Karen Senki

OMG! There’s an anime about those demanding and entitled white western women waging a war! FOR REAL???!!! You mean Japan made a series about those obnoxious b*tches who use their privilege to demand what they want?! And they did this back in 2014 already?! Oh yeah. If Karens had their way, it’s definitely war! Wait… What do you mean that Karen Senki is not all about that???!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S NOT!!! Oh… I see. War against humans and machines, huh? Oh well. I guess this is what after watching Ex-Arm referred me to. Judging from the promotional poster and the synopsis, looks like I’m going to get ready my laughing bags once more. Oh yeah. This is sure going to be explosive. I mean, better than watching angry Karens on YouTube bully ordinary people, right?

Episode 1
We see Karen and her little sister, Touka playing in the flower fields. Then this horror Baymax robot, SEEK explains to them about flowers. They become friends. Didn’t mom tell you not to talk to strangers? Oh, robots aren’t technically people… And then suddenly! Scene changes to that of a dystopian future! OMFG! Karen is now some Chinese pirate chick mowing down robots with her guns! Uh huh. She tells us that 5 years ago, robots started rising up and sifted through humans, deciding those who will live and killing those who don’t. Unfortunately, Touka was killed by those machines. We see Karen buying stuffs downtown. Suddenly a robot shows up to kill her! Of course she destroys it. And just like that everybody doesn’t give a f*ck and returns to their normal lives. WTF?! We take a detour to see this shady dude, Junkshop trying to make out with a robot call girl in lingerie. Personally, this feels creepy than horny. Karen can’t catch some rest because back home, robots storm in and try to kill her! Yeah, they make a mess of her place but Karen kills them all. How the f*ck can they miss her when they’re raining bullets like that?! Then she calls Junkshop and interrupts his robot sex. Get your ass here or I’ll kill you! This dude does some robot recycling and clean up job so he has to take away all the robot scrap lying about in Karen’s home. Of course he also has a job for her. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. Then he calls Eleanor so as to let her know he has got replacement parts for the Regeneration Device. He also cautions her about Karen…

Episode 2
Typical villainous looking robot leader. Takes interest in Karen. Get her, no matter what. More Karen action as we see her ride a badass vehicle that puts the Batmobile or Blasseriter to shame. Not sure if she is chasing or escaping robots. Everything to chaotic to make out. Not even sure if she destroys them or escapes. Then we see her live her normal life and then kill more robots and then scavenge for parts. What the f*ck is going on!? Too confusing! Fanservice time as we see Karen in her undies trying to kill a robot mosquito stalking her. Eventually she got so annoyed that she fires her gun for an overkill. Yeah, whole in the wall, toilet needs repairs now. And here, have some sexy Karen shower scene as she tells us more of this twisted history. According to Dr Shasiem, the first machine to have its own intelligence, X11 was one of Xaxa’s products. X11 was a robot designed for parents who lost their children. But then on Christmas day 5 years ago, robots attacked and destroyed humanity. Now they dominate the world. Shasiem wanted the machines destroyed but nobody listened. Yeah, they deserved to be killed. Later, Shasiem founded a resistance group, Eleven. Psycho horror reference as a robot tries to kill Karen but thankfully she keeps her gun in the shower. We see Xiaogang who is part of Eleven talking with that villainous robot leader. It seems they have some deal. Xiaogang accuses him for letting his robots to attack humans in the reserve area. No attacks on human should happen there. He also blames the resistance for gunning down his robots. It seems all this is part of their bigger plan for evolution. Xiaogang believes to restore nature, humans must be trimmed but he never intended for humanity to go extinct. This is provided if robots evolve correctly. And what’s this about robots and humans may evolve the wrong way? You better watch out. We see Karen doing her butcher job. The butcher gives her a salmon suit (?!) and takes her to Eleven’s underground base because he believes they want her to join. She meets with Xiaogang.

Episode 3
Xiaogang gets rough with her and of course she fights back. He apologizes and tries to explain himself but she finds it hard that if they’re allies, why the f*ck would he attack her. So he goes berserk when people talk down on him, huh? Whatever. Xiaogang introduces himself and is some sort of negotiator. With machines? Then he gives Karen a jamming device he made. Can it win the war against machines? He doesn’t even think so! In some shanty cowboy town, we see Eleanor fight against an army of robots! Eventually she gets a head shot! Dead. Oh, what’s this? Eleanor putting her dead body in a bag and then throw it into the incinerator? In her room, we see a machine producing another Eleanor. The next her. So this is how she becomes an immortal? Back to more Karen action as she flies about through the destroyed city looking for something. When she finds it, she gets zapped and realizes too late this is a trap. Next thing we know, we see her bored and waiting in a room filled with weird robots. This is an interview. They want to understand humans better. Robots want to know what love is. Seriously?! No wonder Karen is so bemused and will play along. She brushes off that concept because humans themselves don’t know what love is. They ask if she believes in love. That look on her face, you think so?! Then they play a hologram of that emotional moment Touka died in her arms. Is this love? Are they trying to get psychological with her? Karen tries to keep her cool and brushes that incident off. She just likes to say I love you sometimes. Eventually she gets annoyed and snaps. She summons Touka out from her and destroys everything! OMFG! When Karen say Touka died but continues to live inside her, I DIDN’T REALLY THINK IT WAS THIS LITERAL!!! So is Touka some sort of weapon inside her? Oh well, looks like Karen left this interview early. Room is in a mess but thanks for the food. What… The… F*ck?

Episode 4
Karen is escaping the robots. Do we need to see the flashback of how she got brought here in the first place? Uneventful. Some Matrix spoof action as she guns down the machines. However she gets careless and gets zapped by one. But don’t worry, the butcher is here to save her. Yup, he is part of Eleven. I guess the robots only hit their target when they want to kill off a character. Poor butcher guy. Gets butchered by the hail of bullets. Why are you screaming, Karen?! RUN!!! He sacrificed his life for you!!! But wait… When the action dies down, we see the butcher’s real body. He is a tranny midget controlling the butcher’s body from inside?! He returns to his base and just ‘wears’ a new body. Cool or creepy? So that villainous robot leader is SEEK?! Seems he has faith that humans in the reserve area will evolve properly. Just need to beat them up a little. However his ‘son’, Jay is not pleased that SEEK is being soft with them, especially Karen. He thinks of eliminating all humans and everything is solved. World ruled by machines. Flawless victory. But SEEK believes they still need humans. Because machines don’t understand love and that is what they need to rebuild a beautiful world. Because humans have love, they evolve better (unfortunately as he points out later, the true meaning of love is unknown! Oh the irony!). Someday, humans and machines will work together and build an ideal society. Oh f*ck, I’m confused because now SEEK says humans are meant to serve humans! Jay is still not happy and will go kill that Karen he loves so much. Karen goes to get her guns repair. It’ll take a day. As she leaves, she notices robots stalking her. Don’t have to wait long before another shoot out action. Oh right, Karen has no guns. Run! She realizes these aren’t robots but human bounty hunters! Okay then, I can forgive the Stormtrooper shooting.

Episode 5
Karen takes down a bounty hunter with her CQC. Bounty hunter claims humans and robots are the same but Karen disagrees and knocks her out. The irony as Karen notes her dog tag, Certification of Artificial Organ… The old dude who is supposed to repair Karen’s guns… Oh f*ck! He turned into some Shinto maniac and starts chanting some crazy ritual to bless the guns?! AND I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SCIENCE!!! Don’t laugh. It works!!! OMFG… And just as good as new. After collecting her gun and returning home, Karen can tell someone is in her place. Turns out to be Xiaogang. WTF he sitting in the dark? So he came to apologize about the wrong info, huh? But he is here to warn her about Jay, a high ranking military machine who has set his eyes on her. Can she trust him on this one? He also warns her he has a special gun but doesn’t know what it is. WTF???!!! YOU TRYING TO PULL A FAST ONE?! We hear Eleanor talk about her love for singing. She’d rather sing to machines than not sing at all. She notes how machines copy everything humans do. Hence they also need to fear as well. But Eleanor doesn’t fear death because doing so makes her feel alive. Well, she’s technically an immortal so she can say that. Turns out Eleanor is part of Eleven and not sure if Karen coming to see her for advice or something. Eleanor claims the resistance despite made up of humans, they’re all monsters. Karen refuses to acknowledge herself as one. Eleanor then quotes Darwin’s evolution theory that the species who survives is the one who adapts. And then another riddle quote about life isn’t about holding good cards but about playing those you hold well. Uh huh. Karen doesn’t want to hear this philosophical crap and leaves. Yeah, we too.

Episode 6
Eleanor prepares to perform as her partner, X22 reports that the hall is filled. Flashback shows X22 was a top general in the machine army but defected. Jay admitted he was an old model but he can still do stuffs. He tried to persuade him to come back but X22 made up his mind. Woah! X22 slashed Jay’s face and he BLEEDS RED BLOOD???!!! Oh damn, why Jay just watch him run away? Now he is a member of Eleven and a good friend of Eleanor. We see Xiaogang holding X22 at gun point and can’t understand why this general who killed thousands of humans in wars, defect. Now he is wanted by both sides. Xiaogang is not interested in claiming the bounty on his head but wants to know why he still didn’t kill him. You know his gun can’t do jack sh*t on X22. WTF he is asking how many humans he can kill in a minute? 375 his top score!!! Xiaogang even teases X22 loves Eleanor. WTF this malfunction, is this how robot flusters?! They thought the other called to meet. Soon they realize it’s a trap as robots descend on them. Okay, time to mow them down like video games. During a blast, Xiaogang falls off. But he activates his suit and turns into some weird superhero beast thingy. He becomes very violent and feral-like as he mercilessly destroys all the robots. He also turns on X22 but then his whatever symbiotic possessing becomes unstable and returns to the suitcase. Xiaogang regains consciousness but has no memories of what happened. X22 asks all that happened but if he wants to know, join Eleven. Now we see Karen facing off with Jay. So his special gun is his bullet is like a homing missile? How? Summon Touka! Yeah, hit it away like baseball! Oh sh*t! Touka faster than Jay?! I guess it is legit, in terms of speed, spirit > robot. Jay had to improvise just to escape. Karen wonders why X22 defected. His best answer: I don’t know. Heck, he doesn’t know what is going on his head sometimes. Are you sure he is really machine? Or a really evolved machine? All X22 cares is that Eleanor is her friend and her friends are his friends. And then he tries to sing like her. Oh f*ck, I think this is to convince us we’d rather hear the sexy Eleanor sing!!!

Episode 7
Time for a whole flashback episode. SEEK looked like a happy robot whose job was to just dispose of human waste. I mean, all those electrical junk they don’t need. If it’s thrown away, it means to be disposed of, right? He is glad to help the human race. Until he couldn’t dispose of a poor kitten. This has him think deep that he might be disobeying orders, would it be wrong to disobey wrong orders, who decides wrong orders and can wrong orders help the human race? Yeah, I’m confused as you are. SEEK then observes the pollination of dandelions. It leads him to a dandelion field as he notices the beauty of life. However humans overproduce a lot of things and throws them away. Have they stopped evolving? That’s where he met Karen and Touka. Next scene shows some mafiaso government threatening Junkshop to hand over some altered chips since it is illegal to do so. They give him the ultimatum tomorrow or they’ll tear down the shop with him inside. After they leave, Xiaogang arrives. So they’re brothers?! Xiaogang needs to borrow his tools to do some tinkering with this discount Baymax model. Junkshop being the smartass decides to insert some chip. Malfunctions! Oh sh*t. SEEK now awakens with evil in his eyes. So his tone of disposing human waste just sounded a lot more evil. Next thing you know, holy sh*t, war between humans and machines! Everywhere destroyed! So these 2 started the whole goddamn war???!!! Brothers blame each other. Xiaogang blaming him for putting in something funny while Junkshop accusing him for fixing up something he shouldn’t. But oh well, Junkshop is happy that this means the government’s power is broken and Xiaogang can get his dreams to come true with a mechanized society.

Episode 8
Junkshop sexing up that sexy robot call girl lingerie chick again. It’s going to get good until Karen calls. Oh f*ck… Not again. Then we see him head down to some robot gangster store to buy bike parts. Since he doesn’t have enough cash, he tries to haggle. He pulls off a pretty neat move as he buys the cheaper part and then sells it back with his remaining cash to get the more expensive part he needs. Oh f*ck! Robot is so confused!!! HOW CAN A HUMAN OUTSMART A ROBOT???!!! Once he realizes he has been conned, Junkshop drops his cigarettes in the box of dynamites! BOOM! OMFG!!! Hilarious but too cool!!! Junkshop then fixes those parts in Karen’s pseudo Batmobile. In exchange, he is hoping she could introduce a hot robot chick to him. The bike works like a charm and as Junkshop eagerly rants on the chick he will be introduced, Karen leaves him in the dust. He realizes he forgot to fix a part. Oh well, she’ll be alright. It’s Karen we’re talking about. In town, you bet such a hot bike will get the robots’ attention. Cue for your hot Karen action. On a bike now! As the bike takes damage, Karen vows to get replacement parts. Oh sh*t, Karen can fly???!!! We see Karen gunning down robots in outside some snowy facility. She notes she is moving faster than before. Her body is changing. Wow. A human getting to be faster than robots? With more robots reinforcement popping up, Touka wants to come out and play. Karen doesn’t want her to but stubborn Touka bursts out and decimates them all. See what happens when you let a loli coop up inside you? Sometimes you gotta let them out to play. And now Touka wants to come out and play whenever she wishes even if Karen doesn’t order her to. Going through that rebellious phase already, huh?

Episode 9
Pinky Phakchi is a magical girl who saves the world with her vegetables by taking down those greasy fatty unhealthy fast food monsters! WTF???!!! I guess she is Touka’s favourite magical girl because she’s bugging Karen to buy a magical wand at the toy store. Suddenly… Robots attack! Boy, that escalated quickly. An evolved SEEK seeks to correct the wrong orders given by humans and will create an ideal society. As the city is in tatters, Touka thinks Karen is crying. Hence to cheer her up, Touka takes her magical wand and will stop those bad robots! Well, gotta give her credit for having guts. Guess what? The drone shoots her! Hah! How’s those vegetables saving the world now! Okay, stop it with the bad jokes. SEEK who identified Touka earlier on, was too late to stop the drone and all he could do is just squish the bad drone? OMFG. How can a robot be so ‘slow’ to stop another robot! Damn, SEEK in despair! Killing a friend is not what he wants! Holy sh*t. This robot really evolved! The rest of the humans are rounded up and finished off via firing squad. F*CK, IS THIS THE HOLOCAUST???!!! As time passed, Xiaogang encounters a strange door with a sign (Eleven) that its paint has peeled off. The moment he touches it, that mark burns into his palm. The same for Eleanor but she got it on her thighs. Oooh, sexy. As for Karen, it’s in her right eye. Ouch. And with that, Karen becomes a vengeful qipao wearing, revenge seeking chick as she guns down all the robots mercilessly with magical Touka aiding her. There’s a quick draw incident in which Karen won. No sh*t when the robot is in shock and surprised that a human is faster than them robots! I kid you not! This episode ends on a strange note, probably to explain how Touka ended up as a magical girl. Basically after she died, she is in some strange colourful place. She is delighted to see Pinky in the flesh who then gives her the wand to help others. Weird. Still doesn’t explain how she ended up inside Karen, though.

Episode 10
We see from first person view through a camera recording, some robot interviewing people about what they know about Karen. Some Karen action footage too. And yeah, the most damning one when a dying robot says Karen is someone whom they cannot predict because she is fast and strong! I bet your processors are still stuck in Pentium 1! HAHAHA!!! And of course Karen blasts the camera because she is ‘embarrassed’ by all those ‘praises’. We see Eleanor singing in front of the robots. And then she pulls out her big mother machine gun and guns them all down! Holy f*ck! The irony of robots dying this way! And they’re bleeding oil?! Flashback shows Eleanor loved her boyfriend and would do anything for him. However he was gunned down by robots. Before you could pity her, there’s more to the story. You see, one day she came home and found him cheating on her with another woman in bed. He tried to get her back and reconcile but Eleanor wasn’t budging. In fact, she called the robots to say he is part of the resistance. Mad, he slapped her. Feel better? Well, the robots are here now and gun both of them down!!! Of course we know Eleanor still lives via clone. She wonders how Karen got that special gun of hers. Flashback 4 years ago when Karen was mysteriously shot out from the sky. Left to bleed to death, that old gun repair dude took her to his base and treated her. Be in for some pain because no anaesthetics were used. After that, he asks who shot her. Don’t know. Because this bullet is cursed. However Karen wasn’t cursed because she is still alive. Is it a sign that the bullet chose her? Since she is still a clipped bird, he gives her some guns to help fight back. Then he does some crazy ass chanting ritual on the bullet. Oh sh*t! WTF this stormy apparition?! Did the bullet and gun get imbued by some dragon or something?! He gives it to her and wants her to release the power sealed in this cursed bullet as it is her fate to live as an abomination from hell. Are you sure this grandpa didn’t escape from some mental facility?!

Episode 11
We see the small gathering of Eleven members. Oh, the usual suspects. Karen, Eleanor, X22, Xiaogang, Junkshop, the butcher dude and the gun repair dude. That’s all there is. Thanks to their mark, it gives them some superhuman powers. Junkshop blaming Karen that because she destroys machines excessively, they are now so pissed off. Eleanor suggests if Karen is the cause, then let’s hand her over to the machines. Suddenly everyone whips out their guns pointing at each other! Holy sh*t?! Civil war time?! But that won’t happen because as humans they can calm down and rationalize, right? But here’s the real mission. Looks like the robots are going to bomb the hell out of the entire Sector 17 just to kill Karen. Oh damn, is that where Junkshop lives? Death to all machines then! Since this expedition is led by Jay, you bet they’re really serious this time. They’re going to use some pipeline to drop the bomb. So how? Nothing extraordinary. Karen is just going there to kick ass. So now we see the high octane action as Eleven human monsters vs metal scrap trashes. Basically, trash vs trash. Hahaha! Of course the big focus is Karen’s fight with Jay himself. Best quote from Karen: If humans are trash and robots try to become them, then robots are trash too! Why do I feel there’s some politically incorrect motive in that line somewhere if I replace certain words… Anyway, Karen gets the better of Jay but the latter thinks he has the last laugh with the detonator in hand. He dares her to shoot him and despite she calling him a coward, blowing up the entire sector just to kill her, don’t worry, Jay assures he’ll annihilate all humans eventually. But the detonator doesn’t work. Jay realizes SEEK sabotaged it. A short skirmish before Karen emerges victorious. Jay got decapitated and his body explodes. Just to make it safe in case they can detach his head, no? Karen falls with a golden glow? And SEEK narrating evolution is the process of selection for humans and machines. Oh boy. Are we done yet?

Karenator: Rise Of The (Dark Fake) Mess-chines
Uhm… Can I speak to the manager of this production?! Because, I don’t really like how the way things ended and the whole series feels kinda unsatisfactory. So can I see and talk to the bugger who created this mess and left everything hanging? And why only the odd number of 11 episodes? Why not 12 or 13? Being an ONA is no excuse. What do you mean the manager is no longer around?! Who the f*ck can I complain to about this atrocity?! Who the f*ck will be there to satiate my dissatisfaction about how this series went and just about everything about it?! Oh well, I guess that’s fine. Time to move on then. Hey, I’m not a professional Karen so I don’t know how to be one, okay?! Can we just move along?

Oh boy. Where to start from this mess. Yup, to call this series garbage and trash isn’t wrong to begin with. But I have to admit, it is not the worst series ever (whether it is for the season, for the year or in my entire life) although it is still one of the badly made ones. Also because I had a fun time enjoying all the silly stuffs as well as the excessive and exaggerated violence and because of that, this show doesn’t entirely sucks. Yes people, I am still the very same simpleton that I was 10 years ago so you bet I didn’t change much. Heh. My evolution sucks. Or it stood still ever since.

Let’s start with the story and plot. Basically, it is crap. Definitely it borrowed heavily the elements from Terminator and The Matrix. Although the plot of man versus machine is nothing new and has been done death in films and series of the genre, I have to admit that some of the underlying plot is interesting. For instance, Seek is trying to create an ideal society for both humans and robots. This feels strange and requires a deep food for thought because of the irony that robots are trying to become like humans. Because robots are already perfect, why are they trying to downgrade themselves into something imperfect? Is there perfection in imperfection? Oh my. I’m already a bit confused. But do you see what I’m trying to get here? So while this underlying scenario seems interesting, the unfortunate part is that they didn’t really flesh it out well. Some parts like as though they were forgotten after briefly mentioned. Remember that Shasiem history thingy? No? So do I. Almost. No follow up after that. That’s why we all forgot because it wasn’t even integral to the story.

Which is why the overall story as well as its pacing sucks. This series had lots of potential even if it had borrowed and clichéd tropes. Provided it did well. Too bad it did not. It could’ve been a legend and perhaps a sequel in the making but alas we heard nothing of it ever since. One of the biggest problems in the pacing is that we don’t know where the series is heading. The first half starts off nicely and while it is not perfect, at least it is still tolerable. This is probably to introduce some stuffs and form a foundation. Okay. Understandable. Then come the second half, everything gets thrown out of the window. It was a mess. Helter-skelter. It’s like they started showing random events here and there and this may confuse us about the timeline. Worse, many of these episodes end in some sort of cliff-hanger way that makes viewers go, “WTF?! Is there all to it for this episode?!”. Yes, seriously. I did that most of the time. And with that final episode scene, what does it supposed to mean? Was it supposed to usher another sequel? Good thing or not, we didn’t get any. Safe to say the fate of this series has been sealed because they evolved the wrong way! HAHAHA!!! The irony is that the creator of this series was the one who created the iconic Sakura Taisen series. Oh well, can’t be writing hits all the time.

Of course the characters too suck. They feel very minimal here and despite they try to flesh out some of their past and stories, most of them fall flat and you’ll be left wondering why. More questions than answers. Just like the story, I feel like the characters and their backgrounds were written on the fly. For example, Karen getting shot by the cursed bullet. I mean, what the heck is this significance for?! All this just to tell us that is how she got those special guns of hers? A gun so special that’s why it could pierce through steel like hot knife through butter?! Why not just save us all that trouble and say she got it from a shady weapons dealer who made that sh*t and sold it to her. Then he got killed off. Hence no other such guns were made. See?! I can write better character backgrounds than this piece of sh*t!

So yeah, Karen as the titular character, I guess we all need to see her as a strong woman who kicks ass. Lots of angst. Lots of badass attitude. You know, the typical stuff. But the other characters, just barely. So why Eleanor? Need a variety of sexy babes? Even her cloning thingy is not very well explained. Oh right, just dump it all to that mark because it gives them special abilities. Anything more about her? You go figure yourself. Junkshop? Resident joker. X22? Need a defector. Because a group with all humans would be boring. Diversity rules! Xiaogang? Grumpy and sleepy dude. His suit that made him berserk isn’t even well explained. Like as though they forgot all about it. Because of so, it felt like plot convenience for his trump card. Butcher guy? Can anybody explain the tranny inside?! Oh right. Special power thingy. Gun repair grandpa? I still believe he is from the mental facility that the doctors are still trying to look for him. Last and not least, Touka. Sighs. Is Touka Karen’s special powers?! I don’t know. Can somebody explain all this to me?! That’s why I want to see the manager!!! Sheesh!

You wonder why the resistance is called Eleven when they have hardly even 11 members! I don’t know about those other dead comrades hinted but what the heck. Ocean’s Eleven this isn’t. For those who don’t know Chinese, the number 11 is written as (十 一). It was hinted in an episode that the original word was (志) which means hope. So when the paint for the bottom part of the word (心 which means heart) faded over time, all that is left is the top part and you know, Chinese reads from top to bottom. Weirdly, I don’t know why it wasn’t read as (士) which means warrior (although technically it could also mean scholar). Still, it doesn’t explain how and why the f*cking sign was there and what its significance was. And how the f*ck could part of the word just have an effect entirety. So to say if the entire word faded away, nobody is going to get that special mark imprinted on their body, huh? On a trivial note, I wonder if this number supposedly corresponds with the number of episodes here. Or just purely coincidental…

If I had to pick the most intriguing character, it would be SEEK. Damn, this dude evolved from a meek trash recycler into an adjuster of species! Oh damn, how did he look like an oversized wuss Baymax into a discount Megatron terror?! I don’t know if this is his final evolution form yet. As a robot, he is just very contradictory. He is painted as the villain but if you think further than that, he is not. But then again, he might be. Because to serve his ultimate cause to bring an ideal society to humanity and machines, he lets this silly post-apocalypse war thingy go on. Yeah, I guess he read and understood the Darwin’s evolution and survival of the fittest theory. Like how Ultron spent 5 minutes on the internet and decided humanity is to be annihilated!!!

That is why SEEK doesn’t stop his robots or Jay when they go into battle and get killed. He just watches slowly and hopes evolution will bring out the best from both sides. Oh well, if you ask me, when a robot tries to become a human, it is only because they are acting and thinking so just because they were created in the image of their creators. Sure, their intelligence might evolve but their thinking and vision will still be that of humans. So does this make them humans despite not being made out of flesh and bones? And remember, SEEK and Xiaogang are secretly cooperating on this so this whole war thingy might be a farce. Imagine if other Eleven members find out, I can imagine Karen gunning off their heads. Another point to ponder: Seeing a robot and a human are targeting evolution towards a greater society, so where is God in all this?! They don’t believe in God, huh? Ah yes, don’t want to go there and open a can of worms further, do we?

Even more so when SEEK is trying to seek (pun intended) out the meaning of love because somehow he too thinks that this is what will evolve both sides into better beings. Oh yeah. If not the power of friendship, it has got to be the power of love. The irony that we humans don’t even really understand it and robots are trying to seek a meaning just to understand it. Like I said, robots are only as smart as their programmers programme them to be. Isn’t that how they arrived at the conclusion that love will save the day? Humans only think so, right? Can evolution help them understand love? My guess is only when they become humans, they might have a chance. But becoming humans is somewhat a downgrade, right? Can they understand love at such a low level of form? Oh yeah. Throw in love works in mysterious ways just to ride out of this mess. There. Solved.

Next to talk about is the art style and animation. As you can see, it is completely in CGI. Generally and to put a long story short, it is bad. However! Compared to Ex-Arm, this one is way better looking! Yes, you heard that right! Even back in 2014 where the CGI technology may not be as advanced as today but it sure makes this series look way better and much more stylish than the atrocity that is Ex-Arm! Because the characters here have better facial expression than that said failure! OMG! Even if some character designs are funny (X22 wears grenades on his trench coat like medals?! And don’t get me started on that tranny butcher!) and some downright creepy (is it me or does Touka actually look more like a creepy doll?), at least this had better emotional expression than Ex-Arm! I kid you not! So that’s why I can’t say that the art style and animation here are totally bad. After my experience with Ex-Arm, this one look heavenly in comparison! Even if it is at times jerky and low quality! Boy, I do have really seen some of the worst in my life to say this, huh?

The studio behind this series is Next Media Animation. Basically the creator of this series decided to collaborate with this Taiwanese company to produce this almost awful crap. However they haven’t been on the scene ever since releasing this series. A quick check shows they have a few anime produced under their belt but mostly unheard of that will fly by everyone’s radar. Their other ‘famous’ production is Spy Penguin but I doubt any normal anime junkie heard anything of that. So did this series sealed their doom and prevented them from evolving any further? I tried to Google their official website but it looks outdated (and slow). Yeah, Wikipedia says they got involved in some video incident thingy and things haven’t been the same ever since. Therefore, not too sure if this company is dormant, closed down or still active doing other projects. I guess nobody cares at this point, huh?

The best part of the series is the flashy and bombastic action. I guess if you want to watch this series, you better set your mind to just enjoy the exaggerated action of Karen versus the machines. I know it doesn’t make much sense but seeing a hot chick in sexy traditional Chinese dress and gunning around robots like as though this is some video game, sure made my day from the disappointing story and characters. The only problem is that the action might be too fast for you to catch anything. Hey, slow down! We don’t have eyes and processing mind of a robot! But yeah, I won’t get bored seeing Karen in her battle action mode because this is what she does best and is fated to do. And those robot clones, sometimes I wonder if they are humans dressed up as robot because they move and talk like humans. Sure, evolution thingy. But it really feels so. Even wasted to give such soldier robots high thinking and emotional capabilities because aren’t those liabilities in battle? They should be mindless drones like those giant Illuminati drone types. Just think about it. Why the heck do ordinary robots need such abilities? So as to tell us how Karen is freaking faster and stronger than them?! I tell you, this series has so much nonsense and irony that it’s not only baffling but funny as hell! Making it worse is that the robots have Stormtrooper aiming skills. So many bullets shot and none basically hit Karen! Sure, she’s faster than freaking Superman who is faster than any speeding bullet. And to think that Karen is a better killing machine than the real machines. Damn, those robots do have some flaw in their programming. Can we blame evolution? Yeah, it downgraded them so to speak.

Obviously there are some fanservice elements too. When you have such a hot 3D chick like Karen and put her in a bright red traditional Chinese dress, it would be a waste not to take advantage and showcase her awesome curves. That’s why that mind boggling scene of Karen in her undies fighting against the pervy mosquito. Weird because everything is so distracting from the fanservice to the mind boggling action. Too bad this series doesn’t have much pantsu shots most probably because like I’ve said, the action scenes are too fast and with the low quality CGI, your eyes and brains aren’t fast enough to process. Then there’s that robot call girl. They do put in the effort to detail her lingerie but unless you’re into robots, this feels creepy more than anything. And she doesn’t even look like those life-like sex dolls. It’s that loophole to have that steamy scene. Imagine if this character was human. Definitely would not have passed.

For the voice acting, I wonder if Sayuri Hara (Rhythm in Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream) who is the voice of Karen (as well as Touka) read her script without context. Because I noticed that certain scenes, her voice acting doesn’t really match up. Reminds me of the laughable, cheesy and worst recorded lines for the retro horror video game, Resident Evil. Not to say that it is similar or close to it but it sure made me remember that. Oh well, perhaps the animation was bad enough, she couldn’t make head or tail of the context. I’m speculating that of course. The other voice acting to point out is Nyudou Nishimura as X22. This guy sounds very raw in his lines but because of that, he sounds refreshing. There’s this slacker and dreamy voice in his character so he sounds kinda cool. Too bad this is the only role this dude has ever voiced. The other casts are mainly unknowns like Ei Mochizuki as Xiaogang, Yuuki Tai as Junkshop (Juunichi in Da Capo), Urara Takano as Eleanor (Maria in Sakura Taisen), Kazumasa Nakamura as SEEK and Kouji Kawakami as Jay. The ending theme is Ai Wo Sagahshite: In Search Of Lost Love by Onibara. An edgy rock piece that goes well with the fast action pace of this series. If only everything else didn’t suck.

Overall, this series is really low quality and disappointing. But because I have seen much worst stuffs, my personal point of view is that this series isn’t so bad. Hey, I had a good time laughing and that’s good enough for a simpleton at me. Everything is in a mess and even though the frantic action scenes stand out and are most enjoyable, it is still an absolute mess. Even the fanservice is just bait to try to keep you in and watch to see if Karen will fight in her undies in future episodes. Sorry folks. Nope. That’s the only sexy Karen action scene we’ll ever get. Thank goodness each episode only lasts about 11 minutes (there’s that number again) so you can binge watch this in one sitting, have a good time, be awed and laugh your ass off at all the silliness, then move on with your life. Hey, be grateful. There could be other things in life that are much worse than this. Like, today’s Karens! What if, a time traveller didn’t kill a certain mosquito and then the timeline changes to have rude, obnoxious and demanding white Karen bullies instead?!

On a trivial note, the only famous Karens I know are Karen Carpenter and Karen Mok…

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby S2

So, was this what they meant when Umayon ended and said see you next series? Yeah, I thought it was Guraburu but logically, that could have meant the foreshadowing of Uma Musume: Pretty Derby S2. Yeah, it makes more sense that way. You thought horse girls were done after having its first season and special episodes. But nope. Looks like they’re not. Because Cygames are going to have all their animated works have a second season. Shingeki No Bahamut got theirs a long time ago. Granblue Fantasy also had theirs. Zombie Land Saga just had theirs. Princess Connect! Re: Dive is going to get theirs too but who knows when. So for now, we have more horse girls to run in derbies. Yes siree. We can’t get enough of those cute horse girls in fancy outfits trying to outrun each other on the horse track, can we? So who are we betting on this time?

Episode 1
We see a young Teio impressed to the max after Rudolf won the Triple Crown after consecutive undefeated victories. During the press conference, Teio came up to Rudolf and wanted to be like her. Rudolf saw potential in her and told her to start at Tracen first. Now we see Teio meeting up with her Spica members. Looks like Trainer has got a job for them. Yeah, he drew the short end of the stick and they have to do some open campus hosting this year. We see them taking young budding horse girls around the academy. Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond being fervent fans of Teio and McQueen respectively continue shower their heroines with more praises. Yeah, you’ll be just like them one day, right? The focus now is on Teio as she will be running in the Japanese Derby. This is big for Teio as he made a promise to Rudolf that she will win the Triple Crown like her. With already one in the bag (Satsukishou), winning the Japanese Derby puts her a step closer. Teio trains hard until the big day arrives. As usual, all her friends and comrades wish her the best, it’s time to flag off. Teio makes a good start although she ends up in the middle of the pack. Turning the bends, she takes the outer lane and while this has to make her run a bigger round, at least nobody is ahead of her. She already has the talent and effort, now she needs luck. And luck it is that she will have since reaching the final stretch, Teio powers her way to zoom past all her competitors. She breaks away and takes the victory. Everyone cheers for her as Teio edges closer to her dream. Of course not forgetting the concert with Teio as the centre. Man, if she isn’t running, she’s a hell of a good rock singer.

Episode 2
Oh no! Teio has been diagnosed with a fractured leg?! So can’t run in any race until next spring?! I know. We’re as shock as them. See everyone’s faces when this news is release in public. But of course, Teio is stubborn as she wants to still run and achieve her Triple Crown dream. With that much passion, I guess Trainer and her Spica teammates will do anything it takes to help her. Teio shows that strong spirit of hers as she checks out of hospital the next day. Though, she’ll need some time and lots of training before she can run back up at full speed. Meanwhile, Nice Nature thinks of running in Kikkashou too. But first she’ll have to win a few races of her own. More extreme help for Teio since McQueen invites her to her mansion so that she can get all the help she needs from her personal acupuncturist, chef, physician, etc. Well, it wouldn’t be so scary if the physician isn’t carrying needles around so freely! Well, the pain is temporary but looks like it has some effects as Teio now doesn’t need to wear a cast. As she continues her training and rehabilitation, the process is slow and time is ticking down. One night she sees Trainer working overtime, racking his brains to give Teio the best formula. So I guess that’s when Teio decided that it’s over. She’s giving up? She can’t run at full speed at this rate. So Teio participates at Kikkashou only as an audience . A sad feeling as the race begins, Teio starts having visions of what she’d do to run and win the race. In the end, it’s all just too sad. Oh Teio, why you making this harder for yourself?! Now you’re crying harder! But seeing everyone run in their best form makes her feel better. In the end, Kikkashou is won by Rionatal. Nature takes 4th place. At the end of the day, Teio looks at everything in a positive light. She might not have won the Triple Crown but she’s still undefeated.

Episode 3
With Teio changing her goal, looks like her recover is on track. The usual prayers at the shrine for New Year. Then more training. Teio and McQueen have been selected as winners for the URA Awards. With Spica at the top of their game now, lots of other teams are targeting to take them down. Especially Canopus that Nature and Twin Turbo are part of. So instead of training, they go do some pranks? I can see who’s going to be the real champs here. Teio announces she wants to run in the Spring Tennoushou that McQueen is running. Doing so means one of them will have their goal crushed. Teio wants to do so because she has to win big matches to stay undefeated. McQueen isn’t panicking as she expects the day they’ll face off to come. So now with news of their big showdown spreading like wildfire, of course more training. Ikuno Dictus of Canopus is keeping a close watch on Teio since she’ll be running against Teio at Osaka Hai. We have Teio and McQueen’s flashback as we see them trying to outdo each other the moment they enrolled at Tracen. Yeah, that’s how their rivalry started. Coincidence or fate? Now we see McQueen running in the Hanshin race. Only a few competitors taking part since the rest are well aware of how strong she is. Everyone can tell that McQueen is totally marked. So as the race starts, everybody tries to pincer her in. Of course the pressure didn’t work on her as McQueen breaks free and makes a dash towards the finish line. No challenge as she breaks away and wins it.

Episode 4
Osaka Hai begins. Ikuno takes the lead until Teio makes her move and zooms past her to take the win by an unassailable gap. Yeah, she made it look so easy and Ikuno was like struggling. It is no wonder Ikuno is complaining that Teio is a whole different horse girl after her recovery. It’s like she has gotten faster and her legs are more flexible and springy. With Spring Tennoushou around the corner, Trainer has training regiments for Teio and McQueen. The former has to run up slopes while the latter wears heavy iron horseshoes and make practice jumps. Over Gold Ship! Damn, her back is going to hurt real bad if she slips. Oops. Make that twice. And thrice! There is also this Satsukishou race in which Mihono Bourbon is also running in. Just like Teio, she has a reputation of being undefeated and she will be Teio and McQueen’s rival as she too will be participating in Spring Tennoushou. And she blows the competition away, taking the lead from start to finish. I guess our Spica horse girls will now have to train even harder. Nobody cares about Gold Ship’s back… Then a press conference with Teio and McQueen. Both won’t lose to each other but McQueen seems worried because the media seems to be heavily favouring Teio. She talks to grandma about this bias but she reminds her about the classic fairytale about the tortoise and the hare. Why did the tortoise won? Because the hare was looking at the tortoise but the tortoise was looking at the finish line. Get what she means? Meanwhile Teio and Rudolf talk. Because Spring Tennoushou has longer distance, it puts Teio at a disadvantage as she hasn’t run in one before. Teio believes she is more of a challenger despite the media favouring her and that her stamina limit can be overcome via more training. After all, she is going to be the undefeated one. Yeah more training again. Oh, Gold Ship, how’s your back coming…

Episode 5
The hype is building up as Spring Tennoushou draws near. Hope it won’t turn out to be a divisive war between fans for both sides. Of course, more training for our special duo. With their training tools taken off, their feet feel so much lighter and they run even much faster. Yeah, they’re going to blow the competition away. So now the big race is here. We are introduced to a few other horse girls but I feel they’re just for show and won’t be making any impact. Yeah, got to respect them for entering this race to lose! HAHA! Slight drama as McQueen’s horseshoe cracks so the start is delayed to allow her to fix a new one. Some think this is bad luck as this happened before and she went on to lose the race. Superstitious, aren’t we? The rest begins. Mejiro Palmer takes the early lead while McQueen and Teio are running in the middle of the pack. Teio’s strategy is to follow behind McQueen until it’s the perfect time to use her sprint trump card. And so that time comes as McQueen and Teio sprint ahead and leave the rest in their wake. However as Teio puts in maximum effort, she realizes she can’t catch up to McQueen. Something’s wrong. Eventually other horse girls surpass Teio as McQueen builds a gap and crosses the finish line. McQueen wins! She retains her title. Damn, Spica girls and Trainer having this crestfallen expression shows they were rooting for Teio, right? In the end, great show of sportsmanship as the winner is humble in victory and the vanquished is gracious in defeat. McQueen and Teio give each other a big hug and the crowd goes wild. I don’t think it’s horse girl yuri.

Episode 6
As expected, Teio falls into depression as she ponders her goal for running. Basically, she’s lost. In both senses, that is. Although her injury from the race was minor, McQueen’s injury is far more serious. Hence she will be taking time off from school and racing to recuperate. With Teio and McQueen’s absence, Palmer wins the Takarazuka Kinen race and gets some attention. Also getting lots of attention is Bourbon who intends to fulfil Teio’s unfulfilled Triple Crown dream. However during Kikkashou, she lost to Rice Shower by an inch, shocking many fans alike. Bourbon is not cowed by this loss and believes something can be gained by losing. A race where Teio participates, unfortunately her mind is still scattered all over as she wonders why other horse girls are trying their best. To win, duh! Eventually Palmer wins that race and shockingly Teio ends up at the end of the pack. Wow. See all those disappointed and shocked fans’ face. WERE THEY EXPECTING A MIRACLE?! Jesus. Although frustrated, Teio remains positive that she can be frustrated after losing. Yeah, just don’t make it a habit. Just saying… Trainer then makes Teio the team leader to have her do stuffs to understand and see things from a non-running perspective. Teio is suspicious of this support job because it’s like she’s just doing the chores. Are you sure she isn’t being bamboozled? She asks the rivalry between Vodka and Scarlet but looks like she hasn’t quite reach her answer yet. Hence Trainer sends her on some job. Just follow this map. This leads to her meeting McQueen’s butler who then brings her to the family’s sanatorium in the outskirts. Teio sees McQueen training hard. Once she’s done, they talk. So the biggest question: Why are you trying so hard? Long story short, McQueen wants to be stronger than before to defeat a certain someone and thus has no time to waste. If you didn’t get it, that’s you, Teio. McQueen has this pride that she cannot claim glory till her victory is complete. And that is defeating Teio at her best. With Teio’s confidence restored, both horse girls renew their rivalry and challenge. But first, McQueen has her doctor examine her injuries. Oh sh*t… Not that trauma again!!!

Episode 7
McQueen shows she is back in business as she claims first in the next race. With the crowd roaring for her comeback, this sets off Rice’s trauma. Despite some rave reviews of Rice’s performance, she is still depressed. Then it hits its peak when McQueen comes to personally talk to her and hopes to have a good race. However Rice says she is done racing. Gasp! What gives?! Knowing something is wrong with her, Teio and the other Spica members will try to find out in order not to distract McQueen from her training. So each time they approach her, she runs! Even more so when they just mention about the Spring Tennoushou. Looks like that’s a taboo word for her. Eventually they kidnap her just to find the truth. Long story short, when she usurped Bourbon for the win, she noticed the crowd was not happy. She took it as a sign that they did not want her to win because they really wanted to see Bourbon win the Triple Crown. With Spring Tennoushou coming up and everyone expecting McQueen to win her third in a row, Rice believes there is no point for her to enter and win. No one will be happy. McQueen is told about this and although find it unacceptable as a horse girl, Rice’s thinking shows that she had the confidence of beating McQueen. Teio then goes to talk to Bourbon. Although she is sad not to be able to win the Triple Crown, she still wants to redeem herself. Now she finds herself having a new reason to run and that is Rice. The only horse girl to ever defeat her and could be her rival. So when she heard about Rice’s withdrawal, you bet Bourbon is going to lecture her. Only, if she doesn’t scare her away! Yeah, begins a weird chase around Tracen. Gee, Rice runs faster than Bourbon and Teio?! Giving them the slip?! Outrunning them and even the Segway runs out of batteries?! Despite Rice hearing positive comments from other horse girls, her trauma still remains. Once Bourbon catches up, that usual nobody-wants-me-to-win trauma blows up. Bourbon adds that after that run, she was injured. Her master even apologized for pushing her too hard. That’s why she is training so she won’t lose again. She wants to race a strong opponent like her. Therefore Rice is her hero as she has become her goal to work towards to. This means she must run in Tennoushou to prove that. Having said all that with pure emotions, I think it’s safe to say that Rice is back in the game.

Episode 8
Rice continues to train with Bourbon. But suddenly she vanishes and doesn’t attend school anymore. Bourbon manages to find her training alone at an abandoned facility. Her logic is that McQueen has better experience and capability in running long distance. Hence she is here to train alone without all that distraction. Well, see how many pairs of shoes she has already worn out to the max? So as the hype builds up to that day, McQueen is the overwhelming favourites to win her third in a row. Right before the race starts, McQueen is spooked when she sees Rice for the first time since. OMG. Is she emitting dark evil aura?! Did she summon the Demon Lord as part of her training?! So much so, McQueen has been thinking so much about it, that she needs help to get into her starting gate?! And off the race starts. Palmer takes the early lead with McQueen following close behind. But looks like Trainer feels something is wrong for McQueen to be chasing Palmer so soon. He realizes it is not Palmer but Rice who is chasing close behind McQueen. Like as though she is breathing down her neck to keep reminding her of her presence. In the final stretch, McQueen does her move to overtake Palmer. But what’s this? Rice also powers up and runs side by side with her? Damn, those spectators’ comments, cursing Rice in wanting to foil McQueen’s streak. So Rice just f*ck it all and activate her demon power to f*cking speed ahead of McQueen!!! In the end, Rice wins by a few horse lengths and a world record to boot! However no cheers from the crowd. Only disappointment of McQueen’s dreams being ruined. But McQueen and other horse girls soon clap and give Rice her due ovation. In the backstage as Bourbon meets her, Rice breaks down because those boos still hurt and once again she feels guilty for ruining the dreams of many. Bourbon says that is part and parcel of winning and somebody she’ll turn those boos into encouragement. Yeah, those losers need to get a new dream! Meanwhile Ikuno talks to McQueen who is of course a bit down from her shock defeat. She also feels guilty for letting down her fans who were cheering for her as well as Teio who is working hard to complete her rehabilitation. She feels her performance was inadequate and that her false sense of security may have made her lax. As she vows to win Takarazuka Kinen next, what a coincidence because Ikuno will be running in it too.

Episode 9
All the usual fanfare to the build-up of McQueen and Teio’s rematch at Takarazuka Kinen. Then some nostalgia as we see the race between BNW in which Ticket wins. Ah yes, nothing like drumming up some nostalgia and motivation for the next race. More preparations as usual. More talking by the respective parties as usual. Everything’s looking rosy. Until… Teio in her usual training lap, suddenly she stumbles! OMFG… What happened? The doctor says she fractured her leg the third time. Sure it can heal but what are the chances she’ll be running the same way? He is against her running but of course, Teio needs to keep up her baseless confidence that she can do it. But news soon get public about Teio’s predicament. Oh damn, everybody’s face like as though it’s the end of the world! If Rudolf pulls this kind of face too, you know sh*t has hit the fan. Sadly, Teio has to give Takarazuka Kinen a miss in which McQueen won comfortably. Teio goes around as she tries to keep her positivism up. But with people thanking her like as though they’re signalling that’s the end of her, this is going to cast some doubts in her positivism. Even more so that weird dream whereby all her Spica members left her behind as she couldn’t catch up. And when Trainer even wonders if she can run like before, can’t blame Teio for starting to dive into depression despite Spica’s best efforts to cheer her up. Teio sees McQueen training late. She helps time her. Looking at how awesome her run is, she starts crying. I guess it is that point she has accepted the heart breaking reality that she cannot run like that again :’(.

Episode 10
Looks like it has come to this. Teio has written a resignation letter. So when Spica thinks she isn’t showing up as usual, they try to bait her with carrots but I guess that didn’t work. Teio then personally talks to Rudolf of her intentions. With no more running or training, all that’s left for Teio is to have fun! Yeah, she looks happy doing all those fun stuffs by herself. When she returns, Kitasan has a charm for her that wishes her return to running. However Teio politely turns her down. And what’s this? A letter of challenge from Turbo for the All Comers race? Hana talks to Trainer about Teio’s resignation. Trainer is resigned to accept that if that is what Teio wants, there is nothing he can do. But deep inside of him, he still wants to see her run even if she can’t run her best anymore. Still, he can’t force this on her but wants to make her go out with a bang instead of fading like this. Trainer then breaks the news to Spica about Teio’s resignation. Shockwaves. Speaking of the devil, here she is to pack her stuffs up. I guess this is really it, huh? Trainer has a suggestion. Why not make her final performance at the fan appreciation festival? It’s the least she could do. Meanwhile Turbo is revved up to defeat Teio in the next race. Until her Canopus pals ask if Teio has even replied her letter. So when Turbo goes to ask Teio in person, she is shocked to hear that she has quit running. So how? Throw a tantrum! Throw as much as you want. Teio can’t run anymore. This leaves Turbo running away in tears. Oh dear. We all know this hurts Teio more than her, right? Anyway, Turbo returns to complain and whine to her teammates. Can’t end it like this. Need to do something. Worse, the festival is at the same time with the race. Looks like their trainer will think of something. On the day of the festival as Teio goes up on stage to do her final dance, Kitasan then starts screaming that she’ll always be waiting for her. Flashback of Teio’s admiration for Rudolf. Trainer follows up that he still wants to see her run and this leads the rest of the crowd to beg Teio to run again. Canopus then hijacks the transmission to show the All Comers race. Turbo running like hell and opening a considerable lead ahead of Ikuno and Rice. Eventually she wins it. Proof of not giving up? With Spica horse girls now in full emotion begging Teio to stay, I guess you can say peer pressure changed Teio’s mind. Hooray! What a great day. But hey, what do you expect her to say no then?!

