh sh*t… Back at Arzenal, some are blaming Ange for Zola’s death but Ange remains defiant that she didn’t do anything wrong. All she did was try to return to her country and didn’t do murder because Norma aren’t humans. Feel like killing her? Jill makes Salia the next captain and Hilda the vice. Their orders are to seek out the dragons that escaped. Ange is still fussing about her petition. Jill shows them how they were all rejected. Her country is no more and they do not recognize such a princess. Her family are finished too. Ange is made to put up the graves of her fallen comrades. Jill fills her in on the harsh reality. Because of Norma fighting dragons, it is the reason why people with Mana can live in peace. Ange doesn’t know all that and tries to prove herself she has Mana. Not working. Maybe she just can’t produce it now. Get real. Even more insulting is how it was her kind who decided the rules on Norma. Now she’s at the receiving at of it. As a dragon is detected, Ange must now get up and avenge her comrades. Kill or be killed. Guess what? Ange wants to die now! She can’t take this anymore. Jill won’t allow her and if she wants to die, die in battle like her comrades. There is an extra Paramail she can use. Villkiss is old and unstable. Suitable for a person with a death wish. As the girls ride out, the dragon ambushes them and Salia starts panicking because she has never seen this attack pattern before. More so, the weight of being the captain lies heavily on her shoulder. Ange is really bent on doing kamikaze! But she can’t even steer the thing right! Not so easy to die, eh? When the dragon catches her, all the deaths flash through her mind. Don’t want to die now, eh? Make up your mind! She gets so scared to the point of wetting her pants, her ring starts activating and turning Villkiss into one kickass robot! Suddenly like a pro, she kills the dragon! She becomes hysterical over this confused feeling of hers. Did she enjoy killing it? That denial again. In the aftermath, Ange has casted away her past and everything. She has nothing. She vows not to die as easily as her family and will live on. She cuts her hair short.

Episode 4
Jill and some are impressed Ange handled Villkiss so easily when no one else before could. She wants to initiate Libertus. Salia is worried and believes she should be piloting Villkiss but Jill wants her to focus on her duty. Ange continues to be the object of torment of Rosalie and Chris since they believe they must teach this b*tch a lesson over Zola’s death. Even if they ripped her uniform, she is unfazed. Can she walk around in that? Even Arzenal’s second in command, Emma Bronson wants her to cover up (you don’t say, how come she dresses like a slut?). Ange plays cool and even has a witty line or two back at her. Rosalie and Chris continue to sabotage Ange but karma always finds a way back at them. Yeah. Ange won’t be intimidated by their cowardly tactics. She goes to buy a new uniform. Vivian suggests buying other cool stuffs since she earned lots from killing dragons. The shop owner, Jasmine explains because the Paramail they ride is like their casket, Norma are given the freedom to accessorize however they want it. She even hints of using money to buy out her bullies or hire someone to take care of them. No thanks. Ange is fine on her own. Rosalie and Chris are being reprimanded by Salia. Although Hilda clashes with her, Salia puts down her foot as the captain. Hilda brings her subordinates back to Zola’s room. She has earned enough to buy everything that was hers. Now it all belongs to her. Including them. So does this mean she’ll be the new lesbian queen? Salia is studying about leadership and seems she is a bit bitter about Jill’s decision to give Villkiss to Ange when it promised to be hers. Vivian tries to be friendly with Ange and give her key chains as friendship. Unfortunately she smacks them away and asserts to be left alone. Now the lone wolf, eh? Another alert of dragons detected. Everyone sorties. Ange knew those b*tches has sabotaged her Villkiss and in a crucial moment whereby she decided to go fight alone instead as a team, Villkiss malfunctions (whatever Hilda planted in the air intake). Villkiss is in a struggle with a dragon as they crash to the sea below. Water is seeping in fast. The next thing Ange knows, she is tied up naked in a bed and a man sleeping next to her. Don’t tell me they’re doing 50 Shades of Grey here!

Episode 5
After the dragons are destroyed, Ange is missing but Salia wants to search and recover Villkiss. Hilda disagrees since they’re tired and low on fuel. Jill agrees and they’ll send a recovery team later. Tusk wanted to explain himself but thanks to an accident, he ends up in a lewd position with her. She manages to struggle and break free. Running back to Villkiss stranded on the beach, she sees all the lingerie stuck in the air intake. Damn that b*tch! Tusk tries to explain himself again that he is not some sort of pervert who would do those sort of things (the way he could give in detail all that must mean he really is a pervert?) when another accident makes him trip right onto Ange and in another lewd position. I wonder if Ange’s handgun has unlimited ammo. As she tries to fix Villkiss, a storm builds up. Even taking shelter underneath a tree, a snake bit her thigh. Pervy island… Of course, Tusk has to come save her and suck out the venom. It looks like a hentai scene… Even that scene cleaning up her naked body on his bed… She’s fine but still numb. Despite calling his broth horrible, she still eats it. And then when she learns how he sucked out her venom, she bites him! Well, he was told not to punch, shoot or tie him up. Didn’t say about biting, eh? Salia and her team are on a search and rescue mission but to no avail. Hilda talks to Erscha about siding Ange. She believes somebody needs to or she’ll be alone. Besides, Ange reminds her of Hilda once. Hilda disagrees and warns she will kill her. Ange is surprised Tusk is fixing Villkiss so she can contact her comrades and get home. However she says nobody will be waiting for her if she comes back. He suggests she stays here for a while. And so it’s like a couple’s paradise. Some perverted hijinks, Ange’s cooking disaster (how the hell can she make a pot blow up?) and a nearly kissing romantic scene had not for that damn convoy transporting a mother dragon hovering above. Suddenly a baby dragon destroys the convoy as it crashes (seriously, that’s all it took?). The dragon now confronts Ange and Tusk. Their only hope is Villkiss. Tusk tries to fix it as fast as he can while Ange fights it. When Ange is in a pinch, her ring shines and Villkiss activates its machine gun to shoot it. Then Ange stabs it repeatedly like a yandere. It’s dead for sure. Now that they can’t stay in the forest, Tusk suggests she come with him. Heck, he is hinting she’s pretty, seen her naked body, did ambiguous stuffs (he did all that?!) when the radio requesting for Ange is heard (reply if you are dead?). Ange is relieved and requests for rescue. So now she has a place to return and going back? She threatens him to forget everything they did. Even the venom sucking. But thanks for saving her. After being rescued, Ange requests Vivian for those key chains. Tusk also leaves the island and rides his Paramail from a hidden cave after paying respects to the grave of his fallen comrades.

Episode 6
There is an intruder at Arzenal. Momoka Oginome the maid is here to see Ange. She couldn’t recognize her at first but is glad when she does. However she is in for a real shock. Ange puts up that bitter face and isn’t fazed by Momoka’s arrival (Ange is tasked to look after her). I mean, you thought she’d be jumping with joy, right? Well, looks like she’s gotten used to the harsh life. Although Momoka is sincerely here to assist her, Ange says she has no place to return. Her kingdom is no more all because of her. She also points out Momoka knew she was a Norma all along, the reason father sent her to do things on her behalf. Momoka doesn’t know how things work here so she is appalled at the unhygienic and improper things Ange has to do (at least for a princess). This means crossing swords with Hilda and co. They don’t give a damn about whatever disrespect whatsoever. They are Norma after all. The last straw came when she learns about the hunting they do and how some end up losing limbs and undergo painful mechanical limb replacement. Ange has resigned to her fate that it is a question of when it will be her turn to be like that. Momoka vows to save her. I really don’t know how but Momoka managed to replace her locker, remodelled her room and cook great food just like the way it was! Unbelievable. But Ange is not amused and tells her to return it all and stop bothering her! Thanks for nothing. Of course this sets up the perfect troublemaking excuse for Hilda and co to ‘discuss’ how Momoka will be killed because they can’t risk a human who knows about dragons and what Norma do to expose everything once they return. After all, all those associated with her will get killed. Coco, Miranda and now the maid… While bathing, Ange sees an old scar on Momoka’s hand. Momoka was touched when Ange treated it after she accidentally broke her porcelain doll because Momoka is irreplaceable compared to dolls and dress. When Momoka says she’ll always be by her side, Ange tells her to leave. What she meant now is escape right now! But Momoka wants to be by her side as long as she can. The alert is sound as the Norma sortie to fight dragons. Ange is still frustrated over Momoka as she takes it all out on the dragons. Yeah. She killed all of them by herself and even got time to kick Rosalie and Chris’ butt! Next morning, Jill and Emma see off Momoka but they know she is going to face the firing squad. Suddenly Ange comes running with bags of cash. She is buying Momoka! Well, you can buy anything here with the right amount of money. Jill calls off the ‘transport’ and thus Momoka is happy to become Ange’s property stay by her side.

Episode 7
Ange disobeys orders again to kill all the dragons herself! Because of that, she rakes in the bounty and leaves none for others. How are they going to survive? Hey, she’s doing her job killing all the dragons and with no casualties, right? She doesn’t give a damn and dares them to execute or punish her! Jill and her team learn that Tusk is still alive and the one who saved Ange. She puts Jasmine in charge to contact him. Salia is more concerned over Ange’s disobedience and suggests Villkiss be taken away for her arrogance. However Jill tells her to solve it another way. She better find it soon because Hilda is also mocking Salia that all this would never have happened under Zola. Care to transfer the captaincy to her? To de-stress, Salia dons a magical girl outfit in the dressing room. Then Ange accidentally walks in. Oops. Sorry. Wrong room. Her stress levels just went up. Salia thinks she’ll be the laughing stock when everyone finds out. How now? She is going to kill Ange! Seriously. In the bath? She’s blaming her for everything, blah, blah, blah (even her bigger boobs?). Well, since this fight is so girly, Erscha and Vivian throw brooms to them to fight. Eventually they got reprimanded and need to write an apology essay. The next morning, Ange falls sick. She will be on standby till then. I guess Hilda and co are happy b*tches right now. Salia talks to Mei (the one who maintains Villkiss) and she mentions about Ange taking everything upon herself because she doesn’t want others to die. Didn’t you notice? Ever since she piloted Villkiss, casualties are zero. Salia thinks it is just coincidence? When another dragon alert is sounded, Salia leads her team minus Ange. This time there is a new dragon appearing and if they can take it out, they’ll get loads of money. Hilda and co rush in first without listening and they got trapped in its gravity field. The rest soon too. Vivian notices its horns are creating the field. They are about to meet their doom when Villkiss arrives. Momoka allowed Ange to pilot as long as she dressed up in thick clothes. Since she wants to do it herself, Salia puts her foot down and tells her off about team work. Well, at least it woke Ange up. Salia then guides Ange to destroy one of its horns and free them before everybody kills it. In the end, everyone earned big bucks except Ange who only got a meagre since she only destroyed a horn. She wants Salia to compensate for following orders! Or else that magical girl secret… You b*tch! Salia then tells everyone about team work and for Hilda and co to stop targeting Ange. Also, Ange need not hoard everything to herself. Surprisingly, Ange agrees as long as she is not dragged down. Chris and Rosalie also feel grateful that if not for Ange, they would have been dead. Everyone is happy except for Hilda. Traitors. Momoka and Ange get a secret transmission from Sylvia but before she could finish, looks like she got assaulted.

Episode 8
Ange is spacing out so much about her time with Sylvia that she didn’t hear orders to launch. Mei had to force launch her. What a rude awakening, eh? Coming in to Arzenal is a transport for the Festa. It’s the only day in the year where Norma can take a day off on this beach festival. How kind of them. Misty Rosenblum, whose royal family are the administrators running Arzenal, visits Emma. She wonders if Angelise is here but Emma lies she there is no such person. However Misty wants to find her as she wants to meet her. Momoka gets a call from Emma to meet Misty but Ange remembers her from that lacrosse game and doesn’t want to see her. She puts on her bear mascot and doesn’t want Momoka to be near her or her cover will be blown. As she hangs out alone at the hangar, she remembers her time with Sylvia. While they were riding a horse, Sylvia fell off and became wheelchair ridden. Momoka is looking for Ange but Hilda has business with her. Ange decides to see Misty and kicks all her bodyguards’ ass. Misty is happy to see her and mentions how she wanted to ascertain the truth about the mistake that she is Norma. But Ange cuts her short and tells her the truth she is Norma. That’s all to it. Now, Ange has a request. She wants Misty to help get her off this island. Where is everybody else? Well, they’re participating in the festival’s contest in which Chris the dark horse was the winner and Emma who was running around looking for Ange realized Misty’s bodyguards are out when she got back. Hilda wants Momoka to help her get off Arzenal but the maid will not listen to anyone but her princess. So she is willing to die? Then come Ange and Misty. Since they have the same interest, why not cooperate? Ange refuses as she doesn’t trust her. However Hilda says she has been waiting for this day and the only one who knows how to unleash the landing gears without sounding the alert. When everyone is watching the fireworks, the runaway girls put their plan in motion. Momoka pilots the transport and as it moves, Ange wants her to shut the door hatch. She is going to betray Hilda? This is payback for all the harassment! Hilda will not give in and jumps into the hatch. She has been planning this moment and even became Zola’s plaything just for this day. She will leave this place and return to her mother. Ange has a change of heart and pulls her in. By the time Jill and co arrive, they’ve already blasted to the sky. Jill wants Jasmine to contact Tusk. By the time some royal guards secure the transport, only Misty is tied up in the mascot suit. The rest are gone and parted ways to their respective destination.

Episode 9
Hilda was once a happy girl who loves her mama’s apple pies living in the countryside. It all came crashing down when she was taken away because she was a Norma. Now, Hilda steals necessaries from stores in order to get home. She gets nostalgic when she returns. Her happiness of seeing mama turns into sadness because mother doesn’t recognize her and thinks she is her daughter’s friend. Her daughter will soon be back. Ange and Momoka sneak into the former’s old friend’s home, Akiho. Just like others, Akiho is terrified to see her despite assurance Ange is still the same. No choice, Ange has to tie her up as she has called the police. They steal a transport to head to the imperial palace. However the police are already waiting but they can’t turn back now and barge their way through. No amount of Mana or net could catch her. Yeah, she’s literally slippery. They manage to escape via sewer that leads to the palace gates. Before them are the imperial guards but it seems they have Sylvia hostage! WTF?! Just when Hilda thought her mom recognized her, it turns out to be another girl named Hilda. What is the meaning of this? When Hilda mentions she is her real daughter who was separated 11 years ago and now returned to see her, mother tells her to leave! She is not her daughter and this mini Hilda is her only true daughter! Mini Hilda thought she had a sister but once she sees how Hilda destroyed her Light of Mana, she gets so scared that she fainted! Mother begs for her to leave and promises not to tell she came. Just when she had forgotten that nightmare and achieved happiness, she had to return. She wishes she had never been born! Oh, Hilda. So sad :’(. Ange defeats the guards so that Sylvia could reunite with her. But the moment they get close, Sylvia takes out a knife and slashes her arm! Oh dear. Looks like Sylvia is also one of those Norma haters. She accuses Ange of everything. If not for her, her family will still be living happily. If not for her, mother will still be alive. If not for her, she will still be able to walk. Everything is her fault. She took away everything! Ange is so shocked that she didn’t resist arrest. Even more insulting is how Julio planned all this and knew Ange would fall for this bait. Now that she is captured, all that is left is to put her on trial for her existence is her very crime. Hilda can’t even walk in the rain sad. The cops beat her up with no mercy. Police brutality!

Episode 10
Sylvia must love whipping Ange in public and blaming her for everything. Sure, why not blame the economy while at it? Oh wait. They’re not in any downturn or anything. Anyway, Julio reveals how he was waiting to hear news of Ange’s death at Arzenal. To his surprise she survived, that is why he sent Momoka there. Otherwise, do you think a normal person would be allowed to meet a Norma? Julio announces Ange’s execution and will start a new chapter in their new kingdom. The crowd cheers for Ange’s execution. She realizes who her true friends are and starts singing her mother’s song. Julio is not impressed and wants the execution hasten. When she is dropped, Tusk flashily enters the scene and save her (it’s that déjà vu feeling of his face in her crotch again). Then Ange and Momoka free each other to take out the guards. She thanks her siblings for revealing the true ugly side of humans. Goodbye. As parting gift, she throws something that slices Julio’s cheek. On the way back, Ange asks Tusk for his reason. He says he was sent by Jill not to let her die. He only lets her know he is the knight of Villkiss. Any more information, she needs to ask Jill. If you’re wondering why he is commending her beautiful blonde hair, because it was the same colour ‘down there’ too. Kill this pervert! Also, he commends her beautiful singing voice and hopes to hear her sing again. Once back on Arzenal, Jill greets her. She punches her in the gut. Time for some reflection. In an isolation cell, Salia reads to her the punishment that includes confiscation of all her belongings. This includes Villkiss. Erscha is sad that she deserted them. As some of them were born here, they do not know the real world and have no reason to leave this place. Also in the same cell is Hilda. Her face is badly beaten up by 50 guys but she took them all down. Hilda seems to be reeling from depression about her mom. She thought she would be the only person who would accept her even if she was Norma but was wrong. She now has no friends. Not even Rosalie or Chris. Because when she told them she was just using them, Chris spitted on her and told her to die. Chris bought over Zola’s place and becomes the new lesbian queen? Ange and Hilda talk about this sick and rotten world and even suggest that they destroy it. Well, sounds good. What else is there to do to a world that oppressed, humiliated and degraded them? And so that is how an unlikely friendship between them was formed. Ange’s singing soothes the souls of all those on Arzenal.

Episode 11
Julio is having sexual relations with his advisor, Riza Randog. I’m not sure about this sick mother-son role play they’re doing but Julio hates Angelise because mother always favoured her. When Sylvia goes to see him, she is horrified to see a pair of wings sprouting out from Riza’s back. Spotted, Riza seizes her and the ironic part is how Sylvia is screaming Ange’s name to save her! How dare she after all that?! With First Squadron relegated to backup duties (this means no income), Salia pays respect to Fei Ling’s grave. She is Mei’s sister. Realizing that young ones are already calling her big sister and looking up to her, she realizes she is now Alektra’s age. She remembers Alektra was the only one who returned from a mission that took the lives of her comrades. She was piloting Villkiss. Salia vowed to get revenge and defeat those dragons. However she never understood what she was lacking to pilot Villkiss. What does Ange have that she doesn’t? Suddenly dragons appear right above Arzenal. Everyone prepares to engage close quarter combat. Somebody’s singing has the dragons flee. It sure wasn’t Ange. That song powers up some Paramail and turns half of Arzenal into crater! Thanks to a dragon crashing into the cell, Ange and Hilda break free. Jill wants all units to sortie and this includes putting back Ange into Villkiss. However Salia is not happy. She will pilot Villkiss instead. Jill forbids her. Salia has had it. She worked hard but she chose that deserter? That’s right. Salia disobeys orders and pilots Villkiss. However it doesn’t move as she wishes. She gets her ass kicked while thinking too much about what she is supposed to do. Ange riding with Hilda wants Salia to switch but she still won’t. Ange makes this reckless move of jumping onto Villkiss. It was enough for Villkiss to activate up. Then Ange throws Salia off for Hilda to catch! Freaking scary move!!! Ange and the mysterious mecha battle. When it starts singing, Ange also begins hers. Both Paramails power up into some golden crisp! In some alternate dimension, both pilots meet. Salamandine wonders how a false citizen can sing the true Star Song. There are visions of them together, like as though in every different parallel world and era, the duo are always by each other’s side. She tells Ange the truth she seeks lies with Aura. Then she retreats with her dragons. Jill realizes the final piece of the puzzle to activate true Villkiss is a song. Salia realizes Ange is on a completely different level than her. It’s the sad truth, eh? Thanks to the attack, Arzenal has lost some plant.

Episode 12
Julio and some higher ups discuss about the dragons and Arzenal. Till Lord Embryo suggests either they surrender to the dragons or eliminate them. However there is a third option: Destroy everything and rebuild it again. Julio likes this idea and since there is no other way, the rest agrees. Tusk is spying on this and goes to relay this important information. Arzenal is undergoing major restoration. Jill makes Hilda the interim captain as Salia is in detention for violating orders. As agreed, Ange wants Jill to tell her everything. Since she wants to hear everything from the start… In the beginning, God created the world… Oh God… Anyway Jill puts it in a way how God created a new species of human beings with Mana because the humans of the old love fighting and killing each other. But there are those who cannot use Mana, God sneakily decided to use this to have them discriminated. With the rest of the humans discriminating against Norma, stability was achieved. Of course there are other humans with old genes who cannot use Mana. They are called Predecessors and fought current humans to claim their place. Finally after all that bloodshed, they seized the ultimate that was Paramail’s prototype which is Villkiss. However those who piloted it couldn’t control it and died. A handful of survivors learn about Norma and Arzenal and they became allies. Alektra Maria von Loewenherz was the first Norma born of royal blood and Jill’s former name. She was able to pilot Villkiss with her royal ring. Many came to her side and supported her and formed Libertus. However during a fight she lost everything and her right arm. She couldn’t afford to let Libertus go to waste. That is when Ange came in. That’s why she kept her ring and needs her to be stronger for Libertus. Ange thanks her for making her realize for spoilt pampered life but she wants to walk her own path. Vivan overslept and thinks she is taller now. But she freaks the hell out of Emma and when she looks in the mirror, she sees herself as a dragon! Soon Arzenal is alerted of a lone dragon and Vivian is forced to flee. However Ange suspects something amiss when she is humming a song she knows. Ange sings along with her and won’t let her comrades shoot it down. At the end of it, the dragon turns back into Vivian. What is the meaning of this? They notice a big hole where Jasmine dumped all the dragon bodies and being burnt. To their horror, they saw human parts in it. And as Jill reveals, humans are the real monsters. Ange gets sick that she was killing humans all along and won’t pilot Villkiss anymore or join Libertus to kill dragons. Suit herself if she wants to die as God’s pet. Later Jill is shocked to see Embryo here. She shoots him but is just a hologram. He says he never called himself God although he is a creator. Then an announcement is made. All Norma are to be relief of their duties. They have plenty of water, food and clothes for their evacuation.

Episode 13
Jill orders to ignore that bullshit and to fight back. She moves her operations to a deeper underground and orders Salia to take Ange. Because the Norma start fighting back, Julio considers this as treason and orders their elimination. Several weird machines kidnap some of them while troops infiltrate Arzenal with top priority to retrieve Ange, Villkiss and other Paramail riders. Everything else, destroy! Salia guides Ange to where Villkiss is and needs her to escape unharmed with it. Ange mocks Salia and this causes her to slap her for not understanding. Momoka drops gas bombs for their escape. They reach a room where burnt bodies of humans-cum-dragons are lying everywhere. It is that sick feeling again. Embryo appears before Ange and he too doesn’t approve of this. He lets her know that Julio is the one ordering this attack and is going to make mincemeat out of everything. When Momoka is in trouble, Ange takes out her anger by emptying her chamber on the soldier! Overkill! Vivian is kidnapped but Tusk singlehandedly killed all the soldiers to retrieve her. Ange takes Villkiss to the skies. She creates her own runway by blasting the debris in front and where all the troops were firing from. Now why didn’t the rest think of that? Salia goes after her and she’s upset that as the chosen one, she is running away from her duty, blah, blah, blah. Ange says she likes this sh*thole place but is going to bring justice to the guy who is destroying it. She powers up Villkiss and disarms Salia. Hilda and co take off but a hidden soldier snipes Chris with a headshot. Ange is on a destroying streak, sinking ships. Now that she is face to face with Julio, she shoots him in the leg and orders him to stop the attack in which he does. You know what? That look on Ange face seems like she is going to kill this piece of sh*t anyway. That coward pleads for his life and even offers her a deal to be reinstated to the royal family. Ange is not amused. Before she can kill him, Embryo stops her in his Paramail. (Seems he has healed Chris and other Norma). He admires the beauty in Ange’s rage and doesn’t want her to be tainted by doing such worthless things. He will carry her sin instead. He sings the Endless Song and blasts Julio away. Holy sh*t! A crater in the middle of the ocean! Overkill! Riza is in half dragon mode and isn’t appreciative of what Embryo is doing. Tusk tries to warn Ange to get away from him. Embryo is going to get rid of him and starts singing again. Ange rushes to save him. The survivors of Arzenal are making their escape via boarding a submarine, Aurora.

Episode 14
Is it déjà vu? Ange, Tusk and Vivian find themselves in another strange land. Looks like an abandoned city overrun with overgrowth. They cannot make contact with anybody and their communicator isn’t down. Ange rides Vivian (in dragon mode now) to scout the area and sees what is left of her palace. Did they go into the future? Or did they sleep that long for civilization to end? Villkiss is a special machine and it is no surprise it could do that to protect them from Embryo’s attack. A passing robot relays information about a safe shelter. As they head there, they only see rotting corpses. Ange wants some answers so the AI starts off with something like a war movie. Nope. This is real. Fighting between countries again. World War 7???!!! Anyway to put an end to this, Ragnamail was created (black version of Villkiss?). Despite it was successful, its weapons reacted with some reactor and caused some freaking explosion that made life on Earth inhabitable. Yup. They are the only 2 human survivors on this planet! When did this happen? 538 years ago!!! So the world ended, eh? Ange still refuses to believe it and might be some sort of trick. So she’s working Vivian like a slave driver and even badmouthing everything like how their fight for freedom was garbage and everything. This is the last straw for Tusk. He snaps. So his parents and friends all died for a garbage cause? Ange starts feeling guilty she said too much. To make amends, she gives him a cute necklace from a shop (it’s not like anybody is buying it anyway). But what is more surprising to Tusk is that he never knew she could apologize! It is getting colder but thanks to Vivian, they manage to find a room that is well maintained and with running water and electricity! I don’t know but let’s not think too much. She asks about Embryo. He is their greatest enemy, a puppet master who controls civilization from the shadows. Since it would be a pity for him to sleep in the hallway and the sofa is broken, Ange lets him sleep next to her. Hold still our beating hearts. She feels a sense of ease and maybe because Villkiss freed them from that war. She hints of ‘allowing’ him but it’s not that he is gay or anything. When his parents and friends died, he became lost and scared of his duty so he secluded himself. Till he met Ange and he saw the fighting spirit in her. It gave him the strength to move forward and a purpose of being a knight. So if he can protect her, it is good enough. She stars undressing herself! She is already tainted by killing others so is she going to add this to the list? No matter how tainted she is, he will always stand by her side. And finally the moment we’ve all been waiting for. An unforced kiss. But a damn dragon (not Vivian) had to crash in and interrupt this steamy scene! WTF?! Why now?! The ladies piloting it detected their help signal and welcome those fake citizens to their world, the true Earth. Could they have at least waited till they finished? Bummer.

Episode 15
The trio are taken to see the high priestess. Ange screws all that formal protocol and blasts away with her questions anyway. Everyone calls for her head but Salamandine wants to keep her alive since she knows how to pilot Villkiss and learn its secrets. Salamandine treats them as guests and mentions about the possibility of 2 Earths. Thanks to war and pollution, many of the humans here abandoned this planet to go to the other. Ange thinks this means there is a way back and takes her as hostage! The underlings do the same to Tusk but Ange doesn’t care since he did say he was willing to lay down his life and die for her, right? Oh sh*t! Salamandine wonders why she is so eager to go back to the killing and is going to show her the truth. Bringing her to the Aura Tower which is supposed to be Dracunium (some energy source) facility, underneath it is supposedly where the real Aura lies, some big mother dragon. In their terms, the first ever dragon. It adapted its flesh to this polluted world. Ever since, everyone here chose to live their life for cleansing and redemption alongside Aura as they adapt and turn into dragons. Males turn into bigger dragons while females are smaller ones. However, Aura is taken by the person who discovered Dracunium and created Ragnamail: Embryo. From where Ange comes from, Mana of Light seems infinite and like magic, right? That is because Aura is providing this. However it needs to be replenished and thus dragons are killed to extract their Dracunium and supply it to Aura. That is the truth of their war they risk their lives for. Salamandine’s people are killed to sustain her world’s energy. That is why they call it a fake world with fake citizens fighting a fake war. Ange still wants to go back since she is from that world so Salamandine will have to restrain her from killing more of her people. But what about the attack on Arzenal? That was to test out Dragonmail as they view Ange a threat to Aura’s liberation. She believes Ange would have done the same if she was in her shoes. Salamandine knows all about her thanks to Riza. They fight but Ange loses. Next thing she knows, she is in bed and Vivian back to being human. Thanks to some DNA alteration they did, she doesn’t have to rely on medication. Meanwhile Tusk is being used as a model for sex ed for the curious dragon girls… This time Ange slips and got her face on his crotch… And she’s making it sound like it is all his fault! Don’t cut it off! More surprise in store when Salamandine reunites Vivian with her true mother. She must have been separated 10 years ago while chasing her mother heading off to a fight. So they celebrate this by releasing floating lanterns as tribute to Aura. Ange wonders why they are being shown all this and as explained, it is to better understand them and vice versa and move ahead. Now it makes them think if they really want to go back to their own world.

Episode 16
When Lizardia (known to us as Riza) discovered Aura is among the fake humans, the high priestess gave orders to initiate the battle to reclaim Aura. Ange is still sceptical of their hospitality and thinks it is a ploy to let their guard down. She even believes that is not Vivian’s mother despite they look so genuinely happy together. Salamandine wants Ange to team up with them and fight Embryo. Help them get back Aura and they get back their freedom. Ange of course views this as a ploy to use her so Salamandine suggests a competition. If Ange wins, she walks free and can do whatever she likes. Otherwise she becomes her property. So they play ‘ancient’ sports like tennis, ping pong, golf and baseball. Heck, even formula one! WTF?! When you have hot sexy ladies in such heated battle, surely the obligated Twister game is a must, right? And despite the intense rivalry, weirdly some sort of bond is formed because the duo start laughing together. Then there’s that shower bonding scene too. They respect each other and talk about the discrimination of being a Norma. But Ange despite all that has happened, she is no longer a princess so talking about duty and leadership is none of her business anymore. In the end, it is them who want to change the world so Embryo and Aura has got nothing to do with her. But now that she has known the truth, will she not do anything? Suddenly some sort of dangerous portal appears and is destroying the town. Seems like it is blending both worlds together and those who get caught in it will be assimilated into the rocks. Tusk believes this is the work of Embryo who has the power to control space and time. Vivian’s mother is pinned under some slab after she saves her daughter. Salamandine goes into action but the high priestess wants her to retreat because she views her Dragonmail pivotal to recover Aura and cannot risk it. Ange helps out and suggests using that super weapon that destroyed Arzenal. Salamandine opposes due to negative effects so Ange lectures her about her duty as a ruler to save her people. Salamandine starts singing as well as Ange too and eventually put a stop to the menace. In the aftermath, Salamandine is grateful to Ange for helping save her people. She is surprised of the song Ange sang because it was what Embryo sang to destroy this world. Ange learnt it from her mom and likewise Aura taught Salamandine and the rest theirs. Salamandine apologizes for her immaturity to try to own Ange and wants to be her friend to walk and learn alongside her. Well Ange, you can stop calling Salamandine weird nicknames like you are doing throughout this episode.

Episode 17
Riza has located Aura beneath the palace so their plan is to raid the place and take Aura back. Ange is free to do what she wants but of course Salamandine prefers her to fight alongside them. Tusk gave Ange some hope that it is up to her to do what she thinks it is right. But that face crotch accident had to ruin everything. Tusk can guess its implication when Ange literally bites off that phallic shaped mushroom… It’s got to hurt. Ange has decided to go back to her original world since Momoka is waiting there. Salamandine respects her decision although this means they will be enemies again. Her subordinates oppose since Ange knows a lot of this world but Salamandine trusts her friend. Also, Ange will not fight them when the time comes. Vivian also wants to go back but promises to come back. A full force of dragons gather as the portal opens. In the calm of the storm, Tusk can even reveal his dream of opening up some café he’ll name after Ange once the war is over. As the dragons go through the portal, it seems they are very far away from their intended location and over the ocean. They are ambushed by a rain of missiles and many black Villkiss. Embryo has captured Riza and used her information to lure them into this ambush. Ange helps fight the enemy and wants Salamandine to retreat as they can’t take back Aura at this rate. She won’t but Tusk supports Ange that they should regroup and devise another strategy. With a heavy heart, Salamandine calls for a retreat. Ange fights the other black Villkiss and learns they are being piloted by Salia, Erscha and Chris. They are working under Embryo as he wants them to capture Ange. She puts up a lot of resistance and even yells at Villkiss to keep moving like before or else. I think the machine got scared of her and powers up. They teleport and crash land back on Arzenal. The place is decimated and abandoned. That night, some strange apparitions pay them a visit. Ghosts? Monsters? Water spirits? Wow. I didn’t Ange was this freaked out. Turns out to be Momoka, Hilda and Rosalie. Momoka is glad that Ange is back. But the most shocking event is how Hilda grabs Tusk by the balls to confirm he is a guy!

Episode 18
Ange is back onboard Aurora as she tells the rest about the parallel world and suggests they team up with them as they can reason unlike their fellow humans. However Jill rejects them and couldn’t care less about Aura or whatsoever as their mission is to kill Embryo who is playing God and destroy this world. She ticks off Ange for being brainwashed by dragons and if she wants to play boyfriend, do it after the war. But Jasmine reminds her ever since Salia and some defected, they do not have the required strength so an alliance is not so bad. Jill will make her decision when she has analyzed all the information. Ange learns about Aurora being built by Predecessors and fought Embryo. Jill has also revealed her secret to the rest and Rosalie is proudly introducing a handful of recruits trained under her: Nonna, Marika and Mary. The trio are more interested in admiring Vivian anyway. So much about gratitude. Emma has been a drunkard ever since because she was almost killed by her fellow humans and Jill was kind enough to let her onboard. Then there is a big hint about Hilda’s yuri on Ange. First, she sounds jealous Ange went missing, never bothered to contact (like she could) and came back with a man. Then in a shower scene, she’s got her hands running through her body and worried if Ange has done it with Tusk. Relieved that she didn’t, she kisses her back as sign of welcoming her back. If that isn’t yuri, I don’t know what is. Jill gives Ange her first mission to make contact with the dragons and demand a formation of a united front. Jill explains her ambush on the palace where Embryo is. However it seems her plan is to sacrifice the dragons as diversion so Ange could use Villkiss to kill Embryo. Ange is against this so Jill shows the ‘insurance’ she got to get Ange to obey her. Do it or Momoka dies! Ange still won’t and wants her maid freed but Jill overpowers her and mentions everything is for Libertus. Everything is a tool for Libertus. Momoka a tool to get Ange going, Ange a tool to pilot Villkiss and Villkiss a tool to kill Embryo. Tusk initiates Plan B by releasing some sleepy gas. They escape and free Momoka but before they can ride their Paramail, Jill is strong enough to stay awake and confront Ange. She is still bent on making Ange obey her command so Ange suggests a fight. Jill must do as she says if Ange wins. Ange cannot accept Jill’s way of doing things or else she can’t have Café Ange (she is really serious about this?). This is no different than how humans treat Norma. Jill loses as Ange sets out to contact the dragons. Despite Jill’s way is wrong, she will still carry out Libertus and wants to free Norma. She’ll do it with the people she trusts. Before they can teleport, they are attacked by Salia and co.

Episode 19
But their target is Aurora. Ange helps stave them off till Aurora submerges. Ange thought it is over but surprise, Salia turns back and shoots her in the chest. The next thing she knows, she’s back in her bed in her palace. For real? Is his a dream? Apparently not. Momoka is with her. Salia shot her with a tranquilizer and brought her back here. Ange tries to get some stationery as weapons but Salia and her guards won’t allow her. Salia explains how Embryo saved her unlike Jill who abandoned her after her lost to Ange. He treated her preciously and she now that her eyes are opened, she has found someone to truly protect. Embryo truly loves her, so she says. Salia is made his personal bodyguard and the commander of the Order of Diamond Rose. Ange still has a knack for sarcasm and this upsets Salia but she can’t overpower Ange. No use trying to find her because this is Ange’s home ground and she knows all the secret passages. Outside, Ange and Momoka see Erscha tending to a group of children. Erscha reveals she is the principal of this kindergarten Embryo established. These children were once dead but Embryo revived them. Erscha wanted so much for them to have a better life and this couldn’t be better. Therefore she will kill others who will take this away. Even Ange. So what is Chris’ reason? Left for dead, nobody cared about her, till Embryo saved her. Yeah, the same story. Then there is Sylvia whipping Riza the pet dragon slave mercilessly for bringing the wrong book! She’s upset about Riza’s poisoning that night and would have been done for had not uncle Embryo saved her. Sylvia is shocked to see Ange here and thinks she is here to kill her. With all that screaming and ruckus, I’m sure Embryo can’t read in peace. Guess it’s time to talk to Ange. He brings her to where Aura is but Ange threatens him to release it. If he refuses? She shoots him! But how can you kill God? Besides, he hates that term and would prefer the word conductor as he directs the ebb and flow of epochs. Ange starts feeling queasy. Did Embryo do something to her? He tries to brainwash her to abandon everything and accept him. He can be what she wants and can grant her desires. That’s like God, right? But when he says abandon, I didn’t think he would mean taking off her clothes too! Ange resists but falls into his hypnosis. I am guessing it is because Embryo isn’t such a great kisser as Tusk that Ange snapped out of it and bites his lips! She’s back to normal and will kill him as many times as it takes to destroy the world. Guess what? He is so freaking impressed with this drama! Meanwhile Hilda goes to see Jill but sees her sleeping. She is having a nightmare. Something about her relationship with Embryo. She was in a dilemma to abandon him to save her comrades and by the time she does, it’s too late.

Episode 20
Tusk and Vivian are captured onboard Aurora. Jill beats up Tusk for his betrayal that because of him, they lost Ange and Villkiss which is vital to Libertus (Tusk said he isn’t the knight of Villkiss but Ange!). Hilda suggests assisting Ange but Jill thinks it is useless as Ange won’t listen to her anymore. Salia is against Embryo’s suggestion to make Ange part of Order of Diamond Rose. But he assures he is just using her as a toll and that Salia is the one most important. Sweet words… Ange is brought to see Embryo who wants her to become his wife! Oh dear! Salia must be seething in anger! Ange is the most beautiful and intelligent woman he has ever met and wants her to be goddess of the new world. The old humans only knew how to fight each other so Embryo created this new breed. However they stagnated and cannot think for themselves. As Ange has seen herself, humanity has not changed and is still evil and foolish. So how are they going to destroy the world? Amplifying the song via Ragnamail using Aura’s energy to merge both worlds. The one Ange saw was just a test. Ange stabs his hand and shoulder. She’d rather die than become his wife. But then again, you can’t kill him, right? She amplifies her pain 50 times and then pleasure. Horny Ange? It’s easy for Embryo to manipulate her so if she doesn’t want to suffer anymore, accept his proposal. Meanwhile there is some yuri moment between Hilda and Rosalie but the former is not in the mood. Rosalie knows Hilda likes Ange so they both hatch a plan not to go rescue Ange but the rest of their friends. She busts Tusk and Vivian out and wants them to assist. But the place is lockdown as Jill is trying to ride a Paramail out. Hilda intercepts her and nails it when she claims Jill is trying to head to Embryo’s side. Eventually Jill is restrained. Momoka who is looking for Ange stumbles upon a dungeon where Sylvia just finished torturing Riza. Momoka helps her up and although she has not forgotten her betrayal, she wants her to live till she apologizes to Ange. Riza tells her where she could find Ange. Jill reveals she gave in to Embryo’s love because of the fear she couldn’t live up to her mission. As a result, her comrades perished. Now that everyone knows the truth, Jill cannot lead anymore and is relieved of her position. Hilda is put in charge and Jill is sure she won’t make the same mistakes as her. Ange is going through hell, experiencing a myriad of extreme feelings. After Embryo goes to start his task on Aura, Salia comes in to let Ange go. It’s not that she pity her or anything. Embryo is all she has left and doesn’t want her to take it from her. Ange repays that kindness by knocking her out so she won’t get into trouble when her escape is discovered. But now she has to deal with Erscha and Chris. Ange summons Villkiss but gets reinforcements when Salamandine returns to repay the favour.

Episode 21
Hilda’s plan is to infiltrate the palace and rescue Ange. Simple enough? Salamandine buys time for Ange to escape. However Villkiss is shot down by Chris although its shield helped protect Ange. However she is weakened as Momoka tries helping her make their slow escape. Chris fights her old friends Hilda and Rosalie and she is still bitter about how they abandoned her. Her grudge even goes way back to when they were young, how Hilda suggested she tied her hair into a single pigtail instead of having double braids. She hated it but put up with it all the while. WTF. Ange is having a hard time escaping Embryo because he can possess anybody remotely and control them to go after Ange. Heck, why don’t just possess Ange and make her come back? Oh, he can only possess those with Mana… Salamandine realizes she cannot win with her current strength and calls for a retreat. She picks up Riza but prison warden Sylvia won’t let her go. Riza doesn’t give a sh*t. That rifle of hers doesn’t threaten by a bit. Marika comes to assist Rosalie but gets killed by Chris. Ah well, I guess I know why the newbie was introduced. We aren’t going to miss her, right? Rosalie is freaking pissed but Chris retreats when Salamandine arrives. Everywhere Ange turns, Embryo’s zombies are there. Eventually she runs back into Embryo. Tusk has finally found her and starts killing Embryo. He knows it is futile since he can resurrect but it’s to buy time for Ange to escape on his Paramail. Embryo ends the match by shooting himself. Then he controls Momoka to steer Ange back to him. He can’t understand why she rejects him so much. Simple: You’re a jerk! Tusk returns to fight but this time Embryo controls Momoka to fight him. Nobody can escape the command of their absolute master. But Ange is Momoka’s master! Some flashbacks and memories of them together and you guessed it, Momoka snaps out of it. It’s like she’s making a dying wish for Tusk to take care of Ange. She attacks Embryo but gets shot. I don’t know who was driving the truck since they both got rammed and dropped down the cliff. What a way to die. I understand why Ange is so distraught. HOW CAN YOU KILL OFF THE MAID???!!! Tusk then chains Ange to his Paramail on autopilot for her getaway. Now it’s his turn to play hero. Uh huh. He becomes a martyr by blowing himself up! But does he need to blow up the entire villa? Maybe. Oh, Ange… Alone again, naturally…

Episode 22
Salia in some spanking punishment?! Still, she is not happy that Embryo chose Ange despite she swore her loyalty to him. He says intelligent and strong women only interest him because they are the ones who will create a new world with him. He doesn’t want foolish ones. This means Salia has to bite the bullet and bring Ange back. After Riza explains Embryo’s plan to merge both worlds, Salamandine suggests to Hilda they form an alliance. She agrees but only on a condition that Ange comes back. Yeah. Who knows where she is now. Embryo possesses Emma to find Ange here but she’s not around. This proves he is desperate to look for her. Erscha’s kids are killed during that attack and she wants Embryo to bring the back. However he won’t as his new world is only for new humans. Erscha pleads to him but he won’t entertain her. He is disappointed he expected her to be more intelligent than that. Ange is sent back to Tusk’s island hideout. She feels sad not having Momoka by her side. Salia is close to being yandere. She believes if she kills Ange, Embryo will see no need for other women except her. The world’s destruction begins when everyone can’t use their Mana of Light anymore. Chaos everywhere. Those high executives think it is time to escape this but Embryo tells them they are going to take responsibility for plunging the world into chaos. Hah. Serves them right. They’re screwed. Erscha realizes she has been manipulated by Embryo because he used those kids to make her work for him. However Chris doesn’t share the same sentiments as she is willing to kill Hilda and Rosalie.

Ange reads a diary from Tusk detailing the times he spent with her. Felt you should have appreciated him, eh? She wants to kill herself but is too sad to do it. Thinking back of all the things he said to her, she really regrets not appreciating him. What’s the use now that he is no longer here? And what is the point of confessing she loves him now that he is dead? But Tusk pops up to hug her, happy to hear her say that! Ange slaps him twice! She can’t believe it is him and must be Embryo’s illusion! Tusk is dead! She is going to make sure he is real. How? Having sex with him!!! Wow! If this is what gets a girl to sleep with you, I also want to be dead!!! So this is real because it must be the best sex ever, huh? Seconds? Ange tells him a certain perverted stalker wanted to destroy and change this world with her. She likes this world despite how foolish and incomplete it is. Tusk too, not because he is her knight but because he loves her. They’re going to protect this world. Ange gets another surprise because Momoka is still alive and has cooked a decent meal for them. I don’t know how she survived all that and don’t care. Because the maid is back! But thank the frying pan for stopping the bullet. Momoka says she can’t use Mana anymore and then they see the dark storm in the horizon ahead. Embryo is starting his destruction. Tusk wants Ange to ride his mom’s Paramail to retrieve Villkiss but that isn’t necessary. Using her ring, Ange summons Villkiss right before her. Wow. Just like brand new. Erscha surrenders and defects back to Hilda’s group.

Episode 23
The space-time merger is happening. Chaos. Dead people. Before it is completely destroyed, they must get Aura back. It couldn’t be better timing for Ange to return to Aurora. She gets updated about everything (including Emma who finally has decided to stop being a drunkard and join Libertus). Ange then goes to see Jill to ask for a way to kill Embryo because Tusk told her each time he dies, he switches place with a multiplex entity in undefined space. Seems Embryo’s real body is hidden in that space. The only way to get there is using Villkiss via a song. Ange didn’t like how Jill is acting like a loser so she slaps her to make her not run away from her responsibility. She reveals Salia was the one who let her escaped and she has chose to fawn over Embryo to forget her. Later Hilda is trying to confess she likes Ange in a roundabout way. It’s weird, right? A woman falling in love with a woman? Before you can answer that, Ange quickly kisses her! Oh right. The world is already so screwed up. So what the hell anyway. Anybody is welcomed in her new harem world. If you think that is the weirdest you’ve seen, you’ve seen nothing yet. Because when Mamoru asks her for some sort of charm before they go into battle, she gives him her panties!!!!!!!!!! WTF???!!! TUSK YOU LUCKY BASTARD!!! Now I’ve seen everything. The big assault begins but Embryo won’t let them waltz in like that. Yeah. So we’ve got one big messy fight with everything firing at everything and the setting up of grudge matches. Round 2. Chris vs Rosalie and Hilda. Salia vs Ange. Several selfish nobles are trying to get Sylvia to help them. What can she do? Ange accidentally crashes in. Now they want her to help them and cite that royalty duty to help her people. First of all, she tells them off she doesn’t care about them. And if they make further noise, she shoots and kills one of them! Yeah. Run like the wind you pigs. Sylvia is so scared the wet her pants (skirt actually). It might seem heartless that Ange is telling her to run when she can’t even walk. But can she? She too is still no different, blaming her she can’t walk, blah, blah, blah. Ange tells her off her injury is actually healed and never even bothered to try. She fires a few close warning shots to send Sylvia up and running! There you go. Goodbye forever. Ange returns to her fight with Salia but it seems Jill is joining the fight to see if Salia has been worthy as Embryo’s knight. Disappointing.

Episode 24
Jill is trying to open Salia’s eyes that Embryo doesn’t really love anyone. He might seem to love you now only because he’ll use you later. That is how Jill lost everything. But Salia’s heart is closed. She won’t believe what Embryo’s ex-lover says. Salia continues to be bitter that she wasn’t chosen by everyone no matter how hard she tries. Embryo gave her that chance. That is why she doesn’t need her anymore. Similarly, Chris is trying to tell her ex-friends how Embryo made her stronger. But more interestingly, Tusk is ‘bragging’ to Embryo that he knows Ange more than her. From her myriad of emotions to how many moles he has on her thigh! Ah, yes. Then he indicates how they’ve had sex. For 3 days and nights!!! WOW!!! You mad, bro? Tusk nails it that Ange accepted everything of him and thus he has nothing more to fear. When you have such great sex, any man can die happy, right? Ange meets up with Salamandine to free Aura. Salamandine starts singing. Aurora becomes a sitting duck after it takes on lots of damage. As both worlds are merging, the high priestess contacts Aurora and tells them the dragons will be cooperating with them to take down Embryo. Embryo then summons his knights to be as bait and buy him time so he can go fetch his bride. Some of them get killed. Chris becomes disillusioned that she has been betrayed and abandoned again. Everybody should just die! She starts shooting everything while her pals try to open her eyes in this dramatic emo talk. When all else fails, Rosalie jumps out of her Paramail to grab Chris as they free fall. She doesn’t care if they die, at least they die together. She can’t live without her. Luckily Hilda provided some soft landing. I guess Chris is the kind that needs lots of emo assurance to be convinced and after all that promises, she’s back being friends with them. Salamandine’s song has charged up as she blasts to free Aura. Jill confronts Embryo that she still loves him and wants to go to the new world with him. He is not amused and that he never loved her and only saved her. This is a ploy by Jill to freeze him. But she guessed wrong if she thinks he won’t be able to switch bodies. His Ragnamail shoots Jill through the gut. Goodbye Alektra. Embryo doesn’t need women from his past. He then announces how Aura’s energy will serve as the detonator to destroy the world. After that he snatches Ange and they quickly disappear.

Episode 25
Salia is back with us? Wow. She’s really repenting that she went and did something stupid. Blame it all on love. But at the expense of Jill? Don’t tell me she died just after they reconciled! Yes, but it’s true :’(. Suddenly the merger stops after it intensifies. They hear Aura’s voice telling them where to locate Embryo. The only way to get to that time-space rift is via Villkiss. But only Ange can pilot it, right? Not necessary. As long one has a strong will, Villkiss will respond. Meanwhile Ange wakes up in Arzenal. The original one. He wants to watch the end of the world with her in this premium seat but she’d rather have him screw himself. It’s time for Embryo to bore us with his story. This was the place where it all began. He and his team experimented with whatever and time stood still. He then used Ragnamail to experiment and create new worlds. Yeah, so he says he is the conductor but from the way I see it, he is playing God. Ange tries to run but no matter where she goes, Embryo is always there. And he is the wife beater he is, abusing Ange with his slaps because he is jealous a certain monkey tainted her. Now it is time to purify her with his love. RAPE SCENE!!! Embryo you horny bastard! Hilda wants Tusk to pilot Villkiss because as much as she hates to admit it, he is closest to Ange. Tusk is screaming to the machine to go save Ange. Yeah, maybe all that made Villkiss resonate. Time to go. Tusk, Salamandine, Hilda and Salia venture into the rift as lizard girl starts singing. Similarly, Ange does the same (probably to also annoy that horny bastard). They hear her voice as it guides them. Good timing to interrupt the rape (Embryo forcefully trying to open Ange’s legs?!). Tusk rescues Ange and she is so glad to see him that she doesn’t mind that face crotch move. He hands her back her panties. Got to wear something, no? See Hilda irritated in the background. Tusk lets Ange handle Villkiss while he goes to have a sword fight with Embryo.

They have to destroy his Ragnamail which is causing this merger as wells as Embryo himself as he controls Ragnamail. But Embryo has cloned several Ragnamail for the Paramail girls to fight with. Embryo even tries to play mind games with Salia. Tusk is able to wound Embryo and since he didn’t switch bodies, this means this is the real one. Embryo is still bitter that Ange didn’t choose him after waiting a thousand years for this. The girls side with Ange he was trying to force control her and that Ange is not slutty enough to fall for a coward like him! All the girls won’t allow to be controlled by him anymore and their Paramail resonate with their feelings to power up. Get this. Embryo is still puzzled why Ange won’t let him control him! So he wants to be a wife controlling husband? Well, simple. Ange is human and it is in their genes to rebel, disobey, etc. Salamandine now understands why Norma exist. To avoid being manipulated by him. They are all women so they can bear children to reject his love! So is Embryo finally ready to give up and dump Ange because he doesn’t need a woman who won’t understand his love. Ange has the best reply ever. He calls that love? He is just a f*cking narcissist who doesn’t know how to treat women and she doesn’t want the genes of a pervert who hid himself for a thousand years! It is 10 million years too early for him to even hug her! I guess she is mad enough that her blast is so powerful to rip Ragnamail apart! Impossible? Believe it! Tusk then cuts him in half! The merger stops and everyone lands back on the original Arzenal (which is bigger than the one they knew) in the original Earth. Ange and Tusk can finally hug all they want. Now that there is no reason to go to war, what is Ange’s next plan? She’ll found Arzenal as a new kingdom just for them. Of course everyone will follow her but what about the other Earth? Ange doesn’t care about it. It is like dystopia and chaotic. Ange feels they should learn to fend themselves if they want to survive. Embryo is no longer there to guide them anyway. Wah! Sylvia is the badass leader of a small resistance force! She’s taking after so much like her sister. In the aftermath, we see everyone working hard to rebuild Earth, a sombre visit to the graves of their fallen comrades and Café Ange did happen (that weird bear is the café’s mascot?).

Crossed Up, Caught In The Crossfire, Crossing The Line, Crossing Swords And At The Crossroads…
Well, it feels a bit rushed but I supposed this is the best ending that I can agree with. Because no use that they go back to that sh*t discriminating world and it is right for Ange to establish a new kingdom of harem girls for Tusk (because he is the only human male in this new world) where Norma, humans and dragons can live in peace. Let those puny ex-Mana humans learn a thing or two about survival. If they can’t adapt, then they go extinct. Simple law of evolution and survival of the fittest. Watching this series somewhat reminded me of Senki Zesshou Symphogear. Girls in tight outfits and some of them using music as part of their battle to unleash a powerful force. Furthermore, Nana Mizuki is the star of both shows so there are similarities drawn from both series. The mecha factor also reminds me of Valvrave The Liberator but personally Cross Ange feels closer to Senki Zesshou Symphogear.

Characters are great. Enough said. Despite there are a lot of main and supporting characters, some you feel may not have enough screen time (if you’re a fan of a certain character, that is), but the dynamics and relationship and interaction of the characters make it work. It is mainly Ange who steals the limelight as the most badass and changed character of the series. She is perhaps one of the main reasons why this anime rocks. Because nowadays independent, strong willed women who kick ass are definitely the in-thing today. We see her changed from a spoilt sheltered princess into a bitter, tough survivor who even has learnt to talk back with some witty lines and sarcasm! This is definitely not the same princess you knew like before. She is not perfect, though but she does learn along the way (and sometimes the hard way) what it is that is important to her. She definitely has come a long way from where she was and you could say she’s earned her place in where she is right now. If there is anybody you want to look for as inspiration whether be it business survival or something, you can look up to Ange as motivation. Despite her cold exterior initially and her less feminine ways, Ange is still very much a likeable character. She might be no angel now but I guess it is better than that God playing Embryo (or conductor or demon or whatever we want to call him).