Episode 11
Everyone is just glad that Teio is back to training and running again. She’ll start back up from scratch. While she may not be able to compete competitively yet, she tries to help her teammates by going around to gather info on other potential horse girls. In a poorly disguised getup that suspiciously screams that she wants to be exposed or something, Teio stalks, uhm, I mean observes horse girls like Ticket, Palmer, Rice and Machikane Tannhauser. Tannhauser isn’t impressed with Teio’s snooping. While she doesn’t disagree with that, please don’t get in the way of training. Besides, she is impressed Teio considered her a top contender since she was nowhere near one. In fact, at one point she was thinking of giving up either but seeing Teio returned, it made her decide not to give up either. Teio credits many who helped her so Tannhauser hopes she’ll tell them how she feels in return. She manages to do so and all that’s left is McQueen. Too bad she finds it hard and shy to say what’s on her mind. Are they hinting some yuri thingy going on?! McQueen can tell she’s acting strangely and still, Teio can’t simply just say it. So she seeks Special Week’s help to do so. But what better way than to see Kitasan and Diamond do their innocent loli talk with each other. Both are shy and tease each other about their feelings for each other. Hope I’m just overthinking about this yuri stuff. Now Teio has a clear mind of what to do. Yeah, it was that simple all along. So she invites McQueen out for a Halloween date. After a fun filled day, it’s time for the big talk. Finally, Teio admits that she has always looked up to her. McQueen isn’t surprised, though. She is glad that Teio has finally realized it. Because McQueen has always looked up to Teio for the longest time. There. No yuri or anything. No wonder the duo laugh at the simplicity and silliness of it all. Ah, good times.

Episode 12
The usual Teio and McQueen training together. Yeah, wait till we get better to race again, huh? We see the final classic race of the season, Kikkashou that the legendary BNW trio are running in. In the end, Hayahide crosses the line comfortably. Even breaking Rice’s record. As McQueen trains solo, she realizes something is wrong. She has her butler call the doctor. Nothing serious. She just want to play safe and make sure. After some tests, the doctor has her rest in bed. So now she says he is exaggerating? What was it again about playing safe? When Teio visits McQueen at her mansion, her butler says she is not here but at the family’s sanatorium. Oh dear. What happened? McQueen has developed a case of suspensory ligament desmitis in her left leg. Oh sh*t. Sounds serious. Because it is. It requires a year to treat but even so, it can recur. Although it doesn’t prevent one from running immediately, over time it will become worse. The pain will be so severe it will affect her mobility eventually. Oh f*ck. The safest way is to not aggravate it and it shouldn’t affect her everyday life. So basically as good as retired, huh? Then a call to say that McQueen has gone missing. Okay, Teio. Gotta find McQueen. Run! McQueen is trying to do some running to prove she is still okay. See? I’m fine! Flashback shows grandma talked to her and wanted her to stop because she has won so many accomplishments and made her dream come true. She’s proud of her. Of course McQueen can’t accept that and stormed off. Now she is thinking how much of a rival Teio was and how she never gave up despite her setbacks. She’s going to do it. She’s going to do it… Until she can’t. Teio arrives in time. McQueen tries to stay positive that she can still run and needs practice. Oops. She can’t move. Then she breaks down that she can’t keep her promise anymore. In an ironic role reversal, now it is cool Teio who gives her strong words of encouragement. Talking about fate trying to keep them from racing each other, despite what others thought that it was over for her, she refused to quit. True, but McQueen’s case needs a miracle to happen. So… Make that miracle! Teio will prove that they can run together again. Thanking McQueen for helping her when she’s down, it’s her turn now. See watch me. Teio making walking away in the rain with her back facing McQueen so cool.

Episode 13
Wow. It’s like the end of the world when the papers announced McQueen’s run as good as over. Meanwhile Teio wants to run in the last race of the season, Arima Kinen. Well, if that’s what she wants. A lot of big names here will be running too like BNW, Nature, Palmer, Rice and Tannhauser. Before the big day, of course Rudolf pays Teio a visit and dispense some advice. Race starts with Palmer taking the early lead and break away. Teio fans seem to be relegated to be just happy to see her run. Oh, McQueen is here to watch the race. Don’t be shy. Go to the stands to see how awesome Teio is running. So it gets serious when Hayahide zooms past Palmer and it looks like she is going to take the win. Until… Yup, Teio powers up! Oh my. You mean everybody is looking THIS shocked to see Teio up to the challenge? Yeah, they didn’t really expect it! I guess even God too because it’s like He took away her injury and let her run faster! OMFG! Everyone is cheering for Teio now! And then Teio powers her way past Hayahide. The finishing stretch, can she make it?! AND TEIO WINS IT! OMFG! A miracle! No wonder everybody is crying hysterically over this miracle since Teio has been absent for most of the year. We can guess McQueen’s emotional level, eh? Everybody is chanting Teio’s name. Oh heck, even Suzuka is personally here to congratulate Teio. But of course the best congrats comes from McQueen herself. You’ve seen the miracle so now do you believe? Not forgetting the aftermath concert. If Teio can prance like that as the centre, I guess God really took away her injury, huh? Next spring arrives. Kitasan and Diamond get ready to enrol at Tracen. Teio and McQueen finally race with each other even though it’s just practice. Why does this feel like a race between Superman and The Flash?

Luck Has Run Its Course…
I suppose Teio fans can rejoice she made their day by ending the race year with a surprise win. Seeing that she and McQueen are still at Tracen, I think everybody is now riding on this miracle wave that anything is possible. Yup, don’t let that silly injury bog you down and ruin your morale for the rest of your life. Because God too loves to watch horse girl races and if you’re determined enough, He’ll bring you that miracle! With so many races and so many horse girls, I’m sure that each will have their turn and time to shine. And if Teio and McQueen still insist on running an official race together, why not organize a special race that just have only both of them to run? Say, Teio VS McQueen Special Charity Run, no? A win-win situation for fans and others alike, right? And all proceeds will go into the funding of treating their injuries ;p.

This season’s story seems to be rather okay, if not, ramping up a lot of drama and the feels. Last season we had Special Week and Suzuka as the main characters and rivals to each other so it would be pretty weird if they get more of the spotlight again this season. After all, there are so many horse girls around and they can’t always be the main characters, right? And hence it is obvious that this season will focus on another rivalling couple of Spica, Teio and McQueen. It would certainly be boring if their rivalry plays out the same style as seen with Special Week and Suzuka. So what is better and more dramatic than having a horse girl dealing with a nagging feet injury? Why, 2 horse girls having to deal with a nagging feet injury! Oh my. Is this the fate of our favourite horse girls this season? Yeah, seems like God is trying to play a cruel joke on them.

Teio seems to have the bulk of focus this season since we have to see her go through hardships of not giving up thanks to her injury. I guess that is only fair because it gives us a reason why we want to support her and this doubles as a good character development. And just when we thought we are settled with Teio’s rehabilitation because we’re so confident that she’ll just recover and run one day, God throws another spanner into the works because f*ck you b*tches, now McQueen has this very serious sounding injury. While it might seem like the end of the world for them, I can take heart that this series setting is way more lenient in real life. Why? Because in reality when race horses have injuries and cannot run anymore, they’ll be put to sleep! Tragic indeed. So imagine if horse girls who can no longer be useful as racing assets and become a liability, be put to death because of that. So while it’s a sad thing for Teio and McQueen to be experiencing this while they are at their prime, at least even if they cannot run anymore, they can still retire and live. Maybe it is God’s way of saying to let other younger potentials take their place? Not if you’re a Teio or McQueen fan!

As said, Teio and McQueen have the biggest focus (and heart wrenching drama) for this season. Their character developments were okay and good but this means the other characters fall to the wayside. I am thinking that other horse girls make their short cameo appearances just as to give some variety and not to bore us with the overwhelming Teio-McQueen drama and rivalry. That’s why many in that sense don’t really matter and sometimes I find it mind boggling. For example, Palmer I think is newly introduced this season (not sure if she had a short cameo in the first season since there were too many horse girls too back then), aside from some races she entered, there is this small running joke of her visiting some horse girl fortune teller to get her readings. So, it’s like she doesn’t believe in her own abilities? I don’t actually understand the significance of this and it could just be a small time joke. Otherwise, pretty insignificant and just to fill up a few seconds or minutes of the episode’s running time.

This means that the other members of Spica are just borderline passable. They feel like side supporting characters. Even more so for Special Week who was last season’s main character. Like as though her role has been downgraded and she’s like a normal Spica member who doesn’t stand out. After all, Suzuka is away at USA so what else can she do? Oh right. She flew back just for Teio’s special race. I guess miracles (of surprise) do happen. Then there’s that dumb rivalry between Scarlet and Vodka just for laughs but still pretty forgettable. They’ll challenge each other and argue about anything. My guess is that if there is going to be another season, they are most likely to be the ones to be in focus. Yeah, they’ll turn this series into a joke if we continue to see their brand of rivalry. And Gold Ship? Just another joker character but seeing she has no partner like Scarlet and Vodka, I guess she’s the solo type. Trainer’s a good guy but there is only so much he can do to help his team. Otherwise, he’s just pretty plain this season.

My memory may not be good but I think a hell lot of other horse girls seen in the first season were obviously missing from here. Most notably Team Rigil. It’s like they don’t even exist here. Had I not refer to my old blog, I guess I would’ve forgotten about horse girls like El Condor Pasa, Grass Wonder and Narita Brian. Rudolf is the only one from this team with a decent amount of screen time and only because she is Tracen’s student council president. Other newer horse girls didn’t really make an impact too such as the new Canopus team. Turbo looks crazy and cheeky but that’s all about her that I remember while Ikuno looks too serious. Worse, their trainer feels like a wuss! No wonder Canopus seem to be walking all over his head whether intentionally or not. Even those horse girl loli fans of Teio and McQueen were just barely. Next generation of horse girls will have to wait.

If there was any other horse girl who made any slight impact for this season, it would be Rice. The middle of this season seems to make a detour and focus shortly on her. The slight breather we need from the usual Teio-McQueen rivalry? Anyway, Rice is interesting not because of her character but rather of that drama of how she perceived herself as an unwanted winner because she upset the favourites and caused fans of the favourites to be in sour mood. If gaming had a toxic community, this one is it for this series and sport. That’s why it sucks to be an obsessed diehard fan of a team you 1000% throw your support behind. Especially big teams or those that have won multiple titles. Because they’ve become too big to lose or fail. Losing to other big names is okay, but a small fry? Everyone becomes a pitchfork wielding mob! Just exaggerating but you get the idea. So this affected Rice’s morale so much that it was just pitiful seeing her in that kind of state and mentality. Yeah, ironically she had more impact on me than those threatening injuries of Teio and McQueen. So f*ck those loser audiences. Run the way you want! I mean, they can’t be even happy for your win. If favourites are to win all the time, races would’ve become boring. It is such unexpected wins from underdogs that make races unpredictable and exciting.

So my theory is that if you have more fans and a popular favourite, you’re given a free pass. That’s why when Teio won Arima Kinen when she was not expected to, she was greeted by cheers and not jeers. Eventually, there are so many favourites out there that one day you won’t stay at the top forever. A new up and coming prodigy will replace you and relegate you to legendary status of yesteryear. And will the fans find a new horse girl to be their favourite hero once the popular ones start to retire? Yeah, I’d love to see this possible future setting.

And I thought there would be something coming out from Bourbon since she is portrayed like the next big thing. Especially her trainer who looks and sound ominous. Like as though he could be the season’s next antagonist. Really. I mean, look at the way he gives orders to Bourbon to run and win. Sounds like a typical classic villain. And Bourbon is like a robot who just agrees to it all because it’s her dream to make her master’s wish come true. Is she brainwashed? Is she suffering in silence? Can someone save her from this invisible shackles and prison of the mind?! Sorry folks. All that just my delusions. Those things didn’t turn out the way I expected them to so I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. Perhaps Bourbon was just supporting in Rice’s mini arc. Then it is back to more Teio-McQueen drama for the homestretch.

As for the races, my sentiments about them are pretty much the same as I have described from the first season. Yeah, boring. Okay, not as boring as I thought as it would be as the first season but still, you can expect the same kind of drama and tension because otherwise everything would end in a split second. Just like some of the non-important races. Start! Horse girls turn the corner! And somebody crosses the finish line already! So highlighted and important races that feature our important characters will have all that drama and tension to make it last longer. The only ‘fun’ part for me was to guess which horse girl would win. Safe to say that my guts were wrong and I had more than half of them wrong! Even the Teio-McQueen showdown at Spring Tennoushou. Yeah, I was betting on Teio to win. Because she was putting in so much effort. She had a super cheery disposition and never give up attitude. She had her dreams and promise to Rudolf to live up to. How can she not win? The ingredients were all there for her to take it. I was subsequently proven wrong. Thank goodness I was never into horse racing in real life. Even the last race I didn’t bet on Teio despite all the cliché writings on the wall! I really thought it would be somebody else but her! So as to show Teio has run a good race and that’s good enough. Yup. Gotta show us she’s better than that. Thank goodness I’m not a bookie. Also almost forgot, the concerts after the race. Those weren’t prominent and forgettable. They just show it after some races just to remind us that there is this after each race.

Also, there were other dumb baffling questions from the last season that still rang in my mind. I didn’t expect them to be answered but oh well, looks like it will continue to bug me whenever I think about this series. From whether horse girls have another pair of human ears to their rights as humans or horses and to the curious question of how they breed. Yeah, have you ever wondered so? I don’t think I asked this question the last time but let me try and ask here then. If horse girls exist in this world’s setting, does this mean that real horses do not exist then? I mean, it would be weird to see another horse race featuring real horses and their jockey’s, right? Maybe that’s where the real money is to be made. Horse girl races are for dreams and dreamers! And to add on that, I wonder if horse girls seeing real horses, they would go say, “Ah, look. Those are our ancestors and somewhere down the line we decided to break off and become a whole new species of evolution instead. Now we’re eating good processed food and they’re still chowing on hay”. Yeah…

On a trivial note, I noticed there is one mini running joke in almost every episode. Viewers might have noticed that one of the many spectators is the barber and her client. Yes. Can you see where I’m going with this now, right? It starts off with a mini joke that the barber accidentally cuts off her customer’s hair the wrong way because both are engrossed with the race on TV. Can’t they watch now and cut later?! Then the joke continues to progress with a few variations up till a point the client wears a helmet to the barber shop?! I mean, WTF?! DO YOU INTEND TO GET YOUR HAIR CUT OR NOT?! And besides, why does her hair grow so fast?! What formula is she using?! Poor barber can’t cut her hair. In the end, customer gets revenge by cutting her hair! Who’s the barber now?! Better still, they shave each other’s head and finally made up. Because it was a good race, right? Yeah, I don’t see how it’s related. Weird.

Art and animation are consistent with the first season so nothing drastic changed here. As usual, the weird fancy outfits that horse girls wear during races can be mind blowing as you would sometimes feel they are more for show rather than aerodynamics. I want to say that is the reason why some of them don’t win but I couldn’t find any conclusive evidence or correlation between race winners and their fashion garb. This season’s opening theme is Yume Kakeru and sung by the Spica horse girls. Feels like a spiritual successor to the first season since it has that typical opening fanfare and upbeat feel throughout the song. The main ending theme is a slow and lovely ballad, Komorebi No Yell by Teio and McQueen. Other special ending themes include another love and lovely ballad this time sung by Rice, Sasayaka Na Inori as well as Teio singing as the lead in the aftermath concert to celebrate her win, the lively rock beat of Winning The Soul. Of course the final episode is one big get-together song. Umapyoi Densetsu literally has the entire known cast of horse girls singing this. Don’t believe me? See the f*cking credits! Trying to put USA For Africa’s We Are The World to shame in terms of guests singing? Anyway, it’s one big cacophonic mess to me.

Overall, if you love the first season, you’ll find the second season to be at home too. Just with more compelling drama but a different set of horse girls. I mean, the main reasons why these horse girls continue to run their best is because of their rival, right? Are there any other reasons? Oh… Run for revenge? That should be interesting, but I’m not betting this series would stray from its happy-happy formula. Unless… I am not sure if there would be another sequel but I can’t discount that this will be the last one seeing today’s trend. This means which horse girl pair to put as main featured rivals now. Oh boy, there are so many horse girls at Tracen and if they want to animate them all, this series will never end! After all, every horse girl has their own story to tell, right? So I’m betting on Scarlet and Vodka to have their turn next. Or, uhm, maybe those new loli juniors. Assuming if they join Spica, that is. I hope my guts are right this time since I’m putting my entire self-confidence on the line here.

Show By Rock!! Stars

I didn’t think it was this soon. But it did. So finally it’s here. The all-star season that we’ve all been waiting for, for this series. I mean, that is what Show By Rock!! Stars is supposed to mean, right? This is already its fourth season so I guess the series must have been making great strides and accumulated some great (and weird) bands along the way. After all, when your series is of the music genre, it is only inevitable that all the different bands and groups come together and duke it out on the biggest stage ever. Time to get rocking.

Episode 1
Mashumairesh is making their way to Centre Tower to meet someone for the Midi City Worldwide Love Rock Festival. Of course that person is Maple. He had totally forgotten about it had not Angelica reminded him about it. So off Maple and his Plasmagica girls rush to meet them. However on the highway, Maple is tailgating Mashumairesh. Himeko at the wheel is unsure who this hooligan is as she transforms into a speed demon to speed away. Maple takes this as a challenge and so the race is on! However, a giant speaker ghost pops up to attack and chase them. Is this the dark monster that is rumoured to have been responsible for band members going missing in the city recently? In the end, Delmin uses her horn beams to blast it away. However it crashes into Centre Tower and the whole tower comes crashing down! Oops! The place is a mess. No monster sighted. And cops surround to arrest them. They are interrogated but nobody believes their story. Hence they’re thrown into the slammer. Damn, this city has no justice system! Howan being the most affected because it’s like she brought trouble to everyone. Flashback shows Master suggesting they go to Shibu Valley where all the top bands are gathering now to test their talents since their response at Midi City 6969 Festival was good. While the girls have no faith in their skills being that good, Howan thought it would be a good challenge to try. With Master having a friend there to help take care of things, he can make the arrangements. And that’s how they decided to make this trip. But now they’re locked up and all their stuffs confiscated. F*ck, they don’t even get that basic single phone call. Worst, the prosecutor visits them just to tell them to see them in court tomorrow. I swear there is no justice here… Maple and Plasmagica wait but Mashumairesh never turn up. Yeah, it’s all Maple’s fault for forgetting and being late so Chuchu beats him up since he tries to be funny.

Short: A giant (but uglier) Maple lookalike, Puruko is walking around and spots Mashumairesh looking outside a window of a music store. He freaks them out with his delight over girl bands. Then they all let him jump on him like a trampoline. Huh? WTF?!

Episode 2
Mashumairesh is portrayed as a terrorist! Looks like it is going to be Show By Trial. Defending them is the self-proclaimed brilliant lawyer. Not Phoenix Wright definitely. Furry Wright? Nope. Just Rikao. Yes. As he fights against the allegations that the destruction was not linked to these girls, the prosecutor calls in a witness who was greatly affected by it all: Dagger! OMFG. This guy is still around?! Claiming he has been rehabilitated and starting out his night club, his footage show Delmin blasting away her beam that caused the incident. No footage after that since the destruction of power lines means no more surveillance footage recordings. Cyan then stands up from the audience and claims she has an important proof. So the court just accept it, huh? So playing the video… Just Maple humming… And it’s over. Ran out of space. WTF???!!! Oh dear. No evidence. Will Mashumairesh be found guilty? Just when you think Rikao has been quiet all the time and starring at his Smartphone, he finally shows all the evidences. Yes. Even though the power cut caused no footage to be recorded, this doesn’t stop the Smartphones of others from recording this incident. Yeah, the incident is flooded with clips showing the whole picture. WTF Rikao singing to make his case?! Yes! Anyway, the girls are found innocent. Case closed. What about Dagger’s compensation for property damage? Out of the court’s scope. Tough luck. Not sure if I should be happy or sad at the system of law. With Mashumairesh freed, they go meet Maple who introduces them to Plasmagica. Mashumairesh recognizes the mini van tailgating them that caused this whole incident! Plasmagica apologizes on behalf but I guess the girls can’t stay mad for long. It’s time to make some music!

Short: We see Rikao not only doubling as a lawyer but he is also part of a band. In between, he takes on cases. It’s like a short interview on things. So he views trials as concerts, huh? Yes. Believe it. Yes.

Episode 3
Mashumairesh is brought to BRR’s HQ. Since Himeko is a big fan of Criticrista, she can’t help fawning over their memorabilia. Wait till she meets the real deal. She’ll die in real time! Thank goodness they’re away on a tour. After showing their rooms and Plasmagica putting a sterling performance for them, they take them to Angelica’s bar. Since they don’t want to associate with Maple’s bar adultness, the girls get to know each other. Retoree and Himeko are going to be super jealous seeing Cyan and Howan getting too close to each other… Plasmagica take them on a tour of the streets. Chuchu has some suggested places to eat. But seeing that Shingan Crimsonz is eating there, let’s change place. Since Plasmagica needs to do rehearsal for their tonight’s concert, Mashumairesh is free to explore the rest of the city themselves. With Ruhuyu being the eager beaver (despite she’s a wolf) to try stuffs, she almost got lost after running off on her own and this makes Delmin angry. Oh my. So we’re getting today’s episode of strained friendship drama? Looks like it. Both feel awkward and can’t freely talk to each other as usual. When they return, Plasmagica could understand what’s going on. So during their concert, they play a special song that patches up friendship. Yup. Works like a charm. And now they’re both over apologizing to each other. Yeah, forever Lunatic best friends.

Short: Uhm… Plasmagica girls as badass delinquents trying to fight the cutie pie Rosia who wants to rule the world?! Oh, she’s got a giant Maple mecha too. Whatever. Magical girl vs mecha shonen fight on the cards! Imagine how epic would be if this got a spinoff!

Episode 4
Oh, another showdown between Shingan Crimsonz and Dokofin?! I guess the guys need to have their turn. Yeah, lame intro showdown… A few days ago, the principal sent Dokofin to this festival if they want to get their graduation certs. And so they stumble into Shingan Crimsonz and they’re supposed to help out and do this mining part time job to dig for treasures. So the more treasures you excavate, the more they’ll be compensated. So as they try and dig to even outdo the other, a couple of rat thieves still their loot. As they give chase, it’s that giant speaker ghost popping up! They manage to run away and while taking a breather, they discuss about dark monsters and missing band members. The ghost returns so Dokofin shows how it’s done by playing out their music. Their victory is only short-lived as the ghost now possesses the big mother golden statue treasure. Then it turns into some weird mine cart chase. More explosions. This blows Rom down into the lava! OMFG?! He dead?! This has his other Shingan Crimsonz pals angry so they summon their guitars and beat the hell out of the ghost. Via music of course. But everyone can breathe easy because Rom is still alive and this lava is just a secret hotspring. Phew. We won’t hear the last of the ghost because it escapes… In the end, both teams get rewarded by the police for tuning in those rat thieves. Then it’s like they bond and become friends as they go eat together. Now we are bros!

Short: Uhm… Dokofin as Momotarou characters vs Shingan Crimsonz as Saiyuki characters?! Yeah, everyone is so confused but what the heck, beat the hell out of each other! Then Maple as a genie comes by to confuse things further with his Ali Baba reference…

Episode 5
Criticrista will be playing their stuff at Music Terminal with Reijin. Mashumairesh gets to go and watch them because remember, they’re affiliated with BRR. Before the show starts, Ruhuyu manages to convince everyone to go visit Criticrista. Who gave them the right to go into their dressing room? Anyway, because of the luxurious crab, Ruhuyu eats them all without permission. Thankfully with Howan’s imitation crab sticks, they fit them back? So when Criticrista have their lunch, they find it so good! Either they’ve never tasted what a real crab is or the imitation is way better than the real deal. Mashumairesh is hiding in the closet and with such cramp space, they finally bust out. Once Criticrista learns who they are, they welcome them since they’ve got word from BRR about them. Soon at the backstop, Criticrista bumps into Reijin. In short, a b*tch fight is about to start had not a staff pulls Criticrista over to help with some stuff. Phew. This allows Reijin to have a few words with Mashumairesh and they’re glad to see Howan has found her path. The show begins as Rosia does her professional cute stuffs. Also some sarcasm directed towards Rararin. After the commercial, Reijin goes up first to perform followed by Criticrista. It should’ve been an amazing and wonderful performance that Mashumairesh would enjoy. But why the long face?! Seeing how cool both groups were, they realize they are not good enough to stand on the same stage! OMG. You mean that’s their legit reason to be depressed? Okay, let your Plasmagica onee-sama hear about it. What do they suggest? More training! That should blow away the blues.

Short: A few hardcore otaku discussing some hardcore idol stuffs at a kid’s place. Then it turns out that Reijin is performing there. While those otaku nerds are amazed with this ultimate fanservice, the other kids are not so amused. Not into this complicated idol stuffs! Where’s our live sentai action?!

Episode 6
TAM is organizing a workshop to recruit new students. It will be perfect for Mashumairesh. Upon arriving, there are lots of potential students too. However the first thing they need to do is to climb over the mountain while carry a heavy daruma. Part of the workshop? Yeah, the mountain is filled with obstacles too. So be careful. Eventually, Mashumairesh are the only ones who reached. Now they are treated to a wonder time at TAM’s HQ which is like an extravagant amusement park! Gee! Wow! What fun! From rides to games to karaoke to even soaking in the hotspring, this is the life! So when they hit the sack, it only then dawns to Himeko, aren’t they supposed to find the soul of their voice?! Hence Mashumairesh confronts TAM about the need to learn this. Darudayu agrees to teach them but they must do as they’re told and cannot object. So… Playing video games, huh? Ruhuyu has to make it past 169 levels in this rhythm dance game. Despite tired, the machine forces her to continue. Thank goodness she finishes. Then they have to clean the entire place. And they got paid! Makes them feel like part timers. As Howan starts doing her bunny hops between statues, that is when Himeko screams aloud all this nonsense. Oh dear, so loud that the statues start moving? To close their ears! Damn. Howan then talks to her about wanting to see her smile, blah, blah, blah. She apologizes for her impatience. With Mashumairesh’s bonding moment, their voices start to crack the statues. TAM points out that this is proof they have a grasp of the soul of their voice and they have to completely destroy the statue with it. Yeah, now it’s easy. And with that, Mashumairesh pass this workshop. Everyone now deserves a nice hotspring. Looks like Plasmagica is here too. Are they too late for any training? Anyway, they’re here because Plasmagica and Mashumairesh will be doing a concert together. Things are moving fast.

Short: A promotional video of the exceptional amusement park that TAM has to offer. Has the best of everything! You bet you’re going to have a heck of a time here. The place will definitely have roaring business if this commercial is aired. However Darudayu rejects it all. Yeah, probably it’s that clip of her bathing sexily in the hotspring.

Episode 7
The joint concert is still lacking a venue. But in the meantime, why don’t they write a song for it? Yeah. Great idea. But for this episode, we got to return to our guy bands and show them some love. It seems Dokofin has been told by their principal that they will go up against Arcareafact in the battle of the bands. You guessed it, don’t do it and they won’t graduate. So are they going to play or run? The answer is obvious. At the same time, Arcareafact is also told the same thing. However, Orion is not pleased they’re going to play to mere peasants and wants to go up against Trichronika instead. Titan tells him to hold that thought. Because he saw Dokofin playing on the streets the other day and he saw how serious they was. Playing against an unrefined band like them will do them some good. But first, Orion thinks of having some fun. Hence Arcareafact goes to greet them personally and throw them loads of cash! That’s their way of saying hi. See you at the battle of the bands. Later Orion confronts Sojun personally and gives him a suitcase of cash. He knows Arcareafact won’t lose but this is just in case. We see Sojun skipping out on band practice and hanging alone in his home. When Titan’s younger sibling comes knocking on his door because nobody is home and she is hungry. Can’t turn this little loli away, right? Later when Titan returns, Sojun learns that he was once rich but fallen on hard times. This guy knows hardship too. The day of the big battle is here. Arcareafact goes first. Amazing. Sojun returns to play with his bandmates. They also rock on stage and flashback shows he returned to cash because money isn’t what he wants. It is to graduate school with his buddies. After a sterling performance, it’s time for fans to vote. In the end, Arcareafact wins. Dokofin isn’t bummed out because they know they put their souls in it. At the backstage, Yasu is shocked to see Jinbabue again. However his pals can tell that it is the principal in disguise! Oh Yasu… Meanwhile Himeko has finished writing her song and wants the rest to listen. Maple brings in more good news as he has secured the venue.

Short: Titan’s siblings tell us how to make some curry risotto. Basically, mixing up Titan’s food. Too bad Titan prefers his food separated…

Episode 8
Emergency! Delmin needs to go home as she receives a letter that her papa is ill. Oh wait. Isn’t the venue that Maple secured is on Delmin’s home island? Is this what you call killing 2 birds with a stone? Arriving on the island, instantly Delmin is attacked by her papa. Apparently he is well and the letter was a lie to lure her back. Also, the island doesn’t have much music, hence the citizens requested to have some concert here. Papa insists Delmin calls her papamin? She refuses. So is this why the whole fight is about? Delmin runs away. Her bandmates go after her while Plasmagica will take care of the concert preparations. Mashumairesh end up getting chased by a monster boar. Flashback reveals papa trying to drill into a weak Delmin’s mind that their dragon tribe must always be the strongest. Of course she couldn’t. Delmin is about to subdue the boar with her music but papa is the one who finishes it off. This only strains their relationship further. But what’s this? Ruhuyu wants to become his disciple to learn how to shoot beams? Papa will gladly teach her! Of course they talk about Delmin. Ruhuyu paints her as a nice friend but unfortunately papa still doesn’t know what she thinks. Next night, their concert begins. It goes without saying that it is awesome. But halfway through, the place runs out of energy. So they depend on the volcano energy, huh? How? Himeko notes they can use their soul of their voice but Delmin still has doubts. It is then papa tells her to sing because he doesn’t understand how she feels. And just like that, the magic of their soul of their voice lights up everything as both bands go up and give another sterling performance. Next day before they leave, papa tells Delmin to continue to be strong in music since that is her forte. You bet their relationship is fixed when Delmin finally calls him papamin and they both hug. Awww, so touching!

Short: An epic power battle between Delmin and her papa. You might be forgiven if you think this is Dragonball. Yeah, calling the power of the cosmos?! This fight originated because someone ate Delmin’s melon bread and she suspected her papa. True enough it is him as both are blown away. And everything is just an exaggerated story created by Ruhuyu.

Episode 9
Reijin sings the opener for the official opening for the sports festival for girl bands. So the rest of the participating bands are as we expect: Plasmagica, Mashumairesh, Criticrista and BVL. We see them taking part in weird sports. Because Ailane is clumsy most of the time, it is not surprising that BVL is dead last on the rankings. Then the next event is a band performance in which BVL is up. OMG. Is BVL singing a song that is tearing apart the heavens?! Not sure if this is part of the programme because suddenly their dark rock music summons thorny vines and attack other participants! Is this turning into some horror survival game?! Of course with Ailane’s dark power spiralling out of control, Cyan and Howan do a duet to bring the light to her and bring back normalcy. Ailane realizes her defeat and is about to give up but the rest tell her not to because the games is not over yet. So the final event is a relay race. Uhm, doesn’t this give bands with less members the disadvantage? And the winner takes it all with this million points?! Anyway, Mashumairesh takes the early lead until BVL manages to catch up and steal the leading spot. On to the homestretch, Ailane as the anchor is pushing herself until she trips! Oh dear. With everyone seemingly crossing the finish line together, the photo finish reveals Ailane crossed it first! With that, they earn insane amount of points to win everything! Later, BVL confronts Mashumairesh and throws down their challenge to crush them at the upcoming concert. Mashumairesh is happy since they remember their name.

Short: Criticrista going over a script for a commercial they are doing. It is suggested they use staccato and I guess the director is okay with whatever suggestions they come up because they’re just so damn cute. And that means Criticrista being the cutie pies they are successfully do their filming in 1 take. I don’t know if that was staccato but whatever.

Episode 10
Dokofin will also be performing at Worldwide Love Rock Festival. This is because as said by Judas (Jinbabue who is also Trichronika’s manager), Trichronika will not be performing due to scheduling conflicts with their thank you galaxy tour concert. Dokofin doesn’t really care until a group of fan girls go up to them and say how much they’re looking forward to it. While Mashumairesh thinks of writing a new song for it, Plasmagica is invited by Shuuzou to his galaxy tour. Dokofin reluctantly heads to Trichronika’s office to get some advice but they accidentally break a golden statue of Shuuzou. Oh dear. How are they going to compensate? I guess sorry isn’t going to be enough. But the merciful Shuuzou suggests they help out in their concert. Dokofin watch them rehearse and see how they are on a different level. Before their concert begins, Dokofin confronts Trichronika to admit they had the wrong idea of them. They thought they were just flashy idols. So please show us what you’ve got. Okay. But they too must show their passion. How? Dokofin becomes the opening performance for Trichronika. They rock their usual stuff. Trichronika also rocks and from Dokofin’s reaction, it’s like they’re better than them. Oh well, one day they’ll surpass them, right? Shuuzou then announces that their tour will now last for a year as they go around the globe in their airship! Oh sh*t! This means Dokofin and Plasmagica won’t get back in time for the Worldwide Love Rock Festival! They panic as they cooperate to look for a way to get back down. Oh look. How convenient there are 2 escape pods with 4 seats each. Moa as an alien can definitely fly one. What about Dokofin? Just push all the buttons! Well, not the smoothest ride but they use this opportunity to write a new song! And when they crash land, they finished their song! Yeah, it’s going to be awesome. Meanwhile Trichronika is looking for those missing bands. Because they’ve prepared a charter flight back for them. Oh well…

Short: Judas talks to Shuuzou about Dokofin who will be performing in Trichronika’s place. However Shuuzou has a tough time pronouncing their name. Each time Judas tries to teach him how to say it, he comes out saying it differently altogether! Damn, he really butchered their name! Man, this is stressful! Is their name really hard to pronounce or did he not say it clear? In the end, it could be Shuuzou trolling because he said it correctly. Once.

Episode 11
Mashumairesh has finished their greatest song. Only 1 problem: Himeko hasn’t written any lyrics yet! Uhm, can it just be an awesome instrumental? So they brainstorm but nothing comes out of it. And then there’s that interview they have to do that will be put in the programme for the festival. Maple takes the liberty to interview them. He interviews Himeko first and asks normal questions. Until he starts asking her charm points. Yeah, he looks and sounds like a pervert now! You’re frightening her! Thank goodness for Angelica straightening him up in that room. So this interview thingy takes a back seat as Mashumairesh prioritizes their lyrics first. Still hitting a dead end, they ask Plasmagica for some idea. Well, Plasmagica is Plasmagica. How can this fit Mashumairesh? Hence they hit the beach to do some reflection. I guess we need more Ruhuyu-Delmin friendship screen time. Then they take a look at Ruhuyu’s notebook as she recorded all their time here. Basically a very brief flashback of everything that happened this season. So it’s a miracle that they got through all that, huh? I think that’s it. The miracle. Himeko now knows what to write. I guess they even have time to complete the interview and have more practice. The big day is here. Worldwide Love Rock Festival is ready to rock and roll! All the bands we know are gearing up for the biggest performance ever. Except for Mashumairesh. Got up late because nobody set the alarm clock and they’re running like hell towards the site. Déjà vu? Hey, at least Howan didn’t forget her guitar this time. Nobody freaking gave them a ride?! Where’s f*cking Maple when you need him?! Oh, so as not to forget, there’s that ghost we almost forgot about, hovering over the stadium.

Short: Remember those Myumon students? They’re lamenting and wishing they could go see Worldwide Love Rock Festival. Yeah, all the cool and unknown bands will be there. The problem is that it clashes with their exams. Sighs…

Episode 12
Looks like Mashumairesh made it. But now they’re anxious! Oh boy. But don’t worry, a few nice words from Howan to calm their nerves. See? All blown away. Same can be said for Dokofin. Yeah, they want Hachin to do something stupid do make it less tense? Shingan Crimsonz next door tells them to pipe down. Before a gang fight could occur, Rom says to fight it out via music. Mashumairesh goes first but what’s this? Suddenly the ghost zaps them! OMFG! Howan is wheeled into the emergency area and the doctor diagnoses her as just sleeping. Yeah, passed out from the shock. No biggies. Just need to wait for her to wake up. Meanwhile the show carries on. Nobody bothered enough to do something about the ghost? Okay then. Play on. Next in line is Shingan Crimsonz, followed by Arcareafact and then Dokofin. Each time the monster getting more intense? With the guys out of the way, it’s the ladies’ turn now. Starting with BVL and then Reijin. Meanwhile Maple has expected a reporter, Rameka to show up. She claims she knows the ghost. He is Ziipe Parisugawa and performed at some ultimate galactic concert 69 years ago. At the peak of his performance, his soul came out. I take it, he died on stage. His soul then wandered and ended up in Rameka’s amplifier at the studio she was saying. She heard his wish that if he could hear the ultimate sound once more, he’ll go in peace. And there’s your answer to put this ghost to rest. Just play your best music. So for now he is the embodiment of all the negative feelings that failed musicians have. By the time Criticrista has finished their turn, Howan wakes up. You bet all is not lost yet. Plasmagica goes up to calm the ghost. He is thrilled but needs more. I guess this is Mashumairesh’s second chance. Take it away, girls! Eventually they are joined by the other bands, making it this series’ rock version of We Are The World. You bet Ziipe is now satisfied. Let the music heal your soul. Case closed. Easy. When Mashumairesh return home, they are shocked to see a mini Ziipe with Master. He loves their music so much that he wants to hear more! Yeah, it’s so good to be alive because you can’t hear any music when you’re really dead, right?

Battle Of The Furry Bands
So all this feels like nothing burger, huh? The concert was a success, hooray, good for everybody. I mean, it was just f*cking mind boggling that nobody was bothered of Ziipe’s presence. I guess music > ghost. But it still didn’t explain why Ziipe took 69 years to make his move. Oh right, it’s that magical number. So were there any missing musicians in the first place or was that all unfounded rumours to begin with? And of all the concerts, he has to haunt this one? I suppose Trichronika’s space concert isn’t going to be that great, huh? So this turned out to be just one lousy plot just to have everybody sing together. Which also feels like a rip-off because you only hear them sing part of their song. Heck, I think some like BVL and Criticrista, their turn at the stage was cut short! Not fair! And TAM not even featured. Are they not stars?! But who cares at this point, right? Since the Worldwide Love Rock Festival isn’t some sort of competition, everybody is just out there to perform and entertain everyone. Mission accomplished. Now we can all go home happy.

I have only myself to blame for expecting the entire season to be all-stars material. I mean, I should think about it. Can all dozen episodes be just about the different bands performing and battling each other on stage? That would be super boring, don’t you think? Might as well go watch real live concerts or actual performances dedicated to just singing and dancing on stage. Hence I have been misled (more like misinterpreted) that was what Stars would mean. Because this season feels pretty much a lot on Mashumairesh. And a bit on Plasmagica. They’re both the stars of the previous seasons, right? So there. That could be the real meaning of Stars in the title. And not what is blatantly stated in the synopsis of an all-star season featuring bands from previous seasons. Sure it does feature all of the stars. In the end. But like I said, a big part of the season still feels like a continuation of Mashumairesh’s adventures and basically Mashumairesh’s second season.

So basically we see them bump into various bands we know from previous seasons. Looking back in retrospect, I think this season is still as boring as f*ck! Save for the first couple of episodes which took an interesting turn because they went to prison and court! Man, that was totally refreshing. But then the rest of the season feels like boring cliché as we see them deepen their band relationship as they prepare for the biggest festival ever. Yeah, they throw in that ghost thingy too at the start, which also made the start of the season interesting. But then it feel into obscurity along the way, making us forget and wonder what the f*ck it had anything to do with anything. Like as though this was written on the fly. Yeah, why was Ziipe trying to attack other bands in earlier episodes when his goal was to just hear the ultimate sound? And shouldn’t he be attacking bands that are playing or practising. Where the f*ck was Ziipe when the music was playing all over Midi City? WTF, right? Doesn’t make sense. And of course the final episode to put everything together (barely). So are you happy and entertained now, the greatest show on the land?

So as not to bore us with all the cute girl stuffs, hence that is why the male counterparts who are Dokofin also have some episodes focusing the spotlight on them. It feels strange that this series has like 2 different sets of audiences to target. All-female bands are for all those cute girly stuffs while all-male bands are for those edgy hardcore manly stuffs. Personally, many of the all-male bands stand out because they’re like jokers with all the gar and manly passion. Sure, the girls have their passion too but it’s pretty tame compared to the guys who can actually take a beating and then laugh it off. Yeah, if the girls here get abused, you’ll hear from all the women’s right activist or something. I’m still waiting for a mixed band with both male and females in it. Don’t you think that would be better? Bringing out the best of both genders when they perform their music?

The bigger irony that these dudes especially Shingan Crimsonz are often ignored and not known by their other bands under the same umbrella label. Looking at you, Plasmagica. Both are under BRR and the irony is that they don’t even know each other exist. At least from Plasmagica’s point of view. It’s like they don’t even care? It’s like they’re from different worlds and dimensions but existing only in the same plane. Really strange for me to arrive at that line of thought but that is how it feel. The same can be said for Mashumairesh and Dokofin but they’re not under the same label so I can see why. Still, I can’t help feel that I expected to see them to cooperate in something (and I mean something more than that final all-stars music get-together singing) but if I should have seen it coming from past seasons, it is that male and female bands don’t mix. Not even in non-music adventures. WTF, this segregation?!

So much has been said and seen about Mashumairesh and a bit on Plasmagica, what about the other bands? Well, it feels like over the season, they’re just making their cameo. And as I’ve pointed out, their cameo is just to help Mashumairesh discover themselves further. For example, that nonsensical training with TAM. Don’t even mention that sports festival for girl bands only. Because that’s the only way they could include BVL in here. Otherwise, I’ve actually forgotten about them! Hence one reason I was slightly disappointed as I was thinking that each of these other bands would get an episode fully focused on them. Remember, my ‘misinterpretation’ on this all-star season. But look what we’ve got? More Mashumairesh instead. Can they still be fresh after 2 seasons? And how can they call this season all-stars when not even half of all the bands are featured! What do I mean? Take a look at their official website and you can see about 35 bands in total! That’s not even half featured this season! Oh f*ck, is there one demonic Halloween monster band I see there? That should be an interesting one… Oh, we’ve got a Power Rangers one too?! And angels with halo?! Damn, why these bands looking much more interesting than the cutesy ones we have here!

Yeah, I’m having way too much expectations for a series that I’m not really a big fan of. Because I was also thinking that with the surprising cameo of Dagger, I thought this season was going to be as dark when this series started. He could be just trolling with his new leaf turning thingy but I guess his role ended just there. And what happened to that Rikao lawyer dude?! Did we forget about him? Too bad we don’t get to see his band perform. Thus no all-stars treatment this season. Wow. So many potentials at the start but look at how it fizzled out throughout the season? Now you know why I’m disappointed, no?

I suppose this season has not so much content because they can even put in shorts at the end of every episode. The last time this series had such shorts, it was to help promote the second season. I guess no such gimmick for this season. And to make up for that extra runtime at the end, hence the shorts. Otherwise this season’s episodes could very well finish under 20 minutes. Otherwise, the shorts are comical and nonsensical in their own ways. Like as though they had nowhere in the episode proper to put this little funny stuff and hence make it as the episode’s appendix. Oh heck, they can’t put it anywhere in it anyway.

Also, let me nit-pick because by now those who have been watching this series would know that the magical and favourite number of the series is 69. Because when you pronounce that number in Japanese, it sounds like ‘rock’ (roku + kyuu). But if you are a westerner especially Americans, that number carries a whole different connotation. Oh yeah. Therefore it is funny to think about this when the characters or the setting spam this number. It’s all about the rock but you can’t help think where’s the yuri or the sexy stuff?! I’m sure some of the female pairings like Howan-Himeko, Ruhuyu-Delmin and even Cyan-Retoree might give off that yuri vibe. Sorry horny folks, no Sex And The (Midi) City. Just Rock And The (Midi) City! Hahaha!

If you’re a music fan, you will definitely feel at home with all the band music here. But since I’m not, I’m going to call them just passable. Heck, I don’t think I remember any of the songs played this season or from the last. Sorry people, I just don’t find their brand of music to be memorable or to my taste. Even TAM’s unique brand of mixing traditional Japanese music and rock doesn’t seem to be memorable to me. Therefore Doremifa Stars by Plasmagica and Mashumairesh as this season’s opening theme sounds rather okay to me and if not weird. Girls trying to sing rock music but exude all their cuteness into it. Not sure whether it is cute or cringe when I see Cyan and Howan trying to do Chuck Berry’s iconic duck walk dance. Definitely this is Mashumairesh’s season as they sing the ending theme, Hoshizora Light Story. Typical rock music from Mashumairesh.

Overall, my sentiments for this series may still be the same as I find this season to be lacking and boring. It’s all about the cute bands, their friendship and of course the music. Nothing more. It’s all just feel good and fluffy-fluffy cloud nine feelings. Damn, now I really wish a big bad corporation or some evil entity would really come into the picture and shake things up. To give our yuri female bandmates and hardcore gar male dudes a reason to fight for the future of music! A loser ghost couldn’t do the job and trolled us. I won’t discount that this series might get another season and who knows, perhaps a new cute all-female band as new stars? Sure. Okay with that. But Demons Venom better be there too!

King’s Raid: Ishi Wo Tsugumono-tachi

Long time ago, a valiant hero fought of the big bad villain and brought peace to the land, check. Now a century has passed and that baddie threatens to return, check. Only the heir to the hero and his friends can save the day and that is to find the elusive holy sword that is the only thing that can save the world, check. So if you like that generic storyline of a fantasy action adventure genre, most likely you’ll love King’s Raid: Ishi Wo Tsugumono-tachi. I mean, what else is there to expect from this kind of settling already? A time where magic, demons and all other different fantasy races walk the land, at least thank goodness this isn’t isekai or stuck-in-realistic-video-game genre with an overpowered character from the start! Oh yeah. Old school fantasy sounding the best right now, eh?

Episode 1
Kasel trains under Clause as a knight but looks like he still has a long way to go in his apprenticeship. Later, as they patrol town, they see a dark elf walking pass. The people wonder why the knights didn’t do anything to kick him out. Uh, because he didn’t do anything wrong? Too bad, those racist people of Orvelia think dark elves are always up to no good. At the palace, the nobles are contemplating on this report that demons are spotted in the forest. How could it be? Their King Kyle defeated their leader, Dark Lord Angmund 100 years ago. Could this be remnants or another group? Either way, they need to send scouts to ascertain this and they can’t let a single demon enter Orvelia. Lord Moriham then enters and proposes using a mercenary group called Black Edge. He introduces this dark elf, Riheet who can do the job. As long as they pay them, that is all that matters. Because of the deep animosity between Orvelia and dark elves, the prideful nobles reject Moriham’s suggestion. Orvelia will defend itself. Clause tells Kasel he can’t train him for a while since he has been chosen to scout the forest for demons. Yeah, that sad Kasel face means he has some traumatic past with the demons too. Riheet returns to his dark elves group. Seems they are just pretending to be harmless and their plan is to strike the humans when they let their guard down and then control this nation. It’ll be revenge for all the discrimination against them. Clause leads the scouts into the forest and they are ambushed by countless demons. Uhm looks more like the undead army. With the knights getting killed off one by one, Clause lets Gran who is the only survivor rush back to report while he himself holds off the horde. News spread fast that there was only a survivor from the scout. The nobles panic and think they should send more men. Moriham disagrees and thinks they should conserve their force or risk repeating history of the demons flooding in. He suggests using Black Edge. Still won’t? Well, cast away your stupid racist pride and focus on the real enemy at hand. Kasel wants to go find clause. Can he as an apprentice? He won’t let anyone dear to him die again. So why him and not Frey who wants to come along too? She too doesn’t want those she loves to die. After all, Clause told her to look after him and as a priestess, she can back him up.

Episode 2
Lots of dead bodies in the forest. But no Clause. Of course they are attacked by the demons. Can Kasel’s anger level up his skill? Too bad this hot demon chick, Maria decides to play with him. And Frey would’ve died too had not Riheet and his Black Edge come to their rescue. Maria retreats as Riheet explains all the scouts have been slaughtered, the reason Black Edge is dragged into this. After Black Edge leaves, Kasel and Frey are met with the sorceress Cleo and her bodyguard Roi. They are tasked to bring them to the Great Sage Dominix whom they knew as orphans. On his floating island, he brings them see Clause who is under his treatment. He is the only survivor and although he is greatly injured, it is not threatening. Clause explains what happened but he did not see any female demon so they wonder if she is a separate group from the demons. That night, Kasel regrets he should’ve been stronger because he could’ve fought with Clause. Oh yeah? And add to the fatality statistics? Sure, he doesn’t want to lose someone close again like his mom who died protecting him from demons. So what now? Go get stronger! Meanwhile Moriham has proved his point using Black Edge’s services. Hence those nobles have no choice but to reluctantly collaborate with them but they also want them to do it discreetly without letting the public know. Of course later we see Moriham and Riheet drinking to a toast that their plans are going along very well. This will help Moriham rise up the ranks and once he gets where he wants, he can ensure the dark elves’ lives will be a much better one. He can also make Riheet into a noble if he wants to. Dominix summons Kasel and Frey to tell them the truth. Kasel is actually the son of Kyle and as such, he has the right to inherit the holy sword, Aea. He told his mom to keep quiet about it and not tell him till the time is right. Of course Kasel thinks Dominix is trying to trick him because the maths don’t add up. You know, the decisive battle happened 100 years ago so how can Kasel be looking so young? Okay, hold on to your panties. Stay tune next time as we reveal the truth!

Episode 3
When Kyle was a prince, he had hope and dreams. Illya is a dark elf and his half-sister whom many dark elves blame for their current persecution. When Kyle fell in love with Arlette (Kasel’s mom), the king didn’t like it and tried to break them apart since this interfered with the political marriage. At the same time, demons attacked so Kyle managed to rally his men to fight against them. The king then suddenly died and Kyle ascended the throne, made alliances, boosting the people’s morale that he will defeat every single one of the demons. Also at this time, Arlette was pregnant and Kyle received further boost by Lua the God of Light and was given Aea. At the same time, Illya who wanted to help Kyle was studying technomagic. Basically she was trying to create a false Aea and this angered Orvelia as they worship Lua. A blasphemous act. Malduk, a sorcerer from the Republic of Grey used forbidden magic to open up the dimension to summon Angmund. Illya completed the fake Aea and wanted to give it to Kyle but was killed by demons (not sure about this duty she was trying to fulfil but can a replica beat the original?). It is not known how Kyle fought Angmund since he disappeared after the battle. The same for Malduk. Fearing that he might return again and do the same thing, they sealed Aea away until that day returns. And that day may soon draw closer with the recent activities of demons. Illya was put on trial posthumously and found guilty. So I guess they can’t persecute a dead body so instead her entire clan got persecuted. As for Arlette, fearing the return of Malduk, they put her to sleep until that day comes. Too bad she got killed and that’s why Dominix put Kasel in the orphanage subsequently. Yes, he has been watching him for a long time and can vouch he is truly the son of Kyle. Now his mission to get Aea, he must break the seals that are being hold by several of Kyle’s companions. One of them being Lorraine who resides in the Forest of Elidora. Since Dominix cannot leave this place, he lets Cleo and Roi accompany them.

Episode 4
Kasel and co ambushed by a small group of demons outside the forest. Roi can easily handle them but what about reinforcements? Let Selene the elf handle that. She is tasked to bring them to Lorraine. Inside Elidora, they hear voices scorning them and telling them to leave. Soon, the forest plays tricks on the humans by separating them from Selene and leaving them at a dead end. They don’t want those filthy humans blighting the forest and their princess. But a little baby treant, Necha brings them back to Selene. As it gets dark, they make camp. Kasel instantly trusting Selene on which mushrooms to eat instead of casting any doubts if they’re poisonous. Kasel then teaches Necha some sword skills and later they all talk whether or not Kasel is worthy to hold Aea as well as the convenient timing of Kyle and Angmund 100 years ago that only happen once in recorded history. Well, Kasel better be ready in using the holy sword by then. Suddenly something huge shakes the forest. Some plant monster is attacking. Treant giant no match for vine tentacle monster? Necha tries to be a hero to avenge his brethren but gets caught. The rest fight it but they don’t look like making any progress. Until Kasel gets caught too. Necha’s sword skills proved useful as it throws its wooden sword at the core for some major pain. While this saves them from the digestive juice, Necha gets ripped apart! This angers Kasel so he goes into berserk mode to overkill the monster even after it is long dead. No surprise everyone in shock to see him like that. It took all of Selene’s hug to calm him down. But everybody is still sad. RIP, Necha :’(.

Episode 5
Although Lorraine praises Kasel, he continues to beat himself up for failing to protect Necha. More setback as Lorraine has her doubts to undo the seal. She wonders if he is worthy of Aea’s power. A holy sword so strong that it could defeat the Dark Lord, if not careful it might also corrupt him. Kasel doesn’t care what happens to him so long he defeats the Dark Lord but I guess that’s not what Lorraine is looking for. They rest for tonight but before that, they bury Necha. I suppose he can’t be the party’s mascot. Yeah, they bury him like as though they’ve known him for a long time. Lorraine then asks Selene’s opinion of Kasel since she was with him for most of the time but she needs time to gather her thoughts. After Kasel makes his peace and vows to get stronger, Necha’s mini leaves sprout from the ground. His revival soon? Next day, Selene is able to give her opinion of Kasel. Although she still finds humans to be dreadful, Kasel is different since he defended Elidora. When he went berserk to avenge Necha, she feared that power may be abused. But luckily Kasel admitted it was not the kind of power he was seeking. In short, she approves of Kasel as the heir so Lorraine undoes the seal. Of course there are 2 more seals to unlock. Thus he needs to go see Aeatola, the leader of the orcs in the Ogria Mountain and also Pavel in the Windland Snow Mountain. With that plant monster attacking again, time for Kasel to show what he’s got. He is able to kill it with less effort and no rage at all. After parting ways, right after leaving Elidora, Maria attacks him. So she’s bored, huh? She could feel some of the holy sword’s power in him and can’t believe he is the son of Kyle. But since the power is real, she fears the holy sword as Lua’s curse and might become Lua’s puppet. I guess she lost interest and escapes.

Episode 6
Stopping by in one of the towns, Cleo is eager to go sightseeing. Well, they’re already here, right? Too bad, she became the town’s best tourist in the sense that she spends money like water! So now that they’ve run out of money, looks like their goal of sleeping in a decent inn is up in smokes. Ever positive Cleo decides to find work. And in this inn they can work to earn their keep. However when Cleo uses her fire magic to help cook, she burns down the building! OMFG! Naturally they get kicked out. Damn, Cleo really depressed. Feel really sorry for her. Frey talks to her as she opens up about very vague memories of late mom. She can’t remember much about her but she was a great fire sorceress and wanted to be just like her. But Cleo’s fire is too destructive as Roi notes she once destroyed a building. Although nobody was hurt, Dominix told her to figure out how to put her potential to use. Next morning, Roi has left by himself to find a job. Cleo claims she has found a job in the outskirts, the restaurant of Madam Volf. Uhm, hope they didn’t stumble into a witch’s lair. This old lady really makes them work their worth. Even more so for Cleo as she learns she is a sorcerer. This leads to both of them having childish squabbles. But at the end of the day, she treats them to a nice meal since she rarely has customers this days. Because she only uses charcoal to cook, Cleo offers her fire magic. Did she not learn? However Volf rejects that idea because war once broke out here and fire burnt everything down. The only thing left is this restaurant. When Cleo claims her magic is for good, Volf notes that the previous sorcerer who protected them also said the same thing but look what happened. Later that night, demons attack. Cleo is reduced to using her weak melee attacks since she can’t use fire despite Kasel needing her backup. This has Volf realize her mistake. Hence she tells Cleo to use her magic to protect her friends and live. With that, Cleo’s magic owns all the demons. Can’t burn down anything else when there’s nothing to burn down, right? In the end, Cleo and Volf make amends although the old lady still has an acid tongue to tease her. Roi returns just in time. Looks like he made some money from whatever job. This time they really learn their lesson as Frey will be the one keeping the money. As they leave, Cleo understands a little what it means to wield magic.

Episode 7
Moriham tells Riheet that chancellor Behl wants to see him. Princess Scarlet seeks the advice of astrologer, Ophelia in which she sees Angmund reviving. Riheet comes in and is told by Behl that Scarlet wants Black Edge to join with their knights for coordination. So as Scarlet introduces Riheet to the rest of her knights, a particular noble, Zierro opposes it. However Riheet maintains his cool despite his insults so Scarlet issues an order to not insult or respect them. Riheet gives his input on the situation and his suggestions blows everyone’s minds. Except for Zierro of course. He goes to complain to his father, one of the nobles but he tells him to be patient. Tamm is out in town. He is surprised the humans are treating him well. Free bread, huh? He notices a few ruffians tailing him and of course as expected, they hate dark elves and want him out. They attack him but Tamm remembers not to raise his sword and cause any disturbance so he is at a disadvantage here. He is slightly injured but his comrade, Zucca comes to his rescue. Riheet gets word of this and tells Moriham. It is believed to be Zierro since this guy who is one of the betrothed candidates for Scarlet always tries to rush things in to prove himself to her. Moriham wants him to find investigate and proof. Yeah, conveniently the dagger used to injure Tamm was brought back so he recognizes the logo from Zierro’s estate. So that night he confronts Zierro and with a little bit of threatening, the chicken spills the beans he sent his men to attack Tamm. Riheet is about to kill him but Zierro’s dad begs for mercy and promises to leave the dark elves alone. Elsewhere we see Maria returning to a revived Malduk. He needs her to continue looking for Aea before Angmund’s revival.

Episode 8
The gang stumble into a little girl, Elise. Noting a town is nearby, they stop by to rest. But the town mayor explains due to attack from demons in the north, this town is being used as a shelter. Due to lack of manpower, they help about as Frey learns Elise being the gloomy girl she always has been and doesn’t mix with other kids. Hence Frey convinces Kasel and the rest to stay a little longer since she wants to help Elise. Kids, meet Frey your new babysitter. While everyone gets along, Elise as usual doesn’t. Until it’s cue for her to reveal that demons killed her mom. Aww, come here. Let Frey onee-sama give you a big hug. Slowly, Elise opens up a little. Cleo fears that with Frey getting close to the kids, the mayor might want to scout her and make her stay here forever. Will taking care of kids be more important than finding the holy sword? Don’t worry. Frey departs when it’s time to go. But before the gang leaves, Elise leads Frey to a shed and locks her there! Don’t go. Stay forever. Kasel looks for Frey and stumbles into Elise. I guess she feels guilty so she leads him to the shed. However, giant worm monsters attack! Kasel doing his usual stuff as Frey realizes there is another one. So she uses all her might to chop down the door to go protect Elise. In the end, Kasel kills both monsters. Kasel and co now truly departs and Looks like Elsa Elise can now let her go. She hopes the next time Frey comes back, she can teach her to bake more snacks.

Episode 9
Arriving in the next town that was attacked by demons, they are being attacked by… Zombies!!! Thank goodness beheading works. With their overwhelming numbers, a man name Johann brings them to shelter in his house. He tells them the undead are attracted to noises. He has been living here alone ever since the demons attacked this village. While some managed to escape, the rest got killed and got turned into the undead. Johann is the only survivor left. As fate would have it, he is Elise’s father. He is shocked and happy to learn she is still alive. However he can’t go to her yet as he has his reason he can’t leave this place. As the gang rest for the night, Kasel hears strange voices from the basement. Obviously, Johann keeping an undead who is no other than his wife, Lisa. He tries to tell her Elise is still alive but of course Lisa is just snarling at him. Kasel tells this to the rest who then confront Johann about this. But he refuses to acknowledge Lisa as an undead. She is just unwell. He believes hearing about Elise will make her feel better and hopes they have the cure to Lisa’s illness. Too bad dude, none. They tell him off that Elise is also family so what is she going to do about her? Too bad the stubborn goat still thinks he is right. Johann then returns to Lisa in hopes of having her remember Elise. One of the ropes break and causes Lisa to almost reach him. This jump scare has Johann calling her a monster. While the rest manage to tie back Lisa, Roi continues to brutal about reality. She just looks like Lisa. The undead have no will or memories. The only way is to decapitate her and put her to rest. So if Johann won’t let them do it, can he do it himself? The commotion has other undead surrounding the house. Well, decapitating fiesta time. While the discount Resident Evil killing goes on, Johann realizes the truth. This is not Lisa if she can’t remember Elise. So he decapitates her. Gee, that was easy after all the stubborn moments. For icing on the cake, we see Johann return to a very happy Elise.

Episode 10
Scarlet talks to her ailing father about Black Edge’s accomplishments. They’re literally Orvelia’s heroes now. But upon hearing they were recommended by Moriham, he fears Scarlet’s good nature of not doubting others like her mother. Scarlet and her knights are in a meeting to discuss the location of Angmund’s revival. Yeah, it is most like here, Republic of Grey where he appeared 100 years ago. Scarlet wants to send a force to investigate and if someone is trying to resurrect him, they must be eliminated. Hence, she cannot send a small force but a huge one. Riheet offers Black Edge to be the vanguard. The rest of the episode sees Tamm visiting Sheila, the baker girl whom he is smitten with. Aww, how sweet. Oh damn, they’re even seeing each other on a frequent basis? This proves love has no barrier, eh? But of course hanging out too long and returning late has the rest suspicious of him. Azal punches him, thinking he is a traitor and leaked their plans to her. But Sheila’s a nice girl. Yeah, there’s always that exception. Riheet believes him but has him think about his actions. While doing that, Ripine talks to him about this. Tamm has doubts about their mission because everyone like Sheila is living happily. Have you ever thought of just giving up this revenge thingy? Ripine explains her goal to aid her brother Riheet in forcing all those who subjugate dark elves into submission. Because she wants to help him, she willing joins Black Edge. As forgiveness is the opposite of revenge, despite Sheila being a nice person, she is still from Orvelia. That will never change. Can you accept and forgive all that Orvelia has done? If he wants to be happy and leave Black Edge, she won’t stop him. But if he gets in Riheet’s way, she’ll kill him. And so Tamm goes to see Sheila. What looks like a nice date suddenly escalates quickly into Tamm telling how his family members were butchered by Orvelia who accused his village of plotting an attack against them when they were clearly out just to massacre them. So his sad story is to hint about the invisible barrier between us. Because he fights demons not for Orvelia and not to become heroes. But to change the world. A world without sadness. Damn, this is a strange (and sad) way to say goodbye.

Episode 11
We see Malduk excited to see humans in despair. Flashback 100 years when he served as a sorcerer to the king of Republic of Grey, the king was ill and died at a critical time. Malduk then revived the king as a zombie. He thought what he did was most accomplished as a sorcerer and that he is akin to God. However the rest didn’t think the same and exiled him. This of course has Malduk fuming as he vowed revenge. Burn everything down! We return to Kasel and co entering the valley of the orcs. At first they thought the orcs are fighting among themselves but upon closer look, there are undead orcs. Kasel and co help to destroy the undead. Orc shaman, Kaulah introduces himself and his assistant, Dale. Kaulah is expecting Kasel because his shamanic dreams told him that a human will arrive to save the world. When Kasel says they are here to see Aeatola, Kaulah says that he has passed on and the current chief is now Sieg. Kasel wants to see him but Dale is not so trusting since the last human that came here turned orcs into undead. I can bet my ass that guy is Malduk. Kaulah escorts only Kasel to Sieg while the rest waits here. And during that time, dumb Cleo draws graffiti on the sacred fountain so a couple of passing orcs think they’re a threat and capture them. Kasel sees Sieg. But the latter doesn’t believe he is the heir to Aea and wants to fight him as proof. When Kaulah says he will protect Kasel with his life because this human must live to save the world, Sieg is ready to kill Kaulah. But wait. Kasel wants to further talk about this and claims he is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the world. Sieg doesn’t believe his conviction and tries to kill him. Of course it is just a test and with Kasel not moving an inch, Sieg reveals Aeatola did left him a message for the heir. Kasel must enter the holy shrine where their ancestral spirits are enshrined and bring something back. Doing so proves he is the heir. With the orcs bringing in Frey and co, Sieg further says they will be held as hostages. If Kasel fails, he will die, they will die.

Episode 12
Kasel enters the holy shrine and when he reaches the altar, a voice speaks to him to show him his heart. Kasel then goes unconscious. When he wakes up, he is a young version of himself and before him is his mom. They live a happy life but soon Kasel realizes something very wrong. As mom tells him not to overthink, Kasel soon snaps out of this and realizes his mom is actually dead. Mom tells him to stay here and they can do all these lovely things together forever. Don’t burden yourself with saving the world. Of course Kasel can’t stay. The fact that losing those he needs to protect outweighs of never seeing mom again. And with that, he leaves this place and returns to reality. The voice is Aeatola as he tells Kasel how this place shows the weakness of the heart. Had his heart been weak, he would’ve been trapped in the illusion forever. I guess this means Kasel is now qualified to take the seal. Returning it to Sieg, he confirms this is what Aeatola left him and breaks the seal for Kasel. Uhm, not feeling any super power welling up? Sieg gives his last sermon for Kasel to become a warrior. He assures that the orcs will be there to fight alongside him just like how their ancestors fought alongside Kyle. Suddenly Malduk drops in to check because he felt the slight awakening of the holy sword. Yeah, this guy thinks he is so powerful, he has no qualms introducing himself and the one who turned those orcs into zombies. He then owns Sieg who protects his tribe. Is that enough to make Kasel mad enough to fight? Clashing swords with him, Malduk can tell the holy sword awakening source is from him. When Kasel just cuts off a small bit of his hair, Malduk gets mad!!! WTF?! His blast hits Frey but not enough to kill her. Okay, this really makes Kasel mad as he becomes a raging bull to take down Malduk. But too explosive that he unleashes some explosive power?! Malduk escapes but Kasel himself got caught in it. Damn, what a big crater he left behind.

Episode 13
Holy cow! This is a recap episode?! Yeah, I didn’t suspect it since they didn’t call it episode 12.5!!! Anyway, as Kasel remains unconscious, Frey writes a letter to Clause telling all that has happened. From their journey to Elidora to the side quest of Volf, Elise and Johann before the recent Ogria one. It isn’t totally a cut and paste as there are a few original animated shots and Frey’s own narration thoughts. So I guess it isn’t all that bad. Like how she thinks Kasel’s strong emotions to protect them, she suspected that as the cause of him losing control of his power and passing out. As Frey worries about the huge destiny and burden Kasel has to carry, Cleo assures that they all need to be positive to support him. Yeah. Believe in him! We can do anything! Nothing is impossible! Don’t give up! Well, that depends on how long Kasel will be sleeping…

Episode 14
Riheet brings his entire Black Edge to the castle since Scarlet invited them for a briefing. She lets Demia take over the explanation to investigate the Galluah Plains at the Republic of Grey where Angmund first appeared 100 years ago. Because the dark elves are still acting insolent, Scarlet has Azal spar with her. Eventually she bests him and this shuts up the rest of the dark elves. She believes this is the quickest way to earn their trust if she shows her power. Meanwhile Moriham talks to the nobles about giving nobility to Riheet. At first they oppose but Moriham vouches for the Black Edge to be their best guard dogs to protect everything they have. But Behl will never let that happen, right? Then they need to remove him… Meanwhile Behl is trying to stop Scarlet from this expedition but she is just as stubborn as her father. Clause then talks to her about Kasel. He too didn’t stop him because he wanted to respect his decision. He is telling her this because they have allies fighting alongside them. Riheet gives his dark elves a talk that their moment is at hand. They must emerge victorious from this without making any mistakes. Ripine cautions about Scarlet because even if they win, there is no way this princess will let them do as they please. Riheet assures everyone that while they’re away, Moriham will have taken measures to strip Behl’s powers. Without his support, no nobles will side with Scarlet and she will be driven from his position. The day Black Edge leaves Orvelia, a large crowd cheers for them. Sheila trying to get Tamm’s attention but he ignores her. I guess this is for the better. Don’t want him to change his mind last minute, no? The night before the big mission, Scarlet tries to talk with Ripine about siblings. She doesn’t have any and envies them. However this makes Ripine mad because she’s saying things without knowing anything. As the trek across Galluah Plains begin, Dark Edge leads the way. Tamm spots a strange mark and touches it. Instant death! Confusion and anger start rolling in for the dark elves. Riheet believes the demon who set this must be nearby. Don’t look now because here comes Malduk!

Episode 15
When Tamm gets up, Azal feels relieved he might be playing dead. However Tamm stabs and kills him! Apparently Malduk has turned him into his puppet so the other dark elves have to decapitate and kill him for good. Malduk shows his power by blasting the other dark elves! That should rack up the kill count. The survivors fight him but Malduk remains invincible until Ripine gets injured. Riheet then becomes mad and as a raging mad dog, he attacks and pushes Malduk till he is cornered! Damn, am I seeing a pattern here? Be aggressive enough and that’s the key to at least touch him? Luckily Maria is here to prevent further damage. With Scarlet and her knights coming by, Maria doesn’t want any more trouble so they retreat. Scarlet sees the dark elves corpses and has her men look for survivors. Meanwhile Kasel finally wakes up. He’s been sleeping for half a month. He wants to get on with the mission but is told to rest. He has no recollection of his fight with Malduk. But what’s this? Dale now his fan boy?! WTF?! Yeah, the orcs are now treating these humans like gods. As Kasel still doubts himself if he could wield Aea, he learns Sieg is already dead but Kaulah has now taken over the leadership. He gives some advice to him to protect others rather than engaging in hatred to defeat the enemy. Still, he isn’t fully convinced so I guess it’s Frey’s turn to talk to him. She is concerned about his emotional state but as long as he believes in himself and his heart remain strong, he won’t lose himself again. Feeling better now? Next morning as Kasel’s party leaves, Kaulah talks privately to Frey. It’s about his prophetic dreams. There seems to be a continuation. When Kasel rushes down the path of war, he disappears. Though this future isn’t fixed, she can work to avoid this. He hopes he will always stay by Kasel’s side. Isn’t that how it’s been since the start?

Episode 16
Reina mistakes Frey to be somebody else. She even thinks this handsome Roi brainwashed her?! Yeah, took her for a while to realize she got it all wrong. Reina is a mercenary and is hired to look for somebody. Leading them to the nearby village that they will be staying, when she learns they are from Orvelia, she wants them to keep their hometown a secret. Because dark elves reside in this village. Furthermore, it has been a month that several people have gone missing. Despite having no proof, they highly think Orvelia might be behind this. When another dark elf kid just went missing, looks like it’s another big search. But to no avail. Kasel wants to keep looking despite Roi’s advice not to because they have to prepare for tomorrow’s departure. Well, they just have to find the missing kid before tomorrow, right? Okay. You’re the boss. As they continue the search, Kasel and Reina fall into a pit. With Reina’s questioning, Kasel reveals his mission and goal. However Kasel is still reeling from the fact he cannot control Aea’s power and is a dangerous man. This is when Reina suggests he should just marry Frey and live an ordinary life. That’s because he needs to live for himself or his heart will die. She then tells her own story. She’s actually a noble and was supposed to be married off for political gains. That’s when she decided to go live freely. She thinks he should break free from his responsibilities and duties because as of now, he looks like he is waiting for someone to help him. Conversation on hold since they find all the missing people wrapped in cocoons. Yeah, this giant spider demon is the culprit and it just got Cleo! Damn, the spider fights better than them! When Reina gets captured, Kasel won’t run so that cliché determination has him cut down the spider. Everybody is safely returned. No casualties. Kasel and co bid farewell to Reina and continue their mission.

Episode 17
Riheet is the only survivor as Scarlet and her knights stay at Johann’s village. Riheet hasn’t woke up yet so Demia suggests they need to go back to Orvelia and prepare to fight the demon as it is proven so at Galluah Plains. However Scarlet notes that because Riheet only knows what kind of demon he’s fought, they can’t make any plans without that info. So they’re gonna wait forever? As news of Black Edge’s annihilation reaches Orvelia, the nobles are in shock. Especially Moriham who is calling it fake news! The people on the other hand are startled over Black Edge’s defeat. They’re worried now. And Sheila… Please… Don’t… Ah, never mind :’(. Finally Riheet wakes up but after hearing from Scarlet about his comrades. He wants to be alone. Yeah, waiting game continues. But soon, Riheet goes missing! How the f*ck did he escape?! Weren’t there knights around?! So yeah, Riheet trying to make his way back to Galluah Plains for revenge but is too weak and eventually Scarlet finds him. She tells him not to do it and value his life. This is when Riheet snaps and tells the whole truth that shocks a naïve Scarlet. Black Edge is a gathering of dark elves whose family were murdered by Orvelia. Their plan of playing the hero was so that they could oppress their oppressors. They hated Orvelia more than demons. But now that doesn’t matter anymore. He is going to find Malduk and f*cking kill him! In that state? Oh dear. He passes out. Looks like another round of waiting till he wakes up. Hence we see Scarlet thinking deep about everything. Sure she didn’t get influenced by his guilt trip? Yeah, I guess some honest words from Elise should cheer her up. That night, Riheet once again tries to make his move. This time he stumbles into Maria. Too weak to even touch her. He demands to know why he is the only survivor. She wants to know where he got that pendant because it belonged to Illya. She was her best friend and after she died, she hand this pendant to her family. Hence she thinks Riheet is her descendent. After all, Ripine looks a lot like her. Maria further laughs at the irony that despite dark elves hate Orvelia, they still believe their lies about Illya’s actions driving their race to exile. She clarifies that Illya created a false sword not to defy Lua but to save Kyle. She wants him to go the Sage Tower where that false sword is left behind. She tells him all this because there is something she needs to take back. Riheet is now going to get that sword.

Episode 18
Kasel is attacked by an undead but luckily Roi decapitates the zombie. As they camp for the night, Kasel notices Roi has been acting strange since. Remembering he has not asked him about his past, looks like it’s the right time to do so. Roi was starving on the streets when Zayed picked him up. To repay this debt, Zayed invites him to join his group of mercenaries, Flugel. However they do odd jobs than anything for money. Even more infuriating for Roi is when Zayed bows his head and accepts all criticisms from a cocky client who pays well. Zayed then explains there are more important things in life than pride as he needs to money to help others. Not only his men but some orphans as well. His motto is that if he decided to do something, he’ll go all the way. Tragedy strikes when they were tasked to investigate Galluah Plains. Rumours said that all who entered never came back. Zayed’s hope is to pave a safe path across the plains. As they wait for a member who never came back, they then go to find him. Zayed and another member accidentally step on a strange mark and instantly die. Soon they turn into zombies and kill the rest. Roi ran for his life but the next thing he knows, he is in Dominix’s place. A sorcerer brought him here during his unconscious state. Dominix says that trap was left by Malduk but he is unsure if that sorcerer is dead or alive or if the trap was set 100 years ago. As he is researching about the undead, he wants Roi to do so because he has a task of him. That task is to travel with Kasel. The earlier undead Roi killed wasn’t Zayed but a Flugel member. This means there must be other undead around. Next day as they continue their journey, looks like there is ex-captain Zayed. Roi fights him while the rest keep at bay other Flugel zombies. In the end, Roi decapitates Zayed and puts him to rest. After burying his buddies, Roi vows to continue Zayed’s path.

Episode 19
At the homestretch of reaching Pavel, Kasel and co fight off a giant demon. After that, Kasel thinks of pushing on since they’re short on time but looks like it won’t be his destiny since Frey is tired. How convenient. A cabin nearby to rest. That night, Kasel can’t sleep as he is getting strange dreams of someone calling his name out. He can’t tell if it’s friend or foe. He thinks Aea is trying to tell him something. Frey hears him out and fears Kaulah’s prophecy. They talk about unrelated stuff to ease the tension. Next morning, Kasel leaves a note as he plans to head into the snowy mountains alone. Of course Roi isn’t impressed that he wants to do this alone while asking the rest to take Frey back to Orvelia. You think you can do it on your own? If Kasel dies, Frey will be depressed for the rest of her life. Is that what you want? He of all people should know what it feels like to be left behind. Cleo further adds that it was Frey’s magic that protected them from the land’s harsh winds. This is why they were able to get this far without any trouble. As she has used up a lot of magic, at this rate she will die! Kasel realizes that he has been protected all this while and regrets of only thinking of pushing forward. Because everyone is committed to see through this after journeying together, Kasel now shares the same sentiments. Let’s do this together. Meanwhile Scarlet and her army prepare to head back. She has some business at the Sage Tower. Riheet also wants to go there and Scarlet will only allow him if he tells his intentions. As Kasel and co enter the cave where Pavel lives, suddenly an ice wall separates Kasel from the rest.

Episode 20
Pavel attacks Kasel while the rest try to break through the barrier. Just in time because Kasel’s in a pinch. But Pavel stops his attack and comments they passed. Did Kasel do anything? Actually, Pavel passes his comrades because he believes one cannot fight Angmund alone. Pavel then reveals he kept Arlette asleep here. 100 years ago, Kyle and Lorraine came seeking his help to fight demons. Pavel refused since he doesn’t care about the matters of others. But since Kyle kept bugging him, he finally accepted so this job could be done and he could go back to his solitary life. Soon their goal changed to that of defeating Angmund. The night before the decisive battle, Kyle personally talked to Pavel to take care of Arlette if something happens to him. It was the last time Pavel saw him as the next fight has Kyle vanished with Angmund as well as Maria, the woman who was with him. Shortly after, they sealed Aea seeing the demons might target it. Back at Sage Tower, Lorraine was against Dominix’s idea to sacrifice more lives. Hence they go talk to Arlette. Because it is unsure if Kyle is dead but mostly he is and could’ve sacrificed himself to push back Angmund, to prepare for his return, Arlette and her unborn son will be put to deep sleep. If she refuses, the world will end. Hence she accepts this because it will not be what Kyle wants. But her condition is that she wants them to help support her son like how they did for Kyle. After the sealing and the passing of 100 years, things have changed. People fought among themselves and the races lost contact with each other. Pavel pondered if they made the right decision. He still couldn’t come up with an answer. Kasel’s answer that he doesn’t know too but he has his friends. He believes the world Kyle fought for hasn’t disappeared and that he’ll never give up on this world. Pavel notes he is exactly just like his father. With Angmund’s resurrection inevitable, they have to get Aea which is sealed in the World Tree. Yeah, destroying that is the same as destroying the world since it is one of the pillars supporting the world. As demons cannot get close to it, Angmund might. Meanwhile Malduk completes the Dark Lord. Uhm… ISN’T THAT KYLE?! DID HE USE THE WRONG SPELL?! HAHAHA!!! Oh sh*t. Not funny…

Episode 21
Maria is happy to see Kyle again. Until he transforms into Angmund! Oh sh*t. Kyle = Angmund? Scarlet and Riheet arrive at Sage Tower. Riheet wastes no time in demanding from Dominix of Illya’s lab. So while Riheet rummages through the lab, Dominix tells Scarlet of the truth that includes the existence of Aea and that it is sealed inside the World Tree as well as Kasel is the heir who can wield it. This shocks Scarlet since she has been believing a great lie like Kyle has no children. Yeah, so I guess this brings up the question who the f*ck is the current royalty if there was going to be a huge succession conflict 100 years ago. That’s why Kasel had to be kept hidden. Riheet finds Illya’s notebook as he reads her records. Basically the false sword he thought she created was actually her researching and developing an equipment that would protect Kyle from strong magical powers. Of course no matter what she tried, the prototype failed. Then there’s Lea who is the goddess of destruction as opposed to Lua. But she is not entirely evil. Basically, both are like yin and yang and both have been fighting for a very long time. Until Lea tried to unleash Angmund to destroy the world. Change in the game, huh? Riheet is mad at Dominix for not telling the truth to everyone. Otherwise dark elves wouldn’t have been persecuted. Oh, he tried. But nobody listened. Furthermore, there were groups who wanted to remove her clan who is a blood relative of the king from power. Riheet is devastated that all their hatred and everything were for nothing. Riheet wants to be left alone but Scarlet pleads to help her but Riheet isn’t really interested. Still trying to be tough, huh? Scarlet is doing this for Orvelia’s future. She wants to change the kingdom into a peaceful nation and mend their relationship with dark elves. That’s why they’re going to regroup with Kasel since he has Aea. Speaking of which, Pavel is leading to the World Tree. He cautions Kasel not to use the power of Aea until they reach the World Tree.

Episode 22
Demon attacks are getting more frequent all over the land. Cleo tries to bug Pavel about hints to learn some of his great magic but there’s nothing he could teach her. He holds a deep regret of not being by Kyle’s side during his final battle. Meanwhile Kasel and Frey talk. The usual stuff, I think. Wasn’t paying attention. A demon attacks and Kyle is thoughtful enough trying not to use Aea. But when a demon threatens their lives, he is forced to use it. This allows Malduk to detect his exact position. So the baddies teleport right before them as Malduk introduces the Angmund to them. Behold! As they start fighting, Pavel shields Kasel from Angmund’s blast. It blows them all off the cliff. This great blast, Angmund says it’s still incomplete?! Ironically, Maria saves the heroes from death. Since Pavel is fatally wounded, he needs to be treated. Thankfully they are near Elidora so Lorraine takes him in to be healed. Kasel showing some of his growth by giving words of encouragement to Selene. Then he goes to pay his respects at Necha. But looks like Maria is here to remind them how Lua won’t save them. Lorraine recognizes Maria although she looks different now. The gang is shocked to hear Maria was part of Kyle’s groupie. Seems Maria was once a priestess but decided to follow Lea, hence turning her from a saint into a demon. So I guess it’s time to hear her back story, huh? Aside from saying how she was once a strong devotee to Lua but end up in despair and hating the goddess, I guess we’ll have to wait next time for more.

Episode 23
Maria once served by Kyle’s side as a priestess. One day she was out in town with him. He wanted to buy the last bread on sale but Arlette told him it was reserved. Turned out to be a dark elf kid who is working on behalf for his injured parents. Kyle wanted to take care of that kid but Arlette warned that there are many others like him. Can he save them all? Not at the same time. But he hopes in time he will. And that is how they first met and fell in love. However the king and nobles didn’t like this and one day, she just disappeared. Then demons showed up so Kyle and his allies were kept busy fighting them. The rest as we know, then the camp before the decisive battle, Arlette popped up. She ‘disappeared’ because she feared it would ruin his chance to become king. Of course he brushed off that silly idea. If he can’t protect the woman he loves, can he protect his kingdom? And then just like that she’s pregnant?! Did they have sex overnight?! Okay, maybe they did it before she disappeared but it sure gave me that impression. As the decisive battle looms, Maria got a letter from Illya about her complete magical device. Kyle and Maria head in to fight Angmund but as Kyle delivered the final blow, he was being sucked in. Maria prayed to Lua for Kyle’s safety but Aea lost its power and Kyle disappeared in the dimensional rift. Shocked, Maria returned to Illya in hopes to find a way to save Kyle but found her dead (she got heavily wounded by protecting a family from demons). That was when Maria lost all faith in Lua and she heard the voice of Lea and turned to the dark side. She became a demon to find a way to save Kyle but didn’t find anything. Hence her only way was to open the dimensional rift to where he disappeared to. Maria tells the shocking news that the Angmund that appeared before her is Kyle. Kasel thinks if he is under an evil influence, he can still be saved. Maria remains sceptical that Lua will not save them. Well, Kasel believes not in Lua but hope! Oh yeah. Can’t beat that. With Pavel’s awakening, he unlocks the final seal. Aea now appears at the World Tree. I can see why Pavel is doing it last minute since Aea’s presence has been picked up by Malduk. Who’s gonna get the holy sword first?

Episode 24
OMFG! WTF?! ANOTHER RECAP EPISODE?! Yeah, they sure trolled us without putting that .5 in the title. Sighs… But not 100% copy and paste as there are quite a few original dialogues to boot. Anyway, the first half sees Scarlet writing a letter to Behl of what has happened starting from the massacre of the dark elves at Galluah Plains to her journey to the Sage Tower and discovering some shocking truths from Dominix about Aea as well as its whereabouts and of course her resolution with Riheet about the future of their people and kingdom. The second half has Frey, Cleo and Selene talk about Kasel and that he is more reliable than before. Cue to start from that spider episode with Reina and then all the way to meeting Pavel and finally that encounter with Angmund as well as Maria’s shocking revelation. So I guess you girls better get your beauty sleep now. There’s still some way to the World Tree. The fate of the world rests in a couple of episodes more!!! HAHAHA!!!

Episode 25
Demia wonders why Clause didn’t tell him all about Kasel. They could’ve made early preparations to assist him. Clause explains what Kasel told him at Sage Tower. Kasel needs to find his own destiny without anyone’s help. Only then he can truly grow. While it might be a lot of burden on 1 man, Clause believes in Kasel. It has been his dream to protect everyone from young. He worked hard for it. The day Kasel picks up his sword is the day Clause will become his shield. Revenge is only on Riheet’s mind. Scarlet is worried if Kyle was taken over by dark powers, the same could be said for Kasel and Aea. Not Riheet’s problem. To get his attention, talk more about Malduk and his undead sorcery. Yeah, you even madder, Riheet? REVENGE! Frey talks to Kasel about her worries. She wonders if he can fight Angmund who is Kyle. Don’t worry, dear. I’ll protect everyone if it costs my life. Apparently that’s not the answer she wants to hear. What about that promise he made to not push himself? Even if the world is saved, she doesn’t want it to be one without him. Did he deflect the question by saying he trusts all of them? Yeah. Together we shall defeat this Dark Lord! Scarlet and Riheet reach the World Tree first. Riheet rushes to pick up Aea. I guess it’s not Excalibur… Do you feel any power flowing through? Nope. Scarlet stops him because Aea belongs to Kasel. But nothing will get in the way of Riheet’s revenge. Well, it saves time since Angmund and Malduk are here. Due to a barrier, Angmund uses his blast to break it! Woah! Yeah, the whole place just died. Angmund needs to replenish his energy so Malduk goes to get Aea. So can Riheet get his revenge with Aea? Yeah, Malduk just mocking him and his dead comrades. Don’t let your trauma best your thirst for revenge! Funny part, Malduk talks about the beauty of death in all beings. And when Scarlet injures him, HE BECOMES MAD!!! LAUGHABLE!!! I guess it’s time to settle things so with some distraction, Scarlet stabs him from the back and Riheet decapitates him. And that is with his own sword and not Aea. Damn, they make Malduk’s death look so easy. But now here comes Angmund. Damn, he recovered already? He takes Aea and is about to kill Scarlet. Just in time for Demia and Clause to come protect her. You should see their priceless face when Scarlet tells them this is Angmund. But don’t fear, Kasel and co are here! It’s time for the ultimate everybody vs Thanos trope!

Episode 26
I suppose Kasel is trying to tell Angmund that he is Kyle, huh? Yeah, it would be weird if a reverse Star Wars were to happen here. “Kyle, I’m your son!!!”. OMFG. So I guess words won’t reach this Dark Lord. Okay then. Everybody chip in to find an opening till Kasel can take Aea from him. After all that hard fighting and they manage to get the sword out of Angmund’s hands, WTF did Angmund get more powerful?! Is this that cliché video game trope whereby the final boss gets stronger when you deal more damage?! Oh, so Aea was just limiting his power, huh? Yeah, Angmund has his own sword to use. Now that Kasel has got Aea, let round 2 of the epic fight begin. As usual, everybody chips in but nobody puts a scratch on Angmund. Damn, this guy is really overpowered! Riheet saves Kasel from a fatal blow. Don’t worry, dark elf still lives. Then Maria shows up to help. Osoi! This distraction allows Kasel to stab through Angmund. OMG. That easy? But wait. History might be repeating itself since the darkness is trying to absorb Kasel! Frey will not let him disappear but her efforts to pry him away were in vain. It is then Illya’s pendant activates and gives Kasel a brand new shining armour to blow away the darkness. WOAH! And that’s the end of the fight. Kyle returns to normal and he knows everything since in his dark form, he could still hear things. He reveals the truth that Lua didn’t abandon him but granted his wish. Back then, he let go of Aea’s power on his own to protect the holy sword. His wish was to make his son the heir. Kyle can now finally rest in peace. First time father and son meet, it’s their last. RIP, Kyle. Maria laments she got everything wrong and if only she had the same strong feelings as Frey. Thanks for saving Kyle. With the Dark Lord defeated, Cleo hugs Kasel as a victory pose?! She wants everyone to hug him too?!

In the aftermath, the defeat of Angmund is proven when all demonic activities die down. Peace returns and although the people do not hate dark elves as much, there are some nobles who don’t like this arrangement and some dark elves who still harbour animosity. Scarlet wants to make Riheet her honorary guard. However he has her hold that first. As there are many dark elves who are still under the wrong impression, he needs to make his rounds to tell them the truth. He might not forgive all that has happened to his race but trusts her to keep his word. Now that Kasel is a full-fledged knight, what else is he going to do? Since Aea picks up some strange vibes, he thinks of going on a journey to check it out. Let’s hope he’s just overthinking. Kasel and Riheet are humble with each other. Riheet handing Illya’s pendant to him since he will need it on his journey. Yeah, the pendant goes well with the holy sword. Cleo and Roi once more join Kasel and Frey on a journey. Cleo is happy Dominix gave her tons of money but lesson learnt, Frey will be keeping it.

King Strayed: Suck-cess-Sore Of The Fail
Well, that was a pretty generic and predictable ending. I know, I know. If they ended on a cliff-hanger, say, Kasel gets absorbed by the darkness and goes missing just like Kyle, it would’ve left an even worse bad taste in my mouth. Looking at you, Hortensia Saga! So I suppose I can’t complain. After a long journey to get the holy sword and prove he is the heir, this is the expected ending because it would suck if it turned out otherwise and that it would be a big slap in the face to Kasel because failure means he wasn’t the heir after all. The current Dark Lord might be gone but they didn’t say gone for good so it could be that one day in the distant future he might return. With Aea acting up, I hope it’s just trolling. I mean, you have the true holy sword with you and now in peaceful times, what the f*ck are you going to do?! Boring! Excuse to go on a detour, oops, I mean journey to check things out. After all, Kasel defeated the Dark Lord and he would be too big of a role for him as a hero to become Scarlet’s personal knight, right? That seat is reserved for Riheet, remember that!

The whole story feels flimsy and like as though it was written on the fly. It was bad already bad enough it was as generic as f*ck (the heir and only person who can use the holy sword has to go on a journey – boring!!!) but they didn’t really make it that exciting either. Thing is, this anime was adapted from a Korean RPG mobile game. However this adaptation didn’t follow the story of the game. Yup, you’ve guessed it. They have to write a new different story just for the anime. And as we can see, it wasn’t really good. Since I didn’t play the game nor have I heard about it until I watched the anime, safe to say that I can’t compare. But I’m pretty sure that fans of the game will find how different it is. You can be mad or disappointed all you want. I mean, they already told us the anime was going to adapt a very different story. So there’s your warning. While this might give a fresh sense of anticipation (because it doesn’t follow a source material so anything goes, hence that anticipation factor), it is unfortunately it didn’t turn out well as we have seen.

Furthermore, this series lasted 2 cours and I believe it could’ve just been condensed into just a single cour had they not split the story into Kasel’s group and Black Edge (later as Riheet’s revenge). As part of the freshness to create a different story for the anime, I also read that some characters, particularly the dark elves were also newly created for the anime (although last time I checked, they became playable characters in the game). Hence the story goes back and forth between both groups so as to give us a false illusion that something exciting is happening on both sides. Personally, it just felt like a distraction. I mean, you spend too long a period focusing on Kasel’s group, you’re definitely going to be bored. That’s why the introduction of the dark elves to spice things up. Which of course as you can see, wasn’t that good either. To think that Kasel and Riheet’s side never meet each other for a great part of the series feels like they’re running a separate story side by side. Weird. And then in the final episode they just meet briefly and shake hands. Weird.

The main plot fails mainly because I keep overthinking of some stupid stuffs, which is actually valid if you really think deep about it. You see, for Kasel to prove that he is the heir to Aea, he has to go on a journey to unlock the seal. While this sounds reasonable for a fantasy setting, my point is that if they anticipated the Dark Lord to return in 100 years, why the f*ck do they put the bearers of the seal so far from each other???!!! Do you see what I’m getting here? Time is of essence and it’s not like airplanes were invented in this world, right? Sure, you can argue those seal bearers live in very faraway places. And that the heir must actually go on a journey to find himself to see if he is worthy. Again, pretty reasonable. But then like I said, why the f*ck keep them so far apart?! I mean, couldn’t the seal be placed nearby just in case of times of emergencies like this? Give one to Clause, another to Scarlet, and another one to, oh maybe Sheila?! I get it, I get it. The journey once more is to make Kasel take a look at himself and change. Even so, remember the time factor. Time is not on your side. Worse, they’re doing the entire journey on foot! THEY’RE NOT EVEN RIDING HORSES!!! I mean, the land they travel looks good enough for horses to ride through! No wonder they couldn’t make it in time and Angmund got revived! So are they poor as f*ck or are they such animal rights activists that they don’t want to be burden to horses. For God’s sakes…

On a trivial note that doesn’t matter, I just want to nit-pick that this fantasy setting doesn’t have enough diversity! You have elves, you have orcs and even demons. Heck, elf lovers must be rejoicing because they have dark elves too. Are they related? Not sure. Don’t care. Having such a variety of creatures, so where the f*ck are the dwarves?! Or even ogres?! Where are the beast people?! Well, I saw the game had such characters but I guess the anime felt that it didn’t need any animal mascot. I don’t think Necha made the cut. Yeah, come to think of it, imagine if Kasel had a cute but annoying little talking cat character on his journey. Yikes! Okay then. Enough diversity for this anime. Move along…

The other big loophole which I feel was never answered and purposely never examined because they had no answer to is this: If Kyle was the heir to the throne and the bloodline of the royalty, who the f*ck is the current king now?! Remember, Kyle took over his father after his sudden death. Then his fight with Angmund has him disappeared. So unless Kyle had some other sibling (which was never pointed out at all) or if Kyle actually had a real wife (Arlette’s his mistress after all) and had a child from the official marriage (BS since it is widely believed that Kyle had no child), once again, who the f*ck is Scarlet’s father?! Because if you argue that Kyle had a child with his legal wife, so why wasn’t he the first choice in become the heir to Aea?! I mean, it would’ve saved lots of trouble, wouldn’t it?! But nope, it had to be Kasel. Only him. He is the heir. This proves that he is the only child that Kyle fathers. So once again, is Scarlet and her father the fake royalty? Oh boy, I think I’m going to open up a can of worms and lots of confusion here if I pursue this further…

Another future loophole to ponder: I guess it was good foresight to freeze Arlette and her unborn son 100 years into the future as a safeguard measure in case the Dark Lord returns. Fast forward 100 years in the future and all that came true. Thank that foresight for that preparation. But guess what now? What is to say that in the next 100 years’ time, the Dark Lord will once again return?! Oh sh*t! Did we not think of a future plan for that?! You used up your trump card already and did not replenish?! Or were they so sure they would officially defeat Angmund this time? If you listen carefully, they didn’t really mention that the Dark Lord has been completely vanquished. Because otherwise, it is Kasel’s turn to leave an heir now. Pressure. I bet there are porn scenes of Kasel x Frey somewhere on the dark web… Maybe somewhere between the final fight, Kasel and Frey did do it with each other… Just in case…

As mentioned, Kasel’s group and his journey on foot is to see him discover himself and grow. This slow journey means opening possibilities for standalone fillers that don’t really matter. That zombie episode with Elise as well as that spider episode with Reina, if you think about it, they can be done without. However we need to showcase Kasel’s growth and hence such weird filler episodes. At the end of the day, Kasel does improve. By an inch. But I guess that is way better than not showing at all and then suddenly we are shown Kasel is able to control his powers. Yup, better this boring filler stuffs than missing it all. Hey remember, it is the journey, not the destination. The same can be said for Dark Edge and it feels boring that they’re just bidding their time and doing heroic stuffs just to get revenge on Orvelia. Even more ironic, they believe a lie to hate their own kind Illya for this predicament. I guess they don’t trust their own blood, huh? And as the Orvelia people warm up to them, all seems to be going as planned. Will they take this advantage for revenge or will they change? Because they’ll be no different than their murderers if they resort to blood. But screw all that because they got unceremoniously massacred anyway! Oh sh*t! Hence, turning the rest of dark elves’ existence into one annoying burning hatred of revenge because that’s all Riheet’s got on his mind. Sheesh. So this your character development for this dark elf survivor? But still feel the saddest moment when Sheila realizes Tamm won’t be coming back. :’(. Yeah, they had better romance potential than Kasel x Frey!!!