Many of the other characters also undergo some sort of change. They start out differently and due to circumstances along the way, they change. Like Salia who is always trying her best and all she ever wanted was to be acknowledged. After so many tries, you can’t really blame her for taking the wrong path by turning to the dark side. Thank God she came back although it cost the life of an old mentor. It be nice to see her in a magical girl outfit again ;p. Then there is Hilda who started out as many would think to be the rival of Ange thanks to her b*tch attitude but halfway she becomes her ally and even admirer. You thought Chris would be the slow retard of the group, till she turned to the dark side. You thought Erscha would always be on Ange’s side. But she temporarily defected before coming back. You thought Rosalie would continue to be obsessed in getting her revenge on Zola. Then she realized being friends with those alive right now is more important. You thought Tusk was somebody whose role is to be Villkiss knight. Since when did he changed that and become Ange’s knight? Ah, I see it’s the power of love. Or maybe too many face crotch bumping. Same colour, huh? You thought Sylvia would never be able to walk again. All you need to do is scare the sh*t out of this brat and then see her run like the wind. And now she is running free like a badass survivor. See, even little girls like her can change. You thought Jill was the irreplaceable strong high commander that nobody would doubt. It took a scandal to bring her down. Sex really killed it all in her case. Haha. Oops.

You thought Emma was just a freaking useless person with huge boobs. Yes, she is still that. Haha! And there are a handful of others that don’t change like Vivian and her spunky and energetic ways even before and after the revelation that she can be turned into a dragon. After Ange, I think she has the best quips too with her straight forward lines. Salamandine never lost touch of her side of humanity despite being a dragon person. Not even losing her cool when Ange starts calling all those weird nicknames. Those dragon race bring shame upon humanity when it comes to character and personality. In fact you can say the former are being more human than the latter. Momoka too has been a loyal maid by Ange’s side ever since the start. You could say she is the only person who believed in her and stick with her through thick and thin all the way even when Ange finds her annoying. I wonder what happened to Misty. I guess she wasn’t that important of a character to the entire series and only significant for that short period.

Finally, Embryo the guy whom everybody would love to hate as we come to love and support Ange. Because nobody likes an antagonist even if he is a good looking guy to rape our favourite girl. At first he exudes this mysterious feel because not much is known about him. You wonder if he is some sort of higher being or even God himself because he seemingly cannot die and is ‘everywhere’. I feel his obsession with Ange is probably what brought a downfall to his character. Because the more he tries to force her into becoming his controlled wife, the more it seems desperate this guy is. Because it is just outright rude to not give up when a girl constantly rejects you. I know never giving up is good but not in this case. The final straw came when he starts raping Ange and the way he says things it is as though he is jealous of being beaten to be the first one to f*ck Ange. So what makes him think he can control her if he taints (I don’t think that act would be near as purifying as he claims to be) our heroine? Yeah. He’s got no style in tackling Ange like how Tusk did to let Ange have sex with him. Is the key to this ‘heaven’ the numerous face crotch accidents? And when Embryo meets his demise, we can all rejoice that he will never be coming back again.

As said, this anime uses a great number of popular seiyuus in voicing the characters. Most notably, Nana Mizuki staring as Ange. The rest (for those I recognized, that is) include Mamoru Miyano as Tusk, Yukari Tamura as Hilda, Eri Kitamura as Salia, Yui Horie as Salamandine, Yui Ogura as Chris, Kana Asumi as the high priestess, Ami Koshimizu as Erscha, Minori Chihara as Miranda and Nao Touyama as Sylvia. I thought initially Nao Touyama was behind Vivian’s voice but that turned out to be Houko Kuwashima. I know it’s not many but that is already a lot in my books. Including other veterans I should have recognized but didn’t like Megumi Hayashibara (Ange’s mother), Michiko Neya (Zola), Megumi Toyoguchi, Mai Nakahara, Akeno Watanabe and Takako Honda (Jill). It’s just sad Mamiko Noto wasn’t in :'(. This show would have been greater even if she had a small cameo part. Really. But overall, voice acting is great and they fit the characters they play well. For the rest of the cast, they include Toshihiko Seki as Embryo, Kaori Ishihara as Rosalie, Sumire Uesaka as Momoka, Mai Fuchigami as Mei, Sakiko Tamagawa as Jasmine, Yukana as Emma and Riza, Mariya Ise as Misty and Kousuke Toriumi as Julio.

Music also plays a big part of this series. When you have big names like Nana Mizuki and Yui Horie in it, you can’t expect their singing talent to go to waste. Therefore it is expected that Nana Mizuki handles the first opening theme, Kindan No Resistance which has a little Celtic feel in this rock piece. With her powerful vocals, I am pretty sure that is why this song works. She also sings the second ending theme, Shuumatsu No Love Song. Although personally I still prefer Kindan No Resistance over this slow-moderate rock piece. Well, Eri Kitamura also had a singing role in this show. The first ending theme, Rinrei is a slow rock and a beautiful piece in its own right but you can feel some sort of sadness in it. I guess when you break the singer-seiyuu combo, the song doesn’t sound so good. Because the second opening theme, Shinjitsu No Mokushiroku by Yoko Takahashi sounds so weird. I think they want to try and make it sound epic with the choir voices in the background. I think that itself is just the saving grace of the song in otherwise a weird tune and singing piece if you ask me.

There also a handful of insert songs in this series but it is mainly the Towagatari (Endless Song) and its other variations. So this is where Yui Horie is relegated to in the singing department? Kaze No Uta has this traditional oriental feel in it. Personally I prefer this version the most. Likewise, Hikari No Uta is Nana Mizuki’s solo and a bit of Celtic feel. To combine the awesomeness of both songs, that is where the El Ragna version comes in. Both singers come together and do a duet by mashing both songs together. If you hear the full version, sometimes it may feel odd because it is like both songs overlap at certain points throughout the song. You don’t know which song you are listening to but the one that I heard, Nana Mizuki’s voice seems to dominate… It could be my hardware. Or not. There is also a Hikari No Uta version sung by Embryo but personally, I think his voice doesn’t suite well with this song. Really. He shouldn’t be raping other people’s girls and he certainly shouldn’t be singing too. Really.

Art and animation is gorgeous. That includes the girls looking as hot as ever despite coming in a variety of coloured hair and hairstyles. Why not when you have a bevy of beautiful babes in tights that provides eye candy and fanservice. Otherwise, why do Norma go out in battle wearing such embarrassing outfits? I know I want to say the power is in their outfit (like my Superman theory) but think about it, would it be more comfortable to pilot the Paramail in frilly dresses. Or in a magical girl outfit? Sure, it is their casket and they may decorate it like they want to but you don’t want your laces get caught in between the controls and jamming them at crucial moments, right? So it’s a win situation for the Norma to pilot the Paramail more effectively and a win for us viewers to gawk at those delicious boobs and butts. Yeah… As for the mecha design, I’m not a huge mecha fan so they really look majestic and powerful. That’s okay with me. As for the dragons, the bigger ones look more like monster with wings. Perhaps my stereotype of what a dragon should look like gets in the way but at least they look better than the ‘dragons’ from Seiken Tsukai No World Break. If you see that show, you’ll get what I mean. CGI is also used especially for the Paramail and some of the larger dragons. Not the best but at least it is passable.

Action is also okay with lots of mecha action and power blasting effects to keep those wanting to see robot fights satisfy. It gives an excuse to see sexy ladies riding boys’ toys and fight dragons. There you have it, all in one action and fanservice. Yeah well, it goes without saying and I’ve said it for the umpteenth time that the sexiness of their outfit is a blatant excuse for fanservice reasons. Bathing scenes and especially that tantalizing sex scene between Ange and Tusk (I guess nobody wants to see any steamy sex scenes between Salia and Embryo – because nobody likes this guy). Do we hunger more for that? I wonder if that will be uncensored in the DVDs… I think it is meant to be a fanservice-cum-running-joke too because the face crotch that Tusk and Ange always end up getting into from time to time… Something tells me that this is a fanservice ‘trademark’ of the series…

I know the romance isn’t a strong point in this series but when you have action, fantasy, drama, fanservice, comedy (Ange’s sarcasm is funny) and everything else, why not put in romance as well? And so you can see how Ange turned from a non-believer into a tsundere into someone who completely puts her trust in Tusk to let him f*ck her! At least it is better than that world destroying narcissist. And don’t forget the yuri elements too. It is ironic that straight guys do not tolerate gay but accept lesbianism. I don’t know those under Zola tend to turn lesbian. There might be no men on Arzenal so where else for romance hungry women to satiate their lust? And now with Hilda totally into Ange who in turn accepts her, does this mean she is a bi? Heck, any girl pairing with Ange looks good. Salamandine, Momoka, Erscha and even Vivian… Don’t forget others like Rosalie x Chris (or is it Chris x Rosalie like she wanted?) and a big possibility that Salia’s admiration for Jill could turn into some sort of yuri relationship had she not been rejected too many times. Too bad the latter is gone now.

One of my favourite sections is the next episode preview. Basically this section is where they tremendously break the fourth wall and speak with no holds barred. It is funny because you hear the characters say things that they would never really say during the show and some of them are witty or silly enough that it really sounds funny and amusing. Like how from the first episode Ange was complaining about her unfair treatment and the lack of presence of any robots despite a bevy of beauties. Some of the memorable ones include Ange complaining the next episode reviews have always been lies and not living up to expectations and that the next episode too will not, Ange really thinking would have actually died this week and if not next week, Ange complaining nobody died in recent episodes and that the friends she makes are sure to die only for Hilda to quickly rebuke she is her friend, Salamandine complaining that when she finally made her debut she has more lines in the preview than the actual episode itself, Ange sick of doing previews with Tusk and decides to leave (like she can), Salia lamenting the kind of fate her character was being given (like being thrown into the ocean and returned as a bad guy) so Ange replies the staff hates her but Salia fires back that it could be her that they hate more, Hilda fears of losing more screen time again but Ange teases her that is what she get for calling her names in the first place and finally the final episode preview that has them making a pun of the show’s name.

Overall, this is a great show to watch and don’t let the sexiness cloud your vision. Just take the sexy parts as added bonus while you watch this impressive series. Because don’t forget it also has big robots, big epic mecha fights, music, dragons, and sex. Whoops! You can learn a lot about human behaviour and the tenacity of what it takes for one to survive. It gives us hope that even the most unlikeliest and unlikely person can still change for the better (sometimes for worse). Because nobody would have ranked a princess to be in the top 100 types of people to survive an Apocalypse. But Ange changes all that and shows it to us how it is done. It may be hard at first but the first step is always the hardest and need some getting used to. Because when humanity comes crashing down, don’t come running to Ange for help. She won’t give a sh*t about you. If you don’t take care of yourself, who else will? We are all not so lucky like her to have a good loyal maid… Or multiple face crotch incidents.

Tsukimonogatari

Yay! Finally, an adaptation of a story arc of the Monogatari series that is not focusing on one of Araragi’s harem girls! Or is it? Tsukimonogatari is focused on that peculiar doll corpse known as Yotsugi Ononoki. Despite this series coming out after Hanamonogatari, the time line is set after the events at the end of the second season of the Monogatari series. Also, from what I read (briefly), this is supposed to be the start of the final end chapters in the series. So does this mean the long story is going to end? Well, eventually like everything else it would. You wouldn’t want such stories to go on forever and forever and outliving you, right? Unless you’re that obsessed with the story… And unless the final arc is just a title and name for this particular set of stories…

Episode 1
Araragi tells and describes to us about Yotsugi. Despite looking like a cute girl, eccentric in speech and action, she is not human but a doll. Because so, is she trying to be a human? Shinobu begs to differ and gives us an example like how we learn a foreign language not to assimilate into their culture but just to communicate. For Yotsugi’s case, she was created not to be or become one but to be together with humans. She continues about the reasons oddities being in the form of animals and humans but ultimately they exist because humans exist. Like a ghost story, it must have a supernatural element. That is why ghost stories are told all around the world because there are sympathy for things other than humans. They are also told by humans and humans must be convinced by it. Araragi continues his narration that he is forced to believe in many of such oddities and stories whether he likes it or not. This leads to the talk of how things will not continue forever and there must be an end to it. That is why this story is about the beginning of the end. A story about the doll that he will soon come to understand about that.

Karen and Tsukihi are giving Araragi the abusive treatment to wake him up. Who needs alarm clocks when you have such abusive sisters. Noticing it is a day before Valentine, he wants chocolates. But they tell him to cut the crap and get his ass moving to start studying for the college entrance exams before it is too late. That lazy feeling… After Karen goes out for a run, Araragi talks to Tsukihi about if she ever wants Karen to shine because at this rate it feels she is wasting her talents. She won’t have anyone break up the bond of the Fire Sisters, not even her brother. But aren’t they going to disband anyway? She doesn’t like it when somebody else says that. Araragi goes to prepare the bath as Karen instructed but he decides to bath in it first. Tsukihi gets the same idea and she starts accusing him of being unfair. So now it is an argument to see who uses the bath first? Yeah, Tsukihi doesn’t even bat an eyelid to throw the shampoo bottle at him! Dangerous! The only solution as she suggests is to bath together. Pretty cramped and awkward, huh? Then there’s this argument about each other’s boobs and meat… I don’t even know anymore… As suggested, they should help wash each other’s hair and body. Tsukihi informs that Sengoku is out of hospital but she is surprised that he isn’t reacting in shock as she expected. Araragi felt he didn’t have the right to say anything else. Despite knowing he can never see her again, he is glad she is alright. He then narrates about how trouble will always come to this town time and time again. He is worried about needing to ensure a good balance. Tsukihi thinks he is carrying too much weight on his shoulders. It’s not like he can solve everything. He can toss stuff aside, leave it alone and know his place in the world. Live within his means. So what about his exams? That is why stop worrying about those stuffs and concentrate on this. He’ll figure something out… When Araragi looks at the mirror, he becomes shocked. Not because he could see the beautiful naked body of his little sister. But rather his mirror’s image is not showing! Like as though he has become an immortal oddity, a vampire.

Episode 2
Araragi tries to shield Tsukihi from looking at it so much so they end up in an ambiguous position. She allows him to kiss! Karen just returned from her run and is about to take a bath and sees this incest scene. Flying kick! Later Araragi summons Shinobu to tell his problem. He finds it odd he can’t see his reflection and if this means he has turned into a vampire, why isn’t his little toe that Tsukihi damage healed? Shinobu takes a look and believes he is a vampire now. The toe nail? Well, it is healing. Pretty slowly of course. But his body is definitely undergoing some change and he should ask Yotsugi about this. Or at least her master, Kagenui. But he has none of their contacts. Maybe get Kaiki for information? No way. That is a last resort. Gaen? She knows everything. He’s not really up to it. Hanekawa? She’s smart but not a specialist. Suddenly Araragi gets a creepy mail from Gaen to meet at the department store tonight. She has already made arrangements. See! She knows! Tsukihi continues to throw tantrum at Araragi for leaving her to get beaten up by Karen. She demands an apology! However Araragi wants a favour. He wants the sisters to stay at Kanbaru’s place tonight. Please don’t ask why. As he is going to ask Kagenui’s help, he must hide Tsukihi. At the department store, he sees Yotsugi inside the crane vending machine. She’s not responding. Is she a real doll? Araragi notices Shinobu’s reflection in the glass but his is absent. Probably Shinobu’s vampire trait is not strong at the moment. He plays the game to pick her out. Since he sucks, Shinobu gives him tips on how to do it. 12 tries later… That is when Yotsugi springs back to ‘life’. What took you so long, brother? He wonders why she is here by herself. On the contrary, Kagenui is right behind you. Or rather standing on Shinobu’s head!

Taking a look at his toe again, seems it is completely healed. That is because the moonlight accelerated his healing power as a vampire. Kagenui has Yotsugi ‘bite’ his toe to analyze. While at that, she has him show his hand. Then she breaks it! THAT IS FREAKING PAINFUL YOU B*TCH! Consider this a test of his healing abilities. He must concentrate and focus to heal it. He starts thinking about… Hanekawa’s boobs! How can he fondle them if his fingers are broken?! And it is healed! Yotsugi’s analyze is that Shinobu is right that he is turning into a vampire. They want Araragi to call out Shinobu because they want to hear her opinion too. It takes lots of coaxing for her to come out since she is still mad at Kagenui for stepping on her head. Despite she apologizes, it feels like she’s trying to make fun out of it. The loli vampire close to tears… Araragi has her think of it this way. She used her body to protect him from her stepping. Okay. Back to normal. So this is the final analysis: Araragi’s body is slowly turning into a vampire because each time he help solved incidents of this town, he relied on his vampire power. As a result, his soul is fundamentally and completely independent from Shinobu. It isn’t that he turned into a vampire too many times, rather he got too used to turning into one. Sengoku’s case was the biggest factor since he turned into a vampire virtually every day. So okay. What does he need to do to turn back into a human? Nothing. Because you can’t fix this.

Episode 3
Araragi seems to accept that as compensation but it is hinted there is a way to stop him from further turning into a vampire and maintain status quo: Do not use the powers ever again. Kagenui warns if he turns into a true vampire, she’ll kill him as a specialist. Shinobu responds that she will kill her since she is no longer bound by her master. Yotsugi wants him to promise her that but Araragi wonders if he can keep it because if Senjougahara and Hanekawa are dying before his eyes, he is more inclined to use it and won’t have time to think. Yotsugi wants to continue testing the rest of his body when Kagenui gets a call from Gaen. It doesn’t sound pleasant. It is the worst possible timing that brings the worst possible news. She wants him to head over to Kanbaru’s house right now and will lend Yotsugi to him. His sisters are not there now as they speak. Araragi barely survives Yotsugi’s super jump and as they head into the house, it is dark and nobody around. There is a paper crane on the floor and as Yotsugi tells him to pick it up, lots of other coloured paper cranes appear. Yotsugi knows who has done this malicious kidnapping. The clue is in the crane. It is a bird. Like a phoenix. In short, it points to Tsukihi. Meeting back with Kagenui, she reveals Tadatsuru Teori is the one responsible for the kidnapping. He is a doll master and a specialist like her who kills immortal oddities. His objective is not clear but all she can say is that he tends to act on grudges but a softie when it comes to work. Therefore there is still hope to save the girls. However she warns him he cannot use his powers in this situation nor Shinobu can turn into a vampire.

Araragi explains he wanted to seal Shinobu’s power in spring but ended up using it anyway so could this be some sort of divine punishment? Kagenui feels the timing of everything is too convenient to be that. Araragi wonders about this Tadatsuru guy if he has ideals like being an ally of justice. Kagenui laughs it off as a joke. Even if he had them, it would just be as aesthetics. Therefore he doesn’t have ideals but some sort of obsession instead. That is why in this sense his sisters are safe. Much safer than if it was her going after them. This kidnapping made him a one-sided victim and for argument’s sake, assume divine punishment exists, that would only affect him and how he is losing his humanity. The kidnapped girls are completely unrelated. Araragi seeks her help to save them and since Gaen told her to do so, she’ll go with the flow. She hints there must be a clue within those paper cranes and basically Tadatsuru’s objective is him and Shinobu. Despite Oshino considered them as harmless, this is only acknowledged to those inside Gaen’s network. It won’t matter for outsiders. Thus it is the worst possible thing to happen as now they both can’t fight. One of the paper cranes reveals a shrine location but no time. They assume it is to be settled tonight and they better do it before sunrise. Araragi’s mission now is to retrieve the girls and put them back in bed before they wake up. Kagenui tells him despite they joined up in this, it is not like they’re going to do some team play. He should go in at his own time to save them (I guess she’ll be going separately then). Araragi requests Yotsugi’s super jump again but stay low to the ground to avoid being an easy target in the air. Low but fast. It’ll be easy on his body.

Episode 4
Araragi bumps into Ougi on his way to the shrine. He wants to send her home but does he have time? Heck, even Ougi says she has no home. I’m not sure if Ougi is trying to stall Araragi because she certainly sound like she isn’t going to help him either. It feels like she is mocking him that he has to borrow the powers of a certain little girl that it is pathetic. However she notes he has matured but only maybe because he has lost many things. Continuing the journey with Yotsugi, they discuss how to get the girls back. She offers to tell him Tadatsuru’s story. Although he is not that interested, he needs to at least know the enemy so they can form a plan to save them. Things won’t be solved if we don’t know how to do it. That is why Araragi must learn how to ‘convince’ Tadatsuru. So I guess the simple plan of sneaking in and saving the girls without Tadatsuru noticing is out. Yotsugi begins by describing herself as an artificial oddity created by Kagenui, Gaen, Oshino and Tadatsuru. In the end, Kagenui got her because Yotsugi chose her. This causes a discord between Kagenui and Tadatsuru. Because despite both being specialists, they are complete opposites. Kagenui specializes in the immortal, the living oddity while Tadatsuru deals with dead oddities. Therefore a lifeless doll like Yotsugi would be his favourite. She is telling him this in case of the worst case scenario where all the hostages are killed and Kagenui doesn’t make it in time because certainly Araragi is no match for him. She believes Tadatsuru wants her. That is why Kagenui lent her to him. Suddenly Araragi flips up her skirt to admire her panties! Is this his way to get her to stop saying silly things? He believes this is not the reason she was entrusted to him. It is because she can take care of a useless guy like him. This is Araragi’s plan. He is going to be the decoy while Yotsugi goes to find the girls and then escape with them. But what about him? He has a secret plan: Grovelling. Doesn’t sound good. She warns him he will be targeted if he fully turns into a vampire. Don’t forget, Shinobu was once a vampire too. He might forgive if he offers a creature who was once an oddity but that is not going to work even if it is a one in a million chance since he is not willing to offer her, there is no way he would do it to Shinobu too. The other way as Yotsugi suggests is that she slams her power point blank at him, killing him outright. Araragi disagrees because when she starts to murder, she’ll stop being human. And now she cues to him to let go of her skirt for fear she might get sick! But Araragi might regret doing this because he never foreseen what she would do after this.

They see Tadatsuru sitting on the donation box folding lots of origami. While Yotsugi goes to search for the girls by entering the shrine from the back, Araragi goes to talk to him upfront. Araragi is surprised that he mentions about some curse was put on him and Kagenui. A curse that made them cannot walk on the ground (and thus why she was reluctant to follow them on foot). But he rather calls it compensation, a price to pay to reach for something far away without knowing their place in this world. He did the kidnappings to get rid of him. Araragi wants the girls go as they have nothing to do with this but he begs to differ. They do, especially Tsukihi. However Tadatsuru wants to know the answer to the question of why he is here. He can’t understand. Even his mission to eliminate Araragi, he doesn’t comprehend why. He mentions something about the best casting he is for Araragi. The person who is best to defeat him, that is why he is chosen for this role. Everyone including Araragi, Yotsugi and Kagenui are here because they are ‘forced to’. Even Araragi being angry that his girls are kidnapped, isn’t he ‘forced’ to be angry? Now Tadatsuru wants him to find Oshino for he is the only one who can be a fair referee to all this. Well, Araragi has looked far and wide but that dude is nowhere to be found. That is when Tadatsuru decides to end this. The donation box is now full of his origami. He warns Araragi want last time to find Oshino. If he can’t do that, he has no choice but to ‘become proper’. Araragi wonders if there is something he would like to ask straight instead of beating around the bush. All Tadatsuru ask is to do this with tenacity. Just then, Yotsugi shoots her beam point blank at Tadatsuru. Nobody could survive that. She assures Araragi not to worry because she did this on her own will. She is sure there was a way to spare him but she chose to kill him. Because she is a monster. She hopes Araragi won’t end up like he when a human’s story ends up as a monster story.

The girls are found sleeping and folded nicely inside the donation box. Kagenui arrives just to check on them and I guess she was never needed in the first place. Or is it? The girls are taken back to Kanbaru’s home and put to bed without them noticing anything. As day breaks, Yotsugi notes that since his body doesn’t disappear in the sunlight like real vampires do, he is safe for now. Araragi narrates that this incident was about him witnessing a cute doll murder a human as a monster. He goes to visit Senjougahara and that crazy girl instantly sticks a chocolate in his mouth the moment he walks in! Oh right. It’s Valentine’s Day today. Tastes good? Yes. Come in. There’s more! He seeks her opinion about not being able to see himself in the mirror. But as long she can see him, it’s fine. He is still worried about living a normal life so she mentions about Kaiki who lives his life by showing off saying things like that but never thought about. In short, she likes him the way he is even how uncool he is. Talking about Hanekawa who is still probably looking for Oshino, Araragi wants to go talk to her. But she pins him down on the ground and tells him to do it tomorrow. Has she got something steamy for Valentine’s Day planned out? When he goes home, it isn’t the fact that he sees his naked sisters changing but rather Yotsugi with them! Actually her sisters won her at the crane vending machine. It only took them 3 tries… That’s not the point! She says the objective of this incident was to make a split in their relationship. Gaen and Kagenui decided they needed to avoid it. Until this town stabilizes, Yotsugi is tasked to stick with him and possibly get closer and more intimate with him. This has got to be a joke, right? His sisters start abusing him for talking to their hard earned doll. They’re tearing him apart in their tug of war. His nosy days will continue for just a bit longer.

Living Doll…
Yay! My sentiments of what I am going to say are as close and almost similar to what I have said in my Hanamonogatari blog. From the storyline to the flow of the story and even the visuals. I might be repeating myself but then again some things are worth repeating. Are they? But anyway, the only thing that has me slightly less interested was the lack of this series focusing on Yotsugi. Now, don’t get me wrong here. Yotsugi has her due screen time in this arc but what I am saying is that I just don’t feel that this arc is about her. At least not that I can connect with. Because from where I stand, I see Araragi as the main star with Yotsugi in the supporting role despite they spam a lot of ‘fun’ and weird scenes on her. Yay?

You see, with only 4 episodes, the first episode is already ‘wasted’ by showing lots of Tsukihi fanservice just to setup the fact that Araragi can’t see himself in the mirror and thus he needs to go seek help from a specialist that will solve his problem. That is just basically what the first episode is about! Then it shifts from solving his problem effectively to saving his loved ones while they talk about things and stuff. Sure, Yotsugi is also mentioned and detailed in those ‘conversations’ but because I do not understand the entire picture of the plot, perhaps I am already lost in trying to figure and connect it all to Yotsugi and wondering if this arc has anything major to do with her. And in the end, it was just that short scene of her killing Tadatsuru to prove that she is more of a monster than a human as the turning point and climax of this series.

Everything else like I have just said, remains true and played out to the Monogatari style of storytelling. Like the visuals, I’ve never failed to mention this in every such blog of mine, they are very interesting and creative to look at and serve as a ‘distraction’ while you listen to the drama and dialogue. Sometimes they are funny and amusing enough to make you smirk like how Araragi and Kagenui were talking, Yotsugi and Shinobu were making snowmen and playing snowball fights (Yotsugi wins!). The long winded speeches about everything and some feel that they don’t matter but just to waste time (for those like yours truly who don’t understand fully about the series), you’d wonder if these are just red herrings to lead you astray or just nothing much ado about anything.

And so when it concludes, is this how Yotsugi becomes part of Araragi’s harem? Can I consider this monster doll to be part of it? Well, as long as she is staying close to him then it would probably be a big yes. But that itself is another story. Which means if they come up with more stories and even as I said at the start it could be the final stretch of the stories in this series, it will still be interesting enough for me to go watch it despite the fact that there is s chance I might not understand a lot of it. Because like everybody else who reads a story, we are interested to know how the story ends. For better or worse. Yay!

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san F

OMG! It’s finally here! Oh wait. Sort of. Just when I thought they have made a third season, instead Haiyore! Nyaruko-san F is just a single OVA episode. Oh what the heck. Better than nothing. Because it feels like a long time that I have seen this perverted Cthulu (actually it is just about a year ago). I am thinking they put the alphabet F in this title because it sounds like a certain kitchen utensil that can also sound as close to a certain profanity. Yeah… But I can guess what this OVA about. That certain Nyarlathotep is still trying to gun for that human boy she is very much infatuated with. Will she get closer or will she get pushed further away? Will he accept her or will he get one step closer in losing his sanity? Only one way to find out.

Switch On! Chaos Incoming!
FINALLY! IT HAS HAPPENED!!! Nyaruko and Mahiro are getting married! OMG! OMFG!!! After exchanging wedding vows, it is the very much awaited wedding kiss. And suddenly!!! It was all just a freaking dream!!! Nightmare for Mahiro, though. I knew it! Too good to be true! Of course the first thing he thinks is to blame Nyaruko. After all, who else could be responsible for such indecent dream but her weird inventions? He goes to confront her but I guess she and the rest are busy watching and making some sort of video that parodies Love Live. As he questions her, it seems she genuinely doesn’t know about it. This makes him harder to say what it was but Nyaruko thinks it is something horny and as usual wants to get down and dirty. As expected, jealous Kuuko and Hasuta also want a piece of him. Before Nyaruko could make her dream come true, Mahiro’s trusty fork puts things in order. Tamao and Yoichi come by to bring everybody to play a survival game attraction that is currently trending. After having their drinks while waiting to play, now it is time to pair up. Who is the lucky person who will get to be with Mahiro? Nyaruko! Oh yes! Too bad for Hasuta who had to end up with Yoichi and Kuuko with Tamao. At least Yoriko is happy to pair up with Shantakkun. So our pairs face off with weird puzzles and obstacles before reaching the exit. Mahiro and Nyaruko came out last but something seems off about them. They sound docile. Normal? Well, I suppose I might be over-thinking because nobody notices any oddities. Or maybe they’re just plain stupid.

True enough, the real Mahiro and Nyaruko are in some cave and being made to fight monsters. Whatever weapons Nyaruko takes out, it disappears. A weird block appears and explains that the space nano-machines have taken effect (it was in the drinks during the wait). In 1 hour, Nyaruko will lose all her powers and memories, leaving her body as just an empty shell. It seems the block wants Nyaruko and the other freeloader aliens to join up with her in some entertainment. Since Nyaruko disagrees, they are told to clear this mission of making it outside. Otherwise they lose. The duo start fighting the monsters but it seems Nyaruko is losing her strength and memories for real. She can’t remember who Kuuko and Hasuta are. Then she takes a hit to protect Mahiro. Oh, now he is very worried about her. How ironic since he didn’t care the least bit about her this morning. After Tamao and Yoichi leave the cakes house, the rest confront that fake Mahiro and Nyaruko. They didn’t want the duo to get involved and waited for them to leave. The imposters turn into their monster form and attack. Of course they are no match for our heroes. They head back to the attraction thinking the real Mahiro and Nyaruko are still there.

Mahiro carries Nyaruko as he tells her all the stories that they have been through. Sweet. But isn’t that going to take long? However she thinks there are no bad memories of her and feels sorry for making him go through all that sh*t. Oh, now he says he could never hate her? In the final room, the block gives them some maths quiz to answer. Seriously, I don’t even know what she is asking. With the timer counting down and Nyaruko already weakening, Mahiro panics on what to do. Then he gives up. He’ll get everyone to join her so long as she gives Nyaruko back her strength and memories. But Nyaruko doesn’t want him to do that as it will make him a criminal. This guy now thinks like her. It will be alright as long as nobody finds out! Oh wait. Isn’t that her line? Oh sh*t. She can’t remember! She promises that even if she loses her memories, she will not lose her feelings for him because she loves him very much. And for the first time ever, Mahiro is the one initiating the kiss! Not because he is reluctant or anything but his true blue feelings has him kiss her! The second time, they are freed from this place. The others find them lying in an empty lot.

It seems the culprit behind this is no other than Atoko. She is satisfied with what she has seen and will wait some more for them to ripen. In the aftermath, Mahiro and Nyaruko have no recollection on what happened on that day. I guess it is both a good and bad thing. The attraction establishment has also disappeared. In class, Mahiro receives a strange note from Atoko about the space nano-machines that were infecting Nyaruko were destroyed thanks to the anti-space vaccine inside his body. That joining up thingy was just a joke. Although Mahiro cannot understand what this is all about, the rest do understand or rather misinterpret that Mahiro has injected his bodily fluids inside Nyaruko! Big misunderstanding time! Now everybody wants him to inject his fluids into them. But the most shocking ender to it all is how Nyaruko steals a kiss on Mahiro’s lips!

All Forked Up!
It was enjoyable. It didn’t disappoint. It was freaking fun! Maybe that is one of the good things when you have just a single OVA. But now I want more! Looks like I will have to wait. Just like if Nyaruko would get Mahiro to love her back genuinely. Well, 2 major things that made this OVA likable. Firstly, the romantic scenes between Mahiro and Nyaruko. So it takes something that put Nyaruko in great danger only to make Mahiro return Nyaruko’s love? So it proves that this guy doesn’t actually hate her. All the while we’ve seen him being annoyed only because Nyaruko herself is being annoying as a pestering pervert. So had she been gentler like what we saw, Mahiro may have opened up more for her. But that won’t be the fun Nyaruko we all know anymore, right? This is not the first time seeing such genuine romantic feelings between Mahiro and Nyaruko. In the past seasons there are such scenes but with this one, it serves to remind and reinforce us (and give us hope) that one day we will see that wedding dream that we saw at the start.

Secondly, the first real appearance of Atoko. For those who have been watching this series ever since it made its ONA debut many years ago, you would remember that when the ONA adapted into the series, it dropped a couple of characters. Atoko was one of them and despite I remember she was only being mentioned in name in the second season, it was such a delight to see her making her first appearance here. Man, I think she looks gorgeous in her bishoujo form especially in that black kimono. Hopefully we could see more of her and the other characters if there is ever another season or OVAs.

The opening theme, Haiyore Once Nyagain and the ending theme, Kitto Engage are super fun to listen to and it doesn’t lose its trademark wacky liveliness and exuberance. Although throughout the seasons, most of the songs sound ‘one kind’ and have that similar feel, but I don’t think they are overall that bad. Overall, this OVA did a good job in reinforcing my love for the Nyaruko series. No, not to the point that I would want to desperately marry her! As long as Nyaruko and the gang do not change much, I am sure that love of mine won’t too. Because if they do, I will be whipping out my forks and start stabbing, if they know what is good for them!

Seiken Tsukai No World Break

I thought there was some sort of sequel or spin-off to Seirei Tsukai No Blade Dance thanks to the suspiciously similar title. Ah heck, there are a few similarities in Seiken Tsukai No World Blade with that said series including Infinite Stratos. Are they running out of ideas for harem animes these days? Using magic and multinational characters seem all too familiar. They just add past lives reincarnation to the mix and call it something new. Can’t they come up with something more creative these days? It is because otakus like me continue to keep watching the same ol’ stuffs seasons in and season out, why change the formula when it is working so well? Yeah, people like me are dumb enough to come back and watch the same stuffs every time. So long they have fanservice and cat fights, they could keep simpletons like me happy. Just saying…

Episode 1
It begins with an epic magic fight. Saviours fighting some epic dragon and an epic hero writing a freaking long air spell that vanquishes it. Truly epic (read sarcasm, please). We go back 6 months in time and we see new kids enrol into this special magic school, Akane Academy. Moroha Haimura falls asleep during the entrance ceremony and dreams as himself the knight with his princess. Enemies came, burn down everything. But do you believe how he slashed through the entire formation like a hot knife through butter?! He is awakened by Satsuki Ranjou who heads butt him. Hey, she looks like his princess, Sarasha. She starts crying tears of joy and hugs this brother whom she believes is Flaga. He dismisses he is that person as he has no recollection of his past life. Maybe another head butt to jog his memory? It is cut shot when Shizuno Urushibara kisses him! Heck, she even asks for his feedback on it. Cat fight! Wow. So many things already happening in the first half of the first episode. And now you have Satsuki turning into a typical jealous little sister. In class, Satsuki becomes enthusiastic in introducing herself but the class ticks her off for trying to be an eager beaver. What the f*ck is wrong with these people?! Satsuki is harbouring high hopes in impressing Moroha so that he could praise her. As the teacher teaches them to use Plana (magic), Satsuki impresses everyone on how easily she could use and control them. One delinquent, Gen Isurugi seems to be badmouthing the Saviours so Satsuki goes to tell her off. He challenges her to a fight. She lost. As he lets her go pick up her sword, he slashes the back of her clothes. You fiend! Ooh… Sexy back. He continues mocking her and goes on a laughing streak. Yeah, that wuss teacher couldn’t even do anything.

Moroha tries to cheer her up at the fast food joint. She explains how her town was often attacked by Metaphysicals and had to move and thus she couldn’t make many friends. She had dreams of Sarasha and Flaga and went to take the test. Upon finding out she is a Saviour, she enrolled here and thought she might meet her brother. Saving the world and all that justice crap is just secondary. She starts crying and wants to scold him but I guess all that turns into anger when Shizuno starts eating her fries and smothering Moroha in her boobs. What is this about teasing Satsuki about her un-womanly body? When Satsuki has the chance to plant Moroha’s face into her boobs, I am sure Moroha is suffocating and in pain rather than not anything. Okay, she does have smaller boobs compared to Shizuno, right? Moroha wants Gen to apologize to Satsuki so the latter challenges him to a match and will only do so if he can hit him once. You know what they say about being cocky, right? Well, Moroha is not doing so well. Even raging after Gen mocks Satsuki broke his sword. At least we know this method isn’t working. But still he fights back albeit with his broken sword. Hmm… Not doing too well either. So this is the power of words especially from a little sister that gets you powered up. If telling him he is the powerful guardian of a holy sword isn’t enough, she’ll kiss him if he wins! Wow! That desperate? But it works! Because Moroha suddenly remembers his memories, powers up and moves faster than a speeding bullet for that slow ass jerk to see. Upon contact of their weapons, Gen collapses. This means Moroha wins, right? What did he do? Dunno. He also collapses. As explained by the principal, Mari Shimon, that might be the Ancient Dragon who is supposed to be a war dead spirit from long ago.

Episode 2
Moroha you lucky bastard! You get a wake up kiss from this loli, Maya! So this is a way to replenish his energy as explained by Mari? Yeah, and I’m sure not interested about her explanation about reincarnations, Saviours, Ancient Dragon and the double reincarnation that he is. Because let me see more cat fight between Satsuki and Shizuno! Horny Satsuki wants to kiss but is too shy to go about it so Shizuno shows it how it is done! Two kisses already before 5 minutes into this episode?! Suddenly this hot guy that every girl would love to die for pops up to seek Moroha and Shizuno’s attention. He is Jin Isurugi and the elder brother of that jerk. He apologizes on behalf and since he has observed Moroha’s fighting skills, he is no doubt Rank C and can join his Strikers group that fights Metaphysicals. Of course this means his scholarship is subsidized but on the downside, he has to go on missions that would put his life at risk. The temptation of money is too great for him to resist. Shizuno will be on reserve. Eavesdropping Satsuki wants to join too but Jin is unsure about her. Sorry, girl. It’s too soon to say. Sad… Moroha and Shizuno sit in and are introduced to the rest of Strikers. Apart from that embarrassing line they have to say, “We are the Saviours!”, everything else is okay. After practice, Satsuki is glad to be with Moroha again but Shizuno tells her they’re tired and this will be the routine for the rest of the days. Satsuki the sad girl again. Moroha didn’t like how Shizuno treats her although he knows she too pretty much is looking out for her. He also notes that if she wants to make him happy, try smiling herself. Moroha joins up with Satsuki who is now a happy girl.

Next day, Satsuki calls Shizuno to accompany her out. This isn’t a date. Rather, Satsuki wants to get something for Moroha as congratulatory present for joining Strikers but doesn’t know what to get. So as they look around, suddenly some snake Metaphysical attacks. Of all days… Satsuki is scared sh*t but summons her courage to fight it after thinking Moroha wouldn’t want a cowardly sister like her. Shizuno supports her and they go all out once the entire area is evacuated. Shizuno saves Satsuki and in return gets semi-petrified. Getting scared goes up another notch because this Metaphysical is some sort of Hydra with multiple heads! You’re so screwed! Meanwhile Moroha couldn’t believe Jin and his Strikers are sitting around doing nothing. Jin says this is an extraordinary Metaphysical that needs an entire army or else they will die. So? You’re going to let 2 cuties die? What is the point of being Japan’s greatest Saviours if you can’t rescue 2 girls?! Oh, screw it! Moroha is going to do it himself. Better hurry. Because this Metaphysical seems to have tentacle rape fetish and Satsuki is seconds before being tainted. Thankfully, heroes always enter the right time. As he fights, Shizuno reminds him to use his other power. Conveniently he remembers and starts air writing those spells to kill it. So powerful that the entire complex is destroyed and it is raining Metaphysical heads! In the aftermath, Satsuki gets a shocking surprise that Jin invites him to join Strikers because he is impressed with her bravery. They need more people like her. You don’t say… She is so happy that Shizuno’ sarcasm couldn’t get through.

Episode 3
Satsuki is no pleased that the report puts the 3 of them as the heroes of the incident because she believes Moroha should take all the credit. Then, this English guy, Edward Lampard starts waltzing in and ordering his whatever English tea like a boss and this doesn’t sit well with Satsuki too. So what’s her problem? She lets him try some natto flavour tea but he doesn’t really quite like it. A blasphemy! Moroha could suddenly feel time stopped. Or rather Edward is moving too fast. Edward lets loose a punch but stops short of hitting his face. This was just a test. He feels disappointed and then leaves. Shizuno explains he is the head for England’s headquarters. Like the other powerhouse countries, he is probably here to check out Moroha in person. Satsuki may not like that guy but is happy this will increase Moroha’s reputation to S Rank but Shizuno says once he becomes that rank, he will no longer have freedom. Example: You even need permission to take a walk! Later they bump into Maya and the girls are not impressed this loli stole a kiss from their beloved Moroha. Shizuno knows Maya as Mari’s little sister because her brother is the director of this school. In a practice class, Moroha is put to a test to battle this joker, Kamekichi Mannendo. Kamekichi’s fire power has no effect on him and Moroha returns the favour many times fold. Too late to plead for forgiveness! Later, Maya talks to Moroha alone about Shizuno’s brother who is using her sister as a tool. The reason he has been training and pushing her to become an executive is so he can become even greater. But she is glad ever since Shizuno met Moroha, she is happier.

Shizuno doesn’t fancy being in this ‘boring’ meeting between her brother and Edward. She would prefer much to watch Moroha sleeping. Then some flashback of their past lives. She is some witch in the icy castle of her master, Shu Saura (Moroha?). He wakes up groping her boobs by accident and so she dares him to kiss her. It’s like Satsuki has this somebody-is-going-to-kiss-my-onii-san sensor and pops up to tick her off. Later Moroha is being invited by Shizuno’s brother to have dinner. He starts mentioning about the condition to become S Rank (defeating a super Metaphysical on his own) and despite Moroha insists the 3 of them defeated it, big brother believes he can still attain that rank if the other 2 certify to it. He can be the second highest rank in Japan and what better way to repay his uncle and aunt. Shizuno is not pleased he is trying to force this on Shizuno but he tells her this is family’s decision. Isn’t she family? And a little later, we have a little romantic screen time between Moroha and Shizuno as well as snippets of flashbacks that are too early to say anything. After Moroha is dropped off on his way back, he knows somebody is tailing him and calls out. Mysterious biker lady quickly attacks him. I guess what is more upsetting and making him power up and fight back is how she destroyed his bag full of high quality food. Wasted! He figures out the attacker is a woman from those soft boobs. Now you know why big boobs are always in the way in such fights? Moroha’s power was enough to rip certain parts of her suit and thus the end of the match. Can’t fight with her underboobs and tummy exposed? Maybe next time.

Episode 4
Edward calls Shizuno’s brother to inform him that he was the one who sent his maid, Angela Johnson to attack Moroha as a test. He is disappointed of the outcome although there is this huge wound blemish on Angela’s thigh. Damn it is damn right. Shizuno is shocked that big bother says she is have to study abroad in England. She really doesn’t want to but guess what? Family’s decision. Maya becomes Moroha’s roommate and starts living with him as instructed by Mari. Is this even legal?! I wonder what Satsuki has to say about it. Nothing good of course. She even tried to apply to live with him but was turned down. So she is giving him permission to cheat on her for now? WTF. Shizuno has been absent from school today. Maya rushes in to give in the bad news. Shizuno’s family is having dinner with Edward in talks about her transfer to England. Moroha calls Shizuno (under the guise it is a call from Mari) and wants to hear it from herself if she really wants to go. Of course not. He can tell she is reluctant but does not have the power to voice her stand. So this guy breaks into the mansion (poor expensive window got destroyed), says the taboo word that he defeated the Metaphysical himself to claim he is S Rank material and then whisk Shizuno away (she’s literally crying and getting freaking emotional. It’s a sign she wants to be free, right?). Isn’t this kidnapping? Oh hell yeah, Maya is driving the getaway sports car. THIS LOLI CAN DRIVE???!!! Since Big brother is desperate he gives Edward all the necessary permission to bring them back. And so Edward and Angela caught up. Moroha suggests if he defeats him, Shizuno will remain here. A challenge? Challenge accepted.

While Satsuki and Shizuno handle Angela, the guys duke it out in a power battle that literally changes the shape of the environment! Holy sh*t! Did they just destroy a mountain with that move?! At first Moroha is on a losing streak but when Maya puts some field barrier, Moroha has the confidence to go all out. So he wasn’t serious? He starts chanting his spell that even breaks Edward’s sword but he has got a backup. This time he summons some badass sword and armour. Conveniently, Moroha was thinking about Shizuno and then he starts to remember everything about that past life with her. It makes him able to chant some forbidden spell that causes everything to freeze over! Holy sh*t! Plants and wildlife turned into ice! Did he just kill everything?! And Edward is so freaking impressed with this sh*t that he literally takes it all! In the aftermath, Moroha reveals he didn’t win but just merely freeze Edward. Speaking of him, he personally comes to see Moroha to admit his defeat and also cancel arrangements for Shizuno’s overseas study. Yup, she’s staying. He wants to know why Moroha didn’t dodge his punch then. It is because he didn’t feel his killing intent. Can he? You’re supposed to if you’re looking at your opponent’s Plana. Edward finds that unbelievable. Later Moroha talks to Shizuno to confirm her past life was that witch of the Netherworld. She wants him to remember her properly. Flashback shows he freed her from her chains and in return, she followed him and told him he has the responsibility to chain her down. Since he is doing that in the past and present, this is his atonement for her.

Episode 5
Summer vacation is here and Strikers are going to have a small camp on a small island. Suddenly! Strikers’ vice captain, Tokiko Kanzaki starts squeezing Moroha’s balls!!! WTF?????!!!!!!!! She wants him to come along to buy a sexy swimsuit for her! I didn’t know there was another love rival in the harem. This means our girls are also in the action of getting their swimsuit. Shizuno’s brother has hired all the best designers and stylists for her sister to get a swimsuit that will seduce Moroha. Moroha happened to be at the swimsuit shop and even suggests a bikini on fellow Strikers, Haruka “Momo” Momochi. Since when did she ask for his opinion? Might as well. After being transported to the island, Satsuki is already losing her top and shamelessly flaunting her mini boobs. The girls get suspicious when Moroha seems to know what bikini brand Momo bought. Spill the details! Then suddenly! Moroha’s got his balls squeezed again by Kanzaki as frustration for being banned wearing her sexy swimsuit. Satsuki challenges Momo and thinks she is confident in beating her just because her boobs are slightly bigger than hers. Obviously no matter how many times, Satsuki cannot outrun Momo. Edward calls Moroha to update him that he wanted to nominate him as an S Rank candidate but some Russian dude is strongly against it. Maya warns about this guy because he is a scary person.

Satsuki is desperate to beat Momo so she asks for Moroha to personally train her. They talk about their past lives and he wants her to give up her challenge on Momo since speed is her forte. Satsuki had to bring up details that we guys don’t care because Moroha is always partnered with Momo in practice. Well, nobody else could match her speed. Duh. Because she still wants to be with him, blah, blah, blah, he agrees to train her. There, happy? For the rest of the days, Strikers practice hard and have fun hard. I think highlights that are interesting are all about Kanzaki. Like how she tried to sneak into Moroha’s room every night (only Jin can put her in her place) and during BBQ, she stuck a corn and a stick in his ass!!!!!!!!! OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is not ashamed to be lewd with him and even talk dirty about meaty asses and all that. Satsuki continues to train under Moroha’s supervision and let’s say she’s got a lot of catching up to do. A lot. Satsuki thought she felt something ominous over the sea. Maybe it’s just a cold breeze. Everyone plays fireworks. Maya explains how she was confused when she first saw her past life and was unsure which was to real her. Mari assured her she is still the same person then and now because they’re the same soul. And lastly, don’t try this at home kids. Satsuki firing fireworks into Kamekichi’s beautiful (as he claims) ass! Shizuno fans will be pleased that after being sidelined for this episode, here she pops up before Moroha in a gorgeous yukata. Yeah, some romantic moments. Enjoy while it lasts because something nasty is approaching via the sea.

Episode 6
Edward and the rest of the powerhouse country heads are discussing about Moroha’s ascension to S Rank. Some are not in favour. Suddenly a Metaphysical pops out on the coast of a particular island in Japan. Those not in favour of seeing Moroha as S Rank are giving excuse to use this as proof if he can take this one out by himself. As the island’s people are being evacuated, Strikers are also ordered to leave with the people. Guess what? Moroha and his girls want to play hero. In fact, the rest of Strikers also want to play hero. So they’re staying to slay the beast, huh? Jin lays out the plan and of course Moroha as the strongest hero is their trump card. I don’t know if this is part of the plan or not but that joker Kamekichi is using his fireworks to attack it! WTF?! It doesn’t work of course. Nothing how freaking huge and scary this Metaphysical is, some of them get scared, balls shrink and want to escape. Guess what? Kanzaki won’t allow them and squeeze their balls! Yeah, better to die facing that thing than get your nuts squished. This Metaphysical is going to be a handful since it can unleash lots of equally ugly bugs residing in it. Since the big monster is attracted to noise, they start blasting rock music and get into the action (and excuse to hear this generic hard rock music in the background). The monster pops up lots of creepy faces on its back and those faces start howling ultra sonic waves that give our heroes a big headache and thus weakening them. Satsuki goes berserk thinking she can play hero by protecting everyone. I guess all that running stamina training paid off. So far so good… Oh shoot, that’s far as she can go. Ah well, good job then. I’m not sure about Moroha’s plan because this time I don’t know what past he remembers now as he cuts some long line across the Metaphysical’s back and then sticking his sword in it with some whatever power to explode it and save the day. So you think he is qualified to be S Rank now? Russian babe and French dictator not happy… Now that this battle is over and the wounded are being healed, it is time for another battle for Moroha: A harem battle! He is caught in between the boobs of squabbling Satsuki and Shizuno. Kanzaki also butts in. So she’s trying boobs smothering on him instead of balls squeezing this time? The Russian head, Vasilisa Yuryevna Mostvaya sends her subordinate to take out Moroha. Do whatever it takes. Got it?

Episode 7
It’s no joke! Moroha got a love letter from Elena “Lesya” Arshavina to meet and she has fallen in love with him at first sight! For real?! Yes indeed. He rejects her. She falls into depression and wants to die! Oh sh*t! Can’t have cute girls die. So how? How about starting off as friends? Unsurprisingly she gets transferred into Moroha’s class and Shizuno wastes no time to ask her if she is here to abduct or assassinate. Here’s your answer: Lesya’s goal is to be in a relationship with Moroha. Right out from her mouth. Guess who is going to object to this. Satsuki should keep her mouth shut since she is easily flattered by Lesya’s flattery. So our girls are in a tense showdown. It puts Moroha in a pinch. The class is amazed. The teacher can’t start the class… We take a little detour seeing fellow Strikers Uisuke Taketsuru and Sophie Mertesacker in practice. Highlights of the match include how she could deflect his sword with her boobs (WTF?!) and some trap he put that ends up all her clothes being shredded to pieces. Kanzaki… No balls to squeeze? Don’t worry. Grope boobs! Somebody send her to the mental facility! Lesya waits for Moroha outside the school girls. His harem girls go into defensive mode that obviously reads “I-won’t-let-you-have-him”. Lesya doesn’t give a sh*t and boldly requests Moroha to go on a date with her! And so she turns up in a maid cat girl outfit. She got embarrassed when he pointed out the weirdness and felt like dying! Don’t do it! This normal guy with a pretty silver haired babe? Really turning heads… Lesya is surprised that he is not suspicious of her being an assassin. Not the slightest bit. This makes her note he resembles someone she met long ago: Edward! That cringing feeling in his stomach…

Shizuno calls Angela (I didn’t know they were such “good friends”) to get more information about Lesya. Seems she once tried to assassinate Edward and thus is known as a man eater. Moroha has to stave off Lesya’s weird actions. Misinterpretation of the Japanese culture is always the best excuse to do such things, right? Like wanting a kiss while taking photos and sitting on his lap while watching a movie in the cinema. A little bit of serious drama when they start talking about family. Moroha reveals his parents died when he was young but has his uncle and aunt as family. Lesya’s only family is her little brother. They hope they could meet each other’s family. If you have been suspecting Lesya putting up a play all along, then your suspicions are now true because back home, she is reporting to this crow familiar, Condrat that it is part of Lesya’s mission to seduce him to let his guard down. They will take advantage of his weakness which is family. If she is done with her mission, she will get to see her little brother. Lesya then gets a love letter… Not. More like a challenge letter from Shizuno. She knows who she is. From being the trump card of the Lightning Emperor and a Saviour who kills Saviours. Anyhow, she won’t allow her to be near Moroha. Shizuno is more powerful than her so Lesya is forced to use her secret move that seals her victory. Lesya warns not to get in between her and Moroha but what if she refuses? She’ll scar her face so deep that she can’t show herself to him. Shizuno dares her. Because Moroha isn’t one who would hate her just because she has a scar. Shocking? But true if you think about it. Lesya runs away when the teacher arrives to break up the fight.

Episode 8
It is learnt that Shizuno is having a home curfew so Moroha pays her a visit. He didn’t like how she injured herself to find out Lesya is a man eater. That wouldn’t be good for his harem, right? Condrat (now in cat form) warns Lesya about her mission failure. Moroha lives, her brother dies. Shortly, Moroha and Satsuki pay her a visit and that guy is freaking kind enough to say he’ll take responsibility to look after her! Though, Satsuki won’t let him feed her. Heck, this guy even sleeps by her side holding her hand! Is he that desperate to add her to his harem? Because Maya also cheekily hints about it. Uh huh. Maya considers herself his future harem personnel! With everyone so kind to her, Lesya notes her mission is going to fail so she requests Moroha to take her out on a date next time. At the park, she transforms into her assassin version and starts attacking. Shizuno tells Satsuki about Lesya’s true identity and they want to go stop her but Sophie gets in the way. Under orders from her American branch, they want Moroha to defeat the Russian assassin. Satsuki fights Sophie to let Shizuno through. All that training paid off with Satsuki besting her despite Sophie’s overflowing Plana. Her reward? Face boobs! Moroha might be struggling against Lesya’s demon sword at first, but the more he remembers about his past, he gets into the groove and easily turns the tables. He knows about her predicament and even wants to help save her brother so she can be free. He understands what she is going through just like him. So this guy is going to play hero so he can add her to his harem? When Shizuno arrives, she reveals she information she got that Lesya never had a biological brother. She was abandoned all alone. Proof? Can she remember his name, face or age? Can’t right? WTF?! She never thought of it all this while?! Can’t blame her. Condrat introduces himself and admits that is true. Those memories were just fake illusions he planted. This causes Lesya to break down and be easily mind controlled by Condrat to fight Moroha. Can’t kill her, right? Of course as the hero, he powers up and cuts off Condrat’s control to free her. Now I believe he is desperate to add her to his harem because he tells her he will be her reason to live. He will be her family. Even the toughest and coldest of girls would give in to that. Next day, Moroha anticipates she is going to leave so he casts a sleeping spell on her. I swear he wants her part of his harem… Guess what? He purposely calls Edward to inform he is declaring war on Russia and going to fight them alone! WOAH!!!! It’s like saying, you mess with his girl, you pay!!!! Don’t play-play man!!! This guy is a lady killer!