Character wise, they’re just boring and generic. Take a look at Kasel’s groupie. Kasel is under pressure to prove himself so he is serious. Got all the typical main character traits and cliché because he’s that kind of guy would sacrifice himself to save the world. Yeah. That. Frey is his childhood friend and a very worrisome character. You can see it’s written all over her face. That stress is going to kill her one day. I bet Frey loves Kasel more than just childhood friends but the world is in danger so no time to showcase and troll us with any sliver of romance. Then you’ve got Roi who is just so freaking serious. That’s it. Cleo brings some relief because she’s so carefree and the resident idiot. If I really had to choose which character I like best, Cleo would be it (barely) because she’s funny. Without her, the group will be boring as f*ck. Her troubles and shenanigans bring smiles to my faces even though some are cringe. These characters have their episode to flesh out their background so it won’t be a drab and that it won’t always be Kasel, Kasel and Kasel. But still, not really memorable. And it felt like fillers too. So yeah. They aren’t the best party out there but when you’re the only party who can get the holy sword and save the world… Oh my, that sounds like bad news, doesn’t it?

Then we have Riheet. At first he was cool because of his aloof and taciturn character even within his own tribe. After the deaths of his comrades, he becomes brooding with revenge and he became really annoying. Revenge is the only thing on his mind and when he got it, it’s like it wasn’t sufficient. Like, duh. It won’t bring back your dead friends! His flashback with Ripine too was just barely and nothing too deep that would really want to make us care too much for this dark elf siblings. Just enough for some character development, plot progression, that’s all. Riheet looks better smiling and relieved of his revenge burden but I guess the damage is done? Scarlet tries to be his voice of reasoning and to prevent him from losing his way 100%. She’s trying to be a good leader but I just don’t feel it here. Most probably it’s because she isn’t main character like Kasel so it feels that she is mostly side-lined. Scarlet x Riheet romance? Don’t really feel it, but still way more probable to happen than Kasel x Frey!!! Maria, oh Maria. It was pretty obvious from early on that she was on the villain’s side only because to see Kyle again. If you put all the pieces of the puzzle together, it was pretty easy in figuring out her intentions. But now she’s a pessimist who has fallen out of her believe with Lua. Like, does it matter? Maybe. Because otherwise she wouldn’t be sticking around to see if Kasel and co pull it off, right? Somewhere deep in her heart she still must have that light shining amidst the thick darkness… Now that she has learnt the truth, will she be going back to Lua? Where’d she go in the end? Who knows? Don’t care.

Other characters are pretty meh. Clause, Kasel’s best buddy. Demia, Scarlet’s best buddy. Moriham, too bad his nefarious scheme fell apart and became irrelevant when Dark Edge got annihilated. I thought he would be the villain in hiding but turns out he wasn’t even needed. Where this dude went after that? Who knows? Don’t care. Lorraine, Kaulah and Pavel, strong people in their own right but is there something reason why they won’t personally join Kasel in his journey to fight demons? Wasn’t that Arlette’s wish? Oh wait. Sorry. Forgot that Kasel was on a journey to unlock the seals to Aea. You do that boring stuffs yourself, kid. If they’re going on a continent tour to slay demons, maybe it would’ve been a different story. Supporting from afar also counts, right? Yeah, it’s the thought that counts. Dominix. Is he an overpowered character? Because otherwise why hole himself up in his Sage Tower and not follow Kasel on his journey? Yeah, need some light on something in the past? Well is it plot convenience time? You bet he is there to tell the story.

The fight scenes feel passable at best. It wasn’t anything exciting. Because like Kasel who is caught in between his cliché roles, he can’t be too overpowered yet but at the same time he can’t be that weak. And hence seeing him swinging the sword just bores me to death. Sure, he has got some backup from Roi and his ninja style fighting and Cleo using her magic to fire bomb the hell out of the battlefield, but that’s as exciting as it can get. The most disappointing one is Riheet’s fight with Malduk. It felt rushed like as though they needed to get it over with. Because even if Malduk is an asshole we all love to hate, the way he easily toys around our main characters showed that he is still a force to be reckon with. And then the way he got killed off like that, wow, that was like so unbelievable. Time’s running out. Hey, at least it didn’t take like 10 episodes to get it over! Now that we’ve warmed up the seat with this sub-boss fight, it’s time to let Kasel and Angmund, the big main event to go on. But I have to admit and give credit for the final battle with Angmund as it is worthily epic. If many fights were of this calibre, the action would’ve been better but I guess they don’t want to dull our excitement with every battle being this epic. Despite the cliché and predictable, it’s pack with lots of power. Final boss fights must have so with everyone pulling out all their punches. So for the final episode, it was pretty much exciting and fitting in its own right.

Art and animation feel just passable. Nothing really extraordinary. I don’t know, the character designs also feel a bit boring. Like Maria, she’s supposed to be designed in a sexy manner but with that black widow garb, I just find it boring. Even Frey’s priestess getup looks boring. I thought there’s supposed to be some sex appeal in it?! Oh right, you’re not supposed to have that if you’re a devotee to God. I thought you’re supposed to please the eyes of the viewers? And why does the Dark Lord look like some dark knight? No, I don’t mean Batman! Here I thought he would be more of a Demon King (which is what the translation should precisely mean rather than a Dark Lord), but nope. He looks like some evil knight all in black instead. So is this conspiracy theory of mine true? The current king becomes the next Dark Lord and this sick cycle repeats?! Just need to find a weak king of another kingdom… Oh gosh… This anime is jointly done by OLM (famous for its Pokemon series and movies) and Sunrise Beyond (Gundam Build Divers).

Voice acting is also just passable. Nothing special. Didn’t recognize anybody in particular. At first I thought it was Ayane Sakura as Frey and she was doing one of those low voices of hers. But as episodes go by, it dawned to me that it couldn’t really be her. True enough, it wasn’t. It was Ai Kakuma (Rossweisse in High School DxD). The other casts are Kaito Ishikawa as Kasel (Iida in Boku No Hero Academia), Kengo Kawanishi as Roi (Rei in 3-gatsu No Lion), Ari Ozawa as Cleo (Mao in Hinamatsuri), Ryouta Suzuki as Riheet (Ishigami in Kaguya-sama Wa Kokurasetai), Mitsuki Nakae as Scarlet (Tsubaki in Hagane Orchestra), Ryotaro Okiayu as Dominix (Byakuya in Bleach), Sakura Nakamura as Maria (Rachnera in Monster Musume No Iru Nichijou), Kentaro Ito as Malduk (Renji in Bleach), Emi Hirayama as Lorraine (Eva in Marchen Madchen), Juri Nagatsuma as Selene (Satone in Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai), Yuuki Inoue as Pavel (Joseph in Uchi No Musume), Yoshino Nanjou as Ripine (Eri in Love Live), Shinobu Matsumoto as Kaulah (Sazaluf in Nejimaki Seirei Senki: Tenkyou No Alderamin), Yuuki Takada as Reina (Aoba in New Game), Masaya Matsukaze as Kyle (Ren in Jigoku Shoujo), Mika Kanda as Demia, Takuma Terashima as Clause (Shiroe in Log Horizon).

When I first heard the first opening theme… OMFG! It’s Only My Railgun!!! NOT! Oh f*ck?! You mean it’s not?! Oh well, I guess Legendary Future sounds so strikingly close because Fripside is the one who sings it and if you know their techno trademark style, they all sound pretty similar… Yeah, you could say I’m a bit disappointed. Even weirder for them to use this techno song for this series. It just doesn’t quite cut it. The second opener is Eclipse by Dreamcatcher. It sounds more dramatic but has that weird tropical feel in it. Sometimes I thought I was hearing a Japanese version of Madonna’s La Isla Bonita. Hard rock for the first ending theme, Stick Out by Kotoko. And then hard rock with techno for the second ending theme, One Wish by Riho Iida. Both aren’t my cup of tea but is it me that both the ending credits animation feature totally on Riheet and Ripine? It’s like they dominate this part of the episode. It’s not like Kasel dominate the opener anyhow.

Overall, this series is pretty generic and standard affair. The story, the characters, the animation and right down to the action. Just another typical fantasy action adventure. If you don’t set your expectations too high, this one would still be sufficiently enjoyable. Otherwise, like many would have advised, better to go play the game with deeper mechanics and all if you really want to invest and get to know more about the series. So yeah, maybe that got me thinking that it could be a marketing ploy just to make us go play the mobile game. After all, the anime isn’t that good and what better way than to dispel all that frustration by playing the original source itself? Yeah. There’s no way I’m going to part my hard earned cash and fall for that scam! Which means even if somebody says that we’re going to beat the Dark Lord AKA Corona virus anytime soon, I’d just laugh and refer them to this anime. Because eventually we won’t get the holy sword AKA vaccine in time and then world destruction AKA the pandemic will eventually sweep and destroy the entire world. Or at least the economy. In the end, we all die! HAHAHA!!! Oh dear, that’s not funny when you realize real life isn’t the same as this or any fantasy action adventure…

Imawa No Kuni No Alice

Do you ever wish that you had more meaning and freedom in your life to do whatever you want? And that all you dreams and desires would come true as you have thought? Well, that would be very nice and something to look forward to considering the trying times we live in. But too bad and suck it up because life’s just not freaking fair! HAHAHA! I’m saying this because be careful of what you wish for. You think you have it tough? And no, I’m not going to ask you to put yourself in the shoes of others who are having it worse than you. Instead, you yourself will be put in a much tougher situation. A situation where you have to play a series of deadly life or death series if you want to survive! That’s right. That’s what the main protagonist in Imawa No Kuni No Alice had. A boring and meaningless life, huh? Now how much alive do you feel in playing survival games?! Oh yeah. Very alive indeed. Because that’s the state you need to be if you want to breathe to see tomorrow’s sunrise. Wished you had your boring life back now, did you?

Episode 1
Ryouhei Arisu, Daikichi Karube and Chouta Segawa are hanging in the dead hours of the morning and wish they were in some place exciting. Yeah. Freedom to do whatever they want. Suddenly fireworks light up the sky. At this hour? Pretty, no? Then there’s one that is too big. Oh f*ck! Explosion! The next thing they know, they are in some dystopian world. Dilapidated buildings overrun with overgrowth. No other life forms. Wow. Is this the freedom they are looking for? Oh yeah. Time to have fun. While Arisu and Chouta are having the time of their life, Karube is more down to earth and has them think about reality. Something is wrong. Then they see a festival ahead and enter the vicinity. More fun, right? The post in the centre of the festival starts making an announcement. 4 participants confirmed. Karube wants them to get out of this but Saori Shibuki warns them not to. The area is cordoned off with some invisible barrier and walking through it means you get zapped! Holy sh*t… The post then announces 3 of clubs. Shibuki claims this is their difficulty meter. More announcement is made as everyone must draw their fortune and clear the game. Shibuki further explains no one can opt out and warns if they don’t buck up, they’ll die. Karube can tell she isn’t a first time in this game and has seen people die. He just wants to know if she is their ally or not. She just says she is in the same position as they are. Karube draws first. Great luck. Something good waiting in the south. Chouta draws next. Normal luck. A maths question? He casually answers. Wrong answer. Penalty is flaming arrows shooting at him. How many? The difference between the correct and his wrong answer. So he’s off by 3. And suddenly 3 flaming arrows almost hit Chouta. Oh sh*t. Arisu and Chouta are scared sh*t now. Shibuki draws her fortune. Bad luck. A maths question to guess how many litres of cow blood or something. Wrong answer. Difference? Over 400!!! Here comes the flaming arrows! HIDE!!! Unfortunately Chouta gets hit by one in the leg. Karube rushes over to pour water over and pull out the arrow.

Seeing how mature and manly Karube is, this gives Arisu hope that he can do this. So he pulls his fortune. Oh. Extreme bad luck! What’s the question? How many people on Earth!!! Sure, he makes a guess and he is off by a few hundred thousand! But he isn’t panicking. Because he thinks back of all the clues they missed. Firstly, he knows which direction the arrows will be coming. It is clearly stated in the fortune but just difficult to notice. Second, this luck thing is pre-determined so the hint of the safe place was stated in Karube’s fortune in the south. After all, the rules didn’t say getting the correct answers would clear this game despite it stated they must answer the questions. As they run towards the south as the flaming fires start coming, they see a well. Too bad it is filled. Game over? But dig a bit deeper and there’s a hatch. Open it! Inside is a room in which the post congratulates them in winning the game. The quartet are happy and in exchange for their win, they are given a visa in correspondence to their difficulty level. Shibuki says this means they are granted permission to stay in this place called Borderland for 3 days. There are also other participants in Borderland and games are held after sundown. Each time you win a game, you are granted a visa to extend your stay. After treating Chouta’s leg at a hospital, they see a guy cowering in fear in a dark room. You can tell he participated in previous games and looks like he is done playing them. All his friends are dead. Now, if you wonder what happens if you don’t renew your visa, here’s your answer. As this dude’s visa has expired, a heavenly beam strikes him once the clock strikes midnight! Bloody. OMFG. So much for the freedom you wanted, huh, Arisu?

Episode 2
Arisu and Chouta drink at Karube’s bar that he owns. They’re racking up the tabs so Karube tells them to buck up and not ruin his dream of buying a ranch in Australia and herd sheep for the rest of his life. A drunk Arisu claims that if they were put in a survival game, he’ll definitely unleash his potential. Well, now’s the time, Arisu. Uh huh. He is feeling for the past 17 years of his life might all be just a dream. When Karube claims they should participate in a game tonight rather in the next 2 days, this is because they should sharpen their skills and not get complacent. But what about Chouta? He is injured. Of course he’ll sit this one out. Shibuki offers to stay with him so he won’t be alone. So even if they get their visa extended, they’ll also enter a game with Chouta to renew his. Chouta is overwhelmed with emotions. He claims he is useless and a deadweight to them. Arisu disagrees because he doesn’t like the idea of comparing. Arisu and Karube enter the complex for tonight’s game. Lots of weirdoes. The post announces that tonight’s game will be a game of tag. Players will be given a spot to start and in 5 minutes a killer will come out. All the doors in this complex are locked except for one, which is the killer’s base. To clear this game, they must enter this base. The game ends when time runs out or all the players are killed. As this game is ranked 5 of spades, a flashy old dude explains that it is a physically demanding game and would like to stick to Arisu and Karube. A few minutes into the game, oh well, a couple of punks are gunned down. And they’re close to Arisu’s groupie! OMG! This horse head with a machine gun is the killer?! Run! Shuntarou Chishiya claims to be a smart guy as he observes from atop. Because he didn’t see where the killer comes from, he deduces it is from the blind spot he is standing. Arisu and Karube hide in a corner of a floor while the flashy dude continues to run on his own. Because when he reaches the straight hallway he gets gunned down. Karube then screams to let others know about the killer. But as Chishiya narrates, it might not be a good move because it is only human nature not to trust others and doing so only gives your position away to the killer.

The killer is now targeting Yuzuha Usagi. Thanks to her athletic ability, she manages to get away by jumping and climbing to another floor! Too bad for that nerdy girl who got shot instead. One dude got too scared and decides to escape. Got blown up by the mines when he steps outside the building. Due to Arisu’s lack of stamina, Karube is forced to leave him behind as the killer is hot on his tail. Arisu is hiding at a small corner and fears this is it. He’ll be discovered. Flashback of his own family problems. Basically, he doesn’t even exist. Well, that isn’t a bad thing now because the killer didn’t see him and walks past him! Karube stumbles into a couple of guys who think of turning the tables on the killer. First, they spray fire extinguishers to mess him up but he still fires anyway. Then this strong wrestler guy comes to grab him from the back to break his back. Only, the killer has an extra gun. Bang! Both guys dead. Karube continues running. He is relieved when he hears Arisu’s voice. This time the killer fires at Arisu’s way and changes his path towards him. But this has Arisu thinking. He sees bullet holes on the wall, the first shots the killer fired. Those must just be warning shots. Putting himself in the killer’s shoes, he realizes there is no need to go all out to hunt players. All he needs to do is just guard his home base. Though, this might give away his position. With that, Arisu hatches a plan with Karube. The killer is seen standing outside his base. Arisu distracts him as Karube tackles him from the back. However as Arisu enters the room, he is in despair because there needs to be 2 people to push 2 buttons at the same time to clear this game! Karube is struggling against the killer and is about to get shot but Chishiya is here to help buy some time and shoots the gun off his hands. Arisu screams for help and this is where Yuzuha leaps in as they press the button to clear the game. At 1 second remaining! It ends with the killer’s head exploding! Phew. A close one. Arisu and Karube return to a relieved Chouta and Shibuki.

Episode 3
Karube is looking through the taxis for radio. Because when he talked to Chishiya then, he didn’t say much but hinted that radios in taxis still worked. Meanwhile Chouta is still suffering from inferior complex and claims himself as useless. Shibuki reveals she stayed back with him because she was also scared. So the key now is to live in the moment and they make out???!!! WTF???!!! Sex definitely real. Shibuki also reveals the first game she played on a train. Gas mask and poison. Anyway, it was hard and she was resigned to give up but survived. Shibuki weeps but Chouta assures her that they have strong friends like Arisu and Karube so they’ll get by. Arisu wanted Yuzuha to come with them so they can survive together but she declined since she feared those feelings will get in the way and when that time comes, it’ll be hard. But Arisu doesn’t think that sort of thing will happen because he is confident all of them will survive. Well, that comes to a test when we see them entering a greenhouse. They are to put on a headset and visor. Once in the game area, the post tells them this game of hide and seek will be of 7 of hearts. One of them will randomly be the wolf and the rest sheep. When the wolf makes eye contact with the sheep, the sheep will become the wolf and have 3 seconds to get out of the wolf’s sight. In 10 minutes when the game ends, whoever is the wolf will survive while the sheep will die!!! OMFG… Everyone is in shock as Chouta is chosen as the wolf. As they contemplate on things and the wolf being passed around, when Shibuki becomes the wolf, she becomes selfish and runs away. If only 1 person can survive this, it has to be me! Karube becomes mad and hunts her down. He tries to force open her eyes and even threatens to kill her. Do it and there’ll be no wolf and all of you will die. She makes eye contact with Chouta. Time for him to run. And then he makes contact with Arisu. Sorry dude, we’re no longer buddies. Bye. At this point everyone is just mad and trying to hunt for Arisu while he hides and hopes his non-existence will help him survive.

It is then when Chouta comes clean with everyone. Revealing he had sex with Shibuki, he also admits himself as stupid and weak and tried to betray his friends. But it is because of them, he came this far. This is when Arisu realizes he was the one who plunged into madness. He announces he will be withdrawing from the game. He is standing at the entrance and pleads for any one of them to come and see him. Once the wolf is passed, he’ll go hide somewhere. He feels sorry for trying to betray his friends because now he realizes life isn’t worth living if he has to sacrifice them all. Funny, Karube has the same thinking. He is proud to hear Arisu say that and that means a lot to him. Shibuki doesn’t want to bear the burden of this friendship thingy so she’s going to hide too. Karube reminds Arisu of his Australian dream. Well, that was his dream because Arisu had a dream to go to Australia. Whether he remembers it or not, they talked about the vast space and land as well as watching the sunset together while drinking beer. Yeah. Such a cool dream. So yeah, Arisu, please live for the rest of us. Arisu desperately runs around to find the sheep but they’re all cleverly hidden. Time’s up. The sheep’s collar explodes. Damn, Karube’s cigarette enough to light up and burn down the entire greenhouse?! Arisu survives as he lies outside in shock. Then he becomes a madman and screams as he vows to find those f*ckers behind this sick game and get his revenge. Yuzuha approaches him and extends her hand. Come with me and we’ll survive together. Uhm, so she changed her solo policy?

Test Your Luck…
OMG… OMFG!!! IS THIS HOW IT ENDS???!!! I NEED MORE!!! I WANT MORE OF THIS!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE NO MORE EPISODES???!!! WHAT THE HECK???!!! WHAT THE FFFUUUU???!!! Oh my. Sorry lost my composure there because every second of each episode had me on the edge of my seat so when it ended that manner, I literally fell off my chair. Sure, I wasn’t expecting an ending with all sunshine or rainbows. Even so, couldn’t they at least make another episode just to tie things up or at least set up the next stage? Oh well, I guess not. Doing so would only make me ask for a mile after being given an inch. I mean, doing another episode to only set up another cliff-hanger will also have me seething at the teeth. More questions raised than answers. Oh shucks. You can say I am bummed out just finishing binge watching this. Where will I get my next blood spilling gore festival???!!!

Obviously after watching Tenkuu Shinpan, this was what led me to this series and I could say that this is so far the best action survival series that I have seen in recent years. Yup, even better than those like Darwin’s Game, Btooom and even Tenkuu Shinpan itself. All the games that were featured here were really suspenseful. They’re packed with adrenaline pumping action suspense and even though you know our main characters will survive, there is this sense that they might not. Which we have seen in the final episode. Nobody is safe. Death is just standing right next to you and the next second could be your last. It is sad that this series might not get any sequel seeing the manga that this is adapted from has already long ended (I think it was back in 2016) and its spinoff just recently. And with no signs of trying to even adapt this into a proper TV series, hopes are looking pretty dim. Just like the survival rate in this series. Haha. Not funny. I guess the content is too violent and edgy to be properly adapted and that’s why the adaptation is via OVA format. Oh wait. There was a real live adaptation back in 2020 on Netflix. Hmm… Maybe there might be a chance to review it for the anime version…

While the suspenseful action is the main attraction and the only obvious thing that is bombarded in our faces, the other potentials like the characters and underlying story feel very neglected. Rest assured, I’m not going to drop points for this series just because it lacks that. It’s like watching porn for the story. Get what I mean?! Anyway, the lack of characters and story can also be greatly contributed thanks to only 3 episodes, which of course logic tells you that it is not enough to flesh anything out. Hence instead of trying to cram everything and be everything, they spammed us the suspenseful action. You won’t notice this while watching the anime but after a while when it ends and you start to do some retrospect thinking, they become somewhat glaring. They do leave some miniscule hints but it isn’t enough to conclude even a sliver for a conspiracy theory. Okay. Maybe. Because if they do drop more hints, this means increasing the curiosity level and hence making us pondering this and that. So by not getting in too deep with such, we can just leave the series as it is without feeling too much confused with what has been brought up and not answered. My experience with Tenkuu Shinpan had me come to that conclusion. So for the time being, I suppose I’ll let it slide my questions about the visa and if there are any super admins behind all this organizing this sick and twisted games. Imagine if a country allows you to stay only if you clear their games. Yeah, literally a sh*thole!

As also pointed out earlier, having 3 episodes didn’t do justice to flesh out the characters especially our main ones. We were given a few snippets and flashbacks to peek into Arisu’s life but nothing really concrete. We can only conclude that his household has trouble or at least he is the problem kid in the household. Hence his inferiority complex is the reason why he seems to be languishing and wasting his life away with his pals who could be in a similar state. Except for Karube. Personally, I think he is the best character because of how he takes affirmative action on the situation. He is like the big brother of the trio and looks out for them. Without him, they could have been dead even before becoming participants in Borderland. It’s just sad that he had to die. Chouta isn’t such a bad character too but with him sitting out in the middle episode, he gets less screen time for us to take notice as we are mostly thrown the Arisu-Karube dynamism. Short ugly guy might have self-confidence issues and it’s just heart-wrenching to see him wallow in that sort of uselessness. But was the one who got to f*ck a smoking hot babe. Feels weird and strange but whatever. When you’re scared, you do jack sh*t things. Yeah. Although we don’t see it, we could feel the tightly knit bond between the guys. It just sucks that their friendship came to an end. Till death do us part. Yeah, Arisu’s final emotional outburst really reached us. Felt really sad for him :’(.

It is strange for a character like Shibuki to become part of the trio. Something compels us to feel that she is already part of the group and then before you know it, she gets killed off. Goes to show that nobody is safe. It felt weird that she was introduced as a tough women in the first episode and then in the next, suddenly she becomes meek?! Is this just to troll us with a sex scene?! Where did that badass attitude go? And in her final game, she was just selfish than badass before succumbing to the might of the bros. Weird indeed. Then there’s the condescending Chishiya who sounds like he is the smartest person in the world. Well, we’ve seen him only in 1 game so can we judge him so or is he super lucky. He reeks a lot of mystery like as though he could be one of the admins organizing such games. Last not least, Yuzuha. She showed us some potential but again, everything is so iffy that it makes you wonder if she has an ulterior motive. I mean, she didn’t want to be part of Arisu’s groupie but then changed her mind after his pals died. So technically it’s okay if it is just him? Is Arisu the chosen one or something? I’m sure there are a bunch of other intriguing characters too but making them pop up here would only raise more questions so I think it is for the best that since the OVA ended in such a cliff-hanger way, don’t need to introduce to us more characters than they need.

Animation is pretty standard affair. Nothing to shout about but I can say that it has better quality than lots of animes in recent years. After all, this is OVA format so there better be some quality to give your 2 cents worth. Though, the main characters do look a bit funny and cliché. Like Chouta looking like some midget fairy or something. Arisu exuding typical spikey hair main character aura while Karube have this yakuza look but a yakuza with a golden heart. Yeah, don’t judge a book by its cover. This series is jointly done by Silver Link and Connect who also did many shows together like Strike The Blood, Busou Shoujo Machiavellianism, Death March Kara Hajimari Isekai Kyousoukyoku, Bonjour Koiaji Patisserie and Chaos Dragon.

Overall, this is a very good and interesting series. Despite lacking an ending as well as other departments, it is still a very good show to watch if want a show that puts you on the edge of your seat with lots of adrenaline rush. It is really a shame that this didn’t get a proper TV adaptation or even at least a sequel. Considering in today’s era where we have sequels, remakes, reboots and retellings, this one was not on the radar. Oh well, if there’s something we should have learnt from this anime, it is to be thankful with what we have and not whine so much. At least it got adapted than never, right? Yeah, life’s like that. Having said all that and seen all the sh*t that has happened here, so I guess stumbling through this Corona pandemic season isn’t so bad after all, huh? Uh huh. Be thankful for this sh*tty reality than to be in Borderland anytime!

Anime Series With A Long Gap Between Its 2nd & 3rd TV Seasons

Don’t you just hate waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting? Yeah, we people of today have really short attentions span and everything is GIMME NOW, NOW AND NOW!!! So yeah, there are tons of anime sequels out there with multiple seasons to boot. Sometimes if you’re lucky, you get one that comes out within a year or 2. But for the rest, it’ll take longer than that. So this blog lists down the anime series that have a long gap between its 2nd and 3rd TV seasons. So to define how long a gap for an anime to qualify to be part of this list, I am capping that time gap at, at least 5 years. Yes, that’s a pretty long time in anime standards. And sure, some may have OVAs and movies released in between but it doesn’t count because they’re not part of the TV series’ season. Picky, picky…

Anime: Log Horizon
2nd season: October 2014
3rd season: January 2021
Comment: For some strange reason, I keep thinking that we got this third season of this series instead of the fourth season of Overlord. You know, people in the real world trapped inside the virtual MMORPG game they’re playing so they continue to adopt and live the rest of their lives in the game as if they were living in real life? Oh yeah. I don’t remember much either.

Anime: Non Non Biyori
2nd season: July 2015
OVA: September 2016
Movie: August 2018
3rd season: January 2021
Comment: The countryside fun never stops. Girls having fun in the simplest ways without all the technological advancement we take for granted as entertainment these days. Damn social media and big tech corps making us forget what it is to have real fun in real life. Yeah, it might be over 5 years of airtime absence but it seems these little ladies never grow up mentally and physically too. Hmm…

Anime: Gochuumon Wa Usagi Desu Ka
2nd season: October 2015
Movie: November 2017
OVA: September 2019
3rd season: October 2020
Comment: As if we didn’t have enough and in return didn’t die from asphyxiation of too much loli cuteness and goodness. Well, good news. Those who survived (because what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger) got another sequel that will surely further suffocate you with even more loli cuteness and goodness. You have been warned. I know. Because I survived the third season. Can’t imagine if I will if there is to be a fourth one… :O.

Anime: To Aru Majutsu No Index
2nd season: October 2010
3rd season: October 2018
Comment: Just when I thought all the confusing scientific and religious terminologies and jargons are finally done with, then they had to come up with a third sequel after 8 years. AFTER 8 F*CKING LONG YEARS. Do you think I could remember everything that I saw in the first 2 seasons?! Anyway I watched it and the only relief being knowing there won’t be any more sequels after this. Technically. Yeah, World War III arc technically ended the series and gave rise to a new story apparently…

Anime: To Aru Kagaku No Railgun
2nd season: April 2013
3rd season: January 2020
Comment: Logic dictates that whenever To Aru Majutsu No Index has a season released, a certain Biribiri too must have her spinoff thereafter because, why not? Still has its fair share of confusing terms but it’s better to see a zapping tsundere than a certain lame hero with nullifying powers residing all in his right hand.

Anime: Date A Live
2nd season: April 2014
OVA 2: December 2014
3rd season: January 2019
Comment: Honestly, the only reason why we stuck around and also why the producers decided to make a third season after a long while is only because of Kurumi, right? Isn’t that why we have not one but two Date A Bullet movies featuring our favourite Queen Kurumi? Isn’t that why a 4th season is coming? Wait a minute. THERE’S GONNA BE A FOURTH SEASON?!

Anime: Chihayafuru
2nd season: January 2013
OVA: September 2013
3rd season: October 2019
Comment: Just when you thought karuta was a dead game that nobody outside Japan would pick up as a trendy trend (like how America’s Queen Gambit caused a booming interest in chess), then boom! After over 6 years, the follow up sequel to the love drama between the characters. Oops, I mean the game. Or both. Whatever. Naniwazuni sakuya kono hana…

Anime: Yahari Ore No Seishun Love Comedy Wa Machigatteiru
2nd season: April 2015
OVA: October 2015
3rd season: July 2020
Comment: I mean, seriously, do you still remember what happened back in the second season?! Some big problems that sounded so big but it turned out it wasn’t as big of an issue as I thought it was. Maybe that’s because I still didn’t understand what happened in the third. Thank goodness it already ended. RIGHT?!

Anime: Psycho-Pass
2nd season: October 2014
Movie 2: January 2015
Movie 3: January 2019
3rd season: October 2019
Comment: I didn’t see this one for fear of being another To Aru Majutsu No Index style complicating terms and jargons. CSI + Minority Report + Japanese Cyberpunk setting… I think the amount of threat level to my sanity is too damn high!

Anime: Full Metal Panic
2nd season: July 2005
OVA: May 2006
Movie: November 2017
3rd season: April 2018
Comment: Didn’t see this series either. Although I did watch the Fumoffu spinoff and was contemplating whether I should put it on this list. Then I decided the Fumoffu was totally different since it was more of a light-hearted high school romantic comedy than some military action thingy that the real series was about.

Anime: Junjou Romantica
2nd season: October 2008
OVA: December 2012
3rd season: July 2015
Comment: Gay alert! GAY ALERT! DID NOT WATCH THIS GAY SH*T!

Anime: Kingdom
2nd season: April 2013
3rd season: April 2020
Comment: You’ve guessed it. I didn’t watch this one too. However, it is interesting to note that when the 3rd season began, it stalled at the 5th episode onwards indefinitely (because of that certain virus that shall not be named) and resumed its run a year later in April 2021. Now you know why China’s history is so darn long and complicated.

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder?
This list is of course not meant to be exhaustive and there are probably more animes out there that I have missed since I didn’t watch them or it slipped my mind. Yeah, too long to remember. Of course there are others too that I did not include. For example, Digimon Adventure. Despite the second season came out in April 2000, its third season that aired in November 2015 is actually a movie. In fact, 6 movies that were released periodically up till May 2018. So I guess that didn’t qualify for this entry. Then there is Yama No Susume. However its 2 and 3 season had only 4 years in between (April 2014 – April 2018). Oh, so close. Same case for Working! Also only 4 years in between (October 2011 – July 2015). Oh, yet again so close. Ditto for Hajime No Ippo. New Challenger debuted on January 2009 while Rising aired on October 2013.

Some series I am not really sure if I should put in here. For instance the Macross series. The Macross 7 sequel may have come out in 1994 and then the third season of Macross Frontier back in 2008. However this isn’t technically the same series although it is set in the same Macross universe. So is it a spinoff or something similar? That’s why I’m not sure since I didn’t really watch the series myself. This is the same for the Da Capo series. Despite having Da Capo II (October 2017) and Da Capo III (January 2013), they are not a direct sequel to the original Da Capo although set in the same universe and timeline. Even more so the first Da Capo and then Da Capo II had a second season each. Hence, first season of Da Capo II is actually the third season overall if you want to look at it from this perspective. Get what I’m saying?! Therefore I’m so confused and left them out.

I’m sure there are many other anime titles out there with such longer and even longer gaps in between. Yeah, just Google it and you may find some of your answers. That is why I was specifically limiting this blog of mine to just 2nd and 3rd TV seasons (because I also somewhat noticed this ‘trend’ for a while and hence why I did it), otherwise the list will seem to go on forever. So while it is good that we eventually get our sequel, because it is better late than never, let’s hope the next one won’t take too long to come out. Or even worse, a sequel that nobody asks for and it sucks! Because you know me, I can’t remember stuffs that long anymore.

Bakuon

Sorry folks. If you were thinking that the final of my mini trilogy of cute girls doing cute things, bike version would be Yowamushi Pedal, ABSOLUTELY WRONG! Because heheh, it’s Bakuon! Since this mini trilogy of mine is to lead up to my anticipation to watch Super Cub, it is only right that I upgrade and ramp it up from bicycles to bicycles with engines. Or in other words, motorbikes. Yeah. Besides, Yowamushi Pedal isn’t even cute girls doing cute things. And it has too many seasons in between, not to mention movies and live action versions. I mean, ain’t nobody got time for that now! Are we ready to VROOOOOM now?

Episode 1
Hane Sakura is struggling to ride her bicycle uphill to school. As she stops at the lights, a pro cyclist and a fellow student, Onsa Amano on a bike stops too. The cyclist goes ahead while the light is still red so Onsa gets mad that he got the jump on her and tries to get competitive. Only, she got stuck in her gear. How embarrassing. This also unleashes the competitive spirit inside Hane. Ride all you can! She finally reaches school. Yeah, tired but still making those bike noises. Onsa notices Hane has some interests in bikes so she tries to convince her that she too can ride one as she is an idiot! Then they go try join the school’s only bike club. Onsa is spooked at first because the only club member, Raimu Kawasaki is always wearing a helmet on her head?! She doesn’t want to join unless Hane does so. Hence she tries to convince Hane the goodness of bikes but upon learning you can get wet on rainy days, Hane lost interest! It is then Raimu takes Hane on a spin on her bike. Hold on tight! Yeah, those boobs sure come in handy. Besides the annoyance of her hair smacking her face, it was a fun ride. Thankfully Onsa doesn’t have to come up with the silliest reason to convince Hane to join now. Yeah, what was it again that bikes are the only thing high school girls can ride?! Next problem: Hane doesn’t even know what a licence is! But has she talked to her parents about it? Oh, her parents are no longer around and faraway and she is currently living with her younger sister, Yume? Boy, that escalated quickly. Onsa then tries to teach her how to lift a bike. But Raimu has Onsa demonstrate lifting her heavy Kawasaki bike. Very heavy… Can’t budge… Onsa is more concern of breaking it. Raimu puts her out of her misery and easily lifts it. Must be the posture. Hane takes her licence test and part of it is to lift her bike. At first she couldn’t but after screaming her determination to go see her parents in America, she lifts it. So her parents are still alive, huh? Phew. Ever since this success, Hane could hear the voice of Baita, supposedly the voice of the bike she is using to learn as she gives tips on how to ride a bike. So it’s like trying to ride a man?! I guess that’s why dense Hane sometimes ignores her.

On another training day, she sees a fellow trainee crashed her bike! Damn, how did she survive after crashing her back into the pole like that?! Anyway, she is Rin Suzunoki and also a fellow student from her school. They soon become acquainted. Care to join the bike club? But first, noting that Hane doesn’t have her own bike, the go to the shop to shop for one. Not sure about the joke they said to choose any bike other than a Honda because it’s a training bike or something. After Onsa manages to get Rin to join her club, they continue to give comments on bikes on display. When it comes to a certain Suzuki bike, both have different opinions. Rin loves it while Onsa hates it. This causes them to argue. Onsa takes it that Rin is a hardcore Suzuki fan. Yeah, I can see it’s in her name too. Because Hane is being dense too, Rin feels ashamed that she is the weird one out. She storms out and will not join the club. Onsa then butchers some line from John F. Kennedy about freedom and all being equal before the Lord. I don’t think he said anything close like that! Hane tries to explain but Onsa meant. Her earnest and brutal interpretation that all bikes are free and equal except Suzuki. That’s it. Rin is going to kill that perm head.

Episode 2
Flashback shows a young Rin whose father told her he failed his test again to obtain a big bike licence. However he won’t give up and won’t give in to temptation to use money to buy the licence like others. Also, he wanted to ride to latest Yoshimura Katana bike whom he calls the truest bike. However the problem is that one must write an essay to prove how much you love it or they won’t sell it to you. Really?! Rin didn’t want him to push himself and was satisfied riding this one with him. Then a stray cat came their way. He swerved. Crash. Dad all bandaged up in hospital. Regretting he should’ve bought the licence?! Rin promised to write the essay on his behalf. And so she did… But that’s gone… Don’t worry, dad’s still alive. Fast forward till today as Rin got her licence. Dad mocks her for buying a lesser Katana bike but she tells him off that without her essay, he wouldn’t even be riding it! Wow. That escalated quickly. In class, Onsa tries to make up with Rin but the latter still holds grudges. Onsa trying to convince Hane to lie? No can do. Later, Rin hears Onsa praising her Katana bike. Just when she thought she could bury the hatchet and they be friends, turns out Onsa was just practising this lie just to get in her good books. So Rin is going to kill Onsa with her bike?! Ram her down! Thankfully that won’t happen since Hane’s earnest praise of her bike means losing her killing aura. Phew.

Despite not joining the bike club, Rin continues to hang out just so as to brag to Hane. Yeah, she’ll listen to whatever stories. Knocking on their door is Hijiri Minowa. She wants to join the club. But seeing Onsa and Rin fighting, she thinks a good way to settle this is via chicken race as seen in the cult classic Hollywood movie, A Rebel Without A Cause. So all of them will be playing this game? Because Hijiri hasn’t got her licence yet, her butler, Hayakawa will ride for her as they own a Ducati sidecar. The chicken race begins. Onsa and Rin immediately hit the brakes at the same time. Does this prove they get along? Anyway, they view their bikes too precious to crash. So it’s down to Raimu and Hayakawa-Hijiri. Hane going to be scared sh*t of this ride thinking both won’t back down. Raimu brakes at the very last minute. Hayakawa-Hijiri went flying into the river! So are they winners or losers? Their bike is in pieces but Hijiri isn’t mad. Because she is happy to know she has become a delinquent. WTF? I am starting to think this club only attracts weirdoes. As Hane finishes her training, Baita has some last advice for her. Hane then asks why with such a manly name, Baita is a woman? Something about how training bikes have their speed reduced compared to commercial ones and hence she is neutered… Hane takes her test but she realizes this bike is different and not Baita. Because the bike won’t speak to her, she panics! She makes mistakes! OMG… Why does this remind me of a Spongebob episode?! Her pals know she is in trouble so they do some cheerleading stuff. And just like that she remembers and continues to ride on. In the end, Hane expects to fail due to her mistakes but what the hell, the instructor passes everybody! Hooray! Yeah, too cute to fail! Baita is seen taken away because her oil is leaking. Yeah, she’s talking to her mechanic that she isn’t crying but only wet herself!

Episode 3
Now that Hane has got her licence, it’s time to go get a bike. It seems Rin and Hane think of getting a cheap one from this shop. Onsa seems reluctant to go there, claiming that’s where she bought hers and it often breaks down. Well then, it’s your own fault. They’re still going. There, Onsa tries to make them move along fast but I guess she can’t hide it forever. Turns out this is her family shop! Yeah, they do lots of shoddy bike maintenance… No wonder Rin is so mad in seeing the bad states of those bikes. You can’t possibly do any good maintenance here! She is adamant that Hane doesn’t buy one here but Onsa starts crying (not crocodile tears) that they’re trying their best and isn’t that the reason why they’re here in the first place? To get a cheap decent bike for Hane? Oh, Hane has got this pink Honda bike to her liking. She wants it! Rin is still adamant she shouldn’t get one here. Then she sees her dad passing by and talking to Onsa’s dad. Big revelation: He actually bought Rin’s Katana bike here and she thought it was new because Onsa’s dad reset the odometer! Damn… Now Rin allows Hane to buy the bike? Onsa promises to service Hane’s bike for free! She’ll take responsibility for this! Since when Onsa was a cheap woman? But can Hane pay for the bike? 36 months of repayment. And stamping the invoice right away without even bothering to read the finer details… Then she takes it for a spin. OMG. She speeding off like that?! That’s dangerous. Must be loving it because she’s feeling like she’s flying! OMG! She’s spreading wings! You bet the rest are worried for her. Is she really qualified to ride a bike? Yeah, don’t even know the gas is already empty…

The biker girls decide to go on some touring. What’s this about Onsa wanting to invite Rin but won’t because she isn’t a member but Rin didn’t want to join but wanted to since they invited her? It’s complicated… And so the girls minus Rin head on their touring. Thanks to Hijiri installing headsets in their helmets prior, they could suddenly hear Rin. Oh, she’s coming up from behind. As Rin is unaware of the headset, all of them could hear her earnest-cum-embarrassing thoughts. Yeah, she’s taking them down from behind, huh? Ride faster to get out of her range! At the stop, Onsa isn’t impressed Rin is still pretending that their meeting is coincidence. Though she claims there is a Katana meeting, which one? Those big Katana bikes or the smaller ones? Of course she heads to the big ones but those macho men tell her off they hate smaller ones. Yeah, now those small losers come crowd around her but she won’t join them. While she sulks by herself, her biker friends cheer her up by letter her know about the embarrassing words she said over the headset. Best friends, no? When a teacher, Saruko Saruyama talks to the principal, Tazuko about Hijiri joining a bike club and is surprised by it because she thought the school has no such club, Tazuko said there used to be one. She knows Tazuko has always been there. Hane learns there isn’t any bike club and that Raimu was just using this empty room. Now they have to vacate it? So, why not start their own bike club then? They need 4 members, right? As they don’t know Raimu’s full name, they think of using Rin’s name! Tazuko talks to Raimu. Flashback shows she was racing for a team. However her mechanic forgot to screw something. Her bike went up in flames on the final lap and on the last stretch it exploded and she flew away! WTF is this joke?! That was 20 years ago and Tazuko claims she can’t be a high school girl forever. So the lesson is high school girls and bikes don’t mix? Is this a joke? Tazuko herself has given up biking and can’t approve the club. Unless of course she protects them. You know Raimu’s answer. And just like that, the bike club is approved. Rin is happy she is now a member but Onsa explains they removed her name after learning Raimu’s full name. Poor Rin so annoyed she storms out. Sorry girl, nobody chasing you. And then she crashes. Tazuko sees this fail and wonders why Raimu didn’t protect her as promised. Oh. She’s not part of the club.

Episode 4
Our biker girls plan to go on a trip. Hokkaido is suggested since Rin has been there before. So she knows the place? Flashback reveals she and her papa rode there. However he crashed again after trying to avoid the foxes. He was hospitalized and that was the end of their trip! Making it even worse, the foxes passed on some disease to him and Rin was forced to take the long train trip back home! It’s no wonder she hates foxes and will ram them if she sees them again! This makes Hijiri sad because delinquents are supposed to love animals and hating makes her evil. WTF… Hane’s answer: Let’s all be delinquents by going out to eat ramen at midnight! WTF… But all of them are late for the ferry at Hokkaido. Somebody confused their departure time… The ferry is already moving. Can they even make it? Raimu jumps on board via ramp! OMFG!!! You expect the rest to do that?! Well, Hayakawa dares! Too bad he fails. So looks like they’ll have to go back and get a new bike so meet the rest of you girls at Hokkaido. Hane suggests heading to the other port at Aomori. However it is 780 km far and they’ll take hours. Never say never. Because they’re going to do a Cannonball Run and race their way there. Rin and Onsa riding so fast that they left Hane in the dust. Worse, Hane is running out of gas! Then she sees a dude pushing his bike. He too runs out of gas. Kind Hane shares her little gas with him and hopes they’ll pray to God a gas station will be nearby. And it’s like God answered her prayers because now they’re filling their bikes up. This dude then talks to Hane about how God loves bikes. Huh?! Quoting a bible reference and showing a Raphael’s painting that contains a true hidden bike that God is riding, I’M GONNA CALL THIS BIG BS CRAP!!! I don’t see Jesus riding a bike in the bible?! WHAT YOU GONNA SAY ABOUT THAT?! So, what’s this about bikes are viewed as the weakest transport. Hello, did you forget about the bicycle?! Or skateboard?! You must be strong to ride a bike but if you are not kind, you cannot ride one. This dude might be God himself (hint: his halo) as He gives Hane some Holy Grail cup because she is the chosen one. The next time she opens her eyes, sorry girl, this isn’t heaven but Aomori.

Rin and Onsa reach the Aomori port. They’re tired from all the riding and will wait till Hane catches up. Oh what’s this? Hane is already waiting for them?! How did she get ahead of them? It’s a miracle! You don’t say… When they reach Hokkaido, Hijiri and Hayakawa arrive just in time in their helicopter and new side car to boot. A group of Ducati enthusiasts ride up to them. They admire the side car first but badmouth it for being a side car. Then it’s like their bikes have their revenge as they start to leak oil and collapse. Hayakawa notes that this is proof that Ducati bikes have soul. Don’t get this inside joke… The girls arrive at their inn all tired. The shower is busted so just head off to bed. It is then they realize they forgot all about Raimu! Yeah, she’s waiting at the other port for them. But she doesn’t wait any longer and rides off. Next morning, just in time as she joins the rest for the much needed hotspring. Everyone spots a Suzuki brand mark on Rin’s butt! How?! She remembers when dad did a reverse wheelie, it threw her in the air. Nearby, a guy showed off his brand new Suzuki car as he embossed his logo on the bonnet. You bet Rin landed her ass on it. Rin so embarrassed she’ll never get married. Yeah, what kind of man is she looking for? Hayakawa feels happy for Hijiri since she is now riding with her own group of friends. He’ll see to it she’ll get her bike licence. Hijiri doesn’t like this ominous talk since it’s like putting up his death flag. He says that only when his Ducati breaks down, then his life is over. During the ride, suddenly the engine explodes. Oh my. Is this the end? Don’t worry. Call their helicopter to bring in a new one! Proof that Ducati never break down! So I take this loophole that Hayakawa will live forever, eh?