Episode 9
Moroha faces off with Bernard, the head of the Vladivostok’s branch and defeats him. As he interrogates, he knows he won’t let him know Vasilisa’s location and lets him live so he can inform others. This will have Vasilisa make her move, right? Moroha says he doesn’t want to kill on this war but he didn’t say about hurting others because he stabs his sword into Bernard’s guts! He’s serious. Moroha is not alone in this journey but Angela is travelling with him as well. Her fake passport and visa allowed him to enter Russia and she was ordered by Edward to accompany him, something she isn’t very happy about. Bernard reports her lost to Vasilisa and she wants him dead for failure. But after saying Moroha can’t kill him with his sword, she gives him an honourable death by striking him with her lightning. Yeah. Look at his happy face. But does she need to burn down his entire mansion too? Oh heck, nobody cares. Despite knowing Moroha is on a fighting spree, Vasilisa wants her closest aides to reinforce defences around her base in Krasnoyarsk as she knows the other heads won’t be enough to defeat him. Meanwhile we take a side distraction back to Akane Academy where Moroha’s left-behind-harem-girls are arguing over something. I think we all know who by know. Yeah. Lesya wants to be Moroha’s little sister but Satsuki won’t allow that. She doesn’t even want to be his elder sister! Shizuno tells them to cut this crap since Moroha is fighting the war alone and imagine his foul mood if he comes back to see them like this. But they just won’t listen. And so we see snippets of Moroha going from branch to branch defeating their heads. It feels like a video game mode. Arrive at a place, defeat everybody plus boss, go to next down via train, rinse and repeat. So finally he is at Krasnoyarsk and he doesn’t waste time into fighting the 8 pursuers. One of them, Kirsan Romanovich Pavlyuchenko wants him to go back to Japan peacefully because all those who fight him will end up dead (Moroha being framed?). He doesn’t want to fight him but her empress’ words are absolute. Unfortunately he needs to slay him as long as he is here. Bring it on. We see Moroha such a gentleman even fighting his foes. Uh huh. He saves a couple of twins even from friendly fire and one by one knocks the rest out. He notices Katya Eskevna Honda not giving her all and knows she doesn’t want to fight him. Let me guess. Want to add her to the harem list too? Yeah, a light flick on the head just to pretend she got defeated. WTF. After defeating the magnificent seven, Moroha finds Angela losing her battle with the eighth warrior. Can’t stand being his bellboy? He saves her from a Vasilisa’s trap (chanting via mirror on his back) and gets struck by her lightning. Painful…

Episode 10
Suddenly! Moroha naked in bed with equally naked Angela???!!! What happened?! Apparently she saved him after that strike and the only way to heal his badly burnt body was through sexual healing. I know it’s not but there’s no other better way to put it. But doesn’t Angela hate this guy? Don’t tell me she is so Edward starved that she’s using him as substitute. But then again, I would like to think that she’s being tsundere. They are in Katya’s home and she has a request of him: Save her best friend Yuli Olegovich Jilkov from Vasilisa. Because he doesn’t kill his enemies, she figured he is the best person to grant her wish. She explains Saviours of Vasilisa have no family as no one will complain if they are poorly treated. She makes kids fight each other and the winner becomes her bodyguard. After Vasilisa disposes another henchman for failure, she senses Moroha quite a distance before her palace. She sets off lightning lions and Pterodactyls to fight him. When he is able to fight them all, this is her bodyguard’s logic: This isn’t sorcery but military art. Oh yeah. Somebody moving faster than lightning. That is really science alright. Vasilisa summons her Saviours to fight him and since they too are being taken down by the lightning beasts, Moroha has double job in saving them. She is taking advantage of his principle not to kill.

Before he is minced meat, Angela pops up. She also brought reinforcements in the form of his harem girls. Praise the convenient portal transportation. I guess after sitting out in the last episode, it’s time to give his harem some action. Katya is sad Yuli doesn’t recognize her. But after Lesya explains how she is no longer a man eater due to her loss to Moroha, she cuts a pendant controlling Katya and her mind is now free. She remembers Katya. Big joke. I suppose the rest aren’t wearing any pendants, they agree to fight with our heroes against Vasilisa. Biggest joke. So what is that big bad queen going to do? Call the government! Even bigger joke! WTF?! However she starts singing and summons some big badass demon. So big you can only see his legs. So powerful that it could destroy the mountain range! Even during this dangerous scenario, Katya and Yuli can be so happily yuri to reunite. WTF. As usual, the demon is unbeatable till Moroha remembers something. God damn it. Stop conveniently remember things to power up! And guess what? He activates some super high level forbidden curse spell to flood the entire place! Don’t you get it?! WATER AND ELECTRICITY???!!!! HOW IS EVERYONE STILL FREAKING ALIVE???!!! Even funnier how Moroha summons water dicks sprouts to seemingly tentacle rape the demon to destroy the giant golden Pikachu! If you’re not laughing by now, you should after this scene. Because as Vasilisa couldn’t believe her defeat, her bodyguards run away! So much about loyalty. They even say they are more afraid of Moroha than her!!! USELESS!!! After her final trump card surprise attack fails on him, she becomes a coward begging her life. Please don’t kill me. Don’t want to die. Don’t want to lose her empire. Freaking b*tch. You killed people mercilessly for failure and now you have got the balls guts to ask him to spare his life and will even serve under him???!!! NO FACE! He doesn’t want b*tches like you in his harem. I know Moroha is mad but I can’t stop laughing myself. He tells her off if she doesn’t want to lose important things, STOP TAKING THEM!!! With her totally defeated, everybody gets to go home happy. And Moroha won big because he added a couple of girls into his harem. See, the good guys always get the girls in the end!

Episode 11
It’s time for some fanservice flirting with Moroha and the girls in Finnish style sauna. I don’t know why Angela is blaming Moroha for changing Russia’s landscape but the girls are interested to hear how Moroha ended up in bed with Angela but it soon descends into a fight between Satsuki and Lesya to be Moroha’s little sister. So this isn’t settled yet? Looks like after all that mini challenges, Satsuki beats her in arm wrestling. So she has the right? Shizuno cools them down with her ice magic and now they’re just freezing. Later Moroha talks to Shizuno and something about their past life he can’t remember some unfamiliar enemy he is fighting. Don’t worry, he’ll do when the time calls for it. As everyone returns home via Mari’s portal, Maya is so happy and ready to hug Moroha but only the girls came through. Why? A Metaphysical was spotted so he stayed back with the Russian girls to fight it. NOOO!!! Maya anxiously waited for him to come back and now she couldn’t even get to hug him and must wait longer?! YOU JUST MADE A SAD LOLI! MAYA IS CRYING!!! Oh well, the best Satsuki can do is console her. Edward is by the side of Japan’s head, Ando Suruga and his condition is worsening. Normally when a Metaphysical shows up, he has chest pains but now he is in coma. He has a bad feeling something ominous could turn up this time. True enough, when Ando wakes up, he warns not an ordinary Metaphysical is coming but an Ancient Dragon! To help cheer Maya up, all the girls visit her room. Pyjamas party? It wouldn’t be complete without snacks and of course, PILLOW FIGHT! When the cat is away, the mouse is out to play. Seems the Ancient Dragon picked a nice time to attack the academy and its surrounding when Moroha is not around. So our Strikers go into action to protect the place but you can guess that without Moroha as the hero, they’re just not winning this fight. It has got to be him, huh? Even worse how he is able to dispel all their spells in high speed and can even use them! You’re so screwed. Where’s Moroha when you need him?! He is still in Russia and after seeing clips of it on video, he becomes frustrated. Yeah, he now remembers. That Ancient Dragon has always been the one appearing in his past lives and destroying and taking things he holds dear away. Now it’s back again. Yeah, it’s about high time to screw up his life when he is settling to his harem life.

Episode 12
Lots of people got injured in the chaos. This includes Mari. Because she took damn long to finish her chanting. And because of that, she has to pass this duty on too Maya. WTF?! You’re making a loli finish what you couldn’t?! Maya does her best and thanks to Edward protecting her, she can chant in peace. Everyone notices the dragon toying with them because it has so much powers, it can actually finish them off at one go but it’s like stalling and waiting for somebody. Ah, Moroha. The dragon wants to screw with him. Ultimate despair comes when it turns Satsuki and Shizuno into stone. Moroha goes berserk and starts slashing the dragon. Edward says this Pandora Box is dangerous because at this rate he’ll also destroy the world. Oh yeah. To hell with the world if his harem is no more. This is how dangerous being in rage is. While he is at it, Satsuki and Shizuno are being confronted by the voices of their former lives. They’re telling them how pathetic they are and why they need to stand back up. For Moroha of course. Uh huh. Now they remember. So when they reappear back in the real world again, this calms Moroha down. Yeah, it’s his turn to remember. But this time he becomes a hybrid of both his past lives. Wow. What kind of fusion is this?! I suppose it gives him more kickass power. This gives the rest of Strikers and whoever is attacking confidence to provide attacking support. We know their attacks won’t do much damage to the dragon but it’s just like appetizer before the main course and dessert. Because after Moroha has chant his super lines, with Satsuki and Shizuno’s support, he strikes his freaking big sword to destroy the dragon once and for all. Oh sh*t! I thought the atomic style explosion would have killed everybody! In the aftermath as they see Edward off at the airport, he warns Moroha about that French dude. Next antagonist? Satsuki thought she could steal a kiss from Moroha but apparently Shizuno’s insults were enough to annoy her. And then later Shizuno tries to do one on him too but Satsuki came running back and they both kiss him simultaneously on his cheek. Guess what? The shock made him tumble a few feet back!!!!!!! WTF????!!!! Is this Jack tumbling down the hill???!!! Despite the school destroyed, as long as the students are safe, they can hold an outdoor party. Oh f*ck, Kanzaki wants a drunken orgy!!! With Lesya as a maid trying to greet Moroha, the battle to hug him intensifies but Maya beats them all and hugs him first. There’s your loli reward.

Aria Of Curse For A Holy Harem And Balls Grab!
Okay, so the laughing has ended. Even if the series wasn’t intended to be one, but the way it was executed felt like it was heading in that direction. I don’t know where to begin but I guess I have to start somewhere. It was a good thing I never placed high hopes for this anime otherwise I would have become disappointed and fall into despair that I may actually destroy the world with my anguish. Really.

A lot of things (in fact it could be everything) about this series feels mediocre and sometimes it goes as far as being a big joke. The plot, the characters, the fights and just about everything else feels mediocre (and in a way funny). The Russian adventure was the last straw that made me view this show as a joke. Because we see Moroha pulling off some kind of Die Hard or Taken quest in systematically taking out the sector heads, inching closer to the bad guy’s base. Even if Vasilisa is expecting this, it feels like the rest are just sitting there waiting for their turn to get owned. The final big fight with Vasilisa became biggest joke ever even if it wasn’t meant to be. It was so unbelievable the fighting and the ‘ending’ that I actually caught myself laughing out so loud. And this merciless Russian head got owned by a high school kid. Just WTF.

Bringing in past reincarnations to the storyline might seem interesting at first. But all that wanes when you don’t actually see a point to it all. I mean, so what? Sure, they can pull off super magical chant lines and the likes. But this becomes more like a convenient tool for Moroha to do some finishing move to save the day. Yeah, doesn’t it feel funny that Moroha powers up each time he remembers? Uh huh. Whenever he goes “I remember!”, you get that dreaded feeling that oh God, not again, what the heck does he remember this time to make him power up. I mean, it feels like he is some sort of computer trying to read files of his past and then he retrieves the file in his deep latent memory and executes it. I wish I had a past life that was this convenient too.

Perhaps the certain flashbacks of their past is to add some drama but I don’t think it is working either. Because I don’t really see how it will impact the present except for Moroha to unleash his super move or a reason for his harem to flirt and stay with him. Here is something to think about. If Moroha and his girls reincarnate a few million times in the future and the same Ancient Dragon thing keeps threatening them in every era (because history repeats itself), wouldn’t it be awesome to see the million hybrids fused into him when he starts to remember them all? Maybe his brains would overload and body explode. Haha!

Then there is these lines narrated by Maya at the end of each episode that sounds poetic-cum-dramatic but I thought it sounded too complicated for a loli to narrate them so I don’t really quite understand. So what about the wind blowing westward and taking their wishes with it? What about it? And the more we remember, the stronger we get. So? And you pray in your heart that you wearied warriors may sleep and rest well for today? Okay, you go do that. And what prayer was it that sparked Moroha to fight? Uh huh. Good for him. Okay, okay. We get it (not really). Stop trying to sound so sophisticated even if you don’t get as much screen time as the other girls. Please be a loli and make others happy by acting like one even we know you’re a genius (because she must be so as she is in the same class with Moroha and the girls, right?).

So the action parts also feel mediocre. Because it already feels funny seeing those who can air write their spells so fast and chant long ass spells that probably you’d be wondering if they should have shortened the damn lines to be more effective. Okay, maybe for such a high level magic to activate, long lines are necessary but it feels those lines are taken out from some fantasy adventure novel. Nothing special about the words chosen of what they say. As long as you can make it sound long, it may sound cool. Not that you would want to remember them, right? Even funnier is how they chant and wave their index finger so fast that it feels like they’re doing some sort of mini orchestra conductor thingy. Other than that, the melee fights only involves them swinging their swords or whatever handheld weapons they are using. It just feels unexciting.

Character wise, they feel generic, clichéd and borrowed from other genres but really, when you have a harem series, how far can you deviate with the various girls in the line-up? But for Moroha, he feels like your typical normal guy who isn’t actually that normal at all, a hidden super power, a hero of justice with his own ideals that makes others look like the villains and of course that mysterious factor that keeps attracting girls to his side. He calls it family. I call it harem. That’s the difference. I have a feeling if he doesn’t need to try so hard and he’ll still end up winning. Because you know, he is the hero. Strikers also feel redundant as a group because they can’t mobilize without orders from higher ups and when the going gets tough, they nearly get going. And these are A Rank people but don’t have the justice instilled in them to move by themselves to get things done instead of waiting for orders? No wonder they feel irrelevant. Like Jin is just because he is the head and Kamekichi the joker, comic relief and monkey of the pack (so that Moroha looks good, what else?). Oh, I just want to note that Angela’s favourite catchphrase is “Damn it”. Just like this show ;p.

There is nothing else left to talk about except the harem part. Easily, this was expected when you see the poster and even read the synopsis (of course looking at the cast of characters too). I don’t know if I should start worrying because Moroha seems to be accumulating his harem at a steady rate. Almost every girl you see here is part of his harem. ‘Proof’ of this is in the end credits animation. Unless he is gay, don’t mind the guys in it. Each time a new girl is part of his ‘harem’, her face appears there. That is why, in addition to your annoying tsundere little sister wannabe Satsuki, seductive emotionless Shizuno, depression prone Lesya and the obligatory loli Maya, the rest should not also be discounted like how Angela could possibly be the series’ other tsundere, the extremely lewd Kanzaki who is lusting after him (and his balls!), the shy senior Momo (her body actions are freaking obvious), nice girl Katya (and her yuri Yuli friend), the voluptuous Sophie and even witch coplasying headmaster Mari. No girls are never not good enough for him! Heh, Moroha even made that Vasilisa b*tch submit to him! Though, I am pretty sure it is safe she isn’t the kind who will end up in his harem.

Therefore seeing the catfight and so called romantic spats are much more amusing and funny. You can get some laughs here. Especially with eager beaver Satsuki who always ends up getting frustrated trying to outdo and brag everything but just fails. As long as she is like that, Shizuno will always have the upper hand and enjoy making fun out of her. When is it she is going to learn that as long as you are yourself, Moroha will still accept and love you? Going the extra length for extra points? Forced romantic clichés like near kissing scenes are always the greatest troll to make us get a little ‘excited’. And with Lesya in the fray fighting as the position of the little sister, things are heating up, aren’t they? And don’t forget Kanzaki’s ball grabbing move! So funny yet so painful. Did you watch these scenes with your legs clutched tightly? I doubt this is dis-service to the abundant fanservice we have got in terms of big bouncy boobs, sexy lingerie, and near naked shots that are the norm of this series. Oh yeah. Are we starting to like it?

Art and drawing feels pretty standard and generic. If you have seen Seiken Tsukai No World Blade, you can see how pretty similar the type of art and the character designs are. However there are many parts were I feel the quality is poor like as though they are making a rush job. Especially during the fight scenes when the drop in quality becomes obvious to the point you could feel it is just lame. Sometimes they used recycled scenes too especially that turtle-crab Metaphysical unleashing its bug minions. I wonder how many times they reused that. This minor thing seems to be bugging me. I noticed that the characters have pink colour pupils! I know this may be nothing but it feels really odd once you stare at it and realize that they are this colour. Like as though they have some sort of little pink seed stuck in their eye or something.

Also the other thing that bugged me was how Plana is shown. You can see an outline covering the character like as though they are in some sort of colour bubble or something. Or they could even be covered by some giant amoeba. I don’t know, I thought this looks pretty lame. Even lamer is the fact that sometimes when you see the magic aura they are emitting, it feels like bad pixels. At first I thought it was my computer with bad video resolution or the video itself was corrupted. Then I start to realize it wasn’t so and it is part of their aura! But some of the Metaphysical’s design are rather creepy and scary. It did give me goosebumps, though.

Ayana Taketatsu has been pretty identifiable from the start as her Satsuki role. Just like her other similar roles, Kirino in OreImo and Mio in MM, she turns up the annoyance of her character to the max. Surprisingly for me, I didn’t realize Aoi Yuuki was behind the voice of Shizuno until much later. Even so, I still couldn’t believe it is her despite hearing her lines over and over again. It is like she sounded like a totally different person. Like an old lady ;p. She’s making that very low and emotionless voice as opposed to her high pitched cheerful one that I am used to. However this isn’t the first time she is voicing such a different low voice character. She did it to as Tooru in A Channel and Jin Varrel in Blade & Soul. Other recognizable casts include Yui Ogura as Maya, Yu Kobayashi as Kanzaki, Chiaki Omigawa as Angela, Yuichi Nakamura as Jin, Akira Ishida as Ando and a pleasant surprise from Rie Kugimiya making a cameo as Arlene Highbury (the American head who only makes her appearance via some cute pixel animal in a laptop). Other casts include Kaito Ishikawa as Moroha (Harutora in Tokyo Ravens), Reina Ueda as Lesya (Naru in Hanayamata), Wataru Hatano as Edward (Murasaki in Hamatora), Maaya Uchida as Momo (Hiyori in Noragami), Ayane Sakura as Katya (Levi in Trinity Seven), Fumi Morisawa as Vasilisa (Umi in Kono Aozora Ni Yakusoku Wo) and Yuko Minaguchi as Mari (Akiko in Clannad).

When you have Ayana Taketatsu and Aoi Yuuki combo in any anime, it is very likely this means the duo of Petit Milady is ever present (duh!). Because it would be a waste not to show off their singing prowess as they sing the opening theme, Hi No Ito Rinne No Gemini. What is interesting about this song is the naughty gothic style and although it is tamer compared to Ali Project, I supposed this piece is quite entertaining to hear. Though, this couldn’t save the anime overall. Fortuna sings the ending theme, Magna Idea. It sounds bland, unexciting and generic. My theory is that perhaps to take your attention away from the song, the credits start rolling on the screen as the episode continues to play while the song is being played in the background. When the song nears its end, you only get to see the supposedly ending credits animation which is just a still group picture of our heroes. And perhaps everything else was mediocre in this anime, I also start to notice how the background music doesn’t fit into the scenes especially the action scenes. Maybe this is just me and my stereotypes but I don’t find them appealing either.

Overall, despite its mediocrity, if you really want some laughs (but keep your mind open about it), this show can tickle a few bones even if it makes no sense and the plot and direction seems more like for convenience more than anything else. You won’t lose much by watching the dozen episodes except a few brain cells but that will be replaced by newer and ‘smarter’ ones. I hope. Don’t worry. That is what reincarnation is for, right? That is why I am always doomed to fail and repeat watching the same mediocre ecchi harem animes throughout the rest of my life. Everyone would be just so disappointed with me. I just hope they won’t catch me by my balls!

Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls

Remember those good ol’ days when video game consoles were the thing that kids love and had when it comes to electronic entertainment? Not to say they are dead by now but if you are old enough (like yours truly), I am very sure you would have very fond memories of early game consoles way back in the 90’s. Yup. Does it bring the nostalgia back? And for those who still remember, Sega was a company that also had their own video game console till they decided to stop that and just concentrate on games. Boo hoo for Sega fans. Therefore, what better way than to bring back the glorious days of Sega during its console days via an anime, Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls. Three old Sega consoles anthropomorphized as cute girls enrol in a Sega academy and need to graduate by completing assignments that include entering the worlds of old Sega games. Sounds like fun? Oh yeah. Time to relieve the nostalgia… Bring it on!

Episode 1
Sega Saturn makes her way into SeHaGaGa Academy. She enrolled here only because it is close to her home. She is joined by Dreamcast who can’t stop talking about her naruto and Mega Drive who believes it won’t be easy graduating from this place. And you thought Sega games are going to be easy, eh? They try to find out more information about this school but Dreamcast’s modem isn’t WiFi or wireless LAN. Remember those old noisy types? Yeah… Can’t connect… Mega Drive then shows a radio cassette player containing the school’s theme song. So short… Only 2 seconds. Yeah… Remember that “Segaaaaaaa” jingle? Yeah… Mega Drive goes on to explain the other various (ridiculous) versions of this theme. The conversation changes to what kind of guy Saturn likes. Strong guys, eh? They try to find suitable macho guys for her and they turn out to be that old dwarf from Golden Axe game. Then there is that guy from Outrun game whom you can never see his face till his car crashes. When it is time for class, they are greeted by some pixelated bunny on screen who only identifies himself as Centre sensei. They are told they need to get 100 credit medals to graduate. Their first task is to jump into the fighting game of Virtua Fighter. Oh, that Akira guy… So manly, so strong, so angular… Well, it was released way back in 1994. Once the trio dive in, they transform into their bishoujo form (if I should call it that).

Episode 2
To earn medals, they need to win 100 matches in a row. Isn’t that going to be tough? I thought it was pretty stingy for them to only be given 1 signature move each. Akira doesn’t hold back his punches in beating up Saturn. No mercy even if you’re a lady. They discover that if they combine their special attacks and do a combo, they can beat him. So for the rest of the opponents, you can see a similar winning pattern. Mega Drive does her knee kick, followed by Saturn’s multiple punches before Dreamcast’s head dive that totally knocks out the opponent. The trio are on a roll as they fight the rest of the fighters. If they run out of fighters, just change their name to some silly name. If it is getting too easy, extend the opponent’s life bar, make the space smaller or higher! However it is Dreamcast’s head dive that always knocks out her opponent in a single hit! She can even do KO before the match starts! More weird fighters they have to face so much so you think if they are even from fighting games. Heck, no! Flicky bird?! Those fat guys from Golden Axe? Green palette swap of those fatties?! Yeah. Nothing like a head dive to just kill the game. They meet their ultimate match when they have to fight a beetle from Mushiking. Because it is so small, their attacks cannot connect and miss. The beetle flies away and summons a giant one (his father, I suppose). Dreamcast’s head dive is all it takes to defeat it. Not so tough as it looks, huh? But the final opponent is tough. Isn’t that Sakura from Sakura Taisen???!!! They can’t beat her in her mecha! Mega Drive is defeated. Dreamcast’s sword skill is only on par. If all else fails… Head dive! Oh sh*t! That did the trick?! When they return, Centre only credits Saturn with 5 medals. Mega Drive lost her winning streak so it is understandable but why didn’t Dreamcast get her medals? Because she cheated by breaking the rules of attacking before the fight starts!

Episode 3
The girls are talking about their future. It doesn’t hurt to just discuss what they’ll do when they graduate. I’m not sure about the rest trying to guess a suitable job for Saturn like being a newscaster and then score with some famous baseball player. Sometimes it felt like they’re teasing her with all the ridiculous propositions like the baseball player is a foreigner who is on a decline and she’ll go back to doing poor part time jobs to support herself. If it is not a newscaster, then she might be a sleazy bar hostess or a weather forecaster. They let Saturn act like one but why does she need to forecast the weather of Sarajevo?! Oops. Wrong map. Saturn sounds fine but Dreamcast thinks something is missing. This has Saturn challenge Mega Drive to try out being a weather girl. However she is stiff and over-thinking things. Trying to get her to act cuter, Mega Drive freezes and breaks down. I guess she’s not cut out for this. For their next class, they are to dive into the game of Space Channel 5. Dreamcast is happy she gets to dance along with the legendary space reporter, Ulala. Also, 2 of Centre’s friends have been captured by the Morolian aliens and they are to rescue them. Oh, don’t forget to dance and earn ratings for their footwork. Inside the game, Dreamcast and Saturn are natural in their dance but Mega Drive is so stiff that they think it’s some new robot dance. Mega Drive isn’t confident in dancing. It’s not her thing as she is the brains type. Then she breaks down… They put a box over her to make her look like a robot. Now do the robot! However she starts hiding in it and her self confidence all-time low that she can’t do it. Dreamcast is excited that Ulala is here.

Episode 4
The girls join Ulala in dancing save a couple from the aliens and also to improve their ratings but it all goes down when it is Mega Drive’s turn. Still doing the robot? In the end, Ulala saves them and the couple joins them on their journey. The first friend to rescue is Jeffry from Virtua Fighter. Soon he joins the gang and ironically, their ratings increase because of his appearance. Thinking how popular he is with others, Dreamcast thinks the same and proceeds to strip Saturn down to her bikini to appeal to viewers. Yup, ratings going up. Another of Centre’s friend is spotted. Isn’t that Gilius from Golden Axe? I don’t know that dwarf guy takes a liking for Saturn… But he starts swinging his axe around till Jeffry holds him down. Hey, he is from some action game, right? Mega Drive speaks to him in his language and he agrees to dance with them. Because she also told him Saturn will marry him! Now he is showing off his cool dancing moves to appeal to her! Now they arrive in a space where there are 10,000 aliens and human hostages among them. More are coming in and there is the huge big boss. Jeffry enlarges himself so big that you could only see his feet! Don’t worry. Gilius will also grow big. However it is only his axe! Saturn is fed up and will do it herself. I’m not sure what wind move she did but Ulala’s skirt was blown up and Gilius couldn’t stop staring. He faints from this ‘shock’. Saturn is made to go wake him up (their ratings are already 100%) but Gilius doesn’t want her and loves Ulala! He’s dancing before her! Dreamcast and Mega Drive are prepared to console Saturn but she isn’t pleased that they’re making it sound that she got rejected. Once they return, only Dreamcast and Mega Drive are awarded 5 medals. Because there have been complaints from PTA about Saturn trying to use her sex appeal to increase ratings, she doesn’t get any!

Episode 5
Saturn is sighing not because she can’t get over that dumping incident! She wants to forget that nightmare. What she wants is a pet so the rest take the chance to suggest some mammoth from Space Harrier and a shiba dog from Shadow Dancer. For the latter, since it is from America, they even go as far as to suggest-cum-tease Saturn that she needs to go there, though she asserts she is not going anywhere. The girls are summoned by Centre for their next class. The game of Puyo Puyo is about clearing 4-in-a-row lines of those little blobs of the same colour. This time they need to think of a new game that uses the Puyo Puyo character. Be warned, a good idea earns you 1 medal while a bad idea takes away 1 medal. Think carefully. Despite Dreamcast and Mega Drive coming up with absurd genres, Centre approves it! But when Saturn gives her suggestion, her medal is taken away! I mean, fighting game utilizing Puyo Puyo? How can you end that? More seemingly absurd suggestions by Mega Drive and Saturn earn them extra medals but before jealous Saturn can even say hers, Centre takes away a medal! She hasn’t even spoken yet! Well, they claim he is kind enough to stop her before she reveals her fail idea. WTF. Finally Saturn nails a medal by suggesting some waterslide theme. Centre stops it here for today and has the girls have fun inside the waterslide. They clean up before they leave but Dreamcast may have stacked the blobs in some wrong combination and thus it is raining grey Puyo Puyo all over.

Episode 6
The girls will be taking an exam by playing an online mecha shooting game called Border Break. Winning this earns them 25 medals but doing so without a robot will be 50 medals! Game on! Dreamcast and Mega Drive create their robots but Saturn somehow didn’t. They think she is desperate to get 50 medals. So as they explore the place, an enemy turns up. Dreamcast is a noob with the controls and talks with the enemy? What kind of function is that? Leave it to Mega Drive to finish it. Saturn then suggests using a bait to lure the enemies and when they are in the correct spot, the rest will take them out in an ambush. Great idea. Now who will be the bait? Saturn is upset that she is chosen since she is the most vulnerable! They think her protest is just her being tsundere. The enemies show up as Mega Drive kicks ass but Dreamcast is still a noob with the controls. Heck, is she trying to kill Saturn or something? As they are destroying the enemy’s core to complete the game, suddenly Centre announces an emergency that somebody is hacking into the system. They must get out now or be trapped here. All communications is cut off and the hacker reveals himself: Dr Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik! He takes away their mecha and turns the girls into their chibi form. Just when they think doom is them, then appears our blue hero, Sonic!

Episode 7
Sonic is too fast for Eggman’s robots to deal with. Now that Eggman is left, he won’t give up and runs away. How will our girls ever get back? Sonic allows them to ride on his back as he chases the doctor. Eggman fires missiles back but Sonic is quick to avoid. Then they jump through some portal and we revisit some of the Sonic games and levels before the face off with Eggman. Because Dreamcast fell off during the fight, Sonic goes to rescue her and Eggman uses this advantage to whack Sonic. They return back to the Border Break world. Dreamcast fell on Mega Drive’s book. She gets an idea to look for Sonic’s invincibility power up. With this Sonic is able to defeat Eggman once and for all. The hacking is gone and good news is that during the attack, the core is destroyed so they accomplished their mission and return home. As communications is not fully restored, the girls think they might have seen Centre’s true identity (some old guy?). Then everything returns back to normal as he awards them 25 medals for passing the test. But Saturn wonders about her 50 medals because she beat the game without the mecha. Really? He doesn’t remember because of the hacking. WTF?!

Episode 8
The girls will have to participate in a cultural festival. Saturn suggests doing a haunted house so Dreamcast suggests looking at House of the Dead for reference. Mega Drive even suggests some bunny that suspiciously looks like Centre who is actually some sort of game advisor but dishes out general comments instead of real advice. That’s scary, right? Not! In that case, Saturn thinks of doing a band but the rest can only play suspicious instruments (if you can call it that). How about becoming idols and dancing on stage? Did you forget Mega Drive’s trauma during Space Channel 5? Dreamcast then has an idea. Why not do a haunted house with Mega Drive dancing? That’s scary, right? Yeah. Funnily scary. Centre then announces there is a beauty contest in which the winner gets 10 medals. But if you get some spillage, you get 100 medals, enough to graduate. The girls look through the profile of other participants whom I believe are personification of other Sega systems or game characters that I am not familiar with. But how come that Golden Axe dwarf is participating?! As rumoured, he didn’t hit it off with a certain space reporter and joined because he heard his ex was in it. He even traded his axe for a microphone to sing! It sounds horrible by the way. Saturn is unhappy because what the heck is this age hurdle thing in this gender contest?! And so on the day of the cultural festival, the winner is… Drum rolls please… That pixel bit female gorilla from Congo Bongo?! WTF?! Of all the kawaii and cute girls and this ‘ugly’ monkey is the winner?! Technically she is naked and this spillage means she earned 100 medals. WTF?!

Episode 9
The girls will be playing the RPG game of Chain Chronicle. For every Spirit Stone they win, they get 15 medals. However they won’t be jumping into the monitor this time. A Smartphone. This game is made for your iPhones. However the girls have this feeling that they don’t like the existence of Smartphones. Yeah, it drives their system to extinction, eh? At first, logging in is slow and they thought Saturn is making some pun of the game’s name, chien (lag) and kurou (trouble). They are given their classes (why is it Saturn always gets the low class?) and head into their first battle whereby earning their first Spirit Stone. Knowing they can’t fight more hordes with just the 3 of them, they head to the tavern to recruit allies but all they see are other weird Sega characters like a pair of not-so-great thieves, some action guy who keeps failing his cram school, a rich guy trying to hit on them with drinks and a young kid who likes old man’s food. And soon it turns into some izakaya party with other Sega characters. Frustrated, the 3 of them will just do. They fight the next wave of enemies who seem to be lining up in a single file. Dreamcast says this is not some ramen line and they obediently go away! Next, they face the dragon boss. Dreamcast and Saturn have a hard time and although Mega Drive as the priestess heals them, it is just by a single point! The duo are taken out and Mega Drive is left facing the beast alone. Scared, she throws her book and defeats it! They obtain a Spirit Stone but that is when the Smartphone’s battery gone out flat. They are frustrated it isn’t charged properly and couldn’t get their Spirit Stone. Their hate for Smartphones just gone up.

Episode 10
It is the inline skating game, Jet Set Radio this time. 5 medals for an awesome trick and 15 extra medals to the one who writes her dreams on the post first. Mega Drive isn’t good and wants to sit this out but is forced to play. Arriving at Shibuya, Dreamcast suggests going to take sticker photos. She has everyone pose in funny faces (Mega Drive is a real natural even if it wasn’t intentional) but she herself pose in a cute look. She then uploads them on her blog. She might have gone for karaoke too had not Saturn remind her of their task. As they get started, Saturn and Dreamcast easily pull off a cool stunt but the former got a medal deducted for that fanservice pose at the end. As for Mega Drive, she falls flat on her face but when she tries again, it turns out more like figure skating. Since this is somewhat hard to pull off, she is also awarded medals! Now it’s a race to the post but Mega Drive knows she is severely at a disadvantage. Don’t worry. Centre gives her training wheels. This is more embarrassing than anything. The race begins and it seems those training wheels are equipped with turbo booster! She is confident of winning this but cannot control it. She crashes into the wall… Flies into the sky… Ends up in some river… Dreamcast distracts Saturn with some hot guy (which isn’t by the way) to make her bump into the cone. Dreamcast reaches there first and writes her dream for all of them to be friends. Awww… How sweet. But does she have to put up that embarrassing sticker photo?! As bonus, Mega Drive and Saturn are also awarded 15 medals.

Episode 11
The girls will handle 2 big RPG series: Phantasy Star series and Shining Star series. They are going to wear costumes from the former series in the latter series’ world. Defeating the boss in this suit will earn them 15 medals. Once in the world, Dreamcast has Saturn pose like a model while she takes pictures like a perverted photographer. After changing into their costume in a ridiculously small changing room (who are they afraid will see their naked pixel bodies?), there are surprised the costume is some monster chick, Rappy. Though, the can move quite flexible in it. Saturn thought she was talking to Dreamcast but it is actually a real Rappy! There are many of them too! They discuss what weapons should be best and it goes out of hand to being a topic of family members. Drunk husband can’t beat wife can’t beat mother in law can’t beat grandson? Now they face off with the big monster boss. Is it sleeping? They thought of sneaking on it but it wakes up and attacks them. At this rate, they’ll be chicken kebab! Dreamcast thought she could sing her way to victory but was blown away. Saturn and Mega Drive attack but are ineffective. Then Dreamcast returns and do some super combo to defeat it. The duo are praising her but realize something amiss when she can’t take her suit off. It’s a real Rappy! So where is Dreamcast now? She’s fighting some badass space monster at this moment. In space, nobody can save you… Anyway all of them get 15 medals.

Episode 12
Centre is about to talk to them about their means to graduate when he is hacked and taken over by a tanned version called Black Asobin. First, he won’t let the girls graduate and steal their medals and leaves only 1 medal to Saturn. Then he tells them to fight the floors and reach him in his castle. So the girls go through all the retro Sega games and it was funny reading the summary of this because it says how assassins were hired to fight the girls in exchange of a popular seiyuu’s autograph, Saturn’s boobs popped out, Dreamcast feeling homesick and nothing interesting happened to Mega Drive. When they reach the final floor, there is an arcade game of Space Harrier that requires medals to play. Since Saturn only has 1 left, I guess it is up to her. The rest control her and they must be careful with the limited lives. The final face off with Asobin begins and he is a tough boss to fight. But Mega Drive notices a mixing pixel in his ear and thinks it is his weakness. Saturn fires into it and defeats him. Asobin then turns back into Centre. He reveals he was Asobin all along and this was a test to see if they have what it takes to graduate and to always put on their best performance. They earn 20 medals each. Dreamcast and Mega Drive have more than enough to graduate but Saturn is short of 3. Is she doomed to repeat class? Mega Drive suggests giving their spares enough to cover for the shortfall. But Dreamcast will not because it means they will graduate and their fun school life will be over. Thinking about it makes her sad. Mega Drive proposes to be friends even after they graduate. Emotional Dreamcast agrees. Everybody now has exactly 100 medals.

Episode 13
The girls are in their graduation ceremony. First they have to sing Sega’s theme. So short… But how many versions do they need to sing?! Then they have farewell speeches that feel like pointing out the obvious from the games they have played. Saturn finds it odd the rest mention being in games that they have not played. Go with the flow? Are they lying?! Centre now tells them the true meaning of their graduation. They will disappear from this world and be reborn in the real world. This world is just a place for ideas of Sega’s creators to play. So to say that they are just existing in the minds of their creators? But now is the time for those ideas to bear fruit and become Sega’s new hardware system. He believes they will bring joy and smiles to the gamers of the world. The medals they collected will allow them to step into the real world. Mega Drive is first to go (because she is the first in the series to be released) and they say their goodbye, blah, blah, blah. Next is Saturn. Bye-bye. Finally when it comes to Dreamcast’s turn, she feels unconfident she can bring happiness. To her surprise, Sonic and the other Sega characters provide her the much needed support to become a good hardware. And off she goes. And there you go people. The story and journey of how 3 girls became popular gaming hardware around the world that is love by many. Yeah. How long was that ago? Feels like history now… Come on, be honest. Do you really still think about them? Not when you have your Smartphones keeping you company these days. Damn you, Smartphones!

Game Over. Thank You For Playing!
Sniff, sniff. I guess all games eventually had to come to an end. Once you’ve started your journey and make your way to achieve your goal or defeat the final boss, you watch the ending and end credits then it is all over. And if you can’t get enough of it, you play again. Play numerous times until you get bored, get another new game or let it slowly fade and die when something new replaces it. Just like how Smartphones are replacing handphones and literally killing off fixed line telephones. Oops. Got a little distracted there. Ah but yes. This short series did really bring back the nostalgic memories of my childhood years playing such games. Well, it seems Sega isn’t coming back into the console market and joined the ranks like Atari, cease to exist and extinct into history. Oh gosh. Still remember that really old game console?

It was fun seeing some of the retro games featured here and due to this, it was even funnier how the girls played it to comedic effect. Thus the antics in games like Virtua Fighter had me laughing so hard that I could burst my belly and die of loss of blood. The punch lines and witty remarks the girls said may not be much but at least they’re funny enough to keep you entertained, whether or not it is related to games or something else. But unfortunately for many of the games featured and that I am not familiar of, it somewhat takes away the enjoyment. But nevertheless it was great to see the girls getting into that world albeit it is not much. So if you have fond memories of playing these games, you can have fun spotting lots of trivia in it. Or just go down nostalgia lane indulging in that world with the girls.

I am not sure if the characters of these girls reflect the kind of consoles they are in real life. Because the only Sega console that I actually owned during my childhood was the Game Gear. Oh yeah. Forgive me for feeling nostalgic again because it does bring back lots of memories of me playing that handheld. Uh huh. I can still remember bouncing around with Sonic in various zones, helping Michael Jackson save kidnapped children in Moonwalker, slashing things with Ninja Gaiden and beating up the baddies with Axel Stone in bare Knuckle. I can’t take it out and play them again even if I want to because it was broken and thrown away a long time ago :'(. Thus I am unsure if people who own Saturn, Dreamcast or Mega Drive are the kind of character that these girls are. For example, as we know Mega Drive is not keen on games requiring lots of physical movements, does it indicate that Mega Drive was a system that didn’t do well with action or fast moving games? And since she too is prone to freeze when things get crazy, does this mean the system was prone to errors and bugs when it heats up? A probably big no but I just can’t help ponder about it.

Because the girls personality are the same as start till finish and it stays that way till the end. Like Dreamcast who is the liveliest of the pack may something be an airhead and carefree person, making some playful jokes and teasing here and there. Saturn on the other hand is confident and relaxed but at the same time feels like the one who always draws the short end of the stick and easily pushed around because she often gets teased. Mainly it is because she can’t help get caught up in their antics and usually play the rebutting part. It seems like a mini running joke teasing Saturn about that older black foreigner guy making cameos here and there. He is supposedly to be her ‘love interest’. Not that dwarf. But this guy. Finally there is Mega Drive who is cool, smart and analytical. Just that she doesn’t show lots of emotions and aren’t good with activities that require lots of moving about. More of the brains kind of person. I’m sure with the trio’s ‘perfect’ combination, they can become great stand-up comedians and jokers if they fail to make the cut in the game industry. Just saying…

Another interesting aspect of the series is the mid-intermission whereby a short paragraph of the game or even characters featured for that episode is narrated with some little interesting details. It is good insight and trivia while watching the episode and those who are more interested could take the initiative to find out. However there are a few and particularly one that actually bugs me. How come there is one about Bosnia and Herzegovina???!!! It was just a random topic on that weather of Sarajevo but putting it here had me thinking, did Sega own or create Bosnia and Herzegovina???!!! I mean, you would think about it, right?! If it is true (which of course it is not), then it would like, oh sh*t, don’t you think?

Graphic wise, it is all animated using CGI so I think for someone who has been watching too many 2D anime or CGI effects, having watched one being animated entirely this way feels refreshing. Of course it is only right to have games being animated using computer graphics as it shows us the original way they are instead of being converted into typical 2D anime style. When not in games, the overall feel of the 3D art and drawing of this anime feels simple and bland. What I mean is that the graphics aren’t that polished or superb but you don’t need such great graphics to watch this anime, right? After all, the Sega girls are cute enough in their chibi form as well as their gaming adult version. Their designs are okay although you can see some of the trademarks of the consoles on them like the familiar 3 button” A-B-C” as Mega Drive’s hair accessory. Animation is also feels a bit not so smooth but like I said, you don’t need awesome effects for this simple show. It is all about retro and your nostalgia will magically turn it into awesome.

This has got to be a series with the least voice actors because the entire show is confined within the academy. Although I saw there are lots of other seiyuus lending their voice to other Sega game systems, I don’t remember when they made their cameo. Did they ever appear? Don’t remember hearing them although some of them did appear in that beauty contest episode but I believe they do not have lines. So we’ve got Mao Ichimichi as Dreamcast (Renge in Seikai Seifuku: Bouryaku No Zvezda), Minami Takahashi as Saturn (Masako in Majimoji Rurumo – I thought it was Eri Kitamura behind Saturn’s voice) and Shiori Izawa as Mega Drive (Tanpopo in Witch Craft Works) providing decent voices for their character. As I found out, the computerized voice of Centre is played by Yuji Naka who is actually a game designer and programmer of Sega.

The opening theme is SeHa Gagaganbacchau by the Sega girls trio and its lively techno beat is great in befitting the pace of this series. The ending theme sounds more like generic pop. Wakai Chikara Sega Hard Girls Mix is sung by Naomi Oozora, Yuu Serizawa, Mai Aizawa, Minami Tanaka and Haruna Momono who are the supposed voices of the other Sega game consoles. In the ending credits animation, we see Dreamcast and Saturn doing simple dances but Mega Drive is just standing there like a rock.

The last time I saw video game consoles personified as cute girls was Hyperdimension Neptunia The Animation and the more serious Aoi Sekai No Chuushin De. The former had a Sega representative in a world where other game consoles are also present and the latter is about Sega fighting against the oppressive Nintendo. This series might feel like a blatant advertising for Sega and perhaps to promote their games in other platforms. But if you are a Sega fan, this is definitely a show that you need to watch. Older generation of course for the nostalgia and the younger ones should see this and experience how we old people play our video games before it got too sophisticated and complicated.

Therefore old gamers who used to play a lot on this system should appreciate and get nostalgia watching this show while it could prove educational for younger gamers. Well, it is sad that Sega isn’t coming back into the console business. At least not in the foreseeable future. This for an ‘old’ guy like me to be watching this, the idea of how the girls become console hardware feels like the setting was made a very long time ago. I supposed we should have got the hint when many of the Sega titles featured in this anime are those playable only on those consoles. And I am guessing from this theory, this means no other girls actually graduated from the academy since Sega dropped out from the console race! Oh, Dreamcast, Saturn and Mega Drive, you’ll definitely live in our gamer hearts forever. Until the next Smartphone game apps take over and become the next fad and crazed sensation. And you’ll all be forgotten, relegated into distant memories. Damn you, Smartphones!

Hanamonogatari

If you figured that a certain protagonist was missing in the sense that she didn’t even have an arc of her own in the second season, that is because they decided to cut that out and put it separately as another season or story. But to some they could consider this to be a continuation or extension of the second season. But whatever it is, for those who love the Monogatari series, that won’t stop you to go watch more stories and of course Hanamonogatari, the story in which Suruga Kanbaru is the ‘star’. Like the rest of the girls, she has her own story to tell and problems to deal with. That is why they gave us 5 episodes for this ‘flower story’ to ‘bloom’…

Episode 1
Kanbaru remembers her mother’s stinging words for her. It was confusing nevertheless. Not that she could understand anyway. When her parents died, Kanbaru lived with her grandparents and could never understand what dad saw in her. To him, he was the cutest girl but Kanbaru always thought her mom was like the devil. Kanbaru wakes up in her messy room, her monster arm tied down. It would be good news if she had not hurt anybody the night before. As she heads to school, she tells us Araragi and Senjougahara are no longer around because they have already graduated. Kanbaru is now in her final year of high school. She meets Ougi along the way. She is puzzled Ougi is dressed as a boy but he says he has always been one. He mentions if she has heard rumours about Sir Devil. In class, Kanbaru talks to her classmate, Higasa who is also part of the basketball team about this. It is believed that if you talked to Sir Devil about your problems, it will definitely be solved. Remembering what Ougi said, this Sir Devil is supposedly a real person, a high school girl who actually goes around helping others. But can she actually be doing this out of mere kindness? Later Kanbaru contacts Karen for her opinion and although she has not heard anybody getting hurt from this, Karen says she doesn’t believe in stuffs like devils and monsters. That’s so fairytale. As explained, there are 3 ways to find Sir Devil based on their difficulty. The easiest being writing a letter, a phone call to Sir Devil is moderate while the hardest is meeting Sir Devil in person. Kanbaru picks the third choice and it seems Sir Devil turns out to be Rouka Numachi, Kanbaru’s basketball archrival during her middle school years.

Numachi mentions ever since she got injured, she had not taken any entrance exam and thus isn’t going to school right now. Because nobody will hire her with such injuries, she has so much free time and what better way than to assume Sir Devil. However she isn’t doing this out of money. She hasn’t taken a penny. So why is she doing this? It is for her own betterment. When she hears other people’s problem, she is assured there are others who are as miserable as her. Also, she keeps all the letters and phone recordings as collection. It’s one sick hobby. Kanbaru didn’t like this and slaps her when she says she is not a basketball player anymore but a counsellor. Numachi tells her not to be so serious. In fact, nobody is worst off when they seek her help. Kanbaru thought she solves people’s problems so they don’t have the right to complain. However Numachi points out she is wrong. She doesn’t do anything. She just listens to their problem and relay this problem to the right authorities who will help deal with it. (If you’re falling asleep right now, surely this little shocker of Numachi grabbing Kanbaru’s breast would wake you up). Then how did rumours Sir Devil will definitely solve your problems surface? Numachi says time alone itself helps the healing. Worried people are assured when they hear somebody assure their problems are taken care of. This makes Kanbaru think that had she endured her problem rather tried to solve it, would not many people have been hurt? Although Kanbaru doesn’t approve of her sick hobby, she lets her go seeing nobody gets hurt. This also has her thinking if a day would come when she can sleep well without taping her arm to the wall. Next morning when she wakes up, she is surprised to find her monster arm is reverted back to a human kind!

Episode 2
Still in disbelief, Kanbaru briefly tells us how she got that monster arm thanks to her hatred over Araragi and because her wish for him to disappear never came true, it ended up incomplete. As she goes jogging, she tripped and injures her arm. It’s painful. Then Ougi comes by to tell her that there was a note yesterday saying that Sir Devil will stop helping people from now on. Kanbaru tries to find Numachi but she is nowhere to be found. A few days later, at the train station, Kanbaru is shocked to come into Kaiki. Instantly she runs away but he runs faster than her and without much effort! Holy cow! I guess the loser has to listen. He wants to talk to her and has been waiting for her here since summer as Araragi and Senjougahara kicked him out of town. He treats her to BBQ meat and Kanbaru is not amused he is playing the good guy. So much so she wants him to do something bad so she can hate him. Not likely. He’s kind enough to cook meat for her. Kaiki explains he knew her mother back when they were in university. Kanbaru never knew her aunt’s name was Izuko Gaen until after she left. Because Kaiki never got along with Izuko, Kanbaru’s mom helped him quite a lot with that. She asked him to take care of Kanbaru if anything happened to her. But that is not the reason why he came to town last year. It was a secondary concern. Her mom never paid him anything so he was not obliged to do so. But since he was in town, might as well check on her.

Kanbaru guesses that Kaiki was in love with her mom because he keeps calling her maiden name. Because by calling her married name, it is like calling the name of the rival he lost out to. He admits he was in love with her but since he had a girlfriend then, he never got anywhere with her. Oddly enough, when Kanbaru asks if she resembles her mom and he says he can’t remember much less than her since it was 15 years ago he last saw her. Kaiki then hands his name card and wants her to call him if she needs help. After all, he did promise her mom. Is he trying to con her? He assures he isn’t. He knows she respects Senjougahara and if she doesn’t stay on her guard to hate him, it is like betraying the senior she respects. That is why he won’t con her. So she can’t hate him. Well, at least he can con others for her. Like she needs that kind of help. She takes up his offer anyway although she remains suspicious. She is surprised when he knows she is keeping a mummified monkey’s paw from her mom. He tells her never to use it. Someone will come to take it and when he does, give it to him. That collector is trying to assemble parts of a devil. Do not refuse. Just give it away. Before he leaves, she asks one last question how he knew she will be at the station. Her friend told him. Who? Higasa? No. Numachi. This opens a lot of questions for Kanbaru. How did Numachi get in touch with him? Why would she do that? Did she realize she was after her? What other information did Numachi tell him? Kanbaru decided not to question all that to keep her monster arm a secret and avoid revealing her knowledge of Sir Devil. Sharing all this information with him would be dangerous. Later Kanbaru contacts Karen with a request to help find Numachi.

Episode 3
Kanbaru confronts Numachi in class and she knows she was the one who stole her monster arm. When did she do it? When she fondled her breast then. Kanbaru realizes she is the collector Kaiki was talking about but whether or not Kaiki knew about this, Numachi says Kaiki always tell half his information. He wants to be the good third party but doesn’t want to be the one deciding the story. To hear more, Numachi tells her to meet at the gym after school. So we see the girls in basketball action. Numachi is doing so much better than her than you wonder if she was faking her injuries. Like it was never there in the first place. After an hour of sweating, it’s time to talk. Kanbaru wants to know what she has been doing for the past 3 years. Numachi teases her that she is the type that likes girls more than boys and starts seducing her. Kanbaru oddly can’t run away (something she is good at I suppose). It ends with Numachi giving her a teasing peck on the cheek. Numachi shows off another cool basketball move that Kanbaru never thought she could pull off. Numachi tells her to forget about the devil’s hand and return to her normal life but to Kanbaru, it signifies the sin she has to bear. Numachi tells her back it isn’t hers to begin with. Revealing her monster arm, it is shorter than it is since Kanbaru’s first wish came true. She left part of her soul that it ate inside her thus the hand reverted to its original size. Numachi then reveals her left leg. A full monster leg.

It all started 3 years ago after some basketball regional tournament where she broke her leg due to some pressure. She adds she was into football in her elementary days but notes boys didn’t like girls when they do better than them in that. It made her question about why some have talent and some don’t. After she graduated, she also moved on from football. Why basketball? Because she wanted to up the challenge. She was good with her legs and now she wanted to try out something with her hands. So after she broke her leg, the funny part was how teammates she never got along with and people who found her obnoxious treated her kindly. Despite all that, she knew her left leg will not be able to play sports again so she quit school and requested her parents to move far away. Before she moved, that was when she discovered her misery collecting hobby. When she was in hospital, one of her teammates visited her. She wanted some advice but Numachi saw what she wanted was to talk about someone who was more miserable than her. Someone like Numachi. At the same time she didn’t want someone to look down on her while giving advice. But Numachi wasn’t mad. Because she felt better after listening to her story. That is when the satisfaction of hearing other people’s misery started to take shape. So Numachi told her she understood her problems and assured she will fix them so she doesn’t have to worry about a thing. This was a big lie and she said it so that she won’t come back the next day to tell her other problems. Before Numachi was discharged, that girl returned with a big relief and thanking her profusely. Numachi couldn’t understand a thing she said except she knew the problem was solved. And that is where her hobby started. She entrusted her with her worries, stopped worrying and in time the problem solved itself. And in time and perhaps from her perspective, Numachi was like somebody who could solve things. This wasn’t an issue for anybody since she was able to save someone and heal her own wounds without much effort. That is when she decided that this would be her life task. She felt she had found a place to die as an athlete. It was the birth of her as a misery collector. Kanbaru knows she hasn’t told her the story of collecting parts of a devil. Numachi gives her a choice: Hear the rest or don’t. She thinks she’ll better off not knowing it but Kanbaru questions her back that it is her who is going to do the choosing: Tell her everything or return her arm. Looks like she’ll be continuing. Be warned, this is a real story of a real devil and hearing it won’t make her feel any better. Too late to turn back.