Episode 5
We see the girls camping out in the lovely lavender fields. Then they talk about some Hokkaido stuffs as well as the top speed they’ve achieved. Rin lies she has gone 200 kmph so when Hijiri suggests they try it out at the motor test course, she comes clean that she only did 100 and rides safe like everyone else. Proof, she got a hell lot of safety charms in her possession. This is when Hane gives her that Holy Grail. Because it has the Suzuki brand and an original one, Rin loves and accepts this new charm. As they ride on, Rin pretends she needs to tie her shoe laces. So after the rest are gone from the horizon, Rin then starts her accelerating speed run. Feeling like God, huh? Suddenly a couple of foxes appear before her! Oh sh*t! Trauma! She is hell bent on running over them when the cup then gets loose and knocks on her helmet. Rin then jams the brakes, stopping in time. Wow. This is a miracle cup as it didn’t chip off at all. Rin is glad it is okay and also cries in relief that the foxes are okay. The ride continues until they reach Cape Soya. It’s the end of their journey. As they are about to take a commemorative photo, they see a woman looking forlorn at the sea. And then she rides her bike off the cliff! OMFG! Too bad she crashed into the rocks below. Yeah, she survived. The girls recognize her. It’s Saruyama! Back at the inn, they learn she has been dumped by her 13th boyfriend and in a rage, rode all the way here to Hokkaido. She thought it was those romantic cliffs seen in movies but didn’t expect a rocky beach. WTF… So I guess when you’re this heartbroken, you tend to do stupid stuffs. The biker girls gather and think it’s a good chance to rope Saruyama in as their club’s advisor. So they talk nice things about her. However she is drunk as she tries to lecture them about the bad side of men. So they won’t accept if your bike is bigger than yours?

When Hane falls asleep after being too tired, Saruyama tries to undress her and see her goods! This is when the rest realize that the reason why guys dumped her is because she becomes a perverted lesbian monster when drunk! Now she is going to molest the rest too! Somebody stop this monster! Raimu to the rescue! She’d better. Because she remembers Tazuko warning her if something happens to those girls and Tazuko is held responsible, she’s going to kill her! Even if she survives, she’ll find ways to keep killing her! Oh sh*t!!! Next day, the girls leave for home. The solution was tying up the pervert? It did the trick. Also good news since she agreed to become their club’s advisor. While waiting for the ferry home, Hane wants to ride around a little more but Onsa says no because her heart will be stuck in Hokkaido forever. As a biker, she wants to ride in different places. They have to get back to reality before Hokkaido becomes too big of a passion for them to leave behind. So the only thing they can take home is souvenirs. Back home, I guess it’s time for fanservice! The biker girls in their swimsuits going to give their bikes a good wash! Yeow! Sexy! Onsa finds it hard to clean every part so she gives this lame excuse that a dirt bike like hers should have some marks as proof as medal of honour. Ultimate fanservice as Hane puts all the soap on her body and uses it to wash the bike! Is it faster? Hell, we don’t know but we like it! Wash some more! Rin won’t lose out and does the same! Double sexy! Too bad she slips off. Does this mean her love is too big? As they take a lunch break, Raimu meticulously cleans all their bikes. All shiny now. Such hard work. And then it rains…

Episode 6
Onsa suggests a bike race among them for the cultural festival. It might help increase their popularity and get new members. Rin sounds like she is against it but after Hane invites her to race with them (oh right, I forgot she STILL isn’t a real member!), she’s all for it. Meanwhile Raimu is being called by Tazuko because she wants to show off and brag about the new bike she bought. And don’t you dare touch it! Not sure about this rider of justice crap she’s spouting. She pays money to have others bring her joy. I don’t know, she sounds like the villain to me. Flashback shows Raimu and her bike enthusiast girls were at some bike race. The girls were mocking a certain Kawasaki bike design that was super ugly. Soon, Raimu start betting on the race and kept winning. All of them! With all the cash, she used it to buy all 35 of those ugly bikes in different colours! You can ride one today depending on the colour of your mood! So you’re feeling blue today, huh? Hence this is Tazuko’s revenge to give Raimu a taste of hell with her bragging. A slight distraction has Raimu escape from this hell and return to her bike club. It seems by raffles that Hijiri is now in charge of making things more exciting. The first thing she comes up with is to have the racers to mod their own bikes. Hence we see Onsa giving Hane her definitions about the difference between tuning and customizations. Rin disagrees with it and you bet both are going to have a big argument. This has Hane ponder what kind of parts to make the bike better. She gets an idea but I don’t think Onsa and Rin would like it. It’s just some sticker over their speedometer that doubles the speed they are going at the same pedal. Instantly they rip it off.

Hijiri tells Onsa that their race will also have betting for the audience. Strangely, Tazuko gave her approval but also gave a strange condition: Raimu must enter and that win tickets must be available. Since this gives Hijiri and Raimu a huge advantage, Hijiri will not participate and will be the host. A handicap will be given for Raimu to even things out. This has Onsa thinking that if things are getting serious, she’ll need a bike to win. So she asks her dad if he has one for her. He presents to her this Sanma bike which is of course the biggest failure in bike history. He admits how it can never win races but tells her to take it for a spin. After a round, she complains all the problems she faced as well as how slow as hell it is. Dad says it’s because she shouldn’t be riding it the same way the rides other bikes. Go give it another round. She does so and while thinking of all the troubles, suddenly it starts to accelerate. She realizes the workings of this baby and has an actual winning chance. Meanwhile Hane has fixed lots of rear view mirrors and turn signals on her bike. Because racing is dangerous so safety comes first! Oh my…

Episode 7
Hijiri explains the simple race course that runs around the school. There’ll be ramps on the slopes so be sure to fly! Then they go around doing promo. Because the school doesn’t know about the bike club, the girls have to introduce themselves. Poor Rin, nobody knows that Suzuki is one of the big four domestic bike manufacturers! Even so, they can’t believe it! Suzuki makes bikes?! They’re really trying to get to her, huh? The handicap that Hijiri is talking about for Raimu is that she will be riding a Kawasaki scooter. Before the race begins, all have placed their bets. Oh, Tazuko going to bet 3 million?! Seeing that Raimu has the most unfavourable odds, she bets on her. Because of her sum, this shoots Raimu’s odds to being the best! You better hope she wins. Because Tazuko lied to her parents to get that money on pretence she was going to get married! As the race flags off, somehow Raimu flips and crashes! Oh Tazuko, there goes your 3 million… The racers place safety first that they make slow corner and go up the ramp safely. Oh well, at least they’re slow enough for the audience to catch all the ‘action’. Onsa’s strategy is to ride behind Rin and make her move on the final lap. As Onsa’s 2 stroke engine is giving too much smoke, Hane speeds up to ride in front of them. After 2 laps, Raimu is still lying on the ground?! Nobody helped her?! WTF?! Only pleas from Tazuko did she finally get up and ride. You better. Her 3 million is riding on her! Oh man, Raimu speeds past the rest. Damn, at this rate she could actually catch up.

So it’s the final lap, all is neck to neck. The only reason Raimu hasn’t gotten a considerable lead is because her scooter is prone to engine heating. Hane tries to play catch up as she flies over the ramp! OMG! Angel wings?! Nah. Honda’s logo… Raimu’s machine explodes! But this means reaching the finish line the same time as the rest! Who wins? This causes the audience to fight among themselves that the bike they bet on won. Oh sh*t! This is what money can do to friendship? A photo finish reveals that Rin crosses the line first. Hooray! Rin so happy! Time for her to brag that Suzuki is the best manufacturer. So go buy Suzuki! Everyone agrees. The catch? They’ll buy Suzuki cars! Sore loser Tazuko isn’t done yet! She is going to use her authority to nullify the results! Gambling is bad! But seeing how Saruyama won betting on Suzuki and is going to use it to fund her wedding (so she got her 14th boyfriend and soon-to-be husband?), Tazuko doesn’t have the heart to do so and instead blames it on Raimu. You owe me 3 million, okay? One of the Suzuki betters is Chisame Nakano who is Yume’s friend. She notes she is going to enrol here next year since she can ride her bike here. But she also notes that bikes aren’t meant to be ridden on the road.

Episode 8
With Christmas around the corner, this reminds the girls that Hijiri’s birthday is coming up and that she can take her licence exam. But what’s this? She’s already got one? Hmm… Looks shady. In fact, she bought it overseas and rewrote it in Japanese! What’s this about her family motto that there is nothing that money cannot solve?! She fails a spot quiz from Onsa so she rips her licence! Better start from the basics. So after buying a Honda Super Cub from Onsa’s dad’s shop, they help guide her how to ride. After all, this is the sturdiest bike that Asians use. Damn, she can’t even ride a bicycle, can she do this?! Yeah, it’s like training her to ride a bicycle. She falls a lot until an unfortunate incident where she accidentally revs the accelerator and this has her crash. Everybody’s okay. Even the bike. But what’s this? Hijiri comes back with a sledgehammer and destroys the bike! OMFG!!! Is anybody going to stop her? Hayakawa notes that despite all the punishment, the bike will be alright. You’d think that at this state the bike can’t be used anymore. But hallelujah! It can still start! OMG! It’s really the toughest! With that, Hijiri won’t give up. Onsa must have made a killing after selling her the bike and now charge her for repairs. Oh well, rich girl’s rich. In the end, Hijiri manages to get a licence just by taking the theory exam. Now she’s riding to school. With training wheels. Ugh…

The girls gather at Hane’s place to celebrate Christmas. They talk about the existence of Santa. Like Rin, she believes in it because he always knew what she wanted as present. Turns out dad hired him to be one and hence her misdirected rage at poor uncle Santa. Hijiri too believes in Santa. Because one came down from a carrier plane all the way from Denmark just to give her presents! Rich people’s stint, hmph! Rin has to leave early since she has a job to do. This means she’ll miss the gift exchange. Onsa is looking forward to hers but it turns out she got Rin’s present! A doll of herself riding a bike! How obnoxious! Accidentally she drops it and the head drops off! They put it back. It looks like a bad omen as the doll now looks like it has a cast. Hane then decides to play Santa for Rin. After she’s done her job, Hane hands her the present which is a muffler with Yoshimura logo. Hane then realizes the scarf make her look like that doll with cast. Weird. More agony for Rin as the word doesn’t read Yoshimura but Yoshiwara! The girls are at the shrine for prayers on New Year’s Day. Hane gets bad luck. As they ride to a place to watch the sunrise, bad luck befalls on Rin as her bike heater doesn’t work. Hence she has to ride all the way in the cold and her buddies won’t even stop for her! But I guess the sunrise was worth it in the end. Onsa narrating how bikes take so much work and maintenance that it is cruel. Hence the pun, bi-cruel. Hane on the other hand thinks they’re awesome. Thus the pun, awe-tobike!

Episode 9
Yume and Chisame will be taking the entrance exam at this high school. The bike club girls are supposed to be guiding them but looks like they’re also trying to blatantly promote the bike club. Yeah, Hane making stupid bike noises to make an impact! As the exam starts, Chisame can’t stop thinking about the bike club’s stupidity! Cue for flashback because of her small stature, she isn’t good at anything. Except biking. Her size and light weight gave her an advantage and hence she has won many minibike races. As her dream is to ride a full bike like her dad, she realizes her small size became an enemy. Yeah, her legs too short to reach the pedal! In the end, she never grew taller and that’s why roads with traffic lights are a bane to her. Oh, exam’s over. Hope she does well. If she fails, she’s going to blame the bike club! Exiting the class, she sees the bike club trying to promote themselves with Raimu doing bike stunts. A considerable amount of people have gathered. Looks like Chisame isn’t the only ‘victim’ of Hane’s first impression. However Chisame ruins their fun as she claims you can’t lose weight via bikes and it’s better to join the bicycle club. And just like that, everyone flocks to the bicycle club. Revenge avenged. Later, Yume and Chisame get accepted into this school. Hane thought Yume would be able to ride with her but she prefers her bicycle. Then they realize Raimu is a senior and will be graduating. They think of leaving her a present as thanks for all the things she’s done for them. How about a surprise party? Oh well, if only Raimu didn’t hear that…

Tazuko gets a call from an old friend. So she’s shocked she is already married?! Anyway, she is Chisame’s mom. She notes that Tazuko is still single perhaps because of Raimu. Flashback shows a biker dude tried to court Tazuko. WTF this lame coffee can gift? Tazuko wagered that she would go out with him only if he wins a race with Raimu. Raimu is even given a handicap to start later. As the race begins, Tazuko see delinquents loitering and goes to tell them off. Unknowingly her coffee can bounced off the trash and onto the road. When Raimu overtakes that bugger, only to slip on the can and crashed! That guy won but Tazuko shifted the goal post and beat him up instead. Oh yeah. Those memories. Raimu has always protected them, eh? She knows Raimu is still in the club as she has been receiving New Year postcards from her. So when will she be graduating? We see the bike club girls burning rubber to leave a message on the road for Raimu. Then Raimu pops up with a note. Repeating the year, huh? Are we supposed to be happy? During orientation day where the clubs will present themselves for recruitment, the student council doesn’t want the bike club girls to bring their bikes onto the stage. There’s no space. Because this is last minute and on the day of the presentation, they have no choice but to improvise. Hence going on stage with only their handle bars, they start dancing and singing about bikes! CRINGE AND WEIRD! Everyone is laughing! Pathetic, no? But hey, they’re leaving an impression! Even more so when Hane gives her heartfelt speech of her experience. This has Chisame once again remember her flashback of how she is always number 1 and hence lonely at the top. When the bike club girls are done, Chisame marches onto the stage. What gives? She tells them off that riding bikes aren’t meant to be laughed at! She snatches a handle and does all the posture and positions that will ride to victory! OMFG! THIS IS EVEN MORE CRINGE AND WEIRD! EVERYONE LAUGHING THEIR ASS OFF! She won’t lose out and continues to do a sillier pose! Oh, I’m guessing she will fit just right in.

Episode 10
Chisame riding a bike in a video game. Still too short to reach the ground! Then she crashes and screams! Mommy help! WTF?! Other girls are here and sees this. What’cha doing? Oh. Nothing. Just image training. Chisame continues to play and she thought she had all the image training done but I guess this time she actually crashes by falling off the machine! I guess she’s had enough. Hane wonders if she’s done with the simulation and is ready for the real one. Yeah, she’s going to fetch her home. Chisame feels scared about crashing so she holds on tightly to her. Can she ride all the way like this? Thankfully, no untoward incident. Back home, her father asks if she would like to up her game. Because he is thinking of getting her a Honda CBR. Still, too high for her but she doesn’t mind. However she wants him to hold off that order for a while. As Onsa is made the club president, she discusses how they didn’t get any new members this year. Hane thinks Chisame is a potential but Onsa feels she has the same dangerous vibe as Rin. Never hurts to ask, eh? Onsa tries to be smart as she asks Chisame’s surname. Oh, just like that famous former GP rider, Kinya Nakano, eh? Yeah. Jokes on her. Because that is really Chisame’s father! Hane has Chisame choose any one of their bikes to ride. Chisame fears her stature might make her a laughing stock. She tries to decline but Hane’s being pushy. When Rin tells them off that bikers don’t let others ride so casually, Chisame uses this to worm her way out and that they should all learn a thing or two from her. However this backfires because now tsundere Rin allows her to ride her bike. And she insists! It’s rude to decline, right? With everyone egging her to get on, the worst nightmare comes true as she falls. Chisame tearfully reveals about her height problem. Go ahead and laugh. THEY LAUGH!!! Of course Onsa says it’s a normal problem for girls. Onsa lets her ride her Serow and despite the suspension going lower, it is still high for Chisame. She claims bike seats cannot be changed and is set by manufacturers. Hence she can’t ride the optimum way. Onsa tells her to screw that and just be yourself. Ride the way you want! I guess that sealed the deal. So when Chisame goes home, she has dad order that bike for her.

But now she has to get a bike licence. Instantly she jumps into taking a test but fails right off the bat. You know, riding a bike on a road is way different than on a circuit. Time to go take lessons then. Don’t worry, Hijiri is there too. Chisame can take a little breather that Hijiri is worse off than her. Heh. Can’t ride a bike without training wheels! But as Chisame takes other simulation tests, she seems to pass them all merely because everyone knows her as the daughter of a famous GP rider as well as her own credentials. At the end of the day, Chisame didn’t really learn anything! One time, she actually crashes and falls down. It is then she realizes Hijiri has gotten better than her. Subsequently, a tearful plea to Hijiri to help teach her how to ride. The irony that she is a mini bike champion and she can’t even ride normally. Hijiri agrees to teach her but shows a secret why she was able to improve. Oh my. Marks of training harness that riders wear all over her body! Why do I keep thinking it’s because she’s a masochist? In exchange of not telling others about this, Hijiri also won’t tell others she cried about this. Definitely she won’t.

Episode 11
Chisame gets her licence. But WTF, this episode going to be about bicycles?! Yeah, we see a couple of cyclists talking about their expensive bicycles and the power of their muscles. Until a million dollar bicycle zooms past them. Yeah, I guess he has a thing against bikes who are ‘environmentally unfriendly’. So when he sees Onsa and Hane stopped at the lights, it’s like he is trying to assert his authority. He makes the jump on them like as though it’s some competition. Onsa won’t lose out and tries to overtake him but he blocks! Of course in no time she zooms through so he is going to show the true power of his million dollar bicycle. Yeah, more expensive than your usual car or bike, he zooms past them and eventually Onsa. See him go! Until he crashes into the back of Hayakawa’s limo. There goes his million dollar bicycle… On a rainy day, Onsa and Rin can’t ride their bikes to school so they sit a train. They doze off. Rin’s drool dropped on Onsa’s palm. Onsa thought it was her drool and licked it! She hopes Rin won’t tell others. Then in class, she got sick and has to be taken away by ambulance. Seriously?! 3 days later, she didn’t turn up. Worried Rin thinks it’s not her fault so as she pays her a visit, WTF Onsa licking a Suzuki bike?! Definitely Rin’s fault! Onsa’s dad explaining what the doctor told him. Not sure about this BS she has Suzuki-philia whatever. Some weird new bacteria strain that strangely looks like bike brands taking over her cells. You know it’s crap when they play that spoof X-Files theme song… Basically you can just ignore this crap since it isn’t fatal. However Onsa notes this is bad because she actually now likes Suzuki bikes and finds Yamaha to be boring. She wants to be killed while she has her humanity left! This is serious? Cue for Rin to lecture back her virtue signalling. If that’s not enough, her little brothers do some reverse psychology to rename all bikes as Suzuki. In no time, Onsa is cured and back to being a Yamaha lover as she disses Suzuki. Not sure if this sits well for Rin. Yeah, her turn to cry about Suzuki’s greatness.

When Chisame ponders why kind of bike to get, this sets off the greatest argument-cum-competition for the other girls. Yeah, they’re trying to argue and vouch that their favourite bike brand is the bike for her! Since it’s come down to this, they all take her to Onsa’s dad’s shop to look around. Onsa trying to recommend some shady Honda bike that you can put foreign labels over it to make it look like a foreign bike brand. Wouldn’t it be better just to import the real bike? In the end, the argument got so bad and nowhere that they actually decide to face off in a sumo competition?! WTF?! Eventually Hane won but looks like Chisame is no longer around. F*ck you b*tches! Back home, she is reeling from the ‘trauma’ that even choosing a bike is hurting so many people. Father talks to her about his racing days. They nicknamed him the Prince because he is the fastest but the truth is that he is actually a descendant of a royalty! This mole is proof! Now he passes on his mole to her. WTF THIS GOTTA DO WITH BIKES?! In the end, Chisame lectures the girls as they come to their senses about trying to force their ideals on someone else. So I guess this means Chisame as a royalty, she screws all of them and can do whatever she wants? Because yeah, she has got a bike of her own. Actually this Honda scooter is her dad’s. Because a scooter isn’t technically a bike, this means she can ride them on public roads. Whatever you say, princess. You’re the biggest winner in the end.

Episode 12
Everyone is shocked that Hane has never dropped her bike before. WTF Onsa said only one is a true biker if his/her bike falls once?! Next morning as Hane takes off the cloth over her bike, suddenly it falls! I guess she’s a true biker now, eh? With the tank a bit dented, she takes it to Onsa for repairs. I know Onsa promised to fix her bike for life but shouldn’t they get some muscle guys to help carry the tank? Because of that, she further drops it and it is even further dented! She asks dad if the company insurance could cover for it but looks like he has a better deal. Someone donated a similar part lately. And that tank part, Hane somewhat recognizes… Is it you, Baita?! Yes it is. The story goes that someone bought her but had an accident. Most of her other parts were scrapped and those that were salvaged were sold off. Baita complains and feels embarrassed from stuffs so Hane takes it that she still wants to ride more. After fixing the new tank and given it the same pink decals, looks like Hane is ready to go. Oh dear, she slips! Luckily everyone catches it. Yeah, please don’t bust it too soon.

As the girls ride, they see a group of Super Cub gathering. Only upon closer look, they aren’t Super Cubs but clones of it Yamaha Mates and Suzuki Birdie. They also talk about the concept if bikes don’t exist in this world. At the bookstore, Rin is looking at a bike article intensely. Apparently they’ve written pages about her dad’s bike but only a few lines of hers. Hane sees God buying a bike magazine at the cashier. She notes it has a naked model as pinup in the centre. WTF Hane being stupidly noisy?! God slaps her till she forgets! Then He asks if she can imagine a world without bikes. Next morning as she wakes up late for school, she realizes her bike and helmet are missing. Too bad she has to walk to school and notices so many bicycles today. Shockingly, her biker pals are all riding bicycles to school! Hijiri rides her bicycle in a helicopter (basically she’s just flying to school) and Chisame is a daughter of a famous keirin cyclist! Nobody knows what a bike is! Worse of all, nobody knows who Raimu is. Hane tries to prove it by taking out her recently bought bike magazine. It’s a bicycle magazine. Realizing this is a world with bikes and thinking she is smarter than everyone on this topic, she suggests putting an engine on bicycles. Everyone calls her crazy! They explain how it is safer and more convenient using cars and the likes. Hane feels sad and lonely in a world without bikes. Then she rides her air bike. Yeah, it’s sad to see her like that. Not cringe. Just sad. Everyone might call her crazy… Next morning, Hane wakes up to the familiar sound of the bike engine. To her relief, all her friends are riding their bikes and gathered at her place! Thank goodness that was just a strange dream. Time to relish another bike outing. Viva bikes! And what’s this God saying that despite men have only ridden on bikes for about a century, He’ll let them hold on to it a little longer. Oh f*ck, you mean bikes were God’s creation other than the world and Adam and Eve?! BS!!!!!

OVA 1
Our biker girls are on a touring mission. Except for Raimu. Somehow Tazuko forced her to do her paper work while she slacks off. Oh well, she’ll catch up once she’s done. On the highway as a slow lorry is overtaking another equally slow truck, Hayakawa does an amazing side wheelie to squeeze through! Gave Hijiri the biggest scare of her life! Then it starts raining but Hane misinterprets their hand signal so instead of stopping at the gas station, everyone continues to ride on in the rain. Bummer. They finally stop at the next station to freshen up. They sell motorbike coffee cans but Rin is not pleased since there is none that is her Katana. The staff luckily has one since he too is a Suzuki fanatic. When Hane decides to drink her coffee can, Onsa gets mad and confiscates it. She reminds her that this touring mission is to ride 100 miles to a coffee shop that her dad recommended that belonged to his friend. Whether the coffee sucks or not, it’s up to them to find out. So this is the romance of their journey? Hence no coffee will be allowed until they get there! Anyway, the other girls aren’t coffee lovers so it doesn’t matter. If so, why was Hane trying to drink one? As they prepare to move out, Rin’s mini bike model from the coffee can falls off and breaks. Hane and Onsa tries to fix it but WTF this abomination?! Are they trying to test Rin’s patience? Oh well then. Time to move out! As Raimu has completed her task, she now rides out. I guess she doesn’t need Tazuko’s permission because that lazy b*tch is sleeping soundly. As the girls traverse the winding roads, Hayakawa shows his amazing skills once more as he flings Hijiri around as weight to balance his sidecar as he takes the corners! Another of those frightful moments in Hijiri’s life. Doesn’t this make her badass? Oh wait. It makes Hayakawa look badass…

Suddenly, Rin’s battery died. Onsa thinks of leaving her behind but karma’s a b*tch since her tyre is flat now. Oh, Hane’s out of gas?! Hayakawa’s Ducati just falls apart like that! They think it’s the Katana curse! How now? Waiting for support will take hours. But don’t fear. Raimu is here with all the necessary supplies! I don’t know how she managed to deduce it from the abomination but she also properly buried it and drive out the curse. With that, the girls can continue their journey. Upon reaching the coffee house… It’s closed?! The owner has gone for a long travel. Oh well, that’s that. But Onsa is really upset and disappointed. All this long journey for nothing? Hane gives her that coffee can. Hey, it travelled the distance too, right? Tastes good. Then they soak in the hotspring for our much needed patience and reward for fanservice! Because we need to be reminded of Rin’s butt mark and her huge tits. Yeah! Then they head home and as they stop by another station, this time they get Rin the Katana model. Only, Hane messed up with a clone since it looked so close and couldn’t tell it apart. Rin not amused and hits it away. Hope this won’t amount to any other curse.

OVA 2
Hijiri finally gets her licence! Even better, she doesn’t need training wheels anymore! Hooray! It is no surprise that she would love to show it off to her pals. But what’s this? Why is Hayakawa here to pick her up? Since his role will end, he hopes she can join him in one last ride home. Oh. Okay. What about her bike then? Don’t worry. Their helicopter will pick it up. Rich people. So I guess it’s for nostalgia’s sake as Hayakawa talks about his old days since he has been riding since young. He shows a picture of himself. Besides him is a young maid. He doesn’t remember her but Hijiri thinks he is keeping secrets. Along the way, Hayakawa talks about training young people to ride and how riding bike makes one feel rejuvenated. Well, in a blink of an eye, suddenly Hayakawa turns into a maid! WTF this supernatural?! It then dawned to Hijiri that maid in the photo is Hayakawa! Well, he admits his family is matriarchal. Next day, the biker girls visit Hijiri’s mansion. Hijiri has to make up stories about this new maid of hers. Hayakawa is pretty honest. You ask, he answers. Hence Hijiri has to make excuses and cover up for her. Like she is the daughter of Hayakawa’s illegitimate daughter? Thank goodness those simpletons believe her. As Hijiri goes to bring her new bike to show them, I guess it’s a huge mansion so it’s going to take time, hence Hayakawa teaches the rest some bike techniques. Damn, he’s teaching Onsa how to wheelie! Not sure what’s going on because suddenly it becomes a showdown between Raimu and Hayakawa about who is more skilled? Not sure this fang baring ritual but eventually both acknowledge each other. With all the biker girls giving their full attention to Hayakawa, Hijiri sees this and feels ignored. WTF Hayakawa giving that smug look on her face?! This makes Hijiri feel ostracized so she rides off herself.

As she stops somewhere, suddenly her bike falls over. Raimu’s gut detects a biker comrade in trouble and quickly rides to the scene. This is picked up subsequently by Hayakawa so she too quickly rides on. WTF is this a competition to see who gets to Hijiri faster?! Not sure if Hayakawa intended to kill Raimu as he releases his sidecar to go faster, almost crashing it into Raimu. Hayakawa regrets becoming young because it’s a reminiscence of a time of arrogance and losing things dearest to him before his eyes. Uhm, reckless bike riding days as a maid? So something happened to that kid in the photo? Sounds like a crash. Hijiri is having trouble picking up her bike. Funny, she did it so easily during training. When Hayakawa arrives, he is now back in his old butler form. What supernatural trick again? What’s this about motorbikes and life cannot be reversed? This guy has an answer for everything, no? Once the other girls arrive, Hijiri shows off her new Ducati Panigale. She rides it to school and at first everyone thought she did it without training wheels. Then a closer look reveals there are hidden training wheels that automatically keep itself. Is this trust issue or is this knowing her very well?

You’ll Never Get To Ride On These Babies…
Okay well, it was fun while it lasted so I guess my mini trilogy is over and now I’m pretty warmed up to go watch Super Cub at my own snail pace. Yeah, I’m going to need all the hilarious antics and shenanigans of this crazy one as I prepare to start my run on Super Cub. Because as we all know by now, it’s a relatively calming and soothing slice of life series that screams BOOOOOORIIIIIINGNESS at every nook and corner. Yeah. I don’t even know why I chose to watch that show. Perhaps that was just all a façade. You know, a reverse psychological trick-cum-excuse by me to watch these shows that I missed out many years back. Sighs. Gotta keep my own personal promise… Yeah, look how far I detoured and went off track already…

Anyway, this series just like those other bicycle ones, it lacks any real sort of story as every episode feels almost random thanks to all the silly shenanigans the characters have. The bike is just a tool to showcase all the antics but I’m okay with that. Compared to the other 2 bicycle series, this one feels a lot more comedic, exaggerated and wilder in nature as it ramps up the fun and funny factor to a point it could almost be called as silly. Sure, the bicycle series too have their own silliness to boot. But when you see this one, it has much more silliness. Although I won’t go so far to say that everything is unrealistic. I guess when you have a motor engine, you really ramp up the oomph in your power for your comedy. More power for the laughs, I guess.

This means that this series has got a lot more going compared to the 2 bicycle shows. What I mean is that instead of one seemingly draggy affair per episode to see the girls riding their bicycles and some slow bonding character development thingy, this one revs up the pace as each episode is mostly divided into 2 or 3 different antics. After all, bikes have more complicated parts and process compared to the bicycles, so you can go faster and take corners at every turn fiercely. Meaning, bicycles are slow and that’s why you can enjoy the scenery. Bikes are faster so you’re supposed to be feeling the adrenaline rush of the high speed! Yeah, that’s a weird and silly way of me trying to explain the different pacing of these series. Sighs. Hey, don’t blame me. I don’t own a bike and wasn’t an avid bicycle enthusiast so I still know nuts about anything related.

So while this series have some motorbike tips and short trivia stories, I feel that it is quite sparing. I mean, if they really want to enlighten you with all those stuffs, might as well go watch some documentaries. I don’t think they can fit it all in a dozen episodes or even several cours. If you’re really crazy into bikes, you’ll be doing much more research than watching these 2D cuties riding, right? And of course there are some which I want to call BS like bikes were hidden Easter eggs in the bible. I’m not a very religious person, but I am not dumb enough to be scammed about God and bikes! Imagine if God was a hippie riding a Harley! YOUR F*CKING FAITH WILL CRUMBLE IN AN INSTANT!!! And then some quotes by famous people like John F. Kennedy or GP racer, Wayne Rainey, did they really say those or did Onsa just put words in their mouth just to sound smart?! I’m going to call her out on that. Food for thought: If bikes exist in heaven long before, who is there to say there doesn’t exist bikes in hell?! Holy sh*t! I’d love to see a holy war between God and Satan on wheels! Should be downright f*cking vrooming epic!

As for the characters, you may love them or loathe them. Basically they are all wacky weirdoes that genres like this to keep the comedy factor running high. It’s both a good thing and a bad thing because when you have weird groups like this, you tend to have the cliché character tropes to tick the checklist like the dumb and dense newcomer who is also actually somewhat a prodigy (that term used in the loosest sense for this series), a mysterious senpai, the tomboy, the rich oujo-sama and not forgetting a tsundere. I’m sure they’re missing a few more like the spunky foreigner but I guess too many cooks spoil the broth. These girls are sufficient enough to make the series work, so don’t go fixing things when they’re not broken at all.

On a personal level, ironically I feel the girls are the main stars of the series rather than their bikes or whatever bike stuffs this series intended to promote. First of all, I’ve already said I am not a bike enthusiast so there are lots of bike stuffs and inside bike trivia and jokes that I probably missed and couldn’t understand (like that Ducati have soul thingy). Hence I feel that there aren’t that many bikes showcased here and even if they did mention some of the models, it was just a quick mention. After all, there are so many bike models in the world and if you want to cover many of them from Japan’s big 4 manufacturers in this anime, it will be literally quite impossible. So be thankful if your favourite ones popped up here (you can catch the specs of the bikes our main biker girls ride in the opening credits but I suppose diehard fanatics already know all that much). Especially the mid-intermission eyecatch whereby we see the girls in sexy grid girl outfit posing next to a featured bike. Though, my hunch is that safety is also a priority because the last couple of episodes they dedicate this part to showcase some of the famous helmet brands. Not because there aren’t enough bikes to go about. Too bad BMW, KTM, Aprilia, Cagiva, Vespa and even Harley Davidson, you get no feature here because Japan comes first! Yeah, even Ducati was just barely here…

Hane feels like the most normal and plain compared to the rest of the other girls in the bike club. In a way, she doesn’t stand out like the rest. You remember her as being the dumb simpleton but honest to her feelings girl but if you look from another perspective, the other characters also have this dumb feel to it (from a comedic standpoint of view, that is). This makes her like a retard and sometimes you wonder if she breathed in too much bike fumes because she is the only what who somewhat hallucinates! I mean, you do notice that she is the only girl among the group who talks to her bike and that bike actually responds and converses with her. Okay, okay, so others talk to their bikes too and we just don’t hear their bike’s inner voice. What about Hane meeting God? Sure this isn’t some hippie in a God’s cosplay? What about that dream of experiencing a world without bikes? Must be her highly imaginative delusions that she sprout wings on her bike while she was flying in the air during the race. So do you not see why she has that happy retard look on her face? High on hallucinations, right?! Hayakawa turned into maid incident, you say? It wasn’t just Hijiri or Hane. Everyone else too. That’s not even a hallucination. It’s just some unexplained freaky supernatural for plot convenience!

Onsa being wild at heart is probably the liveliest among the pack. Partly because she has this natural rivalry with Rin on almost everything. Until the very end, I’m not sure if Rin is officially part of the bike club. She’s like the permanent non-permanent member. She wants to be in but thanks to her pride, she keeps waiting for that invitation to be part of the gang. I don’t remember seeing her becoming official but I guess since she is hanging around so much, everyone just assumes that she is part of the club. Which technically she isn’t. And in the end, we all just forget about that because whether she is official or not, it’s still so much fun with her around. She might be selfish when it comes to bikes but that’s part and parcel of being a tsundere and we know she doesn’t mean it in a bad way, right? RIGHT?! I wonder if her tsundere is because of her traumas from her past especially when she was riding with her father. In the end, all those unfortunate events might look like a joke but I guess as a kid, it’s pretty much traumatizing. Just like Onsa, I guess Rin doesn’t pretty much like her dad nowadays. Yeah, speaking of Onsa’s dad, he’s kinda chill and while not fixing bikes, this guy loves to play video games. Especially that spoof retro motocross game.

I can’t understand Hijiri’s obsession about being a delinquent. I’m not sure if she understands the concept behind it. Perhaps of her rich life, she yearns to be something different. Something badass. And hence her somewhat flimsy obsession being a delinquent. So far so good. Hayakawa is probably an underrated character of the series. He takes good care of Hijiri and his bike skills are exceptional. Though, I’m still not clear if he places his bike above Hijiri sometimes because of the danger he puts her in with his stunts. Always a young biker at heart, eh? Chisame as the newest member has this running joke about her short stature. So much so her running joke and super ability is to memorize and tell the height position of every bike model’s seat! Other than that, she’s got a weird emotionless poker face that gets really weird when she shows emotions. Oh well, looks like she’s fitting in just fine and feeling just like home. My minor pet peeve with her is that when she wears her helmet, how the f*ck does she ‘attach’ her twintails on the side of her helmet???!! I don’t see any holes in her helmet. SO HOW?! I mean, Raimu could just stick her ribbon on the back of hers but Chisame’s twintails?! Don’t tell me they can be detached?!

The biggest mystery is Raimu herself. Oh boy, there are lots of conspiracy theories that I could come up with her and seeing that there was no definitely answer about this oldest club member in the end, it only fuels all those silly speculations of mine. Firstly, my guess is that she is a ghost! I mean, her character doesn’t even have a proper dialogue and she wears her helmet 24/7! She never takes them off! I guess it saves the author from drawing her face. Furthermore, she seemingly couldn’t graduate and always stays back a year. Heck, do you even know what class she is in? And if you remember, it’s partly her running joke for her to crash her bike and then send her flying in the air! How can someone survive that?! But a ghost, no?! But wait. She interacts with others, you say. True, she interacts with those whom she wants to interact with. My other theory is that she could be a guardian angel who watches over those who love bikes. Notice how she knows when the girls are in danger? And also why she survives those horrific-cum-comedic crashes? So if Raimu is an angel, she could be an underling of God and this makes this whole bike thingy to be one of God’s creation to be plausible at least in the context of this series although overall that concept still sounds like hard BS. So in the end, who is Raimu? What is Raimu? How much do we actually know about her? Even her stats the opening are all question marks. Like as though she’s some secret hidden video game character. Oh who cares? As long as she is part of the club, that is all that matters to the girls. Having fun biking together is da best!

Tazuko could be one of the worst principals in anime history but I guess that’s just jumping to conclusions too quickly. Being a young woman, I’m sure I can say it is lack of experience. But personality wise, she isn’t entirely a bad person but I don’t think she’s a good role model. It is hinted she’s in love with Raimu and perhaps the reason she never got a boyfriend or married. So it feels like it’s her life’s mission to show off to her as her way of getting back at her? Sighs. Some things are just complicated. Saruyama feels forgettable in the sense that it doesn’t matter if she was the bike club’s advisor because I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in the clubroom once. So she’s just an advisor by name, huh? Well good for her assuming she’s finally found someone to settle down. 14th time the charm, huh?

When you have bikes and babes, certainly you can’t leave out the fanservice, right? Oh yeah. This series has its fair share of fanservice too and we can all credit that to Rin. Yup, she’s so well-endowed like as though she was born for this role. I mean, why would this Suzuki fanatic wear her racing suit almost everywhere she goes? To her it might make her feel like a true biker but to us, it’s just so that the tight body hugging suit can show off her wonderful curves and yeah, those huge tits! Feels like they could burst out any time! Any time now!!! Despite many of the fanservice coming from Rin and a few really suggestive ad almost raunchy scenes (that bike washing one) and sexual innuendoes (Hane hinting some big twin peaks of a certain someone and pubic hair. OMG DID SHE SAY PUBIC HAIR TO GOD?!), sorry people, no pantsu shots. Boobs shots aplenty but no panty shots.

Art and animation are pretty standard affair. The female characters looking cute and all which sometimes clashes with the stereotypic view that bikes are ridden by burly macho guys are badass looking people. I mean, it’s a mismatch to see cute girls riding such big monsters without having any scars of the trade. Imagine a hot chick with nice smooth skin and tidy hair and clothes riding a ferocious fire breathing dragon. Yeah. Not uncommon in fantasies and delusions. Also, it goes without saying that some of characters look like they are from other shows. Like Rin bears your typical similarity to blonde twintail brats like Hayate No Gotoku’s Nagi. Hijiri has this uncanny resemblance to Arale of Dr Slump and Chisame is Love Live’s Niko but without the smiles. Onsa’s perm hairstyle reminds me of Hitoha from Araburu Kisetsu No Otome-domo Yo. And by a long shot, because Raimu doesn’t take off her helmet, I wonder if she was inspired by Durarara’s Celty. Even that Celty doesn’t technically speak but did so via PDA.

Aside the 2D animation, CGI is also used. It’s not as bad as some of those I’ve seen lately and in recent memory (oh, the atrocity that was Ex-Arm!!!) and it is quite passable. It isn’t that jarring as it blends in with its surroundings smoothly although it is still noticeable with a quick glance. Bike designs are also okay. Looks cool from a person who isn’t a bike enthusiast but also at the same time, didn’t really pay much attention to the details. I mean, if you really want to gawk at all the cool curves of a bike, might as well look at the real deal, right? Hand drawn animation and 3D models can only bring you so much details… This anime is brought to you by TMS Entertainment who Dr Stone, D. Gray-man, Megalo Box, Kamisama Hajimemashita, Yowamushi Pedal and the recent remake of Fruits Basket.

Fuelling my silly conspiracy of voice acting was how they brought together Nao Touyama (voice of Rin) and Youko Hikasa (Tazuko) who had roles in Long Riders with Reina Ueda (Hane) who appeared in Minami Kamakura Koukou Joshi Jitenshabu to do voice acting in this anime. Wait, I got the order wrong. Bakuon actually came out first than these bicycle shows. So uhm, they get commissioned to do a bicycle one after that? Some recognizable seiyuus include Kikuko Inoue as Baita, Rikiya Koyama as God, Junichi Suwabe as Chisame’s dad and the late Unshou Ishizuka as Hayakawa (RIP, dude). I thought it was Fumihiko Tachiki behind Onsa’s dad but it turned out to be Mitsuo Iwata (Ivankov in One Piece). Other casts include Yumi Uchiyama as Onsa (Mare in Overlord), Rikako Yamaguchi as Hijiri (Rebecca in Black Clover), Ibuki Kido as Chisame (Megumi in Eromanga-sensei), Azusa Tadaokoro as Yume (Fino in Yuushibu) and Kazusa Aranami as Saruyama (Yusa in Jashin-chan Dropkick).

The opening theme is Feel x Alive by Sayaka Sasaki. Typical lively anime pop. But it has cool opening drum beat solo. The ending theme is Voon! Voon! Ride On by the bike club quartet (I guess this means Rin is part of the club, huh?). Once Chisame joins the club, the she joins and becomes part of the quintet in singing this song. But what’s this? There is a Raimu version of it?! OMFG?! HOW CAN SHE SING WHEN SHE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A VOICE???!!! Oh… Oh… I see it’s an instrumental piece. Heh. Furthermore, the loudest noise is the revving of her bike engine so you might sometimes get irritated because you know, how irritating it could be when exposed to prolong exposure to bike revving sounds. Makes me wonder if this is her actual voice! In that case, good thing she doesn’t speak ;p. I thought I heard the last of that cringe song. But I have to hear it again in the second OVA. Sure, Baikubu Kanyuu No Uta ~Mou Konna Norimono Iyada~ is definitely ultimate cringe from the tune downright to its lyrics (hear the part where they say the names of Japan’s big 4 bike manufacturers!). But it’s funny in its own right. Especially that weird handle bar dance! If there was a moment where your hair stood on ends and laughing your ass off at the same time, this song is it.

Overall, this anime is fun and has its own charms and in that sense it is much more entertaining than many of the other shows in the same genre (say, a certain fishing one and a certain comet/rock enthusiast one) because of its exaggerated and wild comedic nature. Cute girls playing with big boys’ toys may feel a bit out of place since it is like girls playing with GI Joe action figures rather than Barbie Dolls. Which is of course not uncommon in today’s more open minded (and politically correct) era. As long as you enjoy the things you do and not be a nuisance to others, nobody cares. Bike on till the day you can bike no more. Eventually bikes are just scraps of metal, right? Haha, bike fanatics please don’t kill me. Until then, goodby-ke. Forgive the wheelie bad closing bike pun. Yeah, I know it’s tyre-some… :-).

Hanyou No Yashahime: Sengoku Otogizoushi

WOAH! WOAH!!! WAIT A MINUTE!!! I thought Inu Yasha ended like over 10 years ago?! The final act was animated and were done with that debatable ending (Kagome screwing the modern lifestyle and went with her dog husband to live in the past – yeah, that one). Because fast forward to end of 2020, suddenly we have a sequel?! So did they lie when they put the word ‘final’ in that title?! Although Hanyou No Yashahime: Sengoku Otogizoushi may not be a direct sequel to Inu Yasha, it is somewhat a direct spinoff sequel. Because this time the daughters of the series’ main characters are now to the fore. Oh well, I guess 10 years is long enough to play on fans’ nostalgia. Considering so many old series got a reboot (Fruits Basket, Shaman King, Chuuka Ichiban) or some sort of spinoff sequel (Battle Athletess Daiundoukai), perhaps this great old series too doesn’t want to be left out of the cold and hence jumping on the bandwagon. Yeah, fans must be asking if all those old series got their remakes, why not our favourite series? When is it gonna happen? Well folks, there you have it. Old diehard fans and new anime weeabos can now enjoy this one.

Episode 1
Towa Higurashi is captured and brought before the deputy shogun of Kanto. She is accused of being a Yashahime (half demon princess) but she denies. However his aide, Sokyuu claims she is from another land and has proof of this modern catalogue as well as a broken bicycle seat that was in her possession. Towa can’t say anything or it’ll change the future and continues to play dumb and warn them to release her or her friends will come. Sokyuu thinks this is very familiar of a priestess who came here from a well. Are we ready for some nostalgia? That’s right. We go back further in time, 6 months after the end of their Shikon Jewel adventure when Kagome decided to stay with Inuyasha. Wow. Sango’s got lots of kids. 2 cute little girls and a baby boy. How more will Miroku have? Anyway, Inuyasha and Miroku are trying to rid of some root head demon terrorizing the locals. Although they destroy the demon, its mini root manages to escape. Then they discover an arrow at its tomb where it was supposedly sealed. Taking it back to Kaede, she confirms it was shot by Kikyo who sealed it before she met Inuyasha. Worse, this demon attacks Kagome and co as it claims she is Kikyo and wants her to hand over the Shikon Jewel. The husbands return as it escapes again. Inuyasha is forced to tell what happened so they have to go round eradicating it. Your usual Inuyasha and gang in action. Even more nostalgia with Sesshoumaru joining in. Oh, Kohaku’s doing all the work. He’s just watching. Kaede fires that same arrow as bait to lure out its main body. When it does, as expected everyone chips in to finally destroy it. Inuyasha isn’t happy Kagome was being reckless but she knew he would come save her. Time for this nostalgia to ends as we return to Towa. Her friends are here to save her, Moroha the bounty hunter and Setsuna the demon slayer. Moroha can sense Sokyuu is a demon in disguise and attacks him but he got away. Towa doesn’t want him killed since he knows about him and they should nab him and make him talk. Towa takes her stuffs and leaves with the duo.

Episode 2
We see young twin sisters, Towa and Setsuna live a happy life in the forest. Until a fire forest broke out and as they’re running for their lives, Setsuna pushed Towa from a falling burning tree. As Towa goes look for her, it’s like her eye activated a portal that throws her into the modern world. A scared Towa was picked up by Souta. They go look for Setsuna but to no avail. 10 years have passed and Towa is Souta’s adopted daughter. Though, he has a real cute daughter, Mei. Towa’s logic of dressing up as a male is so that she can fight better. So will transferring her to an all-girls school solve the problem? Nope. Ruffians still want to beat her up. She beats them up. We return to the past as we see demon slayers Hisui (Miroku’s son, and that makes Kohaku his uncle!) along with Setsuna trying to fight Moroha, thinking she is the one behind the village attacks. Turns out to be this centipede demon who is wants the Rainbow Pearl belonging to Moroha. She manages to devour it and grows stronger. Meanwhile, those ruffians call their big bro. So I guess if they want real revenge, they have to go in for the kill. Yeah, they kidnap Mei, grandma and great grandpa and take them as hostages. Towa can’t fight back and takes a beating or else Mei’s face will get scarred. That is when Towa can’t keep Souta’s promise of keeping her monstrous powers hidden. She uses her superhuman strength and agility to save her family. However Mei keeps screaming to Towa not to fight because it’ll never end. Luckily for them, the police is passing by so those losers run. Meanwhile, the centipede demon manages to take Setsuna’s Rainbow Pearl too and power up further. How the f*ck do these girls let it slip so easily?! Distraction?! Anyway, this causes some reaction and a portal throwing them into the future. Towa still remembers the scent of her sister and is happy to see her again. Well, better rid of the demon first who wants the third and final Rainbow Pearl inside Towa.

Episode 3
Oh well, Towa’s sword breaks! But don’t worry. Her determination to protect her sister makes her unleash a new power! OMFG! Did she turn her broken sword into a lightsaber?! She manages to deal it some damage but the demon now targets Mei?! WTF?! Why are baddies such cowards?! Luckily it is Setsuna who finishes it off for good. After taking back their Rainbow Pearls, Setsuna doesn’t remember anything about Towa and is pretty suspicious of her. Towa thinks because she failed to save her from the fire, she’s acting like this. Setsuna attacks her but Towa dodges. Moroha has them stop and believes they’re both a hanyou. Even more so they are the twin daughters of Sesshoumaru! This is somewhat confirmed by Kaede as he tells Kohaku and Hisui about this incident 14 years ago. Suddenly some Hitokon demon possesses Towa. She controls her to fight Setsuna. Then it’s like because Towa is too powerful, it possesses Mei to easier control her. But with weak ass powers… Setsuna wants to cut her down too but Towa won’t let her. Can’t trouble this family anymore, huh? Setsuna should’ve just done all this from the start. Put everyone to sleep with her dust and then use some potion to expel the Hitokon and watch it squirm to death. Then we have Kaede also explaining how the remnants of the root demon possessed the sacred tree. Because the wood from the well was made from that tree and gave the well its mysterious powers to travel through time, it’s the same reason why the tree also had this power. And that’s how she deduces Setsuna and Moroha being sent to another world. Now the duo are living in Souta’s place. Because of those similar eyes, it is hinted that Moroha could be Kagome’s daughter. Moroha knows that Setsuna cannot sleep because of some cursed Dream Butterfly. I can understand why she always looks this moody! Not only she cannot sleep and cannot dream, this is why she has no memories of her past as it has stolen it from her. This only has Towa feel guiltier all this happened because she couldn’t save her in the first place.