Episode 4
After Numachi was discharged and left town, that is when her misery collecting hobby start to take off. She took advantage of being new in town to spread rumours that she was Sir Devil and talked to others about their problems. This was also how she met Kaiki. You could say that they share the ‘same business’ although his goal is to make a profit from conning others. Through him (at least his theory), she found that aberrations exist in this world despite Kaiki himself doesn’t believe in monsters or ghosts. The start of her devil collecting began with this girl, Rouka Hanadori. She begged for help in a polite manner and showed her monster left leg. The leg would have a mind of its own and tried to kill her mother. When she realized the cause of her mother’s hospitalization, she became desperate and sought Numachi’s help. Numachi also thought of helping her and that meant she wanted to take her place of having that leg. So she called Kaiki and was told it would cost her. The next morning, her left leg become that monster leg. It was a good thing in a way because it replaced her broken original leg. She continued to wear fake bandages and crutches because people tend to be more open with a handicap. It was very convenient. Shortly, she gained this goal of collecting the devil’s parts. Then she heard of a man who was the opposite of her. He made the misery of others permanent. Each time she hears of this, she goes to ‘fight’ or rather ‘collect’ him. Therefore there are other parts of her body that are now the devil’s and thus she took Kanbaru’s hand for that personal reason. Although she has not even collected 1/3 of the parts, if she does wouldn’t she turn into a devil? True, be she intends to absorb it. That is all to the story. Numachi believes they won’t meet again.

Back home, Kanbaru gets a call from Karen that she has found out something on Numachi. When Kanbaru mentions she just met her, Karen believes it is impossible. Because Numachi killed herself 3 years ago! After getting injured in a basketball game and transferred to a new school, she slit her wrists before graduating. So could that girl Kanbaru saw was a ghost?! She thought of calling Kaiki but ditches the idea. There is no better way than to clear the mind but to take a midnight run. I don’t know how far she ran but she finally tires out and is surprisingly picked up by Araragi. This dude now is driving a car of his own! Kanbaru can’t help feel disappointed and starts teasing the roundness of his Volkswagen model. So she’s talking about the dilemma she is facing now and what would it feel like to be like herself. I don’t know. Shouldn’t she know that better herself? Kanbaru is also in a dilemma in helping others because sometimes things are better when it is best left alone or if it is a good idea to help when others prefer to be in the misery. Araragi doesn’t understand but he what he does understand that she is bothered by it. Bothered enough to take action and that itself is a big deal. If she is bothered by it, so will he. So will Senjougahara. But sometimes when you need help, the only one who can do anything is yourself. Kanbaru has heard lots of things from other people but he points out they are not her. When did she get smart enough to start worrying about others? He has done what he wants all the time so she too should just do what she pleases. If you want to follow someone else’s opinion, go ahead. If you can’t, then fight. Kanbaru feels better now and she decides to fight on. She doesn’t need his help but if she does, probably it’s to help clean up her room! Do that yourself!

Episode 5
Kanbaru finds a package for her. It is the devil’s head. Meeting up with Numachi again, she is not pleased that Kaiki had it all along and tricked her. Maybe he wanted to take all the parts from her in the end or sell it to her. Numachi wants the head but Kanbaru won’t give it to her because she can’t stand looking at her after becoming a devil. Then don’t look! Kanbaru suggests a one-on-one basketball game. They’ll play what they are best at. Kanbaru on offense while Numachi on defence. Numachi gets it if she wins otherwise she will stop her misery and devil parts collecting hobby. Numachi feels there is nothing in it for her but Kanbaru adds if she wins, she will not smash the head. There’s your added incentive. She’ll smash all the other parts too. Numachi is confident she will use the devil parts to her advantage. Even if she loses, she will take it by force. Kanbaru disagrees that she can steal but she can’t take it by force. As Numachi goes to get some shoes to wear, Kanbaru starts shivering because from what Numachi said, she doesn’t realize she is already dead and a ghost. She believes of wandering around and collecting parts and that is how she fills the gaps in her memories. What Kanbaru realizes she is about to do is to tell her old rival that she is already dead. As the match begins, Kanbaru talks about regret (it is better to do something and regret it later than not) as well as how she will eventually forget all this.

Kanbaru knows it will be tough to break through her defence so she uses the basic rule that basketball is a team game to trick Numachi by passing her the ball and then quickly grabbing it back. But Numachi is fast to recover and tries to block her from slam dunk. Eventually she gets the ball in. Kanbaru wins and falls on Numachi. They both start laughing. But Numachi disputes she handed her the ball so doesn’t it mean it is her lost? But Numachi didn’t take full control of it and if she was sure Kanbaru had lost, she wouldn’t have done the blocking. Numachi for once understood the meaning of defeat. Because teammates never passed the ball to her, she never expected that. Halfway talking, Kanbaru realizes Numachi is gone and all that is left behind are the devil parts. Kanbaru realizes she never hated her. She envied her. Kanbaru has a dream talking to her mother about either being the cure or poison otherwise you are just plain water. Numachi was neither that and even so only a muddy water. When she wakes up from bed, she is surprised to see Araragi beside her. She was sleeping naked. Don’t worry. Her body doesn’t turn her on. He prefers his sisters! Arrest this siscon! Kanbaru has a request and that is to give the devil parts to him to feed to Shinobu since she isn’t sure what to do with it. He doesn’t mind. He talks about wishes and his sisters. It doesn’t matter if a wish comes true or not. Wishes are something you grant yourself. The value is in making the wish. Kanbaru has Araragi cut her hair. She probably could have gone to the hair salon but this is her way of ending it. Besides, she wants him to cut it. She also requests to drive her to Numachi’s grave next time. She is in a dilemma whether to continue Numachi’s work of collecting the remaining parts. Araragi doesn’t want her to bother about that because it is best that the parts stay separated. He adds if people find out what she did, they’ll say a lot of things. Some will say she did right and some will say she did wrong. But it doesn’t matter because she did neither the right or wrong thing. It is all part of being young.

Aku No Hana…
Well, well… Like you said it Araragi, it doesn’t really matter, right? I myself am not sure if the story itself is great or not. You can look at it from both sides of the spectrum. Basically, there isn’t anything that spectacular in this story except that it is about Kanbaru trying to lay the ghost of an old rival to rest. And they dragged out the drama and all the other parts and divided it into a few episodes. Like the first episode was the Sir Devil rumours and the meeting of Numachi, the second was the meeting with Kaiki, the third about Numachi’s background, the fourth heavily linked to the third explores further about how she came to have this peculiar habit and finally the last episode on how it is all settled. Parts in between the next episode may feel cut out but I supposed those aren’t important because if they do put in, maybe it’ll drag on for another 5 episodes. Those who are not used to this type of storytelling may find it too long and draggy just for something that doesn’t really end in any spectacular fashion at all. Personally, I was in between too. That sentiment of dragging out a ‘simple’ story had me feeling the drag at times but it is that same reason how they expand and convey the story in a smooth and seamless manner is what makes this entire series –cum-mini-arc interesting. In that sense, it doesn’t feel draggy.

I don’t know if Kanbaru got back her monster arm because she is still wearing those bandages in the end but that could be out of habit. But I don’t think it would be reasonable for her to get it back despite it has been part of her life. As for Numachi, personally it is hard for me to say about her character because I was expecting some kind of major twist about her in the end but all I got was the lukewarm ghost girl thing. She’s dead and doesn’t even know it. Can’t say I am impressed but I didn’t see it coming either because I was intensely trying to listen to the drama and perhaps catch something in it. Speaking of which, maybe that is why the added drama seems to drag out because lots of what they say may or may not be relevant to the storyline. Maybe they all are but a person with limited knowledge on the series may not grasp and connect them together and thus such conversations are just for distractions or a red herring to let your guard down. Like the fanservice between Kanbaru and Numachi is just teasing but with nothing much ado. Or like that big devil revelation story that Numachi warned Kanbaru before proceeding. I thought it wasn’t that scary. Boy, it had me thinking if that story was something horrifying but it wasn’t. Guess she got us, huh? Araragi once again is relegated to being a supporting role just like some of the other arcs in the second season. I suppose this is only fair as this is Kanbaru’s arc (duh!) so what she wants to do is entirely up to her. Araragi can only advice her but the ultimate decision lies in her hands. I wonder if Araragi is thinking about cutting his own long hair. I’m not really used seeing him with it. Looks entirely like a different person.

Like how I commented in all my previous Monogatari blogs, I will also comment it here. I’m talking about the visuals. Yes, the trademark SHAFT visual styles are ever present and fans of the series will definitely welcome it. Otherwise, some may feel that those creative and unique visuals serve as no more than annoying distractions because it would be damn boring if the angles shown during the conversations were just their head shots or character. So it is like while you listen to their drama, feel free to watch the uber cool designs and be in awe with them. Like in the final episode how Araragi ‘cleans’ Kanbaru’s room but in actual fact you’ll see him stacking them up all over the place just to play domino effect. Not relevant to what they’re talking but cool to watch? Then there is also those cool effects during Kanbaru and Numachi’s basketball match where the court is suddenly filled with ankle length water. You wonder what the hell this implication is for but don’t really matter because it just looks cool.

Overall, if you like the Monogatari series, you will also like this one with its deep drama and storytelling. Otherwise if you are a newbie and just jump in to check it out, you’ll not understand a big part of it because this series itself assumes that you know about Kanbaru’s case especially about her monster arm. Therefore if you want to start on this series, do it from the beginning and you better start now because there are lot more Monogatari stories to come. Speaking of which, there is already one that I will be watching very soon… When will it ever end? I hope when I’m dead, I will realize that I’m a ghost and move on. Otherwise I’ll be watching animes forever without realizing I’m already long gone. Hmmm… Maybe that isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Mirai Nikki

I guess it was inevitable. Or maybe some sort of curiosity switch inside me activated. Because I had to finally check out the series which made the world’s most famous yandere. If not, one of the top yandere girls ever in this history of all anime. Yes people. The anime that made famous or infamous Yuno Gasai is no other than the survival game genre, Mirai Nikki. Yandere girls are probably not as many a dime a dozen as their tsundere counterparts and aren’t likely a hit with the guys. But they’ll definitely hit and kill you if you don’t return their love! Yikes! No wonder guys do not find yandere girls attractive. Or really? Is it something that we don’t deeply understand about them and simply cast them off as some crazy love psychopath? Maybe that is why I am here to see what drives our number one yandere girl crazy enough to kill everybody for the only guy she loves and even crazier to kill her own love. Oh, who am I kidding? I just want to see some dead bodies piling up too.

Episode 1
Yukiteru Amano is a boring kid with no social life. Therefore he keeps a random diary in his handphone writing all those that he observes. He even created an imaginary friend, Deus Ex Machina, the God of time and space as well as Deus’ servant, Murmur. Deus hints to Yukiteru of the next game which will be interesting. Next morning, he is surprised to find out entries in his diary. Did he write them while asleep? Strange, they are future events. Even stranger, he notices that each one of them comes true and at the exact time. Whether if it’s some serial killer being reported on the news or seeing a couple of rare classmates meeting up. So Yukiteru confronts Deus about this. He is supposed to be his figment of imagination, right? Well, he is God of time and space too you know. Deus explains the handphone that writes his future is called Future Diary and it is his life. It has its drawback, though. As he is the owner it means it is his life. If it gets destroyed, game over. You die. Of course Yukiteru uses Future Diary to his advantage like avoiding fights and getting test answers. All too easy. At the end of the test, his Future Diary states he is killed by a serial killer. Fellow classmate, Yuno Gasai says it is his future. He gets scared (who wouldn’t of this yandere?) and runs away but no matter where he goes, she can find him. She corners him in the lift but before he can use his darts to shoot her, she kisses him! She knows he won’t do it because her Future Diary said so. He should have noticed that she also has Future Diary. I think the scarier thing about her Future Diary is that it tracks all future events about him and therefore her Future Diary is about him! Oh sh*t! She also mentions there is a serial killer, Third who is also another owner of Future Diary out to kill him. At this rate, he will be the first out of the game.

She takes him to the rooftop instead of to the floor where he wants. Because Third is waiting there for him. No show. She says his dart will decide his future. When Third comes up to the rooftop, the kids are hiding. The plan is to wait till he whips out his Future Diary and check. When he does, Yukiteru throws his dart and it hits and destroys Third’s Future Diary. In that instant, he contorts like some black hole and disappears. Yuno is disappointed with this boring death but we can see Yukiteru scared as hell. Yukiteru and other Future Diary owners are before a meeting with Deus. He explains the rules of this survival game and how their actions can change the future. Of course, action of others can also affect it like in Yukiteru’s case. Because he made his first kill, Yukiteru has become ‘well known’ among the rest and dubbed First. Deus considers Yukiteru’s case a miracle because he was supposed to die but yet he turned the tables around. Deus’ wager is on him. Yukiteru believes it wasn’t him who pulled off this miracle but too bad everyone is gunning for his ass. The survivor of this game will inherit Deus’ throne. Meeting is adjourned and let the games begin. There are 11 remaining players left. Yukiteru is reeling from this shock but Yuno doesn’t want him to worry. She’ll protect him. That love struck yandere look… Oh sh*t! The most dangerous person to look out for! There is this short epilogue on how Murmur tries to explain to Third about this survival game but he is so bent on destroying evidence that he destroyed his Future Diary without thinking and died many times. Murmur learns her lesson such guys are hard to deal with and no matter how they look at it, his destiny has it he will be the first to die!

Episode 2
Yukiteru must be living his life in fear. Who wouldn’t if you have Yuno as a stalker! In class, suddenly there is this girl, Minene Uryuu waltzing it to confront Yukiteru and to reveal that his homeroom teacher was that serial killer, Third. It occurred to Yukiteru that she is another Future Diary owner. He looks at his handphone and realizes he is going to die. Thankfully Yuno saves the day. Trying to whack her with a fire extinguisher? Now that the flag is set, Minene is going to kill him. She sets off an explosion that destroys a block, killing a row of classes! She holds the entire school hostage and to stay put if they don’t want to be blown away. Although Yukiteru is shocked that Yuno can say she will kill Minene so calmly, he has no choice but to let her protect him. He has to play along even if this means giving her a kiss. As their Future Diary keeps changing because of the different actions taken, Yukiteru and Yuno manage to escape by the skin of their teeth from Minene’s bombs thanks to Yuno’s quick analysis. But Yukiteru realizes that because his diary is observation of others, none is about his future. He feels like a loser. He feels alone and really wanted to have friends. Don’t worry. Yuno’s Future Diary is all about him so he can use her to pull it off. But Yuno feels odd because Minene had the chance to kill him when she first saw him. What is she waiting for? Meanwhile the police surround the place. Officer Keigo Kurusu recalls the snipers, baffling his colleague who knows Minene is a terrorist. Kurusu is also a Future Diary owner. He knows Minene is thinking this through because all the bombs will set off when her heart stops.

Yukiteru is happy thinking he has reunited with his classmate. However he gets pinned down. Apparently Minene has made a deal with them for them to cooperate with her and get that guy and restrain Yuno. She has temporarily disabled the bomb censors to allow them to leave their place. Yuno feels bad that she lied to Yukiteru that these people are his friends. They are not his friends in this case and should die! She runs out of the room and causes the bombs to go off!!! Don’t f*ck with this girl!!! Yukiteru is brought before Minene but Kurusu helps to protect him. He reveals himself as a Future Diary owner and that Minene’s real goal isn’t Yukiteru but him because his Future Diary tracks all crime investigation. Although Kurusu doesn’t care for God’s seat, he doesn’t like people messing in his territory. Minene tells her demand. Kurusu will kill Yukiteru and then himself or she’ll blow up the entire school. Kurusu chooses to kill Yukiteru. The latter realizes he is a loser for only using Yuno for his survival. This is the end he deserves. He pleads to give his death some meaning. At that point Yuno dives down from the second floor to tackle Minene. Kurusu changes his mind and gives Yukiteru a chance to redeem himself. He runs through the minefield to retrieve his Future Diary thanks to Yuno telling where he should step. Also, everyone in school helps out by throwing their books at Minene. Yukiteru takes out his dart and it’s odd to see Minene pulling out her Future Diary to protect herself. Maybe it’s reflex. However Yukiteru stabs her eye. It might have been game over for her but since her Future Diary entails escaping, she did just that. In the aftermath, the trio form an alliance to put an end to this game.

Episode 3
What’s this? Yukiteru and Yuno dating?! Do they have time for this?! Might as well have some fun since you’re going to play a screw up game. Actually Kurusu wanted to end this game without further participants killing each other. To do that, they need to identify all Future Diary owners. Because Minene is still at large, they’ll be targeted and so for today they will become bait and act like a couple at the amusement park. Seems like a genuinely romantic moment between them if you don’t consider her yandere personality… Even a little fanservice when Yuno’s bikini top gets washed away and she uses Yukiteru’s body to hide. If it was only this fun in reality… When Yuno wants to go to the planetarium, he refuses. They settle for the Ferris Wheel. He asks why she keeps following him but she questions back about the planetarium. Doesn’t he love stars? How does she know? And it’s not from Future Diary. She told him a year ago. When they were writing their future career, Yuno noticed he wrote that he wanted to watch the stars with his parents. However he is sad they just divorced and can’t watch them together. Yuno suggests watching with her but he really wanted to do it with his family. In that case, Yuno wrote to become his wife. He agrees if they’re grown up. He thought it was a joke. Not so funny now, huh? And now for our weekly Yuno kiss. Okay, a peck on the forehead is acceptable.

Minene is still running away from the authorities when an unknown man picks her up to save her. She has no choice but to follow since she is still reeling from the pain in her eye (and past). He takes her back to his cabin to treat her. He calls himself a hero of justice (paper bag over his head?). Is he saving the wrong person? He believes what he does is correct and he won’t regret it. It is what she does that she might regret. Suddenly Minene feels queasy. She can’t move although her mind is still conscious. She has been drugged. Realizing he is a Future Diary owner too, he proceeds to ask her what she knows about other Future Diary owners while extracting her blinded eye! EEEEWWWW!!! Meanwhile Yuno invites Yukiteru to her home. No electricity. Romantic setting. As he goes to the toilet, he must have lost his way and stumbles upon a sealed room. To his horror, he opens and sees lots of corpses (or something like that since it was too freaking dark). Yuno is sad that he opened the door in otherwise could have been a happy ending for them. Oh sh*t… Unknown to them all, Yukiteru’s actions has caused something great in their future to change. Deus notes that another miracle has happened and was right to choose him. Yukiteru runs home in fear. And there is Yuno peeking through his door hole wishing him goodnight! Oh sh*t! Definitely nightmares! You can’t escape this girl!!!

Episode 4
Yukiteru is cowering in his room. He thinks of letting Kurusu know but suddenly he receives a mail from Yuno. Who is he calling? Oh sh*t! She knows! Damn right you can’t escape. Next morning Kurusu comes to pick him up. He is about to tell him about that room when Yuno reminds him (with a smile) not to reveal that embarrassing thing. Oh sh*t… Kurusu thinks it is something indecent. Anyway Kurusu has received report that Minene has been captured by a religious group, Omekata-kyo and they’re on their way to confirm it. Outside the temple with a long queue, Yukiteru continues to be worried about his safety. His mind starts to think if Yuno is going to kill him had he told Kurusu. Oh look, she’s staring at him… Creepy! The trio are brought in to see Tsubaki Kasugano, the maiden and figurehead of the Omekata-kyo. She mentions her weak eyesight and has been living in this cage. Her only hobby is writing stories from others but a few weeks ago her diary began to inform her of future events. That’s right. She is also a Future Diary owner and her diary is clairvoyance. Yukiteru cowers upon hearing that however she mentions she is not interested in becoming God as she is supposed to listen to their voices. According to her Future Diary, she will die tonight. But Yukiteru who has overcome death twice means he can change this. She makes a deal. She agrees to hand over Minene in exchange for Yukiteru. Yuno is vehemently against this! But it is Yukiteru’s call. What’s it going to be? Argh! Decisions! So he agrees to stay for a night and Yuno doesn’t like it one bit. Tsubaki advises Yukiteru he can’t trust Yuno. It’s not from her Future Diary. It’s her woman intuition. And Yuno looking close to a serial killer is not amused Tsubaki is badmouthing her…

Suddenly the place is set on fire and her followers start killing one another. Yukiteru wants to save her but Yuno says no. This might be a trap. Dangerous things are popping up for him in her Future Diary. At this rate, he’ll die. Trust her and let’s go home. Trust her? He thinks she would have killed her if he had stayed at her place. He can’t trust her and goes to save Tsubaki. Oh sh*t… That yandere face… She believes Yukiteru won’t say such a thing and that b*tch must have said something. If only she wasn’t here… After Kurusu fixes the sprinklers, Tsubaki yells out to her followers to stop. Tsubaki then takes a look at her Future Diary which contains future sightings from her followers. There is a suspicious person written but soon it changes and there are many suspicious people spotted. She is confused to as which is the real one. Meanwhile underground of the temple where Minene is held, the hero of justice, Yomotsu Hirasaka is explaining to Minene about his rock-paper-scissors theory and relationship and why she can never win. Then something about Tsubaki being vulnerable to confusion from within. He then puts on his hero of justice costume (what kind of eyeball monster is this?). From what he says, Minene can guess that his is a Future Diary owner and he has very keen hearing (his Future Diary is in a form of an iPod player). He continues ranting about winning is justice and losing is evil but Minene is very sure a certain psychopath will beat him. All the corpses wake up. Playing dead? How ironic. Yuno starts cutting them down and wants Tsubaki to be the bait to get Yukiteru out. She gives Yukiteru a choice. Follow Yuno and love or choose Tsubaki and die. Tough choice, eh?

Episode 5
Tsubaki narrates she was born with a weak eyesight but was given clairvoyance instead. Because of that, her parents started the Omekata-kyo and made her a figurehead. She then learnt her clairvoyance was a lie but was happy since she wasn’t alone. Till that day when her parents died and her followers start raping her. Her only thing connected to this world was a ball from her mom. When she lost it, she couldn’t take it anymore. Back in reality, when Yuno takes Yukiteru and run, he also takes Tsubaki’s hand. Meanwhile Yomotsu explains his diary that is about justice (including cleaning up trash). He intends to use Minene’s mini bomb and gives her the key to free herself. When Tsubaki realizes her followers are back to normal, she suggests Yukiteru to face the enemy here. Yuno is not amused. Showdown. She might be losing it. That’s when Kurusu calls Yukiteru that he already has Minene in custody but warns about Yomotsu’s hearing abilities. Speaking of which, he pops up before them. Five of them! Coloured heroes of justice? So the bomb was used for this grand entrance? Yomotsu explains Yukiteru is being tricked by Tsubaki. His goal is to kill Tsubaki because he believes this cult is evil. If he wishes not to be involved, then run. Of the clones, one of them is the real him and contains the bomb. Besides, he doesn’t care blowing himself up because his Future Diary states he is going to die. When they charge, Yukiteru consults his Future Diary to see which is the real one. However they start shuffling. He should have observed which colour was the real one. But Yuno also dashes straight. She throws a stone to see which one reacts to its sound. She then chops him up. She wins. So she must be justice, right? Yomotsu explodes shortly. Yuno must be sick and I mean really sick and not love sick so she is now weak. Suddenly Tsubaki’s followers restrain them. Looks like it was all a lie and act to trick them. She reveals to get rid of them all at once by using Minene as bait till Yomotsu ruined it. Yukiteru is shocked at the deception so Tsubaki gives him a lesson: A kiss. Bad move… Tsubaki checks her Future Diary to confirm she won’t die. She still will! Because Yuno breaks free and chops everybody up! Tsubaki’s right hand gets chopped! Told you it was a bad move! Before Yuno collapses, she entrusts her Future Diary with him and pushes him away to escape.

Back in her room, Tsubaki plans to use Yuno to lure Yukiteru out. Her plan to become God is so that she can erase this filthy world. Yukiteru is hiding underneath the structure. He is sad that Yuno was right and tried to protect him. Feeling useless and a wuss? What are you going to do? He spots a ball nearby. Tsubaki is going to let Yuno experience the same thing. She is going to let her followers take turns raping her. So if Yukiteru doesn’t want her deflowered, better come quick. Will Yuno be done in before Yukiteru? That kid is scared sh*t but no time to hesitate so he runs out from hiding and into the room, clumsily swinging the axe. Tsubaki is confident she can kill him now that he is here. All she needs to do is consult her Future Diary. But Yukiteru says his death isn’t certain yet. He is going to change the future with his power. He chooses Yuno and they’ll both survive this. He takes out the ball and throws it in the air. With all her followers fixated at it, Yukiteru throws his dart. Tsubaki needs to protect her Future Diary but realizes she is a hand short to fold up her scroll. The dart hits. Dead end. End game. In the aftermath as Yuno sleeps on his shoulder, Yukiteru ponders about her. She might just be his stalker living in a house with corpses. It’s not like he likes her or anything (is he being tsundere?) and probably the best reward if Yuno was awake: He kisses her! Lastly, Minene got away thanks to a deal she made with Kurusu to exchange her email address.

Episode 6
What is worse than Yuno breaking into Yukiteru’s home when he is away? When he has to go pick up his mommy, Rea coming back from work! She’s teasing him if he has a girlfriend. Okay, I take that back. They’re both equally bad. When they get home, they see signs of being break in. Yukiteru knows who the intruder is and rushes into his room only to see Yuno cleaning. It’s sparkling clean! She wants to make a good impression on his mother. She knows… He hides her in the closet when Rea comes in. Of course she finds it odd that she hears a girl’s voice and Yukiteru his holding the closet. It is inevitable. Yuno is so excited she wants to meet his mom that she keeps pushing. By a stroke of luck, Yukiteru whisks his mom outside. But he finds Yuno reading his porn magazine. What is she looking? Rather, mother wants to know what he is looking at. So when the ladies finally meet, mother is happy her son has got a girlfriend. Yuno even has her taste her cooking and she gives the approval. She’s already part of the family, eh? Meanwhile, Minene sees a doctor who gives her a fake eye. She notices other kids in the hospital. They belong to the parents of those killed in that cult. Seems the news classify it as mass suicide. The bad day for Yukiteru continues. He runs out of toilet paper… But Yuno knows… And then naked baby photo albums of Yukiteru! Lots of them! Mother even gives the approval for them to sleep together but keep it down, okay? Obviously Yukiteru can’t sleep. Not because he is thinking about Yuno becoming his future wife. I think it’s the way she is staring at him! She wonders why he won’t come over and he says he isn’t necessarily in love with her. However according to Future Diary, they will become one on July 28th. He will fall in love with her. Yukiteru says he can change that but he can do anything he likes and Yuno won’t let him change this future. In the middle of night, Yuno has these scary eyes. She is glad Rea is a nice person because thankfully she will not have to use any of the tools she brought. Oh sh*t! Next day, Rea brings back a kid, Reisuke “Rei” Houjou. Her parents are one of Rea’s colleagues and died in that cult incident. She will be temporarily taking care of him. We can guess that something is off with this lively kid. Making hand puppets of Yukiteru and Yuno smooching each other. Then while cutting out a drawing to give to Yuno, he trips and the scissors almost stabbed her heart but a pillow protected her. Then in the toilet, Rei takes out his Future Diary… I knew it.

Episode 7
Rei talks to his hand puppets about the perfect combo of Yukiteru and Yuno. It’s going to be tough since his Future Diary is the weakest. In the form of a picture diary, it only tells entries of morning, afternoon and night. This means he is limited to only 3 chances. But Rei doesn’t care and is going to prove that he is better than them since he is an elite. First he tries to poison them but Yuno can guess something is wrong with the tomato’s weight! This salad is no good… Holy sh*t! Next, Rei tries to electrocute Yuno while she is taking a bath but Yukiteru notices his Future Diary changing its entry without him or Yuno doing anything. He suspects something and starts to turn on all the electronic devices. Before Rei could electrocute her, the power goes out. As he playfully runs out, Yukiteru suspects he could be a Future Diary owner. Next morning, he tries to search around but Yuno has a quicker way: The knife! Oh no you don’t! But it seems Rei tells them they won’t find it. Not with their brains. Yukiteru tries to use his Future Diary to locate possible places. Yuno is tempted to use the quick method… And eventually she did as she chases and tries to hammer him!!! Rea wonders what the ruckus is about and goes to check only to get clobbered by Yuno! Oh sh*t! You did it this time! Rea is put to bed and Yuno is terribly sorry. Yukiteru calms her down that she can find Rei’s Future Diary if she gets serious. So it might look silly that Yuno is meditating but she is thinking how Rei would think and hide his Future Diary from them but still get it within his reach.

Then it hit her. The courier. It has just arrived. Yukiteru tries to stop it and although he grabs the package and tears it open, it is a trap as poison gas flows out. I don’t know where Rei got his gas mask but the gas in that little package is enough to cover the entire house? As Yuno brings weakened Yukiteru into the toilet to hide, Rei wants them to come out and play. That is, kill each other. He’s having a lot of fun. Yuno claims she is probably the one who killed his parents so kill her and leave Yukiteru out. However Rei doesn’t want that right to kill her. She likes her and therefore will kill her. He suggests a game. He has the antidote for the poison. If she can catch him, she wins. If the gas gets her, he wins. Yukiteru is concerned that Rei must have laid traps but Yuno thanks him for his worries. The cat and mouse game begins and although she breaks the windows for air, the heavy poison still lingers. She goes around trying to find Rei but the plan to surprise her with duds failed (because when you are surprised, you inhale air, right?). Finally Yuno spots him at the top floor. There is water leaking. Electrocution again? This time Yuno get shocked but this isn’t enough to kill her. But this shocker might revive her because here comes Yukiteru rushing to kiss her and give her some air before tumbling down like a rock. Better make this count, Yuno. Without hesitation, she kills Rei. Thanks to the power of love! He’s going to die anyway as stated in his Future Diary. He passes the antidote but wonders the way she is playing. Because there can only be 1 survivor, at this rate they’ll have to face off. Yuno will always protect Yukiteru. However she collapses before she could give the antidote. Did Minene do it? How kind of her. She says Yuno must be rid of early in the game because she is the biggest threat.

Episode 8
Deus updates the survivors that with 4 down, the game is 1/3 complete. But one of them wants his approval for a special case. He wants to pass ownership of his Future Diary to another person. It has been 2 weeks since Rei’s case. It is reported there was an intruder in the house. Yuno accidentally hurt Rea while trying to chase the intruder. In the end, Rei went missing with the intruder. Yukiteru wonders if he will make friends at the new school. I think Yuno wants to be his ONLY friend. It isn’t all strangers in his class but there is this familiar classmate too, Ouji Kousaka. He used to pick on him and the first one to turn against him during Minene’s terrorism. Kousaka won’t let him start afresh and starts accusing him of being a killer. But he is put in place when Hinata Tsukishima and Mao Nonosaka stop him. They make friends with Yukiteru but blunders his first move. He slips and pulls down Hinata’s pants… As the teacher warns them about a serial killer on the loose our friends discuss this. Mao points out the police is keeping a tight lid on this and perhaps their classmate, Aru Akise who is always absent playing detective might know. After school, they go to investigate a crime scene. Yuno is not pleased. She looks mad. I think I know why… She doesn’t even join them while they’re having fun. Writing ‘die’ on the sands clearly tells us her state of mind… When Hinata rushes off herself, Yukiteru hears his Future Diary changing and against Yuno’s wish, he uses it. To their horror, they see Hinata’s arm torn off and before them a pack of wild dogs. Everyone is paralyzed in fear when Akise comes in. He has been watching them since they entered the park and they would die if he didn’t interfere. Don’t worry. He claims he is their friend. He suggests they run to the nearby observation deck for cover.

Meanwhile some guy is treating his dogs to the best meat and soup while he himself only gets cup noodles. He is in a control room observing his target and noting his plan is going well since he has lent his dogs and Future Diary. Inside the observation deck, Akise explains he wants to be a great detective and thus has researched on Yukiteru. He connected him to the serial killer, school bombing and Omekata-kyo incident and his guts tell him he has some great secret. Of course, he might get into another predicament again. Yuno suggests they sacrifice everyone and run away but Yukiteru won’t do that. She thinks somebody in this hall is controlling the dogs. Trust nobody! Yukiteru is in a dilemma to use his Future Diary to save everyone and reveal his secret. Since he has no choice, he tells everyone which window to hold as the dogs start trying to barge in. This goes on till night fall until the dogs retreat. Everyone is impressed with his tactic so Yukiteru reveals this Future Diary of his. Suddenly Mao holds him at knife point. She takes his Future Diary. Then Hinata returns. She reveals she has a Future Diary and is the breeder type. She warns Yuno not to make any hasty moves. Hinata explains her true target is not Yukiteru but Akise’s Future Diary.

Episode 9
That guy who lent his Future Diary is actually Hinata’s dad. He is the serial killer going around killing others whom he thinks are Future Diary owners. He regrets leaving Hinata and her mom for his dogs. His only wish to become God is to turn back time. Hinata is on his side and wants to start over. However he claims investigators are on to him. Akise is already watching outside and as long as he is there, it will be hard to start over. Therefore Hinata planned this entire thing to get Akise’s Future Diary. She planted a fake body believing it will not predict futures of corpses. Yup, Yukiteru was the bait for that. And you wonder why friends are made so easily. Akise is willing to give his Future Diary if they win a game. He flips a coin. Now which hand? But first he lets Hinata try it out. With Yukiteru’s Future Diary in hand, she will win. But noticing Yukiteru has given signals to Yuno and Akise, she already switched hands. Akise consults his Future Diary and calls the correct hand. Now it is for real. Akise flips the coin as Hinata decides to go for the opposite. However it is wrong. Hinata only frees Yukiteru. Despite he is awed at Akise’s Future Diary, Yuno is suspicious. She was sure she didn’t hear that interference noise from his Future Diary when theirs changed. Before Akise could begin the next round, Yuno pins him down and a knife to his throat. She asks what number he is. Then it is revealed his Future Diary is empty. It is just an ordinary handphone. He is not a player of the game. Akise admits he was just going with the flow since everybody believed it. He explains his calls are based on pure luck and that Hinata self destructed on her prediction. But Yuno will kill him for playing with Yukiteru’s life. In this final round for Yukiteru’s Future Diary, after Hinata tosses the coin, Yuno covers Yukiteru’s ears. Akise calls the correct hand but tells Yukiteru he has lost. In shock, Yuno knocks him out. Akise’s deduction is that even if Yukiteru can predict the future, it is what he believes in even if it is wrong. For example, he believed Hinata was dead up till now. If he believes it, then even if it is incorrect, it is still given as an incorrect prediction. Whether he wins or loses, Akise was going to tell Yukiteru he lost. Yuno spots Mao taking out her knife and dashes to stab her. While she is grieving, they escape but she sends the dogs upon them.

Yukiteru remembers Kurusu telling him someone suggested trading ownership but Deus refused it and won’t accept acts that lead to forfeiture in the game. Yukiteru wants to return to save Hinata. Yuno comes along with him while Akise and Kousaka become bait to lure the dogs. Just like Yuno, she suggests running away since they have become baits but Yukiteru won’t have it. She tries to convince him she is her only friend he needs but he doesn’t want to be alone and why does she want him not to make friends so bad? Yuno runs faster than Yukiteru despite he looked like he was miles ahead. She was fast enough to hold Hinata hostage and gives her the ultimatum to destroy her Future Diary or be killed. She explains why she is against Yukiteru making friends. If he gets close to this girl, he might like her. Others making friends with him is like trying to take him away from her. She’ll kill anybody who gets close! Yukiteru then drops a bombshell. She is not her friend. Just bear with him. He never properly introduced her to everyone so now is the time. She is his girlfriend! Remember the date. July 28th. Happy end. You don’t want him to hate her, don’t you? As his girlfriend, she must act appropriately and acknowledge his friends. Yukiteru knows he has dug a grave so deep that he can never get out. The biggest lie ever told. Well, look on the positive side, Yuno’s sanity is back. Yuno wants Akise to be grateful to Yukiteru’s hard work that he minimized casualties (Mao is still alive). However Akise is surprised Yuno is unhurt since he was sure Yukiteru would have killed her just to save his friends. Hinata laments she has failed but her father (speaking via a speaker through one of the dog’s collar) points out he incorrectly identified an owner. What about his wish to get things back on track? That was a lie! She was too trusting. However he doesn’t want Hinata to be a bad adult like him. He advises her he isn’t the only bad adult and needs to be careful of those who act nice. Then it is game over for him since Kurusu shoots him from behind.

Episode 10
Yuno is digging a huge hole. So huge that she doesn’t remember who she is going to bury. I hope it isn’t for Yukiteru… We go a little back in the past whereby Minene was facing off with Third. She underestimated him since his clothes were bullet and bomb proof. She was left running for a life. Bad luck hit her as she stumbled unto Kurusu’s underling, Masumi Nishijima. Recognizing her as a terrorist, he quickly cuffs her. They run and hide in an abandoned college while Third continues to hunt them. Since Nishijima won’t take off the cuffs, Minene has a hard time going to the toilet. Even so, in an awkward position. Then the flush doesn’t work… She kicks it and water splashes over her. In an abandoned fashion design room, it is weird that Nishijima decides to take off the cuffs now so she can fully change. The dress that you see in Minene’s debut in this series. Even odd that this terrorist could act so girly and I think Nishijima likes it! Uh huh. Cliché moments like she tripping and he falling over her, that sort of thing. But play time is over when Third comes in. In order to take him out, they lure him into some music room and blast him with some sound explosion. As they escape, Minene shoots Nishijima. He might be out cold but he isn’t dead since he is wearing a bullet proof vest. She remembers her childhood days were something like this. Always covered with blood and she running for her life. It wasn’t anything girly. That’s why she doesn’t need love then or now.

Yukiteru is happy that Akise is inviting him out for a movie. Anything to get away from that stalker… But wait! She’s here to go with him! What about Akise? Seems he told her there was a wedding exhibition and since a certain wimp was too shy to ask her… It is then Yukiteru realized he has been set up! Curses! Now you regret ever calling Yuno your girlfriend? She’s escalating this pretty fast… Better tell her it was a lie. But does he have the balls? At the exhibition they are treated first class. They even try out their wedding outfit and holy cow! Yuno looks beautiful! Those words even left Yukiteru’s mouth. But still, he needs to tell her about the lie. Noticing how happy she is, maybe he can just tell her another day. Sure, procrastinate… But his thoughts keep thinking about what is keeping him from loving her. Was it that corpse room? Would he have fallen for her had he not see it? Better not think too much and carry on with the mock wedding. Their host envies that they are young. She was like that too but her husband rarely comes home from work and they turn out like that. Yukiteru realizes she is Kurusu’s wife. When Yukiteru brings Yuno back to her home, he is shocked to see Akise here. Seems it was a ploy because while they were away, he investigated her home and opened that room. He hoped to find bodies but only a bloody huge hole that you can’t even see the bottom! But Yuno isn’t panicking and tells them to make themselves at home. Because this is Yukiteru’s first time here! The guys leave and Akise deduces she must have overwritten her memories due to her fragile mental state. He thought it was best to bring everything to light but was wrong. Yuno is more dangerous without him. Meanwhile Kurusu reports the death of Hinata’s dad and points out the possible suspects are Yuno and Yukiteru. They will arrest them within 24 hours.

Episode 11
Kurusu is seen begging to Minene to ally with him. Because Yukiteru isn’t interested in becoming God, he views only her way is most appropriate to change the world. He will feed her with any information from the police. Yukiteru and Yuno are arrested. Yuno is having those crazy eyes as she is trying to find a weapon! Yukiteru has to control her and assure her everything will be alright. Yukiteru is called to be interrogated by Kurusu first. It seems over in a flash because he believes Yukiteru is telling the truth that he wasn’t the one that killed Hinata’s dad. However, Kurusu wants to play a game: Russian roulette. Don’t worry. They have their Future Diaries, right? Yuno sees her Future Diary that Yukiteru is in danger. It is pretty odd that security around her is lax (maybe they don’t know how psycho she is) so she tails an officer to the toilet and whacks him with a fire extinguisher to steal his gun! Kurusu and Yukiteru are lucky in the game but it’s down to the last chamber and it is Yukiteru’s turn. He is going to kill him. The alliance is nullified. Suddenly Yuno barges in and empties her gun on Kurusu! She’s out of control. Not even Yukiteru can control her. She hijacks Nishijima to make their escape as other police chase them. While running upstairs, a police fires a running shot. Yukiteru panics and shoots him in the gut! Kurusu is still alive thanks to the bullet proof vest and he is lucky he only lost his left ear. He orders the capture of Yukiteru and Yuno. Seems this is part of his plan to make them into villains by making them commit crimes. At the rooftop, Yukiteru is sorry he couldn’t stop her. She thanks and kisses him. Then they jump down. Don’t worry. There is a truck with a canvas below to cushion their fall.

The city is clamp down in search for the fugitives. The duo are hiding in some storeroom and can’t go out because their Future Diaries only predict they will be killed. I don’t know what they’ll do for food or toilet but Yukiteru smells doughnuts. It seems Kurusu’s wife, Naoko is nearby making her way to the hospital. As they tail her, suddenly a bomb explodes. The hole in the floor separates Yuno from Yukiteru. Minene takes Yukiteru hostage. This scene is more comical than tense because he messes around with her equipment and causes another explosion behind. Now they’re trap. Yuno gives a ladder to cross over but they’re worried about being betrayed or not. And when Kurusu calls Minene, it descends into a childish argument of who is on who’s side or betraying who. Nobody is listening to Yuno she is always on Yukiteru’s side. Kurusu warns if she betrays him, he will kill her. After they safely cross over, the trio’s Future Diaries state they will be killed by Kurusu. Minene shows the reason why Kurusu teamed up with her. Inside a room, Naoko is sitting beside her son, You on life support. Wait a minute. The hospital isn’t evacuated and nobody is panicking after that blast that ripped the floor?! Anyway, Minene explains Kurusu is trying to be God to save his son. They allied for that but now it doesn’t matter. Minene then takes the doughnuts and eats them, offering to only Yuno and Yukiteru. It’s better on them than the dead kid, right? Yukiteru is in a dilemma if he has to go this far. Minene proposes a new alliance among them to take out Kurusu.

Episode 12
The police surrounds the hospital. He orders all units to be at their positions despite hostages are still inside. Minene gives a bomb to Yukiteru to go scouting around while she handles the negotiations. Minene calls Kurusu to make her demands. Kurusu must kill himself and a getaway vehicle must be prepared. However he declines all of them. He will kill her if she does not release the hostages. His son will not live is he backs down. There is no other choice but to become God. With negotiations failed, SWAT storms in and pins down Yukiteru. Kurusu then comes rushing in right at the same time Yuno comes to rescue her love. They’re firing both at the same time and the poor SWAT in the middle got caught in their crossfire. Kurusu holds Yukiteru hostage. Yuno threatens to blow up everything. He agrees to let Yukiteru go first. However Yuno is happy that Yukiteru has given her a future. She is happy he wanted to marry her. If it doesn’t come true, she’ll die for him. She takes out the pin and will sacrifice herself to kill Kurusu. Meanwhile Minene puts a timed bomb underneath some bed and then makes her escape. She bumps into Nishijima. Again? You should see their shocked expression. It’s hilarious. As he tries to catch her, a bright flash occurs nearby. Seems that grenade was only a flash grenade and it knocks everyone out. Shortly, a real grenade nearby rips through the floors. Minene has an idea of using Nishijima to escape her death.

Yukiteru is alive but he is beaten up by Kurusu. He takes Yuno hostage and believes Yukiteru doesn’t have the guts to shoot. Yukiteru consults his Future Diary that his shot will hit and kill Yuno. Yuno says to shoot her. She is more than happy because even though he pretended to like her, he still accompanied her to the wedding exhibition. A picture of that drops from her pocket. He can’t believe she is keeping this. Is she satisfied with just this? He doesn’t want her to give up now and will definitely make her happy. Because he loves her too. He fires his shot that hits Kurusu’s guts. Kurusu becomes crazy and desperate enough to kill Yuno (why is she standing there scared? Shouldn’t her yandere mode kick in?). Nishijima stops him. He has heard from Minene about his deeds. Minene shows the recording of the deal they made. He is no longer a police and just a criminal. Because of that, he can no longer receive future predictions. After learning his wife and his son are safely evacuated, he asks Minene for one last request: To take care of his son. Then he breaks his own handphone and apologizes for the trouble he has caused and wants him to live. In the aftermath, Nishijima takes care of the case and clears the misunderstanding for the kids. Minene escaped on her own and the best news is that the officer whom Yukiteru shot lives. Yukiteru and Yuno are now like a happy couple going on a trip. She even commends his kiss has gotten better! While Yukiteru is away to the toilet, Yuno sees a message in his handphone from Akise. He is warning Yukiteru to stay away from Yuno because for unknown reasons the police are still looking for her. She deletes it as junk mail.

Episode 13
Akise visits Yukiteru’s home but realizes he is not him. Nishijima happen to pass by and it seems they know each other. Meanwhile Deus believes Murmur must have done something because no matter how it was, Kurusu was a potential winner of that game. Murmur admits she let Kurusu know about his son’s impending death sooner instead of later to speed up the game. Because she believes they need to pick a new God before Deus dies. She wants to make a bet with him. Akise has Hinata, Mao and Kousaka come on a trip with him on pretence to patch their friendship. The girls notice the guys taking down their own notes. While Akise is mainly for his detective work, Kousaka is just doing it for fun. They think they’re copying Yukiteru. Akise remembers Nishijima showed him Kurusu’s evidence that was left for the latter. All about the Future Diary owners who are the real culprits behind the incidents and all of them involve Yukiteru and Yuno. They figure they are running away from the remaining Future Diary owners but Yuno won’t be so dumb to run to a place where she can’t do anything. They are in danger and need to find them. From witnesses, they know they have gone to the mountains but could it be that this is what she wants them to think? Akise brings his friends to Nishijima who enlists their help to find Yukiteru and Yuno in which it is believed the former is being held by the latter. They split up and go around trying to locate them and it is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Till Kousaka’s complain about no water gave Akise an idea. They must be hiding in some place with running water and electricity. This narrows down their search. Checking out those places, they narrowly avoided random traps placed by Yuno. Hinata then gets mail from Yukiteru about his location. She goes off herself while she tells Mao to meet up with the rest. But Akise is suspicious. Because Yuno’s Future Diary will know whatever Yukiteru is doing so could it be fake? And when Mao receives mail from Hinata claiming she has found Yukiteru, Akise remains suspicious but since there is no time to lose, they head there. Inside the room, they realize too late that this Yukiteru is a dummy as the door behind them shuts. No way out. To Akise’s fear, this is a trap and the mails received were fake from Yuno. Assuming Hinata was here, she might have been attacked and taken to another place. It is not that Yukiteru was just sitting around watching, he might be unable to move. Suddenly gas is filling up the room. Murmur wants to bet on Yuno but Deus still choose to remain favourite Yukiteru as his pick.

Episode 14
Yukiteru is strapped to a chair and like a zombie. Yuno is feeding his non-responsive body. Kousaka is so negative that he is thinking of writing a will! However Akise calls out to Yuno (via security camera). He wonders if she is carrying 2 human skulls. Because when they left, he re-examined the big hole and found 2 skeletal remains without heads. The marks on them are fresh. Could it be that she is still carrying them around? Yuno claims she doesn’t want to wake up her parents. Akise continues that he also saw a third skeletal remains but this one had a skull intact. Who could this be? If she doesn’t want all this details to be sent to the police, better free them. Yuno laughs like a maniac and hangs up on these people. Akise realizes that she has rewritten her memories that they are now unknown people. Kousaka continues to lament his impending death and goes ahead in writing his will! Suddenly he receives a new message. Because he has posted a certain number of posts, he has attained a new rank. This means he has become a new Future Diary owner! Holy cow! His apprentice diary predicts how he got out and faces Yuno. So with Akise’s help, he crawls into the vent and busts out at the control room. Yukiteru regains some of his consciousness. He remembers during their trip, Yuno drugged his drink. The next thing he knew, he was here. He tried to escape but she didn’t give him a chance. Kousaka is confident in following his Future Diary so Yuno agrees to give him the keys. One to release the gas room and the other to Yukiteru. But she will throw him the gas room key first and then head back to get the other key. This is to buy time because she wants to save her parents too. Consulting his Future Diary and seeing there is nothing wrong, he does it. Of course Yukiteru knows it is a trap but can’t say anything as his voice is soft.

After he opens the door to the gas room, before he could go back to get the other key, Yuno shoots his knee with her crossbow! She explains he doesn’t know how to use his Future Diary and because his only predicts his successes, it never tells him his failures. Go ahead. Unlock Yukiteru and do what his diary tells him. Then she’ll kill him. Yuno hears the static sound. When she turns around, Yukiteru is gone. He takes her crossbow and slaps her! He reminds her that her Future Diary is also limited. She didn’t predict what Hinata would do because Yukiteru signalled to her to kick the key to him. Yukiteru then sees his Future Diary entries listing the other diary owners coming to find him. He leaves with the other friends. Yuno is panicking not to be left alone. Maybe they’ll go see the stars together like he suggested now. You see that angry look in his eyes? He doesn’t give a sh*t! Goodbye. Meanwhile at some foster home, Orin Miyashiro reports to Kamado Ueshita (I thought she was some mascot with that big funny looking head) that she has sent other apprentice diary owners to scout and that Kousaka who is facing off with Yuno might lose. Nishijima gives the kids a ride home. Kousaka is pretty mad but it’s not Yukiteru’s fault, right? A car flashes from the opposite direction but those bunch of cool people just pass them although one of them noted they lost their chance to kill Yukiteru. Lastly, Yuno hasn’t given up yet (why would she? We would know her character by now). She packs her bags and makes her move.

Episode 15
Yukiteru sees a message from Deus because some has requested more details on Eighth, the owner who can create more owners. Some are concerned that this will violate the rules as if these new owners can become God or get killed. Yukiteru has Kousaka show him his handphone. Then he smashes in to the ground! Nothing happens (although that guy is acting like he is about to die). As suspected, as Eighth can make new owners, but these Future Diaries are all connected to the server that hosts blogs. These Future Diary owners will not die when anything happens to it since it is only reading from the central server. Kousaka is upset they destroyed his handphone but this prevents others from knowing their position. Yukiteru knows he can’t fight this alone but has decided not to rely on Yuno. Who can he rely on? His friends wonder if he really wishes for them to help. No cheating and looking at his Future Diary. Yes, he wants to. They’ll help then. While Yukiteru hides and the rest make a plan, the only problem is Yuno, given the nature of her diary she knows all Yukiteru’s moves. As long as they have this handicap, they won’t know what she’ll do. Yukiteru goes to eat with his mom for the first time since Yuno barged in. She isn’t going to pry his private life as it would make things awkward. She’ll listen when he is ready. But be sure to tell her. Yukiteru notices there are lots of food. Mom says Yuno was here to make them but left. Oh sh*t… He’ll never get her out of his life. Yukiteru shivering in cold sweat… Funny… The friends make their way to Kousaka’s mansion. Man, he has got such big space of empty land! Part of their plan is to switch off the power to the telecommunications tower once the apprentice owners arrive. However it seems like they got a head start when they cut out the power. Now they can’t cut the signal to the handphones. Yukiteru is panicking that nobody else should know their plan. There is one… And she is here! Yuno is going to protect her love! OMG. Yukiteru’s flabbergasted face is damn funny! Akise invites her to join them. Well, they got no choice, right? But Yukiteru keeps her hands tied. Just in case.

Akise and Kousaka go to turn off the tower manually. However Marco Ikusaba and Ai Mikami barge in while Tarou Nanba AKA Takkun reports what his happening to Kamado. Marco is able to beat up Nishijima thanks to his boxing moves as his Future Diary is about boxing while Ai’s is about flirting. Yukiteru and Yuno run up to hide in the attic while Mao and Hinata got wounded by Ai’s knives. Of course Yuno doesn’t care about them as long as they’re both alright. She wants him to untie her but Yukiteru doesn’t think so. She’ll use this chance to tie him up again, no? Tying him up is her love, right? She promises she won’t but Marco and Ai barge in. Although Akise has shut off the tower, the couple remain cool. They toss away their handphones and take out another one! These are their true Future Diaries and they are actual owners. Their exchange diaries allow them to see each other’s future and protect the other. Yuno pleads to free her. No choice he does so as Yuno deflects Ai’s knife. Because Yukiteru praises how great she is, she gets motivated and deflects them all! The couple retreat. They have also brought Hinata and Mao outside because in the event if their plan fails, Takkun will set the place on fire. Once it is up in flames, the couple return back in to finish their fight and show them the meaning of love. Yuno wants Yukiteru to use her in any way even if it’s helping her friends. She’ll go back pretending to be his lover again. Yuno fights Ai but Marco protects her from being slashed with his arm. Yuno then takes a brutal hit. When the sprinklers put out the fire, Marco is upset that Yukiteru didn’t come to save his girl. The kid admits he is pathetic and weak so Marco tosses him down to die. In the aftermath, Yukiteru is recuperating in hospital. Yuno is unconscious as well as with Hinata and Mao who are badly injured. Their Future Diaries were confiscated. Their plan failed. Minene then comes in and wants to know more about those Future Diary owners.

Episode 16
As part of the plan, Minene will take care of Yukiteru. I guess this includes sitting on his body while he does push-ups. But it seems Yukiteru’s dad is here to visit too and he got the wrong idea seeing this kinky nurse play. He wants one too! Because he can’t stop harassing Minene, she suggests father and son enter some challenge. Dad proposes to do whatever Yukiteru wants if he loses. Yukiteru wishes for dad and mom to remarry so that they can see the stars together as promised. Meanwhile Marco and Ai are having their own love problems. Ai sees Marco’s Future Diary that he is cheating on her and becomes furious he wants to break up! Reading a little more, it turns out he was buying a ring and proposing… Suddenly it becomes I love you… Back to Yukiteru and dad’s challenge, when it seems Yukiteru has clearly beaten dad, there is always a catch and ‘cheat’ that makes him win. Even Minene acknowledges dad’s victory. Yukiteru realizes she has no intention of letting him win. But Minene wants father and son to spend time together since they just got reunited. And so it was rather fun and silly for them to go through several challenges. As usual, Yuno is watching and thank goodness she is relieved to find dad a good guy. She already has a knife ready in hand… In the final challenge in which winner takes all, dad tells Yukiteru the real reason they divorced. It was his debt. Even right now he is under a 3 million debt. Yukiteru feels guilty that he was selfish to wish for them to remarry and didn’t know what was going on. Even if he wins, remarrying isn’t possible. Minene gives Yukiteru advice that he is easy to give in to his weakness. Even if he doesn’t have the strength, he can still fight on and reach his goal. Fight till his feelings reach his dad. Once he reaches the end, dad leaves behind a note saying that he will think about remarrying and is confident he can clear the debt.