Episode 4
Wow. Our feudal ladies getting used to modern life? Setsuna can play the violin?! DID THAT EXISTED BACK IN THE FEUDAL ERA?! Or is she a prodigy? Moroha has found a way to get back to the past after interrogating the root demon. So she’s packed her bag filled with modern stuffs. How the f*ck did she fit the bicycle in there?! Of course, time for Towa to say goodbye to Souta. She has to go back to help look for the Dream Butterfly. Souta isn’t sad as he knew this day would come. So Moroha offers their Rainbow Pearls to the root demon to take them back in which it agrees. Yeah, last promise by Mei for them to come back. They’re sisters, right? The trio jump into the portal but it takes them to the Tree of Ages. Its spirit looks like Kikyo but she claims she only took her form because her sacred arrow manifested in it or something like that. Anyway, she has a request from the trio and that is to defeat the great dog demon, Kirinmaru. He is planning to twist time and turn everything into nothingness. As time travelling is vital, that’s why she is seeking their help. This happened because Sesshoumaru who is the other one who is supposed to keep the balance, walked away on his own path. Hence Kirinmaru decided to seize this chance. While Moroha accepts it, Setsuna declines because she refuses to acknowledge Sesshoumaru as her father and that she should just ask him to defeat Kirinmaru. That will not do since defeating one would mean the other would emerge. Hence they have to defeat both. Uhm, shouldn’t she say that earlier? With this, now Towa refuses because she doesn’t want to atone for her father’s sins. Seeing they refuse, the spirit transport them to fight the root demon who is now desperate to take their Rainbow Pearls. After pinpointing its weakness, holy sh*t, did Towa’s lightsaber turn into a blue dragon to destroy it?! They return to the past but Towa is devastated to realize they have destroy the root demon. So how will they go back to the future next time? Meanwhile we see the Tree of Ages lamenting the path they took. Because Rin looks like she is in a suspended animation state and if she is forsaken, she will never awaken. But she also notes perhaps staying this way forever would be the best.

Episode 5
The demon owl, Yotsume reports to Kyuki, the return of the Yashahime trio. She wants him to warn Jakotsumaru. He is the son of Tokotsu who was defeated by Moroha and is trying to revive his father by gathering bones from living things. Our heroines also learn that something has been sucking out bones from living things and will get on the case right away. Meanwhile Moroha sees Jubei the corpse dealer. Because she did not get Tokotsu’s head, she will not get a bag of gold as bounty. Since she is still saddled with debt, she is made to finish the job and has his tanuki familiar, Takechiyo keep an eye on her. He needs Moroha to finish the job fast too before Jakotsumaru revives his father. Eventually Moroha meets up with the sisters at what is supposed to be Jakotsumaru’s hideout. She doesn’t want to share the bounty but Myouga explains that Tokotsu who is part of the Four Perils is worth more than a bag of gold. The others in this group include Kyuki, Konton and Totetsu. All are underlings of Kirinmaru. So I guess it’s safe to say, defeat them and Kirinmaru will pop up and so will Sesshoumaru. Plus, Moroha doesn’t remember slaying Tokotsu. She was unconscious and by the time she woke up, she was with his corpse. After swiping his Rainbow Pearl, she had to run from his corpse underlings. The trio confront Jakotsumaru but he has already revive his father. Tokotsu of course wants revenge for not only taking his Rainbow Pearl but selling his body on top of it. Moroha doesn’t give a sh*t so she uses the Rainbow Pearl’s power to transform into Beniyasha. Basically, faster and more powerful. She manages to kill Jakotsumaru but her power only lasts a minute. Now she’ll sleep for a day. Setsuna cleans this up by defeating Tokotsu and eventually Towa finishing him. Takechiyo reports that the girls successfully defeated Tokotsu. However since everything vanishes and nothing left, this means no reward for Moroha and they’ll keep the profits. Heh. Sneaky…

Episode 6
With Moroha not getting much from her bounty, looks like Jubei has a job for her. Something about travellers going missing at a northern village. No job is too small for Moroha! As they head there, the village is overrun with cute cats! Awww, so cute! Of course they could smell they are demons and cut them down. They trace the source to the temple that is resided by a lone priest, Juan. However they don’t smell any demons on him and he is completely human. That night, the girls bait the demon cats to attack them. Another successful hunt. Since Juan is surprised with this, he tells them that a demon cat monster was sealed underneath the temple 100 years ago. Moroha and Setsuna go investigate while Towa guards Juan. Underneath the structure, they see a hole and some bones. The bones revive into a giant cat monster. Fight time. However no matter how much they cut, it regenerates. Of course the culprit is Juan himself as he is controlling the other demon cats. However Juan is not totally a demon. When Juan moved here and tried to offer his prayer, it awakened the demon and it possessed him instead. So the demon is keeping him alive to hide his true form and luring in and killing travellers since. He dares them to cut them both down. While Setsuna has no qualms, of course our morally righteous Towa doesn’t want to. How? Will they be cut instead? With Myouga’s story on Inuyasha cutting down the demon portion with Tessaiga, Towa gets an idea. With her Rainbow Pearl and lightsaber, she manages to take down only the demon half. Setsuna notes she was just lucky this time but Towa promises to not die because she’ll get back her dreams and then go back to her era. Moroha thought she’ll get paid this time but looks like the bounty for this is a small one. Oh Moroha, didn’t you ask how much it was worth first before taking on this job? Sure, no job too small but her but the reward is!

Episode 7
Kyuki reports to Kirinmaru about Tokotsu’s defeat. He doesn’t remember his underling. Kyuki offers to go next and do something about this. Towa is doing well slaying demons with the demon slayers. But next day Setsuna left her alone at home and not ask her to come for demon slaying. Thinking that she was in the way, Towa tries to prove herself by finding the Dream Butterfly. She gets lost and meets a lost pirate named Riku along the way. They hang out as she treats him with some foodstuffs. They talk about the sword she is having. It broke because apparently it’s fake. Riku then leaves but leaves her with a sword as a gift. Shortly, guards surround her and think she is the one who stole the actual sword that belonged to the deputy shogun. She is taken to him for interrogation. So the scene plays out like that in the first episode. Meanwhile Setsuna learns from Kaede about Towa. Moroha has got a job by Jubei to slay Kyuki. Noting that Towa is lost, they follow her scent as Takechiyo brings them to the deputy shogun’s place. Kyuki is watching them and is part of her plan to take their Rainbow Pearls in one fell swoop. She has one herself and having them all will make her more powerful than Kirinmaru. She sends her polar bear familiar, Fubuki to attack. Setsuna and Moroha find it hard to fight it since it is made of smoke and the real body is somewhere. Damn, Towa probably wasn’t paying attention to Sokyuu’s stories so she notices a mini Fubuki in the ceiling. She uses her power that signals to the Yashahime about her whereabouts. This allows Moroha to shoot her arrow and then Towa somehow finishing it off. Wow. She did all this without Sokyuu or the deputy shogun noticing?! Of course the rest is history when the ladies barge in to rescue Towa, Sokyuu turns into Yotsume and they leave to hunt him down.

Episode 8
Riku sees Jubei and further requests the destruction of the Four Perils. Jubei is perplexed because with his powers, he could easily destroy them all. He claims he hates the Four Perils and will only kill those he loves. That’s why he’ll get the Yashahime and their Rainbow Pearls. He wonders if he could get all 7 of them. Yotsume returns to Kyuki who gives him her Rainbow Pearl so that he could extract the Yashahime’s weaknesses. So, he grows an extra eye that shoots beams?! Well, it effects everyone except Setsuna since she can’t dream. So we see their dreams. Like Miroku leaving Takechiyo in Jubei’s care, Kagome leaving a baby Moroha in the hands of Hachi before she and Inuyasha face off with Sesshoumaru and Kirinmaru, the Dream Butterfly takes Setsuna’s dreams and then goes to the Tree of Ages where Rin seems to be in slumber inside. Although Setsuna kills Yotsume, the effect is still in place. This means when the Yashahime confront Kyuki, she still has the upper hand as she dares Moroha to turn into Beniyasha. She does so but nothing happens. Her Rainbow Pearl has absorbed their power from their dreams. This means Setsuna can only fight her but she is still lacking since Kyuki transforms into her true tiger beast form. Moroha then tells Towa to use her demon absorbing power as seen during Juan’s case. Although she can use her enemy’s powers, it all depends on how well she can take in the blow. If she can’t handle it, she’ll die. But of course, Towa does this to perfection. Unfortunately she lacks power for the finishing blow so Kyuki fights back and lightly injures Setsuna. Oh God… Not that trauma of being unable to save Setsuna again… But this anger allows Towa to power up and turn her lightsaber into some dragon sword and defeat Kyuki! So while the Yashahime are celebrating their victory, Riku comes by to kill Kyuki and melts her! He is disappointed in her and takes her Rainbow Pearl. He then introduces himself to the Yashahime as Takechiyo gives them their reward.

Episode 9
Jubei has a bounty hunting job that pays a year’s worth of rice! Some demon has destroyed a fortress and scouts that were sent there never returned. Moroha as usual is up to the job but her cousins aren’t. Wow. She’s so disappointed and throws insults at them? Hey, less men, more share? Apparently Moroha doesn’t like to be lonely… :(. Anyway, because Jubei has not heard any clues of the Dream Butterfly, he suggests putting up a bounty. Someone will be bound to look into it. How much? Maybe a year’s worth of rice? Okay then. Looks like they’ll be joining Moroha. Yeah, look at her face lighting up. So they arrive at the supposed fortress only to realize that demon is Konton. So he destroyed the place because it blocked the scenery? They fight but Konton has his lion familiars to help out. Towa’s sword cannot absorb anything from him because it’s just a very hard armour. In the end, they are whisked away. Also being whisked away is a turtle kid, Meifuku. He shows them the bones of his dead father at the bottom of the lake. Konton killed him just to get a piece of his shell to make his armour. Hence Meifuku is out for revenge and has been following Konton. For 10 years?! Oh, Meifuku is 50 years old?! So he needs another 50 years to be ready?! Moroha can’t wait that long so does this justify the turtle abuse?! Oh look, Konton is here to resume the fight. Moroha trying to put up Meifuku to fight him but I guess this turtle’s a chicken. As the fight resumes, Towa gets this idea to put some demonic energy into Konton’s armour. This means the spirit of Meifuku’s dad talks to his son and wants him to use some dark cannon on Konton. Although it might hurt him too, he wants to be put to rest. And so Meifuku sums up his courage to do so. Konton loses his armour but flees before the Yashahime could land the finishing blow. I guess no bounty if they don’t get his head. Meifuku returns the shell and prays to put his father’s soul to rest for good. So this will take about another 50 years?!

Episode 10
The Yashahime investigate a village destroyed by a quarrel between demon siblings. Turns out Kinka and Ginka who are conjoint have to fight each other to the death and the stronger one will absorb the loser. It should’ve been done and dusted when they’re babies but looks like it has drawn out for too long. This sibling rivalry is a thorny issue for Towa since it invokes that traumatic past of hers. The brothers realize the sisters have got the Rainbow Pearls and decide to call a truce and retreat for today. The Yashahime are rewarded dinner by the villagers for saving the village. It is then, Kinka and Ginka possess Towa and Setsuna. How the f*ck did they even let this happen?! Did they let their guard down? The sisters are unable to control their body and start fighting. Thanks to Setsuna releasing some poison to expel the brothers, now that they’ve got their Rainbow Pearls, they flee. I thought it was a no brainer that they possessed the sisters to fight. Couldn’t they just take the Rainbow Pearls and leave?! Anyway, they return to their leader, Jouka to present their steal. She is pleased since she can get her revenge on Sesshoumaru. However she starts to absorb Ginka since one of them is fated to die anyway. And just like that, the brothers don’t hate each other and try to fight her. Yeah, I guess they belong to each other and not some b*tch. Towa and Setsuna arrive on the scene. Watching the siblings fend for each other reminds them of their past. Especially Setsuna partially regaining some of her memories although they are still fuzzy. Eventually the brothers cannot defeat her. Kinka seeks their help but Setsuna wants to do the honours. Jouka is taken down but unfortunately Ginka has died. As Kinka also sustained injuries, he too will die but not before noting despite they hated each other, they were each other’s reason to live. RIP, bros. Towa wonders if Setsuna’s memories have returned although Setsuna remains tight lipped. The biggest loser is Moroha. Since the bodies turn into ashes, she can’t collect any proof as bounty. Maybe the ashes will. Then the wind blows… FFFUUUUU!!!

Episode 11
Moroha almost choked on modern pancakes… Trying to take a drink from the muddy pond, luckily Towa stops her. Moroha saw the pond ate a bird but the sisters don’t believe her since they didn’t see anything. But they do seek advice from Kohaku and Hisui about this and they confirmed of a demonic pond. As the sisters are about to go slay it, they see Chiyo trying to stop her brother, Hikomaru from heading to the pond. Seems the pond ate their parents so he wants revenge? What the f*ck can he do?! Of course the sisters stop them. The sisters accept their invitation to stay at their home since it’s near the pond and they can investigate it. Grandma tells them it was once clear as a sage purified it with medicinal herbs. He also planted a patch nearby but a demon serpent prevented them from collecting it. Next day, Moroha rendezvous with the sisters at the pond. It doesn’t take long before the demon serpent shows up from the pond and blows the Yashahime away with his poison mist. Oddly, only Towa isn’t affected. When she tries to fight it, the pond itself is a demon and protects the serpent. This time its liquid poison affects Towa but has none over Setsuna. Myouga deduces that the sisters have different poison immunity. Setsuna sees the patch of herbs nearby and uses her cyclone move to sweep them all up to purify the pond demon. With that, Towa then lands the finishing blow on the demon serpent. With both demons gone, the pond is now clear as a mirror.

Episode 12
Konton still wants the Rainbow Pearls so he sends Nikosen to do the job. When plantations of a village start to decay and lose its nutrients, Kohaku sends his demon corps to investigate. Of course Moroha is there too for the bounty. She knows a bit about Nikosen as he was a sage but strayed to the path of evil and became an apparition. It didn’t take long before Nikosen shows up. He spews poison but Towa becomes affected the most as she loses her strength. While Setsuna tends to her, Moroha manages to decapitate Nikosen. However his head still lives and flies away. Now it’s Setsuna’s turn to chase after the head while Moroha look after Towa. Setsuna soon realizes the head is just a decoy as the real core is in the body. Speaking of which, WTF Nikosen trying to shake off Moroha and Towa crossing a flimsy bridge. Why are they crossing it in the first place?! Anyway, Moroha is shocked to see Towa’s hair longer and turned black. They survive the fall and take refuge in a cave. Myouga explains Towa has lost her demonic powers due to tonight’s new moon. Different half demons have different conditions when they turn back into humans. Towa didn’t experience such in the other world since she was from this era originally. During such state, it is best they hide themselves. Hence Moroha puts up a spiritual barrier around the cave. But Towa is still worried about Setsuna. As her sister, she could be facing the same effects now. Well, not quite. Setsuna rendezvous with Kohaku as the demon slayers try to bomb the hell out of the mountain?! WTF?! Thanks to all the bombing, the barrier becomes loose and this allows Nikosen to find Towa and Moroha. Yeah, they get petrified! But Setsuna arrives in time to save them. So just the stone part covering them get destroyed? Damn, I thought their whole body and everything would shatter. Thankfully they didn’t. Plot convenience says night time is over and since it is dawn, Towa regains her powers and kills off Nikosen. Towa asks Setsuna about her power loss but she is unsure what she is talking about. It is perhaps she has lost her dreams and memories, the reason why she isn’t affected. But today’s biggest loser is still Moroha. No head, no body, no bounty!

Episode 13
Totetsu eats a virtuous monk. Not as delicious as he thinks. His ideal is Sanzo but since he can’t find that dude, he consults his Rainbow Pearl to find the next monk. Apparently this isn’t the first monk and there have been many similar incidents. Hence Kohaku and his demon slayers are on a mission to protect monks in the vicinity. Hisui is not fond in particular as he is tasked to protect his father. It seems he doesn’t think highly of him and views him as a coward. While Towa and Setsuna accompany Hisui, Moroha thinks the monk she is guarding is targeted and hence is waiting for the big demon to show up so she could get his head for the bounty. Keep waiting. We see Miroku training and he has to undergo such for 1000 days in order to attain some divine power, which he might not even get. Miroku recognizes Setsuna but the latter not so. The sisters talk to Gyokuto who is Hisui’s older sister and then to Hisui as they find out he isn’t happy Miroku is wasting his time with this flimsy training while others are putting their lives on the line. Of course, Totetsu is here so the young ones go into action. Miroku runs away, leaving Hisui with yet another bad impression. But he soon returns with some poison. Using himself as bait, Hisui then releases the poison since Totetsu is sucking everything up into this mouth. Didn’t work since he spits out the poison in time. Consequently, the backlash injures Kohaku. While Towa handles Totetsu, Setsuna who now remembers Miroku, seeks his help to undo the seal on her. Setsuna transforms into her demonic state and lets Totetsu eat her poisonous hand. It tastes bad so he gives up eating and escapes. In the aftermath, Kohaku is healed and Miroku reseals Setsuna’s power. Setsuna explains to tower about the poison in her body is an inherited demon power. However it is hard to control if she transforms into a demon. Since Towa is half demon, she may have some inherited power too. As this monk eating incident blows over, Moroha gets word there will be no more bounty. Not again! Wasted time and effort. Oh well, she did nothing too.

Episode 14
Who is this hot babe, Tamano at Jubei’s place? And she came with Riku? Apparently Tamano lives at the foot of the mountains with her grandparents. So pretty that there were lots of guys asking for her hand in marriage. Of course she declined them all. Then one night, an evil mountain god, Homura whisked her away to his mansion deep in the snowy mountains. His mansion is the only place where it is always spring time. At first Homura treated her nice. But when his human servants just took a glance at Tamano, he became jealous and burnt them! Plus, he blamed Tamano for trying to seduce them and locked her up! Tamano managed to pick the lock and escape but as she grew weak from descending the snowy mountains, that was when she stumbled into Riku who saved and brought her here. Hence the request is to slay Homura before he comes to kidnap her again. There’s a high bounty for this god so you bet Moroha wants this job and drags the sisters into it. Upon arriving, they see Homura frantically looking for Tamano. He becomes enraged since they won’t tell him. When he recognizes their Rainbow Pearls, he is surprised since he thought he killed them. Yes, this is the guy who burnt down the forest and separated the sisters. He was under orders by a mysterious demon lady, Zero (who somewhat knows Sesshoumaru) to kill the sisters. Towa becomes mad seeing he was the one who started the tragedy. Meanwhile, Tamano thinks of settling it with Homura since this was her problem to begin with. With Riku, they head to the snowy mountains. As usual, Homura gets jealous seeing her with a hot guy. This time, Tamano rejects him and claims she will never ever live with him again despite Riku egging her to go with Homura. Homura becomes so sad that he burns himself to death!!! WTF?! Oh well, I guess nobody got their hands dirty. Not sure if Towa is satisfied seeing she couldn’t get proper revenge on the perpetrator. And of course, no reward for ashes. Poor Moroha…

Episode 15
Now we delve deeper into the flashback of everything of this season. 18 years ago when Riku went to see Housenki II as he completed the black pearl that leads one to the border of this world and the afterlife. Riku wants him to pass it to Inuyasha as well as this rouge from Izayoi (Inuyasha’s mom). Housenki II did that in exchange for Inuyasha showing him his Kongosouha move. Stupid mutt! You destroyed your house! Housenki II continues explaining when Great Dog Demon (Inuyasha’s father) died, Izayoi became sad and thus her tears turned to a jewel. It houses Tessaiga and the path to his grave. The rouge was needed to create the black pearl as it contained Izayoi’s despair. Later, Kagome is approached by Riku who warns of a catastrophe in the form of a comet. 500 years ago, its fragments caused war and famine to the land and people. Great Dog Demon and Kirinmaru teamed up to destroy it. Now the comet is here again and with Great Dog Demon’s demise and Kirinmaru in slumber, he needs Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru to join hands to stop it. He advised not to awaken Kirinmaru as he hates humans and even those who are half demons. Sesshoumaru is approached by Zero and told the same thing. However, seeing she would like to see his family in despair, she doesn’t press him to be a hero. After Rin gives birth to Towa and Setsuna, Sesshoumaru takes them away. Yeah, believe in him, right? Sesshoumaru is then attacked by Jouka under orders to kill the sisters. But he defeats her, takes her Rainbow Pearls that supposedly are tears of Zero and with Jaken’s power, the sisters are sealed under some barrier. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha meet and cooperate to destroy the comet. Easy. Shortly, Zero awakens Kirinmaru from his slumber and warns him about the prophecy of the Shikon Jewel that will have him killed by something that is not human or demon. Basically it would be Towa and Setsuna since they are half demons. But technically aren’t they both? Also, Moroha who is a quarter demon who can travel time will be a big threat. If he cannot destroy these trio, his doom is certain. Surprisingly, Sesshoumaru teams up with Kirinmaru to fight Inuyasha. After Kagome hands Moroha to Hachi who in turn leaves her in the hands of Kouga’s wolf tribe, Sesshoumaru steals Inuyasha’s black pearl and then seals him along with Kagome inside it. Kirinmaru isn’t pleased that Inuyasha is only sealed off but as Jaken explains, there will come a time when Inuyasha’s Meidou Zangetsuha will be needed. The rest is literally history as we see Zero discovering the location of the sisters and letting Homura burning the forest down seeing Sesshoumaru gave his ‘permission’.

Episode 16
Now it’s Moroha’s turn for a flashback. A few years ago, her master, Yawaragi told her to undergo a test at the Kodoku crucible. Basically all demons and monsters fight in a cave in this battle royale till one emerge as the winner. As a reward, she will give Moroha her sword, Kurikaramaru and her training will end. The catch is that she cannot use her rouge. Eventually Moroha wins it but is soon disheartened to learn Yawaragi has abandoned her. Yawaragi is seen talking to Jubei about why she forbade Moroha to use the rouge because every time she uses it, she loses her heart and herself. In fact, Yawaragi sealed her demon blood inside it. Otherwise naturally when cornered, Moroha will transform into a monster herself. Eventually a mad Moroha comes by to demand her reward. She is further shocked to learn that Yawaragi has sold her off in a bet. But Jubei offers to buy Moroha from her at a good price so that she could find some rat blacksmith to forge a key to free herself from this cursed armour that shrinks every year till it crushes her bones. With that, Moroha is now forced to work as a bounty hunter under Jubei to clear that debt. Now, we see Moroha facing off with Yawaragi. Earlier on, she found the rat blacksmith but the entire clan was slaughtered by Konton. He has the key to her armour and if she wants it, she must bring Moroha’s head as she was to one who killed Tokotsu. Master and pupil fight. Moroha is tempted to use her rouge but Yawaragi dares her to do it and this would prove she hasn’t changed. Further flashbacks revealed a panicky Moroha used the rouge to kill monsters cornering her. She went berserk and scarred Yawaragi. At the same time with monster reinforcements arriving, a sneaky weasel tricked Yawaragi to unlock his armour and this was when she got the cursed. But it enhanced her power. Now that Moroha remembers this, she will not use the rouge and show how much she has improved. Both unleash their powerful move. But this is a setup by Yawaragi to hold down a watching Konton and die with him. Too bad Konton disappears with his Rainbow Pearl and Yawaragi bears the brunt of the move. Konton escapes while Yawaragi has no regrets since Moroha mastered her final move. After burying her, Moroha ponders about her place of belonging since she isn’t a half demon to begin with. She’ll have to continue living in such incomplete existence. Her pals say whatever she does is her own decision. Moroha quickly recovers and is glad they aren’t alone like before.

Episode 17
Riku sees Konton trying to create a field trap. However he needs someone affixed as the focal point for power. Riku suggests using Totetsu but Konton wants the Yashahime to be lured into it instead. Hence Riku goes to see Moroha with rumours that he might know Totetsu’s whereabouts. Money faced Moroha is eager to go so she goes get the sisters to join her. Although Towa is more interested in finding the Dream Butterfly first, Riku heard another rumour that it might be connected to Kirinmaru. Yeah. Such flimsy rumour is enough to get them all on board. They arrive at a temple just in time before Totetsu eats a monk. Totetsu holding a monk hostage and making a fool out of them. Then he escapes and seemingly lures them into a barrier field. Moroha continues to chase Totetsu until she realizes it is just an illusion. Now she realizes the whole place may be an illusion. She tries climbing out of the ravine but has to fight more demons. Meanwhile the sisters are separated from her and they notice no matter how far they walk, they can’t seem to get close to that centre tree. Noting this might be one of Konton’s spells, Towa has Setsuna stay put as she runs about while using her sister as landmark. Before she knows it, she lost Setsuna. However she smells Setsuna’s blood (earlier on she stabbed her thigh thinking this was all just an illusion) and this reunites them again. Realizing Konton is twisting and shifting the space of this area, all they need is to sever the nexus of the spell. Yeah, just sniff out the riff! Why didn’t they use this before?! Is the scent not that obvious? Anyway, they do so and return to reality. Konton in a pinch since he has to deal with the sisters physically now.

Episode 18
While Moroha fights the real Totetsu, the sisters deal with Konton and his familiars. Konton mocks them for not knowing the real meaning of Rainbow Pearls. And something about Zero scattering them all over the world. Long story short, even if Konton has one himself, he gets defeated and decapitated. Yeah, I guess it’s overdue that we have to kill off a Four Perils. Riku takes his Rainbow Pearl. All that’s left is Totetsu. Outnumbered, he runs but the girls are hot on his tail. Kirinmaru then shows up and is not amused that Totetsu led them to his ship. Now GTFO! Kirinmaru introduces himself to them. Moroha is itching to take his head until Takechiyo confirms there isn’t any bounty on his head. Not working for free then. Kirinmaru says they must kill him in order to make the Dream Butterfly disappear. Can we do that without anybody dying? Of course Kirinmaru is worried about the prophecy so he fights the girls to see how much they are of a threat. In short, they’re laughable. Even Moroha in Beniyasha mode didn’t even do much. All this with Kirinmaru didn’t even unleash any special moves of his! So right he is about to kill the sisters, here comes Sesshoumaru. The sisters don’t recognize him since they’ve never seen daddy before. Even if they now know, they didn’t put up that flabbergasted look. Anyway, Sesshoumaru isn’t here to save his daughters. Some score they want to settle, huh? Yeah, we’re tired of weak girly fights. Show them how a true legend fights! OMG. Just the clash of their sword, the ground splits, tsunami created, the sky turn dark and lightning striking all over the place! WOAH!!! I guess they can’t have the world destroyed now so Kirinmaru backs down but reminds Sesshoumaru of some deed that he still needs to do for him. And just like that, Sesshoumaru also leaves, not giving a f*cks for his own daughters. So while the Yashahime trio are still very much alive, they’re just f*cking confused over everything that has just happened. Yeah, that’s because you all are just so damn weak!

Episode 19
Princess Aiya who is the daughter of the deputy shogun has a job for Hisui and his demon hunter fellows. Actually, it is more of a contest. If they manage to defeat a group of bounty hunters, she will employ them into her father’s forces. Besides the bounty hunters consisting of a tranny, a fortune telling grandma, a ninja and a muscle man, the one to watch out is Moroha. Hence Hisui accepts this challenge seeing if they get employed, they’ll have a fixed income and this will help repay Kohaku’s kindness. They also recruit Setsuna for this and she agrees to join but not tell Towa about this. So you bet next morning when Moroha gets her stuffs and is acting suspicious, it sets some alarms ringing for Towa. So we see the battle between demon slayers and bounty hunters. The demon slayers just bomb the hell out of those bounty hunters! Useless. Aiya is enjoying every bit of it. Is she bloodthirsty? It gets complicated when Towa enters the picture to save Moroha. Setsuna will go deal with it. Without telling her the full picture, it is obvious Towa is confused that they are both fighting. Since it has come down to this, Setsuna fights Towa against her own will. Even Moroha thinks Setsuna has gone too far and unexpectedly fights alongside Towa. Then Hisui comes into the picture to end it all. Moroha protects Towa from Hisui’s attack. Towa is mad and sad that they’re prioritizing money over life. Turns out this Moroha is just Takechiyo in disguise. Real Moroha is okay. The demon slayers thought they have won but here comes Kohaku to bring the bad news. He just caught Aiya confessing that all this was just a lie. They will not be employed. Kohaku also tells them that they are demon slayer who help those in need and not for money. Aiya gets scolded by her father for this unauthorized fight. The reason she did this was because when Setsuna and Moroha barged in here to save Towa, they accidentally kicked dirt on her kimono! So this is all petty revenge? Yeah… Setsuna and Moroha think Towa is mad at them for the lie. But she gives them a big hug and is relieved that they’re okay. Yeah, they’re feeling guilty now and this feels worse.

Episode 20
Time for Setsuna to fill Towa in a little about her past when Towa went to the future. After the forest fire, Jaken brought her to a hidden village for half demons. It was run and managed by Shiori, a half demon herself and her barrier kept out those who hunt their kind. It is there Setsuna also learn to train in using weapons from letters of a mysterious sender. For a while, Setsuna was sent to live at Kaede’s village but because she got too violent fighting off bandits, she left and return to the hidden village. One day, a demon named Gaga Gozen and his men came looking for the village. Because that day had solar eclipse, this means Shiori’s power is weakened and she is reverted to a mere human. Setsuna and some of the kids go fight them off. Although Miroku assisted them, they’re still no match for Gaga Gozen. Eventually Setsuna herself turned into a demon and killed him. Because she also went berserk, Miroku had to put her to sleep and then use Gaga Gozen’s naginata to seal her demonic powers. Soon after, Setsuna left the hidden village to live at Kaede’s village and joined the demon hunters (not knowing Hisui was Miroku’s son then) since Shiori deemed her to be independent and don’t need her protection anymore. Shiori’s wish is that if she finds any lost half demons, please tell them about this village. So uhm, does Towa fit into that category? Thus once in a while, Setsuna pays a visit and also kill demons who approach too close to the hidden village.

Episode 21
Flashback shows when Great Dog Demon was injured, the Four Perils wanted to take this chance for Kirinmaru and attack him. However Kirinmaru didn’t like this distasteful idea and would prefer to fight him at full strength. Hence he sent Riku to gather herbs to be sent to Great Dog Demon. Unfortunately he was too late and he died. Zero became saddened by this and believed the demons cannot escape their fate. Hence to seal her demonic powers, she made a wish upon the Shikon Jewel to seal it in 7 Rainbow Pearls. 200 years later, Riku is in possession of 3 of them now and plans to have all 7. As tonight is the new moon, this means Towa is now human. So while staying inside with Kaede, she learns a bit more about Rin. However Kaede isn’t sure what happened to Rin 14 years ago as one night she just disappeared. She could be dead for all you know. Later, Towa sees the Dream Butterfly and follows it to the Tree of Ages. Since Riku is also here, they talk about things and eventually Riku revealing that his goal is to get all the Rainbow Pearls. It is unsure what will happen when all of them are gathered but he wants to do so as a gift for the madam who took care of him. He could remove Towa’s without much pain but looks like Totetsu is here to interrupt. He knows about Towa’s loss of powers tonight so he’s coming to get her head. Towa becoming the damsel in distress several times as Riku protects her, even taking some painful damage. Towa is surprised to learn Riku’s former master is Kirinmaru but was abandoned. He only survived this long because of his madam. Then there’s this weird talk about love. I believe they’re both not proficient on the subject… Totetsu’s charge only stops when Moroha and Setsuna come into the fray. And since sunrise is here, this means Towa has her powers returned. Totetsu tries to flee but Riku decapitates him. And that’s the end of the Four Perils? At least Moroha has got a head for her bounty this time. Towa willingly gives her Rainbow Pearl to Riku so he would overlook those from Setsuna and Moroha. Well, he didn’t say no but I guess they got distracted by this weird talk about love again. So Towa knows what it’s like to like (but not to love) someone, huh? Setsuna wonders if Towa did the right decision. Not only it would make the bearer even more powerful, what if Riku’s master is an evil one and will use it for nefarious ends? Besides, didn’t Riku work for Kirinmaru before? Towa realizes she didn’t think this far and changes her mind. She tries to go after Riku to get back her Rainbow Pearl. WTF… He’s gone… Oh well, love makes you do stupid things…

Episode 22
Flashback shows Kirinmaru and Great Demon Dog cooperating to destroy the comet. Easy. Great Demon Dog and Zero had some chat. From what it sounded like, she’s like had a crush on him? I could be wrong but whatever. Now, Zero finds Miroku and wants the seal on Setsuna to be undone. Of course he won’t do it but she traps him and takes his powers. Setsuna is looking for someone to sharpen her naginata. Moroha takes on the job but since it’s going nowhere, both of them blame each other for the dulling of her weapon. So as the Yashahime head to town, Zero approaches Towa. Because she doesn’t have a Rainbow Pearl on her, it is easy to hypnotize her to do her bidding. Towa then holds down Setsuna so that Zero could undo the seal on her. Setsuna changes into a demon before unlinking herself with Towa (while Towa is under her spell, Moroha can’t kill Zero because doing so would mean killing Towa too). Zero then reveals that she is Kirinmaru’s older sister. As they fight, Zero is clearly superior. She’s just testing them and since they haven’t gotten stronger, she leaves and mocks them to do so before their fight with Kirinmaru. Setsuna is now rampaging throughout town. Moroha has no choice but to turn into Beniyasha to try and stop her. Great. 2 rampaging demons in town. Towa tries to keep up with them and luckily Hisui and Kinu (Gyokuto’s twin sister) come by and heard from Miroku what happened. Kinu can try to help seal Setsuna’s power but she can’t do it while she’s moving. Towa remembers Shiori’s story so she’ll be the one to try and hold her down. Good timing because Beniyasha just lost. So as Towa tries to hold down Setsuna, she has to endure the pain of Setsuna struggling and attacking her. You don’t think trying to shout and make her remember that they’re sisters would help, right? WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT WORKED?! With Setsuna calmed down, Kinu is able to do the sealing but it isn’t perfect as there are still traces of the power. Setsuna now remembers Zero from her dreams and promises payback hundredfold times.

Episode 23
In the modern era, Osamu Kirin who was Towa’s homeroom teacher, talks to Souta about the comet reappearing again. However Souta cannot see the comet so Kirin notes that ordinary person can’t. It seems that this is the future self of Kirinmaru? Because back to the past he realizes the comet will still return in the future and needs to do something about it. Jubei confirms the streak of blood on Setsuna’s arm is Blood Blade. This means she has inherited the blood of a great demon and can wield some of Sesshoumaru’s abilities. Moroha wants to know if there are any juicy bounties around. So she’s greedy and Totetsu’s bounty didn’t set her for life already? Anyway, Jubei points out that the sisters want to hire her and pay her all their Totetsu’s share. The job is to help them slay Zero. Meanwhile Kirinmaru sees Sesshoumaru’s mom. They talk about Zero meddling in the affairs but they just let her be. Also, something about the Windmill of Time because Akuru’s pinwheel has been missing. Seems Sesshoumaru is looking for it and although it may seem he is doing it to protect his daughters, mom dismisses it since it will make him so human-like. Now the epic battle begins. Albeit just for a short while. Towa taking on Zero while Setsuna contends with Riku. Then it becomes tag team when Moroha joins in the fight. Myouga trying to advise Moroha to give up this fight because this place is where Great Demon Dog died and the soil still has his powers. Of course Moroha refuses. The Yashahime are shocked to learn Zero is the person whom Riku wants to give the Rainbow Pearls to. Zero too is surprised because she didn’t know this was his intention. She wants him to return them but he won’t because he already gathered all of them here. This makes Zero even more upset since it’s like bringing back those tears to her. As Zero is going to show him the true powers of the Rainbow Pearls, this causes Setsuna’s Blood Blade to act up. In the process it kills her.

Meanwhile Sesshoumaru and Jaken has found Akuru. How convenient. However instead of chasing it, they head back to the Tree of Ages. Suddenly Rin wakes up. Sesshoumaru realizes this means Zero is dead. Who slew her then? Zero is seen walking on the path to the underworld. Sesshoumaru’s mom mocking her as her last rites but Zero might have the last laugh that the joke is on her because if she dies, Rin who is connected to her will also die. And she can’t help think how this will greatly affect Sesshoumaru. Zero adds that she must be feeling as relieved as her too because she is now walking the same path that Izayoi did. After all, she wasn’t chosen by the Great Dog Demon. Sesshoumaru’s mom plays it cool and has no more words for her. However she makes Zero’s blood boil when she points out that her jealousy makes her very human-like. Sesshoumaru appears before Zero’s dead body. Then he uses Tenseiga to kill the demons taking her soul. This then brings Zero back to life and put Rin back to slumber. Apparently it isn’t gratitude that Zero has for this life saving tactic. Since Tenseiga was made by the fang of a certain someone and now that she has been resurrected by it, she feels angry. So mad that she destroys Tenseiga! Now that she doesn’t give a f*cks about everything anymore, she’s also going to kill Sesshoumaru’s daughters too and has Riku assemble all the Rainbow Pearls for her. So Riku now doesn’t want to and needs her to calm down? Things go from bad to worse because here comes Kirinmaru. Yeah. Everybody’s here now. The complication is just killing me at this moment…

Episode 24
Kirara takes away the Yashahime because those girls would’ve died if those dog dudes start attacking each other. First, Kirinmaru apologizes on behalf to Sesshoumaru for his broken Tenseiga and then chastises Zero for going overboard. Sesshoumaru doesn’t care about Tenseiga. As long as he has Bakusaiga. Sesshoumaru wants to kill Zero but Kirinmaru gets in the way. Viewing those Rainbow Pearls as the source of the troubles, Kirinmaru scatters them all over the world. Oh great. This going to be like the Shikon Jewel saga again? With that, Zero severs ties with her brother. They are now mere strangers as she goes on to retrieve her Rainbow Pearls. As Sesshoumaru goes after her, Riku then stabs Kirinmaru from the back as handicap. Because now the Yashahime return to fight him. Hopefully they’ll put on a better performance because the last time, Kirinmaru was holding back. Moroha gets taken out first. Kirinmaru realizes when Setsuna is in trouble, it only brings out Towa’s bloodthirst. This lets his guard down so Towa stabs through him right where Riku made his mark. Setsuna seizes this chance to attack him and scars his face. Kirinmaru so mad that he unleashes a strike so powerful that it breaks Setsuna’s naginata and slices through her! OMFG! Setsuna dead?! Towa in despair as she hears Setsuna’s last words about her regret to die in such a state. RIP, Setsuna. You bet that is the trigger to transform Towa into her true demonic form. I see that Moroha has recovered and returned as Beniyasha. Now both girls go on a mad offensive against Kirinmaru. Woah! So powerful their dragon attacks that not only it caused a crater (and dealt lots of damage to Kirinmaru) but they’re now fighting in an alternate space?! You wonder why but that’s because it’s to show us how their power could cut a planet in half!!! OMFG!!! But at the end of the day, the ladies run out of power so it’s Kirinmaru’s victory although I would call it more of a draw. Kirinmaru hopes to fight again another time since he too has suffered some injuries. I take it, another season? As Towa griefs over Setsuna, suddenly Sesshoumaru drops by to give her his broken Tenseiga. Care to give it a try? Remember, Towa can do lightsaber stuffs with a broken sword! Yeah, I can be rest assured how Setsuna will be revived.

Princess Half-baked, Given No Quarter
It is no surprise that given the direction of where this season is heading and looking at how things ended, a second season was soon announced after this first season ended, right at the abrupt end of the final episode. I mean, we’ve already got 1 foot in the grave so might as well put the other in. Oops! Sorry to word it that way! I mean, this series has its own following and was popular enough to warrant another season so it’ll be stupid for the producers not to capitalize on it and strike while the iron is hot. After all, in today’s era of uncertainty (thanks to a certain persistent virus), it gives something for fans could look forward to. And also for others to make money. Am I right?!

Anyway, personally I wasn’t a big fan of the original Inu Yasha series and you could’ve guessed that I am watching this largely out of nostalgia. After all, back then the internet wasn’t really that advanced and there weren’t many options of what kinds of animes to watch. But as far as this direct spinoff sequel is concerned, if I had to put my honest feelings and sum it up in a few words, it would be a hot mess! You see, this Hanyou No Yashahime is not based on any manga from the original creator and is actually an original anime. Heck, I don’t think the stories were even written by Rumiko Takahashi (Inu Yasha’s creator and writer). So I understand that it is hard to write something original and exciting from scratch these days but you can’t say it is totally from ground zero since we have the base from Inu Yasha to start off with. I mostly feel that some of the stories and plots that we have seen so far here were just filling the gaps and holes that the original series didn’t really cover or did not cover much in detail. Like that black pearl thingy. Actually I don’t remember much either but had I not refer back to my old blog, I would have missed this. Hence the stories and plots I feel are just extended from that to give this season some sort of direction. But it is too premature to pin all the blame on that since the original Inu Yasha series had like almost 200 episodes. But remember, first impressions count a lot too.

So while the early episodes establishes the basics, I feel that somewhere halfway and in the middle of the season, the series starts to meander. Some of them felt like filler episodes (like that flashback on Shiori) but not entirely so because they put in very little elements that would seem integral to the overall plot. But yeah, overall that episode felt like a filler if you take away those. As I said, I’m not a big fan of this series so there could be many things of the series’ lore that I don’t understand or have missed just because of that. That’s why I feel that instead of walking a straight line to the goal that is clearly in sight, the series itself took a slight detour and wanders about like a drunkard who can’t keep his footing balanced before stumbling to the finish line. Only to find that there is another long road ahead of him! The second season, if you didn’t get what I was trying to say!

Of course we 2 cours for this season, it would be utterly boring to see just see Towa trying to find the Dream Butterfly for Setsuna. So they had to add in other stuffs to make it look interesting. But by the time I reached the end of the series, all the final revelations about who is who (Great Dog Demon is the father of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, Izayoi his wife, Zero is Kirinmaru’s sister… ARGH! DON’T CONFUSE ME WITH THIS FAMILY TREE THINGY!), I’m overwhelmed and mostly confused. I know it sounds straightforward but it’s too much for a simpleton like me to bear. Heh. First world problems… Some happened to fast like Homura and Yawaragi’s case. Suddenly we’re introduced to this revelation of the guy who burnt down the forest and caused the separation of the sisters as well as Moroha’s master. Then in the same episode they died! Woah! Like, did they just want to get that out of the way and make the characters and plot move along?!

I would want to b*tch about some of the things that don’t make sense especially I still can’t accept the fact that this takes place in the past and not in some alternate world (which seems more feasible), but that would take paragraphs and I’m feeling lazy right now. Heh. First world problems. Okay, just let me b*tch a little. So whatever the characters do don’t really have an impact in the future, huh? Thank goodness feudal Japan is very bad at recording things. So all those snacks that Moroha brought back, I guess nobody who tasted it ever wanted to taste it again. Or Setsuna playing her violin out in the open airs of the wilderness. So Japanese commoners aren’t interested in this strange instrument? Isn’t that why history still credits Italians creating the violin in the 16th century? Oh yeah, I guess throwing the characters back to the past beats having to call this show an isekai! A term we now loath so much!

And we thought after the Shikon Jewel was destroyed, peace would forever reigned the land and hence the end of the original Inu Yasha series. But nope. Suddenly there’s this Rainbow Pearls. So they weren’t a threat during Inuyasha’s time? But now? Oh well, they aren’t really any threat at all but it feels like they’re just an excuse to replace the Shikon Jewel. I mean, it just feels out of convenience, everything. Need to advance the plot or something, here, Rainbow Pearl flashing. And then something happens, which isn’t all that great if you ask me. And having Towa and Setsuna as half demons feels like a convenient way for them not to be overpowered and let some drama flow because it builds character. Get what I’m saying? They already have their doggy fathers’ blood flowing through them, it wouldn’t be right if they’re just copy and paste materials of their daddies.

I feel the main 3 characters are just mediocre and sometimes a joke. Like for example, Moron-ha is quite crude and brute only because she takes after her father’s side. Yeah, y’all remember how Inuyasha is, right? With only making money on her mind (it has become a running joke that she whines and complains when her hard earned bounty proof becomes nothing), she’s like the group’s joker and she’s the only one who is most lively and carefree among the trio. Then there’s Sad-tsuna whose poker face and seriousness just makes her not a fun character. Sure, her dreams were stolen. Does this give her the right to act like a proud b*tch? She claims she doesn’t want to get too close to Towa and doesn’t believe they’re sisters but often too many times the opposite happens. I mean, she doesn’t outright reject Towa but she doesn’t want to get all too close to her too. So is she a tsundere? Set-tsundere-na… Finally there’s Troll-wa who really wants to make up time she lost spending with her sister. She’ll do anything for it but her virtue signalling might want to make us puke sometimes. Don’t even get me started about her annoying trauma of her uselessness to save her sister in their younger years. Setsuna calls her soft and naïve for that kind of attitude in this era but thankfully Towa has luck on her side so she doesn’t have to change and continues to be the Towa we all know. Essentially, both sisters have their strengths and weak points even during their other forms but at this point I don’t remember because I’m confused. To be fair, the old characters in Inu Yasha had their weird personalities too so I’m saying that I was expecting something better especially for heroines who are the main characters and the poster faces of this sequel spinoff.

As for the other characters, well, the new ones are pretty meh and the old returning ones just feel they’re there to ramp up the nostalgia feel. Like Myouga who is on and off there to explain to us things. Miroku makes the most appearance of the original quartet but that is only give seeing what happened to Inuyasha and Kagome. We still have some questions about them but I suppose that is for next season to reveal. To replace a certain fox demon kid as the series’ mascot, now we have a tanuki that goes by the name of Takechiyo. Basically he is more annoying than Shippo despite both animal kiddies are similar in the sense they could be easily bribed and be helpful to others at times but mostly useless at others. Kohaku now as a grownup is more responsible than his kiddie self that last time but he still doesn’t do anything much. Same case for Hisui. They’re just like the backup if ever our main characters need or the plot calls for their assistance. Some felt sorely missed like Kouga. So what happened to this dude? But grandma Kaede is still around?! Damn, Kikyo’s sister really does have a long life.

Sesshoumaru still around and still hasn’t change much. Still the taciturn he is and things might be easily resolved if he had just open his mouth and explain properly. He acts like he doesn’t care for his daughters but our guts say he does. But that wouldn’t be the Sesshoumaru we know. So we are all left wondering about his intentions and the likes, whether or not he is friend or foe. Whether or not he is a heartless bastard who abandoned his daughters or if there is actually more to it. And of course the biggest question old time fans might be asking is how the f*ck did Sesshoumaru got Rin pregnant! WE JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW! This dude hates humans so much although the irony was he let Rin and Kohaku follow him around. Hypocrisy of that level is one thing, but assuming he really knocked up Rin… That would just be unthinkable! Even though Rin confirmed Towa and Setsuna are her daughters, I am guessing that there will be a twist somewhere. Yeah, lazy writing says somebody implanted her with fake memories and that she isn’t their real mom!!! SAY IT ISN’T SO!!! Same question for Inuyasha and Kagome. Can we imagine this dog dude shagged Kagome and they got a daughter out of it?! I really can’t imagine it lest it’s porn… Unless you tell me some magic fairy made their wish come true to have a child. Damn, then it makes Kagome more virgin than Mother Virgin Mary!

This season’s antagonists are also pretty meh and mostly iffy. Kirinmaru is supposed to be the big bad guy that replaces Naraku but from what we’ve seen, it all feels unclear. I mean, we’re told that the prophecy of the disaster he would bring by turning everything into nothingness, but could that all be fake too? Then there’s Zero and Riku who don’t really feel like villains in their own right. They just have different ideals and own problems to deal with but from what I can see, it’s just confusing. So are they the real enemies that our Yashahime are supposed to be facing? Don’t tell me it’s that comet… Making it all feel cheaper are the Four Perils. If they were nameless henchmen, I don’t think it will impact the series very much either. Right away, we see 2 of them getting killed off. And then in the second half, the balance followed. It makes me wonder what made them so terrifying that they needed to be nicknamed so other than serving under Kirinmaru. They’re not even as close to a threat and the only reason why our heroines have a hard time dealing with them is because for dramatic purpose and their own bungling! To see the Four Perils getting killed off so easily and unceremoniously feels like an insult. Even Naraku’s incarnations had better treatment and respect than these losers. Now can we rename them to the Four Perished?

One of the annoying things this anime has is that how it spams the characters’ names when they first appear for that episode. For every episode! Damn, I am thinking to name this the Boku No Hero Academia Effect because that’s the show that I started to notice this annoying trend. So while it may be good for the first few episodes, but soon it starts to become really irritating when they start doing this for the main characters for every other episode! I mean, come on! Can’t you not even remember the Yashahime’s name even a quarter into this season?! I think it’s an insult to old time viewers to be spammed Sesshoumaru’s name each time he pops up. What? You don’t remember this dude?! What show were you watching then?! If that’s the case, you are truly bad with remembering names, oh boy, watching shows with multiple episodes aren’t a thing for you! And if you must, be sure to have a handy thick fan guide book to everything by your side! Hah. Seriously, I thought the Dream Butterfly was bad enough to take away your dreams, emotions and memories. Now we have the Brain Cell Butterfly who turn people into having short memory for names. HAHAHA! Oh damn, it’s not a laughable matter the more I think of it… Sure, I admit I have memory problems but at least not for the names of the anime I am currently watching!

The action parts are just rather okay. I’m not really impressed despite the Yashahime having just a variety of set of moves under their arsenal, the effects mostly look all the same to me. Just in different form. For instance, Setsuna’s Muretachi No Tsubame AKA Scourge of Swallows and Moroha’s Kouryuuha AKA Crimson Dragon Wave, they feel like some air slashing moves that become some giant flashy projectile. And I suppose Moroha wields bow and arrows as a way to pay homage to Kagome, huh? Towa’s lightsaber I feel is like a homage to Star Wars and I was waiting for the moment for Sesshoumaru to say to his daughters, “Towa, Setsuna, I am your father”! HAHAHA!!! Anyway, the action sequences are the staple of the series but shouldn’t be thought of as a masterpiece. If you are familiar with such fights in the Inu Yasha series, you’ll feel just like home. After all, when low level demons die, they just disappear from existence, right?

It’s nice to see that the overall art and animation style of this series still maintains the trademark of its original (as well as other works of Rumiko Takahashi). It’s no doubt that Sunrise who animated the original seasons of Inu Yasha, continue to work on this direct sequel spinoff. Hence Sango fans won’t feel ‘left out’ because you can see some of that resemblance in Setsuna since she dons the demon slayer uniform (as well as to Sesshoumaru because who else wears a huge animal fur thingy too?) and some parts in Moroha that resembles Kagome only to be overwhelmed by her crude personality. Oddly for Towa, she does have her reasons why she dresses up as a male. But I keep thinking that if this is the only set of clothes she brought back because otherwise, laundry is going to be hell for her as her clothes are all white. Some characters have that bishonen look (Riku, Kirinmaru) while others look weird (Zero, seriously) while others look funny (Totetsu). It’s a weird time to live in.

Voice acting, while those from the previous Inu Yasha series are retained, a whole new casts for the new characters. Unfortunately I recognized Jun Fukuyama as Riku and Hiroki Yasumoto as Konton. At first I thought Ikue Ohtani was behind Takechiyo’s voice. Then I could write wild conspiracy theories who she was an electric rat and a tonakai-mistaken-for-a-tanuki and now really a tanuki. Oh boy. I would have a field day. Too bad it’s Ai Fairouz. She’s been laying low after her amazing debut as Hibiki in Dumbbel Nan Kilo Moteru. The other casts are Sara Matsumoto as Towa (Hiro in Kono Oto Tomare), Mikako Komatsu as Setsuna (Neko in K), Azusa Tadakoro as Moroha (Fino in Yuushibu), Yoshimasa Hosoya as Kirinmaru (Reiner in Shingeki No Kyojin), Maaya Sakamoto as Zero (Ciel in Kuroshitsuji), Tsuyoshi Koyama as Jubei (Leon in Trinity Blood), Takehiro Urao as Hisui, Hiroshi Shirokuma as Totetsu (Warrod in Fairy Tail).

The first opening theme is New Era by SixTones. It feels a bit out of place this hip hop K-pop-like piece especially when a series is set in the feudal era. However the original Inu Yasha had a myriad of opening and ending themes that also feel out of place too. Anyway, New Era somewhat reminds me of I Want To Change The World (the first opening theme of the Inu Yasha series) since it has that similar vibe. Burn by News for the second opening theme also have this rap hip hop style that made me raise an eyebrow. Break by Uru as the first ending theme may flow to a slower beat but be reminded to lower your bass because the dubstep in the background may be shaking your ground if your bass effect is up. Among all the themes, this is the one I prefer the most. The second ending theme is Kesshou by Ryokuoushoku Shakai and resembles a slow rock.

Overall, I am not really impressed with this sequel spinoff and read many comments online that they mostly share the same sentiments as I do. I mean, this is not a bad series entirely per se but after 10 long years from the original that has ended, we expected something much more from this revival. You dig up something that is supposed to stay dead or in eternal slumber and you gave us something this mediocre? Makes me feel of wanting to go back in time and stop whoever came up with this brilliant idea of making Hanyou No Yashahime. But I won’t because I fear history might repeat itself. Or let the Dream Butterfly eat my negative sentiments for this series. But I won’t because I need to remember this season wasn’t really that good and shouldn’t be repeating that mistake. All that is left now is to wait for the second season and hopefully things will pick up from there. It is one thing the characters from the present goes back to live in the past. It’ll be another (and a disaster) if the anime itself is stuck in the past!

Kaguya-sama Wa Kokurasetai S2 OVA

In anticipation of the third season, that’s why they are teasing us with this tantalizing appetizer, Kaguya-sama Wa Kokurasetai S2 OVA. Actually, more like desserts since it is still after the second season. Uhm, wait. THERE’S GOING TO BE A THIRD SEASON???!!! OH MAH GAWD!!! I guess the battle of the minds, wits and sexes can really be drawn out as long as no side comes close to being a winner. So are they both losers then?

Part 1: Hentai mind
Ishigami is frustrated that the volume that is finally designated to have some fanservice stuffs (50 chapters without any single pantsu stuffs, huh?), seems to have the much desired fanservice stuffs but they are all censored in cliché fashions. Also, we see Kaguya and Chika taking a shower and hence those cliché censors cock blocking our pleasure. Yeah, we feel for you, Ishigami! Even more so when Chika drops her soap next to Kaguya’s cubicle and they go look for it, yeow! Both girls rubbing each other’s slippery body!!! TOO STEAMY INDEED! This is the most yuri as we can get for this series? In the end, Ishigami continues to be frustrated with all the censors. Yeah, those damn light censors. ALL LIES!!!

Part 2: Hentai book
Shirogane and Ishigami hang out at the parking lot. They stumble upon a hentai magazine thrown on the road. So I guess this is how curiosity kills the cat. So they’re using twigs to turn the pages. Sure, their hands won’t get tainted but their minds already are… So as they go through page by page, why is Shirogane slow? So he is reading for the story, huh?! WE DON’T BELIEVE YOU???!!! NOBODY READS PORN FOR THE STORY!!! Then they see characters that look almost exactly like Kaguya, Chika and Miko. So I guess their brains have had enough. Time to leave. Okay. Bye. After parting and walking a few metres away, Ishigami then turns around and rushes back. That was good porn! Gotta take it back! Oh, Shirogane has the same idea?! But look who gets caught red handed? Chika and Miko flipping through it! Awkward…

Part 3: Hentai cooking
Shirogane, Ishigami and Kaguya are in a cooking competition? It all started because the guys had a disagreement on the best way to cook fried rice. Kaguya heard about it and wanted to take this chance to have Shirogane taste her cooking. A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, no? And also in turn, Chika and Miko heard about it too and will be the judges. After the cooking, Chika tastes Kaguya’s dish first. All the typical expertise mumbo-jumbo explanation and reaction that makes her look like a food connoisseur. Foodgasms, huh? Until Kaguya reveals she was just using normal ingredients. Mad Ishigami calls Chika out and accuses her of making things up. Miko doesn’t know so she continues to eat second servings. Oh my, all Kaguya’s cooking for Shirogane will be gone. In the end, Miko gives a mediocre score. AFTER EATING CLEAN ALL OF HER COOKING?! You bet Kaguya is mad. After putting all her effort to cook for Shirogane and this b*tch has the guts to give a low score? DIE!!! Until Miko says that if this was an oyster competition, it would be a different story since she put all her love into it and this makes her a very good wife material. Miko, you da best! Next is Ishigami. More of Chika’s expertise on his eggs and soup until it is revealed they just came from the supermarket. Miko gives the lowest score despite finishing all his cooking? Turns out the cooking was delicious but was just too shy to give him a high score. Because she fears he will give her that smug look, which he does after learning this truth. Finally, Shirogane. Oh damn, Chika crying?! Is this another one of those lies? Because his cooking feels like he has been cooking for a long time (he cooks for his family), that is why the perfection. But she can’t help feel sorry for his poor financial situation! Everybody else puts up that pitiful look and just hand Shirogane the winner. Shirogane is frustrated he doesn’t want to win this way but oh well, a win is a win. Oh, Miko ate everything too?! Kaguya no chance to taste… And after that Miko continues to eat her own lunch!!! OH MY! We didn’t know Miko is such a glutton until today…

Love, Lust & Losers
That’s all we’ll get for now until the next season comes by. This single OVA is as enjoyable as watching the skits in the previous seasons since it doesn’t stray from the formula and feels very much at home. This time they baited us with the first half using ramped up fanservice levels, something we thought that they might never do. So now we’re looking forward for more steamy fanservice moments in the third season? Only time will tell. And Miko being a cute glutton? She can be a mukbang star… Just saying… My only mini gripe is that I had this misconception that there were going to be 3 volumes. Yeah, I guess this is what happens when you don’t read properly. That’s why I waited for a while to watch this. So when I got curious to find out the next volume release and couldn’t find any details of it and it seems that the info posted said that the OVA is done, oh well, time to slightly panic. And as we have seen, they compiled 3 volumes into a single OVA. Yeah, silly me. In the end, the OVA is a great mini entertainment and served out what it intended to do. A mini transition for those who were feeling the blues after the second season ended as well as a light of hope to anticipate the third season. Just like how Shirogane perfected his cooking over the years, hopefully all the failed attempts of confession will finally land our lovers the true prize. Practice makes perfect. Third time’s the charm, right? Oh heck, we all just want to see them fail and laugh over it!

Minami Kamakura Koukou Joshi Jitenshabu

As part of my second mini trilogy of cute girls doing cute things, bike version, before I watch the blatant Honda promoting Super Cub anime, hence some of you might see it coming that Minami Kamakura Koukou Joshi Jitenshabu would be next in line after my stint with Long Riders very recently. Just as the title even suggests, you know the drill of what to expect from this series. I mean, what more do you expect when a high school girl suddenly takes interest in cycling and decides to delve more into this two-wheeled hobby? Yeah, reminds me of how I got into anime and now I’m stuck and can’t get out… Oops, got side-tracked there.

Episode 1
Hiromi Maiharu just moved from Nagasaki to Kamakura and will be starting her first year in high school here. Mom is worried that she hasn’t rode a bicycle in ages and she intends to cycle one to school now? Yeah, she is confident the body remembers. So as she begins her first cycling in ages, damn, this girl really forgot how to cycle! Could’ve crashed into Tomoe Akizuki had not she reminded her to hit the brakes! So yeah, Hiromi crashes herself. After admitting she has forgotten how to ride, since they have some time before the entrance ceremony, Tomoe agrees to teach her how to ride. Yeah, looks like she needs to start from the top. Just when Hiromi is about to lose confidence, Tomoe has her try one more time. And just like that, she is now riding like a pro! I guess Hiromi is tired to they continue walking to school and Tomoe welcomes her by showing the awesome beach. Meanwhile a cyclist all geared up seems to be lost. She too is on her way to Minami Kamakura High School. Recognizing the uniforms of Hiromi and Tomoe, they help point out to Shiki Mori who is also a teacher, where the school is. Hiromi eats her sandwich but those damn black kite raptors steal her lunch! Not to be outdone, she eats another sandwich while trying to outrun those raptors! Good news for our girls because they’re in the same class. During the entrance ceremony, Hiromi gets anxious thinking she’ll be alone and eventually end up as a hikikomori. WTF. You read too many manga and watched too many anime! Thankfully, she did not forget about Tomoe. Duh! You better not forget your first friend you made right here. And their homeroom teacher is Shiki. What are the chances, man? After school, noticing that many people in town ride bicycles, Hiromi wants to confidently ride like that to go anywhere. Okay then. Time for Tomoe sensei to continue teaching her till she can ride one without help.

Episode 2
Tomoe is such a great friend. Yeah, she’s going to give Hiromi a personal tour of Kamakura. But first, they need to get a bicycle. So is Hiromi’s bicycle really out of commission that she had to get another one? Oh well, money’s not an issue, I suppose… Since Shiki is also here, might as well she join in the tour as she is also new in town. Yeah, get ready your paper and pen to take notes about bicycle gears. Meanwhile Fuyune Kamikura is stuck in traffic. Realizing a bicycle zooming past her, she decides to head to a bicycle shop to get one! Rich girls… It must be one tiring tour since Shiki falls asleep during the break! While waiting, Hiromi decides to borrow Tomoe’s new bicycle to ride around. Don’t worry. She won’t trash it. However… She gets lost!!! Don’t worry, they’ll just call her. Well, she forgot to bring her handphone!!! As she needs to head to a certain shrine, luckily a grandma points it out at the top of the hill. Shiki calls her sister, Nagisa who runs a bakery to find a lost cyclist. Hence she sends her cycling lackeys, Sabaya, Alpaca and Tootsie to go look for her. After they leave, Natsumi Higa rides by. Her tyre is punctured. Too bad the bicycle shop next to the bakery is closed as the owner is away overseas. Nagisa has some basic experience in fixing bicycles so she helps out. Also at the same time, Fuyune arrives and mistakes Nagisa’s shop to be a bicycle store. Sorry, no bicycles for sale. Only bread. After fixing Natsumi’s bicycle, Fuyune is interested to try it. She finds her road bicycle very different than the usual. Meanwhile Hiromi reaches the shrine but is the wrong one. Luckily a loli there knows where the shrine she is looking for is. But as she is about to lead her there, the cycling lackeys have found her as they guide her back to Nagisa’s place. Now that they’re all here and learning that Natsumi and Fuyune are from the same school, looks like the Kamakura tour will be continuing. Nagisa has a spare bicycle for Fuyune. To Enoshima, ladies! We see that grandma and loli are family and guess what? They are Tomoe’s family members too! What a small world.

Episode 3
It’s that time when first years need to choose a club because it’s a requirement of the school. I guess these girls need to give other clubs a chance… Or did they seriously not think first that cycling is a good enough club to join? Too bad we see them suck at basketball and swimming club try outs. Are you sure you girls are athletic enough? Natsumi, maybe. Oh look, it’s Fuyune at the infirmary. She claims she cannot walk?! Oh, the exaggeration. The last time that cycling tour to Enoshima, Fuyune experienced crams in her legs and had to give up and return home. So as the quartet go look for other clubs to join (WTF, they have a rocket club too?!), they see a pathway to a cosy place. Hiromi is shocked to see a dead elder lady inside but it turns out she is the school’s principal and Fuyune’s grandma. She was sleeping with the headphones. Phew. As they look around, they notice old photos of the principal and her friends during their younger days. Hey, they were all part of the cycling club back in the 70’s? Yeah, lots of cycling adventures here and there. This was their clubroom. WTF HIROMI?! YOU THINK BICYCLES EXISTED THAT FAR BACK?! OMFG!!! YOU KILLIN’ ME!!! The principal also talks how their bicycles are more of touring bikes because they can put luggage. Things weren’t so convenient back then so they had to carry luggage and stuffs. It was like their very own adventure. However the club gradually died out with members leaving and the motorization of Japan’s transport industry with booming automobiles, bullet trains and airplanes everywhere. The age of speed. By the time she became principal, this clubroom was abandoned so she cleaned up and fixed it and got lost in her own mini nostalgia of hers. Fuyune then decides to create a cycling club. Wait. You mean the entire school has no such club?! Maybe that’s why our girls didn’t think of joining one because they couldn’t find one! With everyone agreeing to join, and just like that the club is established. However since the principal says they can do more than just cycling, hence it is a bicycle club. The principal hands them the keys to this place. It’s your clubroom now, the Minami Kamakura Girls Bicycle Club!

Episode 4
Everyone is welcoming Shiki to the club, treating her nicely with great food. I take it. Something must be up. Yup, they want her to be the advisor of their newly formed bicycle club. Has she got a reason to say no? And with that, the club is a whole now. Yay! Later as they are discussing some bicycle stuffs, Hiroko Azuma approach them and isn’t pleased. She is a second year from the swimming club and isn’t happy that she heard Natsumi is joining this bicycle club rather than the swimming club. Natsumi didn’t say she would join but since Hiroko won’t give up on new potential members, they’ll have to settle this via bicycle race. But why is Hiromi racing against Hiroko?! What’s this twisted logic to counter balance? Hiroko will be racing on Hiromi’s bicycle while Hiromi will be doing it on Natsumi’s road bicycle. Hiroko knows Hiromi sucks because she saw her practising with Tomoe on the first day of school. Oh sh*t… Besides if this was a swimming competition, Hiroko would’ve beat her flat. Besides, does Hiromi know how to swim?! Hiroko even gives lots of handicaps for Hiromi like a head start. You better win this. The first one reaching the top of this hill wins. Yeah, Hiromi already screaming all the way as Natsumi gives a push start. When Hiroko starts a minute later, it seems she cannot find the power to peddle faster. They thought she is a swimmer and hence no good on land but Shiki points out because of her seat position, Hiroko cannot use her muscles to its maximum potential. So an uphill battle for Hiroko? Slowpoke Hiromi so slow that Natsumi could even run behind her. Oh look, Hiroko just catching up. In the final stretch, Hiroko manages to devise a loophole by sitting on the back seat. This gives her more peddle power as she crosses the finishes line and beats Hiromi by a whisker. Aww, shucks. Natsumi has to leave the bicycle club now? Well actually, no. Hiroko notes that she was trying to test their resolve. Now that she feels better after winning, Natsumi is free to join any club she wishes. Hooray! Bicycle club still intact. But if it ever disbands, Hiroko will take Natsumi. Later, the girls meet with Yuika who is Tomoe’s little sister as she has designed team outfits for them. Wow. So fast? The club is really flying off. Until it comes to a grinding halt when the principal disapproves it! What gives?!

Episode 5
Before you jump to conclusions, the principal continues that the club needs to achieve something great and produce some results in 3 months or the club status will be revoked and it will just be a circle. I guess there’s a difference. And it’s just so freaking subjective on what they’re supposed to achieve… I suppose cycling around leisurely and having fun isn’t considered an achievement… What spoilsport… As the girls hang out at the bakery and contemplate about things, they wonder when the manager of the bicycle shop next door is going to return. Oh wait. You mean this little kid, Korone Hououji is the manager?! Oh, she’s an adult! A legal loli, huh? Make that legal cat girl loli. Kawaii… Korone was away at Taiwan for a bicycle expo. A typhoon delayed her return by a day. After hearing out their problem, Korone opens her shop for them to look around so they can choose a bicycle. Behold! This is what a real bicycle shop looks like. Now, take out your pen and paper because Korone with her helper, Tsuru Kotobuki are going to give you girls a lesson about the different types of bicycles. Essentially, there are none that is built for all purpose as each modern bicycle has its own personality depending on your use. Of course we also get to the price. The lighter the frame, the more expensive it is. Korone gives them the freedom to test out any bicycle they want and see if they like it. After a few test runs, Tomoe and Fuyune find their favourite bicycle. Hiromi needs to look a little bit longer. Oh yeah, you can tell that there is a certain bicycle that is calling out to her. Pick me! Pick me! You won’t regret it! And after a test run, she really likes this one. This is her destiny! Her soul mate! Yeah. Wait till you see the price. OMFG! It’s this expensive?! Welcome to the real world. Well, do you want to work and sacrifice cycling time to afford it? At least she didn’t ask a rich girl for help. Principles. Or maybe she’ll just get another one… But the girls still need to find an event to produce results. Great timing as Shiki is here. The principal passed her a flyer that may interest them. Kamakura Cup, Night Criterium?

Episode 6
Korone has fixed Tomoe and Fuyune’s bicycles to give them the extra oomph in their performance. Because Hiromi is going to ride her ordinary bicycle for Night Criterium, Korone takes her measurements and then lends her a bicycle for the event. Think of it as service for her pals buying 2 bicycles from her shop. And just in time, the team jersey is here so everyone tries it out and they’re looking dashing in those outfits. Got to credit Yuika for the cute designs, right? Yeah, don’t say any misleading stuffs that would make the loli cry! The evening of the event, the participants register. Oh, Korone also selling yakisoba here? Extra side income is always welcomed. The girls are also surprised to see Hiroko here. Hey, she is participating as well? You see, recently there has been a standoff between sporting clubs about recruiting newbies. Many accuse the other of stealing their potential new members. Hence the principal suggested this Night Criterium to settle disputes. Yeah, I guess the logic is that since the school has no bicycle club, this is the only ‘fair’ event they can challenge on. So not only the sports clubs but other non-sports clubs like music, literature and cosplay clubs too?! WTF?! Is this a school event thingy? Maybe. No wonder the principal is also attending and co-hosting this. Hiroko also warns them that since this event is like a ‘home ground’ to the bicycle club, all other clubs are targeting them. Oh sh*t. More pressure! But WTF?! The flag off will be in stages as the junior grades will go fast and the seniors last. When it begins, it looks like Natsumi has problems. Something about her peddle being jammed. By the time she manages to get going, the second group gets moving and she is pushed aside. Yup, she falls down. WTF, nobody cares?! Only Hiromi. Yeah, she returns to help her up. By that time the seniors have already started. Tomoe and Fuyune also return to help since they’re not so heartless. This is their first ride together as a club so that’s that. Also, they remind Hiromi not to just toss her bicycle like that. It’s rented, remember! With everyone cheering them (I hope it’s not because of the friendship drama), the bicycle club girls finally get going.

Episode 7
With Sabaya’s drones, the audience gets to watch the action around the mini circuit. With our bicycle club girls dead last, how will they catch up? Oh yes, remember Shiki’s lessons about slipstreaming? Yup. Time to do that and pick up the pace. And also some peddle thingy. I mean, they better at least finish in the top because it would be an insult if they don’t. Hey look, they have better bicycles, better equipment and accessories and even in team jersey (cycling experience may be questionable) compared to other clubs who are riding normal bikes and in their track jerseys! Yeah, those other cyclists look more like clones! So you bet the bicycle club girls better win this! First reprieve is that a corner has a tangle because a few participants refuse to give way and they all crash and ended up entangled. WTF!!! SELFISH PEOPLE! This allows our heroines to pass but Hiroko waiting for them to pass? Because she finds it more fun once she overtakes them from the back! But some cyclists seem to have good riding experience as they are keeping up the pace. Why? Because Korone gave them some tips for buying her food! But don’t worry, because Hiromi was her biggest foodie customer, she also told our heroines some tips. Basically on how to take corners and accelerate after that. Yeah, they’re making good use of it now. Advice is one thing, but if they’re amateurs, how the f*ck can they pull it off so skilfully at first go?! Assuming this is their first race, right?! Sighs… Anyway… So as they catch up to the leading pack and the laps dwindling, the one leading this race by a mile is a bear from the cosplay club?! I mean, HOW?! WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS?! HOW CAN SHE RIDE THIS FAST AND FAR IN THAT GETUP!!! A FULL BEAR OUTFIT???!!! So I guess it’s time for our heroines to hatch a strategy. Because Tomoe and Fuyune are losing strength, they rope in the rocket club girls to help. Basically they’re going to be expended rocket boosters for Natsumi and Hiromi to cross the finish line. They’ll peddle as fast as they can to create the slipstream path and then drop out once their energy is finished. It’s the only way they could win this. Okay, don’t waste their efforts. And Hiromi starting to think everybody’s doing everything for her and she’s questioning what she can do for everyone. Ask what your bicycle club can do for you, but what you can do for your bicycle club! Sheesh…

Episode 8
With the rocket club girls expending their fuel, it’s time for Fuyune to do her part. Only, she has leg cramps now! Oh dear. Looks like Tomoe has to take it from here. After that boost, Natsumi and Hiromi now manage to catch up to Kuma. Finally they pass her! I guess it’s time for Natsumi to bow out since her shoulders are giving pain. Yeah, must be from that fall. It is the last lap and Hiroko has also caught up. This is thanks to her swimming club girls blocking the other groups behind. I suppose such hindrance isn’t a crime in cycling races. As they’re on the final lap, on the final sharp turn corner, how the f*ck can Hiromi forget what she’s doing all this time???!!! 9 laps ago she’s doing the same thing and now she forgot how to take the corner?! WTF?! Oh, but thank goodness for the voices of her ‘ghost’ friends from the bicycle club. Their advice make her know what to do. The final stretch has Hiroko using Kuma as a big wind resistance to catch up to Hiromi. A mad dash to the finish line! Who is it going to be?! Hiromi ‘cheated’ because her ‘ghost’ friends gave her a slight push to cross the finish line by a whisker!!! Oh yeah! The bicycle club wins!!! Phew. So yeah, this is what you can do for your friends, Hiromi. Win this damn thing! During the presentation ceremony, the grand prize is a new bicycle frame. WTF, it looks like a unicorn?! Definitely Hiromi dreaming. Yeah, flying unicorn takes her on a night flight above Kamakura. Dream’s over when she falls off. After Natsumi gets treated at the hospital, she is approached by Fuyune’s sister, Rei. She saw the whole event online. Rei has a weak disposition and spends most of her time in hospital. So when Fuyune wanted to help, Rei requested to just show her sights on her 2 feet. And hence that is why Fuyune took up cycling. She hopes Natsumi could continue to be friends with her. But of course. The other girls see a recruitment poster of the cosplay club with Kuma as the main model. It is explained that the cosplay club wore a very skimpy outfit in an event and incurred the wrath of the principal who banned them from participating in outside activities for months. So with Kuma’s third place finish an incredible achievement for the club, the suspension was shortened and their club activities resumed today. The criterium was supposed to have an expert category after that but since it rained, it was cancelled. Shiki was to take part in it for some cool parts as grand prize. But Korone is willing to give her those parts for free since her regulars often come to buy the latest parts and discard the old ones which aren’t really that old to begin with. Also, Korone is fixing a new bicycle for Hiromi so please keep this a secret, okay?

Episode 9
The first years will have a field trip orientation. Basically they have to go around Kamakura and visit some local sites to get stamps. Once they’ve got all 7 of them (sorry, not Dragonballs), they have to return to school to finish the programme. Conveniently, they are grouped by their clubs so it is great chance for the bicycle club to get some achievement. So that Night Criterium didn’t do the trick? At the same time, everyone nominates Tomoe to be the club president due to her astounding leadership during Night Criterium. After visiting a few landmarks, suddenly Kuma jump scares them and wants to challenge! Apparently she is not pleased with her loss at Night Criterium and wants a revenge match. Here we go again. Another uphill challenge of Hiromi vs Kuma. I guess Hiromi doesn’t want to ruin the sightseeing so halfway she manages to convince Kuma to just stop and enjoy the scenery. Because of that, Kuma unmasks herself. She is an American, Sandy McDougal. Admitting she lost to her passion this time, Sandy also enjoys cycling and wants to join their club. But wasn’t she in the cosplay club? Nope. She was just picked to represent them. So with permission and all, Sandy becomes a provisional member of the club as they continue their sightseeing-cum-stamp collecting. Since they have lots of time to spare and Fuyune’s cramps are working up, they take a break at the beach. Oh, what’s this Korone riding a horse?! Tsuru’s family runs a horse trekking business and today’s the cycling shop is closed. Care for a ride? Hiromi and Sandy take up the offer and don’t worry, Sandy has horse riding experience back in Colorado. Yeah, the Rockies! As usual, Sandy says she loves Japan because of anime and manga, the reason why she is here. Don’t worry about the different custom, look how well she is speaking the language! Save for that ‘fake’ foreigner tone. Heh. Once done and Fuyune ‘healed’, they go get their last stamp. Good news for them as they have finished early and still more time to kill, it’s more cycling then!

Episode 10
Hiromi’s new road bicycle is completed! Thanks to Nagisa calling her regulars to donate parts they don’t want, you bet it would be fixed in no time. Besides, it costs nothing for Hiromi since it’s all used parts. Best day ever! Oh, she’s calling it Unico?! I bet I know where she got that name from… Best gift ever for winning the Night Criterium. Now the girls need to talk about their next activity. As Shiki suggests, a touring trip. But can they take their bicycles on planes or trains? Modern bicycles are light and can be disassembled and assembled quickly. Since Sandy doesn’t have a road bicycle, how? Korone throws in a great offer that if they buy packing bags, she can rent one to her. Suspicious Hiromi asks… That’s going to cost, right?! Well, thankfully since they won the Night Criterium, they’ve received some funds. What do you mean the club is just partially recognized?! They won and that’s quite an achievement, so do you not think they should be recognized?! After Shiki shows them how to pack disassembled bicycles into the bags, they check for a place to tour. Miura Peninsula. That night as Hiromi takes a nice bath in her home, suddenly WTF Sandy barges into bath with her?! Yeah, mom let her in… Shameless American very imposing. Shy Japanese very obliging. Well, enjoy this ‘fanservice’. That’s as much as we can get. So the Miura Peninsula trip is here. Sandy got a jersey thanks to Tomoe lending her one as Yuika made an extra set. Everyone is excited and raring to go until Shiki ‘warns’ them to be prepared since they’ll be cycling in less urban areas where they could run into trouble. And just like that the girls go to the toilet or stock up on water. Better safe than sorry. Then the rest is a fun touring ride around the place. As they stop to rest, I guess Hiromi and Sandy are so tired and fell asleep. When they wake up, Shiki’s gone?! Apparently she went ahead to their next destination herself. That’s because she thinks it’s a great idea for them to bond and do things on their own instead of relying on her. Yeah, getting lost is part of the package. Getting lost is fun? Don’t worry, if they really get into trouble, just call her and she’ll be right there. Okay then. Time to move forward. Because bicycles can’t go backwards. Oh Hiromi, you say the darnest things!

Episode 11
As the bicycle club girls continue their journey, a group of veteran cyclists passes them. WTF this evokes Sandy’s inner competitiveness because she doesn’t like to be passed?! And so she drags Hiromi to chase after them. Of course as you can see no matter how hard they peddle, the veterans are still faster than them. Since they recognize Hiromi as the Night Criterium’s winner, they decide to slow down and give them some advice. Yup, pretty good advice on their riding posture as well as how to ride uphill without being exhausted too easily. Wow. You mean Shiki never taught them these? Must be fun letting them find out on their own, huh? Eventually they realize the Kamakura buddies are missing. Yeah, strayed too far ahead, huh? So as they wait, suddenly they appear in front them. You see, the slowpokes realize they took the wrong route that had them ride on the opposite side of the river. But luckily for them, there was a ferry to take them across. Now that everyone has reunited, the veterans introduce themselves. You may remember Kano Hibara as she was the co-host of the Night Criterium. That’s why she recognizes them. Rinko Karino and Riri Oshino are her partners and they are professional cyclists for the local radio station. This means they are a business team. Suddenly Hiromi feels all woozy and light-headed. They let her sit down and eat some energy food and fluids. They say it’s because she lost energy after all that cycling. It’s like a car running without fuel. Hiromi gets her strength back once she’s eaten her fill. After that, they part ways as the bicycle club girls resume their journey. But first, let’s go eat something because can’t cycle on an empty stomach. Oh Hiromi, you being a glutton now? They continue the journey, a bit lost here and there but nothing too serious. Serious drama comes when Fuyune experiences a flat tyre. You mean she didn’t bring a spare?! Before they could resort to calling Shiki as backup, luckily Natsumi has a spare. There. The tyre fixing lessons came in handy, right? The rest of the journey continues smoothly with Hiromi being poetic about the wonderfulness of bicycles. Yeah… They finally reach their goal as Shiki is seen waiting for them. I guess she didn’t wait long. Because it’s still bright day time. Damn, I was under the impression this journey was on for a very long time! When they return home via train in the evening, it’s no surprise the tired girls are knocked out.

Episode 12
The girls submit their report on the recent tour. Wow. Looks good. So their club is now official, right? Well… The principal says no. WTF?! WHY?! Because they forgot 1 important thing. Yeah, go figure. Tomoe refers the student handbook and thinks the club needs 5 members. Yeah? There’s 5 of them here. Did they count wrongly? Oh wait. Sandy was just a provisional member who joined during orientation and they didn’t follow up on that. There. How about that? Nope. Still not it. GRRR!!! Back to the thinking board. So now they think it’s the distance or you need to camp with your bicycle? Ridiculous… After Sandy leaves for her own personal matters, the rest convene at Korone’s place to further think about it. That is when Shiki comes rushing to them with an emergency. She overheard Sandy will be returning to America next week because her grandma isn’t feeling well. Oh damn. Hence they decide to make a memorable last ride for her. Sandy is ecstatic when the girls plan to ride up to Mt Fuji. Even Korone closes her shop to play support. So yeah, as expected, a fun and thrilling ride up the roads to Mt Fuji. Uh huh. They ended up racing and Sandy wins! Oh well, everybody had fun, right? Then Hiromi starts to break down. Oh my. Looks like it has begun. The other girls also ask about the fun about riding and yeah, the answer is of course positive. We’ll always love cycling! I’m sure Sandy is confused as they’re talking about meeting again as long as they’re always cycling. Surprisingly the principal is here. She is glad they have remembered the most important thing and that is to enjoy cycling. They were so obsessed in making the club official that they could’ve lost sight about it. Thankfully they didn’t. This trip proves they love cycling a lot so the principal makes it official. Hooray! Now they’re a club! But the girls are now sad that Sandy is leaving. Sandy admits she is going back but only for a week. Grandma? Oh, she just misses her and that’s why she is ‘down’. So she is returning to show her face. Otherwise grandma is healthy as f*ck. Now the girls turn on Shiki. As a Japanese, can she blame her bad English and get away with it?! In the end, the girls continue cycling because yeah, they love it so much.

Episode 13 (OVA)
The bicycle club girls are in Taiwan! Another milestone for the club! The principal suggested they take a trip there since Taiwan has more advanced bicycle system than Japan. Hence the club is sent there to scout its potential. Of course they can treat this as an all-expenses paid vacation but they have to turn in a report. Upon arriving at the airport, they are surprised to see Natsumi dressed differently. Actually, she is their tour guide, Su Jinwan. Holy sh*t! They’re a splitting image of each other! Almost like twins! Su takes them around the place as she also explains how she is fluent not only in Japanese but other languages as it is her dream to travel around the world one day. The girls then see the local bicycle sharing system, YouBike. Su explains how it works and they rent it and tour around the city. Hey, I thought they brought their own bicycles? Oh well, all expenses paid, right? I feel this episode has more great sightseeing than exploring the bicycle system. In fact, that was it! Day one over so the next day when their own bicycles are assembled, Su will take them to ride around Taiwan’s biggest lake. This scares Fuyune at first but don’t worry, despite being labelled as the largest in Taiwan, it is only 39 km long. Phew. During the break, Hiromi notices Natsumi down. Time for some much needed drama. Seems Natsumi envies Su because she is fluent in so many languages and can easily mix with others. You see, it is also Natsumi’s dream to travel around the world but compared to Su, she is nothing. Oh. That. Hiromi’s answer? Force them both to talk to each other! That should do the trick. So the ‘twins’ talk, Su also mentioning she has her anxiety before meeting them but was blown away when she saw how Natsumi looked so much like her. Basically, they should take things slowly and not rush. As Su is saving up and learning what she can, she hopes Natsumi could one day join her in her world tour. So for now let’s do our best. At the end of the trip before the Japanese depart home, they give Su their team jersey as she is considered part of their club as she has cycled with them. Such great honour. All that’s left now is to write the report and Tomoe feels she has the drawn the short end of the stick since the others can’t really help. You’re on your own. Yeah, now I can see why they chose her as the club president. You too ganbatte!

I Want To Ride My Bicycle, I Want To Ride My Bike…
Well, that wasn’t so bad. Another cute girls doing cute things off my checklist. Oh boy. It’s going to be a long way if I’m going to check all those series under that. What the heck am I saying? I’m getting side-tracked here. So anyway, once again yet another feel good series comes to a close. As expected, not much of an ending because how the heck can you actually end this kind of genre? The best is always the characters will continue to do what they always love to do and for these girls here, that will be to keep enjoying their bicycle rides. Enough said. Period.

This means as expected too, I’m going to very much repeat again the same things that I often said in my other blogs for series of this genre. Starting with the plot, there isn’t any real plot whatsoever. You’ve already got all you need to know from the short synopsis of the series itself. That’s it. No real drama whatsoever and even if there was one, it would be quickly solved and fast forgotten as everybody moves on to the next enjoyment. Enough said. Period. Forgive me too if you are going to hear me compare this series a lot with Long Riders since both shows are pretty similar to each other but have their differences too.

If there was one thing I would feel ‘disappointed’ about, it would be that initially I had this impression that the bicycle club will go on to compete in a national event. This is because of the promotional poster in seeing the girls in their full team jersey and seemingly riding in a very competitive and passionate state. So I thought perhaps maybe there would be some sort of bicycle race on a national scale and if not, perhaps a bicycle racing tournament for high schools whereby they compete to head to the Nationals. You know the drill. Typical ingredients for Japanese sports action drama. Unfortunately the only big race that the bicycle club girls ever entered was just the Night Criterium. Seems like a very small time event if you ask me. Because compared to Long Riders, at least they rode a seemingly bigger competition (although this technically isn’t a competition in the strictest definition). So yeah, my bad for actually expecting something big to happen but only to be let-down by my own baseless anticipation. And the other dumb part from me is how I misinterpret the title as some shabu time. WHAT?! Because I read the title as ‘Jiten-shabu’ rather than ‘Jitensha-bu’. Sighs…

However this series takes its time to flesh out the development of the bicycle club and it seemingly interacts with more outsiders compared to Long Riders. In Long Riders, we see the main character who is a noob in the cycling, jumping in right away to ride and there are a few time skips in between. Everything was mostly just showcasing about the cycling and the ride. Whereas for this series, the concept of establishing a proper bicycle club didn’t actually occur until only the third episode. And the whole club seemingly come together only in the next. But not really. Because we were left hanging about the status of the club for the rest of the entire season since of that stupid regulation they need to achieve some results in order to be recognized as a real club. And I thought passion and love for it was enough to make it official. Yeah, the principal should’ve felt it in their fervour. Was she doubting them when she said it all behind that sweet smile?

Both series have their silly moments that don’t make sense as well as their ups and downs. For instance, the silliest moment that I ever find here is the fact how Sandy FKA Kuma was in the lead (a considerable stretch) for most of the Night Criterium. I don’t know if American power powered her to ride much faster than the rest because I gotta be fair that the rest of the other clubs don’t really have much cycling experience. But to be in the lead in that clumsy getup compared to our real bicycle club girls who are dressed and equipped better? This really feels like nonsense only to ramp up some racing drama. Sure, they had a bad start. But all that slip stream and whatever tactics only managed to make them catch up on the penultimate lap? Damn, if this race was 1 lap shorter, I bet Kuma girl would’ve won.

Character wise, they’re pretty okay but nothing much if you ask me. However they have a lot more character interactions with people outside the cycling circle compared to Long Riders that feels no other characters are in focus except for those within their group. I suppose when you are in college or university, things are much different than when you are in high school. It’s a different set of interaction with society. I mean, Long Riders don’t even have a club advisor or characters from other clubs compared to this one and that they’re mostly on the road. Yeah, when you’re in higher education institutions, you have more freedom to do whatever and go wherever you want. High school girls still need to play their roles as high school girls, I guess.

The good thing about the dense and noob Hiromi is that compared to Long Riders’ Ami, she doesn’t complain and whine so much! Even if she has her own insecurities, she is at least bearable. Too bad, can’t say the same of her naivety. I mean, Hiromi really thought bicycles never existed before her birth?! WTF… Unfortunately I feel that despite over a dozen episodes, the rest of the other characters aren’t really fleshed out that well because I don’t really feel the bond between them. Sure, they love the cycling thingy but there’s all there is to it. I mean, I can’t even find the words to describe the good girl Tomoe is. So she’s the club’s president. Has a sister who designed their team jersey. That’s it. Natsumi looked like she is athletic but at most times she doesn’t seem to live up to it. What’s that about her dreams to travel the world again? Forgettable. Fuyune has the weakest constitution and it feels like they want to play her cramps as a running joke. I don’t know, if you ask me, cramps are very painful. I got them before. So seeing her having one but not writing in pain, I wonder if she’s that strong and I’m the wuss or they’re just downplaying this cramps thingy.

Last but not least, Sandy. We need a cliché foreigner girl to tell us why she loves Japanese culture so much. Sandy is this series’ answer. Ironically, although hailing from America, her English accent sounds so fake and Engrish that even Su’s English accent sounds way better and more believable than her! I KNOW, RIGHT?! On a trivial note, notice how the Japanese’s quartet’s names have seasons in it? So does it mean that cycling is all year long? Throughout all season? Perhaps. So how does Sandy fit into this season thingy? Uhm… Erm… Sandy… The sand… Aha! The beach! Sandy beach! Haha!

The girls being cycling amateurs they are, I guess that is why they need a few adults who are knowledgeable and an expertise in the area to help them out and to guide them whenever they are stuck. Hence Shiki sensei as the obligatory advisor for the club because otherwise there won’t be a club at all. She’s very minimal in their participation and lets the girls do what they can. Freedom. Got to let the girls decide and grow on their own. And of course Korone who is the team’s mechanic because we need someone to take care of their bicycles and recommend the best accessories for our girls. Hey, if you’re going to enjoy the ride, might as well have all the best equipment that you can. Of course, don’t forget about the price! Keep within your budget. Cycling is such an expensive hobby the more you delve into it. Kaching!

As for many of the other characters, they aren’t really memorable and sometimes it feels just for some mini plot convenience. Like Yuika. Too bad none of the girls in the bicycle club are good designers so that’s where this loli comes in. After that, she’s just forgettable. Why does Tsuru even exist? Isn’t Korone all sufficient by herself? Apparently a kid still needs an adult’s help. Whoops! I’m sorry, you’re not a kid, Korone. I repeat, you’re not a kid! Don’t kill me! Hiroko. Competition lover. Somebody needs to give the bicycle club a run for their money. It would be an insult if a non-bicycle club individual actually beat a bicycle club member at their own game! Then we’ll be talking about conspiracy theories that passion isn’t enough… Kano? Feels like if there is ever a need for a bigger future event, you bet they might need her team to pull some strings. Too bad not just for this season. Rei? Even if Fuyune didn’t have a sister, the story would still go on fine. I guess they just need to play up some friendship drama because there needs to be one between Natsumi and Fuyune. So if you don’t feel the Hiromi-Tomoe bond, maybe you could for Natsumi-Fuyune. Maybe.

This series feels a bit better in terms of dispensing cycling related info and know-hows compared to Long Riders in the sense that at the end of every episode, we have a special segment known as AOP: The First Cycling Club. Hosted by cutie pies, Yui Fukuo and Yuuki Hirose, they present to us on some of the very basic information needed for newbies who are interested in taking up cycling as a hobby. From choosing the bicycle frame, size, items as well as what to do to fix accidents of the chain and flat tyre, to its maintenance as well as correct cycling posture. Don’t worry, these cuties are also as lost as you noobs so they’ve got a pro cyclist who also runs his own bicycle shop to demonstrate and teach us all that we need. So get your pen and paper ready to take down those notes! After 2/3 of the series, once you’ve got all that info needed, the segment then shifts to their mini cycling tour around Kamakura. Yeah, it’s like promoting some of its famous sightseeing spots.

Art and animation feel pretty decent. Compared to Long Riders, they look less cartoony and more towards the bishoujo type. After all, remember this is cute girls doing cute things version. Yeah, sometimes I feel the adult characters are looking a bit younger for their age. Like Shiki. Dress her up in high school uniform and I bet you can’t tell she’s a teacher. Even the principal looks a bit young for an old woman. And of course Korone… Whoops! Of course it goes without saying that the bicycles are the main stars of the series so you bet that they are beautifully drawn and animated. Also, somewhat nice to look at are the backgrounds and sceneries since Kamakura is a seaside town located to the south of Tokyo so you bet there are going to be lots of scenic views and nice animations about it. Though, that trip to Taiwan I thought they somewhat ‘cheated’ because many of the sceneries and sightseeing spots looked like still pictures but blurred out to make it less obvious. At the end of each episode, an illustration of the characters of the series. Is it me or do they look sexier in this sketch style? This anime is jointly done by J.C. Staff (One Punch Man, DanMachi, KonoSuba, Shokugeki No Souma, the To Aru series) and A.C.G.T. (Freezing, Dies Iraes). This won’t be their only joint stint ever as they did Fuun Ishin Dai Shogun previously and then went on to do To Aru Kagaku No Accelerator.

Voice acting is also decent and I didn’t really recognize anyone. The casts are Reina Ueda as Hiromi (Shiori in Sakura Quest), Yuuki Hirose as Tomoe (Hidaka in High Score Girl), Natsumi Fujiwara as Natsumi and Su (Dimaria in Fairy Tail), Natsumi Takmori as Fuyune (Raiha in Go-toubun No Hanayome) (is it me or is this the reason why the characters are supposed to be close to each other because both are named Natsumis?), Emiko Takeuchi as Sandy (Youko in Two Car), Sayumi Watabe as Shiki (Tachibana in Koi Wa Ameagari No You Ni), Yurika Kubo as Korone (Loki in DamMachi), Ikumi Hayama as Hiroko (Sayaka in Strike The Blood), Akari Kitou as Nagisa (Kaho in Blend S), Ai Kakuma as Tsuru (Itsuyo in Val x Love), Yui Fukuo as Yuika (Linze in Isekai Wa Smartphone To Tomo Ni) and Miyuki Ichijou as the principal (Elizabeth in Mars Daybreak).

The opening theme is Jitensha Ni Hana Wa Mau by AOP. If it sounds like a typical idol pop song, that’s because AOP is one of those typical Japanese idols with their colour coded members. You might have already guessed that a couple of their members make their voice acting roles here. Coincidentally on a sad note, the band itself recently disbanded back in March 2021 after almost a decade of their formation. The ending theme is Nijiyume Road by Ikasan. It is a rock outfit and it sounds a bit unusual. If this series was shonen competition style, it would’ve fit the series like a glove. But since it is cute girls doing cute things, it just feels kinda odd. Even odder, while the male voice is the lead singer, during some parts of the song have this female accompaniment background vocals. To me, it sounds somewhat out of tune because she’s a bit high pitched.

Overall, if you love cute girls and you love cycling, this show would be a double treat for you. Otherwise, this series is just plain average in the broadest sense. Average characters, no exciting plot (but of course) and the only race this series had was very dramatized in an otherwise a boring race. I don’t think you’d watch this show for the visuals it’s better for you to visit Kamakura in person if that’s the case. Since the anime didn’t get a sequel (so far), I guess there must be a lot of other cute girls doing cute things out there that must have surpassed this and hence this series flew under the radar ever since. Sadly, the manga ended back in 2018, just after a year this anime aired. So I guess cycling is better to be done rather than to be watched. Which is also very much true. But you can do both and still win. How? Watch this series while cycling on your stationary indoor fitness exercising bike!