Minene meets up with Nishijima who explains this is all part of the plan to make Marco believe they have a plan against him since he is having their Future Diaries. Yuno watching Yukiteru, spots dad returning to the hospital. He is frantically searching Yukiteru’s room for his Future Diary and it seems if he destroys it, his ‘employer’ will clear his debt. While Nishijima has a search warrant at Kamado’s orphanage, Yuno tries to kill Yukiteru’s dad by slitting his throat from behind! Luckily Yukiteru took her away but as she explains about his true goal, does he believe in her or dad? Marco calls Yuno to warn her not to touch dad and instead bring him to some tower. Yukiteru’s dad is shocked that his handphone is not with him. At the tower, they see Marco and Ai standing at an altar like a prelude to being married. Once Yukiteru’s dad approaches Marco, he is punched in the gut. Marco then places their Future Diaries on the table and wants to see if Yukiteru has got what it takes to save his Future Diary and dad. It is more fun that way instead of breaking it right away. Yukiteru is mad and upset. He charges but that is all he’s got. He is still weak and is owned by Marco. Yukiteru’s dad then gets up and heads over to the table and takes his Future Diary and breaks it! End of Yukiteru? Not quite. Because Yuno has observed as she attacks Ai and retrieves their real Future Diaries inside her hand bouquet. She recognized the scratches and dents on their Future Diaries and noticed those were just replicas. Yukiteru’s dad wants his son to hand over his handphone and can get him a new model. This proves he doesn’t know about Future Diaries. Suddenly Takkun detonates the place since time is up. The floor beneath Yukiteru collapses. His dad and Yuno race to save him.

Episode 17
This tower holds many memories for Ai. She was abandoned here by her parents 14 years ago. Optimistic Marco picked her up since he too was an abandoned child. Ai starts hanging out with Marco throughout high school. I want to compare her case with Yuno’s stalking but considering that psychopath, Ai’s case looks so mild. There was also an altar at the tower whereby Ai proclaimed she wanted to get married here. Of course there are jealous b*tches so they set up a fake note from Marco to meet at an abandoned factory. In short, she got gang raped. Marco couldn’t understand why Ai texted to him that he is not at the designated place. But when she doesn’t pick up her call, he has a bad feeling and rushes over, only to be horrified over what he saw. In his rage, he beat them all up and even killed one of them. Marco felt guilty that had he been there, this would not have happened. Now that he has commit murder, he can no longer be free and was about to kill himself. Ai stopped him and didn’t want to be left alone. So he vowed to protect her always. Back in reality, Yuno grabs Yukiteru’s hand. His dad is being taken by Marco as they head upstairs. Seems they’re going to use a parachute. Although Yuno points out that their lost last time was due to her fighting them both at the same time, it is not Yukiteru’s fault and should use that to their advantage. They’ll fight them in their own way. Reaching the top, only Yuno is before them. Yukiteru is hiding as he admits he is weak and the last time they lost was because he exposed himself to danger. Marco and Yuno face off but he grabs her knife by his mouth and kicks her! As Ai restrains her, he grabs her Future Diary, he finds Yukiteru is hiding in the broadcast room. However he heads there and finds nobody. He realizes this is the fake Future Diary they did. Marco sees Ai’s death by Yukiteru’s dart and rushes back to warn her. Although it misses by a whisker, Yuno slits her throat!

Yukiteru chides Yuno for taking things too far when Yukiteru’s dad steals their parachute and escapes. Rea, as summoned by Nishijima to the site saw him gliding down so she goes to confront him about Yukiteru. Since he continues to feign ignorance, he can’t stand her persistent bugging and what do you do with a knife in hand? Another explosion rocks the tower. Yukiteru, Yuno and Ai are trapped beneath a rubble. Ai isn’t dead yet. I guess Yuno didn’t slit too deep (but she’ll still die of blood lose). Yuno plans on using her to lure Marco to save them. Marco can be heard trying to dig open the rubble. He tells those kids off about their fake love. Especially with Yuno bending Yukiteru to her will all the while promising to ‘save’ him. That is called selfish. He isn’t doing this because of her threat. He wasn’t going to run anyway. He wants them to help out. By the time Marco makes a decent opening, they see a steel beam pierced through his stomach. Yukiteru calls Yuno to help lift the rubble. She is still hesitant so he tells her off if her love for him is real or just insane. He can’t tell. So make him believe. The trio lift it up to make it out. Marco admits he has lost and gives them the parachute. Staying by Ai’s side in their final moments, Marco laments they can’t be gods and live together. But this itself can be considered as forever too. This time the tower collapses for good. Yukiteru vows to have a serious talk with his parents. Yuno might have problems with his dad but he really wants them to get along. He hopes Yuno can be there to help. When they reach the ground, Nishijima is in a frenzy although he tells Yukiteru to calm down on what he is about to hear. Though Yukiteru didn’t hear his words, he saw from his Future Diary that mom is dead.

Episode 18
Beginning with another flashback, during the time after they wrote their future careers. Though lots of guys were interested in Yuno, it is a good thing their guts told them to stay away because Yuno was hell never interested in them except for Yukiteru. So when she saw a love letter from Yukiteru addressed to Moe Wakaba, their class rep (I thought she looked a bit like Rea), she is hell bent in stopping him from delivering it. Wow. So the yandere began that early, huh? Since Yuno and Yukiteru were on duty and in charge of buying supplies for their class’ cultural festival, the teacher remembers Yuno’s curfew and replaced her with Wakaba. Damn this sh*t! She is not going to let Yukiteru deliver that letter anyhow. Of course Yukiteru is happy and is trying to find ways to give it to her. Unfortunately there is this strange bunny mascot (Yuno underneath it) that is trying to keep them apart. Yeah, it’s scaring the kids with its stalking. Uh huh. Not even letting Yukiteru take a break at the toilet! Then Yukiteru realizes this bunny is gunning for his love letter! He makes a run for it while the bunny chases after him. Thanks to reports from people about this strange deviant, the police are also after the bunny. I guess Yukiteru must be desperate so when he meets back with Wakaba, he delivers his letter right smack in public. Yuno is being restrained as she can only watch in horror. As she goes home, she realizes it is way past her curfew. Don’t worry. Her parents are dead and locked in a cage. It has been a month since. Each time Yuno broke her curfew or did something wrong, she was locked in this cage and not fed decent meals. She was some sort of disappointment to her parents. So she thought they would understand what it’s like being in her shoes if she did the same to them. Before she realized it, they’re dead. But she can take a breather because Wakaba rejected Yukiteru’s letter. As long as she protects Yukiteru, she still has a future.

Yukiteru sees Deus to resurrect her mom but he can’t since he is dying and I’m not sure what crap he is explaining that he has no control about causality whatsoever. Well, there is one way to bring her back to life. Yukiteru is mad that dad killed mom and he has the guts to stumble back into the house after being beaten up over his debts. He wants him to turn himself in but has Yukiteru got to prove that dad is mom’s killer? Noticing his pawn shop document’s deadline tomorrow, Yukiteru believes he will catch whatever item he pawned and expose him. Meanwhile Nishijima is questioning Yuno about the third skeletal remains. She didn’t say anything and leaves. Yukiteru overslept so he has a hard time trying to catch up to dad. He makes it in time but sees him leaving the pawn shop in a taxi. From his Future Diary, he sees dad making his way to the shrine and gets there before him. He snatches his bag only to see a telescope as the pawned item. Dad explains he knows he is going to be arrested soon and needed time to prepare himself for them to go stargazing. He apologizes for everything. Once he is done with his sentence, he hopes to start anew then. Suddenly somebody stabs a knife into his chest. Yukiteru is devastated and remembers Murmur’s words of becoming God to kill and save everybody. When the attackers attack, he immediately takes out the knife to stab back! OMG! Since when did Yukiteru become a pro killer?! And he even used one as human shield! Of course Yuno had to honour of slitting the last dude’s throat. After the excitement dies down, Yukiteru turns back into a wuss and vomits from the violent sight. Then he wants to kill Yuno because now that he wants to become God, she is her enemy. Can he do it with those shaky hands? Yuno isn’t flinching. She’s cool. She kisses him and then says she is ready to die for him any time. That is her future. Wuss boy starts crying. Can’t do it, right?

Episode 19
A politician is against the closure of the orphanage. But the city’s mayor, John Bacchus makes his emotional argument how he is doing this for their sake, blah, blah, blah. I guess with him being so convinced, nobody opposes to it and the motion to close it is passed. In a meeting with Deus, it is suggested that Yukiteru and Yuno are to be removed from the game since they have not been attending meetings and gone missing for the past 5 days. Deus almost agrees to it since he has not much time left when suddenly Yukiteru and Yuno appear. OMG. Yukiteru looks like a completely different person! He is exuding confidence with Yuno in his arms and giving that romantic kiss! He reveals Bacchus as one of the players and now that everybody knows everybody, Deus takes away their veil (hardly any surprise because we could have guessed from a mile). Yukiteru further reveals he didn’t spend the last 5 days doing nothing. He was sitting at city hall and watching TV where all the information converged. Thanks to his Future Diary, he saw Bacchus passing the motion to close down the orphanage. Of course this is all part of Yuno’s grand plan. She deduced Bacchus if after Kamado’s server to create more clones. Her orphanage depends on city funds and this means the expense to run the server too. If it is shut down, all its assets go back being owned by the city. Meanwhile Minene sees Nishijima to inform Bacchus as a Future Diary owner. The irony is that Nishijima is now reassigned to become his bodyguard. As for his investigations of Yuno, her parents were elite bankers and the results of the DNA test for the third skeletal remains will come out today. But he knows something for sure. Yuno is not their child and is adopted. Yukiteru makes an alliance with Kamado as she and her orphanage underlings prepare a plan to attack Bacchus. During the break, Orin talks to him as he doesn’t seem like a bad person. Likewise, Kamado too doesn’t look like a bad person herself. In fact, she didn’t want to be God. It is the orphans who want her to become one as they are sure she will make a better world for them.

The plan to ambush Bacchus begins. Everything goes well with Yukiteru even going down to kill some officers! But Bacchus is puzzled. If Yukiteru was at city hall, he should have predicted his move so why are they attacking? Bacchus’ car has got some electromagnetic jamming signal. Connection severed. Now they can’t use their handphones. Orin tells Yuno to quickly smash the antenna but Yuno slits her throat! Yukiteru kills the rest of the orphanage children. What is the meaning of this?! Yukiteru reveals that this alliance they form and purposely fell into Bacchus’ trap is part of their bigger goal to kill Kamado. After Yuno kills Takkun, Kamado retreats in Bacchus’ car. Yukiteru drives (he could?) while Yuno reads his Future Diary for him. To her dismay, she sees Akise discovering the identity of the third remains and becomes worried. Bacchus’ Future Diary seems to predict his surroundings and himself so he evades their attacks with ease. Yukiteru then forcefully crashes his car into his. But Bacchus isn’t panicking. As predicted, Yuno’s allies should be coming. Minene and Akise have discovered the identity of the third corpse. Akise throws Yukiteru a small box. Inside is an umbilical cord from Yuno that she left at the orphanage she was from. It matches with the third corpse perfectly. This means the third corpse is the real Yuno and this one an imposter. Yuno panics and doesn’t want Yukiteru to listen but believe in her. He is in state of shock and to her dismay, he lets go her hand.

Episode 20
Thankfully Yukiteru believes in her. To him, this Yuno is still Yuno. Bacchus brings Amado to the nation’s third biggest server. She wants her to link hers so that everyone in the city will become apprentice diary owners as part of his wish to create a legacy for this city. She agrees and starts stripping. Why? Because that is where her server is (the reason why the police couldn’t find the server anywhere in the orphanage). Minene didn’t like this plan and tries to bomb the place but Bacchus saw this coming and throws the bomb back! Although she escapes, Bacchus can see where she goes and has her men find her. She is surprisingly saved by Nishijima. Why is he siding her now? Because he loves her and wants to marry her! OMFG! He’s doing all this right now at this moment?! He’s serious. He’s got a wedding ring! Minene must be shocked and confused (heck, she doesn’t even know what marriage really means) but agrees to stop his pestering that she’ll agree to be his when the main server is destroyed. Minene tries to be a lone wolf to destroy the server herself. But the officers restrain her. Thinking this is the end for her, she is going to blow herself up when Nishijima comes in, shoots his comrades and bombs the server. Mission over, right? And now he’s hugging Minene like he’s won the big prize. And Minene could have given in to a kiss in that confusion if not for reports coming in that the city is going crazy. Some attempting suicide because they saw their future deaths and some just taking advantage of what is written in their future. Deus knows Murmur has an ulterior motive and needs to do something while he still has some power. Nishijima thinks of calling Akise but surprise, Kousaka, Hinata and Mao are here. They were called by Akise to help them out. Just like many citizens, they are also apprentice diary owners.

As there are 2 servers left in different places, they need to take it out simultaneously. Minene wants to do this by herself but as Nishijima said, he will always be by her side. The kids too will help and Kousaka is being silly thinking he can peek on the enemy’s diary with his telescope. Then it hit Minene. The reason why Bacchus could see her moves and not Nishijima’s. Could it be his Future Diary reads Future Diaries of others? So she goes to ask Deus a question but gets stabbed by him. Or was it just an illusion? She was further told that his Watcher Diary is able to peek into the Future Diary of others. Not only that, seems Deus and Bacchus created this game and the latter making several prototypes of Future Diaries. Therefore you can say he is the creator of all Future Diaries. Minene and co infiltrate a building. However Bacchus cannot predict them this time because they are overloading their handphones with lots of information to confuse him. Because Nishijima is still persistent on this marriage thingy, Minene’s guard is down and stepped on a bomb sensor. She is lucky to only have a hand blown off. Nishijima gets shot and then uses his body to protect her from the firing squad. Well, at least she doesn’t have to marry him now. Bacchus knows his Future Diary’s weakness of being vulnerable to misinformation. But thanks to his assistant’s secretary diary that always tells the truth of his actions, he overcomes that problem. Finally Yukiteru makes his appearance after being absent for the entire episode. He used her as a lure to get here. He signals to Yuno to get the party started. And you should have known now that means painting the town red. With blood. Yuno also takes some civilians hostage because Bacchus as the mayor, they are his weakness.

Episode 21
As Yuno is slashing her way, Yukiteru has also made use of the media to convey his demands to Bacchus. He must release their friends and then commit suicide. Minene sees Yukiteru’s resolve to kill Bacchus so that he can become God and revive his parents. However Minene has a grudge against him. Remember what he did to her left eye? She’ll let him live long enough to kill Bacchus but if he screws up, she’ll kill him. Yuno kills the guards to rescue Yukiteru’s friends. Bacchus seals himself inside the bank’s thick vault (this bank once belonged to Yuno’s parents). Yukiteru and Minene thought they could extract the password from the assistant and then kill him. Too bad, there is another big door waiting for them. Yukiteru scrambles to find the password but Minene has had it. She is going to kill him. He screwed up. Consider this as revenge for Nishijima because she let the only man in the world who would bring happiness to her die. Yukiteru goes into hiding and sees his dead end future. Minene better find him quickly as she has lost a lot of blood. She starts telling about her past and tragic childhood. In some Middle East country, her parents were killed and she was forced to fend for herself. It was literally surviving from day to day. She admits she likes Yukiteru only because his struggle reminded so much about her. That is why she will tell him his goal of reviving his parents won’t come true. Because otherwise everybody in this god damn world would want to become God too. Yuno finds Kamado and is about to kill her but Akise protects her. Then she gets a message from Yukiteru to revive his parents if he dies. She panics upon thinking this is his last words and rushes to his side.

Since this means the future is changing, the interference noise allows Minene to locate Yukiteru. But it is just his handphone. It was a decoy so he could shoot the gun off her hand. He sent that last note to Yuno to make her take action and change the future. But why didn’t he kill her? He doesn’t want to. Oh no. Now he returns to wuss mode after all that cool tough act. Unbelievable. He breaks down upon not knowing what to do. She hates him for being naïve and tries to reach for her gun. Yukiteru shoots her in the guts. End of the road. Bacchus speaks to Yukiteru how boring everyone is and to everyone’s surprise, Minene gets back up. She’s a tough cookie, remember? She has some sort of bomb attached to her heart and if it stops, it will explode. She will blow herself up to destroy the second door and make a path for him. After making peace with her child self, it is really the end of the road for her after she crushes her Future Diary. Boom! Nothing happens to the door… Seriously, I thought she had an atomic bomb. You think this small fart could blow up such a thick vault? No wonder Bacchus is laughing his ass off. Yuno comes to Yukiteru’s side and tells him to destroy the servers so as not to let Minene’s death be in vain. Bacchus is confident that even destroying the servers won’t change his fate. Suddenly the vault door opens! OMG! It’s Yuno! You can see Bacchus’ scared sh*t expression! Freaking scared, dude! Yuno staring like a stalker. And one bullet to his head to kill him! In the aftermath, Yukiteru wakes up in his home with semi-naked Yuno sleeping by his side. Meanwhile Akise is having Kamado in his custody but plans to hand her over to Yukiteru. Because he feels Yukiteru will be the right person to become God and wish for everything to return to normal. The only problem is Yuno as he is still suspicious of her. He remembers seeing Yuno opening the vault door at the security scanner using her eye as the pass. Yukiteru is making a note of all the dead people so he could wish for them to be revived. Suddenly black holes start engulfing the place. Yuno deduces Deus is nearing the end of his life and if they don’t choose a new God, the world will be destroyed. Murmur wonders if Deus has done something because the world is ending too soon. It should end on July 28. To her surprise, Kamado appears with Akise. She wanted to stop him but Deus holds her back. He asks Deus if everything can be returned to normal after becoming God.

Episode 22
Akise has figured out something and wants to tell Yukiteru but Deus won’t let him go. He reveals that Akise is an observer like him and is the one who created him. Deus will disassemble him and put him back at Akashic Records in the heavens. Akise can’t believe this and believes everything he does was his own free will. But Deus has an answer for every move he made and it all goes back to Deus’ goal. Akise thought his love for Yukiteru is real but Deus even notes that is fake. Just before Akise is fully disassembled, a Future Diary pops back in his hand. Kamado has successfully copied an apprentice diary for him to watch the actions of all Future Diary owners. Deus allows him to return and acknowledges his autonomous existence. Yukiteru believes his friends won’t betray him and thus avoiding the need to think if he has to kill them. Once they meet Akise, detective boy only wants to see Yukiteru alone so Yuno stabs him! Luckily he is wearing a vest. Yuno tries to use her taser but he is wearing gloves! He reveals his Future Diary that is able to see the future actions of other owners. Yuno tells Yukiteru to go after Kamado while she takes on Akise. Yukiteru is in a dilemma if his friends are betraying him. Hinata gets in his way and tells him to stop all this because Yuno is deceiving him. If he keeps killing people, there will be no future. Even if he becomes God, he can’t bring anyone back. Yukiteru is in shock he can’t bring back dead people. Not even his parents. What is the use of becoming God then? Akise pins Yuno down and this is part of their plan to separate them. Yuno makes a surprise move by stabbing herself! Since his Future Diary predicts her moves, she’ll do as it says by killing herself. So? What will Yukiteru think of him after learning he killed her?

Akise tries to call Yukiteru but his handphone is engaged. Who could it be calling him? Yuno! Although she missed her vitals and Akise helped bandaged her, she lies and screams to Yukiteru that Akise is going to kill her (it is what is also predicted in Yukiteru’s Future Diary). He becomes mad that his friends had betrayed him and shoots Hinata! Mao is angry of his cowardice and tells him off he was too scared to face the facts. Yukiteru shoots her! OMFG! For once Kousaka wasn’t a show off or coward. He tells him how much he hates him because of his pathetic crying face despite getting what he wants. After punching his face, Yukiteru shoots him. Just great. He killed all his friends. Then Akise comes by. He is sad it has come down to this and has no choice but to make sure he is the last one standing. He reveals Yuno is planning on killing him and hid this fact because he could continue winning this game so she can be the final winner. When Yuno arrives, Akise kisses Yukiteru! OMFG! Yuno has never been so mad before! Akise goes to kill furious Yuno but Yukiteru wants her to run because his Future Diary predicted her death. Akise breaks Yuno’s Future Diary but in return got his throat slashed. However Yuno is still standing. Could that Future Diary be fake? Akise didn’t think so because he saw the change interference before it was destroyed. How can this be? How can she have another Future Diary? Whose does it belong to? Yuno reunites with Yukiteru as they go finish Kamado who is pinned under a rubble. Her final wish for him is to make a better world for the children. Yuno stabs her. Dying Akise tries to piece the clues together about the real and fake Yuno. Then it hit him. He gathers all his strength to get up and tell Yukiteru. Even if he can’t speak, he types it in his handphone to show him although Yuno becomes a mad girl slashing him apart.

Episode 23
Just as Deus suspected, Murmur can independently use her powers despite having rings on her hands as limit. She is trying to keep a fragment of Deus to extend his life till 28 July. Until which she will take over his place as God. When Yukiteru learns the date of the end of the world, Yuno doesn’t care about that because something more important to her will happen on that date. I guess the world is going to end soon and what better way but to spend it by hanging around at Yuno’s place. And now Yukiteru is having thoughts about his friends’ words. What if they were true and Yuno was lying? Too late to be thinking about that, eh? He is confused. Even if Yuno starts acting like a kid admitting she is only good in killing people but is sad that he hasn’t made a move on her yet! After lots of thinking and visiting nostalgic places, he thinks of showing Yuno some love. I mean, the world it’s going to end, right? Not much time left. So he brings forward that happy ending a day earlier. After that steamy hot bath (literally)… SEX SCENE!!! Good or bad thing, it’s censored anyway. Must be the best final moments of their life? This has Yukiteru confirm Yuno’s love for him is true. But when he mentions about Yuno’s lie about his parents coming back to life, she takes out an axe! Holy sh*t! How did she hide that under the blanket?! She didn’t kill him. She admits she lied to console him because she already knew at the start of the game when she met Deus that you can’t bring back the dead even if you become God. She is already happy now so please kill her. He won’t because what is the point of being God if he can’t bring anyone back? He’d rather die with her. All that is left is the puzzling message Akise wrote. It stated Yuno once became God and this is the second world that was created when time was turned back. This time Yuno picks up the axe and tries to chop him!

Thankfully he is good in running and escaping. However he was pushed into that deep pit by Murmur and thrown into a dimension where he could only watch past visions. Murmur is going to explain the reason why Yuno wants to kill him. As stated, Yuno’s dream is to become his wife but that will never happen due to the nature of this survival game. There are visions in which they fought and kill other Future Diary owners in a slightly different manner. This is the first world. The world that Yukiteru is living in now is the second world. After Yukiteru and Yuno were the only ones left, they decided to commit double suicide. However Yuno was smart enough not to swallow the pills and since she was the last one left, she revelled in become God to resurrect Yukiteru. However at that time she didn’t know and was devastated she can’t bring anybody back to life so she wished to return to the past when Yukiteru was alive. Since her original self was there, she killed her! I know this gives rise to some paradox thing but it’s not important now. Therefore the third remains are the original Yuno. So they’re both true?! This is the truth that she wants to hide from him. Yukiteru is sad because the original Yuno was the one who wanted to marry him. I guess his feelings were strong that original Yuno could hear his voice and writes on the wall with her blood to plead for help. Yukiteru is mad and this brings him back to reality where yandere Yuno awaits…

Episode 24
After new Yuno killed her original self, Murmur gave her a Future Diary and wants her to hurry up and replace herself to become God. She will try to suppress Deus’ memories to avoid letting him know what is going on. Yuno will also have hers suppressed. In present time, Yukiteru questions her motive to kill her other self. But she questions back about his double suicide suggestion. Because he cannot kill her just to become God, she will kill him. It is better that one of them survive and redo this sh*t again rather than letting the world get destroyed. And kill everybody again? Everybody dies anyway. Yukiteru believes she has gone insane. But what is more insane to her is a world without him! Murmur pushes him off the cliff and before she could announce Yuno as the winner, a change in the Future Diary. Yukiteru is still hanging on and vows to save her because she is a special person in his life. Then he falls off. This time Yuno didn’t save him. It’s Minene! Wasn’t she dead? Murmur suspects Deus must have done something to her because she is fast, strong and agile with super powers! Not even Murmur’s black balls can hurt her! Murmur takes Yuno to some time leap as the Minene takes Yukiteru along to chase. They end up travelling back in time. This is the third world, 2 years ago on July 28. Minene reveals before she blew herself up in the vault, Deus took her. He then stabbed her to split his powers and knowledge with her. He suspected Murmur is siding with Yuno and is some sort of Yuno’s familiar after she became God and wants Minene to stop that and bring the game back to its original path. Yukiteru’s Future Diary sees Yuno killing her other self as well as him. This third Yuno is locked in a cage back home. Mother is off the phone with her husband. Something bad going on. She blames and accuses Yuno for everything before abandoning her. When Minene and Yukiteru arrive, the former warns not to interfere with this world’s Yuno. However Yukiteru insists on checking on her and is appalled to see her locked in a cage, choking on the tatami mat she was eating! He calls the ambulance. Even if it’s a different world, Yuno is still Yuno and will not abandon her. Mad Yuno arrives and since she has foreseen this, she brought along Yukiteru’s parents. Let the deathmatch begin. Yukiteru wants to save them too but Minene brings him away to escape to the tower. Then she chides and reminds him whom he wants to save. Make up your mind!

Episode 25
Yuno is in a dilemma about her feelings for Yukiteru because she should have settled things with him during that sex part. Her father and a couple of medics rush into the house. Dad is worried about her but when he notices something amiss about her (this Yuno is a bit grown up), she stabs him! The medics would have met the same fate too if not Murmur stopping her. Because Yukiteru is bent on saving Yuno, he parts with Minene (who went on the call Kurusu about his son’s condition – there, she took care of his son as promised). After hiding this third Yuno in the classroom, he plans to negotiate with this mad Yuno to return to the second world and become God. However Yuno is in no negotiation mode and the duo face off. With Murmur helping by slamming her wrecking ball and orb explosions, Yukiteru is left running. He knows he will die but will use that time to save her. When Yuno throws her knife at him, she missed because Yukiteru screamed “I love you” at her and this threw her off balance as he pins her down. Meanwhile Minene returns and fights Murmur in a super power aerial battle. Is this show turning into some sort of Dragonball spoof? Yuno realizes her Future Diary is where her feelings for Yukiteru are. She becomes crazier and slams the sphere on him. The next thing he knows, he is living his normal life with his parents. He has got the things he wanted in his room. This is a world Yuno created for him. It is a world where she doesn’t exist. He can’t even say her name. At first she thought things will be settled if she killed him and lived a normal life here. She can’t since her feelings are mixed up. She can’t be God and return to the second world because that would mean losing him. This means she is locking him up here and find the Yukiteru of this world. So she’s abandoning him to kill others like a lunatic again? She says the unthinkable. She can fall in love with any guy she can depend on like how he can fall for any girl who protects him. Wakaba is seen seducing Yukiteru as the sphere closes. Minene is fresh from defeating Murmur when Yuno releases her seal to turn Murmur into a mini demon that is stronger and faster. More punishing combos in this exaggerated power battle. I think it’s really looking like Dragonball. Finally Minene is defeated and the third Yuno is looking pretty defenceless. Yukiteru is talking-cum-crying to his parents about this strange dream. The survival game of Future Diary owners and this strange girl he fell in love with. He probably likes her the same reason he loves them.

Episode 26
Yukiteru is living his dream life and going to watch the stars with his parents. Murmur heals Yuno’s dad to avoid some paradox and wants Yuno to quickly kill her third self so they can begin another survival game. Yuno tells this one about the tormenting future she will face. How mama will take out her depression on her and eventually led her to lock both her parents inside the cage. But she’ll be relieving her of all that. However, third Yuno denies all this and that mama is just sick. She has hoped that they will eventually come to love her. Original Yuno is shocked because she too once harboured that hope. When she is asked if there is anyone she loves, the future of everyone starts changing at an alarming rate. It all starts when Yukiteru realizes he cannot go stargazing with his parents. Others include Tsubaki’s parents’ death was prevented and this means her cult did not turn evil and in turn, Rei’s parents didn’t join it. Also, Bacchus will provide free assistance to the orphanage because he saw his death even before the game started and feels the need to change the future. He brings this up to Deus who must think of a better way to determine the new God. When Yuno is going to start killing, her father got stabbed instead. Again? Mother rushes to his side. Meanwhile Yukiteru’s parents understand and support his decision. He is their son after all. It must be something important since he chose a nameless girl instead of living his dream life. Original Yuno is sad to see how close her family is. She used to believe this day would come for her but it never did. Thus she is going to kill them all! As she charges, Kurusu fires a shot. Yukiteru is trying to scream Yuno’s name till he finally breaks free. He hugs Yuno and the bullet is stopped by Murmur. Actually, the Murmur of the second world! The evil one we see all the while is from the first world! The same as our original Yuno. Confused? Second Murmur was sealed away but now she is back and pins down the original one. Yukiteru wants Yuno to kill him since she doesn’t belong in this world. He has killed many but can’t kill her. Instead, she stabs herself and wants to remain in this world. Her final wish is a kiss. She notes he got better at it. Murmur announces Yukiteru the winner and whisks him away back to the second world where all the black spheres disappear. The world is saved but decimated?

In the aftermath, life is good for everyone concerned in the third world. I believe this is the Minene from the second world since she still has that eye-patch and a missing hand. She is happily living with Nishijima. Not too sure if the kids are hers. Kurusu’s son is also doing well and spending time with him. Yomotsu was the one who caught Third and put a stop to his killing spree. He pays him a visit in prison. Hinata and her dad are just doing fine. Not sure why Kousaka is having a staring contest with a dog. Marco and Ai are married and a child looks like is on the way. Kamado going out with Bacchus? Wow. How things really change. Finally, Yuno is hanging out with her friends. She is in a happy family and keeps a diary of what they do. However she can’t help feel sad that she is forgetting something really important. Because Yukiteru is also having a happy family but his girlfriend is Wakaba. Back to the second world, ten thousand years have passed since Yukiteru became God! You mean his hair was the only thing that grew? In this empty space, what is keeping him company? Just his Future Diary? But isn’t it retro diary now since he is only reading back past records? Murmur is so bored of reading the same manga 10,000 times that she really wants him to use his God powers to create a new world. He won’t because a world without Yuno would be meaningless. Yeah. Keep wondering how Yuno of the third world is doing. Forever. But it ends with a cliff-hanger because his Future Diary suddenly changes as it states Yuno came to visit him here in this world.

OVA (Redial)
We replay that scene where Yukiteru wanted Yuno to kill him to end things but instead she stabbed herself. First Murmur wanted to stop it but third Murmur sealed her in the sphere and they disappear. So it has been 2 years since in this third world and Yuno is such a normal girl! So different! She is having a beach trip with Hinata and co. She even gets into a breast groping session with Mao on Hinata. Kousaka must be gay to comment nobody would want to look at their ugly boobs! They beat him up and bury him in the sand. Compounding his sand problem is Rei who seems to be Akise’s detective apprentice. Starting them young? Yuno thought she mistaken Akise for somebody she knew but couldn’t put her finger on it. Meanwhile Ai and Orin are spying on Kousaka because believe it or not, this is the man Tsubaki wants! Such bad taste… While they are visiting a merchandise shop filled with creepy souvenirs of Yomotsu (I guess he turned into some hero), Orin and Ai lure Kousaka to a dark room where Tsubaki awaits. She is really into him till he actually looks forward to kiss her! That scene freaked her out! Changed your mind? Meanwhile the rest are criticizing those eyeball souvenirs, unaware that the shopkeeper is unmasked Yomotsu himself. Days passed peacefully and it is only a day before July 28. Akise has observed that there is nothing abnormal with the supposed Future Diary owners. Because Deus’ death is inevitable, he still needs to pick a successor. Bacchus has come up with a new game called Future Monopoly but is rejected. He got an idea of another game but was ejected before he could explain. Deus wonders if there is really a need to select a new successor because maybe it is fate that this world is to be destroyed. Because it won’t be amusing to observe something that even God cannot foresee.

Yuno’s dilemma and confusion starts to sink in. She couldn’t understand why she was at school 2 years (which is still in the midst of rebuilding) which was believed to be some bomb attack. The closer time gets to July 28, it is like the more she becomes crazier as though memories of her other self from the other world start to fill her memories. Especially moments with that certain wuss boy. She feels the need to see that person and finds herself inside the sphere. Deus and Murmur detects somebody infiltrating Akashic Records. Murmur goes to stop her but Minene fights Murmur (mecha version?) to allow Yuno to press ahead as she wants her to save that guy since he still owes her big time for letting him take on that huge responsibility. Now Yuno is faced with Akise who won’t let her pass. He tells her about that other yandere self who killed a bunch of innocent people and fears meeting that person might cause her to revert back to that. Yuno still wants to go so he mentions she will not meet that person too as that person is not in this world. She still wants to go. All that is left to kill her. Unbelievably, she easily overpowers Akise like a pro. Just stop short of killing him. He lets her pass. Inside the sphere, she sees the original Murmur. Deus halts Murmur and Minene’s fight and wants Yuno and that Murmur to meet because he thinks if her love for him is great, it will traverse through the dimensions to find him. Original Murmur is a changed person after she received all the painful and sad memories of original Yuno while being sealed. She was the one who was calling out to Yuno. Murmur is crying and wants this Yuno to have all those memories, in which Yuno accepts without hesitation. All the memories come back. Back to hat scene of the 10,000 year old lonely God. Suddenly Yuno breaks through and they happily reunite. She is here to keep the promise of watching the stars together.

Your Future, My Future. Kill’em All!
Overall, this is actually a pretty great survival game with interesting revelations unfolding at a nice pace but the only thing that made me stop thinking or rather ‘decrease’ the value of its awesomeness was how it end it all. And also the parallel world stuff. More on that in a short while. Now think about it. If Yukiteru has been waiting in that second world of his for 10,000 years, how is it that only 2 freaking years is passed in the third world? I know you can tell me that time flows differently. Okay, fine. Or maybe that everything has been flowing so slowly is all just in his mind. And assuming he is using Murmur’s 10,000 times repeat reading as an indicator. Heck, I think you can even finish that thick manga in a week. So he says a world without Yuno is nothing. Why not just make another world with exactly another Yuno? He is God, right? Why can’t he do it?! If God can’t do that or let alone resurrect dead people, what the hell good is being God? And when Yuno breaks through this world, it feels as though this kid was just trapped in some box and waiting for somebody to open it. And how the heck does Deus know there are other worlds?! Are his memories aligned or something?

Although the parallel world thingy is supposed to be some sort of twist for this show, I can’t help feel that it is somewhat appropriate and that there are a few loopholes in it. For example, if there are the second and third world, this means there are going to be fourth, fifth, sixth, hundred, thousands and millions of other parallel worlds too, right? And I thought Deus and Murmur would be the one and only but it seems they too are as many as there are parallel worlds. So this doesn’t mean they are the real Gods, right? Even odder, you can tell what world number is this since it will be embedded on Murmur’s forehead. Her head is so small so what happens if the world number they are in now has 100 digits? She’s going to have a long forehead… Hahaha!

At least by putting in parallel worlds, they do not complicate the time paradox matter since they are thrown back in time. It may be a little confusing that first Yuno’s wish was to go back in time and do-cum-relive everything again when in actual fact it is another world. Unless, don’t tell me the second world only happens because the end of the first and likewise the third and so on. Thinking about that is already opening up another can of worms. Let’s not go there. So what I’m saying is, if it was really going back in time, and Yuno killing herself means that she won’t exist anymore because you know, who the hell will be this Yuno if she kills her younger self? And then Deus said about unable to bring back the dead, right? What is the use of being God if you can’t do this? Maybe that is why Deus wants to give this God title to somebody else so badly. So by going back in time or another world, isn’t like bringing back the dead? Yeah, this whole parallel world thingy is screwing things up if you think too much about it. Therefore the only reason I can think of for this other than bringing a twist to the plot is for everyone to have a happy ending. Sort of. Hey, at least Yuno isn’t a yandere in the third world, right? That’s good, right? All these of me thinking too much has somewhat diminished of what otherwise would have been an exceptionally great series.

But putting that aside, the plot and the twist and turns are interesting enough to keep you guessing and entertained. Though, you would still know even without reading spoilers who will be the last players left. At first I thought at the rate of Future Diary owners being introduced and eliminated at this rate, there won’t be enough ‘killings’ left. That they should put in maybe more Future Diary owners. But that would have become a pretty boring formula if they keep repeating the same thing for the rest of the series. So when the ultimate revelation and twist came at a nice pace, it was interesting enough to last the remaining episodes that I forgot about the ‘insufficient’ players and the thought of needing more of them to be Yuno’s victim.

The action (read: cat and mouse game ) is also rather interesting because when you have a few Future Diary owners who can see their future and try to change it, it becomes a deadly contest to see who can outwit and outlast each other. Truly a survivor series. And you wonder why Yuno is always a step ahead of them like as though she has had read from the story script beforehand and memorized them all like the back of her hand. Seriously. Warning, though. There are some very gory and bloody scenes especially with a certain crazy girl who will not hesitate to chop you up. Such scenes bring a frightening sense of realism to the horrifying survivor game they are playing. It is either kill or be killed. So if you’re weak in this kind of scenes, you might start vomiting on your screen when you see limbs start flying off and blood splattering across while a psychopath laughs in maniacal fashion. Oh yeah. And everybody dies eventually. Nobody is safe from the hands of Yuno. Then they had to ruin it by ‘bringing everybody back’ with a happy ending that everyone still lives in the third world. WTF.

Character development feels okay since a big chunk is concentrated on Yukiteru and Yuno who are the biggest stars of the series. This means a handful of them are not given their due prominence like for example being eliminated early in the game. But then again, with so many characters and the Future Diary owners in the fray, I suppose we don’t really give a hoot about those characters and just enough details for us to know. I mean, do you really care about them? Especially serial killer Third, Hinata’s dog loving dad, cheeky boy Rei and justice-is-blind hero Yomotsu. I suppose that is what the final OVA episode is about, to let them have a few screen time (although not all of them appear) even if it doesn’t matter or WTF moments. I don’t even how Kousaka got out from that Tsubaki’s web. Instant reject, eh?

Yuno is greatly sick and twisted in her way. This is the reason why she is easily one of the most recognizable yandere ever. It all boils down to your personal views and beliefs about her thinking and she goes about it. At many points she is seen as selfish and is not afraid to boldly speak her mind about just saving Yukiteru and herself. How far are you willing to go for the one you love? Even so, is this acceptable? Especially her extreme love for Yukiteru makes you wonder if she is really in love with him or just insane, using him for her own purposes. Once you realize the broken family she comes from, maybe it starts to make you feel a little sympathy of how twisted she turn out. Because she is just like any other person. She yearns for love that she never got. So perhaps the ultimate lesson she learnt in love is that if you truly love somebody, you will also have to give him up.

Yukiteru for most of the time feels like a wuss and a useless kid as a main character. Heck, he is the weakest of the lot. Probably the most normal too. You can say he is lucky and unlucky at the same time because he depends on Yuno to survive for a big part of the series. He can’t do anything on his own and his own cowardly instincts had him rely on Yuno to see tomorrow. It was really different to see him turn cool and mature in that short duration before becoming a wuss again but I suppose we’re more comfortable and familiar with this one. Just like Yuno, he comes from a broken family and desires a normal family life. Well, it took him a dangerous survival game to make him realize his true love. And probably it also twisted him too because the initial thought of just using Yuno to survive with all that lies and deception about making her his wife finally turns into real love.

Interestingly, Minene sometimes lands the role of the joker especially her encounter with Nishijima. She turns from a mean terrorist into some sort of romantic comic relief. And you can obviously see the flabbergasted expression on her face. I guess deep down no matter how tough she is, she is still a woman inside. Just need the right man to flip the right switch. Seriously, she turned into more of a ‘joker’ ever since Deus rescued her and bestowed superhuman powers on her. I mean, now that she can fly and have super strength and speed, she seems so unreal. I thought she was going to replace Murmur as the cute joker. And there is this disturbing thing that had me thinking if Akise’s love for Yukiteru is real because it would be just more than creepy if he is really gay for this guy. That kiss… Oh, MY EYES!!! Well, good thing it didn’t turn Yuno into a fujoshi. Speaking of jokes and homo, might as well mention about Mao and her shoujo ai and lesbianism towards Hinata although it is unrequited.

Art and drawing feels fine. Some parts are dark and some are just violent and gory especially with all the blood. Interestingly, I have watched the first half of the series in Blu-ray quality and therefore I can say that the quality of the animation is top-notched. This also means that there are several scenes which are too gory or questionable to be shown on normal television are totally uncensored here. For example, there is a nude scene of Tsubaki especially during that rape scene. For the second half of the series, (aside from the black hole censors) the drop in quality becomes obvious especially during the penultimate episode where it feels rushed during the action sequences. Like as though the craziness has taken a toll on everything and not enough effort was put in. CGI is also used although this is mainly on Deus as he is entirely animated by that.

Voice acting is also good and Yuno’s seiyuu, Tomosa Murata did a good job in bringing out the various emotions of her character especially when she turns into a psychopath. Too bad I think it may have affected her voice acting career because she doesn’t have many other active lead roles. The rest are just side character roles like Iris from The Legend Of The Legendary Heroes, Angel in Sengoku Collection and the most recent one, Moeka Nitta from Girl Friend (Kari). Heck, I think those are her only roles. Just greatly speculating but maybe people really think she would be a yandere or turn a character into one. Yeah. That’s how affective she is. A handful of recognizable seiyuus too like Norio Wakamoto as Deus. It’s been a long time I’ve heard his voice. Other familiar voices include Akira Ishida as Akise, Takehito Koyasu as Yukiteru’s dad and Kikuko Inoue as Yuno’s mom.

The rest of the voice acting casts are Mizusu Togawa as Yukiteru (Origami in Date A Live), Mai Aizawa as Minene (Kobushi in Tokyo ESP), Manami Honda as Murmur (Mihoshi of Nichijou is her only other role), Masahiko Tanaka as Kurusu (Fumihiko Makabe in Fafner), Makoto Ishii as Nishijima (Arthur in Tears To Tiara), Tomokazu Seki as Marco (Chiaki in Nodame Cantabile), Natsuko Kuwatani as Ai (Suisei Seki in Rozen Maiden), Yuki Matsuoka as Hinata (Orihime in Bleach), Yukana as Mao (Kazehana in Sekirei), Minoru Shiraishi as Kousaka (Sakamoto in Nichijou), Eri Sendai as Tsubaki (Yukari in Rocket Girls), Hiromi Konno as Kamado (Sae in Amagi SS) and Takaya Hashi as Bacchus (Sadasada Tokugawa in Gintama).

The first opening theme is Kuusou Mesorogiwi by Yousei Teikoku and the crazy rock theme is definitely a fitting piece for this series overall. Although the second opening theme, Dead End by Faylan isn’t that bad, I still prefer the first one better and wished they didn’t change it. It is the same sentiments for the ending theme. Although both ending songs are also rock based, I still prefer the first one, Blood Teller by Faylan compared to the second ending theme, Filament by Yousei Teikoku, which is more of a slow rock and has this sad tragic hint on Yuno. The opener for the OVA doesn’t appeal to me. Yousei Teikoku sings Kyouki Chinden and I find this hard metal rock bland and perhaps why all that craziness is used to cover up the cacophony. A slow rock ballad for the OVA’s ending theme, the aptly named Happy End by Faylan sounds a bit out of place but I guess it fits fine as a closure to the series.

The most light-hearted and amusing section of this series is at the end called Ura Mirai Nikki. These are actually short snippets sometimes in chibi form featuring Murmur and her interaction with many of the main and side supporting characters of the series. For the first half of the series, we see her talking to Future Diary owners and trying to recruit to play the game but with hilarious and unexpected reactions and results. Though this section is only shown only sparsely in the second half, it is mainly of her (mis)adventures with the other non-Future Diary players and some sort of folly occurs while hanging out or entertaining them. For example, Yuno’s mom keep calling and harassing her when Murmur is manning a help hotline. But the funniest bit seems to be the last one whereby Murmur tries to stop Yuno from killing her dad and tries to make her small. Small in size? Small as becoming a baby? Or small boobs? Hilarious!

Despite a handful of questionable issues in the setting and plot, this is still a good series to watch if you like your survival games bloody. It also brings out the best and worst in human beings in their quest to be the one and only one and to become God. This series has impacted me in a way in the sense that now I am interested in taking a look at other survival game genres like Umineko No Naku Koro Ni and Kaiji. However please note that it is not like I am interested in going to watch them right away or in the nearest future yet. I am still considering. Still… But at least thanks to this show, survival game genres now interest me. Maybe too many ecchi harem shows with more or less the same thing have started to get to me. Now that I know how dangerous and extreme a yandere can be, the more reason why I prefer tsundere over yandere. Oh, here’s a joke: How can you have both a tsundere and yandere in your girl? First, imagine Yuno. Then, hear her say this, “It’s… It’s… It’s not like I want to kill you or anything. Hmph!”. *Takes out knife and stabs you*.

Madan No Ou To Vanadis

War genres do not particularly interest me especially those of the historical setting whether it is the period setting or modern warfare. But if it is fantasy, I might have a look at it. And if they put cute busty babes in it, that just increases the chance. Haha. Shame on me. But honestly that was how I decided to take a look at Madan No Ou To Vanadis. Fighting among different clans, tribes and people are uncommon throughout mankind’s history. It is no different in this fantasy setting world. Nations fighting each other for whatever reasons (though I can think world dominance is the main reason) and as a result lots of people die. But this anime isn’t just about mindless killing, blood and deaths. When a country’s dying king is causing a civil war between his 2 heirs, it gets worse when an enemy country decides to launch an invasion on it. During this invasion, a sole survivor is captured and even recruited into the army. I guess if this guy wasn’t as cute, this lady general wouldn’t have taken him in. No, seriously.

Episode 1
In another devastating war between the Brune and Zhcted sides, casualties are mounting on the bloodied battlefield. Tigrevurmud Vorn AKA Tigre, a great Brune archer is probably one of the last survivors. He spots War Maiden Eleonora Viltaria AKA Elen and tries to take her down with his remaining arrows. Her exceptional sword skills deflect his arrows. It is Tigre’s lost and thus he belongs to her now. Flashback reveals Tigre was part of the Brune forces and their superior numbers is what makes them believe they are invincible. Fellow nobleman, Zion Thenardier doesn’t like Tigre a bit and continues to mock his status, especially his bow weapon of choice. Only the Count of Aude, Mashas Rodant stops Zion from further belittling Tigre. There are rumours going around that Duke Felix Aaron Thenardier is forcing his subjects to contribute for the war, burning those who refuse and making an example of families fighting each other to the death. Tigre hopes their prince can do something about it. Suddenly it becomes totally weird because Mashas puts his finger into Tigre’s mouth! Turns out Tigre has woken from his slumber and Limalisha AKA Lim is putting her sword into his mouth. He is now a prisoner in Leitmeritz in Zhcted. Mashas sends a message back to Titta, Tigre’s maid back in Alsace in Brune. Despite the Brune army outnumbering their enemy greatly, they still lost and Tigre has been captured as prisoner. Based on some treaty, if a ransom is not delivered to Zhcted within 50 days, Tigre becomes their property. Tigre is sent to see Elen about this ransom and he knows it is too high for his people to even pay. Elen then has Tigre demonstrate in an archery match. Everyone ridicules at his poor shot when actually he was just testing and getting the feel of this bow. When an assassin is spotted, Elen quickly defends herself with her wind power. Tigre then quickly fires to accurately maim his leg instead of killing him. Elen is sorry that she didn’t know her subjects gave Tigre a bad bow to publicly humiliate him. But Tigre doesn’t want their heads and hopes she can forgive them.

Tigre is surprised to learn that Elen had fallen for him at first sight. Rumours of this spread and because her men wants him killed, she thought the best way to suppress that was to show them his archery skills. It worked better than she hoped. She also points out that recent battle was the most boring she has ever faced. She has laid out lots of plans and tactics but only for his side to fall so quickly. Even more so, they took the head of their prince. All is fair in war since Tigre himself killed some Zhcted soldiers. Once news of the prince spreads, the entire Brune force collapsed. That’s when Zhcted basically ran them over and bored Elen met Tigre. Elen is amazed at his skills and how he tried to kill her calmly! A reason why Lim doesn’t like Tigre is probably one of his earlier arrows took down her horse. Elen suggests Tigre serve under her and can bestow the same title he had in Brune. But he declines since he already has a place to return and protect. A place that he inherited from his late father. Tigre may have made friends with another bowman, Rurick but walking around so freely may not be a good idea since in the eyes of others he is still a prisoner. He accidentally stumbles into naked Elen while bathing. He is the one freaking out. She tells it straight to him: “I want you”. Later that night, an old Brunish man was caught and brought before Tigre. He is Bertrand, his attendant. Although happy to see each other, Bertrand reports Thenardier’s forces are marching on Alsace. Tigre wants to return to his county but Elen stands in his way.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 0: Short flash specials lasting 2.5 minutes streamed alongside the series with the characters in chibi form and of course, for fun. But I noticed there will always be one still picture of the characters drawn in their usual bishoujo/bishonen form and illustrated by Miyahiko. In this opener, we learn about Dragon Gear made from dragon with mysterious powers that can only be wielded by War Maidens. There are 7 of them in Zhcted and one of them is Elen. Elen doesn’t want Lim so formal in her explanation but Tigre pops up to argue he is supposed to be the protagonist of the show but Lim disputes from the anime’s title how the show isn’t about him. Just watch the anime and you’ll see…

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 1: Elen tests Tigre’s combat skills. He chooses a spear but no matter how much he attacks, he cannot land a single hit on her. Not even doing a surprise attack when her guard is down. I guess he got desperate enough to do some ultimate attack. I don’t know what it is but it looks like he landed his palm on her boobs. While Elen is impressed with his bold move (well, she did tell him to go all out), Lim is not and quickly knocks him out. Permission to behead?

Episode 2
Thenardier gives his eldest son, Zion 2 dragons and makes him in charge for the takeover of Alsace. Elen wants to know what a single man like Tigre can do against thousands of soldiers. Better than standing around doing nothing? Try again. Elen is annoyed that he is rushing into things and is supposed to be calm and using his brains. So he calms down and thinks his possible next move. He bows his head to request Elen lend her soldiers. She starts laughing and allows it but not for free. Tigre agrees to give Alsace as long as she governs fairly. Elen never expected this answer because she thought he was going to become his subordinate. Thenardier reveals he sent his son to take Alsace because since the prince’s death, the king is losing his grip on the throne and Brune will either be ruled by him or Maximilian Bennusa Ganelon. Even though Alsace is a remote and backwater country, Thenardier wants his son to get used to handling the dragons. While the people of Alsace are being evacuated to safety shelters, Titta continues to wait in Tigre’s home, hoping to greet her master when he returns. Zion’s army pillage Alsace but they can’t touch the temple where the people are hiding otherwise all other Brune people will turn against them. Zion trespasses into Tigre’s house. Like the big bully he is, he looks like about to rape the maid but before he could lay his hands on her, an arrow is shot through his palm. Feel the pain! Tigre comes riding to rescue Titta and with Elen’s wind power to soften the reckless rescue act. She reveals her sword, Arifar controls the wind and only a War Maiden can wield it. Titta has an emotional reunion with Tigre. She was scared but believed in him. Tigre could feel a hidden assassin. He uses his hand to stop an arrow shot from hitting Titta before nailing one back at him. Titta gives Tigre a black bow that she has been protecting all the while. It has been handed down through the family for generations. Tigre remembers his father telling him only to use it when he needs to. Elen orders her army to rout the remaining enemies.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 2: Lim is mad. Because Elen ran away from the castle to run about in town to buy snacks. She wants a summarized explanation from Tigre. Any lies will result in death! Well, sounds like a lot of fun tasting the delicious snacks, right? And what deserved break from hard work is she talking about? Elen hasn’t even started doing it! They try to convince her but it’s hard to be so when you have jam spread on your face. They wipe it off each other and this only makes Lim’s anger increase. To calm her down, Elen tosses her a teddy bear. That worked alright.

Episode 3
Although the enemies pillaging Alsace are killed, they will still need to face the main force. Zion panics and blames Tigre for this and akin to betrayal of his fellow countrymen. He splits up his force into 3 groups but the special trump card they hold are the dragons. Since Lim wants ropes in their next battle, Titta will help gather as much as she can from the people. Titta embarrasses herself when she asks Elen about her relationship with Tigre. So she won’t give up on him? Zhcted forces charge straight into the battlefield. They are encountered with a brass land dragon. This is part of Zion’s plan as his army flank and surround them. Lim’s team is acting as an independent unit and attacks the flanking army. While the soldiers get squished, Elen powers up Arifar by using a Dragon Art called Ley Admos to float up in the air and then cut it into half! Once done, Lim’s team retreat. The enemy follows but got tripped by the ropes laid as traps. Zion learns the enemy has reinforcement of 2000 soldiers approaching and coming from behind overwhelming theirs (it is just an elaborate plan of using the setting sun and terrain to look they have a big number but they’re just horses without riders). His subjects suggest using the other dragon but Zion refuses. He already lost one and if he loses this one, he fears he will be blamed. Thinking his own life is more important, he orders his men to retreat. Some believe they can tough it out but Zion won’t have that. The retreating men are slain. Tigre is now face to face with Zion. Zion continues to mock commoners and of course Tigre. But the latter will not tolerate him plundering his land. All that is left now is for them to duel. That’s a very long lance you got there, Zion. But Tigre chooses only a bow. He tests a few shots but is blocked by cocky Zion’s shield. When Zion charges, Tigre’s next arrow goes through his arm. He failed to notice the shots were hit at the same place and weakened the structure. Armies from both sides now clash. Zion escapes on the dragon. Tigre hears a voice from the black bow to aim at the dragon. The bow also absorbs some power from Arifar. The super charged shot kills the dragon and sends Zion plunging to his death. Zion’s soldiers’ morale falls to all-time low and are easily routed.

Tigre-kun to Vanadi-chu 3: Elen and Tigre are hiding in Lim’s room. Even though if they’re going to watch something interesting, is this morally right? They can get caught, you know. Oh, who cares? They watch Lim turn into a different persona while cuddling her teddy bears. Unbelievable, eh? She’s so happy playing with them and even has background stories for them. Suddenly she feels there is someone else in the room. Did she notice them? Elen suggests Tigre to pretend talking like a teddy bear. Will that work? Sounds crazy but what choice do they have? Tigre is expecting the worst and that this plan has failed. He is totally screwed. But she totally believes in it. Didn’t see that one coming? They’re still screwed anyway…

Episode 4
Titta finds Elen trying to wake up Tigre by putting her sword in his mouth! Is this a tradition of Zhcted? Titta is sure making a big deal out of this. Meanwhile Thenardier curses Ganelon because the moment his troops lost, he pulled out. To deal with Tigre, he wants to send Serrash, a group of notorious assassins to kill him and as for Elen, they’ll send another War Maiden to deal with her. Elen returns to Silesia, Zhcted’s capital to seek an audience with the king. He is not pleased that Elen did not seek his permission by taking her army into Brune territory. Although Elen explains Tigre’s reason to protect his country, the king finds it a lame excuse because it is like involving their country in a war like a common mercenary. Fellow War Maiden, Sofya Obertas alleviates his anger that in war, victory often favours haste over caution. Later, Elen runs into another War Maiden, Ludmila Lourie. You can say they both hate each other and before sparks can start to fly, Sofya puts her foot down. Sofya cautious Elen in making enemies out of her since she has contacts with Thenardier. Although her house has been on good terms with them for a long time, Ludmila doesn’t like them but will never let her personal feelings endanger their partnership. Tigre is happy that Mashas has returned, although the latter is cautious of Lim and her army’s presence. He understands once Tigre explains. Mashas wants to know Tigre’s next step. He will attack Thenardier. As feudal lord of his country, he is obliged to protect his people. Mashas then head to the Brune capital to seek an audience with the king to make Tigre’s case as just cause. At the same time, Tigre and Lim travel to other counties to seek allies. Then they meet up with Elen who explains the condition her king gave her. If Alsace becomes her territory, she must hand it over to the king. This isn’t a big deal as they can try to change Alsace’s situation.

The problem is the other condition. She must put Zhcted’s interest above anything else and behave prudently. Tigre thought that felt normal but he failed to see the deeper aspect of it. With such ambiguous phrasing, he is trying to tie everyone to the war whoever wins, the king benefits in the end. Therefore it is safe to assume aristocrats won’t make any sudden moves. The hierarchy of Zhcted is absolute with the king on top followed by War Maidens and then nobles. This would lead to problem with other War Maidens as not all of them are on their side. But she cautions that one will only be a problem. Speaking of her, here comes Ludmila. She is here to take a look at him. And as usual, cocky as ever. Ludmila doesn’t hide her connection with Thenardier to him. She wants to take the conversation elsewhere so as they ride through the forest, they noticed traps laid out by assassins. Elen thinks Tigre is the target since Thenardier would be happy with his death and Elen would be forced to leave Brune. They are attacked but are able to fight back. Noticing their crest, the assassins are from Serrash. When Lim is bitten by a snake, Tigre has to enforce first aid immediately and suck out the poison. Now I know why the snake bit her breast… When the rest of the assassins simultaneously attack, Ludmila activates her special attack and summons large icicles from the ground to stab all of them. Ludmila is disappointed over Elen for getting so flustered over her retainer and fails her as a War Maiden. She heads off first to Rodnik while leaving them to get medical aid for Lim. Yeah, thanks for that.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 4: Titta panics when Lim has a request of her. Thinking it must be something extreme, turns out she wants her teddy bear although Lim pretends it is for one of Elen’s retainers. Since this is old and worn out, Titta will make a new one. By all means, please do. Tigre sees this and Lim starts to panic. He wants to know this retainer who loves teddy bears so much. Lim is flustering like hell trying to explain without giving herself away. She flusters greatly when Tigre mentions this retainer who loves teddy bears must be a lovely girl.

Episode 5
Lim is healed and Elen is going to let Tigre have his reward. Stepping into the bath while Ludmila is there? More like she wants to irk her. But Ludmila didn’t panic since she views him as an animal instead of a man. In town, because Ludmila’s pride has her not tasting stall food, Elen starts eating and claiming how tasty it is to spite her. Tigre lets her taste some and Elen is not too pleased. After they part, Elen tells Lim to strengthen their border patrol. True enough as predicted, Ludmila assembled an army on Leitmeritz’s border. This means Elen’s forces are sandwiched between Ludmila and Thenardier’s army. Elen lets Tigre decide. Fight Ludmila now and stop worrying about her in the future or prepare against Thenardier and Ganelon’s invasion on Alsace. Tigre sends an envoy first but Ludmila ignores. Both sides clash and both suffer heavy casualties and forced to withdraw. As Elen gets ready for the next battle, Ludmila’s forces withdraw and hole up at her ice castle stronghold at Tatra Mountains. Elen realizes they have been had since it is a tough place to penetrate. Although Elen attacks, her forces are being pushed back. So she wants to do a desperate move by herself to wipe the enemy out from behind since the cold is getting to her men. But Lim doesn’t want her to do this and wants Tigre to convince her. At such times, Elen is asserting her position that Tigre belongs to her. Doesn’t he get to decide now? He also doesn’t want her doing this and considers her important. Really? Nobody above her? Only one: Alsace. She finds it funny and would have cut off his head if he said the name of another woman. If he has a better plan, she is all ears.

Tigre goes on a scouting mission. Lim gave him a bear skin (guess why) so he could trek across the snowy terrain without suspicion. Low on food, he shoots his arrow at a fox. However Ludmila was also hunting and also shot it. At first she didn’t believe he could shoot that far but when he demonstrates, she is amazed. Now do you believe? She invites him to share it with her, not knowing who is behind this bear skin. Tigre calls himself Urs (his father’s name) and maintains wearing the bear skin (claiming it is a law of his country not to take out animal hide on the mountains). He notices a different side of Ludmila as she serves him tea and could smile like that. She doesn’t suspect him a spy and talks about her responsibility as a War Maiden and had to hide her feelings working for people she hates just for her country’s good. As they part, she hopes he would stop by her castle one day. After a while, Tigre follows her footsteps to her castle to survey the surroundings. Then he returns with Elen and her troops getting ready to take it down. Elen uses her wind power to break down the gate but to no avail. It’s like the enemy expected her and they start raining arrows of her. She is obsessed in trying again and could have been killed had not Tigre save her. Tigre pleads to Arifar to lend its power and because the sword likes him, it powers up his arrow to make a hole in the gate. Elen then orders her men to charge in.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 5: Lim is so happy that Titta has finished making a new teddy bear. She forgot about the ‘retainer’… Oh sh*t… When Elen comes by, it’s that cheeky smirk on her face upon knowing what’s going on. Lim tries to change the subject to Serrash’s ambush but Elen keeps emphasizing on how Tigre saved her and how much attention he paid to her breasts! Titta cannot stop flustering and could explode any time from embarrassment. When Tigre comes, the ladies won’t let him know what they’re talking about.

Episode 6
As Elen and Ludmila clash, a Serrash member tries to kill Ludmila but Tigre’s arrow was fast enough to kill him. For this gratitude, Ludmila slaps him! She realizes his arrow skills and is that Urs guy. Tigre considers this as repayment for her delicious tea. His wish is that she stays neutral. It would be great if she allies with him but he has nothing to offer. With this, Ludmila is amazed with his honesty to protect his homeland and announces that she will not support Thenardier. Although Elen doesn’t have to worry about Ludmila’s forces, it seems Thenardier has got another faction involved. Roland, Brune’s strongest knight and the head of the Order of Navarre wielding the invincible Durandal sword, is being ordered to take out insurgents. A month later, Tigre has a decent army backing from Zhcted as well as some ragtag group several counts he allied with. However with their army from different backgrounds, fighting is going to be plenty. Tigre has to step in to quell them even for the silliest reason of fighting over the shape of a cloud! Of course Elen is worried that with Mashas not back yet, she wonders if Tigre’s petition has been delivered. While resting at the riverbanks, Tigre stumbles onto Elen’s pet dragon, Lunie. Perhaps cheeky little dragon saw this coming. As Sofya was looking for it, her mind was perhaps too focused on it as she bumps into Tigre. Did I mention she is stark naked? Elen not pleased…

Sofya explains she is on official business here. As they have not heard Brune’s explanation for their actions, she is sent as an envoy. Though, she was told the Brune King was ill and wasn’t able to meet him to clarify their stance. However she was made to pass a message to Elen for Tigre: Tigre is now considered a traitor and stripped of all his titles and powers. Alsace will be considered property of the king and for now will be self governed. A messenger will soon be dispatched for this but perhaps Tigre could learn more about this from Mashas. Although there won’t be any concerns for other War Maidens’ actions, the big concern is how the fellow Brune people will act once they learn Tigre stand accuse for treason. Order of Navarre is drawing closer to them. Although messengers were sent, they were ignored. Some of the counts are worried about this and wonder if they should ally themselves with their fellow Brune instead of the Zhcted army that is backing them. However Tigre considers Thenardier as a ruthless and cruel king and they need to go into battle for their own sakes. So both sides clash. Roland fights Elen and is impressed by her fighting calibre. Elen is knocked off her horse. Her only choice is to use Dragon Art but him being human is what is making her hold back. Tigre comes to save the day. It might seem he misfired his arrow but that serves as a distraction to pick up Elen. Also, in right timing, that misfired arrow strikes and kills Roland’s horse. But Tigre is out of action as he has taken a nasty slash across his chest from Roland. Sofya has Elen escape with him while she handles things from here.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 6: Ludmila praises the nice bear outfit that Lim made. Lim stops Tigre before he could further reveal her cute side. After Tigre compliments her tea, Elen and Ludmila get into their usual argument. Tigre tries to stop them especially about Elen calling names on Ludmila’s small boobs. He goes on describing its nice shape and colour. Bad move. For once, Ludmila and Elen are in sync to kill him…

Episode 7
Sofya fights Roland for a short while since it is her plan to buy time for her comrades to escape. With Mashas’ army coming in as reinforcement, Roland withdraws his troops. Mashas then speaks to Elen and co that he failed to seek an audience with the king. However the prime minister and his best friend, Pierre Badouin secretly took him to the king’s chambers. He is shocked to see him playing with building blocks. The shock of losing his son must have turned him so. Not many are aware of his condition and perhaps Thenardier and Ganelon knew about this and using it to their advantage. After he left, he was ambushed by assassins. Sofya saved him and that was how he met her. Elen goes to see unconscious Tigre in his bed and vows to fight on his behalf. Defend what he is protecting. He belongs to her after all. When Tigre wakes up, he finds Titta by his side. However his bow starts resonating as they follow its guide to a temple. Meanwhile Elen leads the attack against Order of Navarre. The latter may be using its flanking attack but Elen’s troops are using sandbags to divert the river and turn the battlefield into a swampy marshland to turn the tides. Inside the temple, Titta believes this is a temple that houses Tir Na Fa, the goddess of death and darkness. The goddess possesses Titta to speak to Tigre that it was him who came here to seek for greater powers and not she who summoned him. She will give him power but he must prove his resolve by shooting Titta. Tigre agrees and powers up his arrow. Right before it hits Titta, the power disperses and stops the arrow. I guess the force was so powerful that it ripped Titta’s clothes. No wonder that maid was so scared sh*t. The goddess barely passes him. Then he rushes back to the battlefield. Roland is fighting Elen and Sofya. The women can’t best his Durandal. It cuts through their power. Tigre fires his arrow but he is able to strike it down. Roland confirms with him about hiring Zhcted army to protect Alsace. They mention that Thenardier is their goal and want Roland to join them but he refuses since he is his royal knight. Tigre’s wound starts to open again so he makes it quick to fire his arrow (powered up with the goddess’ power). Roland strikes it head on and is in a dilemma who is protecting the people. In the aftermath of the power clash, everyone is surprised Roland is still standing (although his armour is in pieces). However Roland admits defeat as he cannot raise his arms to use Durandal. He cannot win as he is now and contributes his loss to his doubts. Tigre can rest easy as he faints. With Order of Navarre withdrawing, Elen and co march directly towards Thenardier.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 7: Sofya has Tigre think what he likes about Elen. But how come all her answers are pertaining to her boobs? Doesn’t he like that? Well, he considers Elen his saviour and brother in arms. Later Sofya talks to Elen on how sincere and honest a guy like him. But she is thinking more of his crotch?! Wondering if Elen loves him, she replies he belongs to her and is on contract. In that case, wouldn’t she be so kind to lend Tigre to her? She promises if he gets ‘dirty’, she’ll ‘wash him clean at many places’ before giving him back. Elen wants her to stay away from him.

Episode 8
To make amends for attacking him, Roland will return to the capital to help seek an audience with the king. He leaves Durandal in Tigre’s hands. Also, Elen receives a letter from her fellow War Maiden friend that she is indebted to, Alexandra Alshavin AKA Sasha. She is under attack from another War Maiden and they promised to be at rush to the other’s side when in trouble. Why didn’t Sasha for Elen all the while? She’s bedridden. Elen and Lim will be away for a while. When Roland returns to the capital, he is trapped in a room by Ganelon. Viewing this as his failure to kill the traitor, poison bees are unleashed. Roland’s death reaches everyone and of course Thenardier is not amused. Even more worrying is the fact that Brune’s southern neighbour, Muozinel is taking advantage and advancing on them (these people still believe in plundering and slavery). Thenardier leads a small army in luring some Muozinel troops into his territory to fight them. He leaves his main force under pretence to protect Ganelon but in actual fact he wants to keep an eye on that old dude. This means Tigre and his army need to fight and defend the Territoire region with only 1700 men in hopes of preventing a national crisis. Tigre sees Muozinel troops taking an entire village as prisoners and although he wants so much to save them, he is only here to scout and prepare. More woes on their side because they do not have enough weapon supplies and the Muozinel forces might use the prisoners as human shields to prevent their attacking.

The Muozinel supreme commander, Qasim learns about the skirmish attack of a small army on their troop. He knows it is a decoy and sends thousands of his men to eliminate them. True enough, they are lured into a valley where they are ambushed. They are defeated and this is part of Tigre’s plan to salvage the enemy’s weapon. Tigre continues to make small ambushes to reduce their number. In retaliation, Qasim executes some of the prisoners outright. When both forces meet head on, Qasim cannot believe Tigre is the commander of the Brune army as those people hate archers. As the fight begins, Tigre shoots his arrow right into Qasim’s forehead! I guess he let his guard down that he could never shoot that far and that Qasim was deep within his troops. The Muozinel soldiers lose hope and run as Tigre’s forces give chase and hunt them down. As Tigre frees the prisoners, some are mad that he didn’t take action earlier because those executed could have been prevented. Tigre can only apologize. But at the end of the day, they are grateful for being saved and you could say they got their revenge on the same day. It is considered an achievement for Tigre’s troops to destroy a quarter of Muozinel’s considering the size of their army. But they can’t rest yet. Captured Muozinel prisoners mention this is just the beginning. They were just the vanguard and a strong 30,000 men troop is advancing. It is already tough that they have to escape with the newly freed people but the Muozinel is taking no chances and charging straight at them. Tigre takes some of his archers to try and take some pot shots at them. It didn’t slow them down. He didn’t expect to get help from Ludmila and her troops.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 8: Rurick and Gerard Augre are arguing. They can’t agree on anything. Especially about their views on Tigre. Rurick is loyal to him but Gerard is just passing him. Then it descends into a talk of Tigre’s popularity with women that allows him to get into naughty situations. It makes them feel jealous and for once they agree on this.

Episode 9
Long ago when Elen and Ludmila were still locking horns, Sasha came by and they stopped dead in their tracks. Seemed they were scared of her. She suggested fighting them both at once. If they win, she’ll do anything they ask. Otherwise they must apologize to each other. And because the ladies hate each other more than anything, they quickly team up and attack Sasha but lost. They are forced to apologize but it doesn’t sound sincere. Elen has arrived at Sasha’s side. She learns War Maiden Elizaveta Fomina is the one trying to attack her. It all began when they tried to eliminate pirates together. As they were finishing things up, Elizaveta accused her army of deliberating leading the pirates towards hers. They have broken contact since. Ludmila talks to Tigre and is chiding him of his submissive attitude and the way he sounds desperate wanting her help. She knows during Elen’s attack on her fortress, it wasn’t Arifar that could break through that thick gate. She suspects it was his bow. She has a look at it but isn’t impressed despite being his family heirloom. She asks why he doesn’t use it often in battle. He has not mastered its powers yet and each time he uses it, he will black out. Ludmila agrees to help him out and in return she hopes he will repay the favour by showing the bow’s power to her. Elen faces off with Elizaveta. Both sides clash and of course the big ladies themselves. Elen seems to be winning and will not let Elizaveta go till the latter warns that she has more things to worry about. Ganelon has started mobilizing his army (indicating she is working under him) and Muozinel is invading from the south. Elizaveta can keep her company here by fighting but who is more pressed for time? She suggests withdrawing and get back talking about business with the pirates while adding a 1 year non-aggression pact for good measure. Elen agrees under one condition that she sincerely apologizes to Sasha. Done. With this settled, Elen rushes back to Leitmeritz. Ludmila discusses war strategy with Tigre. Seems his men can only last one more battle and facing this huge army, it won’t be easy taking out their supplies or commander. Speaking of which, Kureys Shahin Balamir is the brother of Muozinel’s king and a powerful one. Once Sachstein sent thousands of ships against his side but Kureys only had 200 ships and prevailed. He was nicknamed Red Beard or Barbarossa (shortened to Barbaros later). Kureys split his army into many divisions to stem out ambush attacks as he marches through the land. In the end, Tigre’s men never showed up. A scout reports to Kureys that an oral message was sent to them. Something about they better leave (because they are invaders) or risk getting burnt. He’s not going to turn tail. Challenge accepted.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 9: After Elizaveta apologizes to Sasha, she asks about Tigre. Sasha is surprised that she never imagined her asking this. As Sasha explains as what she knows from Elen, Elizaveta starts imagining this ‘strong gorilla’ based on what she hears. The odder it gets but the more curious she becomes. She thinks of sending gifts to see how he responds.

Episode 10
Kureys splits his army into several strong divisions as he plans to chase after the people and make them their slaves. But they were ambushed by Ludmila’s troops hiding behind hills thought to be unguarded. Then the people turn out to be Zhcted soldiers in disguise. The real people are stationed back at the hill fortress. Although Tigre and Ludmila charge directly to Kureys’ unit, Kureys is not fazed and only calls back a division and has the rest continue with their mission. He plans to tire them out. True enough, some of the soldiers are at their limits and the Muozinel soldiers easily route them. Tigre will not give up and continue fighting and this impresses Ludmila. Suddenly Brune reinforcements arrive to help Tigre. They were sent by Mashas. One of them being Count Auguste who once served Tigre’s family. Kureys is confident they can still strike down the enemy since the main force is tiring out. But when Mashas and his troops arrive, Kureys orders a retreat and combines all his divisions into one. He then waits for a crucial information before making his next move. Once he learns the troops left behind to attack the southern harbour was sunk by Thenardier, the task of securing these locations with limited men seems too high a risk to take. He orders full retreat as long as he can shift the blame to someone. To save face, he thinks up of lines to praise Tigre and sends a messenger to convey it to him. It must be one hell of a boring speech that he fell asleep! Yeah, Ludmila joins him in sleeping… Together in her tent! Ludmila purposely knows how to smite Elen because when morning comes and she has returned, Ludmila clings on to Tigre like as though it was one hell of a passionate night. Thankfully Elen didn’t lose her cool although she is pretty irked at Ludmila. Another battle for Tigre is about to begin. Can’t this guy even catch a decent sleep? They’re really fighting over him and making him the object of tug-of-war but I guess Ludmila has some strategy discussion to attend to with her men. Shucks… Tigre’s victory is considered great and it helps many to see and support his just cause. Alone with Elen, Tigre apologizes for getting so many of her soldiers killed. But she’s not mad because he did not regret his fights. Instead, she is grateful and it is an honour to those who fought courageously and died in battle.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 10: Ludmila is not happy that Tigre is out late with Elen. Titta doesn’t seem to be handling well thinking about that. But Ludmila will let this slide since she already had her share of sleeping with him after the battle. Whoops! Now Titta is on the verge of going crazy. Okay, make that she’s already super crazy. Now Ludmila can’t say how he groped her boobs during his sleep but I think Titta can guess from the looks of her thinking…

Episode 11
War Maiden, Valentina Glinka Estes cuts a portal into Tigre’s room to kill him while he is asleep. Good thing or not, his hand was on her breast so she decides to leave it be. Tigre is called by Mashas because there are rumours that the prince is still alive. At least a look-a-like in their camp. One of the women Tigre personally saved during Muozinel’s invasion, Regin comes to see them. She reveals her she once went by the name Regnas Estelle Loire Bastien de Charles. This is the prince?! Mentioning about her hunting encounter with Tigre 6 years ago at Vincennes, Tigre remembers the prince. Mashas couldn’t believe it he almost died of a heart attack! Regin continues that an assassin was sent to attack her troop and so it was assumed she fell in battle. She has been posing as a prince all the while because her fellow countrymen do not think highly of a queen that does not bear a son. Plus, females have a lower chance of succeeding the throne. Imagine the people’s trust if they find out about her gender and Thenardier and Ganelon will definitely make their move. Regin trusts Tigre because he doesn’t have an ulterior motive. A few nights ago when she visited his tent and requested him to wash her body was a way to test him. It’s a good thing he didn’t jump on her or anything. It might also mean he is gay… Just kidding! To prove her royal lineage, she knows there is a door in Lutetia, capital of Artesium that only royals can open. Meanwhile Thenardier has obtained 5 new badass dragons that can even kill War Maidens. As for Ganelon, everything seems to be going on as planned that he has nothing more to do. So he is going to leave Tigre who is going to Artesium and Thenardier who is going to prevent that, an underground parting gift for the winner.

Zhcted’s king makes Sofya the emissary to Brune to bring Elen back because he feels a war is going to start. Sofya encounters Valentina making her way into the palace. News that Ganelon burnt down Lutetia before going missing. As Thenardier’s army is slowly marching north, Tigre says there is no change in their plans. This means a head on clash with Thenardier. Elen and Ludmila fight the dragons but a couple of them seem to be immune to their powers. Thenardier wants his men surround the War Maidens before the dragons are killed even if this means losing thousands of his men. Elen got injured while saving Ludmila, although just a scratch. When both sides pull back, Elen discusses with the rest about those immune dragons. It is believed their chains are made of metal that nullifies the War Maidens’ Dragon Gear powers. But she knows there is a way to defeat it. Before the fight resumes, Thenardier’s scout reports that their enemy is outfitted poorly for battle. As if they are trying to gauge their melee combat and prevent them from using their dragons. Thenardier orders to continue with their plan. Tigre orders his men to retreat and put back their proper gear and leave the War Maidens to fight the dragons. They make the dragons get in each other’s crossfire before taking them out by stabbing through their vital core. They also combine some old tactic of theirs to bring it down.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 11: Everyone seems to be lecturing-cum-advising Regin not to do that bold bath move again. You know men, right? Although Elen assures Tigre is a gentleman, she starts mentioning some of the ladies’ naked bodies he has seen. I don’t know why hearing something like this will have her change her opinion of Tigre so suddenly. He tries to explain himself but it doesn’t help even if Elen mentions about his non-intentional boobs groping incident with her. It would be trouble if he did that to Ludmila. Did he? Tigre’s body reaction made it obvious although he proclaims his innocence. Elen wants to cut him so Tigre runs to Lim for help. Here’s a teddy bear for payment.

Episode 12
An opening bathing scene from the ladies? And they find Tigre so tired that he is sleeping on the floor. Waking him up with a sword in his mouth won’t do so Elen thought of using her killer instincts to do so since he’ll wake up immediately if he were to sense an attack. Well, that worked. In his reflex, he overpowers her and got his hand on her boob. Everyone discuss what to expect at Artesium. Regin explains their goal which is the holy grotto. It is situated in some underground supposedly the birthplace of Brune. There are 3 secret entrances to it and the closest to them that they will take is some temple. Bertrand requests to come along since he wants to be with his master as long as he can because after the war, Tigre will return to Zhcted and his old body cannot keep up for long. Tigre agrees and Elen also wants to come along. The group enter the small temple and make their way after opening a secret passage. A drawing on the cave wall depicting gods fighting a battle against dragons is a sign they are getting close. However Thenardier and his men are also here. They have entered via another entrance. He knows about Regin and since talk is not needed, both sides clash. While Elen handles Thenardier, this serious zombie knight, Steed takes on Rurick and Tigre. He is able to block Tigre’s arrow shots despite being blocked and poor lighting. The fighting is put on hold since the cave is about to collapse. All that fighting must have weakened this old cave, huh? Everyone escapes but Tigre continues fighting Steed to buy time. Unfortunately he is cornered and out of arrows. Bertrand turns back and protects his master and gets slashed. Tigre wakes up. Steed is dead after being crushed by the rocks. More disheartening is Bertrand who has lost a lot of blood. He believes his death will not be in vain because he protected Tigre. Like the words of a dying man, he mentions how he is proud of Tigre and at many times surpassed his expectations. He was worried when his father died what would become of him but it seems his worries were unfounded. I’m not sure what’s going on because it’s like a dead old man’s words caused some super beam that turns to above ground into a huge crater. Well, Artesium is already burnt down so why not add a crater to it? Elen is glad Tigre is okay but I guess a dead old man is enough to demoralize everyone. Tigre has been in shock since and everyone else can’t tell if Tigre can be back on his feet soonest by tonight.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 12: Valentina tells us her Dragon Gear allows her to know everything. Everything! So beware. She knows what you’re doing right now… So let’s go take a peek at what the rest are doing. Cutting a portal to spy on Tigre and Elen, she manages to escape before her presence is found out. But when she is spying on Lim, she is shocked at her ‘preparation’ of playing with her teddy bears that she forgot to escape as Lim senses a presence. How to escape? Valentina thought of impersonating as a teddy bear but isn’t confident she’ll get away with it. Will it work? Lim falls for it! Doesn’t this look familiar?

Episode 13
It was the power of the bow that caused that crater and the goddess was impressed he mastered it. But he is still saddened from Bertrand’s death. Elen comes in to talk about his next course of action. He can still opt out of his war and negotiate with Thenardier depending on the conditions he offers. She will be doing what she can with a pride of warrior. Tigre’s mind is clear now and will decide on his next move. He apologizes to Titta for worrying her. Elen also hints the other reason she is helping him. Why did Muozinel attack from the south? The port is the centre of trade. It soon hit Tigre the bigger picture of the Vosges Mountain. If there is a highway connecting Alsace to Leitmeritz, trade and culture will bloom, enriching the territory in the process. Soon Badouin visits them and informs that the king has gotten better although still weak. He was being poisoned by Ganelon. He wants to know Tigre’s actions. After assuring Alsace is safe, he will return to Zhcted to resume being their prisoner. Also, if Alsace cannot be safe in Brune, he is considering making it part of Zhcted. What is Badouin’s suggestion? Better hurry to the capital as the king has not long to live. Of course this means clashing with Thenardier. Tigre wants to know the reason of his attack on Alsace. With Alsace under his control, he could have prevented Zhcted’s interference. Torching the land and people would make it a sure deal. But Tigre had to come back with Zhcted reinforcement. If he had not, Ganelon would since he has old ties with Zhcted. Tigre can’t forgive him and Thenardier the same too for slaying his son.

Tigre is about to summon the bow’s power when Elen punches him! Although getting revenge isn’t wrong, don’t get lost in that hatred. Don’t rely on it as a weapon. Tigre’s mind is now clear as he faces Thenardier with only a single arrow. As Thenardier charges, the arrow strikes right in his forehead! It might look like a silly and easy job but as he thinks back, Thenardier actually could have deflected the arrow had not for the wind changing its trajectory. And it wasn’t from Arifar so this is Tigre’s victory on his own. Ganelon is seen departing at the port as he wishes for Tigre to get stronger and bolster as much power as he can. Valentina is under his service. The entire kingdom celebrates Tigre’s triumphant homecoming. Nervous? Weird hairstyle… More mindboggling, why is everyone so accepting of Regin? I thought they dislike princesses and shouldn’t at least many be in surprise that she is still alive and a girl? After that, Badouin takes them to see the king. He is frail and feels he has failed in his duty and trusted that responsibility on others. Tigre gets to name his reward. Well, he has a few of them including payment in gold coins to Zhcted for their assistance, bearing of war expenses incurred and a mutual non-aggression pact for 3 years (couldn’t they make it longer?). But the most important one is that Brune will cede the land of Agnes to Zhcted and Regin will serve as its first ruler. The king also bestows the title of Lumiere, Knight of Moonlight to Tigre. Badouin is surprised because all those who end up with this title become king of Brune. A few days later, the king passes away. Work on the highway on the Vosges Mountain Highway starts.

Tigre-kun To Vanadi-chu 13: Regin is going to say goodbye to Tigre. He’ll be free in 3 years’ time although the ladies aren’t sure if he would want to leave by then. Because Elen keeps badmouthing that flat chest midget, it’s like Ludmila has her sensors tingling and rushes all the way from her office! Thankfully Sofya takes her out. Sofya then tells Elen to be mindful of her words because there are some flat chests among them too. Titta and Regin fall into depression… But most important of all, they want to hear Tigre’s preference! Hurry up, they haven’t got all day! Tigre thought he is saved when Rurick calls him as it is time to go. He trips and falls over him! His hand over his chest… OMG! Gay scene… Is this how it all ends?!

Mada No Owari, War And Dissing?
Really, has the war really ended? With a handful of other nations around and old scheming geezer Ganelon still breathing, there is bound to be more fighting in the future whether everybody likes it or not. Sure, it is human’s nature and we’ve got that damning revelation from Elen about war helping to open up culture and trade. I understand that as those in the war trade and supplying weapons will profit out of this. Haha! But isn’t that true? But as far as this season is concerned, I guess everything is kinda okay as it focuses on the rise of Tigre of an obscure little town to a name that echoes throughout the land with respect. It might be the end of this season but work for Tigre and his people have only just begun. But that is entirely another story that is yet to be recorded in the annals of history.

Despite having only 13 episodes, there are good and bad points having an anime series with only a season worth of episodes. It works like a double edge sword. On one hand it is good because you get to move the story along without wasting precious episodes dedicating to just a single fight. Yeah, imagine a fight, a single bloody fight in some animes can be dragged for a few episodes. Is there so much to fight? Is there so much drama? Therefore with a few blitzing campaigns and wars, the story gets to move at a decent pace. However, the problem is that with a handful of war campaigns we see the characters in, some fights feel like they are a bit of a rushed. I know this war is going to be a long one but trying to condense it doesn’t do it the justice. So it’s a mixed baggage here. Too long and it will bore you but too short and everything seems like it is in a hurry. This show isn’t all that bad in this sector but to put it in an example, you can’t exactly tell all of China’s history in just an hour, can’t you?

I can’t say much about the character development as it is pretty much focus on Tigre and Elen. Tigre as the typical hero of justice who truly serves his people and Elen and carefree but yet strong willed female lead are nothing new but their relationship and interaction can be dynamic as both are taking time to learn about each other. After all, Elen fell for him. And isn’t he technically still a prisoner of war? I wonder why Tigre didn’t ask to be freed or cancel his prisoner status (in a nice way) as part of the reward provisions. I mean, does he really intend to honour that promise of becoming Zhcted’s prisoner for 3 years? Based on the light novel of the same name, my lazy browsing through Wikipedia has me spot lots of other characters in it that has not appeared in the anime. Yet. Well, it is going to get crazier when other countries get involved in the war but let us not go that far yet.

The War Maidens are an interesting bunch and despite being only unique to the country of Zhcted, their personalities vary and this is what makes them interesting as not all of them get along as some of them serve different interests. I don’t know what the full story behind it is but I feel that some of them are ‘wasted’ in this season and aren’t featured prominently enough. Their cameo feels like it only serves as an introduction (Elizaveta and Sasha in particular) and Elen and Ludmila are the only ones getting the big focus. Heck, if I counted correctly, aren’t they short of one War Maiden? I read she is supposedly the youngest War Maiden but did not make her appearance at all in this anime despite curiously making cameos in the opening and ending credits! Thus, a big disappointment of this series is the lack of the focus on War Maidens because, I don’t know, I have the impression that they hold the key and balance to the war and how Tigre might use some of them in his favour to turn the tides (and enter the harem war).

Most of the side characters feel underutilized and just being there for the sake of being there. I mean, you have Titta the maid to show that guys like Tigre is noble enough to have a cute maid stay loyal to him (or to satiate maid fanatics like me despite how odd it would look like to have a maid in a war time). Saying Lim is the voice of reason to Elen isn’t exactly right because Elen can sufficiently make her own decisions and mostly Lim is just being relegated to watching on or her ‘extra hand’ if she cannot be fighting in 2 places at one time. Then you have Rurick and Augre who are also loyal to Tigre but the highlight about them is their spat and that they can’t really get along with each other. It is like they are the male version of Elen and Ludmila but to a minor scale because we don’t really care about guys. Get what I’m saying? Then there are the other counts and Mashas himself who threw themselves to fight alongside Tigre after his reputation builds up but their character roles are just as that. Thenardier and Ganelon may have been the main antagonists of the series but when you’re in war, it’s hard to say who the bad guys are and who are the heroes. Of course in Ganelon’s case it is made and shown that he has an ulterior motive so based on our stereotypes, he is definitely the big bad villain. Right?

For the fighting action sequences, some are cool and some just feels ordinary. Of course when you have the main characters especially the War Maidens upfront in battle, you can’t expect it to be just normal as there will be unleashing of magic powers and the likes. Despite as interesting and entertaining some of them are, something tells me it falls short of being epic. I mean, in every episode, some sort of fight, battle, skirmish or war happens so perhaps you have come to expect that for each episode. Not to say it is a bad thing especially of the action genre but it somewhat grows ‘immune’. It’s like watching ecchi pantsu shots every 10 seconds in every episode. Won’t you even get bored despite the varieties? But the ‘action’ that I find most interesting each time is when it is narrated via some battle board. Sides are depicted in silver or gold chess-like pieces as the narrator explains the tactics, strategies and formation of the war. Although there are some I do not understand, but nevertheless they are interesting to listen and note of.

I would also like to look forward to another kind of ‘battle’. The battle over Tigre! Yeah well, I was expecting this to turn into some sort of cat fight since some of the girls have a thing for Tigre especially Elen and Ludmila and compounding their bitter old rivalry is Tigre himself. Well, something tells me it is a good thing that this isn’t spammed throughout the series and just sparingly otherwise it would diminish the value of what this series is actually about. So it’s fun when it got the chance. Hope to see more of it if there is a sequel ;p. I wonder if Regin too has fallen into this… A big maybe. Titta the ever loving maid might be just confused about the thin line about serving her master and crossing it. I don’t know about Lim. She’s putting on a poker face like as though it is fixed on her face that I can’t tell.

One thing that confuses me and somewhat ruins the overall enjoyment of the series is the names. I understand that this is some European style fantasy setting but somehow there must be a curse on me that just make me couldn’t remember the names. I can get by with the names of the few protagonists and characters because they are repeated many times and probably they are not as hard as the names of the countries and regions. Yes, the big headache comes from the names of those places. So much so I have a hard time remembering if this place is in Brune or somewhere else. Heck, I still don’t know where is where so if you test me on the topic of geography of this world, I will definitely score a big nice duck egg! Also confusing and hard to remember are the terms and special names like Dragon Gears since each has a name and are unique to each War Maiden. Well, not like I care so much anyway.

Another interesting segment to note is the mid-intermission whereby it explains to us definitions of certain terms, the characters and sometimes gives examples or references. It is a great way to understand the terms better and in a way how this world works. However there are some terms which left me wondering because and I do not see the implication of it. Like hollow. An empty space, hole, depression or cavity. So? So what?! So how does it apply in that episode? Not that I could connect the dots or anything. In some mid-intermissions, sayings are used instead perhaps for variety or lack of any important term to note for that episode.

Art and drawing is good although I won’t go anywhere near in saying that it is a masterpiece. Backgrounds and sceneries are okay and since this is European style setting, you’d see those typical old European buildings and designs. Even the knights’ armour and the emblem designs have that feel. The dragons don’t look that majestic and somewhat look like monsters that are suitable to appear as monster-of-the-week in the Ultraman series. Serious. Character design itself feels okay but I thought the skimpy outfits of the War Maidens make them look like fantasy RPG cosplayers. Hah. I suppose that is why they don’t wear armour in vital places because they have their great power to rely on. I guess that is why they are so ‘powerful’. Because the men really wear big bulky armour from neck to toe that doesn’t seem practical if you engage in melee combat. Maybe it’s just for the scare factor. Big is scary, right?

This also means with cute looking War Maidens, fanservice is a must with them having busty boobs and even flat chests like Ludmila, she isn’t exactly that flat. Just that she is much smaller compared to the rest who are just monstrous. Really. But fanservice itself isn’t much in this show despite you’ll remember a handful of bathing scenes and hand-grabbing-boob accident that will catch your attention. The employ of CGI is also used especially to animate a great number of soldiers when you have a grand view of the battlefield. Not to say the best but it’s just passable. One that obviously irked me was during Muozinel’s invasion and if you pay attention to the soldiers attacking in the background, you’ll notice their repetitive hack and slash action despite there are no enemies in front of them!

Voice acting is pretty okay with Haruka Tomatsu landing the role of Elen and sounding just like other strong willed ladies she voiced like Asuna in Sword Art Online and Shizuku from Tonari No Kaibutsu-kun. Yuka Iguchi as Lim was unrecognizable at first because she was putting that low serious voice like Mako from Girls Und Panzer and Subaru from Mayo Chiki. But when she starts squealing in her trademark fashion like the titular character from To Aru Majutsu No Index, instantly she is identifiable. Yu Kobayashi was also identifiable as Elizaveta though it is sad that her screen time is limited.

Other casts include Kaito Ishikawa as Tigre (Harutora in Tokyo Ravens), Mariya Ise as Ludmila (Levi in Fairy Tail), Yukiyo Fujii as Regin/Regnas (Latifa in Amagi Brilliant Park), Ai Kayano as Sofya (Inori in Guilty Gear), Hajime Ijima as Mashas (Gakushu in Ikkitousen), Sumire Uesaka as Titta (Sanae in Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai), Takayuki Sugo as Bertrand (Wanyuudou in Jigoku Shoujo), Dai Matsumoto as Thenardier (Halloween in MAR), Mikako Komatsu as Sasha (Neko in K), Hitomi Harada as Valentina (Himeji in Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu), Nobuo Tobita as Ganelon (Sinistra in Kiddy Grade), Masami Iwasaki as Kureys (Bolic in Akame Ga Kill), Ryohei Kimura as Zion (Kodaka in Boku Wa Tomodachi Ga Sukunai) and Juurota Kosugi as the narrator (Tama in Hayate No Gotoku).

I thought Haruka Tomatsu was the one singing the opening theme. Unfortunately it is Konomi Suzuki singing Ginsen No Kaze. I think they try to make it sound epic with all those grand background voices and orchestra instruments but somehow this piece just doesn’t appeal to me. The generic pop ending theme that starts out like a slow ballad, Schwarzer Bogen by Hitomi Harada sounds better personally if you ask me. A special ending theme for episode 10 by Konomi Suzuki, Ryuusei Chinkonka is a slow and beautiful ballad but I thought it sounded like a song that would suit as the closure at the end of a movie or a series.

Overall, this anime series is still enjoyable thanks to the war tactics and the fitting action that goes with it. It could have been better, though. I guess it is alright if it happens only on screen if they keep coming up with sequels, war after wars. Because if this really happens in real life, it would be a real dread especially when you start taking history class. You’d start hating your ancestors into getting mindless wars and getting so many killed (in some ways you can thank them for helping to cut down on overpopulation) and at the end of the day, you have to remember so many important dates and events that would eventually have no bearing or significance for the rest of your life. Life is unfair isn’t it? Well yeah, deal with it. Only winners write history and those who are crazy and bold enough to change the world are the ones who do. Are you ready to change yours?

Anime Characters With A Lollipop In Their Mouth

Need something to chew on? Well, some people have this oral fixation for almost their entire life. At least as seen in certain animes, certain characters will always or for most of the time have something popped in their mouth. Insecurity or just for the heck of it, you can’t deny that you can’t take your eyes of it. While there are many things one can put in one’s mouth to satisfy that oral craving (no dirty thoughts, please), here is a look at anime characters with a lollipop in their mouth. I suppose it is a must for those with an eternal sweet tooth. Maybe life is to bitter and the sweet sensation that sticks in their mouth helps a lot. I wish I had that too but not enough money and the higher probability of turning into a diabetic are a major turnoff.

 Misaki Yamamoto (Hatsukoi Limited)

Probably the first character that ever made sucking a lollipop look so sexy and cool. Initially she wasn’t interested in falling in love till this WTF accidental incident of some guy shoving a lollipop into her mouth that she started liking him. And can’t leave her mouth free of lollipop ever since. Sweet.

Saku Tooyama (Tantei Opera Milky Holmes)

Usually it has been a norm to equate the police force with doughnuts. But G4 isn’t your typical police force and this computer genius of the group most likely is taciturn because she’s got a lollipop in a mouth. Hey, you can’t talk with your mouth full, right? And probably she is concentrating enjoying her lollipop, the reason she puts up that emotionless façade… Probably…

Mitsuki Nase (Kyoukai No Kanata)

Unlike more hardcore oral fixators, Mitsuki is not always seen with her favourite Chupa-Chups in the mouth. But it is often enough for me to classify her under this category. Maybe she should always stick those Chupa-Chups inside her mouth so that she could sound less sadistic (frank is probably the right word but it doesn’t make her sound badass) or use Akihito as her object for teasing. Yeah, I suspect not enough sugar count is making her prickly…

Amaimon (Ao No Exorcist)

How can the demon king with the title King of Earth be looking so calm and collected? Thank the lollipop! Maybe it is that same culprit the reason he is also brash and carefree. But better for him to be this way because you don’t want to make him angry by ruining his fun.

Kio Kaidou (Loveless)

I didn’t see this anime because of that yaoi stuff and I’m not planning to watch it in my lifetime unless some drastic happens… Anyway from what I gathered, he is enough a big sweet tooth maniac to be seen with a lollipop always.

Mizore Shirayuki (Rosario To Vampire)

There is a reason why this snow woman is never without a lollipop in her mouth: It is to help maintain her body temperature. I never knew lollipop had such qualities of preventing snow people from melting and keep their body skin so smooth and sexy. If it could be applied to humans, we’ll be seen sucking on them instead of wasting our money, time and effort on a range of beauty products.

Kokonoe (Blazblue – Alter Memory)

They say that her trademark is the candy she is always having instead of her cat trait appearances. They also say that this is what gives her the ability to speak in an eloquent manner. Heck, they based this Silvervine Candy in this anime/game from a real life plant that is believed to a favourite for cats. Think of it as an alternative to catnip. Only here, it heightens one’s intelligence. Maybe that’s why she’s talking so purr-fectly…

Spanner (Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn)

When they say sugar is good for your brain, believe it! This engineer makes his own lollipops and the reason he sucks on them is because it helps keep his brain efficient! Candy helps inspire creation of technology! No wonder he sounds so calm too and never seen to be angry. See the relaxing effect of the candy?! Damn it. If only I had taken them for my major exam finals…

Kotori Itsuka (Date A Live)

Maybe she needed something to calm down. After all, being the high commander of an organization seeking to prevent future spacequakes is one stressful job. Even more stressful when you have a brother you love who is tasked in dating Spirits and will never ever notice you. Just keep dreaming. And sucking. She’ll need it…

Himeko (Sket Dance)

I was in a dilemma whether to put her here because she is not always seen with a lollipop in mouth. Thanks to the numerous number of episodes so it feels like those times she had her favourite Pelollipop Candy (comes in a variety of unimaginable flavours!) that is only tasty to her but poison to others (think of koala bears and eucalyptus plants) may seem infrequent in our eyes. Nevertheless, I suppose it only takes a badass girl to appreciate such unusual candy.

Febri (To Aru Kagaku No Railgun S)

All kids like lollipops. There are no exceptions to the rule. Therefore it is no surprise to see a loli having one pop in a mouth. Unless you are Febri because she doesn’t eat this lollipop with a strong taste for fun (maybe to her it is). There lies a darker reason she is doing it. It is to neutralize the poison accumulating inside her body, otherwise she would die within hours.

Rin Suzukaze (Majestic Prince)

I didn’t see this anime either. As far as I know, she loves her sweets more than anything else in the world. So much so, perhaps the only one who can stand and enjoy the sweetest of the sweetest sweets. And I suppose the lollipop is to help calm her stress down seeing she is often troubled by the antics of her students.

Hayato Fuurinji (Shijou Saikyou No Deshi Kenichi)

Even if you’re the strongest and most powerful master in the dojo, it doesn’t mean you must have a diet of iron, calcium and other nutrients. This old guy is estimated to be nearly a century old and he still loves popping a lollipop in his mouth from time to time. At this age, life is too short to be worrying about your sugar intake. I guess he extended his second childhood too.

Chelsea (Akame Ga Kill)

Cute girl with lollipops means that they are an innocent lot, aren’t they? Well, don’t be deceived by her looks. In fact, deception is her forte and you’d be a fool a hundred times over to think you can trick this pretty lass. Having an Imperial Arms that allows her to change into any shape she wants, perhaps the abundant lollipops are the source of this power of hers. Wow. A never ending source of lollipops!

Vivian (Cross Ange)

Quiz time. Why do I love lollipops? Hell, I don’t know but I suppose this spunky little girl needs to have one to enhance the effect of being a lively girl of the group. When you have the rest of your team members having that gloom doom mood and fighting dragons are just downright scary, maybe this will liven things up. Maybe. If not, just be happy at your own pace. Mmm… Victory never tasted this sweet. And oh… Maybe those lollipops keeps her dragon side suppressed and maintains her human form…

Prince Leyric (Maze)

Lucky me! A minor character from a retro obscure anime that nobody will ever know! Whatever political marriage is going on for him in his kingdom, this young prince doesn’t care and all he wants is just to lick his lollipop. This kid is dumb enough to follow a total stranger just because she offered him a lollipop, dumb enough to proclaim to her servant just because of that, dumb enough to show her the most important device that keeps the kingdom safe, and then dumb enough to give her anything and ended up paying the ultimate price with his life. Good riddance. And he didn’t even get the lollipop…

Ginpachi-sensei (Gintama)

I guess this could qualify. Ginpachi-sensei is a spoof off the main character in the series and I suppose with this rare and short comical Q&A segment, he looks like he may be smoking in class but it is actually a candy stick that looks like a cigarette! Remember kids, smoking is bad. I know too much candies can be bad too but it is hell better than even a stick of cigarette.

No, It Does Not Suck…
Of course this list is not meant to be exhaustive and there could be other anime characters who love licking their lollipops than anything else out there. Maybe I haven’t discover them because well, who in our right mind would love others stare at you enjoying your little candy on a stick? There are other characters too with such oral fixation but didn’t put them in such as Shippo from Inu Yasha. I don’t remember seeing that little fox demon with a lollipop in his mouth and trying to find more information about it doesn’t yield anything. I wonder how I got this info in the first place. Unless, fan fiction. Then there is the other blasphemous case of Sanji from One Piece! Yes, that’s right. In the original anime, Sanji is always smoking but a certain country decided it was bad influence on the kids and changed it to a lollipop instead! I didn’t see this version but I know it will suck big time (pun intended).

Therefore as an end note, do not underestimate the power of lollipops and other sugar related edibles. These are much better to be put in your mouth because it is definitely much better than biting your fingernails, right? It may sound ridiculous and a big coincidence but remember and take note, “Desserts” is “Stressed” spelled backwards. So when you’re anxious, frustrated and irritated, pop one in your mouth to calm down. It isn’t scientifically proven but I can bet that my guts are telling me so. Oh, and do take the real deal instead of substituting those sweet cravings with something else. Because playing Candy Crush won’t exactly satisfy such cravings (except of your obsessive compulsive craving order of looking at your handphone). Now, I wonder if there are any chocolate bars around…

Jinsei

Life itself is never straightforward or easy. It is such a winding road with some many forked and converging paths that it sometimes confuses the hell out of you on where to go next. Because I am sure everybody doesn’t want to screw up since all of us have only one precious life. Better make that count. So who do you ask for life’s advice when you’re lost? Too scared to ask your parents or close friends (or they may be the source of your problems?) or don’t believe all those crappy life advice columns in newspapers and magazines? Don’t worry. In Jinsei, you can write a letter to a bunch of high school students who ‘specialize’ in giving their opinions and views for your problems! You not only get 1 answer but 3 or 4 of them! Wow! It’s like giving you several options to choose from. No guarantees it will work, though. Heck, they may even compound your problem because with these kids with different backgrounds and mindset, they are always set to clash and what better way to see whose answer is the best by trying things out… Uhm, the answer you are looking for might have to wait for a little while as they sort things out…

Episode 1
To show Yuuki Akamatsu her gratitude, Ayaka Nikaidou, the president of the second newspaper club makes him the manager of a life counselling club and all he has to do is manage the 3 girls who will give their opinions and advices on troubles bugging the students. Sounds easy right? Well, that depends. So each of the girls are specialized in a certain field. Like Rino Endou who is into sciences, Fumi Kujou will cover humanities and Ikumi Suzuki on athletics. So our first issue our team will handle is about a guy who is having trouble deciding joining a club. Of course all the girls come up with stark different (and crazy) answers. Noting this guy’s trait is being indecisive, a suggestion is that he forms an indecisive club but even that itself is indecisive. He’ll be indecisive to recruit members and new potential members will be indecisive to join. Since they can’t sort this out, the only way is to have a water balloon match in which the winner’s answer will be chosen. Rino who is physically weaker uses her science and calculations to fight back against Ikumi. However she is athletic enough to evade. And then Ikumi hears that Rino and Fumi have paired up against her. They even set traps for a bunch of water balloons hidden in a tree to fall on her. But Ikumi like some kung fu master, empties her mind and lets her body take over. All the water balloons are deflected back to the duo. With their shirts soak, Ikumi starts molesting Fumi’s boobs.

Another guy has trouble of getting along with others and feels his communicating skills are lacking. As usual, different answers. Time to put it to a test. This time an experiment. Since Rino insists on physical contact, she is made to touch Akamatsu. Nervous and uncomfortable. That says it all on her face although she is denying it. So she manages to softly touch his hand. What about calling by each other’s first name? While Akamatsu could, Rino couldn’t. Fumi’s family runs a shrine so she is going to help teach about intimacy. She talks to Rino in hopes of finding a common interest. None. Not even anything general. Fumi felt so defeated that she ran away. In another letter, an art club senior is in desperate need of members since the manga club next door seems to be taking away potential ones. Since there is some ‘screaming’ portrait attached to the letter, Ikumi gets an idea to have a mascot for the club. Yeah, I don’t know what is this strange spirit… A result of all their ideas mashed up together. Ayaka will accept it but on one condition. As the newspaper needs to feature an article on local date spots, someone has to go on a date and test it out. And so, Akamatsu and Rino end up in some café. They felt they have been set up. Surprisingly they both could hold a decent conversation. Of course, Rino spamming all her sciences in it. But all fun times must end and when it’s time to go, Ikumi and Fumi are waiting outside. They were certain (and probably waiting) for them to kiss. But it is second round for Rino since the girls go back in to enjoy the cake. Anyway, their mascot, Super Spirited-kun is approved. Say, how come it looks like that Scream painting?

Episode 2
A girl is having serious self confidence problem especially finding Mr Right thanks to some prediction she got from a fortune teller. Scientific Rino doesn’t believe in such superstitions but the others are trying to lure her into it. To solve this problem, they become fortune tellers and blow away her negativity by telling good predictions. Well, it’s amazing they manage to do all the setup to make it look real. When the girl is brought in, Ikumi who is playing the fortune teller, shoves Akamatsu and Rino underneath the table. Cramped space. Boy on top of girl. Oh dear. Ikumi is bugging them for answers but something feels more than that because it is like Ikumi’s legs are forcing Akamatsu to be all over Rino. So much so, the last straw came when he got his hands on her boobs. I don’t even know how this happened. He had to shut her up or her screams would have ruined everything. Everything goes without a hitch. Except that Akamatsu is apologetic although it wasn’t his fault but Rino is not too amused. Another issue has a girl having a fight with her friend and wants to make up. Obviously Rino is still upset about that incident so Ikumi tries to open her eyes to forgiveness and all. Ikumi tries to be an example as she shows an apology letter she wrote for her teacher for falling asleep in class. However the teacher is not convinced and she had to rewrite it several times. It becomes so absurd that the teacher eventually gave up and let her go. So did love won out in the end? The rest doesn’t think so.

A guy is jealous about his ever growing popularity of his frenemy. In order to give their client confidence by beating their own enemy, they head to an abandoned section of the school to investigate rumours of a White Entity. Even though it is Ikumi’s idea, she is the one who is most scared. Uh huh. She even hopes whatever it is would turn out to be a pervert instead of a ghost! They thought they see something running into a room so Akamatsu and Rino further investigate but whatever this Black Entity is, it isn’t a ghost as it manages to give them the slip by escaping via window and a piece of cloth to abseil down. Their next client has trouble getting a birthday gift for a friend. Because Rino’s answers are things that you would never want to get for a present, she reveals she is bad in getting gifts because she doesn’t get many and doesn’t celebrate birthdays. For some time, Rino notices Akamatsu avoiding her. She thinks he is still reeling from that boob groping incident. She continues to brush it off. When she enters the clubroom, the rest pop a birthday surprise although it is a day earlier to her birthday. Rino is confused since she is not familiar with birthday customs or how to celebrate it. But as Akamatsu puts it, she is an irreplaceable friend and wants to celebrate this important day together. At least Rino is still human because she starts crying. Albeit she’s denying it… She ekes out a thank you.

Episode 3
Because Ayaka feels disappointed Akamatsu didn’t get a girlfriend, this calls for a summer camp for the counsellors. Since they have their own agenda, they can’t make it. Well, can’t say Akamatsu didn’t try. Still, Ayaka doesn’t want him to give up easily and continue persuading them. Another client has self confidence problems. So what better way for Rino to try it out on riding a bicycle since she can’t. As usual she fails and hurts herself. She believes she can’t do it because she has been trying since young. But seeing her friends giving her encouragement and Fumi giving a Terracotta doll, she picks up and tries again. Her confidence grows as she is able to keep balance and move straight but crashes at the corner. Even so, now Rino’s confidence has skyrocketed to the point of cockiness and all she needs to do is understand the bicycle’s dynamics. Well, at least she got her confidence. In school, they see some guy doing some Mad Max thingy. Seems he is being helped by Kouta Asano who is the president of the first newspaper club. Seems this guy has a crush on Ayaka and is setting up a rival counselling service to beat them at their own game. He introduces the other members rivalling theirs. There is Kumi whose G-cup size to rival Fumi. The sharp tongue Shino to rival Rino (doesn’t it sound she just hates Asano?) and mind bogglingly Yoshitaka to counter Ikumi. Ikumi didn’t like her fake as a guy… Their mascot is also a rip off from theirs. Once Asano crushes them, Ayaka will have no choice but to run back to him and realize the handsome villain he is. And they will take their time exploring each other’s bodies. Somehow, I feel that is never going to happen. Ayaka loves this challenge and tells them to bring it on.