Horimiya

Over the span of about 10 years, I never thought Hori-san To Miyamura-kun would get a proper TV series adaptation. It had its irregular OVA releases and I only saw a couple of them before I just gave up. Wasn’t really into it despite the romance genre is ranked highly on my anime categories to watch. And then suddenly they have a TV series adaption back in early 2021, Horimiya. Perhaps it is about time it got its due? I don’t know. It looked a bit different and perhaps that was why I decided to take a look. Though, the general story is still quite fuzzy in my head. Something about opposite attracts? Don’t judge a book by its cover? Hey, don’t ask me. I’ve never actually REALLY fallen in love before. Heh. :’(…

Episode 1
Kyouko Hori is invited by her friends to go karaoke but she declines them as she rushes back to play mom. Yup, mom busy working overtime so she has to clean the house, cook dinner and even pick up little brother Souta from the kindergarten. One day, Hori is shocked when Souta is brought back by a punk since he fell and is bleeding from his nose. The punk tries to leave since it’s done but Hori wants to thank him. So as they talk, she is surprised he knows her name. Hey. He is Izumi Miyamura from the same class. You mean that boring dorky guy is this same punk guy with piercings?! So she is quite in shock with his different outlook from school and outside school. But she talks to him again as he needs him to come over since Souta likes him. Miyamura is glad since he thought she would’ve avoided him. Of course she’s not that kind of person to judge. With Miyamura over more often, she learns a few things about him. Like how bad he is at studying. Damn, this guy should be officially playing the father now at this rate as Hori’s busy schedule has him take over her role to rush and go buy eggs on sale! At least he got them. He tells Hori that during his rush, their friend, Yuki Yoshikawa saw him but because he wasn’t in his usual form, she didn’t recognize him. This has Hori to comment she doesn’t like anyone else to see him like this. In turn, Miyamura also notes how he prefers this plain Jane look to her more prim and proper personality at school. This embarrasses Hori a lot so she smacks him. Miyamura is devastated about the swimming class. Because he has tattoos over his body!

Tooru Ishikawa notices Miyamura talking to Hori lately. So he asks him if they’re dating of course not. Phew. Because he doesn’t think they’re a match. Miyamura asks if he likes Hori. Ishikawa is surprised. Miyamura also surprised. So what if he does? Miyamura apologizing this secret? More shock for Ishikawa when Miyamura claims Hori is the only one who has seen his naked body. Hence he shows Ishikawa the tattoos and now he understands why he is always covering up despite the hot weather. So they talk things out and Ishikawa even asking permission to date Hori. HUH?! So Ishikawa needs to talk to Hori after school. Don’t worry. Miyamura can play daddy and pick up Souta. When Hori comes home, Miyamura thinks that once they start dating, he will no longer be needed. However Hori snaps at him. She feels insulted he told Ishikawa they weren’t a match and that she is just being nice to him. He didn’t mean anything bad. He thought they are totally different in looks and personality so he feared dragging down her reputation. This makes Hori sad. She cries. Then she gets mad. She beats him up. Never ever say things like that again! Because it’ll be a problem if he stops coming to her house. I mean, who to wake her up when she falls asleep after watching a movie?! Who to finish his portion of dinner?! Oh, as for Ishikawa, she turned him down. He feels bad for her but she quips if he likes him that much, they should just date. Sorry. We’re no match for each other. Next day, Miyamura could see the problem coming as Ishikawa cries his heart to him. Is he going to tell the whole world about his rejection?! Hori and Yoshikawa look at the guys and think some confession is going on. I don’t think they match…

Episode 2
Miyamura catches Hori singing an anime song in public. She gets embarrassed and blames it on Souta since he keeps playing the same song over and over again. So when asked what kind of song she likes, she herself isn’t sure what’s popular. Hori’s mom learns about Miyamura as a frequent guest. Of course she is interested to talk to him personally. However this sets off a biggest issue for Hori: She doesn’t know his first name! Hence she goes to great lengths to try and find out his first name without exposing this intent of hers. Yeah, it makes her look like a stalker sometimes. And it’s tiring! She thinks when he is here, perhaps he will introduce himself to mom and then she’ll know his first name. Too bad mom sent her on an errand and so she missed it. In the end, Hori has to let the cat out of the bag since she has been acting too suspicious. After a good laugh by Miyamura and Souta teasing her, he writes his name for her. Hope you don’t forget. Oh, she’s keeping the paper just in case. Just in case! Hori is part of the student council but the president, Kakeru Sengoku and his vice, Sakura Kouno keep swamping her with work. Even more so, Remi Ayasaki who is also part of the body and dating Sengoku doesn’t do much work. So is she just a mascot? One evening, Remi was rushing and bumps into Miyamura. This scatters all the documents. After blaming him and quickly putting the things back, Miyamura notices she missed one. But being in a hurry, she tells him to throw it away. Next day, Hori is in trouble. Sengoku is accusing Hori for losing the budget because it was with her. He wants her to apologize but luckily Miyamura is here. First, he head butts Sengoku! Then he shows him the budget in his hands. He explains what happened yesterday. Remi now remembers. So it’s all her fault actually. Oh my. Cute girl in tears. Please don’t be mean. But for Hori, she is glad to get this off her chest. Later Miyamura asks her if Sengoku has some dirt on her since she is always obliging him. Flashback shows they are childhood friends and my, she’s a big bully! But the tables turned when they entered high school. Sengoku is now traumatized and freezes up each time he sees Miyamura! When Miyamura learns from Ishikawa of Hori’s birthday at the end of spring break, he ponders what to get for her. A CD of currently popular songs. At least the ones he likes.

Episode 3
Flashback shows nobody wants Miyamura in group projects because he is always looking gloomy and they can’t tell what’s on his mind. So now Miyamura finds it weird that he is in Hori’s circle and when group projects are called, they do not hesitate to include him. Like at the start of the new school term, all of them managed to be in the same class and Ishikawa is like so grateful thanks to the power of love that other girls start thinking the guys are dating?! Ishikawa also gets brutally honest with him about the things he doesn’t like about him that makes him super jealous. Because Miyamura is so nice to others, he has to keep an eye on him. This friendship assuring thingy is weird… Remi approaches Hori to ask if she is dating Miyamura. No? Okay. Then can I have him? Instantly Hori refuses to let her have him because Miyamura is hers. WTF logic? I guess everyone’s pretty confused now. Since when is Miyamura her property? One day Miyamura is over at Hori’s place and they watch a horror movie. You can tell he is a chicken. Even when the lights go out for a while, he is starting to shiver a lot. And they’re going to watch another 5 volumes of this horror sh*t! True horror indeed. This has Miyamura notice her double jointed fingers. Flashback how the friends talk about it and Hori compared her palm with Ishikawa. But no holding. Yeah, Miyamura offered his hand but I guess he’s not into that gay sh*t. So now Miyamura and Hori hold each other’s hands for comparison. Are we reading too much into this? But it’s the end of that since Souta returns. Next morning, Hori is shocked to see Miyamura’s face badly bruised. Ishikawa punched him. Before she could holler at Ishikawa, his face is even worse than Miyamura! Apparently the guys got into an argument and started punching. Ishikawa won’t say but his flashback shows that he was talking to Miyamura about the possibility that Hori would straight up confess to Miyamura that she likes him. Miyamura brushed off that thought since he believes she only sees him nothing more than a friend. Ishikawa couldn’t accept this and the argument got to passionate and that’s where the socking began. Miyamura went into full defensive mode. Don’t mess with this guy. In the end, both guys blame themselves for this and quickly apologize and made up. Yeah. Guys’ friendship so simple.

Episode 4
Since Ishikawa was helping Kouno with a minor incident, he was late to meet up with Miyamura. Though, he waited but not Hori. So Hori bought them some ice treats and left. Since Ishikawa doesn’t like the melon flavour, they pull over Sengoku to finish it. Since the duo tease Sengoku about his harem student council, I guess he is giving them free pass to hang out in their room where there is air-cond for the hot summer. Yeah, they brought the rest of their friends to hang out too. When Miyamura and Hori are out to get drinks, Remi asks if Miyamura and Hori are dating. Because she thinks Ishikawa would be a better match. Because of that, he now feels weird. Even more so, thinking they are taking too long to get the drinks. What the heck are they doing? So when they return, he gets the biggest shock of his life. Thanks to their ambiguous words, WTF did they screw each other?! One thing led to another?! Rest assured, Miyamura was clumsy and dropped his soda. And so an unsuspecting Ishikawa opens his can… Yeah, everywhere sticky now… When Hori learns Miyamura sleeps in his underwear, she is in a dilemma whether or not to be embarrassed by it. So she test him by asking to show his tattoos. Without skipping a beat, he is about to strip but she stops him. WTF she asking if he gets embarrassed if he strips before Ishikawa?! So she reveals she never see him get flustered or anything. Well he does. Just a bit. He credits it to his middle school friend, Kouichi Shindou. That guy thinks Hori is his girlfriend and because of that, Miyamura feels a bit flustered. Speaking of the devil, Shindou just messages him he got himself a cute girlfriend and suggests a double date. I think Miyamura flustered a lot more than that. More like pissed off.

In town, Miyamura spots Shindou trying to hit on Hori?! Immediately he rushes over to smack him! And then proceeds to pretend not to know him. Anyway, he is forced to introduce them but also mentions Shindou is a grade below them despite being the same age. That’s because he was held a year back due to his stupidity. Flashbacks reveals their life in middle school. Shindou made friends with him but Shindou’s pals wanted him to stay away from this gloomy guy with piercings. But Shindou told right back at them that they are just jealous Miyamura ‘stole’ him from them. It is that attitude the reason why Miyamura acts the way he is. Miyamura credits Shindou for changing his view in middle school. As for high school, it could be Hori. When Hori falls sick, she still wants to go to school but Souta made her stay in bed. When she wakes up, Miyamura is by her side taking care of things. When he is about to leave, she panics and doesn’t want him to go. Flashback shows she had to deal with something similar when she was young. Mom had to go work and left her alone while she was sick. And Hori just put up with it all. So it’s like she’s taking it out now and ‘blaming’ that a certain somebody was never around. Miyamura calms her down and promises he will stay till she doesn’t need him. So when it looks like she is asleep, he talks about normal things and just as he is about to leave, he confesses he loves her and has been for a while. After he is gone, it’s like Hori’s fever is all gone as now she is up and flustering to think if all that is true. Need to ascertain that without making him say it again? Was he aware she was awake? But even if she pretended not to hear, maybe they could’ve stayed a while like this. Oh dear, do I have a feeling she is down with another kind of ‘sickness’?

Episode 5
Souta tells his sister he saw Miyamura hanging out with another girl. Oh sh*t. She’s thinking he’s already cheating on her?! Sure, he confessed. But I didn’t know they were dating?! Anyway, just before she could think she might be one of his friends, Souta further explains he saw them holding hands. Hori’s temperature might get worse… She thought of asking him to ascertain it but doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Because of that, she avoids Miyamura like a plague. And when he finally gets to talk to her, he admits that he knew she was awake then. First thing she asks? Who’s that girl! Oh. You mean Chika? She’s Shindou’s girlfriend and because she earlier tripped, he had to hold her hand as support. Apparently his thanks is Hori throwing her textbooks in his face because she keeps spamming Chika’s name! On first name basis?! Well, he doesn’t even know her surname! Back home, Hori feels awful for doing all that but looks like Miyamura is here. Gulp. Both are under the impression that they are mad at each other. But once they clear it up, it’s easy. Hori then confirms that she was indeed awake then. Before anything else can proceed, Kyousuke returns. So this guy is Hori’s dad?! Not sure this guy is cool or cringe because he keeps teasing Miyamura about being with his daughter and then mocks him to this and that and when Miyamura does, he just says he was kidding. No wonder Hori keeps beating him up. So he asks his daughter if they’re a couple. From the direction they’re going, I guess that’s a yes. In the end all this teasing has come to an end when mom returns surprised. She did not buy enough for dinner. Okay dad, time to kick you out! Don’t worry, Miyamura will be leaving. Hori accompanies Miyamura. They hold hands and express they would like to know the other better. Meanwhile we take a detour as we see Kouno looking longingly at Ishikawa. She is snapped when Remi talks to her. But Remi can tell she is acting weird and offers to listen. But Kouno keeps insisting there is no problem until she is forced to admit that she envies her. She wishes to be like her. After a little drama, Kouno continues that there is a guy she likes but fears she isn’t as cute as Remi. Friendship somewhat restored since Remi points out she never seen her blush before. Hori and Miyamura are studying at the former’s place. Hori trying to tease and see his reaction when she calls him by his first name. No reaction. Actually that is also the name of Souta’s friend who is coming over. A shy Miyamura thinks he would like her to address him so but that won’t do because it’s embarrassing the hell out of her. So she spams all the baka at him. Souta thinks it’s normal but his friend thinks this family has issues!

Episode 6
Everyone is asking Kyousuke how long he’ll be staying?! Because it’s late, Miyamura needs to go home but daddy wants him to stay. Yeah, everyone prioritizes Miyamura over Kyousuke because they don’t have any extra futon. Eventually Kyousuke and Miyamura share a room. No gay thoughts here. Father asking what he likes about his daughter. She doesn’t judge others by their looks. Oh, Kyousuke’s already asleep… Because Hori and Miyamura are seen coming out from the house together, rumours become rife that they are dating. Not only that, some are badmouthing behind their backs about Hori having bad taste. When asked directly if she is dating Miyamura, without skipping a beat, she says yes. One day, Miyamura comes to class with his hair cut. Everybody in shock! Not as shock as Hori, though. I take that back. Best reaction goes to Shuu Iura. Girls start talking to him but I bet ice queen Hori is enough to blow them away. Shindou calls Hori and Miyamura to help eat loads of candy he won from a contest. Oh, looks like Shindou has got the best reaction seeing Miyamura’s haircut. He’s crying?! Anyway, as Hori eats a bitter candy, Miyamura ‘steals’ it from her by stealing a kiss! Sneaky?! In school, Miyamura notices a junior, Honoka Sawada stalking him. Then she confronts him and asks aloud when is he going to stop dating Hori?! Everything things he is cheating but of course Miyamura has no intention to give up on Hori. Finally she confronts them both and claims she has more love and can’t believe Hori likes a guy like him. Turns out the twist is that she is in love with Hori. Then it becomes a comical tug of war over her. Coincidence is such a scary thing since Miyamura and Sawada soon discover they are neighbours! How do they not even know?! Miyamura laughs his ass off when Sawada thinks he has siblings because he is good at taking care of others. She hints that she had an older brother but brushes it off as a joke. Later Miyamura learns from his mom that Sawada did had a brother. He died a year ago. Oh… While waiting for Hori, a few guys try to hit on Sawada. She hides behind Miyamura and that glare is enough to scare them away. Though, he didn’t even mean any harm. Kyousuke thinks his daughter is torturing him by watching a horror movie. The show is about a daughter trying to kill her father?! Is he reading too much into it?! SCARY! He leaves to buy cigarettes. That is when Hori asks Miyamura if he is going to make the first move. Is that a hint? So as they prepare to make that move, Kyousuke returns because he forgot his wallet. Did I interrupt something? Hori is going to enact the horror scene on daddy!

Episode 7
Ishikawa and Yoshikawa are talking while taking out the trash. Accidentally they bump into Kouno around the corner. With her shirt messed up, Ishikawa rushes to find a replacement. It is then Kouno asks Yoshikawa if they’re dating. Nope. That relieved look on her face. Ishikawa lends his jersey to her. His? Does she not have her own? But never mind. She looks so happy. Later, Kouno asks Sengoku why Remi likes him. Shocked at first, he replies that he wants to protect her since she isn’t strong. That’s why he wants to become stronger to give her that push but in the end, realizes that it is her who is protecting him. This gives Kouno some motivation as he bakes cookies for Ishikawa. Her face lights up when he accepts. Because of that, it is obvious he doesn’t hang out that often with Yoshikawa and Hori also notices this. She also notices Yoshikawa’s habit of losing the things she loves as she doesn’t really fight tooth and nail to keep it. Yoshikawa tries to learn how to bake from Horimiya. Of course it sucks. But Ishikawa noticing how much effort she put in, still eats it and despite calling it disgusting, can’t wait to taste the next batch. When Miyamura is gone to Hokkaido to visit a relative for 5 days, Hori misses him and counts every moment till the day he returns! Yeah, it’s so obviously written on her face. When he gets back, she doesn’t hesitate to jump into his arms! Imagine if he was away for a week… Knowing he doesn’t like horror movies and the fear of continuing may make him push her away, she consults the other girls for some advice. However all their normal advice seem to backfire as it is like jump scare to him! Hori becomes depressed about being helpless. Damn, she’s crying? Miyamura gets the hint and says he didn’t fall in love with a normal girl. He fell for her. She says the same thing to him. And then a close cuddle and one thing led to another. OMG. Did they do it?! Later, Souta draws a picture of them. But he gets sad after hinting about her big sister. Miyamura is quick on the take and believes them dating means he is taking Hori away from him. He assures he won’t take his big sister away for her. That’s why he is asking if he could have Hori as a person.

Episode 8
WTF is this? Miyamura meeting his younger self who hates everyone having fun. He wants to die but is told to wait around as he describes all his future friends especially Hori who will be there for him. In that case, he’ll wait. Damn, that is such a creepy prophetic dream? Now we hear Remi narrate the weak guy Sengoku is but because he tries his best, she likes him. She heard other guys talking how cute she is but to Sengoku, pretty meh. Pretty normal. We see both of them talk before Sengoku mentioning one of the guys have a crush on her. She also brushes it off. Some more weird talking (what would you do if the world ends tomorrow?) that ends in both of them admitting they both like each other. Miyamura feels uncomfortable as Hori does his pedicure. So he steps on her head?! WTF?! Getting enough experience to level up?! WTF????!!!! Surprisingly not surprisingly, she isn’t mad. That’s him, right? So… She wants him to get mad and yell at him?! Not sure her twisted vision of seeing how hot he is in that mode. Because of that, Miyamura talks like a delinquent to his friends and they’re like freaking out! I guess this request from Hori isn’t working out. Later when they’re alone in the classroom, Miyamura thought of surprising her with his bad boy move. Of course when a couple of girls come in, they get the wrong impression of Miyamura scolding and threatening Hori! WTF Hori loves it?! Is she a masochist now?! Yoshikawa is down. Why? A few days ago, Akane Yanagi confessed to her and she turned him down as she doesn’t know him. So I guess the rest hatch this plan for Ishikawa to pretend to be her boyfriend just to settle things. Yeah, Hori just wants to see who that guy is. So when they meet, everyone is shocked that Yanagi is such a hot guy! OMFG! Much more hotter than Ishikawa! Oh Ishikawa, you feeling inferior? So Yanagi gets it she has a boyfriend. Cool. After he leaves, the rest are shocked Yoshikawa turned him down. But why? He’s such a hot guy! Not into all that fancy stuffs, maybe. Yoshikawa then talks to Remi about Yanagi. Pretty funny guy. Basically blind without his glasses. So the next time they meet, they see first-hand the hilarity when he mixes up the gang and misidentifies them. Yeah… This doesn’t look funny anymore…

Episode 9
Hori ties up Miyamura’s hair in a cute world. Now that the girls are noticing him, Hori is mad?! And blaming him?! Oh, you bet she’s jealous that those b*tches never notice him before and just like that, he’s like one of the most popular guy now. On the way back, Miyamura bumps into a couple of his middle school classmates. Makio Tanihara somewhat recognizes him. They tease him about levelling up and this Hori chick as his girlfriend. Miyamura just stands there, no reaction. However with Hori telling them to f*ck off and her aura as deadly to boot, they better stay the f*ck away if they know what’s good for them. Oh sh*t! Hori beats up Tanihara?! Tanihara talks to Shindou and is also warned about the same thing. Don’t mess with her. Miyamura thanks Hori because he has someone who gets mad on his behalf. As Tanihara and his friends hang out outside the convenience store, holy sh*t, here is Hori! Pretend to do some clean-up work. Hori returns to Miyamura as they witness he abuses her?! WTF?! Back home, Miyamura talks to Kyousuke if Hori is a masochist since she enjoys him getting mad and yelling at her! Kyousuke believes so only because it is the exact opposite of how he normally acts. In class, Miyamura notices Taiki Mizouchi who has always been ignoring him. Most likely he too has a crush on Hori so he is just staying away from him. So a chance meeting has them talk. Miyamura asks if he could punch Hori. If not, there’s no way he could be with her. Just to prove it, when Miyamura returns to her, he abuses her! Hori loves it but this leaves Mizouchi in shock. Then this weird dream. Miyamura and Tanihara together inside the cramp locker space. Rabbits around? Not sure what this trauma but whatever. Tanihara asks his friend for Miyamura’s contacts. So he goes to his bakery. They talk. So they’re like friends now? Miyamura realizes he had the wrong perception on him. He thought Tanihara was ignoring him all the time but it was he who was ignoring him. Tanihara reveals to us that the bunnies he was left in charge in middle school died because he forgot to feed them. He then blamed it on Miyamura. He is sorry for it now but wonders what if he’d been able to tell him back then. Miyamura feels confident he can get along with Tanihara and that there isn’t anyone in this world you can’t be friends with. I’m sure Hitler would be happy… JUST KIDDING!

Episode 10
Tanihara says hi to Miyamura. OMFG! Hori gets mad and violent at Tanihara, thinking he is going to steal her boyfriend?! WTF???!!! When he tries to explain they’re just gotten close, WHAT DO YOU MEAN GOTTEN CLOSE?! ARE YOU FREAKING GAYS NOW?! Tanihara thought he could point out that it isn’t as close as Shindou, speaking of the devil, here he is. He makes it worse by saying they’ve been spending nights together. VIDEO GAMES!!! Tanihara takes Shindou away and now Hori breaks down because if Miyamura is going to fall for someone else, please be a girl! No gay stuffs, PLEASE! Oh man… At least it’s good to know she’s not a fujoshi… And so Horimiya doesn’t want the guys to be with him. So what about the toilet? He’ll hold it in forever! Good luck. WTF… Yoshikawa bumps into Yanagi in the streets. Her sister, Miki is in shock that she rejected a good looking guy like him and Yanagi saying he isn’t in her league?! WTF?! Later Yoshikawa talks to Remi about Kouno. She thinks that Yoshikawa and Ishikawa are dating. However Yoshikawa didn’t dismiss that and agreed to it. Basically, she feels bad about lying now. Thanks to that, Yoshikawa skips school. Her pals are worried. Flashback shows her bad habit that if she wants something, she doesn’t say so and pouts. Soon, she receives a text from Ishikawa that Kouno confessed to him. Did this shock psychology work? Because she is back in school now! Ishikawa then talks to her privately about the text. It is true Kouno confessed to him but she didn’t want a reply. She just wanted to get it off her shoulders as she is under the impression they’re both dating. Ishikawa also didn’t clarify because of his promise to Yoshikawa to play along. Yoshikawa feels relieved but can’t help feel she is the villain. So I guess now they just head back to class, pretend that their friendship is back on track like always. Sengoku is stumped that Kouno is cheery these days. Like as though she got some burden off her shoulders. So he had to ask her if something good happened. I mean, really find out and ask her what REALLY happened. With all that pestering, I guess she has to tell about her rejected confession. So he’s trying to be considerate by saying that guy should be expelled. But wants to know who that guy is?! Might as well, he’s gone this far. Oh sh*t. Kouno uncontrollably sobbing. You happy now?

Episode 11
When Ishikawa says that Iura has a little sister, Motoko, this brings a shock to the rest. However he didn’t expect them to be distant as he thought the imouto would love his onii-chan very much. This has the girls reprimand Iura to start acting more responsibly! Because Yanagi is always talking in a formal way, Iura tries to be friendlier by having the friends call each other by their first names. Since it’s not working, Miyamura and Ishikawa rope in Sengoku and act like they’re best buddies. Did peer pressure make Sengoku admit that he is best friends with them? Anyway, Yanagi looks like he is getting along with the guys fine. So why is Miyamura trying to put him on his blacklist? Then Yanagi assures him he won’t take them away from him (his friends?). This makes Miyamura very embarrassed and runs away like a girl. Miyamura and Yanagi try to get Kouno to solve their argument of who is taller. She tells them not to be petty but they continue arguing over their apology to her. Miyamura trying to ‘train’ Sawada that Ishikawa and Sengoku aren’t bad people. Then the duo try to outdo each other by giving her sweets. Until loudmouth Iura comes by and scares the sh*t out of her. It’s not whether he is a good guy or not, she can’t stand loud and annoying people! Iura loses… One day, Iura wasn’t loud with her because he is having the flu. So Sawada thought he is mad at her or something. Hence she asks Kouno’s opinion but she too is perplexed about Iura getting mad. Never seen that guy mad. Too bad, Iura’s bad timing and the return of his loudmouth once again scares off Sawada. Motoko’s teacher thinks she should aim for a lower high school due to her average grades. This causes her to be depressed. Iura talks to her about it and initially gets the wrong idea that the name of the school is what her teacher was laughing at. She gets mad at him so he tells her how much she is putting in effort because he’s always watching her. So whoever that jerk teacher tells her so, bring him here and he’ll punch him on her behalf. However Motoko is sad because her grades are not improving. She breaks down uncontrollably. Iura then seeks Hori’s favour to help tutor his sister. She accepts since he’s acting like a big brother once. So when Motoko comes for her first lesson, Hori says no studying and they’ll take the whole day off talking about things they like. Until she feels more relaxed, they can start with the tutoring. In the end, both siblings have this wish of not being hated by the other.

Episode 12
Yoshikawa feels ‘betrayed’. She visited Ishikawa’s home and found he has lots of nice stuffs. And she thought he was a poor commoner like her! WTF?! Because Miyamura will be busy helping his family for Christmas, he can’t join Hori’s family on that night. This shocks Kyousuke and Souta! A Christmas without Miyamura?! UNTHINKABLE?! Yeah, how was Christmas in their household last year and years before? Ishikawa talks to Iura and Sengoku that he once had a crush on Hori. And then there’s that incident with Kouno. And now with Yoshikawa they’re like more than friends but not dating. This shocks the duo because they thought they were already dating! But Sengoku tells him that their opinions don’t matter. As long as they’re happy, it’s fine. Then they tease Sengoku as some master romancer. When Ishikawa invites Yoshikawa to her home, it seems he is being sneaky. Like tiptoeing into his room, locking the door and undoing his tie. WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN?! Turns out he doesn’t want Kayo Yashiro who is the family’s caretaker to find out. Of course she did. And of course she warns him if he does anything funny, she’ll tell his parents. You bet he won’t. But this gives Yoshikawa the impression that if Yashiro wasn’t here, would Ishikawa have done something on her? Remi invites Sengoku to her house for Christmas. He declines. Now everybody turns against this villain for making her cry! He has a good reason for declining. You see, her father is an avid bug collector and he can’t stand bugs! Bug collections all over the place! Eventually I guess he needs a lot of pushing from Kouno to guy. But still scared of those bugs, though… Kyousuke and Souta are bumped out that Miyamura isn’t joining them. Hori gives some hope that he’ll stop by a short while to deliver their cake. So when he does, they let him stay for an hour! Yeah, Miyamura belongs to everybody! Hori puts her foot down and has Miyamura leave. As she walks with him, she says she wants to stay with him even after graduation. WHAT? I THOUGHT THEY WERE DATING?! Miyamura does her one better: He wants to marry her! Woah! Too fast! Hori promises to make him happy and everything but romantic moment ruined when Miyamura’s family call for him to return to the shop now. We see Miyamura and Hori together at the shrine for New Year. As long as they have each other, it’s okay. They hope it’ll be like that every year from now on. And what’s this assurance again that they’ll always be together forever? Wasn’t that all assured the last time? Oh well, it never hurts to always keep assuring.

Episode 13
Graduation is looming. Seniors have to take all their personal stuffs away. While Hori has almost none because she has been doing so every day, it’s not the case for the rest. Yeah, tons of stuffs! And since Hori is so free, they let her carry some? Iura also doesn’t have any stuffs but since Miyamura returns the stuffs he borrowed, now he has some. Yoshikawa really has too much stuffs so Iura suggests Hori carrying some and this makes Hori mad. He thinks you’re useful! Not a mule! Remi wants to go to the zoo so with Sengoku and Yanagi thinking about getting a driving’s licence, Remi starts to feel sad. Of course Kouno could pick up something is wrong and forcefully makes her spill the beans by pulling her cheeks! Turns out Remi thinks they’ll drive far away once they get their licence. WTF this logic? Yanagi suggests they can all go on a road trip together. Yeah, that’ll be nice. Miyamura thinks back that how that one incident of taking Souta home led him to this. Had he not, he imagines a different world whereby he’ll still be alone and awkward. Even some of his friends won’t know each other like they do now. What if even one of those events along the way didn’t happen? Hori stays positive that the fact they are here now is because of fate. Period. As Sengoku prepares to give his graduation speech, Miyamura accidentally sneezes and this throws him off balance. While everyone laughs, Hori is mad with this embarrassment. Yeah, whose boyfriend sneezed? After the speech, Sengoku trying to get Miyamura?! At the rooftop, Miyamura makes peace with his younger self who now promises to disappear forever. So the ghost is finally banished? Sawada sad she can’t see Hori anymore at least in school. So with Hori saying she will be still around, is that permission to come bug her every day? Oh no. Ishikawa and Kouno make their peace and leave their feelings behind at school. But it’s a bit awkward for Yoshikawa and Yanagi. But nothing biggie. He hopes she’ll join the friends in a road trip after graduation and of course after he gets his licence. Kyousuke is here! Hori not amused! No shame beating up her dad in public! Yeah, he’s embarrassing and ruining her graduation day! But Kyousuke looking a lot like having fun. Miyamura narrating how close he’s gotten to Hori and never knew he would experience so many emotions. Now he thinks of what he can do for her because before her, the only person he knew was himself. He thanks her for wanting a future with him and that gave him a whole new world.

Love You Just The Way You Are
With many of the characters graduated from high school, I bet one of them who isn’t is Shindou! Didn’t see him around anywhere! I know, different school. Bet that guy got held back another year. Heh. Not that Miyamura and co would care anyway. The finale might sound boring and went with the cliché happy ending. So much so I can’t help feel that there should’ve been an alternate reality whereby Miyamura indeed never became friends with all these characters. An uneventful high school life. That ends up in suicide! Holy sh*t! What am I thinking?! Too spicy for that kind of drama! So okay, we’ll settle for the happy-happy ending. But still, it’s interesting to peek into that despite a ‘small preview’ from Miyamura in the last episode. And another reality whereby he ends up with a different girl and not Hori… Okay, better stop straying into stuffs that might not even happen.

Personally if you ask me, there is no actual story or plot going on. The fact that we expect to see Miyamura and Hori end up together is already a given. I mean, are they going to do something different and have them do a bitter break up? Are you sure you want to deviate from the source material?! So if you’re really hoping to see some sort of story for this series, don’t get your hopes too high up. Because it’s really disappointing if you really do. I know. I almost fell for that trap. Almost. You see, I had this impression that the entire season would be about them trying to overcome obstacles to know each other and then after all the trials, tribulations and opposition, they finally end up as a couple. Hooray. Congratulations. The end. But unfortunately, that didn’t happen. They already became a couple right under our noses! And fast too! Sure, they were showing hints they like each other, some sounded like trolling but then of course we know better. Before we already knew it, suddenly they’re like, uhm, dating?! Not full blown dating but they’ve been hanging out so much with each other, they might as well get married. Honestly. So I think that is why many like yours truly sometimes feel a bit confused about where the real relationship between Hori and Miyamura stands. They’re more than friends but are they officially already a couple? It looked like so but it’s not. So which is which? There are some hinting scenes of intimacy but I’m sure that is only because our imaginations took over and we let it run wild. How many were left disappointed? I think I’m part of that statistic…

Furthermore, as the series progresses, I seemed to notice that the episodes became more like random skits. The first few episodes were okay as it was trying to establish the basics, the characters and everything. So that’s fine. It was understandable. It was truly an episode of its own. But then halfway through, it started to show short clips that don’t really have any sort of bearing with the rest of the other clips in that same episode. It’s like they mashed together some skits and combine them in an omnibus of a single episode. It felt weird. Because it gives the impression that the series is losing its direction and pacing and with no real storyline whatsoever, they’re just putting in such random clips just to earn a little of our laughter. Funny, yes. Maybe. But confusing and perplexing at the same time? Also yes. After all like I’ve said, Miyamura and Hori are already somewhat a couple, that goal is achieved so what else is there to show? It might have turned out a bit better had they played it out to what I was expecting about developing their love and relationship throughout the season. But since it didn’t, I can only lament and rue the lost opportunity that was.

As for the characters, either you’ll love them or hate them. They’re the only thing that drives the series since as we all know, it lacks a proper story. So for our titular characters, I guess it is understandable that they take up a bulk of the limelight. I would be repeating myself if I talk about their relationship already being achieved in such an early pace. Oh damn. There I go again. So anyway, the fun part is seeing them act in their non-stereotypical ways. When they don’t act in character, it could be funny as hell. Especially when Hori prefers the abusive side of Miyamura because it makes her heart skip. It was funny and at the same time creepy as hell. Hori and Miyamura on the outside look like your typical honour student and delinquent respectively. However with their friends accepting them who they are quickly, it is like we forgot that they were even those stereotypes in the first place. Even if Miyamura had pals from middle school who still had that perception, nothing like something to quickly prove otherwise and change their minds. Above all, there is no real drama or tension that could not be resolved in the same episode. Nothing overly dramatic that would make us watch in baited breath. In the end, even we might forget he has piercings and tattoos. I know Japanese society has a bias perception on such but in the context of this anime, it feels like he is trying to keep them hidden from secret government agents or aliens who might whisk him away as a chosen one. Just kidding! So yeah, as long as you know him, his piercings and tattoos don’t even matter. Essentially, those who mind, don’t matter and those who don’t mind, matter. It’s the inside that counts the most too, right?

For a short series with only over a dozen episodes, it is mind boggling it has so many other side characters. Many don’t really do much of an impact and it feels like they have their few second worth of fame just to give a little more variety rather than to always focus 24/7 on Hori and Miyamura or their close friends. So with have 1 episode that has loudmouth Iura in the spotlight (because idiots also have their own issues somewhat). A couple on Tanihara to show that he wants to be friends with the new Miyamura (because yesterday’s enemy can become today’s friend). And Yanagi… I don’t even know why he exists. Characters like him can actually be done without. But I guess it’s to show that Miyamura has actually accumulated a few male friends on his own so that’s that (because more hot guys won’t really hurt). Then there’s Remi who is there just to be cute. Otherwise she is just forgettable and not much of a threat or anything. Same case for the somewhat annoying Sawada. It sounded like she has her own issues but that died down after that fiasco of tussling with Miyamura over Hori. Like, what was that all about? All in all, for some of these characters, they don’t really matter at all but to give a little detour to our titular characters.

Hence other supporting characters like Ishikawa and Yoshikawa just feel rather passable. There had to be some other love drama other than Hori and Miyamura, right? Ishikawa felt like he should’ve been the main character at least from the perspective that he has the most female characters related to him. Once in love with Hori, had an accidental brush with Kouno and now being more than friends with Yoshikawa. That’s 3 girls, dude!!! That’s a lot. And Yoshikawa, I don’t know if she’s supposed to be an irritating character because I guess somebody needs to play the role of the good girl who gives way. And then we saw what happened. And we expected what happened. Good grief. It just makes that love triangle with Kouno thingy a bit forced. And just like that, Kouno was no longer relevant to the story and stayed mainly in the shadows.

The one thing ‘good’ about this romance series is despite all of the love dramas that we have seen, all of them are straight people. Meaning, no gays or lesbians or even fujoshi types. So homophobes rejoice as we saw Hori being so adamant with her dude not to go into gay stuffs because that will just be so unbearable. It proves that Hori is just a straight hetero girl who loves her man to be a man. Thank goodness no fujoshi awakening inside her or other female characters. When was the last time we had such a true love story?!

If I really had to pick a best character, I guess it had to be Kyousuke. Goddamn, I love how lax and chill this father is. Not a role model for parents but whatever. Makes me wonder why Hori doesn’t take after him since she has his genes. One of my theories is that she saw how embarrassing this dude is and promised herself not to be an asshole like him. And that’s why she is so prim and proper but of course as we’ve seen, behind closed doors she is just as boorish as papa. My other theory is that Kyousuke may not be Hori’s biological father because WTF she calls him by his first name! That’s so unrespectable especially in Japanese or even Asian culture. So mom must have remarried or something. I don’t know, I may be wrong or right since I didn’t bother to Google to fact check and bury these conspiracy theories of mine. So it also bears true (somewhat) to a saying that when you marry someone, you’re not just marrying your spouse but his/her entire family! It’s the case for Miyamura who has been such a frequent guest, Hori’s family is treating him as part of the family. Oh, he is the Hori family’s property now, eh? Oh, hurry up and get married, will both of ‘ya?! And for Souta to accept Miyamura as his big bro after being worried he would take away his sister from him. Oh man, they grow up so fast…

One of the biggest differences between the TV series and the OVAs is the art style and animation. I would say it upgraded itself although I would not go so far to say that it is a masterpiece. You see, the OVAs (at least the ones I watched) had this very cartoony and simple feel to it. It’s like as though they were drawn by amateurs and they left out a lot of details, making the animation looking a bit flimsy and simple. It looked like one of those cheap animation productions and obscure OVA shows like Mahou No Chocolate or Yuri Seijin Naoko-san. Now for the TV series, the characters have been given the bishoujo and bishonen upgrade. Meaning, everyone here looks as hot as f*ck. But that’s about it. The other aspects of animation feel a bit iffy at times and overall it’s just passable. Also, I think they use some weird kind of flashy light effects as background to signal whenever there is some dramatic love moment taking place. I don’t think this constitutes to any trippy LSD drug effects still feels weird seeing those. Unlike Gonzo and Hoods Entertainment who did the OVAs, the TV series is done by Cloverworks (Seishun Buta Yarou Wa Bunny Girl Senpai No Yume Wo Minai, Persona 5 The Animation, Yakusoku No Neverland, Wonder Egg Priority).

Another huge change for the TV series is an entirely different cast from the OVAs. Now we have Haruka Tomatsu as Hori, Daisuke Ono as Kyousuke, Jun Fukuyama as Yanagi, Nobuhiko Okamoto as Sengoku and Ai Kayano as Hori’s mom as those I recognized. The rest are Kouki Uchiyama as Miyamura (Shigaraki in Boku No Hero Academia), Seiichirou Yamashita as Ishikawa (Kakeru in Orange), Yurie Kozakai as Yoshikawa (Pekola in Jashin-chan Dropkick), Reina Kondo as Kouno (Hana in Slow Start), Mao Ichimichi as Remi (Bada in ClassicaLoid), Daiki Yamashita as Iura (Midoriya in Boku No Hero Academia), Momoko Asakura as Sawada (Rona in Endro), Taku Yashiro as Shindou (Ebitani in Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa), Shouya Chiba as Tanihara (B Cell in Hataraku Saibou), Ryoka Yuzuki as Yashiro (Satsuki in Kill La Kill), Haruki Ishiya as Mizouchi (Tamotsu in Akiba’s Trip), Hisako Kanemoto as Motoko (titular character in Shinryaku! Ika Musume) and Yuka Terasaki as Souta (Hephaestus in DanMachi). The opening theme is Iro Kousui by You Kamiyama. It’s a pretty nice and chill song. The ending theme is Yakusoku by Friends and sounds more like a generic slow rock. Just didn’t like the weird puppet CGI of everything falling down. I don’t know, this art style reminds me of Bob The Builder. Just saying…

Overall, this TV series just feels mediocre in many of the aspects. Having a lacklustre story and direction, the characters too also fail to inspire anything out from the romance genre as some were forgettable or annoying. The animation looks better (although not necessarily mind blowing) but that’s just about it. Many said the manga is still better and this TV adaptation was just average. Heh. Average. Just when the TV series has ended, it was announced that 2 more OVAs will be released after that. Not sure if I want to watch that too because from what I read that it is the continuation of the OVAs and not the Horimiya TV series. Since I’m not impressed with both modes, it is most likely I won’t be. Thank goodness this is one of the few shows whereby if I omitted some parts, my subconscious will not bug me and make me feel regret about not watching it and that I must complete watching everything of a particular series. Phew. Now I can go back to my averagely normal life watching other mediocre animes.

Ryuugajou Nanana No Maizoukin Specials

Woah! How did this fly over my radar? How did I not pick this up? Well actually, Ryuugajou Nanana No Maizoukin Specials may have come out a long time ago with the DVD volumes back in 2014 but nobody subbed it. Until recently. Oh yeah. Somebody cared enough to dig up this treasure and surprise us all old timers. Yeah, newbies might probably have question marks all over their head, going WTF this specials?! Time to go back to nostalgia to a series that I have seen a long time ago and practically forgotten almost everything about it. So this series didn’t get a sequel, huh? Yeah, no wonder it is so forgotten. Time to go refer back to my old blog then. I guess it couldn’t come at a better time to go back and reminisce a forgotten series. Is this what the nostalgia of unearthing an old treasure feels like?

Special 1: Tarou Urashima
Juugo is Urashima and knowing he saved a turtle from bullies, as expected he is brought to the underwater palace. He is expecting some sexy harem time as Nanana who is Otohime will gladly reward him with a feast. Sorry Juugo, not a fancy high class feast as you expect. Because it’s all pudding! Declining the feast, Nanana will then entertain him. He thinks it is sexy time but it turns out to be video games! Disappointed Juugo desperately asks about the sexy harem. He demands it! Nanana gives the coldest piercing stare that has Juugo reeling in guilt. Pervert. Okay, okay. So he’ll play video games with her. Because she isn’t human, they played video games nonstop. For months Juugo hasn’t got a decent sleep and wants to go home. In that case, she gives him a box for him to open when he gets back. Juugo is relieved he has returned to his world and back home he opens the box only to find a Wifi router and a laptop. A note from Nanana says now he can play games online! Juugo dies…

Special 2: Ikkyuu-san
Tensai is this special’s titular character (which happens to be her surname in the series too) and she is a brilliant monk. Rumours of her intelligence spread wide and far and one day the shogun who is played by D’arc needs her help to capture a tiger that seemingly comes out from this folding screen every night and wreak havoc. After requesting the desired tool, all that is left is to wait for the tiger to jump out. However D’arc seems to be quivering in fear. Turns out it was all a lie so Tensai forces her to apologize and admit she is a liar. If that’s not enough, Tensai now forces her to be her assistant. Assistant of what? Tensai will now be known as a master detective and hence she’ll use her temple as her office. Since D’arc will be working her ass off for her, Tensai gives her wear a fitting maid uniform.

Special 3: The Golden & Silver Axe
Juugo is the honest lumberjack who accidentally dropped his dirty old axe into the lake. The lake goddess who is Yuu is not thrilled somebody dropped the axe on her head. Since Juugo is honest to point out the golden and silver axe is not his, the goddess decides to give him a shiny new axe. Juugo’s honesty that she should’ve given him the gold or silver axe has her almost drown him for his rudeness. Even more so when he notes this story is borrowed from Aesop’s fables. After Juugo returns, his fellow lumberjack, Isshin learns about it and does the same. Yuu is mad at first but changes her attitude after falling in love with him. Sneaky Isshin then has her give both the gold and silver axe. He wants more and since she doesn’t, he promises to get it by next week. Juugo heard about this and tries to warn Yuu that she is tricked but she refuses to listen to him. Juugo then takes measures into his own hands. A week later as Isshin arrives at the lake, the goddess is now… Juugo! Damn, he tied Yuu up claiming he is trying to save her but he escapes. Yuu can’t give him any new axe but in exchange she’ll give him her body! Isshin changes his mind and leaves while Yuu chases after him. What about her goddess job? Well, Juugo can have it. She’s abandoning her goddess role to chase after love! And so Juugo becomes the new goddess of a lake, waiting for that day a cute girl will fall in. Keep waiting…

Special 4: The Snow Woman
Juugo is a villager who is about to take refuge in his friend’s house but finds him frozen. This is the work of the snow woman who is Yukihime. She wants to freeze him too but changes her mind. However he must keep his promise and not tell a soul about their encounter. A year later, Yukihime enters Juugo’s home to seek refuge from the snowstorm. Disguised as an ordinary woman, first she requests a glass of cold ice water. Then she tries to forcefully question him about some secrets. Annoyed, he tells her to go home and knows she is Yukihime. She transforms back into her original form as Juugo reveals he knew it was her right from the start. He claims he is in love with her which of course makes her fluster all over. Yukihime further explains that she is just here to check on him and to see if he is keeping his promise. Even so, she is happy to see him again. This has Juugo asking the curious question of why she spared him back then. Could it be because she also loves him? A very embarrassed Yukihime freezes him all over. Now that he is a block of ice, Yukihime happily takes him back home.

Special 5: Crane’s Return A Favour
Tetsu frees a crane from a trap. A few days a later, a lost cute girl, Yun seeks refuge at his place. She claims she is an adult and doesn’t want to be treated as a kid but she is literally happy when he gives her a piece of candy. He lets her stay in his house and she freaks out over a lizard. So it’s his friend who guards the house? Okay. Whatever. Noticing an old loom machine, Tetsu isn’t sure how to use it or know if it’s working. Yun wants to borrow it but on a condition that he mustn’t peep at what she’s doing. But she sounds so clumsy and all that he had to look. So the cat’s out of the bag. The crane, rather. Yup, Yun is that crane and she wanted to weave a special fabric as thanks. He can sell it for a premium price in town. Looks ugly and dirty… Yeah, Tetsu turned into a much better and beautiful fabric. Yun has to leave since he knows her identity. But Tetsu says she can stay here and will teach her how to weave. And so he teaches her but she never improved no matter how much time passed. However both of them lived together happily ever after. Time well spent?

Special 6: Momotarou
Nanana is the legendary demon slayer while her animal followers are played by Juugo (monkey), D’arc (dog) and Tensai (pheasant). They head to Onigashima to defeat the ogre. In the cave strewn with sake bottles around, Nanana sends Juugo to scout. Damn, this onii (Shiki) has big tits! He pays the price and gets beaten up. He returns to report and hence Tensai comes up with a plan seeing that they are no match for Shiki’s supernatural strength. They’ll go get some sake from the village, send D’arc to drink with Shiki. Once she is asleep, they’ll go in for the kill. This plan should do the trick. Hopefully. Oh sh*t… D’arc brings the wine to Shiki and since she likes this cute tranny, she has her drink together. Only, Shiki is now drunk and starts molesting D’arc! A few hours later, the rest begin their assault. Shiki is sound asleep while D’arc is crying as her modesty outraged. Who knows what happened then… They tie up Shiki and collect her piles of treasure in the cave. Nanana has an idea to go adventuring around the world rather than bringing their loot home and retire because it will be more fun that way. Shiki is interested and also wants to join them. Because she wants D’arc too. Oh sh*t! Since Nanana has conquered this island, they’ll leave all the treasures behind before their world adventure. She also makes it their base and renames it as Nanae Island.

Fool’s Gold Or Comedy Gold?
Well, well… I guess the specials are okay for a few little laughs and chuckles. After all, they are taken from famous Japanese folklores and given their own funny and weird twists to the story. Yeah, we’ve seen such folklores been butchered to death in anime and other media so it’s not surprising at this point. I might not remember much the anime’s characters and actual story but if you know these folklores, you don’t have to worry any of that. Yup, unrelated. Just replace the famous folklore characters with these.

These specials feel like picture dramas since there is very minimal animation here. The characters are drawn on cardboard cut-outs and the background is a still sketchy picture. Hey, this was back in 2014 and how much worth are you going to get in your specials that last on average about 5 minutes? Too bad they didn’t do more because it’s obvious they were missing the Kintarou and Kaguya-hime folklore to parody. Yup, I can already picture and imagine myself the characters and the kind of story it is going to play out. And then they should go into European fairytales like The Little Mermaid, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, Hansel and Gretel… Don’t forget Aesop’s fables too like the Tortoise and the Hare and the Ant and the Grasshopper! Oh wow. Who’d knew that children fairytales and folklores could be such great hidden treasures! So can we turn such gems into media adaptations like this? Oh… I see Disney already did it… Sorry, Nanana. Your worldly adventures have been beaten to and taken over by a certain corporate mouse…