A girl complains about her mother’s nagging. All have the same chewing gum answer? This leads to them helping Fumi solve her problem because her grandpa is strict and usually takes over the conversation. Thus she has no chance of getting the message to him and always kept quiet. Will Akamatsu help do something about it and convince grandpa to let her go to the summer camp? So the friends are at her home. They go through her photo album and keep track on how her boob size spurt in these few short years. Fumi gives Akamatsu a rage meter. As grandpa’s rage intensifies, the meter fills up and by filling certain numbers, he is able to pull of some super killer technique special move! WTF?! Finally they meet grandpa and as usual, he is dominant and gives no chance to Fumi to speak. Wow. The rage meter is already increasing. Even more so to the max when Ikumi starts going against him! Oh sh*t! Akamatsu apologizes on her behalf and tries to explain but before that could happen, he jumps the gun that he has violated his granddaughter. Oh sh*t! Is he going to die?! Surprisingly it is Rino who puts a stop to this and gives a decent explanation. Grandpa’s best answer: Now why didn’t she say so? Duh… With Fumi wishing to be heard more often, grandpa realizes she has grown up and feels the need to stop treating her like a child. He calls Akamatsu his future son-in-law! Well, thank goodness he didn’t get speared. That’s much worse, right? Or is it… To help finance their summer camp, they take up part time jobs at the supermarket. Ikumi sucks at rock-scissors-paper and is made to wear a weird back pad mascot outfit. She’s lively but is scaring away the kids! Unlike Rino who has all the information but her shyness prevents her from getting her point across. So they both combine and as weird as this ‘monster’ seems, it is a huge success! The kids love them and their product is sold out!

Episode 4
There is an email from Asano that is obviously an attempt to spite the second newspaper club. He is asking how he could make those members give in and see the error of their ways. Ironically enough the girls answer back with their suggestions! Because Asano will be having a summer camp at his villa, Ayaka also wants to do the same. Because that Mad Max guy tried but failed to get enough members, might as well not let it go to waste and take his place. At the beach villa, they continue their advice work. A letter about how to improve memory leads them to give suggestions like putting up some traumatic experience and taking pictures. Ikumi has Fumi the subject and she’s pouting all the way. She alternates between seaweed and Rino between those pictures. Akamatsu is smitten seeing Rino’s wet ass in her swimsuit (?!) but she gets the wrong idea thinking he is interested with the sea organisms she found. I’m sure he is pretty much disappointed after knowing the thing he wants to touch and taste turns out to be that. What was he thinking? You think she would really allow that? Another letter that has a guy wondering about his flag since a female classmate seems to be doing such events with him before but stopped. This leads to Ikumi suggesting to hit watermelons. Ikumi shows that even if she is blindfolded and spun around so many times, she can still locate where it is. As for Rino, it might take ages before she can get close to it. Akamatsu is made to put the watermelon in front of her. Rino trips and he grabs her breast. Thinking he is taking advantage of her, she is going to split his head. She slips again and once more he catches her breast. I think she can nail his head perfectly this time.

Strangely it seems Akamatsu and Rino are close to having a romantic moment with each other but Asano had to pop up and spoil everything. Ayaka won’t let him get the better of her as he suggests a competition to see who can give the best advice. The loser team disbands. He signs off by claiming they can watch his fireworks from afar. But Ayaka will have them recharge their energy with a nice meal and bath. While the girls head over to bath, Akamatsu reads a letter from that Mad Max guy personally for him. His intention for this trip was to get girls and then peep on them but it fell apart. Now he wants Akamatsu to live out his dream. Yeah, he spent a lot on this elaborate plan. I am sure Akamatsu is using the excuse to make sure the girls are safe from prying eyes as he goes check on the ‘facilities’. At the toilet, after removing pieces of plywood on the wall, he could hear the girls in their ambiguous talk. Then following an underground tunnel that leads to inside a metal statue, he could peep at the girls via a lens. Damn those steamy vapour… If all else fails, there is a lever next to it. Akamatsu pulls it and he is ejected outside into the pool. Too bad he missed the fireworks. When the girls return, they wonder about his change of clothes. Did something happen? Ikumi thinks he wet his pants. Yeah… Might as well go along with that.

Episode 5
The day of the battle is here. But what the gang doesn’t know is that the format will be like a game show quiz-cum-penalty game. They will be streamed live and viewers will vote. The one receiving the least votes will be punished. The girls don’t agree to this but since Ayaka finds it interesting, what else can they do? Asano even plays dirty because Yoshitaka is some sort of priest (the real one is manning the camera – heck, nobody remembers how he looks like so can you call it a foul?) while Kumi has her mouth gagged because her choker that plays a voice of an old man! First round pits Rino and Yoshitaka. It is about a guy nervous on his first date. On no. Rino isn’t good in this department. Although she tries her best, Yoshitaka comes up with some insane answer to pray to your ancestors and then head straight to the love hotel! Rino may have lost it and tries to point out Yoshitaka’s speech pattern which doesn’t have anything to do with the question. Guess what? Rino wins by a landslide! Asano is appalled because the penalty game has Yoshitaka slide down into the water where lots of eels are giving him tentacle rape! Not cool! Next round has Shino against Ikumi. The question is about a guy having trouble studying. But since both answer way off and are more interested in quarrelling with each other that leads to insults of “May Asano lick your (insert whatever you can think of here)”, the round is stopped and Shino is voted the winner. The penalty this time is that Ikumi is hung upside down. Don’t worry. She is wearing sports pants. She even doubles this by doing sit-ups. Asano curses his foiled plan since it was Shino who is supposed to lose as she only wears panties underneath.

Final round pits Kumi and Fumi. With the question about a guy having no dreams or direction, Kumi’s argument starts to sound familiar. Then they realize it. It is Fumi’s grandpa behind that voice! Fumi got the guts to interrupt her grandpa and argue back her facts. Grandpa won’t lose and argues back an even greater point. Since Fumi still won’t give up, she concentrates so hard that we see snippets of past episodes and her closing argument of the precious time spent with everyone. That includes grandpa. He is so happy that he admits defeat. Asano can’t believe this but what do the voters say? They choose Fumi! And so the second newspaper club wins. Asano is frustrated he always loses (because he is always a loser, duh!) so he takes out his frustration with Kumi fanservice, dropping her naked into the pool… Time to take some photos while at it. Akamatsu narrates their team’s victory thanks to their routine discussions but ironically they have no teamwork too. With extra time, Ayaka suggests they play some riddle game before they can eat BBQ. Akamatsu has to pass them and they pick up a card that has them select the food they are allowed to eat. With Akamatsu just passing them and they pick out cards with foods that do not suit them, it all descends into frenzy as they try to hurry up since Ayaka is eating up all the good stuffs. Argh! Who cares?! Free for all!

Episode 6
I don’t know what Ayaka is screaming at Akamatsu for but they smell something burning. No, it is not his brain on fire but their submission box outside! Ayaka is interested to catch the culprit and write a newsworthy article on it. So Akamatsu gathers what he can on the burnt letter and thanks to the incompleteness, the girls ended up quarrelling on misinterpreted points before Akamatsu lets them know about the incident. So they go investigate it as Rino uses her sciences to deduce the probable identity of the culprit. But Ikumi is confident with her smell and uses it to guide her to the culprit. Nope. Only led her to hidden porn magazine and DVD in the bushes… Fumi notices a letter ‘h’ burn mark and deduces it could possibly a secret society called HHH! Ikumi knows a man whom she admires who can help out. Of course Ayaka is more interested to know this man Ikumi knows and has everyone tail her. Although she makes stops at weird places like the supermarket, Rino and Fumi can’t help answer comments on community boards and even wishes plates at the shrine! They just had to give their opinions, huh? Finally they see Ikumi meeting up with that guy. Hmm… A bit old to be her boyfriend. Seems like she is giving him stamps but he refuses. She takes out some hero mask from his bag and puts it on him. Fumi takes the liberty to adlib some sort of messy forbidden affair (which of course isn’t actually the case). In the end, the guy turns her down and leaves.

After they confront Ikumi and ask who that guy is, she reveals he is a local tokusatsu hero, Koganen. They stop by a café, Ayaka has the owner relate his problem. His business is dwindling and Ikumi again suggests Koganen to solve his problem. Koganen was a hero of peace and justice created for this shopping district and Ikumi loved watching his shows when young. It was him who made her passionate about athletics and the stamp card she gets from those various places allows her to meet him, shake his hand, etc. Yeah, that guy is so cool that he even has his own theme song. But they point out some of the misheard lyrics but Ikumi feels those lyrics ruined the song. They have to ask Hiroyuki Iida (Koganen’s actor) but Ikumi again refuses to believe Koganen is Iida and the latter is just his disguise. Plus, Koganen has no worries. Ayaka rephrases that they are going to ask Iida and not Koganen. Back at the clubroom, Asano invites himself in and also takes picture of the burnt submission box. I thought his newspaper club was disbanded but it seems he is also trying to find the culprit. I’m not sure about Ikumi wanting him to shout out his attention out loud and since he does (including his wish for panty shots), Ikumi gives him permission to take pictures of Fumi’s panties. Asano also believes HHH is behind this and then reveals his plan to embarrass their club by solving this case first. Another challenge? Challenge accepted! Here we go again.

Episode 7
Surprise! Iida has life worries too and sends one to the counsellors. His problem is that he isn’t popular with girls and wants to know their top 5 icebreakers. He mentions his but they don’t seem to work with girls. Obviously… So they pay a visit to some antique shop he is working at as Ikumi wants him to come back as a hero. But he won’t. Because it isn’t cool. Say what? He took up this job thinking he would be popular but a concept that a neighbourhood association came up with a budget that could only feature 2 villains is hardly anything. Empty seats. Only Ikumi was watching enthusiastically. As thanks for their advice, he lets them have certain items for free. And those icebreakers are just rephrasing of his original… Ripped off. Ikumi throws a tantrum that she wants her pals to put on a hero show. She used to go there with her late grandpa and thus she associates Koganen with memories of grandpa. The rest agree to do it as Akamatsu is given the role of Koganen. Now for some Spartan training! But all that hard work pays off because Ikumi is going to give him her special massage. Serious. Okay, nothing fishy. She’s massaging his leg, feet, etc. Feels good. Till he finds out she’s deciphering massage points from some scribble! The next massage that has her press his pressure points changes his voice and even his personality! Who the heck is this handsome lady killer?! He is flirting with Ikumi till Rino barges into to stop them. Since when did she care? Rino notices he still keeps to old submission box and its bottom part is dissolved. Examining it again, she deduces the culprit is using some sort of hazardous chemical and the only one who has access to it is the science teacher, Fujita. Further deduction reveals the culprit’s goal isn’t to burn what was inside the box but to erase whatever chemical that was accidentally poured in it.

They tail him after school but see him visiting some adult store. Hey, you never know. But Rino and Akamatsu’s keen observation make them realize that Fujita is a left hander, just like their suspect. The life advisors receive another mail that his friend Asano is missing (the rest of the mail is just crap). Akamatsu thinks of letting the school handle this but Ikumi don’t want to let this golden hero chance to escape. Fumi agrees because if Fujita is part of HHH, then it would cast doubts on teachers being trustworthy. Once more they follow Ikumi’s smell finder and it leads them back to that abandoned section of the school. A pair of fresh footsteps. One set might belong to Asano’s friend. Time for Akamatsu to don his Koganen suit and be the hero. He confronts Fujita calibrating his weird machine while a student is tied up beside it. To avoid being recognized, he presses his own pressure point to change his voice! Cornered, Fujita is going to reveal everything about HHH. In the aftermath, Ayaka chides Akamatsu for this ridiculous article about HHH. It’s a secret organization of perverts to hide their porn?! He claims all that is true but Ayaka won’t buy it. Flashback reveals Fujita mentions that every guy’s fear is for their porn to be discovered. HHH was formed to overcome this challenge. So he created a machine that would rid of their porn in record time. From throwing it away outside to dissolving it with chemicals. Indeed, he is the culprit that burnt the submission box. Since Rino was in that club, it was only a matter of time he would be caught and needed to eliminate all traces of it. Akamatsu extends his hand that he will handle it. Akamatsu returns to the girls and Ikumi is glad the day is saved. I don’t know how she called that kicking evil’s butt. Therefore Ayaka is so disappointed she got her hopes up. But all is not lost because Akamatsu felt like a real hero.

Episode 8
Ayaka is praising Akamatsu’s normality. That guy loves this compliment when suddenly she starts chiding him about how normal his suggestions are for the cultural festival! She’s raging about it and some ambition she has that she can’t tell him now! So Akamatsu has those counsellors give suggestions but as usual, their odd, weird and even typical suggestions are questionable. I don’t know what Fumi went on ranting about her Three Kingdoms strategy to organize her thoughts but since she is so passionate about it, the rest won’t interrupt her. So for a change of pace, they answer a letter. Some guy who believes life is predetermined from the day you are born and wonders if he is fated to live a loser life. While discussing about it, Fumi suggests doing their own version for Game of Life and this gives Akamatsu to use it for their cultural festival. Of course as they go through it, they feel it doesn’t cover a lot of things in real life. When Akamatsu is called by Ayaka, she is in a bad mood. There is an article about Kaori Shirakawa, the school’s student council president and granddaughter of the school’s director. She claims she has made the greatest accomplishment of cutting down truants. Ayaka is not pleased because this means abandoning weaker students for her own goals. In reality, they are transferred (or exiled as she puts it) to their sister school, Kumon Technical High School. Therefore in Kaori’s eyes, the school is nothing more than her property. Looking up at their website, it feels like some sort of torture cult… Also, those who crossed her path will be transferred there without warning. Ayaka vows to catch her someday.

As the Game of Life has been given approval, the challenge now is to design it. I don’t know what Ikumi’s abstract art is. But at least Rino’s futuristic blocks and Fumi’s moustachioed and bearded characters look better. Since they can’t decide this, they answer a question about someone who wonders if going through life flattering others would be beneficial. So they try playing a shiritori game using flattery. Ikumi is always flattered, Rino too but that soon turns to annoyance while Fumi doesn’t take her big boobs as compliment. And then they lose sight of it all and everyone becomes annoyed. In the end, Ikumi loses because she broke some rules. Then they go see Emi Murakami of the art club to suggest she design their Game of Life. Ikumi is still under the impression to play shiritori to flatter her. At firs Emi is suspicious but is soon convinced by Ikumi’s nonsensical talk. I don’t know, she feels touched and shows her painting. She even has Ikumi suggest what to draw next. Some grilled eel? She’ll do just that! Nothing stops her when it comes to painting! And she wants everyone to strip to be her model! If they won’t, she’ll do it herself! Once they calm her down, they ask about their request. She agrees to it but in return would want to ask them for life advice too. Emi and Ikumi are happy for each other and for the rest, they just feel odd that 2 people who just meet each other bonded so well. Yeah. We’re not sure what just happened.

Episode 9
Emi wonders if they can do something about the occult club next door because with occult-like happenings, it is affecting her mood to paint. So they discuss suggestions on how to tackle this issue and Emi likes Ikumi’s one to just punch in the gut. It leads to Rino’s long ass explanation why occult is fake. Everyone’s asleep… This is followed by Fumi’s Three Kingdom’s story… So sleepy… Because Fumi points out Rino as cute and annoying, the latter is made to go stop the occult club with her intractable personality. Rino wants occult girl to predict a few things but she has a great excuse because Rino’s mind is closed and how do you read a closed book? You can’t. So she won’t. It is agreed to do hypnotism on Rino and if they manage to get one secret out of her, she wins. Otherwise occult girl will do what Emi wants. Rino easily gets hypnotized on the fourth count as everybody is interested to know her love interest! First, occult girl has her imagine the happiest place she’d love to be. Rino descends into a child-like state happily riding her quail. But she encounters a little problem in her dream when Ikumi tries to eat her quail. Then Rino asks Ikumi is she likes or hates her before wanting her to be patted on the head and being told she is a good girl. She does the same for Fumi but this time uses her lap as a pillow. Then she wants a hug from Akamatsu. At this point, occult girl wants her to reveal her love interest. Surprisingly Rino denies! After several tries and realizing she is inept in expressing romantic affections, she admits defeat! But Akamatsu might have heard something from Rino. Something about why she can’t say the name of the person she likes.

Emi temporarily helps out as a life advisor. Rino continues to fluster and space out. Ikumi starts fondling Fumi that it gives inspiration to Emi to draw. I don’t know what poem Ikumi is reading but adding it into the drawing makes it look lewd. I don’t know how, as part of Emi’s inspiration to draw, the rest are cramped up within card box enclosure. Don’t even ask how Ikumi got stuck in between. So as they discuss another letter, Ikumi wants Akamatsu to say he loves her in which he did. This makes Rino panic. Ayaka then comes in with bad news that Kaori has rejected their festival proposal. The cause? Somebody scribbled and put ugly photos of her on their bulletin board. Could it be you the culprit, Ayaka? But she won’t give up and vows to fight for their right to participate. Emi gets fired up to start a revolution with them. Later when Akamatsu is alone, Rino sees him to ask if he heard what she said during the hypnosis as she doesn’t remember much. However her panic and indication that she doesn’t want that to be her first confession makes Akamatsu realize she did remember. Because he did hear her say she can’t say the name of the person she likes then as that person in that room will hear it. He is the only guy in that room, right? Could it be? OMG. Rino likes Akamatsu? Him? No way. Impossible. Are you thinking too much?

Episode 10
As they confront Kaori, she claims she has fairly assessed their request but eventually given their requested locations to weird clubs they never heard of. Yeah, they were just formed recently. Ayaka even prostrates herself as requested but I doubt that would change anything. I don’t know why Emi came in handing Akamatsu a fire extinguisher but if he touches her, he can kiss his school days goodbye because she has the authority to make that happen. However she gives them a chance. This auditorium can be theirs if they help the school’s Big Four Negative people. Actually, only 3 of them as one have already left thanks to being so negative. The first one is Kimie Yamanaka who is pretty negative about fitting in Tokyo as she came from the countryside. They try to talk to her to give her confidence and she is worried especially about her accent that she thinks everyone will make fun of. Although they give her confidence to speak, it seems they can’t make a word out of what she says! Though, they just lie and give positive feedback. All that is left is for Akamatsu to understand. She takes of her glasses and reveals her beautiful eyes. But it’s that thick accent again! Oh sh*t! If he says the wrong thing, she will go into despair again. What is he going to do? He just says “Of course” and everything becomes fine. I don’t know what he agreed to but let’s hope it is nothing dangerous. Next negative person is Yano who has secluded himself and given up on everything. They meet him and find he has the looks. Ikumi thinks being active is the key so she wrestles with Akamatsu (he has to put up with all the ambiguous positions) but to no avail. Yano didn’t pay any attention. They learn he was such a popular guy and loved himself. But reality hit him when friends excluded him when he overdid it. Rino thinks they need to make him accept that it is okay to be a narcissist. They let Emi do her passionate painting. Yano is puzzled they don’t find her annoying. With some words of encouragement, he is back on his feet.

Finally, Tomoko Uchimura is going to be hard as she is afraid of students. She is a teacher. Their club’s advisor. She got caught in the crossfire between Ayaka and Kaori as the latter had many ways to harass her. But Ayaka feels today she can change that but they must find her first. She is faking illnesses at the infirmary. I don’t know what Ikumi is thinking since she crawls under her blanket and did something ambiguous. This includes stripping her to massage her body to take away whatever pain she is feeling. It did. Tomoko is so negative that she thinks of resigning and okay to be a loser. She also doesn’t mind having regrets. Ayaka comes in with occult girl to hypnotize her but Rino got hypnotized even before she started counting! Rino is now a genki kid asking for Tomoko to tell her geographical stories. Tomoko becomes inspired and starts talking. The rest feel asleep… Tomoko feels refreshed and remembers how much she loves teaching. Kaori is not pleased that Ayaka’s group succeeded and is forced to give the auditorium. Their Game of Life was a hit especially with the surprise prizes Ayaka brought. Akamatsu talks to Rino about her second hypnotism as she is worried she might have said something embarrassing. Akamatsu assures she didn’t but she doesn’t buy it. As they struggle, she falls into his arms… Later Akamatsu confronts Ayaka about her feud with Kaori. It all started when she was a reporter under Asano. She discovered something dark about her and wanted to publish it. However Kaori started pressuring her and Asano changed his character, kicked her out of the club and destroyed the evidence. Kaori had misappropriated the student council’s budget and vows to expose this and get her removed. This is the reason why she assembled Akamatsu and the girls.

Episode 11
Ayaka complains about Akamatsu but also admires his strong points that he is selfless. Till she reveals how the club is out of money because she used it all on the informant to dig up Kaori’s secrets! Don’t worry, teamwork will see them through! Teamwork? As they answer a letter about a guy who wants to become a very close friend, Fumi checks out the English dictionary of the word confidant and this leads them to have a pyjamas party in the clubroom right smack in the daylight. Because pyjamas party is where you reveal your secrets, no? So knowing one’s other embarrassing secrets makes you closer? Yeah, the girls are really interested where Akamatsu keeps his porn and he doesn’t mind telling them! Then there is this cheeky thing Ikumi did of wanting to know Fumi’s breast size so the latter hints it is between E and G. What alphabet is in between there? J! This causes Fumi to correct her it is F! Oh, she just revealed it… Then there is this folly whereby Emi is trying to undress her pyjamas beneath the blanket! Akamatsu is tempted to look as Rino gives that piercing stare while Fumi is up to here in trying to tell Emi to put her clothes back on! Eventually with all that screaming, Emi strips naked and nobody gives a damn about Ikumi revealing her embarrassing secret of eating stick snacks. So she forces Akamatsu to listen and this prevents him from turning around to look at the gorgeous naked body that is just a few feet away flaunting about… What a waste…

Ayaka comes in with news that the first newspaper club is holding a beauty contest for the school. What caught her attention is the grand prize of 500,000 yen’s worth of rice coupon. This is sponsored by Kaori and the results are already rigged to make her the winner. All part of the misappropriation of funds. Of course Ayaka needs more definitive proof but has used up all the money on the informants. Though Kaori is beautiful enough to win the contest even without rigging so they need to send someone in to jeopardize her chances. Who could it be? Ikumi volunteers! A long silence… Emi is comparing her boobs with Fumi’s… Surprisingly Ayaka agrees. Why? Because if anything bad happens, she needs to get away quick and Ikumi is nimble enough for that job! Ikumi starts sulking and doesn’t want to participate. She won’t be coaxed. This has Ayaka leading the rest to rally how cute she is. Now that her confidence is back up, she’ll do it. First she needs to fill up the form but all the details she fills in are ridiculous. This irks Fumi as she becomes the strict coach in guiding Ikumi to write better stuffs! I don’t know how many times she has to rewrite it… It is amazing Fumi can stand her idiocy this long. And when it’s over, Ikumi gives a big sigh of relief and also the most innocent smile ever. I guess this is good enough for them to think she’ll go far. Meanwhile Kaori is screening through the applicants and sees Ikumi’s. She knows Ayaka has sent an ‘assassin’ into the competition. Bring it on.

Episode 12
I am not sure about Emi’s argument about putting Ikumi in a torn miko priestess outfit to bring out the true beauty in her. Adding to that, she is going to pour lots of green slime on her made by Rino! Ikumi is hesitant at first but I don’t know what Emi is ranting about true beauty of fighting slime monsters that convinced her. So they spray bottles after bottles of slime over her as Emi films. Rino and Fumi aren’t spared either. The climax comes when Emi wants her to take off her clothes! Or else she will do it herself! In the end, a normal promo video of Ikumi in her usual high school clothes is taken and the slimy one is sealed away and Akamatsu only knows where it is… It is time for Ikumi’s infiltration and she seems obviously nervous waiting in the room with other participants. Via communicator, she can communicate back to her friends in the clubroom. As Kaori is busy judging the participants, she isn’t in her room so it is perfect time to sneak in and gather some evidence. Of course you would know Ikumi being Ikumi, she gets distracted by the comfy place and even eats the snacks! Yeah. Those crunching sounds… When it is time to check out the computer, the gang fears the worse when they hear crashing sounds! It’s getting louder! True enough, she broke it! In her drawer, she finds a book with 2 guys doing things… When Kaori is heard coming back, can Ikumi get out in time or will she be busted?

Akamatsu then gets an idea. He transforms himself into Koganen and barges into the waiting room! He claims this is an unauthorized beauty contest and wants them to pay for protection money! Is this what a hero would do? Kaori comes in after hearing the commotion but Koganen teases them. As she has her men remove him, Koganen sprays his green slime on them and buys enough time for Ikumi to escape before he makes his exit. When Akamatsu returns, happy Ikumi hugs him and loves the way he improvised. Happy ending? Well, Rino isn’t. That yandere look… She’s murmuring about poison dosages and gasses enough to kill a man! Ikumi won’t let go… As they wait for Ayaka to come up with a new plan, it is back to club activities for them. They answer a letter about a shy guy who wants to stop being hesitant. As they discuss, Ayaka brings Kaori into the club. She is here to negotiate and propose a deal. She knows that they were the ones who infiltrated her room (who else could split her computer in 2?) and though she knows there is not enough evidence to pin on them, she suggests if they stop writing an article on the beauty contest, she’ll let this slide. However Akamatsu says he will still write it. Kaori thinks he wants to impress girls and will introduce as many girls of their level as he wants. But Akamatsu stands firm he will write what has to be written and wants to show off to just these girls. If that is the case, Kaori will now take action and she hopes he’ll be prepared for the consequences of opposing her. The girls stand behind Akamatsu and will not yield in the name of justice (dumb Ikumi almost giveaway she was the infiltrator) when suddenly Ayaka interrupts and admits surrender. They will not write the article.

Episode 13
In exchange, please make Ikumi second place winner. Kaori agrees since she’ll be winning this anyway. Ikumi is not pleased because this makes her a cheater. But she doesn’t get what Ayaka and the rest have understood. Because they do not have solid proof that Kaori is cheating, the threat of writing the article has Kaori think they have evidence. So now with her agreeing to make Ikumi get second place, it shows there will be corruption. All Ikumi has to do is act her usual antics and the audience will definitely sense something amiss that the contest is rigged. Got all that? Yeah. It took another 6.5 hours and 89 Emi’s drawings for her to understand. Asano hosts the contest as it is Ikumi’s turn. She acts like an idiot (God, that is) and beats up Asano! Then she throws slime at everybody! Judges verdict? Near perfect score! The audience is not happy. Suddenly Kaori shows up and apologizes that this contest is rigged. She will find the culprits, bring them to justice and hold another fair contest. I guess Ayaka’s plan backfired. Asano has been made the culprit and both newspaper clubs are forced to combine. Their clubroom is a gym storeroom. As usual, they go about answering problems with Asano joining in but with his usual perverted answers. Kimie comes in to find some shovel to dig her own secret garden. Kaori then calls the gang as she announces she will be holding another beauty contest. Ayaka is not interested despite being assured it will be fair and all the amazing prizes thrown in (a card for you to get out of trouble – it even has a blatant advertising!). But Fumi will agree to participate if she throws in another condition: The right to form a club. Kaori disagrees but when Fumi says the taboo word that she is running away, she won’t back out and agrees to it.

Everyone praises Fumi on how she read up on some article about Kaori not wanting to be seen as one who backs down from a challenge. The girls go all out to collect as much rice coupons which are the voting ‘currency’ to win this contest. Everyone has their methods (I hope Emi didn’t really strip!) but how is Rino doing? She’s not back yet. Akamatsu goes to check and finds she is hiding in a corner. She is afraid to speak to others and couldn’t muster the courage. Akamatsu gives his to hers. She doesn’t want this special treatment but he says he is just giving it to the girl he wants. Next day, Rino is still ‘missing’. The rest think she may have gotten hypnotized and sold her body to get more coupons! Akamatsu will not allow this and goes to check on her. She is seen mustering her courage to speak to some guys. She tries to make her cute appeal by holding a teddy bear. The guys easily give their coupons. The girls are on a roll but by the 4th day, the coupons stopped coming in and everyone starts avoiding them. They figure Kaori put some pressure on them and because 30% have not voted yet, she might get all the votes (despite she is leading with 32%). Before the deadline, Akamatsu works hard trying to convince others. He might look like a desperate case because he is also continuing this stint on the final day when the undecided students cast their vote. Kaori is confident she will be declared the winner but guess who wins? Kimie! How can it be? Akamatsu was convincing others to give their votes to her and this in turn spared them from being harassed. They also got the right to form back their club from her in exchange of featuring an article on her. Although Ayaka is backing down from exposing Kaori’s corruption, she won’t give up yet. As of now, it is too early to face the student council head on and should try a different approach. For example, develop the life advice column into an organization that rivals the student council and exists solely to serve the students. More importantly, Ikumi wants to know who Akamatsu gave his coupon to. He won’t tell but the girls know from their obvious reaction.

With A Pinch Of Salt…
You know how the word consult came about? It stems from both words to con and insult! That is why when you go to a consultant, he cons and insults your views by saying your way is wrong and that his is right! Don’t you think so?! Okay, back to the anime. Personally, this is just an okay anime. It has its amusing parts, it has its funny parts, it has its fanservice parts but also it has its boring parts. That’s why I thought a little fanservice there was to help ‘service’ our interest before it wanders elsewhere and never come back. Haha… Anyway, what I am trying to say that despite having life advice columns which is supposed to be the signature of this show, I find it somewhat boring and the ‘sub-plot’ such as trying to expose Kaori as a corrupted b*tch more interesting than it. Seriously. Because of that, the anime may not end with a bang but at least my mouth wasn’t agape from the boredom that you could fit a steam locomotive inside it. I know the ending feels a bit rushed and somewhat a little as expected (because you can’t just take down a formidable foe in just 2 episodes, right? Otherwise, such would not be called a formidable foe), but I wasn’t hoping too much on this kind of genres.

It was pretty unique at first having the girls with different opinions and it was interesting to see the way they settle things based on their different backgrounds. However because sometimes I do not understand the point of what they are saying, it takes the fun out and as they discuss more and more problems, it becomes some sort of a drag. I realized that the bits I find funny are a lot more less than those I don’t really understand. So if you are not into the kind of animes where the jokes are in the talking, you might find this a big bore and half of the time you will be trying to understand what the girls mean with their suggested answers. Although at the end of the experiment and debate, there will be an honest answer on what you should do, I really don’t pay much attention to this. Mainly because I never had such problems (serious!) and I don’t think we are expecting to get real life advice from this anime or learn anything of this sort. Or do you?

Looking at the girls giving their nonsensical answers, it feels like they too don’t have any life experience from the way they opine. Of course you can argue that they have never experienced such troubles before and are offering their answers based on their principles and that they are just high school kids and not expert life counsellors despite they are giving their counselling at high school level for high schoolers. And having different personalities feel more like clashing instead of getting a variety of answers. But then again, if they do answered it like professionals, this anime would be even more boring and I suppose that is why their different personalities are important in bringing out the funny and comedy parts. If you could ever understand them.

Characters play an important part in making or breaking the series. They aren’t necessarily original and feel clichéd and stereotyped but sufficient for this series without you loving them to death or anything. So we have the most amusing of the pack, Ikumi because she is energetic and frank, saying whatever she has on her mind. Thanks to her ‘idiocy’ she provides the most comic relief and funny moments of the series with her antics that sometimes goes as far as WTF. Then there is the proud and smart Rino, busty Fumi and her historical stories and/or theories, Emi the passionate painter-cum-nudist/stripper and Akamatsu the guy who gets caught in between everything. He is pretty normal and sometimes a little pervert too but tries not to hurt the girls’ feelings. Ayaka has her own agenda too but when it comes down to her club members in danger, she is not willing to risk them for the sake of her own goals. Asano, selfish pervert, nobody cares about him. Kaori is building up to be a smart and beautiful antagonist (at least based from her dark secret) and it would be interesting to see them clash with her again and the kind of tricks and wits they’ll use to turn the tables.

Good or bad thing, the series lacks excessive fanservice and romance although there are hints of them throughout. First for the fanservice, it is a good thing that they don’t distract us and cover up the ‘hard to understand’ (to some) life advises by spamming fanservice although they are noticeable when it happens like when Ikumi starts fondling all over Rino, Rino getting into awkward positions, some swimsuit and bathing scene, Emi’s penchant for stripping and the only reason why Fumi has such big boobs for her age is because of this fanservice thingy to distract us. Okay, so that doesn’t sound very lacking but you know they tease you with them when you can see bits of their bra or panties and if you’re desperate enough, you may think that by tilting your head a little you’ll get to see more ;p. No you won’t.

The romance also feels like a nearly thing but often missed. It is very much hinted about Akamatsu and Rino. You know there is something going on between them especially with that kind of body reaction that Rino gives out and the jealousy she shows when some other girls are getting to close to Akamatsu. I think everybody knows it but just doesn’t want to admit it. It is such a shame because I thought we could get some romance and love advice from this… Sighs, what was I expecting? Therefore I don’t really see how it really fits into the series with all that has happened. Maybe 13 episodes are too early to tell but despite those signs, nothing is really confirmed and we are just assuming it. I mean, Rino never actually admitted anywhere about the person she likes, right? By deduction it should be Akamatsu but what if this science girl harbours a deep secret that nobody knows? Like, she’s a fujoshi and in love with one of those girls! We didn’t expect her childish behaviour when hypnotized, right? So it might be a possibility. Might… You’ll never know…

Art and drawing seems pretty okay with the girls looking quite cute to begin with. Cute enough to think that they are life-like dolls! Feel animated this series so you might see the resemblance of the characters’ cuteness as they have produced animes like Futsuu No Joshikousei Ga [Locodol] Yatte Mita, KissxSis, Fortune Arterial, Dakara Boku Wa H Ga Dekinai, Nagasarete Airantou, Outbreak Company, Papa No Iukoto Wo Kikinasai, Kanamemo, Yosuga No Sora and the Da Capo series. Another good thing about this kind of genre, you don’t need flashy art or special effects but because of that, nothing extraordinary stands out although here the sceneries and everything are bright and colourful.

Voice acting wise, nothing spectacular as they are using unknowns in the lead roles. Ayaka Suwa as Ikumi is perfect in sounding her character so and thanks to that I think she sounds the most amusing among the lot. Although I heard her voicing complete opposite roles in other animes like Ruri in Kanojo Ga Flag Wo Oraretara and Tokaku in Akuma No Riddle. Others include Yasuaki Takumi as Akamatsu (Torii in Saikin Imouto No Yousu Ga Chotto Okashiin Da Ga), Moe Toyota as Fumi (Sakura in Kyoukai No Kanata), Saori Oonishi as Emi (La Folia in Strike The Blood), Rena Maeda as Ayaka (Nike in Soredemo Sekai Wa Utsukushii), Maaya Uchida as Kaori (Rikka in Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai), Showtaro Morikubo as Asano (Shikamaru in Naruto) and Daisuke Namikawa as Koganen/Iida (Rock in Black Lagoon). Hiyori Nitta is the voice of Rino and so far this is her debut and only role.

The opening theme song is Dekoboko Kaiketsu Sensation by Ayame Tajiri and Yurika Takahashi. I thought it was the girls of the life counselling club singing this. Anyway, in this generic anime pop music, I didn’t quite like it despite the way they’re singing it is like they’re trying to exude a lot of moe. The song itself wasn’t that attractive so I suppose that is why they are putting up that hip shaking dance right at the opening. The ending theme isn’t to my liking too. Jinsei Kimi Iro sung by Jinseiz (the voices behind Rino, Fumi and Ikumi) has that little rap lines for that moe effect but otherwise sounding pretty generic too. Even the background music isn’t that much and the most ‘notable’ one is that trumpet march-like tune. Having said all this, the best song is the insert song, Koganen No Uta! Typical tokusatsu tune as it may sound but I think it’s the best and coolest one among them all. I’d rather here this action song multiple times rather than the other overly cute themes.

Remember people, if you need advice for just about everything, they are freely available everywhere and more importantly, do not listen to everything you hear or everything you read. Simply because all advices are not one glove that fits all. One man’s meat is another man’s poison. I’m saying that despite the problems may look similar generally, each one of us is unique and there is no single solution that solves it all. Each has to be specifically ‘tailor made’. Therefore if you want to watch this anime, be prepared to get a second opinion if you really want to take their advice. Because there is no use pointing fingers and trying to see who takes responsibility once something goes wrong. Watch this at your own discretion. Heck, there are mixed reviews about this anime over the internet. Some say it is good, some say it is mediocre and some say it is just sh*t. So who do you go with? Only one way to find out. Well, what are you waiting for? Trust me, I know :).

Mahouka Koukou No Rettousei

When magic and science collide, you get… Mahouka Koukou No Rettousei! No, this isn’t any sequel or spin-off to that popular To Aru Majutsu No Index series. Were you hoping for that to happen? I know I didn’t. Also set in a world where magic is utilized as technology, we have schools across the world to grow the best magicians for that (and of course war). And like in every school, grade plays an important part to determine your ranking, the classes you attend, right? So when we have a guy who failed and did poorly in his magic score while enrolling into the school but in actual practical fact he is such a genius that Einstein would even bow before him, does this tell us the system has failed? Uh huh. Despite the advancement in technology and magic, age old discrimination is still abound as our poor guy is about to experience since he is put into a different ‘lower’ stream thanks to his low scores. But don’t fret. He isn’t the kind to sit around and be pushed around.

Enrolment Arc

Episode 1
World War 3 happened! In 2045. Lasted for 20 years, dwindled the world population to 3 billion and food became scarce. The only thing that prevented mankind’s extinction and the end to the war were international collaboration of magicians. Now that the war is over but with peace still unstable, many countries are in a race to raise magicians. Siblings, Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba will be the freshmen of the National Magic University First Affiliate High School. Miyuki is not happy that despite her brother excels in everything else, it was the practical skills that brought him down and thus considered an underachiever in this school unlike herself who has been considered an honour student. Because honour students termed as Blooms get better treatment than those who don’t. They are termed Weeds. Yup, discrimination. Nevertheless he is happy she is concerned for him. Tatsuya is greeted by Mayumi Saegusa, the student council president but was interrupted by fellow friend, Azusa Nakajou as the rehearsal for the entrance ceremony is beginning. Weeds are seated right at the back of the hall. Tatsuya makes friends with fellow Weed classmates, Erika Chiba and Mizuki Shibata. Mayumi and Miyuki make their respective opening speech. After the ceremony, Tatsuya talks further with Erika and Mizuki. Seems Mizuki has a peculiar sight and can sense Tatsuya and Miyuki are related due to their similar auras. Tatsuya starts becoming cautious because he can’t let her see further anymore into his secrets. When the siblings meet up, the duo see their intimate relationship and are unafraid of going PDA.

Tatsuya goes to train ninjutsu with master Yakumo Kokonoe. Although he has improved, he still can’t best master. In class, Tatsuya makes friends with Leonhart “Leo” Saijou. Tatsuya’s goal is to become a magic engineer seeing his practical skills are low. During recess, Miyuki wants to join her brother and his friend. Apparently her Bloom classmates don’t want her to associate with the Weeds. Tatsuya doesn’t want to attract any attention and claims he has finished. Even leaving school, those Blooms don’t like the idea of Miyuki walking home with Tatsuya. WTF. So they control her life? The tension between Blooms and Weeds rise. Arrogant Shun Morisaki challenges Leo to see who is better but Erika comes in between. The other Blooms want to teach the Weeds a lesson so Honoka Mitsui tries to stop them and is about to unleash some dangerous magic. Tatsuya could analyze what magic it is but doesn’t take action since Mari Watanabe from the discipline committee puts a stop to everything. Tatsuya cooks up a story that he wanted Shun to demonstrate his magic and that Honoka didn’t use offensive magic but some flash magic. Mari can tell Tatsuya has some kind of analytical ability and thus good at deception although he claims to be just a normal student.

Yoku Wakaru Mahouka 1: These are short ONA episodes lasting 3 minutes as the chibified characters explain the technical stuffs of this series to further understand them better. The first one is hosted by Tatsuya and Miyuki and is about the magic schools in Japan, its enrolment requirements, its practical tests to enter and of course the twin course system of splitting students into Blooms and Weeds. Although the courses are same, the latter category cannot receive practical guidance in magic. Because they suck in the practical tests, right?

Episode 2
With Mayumi’s advice, everyone is left off with a warning. Shun however refuses to be indebted to Tatsuya and won’t acknowledge him. Honoka and her friend, Shizuku Kitayama walk home with Tatsuya and his. They talk about CAD modifications and some secret helm splitting technique. Not that I understand anyway. The siblings are called to the student council office where they are introduced to the rest Suzune Ichihara the treasurer, Azusa the secretary and Mari the discipline committee. They observe the siblings’ shameless flirting and Tatsuya doesn’t even bat an eyelid to say that they would be lovers if they’re not related by blood. Mayumi wants Miyuki to join the student council. But Miyuki insists her brother is a better candidate despite his poor practical scores. She would like Tatsuya to join too but you know the hassle of procedures and student votes needed to change to police. Not to mention the discrimination involved. As Miyuki accepts taking the secretary role, Mari suggests taking Tatsuya under her wing because it isn’t against the rules to select a Weed. Tatsuya wants to know more about his duties and roles as a disciplinary officer. They’re to stop any trouble and since Tatsuya isn’t good in his practical skills he thinks he is not the man for the job.

That evening, he goes to the student council office to decline the offer. He meets the student council vice president, Hanzou Gyoubushoujo Hattori. He ignores Tatsuya and introduces himself to Miyuki. Hanzou is also strongly disagreeing of appointing a Weed for that position, blah, blah, blah. Mari knows his analysis and eyesight that allows him to predict spells accurately is a great asset and thus a powerful deterrent for any perpetrators trying to violate the rules. Mari is steadfast that she is sick of the discrimination and doesn’t want to promote it. Hanzou still won’t accept him despite Miyuki explaining he is good in other areas and thus he shouldn’t be judged based on favouritism. Tatsuya then requests for a simulated fight with him. He accepts since he will put him in his place. In the simulation room, Mari as the referee explains the rules of this single match fight. The first one knocked out or deemed unable to carry on loses. Hanzou is very confident and planning in detail how he will take out Tatsuya in a flash. It will be a piece of cake. He’s got it all mapped out in his head. Yeah. Arrogance. When the fight starts, Tatsuya moves faster than a speeding bullet to end up behind Hanzou’s back. He couldn’t even react and is knocked down. You were saying something about your winning formula? Tatsuya wins. Eat humble pie!

Yoku Wakaru Mahouka 2: Hosted by Erika, Leo and Mizuki, they explain about CAD and Psion and its infusion to create magic activation. Then some rewriting Eidos into magic too and thus the ability to control Psion is held in high regard.

Episode 3
And so we have this very technical explanation how Tatsuya uses his ninjutsu and created Psion waves, causing seasickness in the opponent to achieve victory. Azusa is very infatuated with his CAD, Silver Horn which is supposedly created by some legendary and mysterious designer, Taurus Silver. But if Tatsuya is so good in all that, how come he fared badly in the practical exams? Simple. Because all these are not tested and thus his true abilities weren’t measured. Hanzou wakes up and apologizes to Miyuki but he continues to ignore Tatsuya. Mari brings Tatsuya to the discipline committee’s room and they talk about the discrimination that Tatsuya knows all too well. She introduces him to a couple of other members, Koutarou Tatsumi and Midori Sawaki. They are impressed he defeated Hanzou and welcome him. Mari believes he will fit right in here because those in the student council office and here pick people who are relatively unaffected such foolishness of being drowned in their sense of inferiority. Back home, Miyuki wants Tatsuya to help calibrate her CAD. We’re not interested in the calibrating, though. Because it’s time for some incest with Miyuki flirting around in her undies with him. She is hinting he prefers girls like Mayumi or Mari since he spoke quite intimately with them and doesn’t see her as a woman. She jumps to conclusions like always and gets jealous he is always surrounded by and lusting after beautiful women. She casts some reset spell on him but I’m not sure if he lost his memories or if everything was just a big prank.

Mari addresses her fellow discipline committee members. Aside Tatsuya, Shun is also the other new member. Before they go on their patrol, Tatsuya prefers to use the committee’s outdated CAD. Tatsuya patrols the grounds. The clubs are doing recruitment this week. Erika is being harassed by many who want her to join their club (to the point like she is almost stripped!). Tatsuya saves her and brings her away as she flusters that he might have seen her. He admits he did so as repentance, she has him bring her around the school grounds. At the dojo, the see trouble brewing between 2 kendo clubs. Takeaki Kirihara wants to muscle his way into using the dojo that Sayaka Mibu and her team are currently using, even taunting her sword skills that will never improved. I guess the only way is for both top kendo fighters to duke it out. What seemingly looked like a draw, upon closer look, Mibu wins. Kirihara won’t admit defeat and this time inputs magic in his sword. After the first strike that almost got her, this is where Tatsuya comes in and stops Kirihara and his henchmen and detains him for inappropriately using magic.

Yoku Wakaru Mahouka 3: Mayumi and Juumonji explain the technology evolution of magic that turned it from something mystic into a technical one. Also the history of the birth of the importance of magicians due to World War 3 and thus the establishment of the International Magic Association.

Episode 4
Tatsuya is before the committee chaired by Mari, Mayumi and Katsuto Juumonji of the club management group president. Tatsuya reports what happened and thus it is deemed no further punishment for the clubs involved. While out with his friends, Tatsuya explains how he diffuses the situation with some jamming spell and he didn’t report this and wanted it off the report since this spell he created is incomplete. If publicly released, it could shake the foundations of society and won’t do so till a countermeasure is found. On another day while patrolling, he is attacked by a lone mysterious figure. Although he escaped, Tatsuya recognizes his band wrist. Mibu wants to talk to Tatsuya and this sends alarming bells to Miyuki. Mibu wants him to join the kendo club. Sorry but no thanks. The reason she is asking him because as we know the discrimination of those who can and cannot use magic. She seeks solidarity from all clubs which doesn’t involve magic and create a separate organization from the club management group to tell the school that there is more to them than just magic. That’s why she needs his help. Tatsuya laughs because he thought his misunderstanding was funny. Then he had to say this: He thought she was just a pretty kendo girl. And that ended everything. And so this spreads to everyone of how Tatsuya ‘verbally destroyed’ Mibu. This doesn’t sit well with Miyuki since you can tell her jealousy is rearing its ugly head as she starts to freeze things around her. Also, they heard from Mibu that the activities of the disciplinary committee have resulted in backlash from students. Although it is her misunderstanding and what Tatsuya did then might look like he is abusing his authority (no doubt the committee has lots of power), they think someone is behind manipulating that impression. Tatsuya really wants to know the person behind this and knows all about Blanche, an anti-magic international political organization. The government’s actions against them are futile and they even try to hide it or avoid facing them head on. Tatsuya’s actions of cornering and comforting Mayumi after seem to be sending jealousy signals to Miyuki again… What the hell is a smart gigolo?

Later Tatsuya goes to see Haruka Ono who is the school’s nurse. As part of the school’s mission to understand the psychological trends of the students, 10% of the first year students will receive counselling and you could say Tatsuya is a guinea pig. After asking all the questions, she finally asks if it is true Mibu asked him out. I suppose such false rumours have spread far and wide. Meanwhile Mibu is talking to kendo ace, Kinoe Tsukasa. He seems to be putting pressure on her that they need Tatsuya on their side. Back home, Tatsuya discusses with Miyuki about Blanche. They hide as a social activist organization but are actually terrorists. In fact, during his rounds today he encountered a member of Egalite, a subordinate organization of Blanche. Although they promote anti-magic ideology, it is not like they outwardly reject it. Even if they claim to want to abolish discrimination by magic, what is it that constitutes to such discrimination? One of it is the disparity in average salaries and magicians earn high average salaries. Some high school students are joining Egalite because they can’t let go of magic but can’t bear the thought of not being seen as fully qualified people. They never consider those working in the forefront to be paying compensation called hard work. Tatsuya understands that. He sometimes have such feelings too. He might have to work harder than others because he has a skill others don’t. If he didn’t, he might have accepted Blanche’s ideology even knowing if it is a lie. Behind all this, someone is trying to make magic go out of fashion. Anti-magic groups want to reduce the country’s power to a point they resort to terrorism. Who benefits from this? They fear the Ten Master Clans may have something to do especially the Yotsuba family. Miyuki fears if their aunt intervenes, they have to go back to them. He assures he’ll deal with it if it comes.

Yoku Wakaru Mahouka 4: Honoka and Shizuku hosts this segment about the Nine Schools Competition where the best magicians from the 9 magic schools across the nation come together to compete in a magic sporting event. There is the Monolith Code, which is basically a 3 on 3 team match where you can use any magic.

Episode 5
There is this very technical explanation about Tatsuya’s processing and activation speed which is faster than anybody else. He explains this to Mizuki and also notes her very keen sense of observation skills. He isn’t interested in learning magic to fight but to use it to produce energy, that is why multi-process spells with activation sequences are necessary for him. Mizuki is impressed and gets motivated as long as one achieves his/her own goals, school grades are just mere accessories. Of course he knows his reason isn’t as grand as that as he was forced to become a magician although he doesn’t have magic. It’s like a curse. Tatsuya and Mibu talk again and she doesn’t change her stance about seeking better treatment for the Weeds. Tatsuya although understands her, he points out there are some things he doesn’t want to change. He doesn’t expect much from this school since as long as he can get hold of classified documents and graduate, that is good enough. Soon there are a group of students barricading themselves in the broadcast room seeking fair negotiations to abolish discrimination. Since everyone is on standby and not willing to make a decision yet, Tatsuya calls Mibu who is part of the group to make some arrangements. Of course he only guaranteed her freedom and it is not like he was negotiating on the disciplinary committee’s behalf. Plus, Juumonji agreed to hear them out. Granting and accepting demands are another matter. Everyone else inside will be restrained. Of course the most concerning one is that Miyuki wants to know how Tatsuya got Mibu’s private phone number. She gave it to him in case he changed his mind or something but it came in useful this way. After the group is restrained, Mayumi will set the date and time for their negotiations. Tatsuya sees Kinoe trying to pester Mizuki to participate in a club that has people having the same hypersensitivity ability in which she has declined many times as she is busy with her studies. He recognizes him as the one with the Egalite band who attacked him. He leaves when Tatsuya hints holding someone so long against their may be akin to harassment.

Tatsuya and Miyuki talk to Yakumo about Kinoe. He was once from the Kamono clan and his parents and grandparents have no magic abilities. In short, a very normal family. However they are a branch family of the Kamo clan who are onmyou experts. Kinoe and Blanche are related in a way. He has a step brother, Hajime who is the child of Kinoe’s mother’s second husband. Hajime is the leader of Japan branch’s Blanche and not only the public representative but also a genuine leader who controls all their illegal and underground activities. Kinoe probably enrolled here because of Hajime. During the negotiation debate, both sides take turn stating what they have to say. But Mayumi seems to be turning it into a long speech. But her fair and earnest view earns praises from all sides. She also has a wish. She wishes to abolish the rule that only Blooms can become representatives of the student council and this can be changed during the students’ general meeting. She hopes to achieve this before she steps down. Suddenly explosions are heard. Some of the students in the hall are Egalite members. Before they can take action, the disciplinary committee takes them down. A smoke bomb is thrown into the hall but Hanzou uses his magic to throw it out. Masked men storm in. Don’t worry. Mari uses her magic to choke them. Suddenly it becomes a full terrorist attack because the intruders are firing RPGs!

Episode 6
As the students quell the terrorists, Ono informs Tatsuya and co that this is just the diversion. The real attack is the infiltration of the library to steal the classified documents. Ono hopes Tatsuya can give Mibu a chance but he becomes insensitive and believes unnecessary compassion will not only hurt her. Outside the library, Tatsuya can detect where all the assailants are waiting so an ambush attack is impossible. They barge into the main room to stop Mibu and her team from downloading the contents. Tatsuya and Miyuki tell her about reality and discrimination. She has been used. Mibu on the other hand still clings on to her believe of ridding discrimination. She uses Tatsuya as an example that he must have been sick of being compared to his sister and the insults he has received. Miyuki agrees but even so, there are others who recognized his abilities. She feels sorry for Mibu. Has nobody acknowledge her abilities? Tatsuya did. Her skills and beauty. These things she called superficial are still part of her. Her comrades stage a distraction to let Mibu escape. However she has to deal with Erika who is guarding the door outside. Noticing Erika has the same fighting technique with Mari, Mibu will go all out with her abilities to best hers. In the end, Mibu lost and fractured some bones. Erika says she is from that Chiba family and in fact Mari is their student. In terms of kenjutsu, Erika has a higher level of certification than her. Subsequently, Kinoe as the ring leader is taken into custody.

As Mibu recuperates in the infirmary, she reveals Kinoe’s goal of trying to convince kendo members to get rid of magic based discrimination for over a year. She was even tricked to head to Blanche’s branch office. Mibu’s trigger was when she first enrolled in this school and during the club recruitment week, she was awed at Mari’s skill and went to ask her personally to coach her. However she was rejected and told to find an opponent more suitable for her skill level. Mari corrects her. What she meant was to find someone to practise with her same skill level because Mibu was stronger than her. Mibu starts crying and felt stupid that everything started due to this little misunderstanding. She wasted a year on this stupid grudge. Tatsuya didn’t think so. Based from Erika’s bout, she has spent a year polishing her skills so nothing has gone to waste. Mibu uses Tatsuya’s shoulder to cry on. This scene is so sad that there is no room for jealousy. Of course now Tatsuya wants to know where the remaining members of Blanche are. He is going to annihilate them all for trying to disrupt his life with Miyuki. So he isn’t doing this for Mibu’s sake. He doesn’t want to let the police involve (because it will be messy) or the student council either (since they have to put the students’ safety first). Where to find Blanche’s hideout? Ono should know something. An abandoned factory. Kirihara approaches Juumonji that he wants to join in this raid. He won’t allow him. This isn’t enough reason for him to risk his life. Kirihara explains he was enthralled by Mibu’s sword skills and technique unlike his which was for killing. But at some point her intentions became muddled and he was disgusted. He felt angry and went to pick a fight with her. He knows her kendo skills aren’t like that. So he is going to find that guy who corrupted her and took advantage of Mibu. He is going to vent his anger on him. Juumonji agrees to take him along.

Episode 7
Tatsuya takes the lead infiltrating the factory. Hajime and his underlings are waiting for him. Tatsuya doesn’t waste time telling them to surrender. You think he will? Instead, Hajime wants him to join their side. You think he will? Since it’s a deadlock, Hajime tries to cast some hypnotism spell on Tatsuya but to his surprise it doesn’t work. Yeah. He is that surprised. Tatsuya can tell that this hypnotism is causing the unnatural memory lapses in Mibu and the reason her memories were changed. When Tatsuya explains in detail about his hypnotism trick, Hajime starts to panic and run! OMG! The Blanche leader ran away so scared like that?! Even his underlings are shocked and let Tatsuya go after him. Those who don’t got a taste of Miyuki’s frozen spell. Anyway everyone also gets it as collective punishment. When Kirihara learns who Hajime is, he is so angry that he cuts off his right arm! That’s the most he’ll get. Everyone is rounded up and the incident is over. Later as Tatsuya sees Mibu at the hospital, he tells her that none of their school’s students will be blamed for this incident. That’s why Mibu or Kirihara won’t be investigated or punished. It is a school thingy and they want it covered up. On the day Mibu is discharged, her father comes to thank Tatsuya but I don’t know that guy is trying to be so humble that it feels like he is in denial. I mean, Tatsuya believes he didn’t do anything and if there is anyone to be thanked for his daughter’s recovery, it should be Miyuki and Erika. He only deserved to be resented for reprimanding her. Nevertheless, father feels grateful and wants to let him know that it is him, not anybody else, who saved his daughter. Still want to deny that? Things take a light hearted turn when Erika teases Mibu for dumping Tatsuya for Kirihara. Because Tatsuya looks better than him. Erika got even the cheek to tell Kirihara that a man is not about his face! It makes Mibu admit she was in love with Tatsuya! It was his unwavering strength she longed for. It was also what she was afraid. She knew she wouldn’t catch up or be strong as him. Although she is always fighting with Kirihara, she knows she can walk the same path with him. So there’s your consolation. Tatsuya sings praises over Kirihara’s bravery and paints him a hero of all sorts. If it looks like he wants to support Kirihara-Mibu pair, it is partly to calm down Miyuki for who knows how long she’s been holding it. You know her by know about her brother, right? The siblings are just happy to get back to their ordinary lives together.

Nine Schools Competition Arc

Episode 8
While training with Yakumo, Tatsuya could sense a presence. Turns out to be Ono. She is Yakumo’s student and in actual fact a secret investigator of the police. She hopes Tatsuya will keep her identity a secret and in return she’ll inform him if there are groups like Blanche starting to develop. If you’re wondering why this Mikihiko Yoshida is suddenly in the picture with Tatsuya and Leo, he is Erika’s childhood friend. The student council are discussing about the upcoming Nine Schools Competition and although they have the participants, they feel the engineering department will pose a problem. It boggles me that nobody thought of Tatsuya till Azusa suggests him. Tatsuya warns of his ‘bad’ reputation but I with Miyuki voicing her support… We’ve got Azusa obsessing over his Taurus Silver again and some discussion about some failed experiment and thus why flying using magic is not possible. I don’t know about Tatsuya’s explanation about his view but it seemed valid or something. Since some of the committee opposes Tatsuya to be part of the engineering team, it is suggested that he demonstrate his abilities. Kirihara becomes the guinea pig as Tatsuya scans his CAD and uses his old fashion way of manually modifying it via keyboard. In the end, the result is perfect. The sceptics still do not believe till Azusa, Juumonji and even Hanzou throw their support behind him. For this competition, they can’t afford to be picky. Back home, Tatsuya is being called by Major Harunobu Kazama (he addresses Tatsuya as special lieutenant). He wants him to perform some software update and performance test on the overhaul of Third Eye. Then he warns to be careful during the Nine Schools Competition. Sources say that an international crime syndicate, No Head Dragon based in Hong Kong is targeting it due to its timing. Later Miyuki is impressed and very proud that Tatsuya seems to have perfected the art of flying. Or at least levitating with ease. He then lets her test it out as she glides through the air like a fairy.

Episode 9
Tatsuya and Miyuki are at the FLT Development Centre to meet Ushiyama, the one who developed Taurus Silver. Tatsuya gives him a device to test for flight. Although it is a success, it is still not without its limitations and setbacks. Later the siblings come across their father and family butler, Aoki. Although they are siblings, Aoki ignores Tatsuya and only greets Miyuki since she is one of the candidates to head the Yotsuba family. He even angers Miyuki when he calls Tatsuya a fake magician. Tatsuya argues back about jumping to conclusions about the successor candidate and since his mom who is the older sister of the current head of the Yotsuba family (and was once the head), it is akin to slandering the family as he was created by her. After the team of participants and engineers are officially announced, Mizuki sees Mikihiko summoning spirits and interrupted his composure. Something bad might have happened to her if not for Tatsuya there. Mikihiko explains he was trying to use magic to summon water spirits and he is impressed that Mizuki’s eyes could see different spirit colours. He further explains about her Crystal Eyes which is like having a vision like God for being able to see different colours. The school prepares to leave for the competition. Mayumi is not only an hour and a half late, but she is showing off her pretty dress to Tatsuya. Like she’s trying to hint something. Tatsuya’s words might be what she wanted to hear but if he could just say it with more emotions. He thinks the stress of being part of the Ten Master Clan families must have gotten to her. You disappointed? All she wanted was to share a seat next to him but engineers of the team ride a different bus. You know what this means for Miyuki, right? Luckily Shizuku and Honoka praise Tatsuya enough to distract her. Along the way, an accident causes a car to flip and hurl itself towards the entourage. Though the buses stop in time, the sliding flaming car isn’t.

Episode 10
Mari stops everyone from using their magic (because magic and magic cancel out each other). I don’t know what Miyuki did employing her brother’s technique to put out the flames before Juumonji using his magic to make the car stop dead in its tracks. Later Hanzou beats himself up for not being able to do anything and in a way ‘lost to a younger girl’. He panicked and froze instead. Tatsuya is explaining technically to Miyuki how that accident was deliberate and magic was used. The driver must be the one initiating the magic and on a suicide mission. There is this banquet where all the schools participating in the games socialize. I don’t know about Erika’s personal family issues but I give her points for wearing a maid outfit! I don’t know why she and some are working as the hotel employee but heck, you don’t complain when there’s a maid. Retsu Kudou, the director of the Magic Association and patriarch of the Ten Master Clan is about to give his speech when Tatsuya suddenly feels something is wrong. Like some large scale spell covering the hall. Soon it disperses as Retsu apologizes for the prank but realized only 5 people in the hall noticed it. Had he been a terrorist, nobody would have sensed his presence or do something to stop him. He hopes they will continue to study and improve in their magic as magic is a means and not a goal itself. He wants to see the young ones be ingenious with magic because strong magic used incorrectly is inferior to weak magic used ingeniously. Everyone applause to his wise advice. We take a break with a little fanservice as Miyuki and co take a dip in the hot bath. Unfortunately, everyone dips in with a robe. Nobody goes in naked. Is this the trend in the future? So much for fanservice. And those with decent boobs like Miyuki and Honoka get targeted… Girls will still be girls among themselves. They talk that they saw Masaki Ichijou from Third High School looking at Miyuki. But they think Miyuki is more into her brother. Surprisingly she denies that they are blood related and she doesn’t have a shred of romantic feeling for him. Is that true? That must be the most convincing poker face she ever put on. While Mikihiko is practising his summoning outside, he sensed intruders. However his low confidence that he is weak due to some accident makes him hesitate to take action. But after remembering Tatsuya’s actions and looking him up as encouragement, he easily disables the 3 intruders. He thought there is somebody else but he turns out to be Tatsuya.

Episode 11
Tatsuya was at the scene and sensed Mikihiko wasn’t fast enough to bring the intruders down and covered for him. Tatsuya also chides him for his low self confidence and the way he uses his abilities. On the first day of the qualifiers event, we see our girls doing well especially Mari in the Battle Board and Mayumi in Speed Shooting (shooting a perfect score). Tatsuya later sees Kazama and his men as they confirm last night intruders are from No Head Dragon but are still investigating if they are targeting the competition. On the second day, Mayumi ‘flirts’ with Tatsuya for a while and has him help her with her warming up stretch before her Crowd Ball game in which she does well. Also the highlight of the day is Kanon Chiyoda doing fine in her Pillars Break event. Suzune and her team are recalculating their strategy since some of the events they aren’t doing well. They work out that they need to win 4 out of the 6 remaining games to keep their top spot. Also, this means the events that the newcomers will take part will play a great influence in winning the overall competition. Tatsuya gives Leo some weaponised integrated CAD and he is more than happy to become the guinea pig.

Episode 12
Leo tests the weapon and from the technical explanation, the flying technique allows the sword to be elongated like as though there is a big gap in the middle. During Mari’s Board Battle match, her competitor slips and is about to crash into her. Mari was fast enough to save her but they both crash out. Looks painful. Mari is hospitalized although her injuries aren’t that bad, it is bad enough that she has to sit out the remaining events she is participating. Mayumi wonders if Mari felt a third party’s magic interfering during that time. Tatsuya and the rest are analyzing the video and it is confirmed there is magic from an outside party causing the water to be imbalance and thus the reason why Mari couldn’t successfully catch her competitor and they both crash out. As the surveillance and security of the games are tight, this could mean the outside magic is casted outside it and there must be somebody in the water. However there is no magic that can totally conceal a person’s presence the magic must be from something under water. Mikihiko confirms the use of water spirits but even so it is very unlikely to affect the race. Because they notice the competitor was accelerating instead of decelerating at the corner where the crash happened, it indicates somebody tampered with her CAD. There might be covert agents within the engineers. Tatsuya and Miyuki join the student council in discussing their game strategy. Although they are leading but at this rate Third High will overtake them. It is suggested that some newcomer events will be sacrificed and they will put their resources in Mirage Bat. Because Mari cannot participate, Miyuki becomes her substitute. Although Tatsuya is unable to check Honoka’s CAD, he promises to go watch her event and this makes her feel happy. As Tatsuya checks Shizuku’s equipment, she asks if he wants to work for her family. He reminds her to talk about this only when he gets his licence. Shizuku steps up for the Speed Shooting qualifiers. With her adjusted CAD and Tatsuya’s technique, she shoots a perfect score.

Episode 13
First High impressively takes the top 3 spots for Speed Shooting. Shizuku’s technique is even sought to be registered with the magic encyclopaedia, Index. Shizuku wants Tatsuya to take the credit but he declines. It is not that he is being humble but rather wouldn’t it be odd that a person who cannot use magic come up with such technique? Ichijou and his team are in discussion about First High’s winning streak. He believes the calibre of some newcomers is no better than theirs. This could only mean the other factor that makes them stand out is the engineer. They talk about some device in which Ichijou confirms it is some general purpose device Tatsuya is using instead of some commercial one. They need to keep in mind that their devices are 2 or 3 generations behind First High. Tatsuya watches Honoka’s Board Battle event. As it starts, she leaves her competitors in her wake (some even falling off their board!) as she sails to easy victory. So much so she becomes an emotional girl thanking Tatsuya because she has never won anything in her life. The student council discusses the girls are doing better than the boys. At this rate the results will be lopsided and the guys may need some support. Elsewhere in some shady Chinatown, a group of shady bookmakers are talking how taking out Mari wasn’t enough and at this rate First High will still win. This will burn a big hole in their business and heads will roll. Drastic measures must be taken. Miyuki calls Tatsuya to see her and asks about his decline for Index’s registration. Was it because of aunt’s orders? It is. This is necessary because otherwise they will find a connection between them and the Yotsuba family as well as his identity as Silver. He views he is not powerful enough yet and even if he may be able to defeat their aunt in a one on one match, some nastier manipulator will turn up. It is best for now to obey. Miyuki is sad and hugs him. She vows to always stay by his side. Shizuku is all geared up for her Pillars Break event. Because contestants can wear what they want, sometimes it looks like a fashion show. Or maybe cosplay. Because Shizuku is in her traditional kimono outfit. Even Miyuki is in a miko priestess outfit and burns her opponent’s ice pillars with great fire! Honoka watches Tatsuya calibrate a CAD and is still impressed. It reminds her how she first saw them beautifully working their magic at the high school entrance exam. Because everyone (girls mainly) is praising how good an engineer Tatsuya is, this only serves to make Shun jealous. He is going to prove Blooms are better than Weeds. Tatsuya and Miyuki are seen meeting Ichijou and his fellow schoolmate, Shinkurou Kichijouji AKA George.

Episode 14
They just want to see Tatsuya’s face although they’re disappointed he isn’t participating in Monolith Code or even the engineer for his team taking part under this. Honoka does well in her Board Battle and in the Pillars Break final, Shizuku takes on Miyuki. Although the latter uses twin CADs, Miyuki’s magic is far stronger and easily wins the match. Frustrated Shizuku is comforted by Honoka later. Tatsuya remembers Ichijou’s achievement of fending off an entire army by himself during the war so he has real war experience while George the genius discovered some Cardinal Code at a young age. Them enrolling in the same high school are too good to be called a coincidence. During the Monolith Code qualifiers, an accident happened and although it is unclear whether the attack was accidental or sabotage (you can bet it’s those shady bookmakers again), Shun’s team is seriously injured and hospitalized. The match is postponed and worst case scenario is that they may have to withdraw from this event. Mayumi talks to Tatsuya privately about this as he reveals about the near raid of No Head Dragon before the games. Honoka and Subaru Satomi do well for the Mirage Bat event. When Azusa hears others commenting about their movements that seem like Taurus Silver, she starts suspecting that Tatsuya might be that legend. Tatsuya is called to meet with the rest of the committee. Seems Mayumi wants Tatsuya to participate in Monolith Code. Under the circumstances and various exceptions, substitution is allowed. However Tatsuya believes he is not the right person for it as there are others who are more suitable. He claims this will also widen the rift between Blooms and Weeds since many have not played their match yet and a spare like him was chosen. Juumonji tells him to stop thinking so because regardless of his position, he is still a member of the delegation. Mayumi chose him because she believed in him. As leader of this committee, they will not entertain objections from any others. Any others. I guess he has no choice but to play the game. He is given the liberty to choose his team and he picks Leo and Mikihiko. As the event is tomorrow, choosing an unfamiliar member means he has to think about the adjustments, strategy planning and all that crap. He knows his pals very well and that saves time. Also, he believes they have the abilities.

Episode 15
Tatsuya wants Leo to be the defence while Mikihiko to come up with guerrilla strategies. He discusses what they are to do and since Mikihiko has some reservations about his power, Tatsuya gives him some confidence that his surprise attack using ancient magic can be their trump card. In their first match, we see them using tricks to win and Tatsuya employing Gram Demolition, some sort of spell dismantling counter measure that not many can use, surprising many (it is believed he used this same spell to stop that vehicle accident). Ichijou asks George’s opinion on Tatsuya’s abilities and it looks like he has the experience being in a real war before although he cannot use powerful magic. They only have to watch out for Gram Demolition and other trickeries. Otherwise, victory is certain if they drag him into a direct confrontation. Tatsuya and Miyuki see Erika scolding her brother, Naotsugu. She is not happy he ‘abandoned’ his kenjutsu instructing job in Thailand to come all the way to see Mari. She believes dating this woman has dulled his skills. Naotsugu is here because he heard Mari got injured and came. He wants her to apologize but Erika will not change her stance. Later talking to Miyuki about it, she can tell she has brother complex. Wait a minute. This coming from her? The one with the most annoying brother complex? Everyone watches Third High’s Monolith Code match. It’s so easy that Ichijou himself takes on the other team himself employing some super magic that nobody could touch him. Tatsuya can sense that Ichijou is trying to bait him into a direct fight by showing gaps in his defence. He’ll play along since this also gives them the best chance for victory. Erika talks to Mikihiko and give him some confidence before their match with Third High. Tatsuya sees Ono and wants her to find No Head Dragon’s location. Although he isn’t planning to do anything, he needs to know the enemy’s nature and it’ll be frustrating not knowing their whereabouts in case a counter attack becomes necessary. She needs only a day. George believes their victory is First High is assured. With the stage set as open plains (no place to hide) and Gram Demolition as Tatsuya’s only way to survive, there is no other way for them not to take this bait and face them head on.

Episode 16
Tatsuya gives Leo and Mikihiko to wear some cape to fend of George’s Invisible Bullet. Of course Ichijou and George are wondering if they have a last minute trick up their sleeve because such countermeasure seems naïve. But no use worrying about other people’s strategy now. Ichijou makes his move forward. He faces off with Tatsuya who impressively is able to stand his ground and shoot away whatever spells Ichijou throws at him. When George moves in, Mikihiko tries to stop him. The cape can be turned into some solid shield that prevents the use of Invisible Bullet. George could have lost if not for Ichijou intervening. However this causes Tatsuya to close in and in his panic, Ichijou unleashes lots of simultaneous spells which is a clear violation of the rule. Tatsuya is super fast in dispelling all of them but one. He takes a direct hit and the impact is great. His inner mechanism starts working. With broken bones, damaged organs and massive internal bleeding, he initiates some restoration programme that turns him back to normal in a split second! Good as new. Then he snaps his finger close to Ichijou’s ear. The amplified sound is so great that the audience need to even cover their ears. Needless to say, Ichijou is defeated as he is unable to continue fighting. Mayumi is unnerved seeing this. Not the finger snapping move but the resurrecting one. She believes Tatsuya has been defeated in that rule breaking move but why is he still standing. Juumonji calms her down saying that he might have taken some martial arts strengthening move and that magic is not the only miracle. Besides, the match is still ongoing. George tries to counter attack as Mikihiko tries to recover himself. Ultimately Mikihiko can’t let Tatsuya’s win go to waste as he soon defeats George while Leo takes out the other guy. With that, First High wins and everybody rejoices. Happy tears of joy. Leo explains how he took the brunt of Ichijou’s attack, the reason he needed lots of time to get back up. Tatsuya can’t hear clearly since an eardrum of his ruptured. The automatic healing didn’t activate for this one? Leo tells Mikihiko not to put up that gloomy face since they won. And nobody could be happier and close to tears as Miyuki because dearest brother just won.

Episode 17
Those bookmakers are desperate. Time to use force. During the Mirage Bat qualifiers, Keiko Kobayakawa is doing great till her CAD malfunctions. She drops like a rock but is caught in time. Mizuki informs Tatsuya that she saw some sort of spirit bursting from her CAD. He has a gist who is behind this. Before Miyuki and the other participants’ turn, their CAD needs to be inspected. Tatsuya spots the staff trying to insert some virus and pins him down. Oh, look at his eyes. The eyes of a mad brother when you try to harm his little sister. With Kudou learning the incident, he tells Tatsuya about this method called Golden Electron Silkworms used by Guangdong Army when he was in active service. Miyuki’s turn is up for Mirage Bat. Although she is in the lead, but when she starts using the device her flight, she pulls away and leaves everyone in awe-cum-stunned. With Miyuki winning the qualifiers, the bookmakers are really desperate. To avoid getting a horrible punishment from their organization, they are going to unleash… Terminator?! They’re going to do some massacre. So it’s indiscriminate killing now, eh? But before this enhanced human being can start, he is quickly disabled by Muraji Yanagi and Kyouko Fujibayashi. Nobody suspected anything. In the Mirage Bat finals, not only Miyuki has flight but the other contestants too. Other schools thought she was cheating so her CAD was inspected. Someone must have leaked the settings to others. However even if they have the spell, can they master it in such a short time? Miyuki has lots of practice and is a pro, you know? And true enough the competitors cannot keep up so some safety feature Tatsuya designed kicks in. Miyuki wins by a mile.

Episode 18
Mayumi toasts to First High’s overall victory. Kudou is seen talking to Kazama about Tatsuya. The former feels his outstanding talents is being wasted as a personal bodyguard and something about the Yotsuba family not relinquishing Tatsuya as well as their status not weakening but getting more powerful at this rate, enough to stand above the Ten Master Clans. Tatsuya sees Ono to get the data from her. Then he goes to the base of No Head Dragon (those bookmakers) and puts fear in their sh*t heads before shooting them into disappearance from a tower! Despite they promise they will not intervene in the games anymore (that’s because tomorrow is the last day you dick head!), Tatsuya isn’t convinced and even makes them reveal their boss’ name. No mercy. They all meet their same vanishing fate. How could Tatsuya be such a demon? As Tatsuya is created as a weapon, the only emotion left in him is his feelings for Miyuki. Thanks to them, his demon side is brought out. Later Tatsuya meets Kazama and his men. They talk about No Head Dragon being suppliers of Sorcery Booster, a magic device commonly used in criminal syndicates. Something about its components consisting of a human brain, more precisely a magician’s cerebrum. Since such concept is against their principles, it is thus something illegal. The competition ends with the final Monolith Code event with Juumonji’s team taking an easy victory. During the closing ball ceremony, Ichijou talks to Miyuki. Big brother comes. See all the other guys leave… Ichijou is very surprised to realize they are siblings. I guess as show of goodwill, he lets her dance with his sister. So who is going to dance with Tatsuya? Honoka is hinting. Not only her but other girls like Shizuku and Mayumi too. And no, Juumonji is not going to ask him to dance because he wants to talk to him about the Ten Master Clans. Asking if he is from one, Tatsuya denies he is from one. Juumonji advises him to be part of him and to do that, suggests he marries Mayumi. Isn’t it too early to talk about marriage? Juumonji notes that defeating Ichijou who is to be the next leader of the Ten Master Clans is more important than he thinks and can’t be this laidback. Tatsuya’s final dance is of course with Miyuki.

Yokohama Disturbance Arc

Episode 19
A couple of inspectors are raiding some port. I don’t know what they’re after. They use their magic to stop a ship but realize it’s just a dud because the real culprits sneakily got off somewhere. Now we have this technical explanation from Tatsuya to Miyuki about Philosopher’s Stone, alchemy and magic. I don’t want to elaborate… Tatsuya is then called by the teacher because he is being nominated to participate in the Thesis Competition. If Nine Schools Competition shows the best physical abilities of magicians, Thesis Competition is the literary equivalent. Suzune and Kei Isori are the participants but another fellow participant isn’t well so that is where Suzune recommended Tatsuya to fill in. She will have no other substitute. Oh sure, after we see what this guy can do, he is so coveted that everything is sure-win. And so Suzune explains the details and process of their work. She will be writing something about gravity and they have not much time before handing in their paper. When the siblings get home, they see their step mom, Sayuri waiting. What’s with the angry face? I can see why Miyuki doesn’t like her. Tatsuya has no emotions, remember… Anyway she is here to request him to come back to the lab and work. This means quitting school. No can do because as Tatsuya puts it, there is no other substitute than him to be Miyuki’s guardian. She shows him some Magatama relic she wants him to analyze. He can guess from the way she says things that she has accepted an impossible request by the military to replicate it. Hypothetically it can store magic sequences. She believes his magic can do the trick. See?! Everybody relies on this guy! However he hints even his magic might not make it a success so Sayuri angrily leaves. Don’t go away mad, just go away! Good riddance. However Tatsuya tails her only to see a couple of English speaking guys trying to kidnap her. Although he manages to disarm them, he is shot by a sniper. Although he regenerates, it was enough time for them to escape. To show how super cool he is, Tatsuya can even analyze the angle of the shot to fire back at the sniper!!! Back home after reporting to Kazama, Miyuki serves him dinner in an apron. Is she cute? Now this is something I can understand! ;p. Tatsuya shows the relic in his hands and tells her what Sayuri wanted him to do. If it is successful, this means the army can deploy a great number of androids in the front lines of war and use magic instead of magicians. Of course Tatsuya is not interested in it as a weapon but on how the system works. And we see the perpetrators behind this, they are bent in taking that relic.

Episode 20
I believe Mayumi is trying to flirt with Tatsuya while trying to impress him on the thesis he is writing. Sorry girl, he is not moved. At least no with the surveillance cameras watching. But he hints he will not hesitate if there are no cameras and if she makes the first move. Why is she looking so worried now? Wasn’t this what she wanted? Later Mari talks to Tatsuya about the security needed for their members during the competition. Because the documents for it are valuable, sometimes participating members become targets of industrial spies. Don’t worry. Tatsuya will be fine by himself. When Tatsuya leaves, he thought he felt someone watching him. Kanon spots a girl and goes after her but she manages to give her the slip. It seems that girl might be working for the perpetrators as they investigate Sayuri and the step children she just visited. The captain, Chen Xiangshan orders to give her all their support. Lu Gonghu is ordered to take command of ground operations and take out others who are sniffing around. Tatsuya learns Mizuki had that feeling of being watched although it isn’t just her but perhaps the entire school. Mikihiko also confirms some sort of spirits invoked and they feel foreign. The inspectors enter a café in Yokohama, Roter Wald to conduct their investigation but are met with Fujibayashi. While Tatsuya and friends are at the café, Erika and Leo make excuses to take their leave. Actually they confront. Jiro Marshall, whom they believe is spying on them. At first he plays dumb and even yells he is being mugged! Thanks to Mikihiko’s barrier, nobody can hear him and they’re not letting him go till he spills the beans. A short fight ensues and Leo gets the better of him. He decides to spill the beans since it is not his attention to attract attention and that he is not their enemy. Although he doesn’t belong to any government agency of any country, his job is to make sure cutting edge magic is not stolen from magic high school students and given to the east. He is also to deal with the threats of such technologies leaked to the east. As there are eastern spies who are after magic engineering in USNA and various western European countries, their school is a target. Jiro pulls out a gun when they let their guard down. He forces them to dispel the barrier and makes his escape. Unfortunately, he is killed by Lu.

Episode 21
The thesis is underway when Mibu catches a suspicious girl trying to hack something before running away. After catching up to her, Mibu advises Chiaki Hirakawa to stop being a spy. As one who experienced it herself, they will just use and toss her away. But Chiaki hints that getting something from them isn’t her goal. They try to apprehend her but she uses all sorts of tricks like tear gas. It took Leo’s rough tackle to knock her out. It looked like he assaulted her… At the infirmary, Kanon and Kei question her about her intention. It was to make the equipment malfunction. Seems she has a grudge against Tatsuya and plans on annoying him. She really wants to hurt him because she blames Tatsuya for an incident during the Nine Schools Competition. Her sister, Koharu felt responsible in making Keiko mistrust magic. Of course nobody except Tatsuya noticed it and yet he didn’t take appropriate action. Meanwhile Erika talks to Leo about some deciding factor he lacks that would make him able to kill his enemies. Since Erika has one, she will teach it to him. Kanon informs what happened to Tatsuya and his friends. They think of telling Koharu and let Chiaki be persuaded by her but Tatsuya doesn’t want Koharu to be further dragged into this mess. Chen and Lu see their master, Zhou about Chiaki’s failure. But since she doesn’t know about the organization, there is no danger in information leaking. Since Erika and Leo are not with them, Mikihiko and Mizuki fluster to think the kind of things they’re doing alone. It’s just your exaggerated fantasies… Oh wait. Maybe it’s not so far from that after all. Because Leo accidentally steps in while Erika is only in her towel. See that big hand mark over his face? Is it any wonder why she keeps hitting him during training? Letting out steam, eh? Then there is this mock battle between Juumonji and the other security members. They all got owned except for Mikihiko who managed to stand his ground. The key is always to calm down. As they take a break, cue for this scene of Mikihiko x Mizuki. They’re being so shy-shy that it’s just annoying. And then the inevitable. Mizuki becomes clumsy. He catches her. By her boobs. More panic. More clumsy. More revealing fanservice position for the other guys. What an embarrassing moment. What else to do for Mikihiko but to go after her?

Episode 22
When Tatsuya tells Yakumo about the relic, he advises him to return it as soon as possible. Also, if he encounters the enemy, don’t lose his direction. On the way back, Tatsuya knows a crow familiar is tailing them. At the lab, there is a commotion since the enemy is persistently trying to hack their way in. Finally it eases off. This is part of Chen’s plan to confirm Tatsuya has the relic. Chen orders Lu to get rid of Chiaki. As Tatsuya works in his school lab, he suddenly smells sleeping gas. He gives his android maid, Pixie a few orders. Then they play along to catch the culprit. Isao Sekimoto from the discipline committee sneaks in to try to retrieve the data. This industrial spy is caught red-handed by Kanon. Though he claims he is backing up, but with a hacking tool? She eventually knocks him out. At the hospital where Chiaki is being warded, the romantic moment between Mari and Naotsugu is cut short. Because Zhou was about to visit Chiaki when he sees Lu outside. He slams the alarm bell so Naotsugu rushes his way to face off with him. It took a lot of effort to bring down this guy. Both get injured but Lu got away. Lu reports to Chen and since the situation has changed, he is ordered to take out Sekimoto detained at the detention centre and to leave Chiaki alone for now. Kanon forbids Tatsuya to come along knowing he attracts trouble. But Mari assures that she and Mayumi will be there. Zhou visits Chiaki who feels she has disappointed him after all that he has done for her. Mari uses some mind control spell on Sekimoto to reveal his goal. He was trying to look for the relic. Again the interrogation is cut short when the intruder alarm sounds. Lu is coming. Although he managed to pass Mari, he can’t get through Tatsuya’s barrier. It really took a lot of effort to bring this tough guy down. Later Fujibayashi reports to Tatsuya about the arrest of Lu and the rest of the operative spies but Chen got away. She also mentions the industries they are targeting and the embarrassing fact that the military accounting leak was what made them know Tatsuya had the relic. We take a detour as Miyuki tries to steal a kiss from Tatsuya while he is sleeping. He suddenly opens his eyes which takes her by surprise. She loses her balance but catches her. She feels embarrassed and hides in her room. Tatsuya comes in to apologize he made her worry. This leaves her happy. Because he held her cheeks…

Episode 23
Chen reports to Zhou that everything will be going as planned but laments the capture of Lu as he is an important military asset. Zhou hints that he could break Lu free but in exchange he must make sure Chinatown has a few victims as possible. Suzune talks to Chiaki that whatever she does will not capture Tatsuya’s attention since he is arrogant. It won’t even bother him a single bit. Likewise, he is not going to sympathise or even ridicule her. Ignored. She mentions about Tatsuya’s high grade and Chiaki is almost as good as him. She has observed Tatsuya isn’t good in the hardware section and Chiaki may surpass him in the field of magic engineering. She should use her frustration as motivation. Fujibayashi talks to Tatsuya and Miyuki. Some mobile suit is almost done and ready for delivery. She also warns them things might foul up so be prepared. Before the thesis competition begins inside the conference hall, the siblings meet Ichijou who is part of the joint security committee, patrolling the area. Fujibayashi talks to Ono and she knows all about her. She hints that they keep to their territories and there would be no repercussions from her superiors. Ono take this warning as a sign that Fujibayashi and Tatsuya’s relationship must be kept a secret. Later Fujibayashi is shocked to learn Lu has busted from custody. Juumonji hears from Hanzou and Kirihara about Sekimoto’s interrogation. Because the organization behind it may resort to extreme tactics, Juumonji takes precaution and orders all security members to don a bullet proof vest. And so the thesis competition begins with Suzune giving demonstration and findings. I won’t bother explaining. Because I don’t know what is even going on! Freaking technical terms!!! And would you believe it? This occupies the rest of the episode. During all that, the terrorists are already making their move. After Suzune finishes, George meets Tatsuya at the backstage. Looks like his school is up next and is confident this time they won’t lose. They always say that, don’t they? Suddenly an explosion rocks the place.

Episode 24
A van drives into the centre and explodes. Other terrorists begin to invade all around Yokohama. This includes a handful of them storming into the hall to take the students hostage. But you think Tatsuya is going to listen to them? It’s Tatsuya time. That means mind blowing awesome moves. First he is so freaking fast catching and disintegrating the bullets and then he chops off the terrorist’s hand! OMFG!!! His coat might be bloodied but Miyuki has an app that cleans it! With this superhuman distraction, the other students overwhelm and round up the other terrorists. And nobody is shocked to see what Tatsuya did? Maybe George. He wonders how Tatsuya can perform from super secret move created by some US army guy. Of course Tatsuya knows he is jumping to conclusions with only partial knowledge. This could be used to his advantage as Tatsuya won’t tell him. I mean, now it’s not the time to explain, right? Mayumi requests Azusa to use her powers to calm down the other students. Then she passes the baton of student council president to her to lead everyone to evacuate via underground path. Tatsuya and his friends are at the front entrance. After Miyuki freezes the terrorists’ bullets, Tatsuya goes on a killing spree! He chops the terrorists in half with his bare hands! OMFG!!!! WTF IS HE???!!! Heading to the VIP room to find out more about the situation, it seems it looks bad as the terrorists have control of the area. Tatsuya suggests also evacuating but to use aboveground. But first he wants to erase the data in the demonstration equipment. However Mayumi and co are already there doing it. Why the need for so many people? Unless it’s not just as simple as a single erase-all button.

They convene for their next plan once they are done. They figure the terrorists are after the Magic Association’s data bank. Because the rescue ship that will be arriving in 10 minutes cannot hold them all, they will have to get to the evacuation shelter. Tatsuya is surprised to hear Azusa leading other students there. He is worried because the pathways are connected and is sure to meet some enemies. Juumonji sends some of his men there. Suddenly Tatsuya turns around. What does he see through that wall? Actually, he could sense some suicide truck driver trying to ram into the centre. I don’t know what move he pulled off with his gun but the truck disintegrated!!! Outside, the terrorist attacks continue with the use of supersonic launchers. When Kazama and Fujibayashi enter the room and explain the situation, everyone is shocked to learn of Tatsuya’s special lieutenant position. Kazama orders him under some law rule thingy, he is to mobilize in his mobile suit. Kazama hopes everyone could keep this a secret. I know they had no time but do you think it was silly to just waltz in and blurt out everything? Couldn’t they have whisked him away privately? Before Tatsuya goes, Miyuki is concerned so he kneels down enough to let her kiss his forehead. It isn’t an ordinary kiss since it felt like he powered up. Hah. Who wouldn’t if you get kissed by your little sister?

Episode 25
Ichijou mercilessly kills the terrorists with a gun that explode their bodies! HOLY SH*T!!!!!!! First High’s students arrive at the shelter’s entrance but it has collapsed so their only way out now is to call for the helicopters. While waiting, they split into groups to counter the terrorists. Tatsuya dons his mobile suit and better than Superman, he soars into the sky and takes out all enemy reconnaissance planes!!! Once on ground, he receives information that the enemy is using Sorcery Booster that was supplied by No Head Dragon. Definitely they are up against the Great Asian Alliance. I don’t know if Ichijou is trying to be a hero because he is going alone instead of joining his school evacuate. George wants to come along but is made to evacuate with the rest. So he goes solo into Chinatown, wiping out the enemy in trying to fine the lone phantom spell caster. Once taken out, all the drones stop working and the enemy retreat. The helicopter arrives at Mayumi’s group, however now they are faced with… Locusts! Too many to rid it all. Once more, thank Tatsuya and his mobile suit comrades to take them out and assure them a safe passageway out. What’s with Mayumi giving Tatsuya the cheeky tongue? A terrorist unit ambushes Kirihara’s group. Kirihara and Kei protect the girls and in turn took the biggest hit. Oh no. Unbelievably, Miyuki floats down and gives those terrorists a death freeze. Now it’s Tatsuya’s turn to save the day. He uses his CAD to restore the bodies Kirihara and Kei back to their original state! NO FREAKING WAY!!!!! Then he hugs Miyuki and flies off like a hero. Little sister continues to be in awe. WTTF?????!!!!!

Episode 26
The onslaught against the terrorists continues. Despite some mobile suit guys being shot down, they regenerate! Holy sh*t! Don’t tell me they made clones out of Tatsuya?! Ichijou is outside Chinatown and wants the terrorists or the people hiding them to come out. To his surprise, Zhou and his men has got all the terrorists tied up. They are not associated with these people and want to have them understand by helping to round them up. Kei and Kirihara wonder if they were hallucinating so Miyuki explains about Tatsuya’s power of regrowth (which is NOT healing). Some technical explanation how it restores everything to its original state instantly. Living things and non-living things alike too. Because of this great magic, it is the reason why Tatsuya cannot use magic in other areas. However this magic cannot be used freely too because it involves lots of reading up on some recorded information and also when that happens, the price to pay for using this magic is that Tatsuya will experience pain 150 times more than that person! Mizuki sees Lu attacking the magic association. With his new magic armour, he barges his way through. It took the combined might of Mari, Erika, Leo and Mayumi to bring him down. Meanwhile Chen is already inside. But he is in for a surprised when he sees Miyuki before him. He didn’t realize whatever magic he put on her didn’t work. She deep freezes him. As the terrorist’s main ship retreats, our heroes are ordered to stay back and not sink it because it contains some highly inflammable element that would destroy the marine life around. But once they are really far away, Kazama orders the Third Eye to be unsealed. Tatsuya is then ordered to use this long range super magic rifle to destroy the enemy. Yeah. The terrorist thought those nature loving Japanese must be dumb enough to let them get away but little do they know they won’t get a chance for payback because some super magic just wipe them out! Holy sh*t! But no rest yet. The military then take their offence to the enemy’s base. Using the same move, the entire fleet is not only annihilated but their existence wiped out!!! FREAKING HOLY SH*T!!!!!!!!!! It’s like they never existed before! We don’t mind that freaking huge crater, right? As long as the terrorists are dead. In the aftermath, things return to normal. Tatsuya is absent from school and his friends are worried. Miyuki waits for her brother and is glad when he finally returns. You don’t know how much she misses him. Finally, we see their aunt being told that Kazama wants to come next Sunday to explain things. She agrees to that but would like the siblings to come too.

The Confusing Magic High School
Thank goodness… It ended… First of all, let me say the biggest minus point of this series from a casual viewer’s point of view. The confusing magic system and terminologies! They are the biggest culprit that impedes my enjoyment of the series. Sounds like a big excuse and accusation especially from a dumb guy like me but sadly, that is how I feel. Not to say that even without all that I would still enjoy it, but those terms have become the biggest thing clouding the entire series that it makes my school science sound so easy and more comprehensible. That’s a good thing, right? Not for this anime, though. It was just freaking confusing. You need to be a rocket scientist and total nerd to understand and enjoy this anime at the same time.

Of course this series has got a lot of potential but is something left to be desired. Especially with subplots about the Ten Master Clan families as well as the Yotsuba clan’s own problems and whatever issues or power struggle they have, especially the seemingly hostility between the Shiba siblings and their aunt, everything seems to be touching the surface in this season. I am sure that with many of the characters relating to the Ten Master Clans, they will be a powerful force whatsoever but that will be a different story. I thought the Nine Schools Competition was a bit disappointing because I was thinking of seeing different schools and like other shonen animes, meet different characters, duel with them, our heroes win, become friends. I also thought of getting to watch some of the weird matches in detail. But mostly it is just clips here and there and the arc is mostly dealing with the terrorist in the shadows trying to sabotage the games. The only scene dedicated to at least showing the game play is when Tatsuya is involved. I guess they’re saying if this guy isn’t involved, it won’t be as interesting.

We start off with the Enrolment arc and at every chance were reminded about the discrimination between Blooms and Weeds. It is just freaking odd to see them more interested to keep the divide and you know, those in Blooms feel like as though they have the right and are freaking superior or something. I mean, do they believe in the caste system? Aren’t they fellow magicians? Thanks to some of them (our main and supporting characters of course), they don’t really care about that and are more interested in the ability and potential of an individual. And then as we move along to the next arc and the final, this discrimination thing doesn’t seem to be so obvious anymore. Everybody seems to be getting along fine that you’d forget that such discrimination ever existed. Well, all is fine for now. Let’s hope it stays that way. So you see, when you stay strong and don’t give in and stick to your beliefs, you’ll see victory at the end of the day.

There are a lot of side and supporting characters but unfortunately this season failed to do any justice on them. Sure, they do have their moments and showcase what they can do but it still isn’t enough. Basically it is because Tatsuya and Miyuki are so overwhelming with his awesome inhuman powers and their seemingly incest relationship, everything the others do seems small and ‘normal’ in comparison to them. Really. Every one of them has their own potential and personality but sadly it isn’t properly developed here and even if it was, it might have gone right under my nose. Especially Ichijou and George who were at least portrayed as some super prodigy that would rival Tatsuya in the Nine Schools Competition arc. They couldn’t even do much! So they try to make amends for them in the final arc but how much can that help? Eventually with the way the series ‘ended’, you’d be wondering what happened to the rest. The list is long so I’ll forgo it…

Even more disappointing are the villains of the series, especially the villains of the arc to be more precise. I am sure that because of the limited episodes of the series, we don’t hear of them anymore or they don’t play an active role. Especially when we are introduced to Blanche (still remember them?). We are being told how fearsome they are and all that crap that makes them a terrorist unit hiding under a social activist organization mask. And then when Tatsuya and co come to deal with them, imagine how chicken sh*t their branch leader is and eventually got what he deserved. What happened to them after that? Hell, like I care. Then there is No Head Dragon in the next arc who seemed like shady baddies in the shadows. Just feels threatening, eh? Unfortunately they only remain in the shadows and got owned singlehandedly by Tatsuya without even having to get close to them! Isn’t that an insult? Well, I thought it was to make fun of terrorists because certainly I hope they are all like that in real life. Unfortunately no Tatsuya to teach them a lesson.

Finally those terrorists from Great Asian Alliance, most of the grunts getting their ass kicked by high school students are just embarrassing. They have all the technology, gadgets and weapons and still our high school students can best them? Go back to training! And the best part is that they got annihilated in one go! Wow! If this was only effective in real life! We would love to get a Tatsuya or two in the military! Likewise, the supposed antagonist Zhou who is as mysterious as he seems to be also feels lacking. You would be wondering his actions and if he is on our side or not. There is more to meet the eyes to him.

So touching the subject of the Shiba siblings, Tatsuya is super amazing as he is super mysterious. Watching him is unbelievable. So amazing yet so funny. It is like as though he is an indestructible cyborg from the future! You can’t kill him or hurt him anyhow because he has the mechanism to heal himself! It’s like he has a perpetual cheat code on, only it doesn’t sound like a cheat code. He is an immortal! He says he has no more emotions except those for his little sister. So that’s why I am not sure if he is sometimes making jokes because with of his near deadpan voice. But he masks it to his superbly perfect analysis so you can’t really sense it. Oh yeah, this guy is such a genius at everything that they should just send him all over the world and end problems of poverty, world hunger and international wars. Because I mean, let’s face it, every arc or issue faced, they send or recommend Tatsuya to be the man. He’s got an impressive track record, right? Man, I want to be this guy! Miyuki is pretty annoying fawning over her big brother. I mean, could you blame her? When you a big brother this cool, how not to admire and become brocon? She isn’t useless and can take care of herself but when you think of her you think of this brocon fetish. And they’re not the type to be embarrassed of showing their affections in public. Only make others jealous.

Regret to say that if there is ever going to be a sequel, there is 99% chance that I won’t be watching this. I don’t want to relive the ‘horror’ of not understanding a single scientific term ever again (heck, I still do not understand what a CAD means even right till the end). Since this season is adapting the early chapters of the ongoing light novel it is based on, from what I saw, there are more chapters and arcs subsequently after that. I am sure that the rest of the other characters and whatever plots will be more fleshed out and explored unlike in the anime. But I’m going to look it from the good side. Having restricted the anime to just 26 episodes means I don’t have to continue watching in the future for another couple of dozens of episodes and waste my brain power on a series that I do not understand.

Well, to give them their dues, the action is satisfactory okay. The already confusing magic spells and terms are a major turnoff so I’m just watching them blast the enemies with whatever insignia pattern they conjured. I think they want to add a little shock factor because when fighting certain enemies, it really gets bloody and gory! When you have limbs flying off and bodies exploding, this isn’t exactly the kind of magic show you want your kids to see. I guess when you are fighting real villains, there is no need to show mercy like in fairytales. This is reality after all. You don’t expect the enemy to show you the same compassion, don’t you? Because if they do, then what the hell is everyone fighting a war for? Remember, as far as this anime is concerned, World War 3 already happened and I am sure there are still lots of sore losers and greedy power grabbing people in the world. Besides, I feel there is a subtle hint about showing no mercy to terrorists because as we can see, they were mercilessly taken out. No negotiations whatsoever.

Romance feels fleeting because the incest relationship of Tatsuya and Miyuki feels teasing. So whether you’re a fan or not of incest themes, you’d be disappointed. Well, otherwise if it gets too deep, the show will get cancelled! So maybe that’s why we are treated with some Miyuki fanservice as some scenes show her in her undies. And then suddenly there is some sort of romance with Mari and Naotsugu. You wonder who this guy suddenly pops up in the middle of the series only to learn about his relationship with Mari and that brocon Erika doesn’t approve of it. Well, we know they like each other but as far as I can see here, it doesn’t go anywhere this season. Hey, wasn’t one brewing between Mikihiko and Mizuki? What happened to that? There is something hinting between Leo and Erika lately too… Kei and Kanon are a given but we don’t care about them, right?

And I’m sure that most of the girls like Mayumi and Honoka are showing interest in Tatsuya while Mibu who once was has now moved on to Kirihara. Of course Azusa too but I feel that admiration for Taurus Silver will evolve into a different kind. Either Tatsuya is playing dumb or he is really that dense not to notice. Oh, I almost forgot. I think I know the reason why Tatsuya isn’t noticing the other girls’ advancement especially Mayumi who seems to be a bit bolder. Because Miyuki will start having that yandere look and it is noticeable when she starts freezing things around! That’s a big sign that says “Don’t you dare touch my onii-sama you b*tches! Stay away!”. Yup. I really wanted her to say that. Another reason why Miyuki falls into the most annoying sister characters ever. Of course not every girl likes Tatsuya. Chiaki comes to mind… At least it proves he is not perfect.

Drawing and art seem fine although there are points where I noticed they used CGI but it isn’t that glaring since when you are using magic with technology, it doesn’t look that all bad. The character designs look simple enough although they still look like your bishoujo and bishonen. Some characters look a bit weird like Miyuki because she is so pale and fair that I thought she was a ghost! Some characters like Lu and Chen are big in size and have this squarrish jawbone that I could hardly believe there are Chinese terrorists. They look more like Caucasian than anything. Hey… Doesn’t Chen look like Russell Crowe?! I have mixed feelings for the school uniforms of magic school. Aside the colour theme for each different school, the uniform for the guys is okay. They look smart and gorgeous in it. It is the girls’ uniform that some raise an eyebrow. Certain students have their coat long but they become transparent after the waist below. With some having different floral patterns (or whatever patterns that is), sometimes I thought it makes them look like pixies or fairies.

There are quite a lot of popular seiyuus lending their voice to this anime. Notably with Yuuichi Nakamura as Tatsuya, he doesn’t get into angst mode like his other characters such as Gray of Fairy Tail or Tomoya in Clannad. Well, he does voice characters with less emotional outburst before like Miketsukami from Inu x Boku SS. Other recognizable seiyuus include Saori Hayami as Miyuki, Kana Hanazawa as Mayumi, Marina Inoue as Mari, Mai Nakahara as Suzune, Satomi Satou as Mizuki, Junichi Suwabe as Juumonji, Tomokazu Sugita as Kirihara, Haruka Tomatsu as Mibu, Shizuka Itou as Fujibayashi and Kouji Yusa as Zhou. Others include Saki Ogasawara as Azusa (Meo in Kamisama No Memo-chou), Yumi Uchida as Erika (Ruri in Nisekoi), Takuma Terashima as Leo (Shiroe in Log Horizon), Atsushi Tamaru as Mikihiko (Mochizou in Tamako Market), Saori Onishi as Kanon (Fianna in Seirei Tsukai No Blade Dance), Souma Saitou as Kei (Tatsumi in Akame Ga Kill), Sora Amamiya as Honoka (Jin Hazuki in Blade & Soul), Yuiko Tatsumi as Shizuku (Riko in KissxSis), Sakura Tange as Ono (Mei in Kanojo Ga Flag Wo Oraretara), Toru Ohkawa as Kazama (Roy in Fullmetal Alchemist), Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Ichijou (Kirito in Sword Art Online) and Ayumu Murase as George (Kusakabe in Ookami Shoujo To Kuro Ouji).

I guess one of the more enjoyable aspects of this series are the opening and ending themes. At least they are enjoyable to listen to (compared to listening to the scientific terms of course), although they won’t be the kind that I would love to hear over and over again. The rock based Rising Hope by Lisa is the first opening theme while another rock based song for the second opening theme, Grilletto by Garnidelia. Millenario by Elisa as the first ending theme is the best of them all because this slow ballad is quite a beautiful piece. Mirror by Rei Yasuda is the second ending theme and sounds like moderate pop.

Overall, this series is definitely not for everyone. The bloody and gory action are already a sign but the biggest down point for me are the sci-fi terminologies. If you are the kind of person who are interested in this kind of stuffs, and I mean really, really, really, love this kind of complex sci-fi thingy, this anime should be interesting for you to think about the possibility of the co-existence, infusion and application of both magic and science. I know it is interesting on the surface but you really need to have a lot of brain power to digest them all. Something which I don’t have. I guess in this sense I am rettou (irregular/inferior/low grade). Heck, I don’t even know how my TV technically works except flipping the ‘turn on’ switch. Sheesh… So it is back to more mindless ecchi fanservice animes for me… Yeah, something I can actually see and understand :). Definitely rettou…

Spice And Wolf VS Maoyuu Maou Yuusha

This is the problem when you procrastinate. I even know about it way beforehand but yet still went ahead of delaying it. I don’t know what gave me the willpower to do it now but better late than never. Heck, it should have been better early than late! Because my memories are so bad that I think I have been starting to forget things. This is the first versus blog in more than a year. Oh, how time flies. I have always wanted to do a comparison between Spice And Wolf as well as Maoyuu Maou Yuusha simply because I thought the latter was a spiritual successor to the former and that they used both the same seiyuus for the leading characters in both series. So let me see if I can remember the similarities… Hah. An excuse not to put up too many entries…

World setting:
Spice And Wolf: Medieval European world.
Maoyuu: European fantasy.

Basis of character names:
Spice And Wolf: Most are of common European Christian names.
Maoyuu: Characters are named after their jobs or personalities.

Male lead character:
Both voiced by Jun Fukuyama. And the characters are human type.
Spice And Wolf: Craft Lawrence, a merchant.
Maoyuu: Hero, well uhm, a hero.

Female lead character:
Both voiced by Ami Koshimizu. And the characters are non-human.
Spice And Wolf: Horo, a wolf harvest deity.
Maoyuu: Demon King, well uhm, a demon lord.

Her nickname:
Spice And Wolf: Horo calls herself The Wise Wolf.
Maoyuu: Demon King is known as Red Scholar when she disguises herself as a human noblewoman.

What’s on her head:
Spice And Wolf: Wolf ears.
Maoyuu: Demon horns.

Reason for contract:
The reason why they are travelling together, which is also basically the main plot setting of the series.
Spice And Wolf: Horo longs to return home to the North and strikes up a deal with Lawrence to take her there in exchange for teaching him the tricks of the trade.
Maoyuu: Demons and humans have been fighting each other for ages with both sides taking the loser as slaves. In order to end the meaningless war, Demon King proposes an alliance with Hero in hopes of bringing peace and prosperity to both sides in the long run.

Travelling mode:
Spice And Wolf: A wooden carriage.
Maoyuu: Hero has the ability to teleport anywhere.

Basic lessons learnt:
These are educational animes and you are bound to learn something if you pay attention.
Spice And Wolf: Basics of trade.
Maoyuu: Economics and to a certain extent, war strategies.

The corrupted:
It always happens in every era, everywhere. Basically, the antagonist.
Spice And Wolf: The church.
Maoyuu: Human merchants and demons who fund the war to keep it going. Also, the church…

Merchant trade group:
Spice And Wolf: Rowen Trading Guild.
Maoyuu: Economic Alliance of Merchants and Southern Independent Cities.

Food of the series:
Spice And Wolf: Apples – Horo’s favourite.
Maoyuu: Wheat – Basic staple food and also pseudo currency.

Possible love rival:
Spice And Wolf: Chloe for Lawrence but it ended once she aligned herself with the church. Also, Amarty for Horo.
Maoyuu: Knight for Hero. Merchant A for Demon King.

Fanservice scenes:
For the female lead character…
Spice And Wolf: There are scenes that Horo is in her birthday suit but this is debatable since wolves are meant to be naked and with all that fur covering the body, is this amounting to fanservice?
Maoyuu: Demon King’s humongous boobs.

Falling ill:
Spice And Wolf: Perhaps Horo ate and drank too much food and party too hard. Nothing like a good nutritious and balanced meal to recover, eh?
Maoyuu: Sister Maid and Little Maid came from a very poor and large family. Their poverty caused some of their siblings to die from malnutrition and disease. Also, smallpox was spreading but thanks to vaccines and antibodies, the spread is stemmed.

Desperate moments:
Spice And Wolf: Lawrence desperate for money goes around asking other merchants to lend some money only to be chased away (some even splashing water at his face).
Maoyuu: Sister Maid disguises herself as Demon King and to be arrested for being heretic. Her lashing out about life and what it means to be human has the common people to turn their backs on the authorities and save her from being executed.

Trading new currencies:
Spice And Wolf: Lawrence learnt that there is a plan to trade some old silver coin currencies to newer ones for a profit. But it is just a scheme as only the purity of the silver content in the coins declined.
Maoyuu: The Holy Capital issues a decree that new currencies will be issued and current ones declared as illegal. This means the Holy Capital stand to profit based on the difference in exchange rate.

The kiss:
The moment that we all have been waiting for.
Spice And Wolf: In the final episode of the second season, Lawrence finally confesses he loves Horo and kisses her.
Maoyuu: There are a couple of scenes Demon King wanted to kiss Hero because the mood was right or as some reward but was interrupted by something else. So close yet so far…

Episode titles:
Spice And Wolf: All of them follow this format of “Wolf and (insert whatever things here)”.
Maoyuu: They sound more like conversations or comments.

Number of episodes:
Spice And Wolf: 26 episodes split into 2 seasons of 13 episodes each. Note, an episode in the first season was unaired and was eventually made an OVA whereas another OVA was aired before the second season started.
Maoyuu: 1 season with only 12 episodes + 1 recap episode.

Studio production:
Spice And Wolf: Imagin for first season, Brain’s Base for second season.
Maoyuu: Arms.

Conclusion
Like I’ve said, it has been a long time that I don’t remember much. Just the bare basics. It is hard to say which one is better because both series give us educational knowledge about microeconomics as well as macroeconomics. They are both enlightening in their own ways. This is the only reason why you should watch these shows (and of course these are their strongest points too). Not because of the plot, the art, the characters (although Maoyuu seems to fare better on this aspect than Spice And Wolf) or even the so called hinting romance between the characters. They all pale in comparison to the trade and economic information. I am sure more people will be interested to learn such topics if they are presented this way. Anime, the new platform for learning world business and finance. Then naysayers can’t always blame anime is always porn.